《Re:life with Karmic Gacha (Modern Family)》


 Chapter 1: I never got one!!

    <h4>Chapter 1: Chapter 1: I never got one!!</h4>


    "Ugh, why him?"


    I grumbled as I saw thest 3 episodes of Modern Family, thest season. ''Even at the end, Alex and Haley''s character development seems stunted, and Alex seemingly ends up with Alvin... ''


    ''Manny became insufferable, and Luke...well, Luke is Luke.''


    "The awkward, maniptive professor that used to be Haley''s boyfriend?"


    It''s like the writers conveniently forget about that and set them up anyway.


    "She did have a major crush on the guy when she was at college, but he chose Haley. Maybe it''s a curse of the middle child kind of thing where they always received used things from their older siblings."


    I sighed and felt terrible for the kid.


    "Even Dn was barely okay in thest season."


    Phil said before the 20s is the time for them to make mistakes and get to know themselves. But surely a lovely and intelligent girl like Alex or a ''smart'' girl like Haley could end up with someone better.


    "Welp. No time toin. Time to start from the beginning again."


    I have been binge-watching it every single day, and have finished the run more than 7 times now.


    Maybe it became afort show for me because of the family love setting in the show, the one I never had.


    *Ring Ring*


    The MacGyver bell in my house rang loudly, snapping me out of my stupor. The simple setup was created by myself, and I fixed the bell on my walls before I connected it to the lower floor.


    I put my phone back in my pocket as I used my phone to watch shows instead of the sma tv in my living room. That one was used for games and ''stuff.''


    I grabbed my coat before I exited my apartment. I went downstairs and unlocked the door to the apartment directly beneath mine.


    "Good Morning, Be. How''s your sleep?" I asked.


    The house owner was an olddy in a wheelchair who could only breathe using an oxygen tube up her nose. She only smiled in reply and looked at me with a helpless expression.


    Thendlord of the 3-story apartment needed some care in her twilight years, so I get to live here cheap as long as I help her with some stuff. After taking care of her needs, we went to make breakfast together.


    "Non-non..." The Italian grandmother scolded me as I wanted to put some herbs in her sauce. "Taste. First."


    I stopped stirring the sauce in the pot. The smell of the sauce that I was making made my stomach gurgle, and I wanted to have breakfast soon.


    "Ciao Be. You''re killing me." I used some Italian wordy that put a smile on her face. I put a spoonful of the sauce on a spoon and blow it gently before I give her a taste.


    She nodded in satisfaction after she got what she wanted. "Good job. You...marry now."


    I helplessly showed a wry smile after she said that. "Maybe in the future."


    Granny said with some concern, "You''ve been alone. Long time."


    I grabbed her hand gently, "I have you, did I not?"


    Be removed my hand and pinched my cheeks, "Non-non. Don''t be alone. I''m gone soon."


    The immigrant grandmother couldn''t speak aplete sentence after her stroke a few weeks ago. I have been working from home to check up on her since her family is far away.


    "Don''t say that, Noni. (Grandma) You''re going to live till 150. Believe me."


    Be looked at me sadly. Only one person in the world knew me, and that was the grandmother in front of me.


    "I forgot the garlic bread. I will stop by the grocery storeter." I said, changing the topic.


    We had a fun breakfast together before I ran upstairs to do my job as a programmer. Luckily, my status as a senior developer allowed me to work from home as long as I reach my daily target requirement.


    I remembered what Noni said while I was typing. I never got a girlfriend, nor did I try to find one. I only got one-night stands with various girls, basking myself in the meaningless pleasures of the flesh. Even that was for only a short while before I stopped.


    My 20''s were spent with me struggling to survive in this ruthless world as an orphan. Deep down, I don''t think I can love someone as I have never received any love. I should talk about that in therapy, but who got the time?


    After 3 hours of work to finish the entire requirement of what was supposed to be a 10-hour job, I grabbed my bike key and my helmet.


    "Noni. Garlic bread and tomato puree. Anything else?"


    "Buy some wine and meat," Noni asked. Then, she hesitatingly asked, "Can you check the post? My son. He will wire some checks at the end of the month."


    I widened my eyes at Noni, "You can eat meat now? When did your teeth grow back?"


    Noni threw her slippers on my head before I ran away to my scooter parked in front of my house. I never went to the post office to check what she requested.


    I knew her son had abandoned her a few years back, but she kept hoping to hear from him. The check was only an excuse for her to ask about her son.


    I picked up some oranges and groceries at the grocery store. On my way back, a sudden gust of wind suddenly makes me almost fall from my bike.


    "What the hell is that?" I opened my helmet visor and looked at the sky. It was as clear as ever. I scanned the surroundings, and I saw everyone looking at me like I was a clumsy man.


    "So... freaking weird," I muttered and restarted my bike engine before I drove home.


    And that was it. That is the end of my life in this world.


    *Truck Horn ring. *


    Thest thing I remember was that a speeding truck with its lights on crashed into my bike. I had an ident on my way home, and after a period of struggle to keep my consciousness intact, my world darkened.


    "So, Why the hell did I wake up in a white space?"


    ...


    "Is it tform 9 ??" I scanned my surroundings, which looked like a clean train station, before walking toward the train boarding line. There were several people there, all waiting to board the next train to what I assumed was the afterlife.


    How long have I waited? The time here was a bit messed up. Suddenly, the train conductor arrived in his blue uniform and a cap to check everyone''s tickets.


    "Wait. Tickets?" I hurriedly checked my pockets to find out that I was carrying nothing. The conductor moves down the line quickly as he checks everyone''s tickets one by one, but I''m bing more and more anxious as I keep searching for the non-existent ticket.


    "Tickets, please." The grim reaper finally arrives at my spot to ask me.


    "Um...I seemed to have lost my ticket."


    He said sternly, "No ticket, no boarding."


    "I know. But I never got a ticket!" I almost teared up.


    "No ticket. No BOARDING!" He said and pulled me out of the line. The security guard came to apprehend me. "Wait. Just tell me how I can get a ticket!" I screamed and tried to break free of the security guards holding me by both arms.


    The security guard dragged me outside the train station and threw me on the floor.


    "Ouch!" I yelled out in pain as my butt hit the cold hard floor.


    "Go get tickets. Then, you can board the train."


    I looked around on the empty white street with no one about it. "How?" I muttered.


    Wandering in the infinite space, I tried hard to find ways to get a ticket for myself. I''d been walking for days, maybe years, or just a few minutes. My mind was groggy, as if I''d fallen into the abyss.


    I keep walking to find the ticket booth, someone else, or anything else. Suddenly, I remembered Noni.


    "Who is going to take care of her now?"


    My mind was so preupied with the train ticket that I forgot about the people I''d left behind. "Noni... I''m sorry." I started to sob as I walked aimlessly.


    Maybe she is still waiting for me toe back with the garlic bread. However, I am now stuck here with nowhere to go. I keep walking and crying until I lose track of time and who I am. I keep reliving my worst fear of Noni dying in that house alone.


    Unknown to me, someone tried to grab my shoulder from behind. But as I keep walking forward, the guy behind me keeps missing his mark. He wanted to call me, but the voice didn''t travel in the white space unless you were face-to-face with someone.


    The same situation repeated a few times for a few hundred years, or maybe a few hours. As I sobbed while walking, suddenly, the same sudden gust of wind that appeared before my death appeared again, causing me to be pushed backward.


    "What the fuc-" I almost cursed the wind. It was the main reason for my death before, and because of it, I had to abandon Noni. But I didn''t realize it came to me as a helper this time. Suddenly, my shoulder was grabbed by a hand bigger than mine. I turned back to see a man in a blue uniform huffing his breath heavily as he stopped me.


    "Finally. I reached you. Haa haa haa."


    I didn''t reply to him as my mind still felt groggy and in a haze. He dragged me back to the train station, and we entered his small office by the side of the boarding area. Countless files and papers were stacked neatly on the officer''s desk.


    "Neddy my boy. It''s been hard... for me to reach you." The officer said and sat down on the table. I was invited to sit right in front of him, and he took out a file with my name on it from the stack of files.


    "Edward Franzetti, born 1990, son of James Franzetti and Martha Knitting."


    He served me tea which I graciously epted. After drinking it, I can feel my mind getting cleared up.


    "Sorry about throwing you outside. That is only for criminals and people without a ticket. But in your case, it''s a bit special."


    "How?" I asked.


    "Your ticket isn''t here as it hasn''t been issued yet." The officer said with a solemn look on his face. He lights up a cigarette and takes a deep puff. "I haven''t seen a case like this in ages. There are a lot of them in the Japanese branch but not here."


    "I don''t care about the ticket anymore. What happened to Be? My- My Noni?" I asked anxiously. The officer released his cigarette smoke and started to take out another file.


    "Usually, I won''t bother to answer if anyone else asks this, but I will let you know about her for a favor between us. Deal?"


    "What kind of favor?" I asked, eying the file in his hand.


    "I''ll tell you about her. You don''t tell anyone about you being kicked out of the train station."


    "Deal," I replied instantly. The officer smiled and opened the file for Granny.


    "Hmm? This is curious." The officer said. He smiled and shed a look of reminiscence as he read the file. He even changed the way he looked at me. His stern face melted into the genial expression of a vige elder.


    "What?" I asked.


    "It said here your granny died peacefully in her sleep 1 minute before you died."


    "WHAT!" I mmed the table and stood up.


    "Calm down. Let''s see here. With her karma points, she had gotten a first-ss ticket to the afterlife long before you came here."


    I calmed down a bit, "I see. So, she passed. She... didn''t suffer, right?" I asked.


    "No." The officer replied curtly and closed granny''s file. Telling me about her situation in the mortal world was already career-ending for him, not to mention telling me about granny''s situation in the afterlife.


    "Now. To deal with you." The officer said. "Unfortunately, as your time hasn''te yet, we couldn''t tally your karma points here and have to send you back to the mortal world."


    He had a scheming look on his face, but I ignored it as my mind was focused on another matter.


    "So... I''ll live?" I asked, a bit dissatisfied.


    "You know, usually when people are told they can go back, they get excited. But not you, huh." The officer said sarcastically. "Let''s see. Yup. Truck again. What did the Japanese people do exactly that the truck culture spread even to another afterlife branch?"


    The officer took out a pen and started to scribble at my files.


    "I''ll remove being crushed by the 14-ton truck and be a roadkill...to swerve your bike and avoid the truck. You will live without remembering what happened here. You also won''t feel dibobted as the afterlife energy will help you settle down in the mortal world for a short grace period."


    "Do I have a choice?" I asked.


    "None." The officer replied sternly.


    "Let''s go to your station." The officer said and brought me to the train boarding line. Instead of a white train, a red train was waiting for me there.


    "This looks ominous," I said, and as I looked around, I discovered I was the only one there.


    "We didn''t usually send people back, so I pulled this train from another line to get you home." The officer said. I boarded the train and sat by the window. The officer stood nearby to talk to me.


    "As you''ve stepped foot in both the afterlife and the purgatory, you may find something extra in your life when you get back." The officer said with a smirk.


    "You''re giving me a system?" I asked teasingly.


    "What''s a system?" The officer asked, intrigued.


    "Nothing. By the way, I never caught your name?"


    "Me? I''m..." The train horn bellowed, so I couldn''t hear the middle part, but I heard thest part, "...The grim reaper."


    ...


    Omniscient POV.


    The train started to move and disappeared from the station. The grim reaper took hisst puff of cigarette before he turned back. An armored angel was standing there as he turned.


    "Why did you do it?" The female angel asked.


    "Do what?" The officer asked innocently.


    "You sent him to another world!" The female officer grabbed the man''s coat and lifted him up.


    The male officer took a deep puff and said, "It was toote for him. He''d spent time in purgatory for almost 10 years. He can''t go back, so I send him somewhere else."


    "You''ve vited the afterlife code! Do you know what will happen to you?!"


    The officer gently removed the female officer''s hand. "I know."


    "Not only did you send him to another world, but you also made him reborn there. He won''t receive his memory till his body is ready is not an excuse for your action!"


    "For my son. I will dly spend 1000 years in purgatory as long as he can get the life he always wanted. The life... that I fail to give him." The male officer said as he fixed his cors.


    The female officer sighed in defeat and escorted the grim reaper to receive his punishment.


    "I already had enough trouble when a first-ss soul identally transmigrated as the wind. Now, this. I am sure I will get demoted after this...." She murmured whisperingly.


    She sighed in defeat before she realized something. She red at the grim male reaper, "Do you have anything to do with that too? With Mrs. Be reincarnating as the wind?"


    The grim male reaper smirked and replied ambiguously, "Who knows."


    ...


    Edward POV.


    "Ugh. My head." I muttered as I found myself lying in the streets. However, I found the roads to be unfamiliar from the streets I had my ident before.


    "Hey, kid, watch where you are going."


    An old man yelled at me from his car.


    Suddenly, my head throbbed in pain, and I struggled to collect myself. I staggered a few times, and my sight became dim. It took me a minute to get used to the feelings.


    "What the fuck!" I cursed out loud.


    The old man was startled, shook his head, and drove off as he noticed I was okay.


    "I''m 14?! I am in... California! Seriously?!" I mumbled.


    "Nah, Nah, that can''t be it." I looked around and found a convex mirror usually put in intersections. I looked at my reflection to see that I was really young again.


    "Dude, that was sick." Suddenly a voice called me out from behind. I turned and widened my eyes when I saw the familiar-looking kid on a bike talking to me.


    "Your skateboard flew into that tree there after you''ve done your trick." Luke Dunphy pointed at the tree nearby. I turned in the direction he''d pointed and saw a skateboard with a skull sticker on its bottom hanging in the tree branch.


    "You''d inspired me. I will also fly to the sky after this." The 10 years old Luke said excitedly.


    I became rmed and quickly said, "No, Luke. Don''t. The ident really hurt. It wasn''t sick at all. It was dangerous, and I''d been irresponsible. I probably will never skate again after this."


    The boy was stunned by the sudden promation. Based on my memory, I was the one who asked him if he wanted to watch a trick before this. For me to backpedal quickly was a bit unexpected for him.


    "Luke." I heard a voice calling for Luke from afar. Both of us turned to look at the caller.


    A hot blonde ''milf'' with scary eyes was calling for Luke from a street over. She shielded her eyes with her hand as the afternoon sun was ring.


    "Whatever," Luke said, losing his interest as I started to nag like his mom. He put his leg on the pedal and started to cycle back to his house.


    I stood there frozen for a while with the same thought nagging.


    "Am I in the Modern Family... tv series... world?"

 Chapter 2: Me.

    <h4>Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Me.?</h4>


    "Now then. What am I... supposed to do here?" I asked myself in confusion. Then, I waited for someone to exin the situation to me.


    I waited for a while, but the only sound I heard was crows cawing at me from the trees. Apparently, my skateboard hit close to its nest, so I didn''t think I would ever take it back.


    "Huh."


    I looked to see the crow watching me with vignce, so I walked away from the tree.


    "So, there isn''t any system to exin this to me? Also, wasn''t I supposed to lose my memories?"


    It added to my confusion that I could clearly remember the things from the afterlife and the train station. I took off my skateboard helmet and decided to walk home. I saw the familiar-looking house nearby, with ire whispering something at Luke while looking at me.


    "I wonder what''s that about?" I muttered.


    "Damn it. Now that I am here, there wasn''t a cutscene or anything to put me in perspective of what had just happened.


    Cutscene �C ire and Luke.


    ire admonished her son, "What did I tell you, Luke? That thing is dangerous. You should be d that you didn''t fall to the streets. You may break an arm!"


    "Sweet!" Luke replied, visibly excited.


    "No- no. Not sweet. Dangerous." ire crouched down and held Luke''s arm. "Sweetie, promise me you won''t do something like that."


    Although reluctant, Luke couldn''t object to his mother''s wishes. "I promise. Besides, now that he told me it hurts, I will not do the trick...now." Luke said with a slight pause before thest part. ire didn''t notice it and rubbed his hair lovingly.


    "Who is he anyway?" ire asked.


    "He goes to the same high school as Alex. His name is... Edward Newgate." Luke replied. "It was my first time meeting him, but he''s cool."


    "Newgate?" ire asked as she thought about the families around the streets she lived in.


    "You mean that Newgate who lives in the messy house on the next street. With all of their nts dying and everything?"


    Edward POV.


    "So, I''m 14... That''s just freaking great (sigh). In thest year of Franklin Middle school and will be going to high school afterward. Apparently, I am a loner in my school and a weird kid... also, kind of ...dumb."


    After I sorted out my memories which were not that many, to begin with, I became exasperated after learning of my new life condition.


    Basically, I am an unattended, entitled, a snobbish child that thought he was better than everyone else.


    "Growing up as a musical prodigy overblew my ego."


    I also have a few memories of meeting Dunphy''s daughter''s duo, but it wasn''t a good one.


    The memories confused me for a while.


    ''Am I Edward Newgate or Edward Franzetti?''


    The memories came with their feelings, making me doubt my entire existence. I remembered all the things Newgate had gone through, his trauma, his rtionship, his love. All of his was also all of mine.


    "I think...I am both now." I sighed and shrugged my shoulders.


    In this life, I once belonged to a happy family until two years ago. I didn''t delve deeper into the memory of the time as I found myself getting harder to breathe.


    ''Childhood trauma, huh.''


    My adult mind quicklyprehended the situation, but I wasn''t an expert on this matter to deal with this on my own.


    I finally arrived at my home after a short few minutes of walking. I stopped at the front of the grey-bricked suburban house that was in serious condition.


    ''Damn it. I refuse to ept the condition of my house in the memory, but it is really true.''


    "Hmm... Why the hell did the people here leave thiswn unattended?" I muttered as I stood in front of a detached, two-story suburban home.


    The rooftop drain was clogged with leaves and other matter. The tall grass on the frontwn was dying, leaving a deste, yellow-colored meadow in front of the house. Not to mention some stuff that looked like trash was strewn all over the ground.


    I knew that the house wasn''t always like this. But after the mother in the house ran away from her family two years ago, the house''s condition deteriorated as there was no one to take care of it.


    That was also when Edward started to reject everything and everyone around him and became a loner. We have a lot inmon in this part, except I never had a family, to begin with, and I was never adopted till I was old enough to leave the orphanage on my own.


    "I know, right? With some proper care... it will be a beautiful home."


    Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke to me.


    "System?" I asked while tilting my head.


    The man standing behind me was confused, "N- No." He crouched and tapped my shoulder, causing me to turn. "It''s me."


    I widened my eyes as I looked at the man. Never thought the voice was from Phil Dunphy, the local expert on real estate. The man in a zer was taller than me and had a kind expression on his face.


    "Why are you here?" I blurted out.


    It was so sudden that I didn''t manage to n my sentence ahead. I am the type to constantly think about my words before, but Newgate''s experience in speaking like an equal to the adults...and looking down on them had left some traces in my existence.


    "I am from the open house next door," Phil said, pointing at his signs on the next house. "My name is Phil Dunphy," Phil said and held his hand out for a handshake.


    I grabbed his hand instinctively. He smiled at me and asked, "Are you interested in home care? Mr..."


    "Edward." I introduced myself.


    "Edward. Nice name. You''re in high school?" Phil asked. I then realized that he didn''t know that the house was mine. I guess he was bored from the open house and decided to look around.


    And now, he found a target to relieve his boredom �C me.


    "Yes, I am," I answered curtly with a smile. I noticed Phil looked a bit helpless and started scratching his head as he looked at the house.


    "You know. This house was once very beautiful. There was a huge ornament on thewn, but the kid inside it had broken it a few years back," He said and started to reminisce.


    "I don''t me Ticky, though. He does his best... in other stuff." Phil muttered. Ticky, I guess that was his nickname for my dad in my new life.


    He didn''t recognize me being Ticky''s son, but I don''t me him. I could barely recognize myself if I looked in the mirror. And damn, I really want to look in the mirror.


    Although I was happy to see Phil, the sight of the house put me in a bad mood. I had a bit of a minor OCD growing up. Okay. I am lying. I have a major OCD growing up. It really irritates me now that I have to live in a ce like this.


    "Mr. Dunphy," I called.


    "Hmm. What is it, Edward?" Phil asked, turning to me.


    "Being the local real estate expert in Southern California, do you know how I can fix the problems in this house?" I asked.


    "What is this? Are you doing a school project?" Phil asked. "Why did you call me a local expert? I''m...not." Phil said with a smile.


    "I saw you on the bus benches before. Aren''t you a celebrity realtor?" I asked innocently but was secretly pumping Phil with a feeling of tion.


    "Maybe... Just a little bit." Phil replied embarrassingly.


    He was excited to be the mentor to the young children. And with me buttering him up with the expert moniker, he graciously exined how to fix the house. I already had the skills. What I needed was information.


    Where can I find the tools necessary? The city''s intervention in home care. How do I improve several aspects of my lifestyle? Trash pick-up and recycling.


    We talked for 15 minutes in front of the dpidated house. I nodded in agreement with most of what he exined.


    "Do you understand now �C Wait. Shoot! Don''t you need to write about this?"


    "Ahh. I do." I eximed in sudden realization.


    "Go pick up some papers and meet me at the open house. I will stay there till 3 in the afternoons, so I can help you with your assignment." Phil offered.


    "Wait. I will be back in a few seconds."


    "No rush," Phil said. His smile turned into a poker face and then a sullen face. As he saw I walked into the house, he called a pigsty to grab my things.


    "Ahhh," Phil eximed in a sudden realization. "That''s Ticky''s son."


    [Phil Commentary.]


    "The thing is. I don''t know... that he lives here." Phil leaned forward while sitting on his sofa. His face was sullen, and he shook his legs in nervousness. He said sadly, "If only I knew."


    [Commentary ends]


    Edward POV.


    I walked into my house after I unlocked the door with the keys underneath the floor mat.


    ''Honestly. Newgate was toox in his safety.''


    The musty smell of the wood and unwashedundry assaulted my nose as I walked in. The uncleared dishes in the sink and the full trash in the trash can almost make me want to burn down everything in this house and start over somece else.


    Beer bottles were strewn all over the living room. Random socks and underpants were in creative ces all over the house. Such as inside the fridge and the toaster.


    There was a massive piano in the second living room near the backyard door, certificates of excellence, and trophies in a ss case near the piano.


    ''Musical Prodigy at 9. Then, Newgate''s life starts its downfall.'' I thought as I read the certificatebel inside the ss case.


    As I peeked in the backyard, I wondered if my house was designed to be part of the forest.


    I navigated around the messy floor to get to my room on the upper floor of the house. Some broken steps caused me to stumble, so I need to fix thatter.


    "Now. Let''s see what I looked like."


    I muttered as I stood in front of a mirror.


    A skinny, 1.7 meter in height kid with wavy brown hair and piercing green eyes was staring back at me.


    The hair was very Zac Efron in the high school musical. It was long and wasbed neatly to the side. I sighed and didn''t me the kid, as the movie''s hype was real.


    My shirt was an official Led Zeppelin t-shirt, so at least I had great taste in music. I turned to look at the rest of the room.


    A few music records wereid on top of my brown bed sheets and nkets. Newgate could handle various instruments, so they were also inside the room with a speaker.


    A blood-red electric guitar, drum sets, and also an acoustic guitar. He also has violins and saxophone inside the room.


    By the bed, a few Led Zeppelin posters, Iron Man posters, and even Twilight posters were hung on the walls. The first thing I changed in this room was ripping off the Twilight poster, crumpling it into a ball, and throwing it into the garbage bin.


    ''Luckily, Newgate hung up Be''s poster, not another Edward. Or I will start to question his sexuality.''


    "And, of course, no books were inside the room," I muttered in frustration.


    The date was April 2009, ording to the calendar. Summer break woulde inte June, so I have to suffer going to a school filled with pre-pubescent hormones- I mean teenagers now.


    "Ughh." I groaned and let out a long sigh before Iy facing up on my bed.


    "This sucks."


    Why do I need to live again? And why did Ie here? Many questions were in my mind, but my OCD wouldn''t let me think.


    "URGH, THE FUCKING SMELL!!" I gritted my teeth in anger and couldn''t hold it in anymore!


    I ran all over the house and opened all the windows and doors to lessen the smell.


    I took out a pen and a piece of paper before I ran away, leaving my house in a very dangerous state with the door unlocked. However, I am sure that with the current state of the house, even burrs wouldn''t dare to enter.


    What did I do next? I ran to the house next door where Phil was.


    "Edward. I don''t mean to be rude." Phil said, loading up for an apology, but I cut him off.


    "Can you borate? What do you mean that the house will be beautiful with some proper care?" I asked hurriedly.


    "Ah, this... Umm... Let''s see here. First, you can start by...."

 Chapter 3: Clean up.

    <h4>Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Clean up.</h4>


    Edward POV.


    "So, can you drive me to the grocery store?" I badgered Phil, who had just finished his open house.


    "I have to go pick up my daughter after her cello practice, so I don''t-"


    "What time do you need to pick her up?" I cut him off again.


    I knew that Phil had a soft spot for struggling kids. That''s why he used to take care of his neighbor''s kid before.


    He looked quite reluctant before he agreed. I guess he was guilty about badmouthing my house to the owner''s face.


    He was kind enough to treat me like an equal, and I felt a little bad for manipting him, but if I needed to stay at that house, I couldn''t let the situation there stay the same.


    "At 4.30," Phil replied and nced at his watch.


    "That''s fine. I will only be there for a few minutes. I need to grab a few things to clean the house. Your advice is great. I can''t wait to use it." I buttered him up.


    He broke into a smile and said, "Okay. But I will bring my son with me. He loves going to the grocery store."


    It was the weekend, so the kids didn''t go to school. Incidentally, this was also when my dad had the most jobs, so I couldn''t formally meet him until Monday.


    "Luke? I just met him earlier." I said.


    "Cool. Then I don''t have to introduce you guys." Phil said and walked to his car�C a Toyota sedan. "Wait. Don''t you have to tell your dad about this?" he asked.


    "No, it''s fine," I answered. "You should pick up Luke first and then stop by. I need to do something first."


    Phil looked at the opened-wide door on my house and nodded before he drove away.


    Reluctantly, I returned to my house to pick up my money and took out the trash along the way. I peeked at the fridge to see nothing inside. Not even bottled water. The fridge was totally empty, except for some beers.


    I checked for my necessities and found out that I was living as if I was inside a camp. "I need a new toothbrush and toothpaste."


    Luckily, my dad bought me an iPhone, no doubt as an act to buy my love, as he couldn''t be there for me much. I listed the things I needed to buy and took some cash from my dad''s hiding ce. "200 bucks will be enough. I think."


    I texted my dad about the expense, as I am responsible.


    I needed to change my shirt as I was sweating a lot while ying in the streets. I wore a rtively new grey shirt and some jeans after I took a light shower to clean the sweat from my body.


    -Dunphy''s house.-


    "Luke. We''re going to the grocery store!" Phil said excitedly as he took off his work zer. He changed into a cored shirt with a horizontal purple and ck pattern.


    From upstairs, Luke replied, "Okay. I just need to put on some pants."


    With aundry basket in her hand, ire showed up in front of Phil as he waited for Luke by the stairs.


    "Why?" ire asked with a suspicious expression. "I just went to the store this morning."


    "Nothing. I just need a few things. And I need to get...Alex''ssss...." Phil stammered and couldn''t continue. His head moved as he lengthened hisst word, blinking a few times anxiously.


    ire nodded in understanding and didn''t continue her interrogation, "Just don''t y too much at the massage chair, all right? I don''t want you and Luke to be kicked out again."


    Phil watched her leave and then breathed a sigh of relief. Luke came down while wearing multiple pants at the same time.


    "Luke buddy. That''s awesome." Philughed as he watched Luke''s tight legs.


    "If I wear enough pants, it won''t hurt when I fall on the floor again," Luke said.


    "Yeah, but what about your elbows and your body?" Phil asked. "And your head?"


    "Ugh. That''s right!" Luke replied.


    ire swooped in like a ninja before the situation worsened. "Luke. Only one pair of pants." She gives a stern look at Phil, "Honey."


    Phil avoided her eyes and turned to Luke, "Maybe next time, buddy."


    ...


    Edward POV


    "Hey, you clean up nice." Phil smiled excitedly as he rolled his car windows down. With my hairbed and my face washed, I almost looked like a different guy. Instead of leaving my hair like Zac Efron �Cwith the bangs, I pulled it back and styled it to make it seem less childish.


    "Hop in. Let''s go." Phil said excitedly.


    "Okay." I entered the car and found Luke in the back seat. "Why don''t you sit in the front?" I asked curiously.


    "Haley won''t let me. She will kill me if I do." Luke replied in a childish voice. "Also, this is your house?" Luke asked as he saw the horrible sight. "It looks like a horror mansion." He said excitedly.


    "Luke. Don''t be rude." Phil interjected.


    "No, no. That was exactly what I was going for." I said, as I knew Luke didn''t have any bad intentions. "But I couldn''t let it stay this way any longer, so burn the sight in your mind before it disappears."


    I sat next to Luke in the backseat and pulled the seatbelt. "Nice job, buddy. Safety first." Philplimented me.


    I couldn''t tell him I was afraid of riding in cars, right? That''s why I only had a scooter in my previous life. My heart always palpitates when I''m inside a car, but that feeling didn''t transmigrate with me in my new life.


    "Thank god." I blurted out, and the feeling of relief washed me over.


    "What do you say, buddy?" Phil asked.


    "Nothing. Is the grocery store far away?"


    "We''ll be there in 5 minutes."


    Quickly, we arrived at the grocery store. Luke and Phil yed with the trolley, hitting each other with it while I continuously put some stuff inside it.


    "I need eggs, flour, cooking oil, and milk," I muttered as I finished taking care of my necessities. A new towel, some fresh produce, and many cleaning utensils. Phil stood before the ''Uncle ben'' cookie section and yelled, "Noo. Uncle Ben!"


    I yed along, "Peter...Remember...With great power...."


    Phil continued, "Comes great electricity bill."


    "Hahaha. Dad... that''s gold." Luke guffawed loudly at the side. Even I chuckled a bit at the joke.


    After a short time, put the stuff in the trolley.


    "Buddy, you''re sure about this? That''s a lot of stuff." Phil asked as the trolley was half full.


    "Yeah. I''ve been calcting the price in my mind. I think I will still have 1.79$ (One dor 79 cents) after I finish."


    "Wait. You can calcte in your mind?" Luke asked, his impression of me seemingly bing much better.


    "Yeah, buddy. Are you sure? There is also a tax factor...." Phil said he, too, was impressed. Not by my mathematical skill but by mymitment to calcting the entire time I''m shopping.


    "Also, 1.79$? Are you sure? That''s very specific." Phil asked challengingly.


    "Want to bet?" I smirked.


    Phil smiled and nodded slightly before he answered, "Okay. If you''re correct, I will give you... this hat." He pulled out a funny-looking hat from the counter and put it on his head. It was a white fedora with a big fake diamond on it, or at least I think it was a diamond.


    "Not that. If I am right, then buy me some soda." I said, not wanting much. "No hat?" Phil reluctantly said.


    "No," I replied decisively. We got to the cashier, and he started to scan my items. "Come on. Come on." Phil muttered as he watched the price getting nearer and nearer to the target.


    "198 is the mark," Phil muttered. Even Luke started to chant beside Phil. The duo was really simr to each other.


    Cashier: Final price is 199.71 $


    "OWH! SO CLOSE!" Phil eximed. "Better luck next time, buddy. You only have a bnce of 29 cents now."


    "Wait. You need to minus 1.5$ from my total." I said. "Add that to my bnce, and it will be 1.79$. So, I am right."


    "Buddy, it doesn''t matter if you''re wrong. As long as you bring enough money." Phil tried tofort me, thinking that I really wanted the soda. Inwardly, he nned to go to a drive-through after this to buy some sodas and some food for us.


    "That''s not it. 1.5 $ cause of the candy bar Luke put in the trolley as he thought no one would notice." I said. Luke widened his eyes while Phil stared at him. "Luke. Is it true?"


    "What? Aren''t we going grocery shopping? Mom always buys me a candy bar after." Luke gave excuses as he started to rummage through the stic bags to get his candy bar out. He yed the situation innocently in front of his father, who almost got fooled.


    "Yeah. But you do it without asking. I can buy you a candy bar. You don''t have to hide it from me." Phil said.


    It didn''t bother me as it was only a candy, so before Phil scolded Luke, I interjected, "It''s okay. Consider it a payment for him."


    "That''ll work," Luke said hurriedly.


    "Payment for what?" Phil asked.


    Phil and I walked side by side in the parking lot to get to his Toyota. Struggling a few meters behind us was Luke carrying all the bags alone.


    "I shouldn''t have agreed to do it. Ahh!" Luke groaned as he stepped briskly toward the car.


    "Come on, buddy, just a few more steps." Phil encouraged him as he opened up the car bo. "I will never take a job from you again," Luke said angrily. I chuckled and said, "Really? Not even if the job is to eat cake?"


    Luke became stunned and fell into deep contemtion. I chuckled and entered the car first.


    "Oh shoot. We have to pick up Alex." Phil looked at his car clock and said hurriedly. Luke entered the car and shut the door.


    "We shouldn''t have done the massage chair, Luke!" Phil said anxiously.


    The grocery stuff took only 20 minutes, and I knew what to buy. The rest of the time, Phil and Luke mess around in the grocery store.


    Phil quickly exited the parking lot, "Edward, I will get you your sodater."


    "It''s okay," I replied.


    "What about me?" Luke asked, wanting some soda, too, especially after the heavy work he''d just done.


    "You already have your candy bar." I teased him. He sulked on his seat and crossed his arms. I patted his head and let out augh.


    We arrived at Alex''s music teacher''s house in 20 minutes. Alex was already standing outside with her cello bag on the ground.


    "Shoot. She looks angry." Phil said. He tried to take off his seatbelt, but it was stuck as he pulled on it too fast. "No, no, no." He muttered.


    "Let me help Mr. Dunphy." I offered.


    Phil was still struggling with his seatbelt. "Thank you, but I just need a few minutes to take this off-"


    While he said that, I was already outside of the car.


    "What?" Phil mumbled as he watched me walk toward Alex with widened eyes.


    ...


    "Hi. Alex Dunphy, right?" I asked, pretending that I didn''t know her.


    A bit stunned by the sudden development, Alex crossed her arms and asked me in a guarded tone, "Newgate, right? Why did youe out of my dad''s car?"


    She did her hair in a ponytail and wore a long-sleeved yellow shirt. Her rectangr sses really framed her face. She looked a bit older than the actress ying her in season 1. Ifpared, she was simr to the season 3 Alex right now.


    "Your dad took me to the grocery store. You y the cello?" I asked as I helped her pick up the giant instrument.


    "Why did he take you to the grocery store?" Alex squinted her eyes, even confused now. I smiled at her and opened up the back of the car.


    "''cause he is a kind man," I replied and helped her load up the cello. The cello''s giant size almost squashes my produce goods, but I don''t care much about it. Food is food. It didn''t matter if it was squashed.


    Alex walked to the front seat next to the driver and asked Phil hurriedly, but in a whisper, "Why is he here?"


    "He asked me for a favor. So, I helped him." Phil replied.


    "You know he is a problem kid, right? Alwayste to ss. Always absent. Rude." Alexined.


    "Really? But he is smart, though?" Phil asked, confused.


    "Smart? What do you mean by smart? He is as dumb as Haley and Luke." Alex said while rolling her eyes. "If he is smart, that means Haley is also smart."


    I entered the car during their argument without them noticing. "Mr. Dunphy, it''s done," I said after watching them argue for a while.


    "When did you get in?" Phil asked in shock.


    "For a while now..." Luke said whileughing.


    "Also, Alex, I''m sorry I was rude to you before in school," I said sincerely.


    "Whatever." Alex crossed her arms and looked forward in the car to ignore me. Apparently, the previous me and she had crossed paths a few times in middle school.


    Inside the car, Phil suddenly offered, "I will drop Alex off at the house, and then... we will go to your house. Luke and I will help you clean it up."


    I saw the clock, and it was almost 5 in the evening. "No need Phil. The deal was to bring me to the store. I am thankful for the offer, but I think you should go and rest."


    He has work today, so I didn''t want to bother him anymore. He insisted, but I declined politely.


    "Okay. If you are sure." Phil said, a bit sad. He liked spending time with Edward and didn''t want it to end as he didn''t know when was the next time he could do that again.


    Alex rolled her eyes aside as she thought her dad wanted to y with the neighborhood kid.


    We arrived in front of my god-forsaken house in no time.


    "You live in this dump? It suits you." Alex said sarcastically. She didn''te out of the car even when Luke and Phil were helping me bring the groceries inside. I leaned next to her door, and she rolled down her windows slightly to talk... or mock.


    "Come by a weekter. Your dad taught me some stuff I will use to change this dump to a liveable ce." I said, wanting to have a cigarette in my hand.


    "Why would I evere to your house?" Alex mocked.


    "That''s...true." I agreed.


    I could handle speaking casually to Alex and the Dunphy because of their influence on me in my previous life. Although I''d entered their world, it''s not like I was suddenly a part of their life.


    The reason why I was sofortable with them was the familiarity they exuded in my very being. Maybe the stress of transmigration...or maybe reincarnation was too much that I hid the insecurity and intrusive thoughts by being with myfort characters.


    I was also feeling a bitplicated inside �C now that they were no longer actors and actresses that were acting, what should I think of them then. Will they still be a si cast that I love, or my opinions on them would change once I saw things that weren''t following the si''s character sheets?


    ''I do wish life would no longer beplicated in this one. But it''s impossible, huh.'' I thought.


    Alex was taken aback as I agreed with her words, and the silence was suffocating her. She thought that I was hurt by her sarcastic remarks and insults.


    The socially awkward teenager started to get anxious and wanted to make amends. She tapped on the window to call me, but I ignored her as I noticed Phil and Luke were done putting the stuff inside the house.


    I turned to Alex before I walked to my house.


    "By the way, Alex."


    "What?"


    "You''re even cuter now."


    I shed a charming smile as I said that. She was bbergasted and decided to call me names, but I''d already moved away from the car.


    It''s true, though. She was even cuter than in the tv series. Although simr to their actors and actresses, she and Luke also gained ire and Phil''s physical characteristics in the real world.


    ''I guess that makes sense because if they didn''t look simr, people would''ve wondered if ire cheated on Phil to get their children or adopt them from somewhere.''


    "Remember. The recycling truck wille tomorrow, and the garbage truck on Monday and Thursday." Phil reminded me before he left.


    I wanted to know when I would get the chance to meet them again.


    Back in the house, I wore an apron, rubber gloves, and a hair protector, and I held a big trash bag in my left hand while facing my worst enemy, the messy house.


    "Let''s do this." I put on my ylist, or the previous Edward albums records, and lost myself in cleaning the house. The liquor bottles in front of the TV, vacuuming the sofa and sucking up all the Doritos fallen to its crack, dusting the ceiling fan, arranging the magazines, and just cleaning for hours.


    *grulululu* (A/N: Sound effect lol)


    My stomach let out a grumble as I continued cleaning the house non-stop. I was putting theundry in the dryers when it happened.


    "It''s 9 o''clock. I should make some dinner." I muttered as I walked to the now clean kitchen. I opened the fridge and took out a steamed rice pack before putting it in the oven. I sliced some bacon and sausages before I prepared the onions, garlic, chilies, and other ingredients for fried rice. I blend all the mix together to create the seasoning.


    When the pan was hot enough, I poured a little oil and started to fry the onion mix. After a while, a long-lost smell of homemade cooking began filling the house''s air, pushing the musty wood smell away. I put the bacon and the sausages and fried them together with the onion mix before I put in the rice.


    To top it off, I fried an egg and ced it on top of my fried rice.


    "Uhh ...Lacking," I muttered in dissatisfaction as I continued eating. After filling my stomach, I resume my work in cleaning the house. It took until 11 when I was satisfied enough to make this a ce to stay for a night.


    "I will continue cleaning the house, the backyard, and the front yard tomorrow," I muttered as I fell asleep on top of a fresh bed sheet I just took out from the dryer.


    ...


    3rd party POV.


    Stopping at the front door of the Newgate house, a tall, tanned man in a ship''s captain outfit staggered drunkenly as he unlocked the door. Edward''s father finally came home after working for the entire day. His work as a cruise ship captain didn''t allow him to spend much time with his son, even if he wanted to.


    "What? Did...Edward hire a cleaningdy?" Ted Newgate rubbed his eyes as he saw the clean interior as he walked in. He double-checked to ensure he was in the right house and was greatly confused by the situation. Before he slept, he walked to the kitchen to get a can of beer.


    As he approached the kitchen, he saw a te wrapped in tin foil on the kitchen counter. "Is that for me?" He asked.


    His son was already asleep, so he couldn''t get an answer. He took the te and sat on the dinner table before opening it up. There, a still-warm teful of fried rice was waiting for him. He took a spoonful of a bite and sat quietly as he ate the dish.


    -Dunphy''s house. Kitchen -


    "So, you took him shopping?" ire interrogated Phil after Alex reported that Phil was spending time with a strange boy to her.


    "Yes... You know their family condition. He reached out to me. How could I say no?" Phil defended himself. Although he did something nice, he still felt guilty when ire asked him. He didn''t know why.


    "Okay, Phil. Calm down." ire said reassuringly. "I am not mad. He didn''t use your money or buy any dangerous stuff, right? Then...it''s fine."


    "Really?" Phil asked. "Also. He''s a very smart kid. He can do long andplete calctions in his mind."


    "No, no. Alex said he is dumb." ire objected.


    "Maybe he just didn''t try before this. Cause...you know, his mother ran away and everything. Now that he is more mature, I guess he wants to change his life. I want to be there to support him. He can add the grocery price and also factor in the tax, ire! He is talented."


    "That''s great, but are you the perfect person for that?" ire replied with unconvinced eyes while sipping her cup of tea.


    A few meters away by the living room, Alex was reading a book while Haley was texting on her phone. Luke was sitting on the floor to watch tv.


    Suddenly, Alex turned to Haley and asked, "When a boy tells you, ''you''re even cuter now,'' what does that mean?"


    Haley replied without looking up from her phone and being interested, "It means he already thought I was cute before this. And even more so now. Also, don''t talk to me."


    "Oh," Alex eximed before she hid her face in the book.


    A/N: I have till Chapter 10 ready, but I need the editor''s help to go through them first. I will upload them all by this Friday.

 Chapter 4: Karmic Gacha.

    <h4>Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Karmic Gacha.</h4>


    (A/N : 3 More Chapter today!)


    As Edward lost himself in dreand, he was taken to a pure white room with only a lottery-based box inside the room.


    Edward POV


    "Wait? What... Where am I?" I asked as I looked around the room. There wasn''t anyone other than me here.


    "Am I dreaming?"


    However, the situation felt so lucid that I instinctively knew I was not. I walked to the only thing inside the room �C the little ck box. On top of it, I found a paper file with thebel [KARMIC GACHA] on it. A lone match stuck to the document''s first page, causing me to wonder what it could be used for.


    "Gacha?" I wondered for a while before I picked up the file. As I picked it up, I remembered what the grim reaper had told me. "He said that I have a gift waiting for me or something... is this it?"


    I opened the file before me and started to read the document inside. The documents exined the gift I''d received from the Afterlife Corporation and a letter from them. I read the letter first to further understand my current situation.


    I don''t know why, but I instinctively read the letter using Professor McGonagall''s voice.


    [ Dear Mr. Edward Newgate.


    We are pleased to inform you that your connection to the Afterlife Karmic System has been sessful. You''re now among the few in the infinite customers of the afterlife that could use the Karmic System to be an agent of the afterlife.


    Please refer to the guidelines inside the files to study more about the method to activate the lottery processes and details about being an afterlife agent.


    As you had ''identally'' wandered toward purgatory, we have preparedpensation for you in the form of a higher-level Gacha that you could use in this session.


    Be warned. You could only connect to the afterlife during the day of life and death. Please make sure to understand the rules before exiting your first session. Otherwise, the afterlife system would be forced to shut down.


    That''s all from us now in the Afterlife Corporation. We hope to not see you again for a very long time. Good luck!]


    "Hmm..." The letter felt ominous to me for a reason. I turned to the documents inside the file and took some time to read about them.


    "Ahh. An agent will use their karma to trade with the members of the afterlife for their memories, knowledge, skills, talents, or special abilities. That''s nice."


    In turn, the usage of the skills and the deeds I did with them could either add to their wealth in the afterlife with good karma or plunge them down into purgatory with bad karma.


    As many afterlife members chose to gamble, I could only use the lottery system to draw out my prize for fairness between the members.


    "If my luck is good, I can get their talents or special ability. If my luck is bad, I will only get a snippet of their memories. One minute of memory is too little, isn''t it?"


    As I read deeper into the guidelines, I discovered that the quality was split into 5 different levels.


    White �C Green �C Purple �C Red �C Gold.


    For example, a white memory Gacha will only give me one-minute snippets of the afterlife member that I draw out, while a golden one will show me their whole lifetime. The white prize was random, but as it increased in quality, I could get a specific training memory or essential information.


    The knowledge referred to the knowledge the afterlife member had in their lifetime. For example, if I have Batman as my Gacha prize, I could receive his knowledge from his AI building or even techniques to pick up girls. The quality differed by the levels of draws I''d made, same as the memories.


    Skill was thebination of knowledge and memories. If I drew knowledge, I needed to make it into skills independently, but Skills Gacha gave me the experience and the knowledge to do it. It also helps my body develop the temtes to achieve the skill, whether gradually or instantly, depending on my adaptability.


    "Talents and Special abilities are in a category of their own. Talents could give me additional IQ points or an athletic body and the necessary knowledge to grow it. While Special Abilities allowed me to get even an Esper-type ability such as telepathy, telekinesis, flight, and many more."


    "If I get a dud one, maybe a talent to slip on a banana peel at aedic hour or Esper''s ability to make stuff stick on my body. I don''t know if the lucky pervert''s ability is a dud or a win. However, the draw rate for this type was especially low. Not even 0.1%."


    The day of life and death referred to the day I felt close to any of them. My birthday, the Day of the Dead, Halloween, and more. With a minimum of 4 times a year for the Gacha, I looked at the piece of paper that showed my karma points and how to roll a Gacha.


    {Edward Newgate}


    Karma point: +ve 750 (666 Afterlife bonus) �Cve -0.5


    1 Gacha Roll: 6 karma points.


    1 High-Quality Roll (Green and above): 66 karma points.


    1 Special Category Roll: 666 Karma points.


    1 Negative Roll: �C 6 /�C 66/�C 666 Karma point


    (Afterlife Ticket: Not yet issued, but guaranteed one.)


    "What does that supposed to mean?" I muttered as I looked at thest sentence. I referred back to the documents but needed help finding the rted information regarding the afterlife ticket.


    "Will my ticket from my past life be carried forward here?"


    Not finding the answers, I checked my Karmic point section to understand how I could get points for my actions.


    I received 84 karma points today, on the first day of my new life. The numbers excite me as I estimated I would have many karmic points during my next session. The karmic point would only be tallied in the white space.


    An average person would only have their karmic point tallied if they died and were brought to the afterlife. Only agents could know their numbers as a privilege.


    I received 20 points for cleaning my house. 30 points from my father �C who knows what''s that about. And the other 28 were from my interaction with the Dunphy. Advising Luke not to make a dangerous skateboard trick, 2 points. Apologizing to Alex, 5 points. The rest of the points were from my interaction throughout the day.


    However, I realized that the same actions would bring different numbers of points in my subsequent interactions with them. Same thing with cleaning the house. The next time I clean the house, it wouldn''t give me any karmic points or less karmic points.


    To get many karmic points, I need to do something drastic, whether it impacts my life or the lives of others around me. It would be difficult for me as I don''t really get out of the house much.


    After flipping the pages and re-reading the terms of the condition multiple times, I sighed and finally decided to use my Gacha for the first time.


    "System, I want to use the Gacha... Hee-hee..." Iughed to myself after mimicking the novels that I had read in the past. The lottery system here was moreplicated than that.


    There was a form I needed to fill out on thest pages of the document. I needed to burn the paper to submit it to the afterlifemunities.


    "Luckily, the paper responded to my thoughts. I don''t bring my pen here to fill it normally."


    I filled out the form for one high-quality Gacha roll, three regr rolls, and one special ability roll �Cpletely using up my karma points.


    I used the match stuck on the document''s front page to burn my form. The paper caught fire instantly and disappeared. Secondster, I heard the sounds of lottery ballsing inside the ck box in front of me.


    "So, I need to insert my hand through the hole and fish it out." I stood in front of the box and tried to peek at the balls through the hole, but I saw nothing.


    "Hmm... First is... Normal Gacha! ... please..." I announced it as part of the procedure. Now I would get a normal Gacha roll from the lottery. I inserted my hand inside the hole and rummaged around before pulling out a lotto ball.


    "Ohh! A purple one." I eximed excitedly before I read the prize on the ball. For fun, I covered up the writings on the ball on the one hand and read it like I was in a variety show.


    "Knowledge. That''s useful. Who is it from?" I asked before I lowered my hand to read another sentence.


    "Beth Harmon...Who is this?" I tilted my head and realized that it was stupid of me to create intrigue if I didn''t know who the knowledge owner was. He/she could be any random person in the world.


    The full line on the ball read, [Knowledge, Beth Harmon �C Chess.] (A/N: Queen''s Gambit)


    I waited for a while, but the sudden influx of chess information didn''t appear in my mind. "Oh. I forgot. I will get it after I wake up tomorrow."


    I already predicted that I would have an intense headache tomorrow morning. I prepared for the second normal Gacha before I inserted my hand inside the ck box.


    "Oh...A white one." I muttered in a t tone. Although it was a white-quality roll, it would be helpful to meter if what was on it was good.


    [Talent �C Leonard Hofstadter. IQ + 30.]


    The talent didn''te with additional knowledge or skills to grow it, as it was just an additional stat gacha.


    "Phew. It''s good that I don''t get his talent for groveling. Also, is Leonard dead? That is quite saddening."


    I would like to know if it was the same Leonard Hofstadter from the shows I watched before, as I have no other information about the man. But it was fun to assume.


    "Last normal roll."


    A purple ball was pulled out of the ck box. [Memories �C Hiruma Yoichi �C Football Training]


    "Wait. How long will the memory be?" I muttered. I re-read the document and discovered I could hold on to the memory for an indeterminate amount of time.


    "I will check this outter." I threw the matter to the back of my mind after storing the memory somece safe.


    "Next... High-Quality Roll, please." I announced, keeping the final prize forst.


    *Tatatatatata* I could hear the sound of the prize inside the box rearranging itself. I inserted my hand and pulled out a red ball!


    [Talent �C Edna Mode �C Fashion.]


    "Hmm...Edna? Why does this feel like that dwarf aunt?" I muttered. The talent would be helpful for me in creating my own clothes or if I want to create my own clothing line in this world, which was something I needed to take some time to think about.


    Thest roll makes me quiver in excitement. "Special Category roll, please."


    *Tatatatata* The balls inside the box were rearranged for thest roll in the session. I put my hand inside the box and rummaged, carefully feeling each ball.


    "Hmmm..." I procrastinated for a few minutes, just changing my decision from one ball to another before I finally decided to pull out a golden ball.


    "GOLD! YES!" I screamed in excitement as I hurriedly read the writings on the ball.


    [Special Ability. Mei Hatsume. Machinery.]


    "Ohh.! A machinery-rted prize. Nice."


    Finally finished my roll for today. I put the file back in the box, covering the lottery hole connected to the afterlife. Thest gacha category, the negative gacha, needed me to receive the negative karma of the Afterlife member in exchange for a roll.


    A negative gacha has the minimum red quality roll in the lottery. However, Edward decided to use the negative gacha once he understood how the karmic system works. He took time to re-read the documents, but the stacks of paper were too many for him to read in only one session.


    "Now...I simultaneously couldn''t wait for tomorrow and wanted tomorrow to note."


    Tomorrow is Sunday, so I have another day before school. But my home life improvement makes me shudder as I would have to work very hard tomorrow to make my home into a ce worth living.


    The white space soon disappeared and ced me back into the mortal world, where I could continue my dream of flying on top of a spaceship.


    Although I read the document carefully, the gacha excitement caused me to forget about a tiny little detail inside the file of something I had already read. I have a good role today because of the positive karma I had before I spent all of it away.


    The file read - [When the negative karma was higher than the positive karma, the owner of the karma would be riddled with bad luck until the next session where he collected enough positive karma to surpass the negative one.]


    And I''d used up all of my positive karma during the rolls. I would have to stay that way until the next session when they tally my karma points.


    ...


    The following day came quickly. I woke up at 8 am, unlike the previous Edward, who''d liked to sleep in and woke up around noon. Living and caring for an elder for a while, I''d developed the habit of waking up and starting my day early.


    My teenage body woke up ''healthily,'' but I don''t care anymore. The longing to meet up with Noni in the morning almost pushed me down into a depression, but my OCD caused me to get out of bed to finish my improvement around the house.


    The moment I stood up from the bed, the assault came.


    Taking a bottle of water from my nightstand, I decided to drink some water to ease the headache. I didn''t notice a few drops of water falling into my pants while drinking.


    "Ughh...My head...Sost night was real?" I muttered as I was suddenly assaulted by countless pieces of information about machinery, chess, and fashion. My fashion knowledge also included interior designs, so the sight of my room after that caused me to get sick in the stomach.


    "Soo... Uncultured." I muttered. I also instinctively hate capes, so I guess that Edna was the Edna I thought of. Mei Hatsume''s machinery ability allowed me to bring my ideas to life, but at the risk of an explosion. I need to be careful in using her special abilityter.


    "Ohh..." I eximed after I saw my dad in his ship captain''s uniform standing in front of my bedroom door as I wanted to walk out.


    "Oh. Ed... You woke up early today...." Ted stammered awkwardly as it''s been a while since he talked to his son in his sober state. He has a big beer belly and a height of 1.85 meters tall. Some of his hair had turned grey, especially at the side of his head, as he was almost 45 this year.


    "Yeah...I have some stuff to do." I looked at the man suspiciously as I knew he would go to work during daybreak on the weekends. "Did you get fired?" I asked him.


    "What? No." Ted was taken aback. "I''d taken only the afternoon cruise today and thought we could hang out in the docks like we did before."


    Referring to my memories, I knew that Edward �C that is me, would go to the docks with my mother and father on the weekends, even following along the cruise ride sometimes. But after mom ran away, I stopped spending some time with my family.


    As I didn''t respond, Ted started to backpedal hurriedly, "Of course- You don''t have to if you don''t want to."


    Seeing his sincerity, I sighed inwardly. "Okay. Let''s go. But I need 100 dors after this."


    Ted didn''t mind about the money one bit. He also knew that Edward had taken 200 dors from the emergency cash to buy some groceries and some stuff for the house that he forgot to take care of.


    "It''s fine."


    I narrowed my eyes at him for the easy answer. Suddenly, I blurted out, "You should ask me what I''m going to use it for. What if I buy drugs with the money?"


    I don''t even know why I do that. Maybe Edward''s resentment toward his father was bubbling up to the surface, and now I''d received the brunt of it. Ted was stunned, and I noticed that his eyes started to blink at a different frequency from one another.


    ''Ohh... That''s why Phil calls him Ticky. He has a lot of tics.'' I thought secretly.


    "Are-...Are you going to buy drugs with the... the money?" Ted asked with a stammer. I chuckled at him as I was the one who was currently parenting my supposed parent in this world.


    "No... I don''t. I need to buy some tools to fix the frontwn." I answered honestly.


    Ted broke out into a broad smile and said, "Okay. I will give it to you on the docks after I get some cash from the atm."


    "Let me take a bath first," I said. It was my habit to shower in the morning, but the previous Edward needed to improve his hygiene. Ted was confused, but suddenly he saw my ''healthy'' state on my pants and came to a conclusion of his own.


    "I understand, son. Take your time. Also, you''ve grown up now." Ted said and patted my shoulder. I looked at him confusingly and then finally noticed my ''healthy'' state and some wet spots on my pants.


    "Wait. NO! I DIDN''T!" I screamed, but Ted had already sniggered away.

 Chapter 5: Haven’t I always been unlucky?

    <h4>Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Haven��t I always been unlucky?</h4>


    -In the kitchen-


    After I took a shower and changed into a new shirt, I took out ciabatta bread, some bacon, American cheese, two eggs, melted some butter, and took out a hot sauce bottle from the fridge. Finally, being in the kitchen didn''t bother me anymore after cleaning it up yesterday. There are some areas that could be improved, but I would do thatter.


    "Sit down. I''m going to make an egg sd sandwich." I said to my dad.


    "We can just eat on the pier," Ted replied, seeming ufortable in the kitchen in this house.


    "Who says I''m going to make one for you?" I replied yfully as I heated up the grill and put bacon on it. The bacon started to sizzle on the grill, and the smell filled the air.


    "..." Ted watched Edward cooking silently. He got the melted butter on the cut ciabatta bread and put it on the grill, cracked two eggs open, and put cheese on the eggs when they were done. Edward closed the egg with cheese using a lid to melt the cheese more quickly.


    He put the ready bacon on the bread before he put the eggs on top of the bacon. To top it off, Edward puts two dashes of hot sauce on top of the eggs. Not too much, only two small drops. It would be easier to taste the cheese if it''s less.


    (A/N: Recipe from Harley Quinn Sandwich)


    "When did you learn to do all of this?" Ted asked. He couldn''t shake the horrible feeling inside of him that he had been neglecting his son for a long time and didn''t even know what to do now.


    "I cook sometimes," I said while putting the sandwich inside a wrapper before I cut it in half.


    "One for me?" Ted asked hesitatingly while smiling. I stared at him for a few seconds before giving him one. Ted took a bite out of what he considered his son''s original recipe, as he never saw a sandwich like this before.


    "Oh. MY GOD!" Ted widened his eyes in excitement as the vor exploded in his mouth. "It''s so good!"


    I smiled as I watched Ted devour the sandwich in just a few seconds while I only got two bites out of it. His eyes moved toward the sandwich in my hands after he finished his.


    "No. This is mine!" I said hurriedly. However, the bottom of the wrapper that I wrapped nicely opened up, causing some bacon to fall on my shirt, staining it.


    "I won''t take it. Don''t worry." Ted said reassuringly. However, his hungry eyes caused me to be wary about it. I used a napkin to wipe off the stain, but it wouldn''te off.


    ''Guess I have to change again.''


    I quickly finished my sandwich while I prepared a cup of coffee.


    "You bought coffee too?" Ted asked in astonishment.


    "Yeah. How do you like your coffee? With milk or ck?" I asked.


    "... ck," Ted replied. I poured him a cup of coffee from the Italian brand coffee I found in the grocery store yesterday. It was the same coffee Noni (Granny) always drank before she got her stroke. I took my coffee with some milk because of my childish taste buds which irked me.


    "This is good. I guess we don''t need to have breakfast outside." Ted said.


    "I don''t think that it''s already enough for you," I said, looking at Ted''s bulging stomach. He was embarrassed by my gaze and replied with a stutter, "I- I think this is f-fine. We should go now."


    As my dad and I walked outside the house, the sight of thewn put me back in a bad mood. "I swear I will clean this all up today."


    "Come on, Ed," Ted called me from the car. "I''ming," I replied and entered the car''s front seat, sitting next to the driver.


    "So, Ed, have you thought about what you''re going to do for your birthday party next month?" Ted asked while they were stuck in traffic.


    "Why are there a lot of people going to the pier?" I replied, not answering Ted''s question. For a kid, the prospect of a birthday party and gifts may excite them, but it was too childish for me now.


    "They are going to the farmer''s market, I guess," Ted replied.


    He thought that his son was a bit ufortable with bringing up the topic as he hadn''t celebrated Edward''s birthday with him for 2 years.


    "Farmer''s market?" I muttered. "Can we take a look?"


    "I thought? - Never mind. Let''s go take a look." Ted said a bit sadly. "But we need to finish before 10 am."


    I nced at the clock, and it was 9.16 am now. "It''s okay. I just want to see what it looks like." I always saw a farmer''s market scene in television series before, but I had never actually visited one.


    Ted quickly parked the car, and we entered the farmer''s market. Ted''s captain uniform felt out of ce here, earning him a few second nces from the vegans and people with same-sex partners.


    Further away from where Edward and Ted were walking.


    "Oh my god, Mitch, look." Cam pointed at the family duo from afar. "That is so cute. A father brings his son to the farmer''s market before work. Isn''t that adorable?"


    Mitchell raised his head from the vegetable stand and turned toward the father-son duo''s direction. "Cam. It''s obvious the dad didn''t want toe here."


    "You''re being skeptical. I''d like to think after we (whisper)e back from Vietnam with the ''cargo'' (normal voice), you will try to be more positive."


    "Okay, please stop referring to our baby as ''cargo''"


    "What else am I supposed to say? You BANNED me from using the word B.A.B.Y."


    "THAT''S because you keep bringing it up to everyone!" Mitchell said exasperatingly.


    He had a secret �C he''d never told his family about him trying to adopt a baby. Every time Cam brought up the topic, his nerve was instantly dialed to eleven. He needed to ensure that no one knew about it.


    Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind Mitchell.


    "You guys are having a baby?" I asked unconsciously. I was walking to the vegetable stand when I identally heard the conversation between Cam and Mitch.


    ''So that means I''m here before the pilot starts.''


    "Why? Do you think two guys couldn''t have a baby?" Cam said defensively while getting up in my face.


    Ted narrowed his eyes at Cam, wanting to step in, but his son covered it.


    "How do you get that from a question? It''s not like I''d asked it rudely." I blurted out. ''What is wrong with me today?''


    Cam realized that he had jumped to conclusions, "I''m sorry. It''s been a tumultuous time for us."


    Even Mitchell nodded at the side. "Sorry. Usually, people will instantly judge us when we bring it up."


    Cam added, "Yeah. And added with the look ''You''re going to hell'' as they do so."


    "It''s okay. I don''t mind it. Congrattions on your new baby." I said politely.


    Ted suddenly realized who Mitch was. "Aren''t you Phil''s brother?"


    "Brother-inw. I''m... ire''s brother." Mitchell replied puzzledly and shook hands with Ted. "And who might you be?"


    "I am Theodore Newgate. I live a few streets away from Phil." Ted said.


    "Ahh, I see. Nice to meet you then." Mitchell replied. "By the way, not many people can look good in a uniform, but you do," Cam added.


    Ted and Cam introduced themselves while I studied their apparel. ''Ah, my fashion talent is kicking in.''


    I saw a few things that could have been improved, although the couple tried hard to dress perfectly following the asion they were in.


    "Ed. We need to go." Ted said while looking at his watch. Mitch and Cam were cooler than he thought but needed to be on the pier at 10.15 am because he nned to bring Edward on a boat ride this morning before he went to work.


    "By the way, where did you buy your pants?" I said while studying Mitchell''s pants. "It''s very nice and stylish."


    Mitchell beamed up and said shyly, "Really?" He even posed using his legs for me to see more of the pants.


    "What about my pants?" Cam interjected while posing like a model. I shrugged and replied dismissively, "Eh. They are all right."


    Cam was offended by that statement while Mitchellughed at him.


    [Mitch and Cammentary]


    Mitch said, "Aww. I don''t get along with many boys, but Edward is different."


    Cam pursed his lips as he was offended, "Maybe to you."


    Mitchell rolled his eyes and patted Cam''s shoulder. "Wasn''t that you who invited a MINOR to go shopping with us, just to PROVE that you have a taste in clothes?"


    [Endmentary.]


    "You know, if you love these pants, we can bring you to the boutique that Mitchell got them from," Cam said.


    Mitch widened his eyes and tried to salvage the situation, but I thought, ''Why not?''


    "Sure. I am not free today, but if you have time tomorrow, you can pick me up after school."


    "Sure. It''s a date." Cam said happily.


    I widened my eyes as I heard the word ''date .''Even Ted smiled ufortably hearing that.


    Cam''s eyes shook, and he became flustered. "You know what I mean," he said hesitatingly.


    [Mitch and Cammentary.]


    Mitchell stared at Cam while he avoided Mitchell''s eyes.


    ...


    After the farmer''s market, my dad brought me into his leisure ship on the pier.


    "It''s been a while, huh, son?" Ted said while he was holding the steering of the ship. Behind the wheels, his awkwardness, problems, and even tics disappeared, showing me his rare capable side.


    "Yeah," I replied as I watched the sea. The sea view calmed me down.


    When I woke up this morning, I remembered that I died �C pretty recently too. The lottery, shopping, cleaning the house... I''ve been keeping myself busy to avoid being swept away by my new reality.


    "Ed. Are you...mad at me?" Ted suddenly asked, breaking the silence.


    "Why would I be mad at you?" I replied.


    I already knew that what happened 2 years ago wasn''t my dad''s fault. The previous me didn''t think the same, though. He felt that his dad was to me for his mom running away from their family.


    Even if that was true, Ted stayed behind. He had to take many more jobs to sustain the family as the divorce fucked his financials, but he tried his best to be there for Edward.


    Although the house was neglected, he bought Edward his clothes, prepared stuff for his school, and tried to be there for Ed the best way he could.


    Ted didn''t reply. Both the father-son duo silently enjoyed the view before the son got a bit naughty.


    "Dad. Are you never going on a date?" I asked. Ted widened his eyes and almost spit out his drink as I calcted the perfect moment to ask the question.


    "Why so suddenly?" Ted asked in a panic.


    "I don''t know. It''s been a while. You can move on, you know. I won''t me you for it."


    "Ed." Ted tried to stop me from continuing.


    "I know that you''re a man too. Move on. Dating, one-night stands, or going to bars. Find someone for you too." I said teasingly. Ted widened his eyes in horror as his son continued speaking.


    "I know models like to rent boats. So, enjoy yourself with one or... three of them."


    "Okay. Okay. Just stop!" Ted said and quickly turned his boat around.


    "There is a newdy on the block. Her name is Desiree. She is sexy and also a divorcee. You can try to swoop in...."


    "EDDD!!!!"


    Iughed at my dad''s reaction, and the turmoil inside my heart soothed a bit. After the cruise, I took a bus home with stuff I bought at the farmer''s market. I put them into the fridge after I got home.


    After having a simple lunch, I checked the garage for tools to clean up the house.


    [Insert 2009 greatest music here.]


    "Ladder. Check. Lawnmower. Check. Gloves. Check."


    I removed thedder and cleaned up the rain drain near the roof. I noticed that a busy-body blondedy was watching me from afar, but I ignored her, thinking she was some ''Karen'' walking around the street.


    "Ew.." I found a bird carcass in the drain along with a nest. I quickly cleaned up the gutter and tied up all the garbage in a ck stic bag.


    "Why didn''t I get a cleaning gachast night? My work will be done so much faster with it.'' I whined as I did my job. My rate of cleaning was fast for a teenager. However, I still needed more.


    After scouring the frontwn for solid objects, I went to the garage to start thewnmower. However, after pulling the start-up rope a few times, I found thewnmower was totally broken.


    "Fu...I guess being unused for two years broke it."


    Suddenly, my instinct was telling me to open up thewnmower.


    "Ahh... Special talent. Come forth." I said and cringed at myself after. I took out my dad''s tool and started studying thewnmower''s mechanism.


    "I see. The rotor is blocked." I muttered with oil stains on my glove. After a few adjustments, thewnmower finally turned on!


    "Nice," I eximed and started to mow the grass on the frontwn and the backyard. The backyard was a little bigger, so I needed extra time to do so.


    The tall grass there was dying as the sprinklers were broken. There were a few flower pots near the door, so I needed to clean up all that. I took out my dad''s spanner and fixed the sprinkler mechanism on the frontwn quite efficiently.


    "It''ll take my dad 500 dors to fix it by a professional. I will only charge him half priceter."


    After cleaning it all up, it''s already time for dinner. I saw the sky darken, but the unfinished job put a bad taste in my mouth.


    The house looked so much better now! However, it still needs a lot more fixing. There''s some ivy growing on the side of the house that really bothered me. It would take me another 2 hours to clean it up if I started, and I was seriously contemting it.


    "Okay. That''s enough for today."


    Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded behind me, making me feel dejavu with yesterday''s encounter with Phil. But this time, the voice was that of a woman.


    I turned and saw ire hugging her sweater while holding a Tupperware in her left hand.


    "ire?" I blurted out unconsciously.


    "Mrs. Dunphy," ire said sternly. I gulped and saw Luke and Phil waving at me from afar, trying to catch up with ire.


    "Why are you here?" I asked.


    "I see you cleaning up yourwn this afternoon... so I don''t want to bother you. But you keep continuing until evening, and it''s... making me a bit worried." ire said.


    "Hey, Ed." Phil greeted as he and Luke walked over.


    "Dude. You''re crazy. Everyone in the neighborhood is watching. Some even bet when you''re going to stop cleaning-" Luke shared, but ire hurriedly closed his mouth with her palm.


    "I see," I replied, unbothered by the gawking of my neighbors. The house was in a total wreck and people''s interest was aroused when I started cleaning it.


    "Ed. Have you eaten dinner yet? Do you want to have dinner with us?" Phil offered.


    "No. I was thinking of cooking something simple for tonight. Maybe an alfredo." I replied. I already bought the ingredients to cook it in the market today.


    "Sweetie. You''re pushing yourself too hard. Wait...is that...." ire said anxiously, and she suddenly grabbed my arm. "Sweetie. You''re bleeding, and you don''t even notice it!"


    "I noticed it," I replied. ire was bbergasted and asked, "So why don''t you stop and clean it up?!"


    "It''s just a small nick. The bleeding had already stopped." I replied casually.


    That''s...seemed to be a mistake as it pushed ire into a full-blown angry mom mode. Despite her objections, Phil quickly calmed her down and pushed her to the side.


    "Edward. You need some rest. Go inside and take a bath. I''ll wait for you at my house." Phil said calmly while smiling.


    "It''s really okay, P- Mr. Dunphy. I just want to lie down after this. Like you said, I need rest. I suddenly realized that I''m exhausted." I avoided the awkward dinner scene splendidly.


    "No." ire suddenly interjected. "Phil. Go to our house to get the medical kit. I will cook for him here if he doesn''t want toe."


    Phil chuckled before he saw ire''s look of determination. "Wait. You''re serious?"


    "Yes. Phil, I am serious. Go!" ire ordered. Phil and Luke flinched and ran toward their house hurriedly, leaving me alone with ire.


    "And you, young man." ire turned her angry eyes at me. I gulped and waited for the order.


    "Go and take a bath," ire said sternly.


    "Yes, ma''am!" I saluted her and ran inside my house.


    [ire''smentary.]


    She sat on the sofa, silent for a while as she hesitated to share.


    "That kid...Edward...and I...was simr." ire said with ssy eyes. "Both of us grew up in a...chaotic household that drives me almost crazy when I see things aren''t in order. And now...I see that he is going through the same thing I did."


    The scene cuts to ire preparing a fettini alfredo for Edward as he has all the ingredients in the fridge. Even watching Edward arranging his stuff together caused ire to choke up.


    ire: "And there is no way I will let him be the new me. I wonder if I can do something about it."


    Luke and Phil Commentary.


    Luke: Mom really wants Edward to eat her cooking.


    Phil: I know, right? ugh)

 Chapter 6: First day of school...again..

    <h4>Chapter 6: Chapter 6: First day of school...again..</h4>


    "That was...the weirdest dinner of my life," I muttered as I recollected the events ofst night. ire was staring at me as I ate. I almost choked a few times because of her. She didn''t stay long, though, as she needed to return to her family for dinner. I thanked her for her kindness and said I would bring something to her house as thankster.


    ire denied the gratitude, but Phil epted it dly and whispered something I couldn''t hear to ire.


    [shback]


    "Ed, you y guitar?" Phil asked excitedly as he saw my electric guitar in the living room.


    "Yeah. I am good with most instruments but the best at guitar." I bragged.


    "Really? Can you show us?" Luke asked innocently. Even Phil was looking forward to it.


    "I can, but you must return to your house, right? I don''t think ire will like it if you''rete." I said after thinking for a few seconds.


    "Oh shoot. You know what? Luke and I wille to watch you y another day. Is that okay?" Phil asked.


    "Sure. I am not free tomorrow as I''m going shopping. Maybe Tuesday." I said.


    "I can''t. Tuesday, I y ser. Why don''t my dad and Ie next Friday?" Luke said and turned to look at his dad.


    "That''ll work. See you, Friday Ed. Also, don''t clean in the middle of the night." Phil teased and chuckled before he turned serious. "I''m serious. If ire catches you...."


    He didn''t continue, but I understood what he was saying.


    [shback ends.]


    Right now, I''m cycling to school as I always did. It''ll take me 20 minutes to get to school cycling by myself. I only carried a light bag with barely anything inside, as most of my school''s stuff was inside its locker.


    After applying deodorant and eating a big breakfast of pancakes andttes, I asked for my father''s credit card, which he dly granted me. I also billed him for the sprinkler andwnmower repairs, which dropped his jaw.


    "Ed Ed Ed. You don''t even bring your homework home." I clicked my tongue at the previous me as I stopped my bike at a red traffic light. "And now, I am the one who will be in trouble for it."


    As the light turned green, I continued cycling again.


    This is myst year of Junior High. I''m supposed to enter high school after the summer, but Edward''s previous performance in school could have been better. If this continues, I will have to attend summer school to make up for my grades.


    I shuddered at that thought. "Please don''t."


    There is no way I could tolerate being in the same ss as the problematic 14-year-olds for an entire summer.


    "Arghh...I need to...do an assignment presentation today!!" I screamed in frustration while scratching the back of my head. But then I realized I''d ruined my Zac Efron-High School Musical hair.


    "Last day with this style. I will get a haircut after this when Cam and Mitch pick me up."


    Although the hair was refined in 2009, I couldn''t bring myself to love the haircut.


    "Imagine an adult with that hair...why do I imagine Phil?"


    I could try to do the assignment at home, but I don''t know the topics I could choose for my assignments! All of it was inside the locker. Edward didn''t even nce at the paper before he went home. Otherwise, I could''ve done it based on memories alone.


    Added to my luck, I have the Science subject as my first ss today with the stern Mrs. Henderson.


    "I...already served my time in school... Why do I need to suffer again?" I muttered sadly.


    "Hmm... It is what it is...."


    Finally, the school was in sight. After locking my bike in the bike rack, I hastened to the locker and took out my stuff.


    *RING*


    The homeroom bell rang before I could nce at my assignment docket. "Ahh damn." I cursed and quickly walked to my Science ss for today.


    I sat at my usual spot, where an anime protagonist would sit. First desk from behind, next to the windows where I could see the sky.


    ''It is the ideal ce to sleep. Good job, Edward.'' I thought as I took my seat under the watchful gaze of the teacher. Technically I was on time, but her look was vicious regardless.


    The teacher was dressed in a white shirt, long skirt, and high waist. She wore a half-frame ss and wore her hair in a bun. She''s stunning for a woman in her forties.


    I turned my focus on the assignment docket after I sat down. There were a few topics listed inside the paper that I could choose for my assignment.


    "Hmm... Inertia. Newton''s thirdw of motion. Parallel circuits..." As I was reading the assignment details, I was suddenly distracted by the teacher''s shout.


    "Mr. Newgate. I''d been calling you for a while. Please focus inside the ssroom." The milf Mrs. Henderson said.


    "Sorry," I replied and acted like I was focusing on the ssroom. However, I noticed that a lot of the students there were looking at me.


    "What are you waiting for, Mr. Newgate? It''s time for your presentation." Mrs. Henderson said in an icy voice.


    "Ahh...fuck my life...." I cursed under my breath.


    ...


    ''Come on. Think. THINK.''


    As I stood up from my seat to walk toward the front of the ss, I used extreme effort to rack my brain about the matter. My eyes darted around the science ssroom, and I took in every single detail that could help me save my life.


    "Hurry up, Edward. We don''t get all day." A random shout from another problematic student caused me to turn toward him. He got a potato inside his chubby hands, ''I wonder what was that for.''


    As I looked at the boy, I saw a familiar face inside the ssroom. ''Why is Alex here?'' I scrunched my eyebrow as I thought about it. She wore a headband today instead of tying her hair and a simple purple shirt.


    I didn''t know then that Alex was Mrs. Henderson''s favorite student, and she sometimes lets her sit inside the advanced sses to watch the course.


    As the teacher''s pet, Alex had some privileges that her other ssmates didn''t. She was there the week before too, but the previous Edward went straight to sleep as he got to ss, so he didn''t notice, nor did he care.


    ''With her here....'' My mind suddenly birthed a grand scheme that would help me pass this ss brilliantly!


    "Alright, you snotty little brats!" I said as I started my presentation today. The greeting aroused anger from the kids in the ssroom and a scolding from Mrs. Henderson, but I didn''t care. The more agitated they are, the better.


    "For my presentation today, I''m going to show you a magic trick using three simple items."


    "Mr. Newgate..." Mrs. Henderson eximed in exasperation. She thought I''ll be messing around in the ssroom and failed yet another one of her assignments. She alreadybeled me as a summer ss attendee inside her heart, but I will continue my presentation.


    "As it would be illegal for me to bring a knife to school, I would like to ask Mrs. Henderson for permission to use a knife and a mallet in my presentation."


    Mrs. Henderson shook her head slightly before she agreed. "Sure."


    "I also need a potato. Can anyone provide me with one?" I said and gazed maliciously at the kid who had heckled me before. The chubby kid with a t top was startled as I stared at his potato.


    ''Seriously, why did he bring a raw potato here? Did he eat them raw?'' I thought.


    "N-NO! This is mine!"


    "Mr. Jacob, please cooperate," I said, mimicking Mrs. Henderson''s tone, earning anotherugh from the kids there.


    Finally, I received my three items for the presentation.


    "You see, in my hand, there is an ordinary knife, an ordinary mallet, and... a purple potato."


    The kids were all focusing intently on what I was going to do. Then, I stabbed the potato with the knife directly at the center.


    "NOOO!!!" Jacob screamed in despair, but I shushed him. The tip of the knife was inside the potato, barely deep enough to hold the potato in the air.


    "What will happen when I hit the back of the knife while it sticks to the potato in the air?" I asked the audience. The ss was silent, so I turned to Alex.


    "That beauty over there with the sses? What do you think?" I said, pointing at Alex. She was taken aback and knocked her pencil case on the floor, drawing everyone''s attention.


    "Uhh...It will fall?" Alex said without thinking much. Her face blushed red as she wasplimented suddenly.


    "Alex said it will fall. So, let''s see what will happen." I said and knocked the back of the knife with the mallet. To everyone''s surprise, the potato moved higher up into the de as I hit the knife with the hammer.


    Even the hopeless Mrs. Henderson showed curiosity about my presentation now.


    "How!?" Jacob yelled, demanding the answer. But I would only tell him so slowly, as I wasn''t sure what this presentation entailed precisely.


    "Can anyone tell me what I was trying to demonstrate here?" I asked- no, I kept the audience intrigued by the presentation by involving them with the experiment. The ss was silent yet again, so I turned to the beauty for an answer.


    "You''re... trying to demonstrate... Newton''sw of motion?" Alex replied, still blushing but having regained her focus.


    "Yup, that''s right. My demonstration showed that an object in inertia or rest that didn''t have time to move would stay in rest unless given time to react."


    "The potato was resting before I knocked the knife with the mallet. But as it didn''t have time to react, it showed that the potato was moving upward into the knife. That was wrong. The one that did move was the knife, wasn''t the potato. Proving Newton''sw of motion?" I asked the ss again.


    However, this time, everyone could answer the question. "1stw!"


    "That''s right, you brats! Newton''s firstw; An object at rest remains at rest, or if in motion, remains at a constant velocity unless acted on by a external force."


    "Do you understand it now?" I asked again. This time, all the students there answered me meekly as if I were the teacher.


    All together: YESSSSS...


    "Okay. Call me Mr. Newgate from now on." I added. Mrs. Henderson walked to the front, causing the ss to fall into silence again. "Good job Mr...Newgate." She said with narrowed eyes and an insincere tone, causing me to gulp my saliva in fear.


    "I assume you already brought your report on your presentation to submit today?" Mrs. Henderson asked in a cold tone.


    "Ahh..." I didn''t know about the report.


    "For your presentation, I will give you an A for the assignment IF...you submit the report before the day ends. Otherwise, you''ll fail. Do you have anything else to say?"


    "No, Ma''am."


    "Good. Go sit down." Mrs. Henderson said and took back control of the ss. I obediently sat down at the back and took out the assignment paper to read it correctly.


    "Okay. The TikTok video I watched before saved me from the presentation. But now, I need to know how to do the report. Damn it, Ed! At least focus on HOW to do it. I can easily fill in the nkster." I muttered whisperingly.


    After getting the additional IQ stat from the Gacha, I could remember my memories from my past life easier now. I also need to only flip the book a few times to understand a topic I''m reading.


    I didn''t realize that Alex nced at me a few times as I rubbed my head in frustration.


    "He is...smart?" Alex muttered to herself. "No. That...must be a fluke."


    I turned my head around to search for clues around the ss when I saw Alex looking at me. I smiled and waved at her, causing her to quickly turn her head to the front of the course. The day continues, and it''s time for a break between sses.


    Before I left for lunch, I told the heartbroken Jacob that I would bring him a potato the next day because I witnessed how distraught he was when he watched his closest buddy being mercilessly stabbed... by me.


    ''Teenagers is such a weird state for us to go through.'' I thought secretly.


    "Hey! Newgate!" Suddenly, an angry voice called out to me as Iforted Jacob.


    "Hey, Alex," I said casually as I turned to face the caller.


    "Don''t ''Hey Alex'' me. Why are you trying to embarrass me earlier?" Alex asked angrily.


    "When did I embarrass you?" I titled my head in confusion.


    "Don''t y dumb... you- you- called me pretty in front of the ss." Alex stammered.


    "I didn''t call you pretty, though. I called you beautiful." I said with a smile.


    "That is THE SAME THING!" Alex said in frustration. Iughed and said, "Because I think that''s true. That''s it... beautiful."


    Jacob, who heard the conversation, widened his eyes, had his jaw dropped, and took notes inside his mind on how to talk to girls.


    Alex blushed and ran away in embarrassment. It''s not like I wasing on to her. She was too young, for god''s sake. But it''s always fun to tease girls, especially the uptight ones.


    "Okay, Jacob. I''ll bring it to you tomorrow." I turned my attention back to Jacob as Alex turned a corner and disappeared from sight.


    "Dude...I don''t care about the potato anymore. Can you teach me that?" Jacob asked.


    "... Sorry. Trade''s secret."


    Jacob was silent as he racked his brain on how to tempt me. "I have done my report...do you want me to show you how to-"


    He stopped as I suddenly wrapped my hand over his neck. Jacob was tall and pretty big, more than 179 cm at 14 years old. His body bent to the side as I wrapped my hands around him.


    "So, you want to know how to talk to girls? Don''t worry. You''re now in the hands of a master. First..."


    I taught him some basic things as we walked to the next ss together.


    ...


    "Mrs. Ice Quee- Henderson..." I almost blurted out as I saw Mrs. Henderson two hours after her ss. I just finished maths ss, which was a piece of cake even in my previous life. There was a pop quiz in the ss, but I finished it early with all the questions right. Honestly, it was just 8th-grade level. I would be embarrassed if I struggled with that.


    "Mr. Newgate. Have you finished your report?" the teacher asked, not looking up from marking the other student''s assignments.


    "Yup. I''m sorry for the hand-drawn figure, though. I had to draw it alone in a limited amount of time." I said as I ced my 3-page report on her desk. The teacher flipped through the pages and found out that the information was neatly written and fulfilled all of the requirements she wanted.


    "Did you ask someone else to write this for you?" She said, a bit skeptical.


    "No. All me."


    "It''s good, Mr. Newgate. You''ve worked hard." The teacher shed a sincere smile as she saw the notable changes in her problematic student. His barely negligible writing also changed to be more pleasing to the eyes.


    I felt awkward as she fell silent, so I asked flirtatiously, "So...is there a Mr. Henderson?"


    "Get out." She ordered in a cold tone.


    I was then chased away by the homeroom teacher. I finished all my sses in the afternoon and biked home for my shopping trip. Cam arrived with his friend Pepper who drove a Mercedes convertible to pick me up in front of the Dunphy''s house.


    There is no way I will let the snarkiest group of people in the world know my house''s condition before I fix its appearance entirely.


    "(whistles) Nice ride."


    "Thanks. I saw Britney with the same car, so I should have one too, as I am ssier than her." Pepper said. "Did you tell your father that you''re going out today?"


    He was a bit concerned as I am still a minor. "Yes. He already gives me his permission, and he knows Mitchell, so it wasn''t hard."


    "He didn''t say he knew who I was?" Cam pretended to be sad. He didn''t mind since he was too excited about the possibility of shopping today.


    "No. He met you just once. Why would he mention you?" I teased.


    "Maybe because I''m unforgettable," Cam said with a giggle.


    Pepper was one of the show''s characters that I liked despite being a side character.


    His clothes, his car, all of it was stylish. He wore a brown suit today with a polka dot necktie that somehow fits into his attire. ''I got to admit Pepper is the most well-dressed person I''ve known here...not that I met with many people.''


    I didn''t think I could meet him here today, but Cam wanted to bring Pepper to show me true fashion. It will be hard for him as I am barely controlling myself to point out the ws in his outfits today.


    After the initial introduction, I asked. "Where''s Mitchell?"


    "Oh. He is still at work. There is still an hour before he gets off, so we will go shopping first while we wait for him." Cam replied, still with his theatrical hand gestures.


    "If we have time to spare, can I get a haircut first?" I asked.


    "You should spare me seeing you with that haircut before we meet. Then, I will like you more." Pepper snarked.


    "Really? I waited for a haircut because I didn''t trust other people''s opinions on what style I should get. They need to be more stylish. My mind changed after meeting you today Pepper."


    "Kid. I know I like you for a reason." Pepper smiled brightly and drove me to the top California salon to get a haircut.


    "Don''t worry about the price. I will pay for it as long as you get rid of the thing you called a haircut on your head." Pepper offered.


    So that''s how I got a 500-dor haircut for free.

 Chapter 7: Shopping.

    <h4>Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Shopping.</h4>


    (A/N: Last for today. 3 more tomorrow.)


    -Dunphy''s House-


    Haley walked to the kitchen counter where Alex was sitting after returning from school.


    "So, I heard a boy confessed his love to you in ss today?"


    From afar, Luke made some smooching sounds.


    "No, HE''S NOT!" Alex replied defensively, making ire turn her attention to the talk. She walked to the kitchen while holding a basket full ofundry in her hands. "Alex, is that true?"


    "NO. DON''T LISTEN TO HER!" Alex yelled. "He was just messing with me!"


    "I heard he ignored the teacher and told Alex that he loves her right in the middle of a presentation. My friend has a brother in the school and told me all about it." Haley adds, pouring oil into the mes she''s grilling her sister on.


    Edward''s scandalous action had spread through the school''s gossiping squad and reached even the elementary and high schoolers in the town. It was a time before social media took over people''s lives, so gossip spread easily.


    "Who is he?" Haley demanded to know. The gossip was so twisted that the boy''s name was already lost when it passed through the third person.


    "I''m not talking to you!" Alex picked up all of her books and ran away to get to her bedroom.


    "Alex. We''re going shopping- Oh, she''s gone." ire yelled from afar, but Alex mmed the door when she got into her room, letting her know the answer to her question before she could even ask it. She wanted to ask Haley more about the details, but Haley, as usual, had already gotten lost on her phone.


    Haley needed a ride to the mall to meet her friends there, so she had to wait for ire to finish her work.


    Haley suddenly read a vital text, widened her eyes, and ran toward Alex in their room. "You cannot date that guy! HE''S A JERK!"


    "I may need to get in the middle of that," ire muttered while picking up thendline phone.


    "Phil, where are you?"


    In his car, Phil replied, "What? We are going to the mall, right?"


    His car had already pulled up to the mall parking lot.


    "Yeah. So, where are you? I''d been waiting for you toe back for a while now." ire said, still holding theundry basket in one hand.


    "Wait. I thought you were meeting me there?! I am already here." Phil said nervously.


    "PHIL. Seriously?!" ire scolded in anger.


    "I really thought we were meeting here!" Phil defended himself anxiously.


    "...Alright. I''ll bring...Luke will go with me and go there in the minivan. HALEY, WE''RE GOING!" ire shouted to her daughter and hung up the call. "Alex! Don''t open the door for strangers!"


    From afar, Alex replied, "What am I? Luke and Haley? Just go." ire nodded and took the key to the minivan before driving off with her family.


    ...


    -Shopping mall-


    Edward POV.


    *Zrrkkk* The dressing room curtain was pulled, and I walked out with a new pair of clothes I was testing on. My new haircut was a textured-fringe haircut with a fade on the side. The hairstylist was so satisfied with the work that he took my picture and put me on the walls of his saloon.


    "Hmm...I look good." I said as I saw my reflection in the full-body mirror. A chequered shirt with a green and ck pattern, a simple white t-shirt on the inside, and brown khaki pants. My shoes were ck Converse, so it fits with every teenager''s daily outfits.


    ''This is the best I could do with limited options.''


    I could only spend some of my dad''s money on outfits when he''s struggling financially. I need to consider his situation too.


    "That looked good, but are you sure you don''t want to try a suit?" Pepper asked.


    "Well, the important thing is to wear it confidently," Cam added beside Pepper. "Also, I LOVE you. Don''t second-guess your style. You don''t even need our opinion. I wish I had your confidence at my age."


    "Can you be more of a kiss-ass?" Pepper sniped at Cam. "What?" Cam asked in confusion.


    "You''re only buttering him up so that he''ll say nice things for youter," Pepper said as he saw-through Cam clearly.


    "Don''t worry, Cam. Your style is pretty nice today. Your outfit only suc- not that good yesterday."


    "You want to say suck, don''t you? I''ll let you know; my outfits are based on thetest issues of this month''s Vanity fair. So, who has bad taste now?"


    I replied casually. "You."


    Cam was a bit stunned while Pepper chuckled at him.


    "B.T.W., do you know where I can get high-quality fabrics for cheap?" I asked as I nned to create my own outfits from now on.


    "Well. Our friend Longinus ran a boutique. I''ll ask him for you. But why do you ask?" Cam responded.


    "Are you thinking of making your own outfits? I got to warn you. It''s not that easy." Pepper added. He snarked, "It''s not like Britney after a few drinks."


    Cam giggled, and I chuckled a bit.


    After buying a few outfits, I asked, "So, where''s Mitchell?"


    "Well... he''s supposed to be here by now," Cam said in concern as he turned to look around the mall. "I''ll call him." He walked a few steps from the group for a personal conversation, leaving me alone with Pepper Saltzman.


    "So Edward-"


    "Ed... is fine. We''re friends, right?"


    Pepper beamed with a smile and replied, "Yes. We''re friends...I guess. So, Ed. Do you... have any interest you''re currently into? Sorry, it''s the longest time I''d ever talked with a high school boy...even in my teenage years...."


    He''s terrible at the straight talk, but I''ll let the matter go, as he has helped me a lot today.


    "I y many instruments and even wrote a few songs. I''ll y it to you once to pay you back for the haircut."


    "Once? Your songs must be expansive." Pepper snarked unconsciously.


    "You have no idea," I muttered with a grin. Pepper smiled as if challenging me about the matter.


    I don''t know why, but Edward had written songs simr to the ones I''d heard in my past life. It made me wonder if the original soul was a transmigrator too, or if my existence hade here even earlier than I regained my memories.


    There weren''t any feelings of difort at all with the two memories merging with each other or me getting into Edward''s life. ''I am inquisitive about this. Maybe I can write a letter to Afterlife Corp to get an answer in the next lottery.''


    "Ed. Come back." Pepper said while snapping his fingers in front of my face.


    "Yeah. What?" I said, snapping out of my deep thoughts.


    "We lost you there, Ed. What are you thinking about so deeply?" Cam said, already returning from his call.


    "Nah. Just thinking about what song I''m going to y for you guys after."


    "Wait... You''re serious about that?" Pepper said. Cam got excited, "Well. I yed drums, and I was a music teacher before this. I can give you some tips for your song."


    "Okay. Deal." I replied.


    "Our friends Steven and Stephan ran a caf�� on the lower floor. It usually has a live-music performance every Tuesday night, but I think there''s equipment there. You can show us your song in the caf��." Pepper suggested. "Of course. You don''t have to do it if you don''t want to."


    "I want to," I said decisively. "There''s not a lot of adults who''d take a second look at me, especially bringing me around to y. You got the privilege to be my first fan because of that."


    "Huhuhuhu. Fan huh. You''re really confident about this! Let''s go!" Pepper said.


    "Wait. Mitchell is parking the car. Let''s wait for him before we go there." Cam said. Mitchell came huffing his breath a few minutester.


    "I''m here. I''m here."


    "Mitchell, how could you," I said in fake sadness. Pepper and Cam almost giggled as they were the ones who nned this.


    "I''m really sorry. I''ll show you...Oh, you''re already bought the pants..." Mitchell saw the pants I was wearing now. I even posed for him to let him look at it better.


    "I''m sorry. I need to finish a lot of work as we''re going to...a holiday? Wait. You already know. To Vietnam this Wednesday. I''ll need to finish it. Otherwise, my boss will chew my head off." Mitchell exined.


    "It''s okay. Pepper had much more style than you anyway." I said. Mitchell''s mouth opened a bit. His heart was broken by that statement.


    "Stop stating the obvious, Ed. Let''s go. I''ll get us the best seat in the house too. You''ll only have fun when you''re friends with Pepper Saltzman." Pepper took the lead, and we walked to the caf��.


    [Mitchell and Cameron Commentary.]


    Cam: "Oh my god. I didn''t expect hanging out with a 14-year-old boy would be so fun. Edward is such an old soul. He can-"


    Mitchell: "Well... Don''t make it a habit. Or else the only ce you''ll make new friends is behind bars."


    Cam was silenced by the statement. So, he tried to start again. "A 14..."


    "Don''t." Mitchell stopped him immediately.


    "Well... He''s great." Cam said. "It''s kind of sad that he''s always alone."


    Mitchell turned to Cam, showing some interest. "How did you know about this?"


    "Well. I texted Haley. And she told me all about him. About their fight too."


    Mitchell said in shock, "They FOUGHT!?"


    "Yeah. Ha-ha. It''s very teen drama-like." Cam said while giggling.


    [Commentary ends]


    We reached the caf�� after a while. While Pepper was talking with his friends Steven and Stephan, Cam asked me, "Do you want me to hold the drums for you? I''m very good."


    "Maybe after some practice. Not now. You''ll only ruin the song now." I said. "That''s true," Mitchell added, his arms crossed, and he rolled his eyes at Cam''s obsession to be in the spotlight.


    "Well...Just so you know, I''ll be a critique if you suck at it." Cam growled.


    "I''m so scared." I teased.


    I would be quaking in my boots if this was the normal me. The new Edward wanted nothing else than other people hearing his songs. In fact, he was obsessed with it. I was very fortunate to have been removed from my anxieties in this life. Now I could do things that I''d never thought I would do in my life.


    (A/N Warning. Cringe ahead. Do remember he is still in his bad luck phase.)


    "The stage is all yours, Ed," Pepper said after returning. Steven and Stephan waved at our group from afar, then sat at a special table just for the VIPs to watch the show.


    "Thank you, Pepper. Make sure to record this. You won''t get another experience like thister." I said confidently and walked up to the stage. I sat on the Piano and tested it for a while. Once I confirmed there was nothing wrong with it, I grabbed the microphone.


    The cafe was half empty, mainly consisting of mothers who were thrown by their teenage daughters as they embarrassed them while shopping and teenagers who''d just finished school.


    "Hello, everyone. My name''s Ed. And today, I''ll share two original songs I made with everyone here to thank those who spent some time with me today. The great Pepper Saltzman, the Has-Awesome-Style-Now Cameron Tucker, and the ''Don''t care about the time'' Mitchell Pritchett."


    Cam giggled while sitting at the seat nearest to the stage with Pepper and Mitch. Mitch lowered his head in shame while Pepper had a very proud expression as he was called ''Great.''


    "Are you recording it?" Pepper asked Cam.


    "Of course. I''ll make sure to pinpoint every mistake he made after this." Cam said menacingly.


    "Cam," Mitchell called his life partner out. "He''s a kid...(whisper) but do that..."


    "I know. I won''t discourage him. But if the song is not good. He needs to know." Cam said.


    Edward didn''t say much after that and started pressing the key in the Piano, ying a soft piano intro.


    "Well. He is skillful." Pepperplimented. He''d yed the Piano growing up, so he could recognize Edward''s hard work in training for the instrument.


    -3rd Party POV-


    "Phil. Where were you? I''d been looking for you forever." ire said after finally meeting with Phil after 20 minutes. Her hair was tied up in a bun with multiple strands loose. She wore a simple white, chequered t-shirt that a boy would wear and jeans.


    "Hey. You made it." Phil said excitedly, running lightly to ire and Luke. Sporting a zer and simple cks, Phil hugged irewho''s, carrying multiple bags in her hand from shopping alone.


    "Where were you?" ire squinted her eyes in suspicion.


    "I was...just...(slowly) in a magic shop..."


    Before ire could nag, she heard a voiceing from the caf�� nearby.


    Sounds from afar; ".... Cameron Tucker, and the ''Don''t care about the time'' Mitchell Pritchett."


    "Mitch and Cam are here?" Phil asked.


    "Let''s take a look!" Luke ran toward the caf��, Phil following him from behind right after.


    "Phil! LUKE!" ire widened her eyes in disbelief and walked toward the caf�� too reluctantly. They could only stay there for a short time as Alex was alone at home now.


    Even though ire was sure that Alex wouldn''t even move from her desk by the time she got home, she still couldn''t bear leaving her alone in the house, even for a few hours.


    (Lucas Graham. 7 years.)


    ??????????


    Sitting on the Piano, Edward started to sing.


    Ed:?? Once, I was seven years old, my mama told me, "Go make yourself some friends, or you''ll be lonely"??


    ??"Once, I was seven years old...??


    "It''s good." Camplimented. "The lyrics are a bit childish, though. But I guess he can''t help it being a teenager and didn''t have much life experience-"


    Pepper: SHHHH!


    "Just listen." Pepper scolded.


    Ed: ??It was a big big world, but we thought we were bigger. Pushing each other to the limits, we were learning quicker. By 11, smoking herbs and drinking burning liquor. Never rich, so we were out to make that steady figure.??


    "He did WHAT!" ire almost yelled as she heard and saw Edward ying on the stage. Phil quickly closed her mouth from behind like a kidnapper and sat her down on the table nearby.


    Edward:?? Once, I was 11 years old, my daddy told me, "Go get yourself a wife, or you''ll be lonely."


    "Once, I was 11 years old....!!"??


    ??"I always had that dream like my daddy before me. So, I started writing songs, and I started writing stories. Something about the glory just always seemed to bore me. ''Cause only those I really love will ever really know me."??


    The audience became hooked by the singing, even the critical ex-music teacher, Cameron.


    ??"Once, I was 20 years old, my story got told. Before the morning sun, when life was lonely. Once, I was 20 years old. "??


    ??"I only see my goals. I don''t believe in failure. ''Cause I know the smallest voices, they can make it major. I got my boys with me, at least those in favor. And if we don''t meet before I leave, I hope I''ll see youter.??


    ??"Once, I was 20 years old, my story got told. I was writing about everything I saw before me. Once, I was 20 years old."??


    "He''s 14, right?" Pepper asked in a whisper. "Yes," Cameron replied, his expression both in disbelief and excitement as if he found the new Justin in this era. Mitchell leaned forward as he immersed himself in the song.


    Ed: ??"Soon, we''ll be 30 years old, and our songs have been sold. We''ve traveled around the world, and we''re still roaming. Soon, we''ll be 30 years old."


    "I''m still learning about life. My woman brought children for me. So I can sing them all my songs and tell them stories."??


    Phil suddenly realized it. "It''s...his dream." ire turned to Phil and then looked back at Edward, opening her ears to understand the lyric better.


    Cameron couldn''t help butment, "His beat bes slower at age 30, signaling that his life is slowed down from his 20s. It''s brilliant."


    Ed:?? Most of my boys are with me. Some are still out seeking glory. And some I had to leave behind, my brother. I''m still sorry.


    Soon, I''ll be 60 years old. My daddy got 61. Remember life, and then your life bes a better one.??


    Pepper said, "So. He only has one more year to live. Like his dad." He couldn''t help but take out his handkerchief to wipe his tears.


    Ed:?? I made the man so happy when I wrote a letter once. I hope my childrene and visit once or twice a month.??


    Phil looked at Luke, tears in his eyes. He thought about his dad in Florida. Although he just called his dad this morning, he''s really missing him now.


    Ed: ??Soon, I''ll be 60 years old. Will I think the world is cold? Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me? Soon, I''ll be 60 years old.??


    Most of the audience thought in their mind. ''What will the future hold for them?''


    Ed:?? Soon, I''ll be 60 years old. Will I think the world is cold? Or will I have a lot of children who can hold me? Soon, I''ll be 60 years old!??


    [Piano]


    ??"Once, I was seven years old, my mama told me "Go make yourself some friends, or you''ll be lonely." Once, I was seven years old."


    "Once, I was seven years old."??


    {song ends.}??????


    Edward POV.


    I finally reached the end of the song. However, the caf�� was in total silence afterward. I turned to the crowd with beats of sweat on my forehead. I had sung the song with all my efforts like the previous kid would''ve wanted.


    "So...How is it?" I used the microphone to ask while wiping off my sweats.


    The crowd was eerily silent after my question. Suddenly, they cheered and apuded!


    From afar, Phil shouted, "Way to go, EDWARD!"


    Cameron ran to the stage and hugged the artist. "Oh my gosh. That''s such a beautiful song."


    "Yeah, Yeah, Keep it in your pants. I still have another song to perform." I said dismissively.


    "Oh, right!" Cam said in realization and released me immediately. I stood up from the piano seat and took a guitar this time.


    "The previous song is called 7 years."


    The crowd apuded again after hearing the name of the song. They couldn''t wait to listen to another, as I promised them two pieces today.


    I didn''t realize it, but the crowd inside the caf�� had doubled. Some of the customers were standing to hear me singing. Even a certain doe-eyed teenage girl hitched a ride with her mom to the mall.

 Chapter 8: When is the Pilot coming?

    <h4>Chapter 8: Chapter 8: When is the Piloting?</h4>


    Pepper Saltman, "The song is captivating, novel, and on the brink of genius."


    "Just say genius. He is a genius." Mitchell corrected. He changed his impression of Edward and didn''t hold a grudge anymore for belittling his fashion sense now. The moniker before Edward started to sing.


    "The nuance, the way he lost himself in the music, the passion...the kid is a born singer," Cam added.


    "I told you before, I will y two songs today," I said as I looked at the crowd. "The next Song was written by me when I felt down and lost someone important. I hope you''ll like it." I said.


    I saw Phil, ire, and Luke sitting in a booth near the entrance �C far away from Mitchell and Cam''s position. I waved at Phil, and he, in turn, excitedly waved back with Luke. As Mitch and Cam''s table was nearby, I whispered to them.


    "Mitch. Your sister and brother-inw are here."


    "Really?" Mitchell turned and saw the Dunphys sitting nearby. Cam waved his hand at the Dunphys excitedly at them and mouthed he would be thereter.


    "Oh... This is awesome." Phil muttered as he stopped waving his hands.


    A serveres to the table to take their order. Even the waiter had stopped what he was doing before when the Song was ying. Luckily for him, his bosses were inside the VIP booth, drying their tears with a handkerchief.


    "Wait, We''re not staying.." ire tried to get up, but Phil took the menu and said, "Bring me coffee, ck and iced chocte for Luke... and ire, you want some tea?"


    "Phil!" ire said in disbelief. "Alex is alone!" She whispered angrily.


    "Don''t worry. Alex is going to be fine." Phil said.


    "What else is she going to do besides reading books? Throw a dork party?" Luke added andughed together with Phil. "Dork party, that''s hrious," Phil muttered.


    ire hesitated in her awkward position of standing up and sitting down before she decided to sit.


    "One more Song. That''s it." ire said. Besides, even she was curious about the Song.


    "The kitchen is backed up, so it may take a while for your order toe out. Is that okay?" The waiter asked.


    "Yeah, Sounds fine," Phil replied and returned the menu to the waiter. ire looked astonished and wasn''t sure how to react seeing Phil''s action.


    "He''s starting," Luke said.


    [Song: Amnesia by 5 seconds of summer.]


    ????????????


    Edward:?? I drove by all the ces we used to hang out, getting wasted. I thought about ourst kiss, how it felt, the way you tasted. And even though your friends tell me you''re doin'' fine. Are you somewhere feeling lonely, even though he''s right beside you???


    iremented, "That''s it. We will need to have a talk with himter." Phil looked helplessly at Edward, who''d dug his hole even deeper.


    Edward:?? When he says those words that hurt you, do you read the ones I wrote you?Sometimes I start to wonder, was it just a lie? If what we had was real, how could you be fine? ''Cause I''m not fine at all!!??


    "Who is he singing this for? I couldn''t help but think there''s something more to the lyrics." Peppermented.


    "I don''t know. But you can feel the paining out from his voice." Cameron snobbishly said. Mitchell rolled his eyes and then couldn''t wonder what had happened to Edward.


    Ed: ?? I remember the day you told me you were leavin''


    I remember the makeup running down your face


    And the dreams you left behind, you didn''t need them


    Like every single wish we ever made. ??


    ire widened her eyes and pped Phil''s shoulder repeatedly, "Phil. It''s about his mother!"


    ??I wish that I could wake up with amnesia...


    And forget about the stupid little things...


    Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you...


    And the memories I never can escape...


    ''Cause I''m not fine at all...??


    "OH MY GOD, HE''S REACHING OUT AGAIN!" Phil said and almost stormed to the stage to give Edward a hug. ire barely managed to hold Phil back by pulling his clothes, causing him to be choked by them.


    The Song continued amidst the myriad of reactions from the people there. Even Haley standing near the club entrance, couldn''t help but feel sorry for Edward. ''He''s still...a jerk, right?'' Haley thought.


    Ed: ??If today I woke up with you right beside me


    Like all of this was just some twisted dream


    I''d hold you closer than I ever did before


    And you''d never slip away


    And you''d never hear me say ??


    Haley ced her hand above her chest and her eyes shook as she heard Edward''s change in tone. She became lost in the music, and didn''t even hear what her friend beside her was saying.


    No matter how hard her friends try, they couldn''t snap her away from her mesmerised state. She didn''t hear any other sound other than Ed''s ying, and she''d hoped the moment would never ends.


    ??I remember the day you told me you were leavin''


    I remember the make-up running down your face


    And the dreams you left behind, you didn''t need them


    Like every single wish we ever made


    I wish that I could wake up with amnesia


    And forget about the stupid little things


    Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you


    And the memories I never can escape??


    ??''Cause I''m not fine at all...


    No, I''m really not fine at all...


    Tell me this is just a dream...


    ''Cause I''m really not fine at all...??


    [Song ends]


    Mitch and Cam lost their smile and they looked toward each other almost instinctively. Edward didn''t know then how his choice of songs would''ve impacted his life. When he did, he would only have a wry smile on his face.


    ...


    -In the VIP booth-


    "It''s a full house, Stephan," Steven said excitedly as he shook the arm of his life partner.


    "We should thank Pepper for bringing in the talent. We haven''t filled a ce like this in forever. Maybe we should do more bands rather than just Jazz music." Stephan said.


    "We should give him a payment like the other artist," Steven said excitedly.


    "But... he''s 14. We can''t give him too much." Stephan said slyly. "Otherwise... he won''t create more...new songs... to be yed here..."


    ...


    -Edward POV-


    I bowed at the crowd amidst the thundering apuse and walked down the stage to my table.


    "Excellent, Edward! Do you want some water? Your throat must be parched." Pepper said and handed me a bottle of mountain stream water he pulled out of nowhere.


    "Thanks." I grabbed the bottle and took a big gulp before sitting down. "So, what do you think?" I asked.


    "It was great! Do you really write the songs yourself?" Pepper answered.


    "I love how you y with the melody and emotions while you sing. You''re like a professional." Cam replied.


    "I feel the same way too. Especially... The lyrics for the songs, 7 years. How did youe up with that stuff? I don''t normally choke up while hearing a song, but the Song manages to do that for me."


    "Yeah. I wrote it myself...I-" Before I could continue, Phil grabbed my shoulder from behind.


    "Edward...The songs are awesome!" Philplimented excitedly. ire walked behind Phil, her face full of contemtion.


    ''Should I address his mommy issues first? Or alcohol abuse?'' ire thought.


    I looked at the time, and it was almost 5 o''clock. "I think we should go back now. My dad usually gets back at 5.30."


    Although I want to stay longer, I am just a 14-year-old kid. "I can give you a ride home if you want." Phil offered.


    "That''ll be great."


    "No. Don''t." Haley suddenly interjected from behind the Dunphys.


    "Haley. When did youe here?" ire asked in confusion. Haley had ditched her friends and ran to her family in a feat rarer than a volcano explosion after hearing the Song. Now she wanted to go home and stop thinking about it.


    "Don''t give him a ride. I''m riding home with you. Can we go back now?" Haley asked her dad.


    "I''m sorry. Am I missing something here?" Cam asked as he could sense the tension between Haley and Edward.


    "Well...We kinda had a fight before this." I confessed while scratching my left cheek.


    "What?" Phil looked at Haley and me...and then settled his gaze on Haley.


    "What did you fight about?" Phil asked.


    "I don''t want to talk about it. Just know he''s a jerk! Don''t be so friendly with my family, you creep!" Haley said.


    "HALEY!" ire widened her eyes in surprise as she saw her daughter''s unruly behavior.


    "It''s okay, i- Mrs. Dunphy. I was a jerk to her before. I understand that she couldn''t stand me." I said calmly. Haley was stunned, and so did the rest of the group there.


    "Ooooh. Drama. This is what I live for." Pepper muttered whisperingly. "I know, right?" Mitchell agreed with Pepper.


    "Can you exin from the start? What happened?" Phil asked. He then turned to Haley, "I don''t think he is a bad guy. Let''s try to get to the bottom of this. What exactly happened?"


    "He came to audition for Dn''s band. They didn''t let him in, and then he cursed out everyone there while destroying Brian''s garage!" Haley said.


    "Ed. What happened? Tell me your side of the story." Cam asked.


    I sighed, and I exined the whole situation. "Well, I came to the audition because of a flyer. It''s for a bass guitarist in the band."


    "I never learned bass before, so I practised hard."


    Cam interjected, trying to guess the story, "So, you failed in the audition, got your ego hurt, andshed out at everyone?"


    "If... I could y in the first ce. That will be true." I said.


    Cam widened his eyes and said, "I''m sorry...Continue."


    "So I came to the band practice to audition. But then, a girl I will name Yoko from now on as I deleted her name from my brain instantly after the incident. She mocked me before I even yed."


    "She''s-" Haley tried to interject, but Phil stopped her in his rare sternness. "Let him finish, Haley."


    "First. She mocked my clothes. Said I was homeless. I will bring the band image down. I will hurt the band''s reputation. That was before I could even say hello." I continued.


    Mitchell suddenly ced his hand on my shoulder. "It''s okay."


    "I''m okay. It doesn''t bother me anymore." I said and patted his hand twice before he released it.


    "I tried to y, but Yoko brought up how my mother had run away from my family. And she continued to be rude to me." I continued in a calm tone.


    "Your mother...is gone?" Pepper asked in shock. He now has a new understanding of the Amnesia song.


    "Yes. She decided she was a lesbian after 12 years of marriage. Run away from the family with her lover. Cut off all contact with my dad and me. Filed for divorce and disappeared forever."


    The gays rolled their eyes and mouthed the word ''lesbians'' without any sounds.


    I am still casual, but the gay group there didn''t expect a simple teenage fight to bring out a more depressing topic. Honestly, they would find out soon from ire and Phil, so I would rather they know it from me.


    "So I cursed at her. I told her, If you don''t want to listen, then why the audition? She said then they already had a bass yer. Her boyfriend auditioned the day before and asked me to get lost."


    "I knew right then that I never had a chance, to begin with, so I flipped out," I concluded the story. "Haley wasn''t the one I was mad at, but I may have cursed at her as she was there. I''m sorry, Haley," I said sincerely.


    "Haley, Ed is saying he''s sorry-" Phil tried to interject after Haley didn''t respond to the apology.


    "He called me ''10 bucks an hour girl'' you can get down the street!" Haley exploded at her father. Cam and Pepper giggled, and they got hit in the back by Mitch. Then, Mitch covered his mouth with his hand andughed a bit too.


    "To be fair, I was calling your friend that. You''re just coteral damage." I exined.


    Inwardly, I thought, ''Basically, I flipped out like Jake Peralta, calling everyone''s mothers.''


    [C/A Jake Peralta? Nice.]


    -shback Cutscene-


    "And your MOTHER!" Ed cursed at Dn. "And your mother!" He cursed at Haley. "And your mother''s little dog!"


    Brain interjected, "You''re done!"


    "No. I''m not done! You can''t handle THE ME!"


    -Cutscene ends-


    "That didn''t make it okay!" Haley shouted and ran away outside the cafe. ire called her out and quickly pulled Luke with her to chase Haley.


    "Phil. Settle this. I will bring Haley home. I will have a talk with her in the car." ire said. "I want my iced chocte-" Luke tried to object, but ire had already pulled him away.


    "Okay," Phil replied. "Edward, you already know what you did was wrong, so I wouldn''t make you feel bad anymore."


    "... that''s it?" I asked in confusion. Pepper was called by Steven and Stephan to the VIP booth, so he got up and walked there.


    "Yeah... you even apologised. Now, it''s up to Haley whether or not she''ll take your apology." Phil exined with a smile. "So I need you to work a bit hard on that when youe to our house for dinner tomorrow."


    "I''ming to dinner tomorrow?" I said bbergasted.


    "Yeah. We need to settle this soon. I''d like to invite you today, but you already have ns with your dad, so..." Phil said.


    "Settle what? I don''t need to beg for her forgiveness, Phil. No offence, but I don''t feel like getting closer to her." I said calmly. Phil smiled as he''d expected this and replied, "Well...consider it a payment for getting you to the grocery store. How about that?"


    "Hmm... Okay, fine." I said in defeat.


    [Phil''smentary.]


    "When Edwardes by tomorrow, I will show him some of the songs I''ve been writing in my spare time...." Heughed excitedly before he realised he was missing something.


    "Oh yes. And fix the kids'' rtionship. Edward is a good boy. I''m sure he''ll be a good friend ...for Haley."


    [Commentary ends.]


    "Phil, we''re going to take him back, so you don''t have to worry," Cameron said. Phil nodded and said, "Okay. I will go back now and try to calm Haley down."


    He ran after his family, pinning me to the corner and forcing me to ept the invitation to dinner at his house. I shook my head as I thought, ''I''d avoided the awkward situation. Why the hell did ite back?''


    "We must go now if we want to stop by Longinus boutique," Pepper said abruptly as he came back and stood behind Cam and Mitch.


    "Whydo we need to go there again?" Mitchell asked in confusion.


    "To pick up the fabrics Edward wants. Also, Steven and Stephan decided to pay you for your performance and for bringing the customers in. They also asked if you could y this Thursday night again, but I declined as the time slot is near midnight, and you need to go to school." Pepper said and handed me an envelope.


    I didn''t open it on the spot and ced it in the back of my pocket. "Congrattions, Edward. Not many songwriters could say that their Song had made money, but you can." Cam congratted me sincerely.


    "Why fabrics?" Mitchell asked again.


    "If you weren''tte, you would know." I teased.


    [Cam and Mitch Commentary.]


    "Urghh! That boy is making me so angry!" Mitchell said in frustration. Camughed at him and said, "He sure can hold a grudge. That''s why I never went back on my promise to meet up with someone."


    "Sure. Let''s go with Never." Mitchell rolled his eyes and mouthed, ''Try couldn''t.''


    "You know. Edward reminded me so much of when I was young. I am...also as musically inclined as he is." Cam said smugly. Mitchell rolled his eyes again.


    "Music is more fun when you y it with someone else. Some friends kicked me out of the band because I was different. Some even straight away tell me that I can''t y with them because I''m a homosexual, and they don''t want to hear HELL musicing from me."


    "That didn''t go in the direction I expected," Mitchellmented.


    "But Edward isn''t gay? He is a good dresser, but I don''t think we can judge him on that. Boys nowadays aren''t as bothered with traditional masculinity as in the olden days. He may just be a really good dresser."


    "I''m not saying he is. Even I am only 60% sure that he''s gay. When we''re walking around earlier...."


    -shback.-


    A group of models in bikinis was walking by inside the mall and inside the group''s eyesight.


    "Ohh. I wonder if they will get cold inside the mall with such clothing." Pepper said sarcastically. "Seeing things poking out from their bikinis, I think they had been cold for a long time." Cam added.


    Cam and Pepper chuckled and turned to look at Edward, but they were taken aback by what they saw. Edward was staring at a cute boy heading in the opposite direction of the models instead of the group of models with skimpy clothings.


    [Cam and Mitch''smentary continues.]


    "Right? Maybe he''s not all the way there, but he has some of the characteristics." Cam said.


    [Edwardmentary]


    "Wait...I got one of these too? So cool...So anyway, I think I saw Shawn Mendes at the mall today. He has a funny-looking bowl cut that made me stare at him the whole time. It was freaking funny."

 Chapter 9: Nuh-Uh.

    <h4>Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Nuh-Uh.?</h4>


    (A/N: I''m not sure if the Chapter is edited as I can''t reach my editor lol. One more Chapter tonight, so gimme powerstones and rmend the story to a friend!)


    A silver Mercedes convertible cruising down the road with 3 people inside it. Pepper as the driver, Cam who sat next to the driver, and Edward who sat alone at the backseat. Mitchell was following Pepper''s car from behind in his Prius.


    He needed to follow because the fabrics and outfits that Pepper bought for the kid was too much to be delivered in a single car. Pepper was too touched by the performance and he splurged on me even though I''d denied it repeatedly.


    "Send me the notes and the lyrics. I will handle the copyright for you." Pepper offered casually.


    "Peps. Seriously. This is too much. I couldn''t let you do that." I widened my eyes, leaned forward to the driver''s seat, and denied his good will again.


    Cameron added, "Ed. You need to let him do that. Many people have videoed your song at the cafe before. If it falls into some washed up artist with bad intentions, they will steal your song. That''s how good it is. So let Pepper do it. The sooner the better."


    The reason Cameron didn''t ride with Mitchell was just for this.


    Pepper said while looking at the back mirror, "Don''t worry kid. I won''t charge you a thing. Just consider it my investments. Once you''ve risen higher than Britney, you can show that low-ss skank what ss really is."


    I nodded unconsciously. Then, I got curious. "What''s your problem with her anyway?"


    "I did a party for her once. That booze-drenched dared to look down on me..."


    While Pepper was storytelling, Mitchell in the other car was on a call with Haley.


    "Uncle Mitchell, why did he have toe to MY house!" Haley yelled from the other line.


    "Your dad is the one who invited him." Mitchell rified. "Besides, it''s only for one dinner. And Haley, he is a good boy. You need to treat him better. He reminds me of a young me and Uncle Cameron who..."


    Unbeknownst to me, a deep misunderstanding would ur when I go to Dunphy''s house tomorrow night.


    "Edward, do you have any other song''s you''re working on?" Cameron asked inquisitively.


    "I actually do. But it''s not yetplete." I replied.


    "Shame. If you did, I can send it to get your copyright together with the other songs." Pepper added.


    I thought for a while before I replied, "I can finish it tonight. Why don''t I give you my lyrics tomorrow after school?"


    "Sure. I will send mywyers to go pick it up." Pepper said. Hiswyers were from a topw firm in Los Angeles, thanks to his rich family background. Thewyer team had been idle for a while, but still costing him money, which is why Pepper wanted them to settle the copyright for Edward''s song.


    "I will repay your generosity Pepper." I said.


    "Don''t bother kids. I want to bask in the feeling of bing a hero to the young generation. That''s enough repayment." Pepper said yfully while giggling with Cam.


    Cam suddenly brought up a sore topic. "Who will you go to the dinner with?"


    I frowned and replied curtly, "By myself I guess."


    Seeing Edward staring at the road with a dissatisfied look on his face as they drove him home, Pepper and Cam smiled mischievously.


    "Boy, you really hate getting forced to do things huh." Pepper teased.


    "You know what, it''s just one dinner. You and Haley need to mend the friendship between you two. It will be hard, but it is necessary." Cam added.


    "...Why? It''s not like I''m friend with her before, nor did I want to be friends with her afterwards." I replied.


    Cam opened his mouth a few times, but the words didn''te out. Pepper nodded at the kid''s statement and said, "That is true. There is absolutely no gain for you to go there, right?"


    "...I feel like you''re building up to something, so I''m going to wait until you finish all of your sentences first."


    "Have you thought about how you''re going to go to the cafe on Thursday night? I''m busy, Mitchell and Cameron will be in Vietnam, and your dad is working tillte on Thursday night. Sooo?" Pepper smiled and asked although he already knew the answer.


    After I checked the amount of money I received from today''s impromptu concert, I''d epted the cafe owner''s invitation despite Pepper''s protest to y at the stage. I received 150 dors for just two songs, and they promised me an one hour slot to y on the stage, and also 500 dors as payment.


    ''I will use the money to buy aptop. Only then would I rest easy.''


    As I was adamant about it, Pepper sighed and negotiated my time slot at 9 pm sharp. I also had to promise him to go back home directly after the concert and he even got the cafe owner involved in the deal so I couldn''t dawdle and stay tillte at the cafe.


    ''I don''t think that Pepper would act this way. I guess his experience in being a dad before resurfaced today.''


    For those who had just known Pepper, it would be impossible for them to know that he has had a family before this. His son is now a Navy SEAL, and a bit estranged with his dad.


    "Maybe...if you kiss Dunphy''s ass a little, he will drive you to the cafe instead of you taking the bus with your instrument." Cam guessed.


    "You almost got it, Cam." Pepper said. " You''re wrong in one part. If he didn''t have a transport to go there, and a guardian that would monitor him, Steven and Stephan agreed with me to remove his time slot for the stage."


    "Ugh." I groaned and rolled my eyes before turning to the road again. It was almost near my house, so I asked them to stop me a block away.


    "This is it for me." I said as I gestured for them to stop the car.


    "Hmm?" Cameron looked around to see they were near Dunphy''s house. "You didn''t live here. What''s going on?"


    Pepper was stunned as it was the ce where he picked me up after this. Mitchell stopped his car behind Pepper''s car and asked, "Are we here?"


    "My house is further down. But...it''s kinda in an embarrassing state. So I don''t want to bring you guys there. You cane in 2 weeks when I finish the restoration." I said as I picked up my shopping bags from the cars.


    "Are you sure?" Cam asked, his face turned a bit sullen. I knew he felt that I was on guard against them, and that''s why I didn''t let them see my house, but honestly, I wouldn''t mind bringing them in if the house had returned to the way it used to be.


    "I''m sure." I said as I swayed from the weight of the bags. After saying goodbye, I walked home while the gays were waving at me.


    After I arrived home, I neatly arranged the fabrics that I bought by the material type and colours.


    "I think there is a sewing machine in the garage. I will take a look at it tomorrow."


    I threw the dinner matter at the back of my mind as my dad returned home. I gave him back the credit card after he took off his uniform and came down to have dinner. Today I made a simplesagna. I just bought a ready-made one in the grocery store instead of cooking it from scratch.


    While eating at the dinner, Ted''s face looked worried and hesitant, so I asked, "What''s wrong dad?"


    "It''s...nothing. Ed, what do you think about us...moving to Wisconsin and staying with grandma and grandpa?"


    Ted had been thinking about the matter for a while. With the cruise ship business gradually declining, his financial strain for maintaining the business made him think about quitting his dream job. I usually went there for the summer, and my grandparents took care of me very well.


    "Why so suddenly? Did something happen at work?" I asked calmly as I took the time to think about it. "I don''t mind it though. But don''t you need to be at the sea to do your job?"


    I honestly didn''t care where I ended up. Transmigrating to the world where my favourite show came to life was great, but it''s not like I wanted to be with the family all the time. If fate allows it, maybe we''ll meet again in the future.


    "I am thinking about selling the ship." Ted confessed after feeling relieved that his son didn''t have much of a reaction about the prospect of moving.


    "Hmm..." I rubbed my chin together as I thought about the ships business my dad is currently running. My current body is 14 years old now, but I was a senior programmer before and had worked with a lot ofpanies whether it''s advertising based or gaming based.


    Ted told me about how the recession had caused his business to be near halt, and his customers had been steadily declining. He might have exined it to me because of the guilt gnawing at his heart, but it helped me to understand more about the business''s situation.


    He used to have another Captain working with him, but the guy had betrayed him and epted a job into another cruise line. He had to cover all of the trips because of that guy as no other Captain in the marina wanted to join in a sinking ship...metaphorically.


    "We won''t move right now...Maybe after you finish middle school." Ted said, ending his story. "If you''re okay with this, I will make the ns."


    "I am okay with it. By the way, I have a gig this Thursday that I need your permission to go to." I said.


    "Gig? What gig?" Ted asked curiously.


    "I will be ying my songs at a cafe. I yed there this afternoon, and the owner liked me so much that he gave me the most coveted time slot for the show on Thursday night." I replied casually.


    After talking with my dad for a while, I entered my room and flipped the textbook I brought from my locker in school. As I have history andnguage sses tomorrow, I need to prepare myself for the assignments.


    "Thank god for the additional IQ. Wait, should I say thank Afterlife Corp? Hmm... Doesn''t matter. Thanks whoever it is." I murmured as I flipped through the history textbook and wrote a 500 word report on a topic.


    It took me only an hour to finish studying the materials I needed for tomorrow''s ss. I turned to the instruments near my bed, picked up something wedged inside my guitar case and finally sat on the edge of the bed while holding a stack of paper.


    "7 years, Amnesia, Toxic, Grenade, Monster, It Will Rain...Damn Ed, if I didn''te here, you will be the most famous kid, beating out Bieber by a margin." I muttered. Most of the songs weren''tplete yet, but it was easy for me to finish them as I had heard all of these songs in my previous life.


    By the time I finished, it was already midnight. I went to sleep for the day and desperately wished that something woulde out tomorrow so that I could avoid the dinner scene.


    -Dunphy''s House-


    "Really? I thought he didn''t want us toe because he''s embarrassed to be seen with us." Cam eximed after hearing the full story from ire in the kitchen.


    Cam and Mitch decided to greet the family as they were literally in front of their house. Pepper had gone home as he needed to call hiswyers and arrange a few things for Edward.


    "Yeah. I caught him bleeding as he tried hard to clean up his house. It looked okay now, all thanks to him. But it wasn''t fully restored yet." ire exined while holding a wine ss in her hand. She sipped the wine and held up a finger to Cam to tell him she wasn''t done yet.


    "Phil is now constantly talking about the kid, making me feel as if Phil had found a new Keh."


    "The creepy kid who always stares at you as he follows Phil around?" Mitchell interjected. "Edward isn''t creepy. He is far...far better than Keh."


    ire nodded in agreement, "That''s true."


    "Who is Keh?" Cam asked, demanding the full story. "Also, what happened to his mother? How could she abandon him like that?"


    While the dies'' were gossipping, Phil was trying hard to convince Haley about the dinner with Edward tomorrow.


    "Juste down, say you''re sorry, and tell him you''ve forgiven him. I won''t force you to talk to him if you don''t want to. Which is a waste because he''s a really great guy, don''t you think?"


    Haley rolled her eyes as Phil kept talking. Even the phone couldn''t distract her from Phil''s consistent yammering.


    "FINE!" Haley said in defeat.


    "If you''re done, can you leave? Some of us want to study." Alex chimed in from her desk. She was studying before Phil walked in and had to stop as Phil''s rapid fire words distracted her.


    "Ahh..I''m going." Phil said and stood up from Haley''s bedside. "Alex, you''re going to like that guy. He''s also smart. Maybe you guys can be friends after this." Phil added.


    "Please. None of Haley''s friends will be a ''smart'' one." Alex said sarcastically.


    Haley opened her mouth to tell her about Edward, but then she smiled mischievously and decided to watch how the whole thing would y out.


    ''I wonder how she will feel when the boy who confessed to heres to dinner tomorrow.'' Haley thought.


    ...


    Edward POV


    The day started as usual. I made some sandwiches for today''s lunch after breakfast. Thewyers came to the school and picked up the songs from me. After confirming with Pepper, I signed a few documents and allowed Pepper to handle the copyright for the music.


    This was, of course, after thewyers received my father''s signature.


    As Cam expected, many videos about me singing had popped up on Youtube, and I basically became famous in school overnight. I am however, still a loner as I exude some aura that made other children feel ufortable with...I guess.


    Jason, the chubby potato kid was the only one who spoke to me, and shockingly, he knew how to y the drums. I invited him to my home for a jamming session after school. He will text me after he receives permission from his parents if he coulde.


    Mrs. Henderson called me into her ssroom before the day ended.


    "Mr. Newgate. You''re here." Mrs. Henderson said. She wore a yellow blouse and a ck long skirt today, looking as pretty as ever.


    "Hello Mrs. Henderson. If you want my signature, I haven''t created one for my fans yet." I joked.


    ".... That''s nice. However, I call you here to talk about something else. Your dad called this morning to discuss the matter of you transferring to Wisconsin."


    "Ah, that. What about it?" I asked curiously.


    "So, you already know about it... There is, however, unfortunate news for you. Without passing all of your exams, you won''t be able to graduate middle school this year."


    "I see. But I can graduate if I pass all right?"


    Mrs. Henderson looked at me in contemtion.


    "Yes. Despite your previous performance, you can graduate if you receive at least a C on every subject other than history. For history, you need to get at least a B. I advised you to get a tutor to help you with it as soon as possible. I could help arrange one for you if you want. "


    I thought for a while, and decided to reject the offer. "It''s okay Mrs Henderson. I can get A''s in all subjects by myself."


    The teacher shook her head in pity. The door opened for the second time, and a sses -wearing 7th grader walked in.


    "Alex. You''re here." Mrs Henderson greeted her with a smile, unlike the way she greeted me - cold and emotionless.


    "Hi Alex." I waved my hand at her. She scoffed and ced a thick stack of paper neatly on Mrs. Henderson''s table.


    "I''m sorry Alex, the extra-credit for tutoring had to be rearranged." Mrs. Henderson said.


    "Hmm?" Alex turned to me and then the teacher. She breathes in relief inwardly, as she didn''t think that Mrs. Henderson would pair her with me.


    "Ohh." I eximed in understanding. However, I didn''t regret my decision.


    "Okay then, see you tonight Alex." I said before I walked out of the ssroom.


    "Tonight?" Both teacher and student there tilted their heads in confusion after hearing my words. I smirked as I walked away. After a jamming session and outfit creation, finally it''s time for dinner.

 Chapter 10: Dinner. (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Dinner. (Part 1)</h4>


    (A/N: I finished my book debut. 10 Chapter in 3 days haha. Next Chapter will be on Monday, and I will try to post at least 5 Chapter per week from now own. If you love the story, add it to your collection. See ya)


    "Hello. Is anyone home?" I shouted as I knocked on the door of Dunphy''s house. Adorning a ck t-shirt and ck cotton pants, Ipleted my assembly with converse shoes and a grey-textured sweater.


    I heard some ttering from the inside, and took a step backward from the door as the sound grew nearer.


    Phil in a simple, green and purple cored shirt opened the door and said, "Edward. You''re early!"


    "Hmm? You said toe by at 5?" I tilted my head in confusion. I arrived directly on time, neitherte nor early.


    "Why do you do that Phil? Dinner is at 7.30." ire approached Phil from behind and asked in frustration. Her hair was tied up, and she wore a green dress with white pants.


    "Well...I thought we could have some fun first before dinner." Phil answered guiltily. ire stared at him with scary eyes and her arms crossed, causing him to avoid his wife''s gaze.


    "Wee Edward." ire said after pushing Phil out of the way.


    "What''s that?" ire asked when she saw the box in my hand. "Well, as I''m still underage, I couldn''t buy wine..."


    "That''s true. And...Don''t." ire interjected. I nodded slightly and continued, "So I made dessert. But it needs to be ced in the chiller for another hour."


    "Okay. Come on in Edward. Phil, show him the fridge." ire smiled and ordered. Phil stopped avoiding the gaze as he watched his wife walk upstairs and smiled at me.


    "So, what did you make, Eddy?" Phil said as he tried to take the box from me. However, the content inside was delicate so I smoothly avoided his hand.


    "I would like to put this in the freezer first...if I can..."


    A little stunned, Phil replied, "Okay. It''s in the back." He didn''t mind my behaviour, and just thought I was embarrassed by the gift.


    "It''s an Oreo cheesecake." I replied to Phil, albeit a littlete.


    "Oreo?" Phil asked in confusion. Luke downstairs as he heard themotion at the door. "Hey Edward!" Luke greeted cheerfully.


    "Hey Luke."


    It was my first time walking inside the Dunphy''s house, but the ce was familiar.


    The white coloured stair with ck coloured steps, the beige sofa with 2 multicoloured cushions where they usually conducted their interviews, the pictures on the stairs, the firece, and then the kitchen. Nothing had changed from the house that I knew off.


    I set the cake inside the chiller and finally breathed in relief.


    "Can I see it?" Luke asked.


    "Buddy, it isn''t ready yet." Phil said.


    "You can see it. But promise me not to disturb it. It isn''t ready yet." I said calmly, but warned them at the same time.


    "I promise." Luke replied. I then turned to the smiling Phil. He was confused, but then he realised it. "I promise too."


    "Okay." I opened the box to let them see the cake. It''s a circr shaped cake that looks like a giant oreo. The bottomyer was a crushed oreos biscuit added with melted butter. The middle part was abination of cream cheese, the oreo fillings and other stuff. The top part sieved blended oreo cookies, just to make it look good.


    I decorated the top part with whipped cream and ced 9 whole oreo cookies in a circr pattern, alternating between the whipped cream.


    Phil asked excitedly, "Did you take off the oreo''s fillings and make a giant oreo for dessert!"


    "What? No-"


    "MOM! ED MADE A GIANT OREO!" Luke called his mom in excitement hurriedly. Alex heard the shout from her bedroom, and was curious about the situation. She put her pen down and closed her books.


    "Luke! No!" I panicked and my voice turned into a weird high pitch voice.


    "What was that?" Phil asked whileughing.


    "Puberty I think." I replied, checking my voice a few times to make sure it had gone back to normal.


    "Oh." Phil was stunned and stoppedughing abruptly. He changed the topic quickly and asked, "How many packs do you use to create this?"


    "Not many. Just 2 packs. Also, it''s a cake, not a giant cookie."


    As I closed the refrigerator door, I walked to the and crashed with Alex who had juste downstairs. She widened her eyes as she didn''t expect the boy who''d been bothering her for a few days was inside her house. Phil tried to grab me, but it was toote.


    "Oh Hell." I cursed as I was falling down with the girl. I grabbed the back of her head and hugged her tightly as I changed our position so that I would take the fall instead of her. I closed my eyes as I prepared myself!


    BAM


    "Ouch." My back mmed onto the floor, but I''d saved my head in the fall. I felt something soft brushing my lips while I''m falling, but as I closed my eyes, I didn''t know what had happened.


    "Are you okay?" I asked Alex who''s frozen still while on top of me. "You-you!" Alex became flustered as she heard the question.


    "Can you get off? I don''t mind you staying on top of me, but we should wait until the third date-"


    "ALEX!" ire ran toward the scene of the ident and removed Alex from being on top of the boy.


    "Mom! Why is he here?" Alex asked, her voice filled with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.


    "Your dad invited him to dinner. What happened? Why are you both on the ground?" ire asked anxiously. "Did you throw him?" She asked usingly.


    "ire. Alex didn''t use judo throws on him. They crashed with one another as they didn''t look where they were going." Phil rified as he helped me get up from the floor. "Are you okay Eddy?"


    "Yeah. I''m fine. This is nothing." I replied to Phil and then turned to Alex. "Are you okay?" I asked in concern as she had been quiet, which quite wasn''t in line with her personality. I expected to be cursed at, but nothing happened.


    Alex covered her mouth with both her hands and ran off to her bedroom hurriedly. "She''s okay." ire replied.


    "Mom! You need to see this. Ed made a giant Oreo." Luke said, already had opened the fridge door I''d closed before.


    "Hmm?" ire eximed and took a look at the giant cookie. She covered her mouth, and turned her scary gaze at the creator.


    "Edward, this is very unhealthy." ire said with a pitiful voice.


    I rolled my eyes and picked up a spoon. I took a spoonful of the cake and pushed it into ire''s mouth.


    She tried to object, but my hand was too fast, "Ed- Hmm.." ire tasted the dessert properly and licked the cream on her lips seductively.


    "It''s... good. And...it''s cheesecake?" She asked.


    "Yeah. Now. Let it settle. It isn''t finished yet." I said sternly. ire nodded and closed the fridge door.


    "Wait, I want to try." Luke said hurriedly, but I stood guard in front of the fridge door. "What did your mom tell you about eating dessert before dinner?"


    ire and Phil were stunned, and Luke lowered his head. " Not to." he replied sadly.


    "Good. You''ll get the biggest pieceter." I said as I rubbed his hair a few times.


    "I know I''m adorable, but hands off the hair." He rolled his eyes and walked to the den where his show was on. "Make sure to keep that promise!" Luke shouted as he sat on the sofa.


    "Do you need any help with preparing the food Mrs Dunphy?" I asked politely.


    Still in disbelief, ire shook her head slightly and answered, "N-No. You can sit with Luke."


    "Okay. If you need any help, just call." I said and went to sit next to Luke. The TV was showing the movie ''Ratatouille'', a movie about a rat controlling a chef to cook inside his chef head.


    "Oh..It''s been a while since I watched Pixar." I muttered as I rxed myself on the sofa. The movie continued as I talked and joked with Luke. The movie was released in 2007, so we both had watched the movie before.


    "Luke, if I pull your hair like the rat did, will it move?" I asked teasingly. Luke widened his eyes as if he heard the most interesting things in the world.


    "Do it. If this works, I no longer have to brush my teeth on my own!" He said in excitement. Iughed and asked him to sit in front of me.


    -3rd person POV-


    Phil and ire stood side by side as ire took out the ingredients for the dinner.


    "He''s really mature. And polite." Philplimented as he looked at Edward from afar.


    "That''s true. But can I know he''s not just pretending? I mean...You heard his songs..." ire held a knife in her hand and started to cut the carrot.


    "Maybe he just heard it from somewhere. I don''t think he would do that...I think..." Phil argued.


    "Also, there was so much more to his songs than the alcohol part. Why can''t you focus on that?" Phil asked. He stared at the children longingly and wanted to join in the fun on the sofa.


    He then heard Edward''s question about hair controlling the body.


    "Phil, you''re going to help me. We have to cook a bit faster now because you invited him so early. Phil...Phil?"


    Phil heard the question and ran toward the sofa, leaving ire alone in the kitchen. She stared at her husband in disbelief, her knife wielding hand was pointed forward at Phil.


    The doorbell rang, but only ire heard it as Phil had joined Luke and Edward,ughing like mad as Luke pulled Phil''s hair. His hand moved, making Edward open his mouth in awe!


    "?H ire!"


    In the front door, Gloria, Jay and Manny hade to visit. Jay wore a horizontal pattern, ck shirt, Gloria wore her blue dress and Manny was in his puffy shirt. ire widened her eyes in confusion, but weed them inside anyway.


    "What''s going on?" ire asked.


    "Gloria wants to ask about the ser match on Sunday...morning..." Jay exined with a hint of sadness in his voice. He had to wake up early in the morning for the Sunday matches. He thought that after his own childrens, he wouldn''t have to anymore.


    "You...couldn''t call?" ire asked in disbelief.


    "This is important." Manny interjected anxiously. "My dad told me that football is easy, but I''d never yed it before." He meant his Colombian father, not Jay, his step dad.


    "We''re thinking... Luke teach Manny one or two things before his match... this Sunday." Gloria exined.


    "Luke?" ire contorted her face as she couldn''t believe her ears.


    [Jay and Gloria''smentary]


    "Manny is a bit worried about his first match in his new school. I thought ying with Luke could help him." Gloria exined.


    "Tell them about the other thing." Jay said and pointed at the interviewer. Gloria looked at him and then at the interviewer with aplicated expression. "Maybe, the kids getting along will make our families closer. It''s been hard for me and Manny to...get along with the rest of Jay''s family."


    [Commentary ends.]


    Edward POV.


    "Hmm?" I turned to look at the door as I saw the neersing in. It was Jay, Gloria and Manny.


    "Huh." I eximed tly. Phil and Luke were stillughing together, unaware of the visitors.


    "Luke. Manny''s here to see you..." ire said tly with a forced smile as she brought the visitors to the den.


    Gloria and Jay had only been married for 6 months at this time. Although ire tried her best to make Gloria feelfortable with their family, sometimes she couldn''t help but feel a bit conscious when around Gloria, especially with Phil always acting like a perv with the Colombian beauty.


    "You''re new." Jay noticed the additional kid inside the room.


    "Well, I am Phil''s estranged son... that came to visit after not knowing who my dad was for 14 years." I replied seriously.


    "YOU''RE WHAT!" Gloria asked in a loud voice. ''Boy, is she loud.''


    ire stopped what she was doing and turned her attention into the conversation. Even Phil was shocked by my statement and he started to think about all the girls he dated before.


    "I''m just joking. I''m the neighbour''s kid." I exined with a smile. I stood up and held my right hand for a handshake to the new family.


    "My name''s Edward. I live down the streets." I introduced myself politely.


    "Jay Pritchet. I''m Luke''s grandfather." Jay introduced himself curtly while shaking the hand I offered.


    "Gloria Delgado-Pritchet." Gloria said as I shook her hand.


    "Manny Delgado." Manny introduced himself quickly.


    "Pesta?ea dos veces si est��s siendo retenida en contra de tu voluntad. (Blink twice if you''re held against your will.)" I said with a calm smile as I looked at Gloria.


    "Que?" Gloria was a bit stunned, and then sheughed out loud. "No, este es mi esposo.(No, this is my husband)" She exined and hugged Jay''s hand to show that everything''s fine.


    " En serio, ?puedes elegir a cualquier chico del mundo y lo eliges a ��l?(Seriously, you can pick any guy in the world and you choose him?)" I asked jokingly.


    "No lo parece, pero ��l tiene mucho dinero.( He didn''t seem much, but he has a lot of money.)" Gloria gestured money with her finger stealthily.


    I chuckled while Gloriaughed again. We both know that we''re just joking. Manny chuckled too as he knew what Gloria and I talked about. From the kitchen, ire muttered silently, "He''s fluent in Spanish too?"


    "What''s going on?" Jay asked in confusion. "I know what dinero means. That means money!" Jay demanded to know angrily.


    "Nothing. He just said I look very nice. The dress must cost a lot of money. That''s it." Gloria covered up quickly to Jay.


    "Your Spanish is very good." Sheplimented, skillfully changing the subject. "Even better than Manny''s."


    Manny looked at his mother in shock. As Jay was bing frustrated, I knew the perfect thing to ask to calm him down.


    "I studied hard. Mr. Pritchet, any chance you''re rted to Danger O''Shea? The legendary daredevil?"


    Jay broke into the heartiest smile and said, "No. But I know that guy. I collected a few of his memorabilia. I will show it to you...you know... if you want."


    "Of course. I am his fan." I said cheerfully.


    ''That was his persona before he fullymitted to the closet business. I need to have a ''Speech increased by 100'' notification popping out now. I could feel my sweet talk level increasing.'' I thought secretly.


    After learning Gloria''s purpose to visit, Luke went to his room to grab the ball. He and Manny ran outside to the backyard to y while Jay watched. I decided to join in and saw two kids messing around with the ball, not practicing in the least. Manny brought his own ball, so they were ying with one ball each kid.


    "Do you guys even know how to kick a ball?" I asked.


    "I know. My dad taught me." Luke said. "Same here." Manny replied. Jay turned to look at me, but he still didn''t say anything.


    "Throw me the ball." I said to Luke. He then threw the ball with all of his might, not caring whether I could catch it or not.


    But for an ex-European who called the game as its true name, I had years of experience in ''ser''. I trapped the ball with my chest, canceling its momentum. It fell on the ground, and I stopped it from rolling away by stepping lightly on it with my right foot.


    "Luke, the aim of the throw is to pass the ball to your team member, not to kill him." I joked. Jay snorted but he covered his mouth to not let the kids see him smile. He''s afraid it would hurt their self-confidence or something.


    "Let''s do a simple passing practice. You''ll run side by side, and you need to pass the ball to your team member as you run. Jay and Phil will show an example."


    "Wait, what?" Jay asked in confusion as his name suddenly called out.


    "Yeah. They need an example. I can''t do this by myself." I lied. It would be a good memory for Phil to y with Jay. I saw him peeking through the sliding door as he was captured by ire to help him cook dinner tonight.


    Jay and Phil stood facing each other after Luke called Phil to help. ire couldn''t handle Luke''s cuteness and released Phil from her grip.


    "Use the side of your leg to kick for a pass, not with the front." I said as I teached them a few tips and tricks to get started. They knew how to run and y with the ball, but they never received any proper lesson for it.


    "Lock your ankle for your kicking leg. The other leg should be pointed in the direction you want to pass the ball to. Okay... now pass."


    15 minutester.


    "Can we stop doing this now?" Jay said, already sweaty from the exercise. I used Jay and Phil to help the kid follow the example they showed."


    "Okay, they got it now." I said as I pointed at the kids. They already showed massive improvement in their skills, and had been ying on their own for 5 minutes. I just let Phil and Jay continue ying on their own as Phil was loving it.


    3rd Party POV.


    In the kitchen.


    "Gloria, why don''t you and your family eat with us tonight?" ire said awkwardly while putting the chicken into the microwave.


    "Really? Won''t that be an...in- ..inconvenience." Gloria said with broken English. She''d been growing up in Colombia, and English was her secondnguage.


    She struggled to find the words sometimes, therefore she was feeling pretty great when she could talk to Edward in Spanish before.


    "No. Not at all. Also, what did Edward talk to you about before?" ire asked, trying to get the details.


    "Nothing. We just talked about my dress." Gloria covered up for Edward again. "Huh." ire eximed, her eyes filled with suspicion.


    Alex peeked at the kitchen from the stairs, and found out that Edward was outside the house. She traced her lips, thinking about the incident before. Edward closed his eyes, but Alex''s eyes were wide open. As they were falling, Alex''s almost lip identally pressed against Ed''s.


    "That was my first kiss. That bastard!" Alex growled angrily. She then shrugged and corrected herself, "Well not technically a kiss. But still."


    Haley walked into the house through the front door as she just got back from the mall.


    "What are you doing crouching there you weirdo?" Haley asked as she saw Alex.


    "Nothing. When is your friend going to get here? Did dad invite him along with Newgate? Or is he..."


    "He is not my friend. But yeah, it''s him." Haley said teasingly. Alex''s face turned horrified and she ran off to her room again. Haleyughed as she saw her sister''s misery.


    "Ooh. This is so fun." Haley eximed as she walked into the kitchen. After talking with her mom for a short period, she went upstairs to poke more fun at her sister.


    "Will he confess his love here too?" Haley teased.


    "Shut up. He didn''t confess to me. He only said I''m pretty!" Alex replied. Haley was stunned for a second as she didn''t think Edward would say something like that. Not when he was attracted by men instead of women.


    ''Maybe Alex''s masculinity attracted him? I''m so confused right now.'' Haley thought to herself.


    Authors Note:


    Join My Discord Channel for more updates and gacha rmendations. I will put the recs into a lottery wheel before I rolled the next gacha he will get and build the story based on the randomness of the gacha!


    https://discord.gg/CAmd34bj


    See you there!

 Chapter 11: Dinner (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Dinner (Part 2)</h4>


    (A/N: An additional Chapter since I reached 1K collections!! Next Chapter will be on Monday as I mentioned before, or if I reached 2k collection next lol)


    The California sky darkened as the sun was setting. The childrens who were ying outside of the Dunphy''s house entered their house, face full of tion and sweats. Not only the child, but the adults had the same expression on their face �C well one of them did.


    "Phil, why are you all sweaty- You know what, both you and Luke will go wash up. Dinner is almost ready."


    ire was a bit surprised as sheid eyes on her husband and father. Jay had an angry scowl on his face, while Phil was full of smiles despite them being totally sweaty and exhausted.


    "Dad, you and Manny too." iremanded, not caring at all about her angry father.


    "?Ay Papito, did you have fun?" Gloria asked, dapping a handkerchief on Manny''s forehead to remove the sweats.


    "I did mom. Ed is really fun." Manny said with a bright smile on his face. "He''s a good teacher too." Manny added.


    Holding a ball in his hand, Luke said, "Yeah. I wish he was my coach. All my coach did was ask us to have fun."


    "And that isn''t good?" ire said in a concerned tone while crossing her arms.


    "I want to have fun too. But I also want to defeat the other team." Luke replied. ire nodded slightly and pushed Luke into the bathroom.


    "Ed..." ire turned to the boy who''d just entered the house.


    "What? I''m sorry that Luke hit a vase, but I''d already fixed it." I replied as I watched theplicated expression on ire''s face.


    "You''re fine." ire said dismissively, making me a bit confused.


    "?Ayy, Why you don''t sweat like the others did?" Gloria asked in a teasing manner with one hand on her waist, another holding a cucumber.


    "Why would a coach ever sweat?" I replied with a sly smile on my face. A smile that made Jay who''d just returned from cleaning up increased in temper.


    "He only shouted the order, we did all the running." Jayined plus whining as he used a clean cloth to wipe down his wet face. Gloriaughed at his misery while ire chuckled at Jay as he started to rant.


    "I thought you like ying with Phil. I saw you break into a wide smile a few times. You even have that innocent child-likeughter with you." I poured some oil into the mes I was on. I also made sure Phil was within earshot as I said that.


    "Really Jay. I loved ying with you. We should do that-" Phil was touched and on the brink of tearing up. He tried to hug Jay with his sweaty body, but Jay turned to me and started to rant angrily.


    "Don''t speak nonsense. The only time I had a smile on my face, was when the practice was over!"


    Jay then stomped off to his car, to take a clean cloth he kept in his car trunk and to get away from the emotional Phil.


    "Wow. You''re brave aren''t you. Making fun of my dad like that. Usually boys will be scared and quake in their boots in front of him." ireplimented while holding a ss of wine in her hand.


    "Jay? He''s a big teddy bear. He''s not scary at all." I said as I washed my hand and cleaned up a bit for dinner.


    " You''re in big trouble. I don''t think he will let this matter go so easily." Manny said as he got back from cleaning up.


    "That''s okay. It''s not like I will meet him again after this." I said while rubbing Manny''s head. "This feels nice." I muttered as I kept rubbing his head.


    "And expensive." Manny said and swatted my hand away. Weughed together and sat in front of the tv with Luke while the adults were preparing for dinner. I''d offered to help, but ire and Gloria rejected my offer and asked me to rest.


    It was fun talking to the boys. We quickly became friends. I talked with Manny and Luke for a while, and finally, the dinner was ready.


    Sitting in front of me was Manny, and Luke sat on my right side. On my left was...Alex.


    "Hello again. Why is it so hard to meet you in your own home?" I asked the hair-band wearing girl teasingly.


    "Shut up. Don''t talk to me." Alex said whileining inwardly because of the seating arrangement. Haley sat in front of Alex, smirking at her sister because of her misery.


    "Really? Even after we fell for each other before?" I asked in an innocent voice. Alex''s jaw dropped, while ire who sat nearby froze while picking up a bowl of sd from the table.


    "We fall on the ground, not fall for each other!" Alex said begrudgingly.


    [ire Commentary]


    "Oh my god, What have I done? Did I just really invite a hormonal teen into my house, and serve my kids toward him on a silver tter?" ire said in a panicked voice.


    Beside her, Philughed at the statement. "ire. They are just kids. Besides, Edward was only ying around. It''s normal for a boy his age to want to tease girls. I did that too before. "


    "You don''t know that PHIL!" ire said anxiously.


    "Besides. Even if they dated, it wouldn''t be the most terrible thing in the world." Phil continued. However, ire red at him, prompting him to stop.


    "My little baby..." ire said in a soft voice while reminiscing about Alex growing up.


    [Jay and Gloria Commentary]


    "He''s a wonderful boy. So mature, and so polite." Gloriaplimented heavily while gesturing with her arms.


    "He''s a bit like Manny, and also Luke...He could also be said as thebination of those two." Jay said gruffly.


    "Stop pouting!" Gloria smacked Jay''s shoulder and said. "You can y with Phil againter."


    "I''m not pouting. The kid is telling lies. I am NOT looking forward to ying again with Phil. Not now. Not ever!"


    [Commentary ends]


    "Yeah Edward. You fall together, not fall for each other." ire said in a decisive manner. I shrugged and continued eating the chicken.


    "By the way, Dy�C The band that you auditioned for before...they said you cane y with them if you want." Haley said.


    "Audition? Why does he need to audition?" That statement unexpectedly came from Alex, causing me to be confused and turned to look at her face.


    "He''s nominated for the GLOBAL CHILD PRODIGY award, in the music category at the age of 7! He won multiple awards in variouspetitions �C whether its school level, or state level. How dumb were the people in this band to reject a person as capable as him into their group?"


    The group stopped what they were doing and turned their attention into the conversation. I smiled at Alex, causing her to blush and avoiding my gaze.


    "I don''t know you''re my fan." I teased.


    "Shut up. I''m not. Well...not now." Alex replied as she continued eating, pretending that I wasn''t next to her.


    The adult started to interject in the kids'' conversation, getting away from their own.


    "What? Really?" Gloria asked with widened eyes.


    "Ed?" Phil asked.


    "That''s true. All of it was before my downfall though. Now, my skills have deteriorated." I answered honestly. Haley''s eyes shook as she understood the situation.


    "If you''re so skillful, why do you want to join an upstart band? You can just be...a member of the orchestra or something..." Haley said in a shaky voice.


    Inside, she cursed Brian and her girlfriend for making the band ept them, and not Edward. She knew how serious Dn was with his band, and Edward could''ve brought the band to new heights. Now, the opportunity was wasted.


    "Can we not get into the subject? That''s a sore topic for me, and I don''t want to relive that life." I replied while I cleaned my mouth with the napkin.


    Phil grabbed my shoulder, passing by Alex in the seat cement. "Okay. We will not get into that topic. Haley, you should stop it too." Phil said using a soft tone.


    "He didn''t need a band now. He does well on his own." Luke said. ire nodded, "That''s true."


    "What are you talking about?" Jay asked.


    "That kid, he''s a wonderful singer. Phil, Luke, Haley and I watched his show yesterday." ire exined. Gloria pped her hand in excitement, "Ayy! A star!"


    "No. Not a star." I quickly interjected. "I did get called back to y tomorrow, but I have no transportation to get there, so I guess this is the end of my career-"


    "Nonsense! I will bring you to the cafe!" Phil offered without thinking. I pumped my fist in my mind as I managed to secure the guardian and the transportation.


    "You sing?" Alex asked, feeling a bit dejected that she didn''te to the show yesterday.


    "A little bit. I will do a private concert, just for youter." I said using a whisper.


    "Shut up! Stop teasing me!" Alex yelled while whispering to avoid her mother hearing the invitation. After dinner, Phil brought out the dessert.


    "Finally! I''ve been waiting for this!" Luke said in excitement, pumping his fist in the air as the giant oreo was ced in the middle of the table.


    "What''s this?" Haley asked.


    "Oreo cheesecake. I made it myself." I replied.


    "Wait, how many people are there?" Phil said while holding a knife. He then counted the people inside the room one by one.


    "Nine people. So...how do I cut it?" Phil said.


    "Just cut it into 10 pieces. 1 sliver will be kept for the hungry er at night." I replied.


    "Yeah...So how...to cut into 10?"


    I sighed and picked up the knife from Phil. First, I cut the cake into a wide ''X'' shape. Then, I cut it once through the narrow X, and twice on the wide X shape, making 10 pieces of the same sized cake.


    "Done."


    "Nice job Ed." Phil said as he used a knife to pick up a piece for ire. It was the piece that was taken a spoonful off before.


    "This is yours. You already touched it before." Phil said teasingly.


    "This is REALLY good! Did you make it yourself?" Manny asked excitedly as he took a spoonful of the cake.


    "I did. It isn''t too sweet right?" I asked.


    "No. It''s fine." Jay replied indifferently.


    [Jaymentary]


    "It was delicious. But I''m not giving the little liar the satisfaction."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Thest piece is mine!" Luke demanded, and ran away while holding thest piece of the cake.


    "NEVER!" Phil yelled and tried to capture Luke a few times, but Luke made a fake out, causing Phil to fall to the floor.


    "LUKE!" ire yelled in astonishment as she watched her son and husband being frivolous.


    "The cake is good. Can you teach me the recipe?" Gloria asked.


    "Of course, I will." I replied.


    "Will you y a few songs for us?" Manny asked curiously. He''d been wondering about the song''s I yed since dinner time.


    "I don''t have my instruments with me, but you cane see me in my show tomorrow night." I said.


    "Sure! Can we go mom?" Manny replied and turned to Gloria.


    "Of course papi." Gloria said. Jay sighed as he would be the one to drive into the cafe tomorrow.


    "We have a piano." Luke interjected, face full of cream from the cake. ire ran toward him with a napkin and wiped his mouth ruthlessly.


    "Edward, it''s okay. You don''t have to y if you don''t want to." ire said.


    "I don''t mind. But I can only do a few songs with the piano. Is that okay?" I asked.


    "It''s okay." Manny replied.


    We changed location to the living room near the firece. I yed the song 7 Years with the piano, and turned to see their reaction.


    "AYY!! Wonderful!" Gloria apuded, her chest jiggled with every p.


    "It''s really great." Mannyplimented.


    Jay was silent as he was thrown into nostalgia after he heard the song. The song''s were like his conversation with his dad while he was growing up. He couldn''t help but feel a bit emotional after hearing the song.


    "Jay, are you okay?" I asked after seeing him being silent.


    "I am going to go home now." Jay said and walked right out the door. Gloria and Manny became flustered, and decided to follow Jay home after apologising to me and thanking me for the song and the cake.


    With her arms crossed, ire asked, "Did you


    really do that?"


    "Do what exactly?" I asked.


    "Drinking burning liquor. Smoking... herbs...That''s ng for marijuana isn''t it?"


    "..." I was stunned by the sudden development. "Alex, what happens when you burn alcohol?" I turned to Alex to try and dig my way out of the predicament I''m in.


    "Only...water will be left?" She replied in confusion. I turned to ire and said, "See? It''s just a y on words. "


    The mother breathed in relief. She then asked, "The herb?"


    "I don''t know what the adults smoke, so I thought it was some kind of herb." I lied obviously, but it seemed to trick ire and Phil, and that was all I needed.


    "It was tobo-" Phil tried to exin, but ire shut his mouth with her palm.


    "See. I told you he is a good kid." Phil said in a whisper to ire after getting her hand off.


    The dinner time was finally over, and I was going to go home, but instead, I got into another argument with Haley as I hung out with the siblings in the living room.


    "Now that you''re back to normal, there''s a party at Andrew Adlers this Saturday if you want toe." Haley said, pretending to not care about meing or not.


    "Nah, I''m fine."


    "Why are you being so rude? Aren''t you getting back with your friends now that you''re back to normal?" Haley said in an offended tone.


    Edward was one of the popr kids in school before my mom and dad got divorced, so I understand her frustration. But I''m not getting back to that life.


    "The answer to that is simple. They weren''t my friends in the first ce. Friends don''t abandon you at the first sight of trouble. You keep saying ''back to normal'', as if my struggle before doesn''t even matter. I am not getting back to the same shallow cliques that I used to be in before."


    "Are you calling me shallow!?" Haley yelled angrily as she became offended by the statement. "And here I thought I''m being kind enough to invite you!"


    "Yup. And also a bit vain." I replied.


    Alex''s eyes darted between the two people, not knowing what to do as the argument became heated.


    "Kids. What happened?" Phil heard the argument from the kitchen and rushed to the living room. He and ire were in the kitchen talking before.


    "You know what dad? I will NEVER be friends with someone like him. In fact, I don''t even understand why you epted the invitation to be in my house if you''re not wanting to be friends with popr people."


    "Like I said before, vain and shallow. Wait, I think that''s the same thing? Anyway, I only came here for Mr. Dunphy and Luke as they had helped me before, not for you." I replied.


    "Ahh!" Haley let out an offended gasp, and stormed off to her room. "Get out of my house!" She yelled from the upper floor.


    "dly." I replied with a smile, causing her to fume in anger. "URGHH!" She groaned and mmed the door to her room.


    "So anyway, we will meet at 8.15 tomorrow?" I turned to the stunned Phil to ask for confirmation.


    "Yeah..." Phil replied unconsciously. He wanted to ask about what started the argument as the kids were getting along pretty well before, but he couldn''t as I changed the subject.


    "Great. See youter." I waved goodbye to the family and walked calmly to my house.

 Chapter 12: Create.

    <h4>Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Create.?</h4>


    (A/N: Just found out that I''m trending. You guys are the best! My editor asked me to capitalize this (He''s a capitalist) and ask for support for me to get to the top 3 spot on WN. So do your best guys, otherwise he won''t let me post more Chapters!!)


    "Why the hell am I fighting with her... again?" I muttered as I walked home. Not regretting my actions much, I hummed a song while walking.


    I arrived at my house after walking for 2 minutes. I took a shower before changing into my pajamas. Then, I started to n the rest of my week. I sat on the bed and tracked my activities using my fingers.


    "A show tomorrow. I need to buy aptop after that. Lily ising home on Sunday. I don''t think I can enter the family gathering, but if I can, I want to see the episode yed out by myself. It will also confirm my doubts whether the story will move the way the series does, or will my future knowledge be useless here."


    I sighed as Iid on the bed, my feet hanging by the edge and touching the floor.


    "I still need to study for the history test on Friday. Damn." I cursed out. It''s only 9 o''clock, so I rested for 10 minutes before starting a little side project.


    I didn''t have any assignments for tomorrow, so I could take it easy. I would, however, habitually read for at least an hour before I went to bed.


    "Let''s see here. Edna Mode On." I muttered as I took out multiple fabrics from the stic covers. "Pepper and Cam are really generous."


    I ran my fingers through the soft fabrics and multiple outfits designs popped into my mind.


    There were multiple high quality fabrics that I could use to create more than 10 outfits for myself. Cam also bought the fabrics to bribe me into a non-disclosure agreement about the baby. He wanted to be there to see the family''s reaction, therefore I epted his bribe.


    However, the materials weren''t suitable for my casual clothes. I could only make outfits for special events or business suits with this one.


    I had already dug out my mom''s rusty sewing machine from the garage and fixed it a bit so that it could run smoothly again.


    I started cutting the clothes using scissors and sewing them using the old sewing machine. I wanted to create an outfit for my show tomorrow night.


    My phone suddenly buzzed, distracting me from my focus after sewing for an hour.


    I picked the phone and found a text from Pepper. He told me that he had just sent Mitch and Cam to the airport, and was wondering if I have time for tomorrow. I texted him back, but he''s replying so slowly that I decided to just call him.


    "What''s going on?" I asked.


    "A few entertainment agencies are trying to contact you. They want to sign you up as one of their own. What are you going to do about it?" Pepper asked from the other line. The agencies were all intercepted by hiswyers before they could even contact the artist.


    "I don''t want to. At least not now. You can handle them for me right, Pepper?" I asked. The son of an oil magnate was silent for a while as he was thinking about it.


    "Oh well. I will handle your advertisement and albums then." Pepper said decisively.


    "What? I meant- Rejecting them for me...Hello? Hellooo?"


    The call was cut off after Pepper drove into a tunnel. "What the hell just happened?!"


    ...


    Pepper never called back and didn''t reply to my messages after that. He only texted one, saying he needed to prepare for my debut.


    "I guess I will be a singer then." I muttered tly.


    "Whatever. It''s Newgate''s dream to be one. I could y along for a while, and retire before I got into college."


    Newgate was a music prodigy and wanted to be famous worldwide with his music. However, I know the trouble of getting famous at such an early age. Getting to Hollywood may seem nice on the surface, but it was filled with dirty dealings underneath.


    Without a proper backing, it would be easy for the upper officials in Hollywood to bury me �C both literally and figuratively. My dreams were different from Newgate. The Franzetti dream was to live life without ever having to bow my head at horrible people again.


    "I wanted to build something, but I don''t have any money. What a waste of good ability." I muttered. "Maybe going ''dumpster'' diving like Peter Parker did?"


    "Or should I buy some old car and restore it?" I muttered. "I could sell them for money afterward. But it''s not cost effective."


    "I guess. I will make some websites and games to sell."


    It''s only 2009, and the mobile games market was still small. I had learned how to create some small indie games through my studies in my previous life.


    "I think I could create games better than the ones in the market right now. But I''m going to theptop first. The PC is better, but it will cost too much for me right now."


    Never once did I think of asking my dad for money to buy theptop. Not because I was too stubborn and egoistical as I was as an adult before, but it just slipped my mind.


    "Let''s see how much money I have now."


    I reached underneath my bed and pulled out a small brass box. I opened the sealed shut box and finally dove into Newgate''s personal savings that he''d collected throughout the years.


    "Collect some money, and then run away from home after you turn 18. A very simple train of thoughts."


    Rather than living the way the previous me would''ve intended, I wanted to prepare for the future.


    "288 dors in the box. Added with 150 dors left from the gig money, I will have around 900 tomorrow after singing at the cafe. It''s enough for a good-statptop I needed to start coding."


    Most of the savings were from my grandparents in Wisconsin. I turned to my phone and went to scroll the IOS app store.


    "Doodle jump is already released. I think Angry Birds is in production, so I couldn''t make that. Hmm...I guess maybe Bands or Temple run. I can start by creating simple websites and selling them for money."


    I also needed money for establishing apany, creating a domain name, and many more. I couldn''t wantonly create the game and hoped that I would be a millionaire from it.


    "What else can I do to make some money? What else?" I paced back and forth in my bedroom and fell into a deep thought.


    "Selling new fashion wear is simple enough, but to find the right connection is troubling. It''ll be good if I debut first and then start a clothing line. Summer is nearing, so I can sell some summer designs to a few clothingpanies, but who in their right mind would deal with a kid?"


    ...


    Morning came quickly and I biked to school as usual. Mrs Henderson called me into her ss early in the morning to discuss a few things about my graduation.


    "You''re severelycking in extracurricr activity. I would advise that you join the marching band given your skills in music, but there isn''t any empty spot left in the band." Mrs Henderson said.


    She pushed the bridge of her sses up using her left hand and put down the paper containing my academic records. She was wearing a ck blouse with a high-waisted pant today, mesmerizing me with her beauty once more.


    "Hmm? Anything wrong Mr. Newgate?" Mrs Henderson asked as she saw my expression.


    "Sorry. I am just...confused. How did my extra-curricr take part again?"


    Mrs Henderson sighed. She then exined calmly, "It won''t matter if you''re entering the high school here. But after transferring, especially in Wisconsin, I am afraid that you won''t be able to adapt to the environment there. Having an extra-curricr skill or an area of expertise would help you in adapting."


    "So..you''re worried about me?" I asked with a teasing smile.


    Unexpectedly, my homeroom teacher replied, "I am. You''re not getting any tutoring, and you''re not having any friends in school. I am afraid when you transfer, you will stop going to school."


    I was stunned by the sudden honesty. "Why do you care so much anyway? Once I''m gone, I will no longer be your problem." I blurted out.


    I didn''t mean to do that, but the words just slipped out. Mrs. Henderson stood up from her chair and walked to the whiteboard to prepare for today''s lesson she will teach the ss. She grabbed a whiteboard marker and started to write a few science theories on the board.


    "What do you n to do in the future, Mr Newgate?" Mrs. Henderson asked with her back against me.


    "I don''t know. Be rich I guess." I replied. I really don''t know what I''m going to do here. Dreams are for childrens. I was once an adult who''d already buried his dreams as he faced the reality of the world.


    "And being rich will make you happy?" She asked again.


    I became irked by her question. "Will being poor make you happy?" I said in confrontation.


    "Maybe it will. Maybe it won''t. All I know for sure, if I''m with the people I love, I will always be happy, even when going through tough times." Mrs. Henderson turned to face me after finishing writing her lessons.


    "That''s a child''s dream. Reality didn''t work like that. Real world won''t stop until they beat you down and take everything you''d ever love. I don''t think you''re that naive Mrs. Henderson." I replied with venom in my voice.


    "But you''re still a child." Mrs. Henderson said calmly. "What''s the use of being a child you don''t dare to dream?"


    I was left speechless by her words. The school bell rang before I could argue again. The first period was starting, therefore the conversation here was over.


    "Go to your ss Mr. Newgate. I will see youter." Mrs. Henderson said. I nodded and rushed to my ss for today.


    I couldn''t focus on the ss that day, therefore Iid down my head on the table and stared at the window outside. After thinking for a while, I decided to not let the conversation bother me. Jacob, the potato boy, tapped on my shoulder after the ss was over.


    "Ed. Next ss is English ss. Let''s go."


    "Hmm...sure."


    We walked to the next ss before a sudden gust of wind raged inside the school hallways.


    "What the hell was that!?" Jacob yelled out after being surprised by the wind. He turned to see me with a piece of flier stuck on my face after the wind blew the paper across the halls.


    I picked up the piece of paper from my face and saw what was written on it.


    "Hmm? Chess tournament? First price�C 500 dors. That''s nice. " I muttered tly and decided to crumple the paper into a ball and threw it into a garbage bin nearby.


    "Aren''t you joining the tournament?" Jacob asked a stupid question.


    "Why would I?" I replied.


    "I don''t know. It seems like fate is calling you. After all, the paper didn''t stick to anyone else''s face but you." Jacob teased.


    "..."


    We went to the cafeteria to have lunch after English ss. I saw Alex sitting alone in the cafeteria after I picked up a tray of food. The lunch in the school was disgusting, but I didn''t have anyone else to me except myself for not making some sandwiches this morning.


    "Sup." I approached Alex''s table and sat in front of her casually. She widened her eyes as I came to sit with her. Jacob quickly turned his steps and retreated from the table as he saw I was sitting with a girl. He was a nice kid, but his social skills were below zero. He would freeze when he wanted to talk to girls in the school.


    "What are you doing here?" Alex asked. She usually used her lunch time to read instead of hanging out with other girls�C not that she didn''t want to talk and have fun, but she didn''t have any close friends.


    "I''m eating. What else? Are you sure you''re smart? Or you''re just another pretty face?" I said with an innocent look on my face.


    Alex was flustered and she quickly controlled her tone to be a bit haughty, "If you want to sit, then sit. I don''t care."


    "Which Tv show did you learn that dialogue from? That should be used when I asked if I could sit here, not after I''d already sat." Iughed at her pitiful attempt to show that she didn''t care about sitting with someone.


    "Don''t tease me. Why are you always teasing me?" Alex asked in frustration.


    "Why else? I think you''re pretty awesome, and I would like to be your friend." I replied honestly. She was stunned by the sudden confession and lowered her head.


    "Is that really it? Or are you doing so to make Haley mad again?" Alex asked in distrust. Having a popr older sister, it wasn''t the first time a boy wanted to use her to get close to her sister. In the end, she was just a tool for the boys to get to know Haley.


    She kept her guard up and waited for the answer with a heavy-beating heart.


    "Honestly, I don''t care about Haley. She''s pretty, but she''s not my type." I replied with a sly smirk.


    "If ranked, I like Luke and Phil, then ire, then Manny and Gloria, then Jay, andstly Haley."


    "Oh. I wasn''t ranked?" Alex asked.


    "You''re between ire and Phil. It''s a bit high, but not the first one." I said. "By the way, the food today is disgusting." I said as I took a bit of the brown sludge on my food tray.


    Alex smiled and started to reply casually, "I think I saw the lunchdy drop her wig in there. She did pick it back up, but you may find a couple of-"


    "Okay. I''m done." I said and pushed the tray toward her. She closed her book andughed after finally winning in the argument for once.


    A popr girl at school, Jenna Mckenzie walked to the cafeteria with her group of entourage. She then saw Edward sitting with Alex andughing together from afar.


    "He''s the one from Youtube right?" Jenna asked. The blonde haired popr girl wore a mini-skirt and an almost see through blouse. Most of the boys in the school would drool when they saw her.


    "Yes. His songs now have passed 100,000 views. Manymented for him to audition in an entertainment agency or just debut already." An african-american follower of the popr girl briefed Jenna about the situation.


    In the teenagers'' lives, poprity was everything for them. Jenna had never been single since she was 9 years old, and had lost her virginity at 12. Now, she''s stalking for her new prey to be an essory for her popr life in school.


    "I like him. He''s going to be mine." Jenna said as she pointed at Edward.


    ...


    -Omniscient POV-


    Mrs. Henderson was marking the assignments on her desk. A male teacher knocked on the door and said, "Henderson. It''s lunchtime. Take a break."


    "I''m okay." Mrs. Henderson replied, not looking up from her desk. The male teacher shrugged his shoulders and walked away�C disappointed that the beautiful teacher didn''t ept his invitation once more.


    Alone in the ssroom, Mrs Henderson held Edward''s academic transcript in her hand. She then muttered, "He''s a tough one. Your son. I wonder if it''s really worth it to make a dreamless person into an Afterlife agent."


    Join My Discord channel to rmend the gacha!


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 Chapter 13: Bad luck day.

    <h4>Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Bad luck day.?</h4>


    (A/N: Remember this while reading �C I''m writing it as a tv show. I.e Euphoria, Sex-education, and all the teenage drama series. Enjoy the Chapter!)


    "So, are we friends now?" I asked.


    "We are." Alex replied, blushing a little. I took back my phone from her hand. She''d just finished entering her phone number inside.


    A few tables away, Jacob''s jaw just dropped after he saw his friend easily ask a girl for her phone number. With his mouth open, his sandwich fillings also fell from his mouth without him realising it.


    "But text me inappropriate things, I will block you." Alex warned.


    "You look cute when you try to seem menacing." I teased.


    I smiled at her, causing her to avoid my gaze, face full of disbelief.


    "What did I just say?" Alex tried to be menacing again. Iughed at her face, causing her to be sullen.


    As we were talking, I heard clicking sounds of high heels from behinding toward me, but I ignored them. It''s not the first time someone tried to talk to me today, and I didn''t think it would be thest.


    Jenna was confused when I didn''t turn to face her even when she was standing behind me.


    ''He must not know I''m here.'' She thought. "Hey Edward~" She called flirtatiously. However, I didn''t turn to the source of the voice.


    "Hey Alex. You''re taking cello lessons right?" I asked.


    Alex''s eyes shook as she could see the popr girls'' cliques from her sitting position. Jenna tilted her head in confusion as I didn''t turn even when I was called.


    "Want me to teach you? I''m a pro at that." I offered.


    "Did you not hear me calling for you?" Jenna said, her voice carried a trace of anger even when she''s smiling.


    I finally responded. I nced at the girl and asked in a cold tone, "What?"


    Jenna flinched, and her hand moved to cover her chest. It was the first time in her life that a boy showed such disinterest in her.


    ''Why is he suddenly so hot?'' Jenna thought, biting her lower lips. ''He was so-so before.''


    She finally allowed her eyes to study the boy''s face closely now. His chiselled jaw, his striking green eyes, and the most attractive one for her amongst all, his hair.


    "You!" Her entourage started to get mad for her. Jenna stopped them from moving forward with a halt of her palm. She smiled and sat extremely close to the boy, almost leaning at my body.


    "You don''t remember me? I sat near you in English." Jenna flirted while touching her hair�Cswirling the curly end of her hair with her fingers.


    "So?" I asked coldly. I had a hunch about why she wanted to talk to me, but honestly, I wasn''t interested �C especially a 14 years old girl.


    "Nothing. I just want to ask you something." Jenna quickly changed the subject. She didn''t know why, but right now, the boy was incredibly desirable. She couldn''t wait for the day he''ll submit to her charms. "I think you''re really cute. Will you go out with me?"


    "No." I replied curtly and proceeded to turn my face toward Alex again.


    I was confused when Alex had the same expression on her face as Jacob, and almost all the kids sitting nearby the table. Their mouths opened wide, and they were in disbelief at what just happened.


    Jenna''s face froze while she was still smiling. She couldn''t understand what just happened. "What?"


    "Ed- Newgate, Jenna is talking to you." Alex said hurriedly in a meek voice. As a member of the bottom in the hierarchy in the school, it was ingrained in the personality of a member of this level to always treat the popr girls word as amandment.


    Jenna turned to Alex after hearing what she said. "Wait. You''re a girl? I thought you''re a boy." She nced at Alex''s t chest and then she let out a shortugh. Compared to her bodacious body, the girl in front of her didn''t seem much of a threat.


    She looked at Alex then at Edward. "She''s not your girlfriend is she?" Jenna asked while hinting at Alex to leave.


    "I''m- I''m not. Newgate. Don''t talk to me so casually. Bye!" Alex quickly grabbed her books and ran away to the next ss. I tried to stop her, but Jenna hugged my arm and whispered into my ears. I could feel her body heat, and her braless chest clinging to my arm.


    "I don''t think you heard me correctly before. I''m asking you out." Jenna whispered seductively before she released my arm.


    ''I''ve hit you with my best shot. You''ve basically got to second base now. Say yes, and I''m yours.'' Jenna thought.


    "Okay then, since you''re asking for it. Lend me your ear." I showed an embarrassed smile and gestured for her to get near. Jenna squealed in happiness before she slowly moved her head closer to mine. I ced my mouth next to her ear, and saw that she was gripping the edge of her clothes tightly while biting her lower lips at the same time.


    "Fuck off, you worn out bup sack. Stay the fuck away from me." I whispered in a sweet tone before I left the table. I wanted to call Jacob, but I found out that the guy had already retreated to safety a long time ago.


    ...


    3rd person POV.


    "Jenna, are you okay?" The pixie-cut, African-american girl, who wore a green tank top with a jacket and short pants, asked in concern after she saw Jenna still frozen in her seat�C even after Edward had left and the bell had rung.


    All the kids had already gone to the ssroom, but the popr girl cliques were still at the cafeteria. All the other girls had gone to ss, leaving only her and Jenna in the cafeteria.


    "Elsa, that really... happened right?" Jenna asked.


    "Don''t worry Jenna, Newgate is an overrated little bitch-"


    "HE''S SO... FUCKING HOT!!!!!" Jenna screamed in excitement.


    "What the fuck-" Elsa eximed in bewilderment as she thought her friend had gone crazy.


    "I need him. He''s mine. Let''s go." Jenna said, leading her cliques to the ssroom. "Find out about the girl he''s with. Who''s she and what''s their rtionship?" Jenna ordered.


    "Nah. Don''t. That girl is not to be messed with." Elsa said quickly. Jenna turned to her friend who''s been following her from behind. "Why?"


    "Are you crazy? That''s Haley''s sister. Don''t you remember thest girl that tried to mess with her sister?" Elsa said with fear in her tone.


    "Really? Haley huh." Jenna narrowed her eyes. She became frustrated and started to bite her nail.


    "They didn''t know each other until this week. She''s not important." Elsa said.


    "Really?" Jenna brightened up.


    "Yes. If you really want Newgate, he''ll be yours. Don''t worry about it." Elsa said.


    "Hmm...I believe you." Jenna said and then she entered the English ss �C the same ss Edward was having right now. She ignored the balding male teacher who''s teaching the ss and stood next to Jacob who''s sitting next to Edward.


    "Will you move?" Jenna asked nicely. Jacob quickly stored his stuff and changed his seat to the ones behind Edward without even denying the popr girl''s request even once.


    "That potato bitch." Edward cursed his traitorous friend.


    "Hmm... Hi Edward." Jenna greeted shyly and continued making eyes at Edward during the entire ss session. Elsa stared at her friend in wonder. ''Did she really lose her mind?''


    ...


    -Dunphy''s house-


    Haley wasughing madly at the gossip circting amongst the children in the town.


    "She asked a gay kid to be her boyfriend." Haley couldn''t stop herself fromughing until her stomach hurt. Alex finally arrived home after her cello lesson and entered their shared room.


    "What are youughing about?" Alex said with a grimacing face as if allergic to Haley''s happiness.


    "Do you know what happened at your school cafeteria today?" Haley asked, face full of excitement. Alex suddenly became guarded and asked, "What did you hear?"


    "Apparently a popr girl''s confession was shut down by the arrogant bastard Newgate. She''d made a fool of herself- Pfft- Hahaha!" Haleyughed again.


    Alex asked, "Really? That''s it?"


    "Yeah. Why? Do you know something more?!" Haley asked, face full of anticipation. She leaned forward to hear what Alex was going to say more clearly.


    "Nothing else was mentioned? Maybe the friend Edward was sitting with?" Alex asked sarcastically. Haley turned to her phone and rechecked the message, "No. I don''t think so. They only said he was sitting with a boy."


    Alex rolled her eyes and quickly became disinterested in the conversation.


    "Oh yeah. Mom is going to the cafe tonight to follow Dad. She is bringing all of us with her." Alex said.


    "What?! No. I''m not going!" Haley tried to object. "Don''t tell me...tell mom. She''s downstairs." Alex said without looking at Haley and opening her books to do her homeworks.


    "Moooom!" Haley called out and rushed outside.


    "Mom had left 5 minutes ago to go to the mall. With her searching for mom, I think I''ll have one hour of peace and silence to study."


    From afar, Alex heard Haley call out, "Moooom!"


    "Well. Maybe peace." Alex mumbled as she shrugged her shoulders. "MOOM!" Haley yelled out louder than before.


    -Edward POV-


    "Finally the day is over." Edward sighed as he cycled back home using his bike. "That girl''s brain couldn''tprehend the meaning of the word ''No''."


    After I got home, I texted Alex asking if she was fine, but she didn''t reply to any of my texts. I sighed and ced my bag on my desk table as I entered my room.


    I got cleaned and continued sewing my outfit for the show.


    "Hmm. I don''t think I will get it done in time."


    I may have Edna''s talent, but it was my first time sewing after all.


    "It''s a shame as I''m almost done with it too." I muttered as I picked up the brown jacket I''m currently sewing.


    The doorbell rang at 6 o''clock in the evening. I opened the front door to see Luke and Phil already dressed and ready for the showing tonight.


    "You know the show''s not till 9 right?" I asked.


    "We know. We''re just here to see if there''s anything we can help you with �C to get ready for the show." Phil replied.


    "I''m just here for more cakes." Luke said. I rubbed his head and said, "You shouldn''t eat that everyday. It''s unhealthy."


    The kid grimaced, but he nodded obediently.


    "Manny called. He said he will be sure toe." Phil said as they were invited inside the house. Manny woulde to the show with his new step-dad Jay and his mother Gloria.


    I turned to see where Luke went, but he''d disappeared. "Luke? Where are you?" Phil asked.


    "I''m using the toilet." Luke replied from afar.


    Luke went straight to the fridge and opened it up without an ounce of shame in raiding another family''s fridge.


    "Jackpot." Luke muttered as he saw a whole oreo cheesecake inside the fridge. He sneaked the cake out of the fridge, and into his clothes.


    "Dad, I forgot something at home. I wille backter." Luke said to Phil from afar before he ran to his house. I was confused by Luke''s action, but I had more important things to focus on now.


    My phone started ringing. I saw the names Steven and Stephan on the screen and picked it up quickly. The cafe owner was calling, but I''m not sure why.


    "I''m sorry, Edward. But there''s a small fire in the cafe. It''ll need to be shut down until the weekends." The voice from the other line said.


    "What? Seriously?" I asked. "Is anyone hurt?"


    "No. The fire didn''t spread out too much. The firefighters are here..."


    I then heard the owners giggling as they greeted the firefighters in their burned down cafe at this moment.


    ''Ahh...the firefighters in this town have a reputation of being hot.'' The facts helped me to understand why the owners of the cafe were still happy even when their store was burned down.


    After talking with the owners for a while, I sighed and told Phil about the incident.


    "Oh. That''s too bad. We''re really looking forward to hearing you y again." Phil said as he put his hand on my shoulder tofort me.


    "It''s okay. I''ll have another chance. By the way, can I ask you a question? Do you know a ce where I can get aptop for 400 bucks?" I said sadly. I remember the flyer that was stuck on my face in school today.


    The chess tournament was at 3 o''clock in the evening, and it took ce at the school therefore I only needed to register with a teacher to enter. My opponents would only be middle-school students. With the knowledge from the gacha, there wouldn''t be any challenges for me to win.


    "I could''ve gotten the 500 dors cash prize..." I muttered sadly.


    Phil drove me to a second-hand electronic store that was rated highly in this town. He also had some contacts in this particr area, therefore I managed to score a used, 2009 released HPptop in my price range.


    "This''ll have to do." I said as I thanked the storekeeper after I made my purchase.


    "It''s great right? Theptop is practically new." Phil said guiltily. "Doesn''t matter if it''s new. It had spent almost 15 minutes on a naked astronaut''s private parts. I feel dirty just touching it."


    Phil was helpless in cheering me up.


    "Hmm... I think I will just have dinner and cheer myself up with some cakes. Thanks again Vitamin P for bringing me around."


    "Vitamin P?" Phil widened his eyes as he heard it.


    "Yeah. My nickname for you." I replied with a smile.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "IT''S HAPPENING!!!!" Phil screamed while sitting on the sofa. From afar, ire''s voice can be heard, "What happened?"


    Phil turned to ire''s direction and yelled, "Nothing honey."


    Thementary restarted, this time, Phil spoke calmly.


    "It''s finally happening. Me and Edward are moving to the next level. It''s worth it with me keeping it real with him. (in a gangster ent) Ya know what I''m saying?"


    Phil paused for a while.


    "Now, if he marries one of my daughters, it will be perfect."


    [Luke''smentary]


    "I ate a whole cake, just by myself."


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I feel bad that his gig had been cancelled, but he deserved it. That''s what you get when you mess with Haley Dunphy." Haley said seriously.


    She then realised what she said and quickly exined, "I didn''t start the fire."


    [Alex''smentary]


    "He kept texting me. Urghh! What should I do? How do I even respond to him? I''ve taken so long to text back, and now it will be weird if I text him!"


    [Manny and Gloria''smentary]


    Manny said, " I was looking forward to watching him y again. His songs resonated with me."


    "Ay Papi don''t be sad." Gloriaforted her son.


    "I''m not sad, mom. I called Edwardter that night, and I will be going to his house on Saturday. He had agreed to teach me more about ser."


    "Ayyy my papi finally has a friend!" Gloria said while hugging her son.


    "When you said it like that, it seems like I had no other friends mom-"


    [Jay''s Commentary]


    " I''ll never admit it to Gloria, but I was looking forward to going to the cafe. I also think the fire is retribution for his lies. Hahaha. Ahh, the kid will be fine. "


    [ire''s Commentary]


    " I think something is going on with the girls. I need to find out what. "


    Luke was walking behind ire staggeringly as he''s experiencing the sugar crash after eating a whole cake by himself.


    " Hey mom. The room is spinning. " Luke called out from the stairs. Then, he fell down after taking two steps up the stairs.


    " Luke! " ire turned to Luke and rushed toward him quickly.


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    After I got myptop, I started to study about my dad''s business model and his current advertising ns.


    "What do you mean you only advertise in the pier?" I asked in disbelief during breakfast with my dad the next morning.


    "Well, that''s where people go to sail right? Sometimes they call first. I put some banners at the pier to let people know." Ted replied calmly, not knowing why I was so surprised after hearing about his business.


    "No wonder your business is doomed." I blurted out. Ted froze and dropped the bacon from his fork as he was stunned by the sudden criticism.

 Chapter 14: Pilot begins.

    <h4>Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Pilot begins.?</h4>


    (A/N: Stone me!)


    -Edward POV-


    The problem with Ted''s business wasn''t his skill in seafaring or the condition of his ship. The problem was ack of customers and an outdated business model.


    "I''m going to create a website for your business. I need you to get me your business details, registration, et cetera so that I can create a credit card payment system online."


    "Isn''t that dangerous? What if ''hackers'' break into the system? They can steal every credit card detail registered there." Ted expressed his concern.


    ''Please. My system will be even more secure than the bank''s system nowadays. I yed aroundst night, and if I wanted to, I could shut down the department of traffic in the town and let the city fall under chaos.''


    But I didn''t do that as I wouldn''t want to get a record if, by any miraculous chance, someone knew I did it.


    "Not at all. Don''t worry about the website''s defense. Leave it all to me. But I''m going to need some money to get started." I said and asked for Ted''s credit card.


    He reluctantly gave me his credit card after I repeatedly emphasized to him the benefits of moving hispany into the digital age before hispetitors.


    "You''ll get more party-addicted young models in your ship from now on as they are the main target for online tickets. I see this as nothing but a win for you." I teased.


    "Not giving up on trying to make me hook up with the models I see." Ted yed along.


    Ted listened to my ideas and exnations without interjecting much. I could see that the numbers, bombs, and theories were too much for him. Therefore I decided to guide him slowly.


    "How do you know about this stuff?" Ted expressed his shock. ''Who is this kid in front of me? When did Ed be so smart?'' Ted thought secretly as he looked at me with wary eyes.


    "Dad. It''s the 21st century. People can learn everything through the inte nowadays." I lied. I only used my knowledge from thepanies I had worked with in my past life and implemented them into my dad''s business.


    Ted was a bonafide sailor. In his 20s, he traveled the world through the seas. His experience visiting exoticsnd was plenty, and he always had some stories to tell his customers buying tickets for his ship.


    He could still stay in business because most of his customers were recurring customers and loved getting aboard his ship. Most of his skills were on seafaring, with only a little bit on business matters.


    "There will be a hard few months in front of you because of the changes. But, it''ll be better than selling your ship. How about it, dad? Do you want to try it?" I asked.


    Ted walked closer and pulled me into his embrace suddenly. I was shocked by the sudden action, but I didn''t push him away when I heard his following words. "Thank you for thinking of me, Ed. I will try to build my business back up, so we don''t have to move."


    "I don''t care about that," I said casually, causing Ted to be confused. "Didn''t you learn all this stuff, so we don''t have to move to Wisconsin?" Ted asked.


    "Nuh-uh. I am doing this ''cause it''s pretty stupid for your business to be bankrupt just because you don''t know how to run it." I said sarcastically.


    Ted was stunned and wanted to defend himself, but he couldn''t find the words to do it. He sighed, smiled softly at his son, and said, "Sure. That''s the reason."


    I was weirded out by his sudden change, but I didn''t say anything as his change was helping me to help him.


    "I will also create a program to schedule your trips more efficiently. That way, you don''t have to stay in the Marina all day long while waiting for the customer toe." I said and showed him the UI design of the website that I sketched on a piece of paper.


    "Give me 3 days," I said confidently to my dad before getting to school. "Take a lot of pics of your trips, ship space, and facilities. I am going to need it."


    "Okay. I will rent a digital camera for it." Ted said. I stared at him with distrust in my eyes.


    "This is the number ofmunity college teachers teaching photography as a subject. Call him, and ask for a list of students that took that course in thest few years. Let them take pictures of your ship and everything else I want. If they do their job well, you should hire them to be the official photographer for your party."


    Ted seemed anxious, so I added, "Just say it''s for an internship if you don''t want to pay them. You can even reach an agreement with their lecturer for that."


    "I-I see," Ted replied hesitatingly.


    "There''s nothing more intoxicating for the rich people who get on board your ship than taking pictures of their wealth and rubbing it into their friends'' faces. A photographer service will bring many rich people on board your ship." I said reassuringly.


    Before I left, I said in a solemn tone, "Dad. You really should find someone to run the business with you. You can''t do all of this alone."


    "I will try," Ted replied with a wry smile.


    Now that I have myptop, I n to create a few websites and games to sell, but first, I will help my dad stabilize his current situation.


    ...


    Although I was consistently bothered at school by the slutty stalker, I managed to end the day peacefully. Some of the boys in love with Jenna wanted to cause some trouble with me, but with Jacob standing at my side, no one dared toe forward. If only they knew that the potato kid was a coward who would run away at the first sight of trouble.


    I felt dejected as I didn''t meet with Alex today. It''s as if she was hiding from me. I was looking forward to being her friend, but she didn''t feel the same way.


    Before I went home, I saw ire sitting in her minivan in front of the school. She had just picked up Luke and was waiting for Alex to exit the school. I walked by and greeted her and Luke.


    "Hello, Mrs. Dunphy."


    "Edward, Hi. Sorry to hear about the fire." ire said, trying to empathize with my situation, but her expression seemed insincere even when she really was.


    "It''s okay. The owners have rmended me to a few live music cafes in the area, so I will have more opportunities in the future." I replied.


    "Good for you. Also, I''m really sorry that Luke stole your dessert." ire said casually. I widened my eyes and turned to Luke, sitting in the back seat.


    "That was you!?" I was surprised by the sudden piece of information.


    "You...you don''t know?" ire said, looking guiltily as she turned at Luke and then at me.


    "I thought my dad brought it to work. I billed him 50 bucks this morning because he didn''t tell me about it. He said he didn''t, and we had a big fight."


    "Oh, my god. I am so sorry!" ire was highly bbergasted when she heard it. Of course, I lied. I was just messing with her and Luke.


    "Edward. I''m sorry. I didn''t think it through! I will NEVER steal a cake from YOUR house again, despite how delicious...and creamy...and very delicious-"


    "Okay, stop." ire scolded her son. "You need to make this right, Luke. I told you to apologize to himst night, but you didn''t. You won''t even get a piece of the desert for a month."


    Luke was shocked, but he didn''t object to the punishment. ire turned to me and said, "I will pay you for the cake. I will also exin the matter to your father...."


    "That''s okay. My dad and I had already made up. We med it on the roons instead. Now I know who the roon was. I will make sure to put locks on the fridge when Lukees and visits."


    "Wait. You''re not mad?" Luke asked.


    "Nah. It was a mistake made in a moment of weakness. I can understand it, but don''t do it again. Okay?"


    "Hmmm...Okay." Luke replied. "We''re still friends?" Luke asked.


    "Yeah. We are." I said with a sincere smile.


    "That''s...very kind of you Edward..." ire said, hiding her disbelief. "You know what, I''m going to bake a cake this Sunday. I will make an extra one for you." ire offered.


    "Can I watch how it gets made? I do like baking and making desserts." I asked. ire thought for a while and replied as if she had no choice, "Okay. Sunday morning. 10 a.m. Come by the house."


    "It''s a date," I replied before I cycled away. "No. It''s not a date!" ire shouted from afar, but I ignored her.


    [ire''smentary.]


    Sitting on the sofa in her blue blouse and hair let loose, ire fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke, "Okay. He''s a nice kid. He''s very understanding too. After the dinner, I thought he was interested in Alex...."


    ire''s eyes turned troubled. "But...He is more interested in...me?"


    [Commentary ends]


    -3rd Party POV-


    After Edward moved away from the SUV, Alex finally entered the car�Cstealthily, like a ninja.


    "Arghh!" Luke yelled in surprise when Alex suddenly opened the car door.


    "Don''t make a noise! Be still!" Alex said in frustration.


    "Alex, when did you be a kidnapper?" ire asked. Alex ignored the remark and closed the car door quickly.


    "Why did Edwarde here? Did he ask why I didn''t text him back? What did he say?" Alex asked hurriedly.


    ire widened her eyes in surprise. "You guys are texting each other?" She asked inquisitively.


    "Are you guys dating?" Luke asked.


    "No!!" Alex replied hurriedly. "He asked me to be his friend yesterday and asked for my number. He texted me, but I didn''t reply yet. That''s it." Alex exined after she knew she didn''t have a way out after unconsciously blurting out the information.


    "I don''t want to meet him until I know how to exin why I don''t text him back," Alex said.


    "That will be quite difficult," ire said.


    "Why?" Alex asked knowingly.


    "Because mom invited him to our house on Sunday," Luke interjected as heughed at Alex''s misery.


    "MOM!" Alex called out in horror.


    [ire''smentary]


    "I was wrong. He''s using me to get close to Alex. Not in a million years!... But I cannot cancel on Sunday...Damn it!"


    ...


    -Edward POV-


    After I got home, I threw myself into building the website. It was fun to return to my previous job as I was working in easy mode this time.


    The bad thing was there were only so many shared codes I could find. So I need to build my own code from scratch.


    I spent the whole afternoon building the website, payment system, and online booking.


    "I also need to create some adverts online. It will help trick susceptible customers into buying things they don''t need."


    I could run the ads legally and illegally, but as my father''s business was legit, I needed to run the ads the legal way. The illegal ways will consist more of virus type ads �C like the hot milf in your area ads that will pop out at random sites.


    On Saturday, Manny came to y at my house. Gloria and Jay came too, but only to drop Manny over here. They then went to the mall after telling Manny they woulde to pick him up in an hour.


    I kept fixing the state of the house slowly throughout the week, and it looked much better now that I was almost done.


    The ''forest'' in the backyard was removed, and I nted some sunflowers near the picket fence. It would bloom in the summer, but I wouldn''t be able to enjoy it as much as I would in my grandpa''s ranch at that time.


    "Manny. Vamos." I said as I called him to the backyard.


    "I am thinking out loud here, but we can y the other game I bought, not foot- ser," Manny said as he stood at the backdoor.


    "Hmm? Empire? That''ll be good too. Or we can y chess. My father has the set in his room."


    Manny became smug after chess was mentioned. "You might be good at ser, but I''m great at chess. I yed it with my mom all the time."


    "Okay. We''ll y chess, but after, we''ll practice for a little while." I said.


    "Why?" Manny asked in confusion. I stared at his bulging belly and said, "No reason. I just want to sweat a little bit."


    Although confused, Manny did practice his y before we yed chess. As expected, I beat him in all 10 games we yed.


    "How are you so good? I could win against my mom 3 out of 10 times, but I couldn''t win against you once."


    I saw him be increasingly frustrated, so I smirked and said, "Do you want to y one more time? This time, I''ll y with my left hand to give you a handicap."


    "Okay!" Manny beamed up in excitement. He felt something was weird, but he was too excited to care about it as he wanted to win against me at least once.


    After 5 more games, Jay and Gloria returned to the house to pick up Manny.


    "Ayyy Papi, What''s wrong? Why are you so sad?" Gloria said as she saw a sullen Manny.


    "It turns out I''m not that good at chess, mom," Manny whined. "I lost 15 times against Edward. And he gave me a handicap in thest 5 matches."


    "Handicap? How?" Jay asked.


    "He yed with his left hand- Wait a minute!" Manny widened his eyes after he realized the entire situation.


    "Oh, Geez," Jay eximed in disappointment when he knew Manny had fallen for a prank.


    Iughed loudly, causing the kid to fume in anger.


    "Don''t be mad, Manny. Hahaha. You did well in the matches. You can surely beat Jay and Phil if you y against them."


    "Why me? What do you even know about me?" Jay asked in dissatisfaction.


    "I know you will lose against Manny," I said decisively.


    "You know what? We will y chess together at home." Jay said and grabbed Manny''s shoulder before he urged Manny to get into the car.


    "Why do you always provoke him?" Gloria asked after Jay was out of earshot.


    "Why are you mad at me? Now, Manny and Jay will spend more time together. I sensed that they aren''t that close with each other, am I right?"


    Gloria was slightly surprised and replied, "That''s true. Manny still couldn''t ept Jay fully. I tried hard, but they were both... too stubborn." She vented a little.


    "Yeah. I guessed that." I replied. Gloria shed a soft smile and patted my head. "You''re a good kid. I hope you can continue...being friends with Manny."


    "Okay. I will. His ser match is tomorrow, right? Tell him I said Good Luck with his match. Also, tell him Brenda Feldman has a boyfriend, so he will get shot down if he confesses to her."


    Gloria''s face changed into a shocked expression. "He wants to confess? But he''s a 10-year-old boy...and she''s... 16??"


    ...


    -Dunphy''s house. 3rd Party POV-


    "Why is heing again?" Haley asked in confusion after ire told her about Edward''s visit tomorrow. She had nned to invite Dn to her house to watch a movie, but she texted Dn not toe after hearing about the visit.


    "I made a promise with him. It''s just for an afternoon." ire said to persuade Haley as she knew Haley and Edward were fighting.


    "Besides, your father is already too excited for it that nothing you say will change anything." ire said casually. Haley opened her mouth, but no words woulde out.


    [Haley''smentary]


    Sitting with her arms crossed on the sofa, Haley has aplicated expression on her face.


    "I told Dn about Edward. And he''s a bit...angry. I know he''ll pick a fight if he meets him, so I tell Dn not toe." Haley confessed.


    "He''s being stupid, and I don''t want him to meet my mom and dad like this. The band was in the wrong, but he insisted on following Brian''s word against mine."


    "Now. I''m the one who had to suffer for it." Haley said while flipping her hair.


    [Commentary ends]


    Sunday morning came, and Dunphy''s house was hectic from the start.


    "Children! Breakfast!" ire, still dressed in her robes, shouted out to her children from the kitchen, even though they were all on the second level. She was standing between the refrigerator and the kitchen ind, removing food from the refrigerator to serve her family.


    ire''s husband, Phil, stood on her left with a game console in his hand. He focused so hard on his game that he tuned out what his wife was talking about and only responded periodically.


    "Kids?" ire called out again, but there was still no response. She sighed and said to her husband, "Phil. Will you get them?"


    "Yeah. One sec." Phil said, not prying his face away from the console. As ire turned to the kitchen ind, Phil grabbed a fruit snack from the fridge and closed the fridge door halfway.


    "Kids!" ire called out again. After getting the vegetables out, she turned to store them inside the fridge, but she crashed into the fridge door that Phil had changed. All the vegetables fall down on the floor, causing Phil to raise his face at a scary-faced ire.


    Phil quickly listened to her wife''s words and shouted, "Kids! Get down here!"


    Haley walked into the kitchen wearing a tight white top and a mini skirt.


    "Why are you guys yelling at us when we are wayyy upstairs. Just text me." Haley said.


    "All right," Phil replied casually. "That''s not going to happen." ire quickly admonished both her husband and her daughter.


    ire saw what Haley was wearing, and she said, "Wow! You''re not wearing that outfit!"


    "Why? What''s wrong with it?" Haley asked in puzzlement.


    "Honey, don''t you have anything to tell your daughter about her skirt?" ire asked, and she found Phil was focusing on the game again. "Honey!" She called in frustration.


    "Sorry," Phil said and raised his head to look at his daughter''s outfit. Haley was posing for Phil to see what''s wrong with her clothes.


    "Aww...That looks really cute, sweetheart." Phil said lovingly.


    "Thanks," Haley said, face full of smiles. ire was frustrated and took the matter into her hands, "No. It''s way too short. People know you''re a girl. You don''t need to prove it to them."


    Alex walked into the kitchen and said, "Luke got his head stuck in the banister again."


    Phil quickly responded, "I got it. Where''s the baby oil?"


    ire replied, "It''s on our bedside-" She silenced herself before exposing her private life with Phil. "I don''t know, Phil. Find it." ire said after rearranging her words.


    *Ding dong.*


    The doorbell rang as Phil was inside his room searching for the baby oil. ire walked to the front door and opened it. "Hi, Edward. You''re early."


    Dressed in a long-sleeved, ck checkered shirt with the sleeves folded and worn-out jeans, Edward said, "It''s...9.30? You told me toe at 10. I thought it would be polite toe early. I also thought I could score some breakfast here. Is that okay?"


    ire paused for a while as her mind raced through multiple thought processes. She replied,


    "It''s okay. Come on in."

 Chapter 15: Shoot! (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Shoot! (Part 1)</h4>


    (Thank your for a wonderful week!! Enjoy the Chapter!)


    -Edward POV-


    When ire opened the door, I saw Luke was stuck halfway through the bannister on the stairs. His head and his right arm had gotten through the gap between the bannisters.


    "Luke? Why are you like that?" I asked, passing through ire who opened the door to get to Luke. I walked while clutching myptop bag and I put down arge, wrapped box which contained my gift for Lily. The box caught ire''s attention, and she asked.


    "What is that?"


    "This is...a gift for Cam and Mitch. I am grateful for them, so I wanted to give them something. I was hoping that you can give it to themter on. They areing back today right?"


    "Yes. We will go to their house at 5, so I guess I can send your gift for you." ire said, wanted to take the gift box away from my hand. But I stopped her and said, "Be careful. There is a mechanism that will shoot confetti when it''s opened. If handled crassly, the mechanism will be broken."


    "Confetti?" ire asked in confusion.


    "Cam likes confetti right? He told me about that before. I also put glitter inside." I said. I actually lied about it to prevent ire peeking inside the box before Cam and Mitch opened it.


    I walked to Luke who''s stuck in the bannister.


    "He''s like this sometimes," She said to ensure I didn''t think less of her son.


    "Hey Ed." Luke greeted happily with his head poking out of the gap.


    "Were you trying to get out using the gap?" I asked as I stood in front of Luke.


    "Yeah." Luke replied sadly. Phil was in the bedroom, still trying to find the baby oil to lubricate Luke''s head.


    Alex spied on me from the kitchen and quickly fixed her hair and clothes before she approached me.


    She was nervous to meet me again. She wore her favourite grey shirt with a big peace sign logo on it and said as she stood next to me to poke fun at her brother, "I''m just going to say it. He needs to be checked by a specialist."


    "Alex." ire stopped her daughter from embarrassing her brother and sighed before she walked to the kitchen to continue preparing breakfast for the kids.


    "Do you have any allergies Edward?" ire asked.


    "No. I''m fine." I replied from afar. I ignored Alex and turned to Luke.


    "Why did you stop halfway? With your head already gone through, it will be easy to get the rest of your body out."


    "That''s impossible. He won''t be able to do it." Alex interjected before Luke could reply. I turned to her and said, "I''m sorry? Are you talking to me? I thought you''re going to continue ignoring me?"


    She was stunned and a bit bbergasted by the words.


    "I didn''t mean too!" Alex said hurriedly.


    "What''s your excuse then? I already epted the fact that you do not want to be my friend and I have been grieving for a few days."


    "No! That''s NOT IT!" Alex said with a raised voice. "I just didn''t know what to type back. And then I waited for too long... it''ll be awkward for me to start texting! I''m REALLY SORRY!"


    "Really Alex? You couldn''t just say ''Hey'' ?" Luke teased.


    "SHUT UP LUKE!" Alex said. ire peeked from the kitchen after she heard the heated argument.


    "Kids, what happened?" ire asked perfunctorily.


    ""Nothing mom."" Both Luke and Alex replied at the same time. ire shrugged her shoulders and continued preparing the food.


    I thought inwardly as I saw the situation in the entire house. Even though it was the day of the pilot episode, the situation didn''t serve to exin the dynamics of the characters like it was supposed to.


    That''s when I understand that I''m inside a real world, not a tv show. There wasn''t an exnation on why ire became as uptight and controlling as she was, or Phil''s attitude towards his childrens.


    "Newgate?" Alex called out with a shaky voice.


    "Call me Ed, and I won''t hold it against you anymore."


    Alex hesitated for a while, and after an internal struggle, she replied, "Okay Ed."


    I smiled to show that I didn''t carry a grudge any longer. Alex breathes in relief as she finally resolves the misunderstanding.


    "Do you really think he won''t be able to get out?" I asked.


    "He already tried it before, and he got stuck...the same as right now. It will be impossible."


    "Hmm... I don''t think so. I think he can get out." I said with a smirk.


    Alex raised her brows and said, "Prove it then."


    "Dare to bet?"


    "Bet on what?" Alex replied hesitatingly. Then, she shook her head and said confidently. "Okay, it''s a bet."


    She was confident that Luke wouldn''t be able to get out of the gap and knew for sure she was going to win in the bet no matter what we''re betting on.


    Phil walked downstairs and greeted me happily when he saw me, "Hey D-Money!"


    "Eddy is fine Vitamin P." I said with a smile.


    Alex and Luke were confused by the interaction, but they didn''t say anything. "Just wait a while. I''m going to free Luke now." Phil said and opened up the baby oil cap.


    "" No. Don''t!"" Alex and I stopped Phil at the same time.


    "Wha....What is happening?" Phil asked in confusion.


    "They are using me as their science experiment." Luke said with excitement.


    "Are you okay with this Luke? If you''re ufortable, we can cancel the bet." I said.


    "I always wanted to be a science experiment. You won''t take this away from me!" Luke replied agitatedly.


    "Ohhh...I remember when I was the subject of a science experiment in college. They always make mepete against a monkey." Phil reminiscences.


    I ignored Phil and turned to Alex, "So, What are we betting on?"


    "If Luke can''t escape, you''ll..." Alex took some time to think, and then she said, "You go first."


    "If I win...You need to back me up when I lie about something, 3 times."


    "Then if I win, you need to do the same thing." Alex said.


    "We got a deal then?" I said, holding my hand out for a handshake.


    "Deal." Alex shook my head confidently.


    Philughed and said ceremoniously, "And the GAME IS ON!! NERD VERSUS ARTIST!"


    "DAD!" Alex was in disbelief and stopped her dad quickly as she was called a nerd.


    Phil realises what he said and quickly apologised, "Sorry."


    I studied the stair''s height and Luke''s height roughly. I then pulled themp table after putting themp on the sofa. I brought the desk closer to the stairs to make sure Luke wouldn''t fall on his head after he got out.


    "Luke. Now, you won''t fall." I said reassuringly. I noticed that he could get out from the bannister, but the difference in height would make him fall and knock his head directly on the floor. I also put some cushions on the floor for him to be more confident.


    "First, get your left hand through." I said.


    "How?" Luke asked. For him, there wasn''t any more space for him to move.


    "Bend your knees, and let your head be ced around the middle." I guided him through the process. He lowered his head, and finally managed to get his left hand through the gap.


    "Hey it worked!" Luke said excitedly. It was easy for him to shimmer his body, and he passed through smoothly until his torso managed to get out of the gap. He rested his body on the table I had set up and tried to get his waist past the gap.


    "I''m stuck!" Luke said after struggling.


    "Told you." Alex said haughtily. She was a bit scared when Luke managed to get half of his body out, but now she had won.


    "Nah. Only his belt is stuck. If he takes it off, he can pass through." Phil said, being deeply invested in the bet.


    "Take off your belt Luke." I said.


    "I can''t." Luke said. "You do it."


    "No. NO help! He needs to do it himself." Alex quickly stopped me.


    "Luke, you heard your sister. She doesn''t believe in you." I said in a fake sad tone. "But I believe in you Luke. You can do this. Show Alex she is wrong."


    Phil added, "You got this Luke!"


    Luke showed a look of determination and re-enter his left hand through the gap. He unbuckled his belt and also his pants in the process. As he passed through the gap, his pants were taken off by the bannister. He almost got all of his body out of the gap, but his feet were stuck.


    "Take off your shoes too Luke." I said.


    He kicked off his shoes, and finally the stuck pants managed to be taken off. He got one leg out of the gap, making Alex''s face turn ashen.


    "What are you guys doing!?" ire saw the sight of a pantless Luke lying on top of a small table with one of his legs stuck in the gap. Alex, Phil and I turned to ire at the same time.


    Luke however, ignored his mother and freed his other leg from the gap!


    "I DID IT!" Luke said excitedly!


    "Ya did it buddy!" Phil hugged the pantless Luke after he saw his son �C with his own efforts, managed to ovee a challenge.


    "Luke! PUT ON YOUR PANTS!" ire shouted from the kitchen. "Phil! Seriously?" She called out to her husband in disbelief and stampeded toward the group.


    "Uh-oh." Alex eximed after realising that her mother was mad. "It was Edwa-" She turned beside her to find me, but I was gone. I had already moved away to the living room when I saw ire.


    "What is going on?" I approached them innocently as if I only came there after I heard the noise.


    "Great Phil. Now he will want to do this again." ire said while checking whether Luke has any injuries. "Good job Phil. Good job." ire said in anger.


    "It wasn''t me who told him the way to do it." Phil defended himself.


    "It was Alex." I said. Alex was stunned, and looked toward me in horror. I mouthed the word ''Bet'' toward her as she faced me.


    Luke and Phil catch the situation, but ire doesn''t. "Alex?" ire asked.


    Alex hesitated for a while, so I urged her stealthily with only my facial expression. She finally sighed and said, "I did it."


    Luke exploded into excitement and screamed "Woo-hoo!!!" Before he ran through the living room. He got two of his lifelong wishes fulfilled today. To get out of the bannister''s gap, and to get Alex in trouble.


    "Luke!" ire snapped and Luke froze in his tracks. "PUT ON YOUR PANTS, AND GO TO THE KITCHEN!"


    All of us �C Phil included, checked our pants as she yelled, and ran to the kitchen together.


    I saw Haley in the kitchen texting after I walked in. I greeted her normally and sat down on the chair at the dining table for breakfast that ire had already prepared. Haley ignored me and continued texting without acknowledging my presence in her house.


    "Edward, I will make the cake right after this." ire said. Maybe she wanted me out of her house sooner, or she just couldn''t let me wait long, I didn''t know which way she was thinking.


    "Right now? Okay. Phil, are you busy after this?" I asked after I replied to ire.


    "I have a showing in the afternoon, but I''m free now. What is it, Eddy?" Phil asked.


    "I have created a website, and I want to get your opinion on it �C If you''re willing."


    Phil was excited, "You have created a website? That''s why you bring yourptop with you! Okay. I will take a look."


    "Really? You... made it... on your own?" ire asked in scepticism.


    "I did. It wasn''t fullypleted yet. You can check it with Phil after this. I would love your opinions on this." I said with a smile. ire didn''t expect that, and she said, "Really? My opinion?"


    "Yeah. You were a marketing major in college right?" I asked.


    "How do you know?" ire narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Phil quickly whispered to ire, "I told him yesterday."


    "Hmm? Why?" ire whispered back to her husband.


    "I don''t know. He asked." Phil said.


    [ire''smentary]


    "I knew it. He''s nning something. I need to find out what." ire said.


    [Commentary ends]


    "What website did you make?" Alex asked.


    "It''s for my dad''s business. Ship tourism and leisure." I exined. Haley finally raised her eyes from the phone as the conversation intrigued him. I turned to her and asked for her help, "Haley, can you help me to take a look too? I would love your opinion."


    "Really? I thought I was vain and shallow." Haley replied with venom in her tone.


    "Yes. That''s exactly why I want you to take a look. You''re kinda the target audience for the website." I replied with a sly smile on my face. She scoffed but she didn''t refuse to help me in the matter.


    ...


    -3rd Person POV. Football field-


    Manny''s ser match finally started after a long time waiting for Jay. When the game started, something unexpected happened.


    Jay was sitting on a foldable chair while Gloria was reacting dramatically at the side of the field.


    "?Vamos, Manny! Kick it! Kick it!" Gloria yelled out but Manny stopped running forward after passing the ball to the mid-fielders.


    "Why aren''t you kicking it!" Gloria yelled in frustration.


    [Manny''smentary]


    "My friend Edward taught me something yesterday. Ser is like a game of chess. You cannot win the game alone. All of the pieces needed to move together as a team for one to win."


    "When I stood on the field, I realised that... none of the kids there knows what they are doing."


    "So I took themand, and made the field my chess board."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Pass to eleven!" Manny yelled from afar. The opposition team were swarming the ball in droves, making various parts of the field being open. Manny has beenmanding his team in battle after his coach was proven to be useless. He was from Colombia. He knew how ''ser'' was yed.


    "Manny. What''s next!" A spikey-haired blonde kid in a number eleven jersey yelled in anxiousness.


    "SHOOT WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!" Manny yelled in frustration. The number eleven kid kicked the ball, and it went into the goal!


    [Manny''smentary]


    "Edward also told me, if I was sure about something, don''t be afraid to let out what I''m thinking. I screamed a lot today. I think my throat is more sore than the rest of my body."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Son of a bit-" Jay cursed while smiling after seeing the score being tied in 1-1 in the first half of the game. "How the hell did he know how to y ser?"


    After having their chess gamest night, Jay thought of Manny as a chess genius and they had yed together for a few matches. Like Edward predicted, as they argued with each other while they were ying �C both of them were closer to each other today.


    Gloria was still frustrated as it wasn''t Manny who scored the ball. "I don''t know. Maybe that Edward kid is a good coach. For sure better than this one." Gloria said, staring dagger at Manny''s team balding football coach. The coach broke into a cold sweat and moved further away from the Colombian mother, fearing for his safety.


    "Is Manny yours?" A young dad in his ripped jeans and a heavy metal t-shirt walked to Gloria. He took off his sunsses and put it on top of his hat as he held his hand for a handshake with Gloria.


    "Yes." Gloria replied.


    "I''m Josh. Ryan''s dad." Josh said as he pointed at number 11 on the field.


    "Gloria Pritchet. I''m Manny''s mother." Gloria replied.


    "You know that was the first goal in the kids'' entire season?" Josh said in excitement. "They were usually beaten ck and blue." Josh continued.


    "What?" Gloria asked �C she didn''t know what the word meant.


    "He means they always lose badly." Jay exined from his seat.


    "Oh, that must be your dad." Josh said, looking toward Jay.


    "Her dad?" Jay muttered.


    "Yeah?" Josh said, didn''t know what he said wrong.


    "No, no. That''s funny. Actually, no, I''m her husband." Jay said. He was trying to get up from the chair to get to Gloria.


    "Don''t be fooled by the, uh- Give me a second here." He said as he struggled to get up.


    Although the kids yed well, the opposing team had more experience than them, and managed to bring the score to 3-2. It''s a minute until the game ends, and Manny has the ball.


    But then, he saw Brenda Felman �C a pretty, blonde-haired white girl wearing a long sleeved white shirt and jeans, riding her bicycle at the park and was watching him ying in the field.


    Brenda wasn''t watching Manny, but was watching the kids ying as a whole, but Manny was too lovestruck to care. He stopped running to wave at Brenda at thest hour of the game. The whistle was blown, and the game was finally over.


    The crowd groaned at Manny as he had abandoned the chance for the game to be a tie.


    "Oh Geez. Didn''t you have a talk with him yet?" Jay asked Gloria �C his tone full of dissatisfaction.


    "I didn''t. I don''t want to put him down...right before his match." Gloria replied as she watched Manny smiling meekly while waving at Brenda.


    Manny requested to go to the mall to confess to Brenda, that was when Gloria told him what Edward had told her.


    "She has a boyfriend?" Manny asked in a sad tone.


    "Ay Papi. I''m so sorry." Gloria said tofort him.


    Jay added, "Don''t feel bad Manny. You did very well today. There was this little snafu at the end, but I think you have a knack for this game-"


    "I''m quitting ser." Manny said.


    "What? Why?" Jay asked in exasperation.


    "I only took part in this to show Brenda my athletic side because I know she likes men who y sports. Now, there isn''t any reason for me to y anymore. Mom, can I use your phone to call Ed? I want to thank him for teaching me."


    "But Papi, I don''t have his number." Gloria said. She only knew thendline number, but not Edward''s personal phone number.


    Manny said, "I''ll call Luke. Maybe he knows."


    Join My Discord.


    https://discord.gg/CAmd34bj

 Chapter 16: Shoot (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Shoot (Part 2)</h4>


    -Dunphy''s House. 3rd person POV-


    The phone rang, but most of the people in the house were busy so Alex ran to pick it up. "I''ll get it." Alex said as she ran to the living room near the front door.


    "Luke. Manny is calling you!" Alex shouted after picking up the call. Luke ran to the phone while holding a BB gun he had taken out to y with and said, "Hello?"


    "Hello. Luke. This is Manny here. Do you have Edwards'' phone number?" Manny asked from the other line.


    "Why? Do you need it?" Luke asked as he peeked where Edward was sitting through the hallways. Edward was sitting with his parents inside the living room and was showing ire and Phil his new website.


    "I do. I want to thank him personally. Do you have his number?"


    "I don''t. But Alex has been texting him." Luke replied as he didn''t realise he could just call Edward to the phone.


    "Can you call her?" Manny asked. Luke called for Alex and she approached him while being confused. Suddenly, Luke''s BB gun fired off and hit Alex on her wrist.


    "OUCH!" Alex shouted. "MOOM!" She quickly goes to report to her mother.


    Luke was bbergasted and quickly said to Manny, "I will call you back!" He hung up the call quickly and ran behind Alex.


    "Mom! Luke shot me!" Alexined as she showed the red spot on her arm to her mother.


    "I didn''t mean to. It was an ident!" Luke said, following Alex closely from behind.


    "Are you okay?" ire turned from reading at the sofa, stood up and walked closer toward Alex. She grabbed her arm to take a look at the bruise.


    " No! The little bitch shot me!" Alex said in frustration. Philughed beside ire after hearing the curse word. Edward alsoughed at Alex''s cursing as it was the first time she expressed her feelings clearly in front of him.


    -Edward POV-


    " Language!" ire admonished Alex. "Sorry about that Edward." ire turned to me and apologised. I just covered myughter and gestured that it''s okay with my hand.


    "They''re only stic BBs. It was an ident." Luke exined.


    "What did I tell you would happen if you got him a gun? Deal with this." ire turned to Phil who''s standing beside her.


    "Buddy, uncool." Phil pointed his finger at Luke, and that''s it.


    "No, no, no, no." ire stopped Phil from letting Luke get away with it and reminded him.


    "The agreement was that if he shoots someone,you shoot him."


    "We were serious about that?" Phil said.


    "Yes, we were." ire nodded. "And now you have to follow through."


    Luke quickly started crying.


    "I''m so sorry." He apologised.


    "Liar." ire saw through Luke immediately. He stopped crying as he knew there wasn''t a way out.


    "Go." ire urged Phil.


    " He''s got a birthday party." Phil tried to cover for Luke.


    "What''s more important here, Dad?" Alex said.


    "Yeah Vitamin P. Without following what you have said, the world will just be anarchy." I added.


    "You can shoot him afterwards." ire said after nodding at my words. "He''ll be home at 2:00."


    "I can''t shoot him at 2:00. I''m showing a house at 2:00." Phil said.


    "What about 3:00?" Alex said.


    "No, he''s got a ser game at 3:00." ire said and walked to the calendar near the kitchen cab.


    "And then- Oh, we gotta leave for that dinner thing at 5:00." ire checked the details on the calendar as she calcted her free time.


    " 4:15. You could shoot him at 4:15." I added. ire agreed with me and said, "4.15 works."


    "Yeah, I guess that works for me. Thanks Ed." Phil said.


    ire grabbed a marker and wrote ''Shoot Luke.'' on the calendar.


    "Sorry, dude. It''s on the calendar." Phil apologies.


    "Oh,e on!" Luke yelled in frustration. "I thought you''re my friend." He turned and said to me in dissatisfaction.


    "I am. But I also want to see you get shot after you steal my cake." I said. Luke stampeded off, leaving me standing with Alex.


    "Too bad I can''t see it." I said whisperingly to Alex.


    "Juste and watch. I''ll text you when my dad is going to shoot him." Alex said.


    "What are you guys talking about?" ire interjected.


    "Nothing." Alex replied. "Have you guys seen his website?" Alex asked as she couldn''t see it yet.


    "Ah. He was just opening them." ire said and returned to the sofa together with Phil.


    ire checked the website while I was talking with Alex. She saw the business name,''Whitebeard Yacht Service and Rentals'' on the main screen.


    My dad''s 50 metre long yacht picture on the open seas was disyed on the main screen. The silvery-white yacht''s might was captured by an intern photographer from amunity college nearby, which my dad then hired as an official photographer for the ship.


    On the menu, I listed several categories such as; the ship''s history, the captain''s biography which included two pictures of my dad�C one behind the wheel, and a formal picture of him in his captain''s uniform. I even included his picture from the navy so people''s confidence in him would increase.


    "Hmm? This is your father''s business name?" ire asked in confusion. "I thought his business name was Singing Ship?"


    "I am still brainstorming the name for the rebranding. Dad loved the Whitebeard name, so I put that in. I will change it once the name change is finalised. "


    "I see." ire said, honestly impressed by the website smoothness and organisation.


    "Wait, three nights for the price of two? Plus a fully stocked bar? We need to buy this now!" Phil said and tried to click the deal hurriedly as he saw the party boat option.


    "Phil! The website isn''t official yet!" ire said admonishingly. "Why are you renting a boat for 3 days anyway? What are you going to do with it? Think Phil!"


    "But...It''s a great deal..." Phil said in a dejected tone.


    I inwardly checked the requirement for susceptible customers on my mental list after studying Phil''s reaction. ire''s reaction was much harder to acquire as she would read all the terms and conditions first before deciding something.


    "I think you could improve the deals here and should focus on a one night trip instead of 3 nights in a row. Or, customers could decide themselves about the days they will take the trip." iremented.


    "That makes sense." I replied. The price was already increased and it would still profit my dad even with the deal. I already had his permission to include the deal inside the website before I put it in.


    She continued, "But it still needs some limitations. The customers can take the trips within a month. If they didn''t take the trip, then their deal would be invalid."


    ire gave some ideas on how to make the deals better. I took note of the ideas with myptop and would discuss it with my dadter.


    "Not only a website, but people still check fliers and banners for good deals. Your dad should increase his range and advertise in the neighbouring towns and the city." Phil added. "I know a guy who is awesome at designing fliers and all kinds of advertising products. I will bring your dad to meet himter."


    "Thanks Phil. Also Mrs Dunphy, my dad is looking for a part-timer to handle the advertisement and schedule for his business. Are you interested?" I asked.


    "My mom working for your dad?" Alex interjected. "Wouldn''t that be weird?"


    Before ire could defend herself, I replied.


    "Why would it be weird? You can see how she has brilliant ideas like we just saw. I think she is very capable of handling an easy job like this."


    ire was touched by my words and she said, "Thank you Edward. But, I have too much on my te right now."


    "You''ll only work 4 hours a day, 3 times a week." I said, not giving her time to make an excuse at all.


    Phil widened his eyes at the flexible working hour and asked, "What''s the sry?"


    "It''s only a part time job, but 10% of the profit from the trips and bookings." I negotiated.


    "Wait. How much is it then?" ire and Phil were confused, and they turned to Alex.


    Alex replied, "If his dad has a full schedule for an entire month, you''re looking at 2 to 3 grand at the end of the month."


    "ire! That''s a great offer!" Phil widened his eyes as he heard it. "She''ll do it!" He replied.


    "What- No. PHIL!" ire admonished Phil who had decided for her.


    "Okay I''ll text my dad." I said as I sent the text. "No! EDWARD!" ire yelled, but it was toote. My dad already texted back. "He said ''Nice working with you.''


    ire was bbergasted, stunned, and confused all at the same time.


    [ire and Phil''smentary]


    "I can''t believe it. That is his scheme all along." ire said in realisation. "To get me outside the house so that he can swoop in and date my daughters-"


    "ire. You can work from home." Phil cuts in. "12 hours of working a week. You can schedule your own task. No one to answer to, except one estranged boss. ire will live the dream."


    ire stared directly at the screen and said, "Not only that, he has everyone else on his side on this."


    [Commentary ends]


    "What happened?" Haley came out of her room and finally joined her family after talking to her friend in her room.


    "Mom just got a job." Alex said.


    "Seriously? Go mom!" Haley said in excitement. ire turned to Haley all confused, "What did you say?"


    "I said... ''Go mom!''?" Haley tilted her head in confusion after repeating what she just said.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "The more time mom spends on her work, the less time she can boss everyone else. So yeah, I''m all for supporting my mom."


    [Commentary ends]


    "It''s Haley''s turn to take a look." Alex said after she scoured the website to find a w, but she couldn''t. ire and Phil had excused themselves, and were now in heated discussion in the kitchen.


    "I will take a look at one condition." Haley said as she looked at me, hand on her waist.


    "What is it?" I asked first, not agreeing to anything before I knew the details.


    "Tell me, why did you reject Jenna?" Haley asked.


    "Cause I don''t like her." I replied.


    Haley raised her brows and asked, "Why? Because she''s popr?"


    "No. Because she''s an entitled brat." I replied honestly. "I wouldn''t check whether the girl is popr or not when I want to date someone."


    Haley was confused, so she asked, "Why not?"


    I sighed and I exined, "Being popr is by reputation, not by character. No matter how popr someone is, I will look at their character if I want to date them. What use is it to be popr but miserable when I date the wrong person?"


    "So. Jenna is the wrong person?" Haley asked.


    "Yes." I replied curtly. "If I don''t like that person, I wouldn''t even talk to them."


    "Who is the right person then? Alex?" Haley asked. "Why me?" Alex was stunned by her name being brought into the conversation.


    Haley then had a realization about something I said. I told her I wouldn''t talk to a person if I didn''t like them. ''So why is he talking to me right now?'' Haley thought.


    "Maybe someone like your mom. I will be sure to date your mom if we''re the same age." I replied teasingly, but I didn''t know then that ire was within earshot when I said that.


    "See Phil. I know he has an ulterior motive." ire said with a whisper to Phil.


    "I don''t me him. You''re really hot..." Phil said, causing ire to brighten up. "...when you were his age..." Phil continued. ire hugged her body and tilted her head, trying desperately not to blow up at her husband as I was a guest in her house.


    "Urgh!" Haley groaned and wanted to walk away, but I called out, "I have answered your question honestly. Aren''t you going to check the website?"


    "Oh right. The website." Haley sat down on the sofa and stared at the screen for 1 second. "It''s good."


    "Maybe actually look at it this time?" I said. She rolled her eyes and finally checked the website honestly.


    "Is the booking system real? You can book it online?" Haley asked excitedly after checking the website.


    For Gen Z and Millenials, there was nothing scarier than to make a call to book an appointment. The email function to ask for questions was also great for Haley.


    "Yeah. But you need to pay a deposit. If you cancel it before two weeks of the set date , the deposit will be refunded. If you did it before a week left you will get a 50% refund and if you did it 3 days before the trip you won''t get the refund." I exined.


    Alex realised something, "So if I bookst minute and cancel, I won''t get back my deposits?"


    "Yup." I answered.


    "Why?" Alex asked.


    "Because the ship needs to set a date for your trip. If you suddenly cancel, the ship can''t sail and the night will be wasted." I exined. "The booking fee will bepensation for the employee who had gotten the ship ready for your trip."


    "I see." Alex finally understood it.


    "What is this box?" Haley asked after she saw a nicely wrapped box on the dining table.


    "That''s for your uncles." I said. Haley wanted to open it, but ire saw it and stopped it. "Haley don''t! There''ll be glitter everywhere!"


    Haley stopped her action immediately after hearing what her mom said. "Why glitter?" She turned to me who was sitting on the sofa and asked.


    "None of your beeswax." I replied. Haley was stunned, and ire called out to me, "Edward. Tell your dad I''ll take some time to think about it first. Also, I''m baking the cake now."


    I stood up from the sofa and jogged lightly to the kitchen. "Okay. What can I do to help?"


    Alex was left alone with myptop that I forgot to shut down. Instead of bothering me at the kitchen, she decided to peek at my personal file to find dirt on me.


    ''I always get even.'' Alex thought, still feeling bitter about me getting her in trouble before. Phil then sent Luke to his friend''s birthday party as ire and I started baking.


    Haley was texting with her friends while sitting at the dinner table. She peeked at the box once in a while, extremely curious about what''s inside.


    Alex finally saw a file that I had hidden and she contorted her face into an expression of surprise, disgust, tion, understanding, and even longing when she read my private files.


    "I am making a simple yellow cake with vani frostings." ire said. "That''s simple enough." I said.


    "You know how to make it?" ire asked. "Didn''t you say you want to watch it get made before?"


    I turned to ire, stared at her dead in the eyes, and said, "You know it''s a simple cake recipe right? Like the most basic one."


    "Oh. Are you still interested in baking it?" ire asked.


    "Yeah. It''ll be fun." I said and I cracked the eggs, separating the egg yolk and egg white easily. Phil returned from sending Luke to the birthday party at this time.


    "You''re good at that." Philplemented as he saw me separating the yolks skillfully. He wouldn''t admit it, but it would be a disaster if he tried to do it himself.


    "You know there''s a trick for this." I said.


    Phil was intrigued, so was Haley who''s inching closer to the box on the table.


    "What trick?" Haley asked.


    "Come here." I called her.


    "No eww..I don''t want to touch the eggs." Haley whined.


    "You don''t have to touch it." I said, shing a charming smile like a devil wanting a person to sign their name in his contract.


    Reluctantly, Haley walked to the kitchen ind where I was doing it. "Do you have an empty stic bottle?" I asked Phil.


    "Yeah. Let me grab it." Phil said before he ran to his bedroom.


    "Crack the egg into the te." I said to Haley.


    "Just crack it?" She said, confused. "Yep." I pushed the empty te in front of her.


    "What are you guys doing?" ire asked after weighing the flour.


    "Separating the egg yolk." I replied casually. "Inside a te?" ire was confused. Phil returned with the empty bottle and handed it to me. I cleaned it a little and handed it to Haley.


    "Squeeze the bottle a little bit, and put the mouth on the egg yolk." I said. She rolled her eyes and said, "What are you making me do you creep?"


    "Do it first." I said, pushing her hand down to the te. Her eyes widened, and she hesitantly followed my order after pausing for a while and ced the bottle mouth on the egg yolk. "Okay, now release the squeeze."


    As she did that, the egg yolk was sucked into the bottle, separating it with the rest of the egg white easily.


    "Are you a wizard?" Phil asked me with eyes filled with awe. "Want to try it?" I asked him. Phil quickly pushed Haley aside and tried it on his own.


    That''s how I managed to crack open 6 more eggs without getting my hands dirty. ire let me handle the frostings, and after baking the cake mixture at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, the cake was finally done.


    As I ced the frostings on the cake, ire tried to interject and took over, but I didn''t give her the knife.


    "Oh my god. There''s two of them." Haley widened her eyes in surprise after seeing me and ire both being OCD in decorating the cake.


    "That''s too much, you''ll ruin it." ire said.


    "No. Your''s are too thin. It''ll ruin the taste." I argued and pushed her away. I made some decorations with the cream on the cake, and ire finally calmed down a bit after seeing the cake looking better and better.


    "Why do you keep the top empty?" ire asked.


    "I have ns to put something there." I replied.


    I ran to my house and brought back a lotus flower made of buttercream I made the night before. It was already frozen and ready to be ced on top of the cake.


    I also brought back a pink coloured buttercream inside an icing pipe and I created a patterned design on the side of the cake. ire dropped her jaw after she saw the beautiful cake that I''d made. (A/N: In the pilot, her cake is ugly lol)


    "Wow Edward. You''re really good with your hand. Now I can believe you that you made the oreo cheesecake by yourself. " ire said in surprise. Phil chimed in, "If you''re not a singer, you can do this for a living."


    I didn''t know about it, but Haley had snapped a picture of me making the cake from a very charming angle. She''s now contemting whether to share the picture on Facebook or not.


    After I got Edna''s talent, it was easy for me to make things look more ''presentable'' for myself. My OCD also yed a part in this and I had never half-assed my work in my life.


    Until thest cobweb inside the house was cleaned. The nicked photo frame was fixed or thrown away. The paint job in the house was painted over and over until it became perfect.


    I smiled wryly at the couple and said, "Now, just make sure no ''Luke'' got in this."


    ire hurriedly kept the cake inside the freezer to make sure of it. "Oh wait. What about your cake? We just made one." ire said in realisation.


    "It''s okay. You can make one for meter." I said. "I should go now, I have to make some adjustments on the website."


    "Wait Edward. I feel bad. Youe ''specifically'' for this." ire said, not trusting my intention at all after she was suddenly offered the job. "Why don''t youe with us to Mitch and Cams? They already know you, and you''re even friends with Manny." ire offered.


    "Yeah. Do you have any ns tonight? You can do your work here. We have wifi. You can even use the ethe cable if you want." Phil said excitedly.


    "Wait. That''s a family gathering. It will be awkward for me to be there, whether they know me already or not." I said in a panicked state. ire grinned widely as it was the first time ever she saw me being anxious at something.


    "You''reing." ire said. "I saw your dad''s schedule on the website. He''s noting back until midnight. It''s better for you to stay with us rather than spending time alone in your house. Who knows what you''ll get into then?"


    "..." I opened my mouth a few times, but I couldn''t find any words to say to object to the invitation... rationally.

 Chapter 17: Shoot (Part 3)

    <h4>Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Shoot (Part 3)</h4>


    -Edward POV-


    After ire decided that I wasing, she didn''t spare a minute to call up Cam and Mitch who justnded from Vietnam using thendline.


    Phil had gotten back from his house showing and was bothering me as Luke was at a ser match. I couldn''t even code in peace after I got myptop back from Alex.


    When I returned to the living room, I saw her peeking at my homework assignment and studying them with utmost interest. I couldn''t even tease her as she ran to her room after announcing she''s going to do her homework and no one should bother her unless absolutely necessary.


    "...He made the cake for you. So pretty too." ire said to Cam over the phone.


    "Oh my god. I can''t wait to see it!" Cam said in a high-pitched excited voice from the other line. His voice turned to normal and he asked, "Can I talk to him?"


    ire handed me the phone, "Here. He wants to talk to you."


    The moment I put the phone on my left ear, Cam immediately asked with a serious tone, "Did you tell them about the baby?"


    "Nah. I didn''t. I won''t steal your spotlight." I replied with a whisper as I moved further away from ire so that she couldn''t hear the conversation.


    "At least you know I belong underneath a spotlight." Cam said, his tone became much softer than before.


    "For a theater production underneath the bowling alley," I joked. He exploded into some ramblings about being the lead in ys or something, but I tuned all that out.


    ire tilted her head in puzzlement and tried to overhear even as I walked away by following me from behind.


    "Can you give me some privacy please?" I said and stopped her from following me.


    "ire, you''re being rude." Phil said calmly. "MEE?" ire was bbergasted by the reactions. "IT was MY... CALL!"


    I ignored ire who needed calming down from Phil and continued talking to Cam.


    I could hear the anxiousness in Cam''s voice from the call, "I am waving at Mitchell right now. He doesn''t know that the family is meeting tonight- I need to end the call. By the way, congrattions on creating the entertainment agency. Pepper just told us about it before. I need to go now before Mitch got suspici- BRING YOUR GUITAR- *beep* *beep*"


    "Hello? What do you mean by agency? Hello? Helloo?" I tried to get more information about the matter, but Cam''s phone was turned off. "What the hell did Pepper do?" I muttered as I took the phone from my ear.


    "What happened?" ire asked.


    "I don''t know. He said something about Mitchell and what they did in Vietnam. Apparently Mitchell doesn''t like the way he looks right now and they are considering breaking up." I said.


    "What?" Phil and ire were surprised by the sudden information.


    "Nooo! Not Cam!!" Haley heard the conversation as she was sitting at the dinner table at that time. Even Alex who was peeking at myptop screen turned to look at her mom and dad.


    "What''s wrong with Cam?" Alex asked, rushing toward the kitchen. I knew I was making more trouble for Mitch and Cam, but I still wanted to do it.


    "It''s not confirmed yet. They are going to announce it at their house. We should wait." I said.


    "I should call them right now!" ire said and snatched the phone from me. However, the line was shut off when she tried to call Cam.


    "Try Mitchell." Phil said hurriedly, standing behind ire. ire nodded and tried, but the same thing happened as Mitchell''s phone was still shut off from the flight.


    "What did they do in Vietnam Ed?" ire said.


    "I don''t know. Cam was so emotional that I didn''t catch on to all of what he said." I said, pranking the entire family at the same time. Luke returned from his ser match after getting dropped off by his friend''s mom.


    "What''s happening?" Luke said as he entered the kitchen and saw all the people there freaking out �C except for me.


    ''Was it too much? Ahh I don''t care anymore. It''s toote to stop it now.'' I thought to myself.


    "ire. Rx. We will know when we get there." Phil said,forting ire. "Besides, Edward doesn''t know for sure that is what he said. Right?" Phil turned to me at thest word.


    "Yeah. I think so." I replied ambiguously.


    "I..I need to call dad." ire said. She then called Jay and was greeted cheerfully by her dad.


    "What''s up hun? Did you finally get Manny''s messages?" Jay asked.


    "Dad- What message?" ire was so distracted by the question that she prioritized that instead of warning her dad about her behaviorter on. She quickly searched for notes near the telephone to check for the messages.


    "There aren''t any messages?" ire said in confusion.


    "Don''t worry about that. I''m giving the phone to Manny." Jay said and gave Manny the phone.


    "Dad- I want to talk to yo-"


    "Hey ire." Manny said, already intercepting the call from ire.


    "Do you have Edward''s phone number? I tried asking Luke before, but he didn''t call back after a long time." Manny exined. ire turned to Luke with a stern expression. "Did Manny call you before?"


    "Yeah. He asked for Ed''s number so he could call and say thanks. I don''t have his number, so I called Alex. But then I shot her and she cut the call." Luke exined. ire paused for a second to analyze the story, but she didn''t get mad at Luke for his simplistic ways of thinking.


    "Edward is here. He''s been hanging with us the entire day. Here, talk to him." ire said and passed the phone to me. But before she released her grip from the phone, she warned me, "Don''t let him cut off the call. I need to talk to my dad after."


    I gulped my saliva and nodded carefully, "Okay. I will make sure of it."


    ire turned to Luke and Phil as I talked with Manny. "It''s four fifteen," she said.


    Phil turned to the calendar and said to Luke solemnly as he patted his shoulder, "It''s time buddy. I will wait for you outside. Come out when you''re ready."


    Phil walked briskly outside as he grabbed Luke''s BB gun.


    "Ooouuugh." Luke whined and stomped off to his room to get ready.


    I smirked and called out to Alex while I was hearing what Manny was saying, "Hey, Luke is getting shot. Let''s go watch it."


    "...Okay." Alex replied after hesitating for a while. "What''s the matter with you? Why are you avoiding me again?" I asked.


    Alex opened her mouth, but she didn''t reply as if cats had run away with her tongue.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "I saw his ns on theputer. He organised his files very neatly." Alex started byplementing the man whose privacy she had invaded. Then, she lowered her head and said, "He has made ns when he''s moving to Wisconsin after this school year."


    Alex only nced at theptop files, and didn''t read the details thoroughly after getting distracted by Edward''s homework files.


    "I couldn''t help it. He exined the process of mitosis even better than my teacher did. I...got distracted and I couldn''t read much of anything else." Alex looked at the camera guiltily.


    "I guess my first friend is going to move away." Alex said sadly.


    [Commentary ends.]


    "Why are you working so hard to create the website?" Alex suddenly asked me.


    "Hmm? To let my dad get rich and don''t have to close down his business. What else?"


    [Alex''smentary]


    "So. There is a chance!" Alex said in excitement. "I need to convince her to ept the job without pressuring her about it. She also cannot know about this as...how can I exin how I knew then?"


    [Commentary ends]


    "Oh." Alex replied shortly and walked in front of me.


    "Edward, did you hear what I said?" Manny asked from the phone.


    "Yeah I do. You did really well. But why are you quitting again?" I asked Manny as I watched Luke and Phil facing each other from the patio. (A/N: ce where Dn got shot.)


    Haley wanted to see her brother''s misery too, so she stood beside Alex �C who''s standing on my right.


    "Okay. I will text youter." I said to Manny to end the call, "Can you give the phone back to Jay? ire needs to talk about something with Jay."


    "Luke, what are you wearing buddy?" I shouted from the patio to Luke who''s in the middle of the backyard.


    " Yeah Buddy, what are you wearing?" Philughed as he saw the sight of his son. Luke was wearing a puffy jacket, 3 pairs of hats, and a lot of other apparel.


    "Nothing." Luke said.


    "Uh-uh. No jacket." Phil said. "One hat.How many pairs of underwear do you have on?" Phil sets up his son to take the shot.


    "One." Luke replied. Phil stared at him in distrust, so he confessed after sighing, "Six."


    "Why are they watching this?" Luke said while pointing at me and the girls.


    "Hey, it''s a free country!" Alex said before Phil could speak up for Luke. Phil shook his head and turned to Luke again.


    "You heard what Alex said." Phil said. He took a deep breath and readied himself, "I want you to know,I''m not enjoying this."


    "But this is an important lesson that you''re learning. So, soak it. Keep it." Phil said, gesturing at his brain to make sure Luke did the same.


    Phil cleared his throat and aimed the BB gun at Luke while holding it with two hands.


    "You''re too close. It''s gonna hurt." Luke whined and flinched as the muzzle of the gun was aimed at him.


    "It''s supposed to hurt!" Phil said while amusing himself at Luke''s reactions.


    "And why are you smiling?" Luke asked usingly at his dad.


    "I''m- What?" Phil was surprised as he realized, he was in fact, smiling.


    "Yeah Dad? Why are you smiling?" Alex teased with a smile. Phil didn''t get out of his stance and said with a raised voice, "I didn''t know!"


    "Could it be, you wanted to shoot Luke for a long time now?" I added fuel to the fire.


    "Yeah Dad. Shoot him until your heart is satisfied. Shoot him for all of us too." Haley joined the fun.


    "Shoot him! Shoot him! Shoot him!" Me and the girls chanted to give Phil some courage. Phil''s eyes twitched from the pressure, and he put his finger on his trigger.


    "Shoot him! Shoot him! Shoot him!"


    Luke winced and could barely open his eyes from the anticipation. We waited for almost a minute, but the picture in front of us seemed frozen.


    "Shoot him already. My throat is sore." Haley said whiningly.


    "Oh, forget it. I can''t do this." Phil rxed his stance and his nerves. " The point is you''re scared. I think you''ve learned your lesson."


    "BOO!!" We expressed our dissatisfaction to Phil teasingly. Alex showed a thumbs down at Phil, causing him to feel distressed. Luke was excited and turned toward us and showed his tongue to mock.


    Suddenly, Phil identally pulled the trigger slightly while pointing the gun at Luke. The small BB pellet flew immediately toward Luke''s right arm and crashed into it, causing some ripples on his skin.


    "OWW!" Luke yelled in pain. He whimpered and grabbed his hurting arm. "You hit my bone!"


    "It was an ident!" Phil hurriedly ran toward Luke and checked the ce he had shot at.


    "I thought you were my friend!" Luke said usingly.


    " I..Am.. your friend." Phil said hurriedly tofort Luke.


    "Way to go Dad!" Haley cheered. "You rock dad!" Alex cheered. "That''s for stealing my cake!" I shouted. Both of the girls turned toward me with a confused expression. "That''s your reason?" Haley asked.


    "Yeah. Why else would I be supporting Phil?" I replied.


    Luke became mad and tried to grab the gun from Phil. He pulled the gun that was still in our hand and the muzzle of the gun was aligned with us.


    "What''s happening?" ire walked toward us after talking with Jay on the phone.


    "Get down!" I yelled to Alex and Haley, pushing them to avoid the muzzle as Luke pulled it toward us.


    Phil identally pressed the trigger, and another BB gun pellet was shot from the gun. It flew directly toward me, but I had already gotten out of its way. But ire wasn''t so lucky. The bullet flew and hit ire''s right chest.


    "Ouch!" ire screamed after she got hit by the gun.


    "PHIL!" ire yelled at Phil after she saw the gun in his hand. Phil looked down, and said,"What is with this thing?" before he threw the gun at the floor. The gun fired onest time as it mmed to the ground, hitting Phil''s inner thigh.


    "OWW!" Phil screamed as he got shot by his own mistake.


    "Are you okay mom?" Alex said as Haley and her ran toward their mother to check up on her.


    "I guess you need to shoot Phil next. That is the rule right?" I said casually, whispering words as sweet as a devil''s temptation to ire.


    "You''re..." Haley said, and Alex continued as Haley couldn''t find the words, "Psychotic."


    "Yeah. That." Haley agreed with Alex.


    I shrugged and said dismissively, "I prefer the term agent of chaos."


    "I will definitely shoot him againter." ire gritted her teeth and stared at Phil who''s running around in the backyard while rubbing his leg to ease the pain.


    As ire chased the girls and me away to get ready, Phil and Luke finally entered the house after seriously considering running away and only returning when ire had calmed down. Unfortunately for them, they need to get to Cam and Mitch''s ce soon.


    "ire. I didn''t mean to." Phil said pitifully. "I would never-"


    "I''ll deal with youter in our room." ire said and snatched the gun from Phil''s hand.


    "With handcuffs and a uniform?" I muttered underneath my breath and it was only audible to Haley who''s near me as we sat on the living room sofa, already ready to travel. She smiled and almostughed. She smacked my arm quickly, "Don''t!"


    "Maybe some baton." I continued.


    Haley couldn''t hold on let out a smallugh.


    "You''re under arrest Phil. You have been a very naughty boy-"


    Haley closed my mouth with her hand as ire and Phil walked past us from behind. ire stopped and asked in confusion, "What?"


    "Nothing." Haley replied guiltily. I nodded to agree with her as my mouth was blocked. ire shrugged and walked away while muttering, "one thing at a time...one thing at a time..." underneath her breath.


    "@#4djgm" I muttered in a muffled voice after ire had gone past us. "What?" Haley asked in confusion.


    I got annoyed and I licked her palm as she forgot to remove it.


    "EWW!" Haley said and removed her hand from my mouth.


    "I said, how long are you going to muzzle me."


    "You can''t just say that? You need to lick my hand, perv?"


    "How am I going to say it if your hand is on my mouth?" I asked her back, causing her to be speechless.


    "Go wash your hands." I said to her, "No. I''m going to wipe it off your shirt." Haley said and pounced at me. I quickly stood up and moved away from her.


    "Okay... I''m sorry. Please wash your hands." I said, my OCD was ring up even when it''s my own saliva. "This is a VERY new shirt."


    Haley grinned mischievously and tried to reach me from the sofa, "No!"


    I took a few steps back, moving further away from her as she got closer to me with a devilish smile.


    "No! Stay!" I shouted in a panicked state.


    "What am I? A dog?" Haley grinned and started to chase me around.


    "What are you guys doing?" ire asked as she walked downstairs with Alex. She had changed her dowdy mom''s clothes to a simple white long sleeved shirt and let her hair down.


    Alex had changed her clothes, but it was another shirt with a peace sign, but this was green instead of grey.


    "Haley had gone crazy." I said, hiding behind ire as Haley chased me.


    Haley stopped at ire''s stare, like a prey being frozen in front of a predator. "What''s on your hand?" ire asked.


    "Saliva!" I exposed her as I peeked from behind ire.


    "Haley! That''s dirty!" ire said angrily. "Go wash your hands now!"


    "BUT-" Haley tried to defend, but ire urged, "NOW!"


    "FINE! I''m WASHING IT!" Haley grunted and stomped off to the sink. I released ire who went to ce the cake into the car.


    "Wow. 3 for 3. You managed to get everyone other than me in trouble with mom." Alexplimented. "It''s a legendary feat that you can be proud of for life. Good job."


    "... You forgot about this morning?" I asked her. She opened her mouth but words eluded her.


    "So. I got them all." I teased Alex and walked to the minivan after picking up my gift for Lily. I also picked up my guitar as Cam requested. As I exited the house, Alex muttered, "Agent of chaos huh."


    I sat in the seat furthest behind in the minivan with Luke staring on my right side.


    "I will get you back for that." Luke said.


    "What? I wasn''t the one who shot you." I said calmly. "Don''t be mad, I will save you a piece of cake after I make one." I said.


    "One piece couldn''t ease my anger."


    I chuckled at him and said, "Two pieces. Last offer."


    "Deal!" Luke said, and we shook on it.


    "What about me then? I was in trouble too." Haley interjected from the front. She was sitting in front of me, and Alex sat in front of Luke. ire and Phil were sitting in the front of the car with Phil driving it.


    "You deserve it." I taunted Haley. "Ahh" She lets out an offended gasp after hearing that.


    Alex let out a cackle at Haley''s misery, and Haley quickly retorted, "Yeah? At least he will only get me once. How can you lose in maths...geometry?" Haley questioned herself.


    "Both." I interjected to let her continue.


    "Yeah. You will need to get in trouble two more times after this, while Luke and I are free to get revenge." Haley taunted.


    "We''re here." ire announced after driving for only 5 minutes.


    "Oh. It''s close." I said. I thought they live far away from each other in the series, but it only took 5 minutes to get to Mitch''s house, and 15 minutes to get to Jay''s. Of course, this was by car. I returned to the conversation and said in a questioning tone, "When you say revenge...."


    (A/N: I''ll be taking a break on the weekends as I mentioned before. I will be busy this weekend, so I''ll appreciate it if you can show me support when I''m not posting. I''lle back on Monday after the powerstone reset.)

 Chapter 18: Baby.

    <h4>Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Baby.?</h4>


    (Another try as the first one became weird)


    -3rd Person POV-


    Mitchell and Cameron''s finally arrived at their duplex after getting dropped off by Pepper who picked them up from the airport. The guys were living in the lower half of the duplex, and the upper half belonged to someone else.


    Mitchell and Cameron entered the house, and after checking the nursery with an angelic mural of themselves as an angel painted by their friend, Cam finally told Mitchell about getting his family to dinner to announce to them about the baby.


    "All right, look. I- I- I never told my family we were adopting a baby." Mitchell confessed. "And-"


    "I know." Cameron interjected.


    "You do?" Mitchell said in surprise.


    "Yeah, and I don''t me you. I know your family. You''d tell ''em. They''d say something judgmental." Cam said in understanding.


    "Exactly." Mitchell eximed, extremely touched by Cam.


    "You''d get mad." Cam supported him again.


    "I know. And then something that''s supposed to be nothing but joyful... suddenly turns into this huge fight." Mitchell said.


    "And who wants a big, emotional scene like that?" Cam said.


    "Thank you. Thank you. I''m so- I''m so relieved you understand." Mitchell said in relief.


    Cam nodded and waited for Mitchell to be at peak relief, and then dropped the bomb, "I invited them over for dinner tonight.


    "What?" Mitchell said in shock.


    "I had to. This would have gone on forever. You''re an avoider." Cam said as he walked away from Mitchell to get stuff ready for the party.


    Mitchell started to freak out, " No. No. No. Cam, I''m calling them right now and cancelling!"


    "No, you''re not. You''re telling your family you adopted a baby tonight. Even Ed ising to join in the celebration." Cam said as Mitchell ran after him.


    "The kid ising...but why?" Mitchell asked in confusion. He was more confused by Edwarding than Cam''s sudden invitation toward his family.


    "He''d prepared some gifts, and even helped ire with the cake to wee the baby. Get this, he didn''t share to your family about your baby just because of our promise. How adorable is that?" Cam said in excitement.


    Mitchell broke into a soft smile and said, "That''s...really mature of him. But maybe...he also thinks about the judgement we''ll face from my family...and wants to give us more time to prepare? And Not today?" Mitchell quickly pushed his agenda to Cam.


    "And let a themed cake go to waste? What kind of a person does that?" Cam asked in confusion. Mitchell opened his mouth, but he couldn''t find the words to refute Cam even when he was awyer.


    For the gays, there was nothing more offending than to show disrespect on a party theme. Mitchell gave up and finally started to get ready to wee the guest in his house.


    The party will be held in their living room. The guest would sit on the green sofa, and the chairs that Mitch and Cam had prepared. Cam also fixed a mechanism in the living room so that Lily would be underneath a spotlight as she entered the room.


    Finally, the doorbell rings.


    " Oh, God." Mitchell muttered as he anticipated the worst as he ced a te of snacks on the table in the living room.


    "Okay, I''m gonna go get Lily ready." Cam said.


    "Okay." Mitchell nodded, wiping his face full of sweat.


    "And I want you to juste straight out with it." Cam said.


    "All right." Mitchell replied.


    "Okay. You can do this."


    Mitchell exhaled longly? and walked to the front door. He opened the door and saw Phil with Alex in the front of the door and Luke who''s right behind them.


    "Hey. Hi." Mitchell greeted and weed them inside.


    "Hey." Phil greeted Mitch happily. But then, he remembered something and patted Mitch''s shoulder. "Whatever is it, just remember. Your family will get your back. Always."


    Phil then suddenly pulled Mitch into a hug and embraced him tightly. Luke joined in and said, "We will support you Uncle Mitch."


    "Guys. Get off him!" ire said and pushed Phil out of the way after seeing him losing hisposure as to not let it affect Mitchell more. She then pushed Phil and Luke inside before they could expose anything.


    "What''s going on?" Mitchell widened his eyes in shock. He wondered why they were being so friendly today. Even ire didn''t open her greeting with a mean way as she entered the house.


    "Whatever it is, just know that I will be here to support you..."ire said and kissed Mitchell''s cheek lightly as she hugged him. As she released him, she said, "The cake is with Haley."


    "I couldn''t wait to see it?" Mitchell said in a puzzled tone as he was unsure of what he should be feeling right now. "What''s going on ire?" Mitchell asked whisperingly, afraid that the cat''s out of the bag �C that Edward had told ire about the baby.


    ire stared at Mitchell, trying hard to control her expression from breaking down.


    [ire''smentary]


    "From the clues that Edward heard �C about Mitch doesn''t like the way Cam looks right now, and they are considering breaking up...I don''t know for sure...but I''m pretty positive that Cam got into a terrible ident in Vietnam."


    ire was troubled, and her eyes were ssy.


    "I already told my dad, and asked him to be on his best behaviour today until we know for sure."


    [ire''smentary ends]


    "Dad is here." ire said, changing the subject and running away as Mitchell was distracted.


    "Hello Hello." Jay greeted cheerily while wearing a younger man''s clothes and cap.


    [Jay''smentary]


    "I never told this to Mitchell, but when he dated Cam, we all knew that this was the person he would spend the rest of his life with. Cam''s makes him happy...like no one else did before."


    "Until he''s telling me what''s going on, I will pretend like everything is fine...and won''t say a word about his decisions..."


    Jay crossed his legs and was sitting with a ss of scotch in his hand.


    "But... If Cam...really got a sex-change operation...I don''t know if I can continue to pretend everything is okay."


    As ire only told him the hints and not her hypothesis, Jay got into a conclusion of his own.


    [Commentary ends.]


    Mitchell was confused when he saw his dad in younger clothes, "May I take your multicoloured coat and bejewelled cap?"


    "Yeah. Yeah." Jay already predicted that someone will bring up the matter, and he dismissed Mitchell quickly by giving Mitchell his hat.


    "Wait. I want to try it on." Edward said as he entered the house while holding a gift in one hand, and a guitar on the next.


    "Here you go." Mitchell said and helped Edward put the cap onto his head.


    -Edward POV-


    I was heading to the car trunk to get my guitar and my gift after Phil parked the car. Haley joined me and grabbed the cake, which shocked me as I didn''t think she would ever volunteer to do some work herself.


    "What? The cake is so pretty! Mom almost bangs the cake on the car when she was putting it in, so I don''t trust her to take it out." Haley defended herself after I stared at her suspiciously.


    I didn''t know then, she had posted a picture of me decorating the cake on Facebook, and she was trying to tell me about it privately. The post had received more than 200 likes, and the likes were still increasing.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Ugh. Why did I do that?!" Haley groaned. "I put it in, but I wasn''t going to post it. I was just trying to scare him!" Haley exined.


    "But then, I found out that the picture had been posted while we were on our way to Uncle Mitch''s house."


    "Before I could delete it, it already had 200 likes, and all of my friends were texting me about it." She said in a sad tone. "I''d deleted it now, but it was toote."


    "Now. Dn kept texting me and asking about Edward, panicking!." Haley groaned again, deeply regretting her actions. She covered her face with her palm, not knowing what to do next.


    [3rd Person POV.]


    Whilezing around in her bed in her freakishly pink room, a girl wearing only a piece of satin underwear widened her eyes as she saw the post .


    "He bakes?" Jenna McKenzie �C the popr girl who has a crush on Edward saw the image online after Elsa forwarded it to her. She threw away her brand-new Iphone to the wall, destroying it.


    "Why is he in their house!? ARE THEY GOING OUT?!! ARGHH!!" Jenna swept away all of the stuff in her makeup desk with her hand, causing them to crash on the floor.


    "HE''S MINE! HE''S MINE! HE''S MINE!" Jenna yelled hysterically as she destroyed most of the stuff in her room. Feathers were flyings, dresses were ripped, and the mirror in her room was shattered.


    After she had calmed down, she called her mother using thendline and said cutely, "Mommy. My room is destroyed."


    Her mother sighed from the other line and said in a loving tone�C not getting mad at all, "Again? Okay. Nevermind. Mommy will buy you all new things, kitten."


    "Thank you mommy. I love you!" Jenna said cutely.


    [Endsmentary and POV]


    -Edward POV-


    I saw Gloria, Manny and Jay parking their car and getting out as I closed the car trunk.


    "What are you doing here?" Jay asked instantly and with dissatisfaction as he saw me.


    "Yeah. Nice to meet you again. Also, nice outfit." I replied facetiously as Jay greeted me. Gloria interjected and said, "Hi Edward. So Nice to see you again!"


    Jay grumbled and walked inside while Gloria admired the cake. She was wearing a light orange coloured, one-piece dress that entuated her figure...as usual. Manny smiled at me before he turned to what I was holding and said, "Guitar? You''re ying here?"


    "No. I don''t know. Cam asked me to bring it." I replied.


    "Ayy. It''s so beautiful!" Gloria snatched the cake from Haley, making the girl speechless. Even Manny''s attention was turned to the cake as his mother reacted to it.


    The delicate purple petal lotus on the top of the cake had aroused Gloria''s interest, and even thementers on Haley''s post. Most of thements were asking if I really had created the cake or I had bought the cake somece else.


    "You can see the details and hard work put into the flower at the top. Whoever the person who created this was, he''s sure is skillful." Manny said.


    Haley smiled mischievously and said, "Edward made it."


    "Let''s go inside. We''rete." I said and quickly turned away from a gasping Gloria. Haley giggled and followed me together with Gloria and Manny.


    I took Jay''s hat instantly as I saw him giving the hat to Mitchell as I entered the house, causing the gruff old man to be more grumpy.


    "Here." I handed the box of gifts to Mitchell. "Hmm?" Mitchell looked at me in confusion. He pulled me close and whispered to my ear, "Did they already know?"


    "No." I replied calmly, but still maintained my smile.


    Mitchell slumped and asked in desperation. "...Why not?"


    Finally, the extended family took their ces and they faced Mitchell who''s preparing for his announcement. Me and Jay were standing together while the rest of the family was sitting.


    "Why are you standing?" Jay asked as I stood next to him. "Why are you not sitting?" I asked back. Jay sipped the wine in his hand and said in a low voice, "Give me back my hat."


    He then snatched the hat off my hand and threw it at the cab nearby.


    "Aww... shucks." I eximed fakely, continuing to get onto the grumpy man''s nerve. I kept waiting for the announcement to arrive, but everyone was totally silent. No guests in the house had spoken any words, and they kept staring at Mitchell.


    "So how was your trip?" I asked as everyone was too cautious to ask questions now.


    "It was good. It was good actually." Mitchell turned to me and mouthed the word ''Thanks'' with his mouth as he didn''t know how to start.


    "But, um, about that, I- I have something that I need to tell you guys." Mitchell said. "Something..." He took a deep breath in between "...happened."


    "Oh God." Jay muttered and needed another drink.


    "Is Uncle Cam really gone?" Alex asked with a shaky voice.


    "No. He''s in the bedroom." Mitchell turned to Alex, all confused by the question.


    "Then, is he hideous now...you know, after the ident?" ire said in a hushed tone �C trying to not startle Cam.


    "He might be hideous now, but with some stic surgery, he may return back to being himself again." Phil shouted his ideas out.


    "What ident?" Mitchell contorted his face as he was so confused. He turned to me for an exnation as he knew I knew and wondered what the hell I told these guys there.


    "I don''t know what she is talking about." I exined, shrugging my shoulders as if I''m innocent in this matter.


    "Um- Uh, we didn''t just go to Vietnam for pleasure. We, uh, kind of have some big news." Mitchell finally got to the point, trying to move away from the depressing topic.


    "It is...about Cam?" ire asked after realising that her ident theory was wrong. "Did he have boobs now?" Jay said after being silent for a while.


    "Why will Uncle Cam have boobs?" Luke muttered. Haley and Alex turned to him, not knowing what to say to exin.


    "It''s...for the both of us." Mitchell said. "Anyway, um, so, about a year ago, Cam and I started feeling this longing, you know, for something more, like, uh, maybe a baby?"


    "Ooh, that''s a bad idea." Jay eximed in a sharp tone.


    "What do you mean, ''bad idea''?" Mitchell got confrontational against his dad.


    "Well, kids need a mother. I mean if you two guys are bored, get a dog." Jay continued.


    "Okay, we''re not bored, Dad." Mitched said in disappointment.


    "I support you, Mitchell." Gloria interjected.


    "I-I-I-I think what Dad is trying to say... is that, Mitchell, you''re a little uptight. Kids bring chaos, and- and you don''t handle it well." ire spoke up.


    "That''s not what Dad''s saying. That''s what you''re saying. And it''s insulting in a whole different way." Mitchell turned to ire and argued.


    "Okay, people. Let''s all chix." Phil said, trying to ease the heated atmosphere. The room fell into a silence, and I could sense that the situation had be tense.


    "Voy a ser brisa en tu espalda, no quien te escupa en frente." I suddenly said.


    "What?" Jay looked at me in confusion. Gloria brightened up and asked in excitement, "Ay, You know that too?!"


    "What is it?" ire asked Gloria.


    "It means... Ayy... Edward exins." Gloria said.


    "I''m going to be the wind at your back, not the one who spits in your face." I said. "It''s a saying from Colombia. When ites to your family, it''s better to support than to insult."


    "But I noticed that the Pritchetts family has a unique way of being both at the same time." I added teasingly.


    "That''s true." Phil agreed. Gloria nodded in agreement too, causing both ire and Jay to be speechless.


    I turned to the pathway behind Mitch and said, "Cam. It''s time. Don''t wait anymore."


    Suddenly, the circle of life song suddenly yed and, and Cam �Cwho had been listening to the entire conversation, walked into the living room with Lily in his hand �C presenting Lily to the family simr to Rafiki from the Lion King movie when he presented Simba.


    "Oh, God." ire shouted in surprise and awe as she saw the baby in Cam''s arm. Cam was wearing a red satin robe with asian features as he walked to introduce the baby.


    [Music- Circle of life from the Lion King]


    ? It''s the circle of life ?


    "We adopted a baby." Mitchell exined.


    Cam raised Lily up, and a spotlight that he had set up before was switched on, showing Lily''s face to everyone. She was an adorable Vietnamese baby with chubby cheeks and an expression of ''what the hell is going on here'' as she was suddenly raised upward.


    ? And it moves us all ?


    "Her name is Lily." Mitchell introduced. Then, he said to Cam, "Just turn it off."


    "I can''t turn it off. It''s who I am." Cam said defensively.


    "The music." Mitchell said in a tired voice.


    "Oh, yes, the music." Cam chuckled and pressed the switch in his hand, shutting the music down.


    "Come say hi to Lily." Cam said in excitement. All the family members except me and ire ran toward the baby to look at her more closely.


    "Ay, miren a princesita. The little princess." Gloria said as she caressed the baby''s hair.


    " She''s so cute!" Haley said excitedly.


    "Let me see her. Let me see her. Let me see her." ire couldn''t wait in line anymore and grabbed Lily from Cam''s arm.


    "Hi there, Lily." ire said while holding Lily. As the family members were fussing for Lily, I saw Jay being conflicted as he stood at his initial spot.


    "Feeling sorry for your words? Or a Vietnam shback, grandpa?" I asked carefully.


    Jay scoffed, turned to me and asked, "What did you say before?...in English."


    Jay called everyone''s attention, "Okay, I know that I said I thought this was a bad idea. But, uh, what do I know?"


    "I mean, it''s not like I wrote the book on fatherhood. Been trying all my life to get it right. I''m still screwing up."


    "Anyway, I''m happy for you. And, uh, you should know that, uh, I''m not here to spit in your face, I''m here to... blow at your back...Or whatever it was the kid said before."


    Mitchell was smiling happily at his dad''s effort, and suddenly, Lily started to cry while being in ire''s arm. Mitchell took over and brought Lily to meet her grandpa, which in turn made her stop crying.


    As I smiled at the side, suddenly, I was called by Cam.


    "Special thanks to Edward. He knew about the adoption for a week now, and he has been nothing but supportive to us."


    I was surprised when a stranger like me was suddenly mentioned, and Phil called me afterward, "Eddy,e meet Lily." I was hesitant, so Mitchell brought Lily closer to me.


    The little baby suddenly reached out to me, asking to be in my arms, shocking everyone here.


    "She likes you!" Mitchell said happily. "She hasn''t been this proactive since we brought her back here." Cam added.


    Lily kept reaching for me, so I cautiously held her in my arms. She calmed down and rested her head on my chest. She grabbed my shirt, and not letting anyone else took her away from her position. Slowly, her eyelid became heavy, and she let out a big yawn.


    I didn''t know then, but an agent of the afterlife has a high affinity with babies and small animals. Right now, I was just enjoying the feeling of hugging the baby.


    "Aww...She''s so cute." ire said, trying to snatch Lily away, but Mitchell stopped her. "Let her sleep first. She hasn''t slept at all since the flight."


    ire stared at me with greedy eyes the whole time I was holding the baby, trying to find the perfect moment to snatch Lily away.


    "He has brought a gift, let''s open it together." ire said, finally figuring out why I was bringing a gift to Mitch and Cam.


    "Oh right. Eddy, can I open the gift now?" Cam said excitedly, but with a hushed tone as Lily had fallen asleep.


    "Sure." I said. Cam opened the gift box carefully with glee and excitement.


    "Wait, Cam! There''s glitter!" ire whispered hurriedly as she remembered what I had said before. However, only a popup banner appeared with the words, ''Congrattions on your baby!'' written in a celebratory font.


    "A Edward." Mitch and Cam were touched by the performance.


    "...Where''s the glitter and confetti?" ire was confused.


    "Do you really think I will put that in? With a baby around?" I asked. ire red at me and said, "You little liar."


    "I told you he''s a liar." Jay intercepted.


    I shrugged and said, "I won''t need to lie if you weren''t a....."


    "A what?" ire narrowed her eyes while looking at me.


    "A busybody." Phil blurted out unconsciously. ire turned to Phil looking offended. "Phil!" She yelled �C still with a whisper.


    "I''m sorry ire." I said. "But I need to keep the baby matter a secret, so I need to keep your nose out of the box. Well, you and Haley."


    "I am not a busybody!" Haley interjected as she was within earshot. "SHH!" Alex shushed Haley quickly as she used her normal voice. Everyone turned to Lily, but found out that she was unbothered by the noise and was still sleeping soundly in my arms.


    "Okay calm down. Let''s see the present." Phil said, turning the attention back to the box. Cam removed the wrapping paper on top and took out the small outfit that I had sewn for Lily personally, out of the box.


    "This is?" Phil asked.


    "It''s an Ao Dai. It''s a traditional Vietnamese dress for celebrations." I exined as I patted Lily''s back softly to help her sleep. "The lotus flower is their national flower, and it was the same flower I put on the cake."


    Mitch and Cam finally realise it. "Hey. it''s like the dress I saw some girls wear in Vietnam." Cam said.


    "You really thought hard about this." Alexplimented. "Yeah. Who knows you''re so sensitive." Haley said mischievously. Then, she got a text and she groaned as she read it while walking away from the rest of the family.


    "Ayy! It''s so cute!...and so soft!" Gloria said as she felt the fabric of the baby dress.


    Mitch and Cam were extremely touched by the gifts. "This gift. The cake, and the song you''re about to sing...Thank you so much Edward." Cam said.


    I was confused, "I will be singing a song?"

 Chapter 19: Welcoming the baby.

    <h4>Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Weing the baby.</h4>


    -Edward POV-


    I ced Lily inside her crib in the nursery after she had been sleeping in my arms for a while. Alex and Haley joined me, and they were shocked when they saw the mural on Lily''s nursery wall. We went back outside to the living room and had dinner together.


    For the song, Cam wanted to wait until Lily had woken up before he wanted me to y the song so that she could join the fun.


    "I don''t think any of my songs were suitable for this asion though." I muttered as I tried toplete Cam''s request.


    Mitchell saw me being troubled and thinking hard as I saw on the sofa, ying various tunes with my guitar to try and figure out a perfect song to y on this asion.


    He peeked from the passageway, wondering if he should go and ask me not to stress myself and can reject if I wanted to.


    The other adults had moved the party to the dining table, leaving only the kids in the living room.


    "Why don''t you y a ready-made song?" Manny asked and then he tried tofort me. "I think Cam was saying to do that, not to create a song of your own."


    I turned to Manny, and my fingers automatically started to y the song from Tarzan.


    "Like this?" I asked and started to sing Phil Collins -You''ll be in my heart.


    "? Come stop your crying. It will be alright.


    Just take my hand. Hold it tight.


    I will protect you. From all around you.


    I will be here. Don''t you cry.? "


    "That''s good." Manny eximed in agreement.


    I continued singing as I immersed myself in the music. Haley, who had been texting urgently, raised her head from the phone and turned to look at me. Alex and Luke were humming along to the song.


    ?For one so small.You seem so strong


    My arms will hold you. Keep you safe and warm


    This bond between us. Can''t be broken.


    I will be here don''t you cry?


    "Everyone together." I said to the crowd.


    Together: ''Cause you''ll be in my heart. Yes, you''ll be in my heart. From this day on...


    Now and forever more...?


    I strum the guitar string and end the song at the one minute mark of the song. Mitchell smiled softly as he watched the performance secretly.


    "It''s great, but I don''t want to give Jay the ammunition of saying Mitch and Cam were the gori in the movie." I said. Mitchell, who was sipping his wine, almost choked on his drink as he heard my remarks.


    "How about Baby Mine?" Alex asked. "That song always makes mom cry."


    "From Dumbo?" I said, trying to figure out the notes to the song. "Sing the first part." I asked Alex. Although stunned, Alex catched the timing of the notes, and started to sing too.


    -3rd Person Pov (before Phil Collins song)-


    "I''m going to go check on Lily. I''ll be right back." Cam said after he talked about his trip to Vietnam to the adults. "Ayy, I want to look too." Gloria said and followed Cam from behind giddily, leaving only ire, Phil and Jay left on the table. Phil wiped down his mouth with a napkin and shot a look at ire.


    "Just go." ire said.


    "Thank you hun." Phil said and followed Cam and Gloria from behind.


    "So, dad. Something interesting happened today." ire said.


    "What?" Jay turned his eyes at ire while eating and asked.


    "I got a job offer." ire said.


    "Really? Will you take it?" Jay asked with a tone in disbelief.


    "Why dad? Don''t you think I can''t do it? T-that I''m just a stay at home mom who doesn''t know how to do anything?" ire got defensive at her dad''s tone of voice. However, her sentence showed more of her own insecurities rather than what her dad thought of her.


    "I''m just saying, it''s been a while since you started something... outside of your house. I thought you quit your job to take care of your family?"


    ire nodded, a little agitated by her own words being thrown back at her, "Technically...I will be doing the job from home."


    "What? How can you even work like that?!" Jay asked in confusion.


    But before Jay could ask more, he heard the sound of musicing from the living room as all the kids were singing together at this moment.


    "What''s that? Is that from Tarzan?" ire said and stood up from the table. Part of her wanted some advice from Jay about the matter, while another part of her didn''t want her father''s opinion to impact the things she wanted to do, so ire was being a bit weird now.


    Jay sighed and walked behind ire to see what was going on. They stood behind Mitchell, but Mitchell didn''t notice them yet. Luckily for Edward, Jay didn''t hear about the gori remark he had made before.


    -Edward POV-


    Alex started to sing as I yed the melody of the song.


    [Baby Mine by Arcade Fire]


    Alex: "?Baby mine, don''t you cry... Baby mine, dry your eyes.Rest your head close to my heart. Never to part, baby of mine.?"


    "Nice job Alex." I said as I looked at her as I continued to y the melody. Alex blushed a little and said meekly, "Thanks."


    ire who was watching from the dark corner muttered as she saw Alex''s reaction, "I don''t like that. Not one bit."


    "OH JESUS When did you guyse here?!" Mitchell was surprised by the duo, and his shout finally revealed the adults to the children.


    I didn''t mind them and continued singing.


    Edward: ?Little one, when you y...Don''t you mind what they say... Let your eyes sparkle and shine. Never a tear, baby of mine.?


    ire''s eyes started to get ssy and she covered her mouth with her hand as she immersed herself in the memories of her children.


    Edward:" ? If they knew all about you... They''d end up loving you, too...All those same people who scold you... What they''d give just for the right to hold you...?"


    "Alex, together with me." I said, inviting Alex for a duet.


    Together: "? From your head to your toes..You''re not much, heaven knows..But you''re so precious to me..Sweet as can be, baby of mine...?"


    Edward: "?Oh, baby of mine..Oh, baby of mine..Oh, baby of mine?"


    ire still managed to stop herself from breaking down after hearing the song even though it was her favourite movie. Even though the Pritchet''s was touched, they didn''t react much after hearing it.


    Their partners however...


    "Oh my god. That''s so(voice crack) beautiful." Cam had already started to cry as he heard the song. Phil also couldn''t stop himself from crying, and Gloria went to go hug Manny.


    A sudden camera sh almost blinded me as Cam suddenly snapped a photo of the living room with his camera.


    "Urgh. Uncle Cam!" Alex groaned as the sudden burst of light hurt her eyes.


    "Sorry. I can''t help myself. This...This is..." Cam pointed at all of us, "...Is what I wanted to happen when I ask Eddy to bring his guitar today." Cam said in a calm and touched voice.


    [Cam''smentary]


    Sitting alone in the chair was a dissatisfied Cameron that had a sour expression in his face.


    "I wanted to sing to Elton John and needed a backup guitarist." Cam confessed. "But...he was so good...that I forgot what I was nning to do."


    [Mitchell Commentary]


    "I know Cam is feeling dejected that the spotlight has been taken away from him. But after he ambushed me today with the baby announcement, I''m....kinda d that Edward is in the spotlight..."


    Mitchell smiled mischievously as he thought of Cam''s expression when he tried to seem okay. "So...So d. Haaaa.." He breathed in relief before he crossed his legs while sitting on the chair.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Cam, I had to think hard about it, but I don''t think I can convey a parent''s view in the song...you know...cause I''m a kid." I said in defeat.


    Cam hurriedly said, "No no. You misunderstand me. You don''t need to make a song for the baby. Pepper told me about the other songs you had made other than 7 years and Amnesia. So I was thinking..."


    "Ah I see...But seriously, the songs are not suitable for the atmosphere." I said to convince Cam. "If you really wanted me to y them...I would..."


    "Gosh. No need Edward." Mitchell stepped up and controlled Cameron before he could reply. "You will have a show on your own sooner orter. We can just go there to hear it. You don''t have to feel pressured to do it."


    "Yeah. Don''t feel pressured." Phil said as he sat nearby Haley and pulled her into his embrace, finally calming down himself from the song before.


    "Dad!" Haley said in embarrassment.


    "I remember when you''re a baby, how small you were at that time. I was afraid that you would break when I picked you up."


    ire joined in and sat next to Alex and Luke, "Remember? How hard did we try to take a picture of them standing still?"


    She turned to Mitchell and said, "Now, you''re going to get to experience that. How even when they were there with you, you will feel like you''re still missing them. You wanted to put them into your arms all the time, never to let them go." She hugged Luke and Alex suddenly, causing them tough as they became ticklish.


    "When I feel sad, sometimes I just open up their baby photos and just remember the good times we had together." ire said.


    "Me too." Jay said. "And a bottle of scotch."


    ire rolled her eyes at Jay''s remark.


    "Yeah. I saw the pictures on the staircase." I said. I turned to Gloria and asked, "Did you keep pictures of Manny too?"


    "Any chance that I can get." Gloria said. "We didn''t have much at that time, so... I will bring Manny to one of the free...studio pictures...and we got our picture taken by the camera. I still keep the pictures until today."


    Manny interjected, "It was one of the things we sent to our family in Colombia."


    ire''s expression toward Gloria eased a bit after she heard that.


    "I see. So that''s...from the parent''s point of view huh." I said as a song popped into my head.


    "I think I can y you something. Can you let me try?" I asked.


    "Sure kiddo." Phil said in excitement.


    "Wait!" Cam suddenly stopped everyone. "I heard some babbling. I think...Lily is awake now." Cam said and ran toward the nursery.


    As he assumed, Lily had woken up from her nap and was on the brink of crying before he walked in. She brightened up as she saw him, and Cam pulled her into his arms. He brought her outside to join in the fun.


    "Okay. This song can be either from a child''s or a parent''s experience in the family." I said before I started to strum the melody to Ed Sheeran - Photograph.


    Phil couldn''t sit still and said, "I''m so excited!"


    ? ? ?


    Ed: ? Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes.. But it''s the only thing that I know..?


    "Is this a new song?" Cam widened his eyes as he never heard a song like this before. "Shh!" Gloria shushed Cam. He made a zipping gesture at his mouth and waited patiently toment.


    Ed: ? When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes. It is the only thing... that makes us feel alive.?


    I turned to Phil and ire who had been immersed in the song.


    Ed: ? We keep this love in a photograph. We made these memories for ourselves. Where our eyes are never closing...Hearts are never broken...And time''s forever frozen, still..?


    Phil and ire widened their eyes as the song was based on the topic they just talked about before.


    ? So you can keep me...Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans...Holding me closer ''til our eyes meet...You won''t ever be alone, wait for me toe home..."


    "Oh my god. It is a new song. And he made it on the spot..." Haley muttered underneath her breath, extremely shocked by the song. She recorded the video of the song with her phone without thinking much.


    Ed: ? Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul. And it''s the only thing that I know, know. I swear it will get easier. Remember that with every piece of ya..?


    ? Hmm, and it''s the only thing we take with us when we die. Hmm, we keep this love in a photograph. We made these memories for ourselves...Where our eyes are never closing. Hearts were never broken, And time''s forever frozen, still... ?


    Luke whispered to Manny, "What is this song about?"


    Manny replied back with a whisper, " It''s a metaphor about how fast time will pass by for a parent and their love."


    Luke was confused, "What? I thought it''s about taking pictures."


    Gloria was swaying her entire body to the rhythm, not realising the exchange of words between the two 10 years olds.


    Ed: ? So you can keep me


    Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans


    Holding me closer ''til our eyes meet


    You won''t ever be alone?


    ? And if you hurt me


    That''s okay, baby, only words bleed


    Inside these pages, you just hold me


    And I won''t ever let you go?


    ? Wait for me toe home


    Wait for me toe home


    Wait for me toe home


    Wait for me toe home...?


    I stopped the music early and stopped before the final part of the song as the song was quite long.


    Before I could open my mouth, Cam yelled, "What in the name of Amodeus Mozart that just happened?!"


    "Ed?! Did you really make this song on the spot!" ire asked hurriedly like Dumbledore asking Harry calmly if he put his name in the goblet of fire.


    "A CAMERA! No. A RECORDER! SOMEONE! TELL ME SOMEONE RECORDED IT!" Cam screamed hysterically and tried to prove that the song he just heard wasn''t a figment of his own imagination.


    ...


    After the whole song situation calmed down, the conversation continued, and it''s now almost 9 pm. Cam and Mitchell had thanked me about the songs, and everything else. Lily continued reaching out to me, making Cam and Mitch a bit jealous.


    Before the night ended, I had a useful discussion with the rest of the adults about my current project.


    "Hey. ire tells me you made a website?" Jay asked after he had a conversation with ire about her new job offer. He was sceptical at first, but after ire exined the work in detail, he was...still sceptical, but he was sure ire could handle the job now.


    "Yeah. It''s notunched yet as I still need to make a few tweaks." I replied.


    "Can I see it?" Jay asked. "Sure. Myptop bag is in the car. I will go take it." I said and walked outside to Dunphy''s minivan. Jay, Gloria, Mitchell and Cameron took a look at the website together and gave me their opinions on the matter.


    [Jay''smentary]


    "The website is even better than the one mypany used. (sigh) Now...I need to make a hard decision about firing my tech guy.."


    [Commentary ends]


    "If I don''t use the website, can I call someone and talk to them to book the ship? Will the call then be linked to the booking system on the website?" Jay asked a critical question.


    "Yes. Any call booking will automatically be set in the website after about an hour of confirmation. The system in the pier and the website will be linked together after I finish my program." I exined.


    Jay nodded, and he advised me about a few things on the business before it was Mitch and Cam''s turn.


    "You know, if there''s pictures of celebrities using the ships, or a party on the ship, I know I will be more inclined to book it." Cam said.


    "That''s true...For me, I need to know about the route the ship will take in the seas. It says here about dancing in the moonlight...so can you guarantee that? You may need a disimer in that, so people cannot sue you." Mitchell said as awyer.


    "How many people can ride the boat?" Gloria asked. "I don''t want to bring many people there...and then at thest minute I''m being told to drop a few because of the extra weight."


    I noted all of the feedback and I would discuss with my dad on how to solve the issues.


    "Here. Take it." Gloria said as she gave me the hat Jay had worn before. "He won''t ever wear it again. He wouldn''t even know that it''s gone."


    I hitched a ride home with the Dunphy''s after the dinner party was over. It''s almost 10.30 pm now.


    "Hey. Ed. I need to talk to you about something." Haley said. She pulled away from the rest of her family, and told me about the picture she had posted.


    "Ahh. That''s why you''re being so weird." I said.


    "You''re not mad?" Haley asked meekly.


    "Nah. I''m alright. I''m not on Facebook, so I kinda don''t care about what happens. You already exined to them about my visit, right? That''s enough. "


    Haley breathed in relief and said, "Okay. But I''m going to warn you, if anything happens, call me quickly. Okay?!" She snatched my phone and called her phone �C so that she would know my number. Now, she had be the 6th person I had saved in my phone book.


    Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Abby, Alex, Potato Bitch, and Haley.


    "What would happen?" I asked.


    "You know, if some people are being idiotic." Haley said in concern. "Make sure to call me."


    After waving goodbye to the family, I walked home alone, only to find Brian and Dn waiting for me to return to the route near my house.


    "Oh. The idiots huh." I muttered as I stood face to face with them.

 Chapter 20: Couple of incidents.

    <h4>Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Couple of incidents.?</h4>


    (A/N: I have a migraine so I''m going to rest. Enjoy the chap~!)


    -3rd Person POV-


    "Urgh. Why is he not answering?!"


    Dressed in a ck blouse and hair tied up in a ponytail, therge-earring wearing girl grumbled as she exited her house.


    Haley had been trying to reach Dn sincest night especially since Madelyn Cline, a.k.a Yoko texted her telling Dn had gone to meet Edward with her boyfriend Brian.


    "Both of them! Are they messing with me!?" Haley shouted as she entered the minivan, sitting in front next to ire.


    "What''s going on?" ire asked in concern.


    Luke and Alex exited the house with their bags, and as Luke opened the side door, he saw someone familiar cycling in front of their house.


    "Hey, that''s Ed." Luke muttered and tried to wave at Edward, but the boy wasn''t paying attention to anything other than the street.


    "What happened to his face?" ire squinted her eyes as she looked through the back mirror of the car, and she saw something different from the Edward she spent time with yesterday.


    "Looks like he''d been in a fight." Alex muttered in concern. "WHAT?!" Haley shouted in a weird high-pitch voice as she heard what Alex said.


    -Edward POV-


    "Ugh. My teeth feel loose. I ought to sue them." I muttered as I woke up today and walked to the kitchen. I massaged my jaw a little bit and changed the pain relief patch on my right cheek.


    "You can, you know." Ted said while sipping his coffee. "You don''t have to go to school today if you want."


    "It''s okay. I got to submit my assignments today. I will y hooky tomorrow." I said teasingly.


    "Unfortunately, the offer is only valid for today." Ted said with a soft smile.


    "Tch, stingy." I joked and I ate breakfast together with my dad. Instead of cooking, my dad bought a few croissants from a bakery in the city for his turn in making breakfast.


    The next day arrived, and I cycled to school as usual. I passed through the Dunphy''s household, and nced only for a second before I cycled past them.


    "Last night...Ugh...teenagers..." I grumbled as I remembered the events ofst night when I was walking home from the Dunphy''s house.


    [shback]


    "Oh. The idiots huh." I muttered as I stood face to face with the two 18 years old �C Dn and Brian.


    Standing at an imposing 6''2'''' (187 cm), Dn''s eyes were red as he had just been crying.


    "Dude. I need to ask you a question." Dn approached me and said in the pitiful voice of an abandoned puppy.


    On his left side was Brian, the sses-wearing, 5''7 bassist that allegedly bought his way into the band. He was staring at me with contempt, so I reached into my pocket and opened the recording function of my phone secretly.


    "Shoot." I replied casually.


    "Are you dating Haley?" Dn asked.


    "No." I replied calmly.


    "Do you like Haley?"


    "No."


    "Then why are you in her house?"


    " ''Cause her mother is teaching me to bake a cake."


    "But....but...why?" Dn asked in confusion.


    "Dn. He''s lying. There is no way he''s not making a move at Haley." Brian said in contempt. "He needs to be taught a lesson." Brian walked toward me with his fist cocking. I narrowed my eyes and would counterattack at a moment''s notice if he really did try something.


    He was dissatisfied with me because of my Youtube video. My live-cafe performance has now reached one million views on Youtube, and people have been asking the band why they picked Brian instead of me.


    Worst of all, his girlfriend was thinking of breaking up with him because of the incident. She didn''t want to take the heat about the matter, and was abandoning Brian to deal with the matter by himself.


    Dn grabbed Brian''s fist before he could swing it to me. "That''s not what we came here for!"


    "LET ME GO DYLAN. I need to punch him at least once!" Brian shook off Dn and swung his right fist at me.


    Putting my guitar case on the ground, I took a step back, causing him to lose his target and he staggered forward. At the same time, I kicked his legs to trip him, causing him to fall to the hard ground into someone''s garden.


    Then, I pinned him down by putting my knees in the back of his neck and locking his limbs.


    "Are you done yet?" I asked in a cold tone. After I got kicked out of the orphanage at age 16, I entered the military for 2 years to collect money to go to college. Fighting a highschool boy wasn''t even an effort for me.


    "Argh!" Brian screamed in pain as I twisted his joints.


    "Dude. STOP!" Dn said as he tried to remove me from Brian''s back.


    He wanted toe here to get answers about Haley and apologise to me personally in the first ce after Haley had gotten mad at him about the matter. That''s why he brought Brian along with him, so that he could apologise too.


    Dn pulled me from Brian''s back, and he was holding me so that I couldn''t harm his friend any longer. Brian however, took the chance to swing his fist at me with all of his might.


    ''Idiot.'' I scoffed inwardly and dropped down to the ground, causing Dn who was holding me from the back to be hit by the punch at his nose.


    "ARGH!" Dn screamed in pain, his nose started bleeding. Brian was flustered by his friend''s injury. "Dn, you okay?!" He asked anxiously.


    "What do you think?!" Dn asked in frustration as he put both hands on his nose, trying to stop the bleeding.


    I stood back up and dusted my clothes. "I will give you onest chance to stop. Otherwise, I will start hitting back." I warned Brian.


    "You little bitch." Brian cursed and didn''t take my advice. I sighed and I readied myself into a stance. Brian closed the distance with me, and I used his momentum against him. I put him into a jiu jitsu chokehold called the ''Mata Leao''. My right hand was at his neck, and my left hand was locking my right hand into a choke.


    Brian struggled to get out, and he hit my arm a few times. But the choke was slowly putting him to sleep.


    "Get off!" Dn said, and punched at me with his bloody hand. I released Brian instantly as there was no chance I would let that fist hit me �C not because of the strength, but because of the dirtiness. I stepped back, causing Dn to miss his target and he crashed into the half-unconscious Brian.


    Both of them groaned at the ground �C being both in pain and in shame. Dn''s phone was broken by the fall, and Brian''s too.


    "Go home." I said and turned my back against them before I walked away. Dn and Brian only answered with a groan, and I ignored them both.


    ''Give me a scare for nothing.'' I thought as I turned off my recording.


    BAM!


    I stepped on a rake as I turned and walked, causing the stick to hit my face. I stumbled on the ground and fell to my knees from the shock.


    "Oww! Fucking hell!" I groaned and I rubbed my painful cheek. Dn helped Brian to stand up as he was still feeling groggy. At this time, a car high beam was directed at us, and my dad hurriedly walked out of the car.


    "Oh fuck!!" Dn cursed and ran away while holding Brian hurriedly.


    My dad approached me and kneeled on one knee, checking my injuries. "What happened? Were you fighting?" He narrowed his eyes at the running teenagers and wanted to chase them, but I stopped him.


    "No. This stupid rake smacked me in the face." I said as I pointed at the rake.


    [shback Ends]


    Before I cycled to the main street, I passed through house 314, a one storey cottage with a beautiful garden in front.


    Suddenly, a twin-tailed goth girl with a low-cut skull face tank top, a ck id skirt and high ck boots jumped in front of my bike and stopped me by grabbing the bike handle.


    She closed her face to me and stared at me menacingly. Her brown eyes that were like two pools of honey kept getting closer and closer to me as she tried to intimidate me.


    ''Ahh. She''s really pretty.'' I thought as I looked at her oval-shaped face, her high cheekbones, and the dark-smoldering goth makeup she has on.


    "That''s dangerous Abby. If I don''t break in time, you''ll be run over." I said casually as I was greeted by an old friend.


    "That''s what you''re going to say to me after not contacting me for a week?" Abby asked angrily.


    She was still bending over to grab the car handle, causing her tank top to reveal most of the C-cup she''s packing. "What''s wrong with your face?" She asked with concern and violently pressed her finger on my hurting cheek.


    "I thought you''re at camp. So I don''t want to bother you. When did you get back?" I asked, trying to ease the 17 years old girl''s anger while avoiding the embarrassing topic of getting a rake to the face.


    Although she was a goth girl, Abby was an enigma I couldn''t solve as she has the personality of a golden retriever. Shepletely destroyed my expectation that all goth girls were emotionally closed off and emo.


    Abby narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she stared at my innocent smiling eyes. She released the bike handle and stood upright before she walked to my right side.


    "Anyway, my mom''s car is broken, so you''re going to get me to school." She said and she sat at the seat behind my bicycle, hugging my shirt as she waited for me to start moving.


    Although I was already familiar with her character, I was confused when I saw hering from this house.


    "Hey Abby, is Desiree your mother?" I asked.


    "Hmm? You don''t know?" Abby asked curiously. I turned to the house as I heard the sound of a car engine trying to start. From the sound of the slow crank, I had a hunch about the car''s problem. I saw Desire in a pink long sleeve shirt trying to start the car from afar, but it was hopeless.


    As I stared at Desiree for 10 seconds, Abby rolled her eyes and got up from the bike. "Don''t tell me you have a crush on my mother too?"


    "Hmm? Why do you think that?" I turned to her and asked. "By the way, have you told your mother about going to school with me? She''s still trying to start the car over there."


    "Ahh. I forgot." Abby widened her eyes in realisation and walked toward her mother. I parked the bike and followed her, causing Abby to roll her eyes again.


    "Mom. I''m going to school with this little perv." Abby said to Desiree. The hot mother finally gave up and exited the car.


    She flipped her blonde wavy hair and she stands next to the car. Her pink shirt had several buttons opened, revealing her deep cleavage. Her mommy jeans hugged her thick body tightly and watching her had made my teenage hormones go awry.


    "I think I''ll have to call a mechanic for this." Desiree muttered with a seductive voice, and then she turned to Abby, "I will call a cab for you."


    "Mom. Listen." Abby said in annoyance. "I''m going to school with him." She pointed at me.


    Desiree finally realised my existence and she brightened up instantly. "Who''s this? Your friend? Finally!" She said in excitement and held her hand for a handshake towards me.


    "He''s not really my friend." Abby said in a tiny voice, but her mother ignored her.


    "I''m Desiree. Abby''s mother."


    "I''m Edward, Abby''s partner-in-crime." I said and I shook hands with Desiree while being met with a smack in the arm by Abby.


    "What partners-in-crime?" Desiree asked in confusion.


    "N-Nothing." Abby panicked. After Desiree''s divorce and she moved to LA 2 months ago, Abby has been hanging out with the previous me at Sam''s junkyard �C smoking ''herb'' together. She had been inside my house too as our music taste was simr.


    "By the way, did you leave your car''s lights onst night?" I asked Desiree. I also peeked inside the car and found out that my hypothesis was true. The battery light indicator was blinking, and I saw the headlight was turned on.


    "I...don''t know." Desiree replied helplessly. At this moment, I finally understand the traits of the woman who only showed up in one episode of the series.


    "You''re an airhead huh." I blurted out. Desiree widened her eyes in surprise while Abby burst intoughter as they heard that.


    "W-what?" Desiree was bbergasted by the sudden usation.


    "Nothing. The car battery is dead. I can rece it for you after I get back home. Or you can call a tow truck too, but that will be more expensive." I offered.


    "Hmm? You know how to fix cars?" Abby asked curiously. Desiree showed a wry smile as she thought I was just a teenager trying to show off.


    "Mom. He can do it." Abby suddenly said. Desiree turned to Abby in confusion, but also was in awe. Her daughter never had introduced any of her friends after they had moved to LA, making her feel that her daughter was estranged in school.


    Desiree smirked at her daughter, causing Abby to roll her eyes again. "He is one of the rare few people who didn''t exaggerate what he can and cannot do."


    I nodded behind Abby in agreement. "It''s okay if you want to call a mechanic. They will tell you the same thing."


    Desiree shook her head and said, "Okay. I will let you do it." She gave Abby her credit card to hold to buy the battery after we finished school.


    "Let''s go. We''ll bete." Abby said and sat sideways on the back of the bike, patting my seat hurriedly to ask me to start cycling. I sighed at my legs muscles and put my legs on the pedal before I waved goodbye to Desiree.


    She waved back excitedly as she was touched that her daughter finally had a friend in the area. She was so touched that she didn''t even ask about my age or whether we went to school together.


    "So, you are serious about taking forensics?" I asked Abby as we rode to school. I had to drop her off at highschool first before I rode to my middle school. It would take me 10 minutes extra to get to school today, and I estimated that I would bete to the first ss.


    "Yeah. After we move back to New York, I will talk to my mom about that." Abby said. The goth girl was a bit of a genius, and her main interest was crime investigations.


    She only smoked weed when she had studied about it and found out that the ''herb'' was harmless. "So. Did you fight with someone?" Abby asked.


    "Two idiots came near my housest night, but their fate is worse than mine." I bragged.


    Abbyughed and teased, "Really? You can fight? Aren''t you a wimp?"


    I chuckled and said, "Said the paper human."


    "Hey!" The weak Abby eximed in anger. Iughed at her and we catched up till we got to school.


    "You''re famous now on Youtube, are you going to debut soon?" Abby asked as we entered the city.


    "I think so. But I guess I will only be a studio artist." I said.


    "You''re not going around on tour?" Abby asked.


    "Nah. Too troublesome." I replied.


    "Stillzy I see." Abby teased. We arrived at the school in no time, and I identally arrived at the same time the popr group of people had arrived at school.


    "Hey. That''s the son of a bitch who broke your nose." Aughter came from An African-american band member of Dn''s who teased the injured man when he saw me. I think his name was Derek, but I didn''t remember him much.


    "That''s the guy you fought with?" Abby said as she understood the situation without me exining anything. "Nice job." She nodded as she was pleased someone had actually taught the stupid guy a lesson.


    "Well, it wasn''t me who broke his nose though. It was Brian." I said casually. Derek heard it and exploded intoughter once more. He held his hurting stomach and strutted over to my direction.


    "Let me say it first. I''m sorry that we didn''t let you y before. It wasn''t fair to you. And I''m sorry that Dn is an idiot. Haley pped him when she heard what happened earlier on."


    "Nice." I eximed, causing Derek tough once more. Derek was only 15 years old, and a pianist for the band. He had short and unkempt hair that was driving me crazy, and he wore clothes as if he was working at the docks.


    Dn lowered his head in shame and tried to talk to me, but I needed to rush to my school.


    "Bye Abby. I''ll pick you upter." I put my foot on the pedal and wanted to ride away, but Abby stopped me.


    "Okay bye!" Abby said as she kissed my cheek lovingly. I was a bit stunned as I knew she wasn''t this type of girl, while Derek and Dn widened their eyes.


    Abby whispered to my ear while maintaining to be affectionate to me, "I don''t know why he''s targeting you but I guess for that girl Haley. Like this, he won''t bother you anymore."


    Abby was a bit concerned as I was a loner and Dn has his group of friends. The little genius managed to concoct a scheme instantly as she deducted the whole situation based on limited information. The only thing she couldn''t solve yet was the bruise on my face.


    I smiled and I kissed her on the left cheek before I said, "Don''t worry. I can handle myself. Thank you for your help... Although I''d prefer it to be on the lips."


    I drove away, leaving a stunned Abby and a group of jaw-dropped men.


    The goth girl had a lot of fans in school, but no one actually managed to ask her out. But a middle-school student did. As the rumours started to spread, I finally arrived at Franklin Middle School after the bell had rung.


    I entered Mrs Henderson ss a bitte using the back door, attracting the attention of the entire ss.


    Mrs Herderson turned toward me from writing on the whiteboard and said, "Did you fought with someone Mr. Newgate?"


    "Ah...I cannot talk about it as per the rules of the club." I said jokingly. Mrs Henderson narrowed her eyes at me while some boys in the ssughed.

 Chapter 21: Gossips.

    <h4>Chapter 21: Chapter 21: ?Gossips.</h4>


    -3rd Person POV-


    Palisades High School.


    As Haley arrived at school, she waited for Dn at the ce where he usually parked his blue muscle-junk-car from the 1970s.


    The car''s appearance could be confused by a 1970 plymouth duster, but it had lost its value years ago. Dn had bought the car for 1000 dors after working in the summer and saved up all his money for it. The crappy car finally pulled up 10 minutes before school started.


    "Dn!" Haley strutted toward Dn who just arrived and was getting out of his car. His nose was patched up and clear bruises could be seen on his face.


    "Haley. I-" Dn said in a nasally voice as his nostril was blocked.


    SLAP!


    Haley pped Dn ruthlessly before he could say anything.


    "I can''t believe you don''t trust me! I told you that Edward and I are only friends. Why can''t you listen to me?! You had to go and jump him like that?"


    "Haley, I didn''t! That was Brian!" Dn tried to defend himself, but Haley was already so frustrated by him.


    "We''re over!" Haley said and stomped off toward her ss. They had only been dating for a month, and in that time span, Haley had broken up with him 3 times now. But this time, she was really angry at him and their breakup might be permanent.


    Especially when he imagined Edward as his Uncle Mitchell when he was young. She had heard the stories from Uncle Mitchell and Cam �C mostly from Cam, about how confused, how afraid they were, how they lost friendships, how people viewed them as weirdos, and all of that.


    She couldn''t ept the fact that his boyfriend was now one of the bad guys in Uncle Mitchell''s story. Even though Haley seemed like she didn''t care, family means everything to her.


    As she entered the school, she walked to the girls toilet and called her Uncle Mitchell to tell him about what happened.


    -Cam and Mitchell''s house-


    "Lily. Say goodbye to Daddy. Say Goodbye to Daddy." Cam puppeted Lily''s hand to wave goodbye at a well-dressed Mitchell in a suit as her other daddy was going to work this morning.


    "Hmm. I still think I should take a day off today." Mitchell said longingly. However, his boss already called him as the deposition had been moved up to Tuesday, so Mitchell would have to stay back today.


    As Mitchell walked out of the house, he received a call from Haley. He was a bit confused as it was 8 in the morning, so he thought that Haley had forgotten something in his house at the dinner party.


    "Hello?" Mitchell picked up the call.


    "Uncle Mitch. Something happened." Haley said directly. Mitchell quickly became serious and turned back toward his house.


    "Hey, Daddy''s back again?" Cam said in confusion as he kept ying with Lily.


    "Uh-huh. And then. Uh-huh." Mitchell listened to the story Haley was telling, while Cameron became increasingly curious about his return.


    "What happened? What happened?" Cam asked with a whisper. Mitchell put the phone on his chest and said in a low voice, "Cam, Eddy got jumped by some kids after going home yesterday. His face is all bruised up."


    "WHAT!" Cam yelled in a manly voice that was different from the one he usually used.


    "Yeah. And Haley had broken up with her boyfriend who apparently...got jealous of Edward and ...."


    "Don''t make me wait, you monster." Cam said urgently as Mitchell cut his sentence short.


    "And...her boyfriend was there among the people who attacked Ed." Mitchell said dramatically.


    Cam gasped and covered his mouth.


    "She is asking what she should do now." Mitchell asked.


    "Talk to Ed. See if he''s okay. Alex is one school with him right? Call Alex. Let her check up on him." Cam advised. After calming the teenage girl, Mitchell ended the call after advising her with what Cam said.


    "Should I call Pepper?" Mitchell asked.


    "Yes. Definitely." Cam said. "I will call Ed''s dad to see if he knows anything about it. I will call you and tell you about itter. You should go now. You''re going to bete."


    Mitchell finally realised that he was standing frozen near the door for multiple minutes now. "Yeah. I should. But wait...Ed is...not gay right?" Mitchell asked.


    Cam flipped his right hand multiple times, "Ehhh~ 50-50. If he didn''t make the baby clothes before, I might have changed my mind about it. But the cake..."


    "Yeah. The cake.." Mitchell said and then he concluded. "So...still ambiguous. I think Haley thinks... he''s gay..."


    "We should resolve the misunderstanding...after we check up on him. He''s practically family now." Cam said decisively.


    As Mitchell walked to his car the second time, he got a text from Haley. He ran back to the house in a hurry and almost yelled as he opened the front door.


    "Cam. Edward...has a girlfriend. A HOT ONE!"


    As Mitchell yelled that, Cameron who was speaking on his phone closed his mouth with his hand and said, "So. He isn''t gay? Or..."


    -Highschool-


    "Haley, are you here?" Tara, one of Haley''s close friends, entered the girls'' toilet after ss had started and Haley wasn''t in the ssroom. She was a white girl with a single lock of braids in her hair and she wore denim themed clothing to school today.


    "I heard about what Dn did." Tara said. "He met Edward this morning, do you know about that?" She asked.


    Haley opened the toilet door and asked, "What happened?"


    "Ed came to drop off his girlfriend. You know, Abby. The goth chick." Tara gossiped.


    "He has a girlfriend?!" Haley asked in shock. "And she''s even older than I am!"


    Haley was a bit confused by what she was feeling at this moment. Was she relieved, concerned, or jealous?


    "I need to talk to Abby." Haley said.


    "Let''s go to the ss first. You can meet her at the cafeteria." Tara said and pulled her toward the ss. Haley texted Mitchell the new information when she got it, but she had to keep her phone away as the teacher didn''t allow using their phone in ss.


    -Dunphy''s house-


    After ire had dropped off the kids, she returned home and got a call from Cam the moment she parked the car in front of the house.


    "ire, have you heard?" Cam asked from the other line.


    "Heard what?" ire asked. "Hurry up and say it Cam, I need to get ready to meet Ed''s dad."


    After Alex persuaded her non-stop as they returned from Mitch and Camst night, ire decided to call Ted this morning and learn more about what the job entails from the boss.


    "It''s about Ed. He got jumped by a few kids." Cam said after teasing ire with his pause. ire was surprised and said, "That''s why his face is messed up this morning (Minor injury)."


    "You saw him? Why didn''t you ask him?" Cam asked usingly.


    "Well. He was on his bike. It''s not like he stopped by for breakfast." ire defended herself snidely.


    Then, she heard what Mitchell yelled to Cam after he returned to the house for the second time.


    "He''s got a girlfriend? Good for him." ire said sincerely. ''And with him having a girlfriend, the chances he will make a move on my daughters are smaller.'' She thought.


    As ire drove to the Marina, she found Ted who was trying hard to calm down the person on the other side of the call. She stood nearby Ted without him realising it.


    "Pepper. I know about that. I already asked Eddy about it. He said he''s not pressing charges. And the boys couldn''t even touch him. The reason his face is a mess was...he stepped on a rake as he turned back. That''s it."


    ire burst intoughter, causing Ted to notice her presence. "Hey ire. Wait a bit. I''m finishing up this call. No Pepper, we don''t needwyers!! NO! DON''T march down to the school, this is not a gang fight!!"


    ire was speechless after she heard the exaggerated response from this ''Pepper'' person. In her mind, she couldn''t connect the angry Pepper and the Pepper she met once in the cafe together. After 15 minutes, an exhausted Ted finally sat down in front of ire in the tourism office he rented in the Marina.


    "Here." Ted gave a stack of paper written by Edward that consisted of the direction thepany was heading and the details for ire''s job and how she could handle it all from home.


    As she dived deeper and deeper into the document, ire couldn''t help but be sceptical, "Edward done all of this? Or did you hire a specialised consultant?"


    "All him." Ted said proudly.


    ...


    -Edward POV-


    The bell rang, and the first period was now over.


    "Dude. Who did you fight?" Jacob cornered me to ask questions about my bruise. The potato kid wasn''t among any cliques in school, therefore he didn''t hear yet the rumours ruminating in school.


    "Brad Pitt." I replied teasingly.


    Among the rumours were, Dn and I fought a duel to decide who would back off in pursuing Haley.


    There were also rumours about me getting even with Brian and Dn, and there were also rumours about Brian wanting to end my music career by smashing my hands. The rumours keep growing to berger andrger, the details were twisted, and the facts were ignored.


    Abby texted me after the first period was over.


    Abby: Continue with the girlfriend thing just a little while longer. It''s freaking fun here!


    I smiled at the fellow agent of chaos and texted her back.


    Edward: Of course I will. My dear ''girlfriend.''


    Abby: ??????(winky face with tongue out emoji) (Blowing kissing emoji)


    Most of the ordinary children at school had friended Haley on Facebook, whether they were high school students or middle school students, so they already knew I spent the day at the Dunphy''s yesterday.


    Abby was having so much fun watching people''s reaction when they knew she was dating a kid 3 years younger than her. After the science ss with Mrs Henderson, I was approached by Alex while I was fetching my books from the locker.


    "Hey. Are you okay?" Alex asked as she stood behind me when I was opening the locker. I turned toward her after getting out my book and said, "Yeah. Why do you ask?"


    "You had a fight. Of course I''ll ask." Alex said with a mixture of sarcasm and concern.


    I smiled and said, "Thank you Alex. You''re the first person... in school that asked me if I''m okay instead of who I fought with."


    Jacob scratched his cheek as he was within earshot when I said that. The moment Alex approached me, he took 5 steps back to get away to safety from the 1.4 m girl. He realised that he did something wrong, but he couldn''t apologise because of Alex''s barrier.


    Alex looked at me with concerned eyes, "Have you gotten it checked?"


    "Don''t worry, it''s just a simple bruise." I saidfortingly.


    "What happened anyway? Tell me the full story." Alex demanded. But, before I could answer anything, Alex flinched as she looked at the space beside me and stopped talking immediately.


    "Ed~ Who hurt you like this?" Jenna Mckenzie appeared out of nowhere and tried to touch my face. I widened my eyes, not because I was shocked that she was there, but because of her appearance today.


    Her blonde hair had been dyed brown, and she was trying to emte Haley by wearing the same outfit Haley had wornst week. However, she applied a gothic style makeup that was simr to what Abby was wearing this morning.


    Her loyal friend, the baggy-jacket-wearing Elsa, was staring at me with dissatisfaction from afar �C while she was standing next to Jacob.


    "What?" Elsa turned to Jacob and asked as the boy was stealing nces at her. However, Jacob froze from the single word, and stepped back robotically for another 10 steps, causing Elsa to stare at him in confusion.


    As I was shocked, Jenna managed to touch my face and brightened up as I didn''t show a rejection toward her like I always did. I grabbed her hand after being stunned for 5 seconds. Meaning she had 5 seconds of skinship and being affectionate before I stopped her.


    "Why...?" I blurted out as I was confused by Jenna''s sudden change. She had never changed her hair colour before nor was she interested in gothic stuff.


    Jenna smiled and pointed at her entire body. "This is...the kind of girl you like. Right?" She smiled widely as she tried to get into my embrace. I took a step back from the weird situation, causing Jenna to have the eyes of an abandoned puppy.


    "Did you...change yourself...for me?" I said in a horrible realisation. By denying her satisfaction, it grew into an obsession towards me. I needed to stop her before she descended into madness and kidnap me or something else.


    Touching her hair, Jenna said, "Why? You don''t like it? What kind of girls do you like? I will be that girl for sure!" Jenna said desperately.


    She couldn''t handle not being noticed by me any longer so she resorted to this type of method. I sighed and pitied the girl who was so lost in her life, that the only way she thought she would ever have any value was when she''s with someone else. Direct rejection wasn''t useful any longer. I needed to do it delicately now.


    "You want to know what kind of girl I like?" I asked her. Jenna brightened up and said hurriedly, "Yes. Tell me. Do you want me to go goth? Or...be more like Haley?"


    "Neither. I want you to be you." I said. Jenna was confused and she said, "But you don''t like me as... me."


    "Yeah. I don''t. But she was much...much better than the person you''re trying to be right now. I will tell you a secret that is only just for you... to stop doing things like this."


    "What secret? Are you going to tell me the truth, or are you going to curse at me again?" Jenna said, visibly excited at the prospect of being cursed at �C which weirded me out once more.


    "I will tell you the truth. Come here..." I gestured to her toe closer.


    As she drew closer, I whispered to her ears, "I don''t like kids. That''s all. My taste is an older woman. It''s better that she''s over 30, and has a dump truck ass on her."


    Jenna dropped her jaw after she heard about my honest confession. I pulled my face away from her and said, "Now you understand?"


    Alex darted her pupil between Jenna and I, trying to find out what I had just told Jenna as she couldn''t hear about the whisper before. But she couldn''t speak up, not when Jenna was around.


    "Is that....really the truth?!" Jenna asked in shock.


    "Yup." I replied casually and walked away as I pulled Alex with me, "I also love smart women. So pick up a book once in a while. If you got second ce in the entire grade, or even just your ss, then I will go out with you once."


    Jenna thought about the matter deeply and asked from afar, "Why second ce?"


    I turned to her and smirked, "Cause the first ce is already reserved...for me." I pointed at myself and smiled. Jenna was smitten once more, and her motivation to study had increased multiple folds as my smile was imprinted in her mind and added to her Edward moment files.


    -3rd Person POV-


    "What did he say?" Elsa asked as she approached Jenna. "He told me the reason why we''re not dating."


    "Did he curse at you again?" Elsa asked with gritted teeth. Jenna turned to her and said, "No. He told me the truth. It''s not like he didn''t like me, I''m just making a move too early."


    "Why? Did he say he liked college girls or something?" Elsa asked.


    Jenna touched her hair and said, "Let''s go. I need to get to the salon and change my hair colour back."


    "What? Are you going to skip school?" Elsa widened her eyes in shock.


    "Of course not. I''m going to call my mommy toe pick me up. I am also going to need a tutor if I want to go on a date with Edward." Jenna said with a lovestruck expression. She then muttered underneath her breath. "I also need... Gasoline.."


    "What was that?" Elsa asked as she didn''t hear thest sentence.


    "Nothing." Jenna smiled brightly and walked away.


    Elsa wondered why Edward promised to go on a date with Jenna inwardly, and she stared at Jenna with iprehensible eyes. Then, she turned to the direction Edward had left, and she thought about the robotic giant who retreated from her earlier.


    "He''s his friend right? He must know the reason for this. I need to talk to him." Elsa muttered, not knowing that it would be an easier mission to make a dog speak like a human rather than getting Jacob to speak with a girl.


    ...


    The rumours about the fight had blown out of proportions as it resonated across the middle and high school. Some kids even saw Edward whispering to Jenna''s ears, and now even Jenna had be an equation in the rumours.


    A random girl said to his boyfriend, "I heard Dn catches Edward sleeping with Haley, and went to beat him up, but he was the one who got beaten up."


    Another random high school boy said in jealousy, "I heard Edward having s*x with both Haley and the Goth girl Abby at the same time."


    "I heard Abby and Edward were ckmailing Jenna to be their pet."


    "I heard Jenna had sex with Edward every single day."


    "I heard Edward had..."


    "I heard Haley was..."


    "I heard Abby was..."


    "I heard Dn was..."


    And so, the rumours hadpletely lost their substance and turned into tabloid news that became entertainment for the teenagers inside the city. The rumours didn''t care about how it would affect the people involved, and only existed to be the most unbelievable yet "totally 100% true" story written by the teenager''s imagination.

 Chapter 22: How dare you fantasise about my mother?!

    <h4>Chapter 22: Chapter 22: How dare you fantasise about my mother?!</h4>


    (Last Chapter for this week. See you guys Monday!)


    -3rd Person POV-


    Highschool. Cafeteria.


    Abby was sitting alone as usual, eating a sandwich that her mother had packed for her. While sitting, she browsed through the IT world news using her Iphone. It was then Haley approached her.


    "Hey. Can I sit here?" Haley asked as she stood anxiously in front of the circr table.


    Abby didn''t have the best reputation in school �C not because she''s a goth girl, but on the first day in school, she smacked a boy with a food tray in the face as he insulted her mother. After that, no one dared to mess with Abby.


    Abby raised her head to nce at Haley and said with indifference, "Sure. Just sit. It''s not like I own the table."


    Abby had never known who Haley was in the two months she had transferred to the school, nor did she bothered to get to know anyone here. She would leave soon anyway, so why bother to make friends here.


    Haley sat down and stared at Abby, wondering why she didn''t start the conversation. She had never started a conversation on her own before. People usually start the conversation for her as she was pretty. Using a stic fork, Haley tried to eat the food she bought from the cafeteria, but her eyes couldn''t move away from Abby.


    Abby felt that someone was staring at her as she continued reading the news. She raised her head up the second time, and saw Haley was looking weirdly at her.


    "What''s the matter doe eyes?" Abby asked as if she was talking to a little girl.


    "Y-You...don''t know who I am?" Haley asked while feeling extremely shocked inside.


    "Are you...somebody important that has or would have a direct impact in human''s lives while you''re living?" Abby asked sarcastically.


    Haley however, didn''t catch a word of what Abby had just said. "I''m...Haley. You know, the one who..."


    "The one who makes her boyfriend attack an innocent boy. I know you now." Abby said in excitement as she thought Haley was going to pick a fight with her.


    "I didn''t make Dn do anything!" Haley said desperately. "I told him to call me if something happened, but he didn''t even try to do that."


    Abby was a bit surprised as the petite girl started to vent at her.


    "Wait- How did you two meet again?" Abby asked as she realised that she didn''t know the whole story of what happened between Haley and Edward.


    "He''s close to my dad and my brother Luke, so my brother Luke stole a cake from his house...Wait, I need to tell you about the dinner...No, the fight with the band...and then..." Haley told Abby everything in a rapid fire sentence.


    Although Abby was flustered, she managed to capture everything Haley had said even though she basically didn''t stop talking for about 5 minutes.


    "So this morning, I texted him again..But he didn''t reply. When Dne to school, I-"


    "Haley. Wait." Abby said while holding her hurting head. "Let me understand it first. So Edward hade to your house to wee your uncle''s baby, and your boyfriend attacked him for that? Is he an idiot?" Abby asked.


    "He is." Suddenly, Tara �C Haley''s best friend joined in at the seat without even asking Abby''s permission. "There''s no doubt Dn is an idiot. So... I got some new... news. First, Edward didn''t break Dn''s nose, Brian did."


    "WHAT!?" Haley eximed in a high pitched voice. Abby was confused when her lonely lunch time changed into a hot topic tv show, but she was too curious about Edward to stop listening to the popr girls.


    "Yeah. I heard it from Madelyn. Brian was the one that started to fight with Edward. But he was beaten badly by him, causing Dn to interfere. And then, Brian identally punched Dn''s nose while Dn was holding Edward still."


    Abby whistled as she was impressed by Edward''s feats. "So how did Eddy get injured?" Abby asked.


    "So listen to this. Edward turned after knocking both Dn and Brian to the ground, and he stepped on a rake. The stick was smacked to his face, causing him to fall to his knees. One of the neighbours'' kids saw the fight and I got the news from him." Tara exined while holding back herugh.


    She was one of the rare few kids in the school that decided to investigate something before she sumbed to rumours, making her one of the most trusted gossip sources in the school. On another note, she was also a journalist for the school newspaper.


    "Ahh that''s why he didn''t tell me about it." Abby mumbled and took out her phone. She smiled mischievously and sent a text to Edward asking him how the rake tasted.


    Edward replied, "Like a 70''s cartoon with ambiguous sexual connotations and racist jokes." Abbyughed out loud to the reply, causing the two girls who sat with her to tilt their head in confusion.


    "So anyway, how long have you two been dating?" Tara asked as she tilted her body forward toward Abby. Abby smiled and got her face closer to Tara. She then whispered, "None of your beeswax."


    Haley was curious about how simr Abby and Edward were. She wanted to ask Abby whether she knew that Edward was gay, or hinted at it, but as Tara was around, she didn''t bring up the subject.


    Tara wasn''t angry at all and she said yfully, "Come on. I told you about the rake. Do you know how hard it is for me to get that info?"


    "Have you guys kissed yet? Is he a good kisser? Does he y his songs for you? Has he entered your room?" Tara asked rapid fire questions, simr to how Haley talked non-stop before, causing Abby to get another headache.


    "Yes. Yes. Yes. and Yes."


    *CRACK*


    Abby heard a cracking sound, but she didn''t know where. She ignored the sound and turned to the expression of the girls in front of her. One was frozen, while the other one was extremely excited as she got to hear some awesome news.


    Abby lied as she wanted to y around a little while longer �C while simultaneously making trouble for Edward, as she understood that Haley had something inside her chest for that dear friend of hers. She could guess what Haley was feeling as Haley could barely smile when she heard the answer to Tara''s questions.


    The school bell rang, and Abby stood up slowly from her seat while smiling softly, "It''s been awful talking to youdies. May we never speak again."


    Haley and Tara were stunned by Abby''s words. They couldn''t help but watch Abby''s back as she walked seductively toward her next ss.


    "She''s...so cool." Tara muttered. Haley was shocked by her friend''s words and said, "What are you talking about?!"


    Tara turned to Haley and said, "By the way, do you have a crush on Edward?"


    "..." Haley was speechless at the question. She asked in concern, "Have you gone crazy today?" Haley then noticed that her fork had been broken. ''When did this happen?'' She thought as she held the broken fork.


    ...


    -Edward POV-


    I picked up Abby at highschool under the scrutinising gaze of the hormonal teenagers who had a crush on Abby.


    "You know, I''m beginning to question whether we did the right thing this morning." I said to Abby as we started our journey to the giant Costco warehouse where they sold everything from children''s crib to coffin.


    "Costco, providing everything you need from birth to death." Abby came out with a slogan for the ce as we arrived there. After buying the car battery, I cycled home carefully as the battery was pretty heavy.


    "I made a bad decision today. Not only do I have a 105 pound goth cargo, but I really believe that adding another 50 pound car battery was a good idea."


    Abby took offence and pinched my waist as I assumed her weight wrongly. "I''m only 90!"


    As I sweated while cycling to an uphill street, I said while huffing my breath, "Really? Sure doesn''t feel like it."


    "You''re the one who''s too weak!" She smacked my back and used her legs to push the bicycle forward to seem less heavy. No matter what she said, I knew that she weighed over 100 pounds.


    We arrived at her ce in half an hour. I parked my bicycle next to Desiree''s car and Abby finally got off the bike after making me carry her all the way into the driveway.


    With a face full of satisfaction, Abby said, "Wait a minute. I will bring some lemonade for you."


    "Sure. And bring your mom''s car key too." I said while wiping my sweat with my shirt. I was pretty lucky to be wearing a dark coloured shirt today, otherwise people would''ve seen my sweat through my shirt.


    I unbuttoned my shirt entirely as Abby entered the house, taking off my shirt and only wore my light green undershirt to fix the car. Abby came out with Desiree who insisted on giving me the drink herself.


    "Edward, I have troubled you today. Would you like toe inside? I''ve made some snacks." Desiree offered.


    "That will be wonderful. I will wait until I finish this." I said and then I teased, "If only someone was 10 pounds lighter, I might not be too troubled." Abby showed her middle finger from behind her mother, and she hid the middle finger as her mother turned toward her.


    "Honey, could you go get some clean towels for Eddy? He''s sweating a lot." Desiree asked in a calm tone.


    Abby stared at me and gestured that she was watching me menacingly as she left me alone with her mom. She wanted me to behave around her mother, and there wasn''t any possibility of that happening if she wasn''t around.


    I opened the car engine trunk and started to check on the battery. It took me only 25 minutes to change the car battery and check for any other damage on the engine.


    My mechanical talent was kicking in, and a schematic of the engine popped up in my mind. Of course, I needed the knowledge of the engine for the talent to assist me, which I had already learned before from my grandfather in Wisconsin.


    "Okay. You can start the engine now." I signalled Desiree who was sitting in the driver''s seat with my dirty hand. She turned the car keys, and started up the engine smoothly. Desiree shouted excitedly from inside the car. "IT WORKED! I DON''T BELIEVE IT!"


    To be honest, she was only letting me try because I was a friend of her daughter. She didn''t expect me to be able to fix the car at all.


    "Alright. Done!" I said and I closed the trunk of the car. Abby who was watching me pped slowly with a face full of mockery. "Now, you can get a hug from my mom. Good for you, kid with mommy issues."


    "Hmm?" I was confused by her statement. Suddenly, Desiree ran towards me and hugged me tightly within her embrace. My face was buried in her F-Cup chest as she was taller than me with the heel''s she was wearing.


    "Thank you! Thank you!" Desiree said as she jumped in excitement with my face still buried in her chest.


    "MOM!" Abby was horrified by the incident and stopped her mom immediately. Unknowingly, her only friend had motorboated her mom on the first day they had met each other. "Get off him!" Abby said, pulling me out from my state of bliss.


    "Pleasee in, Eddy... I will cook you something special for your help today!" Desiree said excitedly and almost skipped to her front door.


    "I will go home and take a bath first. Can Ie by in an hour?" I asked as I was too sweaty and my hands were dirty from checking the car engine before.


    "Sure. We will wait for you. Make sure youe by!" Desiree said excitedly and entered the house to prepare for the guest.


    Abby stared at me angrily, "So, did you enjoy being buried in my mom''s boobs? Do you want me to bury you in our back garden next?"


    "Hey, she hugged me. I am helpless about it." I shook my head to further irritate Abby and suddenly I moved closer to her.


    "What?" Abby was stunned that our faces suddenly became so close together. I touched her face all over and said, "You know, you''re really pretty."


    Abby finally saw that my hands were dirty. "You son of a b-"


    "Abby. Come help me." Desiree shouted from behind, causing Abby to turn and respond to her mother. "Okay!"


    As she turned back to deal with me, I had already rode my bike back to my ce.


    "BASTARD!" Abby yelled at me from afar.


    ...


    -3rd Person POV-


    In the kitchen at the Dunphy''s house, Phil finally heard about what happened to Edward after he came back from work in the afternoon.


    "And you waited until now to tell me?!" Phil asked ire in a concerned tone and he tried to walk to Edward''s house.


    "Phil! Ted already said he''s fine! Are you his dad!" ire said in disbelief after seeing Phil''s attachment to the kid. Phil was reluctant to let the matter go and he looked at the front door longingly.


    "Listen to me Phil. I decided to take the job!" ire tried to change the subject and shared her big news at the same time.


    "Really? What changed your mind?" Phil asked with a supportive smile.


    "Well. Alex did." ire said. "She told me how proud she was about me getting the job offer. She said she didn''t expect that her mom was so highly sought after and I should take the job as soon as possible as Edward told her a few people have been applying for the job."


    [Alex''smentary.]


    Alex shook her head at the camera.


    "No one is applying for the job. Ed didn''t even create an ad cause he believed my mom would take the job."


    "He has like a blind confidence in my family. I don''t know why." Alex said in confusion. "Even I don''t even trust my family, and he could do it so easily."


    "At the very least, my mom''s critical point of view could help Edward when he trusts the wrong person in the business." Alex exposed her ns and why she wanted ire to take the job.


    "There is no way mom is just going to be working at home." Alex said confidently. "One way or another, she would try to grasp the entire business to try and control it too."


    [Commentary ends.]


    -Edward POV-


    After I had finished showering and cleaning myself up, I changed into a simple grey t-shirt with a V-type neck and matching it with a pair of jeans.


    I checked my phone and saw text messages from Haley. She had texted me when I was fixing the car, so I didn''t have time to reply to her messages yet.


    Right now, she was bombarding my messages with random emojis and curse words as I didn''t reply to her messages for so long.


    Edward: ''Sup.


    Haley: That''s it? You ignored me for an entire day, and all you can say is ''Sup?


    Edward: ''Sup...Haley?


    I teased her with my text messages as I walked to Abby''s house.


    Haley: Forget it. Are you okay? Did you really take a rake to the face?


    Edward: I won''t answer that. Try again.


    Haley: Are you really dating Abby?


    Edward: For now.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "What does FOR NOW even mean?! Is he thinking of breaking up with her? Or..." Haley said in frustration, and then continued with a whisper, "...Abby knew he is gay, and was helping him get out of the mess I created."


    She ruined her own hair in frustration. "ARGHH! Why the hell did these things happen!?"


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley: Anyway, I''m sorry.


    Edward: For what? You''re not the one trying to punch me.


    Haley: Yeah, but I caused it.


    Edward: Nah, you don''t have any me in this. This is just the boys being stupid. Also, they couldn''t touch me even if they tried again the second or third time, so don''t worry about it.


    I tried tofort Haley as the incident really wasn''t her fault. Brian''s pent up resentment toward me was only looking for an excuse to explode. It would have happened whether or not she had posted the picture.


    Haley: Why don''t youe to my house? Dad is looking for you. He wants to go to your house, but mom won''t let him.


    Edward: I''m actually outside right now. I''m having dinner with Abby. Tell him I''lle by tomorrow.


    Haley didn''t reply for a while, so I put the phone back into my pocket as I arrived at Abby''s house. After dinner with her mother�C which was horrible by the way, Abby invited me to her room.


    "Did you bring yourptop?" The makeupless Abby asked. She had to take a shower as I had ruined her makeup before.


    Her room was filled with heavy metal posters and I could see the strap of her bra being wedged in her closet door, so I knew she had just cleaned the room before inviting me in. We sat on her bed and opened up each of ourptops.


    "Yeah. You want to see the website right?" I said to her as I showed the website to her. The future forensic scientist was a genius inputers too and she had created a few programs of her own.


    "Wait? You really created this? But how?" Abby asked in a cute shocked face as she read the codes I had created.


    "Trade secret." I said teasingly.


    Abby sulked and tried toprehend the codes all on her own, but she gave up after 20 minutes.


    "Teach me!" Abby closed face near me and tried to intimidate me to teach her about the codes. The smell of her shampoo entered my nose, and her eyes locked with mine.


    "I won''t~" I said in a teasing manner, causing Abby to fall into a deep thought.


    "If you teach me, I will let you...touch my boobs once." Abby said, trying to look calm even though she was blushing hard.


    "Eh?" My brain short-circuited after hearing what she said.


    "What? You like boobs right? I saw the way you looked at my mom''s!" Abby said.


    "Yeah. Your mom''s boobs, not your boob." I teased again. For her to offer something like that made me feel bad that I kept teasing her. "Anyway, don''t worry, I''ll teach you-"


    Abby was agitated when she heard about her mom''s again. She grabbed me and put me into a headlock, with my cheek against her boobs.


    "Don''t talk about my mother like that!" Abby said, trying to punish me for my transgression.


    "Didn''t you hear what I said? I will teach you! Stop this!" I said hurriedly. Even if I was an adult before, my body right now was an easily excitable teenager. If she prolonged this punishment, my body would react.


    "Really?!" Abby widened her eyes in excitement, she pushed her body onto mine changing the headlock into a hug. The push caused both of us to fall on the bed with her body on top of mine.


    Our faces inches away from one another. I could feel her hot breath and unusually fast heart beat as our bodies were pressed together.

 Chapter 23: Hot Atmosphere!

    <h4>Chapter 23: Chapter 23:?Hot Atmosphere!</h4>


    (A/N: Sup. Miss me?)


    Abby and I stared into each other''s eyes, our bodies unmoving.


    "So. What''s happening here? Are we falling in love with each other?" I teased with a smile as I saw Abby''s face beginning to blush. Unexpectedly, she didn''t try to move away nor did she try to break eye contact.


    "You know you had been so weird today?" Abby asked.


    "How so?"


    "More...calm. More mature. It''s as if I hadn''t gone for 10 days, but instead 10 years."


    Abby paused while still staring at me, her face was determined to get the answer. My bright smile turned into an awkward smile as I understood what she was talking about. Even though I retained a lot of the Newgate''s characteristics, I was not him entirely.


    "So. What happened to you?" Abby asked.


    "It''s because I now understand what I didn''t before." I replied.


    "Exin. Or I won''t let you go." Abby said, locking her legs now with my legs as she thought I would be ufortable with this �C as the previous Newgate was ufortable when she tried to hug him or get closer to him.


    The teen me did have a major crush on the goth girl �C it was weird how she never understood that.


    "That puts me in a hard spot." I said. Abby smirked and thought that I would tell her everything next.


    "If you''re thinking, ''I''ve won this round.'' That''s just naive thinking. You threatened me with this..." I said, referring to her thigh sliding up my legs. "...And didn''t even notice that I don''t have anything to lose here. In fact, I''m enjoying this."


    "Ugh!" Abby groaned and tried to let go, causing her to fall sideways to the bed while still close to me. Her face turned away as she tried to get up. However, I ced my hand on her chin and gently, yet forcefully turned her face back towards me.


    "W-What?" Abby asked, her heart palpitated quickly as she didn''t expect me to do anything.


    "I got to say, you''re really beautiful Abby." Iplimented honestly while I slid her hair back against her ears to see her face better. Abby''s eyes move toward my lips, and she inches closer and closer.


    "No! You''re 14!" Abby suddenly pushed me away, causing me to fall from the bed.


    "Oww!" I winced in pain, but I was stillughing from her beet red face. She was mad and she threw a soft pillow at my face.


    After calming down the angry goth girl with some promise of my very own strawberry shortcake to be given to her tomorrow, I taught her some of the programs I had used in my website creation and to create the program that synchronized both the website and the office system.


    Although she barely got 10% of the matter, her eyes showed glimmering interest and undying resolution to learn more about software development.


    "Abby please, it''s almost 10. I need to go home." I said in frustration as the goth girl was hugging me from the back, not wanting to end the session early.


    "Just a bit more...Just a bit more..." Abby begged with teary eyes as I wanted to say goodbye. I taught her to make her own 8-bit game, which she was almostpleting the first step.


    "Okay. But I''ll type. You''re too slow." I said as I took herptop from her.


    -3rd Person POV-


    As Desiree was going to open the door, she heard the voiceing from inside the room.


    "Wow. You''re really good." Abby said while panting her breath.


    "Abby, are you done yet?" Edward asked with a desperate tone.


    "Just a bit more. Faster...Bigger... Harder!" Abby eximed in excitement.


    Desiree quickly turned backward and decided not to interfere...not until her daughter had ''finished''.


    Desiree muttered to herself, "I sure hope they are using protection."


    -Edward POV-


    "Okay. I''m done." I said as I showed her the primitive era game that she had made by herself. It was just a walking skeleton that carried a club with him. It walked on an empty field for 20 seconds, and then the game ended.


    However, that short bit had made the young girl so excited. She hugged me sideways and kissed my cheeks repeatedly as she thanked me.


    "I had always been looking for ways to do this, but I never got the chance." Abby said.


    "Okay. Stop. I need to go home now." I said with a t tone, already regretting my decision to teach the girl to code.


    Desiree suddenly knocked on the door as Abby was hugging me. She looked at me with some indecipherable glint in her eyes which weirded me out.


    "Next, we''re going to try some leather equipment and make sure itsts more than 20 seconds." Abby said excitedly to me, which caused Desiree to freeze in her spot.


    "Okay. Whatever you want. Just let me go now." I said. Abby finally lets me go after she made me promise to hang out with her tomorrow.


    -3rd Person POV-


    As Edward said goodbye and walked to his house, Desiree turned to Abby and asked, "Are you having se-...No... Are you using protection? You did...right?" She asked.


    "Hmm? No. Not yet. We didn''t have time yet to use protection." Abby replied as her mind was thinking about the game character''s defense.


    Desiree became ashen, "Why don''t you? Do you know how dangerous it was? Where did he ''finish''?"


    Abby was confused by her mother''s question. "Inside my -" She wanted to sayptop, but Desiree stopped her as she couldn''t bear to hear another word.


    Desiree holds Abby''s shoulder with both hands. "Abby. LISTEN TO ME! I know that he is your first boyfriend, but always use protection!"


    "Mom....what?" Abby muttered.


    "We will get you to the pharmacy to get you some pills if he ''did it'' inside you. Come with me! We will get you some birth control along the way."


    Abby was confused at first, and then her face turned red, and she couldn''t believe what her mother just said.


    "There are a few other ways to finish. Don''t let him shoot inside of you. Make him pull out-" Desiree continued.


    "We didn''t HAVE SEX!" Abby shouted in a weird high pitch voice to stop her mother from spiraling, causing Edward who''s still nearby to hear an echo.


    -Edward POV-


    "Hmm? What was that?" I muttered as I turned around to look for the source of the echo. I gave up after not finding anything and walked toward my house.


    My dad''s car was already parked, so I knew he had gotten home. Ted was sitting on the sofa and watching a show on Tv with a can of beer in his hand.


    "That''s prettyte. What are you doing?" Ted asked as I entered the house. I took off my slingshot bag and ced it on the sofa.


    "I was teaching a girl how to create her own game. Anyway dad, didn''t you meet with ire today? How did that go?" I asked as I sat down on the sofa.


    "She said to give her one or two days to think. Although I think she was great at the interview, she was also...."


    "A bit weird?" I finished Ted''s sentence for him.


    "Your words. Not mine." Ted said. "But yeah."


    I smiled and said, "It doesn''t matter if she''s a bit weird. She has this desperate need to prove herself and the skills to achieve it. Although I''m starting her part-time, she will be able to move up the corporatedder in no time."


    "Corporate?" Tim asked in confusion. He thought that I was speaking metaphorically, but I actually had a long term n for thepany.


    "Anyway. Give her some time. She is worth it." I said.


    Tim was silent as he stared at me. Then, he broke into a smile.


    "You trust her that much?" He asked.


    "Yup." I said casually. Before Tim could ask further, we heard someone knocking on the front door.


    "LAPD!" The voice shouted from outside of the house.


    Tim and I looked at each other, and we walked to the front door. A tall, African-american cop with short hair and a shlight in his hand had waited for us to answer the door.


    "Hello Ted." The cop said.


    "Buddy, why are you here?" Ted asked in confusion. "Did one of the guys get drunk again?"


    I would advise Ted to not call a cop buddy, but in this case, the cop''s name was actually Buddy. He was also a familiar face that I had seen before in the series, therefore I was wondering why he was here.


    "I actually came here for your son." Buddy said and turned toward me. "Where were you around 6 in the evening?"


    Ted interjected with a solemn tone and moved forward to protect me, "Are you questioning my son? What is it for?"


    "Ted, it''s just a procedure. I need to ask." Buddy said with a wry smile.


    "I was having dinner with the neighbors in 314. You can ask them if you want. They can vouch for me." I replied easily, and then I got curious. " Why? What happened?"


    Buddy sighed in relief and said, "Well. Someone burned down a high schooler''s car. I heard rumors that he had fought with you yesterday from my son, so I had to ask."


    "Fought with? Brian''s car or Dn''s?" I asked. Brian also had a car so I need to ask.


    "It belonged to Dn Marshall. It caught fire while he was buying some food, and we found traces of arson. Someone used gasoline to burn down the car." Buddy exined.


    "Is he injured?" I asked in concern.


    Buddy controlled hisughter and said, "His... eyebrows are gone."


    ''What kind of bad luck do you have Dn?'' I thought.


    "Any CCTV footage or any witnesses on who did it?"


    "No. The ce is quite deserted, so we didn''t find any suspects other than a witness''s ambiguous statement." Buddy said and exined no further. He was only answering my initial questions because of his friendship with my dad.


    They had met a few times at the pier as there was a lot of trouble there, especially in the night. They were also drinking buddies at some times.


    "Okay. I also need to go question one Haley Dunphy even though that Dn kid swore she would never do something like this. Thank you for your cooperation, Ted, Edward."


    Buddy thanked us with a nod and he walked back to his police car. I texted Haley about the matter to inform her about the policeing for her, but she wasn''t replying. So I tried Alex next. She also wasn''t replying, so I called Phil.


    -3rd Person POV-


    Dunphy''s house.


    Inside the master bedroom, ire and Phil were kissing each other goodnight before they turned off the light. The moment ire turned off the light, her husband''s phone rang.


    "Who is calling in the middle of the night?" ire asked as Phil reached for his phone in the night stand.


    "I don''t know. Wait- It''s Eddy! Hello E-Money!" Phil answered the phone cheerily after he saw the caller id.


    "Hello Vitamin P. Is Haley there? Can I speak to her? It''s urgent." Edward said hurriedly from the other side.


    "Why is he calling?" ire asked.


    "I don''t know, he wants to speak to Haley. It''s urgent." Phil whispered. ire snatched the call from Phil and talked to Edward herself.


    "Hi Ed, what is so urgent?" ire asked. She was a bit dissatisfied that Edward was calling them to connect to Haley, but she still needed to know the situation so she let him speak first.


    "In a few minutes, a cop is going to your house to question Haley about a few things. Is she home yet? I''ve been texting her, but she didn''t reply." Edward said from the other line.


    ire quickly bes restless and gets up from the bed. "Why are the copsing here? What did Haley do?!" ire ran toward Haley''s room without taking a second to wear her slippers properly.


    "Wait? Cops? HALEY!?" Phil''s smile disappeared and his face turned solemn. He ran to follow ire from behind, almost slipping on the floor because he was at his highest speed.


    ire barged into Haley''s room, causing both Haley and Alex to scream in surprise. Alex was studying at her desk while Haley wasying on her bed, gossipping.


    "MOM! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Haley asked in a high-pitched voice as her call with Tara was interrupted.


    "Haley. What did you do? Why are the police looking for you?!" ire asked in a full panic mode. Phil barged into the teenagers'' room and shouted, "THEY''LL NEVER TAKE HALEY AWAY, NOT WHILE I''M ALIVE!!"


    "MOM! WHAT''S HAPPENING?!" Haley shouted in fear as her parents'' reaction to whatever wasing was scaring her.


    In Newgate''s house, Edward was facepalming himself as he didn''t think it through while telling the family about the police.


    "Edward is calling. He said the cops areing for you." ire said hurriedly to get an exnation from Haley. The noises woke up Luke, and he was rubbing his eyes as he watched the sceneing from his sisters'' room.


    Alex finally checked her messages during the chaos, "Wait. There''s a text from Edward. He said that someone had burned Dn''s car. The police areing to question Haley about it."


    "I didn''t burn Dn''s car!!" Haley shouted hurriedly.


    "Wait, who''s Dn?" ire asked.


    "Her ex-boyfriend. They broke up today." Alex exined.


    "You have a boyfriend?" ire looked at Haley weirdly and asked.


    "ire, focus. We need to hide her from the cops. Grab your passport and some cash." Phil said.


    "I DIDN''T BURN HIS CAR!" Haley shouted again. Haley grabbed the call from ire and asked, "Edward. What is going on?"


    Edward finally got a word in after uselessly trying to exin to ire about the matter as she was tuning out everything he said.


    "It''s only for questioning. Someone had burned Dn''s car around 6 in the evening...You didn''t do it, did you?" I asked.


    "NO!" Haley screamed in frustration. "I was with Tara at the mall, getting our nails done."


    "Just tell the cops that. They are only trying to find the suspect, not bringing you in so you can calm down. Ask ire and Phil to calm down too and stop Phil from finding a gateway car, he won''t find any in time." Edward said in a calm tone, which in turn had calmed down Haley too.


    "Ohh." Haley eximed after she finally figured out the situation. Suddenly, a knocking sound could be hearding from the front door of her house.


    "We''re toote! QUICK, CLIMB DOWN THE WINDOWS!" Phil whispered.


    "No dad. They are noting to get me. They are only asking some questions. They asked Edward some questions too." Haley exined and gave the call to Alex.


    "Okay. Now, narrate to me exactly what is happening." Edward requested Alex.


    "Okay, we are going outside of the room now." Alex said and followed her family from behind.


    Phil and ire calmed down a bit, and the entire family followed Haley to open the door. Luke was not interested as he knew Haley wasn''t in trouble, so he went back to sleep.


    "Are you Haley Dunphy?" Buddy asked as Haley opened the door.


    "Yes." Haley replied meekly.


    "Where are you at 6 in the evening today?"


    "I was at the mall, doing my nails with my friends." Haley said.


    "Okay good. Thank you for your cooperation." Buddy said, smiled, and walked back to his car.


    "SHE IS A VERY GOOD GIRL!" Phil shouted at the cop as he drove away.


    "DAD!" Haley shouted in embarrassment as all of her neighbors had heard what Phil had shouted.


    "And Dad had just shouted ''Haley is a good girl'', which I know she isn''t." Alex said as she was having fun narrating the scene to Edward.


    Edward said, "I can hear him from my house."


    "I know. Dad is crazy." Alexughed. ire snatched the call from Alex who was making fun of her family and said to Edward, "Who burnt down the car?"


    "I don''t know." Edward replied.


    "Is it you?" ire asked.


    Edward was silent after he heard the question, "..."


    "No mom. He had dinner with his girlfriend at her house. It wasn''t him." Haley said with a tone of disbelief.


    "It''s not that I don''t trust him, I just wanted to make sure nothing is happening with him." ire exined herself, but everyone was staring at her with disbelief in their eyes.


    "Okay kids. Go to bed." ire said hurriedly. "Edward, thank you for notifying us. You should go to bed too." ire said and ended the call after saying goodnight.


    "Wait. I want to-" Before Phil could finish his sentence, ire already cut the call.


    ...


    -Edward POV-


    After the incident ended, Haley returned my text and asked me if I knew who did it. She couldn''t text Dn as the guy''s phone was still broken.


    Edward: Even I don''t know. Anyway, go to sleep. I''ll text you if I hear anything, and you do the same thing for me. Deal?


    Haley: Deal.


    As I was doing my homework from Mrs Henderson, I heard my phone chiming.


    Haley: Tara is asking Madelyn who''s asking Brian who''s asking Dn if he knew who did it. But Dn said he only saw a girls'' figure.


    Edward: I see. Was his car destroyed?


    Haley: Be right back.


    I returned to my homework when Haley texted me 5 minutester.


    Haley: Yes, his car is destroyed. Anyway, what are you doing now?


    Edward: I''m doing homework. That''s too bad for Dn. Can you ask Tara to send a message to him? Tell him I want to talk to him tomorrow.


    Haley responded almost instantaneously after reading the text.


    Haley: Why do you want to meet him?


    Edward: Can you do it or not?


    Haley: I can...But can you tell me why first?


    Edward: No.


    She responded with a series of furious emojis, in which I ignored all of them. She finally gave up and told me that she had already delivered the message from Tara.


    Haley: I did you a favor, so you need to do me a favor too.


    Edward: No.


    Haley: WHY NOT!?


    Edward: I already did you a favor by calling your mom before. I owe you nothing. (smirk.emoji)


    And then, the emoji bomb exploded once more. I felt satisfied after making Haley annoyed and I ignored her as I continued my work to develop the website.

 Chapter 24: Crush

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


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


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


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


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


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


    "Yeah. So?"


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    Haley: I am not SHORT!


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


    Haley: 5''1!!!!!!!!!!! (160 cm)


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


    Haley sighed and then she got curious.


    Haley: What are you doing up anyway?


    Edward: I''m working on the website.


    Haley: When did you usually sleep?


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


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


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


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


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


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


    -Edward''s POV-


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "Are you really goth?" I asked.


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


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


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


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


    -3rd Person POV-


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    She quickly called Phil who just started driving to work.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "What?" Phil asked.


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


    -Edward POV-


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "B-But I don''t have any money."


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


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


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


    "Dn, you''re 18 right?" I asked.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "What''s a cougar?" Dn asked.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

 Chapter 25: Hangout.

    <h4>Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Hangout.?</h4>


    "Hello~! Edward. We''re here~!" Manny rang the doorbell at my house after he came with Jay and Gloria.


    Wearing a ck apron, I opened the door and saw the little family. Gloria was wearing a tight, floral print dress, Jay was wearing business casual clothes, and Manny in his puffy bowling shirt as usual.


    "Oh Geez." Jay eximed as he saw my attire. I wonder if he was having Mitchell''s shback inside his mind.


    "What? I don''t want to ruin my shirt." I said defensively. I had tied up my hair into a bun, and was holding a spat in my hand. I also folded my long sleeve shirt to the elbow to avoid it getting dirty from cooking.


    "Are you cooking? It smells good!" Gloria asked after her nose had picked up on the smell.


    "Yeah. I''m making a spicy and crispy chicken burger." I replied. "You''re not allergic to anything are you?" I asked Manny.


    "No. I''m fine with everything." Manny replied.


    "Come in. Let''s talk inside." I invited them. Jay said, "No need, we need to get-"


    "Vamos Jay!" Gloria and Manny had entered the house before Jay could even decline the invitation. Jay lowered his head in defeat and entered the house reluctantly. I hurried my steps toward the kitchen as I was frying the chicken at the moment.


    "Phew..." I breathed in relief after the chicken was cooked perfectly as I came back. I could only cook it 2 at a time because it needed to be deep fried and the pan was small.


    "That looks great." Manny said as he saw me seasoning the cooked chicken. The chicken was marinated overnight, and was coated in batter before I fried it. The seasoning was only the finishing touch for the meat to give it a certain kick.


    "Edward, why did you fight before? Fighting is not good." Gloria asked as after she hesitated for a while. Even though I had already taken off the pain relief patch on my face, some bruising could still be seen.


    "You fought someone?" Manny asked with a face full of shock as he sat at the kitchen counter.


    "Yeah." I replied to Manny casually before I exined, "Haley''s boyfriend...I guess he''s an ex-boyfriend now, thought that I was dating her. So he came to ask me about it. His friend got hot headed and tried to punch me, so a fight broke out."


    "So. Is it Haley''s fault?" Jay asked after understanding the situation.


    "No it was not. It was just some boys being stupid." I said to defend Haley.


    Gloria became angry. "Why did hee to you? He couldn''t talk to his girlfriend himself?! ?Ese puto loco! (That crazy bastard)"


    Jay stopped Gloria as he sensed something. "What happened to the other guys?" He asked to change the topic.


    "One got a broken nose, the other one didn''te to school till today." I replied casually with a little hint of bragging as I served the first burger to Manny.


    Jayughed out loud in tion while Gloria admonished him quickly to not let Jay encourage me to fight.


    "Ay! Don''t do that Jay." Gloria said quickly.


    [Jay''s Commentary]


    "Nowadays, the kids are too soft. Back in my day, we fought with each other on a weekly basis. Bruises on the face were amon thing. In fact, my dad will ask me why I didn''t get a bruise sometimes and tell me that a man has to be able to defend himself." Jay said in reminiscence.


    "It''s a good thing to fight. It''ll toughen the kid and prepare him for the real world." Jay said.


    "This...is an actually growing boy. Not like..."


    [Commentary ends]


    "You did good, kid. Do you want me to teach you self-defense?" Jay asked while showing a few boxing moves and nced at Manny at the same time to arouse his interest too.


    "No. I already know how to defend myself." I said and then I turned to Manny. "Do you want to eat it now, or are you waiting for Phil and Luke?" I asked.


    "Phil and Luke areing?" Gloria asked in confusion.


    "Yeah. We are going to hangout together." I exined. "I also wanted to ask Phil about some stuff."


    "I would like to eat it now as I want to give my mother a taste. Is it okay?" Manny asked me. Jay sighed in disappointment as he heard what Manny just say. Gloria became excited and hugged Manny from behind.


    "Oh!! My sweet little boy! My sweet little angel-"


    "Mom. You said you''re not going to do that here!" Manny quickly stopped Gloria with a horrified voice. Gloria was stunned as she had forgotten her promise with Manny to not do this kind of stuff in front of me.


    I smirked and I said, "No need to mind me. I think it''s sweet you''re taking care of your mother. Gloria, if you want, I can make you some too. I did make some extra."


    "Ayy! You''re also a sweet little boy!" Gloria said and tried to hug me. But Jay stopped her quickly before she could do so.


    "What kind of stuff?" Jay asked.


    "What?" I said in confusion.


    "What is the stuff that you want to ask Phil.." Jay exined a bit.


    "Oh that. I want to see how much this house will sell." I said.


    Jay scrunched his brow and asked, "Why?"


    "Just in case." I replied. "Jay, you want a burger too?" I asked him to divert the topic.


    "Yeah. Sure." Jay said as he had been curious about the smell for a while now. I finished another te for Gloria and ced it in front of her. She was sitting next to Manny while Jay was standing.


    "Edward, why did you learn Spanish?" Gloria asked as she grabbed the burger with both hands.


    "Well, my mom is Cuban." I said and I looked at them in anticipation to see their reaction to the burger. It was a habit that I got after living with Nonni for a while. We had always eaten together so it felt kind of lonely to eat all by myself.


    "Really?" Manny asked in excitement while holding the burger, but not taking a bite. "So there''s another thing we can bond over. Being a son of atin mother."


    "Yeah. Except my mom tried her entire life to be a white woman." I said and urged him to eat. "Go on. Take a bite."


    Manny nodded and opened his mouth to start eating, but somebody else interrupted him.


    "Ah. So you learn Spanish from her?" Jay asked.


    "Nope. She wouldn''t teach me anything, nor did she care about her family back in her country. She wanted to hide everything about her Cuban heritage, including hernguage. So I learned Spanish... to spite her."


    I said casually, causing both Jay and Gloria to be stunned. Even Manny who had opened his mouth had stopped when I said that. It was me. I was the one who interrupted him.


    "I don''t even think her name is her true name." I continued.


    Despite me loving the chaos I created in this family, I didn''t lie about my mother�C Not one bit.


    [Gloria''smentary.]


    "The fake name. The forgetting of her roots. The not-teaching-her-son Spanish. Why did America ruin another Latin person? WHY!!" Gloria said with anger and sadness.


    "When I get to see her, I will make sure to bring my machete with me and teach her a lesson. Latina MOMS never Abandon their son!"


    [Commentary''s ends]


    "Tell me more about your mother." Gloria demanded.


    "Okay. if you take a bite first. I''m dying over here to hear the reactions." I said, almost begging them to take a bite.


    "Ah. Right." Manny finally realized that he had been holding the burger and took a big bite quickly. "It''s great!" Manny said in excitement and took another bite quickly before he could even swallow the first one fully.


    "Manny. Eat it slowly." Gloria said and also took a bite on her burger. Just like Manny, she was surprised by the spices and the crunchiness of the chicken meat. Her eyes were dted, and she enjoyed the spiciness of the chicken meat before she swallowed it.


    "Ay! It''s good!" Gloria eximed.


    "Really?" Jay became curious and wanted to try the food too, but his chicken was still being fried. "Try this." Gloria said and fed Jay a bite of her burger for him to taste it.


    [Jay''s Commentary]


    Jay sighed and confessed, "I...was transported."


    mentary ends]


    "It''s pretty good, but I had better in the club before." Jay said, not wanting to admit that the burger had be his all time favorite burger now.


    "Really? Then go eat in the club. It''ll take another 10 minutes for your burger to be done." I advised kindly.


    "No need to hurry," Jay pulled a chair to the kitchen counter and sat down with the Colombians to wait for his burger. "It''ll be better if you have some fries." Jay said.


    "Ah. I forgot about that." I said and took out some ready-made fries that I bought from the supermarket and fried them using another pan. As I opened the fridge, the rest could see the fully stocked fridge with various ingredients, desserts, and meals already being prepared inside it.


    "What the hell? Did you make all of that stuff?" Jay asked in surprise.


    "Yeah." I replied casually.


    "Why?" Jay asked.


    "''Cause I had nothing else to do at that time." I replied.


    "What about your website?" Jay asked. "Is it done?"


    "Yeah. It''s almost done. I only need to link up the program to the ones my dad used in his office." I replied as I ced a te of potato fries on top of the kitchen counter. "Then, ire can start to work, if she ever decides to take the job."


    "She STILL hasn''t taken the job yet?" Gloria eximed in disbelief. Jay face-palmed after hearing the statement, and he wondered if he needed to call his daughter now to talk to her.


    [ire''smentary and shback]


    Sitting on the sofa in the living room of her house, ire recounted the events of today.


    "When I got to the Marina, the usual smell of the ocean didn''t bother me anymore. I was...excited.." ire confessed as she crossed her arms. Her eyes were ssy, and she changed position to lean forward and fiddled with her fingers.


    While wearing her sunsses, ire fixed her hair back as she got out of the car. There was a permanent smile stered on her face as she got to know the rest of the crew, shaking hands with a working woman her own age, and she was excited at Edward''s future ns for thepany that was revealed by Ted.


    "I still remember the kid''s eyes." ire said. "There wasn''t any doubt, there wasn''t any hesitation, no second thoughts. He...believes in me. And based on our meetings a few timesst week, he...knows me pretty well. But he still put his trust in me."


    ire said with excitement as she remembered the moment Edward offered her the job. "It feels really great."


    At lunch today, she was eating together with the ship''s crew, and she ate the packed lunch Edward had packed for her. It also contained a little note for ire that said, {Have a good day}.


    Then, her tone got lowered and depressed. "But if I don''t stay on top of my family, I know one thing for sure. That...my family...wouldn''t be able to survive."


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "OWW Dad, You''re hurting me." Luke whined as Phil was putting on a bandaid on his arm.


    Afraid of the repercussions, Phil asked in a begging tone, "Don''t tell your mother about this."


    "About what?" Luke asked in confusion.


    "Good. You don''t remember." Phil said hurriedly and threw out the evidence from the magic shop he''d bought a few hours before.


    "Dad. Have you picked up the dry cleaning yet? I have a party to go to! I need that dress!" Haley walked into the kitchen and asked anxiously.


    Phil scratched his forehead and replied, "Not yet."


    "Ugh! And what happened to you?!" Haley asked Luke.


    "Dad hanged me upside down.." Luke replied groggily.


    "NO I DIDN''T!" Phil said hurriedly. Alex walked in and threw her cello case to the floor.


    "What''s wrong with you?" Haley asked Alex.


    "Honey, why aren''t you at your cello lesson?" Phil asked while feeling ominous.


    "How could I y the cello, IF THERE ISN''T ANY STRINGS ON IT!?" Alex opened up the cello case and showed the stringless arrow to all. "UGH! Where''s MOM!?" Alex turned around to search for her mother in frustration.


    "Yeah. Where''s mom!?" Haley asked.


    As if hearing her children calling her name, ire returned home and saw the scene of chaos where her childrens were screaming at their dad. That was when reality hit her hard like Truck-kun had hit Edward before this.


    [shback ends]


    "I''m sorry to Ed...but... I will say no to the job..." ire finally made her decision.


    [Commentary end.]


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    Suddenly, the house phone rang after I had served Jay his own burger.


    "Hello?" I said after I picked up the call.


    "Hello, Ed. I''m afraid Luke and I will be a littlete. I need to go to pick up the dry cleaning and send Alex''s cello to the shop."


    "What''s wrong with her cello?" I asked.


    "...There are no...strings on it." Phil replied hesitantly.


    "Pfff-" I let out a shortugh and said, "Luke cane now right? Jay, Gloria and Manny are already here."


    Phil''s voice became flustered and he asked, "Why are Jay and Gloria there?"


    "I''m making spicy chicken burgers. Ask ire if she had gotten hers. I did pack her one." I asked.


    Phil turned toward ire who''s putting groceries on the kitchen counter.


    "Oh it''s really good. You better settle everything fast or else it''s all going to be gone." ire replied instigatively as she was still mad at Phil.


    "I''ll be there as soon as I can." Phil said and threw the phone to the kitchen top before he ran as fast as he could to the car.


    "Phil!" ire picked up the phone and checked if it was still connected. And it was.


    "Hey ire." I greeted.


    "C-ire?" ire was a bit speechless as I was calling her Mrs Dunphy before this.


    "How''s the job? When are you going to start? I still need to train you before Iunch the website," I said.


    Jay understood that I was talking to his daughter, and he was wondering what I was going to say to her.


    "Ed...I''m sorry...But..."


    As I heard ire was going to reject the job, I suddenly said, "What is it? ire? Are you still there?"


    "Hello? Edward... Can you hear me?"


    "ire?? Did the line disconnect? Anyway, if you can still hear me,e to my house. Bring your children too."


    I cut the call instantly after I said that.


    "Let me guess. She rejected you." Jay hypothesized after he saw the entire situation.


    "She didn''t manage to say the word ''no'' yet." I said with a sly smirk.


    Jay was silent, and then he asked, "Why do you want her for the job anyway?"


    I paused for a second and I replied, "Because...She is very dependable. I''m sure she will do a very good job. Most important of all...I trust her."


    Jay stared into my eyes, and found no lies in my words.


    "Okay, Let''s do this. I''ll help you convince her. In return, I want to hire you to take a look at Pritchett''s closet website." Jay said.


    "Deal."


    We shook hands on the dirty deal and waited for ire to arrive with the Dunphy''s children.


    "What did we miss?" Gloria said after she returned to the kitchen with Manny. They had been looking around the house with my permission. Gloria finally said to Jay, "Let''s go. We''ll bete to meet your friends."


    "Yeah. About that... I had already canceled the ns with them. ire ising here, and I need to talk to her about something important."


    "Si. Is it about the job?" Gloria asked with an anxious tone. "Did she reject it?"


    "Not yet." I interjected.


    The doorbell rang, and the Dunphy''s were finally here. I received Alex, Luke, Haley and ire and invited them inside the house.


    "Ed, about the call." ire followed me closely from behind and wanted to talk to me privately first to reject the job offer.


    "ire, you''re here!" Jay said and grabbed ire''s hand to lead her somewhere private to talk.


    "Come kids. Edward has been working hard to make this for you." Gloria said happily and presented the tes of food I''d prepared. Luckily for me, I marinated enough chicken pieces for the entire extended family �C Mitchell and Cam''s family included.


    My original n was to let the guests today take them away when they return home, but right now I need to convince ire to take the job first.


    "Hey." Haley approached me. "Did you talk to Dn today?"


    I turned toward her and said, "Yeah. I did. We''re friends now."


    Alex interjected while Haley was confused and asked, "Why did you call us here?"


    "To eat." I replied simply, causing Alex to roll her eyes. " And to convince your mom to take the job."


    "Wait. Is she rejecting it? Why?" Alex asked anxiously.


    "I don''t know, but I''m sure something had happened today for her to change her mind. Any ideas what happened?" I asked the sisters duo.


    The sisters turned toward one another, and they said at almost the same time, "Be right back."

 Chapter 26: Claire’s job.

    <h4>Chapter 26: Chapter 26: ire��s job.</h4>


    -Edward''s POV-


    As I was waiting for the sister''s duo to answer, I walked to the wall and rested my back to the wall. On the other side of the wall, Jay and ire were talking quietly about the matter. This way, I could hear what Jay and ire were talking about.


    Manny and Luke stared at me as I was standing motionlessly over there. I didn''t notice why at first, but I would know why soon after.


    "There are some toys in the backwn I had prepared. You guys should go y first. I will be there soon."


    Manny and Luke answered together, "Okay!" They excitedly ran toward the backwn and left me there alone with Gloria �C who''s been standing next to me from the start.


    I was startled when I noticed her and flinched a little. ''How the hell could she move silently while wearing those heels?'' I thought in surprise and astonishment.


    "What are they saying?!" Gloria whispered, not acknowledging whatever it was I was thinking about her.


    "I don''t know yet." I replied and we tried hard to listen to the father and daughter''s conversation together.


    On the other side of the wall.


    "Are you thinking of rejecting the job offer?" Jay asked. I have no idea what they were doing at this moment, so I just imagined both of them were standing facing each other.


    "Yes dad. Is it so obvious?" ire said with a dejected tone. I realized that she was depressed about the matter, and she needed more reassurance that she could do the job.


    Jay continued asking, "Yeah. You clearly want to ept the job. So why did you decide against it?"


    "Because...my family needs me." ire replied evasively.


    Jay could see through her immediately. "Nah. That''s not it."


    ire was confused by the sudden development.


    "It''s because you''re afraid to get back out there. Stay at home mom for 15 years, what value can you make in thepany? You''ll probably just ruin whatever it was Edward was working for."


    bbergasted, ire decided to defend herself, "I''m NOT going to do THAT, DAD! If you''ve forgotten, I have a college degree in marketing, and was making quite a ssh... in my work before I quit to take care of my family."


    "Really? I must''ve forgotten that." Jay said in agreement, making ire nod her head in satisfaction and wanting to walk away after setting the record clear, but Jay continued, "Still doesn''t mean you''re not afraid."


    ire quickly returned to face her father, anger filled her entire being from being looked down on. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she realized that Jay was being like that on purpose.


    "You know what? I will do whatever I want. I''m an adult. If I decided to not take the job, then that''s it." ire said and then ran away quickly from her dad so as to not let her dad instigate her any further.


    "An adult would''ve taken the job." Jay said, causing ire to stop pausing for a moment before she walked away. I stopped eavesdropping and saw that Haley was standing in ire''s path.


    "What?" ire asked Haley with an angry look on her face.


    "N-Nothing." Haley said and quickly walked away from her mother.


    -Alex''s POV-


    As I realized that mom wanted to reject the job, I knew that I needed to do something to make sure that she wouldn''t do so. I brought Haley to have a private talk together while Edward was eavesdropping on my mother and grandpa''s conversation.


    "Haley, I...need to tell you something. But...you need to promise me not to tell anyone!" I said decisively.


    Seeing that I was serious about the matter, Haley said, "Okay. I won''t tell anyone."


    I nodded and I said, "If mom didn''t take the job, then Edward''s family is going to move to Wisconsin and stay with his grandparents."


    "WHAT!" Haley shouted, but as I expected her reaction, I quickly closed her mouth with my hand. She calmed down a bit and then I released my hand that was covering her mouth.


    "How did you know?" Haley asked me with a shaky pupil. I wonder why that was.


    "I saw his future ns in hisptop before this. He needed mom to take the job to save his father''s business. We need to step up and show mom we''re going to be fine if she isn''t around. I''m sure you want to get more freedom too, right?"


    "Shouldn''t we tell mom about this? I''m sure she will understand and take the job if she knows." Haley asked. I understand her train of thoughts, but it would be bad for Edward if mom knew about it.


    "No. Edward doesn''t want to pressure mom into epting the job. That''s why he didn''t tell mom." I exined.


    "T-that''s..." Haley fumbled in searching for the next sentence, so I interjected, "Call dad. We need to make sure that dad isn''t getting on mom''s nerve any longer. We also need Luke to make mom calm down. Is getting your dress really that urgent?" I asked.


    "N-No...But the dress..Is really pretty..." Haley said with a dissatisfied tone. I rolled my eyes and said, "What''s more important here? A man''s life, or your pretty dress?"


    "Both." Haley replied unexpectedly...or should I say as expected? I actually didn''t think she would care that much to actually put Edward''s life and her dress at the same level. But whatever, as long as it''s useful to the current situation, I''d take it.


    "Good." I said. "Let''s go to mom and show her that we''re fine. We may need to pretend to get along for a while. As soon as she epts the job, we can go back to our normal routine."


    I needed to make sure that my first friend wouldn''t move away. Unlike the rest of my family, Edward treated me with understanding of what I was feeling, and he had been supporting me since we became friends.


    I didn''t know why, but I got a feeling that he understood me more than my entire family does. I could rx when I''m talking to him, which was... very rare in my life. Therefore, he needed to stay. I knew it sounds selfish, but I need him...to stay.


    -Haley''s POV-


    As I heard about Edward''s situation, I couldn''t help but lose control of my emotions. Luckily Alex was here to prevent me from shouting.


    I needed that dress to go to a party today. At that party, I could talk about Edward dad''s ship and maybe...give him a little bit more time to achieve what he wanted to achieve with his website �C that what I was nning for.


    "Let''s go to mom and show her that we''re fine. We may need to pretend to get along for a while. As soon as she epts the job, we can go back to our normal routine." Alex said to me.


    ''Normal routine huh.'' I thought.


    The normal routine of being at each other''s throat, always making snide and sarcastic remarks, always fighting one another, and all that. I love her, and I knew she loved me. But for some reason, we couldn''t get along with one another. I knew Alex resents me for being the way that I am. I''m sorry that I wasn''t a very good big sister, and not very smart.


    But, there was also a part of me that wanted to get appreciation from mom and dad, just like Alex does. In the end, people stopped expecting things from me. I understood that very clearly. It would be better if I didn''t care about the matter. It would hurt a little bit less... if I don''t care about it.


    "Okay." I answered. "Just follow my lead." I said and I walked toward mom who''s talking with grandpa. Alex was more of a thinker than a doer, so I need to show her how to do it first.


    "Haley!" Alex called out to me with some anxiousness, but I ignored her. I was going to talk to mom, her walking towards me threw me off my game. I kept staring at her while being frozen until she stopped and asked, "What?"


    "N-Nothing." I said and ran away quickly, making Alex face-palm behind me,


    -Edward''s POV-


    As I kept eavesdropping, I noticed that Jay was going for the path of using ire''s rebelliousness toward him to trick her into epting the job. It was a good tactic to use as ire''s had some daddy issues with Jay.


    I walked toward Jay after ire had run away.


    "I''m sorry kid. It''s just not meant to happen." Jay said tofort me.


    "Nah. You did well. Now, Phil is the one who needs to finish the job." I muttered while looking at Alex.


    "Also, want some tiramisu?" I asked Jay.


    "I sure hope you don''t think you can trick me into helping you again with only food?" Jay replied suspiciously.


    "If you don''t want it, then that''s that. I will give it to Phil then."


    "No!" Jay replied hurriedly.


    "It''s in the fridge." I smiled and pointed Jay to the direction.


    I needed to keep avoiding ire before Phil could arrive, which was kind of impossible given they were the guests in my house.


    Gloria noticed my dilemma and said, "Don''t worry. I''ll distract her."


    With a small nod from me, Gloria started to work. ire saw me standing with Gloria alone, so she decided to walk towards me to reject the offer.


    "CLAIRE! YOU''RE HERE!" Gloria said happily and walked toward ire. She grabbed ire''s arm and pulled her to the direction she walked from. "Have you seen Edward''s living room?"


    "Wait. Gloria. I need to talk to Ed-" ire tried to get herself free, but she couldn''t pry herself from Gloria''s grip and was taken away hurriedly.


    "Phew!" I wiped my non-existing sweats as I saw Gloria had seeded. Turning my head toward the sisters duo who had been whispering amongst themselves, I walked toward Haley and Alex.


    "What are you guys talking about?" I asked without them realizing I was there.


    "Wisconsin Haley, focus! " Alex suddenly blurted out. Haley''s eyes shook and she said, "I wasn''t the one asking."


    With an ashen face, Alex turned behind her and saw I was standing there. "Ah. How did you know about it?" I asked her casually. The matter wasn''t a secret for me, and it wasn''t decided yet.


    "I-I-I-I-I-I" Alex stammerred, trying to find the way out of the predicament she was in.


    I started thinking about ways she could''ve learned about the matter. With a finger rubbing my chin, I started to think out loud, "I never talk to my peers about this. So, I guess from my dad. My dad had told your mom about this, and that''s why she didn''t want to ept the job? She didn''t want to get aboard a sinking ship?"


    "NO!" Alex shouted. "I SAW IT ON YOUR LAPTOP!"


    ire managed to escape Gloria for a moment, and was hurrying in my direction when Alex suddenly shouted. "Laptop?" ire mumbled.


    "Ay, this sounds private. Let''s give them some space." Gloria appeared behind ire and pulled her away again. "Gloria!" ire tried to object, but the steel grip had appeared again.


    "Hmm? When did you see it?" I asked curiously.


    Haley quickly tried to change the subject, "That doesn''t matter. Are you really going to go to Wisconsin?"


    "Maybe. Maybe not. I''m trying my best to rebuild my dad''s business, but it''ll take some time." I replied honestly. I turned toward Alex and said, "So, you''d snooped into my stuff. I''ll call you Snoopy from now on."


    Alex was speechless while Haley chuckled a little bit.


    "Anyway, I need to hide from your mom so I''m going to be in my room for a bit." I said. "When your dades, signal me."


    "Or, we can follow you inside. Mom will surely give us some privacy." Haley offered, feeling a little excited to see my room.


    "Hmm? Sure. Let''s go." I said and I led the girls toward my room.


    Alex and Haley turned to look at each other, before they followed me from behind.


    ''A b-boy''s room?'' Alex thought anxiously. ''Why is my heart beating so much? God, will it be dirty like Luke''s room?''


    Haley also had thoughts of her own as she followed, ''I hope it didn''t smell like Dn''s room.''


    ire returned to the ce where we were standing before, but found no one was there. "Where did they go?" ire mumbled.


    "Hey mom! Look at this!" Luke called from the outside. Manny and Luke had been ying unsupervised in the backyard, and Luke was holding what seems to be a piece of sharp stick. "LUKE!" ire screamed in horror and quickly ran towards the backyard immediately.


    As I opened the door to my room, Haley and Alex could see the neat room with musical instruments near the door, a sewing machine near my desk study, a few technological and outfits designs along with musical notes being pinned on the walls near the desk using a thumbtack.


    They were smelling a fresh lemon smell, and Haley cheered inwardly as she didn''t have to smell the boy''s locker room smell inside my room.


    "Sit anywhere you want." I said as I sat on the edge of the bed, but the girls weren''t listening to me. Haley''s eyes were glued on the outfits designs on the wall, while Alex was looking at the ''inventions'' I had created being pinned on the same wall.


    "Or, you can just stand there like frozen statues. That works too." I said teasingly. The girls finally reacted and turned toward me. "Did you create all of this?" Haley asked with astonishment in her tone.


    "And this? What is this? Rapid hot air technology? Air fryer?" Alex took down the designs on the wall by removing the thumbtacks and sat next to me on my right to ask her questions.


    Air fryer was already invented in this world, but it couldn''t achieve the same standards of an air fryer I had used in the previous world.


    "That''s an invention from Germany, but it couldn''t be used to cook food perfectly yet. If I solved the rapid hot air technology, then I could cook a lot of things using it."


    Haley took off a few designs and sat on my left. "This one piece dress with floral prints. Are you making them?"


    "I may if I have the time." I replied.


    Alex and Haley were lost inside the designs, asking me various questions almost at the same time, causing me to have a slight headache.


    Haley already forgot that she needed to go to the party at this time, and was excitedly discussing fashion with me. Alex was trying hard to understand the mechanism of the invention, and her eyes twinkle with curiosity and newfound admiration.


    "Ca-Can I join you in making this? I don''t even need my name in it! I just want to see the process!" Alex asked.


    "This, can you make this before prom at the end of the year? If I wear this, then..." Haley was excited while thinking about the admiration she was going to get in the future if she wore the dress.


    "Haley! We''re talking about a USEFUL thing here!" Alex scolded her sister.


    "Why do you want to build a hot air machine if you''re already filled with hot air? Just connect yourself to the machine." Haley snided back.


    They were arguing with me in the middle. I was wondering what I do to deserve all of this, but Haley and Alex started to get physical.


    Pulling my left hand towards her and hugging it between her chest, Haley tried to beg, "Can you make this? For me? Pleasee? I''ll pay you!"


    Inside her mind, she was imagining being selected Prom Queen with her new dress, and unconsciously puts me as the prom King with a matching outfit of my own.


    Alex pulled my right hand toward her and hugged it between the t marsnd, "No. Do you know how many colleges he can go to if he did this? All of them!"


    Alex was stunned when she realized she had been mimicking Haley and was being touchy-feely with a boy. She was going to second base even faster than Haley ever did, and that offended her. But she threw the matter to the back of her mind as she really wanted to see Edward inventing.


    "Wait. That must be Phil!" I said hurriedly and tried to escape, but the girls weren''t letting me go.


    "Which one do you want to work on first?!" The girls shouted almost at the same time.


    "Hey. Edward. I''m here!" Phil called from downstairs, saving me from my predicament. The girls turned toward the door, and they finally realized that they had been pressing their bodies against me.


    "I will talk to you guyster." I said and I ran away quickly. "Damn. That was dangerous." I muttered as I exited my room and walked to meet Phil. But, ire was standing next to Phil, making my venture more dangerous.


    "Hey Vitamin P." I said, moving my fist for a fist bump.


    "E-money in tha houzee!" Phil said excitedly and did the same thing. "Edward. I need to tell you something." ire said hurriedly.


    "You want to reject the job because you didn''t think your house could survive without you in it, managing everything for everyone. Even your dad talking to you couldn''t change your mind, and you wanted to be there for the children to provide for them the things that weren''t provided for you in your childhood �C a mother''s unconditional love. Is my guess correct?"


    ire was stunned after hearing my words. Phil turned toward ire and asked, "Why are you not taking the job? Is it about this evening?"


    ire turned to Phil and said, "I thought that I could delegate things, but when I saw the chaos, I..."


    Phil said with a soft smile, "ire. You''d been holding the fort down in our house for a long time now. In fact, the only reason that we can stay alive was because of you watching over us."


    He held ire''s shoulders, and stared right into her ssy eyes, "But, if you really want to go out into the world, we won''t stop you, and definitely won''t want to be the reason you don''t take the job. Yes, I screwed up today, but most people did screw up on their first day. Tomorrow will just be better."


    "Yes mom. We didn''t even know that you''re going to the job today." Haley suddenly appeared out of knowhere and said. "It was dad''s fault, not yours."


    Haley and Alex had reached an agreement inside of my room, and even brought Luke into the fray.


    Phil felt a bit bad because of her daughter''s words, but then Alex continued, "Yeah. Today is all Dad''s fault. If you want to go out there, then we will all chip in to take care of the house. You don''t have to do it alone anymore."


    "Yeah mom. Now that you''re working, you''re going to be a supermom instead of an ordinary mom." Luke said cutely with words given to him by Alex and Haley before this.


    ire brightened up a bit and said, "Yeah. I''m going to be a supermom."


    Phil said, "Now. Be honest with me. Do you want to take the job?"


    ire nodded and said, "Yes... But-"


    I finally interjected, "If you''re really worried about the matter, why don''t you try it for a week first? It''ll be like an internship. If you really couldn''t adapt, then, it''ll be like it never happened. How about it?"


    ire paused to think. "Will I get paid during the internship?" She asked.


    "Of course...not." I replied teasingly. ire finally broke into a smile and said, "Then...I had no choice...but to take the job!"


    The children cheered after ire finally made her decision. I got freebor, which was good for me.


    "But if I couldn''t-" Before ire could diminish her capability, Phil pulled ire and the children for a group hug, but...


    "Why am I in it?" I muttered as I was pulled into the group hug. Gloria, Manny and Jay watched the scene from afar, before Phil called for them, "Get in here!"


    "Ayy!" Gloria said excitedly and entered the group hug from my back, making the back of my head being buried by her voluptuous chest. Manny joined and hugged Luke and Phil, while Jay was still standing over at his initial spot, not caring about the hug in the least.


    PATR..EON LAUNCH!


    For those who wants to read up to 10 advanced Chapters -- with a minimum of 3 k words per Chapter, go to my link. Do read the important notice in the about section to understand my page better.


    /relifewithkarmicgacha


    (Wn is censoring the word, so just delete the dots lol.)

 Chapter 27: A girlfriend.

    <h4>Chapter 27: Chapter 27: A girlfriend.?</h4>


    (Last Chapter for this week. See you guys on Monday!)


    -Edward''s POV-


    "Maybe 950 to 1. Listing will be at 1.05. But...why do you ask?"


    "I just need to put it into consideration. Thanks Vitamin P."


    The clock was already at 6.00 p.m. and I finally settled the sudden gathering inside my house. Even Mitch and Cam had dropped by, but they didn''t stay long as they had a party to go to that night.


    They also had passed a message from Pepper that he would bring me to the studio he bought this Saturday.


    One by one, people started leaving the house. ire and Luke were leaving first as Luke had be dirty from all the ying around.


    Jay, Gloria and Manny said their goodbyes after ire had left and Jay had arranged for me toe to Pritchett''s Closetpany after school tomorrow �C leaving me with Alex, Haley, and Phil inside the house.


    Thest group was going to go home when I asked Phil about the matter. Standing in the living room near the front door, I finally asked Phil about how much the house would sell if Ted ever did have to do it.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "Honestly. The house shocked me. Not only was Eddy returning it to the original looks, but he also added a few things around the house to make it better. He has a talent in flipping houses, and also interior designs. I should bring him to open houses sometimes."


    Phil was excited to see Edward''s talent in home making. He had seen thousands of houses before, and not many people had the talent in flipping a house.


    [Commentary ends]


    "No Dad! Don''t tell him!" Haley said, grabbing me by the hand again. Phil was visibly excited seeing Haley getting closer toward me, but then Alex did the same thing and pulled me towards her �C making Phil''s smile froze on the spot.


    "Dad! Tell me if he''s selling the house. You can''t move away if you''re not done making the invention. What about MY college credit?" Alex said, her face inches away from mine.


    Haley tried to push Alex away and said angrily, "What about it? You''re not the one creating it!"


    "Girls. Girls. You''re going to tear him into half!" Phil said, trying to free me from the girl''s grasp.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "So...my n for him to date one of my daughters ising along nicely..." Phil said, and then he scratched the back of his head. "The problem is...which one?"


    mentary ends]


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang, distracting Phil from the scene.


    "Hmm. Who could that be?" Phil turned and opened the door for the new visitor. Haley widened her eyes when she saw the new visitor, and quickly released her hands.


    "Hey Mister, is Edward here?" Abby asked as she walked through the front door. She saw Alex was holding me, and Haley at my side. She narrowed her eyes and said using a cold tone, "Mind telling me what''s happening here?"


    [Haley''smentary]


    She said guiltily, "I...kinda forgot he has a girlfriend...Fuck!"


    [Commentary ends]


    "Abby. Why are you here?" I asked in confusion after seeing the goth girl entering my house with aptop bag slinging over her shoulder. She was still wearing her long sleeve ck shirt with striped ck and white pattern on the sleeve and her long ck pants.


    "I came to have dinner here. Mom is gone and I want to mooch off of you." Abby said and walked towards me. Alex was frozen, causing Abby to stare at her as she was still hugging my hand.


    I was unsure why Alex was frozen, maybe it was because of the gothic makeup Abby had on. Her smoky eyes and ck lipstick does imnt some terror into those who were stared by Abby.


    Haley whispered to Alex quickly, "Get off of him. That''s his girlfriend!" But Alex was too stunned to move.


    "Sure. I''ll be making some mushroom pata tonight. You''re wee to join me. I will be eating alone anyway." I said and helped Alex to release her hand from mine slowly.


    I turned to face Alex and said, "I cannot work on the invention straight away, but once I''m free, I''ll give you a call and we''ll work on that together. How about that?"


    "What invention? What are you guys talking about?" Phil asked in confusion and excitement.


    "Alex will tell you about itter. You guys should go home first and leave the couple to have some alone time." I said, hinting something at the family.


    Abby reacted quickly and pinched my arm. "We''re not going to do anything except coding."


    "Well...At first..." I teased.


    I said goodbyes to the family and started to entertain Abby next despite my tiredness. However, she saw through me.


    "Just rx a bit." She pulled my hand to make me sit on the living room sofa. "Were you cooking for them all day?" She asked as she sat beside me and put herptop bag on the coffee table.


    "Kinda was." I replied and rested my back on the sofa.


    "Why?" Abby asked in confusion. "You''re not this type of person before. I came to your house a few times, but you never cooked for me once. Now, even your house is clean."


    "Yeah. I am sick of living that way, so I decided to change." I answered.


    She was looking around the house with wonder and awe in her eyes. While she was looking around cutely, I decided to rest my head on herp while she was distracted.


    Stunned, Abby poked my cheek while I was lying down, "Excuse me. What do you think you''re doing?"


    "Resting. Do you know about...that experiment?" I asked to distract her from the situation.


    "What experiment?" Abby was intrigued, and then allowed me to continue resting my head there.


    "When you sleep with your loved ones, the estrogen level in women increases �C making them sleep more deeply. I wonder if it works for men too."


    "Where did you read this kind of stuff?" Abby was in disbelief, but her hand was unconsciously ying with my hair, making me more and more rxed. "Don''t tell me wikipedia."


    "I don''t remember where." I said, closing my eyes to rest for a bit.


    "So. You''re testing it on me?" Abby asked, feeling a bit strange in her stomach. It was as if it was filled with butterflies.


    "That will require us sleeping together." I joked, but Abby didn''t reply, making me open my eyes to look at her face. I thought she was going to be offended, but she was seriously considering it.


    "Perv." I said.


    "What the-" Abby was stunned by the sudden usation. "What about you? Sleeping on myp like this. Did you really think we''re a couple?"


    "Couple of troublemakers." I added. "Anyway, lemme take a short nap."


    "Hey!" Abby tried to protest, but as I made myselffortable in herp, she gave up resisting and continued ying with my hair.


    "We''re only a fake couple. Don''t forget that." Abby said.


    "I know. Then, to keep up appearances, we need to do things that a couple would do. Isn''t that right?"


    She was speechless again, and she didn''t say anything until I fell asleep. I didn''t n to sleep, only to tease her a little bit. Maybe...the experiment seeded, but I didn''t know about it.


    As she noticed that I had fallen asleep, she said, "If you want to...be a real one...I don''t have any objections... Even though you''re younger than me..."


    ...


    I woke up half an hour after my nap. My soft ''pillows'' had helped me to rest my mind a little bit, and I finally sat upright and released the pillow.


    Every night after I realized that I had died and transmigrated here, I found myself going to sleepter andter than usual. I kept making myself busy so as to not be left alone with my thoughts �C making inventions, websites, outfits, and so on.


    Even when I was sleeping at night, my mind wouldn''t let me rest. But sleeping on those softps had allowed me to break free of my chains of thought and just be there in the moment.


    "Thank god. My leg is killing me." Abby said and knocked her legs with her fist as it had be numb.


    "Sorry. Want me to massage them for you?" I asked.


    "Perv." Abby said in a tiny voice, but she didn''t reject my offer.


    "Anyway,to thank you for your help, I will be making a special dish for you tonight." I said and I helped her massage her legs a bit to make the blood flow more smoothly. Unknowingly, she was blushing the entire time I was touching her.


    Abby was helping me in the kitchen as I was going to cook for her. "No. You''re tying it wrong." I said as I saw Abby was tying her apron knots in the back.


    "What?" Abby was confused, not knowing what she had done.


    "Let me." I said and I approached her. I moved my face closer to her, staring into her eyes as I untied the knot behind her. "''The strings are too long. You can''t tie it at the back."


    She moved her head away to avoid my eyes, but I used my finger to pull her face back.


    "You-" Abby was blushing hard, and she couldn''t hide her feelings at this moment.


    "What? I''m just helping you tie the apron." I said teasingly and I brought the waist drawstring to the front after making a round on her body, and tying them into a bow in front of her stomach.


    " Jerk." Abby cursed after I finished tying the apron. I smiled softly at her and we continued our cooking sessions together. I tasked Abby to boil the fettucini inside arge pot of boiling salted water while I was preparing the mushrooms.


    "Why do you have that look of nostalgia on your face?" Abby suddenly asked.


    "I...Did this with my granny before. So you know, I''m kinda missing her." I replied while continuing stirring the mushrooms asionally until it turned golden brown.


    "Is she.."


    "Yeah. She had passed away."


    "I''m...sorry for your loss." Abby said and hugged me from behind. I chuckled a little bit and turned to pat her head, with her hands still wrapped around me. "I''m fine. Go take care of the fettucini."


    We talked for a bit, and the atmosphere returned to normal after we finished the dinner preparation. Although I wanted to pair the food with some wines, as we''re not of legal age to drink yet, I made some iced tea for both of us. We''re sitting facing each other at the dinner table.


    We talked while we''re eating together. She talked about her experience in the forensics camp, and how her school life had changed after she became entangled in my matters.


    Although she was okay with it, I felt a bit bad because she had be the object of gossip that was centered around me and Haley in the school.


    "You know, I''m only going to be here for 2 more months." Abby said while stuffing her face with the pasta.


    A bit confused by the sudden statement, I looked Abby in the eyes and asked, "Why so suddenly?"


    "I''m just saying. In these 2 more months, it''s not like I''m going to date anyone." Abby said with a reddish blush on her face. " Isn''t that sad? I''m at the peak age of 17, but I am wasting my time here in California all alone."


    I chuckled a little bit and said, "Yeah. That''s kind of sad. Want me to introduce you to some good guys?"


    "Forget it." Abby said, angrily stabbing the pasta with her fork before she ate them.


    With a smile on my face, I said, "You''re really cute when you''re angry."


    She pointed her fork at me and said angrily, "Shut up! Don''t call me cute! You''re not even going to..."


    "To date you?" I finished her sentence. "You know, I''d be lying if I said I didn''t want to. If you''re okay with it, we should date. For the next 2 months."


    Abby widened her eyes and was speechless by the sudden confession. She then replied meekly, "Okay..."


    "That''s it? So, we''re dating now right? I wonder what a boyfriend and girlfriend will do when they are alone in an empty house together." I said teasingly.


    Abby rolled her eyes and said, "We''re programming. What else would we do? I want to finish the game before I return to New York."


    Pretending to be hurt, I said with a sad tone, "So, you''re only dating me to use me as a tool?"


    "No!" Abby replied hurriedly. "No. That''s not it! I..."


    "What?" I urged after she paused her sentence.


    "I...Urgh, nevermind." Abby replied defeatedly and was looking a bit dejected. "I see." I replied in understanding, and stood up from my seat and took mine and her dishes with me after we had finished eating.


    We started coding and creating the game after we had finished eating. Without me realizing it, the clock was almost at 10 pm, and Abby had to get home because of her curfew. I wanted to walk her back to her house, but she stopped me from doing so.


    "You should rest a bit, Panda eyes. Your face is looking worse and worse everyday. Aren''t you going to make money with your face?" Abby said.


    "Isn''t it a boyfriend''s job to send his girlfriend home? I''m just doing my job." I said teasingly.


    Abby rolled her eyes and said, "If the boyfriend is 14, then it does not matter."


    She grabbed the doorknob with her right hand, but I grabbed her left one.


    "What?" Abby asked in confusion.


    "Aren''t you forgetting something?" I asked.


    Abby was puzzled, so I inches closer towards her, making her retreat and had her backs on the door. I ced my right hand on the door, preventing her from running away from me.


    "W-what?" Abby was bbergasted as my face was inches away from her.


    "A good night kiss." I said and pointed at my lips. She rolled her eyes, but I continued, "This is what boyfriend and girlfriend do right?"


    At this moment, I already noticed that she had no experience whatsoever in the rtionship department. I couldn''t help but bring myself to tease her every chance I got.


    Abby hesitated, and she inches closer toward me before giving me a peck on the lips.


    "Enough?" She asked.


    "You never kissed before huh?" I asked teasingly.


    "As if you''d ever kissed before!" Abby said, but before she could continue any longer, I kissed her on the lip, gave her a deep kiss and showed her what a true kiss should feel like. She closed her eyes as did I. My hands hugged her back, pulling her closer towards me.


    Her soft lips parted, and I invaded her mouth using my tongue. Abby finally stopped resisting the kiss and pulled me closer every time I wanted to separate, and mimicked the things I had done with my tongue inside my mouth. She started ying with my hair, and we kissed for almost 5 minutes before we let each other go.


    "Haa..haa.." Abby pants breathlessly as we separated, a bridge of saliva could be seen connecting our lips before it disappeared.


    "So...That''s a goodnight kiss?" Abby asked with a red face.


    "I might''ve mistaken it for a kiss...at night. But Yeah... I think so" I replied casually and kissed her on the nose. "You really don''t want me to walk you back? We can repeat the kiss at your house...you know, based on the rtionship rules."


    "Perv." Abby said, giving me a peck on my lips again.


    "Said the girl who''s not letting me go." I said and I kissed her again. Her heavy breath and seductive gaze almost made my teenage hormones go crazy. Instead of her lips, I traced my lips on her neck and started to nibble on them, causing her to let out her moans in pleasure.


    As the atmosphere was heating up, suddenly someone was knocking on the door of the house �C the door we''re making out against.


    "Hello Hello! Anyone home?"


    I heard Pepper''s voice from behind the door, and I reluctantly released Abby from my arms. I opened the door and greeted Pepper in confusion.


    "Pepper? Why are you here?"


    Dressed in a gray-ish white suit and wearing a fedora on his head, Pepper said excitedly. "I need to tell you VERY Big NEWS! In person!" He walked inside the house and finally saw Abby who''s standing behind me.


    "Ah. I''m sorry. Did I interrupt your makeout session?" Pepper asked. "W-w-w-what make out session?!" Abby stammered as she couldn''t understand how Pepper could know about what they were doing.


    "Hun, your lipstick is all over his face." Pepper said teasingly. Abby turned towards me and saw traces of her ck lipstick on my face. She squealed in embarrassment and ran outside the door hurriedly.


    "Abby!" I called her, but she shouted, "Don''t follow me!"


    "Ah.. Teenage love." Pepper said teasingly. I turned to him with a face filled with dissatisfaction, making Pepperugh once more.


    "You want to clean up your face first or you want me to tell you the news right now? I did call your father, and he was on his way home."


    "We will wait for my dad then." I replied and I went to clean up first. While I was washing my face, I remember the kiss Abby and I shared. "Fuck!" I cursed slowly as I realized that I had gone too far before.


    When my dad came home, Pepper finally shared the news as he couldn''t wait any longer.


    "A band that was supposed to open an up anding artist concert had an ident. So they were trying to find a recement artist for the music festival." Pepper said in excitement.


    "Wait. You don''t mean?" Ted widened his eyes in shock and turned toward me.


    "Yes. My friend is an organizer for the event. The artist had seen... Edward''s videos on youtube, and she had no problem with him recing them." The extraordinary Pepper said.


    "Edward my boy, next Sunday, you''ll be performing in front of a crowd of 5000 at California University in Santa Barbara, if you say yes." Pepper continued.


    I paused to think about it for a while, and then I said, "...Yes."

 Chapter 28: Days Passing by.

    <h4>Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Days Passing by.?</h4>


    (Sup! I''m back! Don''t forget to give me powerstones!)


    "Your songs are too... depressing to be made into the opening acts. I have hired some professional musicians, and you''ll start to practice some cover songs for the debut." Pepper said. "That was my opinion, but if you want to y your own songs, I won''t stop you."


    "Cover songs? Hmm...I think...Lazy song, Amnesia, and 7 years can be yed in the opening act. But I need something else to get the crowd''s attention." I muttered as I started thinking, ignoring Pepper and my dad.


    Pepper whispered to Ted while I was deep in thought, "Do you know about him creating a new song in several minutes at Mitch and Cam''s?"


    Ted replied using the same whisper, "Yeah I do. They showed me the footage. I was dumbstruck when I heard it. I know my son is talented...but that was surreal."


    "His brain neurons are firing rapidly before he creates the song. Maybe...We''ll witness the creation of a new one?" Pepper jokes, but he did expect something more.


    "What is Justin Bieberpared to Eddy? This...is a real artist." Pepper said with awe in his eyes while Ted was looking at the man weirdly.


    Suddenly, my eyes twinkled in excitement as I got an idea on how to start the whole act.


    "I think...I got it. 5 songs right?"


    "Yup." Pepper said. "It won''t be continuous, so you don''t have to worry about getting burned out in the performance."


    "Nah. That''s okay. I used to perform for one or two hours inside the auditorium hall for ssical music''s performance, so I believe in my stamina."


    "Ed..." Ted called out as he remembered something terrible that had happened when I was performing my violin in my previous performances before.


    Turning toward my father with a determined look on my face, I said with a tone full of confidence, "Don''t worry dad. As long as it wasn''t a violin, I won''t pass out on the stage again."


    Before creating the entertainment agency �C ''ENtertain'', Pepper had already researched everything about my background so he knew what Ted was worried about. He pped my dad''s hand with his gloves lightly and said, "If he was going to pass out on the stage again, he wouldn''t even y his songs in the cafe before this."


    "That''s true." Ted said. "Also...Ouch." He rubbed his bicep that was pped by Pepper in pain.


    I shared snippets of the songs to Pepper, making him squeal in excitement. Ted was looking at me with astonishment as I had ''created'' a new song yet again. After hearing what Pepper had seen before, Ted finally understood why it was easy for me to create a love song.


    "I see. Having a girlfriend is good for you huh. You can create a song like that in just a few minutes after your makeout session."


    Unfortunately for Ted, I wasn''t the type to let that kind of statement go without retaliation.


    "Maybe if you did have a girlfriend..."


    "Okay. Stop." Ted quickly said in defeat.


    "Mrs. Desiree is no longer a potential candidate as she is the mother of my girlfriend. So you should start searching for a dating app. I will help you create an ount to make sure that you can..."


    Ted ran away quickly before I could continue. "I''ll get some wine." He said to Pepper.


    "Oh, Bordeaux will be fine." Pepper said.


    Ted stopped in his tracks and turned to Pepper in confusion. But he didn''t say anything and went to his wine collection that he ced inside his bedroom closet with some locks on so as to not let me get my hands on it. Not that the locks changed anything as I knew where he put his keys.


    "So, you''re okay with your dad dating again?" Pepper said and sat right next to me.


    "Yeah. In fact, it''ll be good for him to release the pent up energy from all these years of constant working." I replied.


    "You''re a good son. If you dad wants to, I can set him up with some booze-drenched loose whor- Ahem...I mean some nice woman."


    "Sure. That''ll be great." I said to Pepper. I wonder if Pepper would set up my dad with Sal the whore. That''ll be fun to watch, unfortunately I was still a 14 years old kid that would be left out by any of the development.


    While picking up the wine, Ted suddenly shuddered and goosebumps appeared on his skin.


    "This Saturday is the recording session. I had booked some professional musicians to help you with the beats. Do you have any transport, or do you need me to send someone to pick you up?" Pepper asked.


    "How far is it?" I asked.


    "It''s an hour ride from here." Pepper said. "I would get one that''s nearby, that they didn''t have that good of a quality."


    "Let me ask my girlfriend first if she has a driver''s license. I can use dad''s car after sending him to the Marina." I said and texted Abby. I then said happily, "It''s also a good day for a date."


    [Abby''s POV]


    "I must be going crazy!" I muttered as I walked hurriedly back to my house. The sensation of the kiss was still vivid in my mind, especially when Edward kissed my neck �C giving me a jolt of electricity running around my body.


    "Damn that son of a...." I cursed as I arrived home. After I calmed down a bit, I couldn''t help but break out a smile... "...Boyfriend of mine." As I was smirking gleefully while standing in the front door, my mom suddenly opened the door from the inside.


    "Oh Abby. You''re home. Why didn''t you knock?...or enter?" Desiree asked in confusion.


    "Where are you going mom?" I said, quickly changing my face to a poker face to hide what had happened from my mother. But, my mom suddenly smirked as she saw my makeup.


    "You kissed? Good good." Mom teased as she checked on her car to make sure that she had turned off the car light.


    "MOM!" I eximed in disbelief as to how liberal my mom was with this matter.


    "Remember, if you can''t use protection, then you''re going to make the younger generation." Mom said her motto, making me run inside the house to get to my room.


    "By the way Abby, are you going to the DMV tomorrow to take your drivers test?" Mom asked.


    "..Why? We''re New Yorkers. We don''t use cars much." I said. I had kept it a secret from Edward and most of the school students, but I had skipped a grade before this.


    I was finally at the age where I could get a drivers license, and mom had been pushing me to take the test everyday. "It''s good to have the license. You can drive your boyfriend around in the car, and even make out at the make out spot near ake or a cliff-"


    "MOM! STOP! I will take the test if you stop!" I said hurriedly and mmed my bedroom door. I could hear her giggling outside of the door so Iaid on the bed with my face into the pillow and I started to toss and turned on the mattress.


    "Ugh!" I groaned as the memory of inside the house resurfaced again. My face became extremely hot, and I couldn''t help but kick the air to release some of my frustrations.


    "He''s...quite good at kissing. I wonder how many girls he kissed before." I muttered while trying to block out the entire make out session. Jealousy started to bubble inside my chest, but I knew I shouldn''t me him for it.


    If my dad wasn''t a pathological cheater who would cheat on my mom at any given chance, maybe I could strive for a more healthy rtionship style, but it''s toote now.


    "That sses girl...and that doe-eyed girl..." I muttered as I remembered the scene inside Edward''s house before I came there.


    Suddenly, my phone screen lit up and I heard the buzzing notification noise. It was a text from Edward.


    "Okay...Read it...but don''t reply yet...Don''t seem desperate...You got this Abby!" I gave myself some pep talk before I opened the text message. My Cheshire Cat grin froze after I saw Edward texting about driving to the desert together this Saturday. Although it sounds romantic, I...


    "I don''t have a driver''s license!"


    Before I answered him, I ran to my mom and started asking her about the DMV test.


    "If you pass the test on Thursday, I can get you your driver''s license this Friday." Mom said, already changing into a short mini-robe as she sat down in front of the tv. Her barely tied up robe was opened in the chest area, disying her huge chest that was unencumbered by a bra and her thick thigh as the robe was riding upwards.


    Mom was the reason I never invited Edward to my home. She was just too careless about her sensuality, and I especially didn''t want Edward to be another idiot that would stare at my mom all day long. Unaware of my thoughts, she pulled me to sit next to her before I could run off again.


    "Tell me about your kiss." Mom said, her eyes shining innocently like a small child waiting to hear about Christmas or Santa us.


    Avoiding her eyes seemed to increase her curiosity even further. "Come on. Tell me~ We always tell each other everything right~?"


    I...couldn''t object to my mom''s innocent request and I told her everything. Her eyes widened in surprise and she said, "He kissed you like that? He...must be really talented. My daughter has gotten a good one."


    "MOM!" I eximed in embarrassment, begging her to stop. "What? It''s been years since I was kissed or approached by any man like that. So...Passionate!" Mom started to tease.


    Although there were rumors about her sleeping with other dads in school, those rumors were without any substance and truths behind them.


    Dad...hurts her a lot, that she couldn''t bring herself to date another guy even after they had been separated for a year now. It was impossible for her to just hook up with someone, especially a married man as she hated people who would cheat on their spouses.


    "So, he''s inviting you to a date this Saturday?" Mom asked.


    "Yeah. He needs to go to his recording studio and record a few songs for his uing album." I said with a hint of bragging. Mom hugged me suddenly and buried my face in between her cleavage like she did for Edward before.


    "My daughter is dating a famous singer!" Mom said in excitement. I relinquished any thought of getting out of her embrace as I knew when mom was excited, there was no way out for anyone who''s been stuck in between those g-cup cannons.


    My hands were wrapped on my mom''s body, and I hugged her tightly as my heart was feeling so happy at this moment. Mom stopped moving and brushed my hair lovingly as I kept hugging her.


    "You''re happy huh?"


    "Umm."


    "Good. I''m so d." With a touched voice and some ssy eyes, mom patted my back as I let myself rest on her body. Letting go of my hug, I leaned my head on her shoulder, and we cuddled for a while before I responded to Edward.


    [Edward''s POV]


    Big Tiddy Goth GF: I will if I pass my driving test this Thursday.


    I smiled after reading her message. Pepper and Ted were celebrating with me in the living room about the uing concert. They were drinking wine, while I could only drink some fruit juice �C which irked me.


    While they weren''t looking, I poured some of the wine into my empty ss. The juice and wine colors were the same, so they didn''t suspect anything while I was sipping wine next to them.


    I fell asleep easily that night as I got help from the alcohol. The next day came, and I went to school as usual. I was surprised when I had no hangover after I woke up.


    "Benefits of being a young man again." I muttered as I sipped a cup of coffee.


    I didn''t cycle to school today, instead dad was sending me with his car. Jay was going to pick me up after school to bring me to Pritchett''s Closetpany and factory, so my bike was useless today.


    The moment I stepped into the school hall, the giant potato kid grabbed me by my cor and dragged me to the men''s restroom.


    "What?" I asked the panicked boy.


    "Youuu son-of-a-bitch!" Jacob cursed.


    "I already know that. So what happened?" I asked, not getting mad he implied my mom was a bitch at all.


    "She''s texting me!" Jacob said and shoved his phone screen toward my face. I took the phone and read it to understand more about the situation.


    Jacob received a short text message from Elsast night. Just one word...text but it had caused the selective mute Jacob to have a sleepless nightst night.


    "Yeah. She said, "heyyy." And then, you ignored her?" I asked in confusion. He grabbed my cor with teary eyes and shook me left and right.


    "How-How can I reply to her?! I can''t even talk to girls! And you set me up with the most beautiful one in the whole school!"


    I almost let out augh, but I pretended to have a caring face on the surface. I was only joking before and I didn''t know that Jacob really did have a crush on Elsa. His phone was still in my hands, so I texted Elsa back while he was freaking out about it.


    *ding*


    A new message came in after I had sent the previous one. Jacob turned to look at me weirdly and his face turned from teary to horrified after he realized I was holding his phone.


    "Ahh, you didn''t silent your notification." I muttered in a t tone.


    "What did you do?!" Jacob asked urgently and snatched his phone back from my hand.


    He read that I had sent a "Heyyyy" back to Elsa. She then texted "Are you free next Wednesday?"


    "You- How?!" Jacob''s eyes turned fanatical, as if he had seen his salvation.


    "Let the master exin a bit." I said.


    "One "y" in a "hey" means - "Hello how are you doing?" Two "y''s" in a heyy means - "Hi, I''m kinda interested in you, what are you doing?" Three "y''s" in a heyyy - "So, when are you going to ask me on a date?" Four "y''s" in a heyyyy - "We have been seeing each other for a while, when are you going to ask me out?" �C So tell me, how many Y did she send?"


    Jacob rechecked the message and said, "T-T-T-Three."


    "So. What are you waiting for?" I teased. "Text her back, just say you''re free that day and ask her why she asks."


    Jacob nodded at my words and texted her back hurriedly and sent the message.


    "Congrattions. You just spoke to a woman using your own effort." I said and wanted to get out of the toilet, but Jacob grabbed my cor from behind.


    "This-" Jacob showed me the reply message and said, "Y-Y-You''reing with me to this. T-there''s no way I''m going to go on my own."


    Elsa: I''m having my birthday party at my house. Will youe?


    Jacob: Yes. Absolutely yes. Can I bring Ed with me?


    Elsa: Sure! I''ll see you then.


    I let out a long sigh after reading the texts. "I don''t have a choice don''t I?"


    "No." Jacob tried to say sternly, but his eyes were begging me to go.


    "Okay then, as this matter is caused by me, I will show my face for a while." I said in defeat. "I just hope Jenna won''t lock me in the closet and try to have her 7 minutes in heaven with me."


    "It''s a birthday party. Her parents are going to be there. What are you thinking about?" Jacob looked at me weirdly after I said that.


    "You''re saying that, but my instinct is telling me otherwise." I said and walked to my ss with Jacob together.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    A high pitched squeal shocked the entire AP Bio ssroom after the girls duo had read the text from Jacob.


    In a panicked voice, Elsa said, "Jenna. Shushh! We''re in a ss!"


    Jenna stopped squealing and turned to Elsa, "But�C Edward is going to be there....(Squeal)"


    Before Jenna could start her weird high pitch squeal again, Elsa covered her mouth and said to the teacher, "Jenna is feeling unwell. I need to bring her to the nurse for a bit."


    The old, male biology teacher just smiled knowingly and gave them the permission to exit his ss.


    "We''re going to change it into a pool party! At my house!" Jenna said hurriedly. She was nning to wear her seductive bikini at the party and even prepare some tricks in the 7 minutes in heaven game to make her and Edward end up together.


    Elsa felt a bit bad cause it was her birthday in the first ce. As Jenna saw Elsa''s expression, she pointed toward her friend and said, "Louis Vuitton bag as a birthday gift! And...I''ll make sure that you and Jacob will end up together!"


    "Deal!" Elsa smiled and shook hands with Jenna. "Ahh! We need to n a LOT of things!" Jenna said and dragged Elsa somece else to talk while ditching their ss.


    "Wait. Aren''t you going to get second ce for the bet with Edward?" Elsa asked in concern.


    "What are you talking about? After we had our times together, do you really think he would still say no? He''ll beg me to be his girlfriend afterward!" Jenna said confidently.


    ...


    As Jay picked up Manny from elementary school, he picked me up too as the elementary school and middle school were nearby each other. We went directly to thepany and to take a look at thepany''s website.


    Margaret, the old secretary with a kind smile and dark burgundy hair that falls on her shoulder, gave me a lollipop as she thought I was one of Jay''s kids. I epted the gesture gratefully and I put the lollipop into my mouth after I opened the wrapper.


    "I googled this before, and I got to say, your developer didn''t have any skills...at all." I said after I opened the shabby website on thepany''sputer. I plugged in my USB stick on theputer port and opened up a system of my own.


    "Yeah. That''s why I had already fired him." Jay said decisively.


    "Oh. Good decision." I said and tapped into the keyboard quickly. "You want me to upgrade yourpany''s defense system at the same time? It won''t prolong my work on the website, and make yourpany more secure." I offered.


    "Kid. The website may be shabby, but I had bought a top notch defense system from a bigpany. I don''t think you can do it better." Jay said while smirking.


    "Really?" I said and tapped a few buttons on the keyboard before I pressed enter.


    "AHHH!" Suddenly, Margaret �C Jay''s old assistant screamed and ran to the meeting room we''re in. "EVERYTHING''S GONE! EVERYTHING! EEEEVERRRYTHINGGGG!" Margaret yelled hysterically and almost fainted on the ground. Jay had to catch her to prevent her from taking a tumble.


    "What did you do!?" Jay asked hurriedly as he saw the chaos inside hispany.


    "Calm down, I''m just showing you how vulnerable you are." I said and restored their system back to normal. Jay''s face was in disbelief and shock when he saw how easy it was for me to tear down all of his defenses.


    I took off the lollipop from my mouth and turned to Jay, "So. Do you want it or not?"


    Jay sighed and said, "Give me everything."


    I signed a contract with Jay to upgrade hispany website and the defense system for a payment of 30k, cash.


    "Nice working with you." I told Jay. "Now, I need to go home and start to train ire next."


    [Jay''smentary]


    "The kid''s a hustler. But..he''s very capable. He reminds me...of me!" Jay said whileughing loudly.


    "Seriously. I ought to sue the one who installed the defense system before. It didn''t stop him even for a minute. If my rivals had hired the kid...then thepany is going under!" Jay said with a solemn tone.


    "I''m lucky that I found him first." Jay said with an evil smile. "Now, I can do what I wanted to do for a long time now."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Are you sure?" I asked Jay again for confirmation.


    "Yes! I''d never been more sure in my life." Jay said.


    "Okay then." I said in defeat and sent the virus to his rival �C Earl Chambers (His name. Not really an Earl). When the Earl opens his emails next time, it will be filled with pictures of Jay''s butt.


    "HAHAHAHAHA!" Jayughed hysterically and went to his office, leaving me alone in the meeting room.


    "Oh. The things I''d do for money."


    I continued listing everything that needed to be upgraded and what I could offer thepany. I was sent home by one of Jay''s workers, and ire was already waiting for me at my house when I returned.


    "Afternoon boss." ire greeted happily.

 Chapter 29: Website Launch

    <h4>Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Website Launch</h4>


    [Edward''s POV]


    "Nah ire. Do it like this. That''ll work better."


    "But...We used to do it... another way while I was working."


    "Yeah. And that was like, 15 years ago right? People have advanced now. A whole other generation has already been born."


    Finally, I showed ire how easy it would be if she followed my way. As the woman was technologically challenged, I had to create a step by step method in her training files and evenbeled all of the steps clearly so that she wouldn''t miss it.


    She had brought her ownptop to the training today which I had connected to the website and the office system. After this, she would work for thepany from thefort of her home without even needing to go to the Marina.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "As if. I predicted that mom will have learned everything about the marina path in just a few days."


    mentary ends]


    "No way. That''s brilliant Ed. I can''t believe this. A Middle-school student can have something this big? Mama Likey-"


    Before ire could go any further, I stopped her quickly. She was leaning next to me, her chest was directly in front of my face if I turned. She was looking at myptop screen so much that she didn''t realize that part of her body was pressing onto mine.


    "ire. You''re alone in a hormonal teenager''s house. Please refrain from using sentences with double meaning and only behave that way around your husband." I said using a teasing tone.


    Honestly, Mrs Robinson needs to back off a bit or I''ll start making Phil be in despair.


    bbergasted, the hot and scary milf - ire took one step back from me in wariness and stammered , "E-excuse me? How is that double meaning?"


    I used a sultry voice and said, "Ooh. You have something this...big? Mama Likey-"


    "Okay Stop!'' ire said, finally understanding what she had done wrong.


    "It''s okay ''Mrs Robinson'', it''s your first day on the job, and I have a high threshold for sexual connotations that I wouldn''t act based on impulse." I teased her again.


    ire widened her eyes in disbelief and horror. "M-M-Mrs Robinson! I''m not making moves on you- I''m a Married Woman!"


    Ignoring her reactions, I asked, "Do you understand how to use the excel documents yet? I had set up the program, you just need to input the numbers inside."


    ire''s brain short-circuited and she replied, "Yes."


    "Good. That''s for ounting. About customer service, I had created an auto reply system for a few of the messages and inserted the customer service working hour in the website so you don''t have to be on standby all the time. You just need to reply to the email at the specific time."


    "What I need to focus on today is Scheduling and Logistics." I continued.


    [ire''smentary]


    "Ed is a great teacher. But...Sometimes his jokes are..." ire said in exasperation. "Not that I can do anything about it. He''s the boss''s boss. He''s the Grand Boss of the whole operation."


    She knew that the reason Edward could''ve made the joke was because he was ufortable as it was easy to diffuse an awkward situation by the joke. She was also feeling a bit smug inside when she realized she could make a 14 years old kid a bit restless just by getting closer to him.


    "Still got it...I think." ire said with an awkward smile.


    She then started to think about the training experience she had received today.


    "Sometimes, his ideas were so brilliant that I forgot that I was talking to a 14 year old." ire confessed.


    [Commentary ends]


    "It''s almost 7 pm. You should go home and get some rest. Phil is the one handling dinner tonight right?" I asked.


    "No. Seriously, 3 to 4 hours waiting time to get the liquor?! How irresponsible are the workers there?" ire was inside her own world, reading documents after documents to further understand her new job.


    "Well. They''re sailors. They''re drunk most of the time. 3 to 4 hours is the most optimistic calction." I said casually. "Sometimes, they don''t even deliver the alcohol, causing my dad to run to the store just moments before a trip to stock up their bar. Anyway-"


    "But that''s serious. We can sue them for harming the business." ire said in astonishment.


    "Yeah. They''re sailors. Do you really think there are contracts to prove the transactions?" Shaking my head slightly, I said, "Anyway. Stop. Time''s up. You need to go back home."


    ire looked at her wristwatch and said, "Oh. It''s time for dinner already? Do you want toe and join us Ed? Phil is buying pizzas for tonight."


    "Nah. I need to finish up the program for the office. The website is going to beunched tonight, so I need to make sure everything is running smoothly."


    I turned to theputer and started to make the final adjustment. I had already synced both the website and the office system together. All I needed right now was to make some tweaks so that it''ll sync better.


    "TONIGHT!" ire suddenly shouted. "Why didn''t you tell me?!"


    "It was in your briefing packet. Besides, I will handle the job for the week, so you don''t have to be afraid that you were pushed into the job without training."


    Thinking that ire was feeling anxious because she was caught unprepared, I exined to her the situation immediately. "Go home. Your work today is done." I said again.


    Unfortunately, Abby couldn''te and hang out today because she was hanging out with her mother and wouldn''t tell me where. I had invited her over, but I didn''t tell her about the siteunching yet.


    "No. That''s not it! You''d worked very hard for this! And you''re going tounch it alone?!" ire said hurriedly, getting up and close to my face again.


    "It''s not a big deal. It''s just a website. I also don''t need the distractions while I am monitoring theunch-" Before I could finish my sentence, I saw ire had called someone using her mobile phone.


    "Phil! Bring the pizzas and the kids here! The website is going to beunched tonight!"


    "ire!" I called out in exasperation. "I need to focus!"


    "No. You can focus. We''ll all focus...with you. When is your dading back home? Why isn''t he here?"


    "I tasked him to monitor the office program and to make sure to answer the phone when I call." I said.


    ire was confused, "Why don''t you let someone else go on standby there?"


    "After the whole fiasco about the crew handing out flyers in an old people home, I couldn''t trust them much."


    ire had fallen silent from my answer. Within minutes, the doorbell of my house rang multiple times. I rubbed my forehead as my stress level was rising up, but ire ignored me and opened the door.


    "We''re HERE!" Phil said excitedly. "Ed. Why didn''t you tell us about this?!" He approached me hurriedly and gave me a big hug, almost picking me up from the ground to swirl me. I stopped him before he managed to do that and only gave me a big hug.


    Alex and Luke followed from behind, but not Haley as she was having dinner with her friends tonight at the mall. Luke was wearing a blue robot shirt while Alex was wearing an E=mc2 shirt.


    "Hey. What''s going on?" Alex asked as she was confused by the sudden invite.


    "He''sunching the website, but he wants to do it alone." ire exined before I could open my mouth to answer.


    "What she said." I pointed at the grinning ire." Anyway, what pizza did you bring?" I asked after I understood there was nothing I could say to change ire''s mind.


    "We got peperoni, ssic cheese, and mushrooms." Luke said while holding three stacks of pizza boxes.


    Phil and ire sat together in private as they were talking about their day without each other. I gave the lovey-dovey couple some privacy while I sat down with Luke and Alex at the dinner table.


    "What time is theunch?" Alex asked while seated at the dinner table, eating a slice of mushroom pizza.


    "At 8. So an hour from now on." I replied while eating a slice of pepperoni pizza with my right hand and was coding with my left hand.


    "Did you already do all the preparation? You''re notunching it prematurely right?" Alex asked.


    "Nah. Everything is already done." Taking a bite of the pizza, I finished myst bit of coding and finalized the website creation.


    "Now. We wait." I said, turning my focus onto Alex and Luke.


    "You''re...like an adult. With your job." Lukemented. As he ate the pizza with his right hand, he used his left hand to prop his head on the table. I wonder if he was tired, or if he usually eats like that. "Will you go to the office next?" Luke asked.


    "Nah. I''m going to y next." I replied.


    "After this, you''re going to work on rapid hot air technology right? I was thinking if you can rent ab at school to do it. Mrs Henderson said you can if you let the school participate in the invention to increase their reputation." Alex said after patiently waiting for me to finish my work.


    "Hmm? Did you tell them about it? You didn''t, right?" I asked with concern.


    "Of course not. Do you think I will be that stupid?" Alex said with her eyes rolling.


    "It''s a good thing you didn''t. It''ll take a long time to do it. If I coborate with the school and I transferred to Wisconsin afterward-"


    Suddenly, Phil grabbed my shoulder from behind and asked, "Why are you transferring to Wisconsin?"


    I paused and turned to Phil. I then said, "We are just ying in a hypothetical situation."


    "Ahh. I see. Like if you''re bitten by a vampire and a werewolf at the same time, will you be a werebat or a vamp-wolf?" Phil said excitedly. Alex breathed in relief after I managed to trick Phil from knowing about the matter.


    Time passed by quickly as I was enjoying myself with thepany of the Dunphy''s. Phil constantly asked about the invention I was talking about with Alex, and wanted to show me a few things that he had invented, like the Real Head Scratcher, T.M.


    "Dad. What he''s doing is actually important." Alex said sarcastically.


    Phil retorted, "Solving itchy head problems is also important!"


    ire finally joined the conversation after taking onest look on the briefing packet. "Luke, sit up properly. Alex, he needs to rest first after doing such a big project. Can''t you see his eye bag? Stop trying to push him into another one. And Phil..."


    ire turned to Phil who had a scared look on his face. "When will Haley get back?"


    Phil breathed in relief and said, "Around 8.30. She promised me she will get home at that time."


    "As if." Alex snorted in derision. I turned toward her and said, "Aww, is someone missing her dear sister?"


    "What the- NO!" Alex said hurriedly as she became embarrassed.


    As theunching time was nearing, I was sitting on the chair at the dinner table while the Dunphy''s family were all standing behind me watching the countdown on myptop screen together.


    [Phil and ire''s Commentary]


    As Phil was sitting next to ire, he started thementary.


    "As I was waiting for the website countdown to reach zero, all I could think about was how...wonderful it would be for Edward if the website became sessful. That means...his dad can be around more, and they could spend more time together."


    ire held Phil''s hand and let him continue.


    "When I was growing up with my dad, we were inseparable. So when ire calls me and says he will celebrate...One of the major achievements of his life...all alone in that empty house...my mind...and my heart... couldn''t take it." Phil said and pointed to his mind and heart as he spoke.


    ire interjected, "Although he was so...smart, and looks mature, He''s still a 14 years old kid. He didn''t even n to eat anything whileunching the website. It makes me think about how many nights there were that he had spent not eating anything while he was alone over there."


    Phil nodded and said, "I know life has been rough on him, and he''s been working hard to change that life. I can respect his efforts...But I just can''t... understand why he''s pushing everyone away."


    ire turned to Phil with a weird expression on her face. She whispered, "When did he push everyone away?"


    "Just before this, I offered to help him with his project, but he shot me down." Phil exined to ire.


    "I think...that was more of a safety issue than him pushing everyone away." ire said. "But he does repress a lot of his emotions. I could see that he was happy when the websiteunch countdown had started, but he wouldn''t let anyone see it."


    [Commentary ends]


    ire started the countdown! "3...2...1...0!!!! The Website is now LIVE!"


    Phil blew a party horn while Alex popped a confetti, making it fly everywhere near the dining room.


    "Congrattions Edward!" ire said and kissed my cheeks. Phil did the same thing while patting my shoulder with a lot of force as he was too happy. I turned to Alex who''s standing nearby and said, "You guys are not going to kiss my cheeks too?"


    "What- I don''t-" Alex stammered.


    "I will!" Luke said and rushed into where I was sitting and kissed my cheeks the same way as his parents did.


    "Now, it''s toote for you Alex." Luke said teasingly to his sister.


    "I-I don''t want to kiss him in the first ce!" Alex shouted.


    "Oh my god, people areing into the website!" ire said hurriedly with a bright smile on her face. I had set up a visitor''s count view in the website �C personally for me so that I could see the website traffic on the first day.


    "A thousand people are opening the website! Why!?!" Phil asked in shock.


    "Well. I kinda had a promotion set up. The first 20 people who book a trip on the first day of the websiteunch will get 20% off. So right now, people arepeting to make a booking and settle the payment so as to not let the good deal go." I exined calmly.


    "Yeah. That''s a good one." ire said in acknowledgement. She then continued with a tone full of amazement, "5 minutes in, and we''re already fully booked for the next 10 days."


    "That''s amazing! Ha haa haa!" Philughed and took theptop away from ire.


    "Well done Ed! Seriously. Good job!" ire praised me endlessly, which I got to admit felt a bit nice. I was sure that my grinch''s heart had grown 1.005% in size after hearing all of the praises and acknowledgement.


    "How many now?" I asked ire after it had been 10 minutes in.


    "Wait. Let me check." ire said and walked to Phil who was sitting down on the dinner table adjacent to my seat and typing something on theptop. ire widened her eyes when she saw what Phil was doing.


    "Why are you booking it?!" ire asked hurriedly and snatched herptop from Phil.


    "Give me that ire! It''ll be a good trip for all of us!" Phil said. He was chasing after the 20% off discount and he might make it too before all the spots had been filled up.


    "EMPLOYEES GET 40% DISCOUNT PHIL! WHY ARE YOU CHASING THE 20%!!" ire shouted as Phil was being relentless.


    "Wait what? Mom. 40% discount? Is that true?" Alex asked in astonishment.


    "Go ask the Grand boss." ire said, pursing her lips towards me.


    Alex and Phil turned to me for an answer, so I replied casually, "Yeah. That''s true. There will be an annual party too and that will be for free."


    "You''re the best Grand boss!" Lukeplimented innocently.


    As the websiteunch was sessful, I received calls from Mitch and Cam, from Gloria, Manny and Jay, from Pepper, and from Abby. She was furious that I didn''t tell her about theunch today, and I had to talk to her for 20 minutes just to calm her down.


    By the time I had finishedforting Abby, Ted had driven home and the first thing he did was hug me to congratte me about the website.


    "Uff Dad." I let out a burst of air from the sudden hug.


    "You did... Really...Really well! I''m...proud of you!" Ted said while hugging me. Those simple words made my entire body tingly in ways I had never experienced before in my past life.


    Phil and ire smiled softly as they witnessed the touching moment between the father and son.


    "What''s going on here?" Haley asked as she entered the house. Her dad had already texted her to go to the Newgate''s house when she returned home, only to witness the scene of my dad hugging me.


    "Okay. Dad...enough." I said with a t tone after he wasn''t letting me go. "No." Ted replied decisively and tightened his embrace. I sighed in defeat and reluctantly hugged him back while feeling so embarrassed inside.


    As the website traffic slowed down, finally the celebration was over.


    "We''re now fully booked for 2 months!" I announced excitedly while putting my ss up, causing the adult crowd to raise their wine ss and cheer before I added, "...if there isn''t any cancetion."


    "Boo!" The kids booed me for being so pessimistic and raised their sparkling cider together with everyone.


    "Here to a new journey!" I made a toast for the new start of my dad''s business. The Whitebeard ship''s rental and tourism had rebranded itself and now ready to take on new ventures that I would lead them into.


    "Let the party begin!" Phil shouted and the kids popped the confetti together to signal the start of the celebration.


    With an awkward smile stered on her face, Haley whispered to Alex, "...Party for what?"


    "..."

 Chapter 30: Jealousy

    <h4>Chapter 30: Chapter 30:??Jealousy</h4>


    Around 11 in the night, the Dunphy''s were finally going to return to their house after celebrating the websiteunch together with my dad and I.


    "Thank you ire." I said honestly as I was walking her and Phil toward the front door. ire gave me a light hug and said, "You''re wee. You did really great Edward. You can be more proud of yourself."


    Shaking my head slightly, I said, "Nah. That''s not my style."


    ire gave up trying to get an enthusiastic reaction from me and opened the front door, only to find a goth girl standing in front of the house.


    Wearing a one-piece ck dress with knee high ck socks, Abby decided toe by the house. She was wearing a ck hairband on her head instead of tying twintail-style as usual.


    "Oh. Am I toote?" Abby asked with some anxiousness in her voice. I had texted her about the celebration before this, but I didn''t think that her mom would let here thiste at night.


    "Who''s this?" ire asked with a knowing look, barely able to hide her smirk as she saw Abby.


    "My girlfriend." I replied casually while looking at Abby, causing ire to be taken aback.


    Behind me, Haley and Alex were stunned when they saw Abbying to my housete at night while dressing so prettily. Phil turned to his daughters to see their reaction, and then he turned toward Abby again.


    Abby blushed when I called her my girlfriend. Then, she pretended to be angry at me and said, "A neglected girlfriend. Can''t believe you''reunching the website today and not telling me anything."


    I didn''t know why, but ire decided to interfere, "In his defense, he didn''t tell anyone about it except his father. I am one of his workers, and he didn''t tell me anything about it until an hour before theunch."


    Abby was speechless when she heard the defense from ir, and she started thinking about the truth behind her words.


    "ire. Nobody likes a tattle tale. You guys should go home." I said and escorted ire outside of the house. She called Ted from afar and said, "Ted. Make sure they didn''t go to his room. It''s veryte at night and he''s just 14-"


    "I''m not going to do anything. Go home!" I said and threw ire out of the house. Philughed at the situation and said to me, "She''s just worried. But, now that... she was trying to control your life too...I guess that makes you one of my children. Wee to the family ED!"


    Stunned, I looked at ire''s direction with a shaky eyes. "What are you talking about Phil?" ire said and pulled Phil outside of the house.


    [Phil''smentary]


    With a face full of seriousness, Phil said, "If he is not dating my daughters, then I need to consider adoption or being his god-father."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Is Edward my brother now?" Luke asked. "No!" Alex replied decisively. Then both of them exited the house.


    Ignoring Luke, I said, "Abby,e in." Abby''s eyes turned to something behind me, causing me to turn to see what she was looking at.


    I saw Haley standing alone behind me after all of her family had exited the house, so I was confused as to why she was still there.


    "What''s the matter Haley?"


    The question snapped Haley back to reality and her eyes started to dart between me and Abby instead of just staring at Abby.


    [Haley''s Commentary]


    "So. When I went to register at the DMV today...I saw Abby over there. I thought she was taking the testte as she was 17 now...but when she went to the toilet...I...peeked into her registration form, and saw she was only 16 years old." Haley exined.


    "Now, I wonder why she''d been lying about her age, and whether Edward knew about the matter."


    Her voice then became anxious and she said, "That was not the clothes she was wearing before this! That means...she returns home first to change into cute clothes before shees over...LATE AT NIGHT ughs awkwardly) I mean...What are they going to dote at night together?? ugh again) At his house!...LATE AT NIGHT!"


    [Commentary ends]


    "Ed. I need to go back to the ship. The crew were partying, and now all of them are a mess." Ted suddenly said and brought his jacket with him as the sea was cold at night.


    Haley heard what Ted said and she shouted, "NO!"


    I turned toward Haley in confusion and asked, "What do you mean no?"


    "I-I mean. Shouldn''t you stay here and...celebrate with your son? And...not leave him alone with his girlfriend without...any supervision..."


    Abby blushed as she understood what Haley was trying to say. Although she felt a bit weird as to why Haley cared so much, Abby said, "My mom is only giving me 5 minutes. I can''t stay long."


    Abby suddenly leaned in, wrapped her hands around my neck, and gave me a peck on the lips. Her action caused Haley to freeze on her spot again, while Ted''s poker face turned into a smirking one.


    "Well...What I''m here to say is...Congrats!" Abby said with some embarrassment in her tone as she was in front of my dad.


    "Too bad my dad is here. Otherwise I will teach you how to kiss again." I said while staring into Abby''s face. I wrapped my right hand on her back and pulled her body closer to mine.


    Abby said with a blushing face, "Shut up! You don''t need to teach me about it ever agai-"


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Yeah. he''s not gay. I wonder why Uncle Mitch ever thought he is gay. Maybe his gaydar is broken." Haley said with a fakeugh.


    With a hint of jealousy, Haley said, "The way that his face smolders while he was gazing into her eyes. Pulling her body closer and closer toward him, which I am sure they can hear each other''s heart beats..."


    Her face was a bit flushed after she remembered it. She fanned her face with her hand and said, "I mean...Even I never had any boys being that intense with me...ever..."


    [Commentary ends]


    Suddenly, Haley forced herself between the two of us and said, "Okay. No one needs to teach anyone anything. Abby, do you want me to walk you back to your house?"


    "What?" Abby was confused by the suddenness, but Haley grabbed Abby''s arm and pulled her away from the house.


    "Edward, I will make sure she goes home safely. This is my congrattion gift to you."


    "Oh. Okay. Byee~" I said and waved at the girls as Haley was waving at me from afar.


    "What are you doing Haley?!" Abby called out and tried to break free, but Haley wasn''t letting her grip go.


    Shrugging my shoulder, I didn''t stop Haley from walking away with Abby as I needed to continue working tonight. Now that the website celebration was done, I needed to get started with the Pritchett''s Closet website next.


    Ted saw my face and suddenly spoke, "Don''t work tonight. Get some rest. When I get back, I will let you take your first sip of beer, as a celebration for just the two of us."


    He was d that the websiteunch was sessful. Now, they didn''t have to move to Wisconsin if they managed to build the business further and decrease Ted''s working hours.


    "I will take you up on that offer." I replied happily.


    Then, my tone became a bit more serious, "Dad, any leads on a new ship''s captain yet? You''re going to be busy for the entire month. If there isn''t anyone to take turns with you, I''m afraid that you will get burned out."


    "I''m looking for it. There were a few potential candidates, but they were afraid to get on board as the business seemed like it was dying. Now, the situation has changed. I think I can convince them to take the job next."


    "No. Don''t convince them. Let theme to you." I suddenly said.


    "W-what?" Ted asked in confusion. "Didn''t we want them as soon as possible?"


    "Dad. I think you really underestimated the rebranding. Now, the website is showing that we have more ss than all other ships in the pier. Do you really think customers would pick the others if they can choose us?"


    "Your status has skyrocketed. Act like it. You''re now the big boss of the entire operation. You had already given them the option toe on board before this, so just wait for them to offer themselves."


    Ted nodded in understanding and he said, "I will wait then. Also, the name Grand Boss suits you a lot."


    I chuckled a bit at his joke and said, "Bring a pack of beer instead of just one can. We''re going to drink a lot tonight."


    [3rd Person POV]


    As Haley dragged Abby further away from the Newgate''s house, Abby finally broke free of Haley''s grip and said angrily while moving her face closer towards Haley.


    "What''s the matter with you, you little twerp?!"


    Not getting done in, Haley yelled back, "What''s the matter with me? WHAT''S THE MATTER WITH YOU! What are you trying to do, dressing so sexily like that and going to a boys housete at night?!"


    Abby was bbergasted as soon as Haley said that. "H-He''s my boyfriend. What''s wrong with me going to his house? You''re the weird one. Why the hell are you there again?!"


    "Our family is close with one another, so I''m taking care of him." Haley lied through her teeth, but her expression didn''t change in the least. "You. You''re 16 right? And he is your first boyfriend?"


    Abby quickly shut Haley''s mouth with her hand and turned to look around to make sure no one else heard that.


    "How do you know?" Abby asked with surprise and a bit of fear in her voice. Haley moved Abby''s hand and answered, "I know everything. You need to stop throwing yourself at him and y a little bit harder to get."


    Pausing for a moment, Abby then asked, "Why?"


    "For him to appreciate you of course. Boys are stupid at that age, and they will say whatever they can to get into your pants. You need to stir him crazy at first before-" Haley then realized that she almost taught Abby about her tactics, so she stopped quickly.


    "I''m not helping you with this!" Haley said and stampeded away angrily.


    "Wait!" Abby grabbed Haley''s shoulder from behind and asked, "What should I do?"


    It was her first ever rtionship, and she knew that Haley had dated a lot of boys before this. Therefore, Abby wanted to ask for some advice from Haley to finally get the upper hand in this rtionship.


    Although she knew it was a bit selfish, she wanted Edward to like her more than she liked him.


    "I''m not teaching you anything. We''re not even friends." Haley said and tried to remove Abby''s grip from her shoulder, but it was impossible.


    "How about this, do you want to see a live studio recording session?" Abby asked.


    "What do you mean? Like...making an album?" Haley asked.


    "Yeah. Edward is going to record his songs this Saturday. I can get you inside the studio if you want." Abby offered. "But...in exchange...you need to teach me how to...you know."


    Haley thought hard about this matter that smoke could be seening out of her ears...metaphorically.


    "Okay! I''ll teach you! But I want to be there from the start till the end!" Haley finally decided. Although she didn''t want Abby to get closer to Edward, she was a big fan of his songs that she would be willing to yield a bit to see his recording session personally.


    "Deal!...Do you have your own car?" Abby asked carefully as to not let Haley change her mind.


    "No. I can hitch a ride with my friends or ask dad to send me there. How far is it?" Haley asked. "You know what, give me your phone number. We''ll discuss in text rather than here in the middle of the streets."


    "Okay." Abby replied calmly and exchanged her phone number with Haley. Inside of Haley''s phone, Abby was saved as the 212th phone number. But Haley was saved as the 6th phone number in Abby''s phone.


    "Now. Go home! Don''t you daree back to his house at this hour!" Haley said and ran toward her house while Abby entered her house. Like Haley promised, she escorted Abby back to her house safely.


    Abby received a text from Edward asking if she had returned home safely at this time. Abby smiled and texted back, "Yeah. Haley had sent me to the front of my house. We even exchanged phone numbers."


    Edward texted her again, "I see. Then, she will be your first female friend in California. Me being the first in the male, and overall friend category."


    Abby scoffed, but then Edward added another text, "And also the best boyfriend ever category." Her face became flushed, but her text didn''t convey what she was feeling right now.


    Abby: Piss off.


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    After getting beer with my dad and shocking him with how much I can drink without getting drunk, I went to sleep that night in drunkenness and went to school in the morning as usual.


    Wearing sunsses inside the ssroom, I was trying to sleep without the teacher noticing me before the girl sitting next to me started to talk to me. Going braless and only wearing a ck tube top, Jenna leaned towards me instead of the teacher while we''re listening to the English ss lecture.


    "Eddy. Did you know about your dad''s websiteunchingst night? My mom bought a few trips to support your dad''s business after I told her about it." Jenna said, trying to instigate my attention.


    "Hmm.." I replied, still trying to sleep.


    Jacob and Elsa were sitting next to each other behind me and Jenna, but they weren''t looking at one another. Elsa read a text message from Jacob, and she closed her mouth to gasp. She wanted to tell Jenna something, but Jenna was too focused on me.


    "You know, my mom is thinking of getting together with a few of her friends from work on the ship." Jenna started talking as she actually got a response from me.


    "Hmm.." I replied again.


    "You know, my mom is an ex-y- I mean ex-model. She and her friends will probably party hard on the ship...Maybe even... partying nude.." Jenna revealed a bit and she studied my face carefully after she said that.


    She wanted to know whether I was really interested in milfs, so she revealed something about her mother''s private life. My face twitched a bit after I heard that and I unconsciously broke into a smile.


    Jenna pouted and stopped talking about the matter as she thought I was excited at the thoughts of the nude milfs. What I was actually thinking about was, ''Ohh. Dad is going to get some.''


    Jenna''s mother was Alexandria Karlson, an ex-yboy model who had now entered into a career as a minor supporting actress in low-rating tv series and shoddy movies with unnecessary nudity.


    Jenna didn''t lie about the crazy party her mom and friends were going to get into as she had witnessed them a lot before this.


    There was also a time where she had walked into her mom while she was servicing some tv show producers and other actors.


    Her mom did that to make sure she had a part in the movies or series they were producing, and she wasn''t ashamed of what she had done�C therefore Jenna grew up to think that it was normal for a woman to use their body to get what they wanted.


    "If you want, I can get my mom to ask around about a website developer. I''m sure that your dad''s business will grow even further. The website right now is fine, but it''s not fun."


    Elsa tapped into Jenna''s shoulder multiple times, trying to get her attention, but Jenna was still ignoring her.


    "We can shoot a party with the models on the ship. Take a picture of them, and put it on the website. If you want, I can get you into the party...together with me." Jenna offered.


    I finally turned toward her, causing her to be taken aback.


    "Nah. I''m too busy with some work right now. Besides, my dad will kill me if I cockblock him."


    Jenna was confused by my words, and Elsa finally got a word in. Using a whisper, Elsa said, "Jenna. Edward was the one who created the website!"


    Jenna realized that she had said the wrong thing, and she started to stammer, "No. N-No Ed. I didn''t mean the website isn''t fun. I..."


    Before she could spiral any further, I said, "It''s okay. I wasn''t offended. Besides, I was thinking about putting pictures of the customers too.."


    Jenna was relieved and said, "Thank god."


    "Now. Let me sleep. I was uptest night tweaking the website." I said and turned to the teacher again. Behind the sunsses, my eyes were already closed and I wanted to take a short nap when the teacher suddenly said.


    "For your assignment this week, you need to pair up with your desk partner ande out with a 1000 word long book report together."


    "Ah damn." I cursed while Jenna''s eyes glittered in excitement. After the ss was over, Jenna asked her questions in a rapid fire mode.


    "Which book do you want to pick? Do you want toe to my house and do it? Or should we do it at a restaurant? Or should Ie to your house? What do you want me to wear? What hand do you use to write? When should we meet up? How big is your-"


    Before she could go on any further, I shook my head and said, "I can do it alone. I can guarantee we''ll get an A in the assignment."


    Jenna objected hurriedly, "NO! We need to do it together. The teacher told us to! You can''t ignore the teacher''s words."


    I heard Elsa mutter underneath her breath behind Jenna, "You ignore the teacher all the time. Why do you care now?"


    Jenna heard it and turned to shoot a death re at her friend. Elsa giggled awkwardly and walked away to the next ss alone. I saw Jacob wasughing at my misery, so I decided to make him realize his situation.


    "Why don''t... We do it at Jacob''s house? Elsa and him also need to do it together, so we can all get together to do it."


    Jacob finally realized that he needed to be alone with his crush to do the assignment, and he almost fainted on the spot.


    Jenna turned toward Jacob and asked, "Can we go to your house?"


    Jacob couldn''t answer a girl, so I answered him, "Yeah. We can. I''ll see you then. Talk to Jacob to know when we shall get together."


    Jenna nodded, while Jacob couldn''t understand what just happened. Even after the bell had rang and all the students had gone to their ss, Jacob was still standing frozen in the hallway. Suddenly, he got his sanity back and yelled, "EDWARDDD!!!!"


    I heard his scream while I was listening to the math teacher''s lectures. With a smirk on my face, I muttered, "Am I to mean?...Nah, he''s too annoying."


    Then, I closed my eyes and went to sleep for the whole math ss. The balding teacher looked at me and sighed as he saw I was sleeping. 15 minutes before the ss was over, the teacher suddenly made an announcement.


    "Okay ss. This test here is optional. It won''t be counted in your final marks, nor would it affect your records in any way."


    The teachers then walked and handed out the test questions to each of the students in the ss. Jacob shook me to wake me up when the teacher had arrived at my spot.


    Groggily taking the paper from the teacher, I picked up my pencil to answer the question as I didn''t hear about the optional announcement before this.


    As I read through the questions, I muttered, "What the hell are these weird questions?"

 Chapter 31: A teen’s first kiss.

    <h4>Chapter 31: Chapter 31: A teen��s first kiss.</h4>


    (Wow I hit 1 Million. Nice! )


    [Edward''s POV]


    Question number 1-


    1. A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?


    For an ordinary man, they would answer the question with 10 cents. But, the answer was actually 5 cents. If the bat cost 1$ more, then the difference between the total and how much more the bat cost needed to be cut in half as the price of the bat and the ball is the same thing without the difference.


    So the bat would''ve cost 1.05$, and the ball cost 0.05$. I jotted down 0.05$ on the space provided for the answer and moved on to the next question.


    Question number 2; If it takes five machines five minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?


    "Simple enough." I muttered and ced 5 minutes on the answer space. The time wouldn''t be shortened or increased as one machine would still take 5 minutes to finish one widget.


    "Also, what the hell are widgets?"


    Question number 3: In ake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entireke, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of theke?


    Many students scratched their heads as they tried to answer the quiz. I jotted down 47 days as the answer and moved on to the next question.


    "It doubled half the size. So I just need to minus one day cause the wholeke is covered in 48 days. I just need to go backward instead of calcting it from the start." I muttered.


    Managing to finish all of the questions before the bell rang, I yawned as I ced the paper on the teacher''s desk and finally finished school for today. I cycled home as usual and never once did I think the test would mean something more than a simple test for the grade 8 students.


    -3rd Person POV-


    Teachers lounge, Franklin Middle School.


    "Hmm, that''s weird." The balding math teacher muttered as he checked his students'' answers for the test he had given before this.


    "What is?" An African-american, biology teacher with a cultural scarf on her head asked.


    "Edward Newgate scored 167 in his IQ test. That''s impossible...right?" The math teacher asked.


    "Wait. Seriously?" The Bio teacher snatched Edward''s test paper from the math teacher and checked it by herself.


    "I already tripled checked it. That''s why I''m confused." The math teacher said.


    "HENDERSON! You got a little genius in your ss!" The bio teacher shouted at Edward''s homeroom teacher.


    Turning to the sound of the voice, Mrs Henderson asked with a calm tone that couldn''t be broken by any news she heard, "Alex? Or Sanjay?"


    "NO! It''s that Newgate kid! He''s a gosh darn genius! I can''t even solve some of these questions!" The bio teacher was excited and walked hurriedly to Mrs Henderson to show her Edward''s test papers.


    "I see. Good for him." Mrs Henderson replied casually, causing the bio teacher to forget to shout her mouth.


    "Is he really a genius? I know his results are improving, but that can barely support the genius statement." Another teacher said sarcastically.


    "Wasn''t he the one who created his dad''s website? I heard rumors about it, but I didn''t think that it''s true before this." The gossipy English teacher who''s pregnant again for the 5th time said.


    "So. He''s sleeping in my ss ''cause he thinks the lessons are too easy? As if." The math teacher snided before he realized something. "Wait. He didn''t join any clubs right?"


    "No. He''s still not joining anything even after I talked to him," Mrs Henderson said, her stoic face finally showing a trace of sadness causing all the other teachers to be baffled.


    "That ungrateful little- Just wait, I''m going to make him register with the math club whether he likes it or not!" The white-knight, balding math teacher finally stood up from his desk to try andfort the prettiest teacher in the whole school.


    "No. I will make him join the academic decathlon. It''s nex month, and we need another student as one of the participants had transferred schoolst week. If his IQ is really 167, it will be easy for him to take the transfer students ce." The principal suddenly walked in and joined the conversation.


    The other teachers that were going to chime in were silenced by the principal''s presence. Not because they were afraid of the principal, but the man''s charisma had taken over the entire room the moment he walked in.


    The old, african american principal with a head full of white hair said, "Anyway, get ready for the retest to make sure that he really is a genius. He needs to join Alex and Sanjay in their training as fast as possible to represent the school."


    The other teacher nodded at the principal''s words and they went to do their own thing. The math teacher and Mrs Henderson would be responsible for the retest to make sure that Edward''s test result was urate.


    They also needed to convince him to enter the decathlon �C which was the main concern of the teachers as Edward never showed any signs of willingness to participate in a group activity before this.


    "Maybe...I can get Alex to talk to him...?" Mrs Henderson muttered.


    [Edward''s POV]


    As I returned home, Iid down on the living room sofa and started to text Abby.


    -Text''s-


    Edward: Are youing today?


    Abby: What if I''m not???


    Edward: Then I''m going to be sad. Even the Tiramisu I''d made especially for my girlfriend will go to waste.??


    Abby: Do you think I''m a small animal that could be tempted by some food offering???


    Edward: Yeah. An adorable baby Panda. It suits your color scheme of ck and white too.??


    I knew that Abby would be furious after I texted her that, but she didn''t respond as I expected her to. It was as if she had talked to someone else before replying to my message.


    Abby: This baby panda is busy today, so I''m noting. You should suffer while I''m not there. Also, send the tiramisu to my house. I''ll eat it when I get home.?????


    Edward: Where are you going? ??


    Abby: Just somece with Haley.


    Shocked, I suddenly sat up from myying down position and texted Abby back with a bright smile on my face.


    "Really? Is she your best friend now? Good for you! I''m happy for you!" ??


    Abby: ????


    [Abby''s POV]


    "So, what did he say?" Haley asked gleefully after we''re meeting at the DMV together. She was only there to get her driving permit while I was here to take a picture for my newly-issued license.


    "Nothing. He''s being idiotic again." I replied with a panicked look, quickly hiding Edward''sst text from Haley even though I showed her everything else. While I was typing with Ed before, she was beside me, giving me guidance for how to make Edward crazy about me.


    Haley guessed something from my reactions, "He''s talking shit about me isn''t he? How dare he!"


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Yeah. When Abby asked me to teach her about it, I had a choice but to reject her. But then I remember what Edward said about liking people based on character, not their reputation. So...I tried talking with Abby...and it turns out...She''s...kinda awesome?" Haley said while sitting crossed legged at her sofa.


    While crossing her arms, Haley smiled a bit and added, "I understand why Edward is dating her now. She''s feisty, hot, smart, but unlike Alex, Abby doesn''t put people down when you''re talking to her."


    Albeit dissatisfied, Haley continued, "So yeah. I''m teaching her how to make Edward''s crazy. Also...Abby is only going to be here till the summer. So whatever rtionship they have, it will be over by the time she goes back to New York."


    [Haley''smentary ends]


    "No. He didn''t." I hurriedly defended Edward.


    If Haley snatched the phone and tried to read the message about her being my first female friend, I would have no choice but to hit her head so hard in hope that she would get an amnesia, and repeat the action if she woke up with her memories intact.


    Suddenly feeling a chill in the air, Haley didn''t continue to pursue the matter and we split up as we needed to stand on different lines. The DMV moved slowly as usual, and we finally met again when the sky was almost dark.


    "Tara''sing to pick me up and we''re going to go to the mall after this? Wannae? We can give you a makeover." Haley offered after we''d finished each of our things.


    She failed her driver''s test so she couldn''t get her license permit. She needed to wait until the summer to take it again.


    "Why do I need a makeover?" I asked in confusion.


    With the same confusion as me, Haley asked, "Why don''t you want a makeover? Are you going Goth your entire life?"


    "If I can. Then...Yes." I replied honestly. I could see Haley was holding herself back from trying to say something, so I asked, "What?"


    "Nothing. If you look bad in it, I will try to convince you to change your style. But Goth stuff suits you." Haley said.


    A bit taken aback by the suddenpliment, I said with a t tone, "Oh. Thanks. Edward said the same thing before. He also calls me a big tiddy goth gf, but I didn''t know what that meant exactly."


    "Your boobs?" Haley asked while leering pervertedly at my low-cut tank top.


    "I got a feeling that it wasn''t specific to that." I answered while ncing at her chest that wasn''t inferior to my own.


    "Sooooo....You''reing or not?" Haley asked again.


    "Hmm...I will..." I replied as I was following Haley''s advice to leave Edward wanting for me. Little did I know that my little outing was thest thing on Edward''s mind at this moment.


    [Edward''s POV]


    I received a call from Jacob toe to his house after Abby ignored my texts. While confused, I took my bike and cycled 15 minutes away from my house to get to where Jacob was living.


    Jacob lived in a cream coloured, Foursquare type house with a few potted nts on his front porch. I knocked on the door after putting my bike in the driveway.


    "Who is it?" A high-pitched, sweet voice of his mother asked from inside the house.


    "I''m Edward. Jacob called me." I responded. Then, I heard a rapid sound of footsteps descending from the upper floor and the sound gets louder as it gets to the door.


    Jacob opened the door abruptly and pulled me into the house.


    "What''s going on?" I asked.


    "They are here!" Jacob replied with a shaky voice.


    "Who?" I asked in confusion. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice calling for me from the house''s kitchen.


    "Hello Ed~" Jenna ran and hugged me from behind, leaving Elsa also talking to Mrs Green. Dumbfounded by the suddenness of the situation, I turned to ask Jacob for the exnation, but he was already frozen from being in the presence of the girls.


    Letting out a long sigh, I turned to Jenna and asked, "Why are you here now?"


    While ying with her hair, Jenna replied, "Well...We''re going to do the homework together. So I thought, " why not now" ? I texted Elsa to ask her toe with me, and brought her here."


    "I don''t even have any of my books with me. Nor did I bring a pen." Elsained as she joined the conversation.


    "How do you have Jacob''s address?" I asked again. Jenna avoided my eyes and replied, "We''re...friends from elementary school. I know everyone''s home."


    Jacob''s mother walked toward us while wiping her hand with a napkin. Wearing an apron over her modest, christian outfit of the month pink dress, the 1.6 m tall Mrs Green said, "I was surprised when Jacob''s friend suddenly showed up. You can go to Jacob''s room to study together. Jenna already told me about your homework assignment and how you need privacy to do it."


    It never even urred to the christian mother that getting a bunch of hormonal teenagers inside one closed room would be a bad idea as she believed that Jacob was such a good, good boy!


    When I saw the short mom, all I could think about was the big train going through a small tunnel and cracking it, meme�C as I knew Jacob''s dad was almost 2 meters tall and an ex-football yer.


    "We can do it at the dining table or the living room too Mrs Green." I said.


    "Nonsense. I need to cook in the kitchen, and Jacob''s brother is watching the tv in the living room.." Mrs Green said sweetly. Jacob''s 8 years old brother was watching cartoons at this time, and he was too focused on the tv that he didn''t move a bit.


    As I turned to his brother''s direction, I finally saw that it wasn''t that his brother was unmoving because he was watching the tv, but because of the girl''s presence that he''d frozen on his spot. Jacob''s brother was even worse than his brother when it came to girls.


    "Go upstairs and I will bring you some snacks in a minute." Mrs Green said decisively.


    Helpless about the matter, I could only follow the group from behind before we finally got into Jacob''s room. His room was filled with football yers posters, rare-dried nt collections, and also a cute teddy bear on his bed.


    Jacob widened his eyes as he saw the teddy bear and he threw the bear quickly through the open window. With a begging eyes, he turned to look at me.


    "Well. There was nothing on the bed when we got in." I muttered. Finally getting the privacy she wanted, Jenna sat on the edge of Jacobs bed and said, "Why don''t Edward and I use the bed to do our assignment, while you two used the desk?"


    "Nah. I think we can all do this together." I said.


    "Elsa, will you be fine working with Jacob?" I turned to Elsa and asked. She understood what I was talking about, so she replied, "I think...we can write what we want to say to one another using a piece of paper."


    "I see. Maybe I will teach Jacob some signnguage after this." I said.


    "Elsa will find a way. Let''s do our work. I brought the book." Jenna said while clinging on my arm, pushing her body towards me repeatedly.


    To trick Jacob''s mom, Jenna did dress a bit modestly. Wearing a white sweater and a mini skirt, but she was wearing a knee high boot so it only revealed a bit of her thigh that passed Mrs Green judging eyes.


    "Is it a bit hot in here?" Jenna suddenly said and then she took off her sweater, revealing the white, paper thin tube top she was wearing. Of course, she added the fatality towards Jacob by going braless and pulled the top of her clothes in an attempt to cool herself down from the heat.


    "If you want to lie, do it better. It''s 68 degrees (20 degrees celsius) here." I said. "Let''s do the assignment in an hour. I have a lot of things to do today."


    As the room was cold, Jenna''s nipple started to protrude through the clothes, almost giving Jacob a nosebleed. Elsa stares daggers at him and said, "Oh. So you like big boobs? I thought you only had eyes for me?"


    Dumbstruck by the statement, Jacob quickly texted Elsa to calm her down.


    Jacob: I can''t help it. Please don''t be mad at me.


    "Hmph!" Elsa snorted in anger and started flipping through the pages angrily. Jacob tried to text, write, and even gestured to Elsa to try and calm her down, but nothing was working.


    While Jacob was trying his best to get closer to Elsa, I was trying hard to keep Jenna away from me. She removed her boots because in her words, she didn''t want to get Jacob''s bed dirty from the shoes.


    "Ed,e on,y down next to me." Jenna said, trying to get me to get up on the bed while I was sitting on the floor next to the bed, trying to do the work as fast as I could.


    "How about your tutoring Jenna? Did you give up on that?" I asked without looking at her direction.


    Pouting her cheek, Jenna slid closer to me and whispered to my ear.


    "I want to...by the tutors thate to my house...had all been ''eaten'' by my mom. No one survived, men...or women. So how do I study?"


    I knew she was trying to arouse a reaction from me, so I ignored her dirty talk and said, "Copy this paragraph for me."


    Jenna was a bit irked at my response and she turned toward Jacob and Elsa''s direction. Even without saying anything, Jenna saw Jacob was trying his hardest to get Elsa''s attention, and jealousy bubbled up inside her as she wanted me to do the same thing for her.


    "Elsa, tell Jacob about your first kiss." Jenna suddenly said. Elsa turned to her and said, "What are you, Crazy?"


    "You know. Elsa never had her first kiss before this. She said she was waiting for...someone...special." Jenna said, trying to instigate her friend even more.


    "So Jacob. Do you want to kiss me? Or her?" Jenna suddenly asked, causing the atmosphere in the room to turn weird. I noticed that Elsa got a bit hurt by her friend''s words, so I decided to step in.


    "You''re waiting for someone special Elsa? That''s great cause we have something inmon."


    "W-What?" Elsa was a bit taken aback by my statement, but then she replied with some embarrassment, "You know...You only get your first kiss once..."


    "Nah. When you get with a new guy and kiss him, it will be your first kiss too." Jenna said. "Jacob. The offer still stands."


    "Stop trying to cause some trouble and do your work." I said a bit sternly toward Jenna.


    "Why should I? I truuuuuly want to kiss Jacob. I think he''s hot." Jenna said mischievously and slid through the bed to walk toward Jacob.


    "Sure. Kiss him then." I said. Jenna was stunned and she turned back to me, "What?"


    "I said. Kiss him. Jacob, good for you. You''re finally going to get your first kiss. Do you want me to give you and Jenna some privacy?"


    "Ed- Are you crazy?" Elsa widened her eyes in shock.


    "What? Jenna wants to do it, so just let her do it."


    "Well. I''m not doing it now!" Jenna said and crawled back to the bed. I heard her mutter in a tiny voice, "Can''t you be a little bit jealous?"


    But honestly, I couldn''t care less if she wanted to go to town on Jacob right then and there. All I want right now was to finish the work here and return home to continue building the Pritchet''s closet system and website so that I could get the money.


    Jenna didn''t even mind trying to use her friend to get a boy jealous. She didn''t even care if she had hurt Elsa deeply as her friend had told her before that Jacob might be the special someone she might have shared her first kiss with, but Jenna didn''t even care about it and tried to take Jacob''s first kiss on her own.


    I saw some tears in Elsa''s eyes, and I wondered why Elsa put up with her friend''s bratty antics. Jacob was also useless in the matter, so I walked up to the couple while Jenna was copying what I told her to copy.


    I pulled Jacob away from Elsa and said, "Jacob. You''re a little bitch if you can''t evenfort Elsa when she''s hurt like this. I may have a solution for your problem, do you want to hear it?"


    Jacob nodded furiously after I told him that. "Okay. Go to the fridge, and grab a can of your dad''s beer."


    Jacob shook his head furiously in objection, so I said again, "Do you want to say something to Elsa using your own voice or not? Don''t you want to show her that you really like her?"


    Jacob hesitated for a while before he ran toward the door and to the kitchen to grab the beer. In less than two minutes, Jacob returned with a can of beer.


    I opened the beer and took a sip. "Nice. It''s all frosty. Now, you try."


    He shook his head again, so I said, "This is a gamble. Maybe you can speak to her after this, maybe you don''t. If you really like her, you will take the chance."


    It was a tiny room, so Elsa and Jenna heard everything that I had said. Jenna looked at the whole situation with extreme interest, while Elsa kept pretending she didn''t hear anything even when her heart had responded by palpitating quickly in anticipation.


    Jacob looked at Elsa''s direction with a determined look on his face. Then, he snatched the beer from my hand and started taking big gulps of the drink.


    "Nothing is happening Edward." Jacob said after the alcohol started to kick in. it was his first drink after all, and he didn''t have any resistance to it.


    "Even though I want to tell Elsa how pretty she looks today, I don''t think I can ever do it. What is wrong with me Edward? Why am I like this?" Jacob asked and took another gulp. He staggered next to Elsa and said, "I really like you. You''re the most beautiful girl that I ever met in my life."


    Elsa was bbergasted by Jacob''s casanova wordings, but she was more excited that Jacob was finally talking to her. While sitting on the desk studying together, Elsa finally turned to look at Jacob''s direction for the first time today.


    "Du-de. You''re talking now." Elsa said.


    "No. I can''t talk to you. You make my mind go numb...and my heart was filled with butterflies the moment Iid my eyes on you for the first time. I thought the feeling will go away when I see you next, but it''s wouldn''t go away causeeee...you''re pretty every single dauhh.."


    Jacob started to slur his words so I knew that the boy had gotten a bit drunk. He suddenly traced Elsa''s lip with his finger. "I''m sad...I can never kiss this lip in my life."


    "Elsa. What are you doing? Kiss HIM!" Jenna said in excitement. Even though Elsa wanted to do it, she had never kissed anyone before and was feeling a bit afraid inside. Then, her eyes turned to the liquid courage that Jacob used to finally be able to talk to her.


    She snatched the half-empty can of beer from Jacobs hand and downed a few big gulps of the beer. Finally, she got the courage that she wanted.


    "Kiss me." Elsa said decisively.


    "What?" Jacob couldn''t understand what was going on, so Elsa said again, "This is a dream. You can kiss me here."


    "I can kiss you here?" Jacob smiled brightly and inches his face closer toward Elsa before giving her a peck on the cheek. He giggled like a kid after he said that, and he mmed his head on the desk study, finally out for the count.


    "Ah. Lightweight." I said and I took the can of beer from the desk before I finished it all. Jenna saw that I had been drinking and she walked right up to me.


    "Ed...this is a dream too.. Won''t you kiss me?"


    "Piss off." I said and threw the beer can out of the window. Itnded next to the teddy bear that Jacob had thrown, so if anyone saw the teddy bear they would only think that it was an alcoholic teddy bear living like a hobo in the house''swn.


    "Wait. Why do I suddenly feel ominous?" I muttered. Then, I heard footsteps approaching the room, and I finally remembered that Jacob''s mom wanted to bring some snacks for us.


    "Oh shit!" I cursed and walked to Jacob. I pped his face urgently and called out, "Dude. Wake up. DUDE!"


    It''s toote now. His mom had already entered the room.


    "Hi. Are you all doing okay?"


    "We''re fine Mrs Green." I answered.


    "Hmm? Is Jacob sleeping?" Mrs Green walked toward the desk study. Elsa retreated from there, leaving me alone with Jacob.


    "Jacob. Hun. Why are you sleeping while all of your friends are working?" Mrs Green said and shook Jacob''s body gently to wake him up.


    "Oh Elsa. I want to kiss you...on the lips.." Jacob muttered with his eyes still closing.


    "W-W-W-What?" Mrs Green stammered in shock. "Jacob! Get up NOW!" His mother shouted to wake him up as she thought that her son was having some inappropriate dream.


    Jacob finally straightened his back and he turned toward his mother. He lunged toward his mother and said excitedly, "Elsa!"


    "Oh shit!" I tried to push Mrs Green away, but it was toote. Jacob grabbed his mother''s face forcefully, and gave her a deep kiss on the lips. The room became dead silent afterward.


    "I''m...going to go now." Jenna said, already dressed modestly again and she pulled Elsa to run away together.


    "I''m...going to go too." I muttered and I followed the girls from behind while silently giving a prayer to the fallenrade. When I heard some puking sounds on the floor, I was already out of the front door.


    200 meters away from the house, I finally realized, "Ah shit, I forgot the assignment."

 Chapter 32: Abby’s basic instinct seduction.

    <h4>Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Abby��s basic instinct seduction.?</h4>


    (A/n: See you guys next week Monday.)


    Friday came quickly, and Jacob hasn''t been to school since the ident before. When I called him, his father said that his mom had sent him to a church for an exorcism and Jacob needed some time to rest to get better.


    Fortunately, they didn''t seem to think about sending Jacob further away and he would get back to school next week.


    When I returned home, I received a call from Manny the minute I walked through the front door.


    "Hello?" I answered the telephone in confusion.


    "Hello! Edward! Do you want toe to Jay''s house today? Mom is making some empanada." Manny asked from the other line.


    "I actually need to do some work Manny, so I can''t. I need to finish up the lyrics and melody for the songs I''m going to record tomorrow." I replied casually.


    "Oh." Manny replied, a bit taken aback by my rejection.


    "Is there something else you want to talk to me about?" I asked with some concerns.


    I knew that Manny''s rtionship with Jay was a bit strained in the early episodes, but seeing it with my own eyes and the tv was two totally separate things.


    At least on TV a true issue was covered with someedic relief so that people wouldn''t get too ufortable watching it.


    "No. My dad...ising to take me to Disnend this saturday. Have you gone to Disnend before?" Manny asked, deflecting my question.


    "You know what. I actually haven''t. When you get back, make sure to tell me all about it so that I can experience it too."


    Manny said excitedly, "Okay Sure! Also, mom said if you want some empanadas, she can send it to your house."


    "Yes please. I''ll leave the front door unlocked. If I didn''t respond when you''re here, I must be in the zone and I can''t hear you so just walk in without any concerns about it."


    "Okay. I got it."


    After talking with Manny for a while, I finally started on the songs. Even when I got the experience of performing live in front of a massive crowd, recording my own album still gave me the jitters.


    Putting my guitar up, I started to pick the guitar strings while humming the melody of the song I wanted to record tomorrow.


    Sitting on the living room sofa with a pencil in my hand as I figured out the notes and wrote it on a piece of paper, I wore headphones to shut off all the other noises for me to focus.


    I sang the first verse of the song when I finished writing the melody on a piece of paper.


    "First things first, I''ma say all the words inside my head. I''m fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh-ooh...The way that things have been, oh-ooh...Second thing second, Don''t you tell me what you think that I could be...I''m the one at the sail, I''m the master of my sea, oh-ooh...The master of my sea, oh-ooh-"


    "Hey! Why is your front door unlocked?!" Abby suddenly appeared out of nowhere, scaring the baby cheesus out of me.


    "Holy shit!" I took off my headphones as I stood up, my face froze as I looked at her.


    "What?! You''re scared of your girlfriend?" Abby asked teasingly. The goth girl went easy with her makeup today. She didn''t even wear her ck lipstick and only wore a shiny lip gloss instead. Her hair was tied with a twin-tail style using cute, panda scrunchies.


    But the one thing that shocked me the most was her low cut,one piece, in ck dress.


    "What?" Abby asked in confusion after she saw me checking her out from top to bottom.


    "Nothing. You just...look really hot today." Iplimented her. Abby yed with her hair and avoided my gaze while blushing hard.


    ''So. Step one isplete.'' She thought to herself. After learning a few things from Haley, Abby decided to test it out on me even though she wasn''t ready yet as per Haley''s standard.


    "So if you don''te here with your ck lipstick... you have learned from thest mistake and won''t let anyone know about our makeout session today?" I teased.


    Abby paused, stared at my lips with a seductive gaze, and said, "What if I am?"


    Gulping my saliva, I move closer toward Abby while still keeping eye contact. "Although I need to work, but I had no choice but to sacrifice a bit-"


    Abby suddenly turned and sat down at the sofa. Crossing her legs seductively, she crossed her arms and said, "No. I don''t want to be the girl who can''t understand his boyfriend''s needs. You should continue. I will just watch you."


    ''Step two,plete.'' Abby thought as she saw my disappointed eyes. Always leave him wanting for more, that was what Haley told her.


    "Too bad." I muttered and sat next to Abby. She smirked mischievously as she stared at me. Picking up my guitar again, I continued what I was doing before.


    "By the way, you''reing to my concert right?" I asked.


    Abby''s face turned into confusion. "What concert?"


    "Next week, Sunday. I''ll have a concert in Santa Barbara. I''ll be the opening act for the music festival there." I said casually. Abby widened her eyes in shock and said hurriedly, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"


    Now, it was my turn to smirk mischievously. "Nope. I got VVIP tickets, so will youe?"


    "Who else have you invited?" Abby asked as she grabbed onto my arm.


    Turning toward her, I said lovingly, "You''re the first. You''re always the first."


    She didn''t expect the sudden attack, and she tried to hide her blushing face by turning away from me. ''Damn it. He''s too smooth.'' She thought.


    "Stop hiding your face when you blush. You''re too cute to do that." I said and pulled her face towards me again gently.


    ''Double attack! Damn it! Now the score is back to zero!'' Abby thought as her heart palpitates quickly when I flirted with her.


    "A-Anyway. What is the song you''re singing just now? Is it a new song?" Abby quickly changed the subject as the atmosphere was heating up.


    "Yeah. It is called, Just the way you are. Want to hear it?"


    "y it." Abby said, finally breathed in relief as her heart calmed down a little bit.


    "I am a bit embarrassed to y this in front of the girl I am writing it for." I said shyly while scratching my cheek.


    "Wait? For me?" Abby asked in both disbelief and excitement.


    ying the tune of the song, Just the Way You Are, I started to serenade Abby.


    Edward: ??Oh, her eyes, her eyes, Make the stars look like they''re not shinin''


    Her hair, her hair,Falls perfectly without her tryin''


    She''s so beautiful and I tell her everyday...??


    Fully blushing, Abby cupped her mouth and nose while she listened intently to the song.


    ?? Yeah, I know, I know, When Ipliment her, she won''t believe me.??


    And it''s so, it''s so... sad to think that she don''t see what I see..


    But every time she asks me, "Do I look okay?"


    I say...???


    "Okay stop. I can''t take it anymore." Abby said, fully embarrassed that I had used our experience together as a song lyric. However, there was no chance I would stop singing before I got to the chorus.


    Ed: ??When I see your face...There''s not a thing that I would change. ''Cause girl you''re amazing, Just the way you areeee....


    ??And when you smile


    The whole world stops and stares for a while


    ''Cause girl, you''re amazing??


    As she didn''t tell me to continue this time, I continued.


    Just the way you are...??


    Yeah,.. Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she''d let me ??


    "Perv." Abby muttered whileughing. Catching her eyes again, I continued.


    ??Herugh, herugh


    She hates it, but I think it''s so sexy..??


    She cupped her mouth to silence herugh and hit me in the arm. Our faces were leaning toward each other, and the melody slowed.


    ??She''s so beautiful and I tell her everyday??


    ??Oh, you know, you know


    You know I''d never ask you to change


    ??If perfect''s what you''re searchin'' for, then just stay the same-"


    As I was stopping the song to kiss Abby, suddenly the nice atmosphere that was going to earn me another kiss was broken again.


    "AYY, that''s wonderful!" Gloria suddenly popped out and squealed in excitement. Abby lunged toward the end of the sofa to get out of Gloria''s line of sight.


    "Well...We didn''t mean to interrupt." Manny said quickly. "You might want to at least close the door if you''re not going to lock it. I swear I saw a roon trying to get inside before."


    "Wait what?!" I stood up urgently. "Also, when did you guyse in?"


    "Did you mean what verse of the song?" Manny asked.


    "Why is she still trying to hide? I was here before the song even began." Gloria said and pointed towards Abby who''s still lying down in embarrassment on the sofa.


    "Yeah. We''re here from the start. Here are the empanadas. You can BOTH enjoy it." Manny said teasingly. Both Manny and Gloriaugh, making Abby feel more miserable. "Kill me now..." Abby said while hiding her face behind her hands.


    Manny and Gloria didn''t stay too long afterward and they returned home quickly to give us more ''privacy''. This time, I made sure to lock the door and ensure that no one else would distract us.


    "Did they leave?" Abby asked.


    "Yeah. They''d left." I replied and sat in the middle seat of the sofa while Abby was still lying down.


    "Who are they?" Abby asked after calming down a bit.


    "Hard to exin. Gloria...is Haley''s step grandmother." I said after thinking about their family''s rtionship.


    "Oh. She''s very beautiful." Abby said.


    "Don''t feel threatened. You''re still the most beautiful girl in my eyes." I teased. Abby got mad and grabbed me from behind. While clinging on my back, she bit my neck and said, "I''m not threatened."


    "Sure-sure." I said and pushed her down on the sofa while leaning close to her face. Before she could do anything, I cupped her lips with mine and said, "Now that there are no more distractions, why don''t we finish what we started before?"


    By this time, Abby had already forgotten Haley''s teaching. How could she still y hard to get when I had created a song, just to tell her that she was the most beautiful girl in the world.


    "Shut up and kiss me." Abby said and pulled the back of my head. We kissed passionately for a while on the sofa before I moved toward her neck.


    While moaning, Abby said, "This seems to be heading in a bad direction..."


    "We don''t have to do anything that you''re notfortable with." I said.


    "No. I said bad...not wrong." Abby smirked and ran her hands under my shirt, getting a feel of my body. She continued sucking on my neck that I was sure that I would be getting a hickey afterward.


    ...


    After we had fun �C doing things that a ''couple will do'' without going ''all the way'' in the living room and inside my room, Abby was fixing her mascara while I got dressed.


    "This dress is ruined." Abby said sadly while looking at her crumpled ck dress.


    "I''ll make a special dress just for you after this." I said to Abby and kissed her cheek. She brightened up and walked around my room to look at the designs I had on the walls.


    "This. An air fryer? They created it in Germany, but it is useless." Abby asked after she recognized the designs.


    "Yeah. I''m trying to upgrade the rapid hot air technology."


    "Sounds fun." Abby said with glistening eyes. Then, she realized that it would take a long time to do it, and lowered her head slightly.


    Raising her chin upwards, I said, "Don''t worry. If you want to create it with me, I don''t mind even doing it across the country."


    "Nah. Why would I make it? This is yours. You should do it." Abby said and pushed the papers into my hand.


    Smiling wryly, I said, "Okay. If you don''t want to participate, that''s fine. But as My Girlfriend, you can be there when I fiddle with the tech, and you''re entitled to give me your opinion even when I didn''t ask for it. Do you understand? Girlfriend?"


    She smiled brightly again and hugged me over the neck. "Of course. I''m your girlfriend after all."


    Laughing a bit, I said, "Okay. Now, you need to fix your makeup. Otherwise your mom will definitely know what you did over here."


    Even though I was enjoying my time with Abby, that feeling when I realized she wouldn''t stay in LA afterward was like a small thorn in an otherwise beautiful rtionship. The thorn wouldn''t interfere much in your life, but it would hurt if the topic was touched.


    "Want to eat dinner here?" I asked.


    "No. I should be getting back now. Also, did you talk to your dad about borrowing the car?" Abby asked.


    "Yeah. He will hitch a ride with his crew member who lived nearby. We should start driving to the desert at 10 am as the crew will be there at 12."


    "Okay. By the way, Haley ising with us tomorrow." Abby said unexpectedly.


    "...Why?" I asked in confusion.


    "You know. Girlfriend privilege." Abby teased. I chuckled a bit and said, "Do whatever you want."


    After Abby had returned to her house, I used my post-nut rity to finish my work that was postponed and finished writing a few more songs for me to record for an album tomorrow.


    "I do need to finalize the royalty agreement with Pepper tomorrow before starting to record." I made a silent note inside my mind before I went to sleep.


    The next morning started early. For the recording session today, I had worn an outfit that I had created myself.


    A slim-fit nylon, bomber jacket on top of a ck shirt tucked in inside a long, ck pant with adidas style, 3 colored lines on the pant �C ck, white, and beige.


    I paired it with a 3 coloured belt that followed the same color scheme as the belt, and on top of my jacket, on the left chest, a huge E.N logo made of the same color scheme was sewn on. With my hair slicked back, I put on my white shoes and walked out of the house.


    Abby was waiting for me outside wearing a shoulderless, puff sleeve, ck and white dress with a matching beret on her head. Haley was staring at Abby in dissatisfaction as I walked out, I didn''t know why.


    "Hi. Thank you for the dress. It''s really beautiful." Abby said after she jogged lightly and embraced me in front of Haley.


    "Hmm. It looks really great on you." I muttered as I admired her beauty. Abby gave me a little twirl as she was too excited to get a present from me early this morning. She hugged me again and whispered to my ears, "Thank you. You can expect something from me today. I will give you permission to do that."


    I whispered back, "After watching me sing today, just make sure to keep it in your pants and don''t pounce on me in the studio."


    She hit my chest lightly and giggled. "Okay. I''ll try my best."


    "You guys are going to ignore me all day?" Haley suddenly chimed in. She wore an oversized white blouse and had the same aesthetic as us as she matched the blouse with a tight, ck mini skirt and ck leggings.


    "Your outfits look good too, Haley." I said to the lonely woman. As we rode on my dad''s prius, I struck a conversation with Haley. She was adamant to sit in front while I sat at the back seat and Abby was the one driving.


    "Dn contacted you after you guys broke up?" I asked. Haley shook her head in disgust and said, "He tried to. But, Madelyn told me he got cmydia from partying on a boat with some old woman."


    "Wait. He slept with the cougars?" I asked in astonishment. "I warned him about that before."


    Haley said angrily, "You know about that?!"


    "Yeah. He was working on my dad''s ship. I give him a part time job because his car is broken. He''s been working there for a few days now."


    "Urgh. You should drown him in the sea!" Haley said. I shook my head now as I knew that there was no chance that Dn would manage to steal back Haley''s heart in the near future as she was too disgusted with him.


    "I wonder if they lured him with food." I muttered as I thought about how the thing happened.


    "Stop talking about him or I''ll...tell my mom about it." Haley threatened while ncing at me and Abby, seemingly already knowing what had happened between us yesterday.


    I didn''t know why, the flimsy threat shook my soul. "Okay, I won''t talk to him. Let''s talk about something else."


    An hour ride felt short as I kept conversing with the two girls. Abby then said, "Shouldn''t you rest your voice? You need to sing after this."


    Haley''s face turned ashen and she admonished me quickly, "Why the hell did you talk so much!?"


    "It''s okay. I needed to warm up my voice box. Talking casually is fine. Screaming loudly would hurt it."


    "Oh. Okay then." Abby said.


    "By the way, did you guys have sexst night?" Haley suddenly asked. Abby was taken aback and swerved the car, almost causing us to have an ident.


    With a stunned and horrified expression, Abby said, "NO! WE DIDN''T!"


    Haley nodded and then asked again after Abby had calmed down, "Did you do something else, but not sex?"


    "Haley. Stop trying to kill us. What''s with the question anyway?" I asked quickly and held Abby''s shoulder to calm her down.


    "You know, when a couple friends of mine had done it, they couldn''t resist putting their hands on each other the next day...like you guys did this morning."


    Although Haley''s instinct was terrifying, I shook my head and said, "That''s just how we are. Don''t be jealous when you don''t have a boyfriend of your own."


    "I''m not jealous!" Haley said with a weird high pitched voice.


    [Haley''smentary]


    Staring at the screen while trying to hide what she truly felt, Haley said, "I''m jealous."


    [Commentary end]

 Chapter 33: Album Recording.

    <h4>Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Album Recording.</h4>


    [3rd Person POV]


    Whitebeard crew office. 9 am.


    As Ted hade to work today, he sighed at the packed schedule he had for the ship.


    ''I want to go and see Edward''s recording session..'' Ted sighed in his heart.


    "Hello, are you the ship''s captain?" Suddenly, a tall, african/Samoan-American man with buff muscr stature walked up to Ted.


    "Wait. Are you the little Johnson?" Ted asked curiously while looking at the bald man. "Yes I am." Johnson smiled and both men shook their hands forcefully with one another.


    He could see some tattoos on the man''s left chest, and even though the man was smiling kindly, Ted couldn''t help but to be a little bit intimidated by the man �C not because of his muscle, but Ted''s training in the Navy had warned him that the man in front of him was one of simr training as him.


    "Military?" Johnson asked.


    "Navy."


    "Oh, where did you serve?"


    "On the East coast. You know, when my son looked at your picture, he spat his drink and lost hisposure for the first time ever." Ted suddenly said as his instinct was telling him the man could be trusted.


    "Oh. Really? How old is he?" Johnson asked. Suddenly, a blonde woman who came to the pier with her husband and her 10 year olds sons interjected into the conversation.


    "He''s 14." ire said from afar.


    "Oh hey ire." Ted turned to the sound of the voice, finally releasing his handshake with Johnson. "Why are you here?"


    "I came here to look around." ire said.


    "And also check up on the potential captain." Phil muttered underneath his breath. ire turned to him and asked while still maintaining the facade of a coincidental encounter to Ted. "You want to stay in the car?"


    "No Ma''am." Phil replied seriously.


    Luke turned to Johnson and said, "Edward''s the Grand Captain by the way."


    "Edward?" Johnson was confused by the sudden intrusion. He thought that the boy had mistaken something, but then ire, Phil, and Ted nodded at the same time.


    "Ted''s son." ire exined to Johnson, causing him to finally nod in understanding.


    "That''s true. Also, he brokeposure. Why?" Phil asked curiously. It was rare to see Edward being panicked or losing hisposure, so the Dunphy''s were intrigued by the conversation.


    "This might sound racist, but he yelled, "ck Adam?" by the time he saw your resume." Ted exined. While ire was feeling iffy, Luke suddenly turned to Johnson and studied him while looking at him up and down. "Yeah. He''s ck Adam." Luke suddenly said.


    "Luke!" ire called out in a horrified tone, wondering if racism could be infected on others.


    "You mean, theic book hero?" Phil asked Luke, causing ire to realize that she had been overreacting.


    "Ah. He''d called me that? That is really nice of him." Johnson said, ttered as he waspared to a superhero by a boy.


    A bit unsatisfied by his son calling others a hero, Ted asked, "So Johnson-"


    "Please. Sir. Just call me Dwayne." Dwayne Johnson said. (A/N: Kevin Hart is Phil''s neighbor in this universe, so I guess The Rock could be an ordinary ship captain right?)


    "So Dwayne, tell me more about yourself. Are you familiar with the sea routes around here?"


    "Yes sir. I am familiar with all of this."


    "When can you start?" Ted asked.


    "To be honest with you, I can start today." Dwayne replied confidently. Ted paused for a moment as he started to think.


    "Well. You really know about the sea routes around here?" Ted asked again for confirmation.


    Dwayne chuckled as he understood Ted''s suspicion �C or what he thought was suspicion. "I got a Navy Distinguished Achievement Medal for my 5th year of working sir. I would not lie."


    "But you got dishonorably discharged." Ted said. Dwayne opened his mouth, but he couldn''t refute it.


    Ted suddenly called the woman beside him while Dwayne was looking dejected, "Hey ire. Do we still have the spare captain''s uniform in storage?"


    Although taken aback, ire replied, "Yeah. We do."


    "I see. Johns- I mean Dwayne. The clothes will be a bit tight, but can you start today?" Ted asked, shocking ire and Dwayne both while Phil and Luke just smiled in support.


    "Ted. I mean... Captain. He didn''t have the training...nor did he know the crew yet!" ire said hurriedly.


    "He will get to know them when he works with them. It''ll be fine." Ted said.


    Dwayne was shocked as even though his resume was filled with flying colors, the dishonorably dischargedbel had cost him to fail more than 100 interviews before this �C if he had managed to convince them to give him an interview in the first ce.


    "S-Sir. Are you serious?" Dwayne asked in disbelief.


    "Yes Captain, are you serious?!" ire asked anxiously. Phil brought Luke away from his wife and they stood overlooking the ocean together. "The sea is nice, right Luke?" Phil asked.


    "Yes dad. I wonder if a seagull ever gets tired of flying in the sea. You know, when there is nond nearby." Luke asked. Then, Phil and Luke started a conversation together that included submarines, sea monsters, mermaids, and even pirate treasures.


    "Yes. I am serious. After all, the ''Grand'' captain was the one who asked him toe here. Ed also wants me to hear your story first before deciding, but I know that you''re not the type to get dishonorably discharged, so I''ll put my trust in you."


    "How could you POSSIBLY KNOW...I mean...How could you possibly know that sir- I mean Captain?" ire tried to be polite, but she just couldn''tprehend the thought process of the father and son.


    "My story sir? You''re the first one to ever ask me that." Dwayne said, visibly touched by Ted''s kindness and trust in him.


    "If you''re ufortable with it, you don''t have to tell me." Ted saidfortingly while ire was taken aback at the side.


    "No. I think...I can tell you..." Dwayne said. After taking a deep breath, he finally shared his secret, "When I was serving...I...had a rtionship with my superior officer. We dated for 2 years without anyone knowing."


    "That seems hardly a dishonorably discharged type offense." ire interjected.


    "Yeah.. but once the others finds out, my partner med me and said that I had sexually assaulted him-"


    "I''m sorry. Him?" ire asked again ''cause she couldn''t believe her ears.


    "Yes. Him." Dwayne answered honestly.


    Ted ced his hand on Dwayne''s shoulder and said, "I''m sorry that the Navy''s bigotry had destroyed your life like this. You can start today right? If you can, I want to go to my son''s recording session and watch him sing."


    "Really? Sir. You''re not joking right?" Dwayne asked again.


    "I really am. But if you don''t want the job-"


    "No! I really want the job!" Dwayne said hurriedly.


    "Okay. I''ll let you meet the rest of the crew first before I go." Ted said.


    "Captain. I can do that." ire suddenly offered. Then, she realized something, "Wait. Ed is recording for what?"


    "His Album. He didn''t tell you about this? But he went together with Haley.?" Ted asked in confusion.


    "Your son is a singer?" Dwayne asked.


    "Yes, the best one too." Ted replied proudly.


    "PHIL!" Suddenly, ire called Phil. Phil and Luke snapped out of their dreand after hearing the call from ire and lightly jogged to her position.


    "What is it?" Phil asked.


    "Did you know Ed is recording his ALBUM today?" ire asked.


    "Yeah. He told me." Phil replied casually, causing ire to get hot tempered, "SO WHY DON''T YOU TELL ME!!!"


    "I thought you knew. Haley told me she had already told you where she''s going. I thought you''d already known." Phil defended himself quickly.


    "I need a car." Ted muttered as he had hitched a ride with someone else toe here today.


    "You can take my car." Dwayne offered. "It''s a 2003 Camry. It can''t go fast but it can take you where you want to go."


    "Really? Thanks." Ted was d by the offer and took it quickly.


    "OH We''re going there PHIL!" ire said decisively.


    "ire. You can handle the introduction right?" Ted asked suddenly, causing ire to lose her angry face and became a meek little teacher''s pet. She said instinctively, "Yes. I will handle it, Captain."


    Luke and Phil stared at ire in disbelief after seeing her turning back on her words. "We''ll go...after I introduce Dwayne to the crew." ire said. But, she never did have the chance to stop working that day and had to give up on trying to go watch Edward''s recording session.


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    Finally, we arrive at the recording studio on the edge of the desert. It wasn''t that far from the city, but it took us an hour to arrive as it was in the opposite part of the city. It looked like an ordinary warehouse from the outside, then there was a sign in front that said ENtertain Earworm Studio, so I knew I was in the right ce.


    Abby parked the Prius next to a Mercedes convertible belonging to Pepper. A couple ck sedans and a hippie van were also parked there so I guessed everyone was here now.


    "My mom is asking where I am now. She already knew about the recording." Haley said with a helpless face as she exited the car.


    I turned to her with a confused face, "Didn''t she already know? How the hell did you get permission toe here if she didn''t know?"


    Silenced by the sudden questioning, Haley stammered and said, "D-Dad. I told Dad about it."


    "Then, you left your mom in the dark. That''s... brave of you?" I muttered teasingly as I opened Abby''s driver door and escorted her out by holding her hand. Haley grunted in jealousy and stampeded off to the recording studio front door.


    "What''s up with her?" Abby asked as she fixed her dress.


    "I don''t know. Scared of the consequences I think." I replied. While holding hands, Abby and I walked toward the front door and stopped where Haley had stopped.


    "It needs a password to enter." Haley said, pointed at the number pad on the side of the door.


    "Let me." Abby said and punched in the number, 80085135. The door opened automatically after she pressed the enter key.


    "I still thought the passcode was juvenile." Abby said in disdain.


    "Thest owner is a teen. So what do you expect?" I replied and walked into the studio with the girls. I was greeted by a hug from a well-dressed, short man wearing a Godfather suit and a shy scarf on his neck.


    "You''re finally here!" Pepper said excitedly. A tall, handsomewyer in a suit buttoned his jacket as she stood beside Pepper. She''s not pretty, but she was really handsome.


    "Wait. Am Ite? But you said toe at 2. It''s only half past 12."


    "No. Didn''t I text you toe at 12?" Pepper asked in confusion. I took out my phone from my pocket and showed him that he texted me toe at 2 pm.


    "Ah. I must''ve forgotten to press the number 1." Pepper said in realization. "Sometimes I just type without thinking much."


    "It''s okay. I came early didn''t I?" I asked with a grin. "And this is?" I turned to the handsome femalewyer and asked. With a stature like a model, the pixie-cut femalewyer introduced herself. "Harvey. Harvey Spectre."


    "Edward. Edward Newgate." I said and shook her hand. The name caused me to be taken aback a bit, but she didn''t look anything like the male character in the TV series I had watched before in my previous life.


    "I know who you are, Mr. Newgate. A musical prodigy that will take the world by storm." Harvey smiled softly and released her hand. Before I could refute her, she said, "I''m here to settle the contract signing and to be the witness. Let''s move over to the meeting room."


    As we entered the studio, the 80s style interior design and the professional grade control panel caught my eyes.


    There was a long couch behind the producer and music engineer seat, and it was also the ce where Abby and Haley would wait. I saw some professional musicians inside the soundproof recording room �C testing the sound quality of the instruments there together with the music engineer.


    "You girls should stay here." I said to Abby and Haley.


    "Don''t you want me there for support?" Abby asked seductively.


    "You know thew?" I asked.


    "...No." Abby said and gave up trying to enter. Not that I didn''t want her to be at my side, but the meeting room was small.


    Nearby the pantry, there was a meeting room with only 6 seats inside. Following thewyer''s lead, I was greeted by the familiar lookingwyer as I entered.


    "Hello Edward." Mitchell said with a wry smile while facing Pepper''s entire legal team alone.


    Yes, I had hired Mitchell to take a look at the contract. He had studied the contract ever since Pepper had given it to him a week ago, and he had been negotiating on my behalf ever since.


    "You look awful Mitchell." I greeted.


    "Well. Nice to meet you too." Mitchell snarked sarcastically in a tired voice.


    "Lily is waking up at night?" I asked.


    "Yes. She still needs to adapt to the time difference. Usually when we''re sleeping, she''s awake... and vice versa." Mitchell exined.


    "There is no problem with the contract. In fact, it''s very advantageous for you. Pepper is being generous here." Mitchell said.


    "That''s for him to decide." Harvey interjected. "Please sit down Mr Newgate."


    I sat down next to Mitchell and I started to read the contract Pepper had created.


    "By the way, Eddy. Harvey here is going to be the officialwyer for thepany. You can even spit toward the crowd or get caught possessing an illegal substance �C not that I''m cordoning you to do those things, but Harvey here could get you out of almost anything."


    "I...kinda know about it. She looks...very dependable." I said.


    "Are you flirting with me Mr. Newgate?" Harvey teased. "If you were. It''s working." She said, licking her lower lips seductively.


    Mitchell rolled his eyes at his friend from his college days and said, "Back off cougar, or I''ll spray you with a hose." Harvey shrugged while I chuckled. My eyes widened as I continued reading the contract.


    "22% royalties? You know that even Taylor Swift has 20% right?" I asked in astonishment after I read about Pepper''s generosity.


    Before Harvey could say anything, Pepper spoke up, "I''m doing all of this...just for you." He said, pointing at the entire studio. "In fact, you will hold 20% of the shares inside thepany before you''re 18, and 40% after."


    "Pepper!" I widened my eyes in shock.


    "What? This is a fair deal on my behalf. It''s not like I need the money. I already have enough on my own." Pepper said gleefully. "This is the time you say thank you instead of fighting me on this."


    "I..." Losing my words, I take a moment to think about the matter then turn to Pepper with a determined look on my face. "I will make sure that you won''t regret this. In fact, I will make you the most influential man in the entire music industry by the time I''m done with this."


    "That''s such a big...BIG word. Can you really do it?" Pepper instigated with a smile on his face. I smirked and I said, "Yeah. I can."


    The entire group ofwyers there was taken aback by my confidence. Although most of them thought that it was just a kid''s daydream, people such as Mitchell, Harvey, and Pepper couldn''t help but see a vision of the future as I announced my promise.


    Pepper smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. "I don''t need much. You should do whatever you want to do. Just don''t lose sight of yourself when you''re famous and lose what makes Edward."


    "I understand." I replied.


    We signed the contract and now, I have officially be the sole artist of the entirepany. Not first...but sole. The entirepany was created just for me, and it would only belong to me �C that was what Pepper promised.


    ...


    "Am Ite?" Ted arrived at the studio at 2.30 pm because the car tyre popped on route.


    "No. He''s just starting." Abby said excitedly as she pointed at me behind the ss wall. Wearing headphones on my head, I held a ukulele and took a deep breath.


    "Why are you still here?" Mitchell asked Harvey. All the otherwyers had already returned to their firm to finalize the contact, but Harvey kept lingering around.


    "Why can''t I be here? I''m awyer here. You''re the one whose presence is weird. He had already signed. We don''t need you here anymore." Harvey admonished.


    Mitchell opened his mouth to refute, but I started to strum the ukulele string, attracting the attention of all the people there. A song that would be the trigger for Haley''s change.


    [Toxic- Boy with Uke]


    Edward: ??All my friends are toxic, all ambitionless...So rude and always negative...I need new friends, but it''s not that quick and easy...Oh, I''m drowning, let me breathe...??


    "What?" Haley widened her eyes as the song''s meaning caught her off guard. It was as if the beginning was aimed directly for people like her.


    Edward:?? I''m better off all by myself...Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else...Oh, I hear you crying out for help...But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone... Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone...Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh...??


    Pepper took a deep breath and said to Mitchell. "You want to know why I''m not letting him be left alone now?"


    "I do. He''s mimicking toxic people. In the end, he will be like them. I mean..In the lyrics. I still don''t know if Edward is writing this based on him or anyone else." Mitchell said.


    Edward: ?? I''m drowning, let me breathe...I''m drowning, let me breathe...I''m drowning, let me breathe...I''m drowning, let me breathe...??


    Ted needed to sit down as he heard the song as he knew perfectly who I was referring to in the song.


    "He is...begging." Abby said, her eyes started to be ssy. "Damn it. I heard this song before, why am I still emotional now." She muttered to herself.


    Edward: ??But life is immacte, backing it up a bit.Counting my hours and knocking on wood. ??


    "A little bit of luck huh." Ted muttered.


    Edward: ??Avoiding my opposites, chewin'' on chocte. Had a bit limited time, but I should, Be good for a minute, don''t want to admit it, I''m running on seconds, I''m rigid, I''m screwed, Don''t know what to do, I''m thinking of you, I''m drinking up bottles and bottles of booze...??


    "Thank god mom isn''t here." Haley muttered as she heard thest bit. Ted turned to look at Haley weirdly, wondering why Edward should fear her mom rather than his own dad. "I need to lock up my liquor cab better." Ted muttered to himself.


    I continue singing despite the myriad of reactions the song received. Instead of me using my future knowledge to create a song, Toxic was one of the original songs the previous me had created before my other world knowledge became active. It contained all of the parts of my life that I wanted someone else to hear about.


    ?? I''m better off all by myself...Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else...Oh, I hear you crying out for help...But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone...Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone...Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh??


    ?? I fell into your river...That''s where you told me lies...you said that I''d feel better...But this is where good guys die...You took my pride away, but...You cannot take my life...I''ll find another way...I''ll wonder if you''re takin'' my life ??


    "Hmm..." Ted rubbed his forehead, wondering if he needed to do something about my mental state.


    ??Don''t you see how I...I''m better off all by myself...Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else...Oh, I hear you crying out for help...But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone...Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone...Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh??


    ??I''m better off all by myself


    Though I''m feeling kinda empty without somebody else


    Oh, I hear you crying out for help


    But you never showed for me when I was ringing your cell phone


    Oh, you don''t know how it feels to be alone


    Baby, oh, I''ll make you know, I''ll make you know, oh??


    Finishing the song, I took a step back from the microphone. When the music engineer gave me a thumbs up, I finally said, "How is it?"


    Pressing the button on the control panel to speak to me, Pepper said, "It''s...so great that I am at a loss for words!"


    Finally I saw my dad through the ss. I waved at him and asked, "Did you already hire a new captain?"


    Ted walked to the control panel, pressed the button as Pepper did and said, "Yes. I did. I can''t miss your album recording, can''t I?"


    "So you''d save 15 bucks to listen to it live." I teased.


    ...


    [3rd person POV]


    Outside the studio, a Mercedes-Benz Viano pulled up into the parking lot and a blonde, curly haired young woman exited the car.


    "So. He is recording now right?" Taylor S. �C a popr pop artist asked her entourage that consisted of her co-songwriters and concert nner.


    "Yes. We already got permission from the entertainment CEO to sit in to watch." The concert nner replied.


    "Good. Let''s see what he''s made of." Taylor said and walked to the front door with her people.

 Chapter 34: A Swift Solution.

    <h4>Chapter 34: Chapter 34: A Swift Solution.?</h4>


    (Enjoy~ Also, I had kept a list of rmended songs. I can''t put all hits on one album right? Haha)


    [Edward''s POV]


    As the songs needed to be edited, I only managed to sing, Toxic, The Lazy Song, Grenade, It Will Rain, and 7 years today. The rest of the time was spent creating the melody, adding the bass and other musical apaniment, listening back to the vocals and the song, and much more.


    "Abby. Wipe please." I asked while using the sound equalizer to mix up all the sounds together.


    "Here." Abby wiped my sweaty forehead with my own handkerchief, causing Haley to roll her eyes.


    "Are you guys ying surgeon?" Haley remarked sarcastically.


    "Well. I do want to see her in a nurse''s outfit. So maybeter." I replied, causing Abby to pinch my arm to retaliate. I ignored her and continued, "Maybe she''ll give me an examination, as Iy helpless in the bed."


    Haley rolled her eyes and wanted to make a snide remark, but someone else was faster than her.


    "Okay. Stop. I''m right here." Ted suddenly interjected as he was standing behind Abby the whole time.


    Mitchell had returned home after pulling Harvey together with him for him to save me from getting mauled by the cougars.


    "Dad. You don''t know what you''re missing. Find a girlfriend, and do it soon." I teased, not minding his apprehension on my flirting.


    It wasn''t the fact that I had a girlfriend that was making Ted annoyed, but he kept thinking that I was purposely showing affection in front of him to make him jealous. It was true. I did it on purpose. The old guy had been single long enough.


    "y it. Let us hear it." The sound engineer said. The sound engineer was a long haired old guy in his 50''s, dressed as a hippie, and even smelled like one too (Marijuana).


    Although I had the knowledge and the melody inside my mind, the old man had been showing me how to get the melody out by using the control panel. With my enhanced IQ, I only needed an hour of learning to level up my skills in music creation using studio equipment.


    "You know. You''re very cool before." Haley said with a bit of dissatisfaction. She enjoyed seeing me sing and creating my own songs, but now that I had eased up and flirted with Abby, she could only swallow the bitter pill as she wanted to watch the album creation on her own.


    Of course, this time I had spoken to her about taking paparazzi pictures or secretly recording videos about the session.


    "He''s cool all the time." Abby said and hugged me while standing behind me, the back of my head was suddenly cushioned by her soft chest.


    "That''s true." I said, earning an eye roll from Haley. I could joke around as I had finished editing the melody for the 7 years song. Then, I yed the result for all to hear.


    The hippie sound engineer shook his head in acknowledgement as he heard the melody that I had created. "It seems I''m no longer needed here. Will I lose my job now?" He muttered underneath his breath.


    While we were enjoying the finished song, the entertainmentpany CEO was busy catering to the needs of a young pop star artist.


    "Hmm...He didn''t even notice that I''m here." Taylor said after watching the recording session with Pepper


    "When he''s creating, he usually tunes out all the other distractions." Pepper said in defense. Not once did I turn to the room they were sitting in �C the VIP room. It was created for investors who wanted to hear and see the song creation without bothering the artist.


    "Even me?" Taylor S. pouted cutely, causing Pepper to be disgusted. "I said all Distractions." Pepper stressed again, almost snarking when facing the young woman. Taylor rolled her eyes and was silently watching me for my entire recording session.


    "He''s good. Very skillful. He knows what he wants, and didn''t doubt himself a bit in creating the song." Taylorplimented as she licked her lips seductively. "Too bad he''s 14."


    "He''s good enough for the opening act. You can send the management toe see for themselves. Why would youe here yourself?"


    "Hey. You''re the one who offered." Taylor took offense because Pepper''s words sounded like usations.


    " I didn''t think you''d ept. Aren''t you busy?" Pepper snarked.


    "Well. I am creating a new song right now. But...I can''t seem to find the right melody for it." Taylor confessed. "So I came here for inspiration. And my luck gave me a very cute boy."


    "Your luck didn''t give you anything. Don''t do things that would send you to jail before your career even blossomed." Pepper said facetiously.


    Turning to his 50 grand wristwatch, Pepper said, "It''s almost 8 pm. We should end the session for today." He stood up from the luxurious chair and walked outside the room. Taylor hummed and followed Pepper from behind uninvited.


    "Edward. Great job for today!" Pepper walked in excitement and patted me on the shoulder. Smiling softly, I said, "I always do a great job. It''s a curse. I can''t seem to be bad at something."


    "Don''t worry. You''re really bad at being humble." Ted replied, making the people around meugh. Then, I saw the sight of the young girl behind Pepper. With her twirly one piece dress, Taylor waved lightly as she met her eyes with mine.


    "Wait. Taylor...S?" I asked with a shaky voice. (A/N: Although there is simrities, just remember this is a parallel world. )


    "Yeah. I''m d that you recognize me!" Taylor said excitedly while disying the most bright, innocent, country girl personality that had a big dream to be a popr star in the world. I stood from my chair and approached Taylor before reaching out my hand for a handshake, which she epted.


    "I really like your songs. Of course I''ll know you...What are you doing here?" I said while maintaining eye contact with Taylor and gave a nce toward Pepper at the same time.


    "Did I not tell you about it before? She is the main act for the concert next week." Pepper exined.


    "Pepper. You keep being forgetful nowadays. Are you okay?" I asked with some concerns. Pepper smiled softly and said, "I am well. It just slipped my mind. That''s all."


    Taylor couldn''t wait any longer and interjected, "Your songs are really good too. I adore all the songs, especially Toxic. I''m sure that you''ll reach a tinum record on your first Album."


    With a shy smile that made Taylor''s heart palpitate quicker, I said,"Thank you. That means a loting from a top star."


    "Edward..." Abby suddenly called out when she saw my embarrassed face while meeting the top star. Turning to Abby, I said to Taylor, "That''s my girlfriend. Abby. And the little chibi next to her was Haley."


    "Is she your girlfriend too?" Taylor asked while maintaining her innocent facade. Haley widened her eyes, and Abby started to feel ufortable by Taylor''s presence.


    "No. She is just my friend. I think..." I turned to Haley and asked, "Are we friends?"


    "We''re not?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "I think we are." I answered my own question.


    "Hey. It''s not like I''m judging you or anything if you want to keep 2 of them." Taylor teased. "Both are really pretty too."


    "Nah. My love is only for one girl." I said with a bright smile. Abby breathed in relief after she heard that. Although she knew the rtionship was only for 2 more months, she couldn''t ept it if she needed to share me with someone else.


    We got to talking for a little while as the worker there started to clean up the studio. Ted waited with Haley and Abby outside while I talked with Taylor. Mostly Taylor was instigated by me to share her experience when she debuted.


    "I am preparing for my next album right now." Taylor suddenly said.


    "What''s it called?" I asked.


    "Fearless." Taylor replied. As I thought hard about the album name, I finally realized the timeline difference between the two people. In my previous world, Taylor released her album Fearless in 2008, but here, she hadn''t released it yet.


    "What are you thinking so deeply about? I only told you my album name." Taylor giggled and hit my arm softly as she saw my serious thinking expression.


    "Nothing. I am wondering about your songs. Why don''t you sing me a bit about the song you''d written?"


    "Eehh...That''s a bit embarrassing. The songs aren''tpleted yet." Taylor giggled while blushing slightly, moving her eyes away from mine.


    ''Is she putting her moves on me? Or is this her technique to make a guy go crazy? Anyway, as I don''t want to be one of her songs, I need to make sure to not fall for her traps.'' I thought secretly.


    "Which song are you working on right now?" I asked.


    With a bit of frustration in her face, Taylor replied, "Love Story and You belong with me."


    ''Damn. Both are kind of the important song that shoots her right toward the global pop star stage.'' I thought in awe. "Will you sing some snippets of it?" I asked with twinkling eyes. Although I didn''t want to be a song, there was no way I could not care about a future global artist that was sitting in front of me right?


    "I got the lyrics. But the melody..." Taylor said with some exasperation. She had been working on the songs for months now but she couldn''t find the right melody for it. Her Album had to be pushed back for months now because of it.


    "Why don''t you sing it...And I''ll give you my opinion on it? I may be a newbie in this music industry, but I do have a lot of experience in the ssical music industry."


    "Yeah. Child prodigy right? Okay. Tell me what you think." Taylor said and sang the first verse of the song Love Story after picking up the guitar inside the studio. The worker there had to wait for us before shutting down the light, leaving both of us alone together while everyone else had exited.


    Taylor: We were both young when I first saw you...I close my eyes and the shback starts


    I''m standin'' there...On a balcony in summer air...See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns...See you make your way through the crowd...And say, "Hello"...Little did I know...


    "Okay. That''s it." Taylor said with a teasing smile, not expecting anything from me even though she acted as if she did. My perfect pitch and brain neurons superimposed the musical notes and melody of this song and the song I had heard in my previous life almost instantaneously.


    "Can you let me try something?" I said as I gestured for Taylor to give me the acoustic guitar she was holding.


    "Sure." Taylor said and handed the guitar.


    I yed the melody that she had yed before perfectly without even missing a note, and then I yed the melody from my previous life.


    "Sing now." I said while picking the guitar strings.


    Albeit confused, and a little dumbstruck, Taylor did what I asked and sang the first verse of the song as she did before. But this time, the melody got smoother and the songs finally fit!


    "Oh my god!" Taylor squealed and hugged me tightly while jumping around. "I can''t believe it! You''d solved it! Now, the other part!" Taylor said hurriedly. But then, Pepper reentered the studio with a fuming expression.


    "Come on outside. What are you guys still doing here? We''re all going to go home now." Pepper ordered.


    "Be right there." I said from afar and then turned to Taylor. "Maybe next time."


    "Why don''t...youe to my studio next? We can talk more about the song there. Or maybe even my ce..." Taylor invited me.


    "Maybe after the concert. I''m too busy right now." I replied casually.


    Raising one of her eyebrows, Taylor asked as if offended that I had rejected her only-a-polite invitation, "Busy doing what?"


    shing a teasing smile, I said, "Creating a few softwares, my songs, concert preparations, stock market research, and you know...school stuff. I am in Middle School in the first ce."


    Taylor paused, her expression was in disbelief after she heard my statement.


    "Wait. You''re not in highschool yet?"


    "Nope. Still in middle school. In fact, this May 4th is my birthday."


    Taylor''s jaw dropped after she heard what I said and finally released her hands from my body. But I caught her faking her reaction as the upper corner of her lips were rising upwards.


    We walked outside to where my dad''s car was. Abby and Haley had waited for half an hour for me and Taylor toe out and now had a sour expression on their faces. "Did you guys eat a lemon while I was not here?" I asked teasingly.


    "By the way, I wanted to say it before, but I didn''t have the opportunity. That''s a nice dress." Taylorplimented Abby.


    ""Thanks."" Both Abby and I answered at the same time. Taylor giggled while looking at me. "Why are you the one answering it?"


    Abby grabbed my arm and said teasingly but with a hint of hostility, "Because. He was the one who made it. Just. For. Me."


    Taylor didn''t seem to mind the deliberate way of talking and she didn''t even acknowledge Abby next. While looking in my direction, Taylor opened her mouth a little bit and asked, "You can make a dress too? How talented are you?"


    "Hmph!" Abby groaned while I smiled softly. "I guess I am talented. Okay, you have my number. You can text meter." I waved goodbye at Taylor before sitting next to the driver.


    "Hey!" Haley called out after I sat on her seat, but there was no chance for me to give it back to her. Helpless, Haley sat angrily at the back seat.


    "Bye~" I waved Taylor goodbye before Abby pressed the gas pedal and drove us off from the studio at high speed.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Damn. He''s tough." Taylor muttered as she watched Edward leave.


    "Or...you know....He''s 14. He didn''t understand your signals yet." Taylor''s female co-songwriter said as she entered the car.


    "Nah. That''s not it. He understood, but he''s purposely keeping away from me. And that just makes him more desirable." Taylor said jokingly. However, her co-writer didn''t believe in her even a bit.


    "4 years will pass quickly. Just wait till then." Her co-writer said.


    "Maybe..." Taylor replied ambiguously.


    On another road, Pepper was giving Ted a ride because the car he borrowed had totally broken down and had to be towed to the mechanic.


    "Why didn''t you ride with your son?" Pepper asked.


    "Are you kidding me? He''s targeting me and wants to convince me to get a girlfriend. I''m not taking a ride with him." Ted replied.


    "That reminds me, Edward asked me to introduce you to some whore- I mean nice girls. We''re going to see her right now. If you don''t want to talk to her, just consider we''re going for a drink." Pepper said and took a different street when they got to the city, going to a bar instead of going home.


    "Pepper!" Ted called out in disbelief, but he couldn''t fight Pepper on this one. After all, the man had done so much for his son. Letting out a sigh, Ted said defeatedly, "Fine.."


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    "Are you mad at me?" I asked the pouting Abby who was avoiding looking at my face as she drove. Although she looked cute with the puffed out cheek, I couldn''t let her continue being angry with me.


    Haley interjected and said usingly, "Why wouldn''t she be mad at you? You were totally flirting with Taylor."


    Nodding my head in understanding, I said, "I didn''t flirt with her. But she flirted with me."


    Abby gave me a death re in which I responded by smiling brightly. "I understand why you''re mad, but you don''t have anything to worry about." Putting my hand on her thigh as she drove, I continued, "I won''t ask you not to get mad, or jealous. It''s a normal reaction to have, in fact, I am pretty d that you like me so much that you''re getting jealous when other girls talk to me."


    "I-I''m not jealous. Who says I''m jealous? I''m MAD!" Abby reiterated.


    "Okay. I would be jealous if you''re talking with some popr artist and he was flirting with you too." I said calmly. Then, I hit her with my best charismatic smile and said, "You''re the only one from me. I won''t even look at other girls when I''m with you."


    Abby removed one of her hands from the steering and pinched the back of my head that was on her thigh, picking it up using the pinch and throwing it back to my side, and then held the steering wheel with both hands again.


    "That''s not healthy. People look at the opposite sex all the time. You can''t promise that you won''t look." Abby said, her angry tone gradually diminishing. She turned to look at my face for the first time and said with a longing tone, "I won''t get mad anymore. You don''t have to worry about me."


    "No. We''re going to talk about this." I said, causing Abby to be taken aback. "If our talk is going to make us fight, then we''ll fight."


    "Okay. You want to fight? Then, howe you didn''t stop Taylor when she''s flirting with you?"


    "Because. She''s a senior in the industry. Pepper is giving me so much trust that he created apany just for me. I need to get closer to her , but not go out with her. I stress this again, so that I can understand how the industry works, and even learn about her distribution, her marketing strategies, and all of that. I can''t just sing and hope that people will just buy my album, you know?"


    "Oh." Abby eximed tly, but Haley who was listening from behind suddenly interjected, "Then, why do you guys need some alone time in the studio? Just the two of you?"


    "Well. She was talking about her next album, and needed some privacy. That''s all. Do you really think she would make a move on me? She is 19 years old. It''s a crime to do that."


    "Oh." This time, Haley was the one who eximed tly.


    "Any more questions?" I asked without teasing them this time.


    "You know. The fact that you''re answering it smoothly makes me feel that you had thought about the matter a lot." Abby started to fight again.


    I smiled and turned toward the traumatized girl that had a pathological cheater and liar dad.


    "I''m being honest. You can even ask me if I did check out her body, and I will answer it honestly."


    "Well...Did you?" Abby asked meekly.


    "I took a quick peek. But I like ''em big so I lost interest." I replied honestly. Abby finally breaks into a smile, but she quickly covers it up.


    "Haley. Wear your headphones!" Abby ordered. "NO!" Haley replied with a smile on her face. "You got a chance to hear all of his words truthfully. There is no way you''re leaving me out of this."


    "Fine!" Abby said, and then she started asking me some questions. "Am I the first girl you kissed?"


    "No. I had another girlfriend before. But you''re the first one I''d make out with." I replied. "It was also when I''m 12, so we don''t even know what we were, in fact, dating."


    "I see. Then...Did you..." Abby turned to Haley in wariness, but Haley was only smiling and leaning forward to hear the conversation better. "Just consider that I''m not here." Haley said happily.


    "Why did you agree to date me?"Abby asked.


    "Because you''re really smart, funny, gorgeous and sexy too." I replied. "Honestly, I got a crush on you the moment Iid my eyes on you."


    Smiling widely, Abby asked, "really?"


    Leaning my face closer to hers, I said, "really." Then, we shared a kiss together in front of Haley.


    "Ugh! Don''t make out in front of me! Focus on the road!" Haley interjected.

 Chapter 35: Second Episode?

    <h4>Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Second Episode?</h4>


    When we arrived home at around 10 pm, Abby and I escorted Haley to her house this time.


    "Why?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "To ensure your safety." I lied through my teeth. The reason was to not let Haley bother us when Abby returned to my house afterward. We had an intense makeout session before Abby returned to her house at midnight.


    Finally, my dad returned home smelling like perfume, cigar, and alcohol.


    "Did you have a great time?" I asked him teasingly.


    "That Sal...How could anyone be so ..." Ted blurted out unconsciously as he was a bit drunk now. Although he didn''t finish his words, I noticed that his shirt was tucked in only at one side, and there was some lipstick mark on his neck.


    "Slutty?" I finished his words for him. "I thought you would spend the night with her. Too bad you left early."


    Ted was stunned speechless at my casualty when I found out my own father was hooking up with a random woman at a bar.


    "What? Pepper already told me all the details." I smirked.


    The next morning came, and I woke up at 8 am on a Sunday. Today, Ted had gone to work extremely early instead of waiting after we had breakfast together, so I guess he was embarrassed.


    "Even though they didn''t sleep together." I muttered in dissatisfaction.


    After having breakfast, I decided to jog around the neighborhood. Wearing a simple gray sweater and gray sweatpants, I put on my running shoes and started to run.


    The reason why I was running is simple. Because someone invited me.


    "Good morning." Abby said while running beside me the minute I started jogging. She didn''t wear makeup today, but her face was still pretty.


    The first thing I did was running a little slower to let her pass me and to check out her behind as she was wearing long yoga pants and a cropped top that revealed her belly.


    "Really? You''re seducing me early this morning?" I said while admiring her jiggling bubble butt from behind. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail style, bouncing up and down as she ran.


    "Run beside me Perv." Abby admonished me even though she was ttered. As she wanted to study in the field of forensic �C and basically be a cop, she had kept herself active and even learned self defense such as taekwondo and karate �C a ck belt in both.


    Running beside her, I asked, "Didn''t you always jog with your mom? Why are you jogging alone today?"


    "Ugh. Don''t remind me of that. Mom is not yet waking up. She got drunk and interrogated me about all the things we didst night. I think she had gone running too...somewhere..."


    Gulping my saliva, I asked, "Did you tell her?"


    Abby grinned mischievously and asked, "What do you think?"


    "Well. She is still letting you meet me, so I guess you didn''t tell her anything." I said and pped her butt before I ran faster forward.


    "Ouch. You little-" Abby cursed and started to chase me.


    While I was messing around with Abby, I saw the Dunphy''s, mostly ire, Phil and Luke, riding a bike on the streets. Although Phil and ire''s bike was fine, Luke was riding a small, girly white bike with cute tassel ribbon streamers on the handle and a basket on the front.


    "Hey. Good Morning." I said as I ran towards them.


    "Ohh! It''s the artist. Can I have your autograph?" Phil greeted me happily. Surprised by the sudden encounter, the whole family stopped their bike to talk.


    "Enjoying a little date in the morning?" ire asked teasingly as she saw Abby running towards me from behind.


    "Yup." I replied casually, causing Abby to hit me in the arm as soon as she arrived at my location. "We''re not on a date."


    "Hi. Nice to meet you. I''m ire." ire said and introduced herself to Abby.


    "I''m Abby." She waved meekly towards ire.


    "Luke, why are you riding a girls bike?" I asked. Phil turned to ire as if telling ire that he had made the right decision.


    [Phil and ire Commentary]


    Phil exined the situation, "My son has been riding his sister''s old bike."


    ire interjected quickly, "Until he''s responsible enough To take care of his own bike. Look, he spilled a soda on myputer. He ruined our digital camera taking pictures of himself underwater-"


    "It''s a girl''s bike." Phil said, causing ire to avoid Phil''s eyes. " I''m all for teaching him a lesson, But I worry about the ridicule he might get from some loudmouth bully."


    "Phil. My dad called him a little bo peep one time." ire whispered.


    [Commentary ends]


    "This is myst time riding it. Dad is going to buy a new one for me this afternoon." Luke said in excitement.


    "Oh. I was thinking that...if you want, I can strip off the paint and we can make this a boy''s bike together. But getting a new bike is better."


    "What? Can you change it?" Luke asked in shock.


    "Luke. it''s better to buy the new one. After all, you''re getting bigger." Phil said. ire whispered to Phil, "But if Ed changed it, he didn''t have to buy one. Also, Haley is not going to get mad. Besides, I don''t know why you didn''t do this in the first ce."


    Phil said in defense, getting a little emotional, "Oh I''m sorry that I have a gag reflex to the smell of paint ire!"


    "Phil..That''s not what I meant." ire tried to defend herself, but Phil''s feelings were already hurt. As the family drama deepened, I decided it''s time for me to take my leave.


    "I''m sorry guys. I have to go now. Have to keep my heart rate up." I said and waved goodbye to the family before I started jogging with Abby again.


    "You''re really close to that family." Abby said after we had run far away till the family was no longer to be seen.


    "Yeah. I guess I am. They are pretty fun." I replied honestly with sweats dripping from my chin. We rested at a park for a while after we had jogged.


    "Do 10 pushups. Now!" Abby suddenly ordered as we reached the secluded area of the park. Tilting my head in confusion, I asked, "Why?"


    "I will kiss you ONE time when you finish TEN pushups." Abby smiled mischievously and challenged me. Even though our heights were the same, my body was skinnier than her.


    "I heard your offer, and I will in turn give mine." I said.


    "What is it?" Abby asked intrigued.


    "I''ll follow you do your exercise routine today, and you''ll give me a kiss..."


    "That''s easy enough. I usually do 3 reps. You''re losing in the deal-"


    With a smirk, I said, ''...I''m not finished yet. You''ll give me ONE kiss...in front of your mom."


    "PERV!" Abby shouted and pinched my stomach. "Just for that, I''ll sit at your back while you''re on yourst rep."


    She forced me to do the pushups now. I smirked and said, "You keep talking like that is a punishment. I''ll say this again. It''s not. I''ll be very d when you sit on me."


    So she did it on the first rep. While I was in the pushup stance, Abby sat on crossed legs on my back. "Oh. Soft." I muttered.


    "Let''s see if you can still be cocky after this." Abby said.


    After doing 10 pushups, I started feeling the extra weight on my back burdening my body. My hands shook, but I still managed to do ten.


    "Hmph. Lucky." Abby said in dissatisfaction and got off my back. "Hold my legs. I''m going to sit up." Abby ordered. Although I was tired, I hugged her raised knees while she was lying t on the ground.


    "One." I counted, and Abby brought her body up. Then, I gave her a peck on the lips the moment she managed to sit up. She paused while narrowing her eyes at me.


    "What are you waiting for? Get back down. Two is next." I said with an innocent face. "Hpmh!" Abby scoffed and got back down. Then, she sat up for the second time, and I kissed her again.


    "Stop that." Abby said, getting down for the third time.


    "Okay. This time, I won''t move. Your choice whether you want to kiss me or not." I said and leaned my head a bit closer towards her. Abby sat up slowly as she was being indecisive. Then, she kissed me lightly as she did it.


    "See. You want to do it too." I smirked and said cockily. Abby''s face flushed, but not because of the exercise. As she sat up for the fourth time...Well...you know how this goes.\


    We were both breathing heavily after we finished the exercise. Our body was sweaty, and it tasted a little salty everytime we shared a kiss.


    "So. Want to go back to my ce and shower together?" I invited Abby teasingly while we walked home together.


    But then, before she even answered, Desire popped out of nowhere with her own jogging outfit �C A barely fittable sports bra, and a short bike short that entuate her cameltoe as she ran.


    "Hey Abby. You wouldn''t be able to guess what just happened?!" Desire said in excitement and hugged her sweaty daughter with her sweaty body. As their bodies collided, I thought secretly, ''This family is too much for a teenage boy like me.''


    I enjoyed the view with my eyes as my body instinctively reacted to it. Luckily, I was wearing sweatpants at this moment.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    10 minutes before, while Edward and Abby were working out together, Desiree was running around, searching for her daughter for them to run together, she crossed paths with the Dunphys who were riding their bike.


    "Hey." ire greeted politely as she saw Desiree passing by in her sexy clothings. It was an instinctive greet, as she knew Desiree from the school.


    Desiree stopped running and said with a bright smile, "Hi!"


    A bit helpless as Desiree started to stop instead of nodding politely or greeted politely before moving on her own way just like a normal person would, ire decided to introduce her family, "Oh, okay. Hi, um This is my husband, Phil."


    "Hi." Desiree said, turning her attention solely to Phil. Inside her mind, she knew she had seen Phil''s face before, but she couldn''t make out when she saw him. Therefore, she kept staring at him.


    ire continued, "And that''s my son, Luke, right there." She pointed at Luke who was still biking around in his girly bike. Desiree turned to Luke and muttered to herself, "Cute."


    "Phil. This is Desire." ire pronounced her name as the English word.


    Desiree decided to introduce herself properly, "Desiree (The-Si-Ray)" while extending her hand to Phil. .


    Phil shook it while ire apologized for mentioning her name wrong.


    A bit vignt by her man''s tant staring at the hot mom, ire exined, "Desiree just moved in down the block." Phil turned to ire while she was talking, and turned his head back to Desiree so fast his next almost had a whish.


    "Fun. Where?" Phil said


    "At 314." Desiree said while still keeping a polite smile.


    " Oh, the two-bedroom cottage With the indoor/outdoor family room. Very good." Phil suddenly said.


    Leaning her head forward in confusion, Desiree asked, "How did you�C"


    "Bet you''re loving that steam shower." Phil said.


    "Phil, that''s creepy." ire admonished quickly.


    "Oh, sorry." Philughed and exined, "I''m a real-estate mogul.What?! No, I am a real-estate agent. Um, we caravanned that house."


    While Desiree''s boobs were jiggling, Phil said, "Great, uh, deck"


    "Thanks. I''m just there till my divorce is final." Desiree said.


    "Now, who is coconuts enough to divorce you?" Phil flirted unconsciously.


    ire decided that it''s enough for Phil now, "We got to go, but we''ll see you around."


    "Well, we''ll have to have you over sometime." Phil offered without talking to his wife first.


    Widening her eyes, Desiree replied while touching Phil''s arm, "I''d love it."


    "All right." Phil said.


    "Bye." Desiree waved at the family as she started running again.


    "Bye." ire said from afar.


    "She''s awesome." Phil said to his wife.


    "No, we are never having her over." ire said quickly. "I heard she already slept with two dads from the school."


    Turning toward Desiree with an expectant expression, Phil said, "What? Mm-hmm..That''s...Horrible," Before he started to cycle, not looking at where he was going, but instead he was checking Desiree''s direction.


    " Dad! Watch out." Luke called out as their bike almost crashed into one another as Phil wasn''t paying attention.


    "Oh, watch it, buddy." Phil warned Luke as he moved his bike away from the possible crash.


    "Grandma." Luke teased.


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    "What happened mom? Are you okay?" Abby asked in concern as her mom was hugging her.


    "No. That''s not it. Guess what? Someone invited me to their house." Desiree said as she released Abby from her embrace.


    Feeling happy for mother, Abby said, "That''s great mom! Who are they?!"


    "The Dunphys." Desiree answered. Abby turned to me with astonished eyes as she heard the family''s name.


    "See. I told you they are awesome." I said, although I knew how ire really felt about Desiree.


    ''I think I need to talk to her about this.'' While hiding my thoughts from the happy family, I learned a bit about why Desiree was ostracized by themunity here. It was after a husband from the school was tantly flirting at her, and was caught by his wife.


    Then, the rumors started that Desiree was trying to seduce every man in his path, trying to be a homewrecker, and everything else. In fact, she wasn''t even attracted to the man, nor was she flirting back. She hated men who cheated on their wives the most, why would she ever date such a man?


    "Urgh. My body feels sticky and ufortable. I couldn''t wait to take a shower." Desiree whined after we arrived at her house.


    "You want to shower together, Ed?" Desiree said, causing me to widen my eyes.


    "MOM!" Abby called out in disbelief before I could even answer.


    "Wait. Sorry. I meant, do you want to use our shower Ed? I will fix us up for some breakfast. You must be hungry from all that...exercise." Desiree teased while looking at the both of us.


    "Nah, if we aren''t showering together, then I''m going to go home." I teased, causing Abby to smack my hand. "I can''t believe both of you!" Abby stampeded off in anger, leaving me and Desiree alone in the front door.


    Whileughing, I said, "I''ll go home now."


    "Okay. The offer still stands. You know...until lunch time." Desiree said and waved me off. But, instead of going to my house, I walked to the Dunphy''s and knocked on their door. Alex opened the door and was surprised to see me standing there.


    "Hey Alex. Is your mom and dad inside?" I asked.


    "Yeah. They had just returned. Come on in." Alex said and opened the door fully for me to walk in.


    "Thanks." I said and I walked to the kitchen where the family was having brunch together.


    "Hey. It''s Edward again!" Phil said from the dining table where the family was eating together. Haley turned toward me in shock, and she quickly hid her face under the table.


    "What''s with her?" Luke asked.


    "No makeup." ire replied nonchntly, wiped her fingers with a napkin and stood up to greet me.


    "Have you eaten yet Eddy?" ire asked and then offered, "If you want, you can join us for brunch."


    "It''s okay. I''ll make some food at home." I said.


    "Ridiculous." Phil suddenly interjected before I could get to my next sentence. "Come. Sit here next to Haley. Join us!"


    "Yeah. Sit next to the no makeup Haley." Luke made fun of his sister. "I''m finished." Haley said and hid her face from me using her palm as she walked to her bedroom.


    Smiling at Haley''s antics, I said to ire, "I actuallye to speak with you."


    "Me? About work?" ire asked calmly.


    "No. About Desiree." I said, causing ire to be stunned, and Phil dropped his fork, causing some tters inside the kitchen.


    "W-W-W-W-What do you want to talk to me about?...About Desire?...Did she make a move on you?" ire became extremely panicked and started to stutter. "Phil. Take Luke to go y on the trampoline!" ire ordered.


    "But I haven''t finished eating!" Phil said in a dejected tone.


    "NOW!" ire said, causing both Phil and Luke to scurry away outside the house.


    "Yeah, she invited me to shower at her house." I said.


    "That...slut!-" ire cursed, but stopped her reaction when I continued, "Because. She is my girlfriend''s mother."


    "Oh. Abby''s mom?" Haley said from afar, still eavesdropping the conversation as she quickly put on her makeup.


    "Yup...Wherever it is you are." I said, turning around to search for Haley, but didn''t find her location anywhere.


    "You know her, Haley?" ire asked.


    "Yes. She''s my friend. She scored 2000 on her SATs. A genius." Haley replied from out of nowhere again. ire was secretly shocked when she heard the facts.


    "W-What do you want to talk to me about?" ire asked with an ufortable feeling inside her chest.


    "Not much. Phil invited Desiree toe to your house right? I am hoping that you won''t cancel. After all, you''re the first EVER family to invite her into their house."


    "No. You''re lying..." Haley said in shock from afar.


    Alex then interjected, "Why is mom the first one to invite her? She seems nice?"


    "Because of a rumor." I exined to Alex.


    "Ugh, I''m so sick of the rumors." Haley said and walked into the kitchen with her face ready this time.


    "It''s not a rumor. I heard from my friend Bethany about it." ire said, trying to defend herself.


    "Ain''t it convenient. When a hot divorce moved into a neighborhood, rumors about her sleeping around with people''s husbands suddenly came out, justifying the actions of the insecure housewives with cheating husbands to control their man''s life... and to push Desiree far... far away to keep their husband?"


    "Yeah mom. Isn''t that Convenient?" Alex said deliberately while crossing her arms. She understood the situation perfectly with limited information. As an outsider, she knew how baseless rumors can be, and Desiree was a victim in this part.


    "Yes..But..." ire nced at Phil, wondering if she had done the same thing to protect her man too.


    "If you want to know for sure if the rumors are true or not, why don''t we trace it back to the source. The rumors said Desiree had slept with 2 husbands from the school. Tell me, who are those husbands? Why isn''t their name mentioned?"


    ire opened her mouth, and then she pulled her head back in confusion and realization. "Wait. Who did she sleep with?"


    Haley was confused, "So...Apparently she slept with 2 guys...but no one will tell us who those 2 guys are?"


    "If they were even real in the first ce." Alex exined.


    "Ahh..So fake rumors huh?" Haley said.


    "Also. Most wives couldn''t help but be wary toward Desiree as she''s pretty, easy going and friendly. Her situation is like Gloria''s."


    "Wait. There''s rumors about Gloria too?" Alex asked in shock.


    "No. There isn''t. Don''t lie to me." ire said. Then, I called Gloria on the spot and put the call on loudspeaker.


    "What are you doing? Don''t ask her that?!" ire tried to snatch the call from me, but it was already connected.


    "Ello?" Gloria picked up the call.


    "Hey Gloria. It''s me Ed. I want to ask you something, but the topic will be a little ufortable."


    "It''s okay. If it''s ufortable, then I won''t answer." Gloria said casually.


    "Okay. Have you ever been left out by the parents around here in activities, or them letting Manny y with their children, as they fear that you will steal their husbands?"


    "Ayyy. Many times! And their husbands is ugly too...Why would I ever want to steal them!?" Gloria replied honestly.


    "Are there any rumors about you that were spread unfairly?" I asked again while ire was speechless.


    "Let me think...There is one about me being from a cartel. There is one about me having diseases. The most unfair one was me worshiping A Goat head. Who is a Goat Head? Why do I need to worship him? I eat goat."


    Laughing a bit, I said, "Gloria. I think they meant worshiping Satan or the devil."


    "Ayy No...See... Terrible rumors. Why do you ask?"


    ire snatched the phone from me and asked, "So Gloria. Is this rumor...amon thing for you?"


    "No. Before I got divorced...Everyone loved me. Then, when I split up with my husband..., everyone was afraid of me..stealing their UGLY husbands. When I moved to California and married Jay, the rumors died down a bit. Ayy no. Why are you there ire?" Gloria suddenly realized with whom she was talking too.


    "Gloria is Gloria. I still couldn''t believe that the rumors weren''t true." ire said.


    "What rumors? Hello?" Gloria asked from the other line, but was ignored.


    "Then. If rumors are indeed true-" I said and turned toward Haley and held her face lovingly.


    "W-what are you doing?" Haley asked, bbergasted by the sudden touch. Then, I traced her lips with my finger, causing Haley to freeze on the spot before I kissed her...or pretended that I kissed her. I actually kissed my thumb while showing everyone that I was kissing her.


    "What are you doing-!" ire said and separated us forcefully.


    "Well. There is a rumor about Haley being my pet. A pet that both me and my girlfriend enjoy together. Isn''t that right Alex?"


    "Right now, I''m only d that you didn''t choose a worse rumor to make your point." Alex said nonchntly while Haley''s brain was short circuiting.


    "Don''t worry. I didn''t kiss her. I only pretended to do so." I exined with a mischievous smile as ire was freaking out.


    "Yo-You did that to make a point?" ire was bbergasted by my boldness, while Haley got angry at me. "How dare YOU USE ME?!"


    "Maybe he mistook you for public property." Alex said sarcastically.


    "What?!" Haley gasped in offense, and stampeded off angrily to tell her dad what I had just done.


    "See ire. It was very hard for an outsider to get along with a newmunity. Gloria got Jay, but Desiree was only alone with Abby. And if you ask her about it, she will tell you why she would never date a married man."


    "So. What do you want me to do?" ire asked honestly.


    "Just invite her over, and treat her like one of your friends. She will really appreciate that. And since I know Phil can''t be trusted, I will keep him at my house."


    ire finally gave up and said, "Okay. I''ll invite her this afternoon."


    "Nice. Invite Abby too. She''s pretty smart, I''m sure she will be best friends with Alex."


    "Sure. 2000 in the SATs. I''d be willing to be her friend." Alex said while being proud.


    "What happened? Why is Haley mad?" Luke asked as he entered the house. "Where is she?" I asked.


    "I don''t know why, but dad suddenly hugged her while she was venting�C making her more angry." Luke exined.


    "Do you want to go with me to buy a bike?" Luke asked.


    "Sure. Let''s call your dad and go together." I agreed to and rubbed Luke''s curly hair.


    While we''re nning for the evening, my phone line was still connected to Gloria''s.


    "Ay. They kissed?"


    "What are they talking about now?" Jay asked.


    "I don''t know. Hello?" Gloria called out again for someone to respond to her.

 Chapter 36: Bike.

    <h4>Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Bike.?</h4>


    (sorry I lost track of time. lol)


    [Luke''s Commentary]


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


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


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


    [Commentary ends]


    [3rd Person POV]


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


    "DAD!"


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    Haley was stunned and froze again.


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


    [Edward''s POV]


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "I''ll add in some essories."


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


    ...


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


    Lasagna needed a long time to cook and to prepare. Luckily, I had the unbakedsagna ready before I went to jog.


    The assembledsagna should take about 50 minutes to cook in an oven preheated to 375 degrees F. Cover it with foil for the first 25 minutes, then let it cook uncovered for the final 25 minutes. I ced thesagna into the oven first before taking a shower and managed toe out before the first 25 minutes ended.


    Also, it''s important to let thesagna rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes before cutting into it.


    Using Brussels sprouts, when cooked properly, it will have a delightfully sweet, nutty, and caramelized vor. If I roast them the right way, I''ll get a nicely charred and vorful veggie dish. And, whenbined with prosciutto and garlic, I get a fantastic side dish that tastes great withsagna.


    "I want some garlic bread. Where did I put it?" I searched all over the kitchen to find my garlic bread, but I couldn''t find it.


    "Did a roone in? Or did my dad feel hungryst night and decided to take away my garlic bread?" I muttered to myself as I gave up searching for it. Then, I called Abby.


    "Hey. Do you have some garlic bread?" I asked casually after she picked up the phone.


    Confused by the sudden question, Abby still asked her mom whether they had garlic bread or not before replying.


    "No. Sorry. Also, I need to tell you something." Abby said in excitement.


    "Did the Dunphy''s invite you for lunch yet?" I asked.


    "That is what I was going to tell you. They did. They invited us for lunch today!" Abby said excitedly. Smiling softly while speaking on the phone, I listened to her excited ramblings before she teased, "Okay. Got to go. I guess you need to eat yoursagna without the garlic bread!"


    Letting out a long sigh, I said, "I guess I can do that."


    Then, I realized that I had an entiresagna for myself just to eat for lunch today. "Wait Abby, is your mom bringing anything to the Dunphy''s?


    "She''s bringing some food. Why?" Abby asked.


    "Nah. Don''t. Come over and I will pack some food for you to bring. Your mom''s food is... I mean...If they don''t get food poisoning, then it''s the best dish she will ever cook."


    "Rude!" Abby yelled out, and then she shrugged after thinking about it, "But True. I''lle over with my mom before we go to the Dunphy''s.."


    "See you then." I said and waited for the girls toe by after packing up the food that I had made. Abby and Desiree arrived quickly as I urged them toe earlier because Phil and Luke had already started to get ready to go to the bicycle shop.


    "Are you sure about giving us all of this?" Abby asked in disbelief. I even gave them all the roasted brussel sprouts too. Desiree was holding the brussel sprouts while Abby held thesagna.


    "Yeah. No garlic bread, then no Lasagna Sunday." I muttered with a hint of sadness in my tone. Abby kissed my cheek and said, "Don''t be sad Garfield. I''ll pick up a truckload of garlic bread when I returnter on."


    My mood was lifted a bit from herforting and I exined, "No need. I usually make my own."


    "Then, why can''t you find it?"


    "I don''t know. Racoons maybe." I muttered with some concern. "I need to check the entire house for that vermin." I called it vermin because the roon''s action of stealing my garlic bread disgusted me.


    "Racoons are mammals. Not vermin." Abby corrected. I stared at her and said, "You''ll really get along with Alex. You both are insufferable know-it-alls."


    "HEY! YOU''RE THE ONE WHO DIDN''T STUDY!" Abby retorted while holding thesagna with both hands. Desiree smirked and said, "She really is sometimes."


    "Are you two teaming up against me today? Is that it? You reached a deal behind my back to target me today?" Abby asked usingly. After teasing Abby, I waved goodbye to the mother and daughter duo. Phil and Luke came using the car within one minute after Desiree and Abby had left.


    "Ready to go?" Phil said while cranking his windows down.


    "Sure. Let me grab my USB really quickly. Can we stop by at a printing store before going to the bike shop?" I asked before I went inside to get the USB stick.


    "Okay. Go grab it." Phil said with a smile. I nodded and went upstairs to grab my USB stick, when suddenly I saw my bread stick on top of my desk.


    "Ah. I forgot I put it here for safekeeping." I felt a bit bummer and I walked back downstairs in sadness.


    The bike shop was nearby, only a 5 minutes ride for us to arrive there. We were lucky because there was a printing shop within 200 meters of the bike shop. I finished printing first before we walked to the bike shop together.


    I saw the signs, Palm Cycle, and then we entered the shop together. Luke picked a ck and white design bike easily after it caught his eyes.


    "We should get the insurance." I tried to convince Phil after he was vehemently denying the shopkeeper''s words.


    Phil clicked his tongue as if I had said something stupid, put his hand on both of my shoulders and tried to teach me a lesson while looking me straight in the eyes, "Listen Edward. The insurance is not going to do anything! We can take care of our own bikes!"


    "Yeah. But someone can push Luke down from his bike and steal it. There are a lot of weirdos around here that would steal a kid''s bike, so it''s better to be careful." I said while remembering the fact that Phil stole a random kid''s bike because he thought it was Luke''s.


    The African-American shopkeeper with a tight, maroon coloured, Polo shirt said, "That''s true. It''s better to be prepared."


    "No need. Please ring up the bike, without the insurance." Phil said politely even though he tried to look tough.


    "Okay. it''s your call." The shopkeeper shook his head slightly and the bicycle purchase was finalized.


    "Dad, this is the coolest bike ever!" Luke said with a bright smile as he was strolling the bicycle on his own after getting out of the bike shop..


    "Awesome!" Phil responded to Luke as his buddy as usual.


    "So, listen, buddy.." Phil lowered his head to look Luke in the eyes as he changed into his parent''s mode. "Certain members of this family Don''t think you can take care of this bad boy."


    "You mean mom?" Luke said.


    "Your words, not mine." Phil said hurriedly, not wanting to take the me for the matter.


    "Look, uh, your mom and I are a team, And she�C we feel like this is a chance For you to show some responsibility. Don''t make us look like jerks here."


    "I won''t." Luke replied instantaneously.


    "Luke. I got a present for you." I said before Phil could let Luke go y on his own.


    "What is it? I saw that you''re printing papers. Are you going to give me Quiz for presents like Uncle Mitchell does?" Luke asked while taking a step back to avoid the gift. "You can put it in the trash if it''s a Quiz!"


    "No. It''s a sticker with your name on it!" I said and showed Luke. It was a logo of his name written in fun fonts with a fiery background.


    "AWESOME!" Luke said and snatched the sticker from my hand. He took off the sticker''s back liner and stuck the sticker on the top tube �C the frame of the bike connecting the saddle and the head.


    "I didn''t think about that. Nice one Ed!" Phil said and patted me vigorously on my back before he went to admire the sticker �C crouching next to Luke.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


    [Luke''s POV]


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "We''ll buy the trap."


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


    I ignored him and finalized the transaction with the cashier.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

 Chapter 37: Bicycle thief!

    <h4>Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Bicycle thief!</h4>


    (See you guys Monday~!)


    [Edward''s POV]


    "So a tall...scary man with tattoos, pushed you off your bicycle and ran away with it?" I asked, fully trusting Luke''s story as it had never happened before.


    "Yes." Luke replied shortly. "That is totally what happened." He said while avoiding eye contact with his dad and me.


    "Son of a-" Phil cursed, but I interjected before he could finish.


    "Which direction did he go?" I asked Luke while I pulled my sleeves upwards in anger, fully preparing myself for a fight. Phil turned toward me with eyes filled with anger as mine were.


    "No need! I just need to go home now! I''m sure the man had already run and hide away." Luke replied anxiously as he grabbed my hand to calm me down.


    Thinking that Luke was traumatized by the encounter, I rubbed his hair and said, "Don''t worry Luke. I will make sure to beat up the bad man."


    Phil''s menacing eyes turnedplicated as he watched my interaction with his son.


    [Phi''s Commentary]


    "I am d that Edward is thinking of Luke as one of his own pack and wanting to...protect Luke. But...he''s kinda stealing my moment here..." Phil confessed.


    He continued with a sad tone, "I am the one who''s supposed to be the tough dad."


    [Luke''smentary]


    "Edward is really mad now. All I can wish for...is Reuben had already gone back home and hid the bike before Edward found him. If he''s not...then...he will get beaten up. I don''t think I can keep his mouth shut with only the stickers after that happened."


    As Luke was telling his wish, the scene cuts to a footage of Reuben licking his ice cream cone while dilly dallying home, just enjoying his day outside of the house. He even stopped to smell the flower one time.


    "Reuban. Please be home." Luke begged.


    [Commentary Ends]


    "Luke. I''m going to send both of you and Edward home. Then, I''lle back to find out who did this." Phil said reassuringly as he bent over to meet his son''s line of sight. "You can leave it all to Dad."


    While on the ride home, Luke kept dodging the questions when Phil and I asked more about the bike snatcher. As we thought he was feeling depressed and traumatized, we stopped asking Luke about it.


    The ride home took only 5 minutes.Phil wanted to have a private talk with Luke, so I walked to the front door first. As I knocked on the front door of the Dunphy''s house, ire opened the door while holding a wine ss in her hand, filled with white champagne.


    "Oh. You guys are back. Did you buy the new bike?" ire asked with a bright smile, so I knew she was almost wasted at this moment.


    "About that..." I tried to find the exact words, but then I realized I didn''t have to be the one who exined it. "Did you enjoy your lunch with Desiree?"


    Abby had texted me that they had a wonderful time at lunch today. ire and the girls loved thesagna, and ire kept asking Desiree for the recipe, in which Desiree promised to give herter...after she got it from me.


    Alex and Abby had also exchanged phone numbers as they had a lot inmon. Alex also had instigated Abby to persuade me in order to start creating the rapid hot air technology, so I had that to deal with.


    "Absolutely! She''s very delightful!. She''s also working in a government office, do you know that?" ire asked in excitement, then she took a sip of her wine.


    With a reply of helplessness, I said, "Yeah. I know. That''s why they have to return in the summer." I lowered my head while clicking my tongue inwardly. ire was stunned by my reaction, and she stopped smiling.


    Phil finally arrived, and he studied ire''s reaction before saying anything.


    "Honey. I know that you''re mad. But, I''m going to find who did this and teach him a lesson!" Phil said in fake bravado.


    ire pulled her chin back and narrowed her eyes in confusion, "What are you talking about Phil? Where is the new bike, I want to see it."


    "Ah..." Phil turned to me and whispered, "You didn''t tell her?"


    I suddenly realized something, "Wait. You want me to be the one who tells her? That''s why you and Luke were hanging back?"


    "What- No!" Phil replied, avoiding my eyes as he did.


    "You did huh. That''s low Phil." I muttered.


    ire couldn''t wait any longer and she said, "Can someone please tell me what is going on?!"


    "ire. We bought Luke''s new bike..." Phil tried to exin.


    "...And?" ire interjected as Phil was pausing for too long.


    "Well...it was stolen."


    "WHAT!" ire shouted. Haley and Alex heard the echoes from inside the house, but they only shrugged and went to do their own things. Luke hid behind his dad as he wanted to avoid the questioning from his mother, peeking at his mother''s face with ssy eyes.


    "ire. Please calm down. You''re scaring Luke. It wasn''t his fault. A grown man pushed him off the bike and snatched it. He''s traumatized already, so please control your reaction." I said calmly while trying to stop ire from freaking out.


    ire saw Luke''s scared face, and she changed her facial expression. Crouching down to meet Luke''s eye level, ire gripped both of Luke''s shoulders and said, "Luke. I''m not mad...at you. This time...it isn''t your fault. You did nothing wrong here."


    Luke brightened up a bit, and ire continued while checking Luke''s body for injuries, "Do you want to eat somesagna? I had saved up just a cut for you and your dad to taste it. But you can have it all for yourself."


    "Why am I being punished?" Phil retorted unconsciously. Then, he realized what he said, turned to Luke, and saidfortingly, "You can have it all Luke!"


    "Thanks!" Luke said, but before he walked inside, he turned to me and said, "Now that the new bike is gone, can we paint the old bike?"


    Nodding my head slightly, I said, "Yeah. Sure. Bring it to my house after this. We''ll upgrade it together."


    "AWESOME!" Lukeughed and jogged lightly toward the kitchen to eat his portion of thesagna.


    When Luke was out of sight, the smiling ire lost her smile, stood up, and said angrily, "What are you thinking? Leaving him alone in the city!? What are you going to do now? Have you called the cops yet!?"


    Phil was barraged by the questions, and he turned toward me for help. Sighing aloud, I said, "I had already checked the surroundings where the snatching happened. There isn''t CCTV or any witness that can recognize the man."


    [Luke''s Commentary.]


    "Boy. Am I lucky."


    [Commentary ends]


    "We considered reporting it to the cops, but Luke wanted toe home quickly to his mother. His great mother who will protect him from the bad man."


    ire eased up her anger a little lit, while Phil looked at me as if I had betrayed him. Feeling as if he was less of a man than ire, Phil decided, "I will go back to the city and find whoever did this! I swear ire!"


    Phil turned back and hurriedly ran to his car. "Phil!" ire called out in frustration, but Phil wasn''t listening. "I will BRING IT BACK!! I SWEAR ON MY LIFE!!" Phil entered his car and drove off quickly to find the suspects and to be a hero to his son today.


    "Phil. Bring some protection!" I yelled out from afar.


    "NO NEED. MY FIST OF FURY WILL-" As Phil shouted back, he saw a squirrel jumping on the street, "SON OF JOR-EL!" Phil shouted and brakes the car immediately. The car then stopped, just an inch before it killed the squirrel.


    "Oof-" I eximed.


    The squirrel then passes by nonchntly while Phil breathes in relief. He stepped on the gas and shouted back again, "MY FIST OF FURY WILL RAIN JUSTICE ON THE BAD MAN!"


    The car turned into a corner, and Phil was no longer to be seen.


    "Damn. Hisst words are awesome." I muttered, making ire bbergasted. "Don''t say something so ominous!" ire admonished me before she turned back toward Luke.


    "Go to him. He''ll need his mom. Once he''s calmed down, then ask him toe to my house." I said before I stepped off of ire''s front porch. I waved her goodbye before I went back to my house.


    Holding my hungry stomach the minute I entered my house, I cooked a simple fettine alfredo before I went to the garage to wait for Luke.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    Phil was riding back to the snatching scene and decided to walk around to find some clues in search for the culprit.


    [Phil''s Commentary]


    Sitting on the sofa alone at his home, Phil said, "I know that I made being a dad look like it was easy, but sometimes, ites with a great risk too. Like, your child shouldn''t ever see his dad scared of something. He should be able to view you as the toughest guy in the world, and definitely not let him know that he was scared to confront the scary, tattooed, 6 foot 8, man in the city."


    Phil tried to smile, but fear could be seen in his eyes.


    "I need to get the bike back, or act like I did." Phil said while scheming something. He then took out a USB stick from his pocket.


    "Edward is pretty forgetful. He left the drive in the car. So if I failed to find the bike, then, I will buy a new one, print out the same sticker that Luke stuck on his bike before. He won''t be able to tell the difference, and I...Can be the tough guy who fought off a 6 foot 10, muscr man, and be a hero to my family!"


    Shaking his head while smiling, Phil said, "I''ll probably walk around in an hour or so, then just buy the bike and go home."


    [Commentary ends]


    Phil was walking by in a deste area for almost an hour before he saw Luke''s friend, Leon walking around in that area while licking his ice cream.


    "Hey. Leon!" Phil called out.


    "Oh. Hey Mr. Dunphy." Leon replied. Leon had a chubby cheek, short hair, and intelligence a level below Luke.


    "Leon. Did you see a white bike with Luke''s name on it? The name is on a sticker." Phil asked.


    Leon thought for a while, then he answered, "Yeah. I saw it."


    Phil was stunned as he was only asking the question to create some witness that he had searched for the bike. "W-Wh. Ehem!" Phil cleared his throat and asked, "Which way...did the guy go?"


    "He said he''s going to get a drink. Over there." Leon said and pointed to the direction of a sketchy bar. Well, he was pointing at the convenience store beside the bar, but Phil misunderstood him.


    Gulping his saliva, Phil shoved Leon away and said, "Go home now. This ce is not safe for kids!"


    "But-" Leon tried to protest, but Phil said adamantly, "Now!" and chased him away. The ce was actually very safe. There was even an Ihop the next street over.


    Phil walked to the bar and started lingering around the front door, not having the courage to go in. Suddenly, he saw Luke''s bike being chained at the bike rack at the convenience store nearby.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "See. How lucky is that?! He even locked the bike using the same lock I bought for Luke. See here, I still have the duplicate!"


    [Commentary ends]


    "I am the best dad ever." Phil muttered while cycling the bike that was too small for his size. He started imagining the family and Edward''s reaction when he brought the bike home to his son.


    "I''m sorry Phil. You''re the real tough guy." Phil mimicked Edward''s voice goofily as he cycled the bike. Then, he mimicked his wife using a high pitched voice, "You''re a hero Phil. I shouldn''t''ve doubted you. I''m not Luke''s hero, you are!"


    While Phil had run off with his bike, Reuben walked out of the convenience store with a bottle of mineral water in his hand. Then, he noticed the bike Luke had entrusted him to, had disappeared!


    Not knowing what to do, Reuben turned left and right before he picked a direction and started sprinting in that direction. He was heading to the Dunphy''s house for him to meet Luke and exin the situation. They also needed to discuss their next course of actions.


    "It''s not my fault Luke! I swear!" Reuben rubbed his eyes as he cried while running toward Luke''s house. Leon saw Reuben, and stopped him to ask why he was crying, to which Reuben promptly exined everything, even the deal he had with Luke.


    "Okay. You go tell Luke. I will go search for the bike." Leon said.


    Phil was gleefully cycling the bike to his car, where he saw a hot dog stand on the street.


    "Wait. I haven''t eaten anything yet." Phil muttered and stopped for a hot dog. He ced the bike without locks behind him, and walked to the hot dog stand.


    "Two please. And a soda." Phil said and waited for the vendor to make his hot dog. In the 2 minutes he was waiting there, a small figure appeared behind him and stole the bike without him noticing it.


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    Luke arrived at my house sooner than I expected with Haley''s old girly bike in tow. I opened the garage door and handed Luke a protective yellowb suit for kids, gloves, and a face mask.


    "Do we have to wear all of this?" Luke asked, eyes shing with excitement.


    "Yeah. I want to use the spray paint for the bike. I don''t want it to stain your clothes or for you to inhale it." I said as I wore a simr type of clothing.


    "Cool! We''re like rocket scientists!" Luke said excitedly. I didn''t want to snub his excitement so I just went along with it. "Yeah."


    The first thing I did was strip the old bike of its brakes, tires, and the front basket. Once I had left only the bike frame, Luke and I took off the ck tape that ire stuck on the bike to make it seem more of a boys bike.


    "Your mom used a lot of tape." Imented.


    ire came to supervise what we''re going to do, and was surprised when she saw our matching outfits that looked like we were breaking bad.


    "What are you guys doing?" ire asked in confusion.


    "Stripping the paint off. It''ll take some time for it to be done." I said as I watched the old paint slowly peeled off from the bike''s frame. "It''ll take some time Luke. Why don''t we continue tomorrow after you get back from school?"


    "I don''t have school tomorrow. It''s a holiday." Luke said. I turned to ire who was as confused as I was before she remembered, "Oh yeah. The 5th grader has a day off tomorrow."


    Nodding my head at ire, I turned to Luke and said, "Okay. Once the old paint is off, what colour do you want me to paint it? I will go to the store to buy some spray paints."


    "Hm...ck? Or Red? Which one do you prefer?" Luke asked.


    "I can do both if you want." I added.


    "Okay. Then...Both!" Luke answered excitedly.


    Turning to ire, I took off my gloves and held my palm out at her.


    "W-what?" ire asked in confusion.


    "Money to buy the paint." I said casually.


    "Ah! How much do you need?!" ire asked in realisation before she ran to her house to get the money. I only asked her for 20 bucks, and I will give back the bnce to herter on.


    "Do you want me to bring you there?" ire offered after giving me the money.


    "That''ll be great. You don''t have to wait. I''ll ask Abby to pick me up. I want to stop by the tech store too, so it will take me some time to finish."


    ire agreed and took me to the hardware store. After getting dropped off, I searched for the paint and bought it readily. But, when I left the store, a chubby kid riding a bike almost crashed into me.


    "Hey! Watch it!" I shouted. "Sorry!" Leon replied.


    My eyes automatically scanned the bike, and I noticed the familiar sticker on the tube top. "Wait. This is Luke''s bike. How do you get it Leon?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.


    "Um...Er...Reuben...No...Um..." Leon stammered, trying to find the right words to exin the entire situation.


    "If you tell me the truth. I will buy you an ice cream cone." I said while shing a devilish smile.


    "Luke did it! It''s all his n to get two bikes!" Leon spilled the beans easily as he sold out his friend for a 2 dors ice cream cone.


    "Okay. Now, Reuben didn''t know that you have the bike right?" I asked him.


    "Yup." Leon answered while eating his ice cream. For some reason, it tasted extra delicious today for him.


    "Okay. Then don''t tell them anything. I will handle it." I said and took the bike away from Leon before I cycled home.


    [3rd Person POV]


    As Phil turned and saw the bike was gone, he grabbed his head in frustration and his eyes became teary.


    "WHO IS IT?! WHO STOLE THE BIKE!?" Phil shouted and turned to the hot dog stand owner for the answer. The owner shrugged his shoulders as a reply. He also didn''t see who had snatched the bike as he was busy with the hot dogs.


    "Call the police." The owner said nonchntly.


    "And say what? That my kid''s bike was stolen, then I stole the bike from the thief, and then another thief stole the bike from me?" Phil muttered sadly.


    In the neighbourhood Edward and Luke stayed in, Reuben finally arrived and pulled Luke somece private to have a talk.


    "The...*wheeze* The...*Wheeze*"


    "Spit it out!" Luke said in annoyance.


    "The bike is stolen!" Reuben said abruptly.


    Luke was in disbelief. He paused for a while before he realised that it wasn''t a joke by his friend. He shouted,"What!!...What are we going to do now!"


    "You mean...What are YOU going to do..I was never here, and I had never touched your bike." Reuben said and ran off quickly.


    "Hey. Gimme back my sticker you coward!" Luke shouted at his friend from afar, but Reuben continued running away.

 Chapter 38: Girls Talk.

    <h4>Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Girls Talk.</h4>


    (Sup. I just had a draining weekend and I''m fatigued right now lol. Enjoy the chap)


    [Edward POV]


    "Now. How should I y this?" I muttered as I reached my neighbourhood riding on Luke''s bicycle.


    The spring breeze tickled my nose as I rode the bike. "The weather is cold today." I muttered as the cold wind blew. Although the weather had been warmer, it was still a bit cold to be riding a bike without a jacket.


    Passing through house 314, I saw Desiree walking out to the driveway with a hint of anxiousness in her eyes. I stopped the bicycle in front of her and asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "Oh. Edward. It''s not a big deal, but I am locked out of the house." Desiree said. With her tight pink shirt and mom''s jeans, she had dropped her keys somewhere while walking home a little bit drunk before this.


    "Ah. Where''s Abby? Does she have a key?" I asked.


    "She does. She is at your house with Haley. I''m going there right now to get it. Although I hate to bother her.." Desiree said while looking like an abandoned puppy. "There is an open window, I figured if I could reach it, I wouldn''t have to walk all the way over there."


    "Wait. Just propel me in. I''ll open the door for you. But, you''ll need to do me a favour afterward."


    Taking a step back in vignce, Desiree tried to cover her breast with her hands, "W-What kind of favour?" Batting her eyes in embarrassment, she started fidgeting.


    Narrowing her eyes at her, I said tly, "What are you thinking about? I need a ce to hide this bike without anyone noticing."


    "Oh. That. Okay, I can do that." Desiree said while feeling relieved. Then, she saw Luke''s logo on the bike. "Wait. Is this Luke''s new bike?"


    "Yup. He pretended to lose it so that I would paint and upgrade his old bike. So I''m going to teach him a lesson." I exined. Desiree nodded in understanding and said, "Won''t ire be mad?"


    "...I think so." I smirked as I thought about it. Desiree chuckled and said, "That''s what you''re aiming for isn''t it?"


    "BINGO!"


    Desiree and I walked to one of the windows at the side of the house.


    "That''s my room." Desiree said while looking at the window. Then, she looked at me up and down. "If you were an adult, maybe you could give me a lift. But I think it''ll be easier if I do you."


    "Yeah. Do me." I muttered, then I realised what I just said. "Damn. I need to stop hanging out with Phil so much. I have bad innuendo habits now."


    I jumped and grabbed the windowsill, while Desiree pushed me from my buttocks to get up.


    "Be careful with your hands. Don''t grab the wrong thing." I yelled at her as she couldn''t keep her hands steady. Her hands kept going to a ce where she shouldn''t go.


    "You''re unexpectedly heavy!" Desiree said with her face flushing as she used thest of her strength to push me up.


    "I''m only 130 pounds. Pure muscle." I said as I managed to pass my torso through the window and no longer needed Desiree''s help.


    "If you''re pure muscle, you can push yourself up." Desiree retorted as she threw her hand in the air to push me into the window onest time.


    "Wa-Wait. STOP!" I tried to stop her, but it was toote. The push caused me to fall while I''m halfway through the window, hitting my jaw on the floor.


    Desiree finally realised what she had done, widened her eyes in shock and asked quickly, "Are you okay?"


    Rubbing my sore chin, I said, "Yeah. I''m fine. Anyway, your room smells like lotions."


    "Thanks. It''s a candle." Desiree replied from the outside.


    With a lowered volume, I said, "It wasn''t apliment. But whatever." As I entered the room, I saw multiple undergarments thrown around everywhere and a suspicious lone cucumber inside the room.


    "What''s the cucumber for?" I asked to tease her.


    I could hear her bing anxious and say, "it''s f-Formy eyes. I cut it and put it over my eyes. Anyway, Quickly open the door. You don''t have to look around."


    "Okay~!" I replied and continued to snoop for 10 seconds before I hurriedly went to the front door and unlocked it.


    "Stop worrying. I didn''t notice anything. Definitely not the baby oil and the cucumber''s texture." I teased the moment I opened the door to let Desiree in. She was stunned, and I continued, "I''ll leave the bike in your garage."


    Patting her shoulder, I said, "You should go out. You know...date someone."


    "W-W-W-W-"


    "Well. You''re single now, right?" I said while she was struggling to find the words. After teasing Desiree, I walked home with the paint cans and went straight to the garage. She was definitely crossed with me, and would tell Abby about what I said, but I am already prepared for it.


    ire was around, watching the paint slowly stripping from the bike, but Luke was nowhere to be found.


    "Where''s Luke? And has Phil gotten home yet?" I asked, startling ire who was lost in the moment.


    "Oh. I had a weird call from Phil before. And I don''t know where Luke is." ire replied with her arms crossed and a face filled with confusion.


    "What did Phil say?" I asked as I put the paint cans on the desk filled with tools.


    "He said something about finding the bicycle. I was excited after hearing that, but he wasn''t. Now, I''m afraid he''s injured. The call was cut off after saying he was going to print something and thene home." ire shared with me in great detail as I couldn''t help but wonder why.


    Turns out that ire''s OCD had epted my OCD-self as one of her species, making me part of her pack. She was sharing the matter for me to help her think about the possible ramifications of Phil''s words.


    "I see. Then ire. Do you want to have some fun with me?" I asked with a sly smirk.


    "What kind of fun?" ire asked while remaining vignt. At this moment, Abby and Haley called out to me from my bedroom window, attracting our attention.


    "Heyyy. You''rete~!" Abby said while waving at me from the second floor.


    "Why are you in my room?" I asked in confusion. "Wait. How the hell did you get into my house?"


    "Does it matter?" Abby chucked and called me inside.


    "I''ll talk to youter ire. Call me when Phil gets home." I said and left ire alone.


    "Wait. What kind of fun?" ire asked anxiously once more.


    Stopping in my tracks, I muttered, "Oh right." Then I turned back and whispered something to her. Grinning madly, ire patted my shoulder whileughing and said, "Okay, I''ll do it."


    As I entered my room, I hugged Abby with my left hand and pulled her waist close to my body.


    "How did you enter my room?" I asked while staring at her eyes.


    "D-Don''t you remember telling me where you put the emergency keys before?" She blushed as she answered.


    "So you decided to break into my house using it?" I asked, not breaking off the eye contact.


    "I-I...It was Haley''s Idea!" Abby deflected the guilt toward Haley who was lost in my outfits designs at my desk.


    "Hey!" Haley turned to Abby in offence.


    Finally releasing Abby from my embrace, "Which brings me to my next point. Haley. Why are you here?"


    "What? You forgot about your promise?" Haley replied in confrontation.


    "Yeah, Ed. The promise you made after using a girl''s lips to prove a point." Abby said with a hint of anger in her tone.


    "Ah. So she told you huh." I replied with a soft smile on my face.


    ...


    -shback- 3rd Person POV.


    Lunchtime at the Dunphy''s, before Luke''s bike was ''stolen''.


    Desiree, Abby, Haley, ire and Alex were sitting at the dining table together. ire was sitting at the head of the table with Desiree on her left side and Haley on her right side. Sitting next to Desiree was Abby, and in front of her was Alex who''s sitting next to Haley.


    "So..." ire spoke awkwardly after they had finished eating thesagna. "Would you... care for some wine?" She asked Desiree.


    "Sure." Desiree replied with a bright smile. How could she refuse when this was her first time going drinking with a friend in California.


    "Over there, in front of the TV."


    ire led Desiree away to the sofa where she opened a bottle of wine, leaving the children on their own. Although the lunch was great, it was kind of awkward for them to hang out together�Cwithout the booze of course. She opened the wine cork using her mouth while holding wine sses on her other hand.


    After getting liquored up and talking for a while, ire finally broached the topic she wanted to hear.


    "If it''s not too intrusive...Could I hear about your divorce?" She asked meekly.


    Desiree avoided ire''s eyes and bottomed her wine ss. ire hurriedly said, "You don''t have to do it if you don''t want to."


    "N-No. I...would like to.." Desiree said, taking a deep breath, gathering her courage. "But I probably will need a moment."


    "Okay. Sure. Please don''t force yourself to do it." ire said in understanding. Only after two more wine sses were refilled did Desiree share her story with a flushed face.


    "My ex...Well, I received a call from Abby''s school, telling me that she was ill and needed to be sent home. As I was working at that time, I took half a day off to pick her up as I could not contact my husband. Then, when we returned home, we caught...my husband...with a girl barely older than Abby, just doing it on the bed that I bought for us."


    "Oh. So he cheated on you.." ire said in a calm tone, her hand patted Desiree''s hand tofort her. She understood now why Edward said Desiree would never make a move on someone''s husband, as she wouldn''t want to be with someone just like her ex husband was.


    "Yeah. And it was thest straw for our marriage as it wasn''t the first time he''d done it. Therefore, I brought Abby with me to California to get away from everything after the divorce."


    Desiree nced at her daughter and muttered to ire, "She was disgusted by men before she met with Edward. Even tried her hardest to keep them away �C going goth, being unpleasant, picking fights. But now, she is happier than I have ever seen her before. I wonder, when we go back to New York, will she still be happy there?"


    Without Desiree noticing it, a teardrop fell out of her eyes. ire was bbergasted and hurriedly gave a tissue to Desiree.


    Desiree forced herself to smile and said, "I''m sorry. It''s the first time I have talked to anyone about this," while wiping her eyes.


    "No-No. It''s okay. I''m sorry that I couldn''t be moreforting." ire said with a hint of panic in her voice. "But I can lend you an ear if you want to vent."


    "That''ll be great." Desiree said and blew her nose on the tissue. "But I''m done crying. All I want right now...is for Abby to be happy."


    ire held Desiree''s shoulder and said, "You moved to California, a ce where you have no friends or family, just to make sure that your daughter can heal from her traumatic experience. You already made her happy."


    While the mothers were bonding, the girls were having a conversation of their own.


    "Wait, you guys were at his recording session?" Alex opened her mouth in astonishment after Abby had spilled the tea.


    Haley smirked at her sister and said, "Yeah. There is a 14 years old age limit to go there, so you''re not invited."


    "Oh yeah? Is there an age limit on kissing someone else''s boyfriend too?" Alex retorted, making Haley flinch as . Abby turned toward her with widened eyes.


    "Whose boyfriend did you kiss?" Abby asked hurriedly.


    "N-No. It was not a kiss." Haley replied while avoiding Abby''s eyes.


    "Anyway Abby, did you really score 2000 in your SATs?" Alex skillfully changed the subject. Although she did want to cause trouble for her sister, she wouldn''t go so far as to destroy her sister''s friendship with someone.


    Abby stared at Haley for a moment before turning to Alex and answered, "Yeah. Do you want tips or something?"


    "Please. I can just do that on my own. Anyway-...I wanted to ask you..." Alex said to Abby, paused a bit and she turned to Haley, "Go Away."


    bbergasted, Haley said, "I''m not going anywhere! Just ask your questions!"


    "What is it Alex?" Abby asked.


    "We-Well.. You know...You''re smart(Like me)...So how...long was it till you...got a boyfriend?"


    Haley justughed at Alex, causing her sister to re at her. Abby was stunned by the question before she took a deep breath and answered with a red face and blushing cheeks, "To be honest with you. Edward is my...first boyfriend."


    Abby avoided Haley''s questioning look and Alex''s looks of astonishment by lowering her eyes.


    "Wait. Seriously?" Haley asked in disbelief and looked at Abby''s body. "Even though you''re so... hot?"


    "Aww really?" Abby was ttered by Haley''s words. "You think I''m hot?"


    "Y-Yeah?" Haley replied in confusion. "Didn''t Edward always say it to you? Why are you reacting as if this was the first time you''re hearing it?"


    There was a hint of jealousy in Haley''s tone that was visible for someone with a high emotional intelligence. However, the two ck haired girls beside her only have a high intellectual intelligence and didn''t notice it in the least.


    "Well. It was the first time a girl ever said that, so I''m a bit embarrassed."


    Alex was annoyed by Abby''s and Haley''s conversation, so she decided to make a new topic. "You know, there is a rumour in school that Edward has an IQ of 167."


    Abby widened her eyes and said, "Seriously? That''s even higher than mine!"


    "Is 167 high?" Haley asked in confusion. Before Alex could say anything sarcastic, Abby exined, "Yeah. It''s really high. The average IQ is around 85 to 114. 160 is considered exceptionally gifted."


    "Oh." Haley eximed in realisation. "So, he''s super smart smart?"


    "What is your IQ again? 70?" Alex asked sarcastically. Haley was mad and retorted, "What''s your cup size again? A minus minus?"


    Alex was offended, and before they could argue with each other, Abby stopped them. "Well, I''m going to go to Edward''s house after this. I can ask him the question myself to confirm it."


    "I''m going to go with you." Haley said casually.


    Abby and Alex turned to Haley with a confused expression. "Why?" Abby asked. With eyes staring directly at Abby''s plump lips, Haley replied, "He promised me 2 new outfits. I want to im it."


    Alex muttered without thinking, "Oh. So that was how he calmed you down after kissi-"


    Haley closed Alex''s mouth quickly, but Abby managed to piece the puzzle together.


    "Di-Did he kiss you?" Abby asked, her face ashen and her chest hurts from the prospect of Edward''s betrayal.


    "Wait! NO! THAT''S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!" Alex said quickly and then exined the entire situation. Finally, Abby understood everything.


    "Haley. I''m hurt that you didn''t tell me about it." Abby said in a fake sadness as she wiped her eyes.


    "..." Haley was stunned, and Alex invited Abby to their room to talk in private. Haley exined everything that happened, and Alex exined the things that Haley had missed.


    "I see. So, he was trying to help my mom huh." Abby muttered.


    Haley exined anxiously, "Yeah. So don''t be mad at him. He really didn''t kiss me. He only pretended to."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Abby punished me by pulling my cheeks. "Anything else you''re keeping away from me?" She asked angrily as she kept pulling.


    In a muffled voice, I replied, "Yeah. I was just in your mom''s room a few minutes ago." Abby flinched and pulled my cheeks harder, "Why are you there!?"


    "Your mom pushed me inside. What else?" I reply ambiguously on purpose to freak her out.


    "What!?" Abby''s face contorted in confusion. Iughed and I exined the whole situation to her.


    "Ah. Unlocking the door! Damn it! You were messing with me!" Abby said angrily and tried to punish me by biting my neck. Avoiding her, I said, "If you want to flirt, let''s wait till Haley is gone."


    "How about you don''t flirt in front of me in the first ce?" Haley interjected with a dissatisfied tone. "Oh, I miss being in a rtionship."


    "Wait. It hasn''t even been 2 weeks since you got out of one right?" Abby asked as she blinked her eyes twice.


    "Yeah. But for a popr girl, that''s like 2 years." Haley replied smugly.


    "More like a girl who didn''t know how to love herself on her own." I replied, causing Haley''s smile to freeze. Abby thought my words were too harsh, and she nudged me to apologise.


    "Sorry."


    "Anyway. Are you going to pick from the designs here, or are you going to make new designs on your own?" I asked casually to change the subject.


    "..." She didn''t reply and thought for a while.


    While holding the designs, Haley''s eyes took a quick scan and said, "I want to design on my own, but I don''t think I''ll do a great job like you did. So I''m just going to go with what you have made."


    "Nah. Draw the ones that you want to make. Then,e back to see me with the designs. I will help you to upgrade it if needed." I said as I snatched all of my designs from her hand.


    "HEY! What- Wait!" Haley tried to stop me when I was putting all of my designs in the desk drawer and then locked them inside.


    Annoyed, she whined, "Ugh! Why are you being like this? Just pick one from there!"


    Turning toward that girl, I said, "You have the opportunity to finally bring your creativity to life. You don''t have to fear what anyone will think about it, and you especially don''t have to fear me putting your efforts down. If you don''t know how to design, I can teach you about it. It''s okay to go slow if you need to. I will guide you on how to do it."


    Haley was stunned, and Abby broke into a wide smile. She backed me up without me even needing to ask her to do it.


    While hugging me from the back, she said, "Yeah. Do it yourself Haley. I want to see what you''lle out with. You always dress so fashionably, so I''d already know you have a good fashion sense."


    "Well...I know that." Haley agreed with Abby''s words, but she was still being hesitant.


    "Then. Do it. If you really couldn''t, then we''ll just pick something from the pile. I also won''t bring up the topic again" I added.


    Finally, Haley gave up and decided, "Okay. I''ll do it."


    "Excellent." Abby eximed. Nodding my head in agreement, I realised that my phone was buzzing. "Now if you''ll excuse me, I need to y detective at Haley''s house."


    "My house?" Haley was confused, so was Abby. I smirked and I didn''t tell them anything. They could''vee and watched if they wanted, but Haley wanted to go to the mall in search of ideas, while Abby had promised to drive her.


    "I''ll see you tonight?" I asked Abby.


    "Sure. Dinner at your house, right? Do you need me to buy anything while I''m outside?"


    "No need. Juste by when you''re ready. I''ll prepare some nice meals for both of us."


    With a peck on the lips, Abby said goodbye and went with Haley to the mall.


    Once I received the call from ire, I walked to the Dunphy''s to settle the bike theft incident. But first, I needed to change my apparel first to be something of an old school, British investigator.

 Chapter 39: Whodunit.

    <h4>Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Whodunit.</h4>


    As I reached the front door of the house, I knocked on the door exactly three times before I stopped and waited. Then, Alex opened the door after waiting for exactly 5 seconds.


    She scrunched her brows in confusion as she looked at me top to bottom. "Why are you in the suit?...and the hat?"


    Wearing a dark blue, old school suit that was tailor made to fit my body �C using my own efforts, I walked inside the house without answering Alex''s questions.


    "May I please meet with Mr. Dunphy and his son, Luke Dunphy?" I asked politely.


    "Are you role ying?" Alex said in disbelief. Turning toward her, who was standing at my side, I said, "Yes."


    Stunned, Alex rolled her eyes as she pointed to the kitchen, "They are over there."


    "Thank you Mdy." I replied as I tipped my hat slightly at her before walking toward the kitchen.


    Alex followed me from behind to see what I had schemed. Passing the kitchen, I saw Phil standing behind a brand new bike with a Luke''s sticker on it.


    With an excited, but mixed with some worries on his face, Phil was exining to ire about his endeavour in getting the bike back from a 7 foot tall, tattooed man who could kill a bear with his bare hands. But, ire didn''t believe Phil''s story. Not even one bit.


    "So. You walked up to the guy in the bar, demanded he give the bike back, and even then he left your body intact so that you can still return home?" ire asked sarcastically.


    "Yes. Turns out, I just needed to talk to him...man to man...Even a tough guy needs someone to share with sometimes." Phil said braggingly. As I walked into the room, my attire quickly caught Phil and ire''s attention.


    "Sherlock?" Phil muttered with widened eyes.


    "Yes. Edward Sherlock Newgate, at your service. I came here to solve the mystery of the missing bike." I replied.


    ire turned her face away from Phil as she couldn''t hold back herugh. Only after collecting herself did she dare to turn back towards me wearing a serious face.


    "Oh Mr Sherlock, I was waiting for you to arrive." ire said as she got into character. We shook hands as if we had never met with each other before, making Phil wary and Alex''s jaw drop in disbelief.


    "You''re on it too?" Alex asked ire, bbergasted by the entire situation. "Can anyone tell me what is going on?"


    Turning toward Alex for the second time, I smirked at her timing and said, "What else? I came here to solve the case, and reveal to you the true culprit who stole Luke''s bike."


    [Phil''smentary.]


    Kitchen counter interview.


    "Deep down. I know that something is wrong." Phil muttered in concern as he thought about the entire situation. He leaned forward and put both of his arms on the kitchen counter.


    "However, I am both...scared and excited to see where this is going to go." Phil confessed.


    He looked right into the camera and said challengingly, "For every Sherlock. There is a Moriarity. I had cleaned up ALL the traces.. Let''s see if you can catch me."


    [Commentary ends.]


    "Before we get started, let''s wait for the main character of the story first shall we?" I said.


    "Main character? Who?" Alex asked.


    Turning to Alex, I said in a fake British ent, "My dear Watson, of course the main character is the bike owner. Are you feeling unwell today?"


    Philughed and said, "Hahaha..Watson...By the way, your ent is great. You sound like a real Londoner..."


    ire narrowed her eyes at Phil and said, "It''s not great at all..."


    "Tch. Non-believer." I clicked my tongue at ire and took off my hat. "Anyway, where is Luke?" I asked as I looked around.


    "He''s upstairs. I will call him." ire said and walked to the stairs before shouting from below. "LUUUUKEEE!"


    "Why did she even have to go over there? She could just shout from here." Alex said in dissatisfaction.


    "Maybe she wants to protect our ears." I replied as I sat on the sofa. "Watson, a cup of tea please."


    Alex rolled her eyes, but then she said, "Earl grey or Chamomile? We only have those two."


    "I was only joking, but if you were fine with it...Earl grey please." I requested politely from Alex. She nodded and went to the kitchen to make the tea without saying much.


    "Hey Edward..." Phil leaned toward me, trying to say something to me in private, but ire had already returned by that time and caught him in the act.


    Shaking her finger at Phil as she walked into the living room, ire said, "No-No. Wait for everyone to be here."


    Phil sighed and pulled his pants upwards. "I wasn''t going to say anything."


    "Sure you don''t." ire said in distrust.


    "Why are you calling me?" The main character, Luke, finally appeared holding his BB gun on one hand and a walkie talkie on his other hand.


    "Why are you carrying that gun again?" ire shook her head in frustration and snatched the gun from Luke''s hand.


    "Hey. Give me back! I need it if I want to go and search for my bike."


    Alex interjected from afar, "You mean the bike beside Dad?"


    Luke turned to where Alex directed him to, and widened his eyes as he saw the bike near Phil. He ran quickly towards his dad, where Phil was crouching down and readied himself for an embrace as he thought Luke was going to hug him. But I stood up and stopped him before he managed to do it.


    "Not so fast Luke." I said as I caught Luke from behind.


    "Hey. That''s my hard earned respect! Why did you stop him?" Phil asked with a lowered spirit.


    He expected justification for his actions. And if Luke did hug him, then he could skip past his ruse of buying a new bike for Luke, and whatever ''crime'' hemitted, ire would still turn a blind eye at him.


    "Does Hard Earned mean going back to the store and buying a new bike to rece the one you lost? ''cause if that''s the meaning, then I have really done you wrong." I said calmly.


    "Wha-? No. I got the bike back." Phil lied with an anxious voice.


    Channelling my inner Sherlock, I said, "Phil. The sticker is the wrong size. I printed it in A3. The one stuck on the bike is in A4 size. Not to mention you stuck it upside down."


    Turning his eyes to the bike, Phil finally realised what he had done wrong. "I-I mean." Stuttering, he tried to exin himself.


    "God Phil. I really hope that you can return that bike." ire interjected.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "Soo...Moriarty is exposed..." Phil confessed.


    He sighed and said, "I already threw the receipt away to cover up my tracks...I don''t think that the store will allow me to return it...Not to mention I had already stuck a sticker on it."


    mentary ends.]


    As I released Luke who immediately ran to his dad saying, "But...my bike is missing...So, this can be my new bike...right dad?" while shing his puppy dog eyes.


    I could see that Phil was torn about the matter. Before I could interject myself, my dear Watson came to help at the perfect time.


    "So...that''s it?" Alex asked while walking toward me with a cup of tea in her hand. "Did youe here just to expose my dad?"


    "Au contraire." I replied as I took the tea using my two hands. "I came here to solve the case of the missing bike in its entirety, not to unearth what Phil had done."


    "Wait...did you find the bike?" Phil widened his eyes in realisation, and then he eximed in a raised voice, "Were you the one who snatched the bike away from me at the hot dog stand?!"


    ire, Luke and I responded at almost the same time.


    "You were getting a hot dog without me?" Luke asked in a sad voice.


    "Phil, did you leave the bike unattended while you were buying the hot dog? And it got stolen again?" ire asked in disbelief, finally piecing all the clues together.


    "No...You were eating a hot dog? Was it delicious?" I asked.


    Phil turned to me and said, "No. The hot dog fell on the ground. I couldn''t even taste it." He turned to Luke and said, "I couldn''t eat it, so it didn''t really count." Lastly, he turned to ire, "I told you got it from the bar."


    With widened eyes, ire eximed, "That part was true?!!"


    "Of course it''s true ire." Phil said in exasperation, then he met my eyes. "Tha-that''s the truth...right?"


    "Why are you asking him?" ire asked in frustration.


    While still smiling, I said, "Some of it is true. Phil did find the bike near a bar, but he didn''t talk to anyone about getting it. I assume he used the spare key to unlock the bike and rode it away, am I right?"


    Alex was confused, so she asked, "Why would the bike thief... locked the bike using the same lock in the first ce?" She then turned to Luke with suspicion.


    "Uhh...He reached into...Uhhh....my pockets and got my key before he ran away with the bike...!" Luke replied anxiously.


    "Luke, What is going on?" Phil asked.


    "Uhh..." Luke stammered to find the words, so Phil turned to me, "Sherlock, what is going on?"


    "Simple actually. Luke gave his bike willingly to his friend Reuben...you know, the 7 foot tattooed man that Phil demanded the bike from...So that Reuben could keep the bike for a few days while Luke manipted my sympathy for me to help him revamp his old bike."


    "NO!" Luke shouted with teary eyes after his scheme was revealed.


    "Luke!" Phil turned toward Luke in disbelief while ire shook her head in disapproval.


    "If we go to Reuban''s house, I''m sure that we shall find the stickers I gave Luke this afternoon... as he had used the stickers to bribe his friend into bing his aplice." I added.


    "Well..that doesn''t matter now anyway. The bike is really gone. Someone stole it from me." Phil said to protect Luke from the consequences of his actions as usual.


    Although it seemed like a nice picture �Ca father protecting his son from his mistakes, in the end, Luke grew up to be too dependent on his parents. He never tried hard in anything because he knew his parents would always be at his back�C ready to bail him out, nor would they punish him if he screwed up.


    Sometimes, too much unconditional love could be bad for the children. It wasn''t until he was on hisst option while studying at amunity college that Luke managed to change. He finally tapped into his potential and managed to apply for a true college based on his own merits.


    "Yeah. So...this will be my new bike now." Luke said in excitement as he stood next to the bike Phil bought while hiding behind his dad''s protection. No guilt, no hesitation, nothing of the sorts.


    "Wait, are we going to brush off the fact that one of Luke''s friends is a grown man?" Alex asked in confusion.


    ire held Alex''s shoulder and exined, "No. Reuben is a wimpy kid from Luke''s ss. He''s even smaller than Luke."


    Phil scratched his cheeks in embarrassment before I continued speaking, "The story is just starting Phil. The bike...isn''t lost just yet."


    "What?" Phil turned to me with a face full of excitement.


    "Let''s talk about what happened, after you stole the bike from Reuban." I said and took a sip of the tea.


    "While panicking, Reuben ran to the Dunphy''s house to tell Luke that the bike was stolen. But before that, he told his friend Leon about the entire deal."


    "Reuben was running to Luke, while Leon...Leon did something else. Leon followed the bike thief to a hot dog stand before snatching the bike away while the bike thief was distracted by the hot dogs."


    "Ahh...So the bike is with Leon?" Phil asked in understanding. Shaking my finger at him, I said, "No. Leon only had the bike for 5 minutes before it changed owners once more."


    "Ugh. My head hurts!" Luke scratched his head while thinking about the story. "Who has the bike now?"


    "A man who went to buy some paint." I said and pointed to myself. "Me."


    """Ahhhh...""" Alex, Phil and Luke eximed in realisation.


    "Don''t you mean a boy?" ire asked teasingly.


    "Let''s settle on a young, handsome man." I replied to ire.


    "How did you get the bike?" Alex asked.


    "My dear Watson, it seems that fate wanted to expose Luke''s scheme as it made Leon drive right into me after I got out of the hardware store. Serendipitous isn''t it?"


    Alex smiled and said, "It really is."


    "What -tous now?" Phil asked.


    "Serendipitous. Means, a happy coincidence." Alex exined to her father.


    "So the bike isn''t lost?" Luke asked.


    "Yup. But...you did a really bad thing Luke. Until you make up for your actions, I will keep the new bike with me, and also keep your old ones too."


    "WHAT?! YOU CAN''T DO THAT!" Luke shouted in outrage!


    "Eddy...Luke didn''t mean it..." Phil spoke up to help his son to try and ease me into giving back the bike.


    "Nah. He knew exactly what he was doing." Alex backed me up.


    "Yeah Phil, I already agreed on Edward''s n. Luke, until you work hard to get back your bike, no one will help you get it back from Edward." ire exined clearly. "You can start by doing chores, or finishing your paper route to repay your dad''s money. He had to buy 2 bikes today because of your lie."


    Turning to Phil, ire said, "You should go and return the bike back."


    "ire, don''t you think that this is too much?"


    "No Phil. This wasn''t at the level of a simple lie. He knowingly manipted us. There needs to be a fair repercussion for it." ire said sternly.


    Although ire was ying the role of a stern mother right now, I knew that in 2 or 3 days her heart would soften and she would try to get the bike for Luke. Therefore, I needed to be the one who would make sure Luke learned from this matter.


    "Luke. I am not your parents. I won''t be like your mom that will coddle you, or your simple dad that will forget about this whole matter as soon as he wakes up tomorrow. I will check if you did your chores..." I said and stressed the next part, "...on your own...You need to learn some ountability. I won''t give you back the bike, nor will I continue revamping it. Am I being clear?"


    "But...that''s my bike!" Luke said.


    While smirking, I wore my hat back and said mischievously, "No. The bike...was stolen right?"


    Luke was stunned and Alexughed at Luke''s misery.


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    ire started by saying, "Edward had to sit Phil down to exin to him what he was doing. Well...I love my son. But Edward was right, Luke needs to learn to take some ountability."


    Phil sighed and said, "Not only did Edward expose me, he also took away my role as a dad."


    ire turned to Phil and whispered, "That''s because you never punish Luke."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Alex will be my eyes and ears in this house. She will report to me what you do, and what you don''t do. In this room, I know that she will be the fairest out of all of you in her reports to me." I said and patted Alex''s shoulder.


    "What''s in it for me?" Alex asked.


    "Err...The chance to be a good big sister?" I answered.


    She narrowed her eyes at me and before she could say anything, I replied, "A custom made frame for your sses, by my own design?"


    With her mouth half opened, Alex paused to think before she said, "No. I want to take part in your invention."


    "You really want to ask for something that already has your name inside of it?" I asked in confusion.


    "Wait- You''re considering me?"


    "You don''t want to?"


    "Of course...I want to. But, I don''t want to make you feel pressured to get me into it..." Alex confessed.


    Although she had been badgering me to start the invention, her actions didn''t stem from her interest in getting the credit. However, it was because academic validation was all she had. She wasn''t pretty or likeable as her sister �C that was what she thought.


    "No. Not at all." I answered simply while smiling at her. "It''ll be fun to do it together."


    "Okay... the sses then." Alex replied with a bright smile. Her rectangr sses made her seem really nerdy, and I wanted to change her sses frame since the day I met her. Now, I finally have a chance to do so.


    Turning to the family, I said, "Now that the case is settled, and the culprit is punished, I will be going back home now."


    "Wait, Ed, do you want to have dinner with us?" ire asked.


    Shaking my head slightly, I said, "It''s okay ire. I already have ns for dinner with my girlfriend. I need to go home now to cook. Maybe some other time."


    "A date?" Alex teased.


    "Yeah." I replied casually and waved goodbye to the family. Luke exploded once I passed through the front door. "That''s my bike!!!!!!!!!!!!"


    ...


    After finishing the episode which had greatly diverted from its original route, I changed my clothes to a simple grey cotton tee shirt. Putting my apron on, I took out 2 New York cut steaks that weigh one pound each, and have a thickness of 1 and a quarter inch.


    "You know, you coulde after I have finished cooking." I muttered to the girl who''s sitting on the kitchen ind while batting her eyes at me.


    Abby said, "I love watching you cook. Can''t I just enjoy my dinner show in peace?"


    "Okay then." With a smile on, I put on a show for Abby. After I pat dry the steak and season it with pepper and salt, I preheat the pan using medium heat and brush the pan with half a tablespoon of oil.


    While waiting for the pan to heat up, I took out the appetisers �C bacon wrapped jpeno poppers from the oven. After arranging them neatly on the te, I served it in front of Abby.


    "Here. You can get started on the appetisers first while waiting for the steaks. Be careful, it''s still hot."


    Her eyes brightened in anticipation and she grabbed one popper with her fingers without thinking. "Ouch." She eximed in pain and put the popper down again. "Told you." I said and grabbed her hurting finger before I gently blew on it.


    "S-Stop seducing me and get back to cooking already." Abby said while blushing.


    When the pan heat had reached the optimum temperature, I started searing the steaks. As I proceed to sear each side 3-4 minutes until a brown crust has formed, then I used tongs to turn steaks on their sides and sear the edges for 1 minutes each.


    Once I did that, I added butter and aromatics �C melted in butter with quartered garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs. Tilted pan to spoon garlic butter over steaks and cook.


    "How do you like your steaks?" I asked while still spooning the garlic butter over steaks.


    "Medium rare." Abby replied. "We like the same level then." I said and took the meat temperature before I stabbed the tip into the steak.


    As the temperature of the meat would still rise while it rested, I waited for the internal temperature of the meat to reach 145 Fahrenheit before removing the steak. It would rise around 5 to 10 degrees more while it rested, and the meat would be medium rare then.


    "How''s the poppers?" I asked Abby as I saw she had been eating the appetisers while she waited.


    "It''s really great. I can''t stop eating it." Abby replied.


    ttered by herpliments and reactions, I said, "Wait a minute. I will set the table."


    We had a romantic dinner by the candlelight table and paired the meat with some red wine I had snatched from my dad''s liquor cab.


    "How''s your day?" I asked while I helped Abby cut her steak. She could do it herself, but I wanted to do it for her.


    "Well...Haley talks a lot... We went to the mall and then..."


    After dinner, we went to my room and locked the door. While we were making out and me getting to second base, my phone suddenly vibrated. Abby stopped and I took out my phone to check the notification.


    "Oh, it''s from Taylor." I muttered as I read the text. Abby got jealous and snatched the phone from my hand. "Do you want to reply to a text from another girl, or do you want to continue making out with me?"


    "Don''t be jealous. She only wanted to ask when I will be free to get together. We need to prepare for the concert after all."


    Abby blushed in embarrassment and said, "You-you can text her then."


    I threw the phone to the side and said, "No. I want to focus on you now." Then, we continued making out before Abby had to get home.

 Chapter 40: Party (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Party (Part 1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    As my schedule was currently extremely packed �C with the final preparations for the concert, creating Pritchett Closet''s website, managing my dad''s business, and working on my album, I barely had any time to rest nowadays.


    Days passed in a blink of an eye, and without me realizing, it was suddenly Wednesday.


    ''Just 3 more days before the concert.'' I thought as I started to feel the pressure of performing in front of a crowd of 5000 people.


    While I was leaning back on my chair in the ssroom, the one behind me was incessantly tapping my right shoulder multiple times, trying to get my attention.


    "Ed. Ed. What are you giving Elsa as her birthday present?"


    "Ed. Ed. Will you wear a swimsuit?"


    "Ed. Ed. Why won''t you answer me?"


    I ignored Jacob''s questions as I tried to focus on the board. Although I kept reassuring him that everything would be fine, he kepting up with new questions and bothering me with them.


    "Just shut up. Wear whatever you want. I will just show my face and leave early. Bother me again and I''ll tell your mom to give you another exorcism." I answered with gritted teeth after Jacob got on my nerves.


    "... I will shut up now," Jacob said with a dejected tone and leaned back to give me some distance. The exorcism threat worked effectively as he was traumatized from the exorcism he got after kissing his mom while being drunkst week.


    Even then, he never snitched to his mother nor did he me me for getting him drunk in the first ce. That made him a true friend in my books. As he kept feeling anxious and now started shaking his legs restlessly, I sighed and said, "Just calm down will ya? This isn''t your first party right?"


    He was stunned and stopped moving after he heard the question. As his response was weird, I turned back to look at his face and asked again, "This...isn''t your first party...right?"


    "..." Jacob avoided my eyes, but before I could grill him more about the matter, Mrs. Henderson called me out after turning from the board.


    "Mr. Newgate, did you feel confident enough now that you decided not to focus on my ss?"


    "Uhh..." Turning to the front of the ss again, I stammered a little bit, making the entire ssugh at me. "Sorry, ma''am."


    "Tell me, what is the form to find the energy content of a food sample?" Mrs. Henderson asked suddenly.


    Although the topic was something she was going to teach in this ss, she didn''t write any of it yet on the board. Luckily for me, I had understood this topic while studying on my own before.


    "Well, in a simple calorimetry experiment, different food samples can be burned topare the energy content of the samples. Arger increase in water temperature indicates arger amount of energy contained by the samples."


    Mrs. Henderson nodded and said, "Continue."


    The people in the ssroom turned to look at me at the same time, however, my tone was still calm.


    "So to get the energy or Joules, we have to times the mass of water, the specific heat capacity of water, and the temperature increase all together before dividing it by the mass of food."


    "Now, tell me the limitations of these experiments." Mrs. Herderson asked again.


    "The limitations are iplete burning of the food samples and heat energy that is lost to the surroundings."


    shing a sincere smile, Mrs. Henderson said, "Good job Mr. Newgate."


    "No ''5 points for Ravenw''?" I joked, creating some giggles here and there among the students. Mrs. Henderson narrowed her eyes at me for thement, and that was all she needed to do to make me shut up.


    "Let''s continue." Mrs. Henderson said and resumed her lecture as usual.


    "We''ll pick this upter," I whispered to Jacob.


    After thest school bell rang, the school was finally out for the day.


    "Mr. Newgate, a word." Mrs. Henderson called me before I could get out of the ss. I walked to her desk while all the other students were hurrying to go back home.


    As I reached her desk, she asked in a concerned tone, "Mr. Newgate, have you been resting properly?"


    "Hmm? Why do you ask that?"


    "Deep set of eye bags and sunken cheeks. If your eyes were red I would ask you to do a drug test immediately." Mrs. Henderson said.


    "Oh. That. I need to prepare for a concert, my album is still in production, and there is a lot of other stuff as well I need to work on."


    "I see...and how long did you sleepst night?"


    I didn''t want to answer the question, but I didn''t have a choice.


    Avoiding her eyes, I said, "Well...around 2 hours..."


    With stern eyes, Mrs. Henderson said, "You need to sleep at least 8 hours Mr. Newgate. Is there anything bothering you right now that prevents you from doing so?"


    "Well...it''s just...I don''t want to be left alone with my own thoughts. So until I know that I will fall asleep instantly when Iy my head on the bed, I need to continue working on something...just to focus my mind on it."


    I didn''t know why, but it was easy to talk to her about the matter. I me my sleep deprivation for revealing my hidden thoughts. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Henderson didn''t pry away my secrets in my most vulnerable state and said, "Okay Mr. Newgate. I have something that will help you to sleep better. Do you want it?"


    She took out a few pills from her bag and ced them on the desk.


    "Wait, sleeping pills?" I asked in surprise.


    "Only for today Mr. Newgate. You will need it." Mrs. Henderson said ambiguously. Of course, she gave me only enough pills for one day. I took the pills before I put them in my pocket.


    "Thank you, Mrs. Henderson," I said sincerely.


    "You''re wee. Don''t expect this to be a regr thing. I will only help you with this once." Mrs. Henderson said as she turned her face away from me to focus on the paper on her desk. "Now, go home and rest."


    "Wait. Did you only want to talk to me about that?" I asked in confusion.


    "For now...Yes...After you are feeling better, and your workload has decreased, I will talk to you again." Mrs. Henderson replied without looking at me.


    Nodding my head slightly at the teacher, I walked out of the ssroom after thanking her once more. Then, I found Jacob was still waiting for me in the hallways after I got out of the ss.


    "Why didn''t you go home first?" I asked in confusion as soon as I saw him.


    "Let''s go to the mall together. I need to buy a new outfit for tonight." Jacob said urgently.


    "You just bought one yesterday!" I yelled in disbelief.


    "Yeah...so?"


    ...


    Jacob''s mom dropped us off at the mall after dropping my bicycle at my house.


    "You kids, be careful now. Don''t do anything that Jesus wouldn''t do!" Mrs. Green waved at us excitedly before she drove the car away.


    "Jesus can turn water into wine. So we should drink alcohol right?" I turned to Jacob and said.


    "Don''t get me in even more trouble!" Jacob yelled. As we were looking at the clothes, I casually asked him, "What gift did you get Elsa?"


    "I wanted to get her a diamond ring...But that''s too expensive..." Jacob said. Shaking my head in disbelief, I asked with my arms crossed, "Then, what did you get?"


    "Er...a Coach brand bag."


    "How much?" I asked again.


    "Um...it''s not expensive."


    "How much is the bag, Jacob?!" I asked sternly this time.


    "...500 dors."


    I widened my eyes in disbelief after he said that. "How did you get the money?"


    He avoided my gaze and said, "Well...I sold a few of my football collectibles...It''s not a big deal Ed. Don''t freak out."


    Speaking faster than usual, I said, "I''m not freaking out. Does it look like I''m freaking out? I''m just thinking about how stupid you are being right now. That''s all."


    "You kind of freaking out right now," Jacob said.


    "No."


    "A little bit?"


    "...Yeah a little bit. Just to be clear, I''m not freaking out because I wanted to give something better to Elsa."


    "Then...why?"


    "Because, this is your first ever rtionshi- Wait. It''s not even a rtionship yet. It''s barely a fling. You only talked to her in real life...2 times! You''re going to crash and burn if you''re being too needy."


    Jacob suddenly grabbed both of my shoulders and panicked. "W-w-w-w...Crash and burn? Are you sure?"


    "Yup. You shared your text with me every day. I noticed that she is losing the original interest she has in you."


    Again, the giant shook my body left and right vigorously as he was panicking. "What should I DO?!!!"


    "Do you want the easy way, or the hard way?" I asked with my eyes spinning.


    He finally stopped shaking me and asked with vignce, "What''s the difference between them?"


    "The easy way...you might getid today. The hard way, you might lose her to someone else."


    "Easy way please!" Jacob begged.


    "Let me see your phone," I said and held out my hand. Then, I noticed a text message from Elsaing in the minute I held the phone.


    "Wait...she is texting..." Jacob tried to snatch the phone back, but I moved it away from him. Then, he started to use more physical contact to get back the phone. I got annoyed so I tripped him while he was trying to force me.


    "Give me!" He said from the ground, trying to get up immediately. "Aaaannnnddd...Send." I said while clicking the send icon and gave him back the phone before he managed to get up.


    While lying on the floor, he checked the text hurriedly.


    Elsa: Hey, what are you doing? Can youe to the party early to help set up?


    Jacob: I''m busy. Find someone else.


    Elsa:... Okayyy.


    "WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Jacob yelled at me in frustration....still lying on the floor.


    "What''s best for you right now." I replied casually with a sly smirk. "and...Oh yeah, don''t reply to any of her messages. y aloof as if you don''t even notice her existence."


    Jacob widened his eyes and had a horrified look on his face. He reacted as if I had just told him to worship Satan, then, the devil spoke once more, "You want to make out with her today or not?"


    "...Okay. I''ll do what you say." Jacob replied meekly as the devil''s temptation had won.


    ...


    At 8 pm, we started our journey to the party�Cdriven off by Jacob''s dad. He was a huge, 6 ''9 man with a Viking beard on his face, a rough-looking face, and tattoos on his left hand.


    He looked like a buff Viking from the middle age as he took good care of his body. Not his belly though, as his belly was bby from all of Mrs. Green''s cooking.


    "Wait, So how did you seduce Mrs. Green again?" I asked in confusion. "Isn''t she a meek, kind, ever-loving, god-fearing, conservative Christian Woman?"


    "Well. Before she turned into that, she was even wilder than I am." The retired football yer, Mr. Henry Green said.


    Both Jacob and I ran our imaginations, trying to think how a wild Mrs. Green would look like. I imagined her with a crop top, tattoos on her lower back that said ''go deep'', and spiky punk rock hair. Jacob imagined her as not going to church...and that was it.


    "If there are some photos, I would love to see them," I said curiously.


    "I don''t think there are anymore. She had burned them all when she... transitioned." Mr. Green blurted out unconsciously. "She said they were the devil''s temptation for anyone who saw them."


    As he drove, Mr. Green found out that they were heading into the luxurious area of the town. He asked, "Anyway, does your friend really live here?"


    "Yeah. It says so on the invitation." Jacob said and checked the paper invitation once more.


    Only those who were selected to go there were given the invitation while those who didn''t get the invitation could only be green in envy. It was the school event of the year, and most students there were desperately wishing for an invitation.


    We finally arrived at the gated mansion. I finally saw Jenna''s house, and I couldn''t help but open my mouth in awe.


    The mansion seemed identical to the ones in the neighborhood, but with a uniqueness of its own.


    The white walls, Greece-type pirs that supported the second-story balcony where Jenna''s mom could greet the world every day the moment she woke up from the bed. My attention then turned to the heated, 20-meter-long pool that was illuminated by the party light right now�C where multiple teenagers in swimsuits were ying around.


    "Thank you, Mr. Green," I said as I exited the car with Jacob, finally revealing my outfit for the party. I wore a simple, white short pants and a dark shirt with pineapples on it with the buttons opened till the third one, showing off a little bit of my smooth chest.


    Jacob wore a red tank top and ck pants to match, showing off the biceps that he got from training with his dad.


    "You kids, be nice! Don''t drink too much!" Mr. Green said before he drove away, leaving a stunned Jacob.


    "So...your dad has given you the permission. Will you drink, or will you stay sober tonight?" I asked teasingly.


    Jacob grimaced at me and pped my arm. "What are you thinking? It''s a kids'' party. There is no way they will serve drinks to a minor-"


    As soon as he said that, a cute waitress wearing only a green bikini walked right by us while holding a tray of sses. I picked up two green-coloured drinks from the tray, and gave one to Jacob.


    "See. They had started us off already." I said while sipping the drinks spiked with alcohol already.


    "Hey. You guys arete." Jenna noticed us and walked right toward us hurriedly, wearing a very daring ck bikini that made her chest jiggle every time she took a step. Her bikini top was a crossed bra bikini that hung from her neck, wrapping around her breast smoothly but still revealing her cleavage.


    She walked from the crowd of boys swarming around her while ogling her body with almost a pitched-up tent, leaving everyone dissatisfied and couldn''t help but turn hostile toward me.


    "This will be a very fun party," I muttered facetiously.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    An hour before Edward and Jacob arrive at the party.


    "Busy? What do you mean you''re busy?!" Elsa muttered angrily after reading the text from Jacob. She was still in her normal outfit, a jacket, tube top, and a mini skirt as she sat on the bed while her friend had already changed into her bikini.


    While fixing her top in front of a full-body mirror in her room, Jenna said casually, "Maybe he''s no longer interested in you."


    "Nah. That can''t be it. He worships me." Elsa said and finally turned her attention to Jenna. "Anyway, are you sure you want to wear that all night?"


    Jenna shed a bright smile and twirled for Jenna to look, "How is it? Does it make you want to stab me to death from jealousy? I''m sure a lot of boys will lose their minds from this and they will abandon their girlfriend to be with me."


    Elsa stared nkly at Jenna and said, "This is still about Edward? I thought you said he''s a smart man that won''t be seduced by any random woman."


    "I AM NOT ANY RANDOM WOMAN!" Jenna raised her voice and said with angry eyes.


    But, Elsa wasn''t intimidated by Jenna''s bipr personality. That was the reason that she was alone there. Although Jenna was popr among the boys, she was abhorred by the girls in the school for her slutty behaviors. Even at the party, it was hard to find popr girls that would love toe.


    Brushing off Jenna''s reaction, Elsa said with a scrunched brow, "What do you mean he''s no longer interested in me?"


    "Well...It is what it is. You have been talking too long without getting anywhere, now, he''s no longer interested in you. Maybe he''s talking to another girl now." Jenna replied casually and continued making herself look sexier.


    "He''s talking to another girl!? Are you sure?!" Elsa asked while her heart palpitated quickly.


    "I don''t know. Usually, a guy will lose interest when he gets what he wants. I guess some other girls are currently..." Jenna made a sucking motion while shaking her hand up and down in front of her mouth, emting the blowjob technique she learned from her mother.


    "NOO!" Elsa screamed in denial. Jenna stopped teasing and rolled her eyes at Elsa. "Virgin." She muttered. "If you''re really that scared, just take him to my room tonight and im him as yours. Check out the drawer." Jenna said and pointed to her nightstand.


    When Elsa opened it, she found that it was filled with boxes of condoms, birth control pills, n B pills, and even lube.


    "W-Wh-what are you telling me to do?" Elsa said with shaky eyes as she picked up the pink toy Jenna used in the drawer. As she clicked the button, the toy started to vibrate. Jenna walked to Elsa and grabbed the toy from her before she leaned forward and pushed Elsa''s body onto the bed.


    "Hey!" Elsa tried to resist, but Jenna was being forceful toward her. "Push him down like this...And then..." Jenna said and slid her fingers into Elsa''s thigh before getting underneath her underwear.


    "STOP IT!" Elsa said angrily and pushed Jenna away before she got off the bed and walked a few steps away. Jenna smiled mischievously and licked her finger that she used to tease Elsa''s private part. She got off the bed and walked to Elsa before she whispered to her friend''s ears.


    "By the way. You taste quite good."


    "Shut up Slut!" Elsa cursed in anger before she changed into her own bikini. But unlike Jenna, she covered up her body with a thinyer of clothes that people wore on top of their swimming suits.


    The party started quickly at 6.30 in the evening but the VIPs hadn''t arrived yet.


    "Where is Edward?" Jenna asked after the party had started for an hour, but there were still no signs of her target.


    "I don''t know. Jacob isn''t answering me... Jenna... I think...he''s talking to other girls and is cheating on me." Elsa said in a somber tone.


    Rolling her eyes, Jenna said, "It wasn''t cheating as you guys haven''t dated yet. Just push him on the bed as I told you to. You''ll get him."


    Then, thete guest finally pulled up inside a gray Peugeot and walked out of the car.


    "Hey. They are here!" Jenna said excitedly and ignored all the flies that were swarming around her to finally start seducing Edward.

 Chapter 41: Party (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Party (Part 2)</h4>


    (Thest national exam is at the 20th, therefore I needed to took care of my students first as they are my top priority right now. It''s a little long, but I will be taking a break till Tuesday next week. But I will be posting on the weekends on the same week to make up for lost time, so don''t worry about the chaps number. Have a nice weekend everyone! )


    [Edward POV]


    Loud repetitive music with strong bass that made your heart thump together with the beat, kids jumping in the pool, boys begging girls to kiss each other, girls just doing it for fun, and the spiked punch that made people lose their inhibitions.


    "Ooohh...This is definitely not a party for middle schoolers." I said as I drank my third ss of cosmopolitan today.


    "Eddy~" Jenna ran toward me and hugged my arm suddenly the minute I turned my back.


    "Oh damn it." I muttered as I almost spilled my drink from her sudden approach.


    "Where did you go? I almost couldn''t find you~" Jenna acted coquettishly while pretending she didn''t know what she was doing. She kept moving her body, rubbing her skin against my arm as she hugged me.


    ''When I ditched you for the third time tonight, I expected you to take the hint already. It''s either you''re a special kind of dense, or you ignored it all just to get your target,'' I thought as I took a sip of the drink using a thin red straw.


    Jacob was talking with some boys he knew, and he kept his words with me to not acknowledge Elsa in this party, causing the birthday girl to go crazy for him.


    "Hey NEWGATE!" Suddenly, a hormonal teenager called out to me as Jenna was only paying attention toward me in the entire party.


    Jenna and I both turned to the source of the voice and saw a group of teenagers �C all boys with only their swim pants on and bare body, were walking toward me. Jenna''s face contorted in anger as her scheme was cut short, but the boys didn''t seem to notice that.


    "Sup." I replied casually while still sipping my drink and no notable change in my facial expression. The boys were confused as it wasn''t the reaction they expected me to have. They imagined I would be shaking in my boots and get away from Jenna immediately, but it seemed that they needed to do something more.


    "I heard you are dating a goth girl?" Boy #1�C Nate, a skinny, African-American boy with dreadlocks said instigatively. "Good for you. Weird kids should stay together."


    "Oh. I agree with that. It''s good that you have found your group now." I retorted casually. Boy #1 be angry and tried to lunge at me, but he was stopped by Boy#2�COllie, a blonde haired, blue-eyed football yer with the same height as me and some muscles on his body.


    "She got big boobs right? I guess you''re enjoying yourself every night sucking on that." Boy#2 said as heughed and high-fived his friend like he did something great. To be honest, I didn''t really care about them and never even bothered to learn their names.


    "Don''t feel bad. At least you can suck on your dad''s dick every night." I sniped back as no one could insult my girl and still got away with it. Jenna giggled at my remarks and hugged my arm again.


    "What the fuck did you just say?!" Boy#2 stampeded toward me �Cfeeling both jealous of me because of Jenna, and also wanting to pay me back for my usations.


    But Jacob walked beside me and Jenna at this moment. His towering stature and unkind face caused the boys to stop in their tracks before they managed to get to me.


    "What?" Jacob stared at them. With a whimper, Boy#2 fall into a stutter. "I-I-I-I I''m going."


    The group of boys retreated quickly after Jacob decided to interfere. If only they knew that the kind giant didn''t even have the heart to step on an ant, lest punching other people, they wouldn''t be so scared of Jacob.


    "Teenagers are weird." I muttered, causing both Jenna and Jacob to look at me in confusion.


    "You''re a teenager too?" Jenna asked.


    "Am I? Or am I really a CIA agent who''d been tasked to infiltrate a school to find the enemy of James Bond?" I said seriously.


    "Bro. You''re drunk." Jacob snarked in derision.


    "Yeah. A little bit." I confessed.


    Then, his eyes shook and his face flushed. I narrowed my eyes at him because of his weird reaction.


    He exined himself quickly while freaking out, "I-I didn''t mean ''Bro'' as in ''Y-you''re my bro''...But a ''Bro'' in general! Yes. That''s it!"


    "Hmm? But...Aren''t you my bro? Why are you embarrassed to say it?" I asked in confusion.


    Jacob widened his eyes, and asked in hesitation, "I''m...your bro?"


    "You''re not?"


    "No! I AM!"


    "Okay...bro." I said with a sly smirk that made Jacob blush. He hesitated and said, "Bro?"


    I nodded and said, "Bro.."


    "Bro!"


    "BRO!"


    "BROOO!!!"


    Jenna narrowed her eyes at us and said, "Are you guys bing bros? Or bing a couple?"


    I turned toward her, and inches my face closer to her face. I stopped with only a 2 inch distance between our faces, gazed into her eyes and said, "Why? Jealous?"


    I teased her for the first time ever while I was excited. Jenna''s face blushed and she avoided my eyes by lowering hers.


    ''Ah shit. I really need to stop drinking.'' I thought as I realized what I had done. I moved my face away from her as she fidgeted her body. "Ed..Do you want to see my room?" Jenna asked while biting her lower lip.


    "No need. By the way, when will the cakee out?" I asked.


    "Cake?" Jenna asked in confusion as I changed the subject.


    "This is a birthday party right?" I asked. "A birthday party has to have cake."


    Jacob nodded in agreement at my words, but Jenna was extremely baffled by the situation.


    "You did get her a cake... didn''t you?" I asked after Jenna was still not answering my question.


    "I..forgot..." Jenna said and defended herself quickly, "...I want this to be more of an adult''s party! In my mom''s party, the birthday girl wille out with some frosting...and all the people will ''eat it'' off her. I already prepared that stuff for Elsa!"


    Sighing at the same time I dropped my head, I said, "Jenna. She will beat you up. Where did you learn all of this stuff anyway?"


    "No she wouldn''t!" Jenna said anxiously. "Ugh. Where can I find a cake at this hour?!" She looked at the sky in contemtion before she turned to me and said angrily, "And also, I learned it from my mom! You say you like mature women!"


    "Yes, I did say that. But even a mature woman eats cake on her birthday. You know, a normal mature woman."


    Jenna was bbergasted by my words, and she huffed away from me for the first time tonight.


    "Broo.." Jacob called me in a low tone, his eyes begging me to do something as he pointed to Elsa who was talking with a group of girls at the side with his eyes.


    "I know broo." I replied and walked to the staff area before I talked to the cute waitress who''s serving the drinks. "Hey, has the cake arrived yet?"


    "What? There isn''t any cake delivery in the schedule?!"


    The red haired waitress started to freak out as it was her first day on the job. Not only did she have to wear an itty bitty bikini, she had to suffer some harassment from the young, entitled little brats there that couldn''t keep their hands to themselves.


    Her stature was a bit beefy from the other girls working there, and I couldn''t help but feel a sense of familiarity when I looked at her.


    "Hey, hey. No need to freak out. There is still an hour left before we''re going to cut the cake. Why don''t you talk to the party nner and get a birthday cake for the birthday girl?" I said while shing a charming smile that made the waitress''s head go nk for a bit.


    "Oh- But I-"


    "Or you can go pick up the cake yourself. Just take one of the cars in the garage and go. It''s better than serving some horny boys right?"


    "Um-Um.."


    "Not only that, the client will be very grateful to you that she might rmend you to another job that''s infinitely better than this one."


    Finally, the waitress sumbed to my words of temptation. "Okay. I''ll go pick up the cake."


    "Great. Give me your number, I''ll text you the store location. I''ll contact the store for you and make the payment by myself so you just need to give my name to pick it up."


    My impression inside of the young girl''s mind rose up quickly, and she said with a blush, "O-kay."


    I gave her the key to one of Jenna''s mom Mercedes, and a jacket for her to cover up her swimsuit.


    "Hey, your wig is falling off." I said as I leaned through the car door to fix the waitress''s wig.


    "What''s your name cutie?" I asked flirtatiously.


    "I''m...not supposed to tell you..." She was hesitant for a while, but then she replied, "But my name is Penny." She replied.


    "You''re from Nebraska?" I asked after seeing the simrities on her face when Ipared it to another actress from a si I know before.


    Shocked, Penny replied, "How did you know!?"


    Finally confirming it, I said, "Just a hunch."


    "Oh my god. Do I look like a country hick out here?" Penny asked anxiously.


    "No. You''re very beautiful." I replied. She brightened up and said, "Thanks."


    "Godspeed." I said and knocked on the car door twice. "Remember, my name is Edward Newgate. The cake is for Elsa." I said and winked at the waitress before waving her off.


    She drove away with a face full of smiles as it was the first time she had ever driven a luxury sports car. "Edward huh. How nice." She muttered as she get pass the main gate.n


    With a drink on her hand, Jenna quickly approached me in horror after seeing someone driving off in her mom''s car.


    "What did she do?" She asked quickly. "Did that skank just steal my mom''s car?"


    I turned to Jenna and said, "Nah. She is picking up the birthday cake. My dads business has a connection to a bakery near the Marina. You won''t believe how many people would forget to get the cake until at thest minute."


    "Oh." Jenna eximed in realization. Then, she smiled widely and put her hands on her back before she inches closer to me. "Are you helping me?"


    She did try to tell the nner about it, but they would only listen to her mom.


    "Nope. I''m giving my birthday present to Elsa. That''s all." I replied and walked away from a giggling Jenna.


    Suddenly, ire called me directly after I had sent the waitress away. I picked up the phone and asked, "Hey ire, Is there a problem?"


    "I saw a receipt for a cake being bought just now. Should I arrange for the crew to pick it up?" ire asked hurriedly.


    "Ahh..No need. The cake is for another event. I had already arranged for someone to pick it up. Also, stop snooping around the business when it''s outside your working hour."


    bbergasted, ire said, "I didn''t do that."


    "ire. I can see the frequency of everytime you open up thepany''s ount. Do you want me to graph it out and send it to you?"


    "...I-"


    "Shouldn''t work at this hour." I interjected before she could make excuses for herself. "Log off thepany ount before I''ll set up a limited time ess for you. Once you open it for 4 hours next time, it will be shut off. Do you want me to give you a bedtime curfew like that?"


    "NO DON''T!" ire shouted immediately.


    "Okay. So will you manage your time better?" I asked in a parenting tone.


    "FINE." ire replied like a rebellious teenager. I smiled before I ended the call with her and rejoined the party while Jenna followed me around like a baby duck following its mother.


    "Everyone, we will move the party inside for now." Jenna suddenly said. She smirked and then continued while eyeing me hungrily, "We''re going to y...spin the bottle."


    The boys cheered at her announcement while the girls were pretending to be embarrassed by it.


    I turned to Jacob and said, "Told ya."


    ...


    The kids were sitting around in a circle, waiting for Jenna to start spinning the bottle.


    Jenna exined, "Here are the rules. When the bottlends on you, you can choose to enter the closet �C to kiss, or just to talk, whatever you want to do. You will have 7 minutes alone together in the closet. Or you can ignore it when the bottlends on you. However, if you ignore it, you cannot participate in any of the gamester."


    "The birthday girl can do whatever she wants, and the rules won''t restrict her." Jenna added. Elsa nodded in embarrassment and shot a nce at Jacob �C who was still ignoring her. That action however, made Jacob extremely irresistible to Elsa.


    The group nodded and the game began. There were 20 people there. 8 girls and 12 boys. So there will be 4 boys who wouldn''t be able to do it. Almost all the boys had fiery eyes right now as they wanted to be the one picked to enjoy their own personal moments of heaven inside the closet.


    "I''ll begin." Jenna said, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened it back up revealing her fiery glint as she gazed directly at me.


    "First couple!" Jenna twisted the bottle forcefully, making it spin in high speed at the middle of the group''s circle. Finally, the bottle slowed down, and it wouldnd on the boy''s side. As it slowly passed through a boy''s position, grunts and moans could be heard from their disappointment.


    "Wait...it can''t be..." I muttered as I saw the bottle tip moving slowly towards me. Then, it pointed straight at me, before itnded on Jacob who was on my right side.


    "M-Me?" Jacob muttered anxiously while pointing at himself.


    "Tch." Jenna clicked her tongue as she missed her target. "Yup. You. Now, to pick the girl." She lost interest and spinned the bottle without thinking much. Elsa''s heart beat quickly as the bottle spinned. Then, it finally slowed down and itnded on a random girl at the party.


    With polkadot bikinis and tied up hair, the short and stacked, cheerleader girl looked at Jacob up and down before biting her lips and said, "Okay. I''ll do it."


    Suddenly, Elsa crawled to the bottle and turned the bottle head to her seat before moving back to her seat. Everyone opened their mouths in disbelief, and even Jenna was a bit disappointed with her friend''s desperation. (Ironic isn''t it?)


    "What? The birthday girl can do whatever she wants right?" Elsa said in embarrassment.


    Jenna nodded in agreement and said, "True. Okay. Jacob and Elsa, your 7 minutes start right now."


    She led them to a dark closet and pushed both people in before she returned to the circle.


    "We will wait until they are done before picking the next couple." Jenna said. I turned to the closet''s direction and whispered, "Good luck Jacob." Then, I stood up from the circle.


    "W-Where are you going?" Jenna''s eyes shook as she watched me getting up.


    "Oh. I''m just staying here to support Jacob. I''m not interested in the game." I said dismissively and I walked out of the living room where the game was yed.


    "W-wait. Wait!" Jenna called out to me hurriedly.


    "What?" I asked while turning back to her.


    "Are you really not going to y?" She asked again.


    "Yup." I replied simply and went back to the pool where I would justy down on one of the chairs while waiting for the cake to arrive.


    "Wait-" Jenna stood up hurriedly to chase me.


    "Hey, what about the game?" Boy#2 asked.


    "Do it yourself. I''m out too." Jenna replied and ran away.


    "Well...if she''s out..." Then a few more boys that came here especially for Jenna stood up and abandoned the game, leaving only an equal number of girls and boys there.


    But...no one wanted to continue the game now as the girls felt like leftovers in the party as almost all boys wanted Jenna, and the boys couldn''t proceed if no girls wanted to y.


    "He fucking ruined the game!" Boy#2 gritted his teeth in anger as he thought about someone particr who was sipping on some drinks right now.


    A brown, short haired girl in a rainbow coloured shirt and denim overall looked around in excitement and continuously texted her sister about the affairs currently going on in the party.


    "Oh. This party is so much fun." Enid muttered as she kept reporting everything she saw and heard at this party.


    (Just the same name, no supernaturals)


    [3rd Person POV]


    Inside the closet.


    "So..." Jacob muttered, avoiding Elsa''s eyes while she gazed intently at his face.


    "So what? Why are you avoiding me today?" Elsa asked in confrontation while continuing to stick her face close to Jacob, although she needed to stand on her toes to do it. Then, she slipped and fell right into his embrace.


    "Be careful." Jacob said as he wrapped his arms around her to prevent her from falling. Her hand fell into his chest, and she could hear his heartbeat beating quickly as he hugged her.


    *Ba-dump* *Ba-dump* *Ba-dump*


    "Wait. Do you...still like me?" Elsa asked while raising her head to meet his eyes.


    "When did I ever stop liking you?" Jacob replied innocently.


    Then, Elsa pushed him away, causing him to fall t on his back.


    "Ouch!" Jacob eximed as his head was knocked onto the floor.


    "Shut up." Elsa said as she straddled him and started to kiss him passionately while they were on the closet''s floor. She was following Jenna''s advice to literally push the one she likes and take the lead in this matter.


    Their first kiss in their entire life started out awkwardly, with just a peck on each other''s lips. Then, they befortable with the pace, and Jacob decided to take a step further by moving his tongue toward Elsa''s mouth.


    "Umm.." Elsa moaned as she didn''t expect Jacob to do it like that. Then, Elsa ran her hand all over Jacob''s body before he did the same thing on hers.


    They lost track of time, and they made out for over 20 minutes before realizing that no one was calling out for them. Finally separating from each other, they walked out as they were hearing somemotions from the pool area.

 Chapter 42: Party (Part Last)

    <h4>Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Party (Part Last)</h4>


    (I''m too nervous for tomorrow''s paper as it is the subject that I teach. So I need to distract myself, and you guys earned a Chapter at the same time lol. Make sure toment a lot to help me get through thest 12 hours before the test!)


    [3rd Person Pov]


    In Abby''s gothic style room,ying on the bed was a blonde haired teenager with a denim skirt and a long sleeved unicorn shirt.


    By her side�C sitting on the bed while doodling on a piece of paper was a pretty brown haired girl. Meanwhile, the goth girl was crouching on the chair near the desk while hugging her knees and having a worried expression on her face.


    "So, what is he doing now?" Haley asked as she took a breather from doodling.


    "He''s dancing to the music and is still ignoring the slutty bitch." Tara replied casually as she read the text from her sister Enid while still lying down on Abby''s bed. Enid is her sister whom she nted at the party to act as a spy for her friends.


    "Good." Abby muttered, still feeling anxious that her boyfriend had gone to a party without her. Haley turned to Abby and said, "You know, you didn''t have to let him go to the party if it''ll bother you this much."


    Tara finally raised her head and turned to Abby, "Yeah. If it was me, I would never let my boyfriend go to a party alone. Boys are pretty stupid. They won''t think much about something before they do it."


    "No. Edward isn''t like that." Abby said with a low spirited voice. Tara rolled her eyes and said in exasperation, "We all thought like that on our first rtionship. But the truth is, if you don''t control your man, he will BE snatched away by someone else."


    Abby then confessed, "I...don''t want to be that kind of girl that would control all of her boyfriend''s actions. Besides, Ed is pretty mature. I don''t think that he''ll be swept away by the party."


    "Oh." Tara read another text from her sister when Abby finished talking.


    "What?" Haley turned to Tara and asked with a serious face. Abby turned to Tara too, and her eyes turned ssy.


    "He''s...joining the game..." Tara said with some difficulty as if trying to let Abby down easy.


    Haley was confused and asked, "What game?"


    "You know...the one where you enter a closet with a girl...and have your first kiss... or you know just make out..." Tara replied in a hushed tone, but all of her words became thunderous when they entered Abby''s mind.


    "Wait. Is he just sitting there because he didn''t know about it?" Haley asked again after ncing at Abby in anxiety.


    "No. They had exined the rules pretty clearly. They are spinning the bottle now."


    Abby lowered her head and buried her face behind her knees. Haley slipped from the bed and walked to Abby hurriedly. "Do you want to go there and beat up that bitch who ns all of this?"


    "No need...He''s just like the other men...I thought he would be different.." Abby said with a shaky voice and a lump on her throat.


    "Wait! Don''t cry yet!" Tara suddenly shouted, causing Abby to raise her head and Haley to turn toward her at the same time.


    "He''s not joining them. He said he was only there to provide his friend some moral support. He''s getting out of the game now!" Tara reported all of Enid''s text clearly as if she was some reporter reading the news.


    Abby brightened up and eximed, "Oh," before she smiled in embarrassment. Haley and Tara had a teasing smile afterward and Tara mimicked Abby, "I thought he would be different. My romeo-"


    "Shut up!" Abby yelled while being embarrassed and threw a pillow at Tara''s face.


    "Hey! My MAKEUP!" Tara shouted in anger as she saw a clear lipstick mark and her eye shadows on the white pillow case.


    "Shut up and read. What are they doing now?" Haley ordered.


    "So that''s it? That''s my only purpose here? I feel used. Is this how all of your ex-boyfriends felt?" Tara teased Haley.


    Haley smirked and retorted, "I never used anyone!...and yeah, that''s your only purpose."


    "You...bitch." Tara cursed.


    Haley sat back on the bed, picked up her doodling that looked like a 10 years old''s drawing and showed it to her friend, "Abby, how does this look?"


    "Oh...that''s nice. Did Luke teach you how to draw?" Abby teased.


    "Zip it!" Haley gazed menacingly at Abby as she put her drawing down.


    "I think it looks nice. But I need some more details. Why don''t you use some of the magazine cutouts like we see in the movies to show it?" Abby advised.


    "That''s....a great idea!" Haley smiled brightly as she heard the idea.


    "Uh-oh." Suddenly, Tara eximed again.


    "What now?" Abby asked in concern.


    "It seems that your boyfriend is going to fight someone." Tara replied.


    [Edward POV]


    At the party. I returned back outside andy down on one of the pool chairs before Jenna suddenly came out and sat beside me on another chair. She sat on the edge of the chair and leaned forward before she tapped on my arm with one finger.


    "Hey! Why did you NOT want to y the game?" Jenna asked anxiously. "Are the girls here not pretty enough for you? Do you want me to change the girls for better looking ones?"


    With a scrunched eyebrows, I turned my body sideways toward Jenna in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"


    "Why don''t you want to y?" She asked again, determined to get the answer today.


    Propping my head with my left hand as Iid down sideways, I repliedzily, "You know I got a girlfriend right?"


    She scoffed immediately and said in a condescending tone, "As if people will care about their girlfriends or wives at a party. Do you know how many people who came to my mom''s party are someone''s husbands? They didn''t care about it, why should you??"


    Pausing my thoughts for a moment, I studied Jenna''s face and found out that she was being honest in her words.


    "Do you really think all men are like that?" I asked in a calm tone.


    Avoiding my gaze by lowering her eyes, Jenna fixed one of her stray hair behind her ears as she answered, "That''s true isn''t it? My mom told me that."


    "Then, your mom had given you a fucked up view on what men and woman''s rtionship should be like."


    She raised one of her eyebrows in irritation before looking back into my eyes and asked, "Be honest with me. If you could do anyone you want at this party, with no repercussions afterward, no girlfriend to be mad at you, wouldn''t you do it?"


    "Still no." I replied almost instantaneously before I turned toy on my back once more.


    "NOW WHY THE HELL NOT?!" Jenna stood up and shouted in anger from my response.


    "HEY YOU BITCH!" Suddenly, Boy#2 Ollie and Boy#1 Nate came out with a group of boys and shouted at Jenna''s and mine''s direction from afar.


    Jenna turned angrily toward the boys and no longer hid who she truly was. With venom in her voice and a murderous gaze, she asked, "What?!"


    "What do you mean ''what''? You owe all of us a game!" Ollie said while the boys were walking briskly toward Jenna.


    "Go y with the other girls, I don''t have time for you!" Jenna said and turned her attention back towards me while I was trying to get some grapes in my mouth.


    Suddenly, Nate grabbed Jenna''s arm forcefully from behind and pulled her backward. "Ouch!" She eximed in pain.


    "You''re going to y a ''game'' with all of us...whether you like it or not." Nate said with a hint of threat. "Who knows, when you finish sucking all of us off, we will let you go. Don''t want you to cry like the first time you lost your virginity right?"


    "Get your fucking hand off me!" Jenna pped Nate''s grip with her free hand, but he wasn''t letting her go. "Be obedient bitch!" Nate said and raised his hand up to p Jenna''s face.


    The other girls were giggling at Jenna''s misery, not caring what the boys were doing at all. Right now, all of them wanted to see Jenna get ruined and maybe after this, they will be the one who will get the most popr girl in school reputation instead of a whore like Jenna.


    As Nate cocked his hand, I had already stood up from my seat to intervene. I wanted to intervene sooner, but I was busy with the grapes.


    "Okay. You''re done." I said and grabbed Nate''s hand before he could p Jenna. As he turned towards me, I raised my right leg and kicked him in the balls.


    "OOf-" Nate yelped in pain and fell knee first to the floor, finally releasing his grip on Jenna''s arm. A bright red mark could be seen on her wrist which pissed me off a little bit.


    "Oh I''m sorry. It seems that you''ve been thinking with your dick, so I decided to give it a rest." I said and stood in front of the shivering Jenna.


    "You little-" Ollie almost punched me, but he stopped as I spoke calmly.


    "Did all of you have a talk together and decide tomit a crime while sharing collective responsibility for it? You know, things... that would ruin your future if any of them got out?"


    Their eyes shook as they realised that they had gotten carried away and almostmitted a major crime. As the teenage boys were drunk, I decided to give them onest chance. "Apologise to Jenna right now." I demanded.


    "You don''t have any say in this matter! In fact, all of this is your fault!" Ollie said and took a step forward before he tried to punch me with a sloppy right hook. Sighing inwardly, I grabbed his wrist and tightened the lock further upwards.


    "ARG-ARGHH! MY ARM!! MY ARM!!" Ollie screamed in pain as I twisted his hands further upward. "ARGHHHH!" He let out an almost inhuman yell before I whispered to his ear, "Shut up if You don''t want to lose your hand."


    He quickly shut his mouth and whimpered in pain while tearing up in front of his friends.


    "Apologise to Jenna right now." I demanded once more as I made him suffer once more, not knowing that my action had caused the girl behind me to look at me with heart shaped eyes. Jacob and Elsa came out of the making out closet at this moment while holding hands and saw the scene from afar.


    "I...Need to go." Jacob said to Elsa and released her palm.


    "Wait- You don''t know how to fight!" Elsa said from afar as Jacob had already run away toward my position.


    As Nate finally collected himself, he shouted in a high pitched voice as his nuts were still in pain, "Get him. Why are you guys just waiting around?!"


    "Don''t do it guys. You didn''t do anything wrong just yet. But if you continue, I will make sure you regret it." I warned them as they hesitated.


    "DO IT!" Nate shouted once more. The boys decided to follow Nate''s order as he was the captain of the football team and they were his teammates.


    One of the boys lunged at me, so I released Ollie and kicked his butt, making him stumble forward and crash into the other boy before they both fell into the pool together. I considered breaking his wrist entirely, but I had too much drink in me to do it cleanly.


    "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" The bystanders chanted in excitement as the rumble started. Three boys decided to punch me at the same time, but I only focused on one of them as I saw a big giant joining in the fun.


    "UGH!" Jacob arrived and tackled two boys �C the ones that I ignored, causing them to fall into the pool. Jacob stopped at the edge of the pool and stumbled there for a second. "Oh shit!" He cursed as he couldn''t stop himself from falling.


    With iling hands, Jacob almost fell into the water, but I grabbed the waist of his shorts and pulled him back after throwing the other boy into the pool.


    "You okay there?" I asked him with a smirk.


    "Other than you basically giving me a wedgie, I''m fine." Jacob replied with an ashen face.


    "Don''t worry. I got your back, like you got mine." I said casually.


    Finally standing up despite his hurting nuts, Nate turned toward me and Jacob and said, "Fight me one on one if you dare bitch!" while staring directly at me. Jacob gave me a ''Is he serious looks'' but I responded to Nate.


    "Okay sure."


    Walking forward, I stood face to face with Nate. "Come on. Punch me or Apologise to Jenna. If you chose the first one, don''t me me for what I''m about to do."


    "Uh..Fuck you!" He said and he cocked his punch. The minute he released his hand, I pped his left cheek with my right hand. The sound of the p reverberated around the pool area, and Nate was stunned by my wake up call.


    "Choose again." I said casually with an innocent smile on my face.


    He paused to think before he punched at me again, so I pped his right cheek with my left hand.


    "Again." I said, still with an innocent smile. Elsa walked toward Jenna and checked her wrist.


    "Elsa, did you see what he did? He stood up for me!" Jenna said with obsessive eyes that kept following my figure as I continued to bitch-p Nate.


    The bitchy girls were leaving the party after their fun was ruined. They walked toward Elsa together to wish her before leaving. Some of them watched me toying with Nate, and couldn''t help but bite their lower lips as they were turned on, but their hate toward Jenna trumps their horniness at this moment.


    "Elsa. Happy Birty-day. Don''t hangout with that slut any more. It''ll ruin you. If you''re looking for handouts, I can give you an allowance if you follow my back obediently like a dog everyday. Hahahaha!"


    Jenna''s eyes turned murderous as she heard that. She turned toward the girls and bitch-p the skank who was bad-mouthing her best friend. The blonde cheerleader held her red cheek in disbelief after she got the wits pped out of her while her eyes shook, and her mouth hung half open.


    "Get the fuck out of my house bitch before I call security." Jenna ordered coldly.


    "You whore-" The cheerleader girl wanted to fight Jenna, but another girl held her back and said, "She''s not worth it. Let''s go."


    "Yeah. Run away bitch!" Jenna said in anger from afar toward the running girls before she turned toward me with eyes full of hearts once more.


    With a swollen face, Nate said while involuntarily kneeling, "I...sowwy..." he finally gave up after being pped for the 10th time. The other boys had alreadye out of the pool, but decided not to do anything after they saw their Captain''s fate.


    "Not to me." I said and nudged my chin toward Jenna. "To her."


    "I''m...sorry Jenna." Nate said with teary eyes.


    "Get the fuck out of my house before I call the cops on you!" Jenna yelled at him and chased him away from her house. The crowd dispersed quickly, leaving only me, Jacob, Elsa, Jenna, and a random girl with denim overall and rainbow shirt staying there.


    Enid suddenly asked innocently as if she hadn''t seen the conflict before, "So. When will the cake arrive?"


    ...


    "So, Happy Birthday Elsa. Congrats on your new boyfriend." I said as I toasted to Elsa after the cake arrived. Only 5 people left after the whole fiasco over there. Well, 6 if I included the lone waitress.


    After Penny arrived with the cake, she was bbergasted to see the empty party. She gave me the cake and went to get yelled at by the party nner �C only to see that all of the staff there had left. So I invited her to eat the cake together.


    "So far, 14 is my favourite age." Elsa said as she looked at Jacob while smiling softly. They continued holding hands after everything had calmed down.


    Enid ate some cakes without any concern for others as it was too big a cake for only 6 people. Jenna wanted to resume pestering me, but Elsa dragged her somewhere to bandage her arm, leaving only 4 people in the living room.


    "Oh. I need to go to the toilet." Enid said. "Where is it?" She asked me and Jacob.


    "Turn left over there. It''s at the end of the corridor." Jacob answered unexpectedly. I turned toward him and asked, "You still drunk?"


    "...No. Why would I still be scared of girls now that I''m in a rtionship with the best one?" Jacob replied with a sly smirk. I punched his bicep and he turned into the wimpy Jacob once more.


    "What''s that for?" Jacob asked while rubbing his sore bicep.


    "For being annoying." I said and walked to the lonesome waitress.


    "Don''t worry Penny, I will talk to your boss after this." I said to Penny.


    From staring at her te, she turned toward me with puffed out cheeks that was full of cake and try to speak with her mouth full, "Its''s okayhs."


    "What?"


    She swallowed the cake and said clearly this time. "It''s okay. I think...I''m going to quit this job and ept my friend''s offer to work at the cheesecake factory."


    "Ah I see. I think that''s better anyway than having to continue to devalue yourself by working here."


    "You think so too, right?" Penny agreed with me. "I don''t know how Hollywood people do it. I can''t debase myself like this even if I think that it''ll help me tond a role in a movie or amercial."


    Nodding at her words, I said, "You know, I am an artist myself, and I''m going to be making a few music videos soon, so I''m probably going to need some actress."


    "Wait. You''re an artist?" Penny asked in disbelief and looked at me up and down. "Are you just saying that to pick me up?"


    "Nope. I am actually signed under a new, big entertainment agency and we''re in the middle of recording an album. Also, you have some cake on your cheek." I said and I grabbed a napkin from a table nearby before helping her wipe the cake away.


    "I am not promising you to get the part. I''m only saying that you can have a ce to audition if you''re looking for a part in the future. If I do need you as an actress, could I call you?"


    "Yes of course!" Penny said in excitement and hugged me closely. Then, she suddenly gave me a peck on the right cheek before going to the left, but I stumbled at just the wrong (E/N: Or right?) moment , causing her to give me a peck on the lips.


    At this moment, Jenna, Elsa, and Enid returned to the living room at the same time and saw the dreaded sight. Jenna''s smiling face turned frozen in a second, while Enid was excitedly texting someone.


    "Oh shit." Penny muttered as she slowly backed her face away from mine.


    "That''s okay. It was an ident. Do you have any way to get home, or should I give you a ride?" I asked Penny calmly after the incident despite the hostile looks she was getting from Jenna.


    "NO!" Jenna shouted in objection.

 Chapter 43: Argument.

    <h4>Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Argument.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Mr. Green came to pick us up after the party was over. Although he saw we were a bit drunk, he didn''t scold us and even teased Jacob when he saw the lipstick mark on his neck. The Viking dad widened his eyes in surprise after he heard the tale of the fight from Jacob as we were riding in his car. Jacob was sitting next to the driver while I sat in the back seat.


    He looked sideways from his position with his eyes on the road to scan Jacob up and down with skepticism.. "You. Tackled someone?"


    "Yeah Mr. Green. He tackled 2 boys at the same time." I vouched for the shy Jacob.


    Mr. Green turned to look at me and said, "Do you know why Jacob didn''t join the football team even after all the training he has done? It''s because he''s afraid of anything physical."


    ''More likely he was too soft to inflict pain on someone else.'' I thought.


    Finally, I realized why Mr Green was so doubtful about the fact that his son fought someone. He ced his palm on Jacob''s shoulder and said with a soft, yet proud smile. "My son is all grown up."


    "Yeah like a mini giant." I muttered underneath my breath at the side without Mr Green being able to listen to it.


    "Finally, this means you can try out for the football team. We''ll start your training again before you''re going to high school next year." Mr. Green dered. Jacob tried to object and turned to me for help, but I ignored his desperate plea because I was too tired.


    I recalled the events before we rode home as I closed my eyes. Jenna called a limousine for Penny to drive her home after I objected to her suggestion of calling a cab for Penny.


    "Why? Do you want to go home with her? Huh?"


    Jenna got up close to my face and was being stubborn.


    "If you want to get some tonight, just stay at the house-"


    "Jenna. You''re pretty, so people won''t tell you this straight to your face. Shut your piehole if you have nothing good to say."


    Seeing my menacing gaze, Jenna took a step back fearing I would hate her if she continued talking about it. Suddenly, her fear turned into excitement. She broke into the brightest smile I had ever seen her wear and said coquettishly, "So. You think I''m pretty?"


    "Shut. Your. Piehole Jenna!" I said sternly once more before I gave up on trying to have any rational conversation with the girl.


    Penny the waitress didn''t have her id or wallet on her as everything was kept by the agency to prevent a possible identity leak. She also didn''t have any clothes with her, and was only wearing a teeny tiny bikini. As the night deepened, the cold wind was severe. Therefore I could see her...''something'' protruding from her bikini.


    I advised her to quit the job immediately that night in case they sent her off to another mansion where she could be a ything for the high society �C not that she couldn''t take care of herself on her own.


    After I investigated thepany that she registered with in the future, I would find out that they did a lot of shady stuff. Luckily, Penny was still a neer and she was still just a simple waitress for now. She could quit the job quite easily and without any hassle.


    ''A simple dreamer huh...''


    As I took onest look at Penny''s anxious face, I couldn''t help but wonder.


    ''When reality hits her, she will stop pursuing her dreams...which is kinda sad...''


    Holding the phone with her contact number inside of it, I couldn''t help but want to at least help her get started.


    "She really is just a mediocre actress...All she ever did was that stupid serial-Apeist movie...and its sequel."


    The opportunities for her wouldn''t be abundant, but at the very least she could add something else that was good to her resume if I interfered.


    When I arrived home, my mind was already tired from the fight, the alcohol, and the persistent 14 year old who threw herself at me all day. Now, I only wanted to sleep and do nothing else. But the moment I opened the door, I knew that I wouldn''t be able to get what I wanted.


    "Hey hot stuff." Abby said while waiting for me in the living room. Wearing a cropped tank top and a red id miniskirt, she walked to me as I closed the door and wrapped her hand gently on my waist while maintaining eye contact.


    "You had some fun tonight." Abby still maintained a smile, but for some reason I felt ominous inside. "What did you do over there?" She asked.


    "Well...My palm is still sore from continuously pping some ruffians who want to make some trouble." I said as I fixed a stray hair on Abby''s face back and slid the stray hair behind her ear. She saw that my palm was still red and bit her lips in anger at the brats.


    "Anyway, I''m pretty tired now. Do you want to sleep together with me? We can cuddle." I teased Abby as she continued staring at me.


    "That can wait. Do you want to tell me about anything else that happened tonight?" Abby asked again with gritted teeth, but still maintaining her smile.


    "What''s going on?" I asked.


    "Nothing." Abby replied curtly and released her hand from my body before she went to sit at the sofa again. I walked to the sofa and ced my phone at the coffee table as I stared at her face. She continuously avoided my gaze which was kinda cute, but also unnerving at the same time.


    "I''m going to take a shower." I said as I ignored the annoyed girl and walked upstairs to my room. "Don''t peep."


    "I''m not going to peep!" Abby shouted in anger and threw the sofa pillow at my back. I chuckled and finished my shower before getting out of the bathroom wearing only a towel wrapped around my waist.


    "Hey Abby." I said as I walked toward her with my hair still wet.


    The sudden intrusion caused Abby to be bbergasted. "Wh-what do you think I came here for? I didn''te here for that!"


    "Ahh...Too bad..." I eximed sadly as I sat next to her without putting on my clothes yet. "Anyway, why are you being so sulky tonight?"


    "So you noticed that huh? Can''t you also notice that I''m sitting here quietly stewing while waiting for you toe out of the shower? Why shower- So you can wash away any evidence?" Without looking me in the eye, Abby started to argue with me which left me quite befuddled.


    She was projecting her past experience in our rtionship, but I missed the clue at this moment.


    "Why are you mad at me?" I asked in confusion.


    She turned her face quickly, gazed me in the eye and said, "I know what you did at the party."


    "What? The fight?" I asked.


    "Not that." Abby replied.


    "The drinking?" I asked.


    "Not that."


    "Then, I''m stumped. I don''t think I did anything to make you mad at me, except for that."


    "Think...REAL...hard..." Abby said deliberately.


    So I put my finger underneath my chin and started thinking. "Umm... What did I do...What exactly did I do...Oh, are you upset because I bought the cake and marked it aspany expense? In my defense, I don''t have a bank ount yet so I can''t use my own money."


    "NOT THAT!" Abby said in a high pitched voice while crossing her arms. "I know about the kiss!"


    "What kiss?" I asked as I looked at her face. "I didn''t kiss anyone."


    "The kiss with the waitress?"


    "I kissed a waitress?"


    "Don''t y dumb with me, you incubus!"


    "I want to say sorry, but I have no idea what you''re talking about right now. Are you pranking me or being serious?"


    "I am being serious!"


    "Then what waitress- Oh, you meant Penny?" I finally realized what she was talking about.


    "See...so you finally admit it?" Abby said menacingly.


    "It was an idental peck on the lips. It''s not like we want to kiss each other." I exined calmly.


    "Then, did you get her number after the kiss?" Abby said angrily. "Why? Was it so that you could meet her and kiss her again?"


    "No. I only- Wait, how do you know all of this?" I suddenly realized that there was no way for Abby to know about any of that as the kiss happened at the end of the party.


    "Did you send someone to spy on me- Is Enid THE SPY?" I widened my eyes in realization after ying all the possible scenarios in my head and eliminating the suspects one by one.


    "How- No.We''re going to talk about the kiss first." Abby returned to the original topic, but I was a bit too annoyed at this moment, and a little bit hurt too.


    "You didn''t trust me being at that party so you felt the need to spy on me?"


    "WHY DID YOU KISS HER THEN?!" Abby yelled in anger as she stood up.


    "I DIDN''T KISS HER!" I yelled back and stood up with her.


    "Don''t lie to me!" Abby shouted with teary eyes.


    I rubbed my head in frustration and calmed myself down.Taking a deep breath, I replied "Okay. She was kissing my cheek to thank me, and I stumbled so her lips identally brushed with mine. We didn''t kiss willingly, nor were we interested in one another."


    "Then, delete her number." Abby demanded while giving me my phone back as I had left it on the coffee table.


    "Why would I delete her number?"


    "So you''re interested in her then?! BOY WITH MOMMY ISSUES!" Abby said in frustration.


    Still trying to keep my calm, I exined, "She is an aspiring actress. Who almost got tricked into an escort for hire agency, So I promised to contact her if I ever needed an actress."


    "Don''t do that!" Abby said with a raised voice.


    "Do what?!" I replied in frustration.


    "Speak calmly! It''s as if I''m the one who''s over reacting!"


    I sighed and I tried to say calmly, "You...You''re not not overreacting. I understand your feelings, but you need to learn how to trust me."


    "I hate that!" Abby yelled again with tears in her eyes. "Being so understanding and all that! I''m not a hysterical woman that you need to talk to like I''m a child!"


    Frustrated, I said with a bit of a raised voice, "So you want me to keep raising my voice and be mad at you?"


    "Yes!" Abby replied honestly.


    Therefore I gave her what she wanted.


    "So are we going to talk about how you spied on me? Who is Enid?"


    "Well...Enid is Tara''s sister." Abby exined before she exploded once again. "Are you really not going to delete her phone number?!"


    We argued for 15 minutes after that. I don''t even remember what exactly we were arguing about. In the end, we were both tired so we sat back on the sofa side by side.


    With her head resting on my right shoulder, she finally said, breaking the silence in the room, "It used to be simple, you know."


    "Yeah." I replied in understanding.


    "We hung out, we had fun together before. I didn''t have to think about anything else except for that.. Now that we are dating, I can''t help but feel miserable every time I see you with another girl."


    "... Do you still feel... miserable right now?" I asked although I was afraid of the answer.


    "...Yeah...But...it''s not that I hate you...I''m just...scared... I don''t even care about the waitress...But I care about you leaving me..." Abby sobbed and tears finally fell from her eyes.


    "I can''t help but think you''re going to cheat on me, even though I know you wouldn''t. I know it''s unfair to you, and I hate myself for feeling this way."


    She covered her eyes with her palm as her tears continued to fall. I wrapped my arms around her shoulder and pulled her closer to me tofort her.


    "So what do you want to do now?" I asked even as my chest started to hurt. "What are We supposed to do now?"


    "It was easier when we were just friends." Abby said with some hesitation. "We''re only going to be dating for 1 more month. I think...It''s a mistake...for us to start a rtionship that we both knew was going to...end."


    "Is that...how you really feel?" I asked.


    She turned to look at my face and lied, "Yes."


    ...


    In front of Abby''s house.


    "You didn''t have to walk me back." Abby said as she stopped in front of the door and turned toward me.


    "I didn''t have to. But I wanted to." I replied with a soft smile. "Just because we''ve broken up now, that doesn''t mean that I will stop caring for you."


    Abby hugged me a long time before she separated, her eyes were ssy and her chin was quivering. I wiped the lone tear that ran down her left eye with my finger and said with a sly smirk, "Who knows, maybe we can be friends with benefits after this."


    She rolled her eyes and the sad atmosphere was destroyed instantly.


    "Go home and stop daydreaming." Abby said and showed her tongue at me as she opened the door.


    "That wasn''t a no!" I yelled yfully from afar as she entered the house and mmed the door.


    As she disappeared from my sight, I no longer felt the need to fake my smile. My face turned expressionless and I walked slowly back to my house alone in the middle of the night.


    The cold wind blew once more, as I stopped and raised my head to look at the moonless sky. A drop of rain fell right on my left cheek, but I felt no urgency to reach home.


    "Spring rain huh. That''s rare." I muttered as I continued walking at a slow pace.


    Although I had the break up experience, it was never easy for me to do it again, especially with someone I cared so deeply about.


    She was traumatized because of her dad�C someone that I will make sure to beat up if I ever had the misfortune to meet. Her choice tobel what we had as a ''fake rtionship'' was her way to circumvent the trauma, but she still couldn''t bring herself to trust anyone, despite all of our affection for one another.


    However, like Abby, I too had my own worries in continuing the rtionship. Every time someone brings up the topic that she would one day return to New York, or when I realized that I couldn''t hold on to her forever, it kills me a little bit inside.


    "Maybe this is for the best." I muttered before a few more droplets of rain fell on top of my head. But I guess I was lucky that I arrived home before the rain finally started to pour.


    "So I guess I''m lucky? Even the sky is mocking me sarcastically right now." I muttered as I entered the door and went straight to my bedroom.


    Iid on top of the bed, just trying to repress anything that I might have felt that night. I even took the sleeping pills that Mrs Henderson gave me to help me sleep, but I still kept staring at the ceiling till 3 am�C struggling with my thoughts.


    ''Calm down. Don''t open the dam. Everything wille out if you open it. Just continue to repress. Repress. Repress. Repress. Repress. Repress. Repress. Repres..."


    Anger, unfairness, longing, rage, despair, desperation...My thoughts kept changing, and I felt as if my heart had been ripped out from my chest.


    By this day, repressing things was my usual routine for every night since I became Edward Newgate. It wasn''t fun to repress things, but that was how I coped. Breaking up with Abby tonight became a trigger for my emotions to bubble up once more.


    "FUCK!" I cursed in the middle of the night. I wasn''t sure what time I fell asleep, but I was sure that I saw the suning up before I managed to do so.


    (A/N: Some of you will think he''s pathetic, but read back the previous few Chapter cause I showed signs of him being a little depressed - insomnia, pushing himself to work, needing alcohol to sleep, and so on. )


    [3rd Person POV]


    Abby closed the door and rested her back against it. Her left hand was still holding the doorknob�Cshivering as she wanted to open the door and ran back toward him.


    "What''s going on dear?" Desiree walked into the living room as she heard the front door being opened and saw Abby shivering at the front door.


    "Did something happen?" She asked as she hurriedly got to her daughter. Suddenly, Abby hugged her and buried her face in her mom''s chest and without exining anything, Abby broke down crying. She grabbed her mother''s robe tightly till her hands felt numb as her sobs turned to wail.


    "What''s going on Abby? Did someone hurt you?" Desiree asked anxiously as it was rare to see her daughter cry.


    "Did Edward do something to you?" Although Desiree felt that Edward was a nice kid, she still felt the need to ask just in case he had done something to hurt her daughter.


    After a while, Abby exined in a broken sentence mixed with her sobbings.


    "No...(Cry) We...broke up!"


    It took Desiree a long time to calm her daughter down and listen to the entire story. She respected her daughter''s decision to end things, and she realized something from Abby''s cry.


    As she took her daughter to bed and kissed her forehead when Abby fell asleep, Desiree muttered, "You don''t even know that you love him. My stupid little girl..."


    After the long night for both Abby and Edward, a new day finally arrived.


    Inside the Newgate''s house, Ted was confused when he realized that his son wasn''t waking up on time to go to school as usual. Finally, he decided to enter Edward''s room to find out what was going on.


    Ted shook Edward''s motionless body after he ced his palm on Edward''s head to check for a fever.


    "Hey, Ed...wake up...Time for school..." Ted said whisperingly.


    "Umm..." Edward groaned but he wasn''t waking up from the bed. Ted sighed and asked, "Did Abbye byst night?"


    "She did...and we broke up..." Edward replied groggily.


    Ted finally understood why his son wasn''t waking up today. "Okay. I''ll call your school and let them know you won''t be going today. I''lle by this afternoon and we''ll do something fun." Ted said and brushed Edward''s hair before he went to work.


    "Umm..." Edward groaned once more as an agreement before he continued sleeping.


    ...


    Palisades High School.


    Haley was texting Abby after finding out that she didn''te to school today.


    "She still isn''t answering?" Tara asked Haley as she sat next to her in ss.


    "No..I''m worried.." Haley muttered with a face full of concern. "She was being weirdst night after knowing Edward kissed another girl."


    Tara scratched her face and said, "Yeah...about that..."


    Haley finally turned to her friend and asked, "What?"


    "They didn''t kiss on purpose. It was an ident."


    "Wait seriously? Did you tell Abby that?"


    "I did. But she still hasn''t responded to me." Tara said.


    "I...will ask my mom to talk to her mom." Haley said as she texted ire who was working from home at that time.


    ire read the text message, and called Desiree with the house phone. They talked for a while, and Desiree finally told ire what really happened.


    "THEY broke up!?" ire was bbergasted when she heard it.


    "Yeah." Desiree replied from the other line. "I''m taking her somewhere fun to get her mind off things today."


    "I see...I''m going to go check up on Ed." ire said hurriedly. Phil suddenly appeared out of knowhere�Cstanding behind ire and asked, "Check up on Ed for what?"


    ire raised her hand to stop Phil and continue to listen to Desiree.


    "Check up for what?" Phil asked again with a whisper.


    "They broke up." ire whispered back without putting down the phone.


    "Who?"


    "Edward and Abby."


    Phil couldn''t believe his ears. "Oh my god seriously? I''m going with you to see him." At the moment, there was no plot to set up Ed with his daughters, but he truly cared about Ed and wanted to go and check up on him.


    ire finally ended the call and stopped Phil as he was running to the front door.


    "Phil. Let me call Ted first. We don''t know whether he is at home now." ire said hurriedly. At this moment, she received another text from Haley asking about Abby''s situation, so she texted her back without thinking much.


    In Palisades high school, while the ss wasmencing.,


    "THEY BROKE UP!?!" Haley suddenly stood up and shouted, almost giving her teacher a heart attack. Her face was full of disbelief and she started to text st Abby while still standing.


    "Miss Dunphy, what are you doing?!" The teacher shouted at her. "Sit down!"


    "Eh." Haley realized that she was still in ss and sat back down after apologizing to the teacher.

 Chapter 44: Time With Dad.

    <h4>Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Time With Dad.?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "I... thought you were bringing me somewhere fun."


    "This is somewhere fun."


    Looking around the dark green colouredke, I turned to my dad who was already sitting on a small boat with a huge grin on his face. He wore a fishing cap with a few fish-shaped bait stuck on it, and a fisherman''s jacket.


    "...Fishing?" I asked tly while dropping my shoulders.


    "...Yes." Ted replied with the same excited smile �C not knowing my apprehension to the activity.


    "...Okay." I said in self-defeat and walked to the boat before I climbed on it. He brought us to the middle of theke before helping me put the bait on and casting it into the ocean using a fishing rod.


    "Haih~" I sighed while holding the fishing rod as the wait from getting a fish to bite the bait was too dull.


    "It''s boring huh." Ted smirked teasingly while looking at me before reeling his bait in slowly to attract the fishes.


    "You promised me fun. This isn''t fun at all." I said while looking far away into the horizon.


    His spirited eyes turned serious, and he said, "A disturbed mind won''t be able to understand the joy of fishing."


    His words intrigued me, so I turned toward him. "What do you mean by that?"


    "I don''t know. That was what your gramps used to say." Ted smirked as I rolled my eyes.


    "It''s impossible for you to not understand it." I said snarkily. "So, you''re trying to lead me into an emotional enlightenment by myself?"


    "Bingo." Ted confessed. He looked toward the cloudless blue sky and said, "You know, in life you will meet a lot of different people. Maybe, she will be the one for you. Maybe, the one is still waiting for you in theter part of your journey."


    Narrowing my eyes suspiciously at Ted, I asked, "Did you read a book titled "How to talk to your son after a breakup" ?"


    Ted widened his eyes and said, "There''s a book like that? I didn''t find any when I searched for it this morn- Ahh..."


    His act as a wise old man was blown away by my preemptive questioning. Finally, Iughed for the first time today because of my old man.


    His eyes turned kinder as he saw meughing. "What else did your book say?"


    "Bring him somewhere peaceful so that he can process his feelings." Ted''s confession made meugh once again. He didn''t mind making a fool of himself just to raise his son''s spirits, and I really admire that about him.


    "So, you want to talk about her?" Ted asked as he casted his bait once more after not having any luck on the first cast.


    "There isn''t anything to talk about in the first ce. We started this whole thing because she wanted to experience what a rtionship was like before moving back to New York. Either way, the whole idea was doomed from the start."


    After my response, only the sound of the water could be heard. Ted took a deep breath and said, "Do you want to hear the story of how I met your mother?"


    "Oh god. I was afraid of this the moment I found out that your name is Ted."


    "What?"


    "What?"


    Ted looked at me weirdly and then he continued, "I was sailing to Cuba at that time."


    "Kids. See you in 10 years." I waved at the invisible camera screen as dad started his story.


    "What are you doing? Listen to me." Dad said seriously. After narrowing his eyes at me, I finally gave up and decided to listen to him.


    "I was 20 years old at that time. After I ran away from inheriting Gramps'' farm, I decided to travel the world by sailing."


    "Cuba was my first destination. Everything was new to me. The culture, the food, the environment. As I was walking in the streets, suddenly, I bumped into a gorgeous woman."


    "Named Robin." I interjected.


    "No. Named Camilia." Dad corrected me.


    "That''s not mom''s name." I said in confusion.


    "Yeah. She''s not your mom. She is...your aunt..." Dad finally shared something about my mom''s family during my 14 years of living here.


    "Wait, what?" I contorted my face as I heard the story.


    "And. she had stolen my wallet the second she bumped into me."


    I paused for a bit as I processed the information. But the only thing that coulde out of my mouth was, "WHAT!"


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    Desiree had invited Haley and Tara toe along with her and her daughter and to spend the day at the amusement park to help raise her daughter''s spirits. However, Abby didn''t want to go out of her room, not even getting out of her bed as she was too depressed after the breakup.


    "Let me talk to him. I WAS the one who asked Enid to spy on Edward! Not you!" Haley said.


    Abby gazed at Haley slowly while eating an ice cream out of the tub using a silver spoon. "It''s okay Haley. We were not going to work out anyway. Even without that."


    "Why THE HELL NOT!?" Tara said in agitation. "We''re the one who forced you to listen. We were the ones who misunderstood the situation. Let us talk to him, and you guys can get back together again."


    "Aren''t you listening? We''re not going to work out even without that." Abby said angrily as she stabbed the spoon into the vani ice cream and took a big scoop of the ice cream into her mouth.


    "But- But- Why???" Haley asked in exasperation. "Why do you need to break up?! Just date him until it''s time to go back!"


    Abby took a deep breath and said, "I don''t know. I feel that if we continue...then, my heart won''t be able to take it if we part ways."


    Tara widened her eyes and she said carefully, "Wait...Are you...in love with him?"


    Haley''s eyes darted between Tara and Abby�C who was lowering her head at this moment.


    "You do, don''t you." Tara finally realized it from her friend''s silent agreement. "Then, why do you give up now? Why...Why should you back away if you love him?"


    "I..." Abby was tearing up again, and Haley automatically went to hug Abby from over the nket. Haley said to Tara. "Okay. Tara. Stop bringing it up. You''re upsetting her."


    "I will not. She is being stupid!" She said in frustration. "If you love him, fight for him! Why would you break up with him now?!"


    Abby was silent for a while before she decided to unload something off her chest. "He..When I first hung out with him, he told me that his mother had left him...and everyday he''s in pain from thinking about the matter. I...don''t want to be the one to...to cause him the same pain.."


    She broke down crying while Haley continuouslyforted her. Tara rubbed her head in frustration and went to hug Abby too.


    "Stupid. Both of you." Tara muttered as sheforted Abby.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Soo...my crush on Edward is over before we even started." Haley confessed with an angry face. She pointed to the screen with her index finger and said, "He dared to mess with my best friend? He''s in for a whole lot of trouble!"


    Unknowingly, Haley has considered Abby one of her best, and true friends that understood her in the entire world.


    So far, only Tara could be considered her true friend as Tara had never once put her down because of her intelligence, and would fight for her if someone dared to mess with her. Feisty, but kind. That is who Tara was for Haley.


    Now that she found a true friend in Abby, she had crushed every bit of affection she had for Edward to make sure she would never hurt her friend. And once someone messed with her friends, she would make sure to mess with them back.


    "But...Edward isn''t a bad guy. Both of them...are just so damn unlucky!" Haley said in exasperation.


    "If Abby could stay in LA, then I''m sure they will stay together for a long long time." She eximed in frustration and muttered angrily. "Screw it!" She stood up from the sofa and dered, "I will make sure that they will stay together. Whether they like it or not!"


    [Commentary''s end.]


    (A/N: Please remember they are teenagers. TEENAGERS! They act on impulse rather than rationality as they are still immature.)


    In the Dunphy''s house, ire and Phil were talking with each other about the breakup.


    "I still can''t understand why I couldn''t go with them." Phil said in exasperation after ire stopped him from joining Edward and Theodore.


    "They are having a father and son bonding moment. Why would a neighbor''s dad join in?" ire replied dismissively as she continued cleaning the kitchen. Herptop was still open on the kitchen counter as she was studying up on the business''s management n by ying Edward''s audiobook and recorded lectures while doing the chores.


    "You underestimated my bond with Edward. I''m like his second dad." Phil tried to convince his wife. ire finally turned to him, and said, "Rather than being a second dad, why don''t you go be a primary dad to those two..." She pointed at the bickering Luke and Alex.


    "I don''t understand why you can''t just lie to him and say that I did my chores. It''s not your bike!" Luke said as he kept following Alex from behind to further pester her.


    "Ugh. Even if I exined, it''s not like you would understand it. Besides, I already told him you didn''t put your dishes in the dishwasher today. So he will be adding one more day to your punishment."


    "That''s not fair! I did everything else. I took out the trash!"


    "No. Mom took out the trash. Don''t lie to me." Alex said menacingly at Luke causing him to whimper in sadness.


    "See. He didn''t do his chores again. At the very least he did clean up his bed today." ire said to Phil.


    "He''s just ate bloomer. He''ll finish it." Phil defended Luke instantly.


    "But I guess Edward''s method is working. He is slowly finding out that there isn''t any other way to get his bike back besides being ountable for his mistakes. He even called my dad to go get the bike back from Edward. Luckily, he called me to ask about the whole situation.."


    "Jay won''t hurt him." Phil said.


    ire nodded in agreement, "Yeah. My dad likes him a lot, so I''m not worried in the first ce. He even likes him more than y-" She stopped her words before she could finish it and left the bewildered Phil hurriedly.


    "MORE THAN ME?!" Phil raised his voice in exasperation.


    *Ding Dong*


    The doorbell of the front door was ringing at this moment. Alex hurriedly walked to the front door and opened it.


    "We came as fast as we could!" Cam said as he barged into the house the second it was opened.


    "Well...Hello to you too." Alex muttered alone as Cam walked past her as if she didn''t exist. Mitchell followed Cam from behind as he carried the car seat with Lily still inside.


    "Hello Alex." Mitchell greeted. Cam finally realized Alex was standing behind him as he stopped in front of the stairs and stood in a dramatic pose.


    "Oh. Alex. I didn''t see you there." Cam said.


    "How did you think the door was opened then?" Alex asked sarcastically, causing Cam to feel bad about his ignorance.


    "Don''t be mad at him Alex. He''s been binge-watching a soap opera for so long that he lives his life that way now." Mitchell said tofort Alex.


    "Anyway...We heard that Edward broke up with his girlfriend?" Mitchell asked Alex.


    She widened her eyes and asked, "He broke up with Abby? Why?"


    "You didn''t know?" Mitchell asked in confusion.


    "Well wee here to support him...and also listen to the gossi- I mean story." Cam added with a little giggle at the end of his sentence.


    "Ahh...Mom''s in the kitchen." Alex said in understanding. "Thank you." Mitchell said before he walked to the kitchen with Cam while carrying Lily with him. But before Alex could close the door, she heard a sound from outside.


    "Alex, hold the door!" Gloria said hurriedly and managed to hold the door before Alex could shut it in her face.


    "Oh Hi Gloria." Alex greeted her casually.


    "H Alex. Did they start?" Gloria asked with an excited smile.


    "You mean gossiping? Mitch and Cam just came in. You need to hurry." Alex said. Gloria nodded and ran inside quickly while shouting, "Ay! Don''t start without me!"


    Alex shook her head and then she saw Manny and Jay walking toward the house begrudgingly as they were dragged toe over by Gloria.


    "Hey Alex, listen to this. I think that someone in this house is possessed by an owl." Manny suddenly said as he smiled in excitement.


    Alex rolled her eyes and said, "Edward already did the trick on me. Pick someone else."


    Manny lost his smile and said, "Ah. Too bad," Before he walked into the house. Jay, who was standing behind him, muttered, "Damn owls," as he followed behind Manny.


    They were convening in the kitchen and the hot topic for today was Edward''s breakup.


    "So, they broke up because they needed to separate from each other when summer came? That''s sad." Mitchell said with a stoic face.


    With a face full of tears, Cam said while sobbing, "That is sad! Poor Ed..!"


    "Ayy...Why break up now?" Gloria objected as if Edward was there. "Go break upter... when she''s gone.(A/N: when she need to move back)"


    "Well..." Mitchell scratched his head as he knew the true reason, but was contemting whether to tell the group or not. Haley had already shared the secrets with Mitchell like she always did with everything else, therefore Mitchell was the only one there who knew theplete story.


    Cam caught his expression instantly. "You know, don''t you."


    "Pff... No. I don''t." Mitchell replied dismissively while avoiding eye-contact with Cam. However, now Cam was sure that he knew something. With glittering eyes, Cam stared at Mitchell an inch away from his face and said, "Spill."


    "What- NO!"


    "Oh. So you do know something!"


    "No- I don''t! Leave me alone!" Mitchell hurriedly ran away from Cam.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Wait.So you chased Auntie Cam to a bar, and then you found my mother who was clearly the boss of the pickpockets, and got beaten up by her. And then, after all that... you fall in love? Are you a M?" I was honestly baffled when dad recounted his experience when he first met mom.


    "No. Not then." Ted replied with a smirk. "There is still a long story to follow."


    "Just skip to the important part." I muttered anxiously as Dad''s story telling skill was quiteckingpared to the original How I Met Your Mother narrator.


    "We fought a few times in a span of a month. I kept tracking her as she was still holding my wallet at that time. Finally, I cornered her alone in an empty alley.


    "Then, you got beaten up?" I asked yfully, but Ted nodded. "Yes. Your 18 year old mom was very feisty at that time."


    "So how DID yound her then?" I asked in confusion.


    "I didn''t." Dad replied. "She did."


    [shback]


    While stepping on Ted with a red stiletto on her right leg, the brown and short- haired Cuban woman with caramel skin and green eyes paired with a voluptuous sexy body looked coldly at the American man. Her hair was covering half of her eyes, and she was wearing leggings underneath her one piece floral dress.


    She said with a thick Cuban ent, "You tracked me for a month, just to get your wallet back?" Putting more pressure on her legs, she said to the man in a sailor uniform, "I don''t believe you!"


    "It''s...true!" Ted said with difficulty breathing.


    Then, she took out his wallet from her deep cleavage and waved it at him. "There isn''t any more money left inside this. What do you want it for?"


    "If there is no money left inside, can you please give it back to me?" Ted asked in desperation.


    "Why? Tell me!" She pressed her legs harder this time.


    "Argh!...check the third ca...rd slot."


    The Cuban woman opened it up like he said, and there she found a letter. She opened the letter that had never been opened before and started reading it, but it only confused her more rather than making anything clear to her.


    "Are you ying with me? Why is a letter...and a piece of grass from a woman so important to you?!"


    Ted smiled as he saw the letter and said, "Well...it''s a letter from my mom...and that piece of grass is a 4 leaf clover...she asked me to keep it close to me...as her wish was stored inside of it."


    The woman finally stopped putting the pressure on Ted''s chest and removed her legs. She read the letter clearly at that time, and her expression turned conflicted. Ted stood up and brushed off the dust on his chest, but a clear footprint could be seen on his torso.


    "Can you please give it to me now?" Ted asked politely.


    The woman looked at Ted closely for the first time, and saw that the man''s face suddenly turned attractive for her.


    ''Is this grass a magic spell? Why is my heart beating so fast?'' The woman thought as she was lost in the view.


    "Hey...Please...Give me back my letter." Ted begged. "I have not read it yet."


    "You!" The woman widened her eyes. "Okay. You''ll get your letter back." She said and put the letter back into her cleavage.


    "Wait!" Ted tried to stop her from doing so, but it was toote as he was a true gentleman and couldn''t bring himself to put his hand on the woman''s chest without their consent.


    "Hmph! Good choice!" The woman snorted as he stopped himself, but then she smiled for the first time which made Ted''s heart skip a beat.


    "Why are you doing this?" Ted asked in exasperation after recollecting himself.


    She didn''t answer and turned her back toward Ted. "You''ll get your letter, after you take me out on a date."


    Completely baffled by the development, Ted half-opened his mouth, paused for a few seconds before he said, "What did you just say?"


    "Meet me at El Floridita at 8 o''clock tonight." The woman said before she walked away.


    "Wait! What''s your name?!" Ted asked hurriedly.


    She turned her head and answered with a seductive smile, "My name...is Miranda."


    [shback ends]


    "What was in the letter?" I asked.


    Ted smirked and said, "Apparently, Granny believed that a four-leaf clover could carry a wish at that time. Her wish....which she had written inside the letter, was... that it would lead me to someone that I would fall in love with....and I did..."


    "But you didn''t get married until right before I was born." I said. "How did you keep in touch? I know that you didn''t stay in Cuba all the time, and mom didn''t follow you to travel around the world. So how?"


    Ted replied, "We meet only once every 3 to 4 months. And we made it work because we love each other."


    "Then, she abandoned you for another woman." I said sarcastically, causing Dad to clear his throat a few times in embarrassment.


    While avoiding my eyes, he said, "Anyway...It doesn''t matter if it''s a long distance. That shouldn''t be a problem if you both love each other. So don''t let it be a factor in your decision to break up with Abby."


    I paused as I fell into a deep thinking state from my dad''s words. Then, I said to him, "If we are in fact in love with each other...But we''re just two dumb teenagers who don''t even know what love is. Also dad, something has been pulling at your string for a while now. Aren''t you going to reel it in?"


    Dad looked at the direction I was pointing and saw that his idle fishing rod was shaking tremendously.


    "IT''S A BIG ONE!" Dad said and grabbed the fishing rod hurriedly before reeling the line in. However, it couldn''t hold and the fish managed to break free 2 meters from the boat.


    Although we struck out today, it was enjoyable spending the afternoon with my dad.


    "Still can''t believe you got beat up by mom." I said as we entered the car.


    "...I wasn''t training yet then, nor had I already entered the army. I was just a simple farm boy, and your mom had military training from your grandpa."


    He was a bit dejected by that topic therefore I stopped bringing it up. Little did I know that instead of basking himself with sadness, my dad was actually feeling nostalgic about his history with my mom.


    "Dad. Tonight I will stay with Taylor tonight and practice with the band." I said after checking my text messages. There was no service at theke, therefore I had been off the grid for a few hours.


    " I see. Should I pick you up tomorrow morning?" He asked in concern.


    "No need. Pepper is going to supervise the whole thing cause he says he doesn''t trust Taylor. I don''t even know what that''s about. Anyway, he''s going to drive me home."


    Maybe it was because I didn''t want to stay at home tonight, but I readily agreed to Taylor''s invitation to join her rehearsal for the concert. When we got home, I quickly took a bath to remove theke smell as Pepper was going toe pick me up in 10 minutes.


    The newly made entertainmentpany CEO drove off quickly after picking me up before the group of busy bodies could evene to my house.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Is he gone?" ire asked hurriedly after almost running to the Newgate''s house.


    "Yeah. He''s already gone." Ted replied to ire and the rest of the group following her.


    "Damn it! I told you I should''ve joined them ire!" Phil said in frustration.


    "Should we call him back? I want to give him a hug." Cam said in a sad tone.


    Mitchell rolled his eyes and said, "Sure. Let''s call Pepper and ask him to turn back- You really want to make trouble with him huh? It''s not enough with the things you guys are fighting about now?"


    In a thick ent, Gloria said, "I can intercept them. Give me the car (keys)."


    "What- Gloria! No!" ire stopped her quickly before she tried to grab the keys from Ted''s hand.


    "I got Gloria!" Phil said and hugged Gloria''s stomach as he pulled her back from Ted although it wasn''t necessary.


    [Edward POV]


    Finally arriving at Taylor''s studio, the first thing I did was announce something to the group of girls practising in the studio.


    "I broke up with my girlfriendst night."


    "Oh poor baby!" Taylor hurriedly walked toward me and gave me a big hug while burying my face in the pitiful bump she calls a chest.


    Not only dad, I got a hug from the female songwriters, sweaty female dancers, and the female staff members there, all hugging me the same way that Taylor did before.


    ''Life is good again.'' I muttered inwardly as a beautiful dancer''s older sister was pulling me close to her C-cup chest while being sweaty from the practice.

 Chapter 45: Countdown before the Concert.

    <h4>Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Countdown before the Concert.</h4>


    (Sorry I''mte. I''m pretty sick rn.)


    [Edward POV]


    Taylor''s studio was a top of the line, 4 storey-high,huge entertainmentplex full with a recording studio along with dormitories, pantry, showers, sound room and many other extramodities. The training hall had walls full of mirrors, the acoustics within the recording room were the highest quality, and there were even a whole lot of instruments collected by the teenage pop star.


    The dancers were friendly, and the musicians picked by Pepper weren''t egoistic bastards therefore I could get along with them pretty easily. Without me even realizing it, two whole days had passed. Luckily Friday was Arbor day(tree nting day, Americans didn''t celebratebor day on the first of May.), therefore I didn''t have to skip school today as it was a long holiday.


    It was now Saturday and it had been 2 days since I started living here. The concert was tomorrow and I could feel the tension inside the studio had drastically increased.


    On Friday night, I chose to sleep in one of the empty male dancer''s dorm rooms instead of the hotel Pepper booked for me. I had slept there Thursday night but I didn''t like it very much. I was also staying at the dorm as I felt it was easier tomute back and forth during practice over there.


    However, I didn''t realize that a few dancers were using the empty male dorm room as they felt it was too stuffy inside the packed dorm housing 20 female dancers at the same time


    Alex: Grandpa flew a model airne into Dad''s face today and broke his nose.


    Edward: Too bad I was not there to see that. .


    Alex: Why? So you can mock him? (LoL.emoticon)


    ''So I missed the third episode huh.'' I thought sadly.


    While I wasying in bed texting Alex, the door suddenly opened and two dancers came in their almost see-through underwear as they walked right into the room.


    They were surprised when they saw me there, yet they decided it was too much of a hassle to walk back to the female dorm�C which was only 20 meters away and just slept on the bed beside mine after talking to me about it. I didn''t mind much as there were 20 beds inside the room, but I was a bit concerned that even with all those free beds they still wanted to sleep beside me.


    They didn''t even use the nkets as they slept, therefore it was a challenge for me to fall asleep that night because of how my body was reacting to them. They kept moving around with their hands all over each other, giggling and moving restlessly as they slept on the same single bed together.


    "Hey..." I called out hoping to get them to stop , but the only thing I heard in response was loud snoring soundsing from their bed. Turned out, both of them were already asleep.


    "Ah damn." I muttered and walked to the edge of the dorm to sleep far away from those two girls.


    They were gone when I woke up the next morning as they were following a strict training routine. However, I met the two of them again when I was finally done with my band rehearsal.


    "Edward. That was really awesome." Kaya, a 170 cmtina dancer with a fiery personality, and short bob cut hairstyleplimented me as she had witnessed my rehearsal earlier on with the rest of the band members.


    She walked toward me while swaying her hips as she wiped her wet hair with a clean, white towel. Crouching right in front of me while I was sitting on the floor to test out the expensive guitars alone in Taylor''s studio, she said with a mischievous smile, "I saw something nice after waking up this morning. Apparently someone decided to pitch a high tent inside the dorm room."


    She was incredibly sweaty from the intense practice before this, and her efforts could be seen from the sweat dripping down her abs on her bare stomach. The dancers were only wearing a sports bra and yoga pants as they rehearsed their choreography, Kaya not excluded.


    "That''s normal for a growing boy." I replied casually despite her teasing.


    "Uhun~" Kaya smiled blushingly and kept staring at me.


    Suddenly, I could see clear wet marks on the crotch area of the pink yoga pants as she spread her knees slowly while squatting. I identally gazed at it and she caught my action with a sly smile


    "Little Perv." Kaya muttered mischievously using a sultry voice. "I couldn''t help but have a stain down there..." She inched closer to me and whispered to my left ear at the same time her vani perfume tickled my nose. "...Because I am not wearing any underwear underneath..."


    After blowing gently into my ears, Kaya retreated back to her initial position while expecting an embarrassed teenage boy tripping over himself because of her seduction . However, her smile froze as she saw I had no noticeable change in my expression after her attack.


    "Why don''t you? Won''t the friction burn you up over there?" I asked with an innocent face.


    "Kaya what are you doing?!" A long, red haired, 175 cm tall white girl with a few freckles on her face stopped her friend from continuing her seduction immediately after she finished her practice.


    Kaya turned to the girl and said, "Anna. Nothing, I''m just talking to Ed."


    Both 17 year old girls with hourss body shape were good friends with each other therefore Anna couldn''t be deceived by Kaya''s lousy lie. She grabbed her friend''s ear and pulled it, making Kaya have to stand up if she wanted to keep her ear.


    "Ouch! Why?! You said you were going to release the training stress with him too-"


    Anna quickly shut Kaya''s mouth with her palm while looking anxiously at me.


    "What are you guys doing?" I asked with a tired voice. I wasn''t dense therefore I knew what they wanted from me, but right now I was feeling too depressed to care about it.


    "No Edward. It�C it''s nothing. You can continue doing your work!" Anna said in embarrassment and with a bright red face before he pulled Kaya out of the small music instrument room.


    "Weirdos." I muttered as I continued testing the next 10,000 dor price guitar. "She really has some good stuff." I said as I yed Careless Whispers with the guitar �Cnot knowing that a few of the dancers were resting nearby the instrument storage door in order to listen to me y.


    ...


    "Edward There you are." Pepper suddenly approached me after I got out of Taylor''s instrument storage room. He had been searching for me all over, and was the reason Anna had pulled Kaya away as to not let their actions be exposed.


    "What''s the matter Peps?" I asked as I saw Harvey following Pepper from behind. They led me into a small meeting room where Harvey started to exin the situation.


    "It''s about the melody you created with Taylor before this." Harvey said and gave me a piece of paper.


    "Honestly, you are entitled to some ims of her song as you had helped her in creating the melody. I really wish you guys would have told me about this situation sooner. If she decides to not recognize your participation in the creative process, We''re looking at a hardwsuit to get the im.."


    "Wait-wait-wait-wait." I muttered hurriedly as I didn''t understand anything about what was going on. "Can you exin it to me from the top?"


    Suddenly, the door of the meeting room was opened, and Taylor walked into the meeting room with her own firm representative. Unlike me, Taylor was tied to a recordbel and several entertainmentpanies therefore she didn''t have much freedom in her decision making.


    "I''m not that petty. He did help me in creating the melody, therefore I won''t be stingy." Taylor said sarcastically while rolling her eyes at Harvey as she sat next to Pepper, and directly in front of me.


    She tied up her curly hair into a small, loose bun at the back of her head, and wore a cropped tank top with no bra and a high waisted denim short. As the meeting table was small, her legs were brushing against mine underneath it.


    "Don''t worry Ed. I''m not an asshole." Taylor said as she immediately ran her bare foot up my thigh while maintaining eye contact with me. Two days of training together had brought us really close together, and we were on very good terms, even what anyone would call friendly terms right now.


    "Ah, royalties and credit." I muttered as I finally understood why the meeting was currently taking ce after Harvey and Pepper exined everything to me. "I forgot about that."


    "That''s okay. That is what I''m here for." Harvey said with a confident smile.


    "Ed. This is afterall, your decision. What do you want to do?" Pepper asked.


    "Hmm..." I held my chin as I pondered the situation and how I could take advantage of it.


    "Ed. Just take the royalties. I won''t hate you for it." Taylor said honestly while still stroking my leg with her foot while pretending she wasn''t doing anything.


    She knew about her entertainmentpany''s ns of wanting to poach me into their entertainmentpany, therefore she was pretending to have a lot of freedom in the decision making process to illuminate thepany in a good light.


    "No. Instead, I want something else." I said after thinking for a while. That was, after we decided that I would be getting a sry on my work with Taylor''s song and my name would be mentioned as credit for the artists participating in the song creation.


    Biting her lower lips, Taylor looked at me in anticipation. "What do you decide?"


    "How about...instead of giving me royalties, you just agreed to feature in one of my songs?"


    "Wait...what?" Taylor was bbergasted when she heard the counter offer. "A feature?"


    In the near future, Taylor had to sue for the rights to some of her earlier albums where she finally won and released the ''Taylor''s Version'' of the said albums. I already knew herpany right now as like a blood sucking bat, therefore I wanted to avoid having any entanglement for them.


    "More like a duet." I exined with a smirk and returned her yful gesture with my foot . She blushed a little when she saw it and turned her face toward herwyer.


    "Can we do that?" she asked hesitatingly.


    "It''s up to you. It''s your decision." Thewyer replied while texting his actual clients a.k.a the recordbel and other entertainmentpanies that truly owned Taylor''s music. Getting the okay from them, then thewyer hinted at Taylor to y along with the farce. Too bad I could see everything they were nning.


    I was lucky in this matter as I had Pepper on my side who made sure I would always hold full right for any of my solo songs and the team from Pearson Softman would make damn sure I would still hold the right to the mentioned duet.


    Taylor thought for a while before she replied, "I''m going to listen to the song first before I make my decision. Is that okay?"


    "Sure. We can do that." I replied casually. Then, Taylor and I relocated to the sound room where I yed the duet for ''Two is Better than One'' for Taylor.


    Nodding her head excitedly, Taylor said, "I''LL DO IT!" Even thewyer of the firm was smiling widely as he heard my song and he was sure that the client would love that.


    In this entertainment firm, I would''ve never yed a new song I just ''created'' because there was no telling whether they would im the copyright to the song just because I was using their instruments or their facilities.


    Therefore, I had already given Harvey the melody to the song 2 days earlier as I had nned to feature Taylor in my album for a while to boost my prestige upwards.


    "When did you create this song? This is Totally My Style!" Taylor said excitedly and kissed my left cheek as she hugged me from the neck.


    "2 days ago when I saw you again." I replied casually, however my words made Taylor''s face blush for the first time ever.


    Harvey was a bit disappointed as we didn''t have to go to court for the matter as we only settled the royalties and credit issue with a contract. We returned to the meeting room after Taylor agreed to coborate with me.


    Harvey managed to catch several ambiguous and potentially damaging wording in the contacts the firm drew up and was in a deep discussion with the firmwyer for the coboration agreement. Therefore Pepper asked me to go out with Taylor as he didn''t want me to lose my innocence listening to the dark side of the industry.


    Taylor and I were sitting alone in the sound room as she wanted to hear more about the duet song.


    "Are you okay?" I asked her as I noticed she kept holding the fake smile on her face even though her eyes were in pain.


    "Sometimes...I''m jealous of your rtionship with Pepper..." Taylor said in a dejected tone before she changed the topic, "Anyway, want to perform Love Story on the stage together tomorrow?"


    "What do you have in mind?" I asked.


    Several hourster, the meeting finally ended.


    "I could''ve gotten her to give up everything she ever loved.." Harvey murmured to herself as she finalized the contracts with the firmwyer.


    "Maybe some other time." Iforted the devilishwyer before she left the studio. Never once did Taylor''swyer scheme manage to go undetected by Harvey, which raised my impression on the woman.


    "Okay. Let''s go home now." Pepper said. But before we could walk away, Taylor walked out of the meeting room and stopped us.


    "Hey. You''reing to the afterparty right?" Taylor asked.


    "Hmm? Sure." I replied after thinking about it.


    "It''ll be on your dad''s boat anyway." Taylor said and giggled hard. I was confused so I took out my phone and checked thepany''s booking schedule.


    "Mona Karlson? Is this yours?" I asked as I checked. She nodded with a smile and said, "I actually bought the spot from her." For a premium price of course. Not only that, she also bought the spot for 3 more people to make it a round day trip.


    The profit from Taylor''s premium payment was enough for my dad to support me through an ordinary college. Even ire would have a 5 digit sry this month because of Taylor as her job''s sry was based on the profit of thepany.


    "International water cruise. Nice. It will take a day to get back though, and I have school on Monday.." I muttered in contemtion.


    "Just take one day off. The teacher won''t mind." Taylor grabbed my arm and tried to persuade me. She then whispered to me, "In international waters, thews won''t be as restricting as in this country.."


    "Get your hand off him vixen." Pepper said hurriedly and removed Taylor who wastching onto my body. Luckily, he didn''t hear what she whispered to me.


    After thinking hard about the matter, I decided to agree on the invitation. "Okay, I will go. If it''s my dad, I would be apprehensive to party in front of him. But Dwayne is the captain for that day."


    "Ohh Dwayne." Pepper muttered in a lusty voice as he remembered the buff ship captain. I didn''t want to say anything to Pepper therefore I turned to Taylor.


    "By the way, you have a very good guitar collection. I''m a bit jealous."


    Taylor shed a proud smile and said, "Thanks. Your birthday is this Tuesday right? Any ns for it?"


    "Nah. I need to catch up on my work that day, so I won''t be celebrating." I answered.


    "Too bad. That means you won''t need a present too right?" Taylor asked mischievously. While chuckling, I said, "Of course presents will be necessary. Don''t cheap out on it either."


    "I had never cheap out on anything." Taylorughed. We split ways and I was driven home by Pepper. I wouldn''t be able to see Taylor again till the concert as she has an award ceremony to attend to on Sunday morning.


    "Next ceremony, I''ll be looking forward to wearing a dress of your design." She said before we parted ways.


    As I reached home, Pepper gave me some unexpected advice.


    "Don''t just start chasing after girls right now. Let yourself heal first." He said from the driver seat as I closed the passenger seat door of the Mercedes convertible while slinging my guitar case on my back.


    "What?" I asked in confusion.


    Turning his face toward me, he said, "It''s normal to want to chase after girls when you break up with someone. But that will only hurt you more. Believe me, I know.. It''s called a rebound, and I noticed that you''reing unhinged..."


    "You know the feeling of chasing after girls?" I asked teasingly.


    "See...Deflect deflect deflect. You can repress your feelings if you want, but I will make sure to include going to therapy in your contract if you do. Do you really want me to do that? You know I will do it."


    I was stunned by Pepper''s words and my face turned serious. "No need. I can handle it on my own. It wasn''t my first breakup."


    "You dated before?" Pepper was surprised when he heard that. He put on his sunsses and said, "Okay, nevermind that. Also, a small piece of advice, be careful when you guys decide to y footsie with each other under a small table. Remember that other people there can sense your movement too." Then, he drove off quickly.


    I was stunned at the sidewalk for a few seconds before I cursed slowly, "Fuck."


    ...


    It was 9 pm on Saturday while I was resting in the living room when I suddenly heard someone knocking on my front door. Wearing a simple t-shirt and short cargo pants, I opened the door carefully just to see an angry little girl gazing menacingly at me.


    "What''s up Haley?" I greeted casually as I saw her.


    Barging into my house, Haley used her index finger to push my chest backward while saying, "You little shit."


    "What did I do now?" I asked.


    "You disappeared for 2 days, and you dared to ask me (Mockingly) ''what did I do''?"


    "I went to practice for the concert. It''s not like I disappearedpletely. I returned your texts, didn''t I?"


    She had been calling me, confessing everything that she and Tara had done and how Abby had no part in the spying. She kept telling me to go beg Abby to take me back, and continue our rtionship. But after both Abby and I talked to her, and I told ire about her harassment, she had stopped trying to bring the topic up.


    "Now, what are you going to do with Abby? Are you guys really not getting back together?" Haley asked in concern.


    "Right now, I''m doing the best I can to keep us as friends. If I push further, what do you think will happen?" I said in a tired voice. She paused for a while, and then had a look of determination on her face. I didn''t like where the conversation was going, therefore I changed the subject.


    "By the way, did your mom pick up the tickets yet?" I asked.


    Suddenly forgetting what she came there for, Haley searched her memory and said, "I...don''t know."


    "I gave her the VVIP tickets and passes. You can even get backstage with that. Are youing tomorrow?"


    Haley brightened up and said, "Really? I can go backstage?"


    "Yeah. I gave the same ticket to Abby too, but I''m not sure whether she will go. Did she say anything to you?" I cleverly guided Haley to the direction I wanted the talk to go toward.


    "I..." Haley thought for a while, and then she said, "Let me go check."


    "Okay. I''ll be waiting." I said and shut the door behind Haley as she ran back toward her house.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Wait..I came there to yell at him." Haley widened her eyes in realization as she was already 10 meters away from Edward''s house. "Why am I leaving now?" She blinked her eyes twice as she didn''t know what just happened.


    Haley walked to her house while trying hard to understand the situation.


    "Mom! Did you get the concert tickets?!" She asked the second she entered the house.


    From the kitchen, ire replied, "Oh. YES! I got THEM!"


    "No, I got them!" Phil interjected and ran toward the living room from the kitchen with a logo t-shirt. The logo was a giant door that was halfway open and written with the word [New] and [Gate]. A ray of light wasing in through the door andnded on a small figure of a man standing on a stage.


    "Oh. Grandpa already had sent the shirts?" Haley asked as she saw the t-shirt her dad was wearing. One of Jay''s hobbies was to design novelty t-shirts, and he came up with a t-shirt for the concert tomorrow as Edward had invited his entire extended family toe.


    "Yup. It''s great right?" Phil asked in excitement as he showed the front and back of the shirt.


    ire walked out of the kitchen hurriedly while wearing the same clothes and said admonishingly, "Phil. Don''t y with the tickets. It''s not like we can contact him if we lose them tomorrow."


    She snatched the tickets from Phil''s hand for safekeeping immediately.


    "I''m not going to lose them!" Phil argued.


    Then, Haley walked to Abby''s house where she had still not gotten out of bed or done anything. But she was a bit better today as she actually took a bath and changed her clothes.


    "Hey. Abby, you''re stilling to the concert tomorrow right?" Haley asked carefully.


    "Urgh!" Abby cupped her face in frustration and let out a long groan.


    "I don''t want to...Can I not go?" Abby turned to Haley and asked.


    "I mean...if you don''t want to.." Haley hesitated.


    "No. That''s not the answer. If I don''t want to go, then you should drag me there." Abby said sternly.


    "Why?" Haley asked.


    "Because...I promised him to be there." Abby replied with conflicted eyes. "Therefore, I should be there for Ed."


    Haley smiled softly and said, "Aww...You''re a good...''friend''."


    "Shut up." Abby retorted in embarrassment.


    Haley shook her head and said, "We''ll be going in the afternoon tomorrow. Why don''t Tara and I ride with you and your mom?"


    "Wait. Tara ising?" Abby asked in confusion.


    "Yeah. We know the artist. I just needed to ask for an extra ticket, and he gave it to me." Haley said proudly. Abby cracked a slight smile before she got depressed again. "Ahh, I don''t think I can keep my sanity intact tomorrow."


    Haley said with a smirk, "Don''t worry, I''ll be there to pick up the pieces."


    "Yeah...and then mess up when you put them back together." Abby cracked a joke for the first time in 3 days, causing Haley to widen her eyes. Then, she realized that she was insulted and made an offended gasp after 20 seconds had passed.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Thank god she will stille." I muttered as I read the confirmation from Haley. Finally, I decided to rest properly that night as I would be standing in front of 5000 people tomorrow.


    "I can''t help but feel nervous about it." I muttered as I copsed into the bed and closed my eyes.


    Then, I smirked and muttered, "It''ll certainly be fun though."

 Chapter 46: Concert Starts! (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Concert Starts! (Part 1)</h4>


    [3rd Party POV]


    "Loud tempting music, mingling of bodies in the rave, and promiscuous people being devils in disguise trying to lead you astray! I''m sorry Jacob for mycking enthusiasm for this concert you''ve tricked your dad into going." Mrs Green said with a nagging tone..


    The Green family had received the tickets for the concert. After some begging, crying and even pulling the puppy dog eyes, in an epicbination of all of the above, Mrs Green finally allowed her family to go to the concert, but in return they would get extra sermons from the christian mother and join her for a confession after that.


    The Viking-style Mr Green snorted as he heard the sermon, making Mrs Green red at him and said, "What?"


    "Nothing. I guess you''ve forgotten the things we did while we were young." Mr Green said as he remembered the good times with his wife in a nudist rave back in the 80s.


    "Shut up! That''s exactly the kind of thing I''m trying to prevent our son from falling into." Mrs Green angrily turned her head toward the backseat of the car, and growled at Jacob.


    "Don''t get too close with her. Move away!" She said while aggressively gesturing to Jacob to move further away from Elsa who was sitting beside him.


    "Mom! Stop, you''re embarrassing me in front of my girlfriend!" Jacob leaned forward and whispered to his mother in a begging tone.


    "Hmph! You''re still too young to have a girlfriend!" She snorted. Then, she turned her face to Elsa while wearing a kind expression and said, "I don''t hate you dear. I''m just saying that Jacob is too immature to have a girlfriend. And a pretty girl like you would need to have a lot of patience to even begin to deal with him."


    With a determined expression, Elsa pumped her fist in the air while saying, "I''ll do my best Mrs Green."


    "Please. Call me Kitty." Mrs Green said happily as she wanted to have at least one daughtering out of her womb, but fate has it she only gave birth to 3 boys. Now, she has had 2 girls with her that sprayed a little bit of color in her dull life.


    "What about me Mrs Green? Am I not pretty too?" Jenna asked sulkily as she had hitched a ride with the Green''s family along with her best friend. She was sitting behind the driver, Elsa sitting in the middle, and Jacob was sitting behind Mrs Green.


    "Of course Jenna. I like you the most among all of Jacob''s friends as you''re the only one who went to a catholic school before." Mrs Green smiled sincerely as sheforted the sulking Jenna. Finally, Jennaughed after Mrs Green''sment.


    Jacob and Elsa looked at each other in confusion, and weremunicating using their eyes. Both were confused when they heard Mrs Green''s statement but they didn''t think to expose Jenna''s tant lie to the Catholic mother as it was helping their case right now.


    ''If a whore wants to pretend to be a catholic girl, then I should support her.'' Elsa thought secretly.


    Jenna didn''t have much experience in going on family trips . In fact, she had no experience at all. All the vacations she had with her mother were just business trips so this was actually a first for her. But right now, she was super happy and having so much fun traveling with the Green''s family that it made her feel a bit jealous that Jacob had such a loving family.


    When she told her mom about going to a concert right after Jacob shared about the event and got the ticket for both her and Elsa, her mom just designated a few bodyguards to go with her instead of going to the concert herself. Her mom said she had a meeting with some producers, which Jenna knew was just a euphemism for doing it.


    Therefore she was feeling a bit sulky for a few days with her mother and decided to hitch a ride with the Greens instead of going alone.


    "Still...Edward didn''t think to invite us huh. I guess we''re not even considered as one of his friends." Jenna muttered sadly as she looked at the clear blue sky on their way to Santa Barbara.


    "Well...he... kinda forgot to invite me too." Jacob said while scratching his cheek, causing both Elsa and Jenna to turn their faces to him in confusion.


    "What do you mean?" Elsa asked.


    Jacob avoided the girl''s gaze and said, "I texted him when he didn''te to school on Thursday. He told me that he''s preparing for the concert. And then he asked me if I had already gotten the ticket. I was confused by that, so I told him he didn''t tell me anything about it...And he said, and I quote...''Ahh...I forgot to tell you''."


    "Ah, so he just forgot about it?" Elsa asked, but Jenna was unconvinced and said sulkily, "He still didn''t invite us though."


    Although she was deeply worried when Edward didn''t attend the school, especially after the party , she didn''t have his phone number therefore she couldn''t ask him about it.


    "He told me to invite...and I quote again... ''the two troublemakers who can''t shut their mouth''. So I guessed he was referring to you both and gave you the tickets." Jacob exined.


    Jenna widened her eyes, leaned forward to Jacob while pushing her chest onto Elsa''s face�C burying her friend inside of it, and asked excitedly, "Did he really ask you to invite us?"


    "I-I-I think so." Jacob answered bbergasted with a red face as Jenna was too close. Elsa got annoyed by his reaction and decided to bite Jenna''s chest that was dangling in front of her mouth.


    "OUCH!" Jenna returned to her spot after she got bitten. "What are you doing, you toddler!?"


    Elsa hugged Jacob''s hand and said menacingly, "He''s mine. Back off."


    "Bad Jacob. Bad." Mrs Green sprayed water into Jacob''s face using a water spray bottle as he was touching his girlfriend.


    "I''m not the one who did it." Jacob objected pitifully as he was drenched in holy water.


    "BAD!" Mrs Green sprayed his face once more as he dared to talk back to his mother.


    [Edward POV]


    "Phew, I can''t help but feel a little bit nervous." I muttered as I reached the concert venue with my dad. I walked a bit farther from the car park and jumped and stood on the 1 meter tall brick wall to scout the venue with my eyes. Luckily I was wearing a simple red track suit and hadn''t changed into my performance outfits yet so I could be a little roguish.


    The concert would be an open field concert, taking ce at Santa Barbara Bowl amphitheater that could house almost 5000 people. As performers for today, we could park the car directly at the empty concert venue as we need to make thest preparations there.


    "My heart is going... dup dup dup dup..." With my right hand feeling the heartbeat on my chest, I had an expectant smile on my face as I imagined the empty seats in front of the stage being filled today.


    Taking out the luggages from the trunk of the car, my dad who was wearing a tight gray shirt and ck jeans said, "It''d actually be more weird if you didn''t feel nervous. Are you feeling okay? Do you want to take some anxiety pills?"


    He mmed the trunk of the car after and pulled the two luggages �C once , one in each hand to where I was standing. His arm muscles were prominent, and his belly fat had decreased a little bit as I kept making him healthy food ever since I got my adult memories. Right now he looked more like a retired bodyguard than a father with a dad bod.


    "Nah I''m fine Mr. Stagehand." I said as I jumped down from the wall andnded on my feet lightly. "It is exhration instead of anxiety."


    Ted broke into a soft smile and said, "You really okay huh?...Even before...you would be quaking in your boots every time before you started performing."


    I pointed my index finger at my dad and said, "That was ssical music. This is pop music. I don''t have to please some snobbish idiots here, so I can be more free, and do my own music instead of following the scoresheet."


    Ted smirked and said, "Aren''t you a snob too?"


    Throwing my right hand to the sidezily, I said, "That''s all in the past. I''m an easy going guy now. Come on, let''s go in. I don''t want to bete."


    "We''re an hour early. How could we bete?" Dad snorted derisively as he heard it.


    "It''s better to be early than to bete. It''s better to be the one waiting for the people instead of them waiting for us." I muttered.


    Ted was confused and asked, "Who told you that?"


    Pausing for a moment, I said, "A grandmother that I used to know."


    As I walked toward the backstage, I couldn''t help but reminiscing about my time as a ssical music performer.


    The taunts of the defeated participants of thepetition rang clear inside my mind.


    [Did you hear? Newgate got the first prize again. Disgusting...Does he have no other life than ying instruments?]


    The ugly remarks from snobbish adults that hid their venom behind a smiling mask..


    [Why don''t you rest for a year? You''re already a great performer. Why do you need to enter every singlepetition?]


    The criticism and scorn of the judges and juries that nitpick on every single thing I did.


    [Not smooth enough! Not impactful enough! Bury your emotion, you only need to follow the score. Why can''t you understand that?!]


    [You perform really well, but your facial expression was too happy for a sad arrangement, therefore I will deduct your mark for that.]


    ''It was as if I was a machine instead of a human being.''


    From the moment I took the instruments at the age of 5, till the age of 12, my initial excitement in the field of performance art died down slowly. Rather than having fun, it bes a job to do instead. To keep my reputation intact. To keep my parents happy.


    ''Life was really shitty back then.''


    [Why can''t you do this? You could do this before!]


    I remember mother yelling as I made a mistake on a simple musical arrangement again. Without me realizing it, my fingers were shivering as I recalled the memories.


    [Just do what I told you to do!]


    She constantly ignored my apprehension on practicing, and forced me to practice for hours on end, making it torturous for me to pass the day.


    ''I was just a child.'' I thought as I balled up my hand into a fist, gripping it tightly as I tried to push the thoughts away.


    All those experiences made me develop a deep hatred for ssical music to such a point that any association with it would trigger feelings of fear and anxiety. The relentless pursuit for perfection was too much for my young mind to take.


    [Maybe, it would have... been better if I never held a violin in my life]


    That was thest thought I had, a second before I fainted in the middle of the stage.


    Taking a deep breath as I held the doorknob, I couldn''t help but hesitate to walk in.


    ''Performing is fun right now, but will it continue to stay the same way after I walk through this door?''


    ''If...the life I''m pursuing right now is simr to my life in the past, then why the hell am I here? Just to put myself into that misery once more?''


    Dark thoughts couldn''t help but bubble up inside my mind. Standing behind me, dad seemed to notice my internal struggle. Putting his hand on my shoulder, he said, "It''s good that you''re more cautious."


    Turning my head toward him, I asked in confusion, "What?"


    "It means you''re now more mature. I don''t know what will happen when you walk through that door, or what your future will be when you decide to be an artist."


    "But...whatever happens, remember. You can always count on me to have your back."


    He turned the doorknob for me, and the dark hallways within my memory were illuminated and reced with the sight I was looking at right now as the door was opened.


    "OHH THE STAR IS HERE~!" Kaya and Anna shouted in excitement as they noticed meing into the amphitheater.


    "Eddy, he''s drinking beer now!" A young, 25 years old ck guitarist named Ken with his hair tied up in a bun pointed at the drummer beside him.


    "Shit! HE TOLD ME TO!" The drummer, a 20 years old white dude with tattoos-filled arms named McGee tried to fight the guitarist for setting him up.


    The keyboardist, a 18 years old asian girl with straight bangs on her shoulder length hair named Jess gazed expressionlessly at me, then she waved shyly before running away from any sorts of eye contact with people.


    The bassist and stage conductor were bickering �C not because of faulty mishaps, but because they were long time friends.


    "Hahaha, just wait till you see his performance." Johnson, the old bassist said.


    "Like hell I will swoon. After Bieber all sorts of people are popping out right now." The stage conductor, Mr. Killington said.


    "Believe me, that kid is better than that brat." Johnson pped the conductor''s back extremely hard as he said that.


    "You fuck-" Mr. Killington''s eyes were teary from the pain and tried to rub his back with both of his hands. Johnson finally saw me and shouted, "Hey! THE GENIUS IS HERE!"


    The cheerful atmosphere backstage instantly drowned out any of the bad memories I had in the past, and I couldn''t help but smile a little.


    "Thanks, dad." I said as I walked inside.


    "Anytime, son." Dad said as he followed me from behind.


    ...


    2.30 pm.


    The crowd started to enter the venue, and thousands of seats were being filled slowly.


    "ED!" Phil opened the door suddenly, startling me and the hairdresser who was focusing before this. He ran toward me as I was getting my hair ready at the vanity set �C a dressing table with lightbulbs on the edge of it. The female,tina makeup artist and hairdresser was ring at Phil, however he had no idea why she was irritated as he entered.


    "Phil. Slow down!"


    I heard ire''s voice from afar when Phil entered the dressing room. Not turning back, I used the mirror to look at Phil.


    "Hey, nice shirt." I was touched as I saw the shirt design made specially for me. "Did Jay make it?" I asked.


    "You guessed it right." Phil said and walked closer to where I was sitting. "Did Alex tell you?"


    "Nah. I''m Sherlock, remember?" I said yfully as the hairdresser sprayed some stuff onto my hair and trimmed the edge of it to make it look neater.


    "Are you nervous?" Phil asked.


    "A little bit now that people are starting to gather." I replied. Without looking at him, I asked, "...is Abbying backstage?"


    "No. She and Haley are currently sitting at the VIP seats." Phil answered.


    "Good." I said with a smile.


    ire suddenly walked in after talking to my dad for a while and said, "Why were you insisting that she came here anyway? Aren''t you guys broken up?"


    "Ouch." I eximed tly as I heard her.


    "ire, be more careful. He''s a 14 years old boy. It''s a sensitive time for them."


    "He''s not a normal 14 years old." ire said and approached me before she asked again, "Are you going to answer my question or not?"


    Contemting for a while, I decided to tell ire the truth, "Well...Although I had written a few songs before this, Abby was the one who encouraged me to go find a band, or go sing in public. She was the one who encouraged me to return to the stage. I would never be here if it wasn''t for her."


    And after I went to audition for a band, I cursed the mothers of the entire band member there and even their girlfriends before I decided to not enter the music industry ever again. Then, everything changed after I got my memories from my past life.


    ire and Phil looked at each other before ire broke the silence. "I didn''t expect that. I thought you were getting her here to seduce her back."


    Shrugging my shoulders, I said, "Maybe that too. Who knows."


    Mitchell, Cam, Gloria, Jay, Manny, Luke, Alex, Haley came to give me words of encouragement one by one, but to be honest I was tuning them all out. Not because I was unhappy to see them, but as the time drew closer, my nerves became high strung.


    "Hey, good luck out there." Haley said as thest visitor. Her doe eyes were strangely calming me down which then weirded me out.


    "Thank you Haley." I said as I stood up from the chair and looked her in the eyes. "I really appreciate youing here even though I know you don''t like me that much right now."


    Haley''s eyes shook and she said, "I don''t...(sigh) Anyway, just because Abby is my friend doesn''t mean I will stop being friends with you." She hit my arm and said, "Break a leg."


    "That''s something terrible to wish for another person." I said as I pretended to be horrified.


    "Wh- No! THAT WHAT PEOPLE SAY BEFORE A PERFORMANCE!" Haley exined herself immediately.


    "Pff-" I couldn''t keep a straight face andughed, making Haley feel extremely embarrassed by her overreaction.


    "Jerk!" She said and stomped away angrily to get back to the VIP seat.


    "Phew." I let out a long sigh as there were only 15 minutes left before my performance. Finally, I finished my makeover and changed into the outfit I created on my own.


    A ck leather jacket with white colored, graffiti-like patterns strewn all over, ck jeans and ck shoes, a wolf chain on my neck and a white undershirt.


    "Damn, you look good." Kaya said as she saw me when I had finished getting ready.


    "Thanks, this would look way better if I got some tattoos though." I said as I was feeling proud of my design.


    "NO TATTOOS!" Pepper suddenly appeared out of knowhere and admonished me.


    Outside, the emcee had started to hype the crowd up, and the university representatives were giving a speech before the concert started. Half of the crowd was from California university and the other half were Taylor''s fans.


    "Don''t worry, when you are performing next time, I''m sure that the crowd will go there for you. I''m sure of it." Pepper gave me his words of encouragement as he stayed beside me with my dad after the backstage visitations ended.


    Nodding at his words, I looked around and saw the dancers'' with ashen faces. I walked right up to them and asked, "Where''s Taylor?"


    "Her award show is runningte. She won''t be able to arrive on time." Kaya exined.


    "Oh damn." I eximed unconsciously as I heard that. Suddenly, the stage conductor rushed to me and Pepper.


    "Hey, you must already know by now, right? That Taylor is runningte." Mr Killington said with huffing breath.


    "Yeah..."


    "Can you extend your show for another 10 minutes? She is rushing here right now, but she won''t be able toe on time."


    "That''s impossible Mr Killington. You can''t just spry this matter on him at thest minute! This is highly irresponsible and unprofessional behavior!" Pepper got mad instantly as he was trying to protect me and calm my nerves before my first debut.


    Pausing to think, I then said, "It''s okay Pepper. I think...I can add one more song, but that''s it."


    Grabbing my hand suddenly, Mr Killington shook it up and down vigorously while saying, "Thank you Mr NEWGATE!"


    "Ed, you don''t have to do this!" Pepper said hurriedly.


    "Nah, it''s alright. I want to do it. Who knows when I will get a chance to perform again,..you know, with school and all that..." I said with a confident look on my face that stopped Pepper from saying anything else.


    He red at the stage conductor and said, "I''ll expect him to get additional payment for this."


    "O-Of course."


    Finally, the band and I walked to the stage and set up behind the curtain as the emcee was hyping the crowd.


    "The first performer for today, A YOUTUBE SENSATION WITH 5 MILLION VIEWS ON HIS SONGS IN LESS THAN A MONTH! GIVE IT UP FOR...EDWARDDDD NEWGATE!"


    ''Take a deep breath. You got this.''


    The curtain was lifted and I was finally standing in front of the crowd of 5000 people. Thunderous apuse and cheers from the crowd sounded the moment I appeared on the stage as they had been waiting for over an hour for the concert to start.


    At the center of the stage, while grabbing the microphone on the mic stand with my right hand while the other was holding onto the red, electric guitar, I took a deep breath and started singing immediately after I was introduced.


    [??Rixton �C Me and My Broken Heart??]


    Without any musical apaniment, I used only my vocals to draw people in.


    "??All I need''s a little love in my life! All I need''s a little love in the daaaAARK~! A little but I''m hoping it might kickstart...Me and my broken heart..??"


    The crowd was stunned by the sudden start of the performance and was immediately hooked on the show. The murmurs were forcefully stopped and the band started ying softly.


    ??I need a little loving tonight...Hold me so I''m not falling apart...A little but I''m hoping it might kickstart...Me and my broken heart??


    "Oh my god, he''s awesome!" A random crowd member shouted. Haley and Abby were looking at each other before they muttered at the same time, "Yeah He''s awesome."


    Finally, the nervousness I had before the performance disappeared as I saw the crowd''s reaction.


    ??Yeah??


    My eyes searched for my own fans �C the Modern Family members and my friends. I could see Abby and Haley looking at me with glittering eyes, so I winked at them. Then, the song''s rhythms changed.


    ?? Shotgun, aimed at my heart, you got one. Tear me apart in this song. How do we call this love???


    Band Member: (woah-oh-oh-oh)


    ?? I tried, to run away but your eyes, Tell me to stay, oh why, Why do we call this love? (Woah-oh-oh-oh)??


    ''Wait. Is this song about them?'' Haley widened her already big eyes and darted between Abby and Edward.


    "Shut up Haley." Abby said.


    "I didn''t say anything yet!" Haley retorted.


    "I can hear your brain thinking." Abby said.


    ??It seems like we''ve been losing control...Somebody tell me I''m not alone. When I say..??


    ??All I need''s a little love in my life! All I need''s a little love in the dark~! A little but I''m hoping it might kickstart...Me and my broken heart...??


    ??I need a little loving tonight. Hold me so I''m not falling apart. A little but I''m hoping it might kick start. Me and my broken heart...??


    [3rd Person POV]


    Ted sighed and said out loud while leaning on the wall. "You know you''re the reason for his broken heart."


    A feminine voice replied to him from the other side of the wall, "I know."


    "Are you still not going to meet him?" Ted asked.


    "I want to...but...Not now." A woman in a floral dress and a red stiletto replied before walking away from the backstage.


    Ted let out a long sigh afterward before focusing on his son''s performance once more.


    ?? Uh, maybe some part of you just hates me..You pick me up and y me..How do we call this love? (Woah-oh-oh-oh)..??


    ??One time tell me you need me tonight...To make it easy, you lie...And say it''s all for love (woah-oh-oh-oh)??


    "See. he knows." Tara said to Abby. "Both of you, shut up." Abby warned both of her friends as they kept running their mouths.


    The song reached the climax and finally it reached thest verse.


    ??All I need''s a little love in my life (baby)


    All I need''s a little love in the dark


    A little but I''m hoping it might kick start


    Me and my broken heart


    I need a little loving tonight


    Hold me so I''m not falling apart


    A little but I''m hoping it might kick start


    Me and my broken heart.??


    With some sweat on my forehead, finally I stopped ying the guitar and held the microphone once again. My charismatic face was shown on the huge screen at the side of the stage, disying me catching my breath.


    The crowd cheered loudly as the first song was a huge sess in attaining their interest.


    "What''s UP SANTA BARBARA!" I greeted them using the microphone, and the crowd cheered explosively once more!


    (The concert arc will continue next week)

 Chapter 47: Concert (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Concert (Part 2)</h4>


    (I feel bad for you guys, therefore I will post the chap one day ahead. That also means, I will take a leave one day ahead this week. Mental health day is also important right? Haha)


    [3rd Person POV]


    "He''s pretty cute right?" A blonde haired college student whispered to her friend after the Edward''s finished with his opening songs.


    "Yeah. He is. Want to do it?" Her brte friend with skimpy clothes replied.


    "Sure." The blonde said and rummaged her hands underneath her shirt, the same as what her friend was currently doing right now.


    "You guys are going to do that here too?" Their boyfriends asked in disbelief.


    "Yup. Let us sit on your shoulders." The girls ordered. The boyfriends couldn''t help but follow the girls orders as they knew there wasn''t anything they could say to change their minds.


    Suddenly, the singer �C Edward reminded something from the stage while the girls were


    "As I understand, I''m cute..." Which earned a lot of giggles from the female member of the crowd


    "...I know some of you may feel the need to throw your undergarments on stage. I won''t discourage you to do so, but if you want to do it, Please aim it at the bodyguard down below so that it won''t cause tripping hazards for the dancers."


    The two girls peeked at the sunsses-wearing bodyguard nearby the stage who was pointed at by Edward. The bodyguard currently has a baffled expression of being betrayed and was trying to move away from the artist''s finger that was pointed at him, but the finger was following him wherever he goes.


    "That''s my dad by the way." Edward said to the crowd, earning a second wave ofughter from them.


    "Ready?" The blonde asked the brte.


    "Ready!" The brte replied. Then, both of them threw their bras toward Ted, earning the attention of the artist on stage. Edward turned to look at them, and they shed him their chest the moment heid eyes on them.


    "Pff-" Edward almostughed after he saw the 2 pairs of titties being shaken vigorously for him.


    "Now I feel more motivated to do the next song. The next songs are where you guys may know me from. 7 years and Amnesia. Please enjoy yourself with theplete version of the song." Edward said.


    Sitting directly behind the VIP section, Elsa and Jacob were stunned as they saw the college student shing their friend nearby. Luckily, Mrs Green had gone to the toilet therefore she missed it.


    "Hey Jacob can you raise me up? I want to do that too." Jenna said in excitement after she saw Edward''s smiling face.


    "Please don''t do that in front of me." Suddenly, a stern feminine voice warned the trio from behind.


    "Huh~! Who the hell are you-" Jenna turned to look at the source of the voice angrily, but then she was instantly humbled as she saw thedy.


    "Mrs HENDERSON!?" Jacob eximed in bewilderment as he saw their teacher there. Jenna quickly hid behind Elsa as among all the teachers in the school, Mrs Henderson was the only one she wouldn''t look down on.


    "Yes." Mrs Henderson replied monotonously.


    "W-W-W-What are you doing here?" Elsa asked carefully as she crossed her arms together.


    Taking out an air tube with Edward''s and Taylor''s name on it, Mrs Henderson said, "I''m a fan. Why won''t I be here?"


    At the VIP section.


    "I''m d." ire said suddenly.


    "Why?" Jay asked her as he was the only one who could listen to her voice.


    "He''s aware that his heart is broken. That''s the first step to heal himself." ire exined.


    "Hmm.." Jay eximed and said after a pause, "The song was too...edgy for my taste."


    Sitting in front of Jay and ire was Phil, Cam, Mitchell, and Alex. Haley, Abby, Tara and Desire were sitting a few seats away from the rest.


    "Complete version?" Phil asked from the VVIP seat while waving an airstick with Edward''s name on it.


    "The youtube video is the acoustic version with only him ying. Right now, he can perform theplete version. I had the honor to listen to it before. It''s pretty great." Cam exined to Phil as he took pride in being known as the creative member of the family.


    "Please. You had to beg Pepper to let you listen to it." Mitchell bursted Cam''s ego bubble immediately.


    "Ayy. Shut up. I want to listen to him singing. Not your voice." Gloria said in irritation as they kept chattering away.


    "Sorry Gloria." Mitchell said. "Anyway, he''s reallyfortable up there isn''t he? I would be horrified if I had to perform in front of this big a crowd." He added.


    "Yeah. He''s a natural." Cam said, and suddenly Alexughed as the conversation was within her earshot, causing all the adults there to look at her.


    "What''s so funny Alex?" ire asked in suspicion.


    "N-nothing." Alex replied anxiously as she knew she had exposed herself.


    "What is it? Tell me!" Phil begged with glittering eyes, causing Alex to give up trying to keep the secret.


    "Natural. That''s the name of his new song. Well, one of them." Alex confessed. The group widened their eyes in surprise after hearing why Alexughed at the conversation.


    "Really? Will he perform it here?" Phil asked.


    "I don''t know that. I only know a few of his songs'' names." Alex replied.


    "Anyway, focus. He is singing the next one now." Jay suddenly spoke up as Edward was going to sing his favorite song now.


    Time passed and Edward had performed both 7 years and Amnesia before he took a 5 minute break to drink some water.


    The Emcee took over the stage as Edward took a break.


    [Edward POV]


    My session was split into two halves to allow me to take a breather in between songs, with a 10 minutes rest in between. It was a privilege for a young artist in the industry to take a break within songs and I would surely take advantage of it.


    "How long till she gets here?" I asked the stage conductor as he came on stage to direct the next performance.


    "We need to add another 10 minutes to the ETA as there are some idents on the road." Mr Killington replied. I sighed and I said, "Why don''t you have the Emcee ask me some questions? It will help in dragging the time."


    In the original deal, I would be paid based on the number of songs I would y today. A total of 5 songs would earn the recordbel 50,000 dors from the organizer, which would be split 80-20 with me. Of course, Pepper wanted me to have a bigger part in that.


    The payment was quite low but I didn''t mind as it was something that all upstart artists would go through. Some may not even get paid at all.


    They mentioned an interview in their initial deal, but was rejected by Pepper as I didn''t have any training in public speaking just yet. I also didn''t bother to argue with Pepper as I thought I only needed to y my songs and get out of the way before Taylor stepped on the stage.


    "Really? Can he do that? Are you prepared for an impromptu interview?" Mr Killington asked while being a bit concerned as an interview was a two edged-sword. It may help my career if conducted wisely, or it may kill it if I give the wrong answer that may offend some people.


    "It''s a bit unconventional to do this after you have already started singing, but I guess we don''t have any other choice. I will ask you again, are you fine with it?"


    "It''s okay. As long as he doesn''t ask me for some personal information or political questions, I am confident that I can do it. However, please check with Pepper first before proceeding. I don''t want him to get mad at me for being a loose cannon." I replied.


    "Don''t worry. He''s listening to everything we''re discussing right now, and he gave the ''okay'' for it." Mr Killington replied while pointing at his headset. Pepper had a simr headset on his head and he gave me a thumbs up from afar.


    The stage conductor was connected to the emcee for the show therefore he currently had understood the whole situation. After a quick break, I walked back to the stage with the band to our instruments before the emcee could get off the stage.


    But to the crowd''s surprise, the emcee walked to me�Cthe artist and asked me something akin to a paparazzi meeting an artist on the streets.


    "Awesome performance Edward. I''m sure that a lot of people in the crowd are curious about you right now, Am I right, people?" whilemunicating with the crowd below.


    The crowd cheered, and I could hear Phil''s voiceing from the VIP stand saying, "WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT PHIL?!", but I only waved at him and didn''t answer the question.


    "Who''s that? Is that your dad?" The Emcee was curious as he heard the shout too. Of course, our whole conversation was using the microphone therefore all the people there could hear it.


    "Nah, My dad is the man covered in bras below. That''s the neighborhood Dad that I''m close with, and one of my biggest fans."


    Phil shouted, "YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!" while Ted was giving me the side eye as he removed a still warm bra that was dangling from the top of his head.


    Iughed together with the Emcee before he asked me the first official question.


    "How did you get the invitation to perform here today? Did Taylor see you on Youtube and decide to kick out some other band to let you y?"


    "What the hell is he doing?!" Mr Killington asked in exasperation as he saw the Emcee''s instigating questions. He specifically asked the actual loose-cannon emcee not to do that.


    This kind of insidious question was usually targeted to make me flustered for the crowd''s enjoyment, but I couldn''t be shaken with just that. It wasn''t something that was done on purpose to humiliate me, but to help an upstart artist to create a longsting impression on the audience''s mind.


    "About the other band, they got into an ident as their brake wire was disconnected, or maybe someone cut it off, therefore they couldn''t y today."


    "Like you said, Taylor did see me on Youtube and sent me the invitation to y for today."


    The Emcee suddenly interjected, "What were you doing when you got the invitation?"


    "I was ying with my dad''s wire cutter at that time...and..."


    The crowd giggled at the joke and I couldn''t keep a straight face anymore andughed, causing the crowd tough together with me.


    Letting theughter quieten down, I said, "In all honesty, I need to thank the organizer as they had invited me today. And Taylor too because she has been very kind to me and helped me to get ready for my first performance."


    The first hurdle was cleared formally before the Emcee shot his next question.


    "I think I spoke for a lot of the people in here when I say ''We want to know more about Edward!!''. When did you first start to y an instrument?"


    "I think... I first started ying at 1 or 2 years old." The crowd gasped in shock as they heard it. "You know, the baby xylophone. I think I yed Chopin using that one on my first birthday." I teased the crowd, causing someughter here and there.


    The emcee asked, "Are you releasing an album soon?"


    "Yes. It''ll be released early spring next year."


    "Nice one. Free publicity." Pepper muttered backstage.


    "Your first song is titled, "Me and My Broken Heart." Did you write it after you got your heart broken by someone? And...the most important question that the girls here would kill me if I don''t ask...are you still single?"


    "The first part, "Me and My Broken Heart" as you guessed it...I did write it after getting my heart broken. In fact, I had just gotten dumped by my girlfriend recently."


    The crowd eximed, "Aw" after I shared my news with a sad face. "I guess, that also answered your second question. I am single right now."


    Haley and Tara snickered in their seats while they saw Abby''s pouting expression.


    "Aww...Our boy just got his heart broken. Is there anyone here that wants to help him heal his soul?" The emcee asked the crowd which then they bursted into random volunteering to be my girlfriend.


    "There''s a lot of people here who want to be his girlfriend. Let''s see if we can narrow down the list. What kind of girl is your type? Blonde? Brtes?"


    With a poker face, I answered, " Milfs..."


    "Ahh.." The emcee eximed in bewilderment while the crowdughed after pausing for a minute to understand the joke.


    "You''re a funny guy. Last question. What is your aspiration for the future?" The emcee asked.


    "Well that''s a tough one. If I have to answer what I''m going to do in the near future, then I will answer...Going tinum with my album. But for the far future, I guess I want to be happy. That''s all."


    "Aww..." The crowd eximed again. Then, I smirked and said, "But for the moment...I guess I don''t want to do anything, which brings me to my next song, The Lazy Song. Enjoy."


    The Emcee nodded and said to the crowd, "Please give a round of apuse to the new singer that will take the world by storm, MR. EDWARD NEWGATE!"


    Putting my guitar aside, I only used the microphone to perform the next song. The dancers entered the stage and danced behind me as I stood at the center stage.


    ??Today I don''t feel like doing anything...??


    Band: (Whistle)


    ??I just wannay in my bed. Don''t feel like picking up my phone. So leave a message at the tone??


    ??''Cause today I swear I''m not doing anything??


    "Pff- Hahaha..." Jay couldn''t help but let out augh after the first verse. "Now this is a song a normal teenager would sing." He held Manny''s shoulder as they enjoyed the song.


    ??Uh, I''m gonna kick my feet up then stare at the fan...


    Turn the TV on, throw my hand in my pants??


    "Luke, close your ears!" ire said and hurriedly put her palm on Luke''s ear to censor the song.


    "Chill mom. I did it all the time." Luke replied innocently, causing ire to widen her eyes in bafflement.


    "Yeah I did it too." Phil said, adding to ire''s shock.


    ??Nobody''s gon'' tell me I can''t, nah??


    I sat at the edge of the stage, swaying my legs as I sang.


    ??I''ll be lounging on the couch, just chilling in my Snuggie


    Click to MTV so they can teach me how to dougie


    ''Cause in my castle I''m the freaking man??


    "True." Jay muttered.


    ??Oh, yes, I said it, I said it, I said it ''cause I can??


    I stood back up and waved at the crowd as I sang the chorus, which in my surprise, they followed along and sang the chorus together with me.


    ??Today I don''t feel like doing anything


    I just wannay in my bed


    Don''t feel like picking up my phone


    So leave a message at the tone


    ''Cause today I swear I''m not doing anything


    Nothing at all??


    "You guys are freaking great." I muttered, causing an explosive reaction from the crowd.


    ??Woo-ooh, woo-ooh, ooh??


    ??Nothing at all??


    ??Woo-ooh, woo-ooh, ooh??


    I stood next to Kaya and Anna before the next verse, swaying my body together with them.


    ??Tomorrow I''ll wake up, do some P90X


    Meet a really nice girl, have some really nice- (sex)??


    Both of them covered my mouth to censor me, causing people like ire to breathe in relief. Jenna waved excitedly as if wanting to volunteer herself as tribute, but Mrs Henderson turned toward her which caused her to hide again.


    ??And she''s gonna scream out, "This is great" (oh, my God, this is great), yeah


    I might mess around and get my college degree??


    Most of the college students there could rte to this song, and they couldn''t help but wave their hands along to the rhythms.


    ??I bet my old man will be so proud of me


    But sorry pops, you''ll just have to wait??


    "HAHAHA... Do whatever you want!" Dad muttered as he heard it.


    ??Oh, yes, I said it, I said it, I said it ''cause I can??


    "Everybody!" I called out to the crowd to invite them to sing together.


    ??Today I don''t feel like doing anything


    I just wannay in my bed


    Don''t feel like picking up my phone


    So leave a message at the tone


    ''Cause today I swear I''m not doing anything??


    "Good Job!" I eximed as the sing along was very addicting.


    ??No, I ain''t gonnab my hair


    ''Cause I ain''t going anywhere


    No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, oh??


    ??I''ll just strut in my birthday suit


    And let everything hang loose??


    Abby, Haley and Tara, all blushed as they heard the verse while Alex scoffed at me.


    "What kind of song is this?!" Gloria widened her eyes as she understood the sentence.


    "I need to try thatter." Manny said, earning a bewildered gaze from his mother.


    Jenna whispered to Jacob, "Does he always do that?"


    "How do I know? I don''t live at his house." Jacob replied. Jenna''s eyes suddenly twinkled in excitement but then she returned her focus back on the show.


    ??Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah??


    I walked to the VIP section and waved at my fans while performing. Even Abby waved back at me as she was swept along by the atmosphere.


    ??Oh, today I don''t feel like doing anything


    I just wannay in my bed


    Don''t feel like picking up my phone


    So leave a message at the tone


    ''Cause today I swear I''m not doing anything??


    ??Nothing at all


    Woo-ooh, woo-ooh, ooh


    Nothing at all


    Woo-ooh, woo-ooh, ooh


    Nothing at all??


    I sat at the edge of the stagezily with Kaya and Anna, leaning my back on the dancer''s body as the song ended.


    Explosive reactions came out of the college students there, some even repeating the word Encore as I sat there, huffing my breath.


    "That was really great Ed." Kaya said as she wiped my forehead with a towel.


    "Thanks. You did really well too." I said, then sheughed. "I''m a dancer. I need to do well. But thanks anyway." She stood up and pulled my hand to help me stand before I walked to my guitar and picked it up again.


    "Did you guys enjoy the song?" I asked the crowd.


    "YESS!"


    "Do you want to hear more!"


    "YESSS!"


    "I can''t hear you!"


    "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"


    "OOOOO...WHO LIVE IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEAAA?!"


    "SpongeBob Square Pants! EYY!!!" A lot of people there were tricked, and it caused raucousughter from the crowd.


    "I guess a lot of us are from the same generation here." I teased them again, continuing theughter. I was buying some time before the next song as symptoms of fatigue started to appear on my body.


    I turned to the stage conductor and he held a white paper on top of his head with the word 15 minutes written on it.


    "So I need to buy 20 more minutes huh." I muttered.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Hurry up! We''re reallyte now!" Taylor said as she urged the driver to press the pedal faster.


    Suddenly, the co-writer tapped on Taylor''s shoulder to get her attention. She turned to face the co-writer and asked, "What is it?"


    With some hesitation, the meek girl said, "So...apparently Edward is ying a game with the crowd."


    Narrowing her eyes, Taylor asked, "What kind of game?"


    "A... game... of whether he... could create a new song on the spot or not."


    "He''s doing what!!!"

 Chapter 48: Concert Game

    <h4>Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Concert Game</h4>


    (Sorry that I didnt postst night??, I was in the hospital. I will continue posting from today onwards)


    [Edward POV]


    ''20 minutes. So how will I pass the time?'' I thought as I saw the stage conductor timecard.


    Suddenly, a light bulb lit up above my head as I got an idea. Not even the brilliant mind of Edward Newgate could actually know that a decision that I made in a second today would hunt me for such a long long time in the future.


    "Oh I know that look." Haley suddenly muttered from the audience seats.


    "What look?" Tara asked while intrigued.


    "That was the same look he had before he created Photograph." Haley exined.


    Abby interjected, "Was that the time when he created a song in just a few minutes?"


    Haley turned toward my ex-girlfriend and said, "yep."


    Turning my attention to the crowd, I said, "I have a confession to make."


    The crowd suddenly became silent as the tone of my voice was a solemn one.


    "The award ceremony that Taylor was attending has run a little bitte, and she won''t be able to get here in another 20 minutes."


    The crowd gasped and some booed when I said that. Even the organizers were frustrated as they thought it was a secret that needed to be kept. However, they grossly underestimated a fan''s loyalty and adoration for their favorite artist.


    "Therefore, they want me to y another song to drag the time."


    "IS HE FUCKING CRAZY!?" Mr Killington asked in astonishment and anger.


    "The problem is, I have only one other song nned for this evening. I''m going to need your help if I need to y another song." I said, making the crowd greatly confused by the sudden request.


    "Instead of me deciding what song I''m going to y today, You guys will." I smirked at the crowd, causing them to exim in awe.


    "We''ll decide what that will be using a game. You may shout out title words for me about the song''s you want me to y. Or just random words. It''s up to you. If one of the random words is in my future album list, I will debut it here."


    The crowd cheered as I said that. At this moment, little did I know that almost ? of the crowd here had be my true fans and the rest of them were really close to falling to my charms.


    "And another thing." I added, causing the crowd to feel quiet again.


    "If...The word resonated with me...Maybe...Just Maybe...I will create a song on the spot based on the idea I get from that keyword."


    The entire crowd fell silent for a minute before they exploded into thunderous questioning such as "Is it true? Will you really?" and so on.


    Their enthusiasm almost made me shrink back down, but Iughed the nerves away and said, "Yes. It''s true. Ahh...For my own safety, I won''t tell you if the song is from my album, or I just created this on the spot. Do we have a deal?"


    At the audience seat, Phil asked, "Why for his safety?"


    Cam exined, "To make sure people won''t try to im it or sue for credit."


    "Ah I see. So he''s doing a very dangerous thing right now?" Phil asked.


    "Yup. I''m making sure Pepper calls Harvey so that she can get started on the copyright for any new song instantly." Mitchell added and called Harvey immediately. Luckily, thewyer had a ticket and was at the concert at that very moment, standing backstage near Pepper.


    "What do we do? Should we stop him?" Harvey asked Pepper.


    Pepper gave her a side eye and said, "Harvey. If you''re going to work here for a long time, I suggest you adapt to the current situation as soon as possible as this is not the first..orst time he would do such a thing. Not that this is a threat but if you can''t keep up with him then you will leave me no choice but to let you go..."


    "Why should I adapt to this?" Harvey asked as she didn''t mind Pepper''sst remark at all. In fact, she felt that the condition was fair.


    "Cause we will never stop him from doing what he wants to do, except when it''s truly harmful for him. After all, copyright ims are just a small nuisance right?" Pepper said with a smirk as he knew it would lit up a fire inside the woman''s heart.


    "That''s true." Harvey replied as she believed in her capabilities to tear apart any false im for the song.


    "Believe me, this won''t be thest time you''ll need to do it. Do you know how long he took to create the songs ''Photograph'' and ''Me and My Broken Heart'' ?"


    Pepper finally turned his head entirely, locked eyes with Harvey and said with a smirk, "Less than 5 minutes."


    Harvey was shaken to her core as she heard that, not to mention the eavesdropping stage conductor Mr Killington and the dancers who had heard everything the duo was saying from the start.


    "Wait seriously?" Kaya eximed in wonder.


    "Dang. He''s really a prodigy huh. No wonder." Anna added to Kaya''s awe.


    As the moring died down, I said, "The audience seat is divided into 10 sections. So every section will get one chance to do it. Just walk up to the mic set up for the Q and A session with Taylor after this and shout out your word."


    "We''ll start with thest one from the right, Section J." I said and pointed at the edge of the concert hall. As half of the crowd today consisted of college students, it was easy for me to do an audience participation as their mind was more open than the general audience.


    The staff was suddenly busy with my sudden game and they led the first participant for today to the microphone. A geeky, sses-wearing white girl with blonde hair and sweater vest tapped the microphone to make sure it was on before she said, "Hi Edward. I really like your songs...A-A-Are you really serious about creating t-them on t-the on the spot?"


    Some peopleughed at the girl''s nervousness, but my smiling face calmed her down.


    "Yes. I am. What''s your name?"


    "L-Lily."


    "What a nice name." I said and the crowd teasingly eximed, "uuuu" as they saw me flirt.


    Ignoring all of them, Lily said, "I wonder if you can do a song...with the word...Fairytale?"


    "Why that word?" I asked.


    She pushed the side of her sses up and said, "I...never heard a song about that before."


    "Then I guess you''ll love Taylor''s next album. Oops, did I spoil it for you?" I said with calcted mistakes, causing the crowd to explode in cheers once more.


    "I will consider your keyword for my next album, Beautiful Miss Lily. However, I cannot do it today." I said, earning a disappointed exmation from the crowd.


    "Section I representatives, Pleasee to the mic." The staff member said to the young man in section I. We talked a bit before he told me his keyword.


    "My word is superhero."


    "Superhero?" I said and started to think. "Who is your favorite superhero Mr Jensen?"


    "Of course it''s Batman! No... It''s Spiderman!" Jensen said after thinking deeply about the topic.


    Then, I suddenly get an idea inside my mind. It wasn''t a song that I had heard before in my previous life, but an idea that suddenly burst out inside my mind.


    ''Damn NEWGATE! What monstrous talent!'' I thought as I rearranged the musical notes and lyrics inside my mind.


    "Wait... I think..I got something...But...I willbine it with Miss Lily''s keyword before."


    "I don''t mind. The song is yours." Jensen replied to the microphone.


    I nodded and said to the entire crowd, "But I didn''t have the capability to create the entire song here yet. So I will just y a snippet for the song. Is that okay?!"


    "YESSS!!" The crowd replied in excitement, wondering if my talent was really true, or I was just a kid with an overblown ego that needed some humiliation in my life before I would be humble.


    Picking the guitar strings on my red guitar, I muttered, "Wait. I need to create the melody first."


    About 20 seconds after I yed some random melody, I said, "Okay. I''m ready."


    "He''s a very crazy kid." Jay muttered as his heart couldn''t help but beat quicker as I took a deep breath.


    [Something Just like this- Coldy]


    "?? I''ve been reading books of old...The legends and the myths...Achilles and his gold...Hercules and his gifts...Spider-Man''s control...And Batman with his fists...And clearly, I don''t see myself upon that list...??"


    "HOLY SHIT!" Jensen eximed while goosebumps appeared on his skin. Even Jay got goosebumps as he heard it. "Son of a gun!" Jay eximed.


    "??But she said, "Where''d you wanna go? How much you wanna risk? I''m not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts...Some superhero...Some fairytale bliss...Just something I can turn to...Somebody I can kiss...I want something just like this...??"


    Lily widened her eyes as she heard it and couldn''t help but shout, "I LOVE YOU EDWARD!!"


    "??Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo


    Doo-doo-doo, doo, doo-doo


    Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo??"


    "And that''s it." I said as I finished the snippet of my new song. The crowd was silent as they needed to process what just happened.


    "YEAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" They exploded into thunderous apuse as they couldn''t help but acknowledge my talent. I chuckled slightly and raised my hand up to calm the crowd down. At this moment, the entire crowd had be the puppet controlled by my strings, just waiting for me to dictate their next reactions.


    "I haven''t kept my promise to perform a full song yet. So Section H. Please give me your keyword."


    However, not all of the people who gave me the keyword were of sound mind.


    Section H: Mummy.


    Section G: Milk


    Section F: Useless


    Section E: Meat


    Section D: Somebody.


    Finally, it was section C, and I managed to waste 15 minutes of the time needed to waste before I performed myst song.


    The representative for section C was unexpectedly a young kid �Cbarely 9 years old.


    "What''s your name?" I asked.


    "Lewis." The kid replied shyly.


    "And what word did you have in mind Lewis?" I asked.


    "...It''s...Worthless."


    My mind was stunned as I heard his keyword. The random word had unexpectedly touched the soul of my past life that I couldn''t help but have a hallucination that my adult self was saying the word to me.


    "Are you okay?" Lewis asked as I seemed out of it. Pepper, my dad, and the family that I was close to also became concerned as my face turned ashen at this moment.


    While shaking my head, I said, "I''m fine. May I know why the keywordes to your mind Lewis?" I asked him without mocking him.


    "My...uncle...Before I was born...Hemitted suicide...He said...His life was worthless...I couldn''t help but wonder about the keyword."


    "I see...And...if you could say something to him right now, what would that be?" I asked.


    "I guess...I would want to know...if there is something I could do about it.." The young boy answered without any dishonesty in his words.


    "I see..." I said and fell into deep thought about the keyword and the situation.


    "Lewis." I suddenly called out to him. "I guess today is your lucky day."


    Patting my upper left chest two times, I said, " I will y something that would convey the feeling for people like us."


    "Wait. Did you create a new song?" Lewis asked in astonishment.


    Holding my finger to my lip, I said, " That''s a secret."


    I walked toward the keyboardist while the crowd was murmuring amongst themselves and they couldn''t help but to be looking forward to what I was going to do next.


    "Jess.. Can I borrow the keyboard?" I asked the asian girl.


    "Sure." Jess said and the band member helped me set up by bringing the keyboard to the center stage.


    I spoke to the crowd casually with my face focusing on the keyboard as I set it up. "The minute I received the news about ying here today, my manager told me that I need to y some of my happier songs. But this song will hurt you guys and made you cry like a lil Bi-"


    Forcefully stopping myself, I turned to the crowd and said, "Forgot I can''t curse today because the show is for the general audience."


    My act earned me someughter from the crowd. I cracked my fingers before I said, "Enjoy the next song, titled, Before You Go."


    [Before you go Lewis Capaldi-Piano version]


    "??I fell by the wayside like everyone else.I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, but I was just kidding myself. Every moment, I start to rece.''Cause now that they''re gone, all I hear are the words that I needed to say.??"


    "That kid really did it." Pepper sighed and turned to Harvey. "Make sure to get ready."


    "Okay. Don''t worry. I will make sure to get the copyright for this song." Harvey said as she held her phone toward the stage.


    "Did you hear that Donna? Make sure to write every single lyric he sang." Harvey said to the person on call.


    "Don''t disturb me then." Donna replied from the other line while urately typing every word on the song.


    "??When you hurt under the surface..Like troubled water running cold..Well, time can heal, but this won''t..??"


    Abby was lost in the lyric, and tears pooled inside her eyes. Even Haley and Tara couldn''t help but be emotional as they noticed my emotions while singing this song.


    "??So, before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make your heart beat better?If only I''d have known you had a storm to weather...??"


    "If only we can turn back time huh." Jay muttered as he too was immersed in the song.


    ??So, before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make it all stop hurting?...It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless...So, before you go...??"


    Lewis was looking at me with glittering eyes before he muttered with tears on his face, "Awesome."


    "He will hurt his throat if he continues singing like this." Cam said in concern.


    ire''s eyes shook as she heard Cam and couldn''t help but wanted to stop me from singing. However, Phil said, "It''s his way as an artist. He won''t ever do things half way."


    I know that the way I sing this song was creating a lot of pressure in my voice box, but I proceeded with it anyway. After the first chorus, the song slowed down.


    " ??Was never the right time, whenever you called..Went little by little by little until there was nothing at all..Our every moment, I start to rey..But all I can think about is seeing that look on your face..??"


    "Stop..." Haley muttered as she was torn between stopping me or letting me continue as she saw Abby crouching down and broke down crying as she heard this song.


    "??When you hurt under the surface..Like troubled water running cold..Well, time can heal, but this won''t..??"


    "??So, before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make your heart beat better?...If only I''d have known you had a storm to weather..So, before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make it all stop hurting?...It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless...So, before you go.."


    ??Would we be better off by now~! If I''d have let my wallse down~!? Maybe, I guess we''ll never know...You know, you know~Ah...??


    I slowed down the music and sang with a tone as if I was talking to a friend of mine.


    "??Before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make your heart beat better?If only I''d have known you had a storm to weather...So, before you go, was there something I could''ve said to make it all stop hurting?..It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless..So, before you go..??"


    As I released my finger from thest key on the keyboard, the entire concert hall was in a pin-drop silence and the crowd was frozen in ce.


    With sweat dripping over my head, I finally needed to take off my jacket as my body was extremely hot at the moment.


    "Did you guys enjoy the song?" I asked in confusion and intrigue as the crowd was still quiet at this time.


    Then, they finally snapped out of their state and stood up from their seat before they gave me a thunderous apuse!


    "EDWARD! NEWGATE! EDWARD! NEWGATE!"


    They chanted my name, and I couldn''t control their reaction this time any more than one could control a waterfall. The apuse went on for almost 2 minutes before I received the signal from the stage conductor that Taylor had arrived backstage. She was getting ready to perform and it was my cue to perform the final song.


    "Did you guys have fun today?" I asked and received another explosive reaction from the crowd.


    Gesturing them to lower their voice, I said, "Save your spirits for Taylor."


    "Now, for my final act, it will be a pop rock song, so brace yourself." I said with a smirk. By now, more than ? of the crowd there had imprinted my name inside their mind and they couldn''t wait to meet me the next time I would be performing.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Don''t you think...he''s too good?" Taylor muttered withplicated emotions as she saw the audience''s reaction to Edward.


    The co-writer said in a cold tone despite being a meek girl, "It doesn''t matter. After all, these people came here for you. Not him."


    Taylor nodded and her mood was lifted. "He''s really a prodigy. I''m sure that he will be a top artist in the future."


    "Don''t worry. You will be a top artist too. We will make sure of it."


    Signing with her current entertainmentpany was no different than selling her soul to the devil. Taylor longed to escape the birdcage she was in and be a free artist, but the more famous she got, the more locks her owner ced on her cage.


    She couldn''t help but be mesmerized by the young boy standing at the center of the stage. A free and talented artist/songwriter that made her heart skip a beat as she saw him casually interacting with the crowd.


    "Hmm? Why are you still here? Go and get ready." The co-writer said and then she noticed Taylor''s blushing face.


    "Do you have a fever? Why is your face so red?" The co-writer asked.


    "I''m fine. Just a little flushed. Let''s go." Taylor changed the subject and walked to the dressing room to get herself ready.


    She had made the costume change in the minivan as she was driven to the concert venue. Right now, she only needed to do some light touch ups before going on stage.


    "Damn Ed. Now I have to work especially hard not to get overshadowed by you." Taylor murmured to herself but with a sincere and expectant smile on her face.


    "I can''t wait for you to grow up." She said as she licked her lips while watching Edward starting his final solo song for today.

 Chapter 49: Opening act finished. (Part 4)

    <h4>Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Opening act finished. (Part 4)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    I gripped the microphone tight and took it out of the microphone stand.


    "It''s been a pleasure getting to perform in front of you kind folks here today. For my final solo act, I will be performing Believer �C a song from my future Album titled Breaking."


    "Breaking?" Phil muttered. "That''s the name of his future album?...why?"


    Alex heard the question and replied, "Because he''s breaking all expectations people have on him. And also the music charts."


    "Write that down! Write that down!" Manny and a majority of the people in the audience hurriedly noted down the album name after I announced it.


    "Write it down too, Harvey." Pepper said.


    "Wait...he''s naming the album here for the first time?" Harvey asked in disbelief.


    "Yes." Pepper replied.


    After all of the mouring, the guitarist strummed the guitar to notify the audience about the start of the song.


    Then, the entire amphitheatre fell into a deep silence as people were holding their breath to wait for the song.


    I took a deep breath before the drummer hit the drum beat. Without ying the guitar on my own or slinging the guitar over my shoulder, I walked to the edge of the stage.


    [Imagine Dragon- Believer]


    "??First things first...


    I''ma say all the words inside my head...


    I''m fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh ooh...


    The way that things have been, oh ooh~! ??"


    ire stood up from the seat and shouted, "YEAH!! EDWARD!"


    Alex was horrified and eximed in a hushed tone, "MOM!"


    "What? I''m just d." ire said with a soft smile as she looked at Alex.


    "??Second things second...


    Don''t you tell me what you think that I could be...


    I''m the one at the sail, I''m the master of my sea, oh ooh~


    The master of my sea, oh ooh~!??"


    Ted smiled and said, "I finally inspired him in a lyric."


    "Take back control of your life huh." Pepper muttered as he heard it. Then, he smiled widely and said, "I like it."


    "??I was broken from a young age...


    Taking my sulking to the masses...


    Writing my poems for the few...


    That look at me, took to me, shook to me, feeling me...??"


    "That''s us." Cam gleefully said while feeling extra proud inside.


    "?? Singing from heartache from the pain...


    Taking my message from the veins...


    Speaking my lesson from the brain...


    Seeing the beauty through the...??"


    Almost all of the people there held their breath as the song entered the chorus.


    "??Pain!


    You made me a, you made me a believer, believer!!!!??"


    "Woo-hoo!" The crowd cheered and stood up from their seats before they banged their heads to the rhythms.


    "??Pain!


    You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer


    Pain!??"


    Thedy wearing a floral dress and a red stiletto shivered as she heard the song, however herrge hat covered most of her face. She was biting her lower lips until it was all bloody before the woman next to her realised it asked her, "Miranda. Are you okay?"


    "Cam. I''m fine." Miranda replied.


    I did a little jump while I changed my position to the left side of the stage.


    "??Oh let the bullets fly, oh let them rain~!


    My life, my love, my drive, it came from...


    Pain!


    You made me a, you made me a believer, believer??"


    "Is this song...about the lord?" Gloria whispered to Jay while asking. Jay looked at her weirdly with a scrunched up face and said, "Wha- NO!"


    "Third things third...


    Send a prayer to the ones up above...


    All the hate that you''ve heard has turned your spirit to a dove, oh ooh..


    Your spirit up above, oh ooh..."


    "It is about the Lord!" Gloria muttered in excitement.


    "Mom. NO!" Manny admonished his mom while shaking his head. "I''ll exin it to youter." Gloria nodded at Manny''s words and they focused back on the show.


    I walked in front of the VIP section and crouched down while waving at them for a second, causing immense cheer from the audience there. I stood back up and continued.


    "I was choking in the crowd


    Building my rain up in the cloud


    Falling like ashes to the ground


    Hoping my feelings, they would drown


    But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing


    Inhibited, limited


    Till it broke open and rained down


    It rained down, like..."


    "Is he rapping?" Luke asked as he didn''t catch a word of what I just said.


    ??Pain!


    You made me a, you made me a believer, believer??


    The crowd cheered once more until and didn''t stop at all until my chorus was done.


    Jenna finally managed to throw her underwear on the stage while Mrs Henderson was distracted by the song.


    "Oh my god." Elsa couldn''t believe her friend as she saw her take off her panties right next to her boyfriend. Luckily, everyone was too focused on the song to care.


    The Catholic mother�CMrs Green sped her hand together in excitement and said to Jacob, "I can''t believe you have another devout friend. This is the type of friend you need to hang out with, not the one who offered you drugs and alcohol."


    While headbanging his head to the song, the Viking Mr Green said, "Why can''t he be both?"


    "??Pain!


    You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer??


    Pain!


    ??Oh let the bullets fly, oh let them rain


    My life, my love, my drive, it came from...


    Pain!


    You made me a, you made me a believer, believer??"


    My breath got quicker as the songs were mentally and physically draining for me to do. With sweat dripping from my chin, I stood at the left side of the stage and continued.


    ??Last thingsst


    By the grace of the fire and the mes


    You''re the face of the future, the blood in my veins, oh ooh


    The blood in my veins, oh ooh??


    "Is it the final verse already?" Pepper said and said to the young girl beside him. "Are you ready?"


    Taylor replied, "I''m always ready."


    ??But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing


    Inhibited, limited


    Till it broke open and rained down


    It rained down, like...??


    ?? Pain!


    You made me a, you made me a believer, believer


    Pain!


    You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer


    Pain!


    Oh let the bullets fly, oh let them rain


    My life, my love, my drive, it came from...


    Pain!


    You made me a, you made me a believer, believer??


    I held my fist up at thest note of the song while standing at the centre edge of the stage with my head lowered.


    The audience stood up from the seat while apuding and giving me deafening cheers.


    "WOO-HOO!"


    "HELL''S YEAH!"


    "EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD!"


    I smiled and waved at them, and my dad was already drowned by the bras and wet panties thrown into his direction. The crowd cheering wouldn''t stop as if they felt reluctant to let me go.


    I turned to the band member and said, "Nice job you guys."


    "You did really great Ed." Jess said while the others agreed with her.


    Wiping my face with a towel, I turned to the crowd once more but with an acoustic guitar in my hand. I used the stand up microphone and said, "Did you guys enjoy the show?"


    They answered with another cheer that drowned every other sound in that area. I waited for them to calm down a little bit, but the cheer droned on for a minute before I could finally get a word in.


    "It has been a charmed evening for me today." I said, earning another wave of cheer from the crowd.


    "And with that, ends my solo part of the evening." I muttered and the crowd went "Aww..." Then, I suddenly yed another song.


    "After all, Two is better than one right?" I said with a smirk as I picked the guitar strings.


    I started the song by singing alone.


    Ed: "??I remember what you wore on the first day


    You came into my life and I thought, hey


    You know this could be something??"


    The crowd was baffled by my sudden change from pop rock to country song and couldn''t help but feel ted inside. After all, another song from me was a gift for them.


    Ed: "??''Cause everything you do and words you say


    You know that it all takes my breath away


    And now I''m left with nothing??"


    Suddenly, Taylor walked onto the stage with a microphone in her hand. The crowd became uncontroble as she walked in and they widened their eyes as Taylor stood beside me�C facing each other with our eyes locked on one another as we sang a perfect blend of duet harmony.


    ??Taylor and Ed: So maybe it''s true


    That I can''t live without you


    And maybe two is better than one


    But there''s so much time


    To figure out the rest of my life..."


    Edward: "And you''ve already got meing undone??"


    Taylor and Edward: : And I''m thinking two is better than one??


    "Oh my god!" Lily, the nerdy girl who was a fan of Taylor, almost fainted as she saw Taylor putting her hand on my face as she sang.


    Jenna narrowed her eyes and said, "That bitch. Is she thinking of seducing Ed?"


    Haley and Abby also reacted the same way, with narrowed eyes as they saw Taylor running her hand on my arm as she changed ce from my left to my right.


    "Hmph. He has already moved on huh!" Abby pouted with her arms crossed.


    "No. That skank is seducing him!" Haley said in jealousy. Tara looked at both of her best friends in disbelief and said, "It''s a performance you guys."


    Taylor:?? I remember every look upon your face


    The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste


    You make it hard for breathing??


    Taylor: ?? ''Cause when I close my eyes and drift away


    I think of you and everything''s okay


    I''m finally now believing??


    While locking eyes, Taylor and I chuckled at each other as we thought the situation was funny, and the crowd couldn''t help but notice it. She bit her lips as our face drew closer, and the image was disyed on the big screen, causing a lot of people to swoon.


    "Wait...are they?" Cam asked.


    Mitch said hurriedly, "No Cam. He''s 14, she''s 19!"


    Cam scoffed and said, "As if that matters in Hollywood.


    Ignoring the crowd chanting our names together, Taylor decided to share the microphone with me and bring our face inches away from one another, causing the crowd to explode once more.


    Taylor and Ed: ??That maybe it''s true


    That I can''t live without you


    And maybe two is better than one


    But there''s so much time


    To figure out the rest of my life


    Ed: And you''ve already got meing undone


    Together:?? And I''m thinking two is better than one~!??


    We sang the song till the end before Taylor kissed my cheek and turned to the crowd, "Edward Newgate Everyone!"


    "Give a round of apuse for Taylor S.!" I announced.


    The crowd cheered explosively, and that was the end of my debut stage.


    Taylor hugged me and whispered "Congrattions for your very sessful debut."


    She announced her featuring in my album, and spoke a few words with me on stage before I left the stage in her hands.


    I descended backstage where Pepper gave me a tight hug despite my sweaty body and said, "You did a good job today. No...Wonderful Job Today. I''m very proud of you."


    "Thanks Pep." I replied as he released me, and I saw Dad standing next to Pepper. "You want to hug me too?" I asked him yfully, and then he abruptly pulled me into his arms and hugged me. "Of course. I too am very proud of you. You did really well Ed."


    They walked me into the waiting room where I finally rested my back on the couch and released the tension build up.


    "AHh~" I eximed as I drank a ss of warm lemon-honey water and Pepper massaged my shoulders.


    He said, "Your ''Before you go'' song is already copyrighted by us. I didn''t want to tell you this before your show to avoid messing with your nerves, but I called a few critics toe to the show."


    Stunned, I turned to Pepper who was standing behind me and said in disbelief, "YOU DID WHAT?!"


    "And you passed their evaluations with flying colours." Pepper continued, not minding my reaction. "We can expect the reviews in the paper tomorrow.


    "Oh." I muttered tly. Then, I smiled and said, "Thank you Pepper."


    "Don''t worry about it. You go get some rest. I need to go talk to some people."


    I nodded at his words before I sat on the sofa again after changing my sweat-drenched outfits. Wearing a tight white shirt that was tucked into my long ck pants, I sipped the honey-lemon water quietly as I rested my throat and my mind.


    After 10 minutes of rest, suddenly a few people with backstage passes on their neck barges into my room. Flinching after they opened the door abruptly, I quickly leaned forward to guard against the intruder.


    "ED!!!" The Dunphy''s rushed toward me and gave me a group hug before I could even stand up from the sofa. Following closely behind them were Gloria, Jay and Manny. Gloria and Manny rushed to the hug while Jay stayed behind and just gave me a thumbs up from afar.


    "Hey- Why don''t you guys stay for Taylor?" I asked in surprise as they released me.


    "We came here for you, not her." Phil said while pulling her waist up. "But we already got the ticket...so..."


    "So we''re only here for 5 minutes before we go back to our seats." Alex exposed Phil.


    Smiling softly, I said, "You guys don''t have to do this. Just go and enjoy the show."


    "Nonsense Ed! Wee here specifically to support you." ire said and sat next to me before she kissed my forehead. I was stunned by her suddenness and then she said, "I''m really proud of you Ed. You havee so far."


    "Uh...Thanks?" I replied as I didn''t know why she was reacting like that.


    Gloria pinched my cheeks softly and said, "Aaayyyy mi ni?o hermosooo, mirenlo toda una Estre ( AAAYYY mi beautiful boy, look at him a total star)"


    As I was still sitting, she pulled me into her embrace with my head buried inside her chest before she squealed happily and shook me around.


    "Gloria!" ire stopped her hurriedly before I lost my breath.


    "When are you getting home?" Jay asked, unbothered by the ensuing chaos inside the room.


    "After the show is over. I will be joining Taylor for the after party though, so I won''t go home directly."


    ire raised one of her eyebrows and asked, "After party? Where?"


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    At the Q and A portion of Taylor''s fan meet. Although the majority of the questions were for Taylor, there were still a few questions that baffled her when she heard it as the fans were asking questions like this.


    "Are you and Edward Dating? You know we support you no matter what."


    "Who wrote the song ''Two is better than one''? You or Edward?"


    "Is heing to your tour? Or your next show?"


    "When can we buy his album?"


    Taylorughed and said, "Okay, I will ask him for you guys and tell you about itter."


    Abby and Haley scrunched their faces as they looked at Taylor before Abby said to her mom, "Let''s go home."


    She turned to Haley and Tara before saying, "Are you guys staying till the end?"


    "Yeah. We will hitch a ride with my family so you don''t need to worry about us." Haley replied.


    "Abby, let''s go meet Edward first before you leave." Haley said and grabbed Abby''s hand before dragging her backstage to the waiting room. Abby could''ve resisted and broke free from Haley''s grip, but she just let herself be dragged away. Maybe she needed an excuse toe meet Edward, but she still wasn''t sure why she was going along with it.


    Near the backstage, Ted was talking with Cam.


    "Is she gone?" Ted asked.


    With a thick Cuban ent, the woman replied, "Yeah. She had to rest. So I let her go first."


    "Do you want toe meet him?" He asked.


    Cam widened her eyes and said, "Wait? Can I?"


    "Of course. You''re his aunt. You can meet him anytime you want."


    (Cam Moronne-Simr face)


    [Edwards POV]


    As I was walking out of my waiting room, suddenly I saw Haley, Tara, Abby and Desiree in the hallway walking in my room''s direction.


    "Hey!" Tara greeted happily while Haley rushed to give me a hug. I was startled as she started running toward me, so I put my hand upward to guard against her, but then, my hands actuallynded on her bra-less chess as she hugged me from my neck excitedly.


    ''Ah soft.'' I thought as I could feel...everything.


    Haley finally realised where my hand was 5 seconds after hugging me and she quickly pulled away and covered her chest in a crossed ''X'' shape while looking at me in disbelief. "Perv!" She said.


    With a zen-like facial expression, I said, "It was an ident. I thought you''re attacking me. Also, it''s very soft."


    Her jaw dropped and I turned to Abby instead of exining myself.


    "Hey." I muttered softly.


    "Hey..." She replied back, not looking me directly in the eyes.


    "I''m really d you''re here."


    "Well...I promised...So I will be here..." Abby replied while turning her eyes slowly to meet mine. I couldn''t help myself but approached her and gave her a hug.


    "Thank you." I said.


    Abby widened her eyes before she returned my embrace while saying, "That''s what a friend is for right?"


    "Sure." I said while I continued hugging her.


    Then, Desiree decided to join in and made the hug a group hug. Abby and Iughed at the abrupt action of her mother, and we finally released each other.


    "How''s the concert?" I asked.


    "To be honest it could''ve been better." Abby teased.


    "Yeah. If Taylor kissed my lip at the end it would''ve been better." I said, earning a death re from Abby, Haley and Tara.


    Abby replied sarcastically, "Sure...Let hermit a crime at the end of the show. That will surely be useful for your debut."


    I chuckled a bit and said, "Seriously. I''m really d you''re here."


    "...Me too." Abby said with a soft smile on her face.


    "Don''t ignore me okay?"


    "I won''t."


    As we were facing each other, Haley interjected angrily, "So. When are we going to talk about the fact you copped a feel on my boobs?"


    "Hmm? What did he do?" Dad appeared out of nowhere from behind Haley, startling her.


    "N-N-Nothing." Haley stammered as she turned to my dad.


    "Dad. Who is that? Your girlfriend? Did you finally get a girlfriend?" I asked teasingly as I saw a hottina woman next to my dad. "Also, you have an acquired taste huh."


    "Stop speaking nonsense. This is your Aunt." Dad exined hurriedly to make me stop.


    "Aunt?" I was confused as I had never seen the woman before in my entire life. Suddenly, I remembered my dad''s stories and said, "Aunt Cam?"


    She hugged me suddenly and said, "I can''t believe you know me." Only giving me a quick hug for fear I would be ufortable with her, she took a step back after that.


    "Yeah, from my dad''s stories." I said while staring at her face. Cam turned to Ted and said, "You told him about us?"


    "Of course. You''re family." Ted said while smiling softly. I didn''t want to burst his bubble and told my aunt he told me about her pickpocket job before, therefore I changed the subject.


    "Aunt Cam...why are you here?" I asked carefully.


    She flinched and said, "T-To support you of course."


    I narrowed my eyes at both her and my dad in suspicion before I sighed and said, "Dad. Seriously? If you want to date my aunt, shouldn''t you tell me this before youe and introduce her to me?"


    "We''re not dating!" Ted said in frustration. Finally, Ted saw Desiree who was standing next to Abby. It was their first time meeting, and I was sure that there was some sparks between them.


    I returned to the waiting room with my dad and my aunt while the girls went back to the concert. Abby and Desiree returned home instead of waiting until the concert ended, so only Tara and Haley stayed till the end.


    As Cam was still awkward around me, we didn''t talk too much. Instead she asked me what I knew about my Cuban side of the family and shared some funny stories about my dad when he first met my grandparents over there.


    After an hour, the sky had darkened and I was watching Taylor close the show from near the stage. After her final song, suddenly she said, "As Edward had given you guys a present by performing a song from his uing album....I think...I will do the same thing too."


    The crowd cheered, and I cheered along in anticipation with them.


    Then, she changed her tone and said, "But there is a problem. I need some help in ying it, and over here,there is only one person who knows about the song I''m talking about."


    She turned toward me abruptly and said using the earpiece without the audience hearing it, "Edward. Will you help me?"


    "What is she doing?" Mr Killington asked in frustration after nothing was going to n in his event today.


    "What do you need help for?" I asked her back after hearing it through the headphones.


    "Love story. Doing it the way we yed around with it before."


    "Really? Like that? Are you sure?"


    "I''m sure."


    As I looked at Taylor''s determined face, I sighed and said, "Okay. I will do it."


    Taylor smiled and turned her attention back to the audience.


    "Who do you guys think I need to call on stage to help me?" She asked innocently while putting her finger on her cheek.


    The audience was confused before someone muttered, "Edward?"


    "Come on. You guys just heard his songs minutes ago." Taylor said yfully. The audienceughed before they shouted, "Edward!!"


    "Call him out until he gets on the stage!" Taylor ordered.


    "Edward! EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD!"

 Chapter 50: Love Story.

    <h4>Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Love Story.</h4>


    (I will take a break for my health. At least for a week before I will post something else here. Enjoy the Chapter)


    [Edward POV]


    The finale of the performance unexpectedly fell into my hands as the crowd chanted my name.


    "EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD!....."


    Taking a deep breath, I slinged my guitar over my shoulder and walked on the stage. Pepper and the other stage conductor were a bit toote to try and stop me as I appeared on stage next to Taylor, causing a massive audience reaction akin to a meltdown beneath the stage.


    "Hey. Why do I hear people calling for me?" I asked in confusion after Taylor gave me a microphone. The audienceughed and Taylor said, "Well. You''re the only one who knows how to y my new song."


    "Ahh. That one. I will get paid right?" I joked, causing the audience tough once more.


    Taylor smirked and said yfully, "No?"


    I shrugged and said, "Too bad. I wanted to use the money for the new yStation. I guess I will have to wait for my birthday present from you then.."


    At the audience seat, the Missouri born Taylor S. fanughed gleefully as Taylor and I did our whole improvised bit.


    Cam said to Mitchell, "Oh my god! Oh my God! They''re really close to each other. You think Edward can get me to meet Taylor?"


    "Don''t put more pressure on him, Cam!" Mitchell said with his arms crossed. Then, he shyly nudged Cam and said, "Ask him if we can both go and meet her."


    At the backstage, chaos ensued between the organizer and Taylor''s staff members. The meek co-writer had changed into a full blown raging ''Karen'' and tried to stop the performance from happening by any means necessary, "This isn''t in the contract. Any extra shows will open you up for awsuit. Are you prepared to do so?"


    Mr. Killington sighed and replied, "The decision to y one more song or not is the artist''s call. Not ours. However, we also can''t let you storm the stage and pull her away just because she is doing something she wants to do."


    The veteran stage conductor could hypothesize why Taylor was being so abrupt and disobedient right now.


    "She wants to be free...even if it''s just for a moment. I won''t let you stop her." Mr Killington murmured to himself after he asked the security there to stop the teenage pop star''s staff from interfering with the show.


    "Just don''t have a meltdown will ya." He said as he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth before lighting it.


    Back on the audience seat, Haley quickly texted Abby who had already arrived home and told her about myst performance.


    "Seriously?" Abby asked in disbelief as she had already entered her house.


    "Yes. I will hold the call for you to hear it. Tara will record the performance and we will show it to youter." Haley said as she held the phone in the air while I was still talking with Taylor.


    As I familiarized myself with the guitar, I said to Taylor, "Let''s not waste any more time. I need to get home after this as I have school tomorrow."


    The crowd booed me yfully, so I turned to them and said, "Remember kids, stay in school, and don''t do drugs."


    "That''s so sudden." Taylorughed together with the crowd and finally the light on the stage dimmed, putting both of us underneath a spotlight. I used a microphone stand to sing as I was ying the guitar at the same time, and Taylor held a microphone in her left hand as we stood together side by side.


    [Love Story- Taylor]


    Only my guitar yed the melody for the song as there wasn''t anyone else around that knew the song.


    When I asked Taylor why she wanted to perform the song at this concert in the future, she would answer, "I was...jealous of you. I longed to be free while on the stage, but I lost all of my freedom after I signed with the agency. This...was my first little rebellion against them. Like you, I also wanted to truly interact with my fans as a person...just like you...and not as a fake idol they worship."


    ????????????


    Taylor swayed her body to the rhythm and we stole a nce at each other before we burst outughing. The romantic song fans couldn''t help but fanned their hot faces as they saw us flirting with each other.


    Taylor: " ??We were both young when I first saw you...I close my eyes and the shback starts, I''m standin'' there...??"


    She suddenly walked toward where I was standing, pulled my face that was watching the crowd with her finger, so that I would look at her, and continued, "On a balcony in summer air..."


    "KYAAHHH!" The crowd let out an uncontroble cheer as she did that, and even my heart couldn''t help but skip a beat as I watched her in her performing mode up close.


    I smiled while looking at her as she continued, "???See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns


    See you make your way through the crowd..."And say, "Hello"...." (Ed: Hello)


    We acted as if we''re performing a musical, and without missing the beat we harmonized our voices.


    Ed and Taylor: Little did I know~??


    Without us realizing it, our voices perfectly melded together �C stunning the crowd below and the crew backstage below. I let Taylor sing while I harmonized with her using our own yful lyrics.


    Taylor: "??That you were Romeo, you were throwin'' pebbles( Ed: ? I was Romeo, I was throwing pebbles)"


    "??And my daddy said stay away from Juliet", (Ed:? "and your daddy said Stay away from Juliet")


    She pointed at me while saying Romeo, while stepping back a few steps as if fearing her dad before she reached her arms at me from afar.


    ??And I was cryin'' on the staircase ?Beggin'' you, "Please don''t go..."


    Taylor: "And I said"


    She ran towards me while stopping inches away from my face before singing...


    Both:?? Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone. I''ll be waiting, all there''s left to do is run..You''ll be the prince and I''ll be the princess" (Ed: ?? "I''ll be the prince and you''ll be my princess)


    Both: It''s a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"


    Taylor returned to her inital spot while I be the lead singer this time,


    Ed: "??So I sneak out to the garden to see you


    We keep quiet, ''cause we''re dead if they knew..." (Taylor: ? ''cause we''re dead if they knew)


    Together:: "??So close your eyes..."


    Ed: "??Escape this town for a little while, oh oh ??"


    Taylor''s cheeks couldn''t help but blushed red as we gazed meaningfully at each other while some of the audience members had tears in their eyes.


    Wiping his eyes with a handkerchief, Cam said, "No...Romeo and Juliet...! Why? There are no good endings for them.."


    Ed: "??Cause I was Romeo (Taylor:?? I was a scarlet letter)


    "NOO!" Lily �C Taylor''s fangirl who asked the question before this shouted as they didn''t want the bad ending to appear. But it was drowned by the cheers of the other fans.


    Ed: ??And your daddy said Stay away from Juliet" (Taylor: ? And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet")


    Together:??" But you were everything to me (together)


    I was beggin'' you, "Please don''t go~!"??


    Taylor took back the lead and sang while I harmonized with her.


    Taylor"??And I said ....Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone... (Ed: ? I''ll take you, if we really need to be alone")


    "??I''ll be waiting, all there''s left to do is run..." (Ed :? I''ll try everything, till there''s you in my arm.")


    ??You''ll be the prince and I''ll be the princess..." (Ed: ? I''ll be your prince and you''ll be my princess)


    She curtsied at ''princess'' while I responded to her as a prince.


    Taylor sang alone as she grabbed my arm, "??It''s a love story, baby, just say, "Yes" ??"


    The audience went ballistic and was on the brink of losing their mind as they saw the performance. The innocent and impossible love between Romeo and Juliet had imprinted deeply inside their minds.


    Haley couldn''t help but struggle internally as she saw the performance. She wanted to stomp away and leave but she wanted to see the entire performance too. Jenna on the other hand was biting her nail as she saw me flirting with Taylor on the stage.


    Without anyone noticing, she was mumbling, "Gasoline.. Gasoline.. Gasoline.. Gasoline..."


    Pepper couldn''t help but ask himself, "Did he practice this performance with her before? How did they hide it from everybody else?"


    However, the dancers and Taylor''s staff knew that this was nothing more than an impromptu performance by the two artists.


    On the stage, Taylor couldn''t help but to be mesmerized by her partner in this song. She was transported into a different dimension where there were only two of us, and she was wearing a medieval gown while I was a medieval prince.


    With a hint of begging in her tone, she said, "??Romeo, save me, they''re tryna tell me how to feel ( Ed "?My love I''ll save you, you''ll know exactly how I feel")


    Together: ??This love is difficult, but it''s real ??


    Ed:?? Don''t be afraid, we''ll make it out of this mess, It''s a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"??


    I was confused by her silence therefore I gestured to her with my eyes, but she wasn''t responding and kept gazing at me with googly eyes.


    Ed: ?? Oh, oh~!


    I proceeded with the electric guitar solo as the light on the stage changed into that of a starry sky.


    Taylor finally snapped out of it and walked to the front of the stage, singing alone underneath the spotlight.


    Taylor: ?? I got tired of waiting~...Wonderin'' if you were everin'' around...


    The screen showed my face, so I pretended to be torn inside, which caused the audience to shout once more.


    Taylor''s tone carried a hint of sadness while she sang the next verse, " ?? My faith in you was fading...When I met you on the outskirts of town, and I said...


    She finally turned to face me, and I slowed down the rhythm while she sang emotionally, " Romeo, save me, I''ve been feeling so alone...??"


    I couldn''t help but feel her genuine emotion in that song. It was as if she wanted me to truly save her. I let her sing alone as I locked into her eyes.


    "??I keep waiting for you, but you nevere??"


    I stared at her while keeps ying the guitar notes...


    "??Is this in my head? I don''t know what to think??"


    Suddenly the music stopped.


    "What is happening?" Mitchell asked in confusion and frustration.


    "No...It can''t be?" Cam widened his eyes as he saw the next part as one screen showed my face while the other screen showed Taylor''s.


    Kneeling on one knee while slinging the guitar to my back, I pulled out a ring from out of knowhere�C it was actually the prop ring for my previous outfit that I kept in my pocket after taking it off, and showed the ring to her.


    Taylor cupped her mouth and ran towards me while I held the ring with one hand and took it from me. I stood back up quickly while facing her and picked up the guitar tempo and yed the uplifting part while I sang strongly to Taylor.


    Ed: "??Marry me, Juliet...You''ll never have to be alone...I love you and that''s all I really know...I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress....??"


    The crowd held their breath as I sang thest part.


    Ed "??It''s a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"??"


    Taylor was frozen in shock before barely managing topose herself yet it seemed like she just blurted out the "Yes"!! And hugged me.


    The crowd cheered manically as we hugged and I could sense the stage vibrating from their cheer. A little dust fell from the ceiling and some lights swayed which scared me a little bit. I whispered to Taylor, "Finish the song." as we hugged.


    Finally, she snapped out of her own delusion andposed herself.


    Taylor: "??Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh...?? ''Cause we were both young when I first... saw you..."


    Taylor and I looked at each other before we bowed at the crowd together.


    "Good night everyone!" We said together before the curtain closed amidst the cheer of the audience.


    [3rd Person POV]


    Q: What was your favorite part of the concert today?


    Getting interviewed by the college reporter outside the stadium, Mitch and Cam thought for a while before Mitch replied first, "Well...Definitely the artists. And the song game...That was legendary."


    Cam chuckled and then he said, "Definitely the proposal. I cried a little bit-"


    Mitch interjected, "He cried a lot." Cam red at him before he continued, "Their performance really showed up the definition of two world lovers. The innocent country girl and the mature city boy, brought together as fate wills it to be."


    "Cam, they are NOT dating!" Mitchell said in exasperation.


    A young boy replied, "Definitely the song... Believer."


    Then, he sang a line from the song childishly, " Pain! You break me down and build me up, believer, believer!"


    The initial, brte college girl who was the first to throw their underwear at Edward said, "I came here for Taylor, but I will leave here with Edward in my mind!"


    Q: Do you think Taylor and Edward are a couple?


    Cam: Yes!


    Mitch: NOOO!


    Young boy: Eww..


    Brte: Definitely! He is at least 16 right?


    Haley said seriously, "NO! He''s not a couple with Taylor." Both Tara and Haley would be hitching a ride with Cam and Mitch as the rest of the family had gone home after Edward''s initial performance.


    Q: Will youe to the next Edward Newgate''s Concert?


    All of them answered, "Definitely!"


    At the concert backstage, Taylor was admonished by her co-writer after her improvised performance with Edward, before one of her staff members came in with urgent news.


    "What?" The co-writer asked.


    "The song...The duet..." The male staff member was having trouble catching his breath as he ran toward the room before this.


    "SPIT IT OUT!" The co-writer yelled.


    "IT''S TRENDING ON YOUTUBE!"


    "What?" The co-writer eximed in confusion before the staff member took out his phone and showed that the song had gotten 50k views in the matter of one hour. In early 2009 Youtube, the views had pushed the video to be the top trending video in America at the moment.


    "See, it wasn''t ''damaging my image''." Taylor snarked sarcastically as she heard that while the co-writer gritted her teeth.


    The entertainment agency couldn''t say anything as the video was trending worldwide in the matter of one day, and became the top liked video of the week.


    "Now if you''ll excuse me, I have an afterparty to attend to." Taylor said before she left the room with just her bodyguards and not her publicity staff. She stopped by the door before she turned toward the staff and smiled, "You guys are not invited."


    "TAYLOR!" The co-writer tried to protest, but the artist had already walked away.


    "DAMN IT!" The co-writer cursed before calling the agency to pass the full report to them and give her thoughts about the current situation.


    "Just let her be." The voice from the other side of the call said.


    "BUT SIR!" The co-writer tried to protest.


    "Let her enjoy the day while feeling superior...it will help us in controlling herter in the future when she realizes she has no other choice but to crawl back to us after the party is over."


    "Ahh..Yes Sir." The co-writer said.


    "Anyway, keep an eye on the Edward kid. Any scandals, any criminal history, or bad records that we can use to as...''leverage'' (ckmail) for him to sign with us."


    [Edward POV]


    "Uhn~" I stretched my arm upward as I felt extremely tired after the show. I had finally managed to sneak out of the concert hall without getting surrounded by the fans and was already on my way home.


    "Why don''t you take a nap?" Dad suggested as I sat in the backseat.


    "Sure." I said and took out my phone before reading messages from Jacob and the troublemakers, Haley, Abby, and Pepper.


    "Dad, You know that I will be going to the after party right?"


    "To be honest, I don''t like you going over there. But you''ve worked really hard for this concert, therefore I will give you my permission. Be careful while you''re on board. If there is any trouble�C people offering you drugs or other harmful substances, go to Dwayne quickly."


    "Rx dad, it''s a boat party, not a rave." I replied with a yawn.


    "I know, but I am worried regardless." Dad said in a soft tone.


    "Okay. I will take care of myself." I said before Iid down sideways on the seat and fell asleep.


    ...


    Midnight, at my house. I had managed to catch 2 hours of sleep on the way home as we were slowed down because of a traffic jam.


    Taking a duffel bag with some toiletries and clothes inside from my room, my dad drove me to the Marina. Luckily we only took another 10 minutes to get there as the road was clear this time around.


    "Hey Ed!" Kaya and Anna called out to me from abord the ship as I stepped foot on the port. I waved at them, and they waved back to me. The LED light from the ship illuminated the surroundings, and I could see that the party above the ship had already started.


    I turned to my dad and said, "Thank you for your support today dad. I will go now."


    Dad suddenly hugged me and said, "I''m really proud of you Ed...Now...be careful at the party alright?"


    "I will." I patted his back twice before he released me and I walked into the ship.


    The ship horn red twice before the ship started its journey to international water. The 80 meters long ship slowly exited the marina before it disappeared on the horizon.

 Chapter 51: Afterparty

    <h4>Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Afterparty</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    ''The reason I am joining the party in the middle of the ocean is quite simple.''


    ''An escape...I wanted to escape from my life and just steer clear from any work or troublesome matters and just bask in the concert''s sense of fulfilment right now.''


    ''I want to let loose, and I don''t want to be treated as a 14 years old boy over there.''


    ''I just need one day to live my adult life once more...the kind of life that was the norm for me before I was put into this child''s body.''


    ''I had been living as Edward Newgate for 26 days now. I just want to feel as Edward Franzetti for one.''


    Well, that was the kind of internal struggle I had before I decided to go to the afterparty. Right now, the concert aftermath was spreading quickly and I knew that my life would changepletely after this.


    Paparazzi, obsessive fans, special treatment and future expectations, all of it woulde raining down on my current life,pletely changing it.


    ''At the very least, I hope that my friends won''t change the way they treat me and continue as if nothing had changed. I....sincerely hope for that.''


    [3rd Party POV]


    "That man is a god." Jacob murmured as he was reminded of Edward flirting with Taylor on top of the stage in front of a crowd of 5000 people.


    "What god?" Elsa asked as Jacob was suddenly talking to himself as they were driven home by Mr. Green. The trio was sitting in the same position as before, with Elsa in the middle, Jacob behind the passenger seat, and Jenna behind the driver seat.


    "N-Nothing. What are you girls going to do now?" Jacob asked to change the subject.


    "Hey! Call him!" Jenna demanded after being quiet for a while.


    "What- Why? He must be tired after the performance. Didn''t we already call him to congratte him before?"


    Before they left, they had called Edward and talked to him for a minute before Edward said he was already on the way home.


    "Yeah. But he said he''s going to the afterparty right? Do you know what happens there? It will be a full-blown sex party!" Jenna said with a raised voice. Jacob couldn''t help but be nervous and looked at the front of the car. Luckily his mom was taking a nap as she was too tired from the concert.


    "Phew!" Jacob breathed in relief before saying to Jenna, "It''s Edward. Do you really think he will do degenerate things?"


    "He was in a rtionship before. Now, he''s single! Who knows what he will do now!?" Jenna asked in desperation as she couldn''t help but imagine the mingling of bodies on top of the ship �C just like the scene she saw once in her house after sneaking back when her mom sent her away to y while she had some people over.


    Elsa patted Jenna''s shoulder andforted her, "It''s okay. It''s okay."


    "Do you want to sleep at my house tonight?" Elsa added as she knew Jenna was hesitant to go home whenever her mother was working. Jenna nodded and said meekly, "Okay."


    In Mitch and Cam''s car, Haley and Tara were hesitant to tell Abby what had happened on the stage before this.


    Mitchell interjected their conversation and said, "Just tell her. It''ll be better for her to know that so that it can be easier for her to move on."


    "But Uncle Mitch...we don''t want her to move on!" Haley said in a begging tone,


    "Haley, You can''t force love. Edward and Taylor clearly have something going on in between them. As a good friend, you need to support him." Cam interjected.


    "Uncle CAM! THAT''S A CRIME!" Haley said in exasperation.


    [Edward POV]


    As I walked along the crowd in the party, I noticed that Taylor and a lot of the other participants in the party had gone to sleep while only some sporadic guests were partying at the ship''s deck.


    Well, I thought she was asleep. She was actually sitting inside her room, rewatching the Youtube video of the performance a few times while working on the melody for ''You belong with me'' song.


    In less than 3 hours, the video of our performance had hit 500k views, and it would be the fastest video to ever reach 1 Million in Youtube in 2009. Taylor didn''t know why, the more she watched the performance, the easier it was for her to create the melody that she had been stuck on for almost a year now.


    "Hey, Romeo is here! Juliet is sleeping though!" Kaya muttered with her cheeks flushed. She walked staggeringly towards me before clinging on to my body just to stand up properly on top of the deck.


    As we were having a boat party, she was only wearing a golden coloured bikini and short pants like the rest of the dancers. Some even decided to walk around topless on top of the deck.


    "You''re drunk." I said with a scrunched eyebrows.


    "Noo... I''m nooot~" Kaya replied with slurred speech. I saw some of the studio execsughing as they offered alcohol to the underage dancers and were touching them inappropriately as they danced with the drunk dancers.


    Although this type of behavior was normal in Hollywood, for me personally �C to mislead the dancers with promises of fame and reputation by casting them in movies or music videos was a disgusting behavior.


    "Why don''t you rest in my room first till you sober up?" I said to Kaya before leading her away from the slimeball studio execs.


    "No. He said he''ll make me an Irte..You know...for the Iron Man movies..." Kaya tried to resist but she was too drunk to even walk properly. I walked her to my room and mmed her down on the bed.


    "Uhh...soo rough? Is this how you like it, Ed?" Kaya muttered before I said, "Go to sleep."


    As I turned my back to her, she suddenly clinged onto me and said, "Wait ...don''t you want to do it with me?"


    I turned back facing her and pushed her forehead slightly with my finger. Her body fell easily on the bed, and she crossed her legs while biting her lower lips.


    "Be rougher...I won''t mind-"


    "Go to sleep. I''mma get Anna too. You girls are too drunk, and something bad is going to happen to you tonight if you continue dancing with those greaseballs."


    "Hey!" Kaya tried to protest, but I had already walked out of the room and turned off the lights. When I walked in after getting Anna who was surrounded by 3 middle aged men and was already tricked by those men to take her top off, Kaya was snoring loudly in the room as she was too tired from the concert before this.


    "Sleep here for tonight." I said to Anna before throwing her on the bed too. As she was barely conscious, she automatically wrapped her legs around Kaya and sucked on her neck as sheid down.


    I didn''t want to wait and see what was going to happen to them, therefore I walked out of the room and joined the party. There weren''t any underage or immature girls on top of the deck now, so I just let the execs do their hunting while I talked to some of them.


    "Wait. You''re working with Sarah Finn?" I asked the Asian female assistant casting director that I was talking to.


    "Y-Yeah. But not that guy though. He''s only tricking the girls, therefore I already reported him to Sarah, and he is fired now. He just doesn''t know it yet."


    "Ahh I see. Do you want me to get the crew and lock him up in the mini jail we have?" I asked teasingly.


    The 29 year old girl with a thick sses frame on her face and a sweater instead of a bikini chuckled before she said, "Are you the big boss here? I thought this was your dad''s ship."


    "I''m the grand boss. My dad is the big boss." I joked. She thought that I was just a teenager cracking some jokes therefore sheughed and identally snorted. She became very embarrassed after that and covered her mouth quickly.


    "Sorry." She apologized.


    "No need. I thought that it was cute." I said.


    "You''re very smooth Mr Newgate-"


    "Please, just call me Ed. Mr Newgate is my father."


    "Ahh. Okay. Ed... Please don''t grow up to be a yer or a greaseball okay?"


    Iughed and said, "Okay."


    As we talked for a while, I found out that the Iron Man 2 movie was in the initial stage of production right now and the Irte dancers casting was indeed true, but the dancers would need to properly audition for the part.


    The only reason she was there right now was because Taylor''s agency dancers had a lot of prestige in the industry therefore they were trying to scout some potential actresses/dancers for the Irte part.


    "Do you want to hear the plot for the movie?" Linn said in a teasing tone as she already had too much to drink. "I won''t tell you~"


    "Want to make a bet?" I said with a sly smirk.


    "What bet?" Linn asked, intrigued.


    "If I guessed the plot of the story, then you will rmend and help my friends throughout the whole audition process."


    "And if you fail?"


    "What do you want if I fail?"


    She pointed at me and said with a sly smile, "You''re going to be one of the background actors."


    "Deal." I said and we shook hands to finalize the bet.


    "Let me start by guessing the main viins first." I said and pretended to think about it. "Ivan Vanko, or Justin Hammer...or maybe both..." I muttered. Linn widened her eyes and identally gripped the cup hard, spilling most of her drinks as the stic cup was crushed.


    "W-W-Who told you that?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I said, "I''m just guessing. But from your reaction, I guess I was correct."


    Sobering up quickly, Linn said, "You still need to guess the plot."


    "Let me see...So...Tony will be dying..."


    Linn staggered and needed to hold on to the railing just to keep herself standing up despite her shock.


    "And SHIELD will try to save him because his dad was a founder and former director of SHIELD. Maybe Nick Fury will ce Natasha Romanoff inside hispany to get closer to him..."


    Linn shut my mouth with her palm before looking left and right to make sure no one else heard about the plot. "Y-You! How do you know the plot?!!"


    "Mmmph...mphh.." I mumbled.


    "What?" she asked in confusion.


    Removing her hand, I said, "How was I supposed to answer when you were keeping my mouth shut like that?"


    "Ah..Sorry."


    "Like I said...I was just guessing."


    After a few more shocks, Linn finally realized that she had lost the deal and reassured me that she would honor her part of the deal.


    It was almost 2 am, and there were less than 5 people ;eft on deck right now. Whether they were sleeping alone or ''sleeping'' together with the execs, the party was almost dead right now from theck of people.


    I however was not feeling tired thanks to the nap I had already taken beforeing here, I walked around the ship till I entered the captain''s ce.


    "Hey, You''re Eddy right?" Dwayne asked as I walked to the yacht bridge with a red-coloured stic cup in my hand.


    "Yup-"


    Before I could finish answering, he snatched the cup from my hand and smelled it hurriedly.


    "Ah, orange juice." He muttered in relief after he realized there wasn''t any alcohol inside the cup. "Good choice."


    "Of course. We''re not serving drinks here at this party, right?" I smirked as I heard that.


    "Well...we do... Just not to you..." Dwayne replied hesitatingly.


    As Taylor was still under 21 years old, the business''s model didn''t allow the ship''s crew to serve the participants of the party without looking at their ID first.


    However, we also allowed the party people to bring their own drinks to the boat in order to circumvent that very same rule. That way, we wouldn''t lose our alcohol distribution license if we''d identally served a minor in the bar.


    "Don''t worry Dwayne. I am the one who set up those rules. And I won''t be the one to break them." I said as I had a nice conversation with Dwayne ''The Boulder'' Johnson. The Boulder was his old nickname in the navy.


    It was almost 3 am when I finally saw Taylor walking out of her room to join the party. As the dancers had gotten their rest, a lot of them had already joined the party, making the environment lively once more.


    "I guess I need to go mingle now. Good luck Johnson." I waved to Dwayne before walking out of the cabin room.


    "Please don''t drink too much. I still need to answer your dad after this." Dwayne begged me as I exited the door.


    Chuckling a little, I said, "Okay. I will make sure to be sober before we get back to the port."


    "That''s my boy!" Dwayne smiled and waved me off to have fun.


    As I walked on the deck, I saw Taylor looking around as if she was searching for something. She was wearing a short skirt �Ca one piece, white dress that gently swayed in the windy ocean and her cheeks were a bit red from the cold wind.


    "Hey!" I called out to her from afar.


    "Where is- Ahh!" Taylor noticed me from my shout and ran toward me hurriedly before she hugged me.


    "Oof-!" All of the air inside my lungs was forcefully pushed out as she tackled me.


    "I DID IT!" Taylor released me and said in excitement.


    "Did what?" I asked perfunctorily as I rubbed my sore ribs.


    "I finally finished the melody for You Belong with ME!" She announced loudly, causing the crowd over there to give her a round of apuse. She finally realized that we were in the middle of a party and thanked the people there for their support before dragging me into her cabin to have a private talk.


    Her cabin was the biggest cabin one in the ship where there was a king size bed in the middle of the room. The luxurious suite had its own kitchen and fully stacked boozepartment. As Taylor was underage, the boozepartment was emptied, but she did bring her own liquor.


    "Tequ?" She offered me yfully. "Just Kidding-"


    "Yes Please." I took the offer before she could change her mind.


    "Wait...You drink?" Taylor was baffled by the sudden development as I picked up two shot sses, some lime and salt packet, before sitting next to her on the edge of the bed.


    "Sometimes. Yeah." I replied ambiguously before taking off the tequ bottle cap.


    After 30 minutes...


    While giggling, Taylor said, "Okay, this time. You''re going to lick the sugar from my neck..." She sprinkled some salt on her slender neck, "...do the shot...and then get the lime..."


    We had already done 5 shots and her initial inhibition for drinking had disappeared.


    "Okay~!" I said gleefully and licked the salt from her neck. "Uhn~" Taylor moaned before she patted me to stop and said, "Shot...and then lime."


    "Ah...okay." I said and took the shot. I looked around and found out that the lime was gone.


    "Where is it?" I asked hurriedly.


    "Here." Taylor said and showed the lime inside her mouth. Iughed and stuck my tongue into her mouth before it turned into a full blown make out session.


    Before we turned the session into something a little more fun, Taylor said, "I''m going on a 9 month to a year tour after this. So this will be just a one time thing."


    "Sure. It will just be a drunken mistake for us. Not to mention the kerfuffle you would get into if this actually got out." I said.


    "...I don''t know why, but that sounds really hot."


    ...


    After Taylor and I spend some time together, I returned to my room after avoiding Dwayne and the rest of the party people so as to not create any scandals.


    "She''s ferocious." I murmured as I entered my room. Kaya and Anna were still sleeping on my bed, therefore I just took a nket and a pillow before sleeping on the floor.


    The clock struck 12 pm. I was alone in my small cabin room when I suddenly heard a small knock on the door.


    "Who is it?" I asked groggily as I raised my head from the pillow. I was sleeping face down on top of the twin-sized bed and parts of my hair were sticking out as if I was licked by a cow.


    "It''s Kaya. Get up. Let''s go get lunch."


    I stood up slowly and changed my clothes without making a sound and without realizing that Kaya had opened the door to wake me up.


    "Hmmm..." She eximed with lustful eyes as she got a peek behind the curtain.


    "Perv." I muttered when I noticed she was watching me and walked out to the buffet together with the dancer. I dined with Kaya and Anna while sharing stolen nces at Taylor during the meal.


    "Hey, there is something I need to ask." A movie studio exec walked to me with an offer for the song ''Two is better than one''.


    "Twilight movie?" I muttered as I heard the details.


    "Yes. The director listened to the song, and wanted to use it as the movie OST." The not so important exec said.


    "Hmm..." I thought for a while before saying, "Okay. I have no problem with it, just run the offer by Pepper. I will talk to Taylor about it."


    It was a good opportunity to get some publicity for the song. Even though I abhorred Twilight, it doesn''t mean that the movie was terrible.


    With a humongous fan base for romantic genres all over the world, turning the duet into an OST would help me increase my reputation as an artist. Something that would be a great help for my aim to be a studio artist in the future, I need to work hard to cement my image into the people''s mind and hearts before getting out of the public eye.


    The party moved faster than I expected it to be. At 4 pm, the boat was finally turning back to get home. The expected time of arrival to the Marina was 8 pm therefore we had 4 more hours to party.


    That was when the people here really went crazy. Motorboating the girls chest, doing shots, dry humping in public before they walked to the corner and just went to town on each other, some people even used MDMA to party, and a lot more stuff a kid shouldn''t see.


    "Okay. You''re done." Dwayne picked up the back of my neck like a kitten...metaphorically...although I know he could do that and pulled me into somewhere I would be safe from the hedonistic activity currently going on in front of me.


    He threw me in my room before warning me, "Don''te out. You''ve partied enough already. Just rest before we arrive home."


    "Okie~" I said as I pretended to be obedient andid down on the bed. Dwayne showed a fatherly smile before saying, "Good boy. For that, I won''t report to your dad the fact that you have obviously been drinking."


    "You''re a good friend." I said to Dwayne before he walked back to the ship''s bridge, feeling content as I took his words seriously.


    The minute that he had disappeared from the hallway, I sneaked out quietly to rejoin the party before I saw Taylor walking sneakily to where I was. Without talking much, she pulled me by my hand to get to her room and shut the door. Of course, she remembered to lock it this time and put a do not disturb sign on the doorknob.


    [3rd Person POV]


    At 8 pm, the ship arrived at the port and the passengers started to get off the ship. ire walked into the ship and knocked on Taylor''s door.


    "Miss Taylor. Are you there?" ire asked.


    "Uhn~..I''m...here..." Taylor replied. The moaning from inside the room caused ire to take a step back before she braced herself and said, "Can we get a picture of you in front of the ship before you go home?"


    "OH GOD!" Taylor identally let out a moan from behind the closed door before she replied, "Yes...Yes I will...Please wait in front of the ship...I will be going there soon."


    "Oh...Okay." ire was bbergasted when she realized that the young teenage popstar was doing someone inside her room. To give her some privacy and avoid the scandal, she cleared out all of the other rooms and left the star alone without any disturbance for her toplete what...or more urately ''who'' she was doing.


    "Hopefully she will rate our service 5 stars after this." ire mumbled to herself as she continued to provide the after care for the guests. The drunk guest would be escorted home by a member of the same sex, and the dancers also took some pictures in front of the ship to be used for promotional purposes.


    As they knew it was Edward''s family business, there was no one there that would not spare the effort to do something to help the prodigious artist.


    After 15 minutes, Taylor finally got out of her room while walking a bit funnily.


    "You bastard." She cursed the other guy walking behind her. "How did you have the strength to go at it for that many hours!"


    "Well...I am still young. Besides, You enjoyed it right?" Edward muttered.


    "Well...it''s all your fault that I can''t walk properly. Now, everyone will know that I''d fucked someone on the ship!"


    "Me? You''re the one who kept begging me to keep going." Edward said and grabbed her ass before they giggled and walked together to the deck.


    They didn''t get off together as it would create a scandal, therefore Edward waited in his room for a while before getting off and hitched a ride with one of the crew members who was getting ready for the morning shift in the marina.


    "Dn. You bought a new car?" Edward asked.


    "Yup. It cost me 1000 dors this time. The cougars gave me some money after that night, and I can afford it." Dn said in embarrassment.


    "They also gave you something else." Edward teased.


    "Shut it. It''s already cured!" Dn said in agitation before theyughed together and Dn drove Edward home.

 Chapter 52: Second Gacha.

    <h4>Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Second Gacha.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    ''Hmm...I will eatter...'' I thought as I slowly stepped on the stairs to go to my bedroom. Dad had substituted Dwayne''s shift for tonight''s cruise, therefore I was alone in my home right now.


    The afterparty was enjoyable, but it took out a lot of my stamina.


    Taylor texted me as I got home to say that she will deliver my birthday present to my house personally tomorrow before she flew to New York for her next concert tour.


    Although I was hungry, I wanted to sleep more than I wanted to eat my dinner. I fell into a deep sleep at 9 pm that night without even checking my messages.


    When the clock strikes 12, my idle phone suddenly was blown up with notifications.


    [Phil: Happy BIRTHDAY E-MONEY!


    Abby: Happy Birthday dummy...


    +1


    +1


    +1]


    The phone was busily ringing the notifications and trying its hardest to wake me up from my sleep, but I was already transported somece else.


    As I fell asleep on May 4th �C that was my birthday, I was brought into the white space once more. However, there was a giant, 10 meters tall lottery machine in front of me connected to a supeputer instead of the box I used to pull out my gacha prizes before this.


    "Hmm? Ahh. The karmic lottery." I said as I finally realized where I was right now. "Why has it changed so much?" I muttered as I walked to the giantputer.


    Without me clicking on it, theputer screen started up as I was nearby and aputerized voice suddenly spoke.


    [Hello. I am L.I.F.E. I am your karmic guide for this evening.]


    "Wait. An AI?" I was baffled by the sudden development of the Afterlife Corporation and couldn''t help but ask, "Didn''t I get a small box before? Why did youe out now?"


    "Lottery method was picked at random when you were transported to the Afterlife station. A few other lottery methods were, picking a card, rolling a dice,dder game, and anything that used luck in its equation. To get a working and fair lottery method was the first step in using the karmic gacha. In other words..."


    "Getting a working lottery method is a gacha in the first ce." I finished the AI''s sentence.


    "That is correct. I am an automated gacha system. Lottery Interactive Fantasy Equalizer. I will be conducting your lottery drawings today." LIFE replied and changed its screen to disy my name and karmic points.


    -Edward Newgate-


    Positive Karma Point: 162, 374


    Negative Karma Point: -10, 243.5


    1 Gacha Roll: 6 karma points.


    1 High Quality Roll (Green and above): 66 karma points.


    1 Special Category Roll: 666 Karma points.


    1 Negative Roll: �C 6 /�C 66/�C 666 Karma point


    "Wait a minute...One hundred fifty three thousand?!" I widened my eyes in shock as I saw my karma point. "Why do I have so much?"


    "To get karma points, you need to drastically change the life of those around you and yourself. Your songs have touched a lot of people''s hearts and changed a few lives. Therefore, your karma point was increasing exponentially. In the next session, it is estimated that you would have millions of karmic points."


    "Holy!" I rubbed my head in disbelief and my jaw was hanging half open as I stared nkly at the screen.


    Suddenly, I saw a tiny envelope icon at the edge of the big screen and said, "Is that a mail for me?"


    "Yes. Do you want to check the mail now?" Life asked.


    "Yes." I nodded.


    The screen shed and changed into the mail content.


    [ Good Evening Mr Edward Newgate.


    After a thorough review process, we found out that you had been illegally registered to be an Afterlife agent. Considerations about removing you from our agent list had been made.


    However, you managed to justify your ability to be an agent by surpassing the 100,000 positive karma points collected in less than a month after settling on a new world.


    Your achievement also had allowed the punishment for the Grim Reaper, Mr Theodore Hudson to be reconsidered and he would be spending only 1000 years in Purgatory instead of the original punishment of spending 5000 years to atone for his sins....]


    "Wait. He is captured?! That train conductor guy?" I muttered in surprise as I finally understood why the guy was rushing when he sent me away on the red train.


    Life answered, "Yes. He had abused his power to send a soul into another world without permission from the superiors."


    "...I see..." I muttered as the feeling of guilt started gnawing into my heart.


    Thetter part of the letter was just congrattory words for me as I had truly be an agent of the afterlife. They also mentioned continuing to observe my actions for a period of time, but I didn''t care about that.


    "Life. Can I return the email to the Afterlife Corp?" I asked with some expectation. As the AI was a semi-intelligent being, I was hoping that I may be able to contact the Afterlife Corp using him.


    "You may. Do you want to send a handwritten letter or to type it out?" LIFE asked.


    "I will just type it out." I said and hopefully my words would reach the Afterlife Corps customer service team.


    The purpose of my letter was to help out the Grim Reaper guy and beg for the Afterlife Corporation forgiveness on his behalf. I even offered to quit being an agent if his sentence would be reduced from it. However, it seemed that once you be an agent, the process would be even harder to reverse than reversing a purgatory sentence.


    After exchanging mails for almost 10 times with the corporation, finally they decided to give me an option to help out the Grim Reaper guy.


    For every 100,000 positive karma points I offered to them, they would use it to reduce the Grim Reaper''s punishment for 10 years.


    "Phew. Finally I can do something for him." I muttered while wiping my sweaty forehead from the tension of negotiating before this.


    "Okay. First, let''s clear out the negative karma before proceeding with anything else." I said to LIFE.


    Positive Karma Point: 162, 374 �� 152, 130.5


    Negative Karma Point: -10, 243.5 �� 0


    "Would you like to use the roll now?" Life asked.


    "Not yet. Offer 150,000 positive karma to the Afterlife Corp to reduce the Grim Reaper''s punishment."


    Life hesitated and asked, "Are you sure? The offering won''t give you any benefits, nor will it help your life as an agent."


    "I''m sure." I replied without hesitation.


    Positive Karma Point: 152, 130.5 �� 2, 130.5


    Negative Karma Point: 0


    "Okay. That''s great. So he can reduce 15 years of the sentence right?" I asked with a smile on my face.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "He has a clear conscience, and he didn''t hesitate, nor did he feel it was a loss when trying to help a strange guy he had never known before." An male afterlife worker with slicked back hair and wearing a formal office worker outfit said.


    "Henderson. Why are your observations on him saying he is inadequate as an agent? He is clearly an agent material. Like the Di Lama." The male worker asked his co-worker who was standing behind him.


    "He is struggling hard to ept the fact that he had transmigrated to another world. He lives in grief everyday as he couldn''t process his emotion in dealing with the loss of a loved one. His actions in offering the karmic point is with a clear conscience as he didn''t think he deserved to be an agent." Mrs Henderson said without any change in her stoic expression.


    The male worker named Gong Shin sighed and said, "Okay. I''ll trust your assessment." As he turned his back toward Mrs Henderson, he said, "You remember that you should only observe him right? You shouldn''t interfere with his life."


    "I know." Mrs Henderson said.


    Gong Shin sighed again and walked toward the infinite drawers next to the office before his stoic face turned into a smiling one. "You did good by interfering, Henderson." He turned to look at the teacher from afar and said, "Too bad god didn''t want me to tell you about that. Otherwise... you will fail the test to be an afterlife superior..."


    He waved politely at the stoic Henderson before the female teacher just turned back and walked away from the afterlife office and returned to the mundane world.


    "It will be a long...long test..." Gong Shin muttered in exasperation. After getting the offering from Edward, Gong Shin announced loudly to his group of workers there.


    "In the afterlife, there is a saying. When you do a good deed for yourself, then you will only do a good deed for yourself. But, when you do a good deed for others, it may impact more than just the person you helped, and may even help the entire world."


    "For Edward''s deeds of offering the karmic point to the prisoner, his offerings will be doubled in value as he was sincere in wanting to help another person."


    "Therefore...we will cut down 30 years out of Theodore''s sentence and give him a minor good luck buff for his next lottery!"


    The worker pped for Edward as Theodore was one of their co-worker before this, and a really nice guy. All of them were hopeful that he would be released soon from his punishment. Therefore, they were rooting for Edward to get a lot of karma points next time he came by so that he could reduce Theodore''s sentence once more.


    Gongshim smiled and turned his face away from the rest of the workers before his face changed to stoic.


    "When you received the reward this time, would you still want to offer your karma point for someone else? Or will human greed ruin you like they did all the other humans before?"


    [Edward POV]


    Before I could get an answer for the sentence reducement, LIFE said, "Edward Newgate. You only have 10 more minutes inside the karmic station. Please proceed with your lottery immediately."


    "Oh. Okay. What do you rmend?" I asked the AI.


    "Take 3 special category prizes, and 2 high quality prizes. You may keep the 0.5 karma point for the next session."


    "Okay. Do that." I said to the AI and watched my 2, 130.5 karma points being drained out, leaving only 0.5 positive karma on my status screen.


    "Would you like to draw out the prizes one by one, or all at the same time?" LIFE asked.


    "Just do it all at the same time." I said to not waste time any longer.


    Suddenly, celebratory fireworks appeared on the screen as 5 prizes of different colors were drawn out. The quality of the prices was as follows;


    White �C Green �C Purple �C Red �C Gold.


    Green being the lowest quality, and Gold being the highest one. However, I managed to draw out 2 golden prizes and 3 red prizes in my roll today.


    "JACKPOT!" I eximed after seeing the colors of the prizes.


    "Which one would you like to open first?" LIFE asked.


    "Open the three red ones first." I replied. The red gacha ball disappeared and only left a few texts to show me what I had gotten.


    [Yuri Katsuki �C Talent �C Dance]


    [Noah Cutler(Dc Calctor) �C Skill �C Algorithm making]


    [Kim Seo Jun �C Skill �C Godly Massage Techniques]


    "Oh. Dance talent?" I muttered to myself, not expecting an answer, but the AI suddenly interjected.


    "The Dance talent is considered a red one as Yuri Katsuki has great hand-eye coordination and flexibility. He managed to win several ice-dancingpetitions from this talent."


    I was stunned for a while before I asked, "Oh. You can exin about the prizes too?"


    "Yes. I am an AI." Life insinuated.


    I nodded in acknowledgement and said, "Okay. then, exin the next two skills."


    It seemed that I had a lucky day today as I managed to draw out the AI based lottery system and 5 top tier prizes from the gacha.


    "Noah Cutler managed to trick even the best detective in the world by creating algorithms to predict his future action. This skill is only focusing on algorithm making forputers as you don''t have Noah Cutler''s super intelligence to develop it into a superpower."


    "Simple enough." I muttered in acknowledgment. "I also don''t want to be a viin."


    "Good choice." LIFE said, making me smile as he became more life-like the longer I spent time with him.


    "The beautifying massage was created by a medicine practitioner in Shanxi. After he was forcefully married to an ugly wife, he vowed to make his wife the prettiest woman in the whole world as he fell in love with her personality a year after they got married."


    "As he massages his wife daily using this technique for 10 years, his wife bes the most pretty woman in Shanxi and he had to fight off multiple monarch''s and sect leaders who had fallen for his wife."


    "As you didn''t have the ''QI'' energy necessary to use this full technique, you wouldn''t be able to achieve what Kim Seo Jun had achieved. You will only be able to use a part of it. The reward will also increase your dexterity by 20%."


    "Damn..." I gulped my saliva before turning my attention to the golden gacha roll.


    "Open up the golden prizes."


    [Vandaliu �C Special Ability �C Parallel thoughts (Multitasking ability).]


    [Mike ross �C Special Ability �C Eidetic Memory]


    Before I could react to the golden gacha, the AI �C Life said, "Your time in the karmic station is over. Prolonged staying time will have an adverse effect on your soul. You will be kicked out from this space at 10...9...8...7..."


    "It''s okay Life. I hope to see you again in my next session."


    "I hope to see you soon...3...2...1...GoodBye Edward Newgate."


    "Goodbye..." I waved at theputer before my vision turned dark once more.


    ...


    I woke up a few minutes after finishing my gacha drawings as my phone notifications had finally won a hard battle to get me to notice them.


    Suddenly, I felt a burning and piercing sensation in my brain as if someone had stuck a hot needle inside of it.


    "AH FUCK!" I cursed as the pain became stronger with each passing by. I tried to hold my head, but then the very same sensation struck my hands as my dexterity was being forcefully increased.


    Then, the dance talent kicked in. My bones started creaking, and I felt like an army of ants were crawling underneath my skin, pulling my muscles and biting me all over my body.


    That was when I knew how lucky I was in my first gacha to not draw something with physical improvement prizes.


    *CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK*


    As if a chiropractor was cracking my body, a lot of bone cracking sounds were produced from my bones. From an initial height of 170 cm, I jumped into a height of 175 cm from the physical improvement session.


    "ARGHHH!" I let out a blood curdling scream and blood dripped from my nose, staining my blue bed sheet. Finally, I couldn''t stand the pain any longer and passed out on my bed with my eyes rolled back into my skull.


    ...


    Daybreak arrives and it''s almost 7 am. It was time for me to get to school today. I walked out of the shower wearing a white towel wrapped on my waist and was trying to clean the dried out blood in my nose.


    "Luckily Dad didn''t enter my room when he got back home." I muttered in relief as I threw my bed sheet into the washing machine before changing into semi-casual clothes.


    "My mind feels clearer than ever...Maybe too clear..." I muttered as I could even recall the memory of me breastfeeding at an early age after getting the eidetic memory special ability.


    I walked out of the house to grab my bike when Abby suddenly stopped her new car in front of my house.


    "Hey Handsome. Want a ride?" Abby asked me teasingly.


    My eyes instantly turned to the blue Ford Shelby GT 500 convertible and I couldn''t help but whistled involuntarily as I looked at the new car.


    "Damn, today is my birthday, so why are you the one who got a gift?" I said as I casually hopped over the car door and sat next to Abby. Then, a memory suddenly popped out inside my mind, and I couldn''t help but look weirdly at Abby after that.


    "Hmm? Did you get taller?" Abby asked in confusion as she looked at me up and down.


    "Answer my question first." I said.


    Abby smiled gleefully and said, "Isn''t it pretty? Mom got it at a police auction for under 1000 bucks."


    Her mom actually bought it to bribe her as she was continuously feeling depressed after the breakup. When they returned to New York, she would just sell the car to someone else instead of bringing it with them.


    "Nice.." I muttered. "Let''s go."


    "Wait. before that." I said suddenly, causing Abby to break the slowly moving car in surprise.


    "What? Did you leave something at home?" Abby asked.


    "No. Today is my birthday." I looked at her yfully.


    She was confused and said, "I know. That''s why I''m picking you up.?"


    "No...what I meant was..." I tapped my right cheek with my finger and said, "Where is my birthday kiss?"


    "Hey...we had already broken up!" Abby replied.


    "Yeah. I know. This is just a friendly birthday kiss. Not a lover''s kiss." I said teasingly to the shy Abby. "Shut up, or I will make you walk to school." Abby warned me and stepped on the gas pedal angrily.


    "Wait. I will pick up Haley first." Abby said as she calmed down and drove by the Dunphys. Haley sneaked out of her house and jumped on the back of the car.


    "Happy birthday Ed!" Haley said and gave me a peck on the cheek, causing Abby to widen her eyes.


    "I told you it''s a friend''s kiss." I teased me, causing Abby to be angry once more while Haley was confused as to what we were talking about.


    Abby sent me to middle school first before getting to her high school with Haley. As I got out of the car, Haley asked, "Hey, did you get taller?"


    "I guess." I smirked and said to Abby, "Last chance."


    "NO!" She huffed angrily and hurriedly drove the car to her school, causing me tough. The memory that popped out was a memory during our first meeting. At that time, I was admiring a blue ford convertible when I first saw her.


    ''It can''t be...right?'' I thought as I knew the goth girl didn''t have an interest in that type of car before this.

 Chapter 53: A Quiet Birthday.

    <h4>Chapter 53: Chapter 53: A Quiet Birthday.?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Middle school. Mrs Henderson Science ss.


    "Hey, are you okay?" Jacob asked me whisperingly as he sat at the table behind mine.


    "I''m fine." I said as I stuck a rolled up tissue paper into my bloody left nostril to stop the bleeding.


    "Edward. Why don''t you call your dad to pick you up? You should go home and rest." Jenna said with a face full of concern.


    The reason for my nosebleed was that I tried to use that new parallel thinking ability of mine during the ss lecture for a long time.


    "I''m really fine. This will stop soon." I said perfunctorily while looking at the board in front.


    ''30 minutes is my limit right now huh.'' I thought as I nced at Jenna who had given up in trying to convince me and was ying with her phone instead of focusing in ss.


    When I first saw her today, I was greatly surprised when I saw she had worn a long sleeved ck shirt with a round neck instead of a low cut top as she usually wore, and a long, brown id shirt to match the t-shirt. She even wore a cute pink headband on her headpared to the usual blown-up hairstyle.


    ''Is she changing herself because of me again?'' I thought as I remembered a short interaction with herst week where I unconsciously praised her for wearing a fashionable outfit for school, and that outfit just turned out to be more modest than her usual clothes.


    I would usually just forget about those types of things, but the eidetic memory I received allowed me to recall all of my memories from the time I was a baby.


    The reason I had a nosebleed was because I found several weird details in my memory, and was checking them using my parallel thinking ability.


    ''Why is she looking more and more gloomy nowadays?'' I thought as I stole a nce at her.


    Maybe it was because the gap between her slutty mode and her new modest persona was too far, I couldn''t help but to take a close look at her for the first time.


    Time passed by quickly, and the Science ss was finally over. Jenna waited for Elsa, who herself waited for Jacob, who in turn waited for me.


    "Mr Newgate. Can you stay back for a minute?" Mrs Henderson said before I could stand up from my seat.


    "Okay~!" I replied happily before turning to Jacob. "Go to the cafeteria without me. I''lle to see you there in a while."


    "Okay..." Jacob replied in dissatisfaction. I turned to Jenna and said, "Why are you dressing like that today?"


    "Um..." She fidgeted as she didn''t expect the question.


    "She actually used to wear dresses like this. It wasn''t till middle school when she started dressing like a whore." Elsa snided, causing Jenna to p her arm. "Hey!"


    "It look cute on you." I said before Jenna could argue with Elsa. She froze in her spot and her eyes were blinking wildly as she couldn''t believe her ears.


    [shback]


    After the concert, Mr Green drove Elsa and Jenna to Elsa''s house where she would stay with her friend today.


    "Why are you looking restless? Is it because of boys...or because of ''That boy''?" Mrs Green asked.


    "He won''t even look in my direction! He won''t ever fall in love with me! Now, he''s already out of my reach! Once that slut on stage makes a move, I''m over." Jennained to Mrs Green.


    "S-S-Slut! Mind your words Jenna. You went to Catholic school!" Mrs Green said, bbergasted. Jenna realized that she identally let her true personality out and apologized hurriedly and turned into a meek little child once more.


    Jenna was suddenly taken aback as instead of admonishing her, Mrs Green patted her head softly.


    "It''ll be hard to get that boy. Especially since you fell in love with him first."


    "But I will be honest with you, even if you got him right now, you won''t be able to keep him for long."


    "Why?" Jenna asked with teary eyes.


    "You need to find yourself first, and fall in love with that part of you...before you can make others feel the same way."


    Jenna retorted, "But I do love myself."


    "Do you?" Mrs Green asked with a smile, causing Jenna to be taken aback once more.


    "I know you''ve been lying to me. I know that for a fact... because I used to be like that too." Mrs Green said in embarrassment. She turned to look at Mr Green and said, "But...He loves me for who I am, even though I bring him nothing but trouble."


    "That was when I really looked inside, and asked myself...''Is this who I really am? And is that person someone I could love... the same way that he loves me? That is when I decided to change myself...not for him, but for me."


    "Won''t he leave you if he doesn''t recognize you anymore?" Jenna asked in hesitation.


    Mrs Green finally turned to Jenna and said, "Honey. He saw me for who I really was a long time before I saw myself. I don''t know if the boy you''re in love with has the same capability, but...trust me, the longer you''re in this path of self-hate, the more suffering you will have to endure in the future.."


    [shback ends]


    "What''s with the huge reaction?" I chuckled after seeing Jenna frozen in her spot.


    "N-nothing." Jenna said before grabbing Elsa''s arm and ran away to the cafeteria together. Jacob turned to me, and then to the girls, and to me again before he said, "I''mma get you something to eat before all the good food is gone."


    "Sure."


    I ignored the trio as they got out of the ss and walked to Mrs Henderson''s desk.


    "Did you enjoy the concert?" I asked her after Jacob told me she was there.


    "It was adequate." Mrs Henderson replied with a stoic face. "Mr Newgate, I believe that you''re a gifted man."


    "And yet you say that with little to no change in your expression. Sorry, Go on."


    "One of the students for the Academic Decathlon had defected back to North Korea before he could participate in thepetition. The school is now one member short in our decathlon team, and I was hoping that you would help us and represent the school in the uingpetition."


    I mulled about the offer for a while before I replied, "I''m sorry Mrs Henderson. I don''t think I want to do it. There is no benefit for me in entering thepetition."


    Mrs Henderson said, "Didn''t you say your aim is to be the top student for your year? Even if you scored full marks for every paper in the final exam, you won''t be able to be one."


    Raising one of my eyebrows up, I said, "What do you mean by that?"


    "Your previous exams performances were horrendous. This year, the school has changed into a cumtive grading system instead of just taking the results of the final exam. Therefore, you need to score good marks throughout the whole year to be the top student."


    "Hmm..." I eximed as I fell into a deep thought.


    "But...I can offer you a supplementary test so that you can make up for yourck of GPA in the previous exams."


    "On the condition that I enter the decathlon right?" I said.


    "You catch on quick Mr Newgate." Mrs Henderson raised the corner of her mouth slyly, but only for a split second before returning to her stoic face once more.


    "Can you do that?" I asked.


    "The principal already gave his word for this." Mrs Henderson said.


    I sighed in defeat and said, "Let me think about it for a few days. When do you need my answer?"


    "I can give you two days to think about it. I will need the answer by Friday." Mrs Henderson said. I nodded and asked, "Anything else you want to talk to me about?"


    "Nothing else. You can go now." Mrs Henderson said. I turned my back to her as I walked out of the ss before she suddenly called out.


    "Wait. Mr Newgate."


    I turned toward her once more in confusion, then my eyes widened as I saw a small gift box in her hand. "Happy Birthday Mr Newgate."


    I smiled and took the gift politely before I said, "Thanks Mrs Henderson." and hugged her lightly. She was startled at first, but then she hugged me back for a split second before pushing me away.


    I chuckled and waved goodbye at her before I walked to the cafeteria.


    '' I didn''t expect to get a gift this year. But after thinking about it, she did always give out gifts to her students on their birthday every year, and it''s usually the same exact thing. A reference book.''


    "But why does mine feel like stics?" I thought as I unwrapped the gift slowly.


    "Ah. Aputer game...for math..." My excitement tlined as I read the name of the game.


    "And here I thought the grinch had grown a heart."


    I put the cd case inside my locker before joining the rest of the group at the cafeteria. There was Jacob, Elsa and Jenna on one side while Alex sat by herself on another table, and Enid also sitting alone on the table near the wall.


    I gestured to Jacob who was waving at me to wait for a minute before approaching Alex.


    "Hey, why don''t you join us at our table?" I asked.


    Alex was startled by me suddenly appearing next to her while she was focusing on her book and almost dropped it. She fixed her sses as she turned toward me and said, "What? Why do you want me to join you? I''m not qualified to join the popr table."


    "Nonsense. It''s a friends table, not a popr table." I said and urged her toe with me.


    "No..I''d rather study." Alex replied in hesitation.


    "Alex. Today is my birthday. Are you going to reject my request on my birthday?" I asked her using a serious tone. She fiddled with her fingers before saying, "Okay. I''ll join you."


    I nodded with a smile on my face and brought her to the ''popr table''.


    "I think everyone already knows each other, so I will skip the introduction." I said as I called Alex to sit next to me. Jenna red at her, causing her to flinch. But she just took 3 deep breaths before finally taking her seat.


    "You''re the girl I mistook for a boy before." Jenna said while looking at Alex up and down.


    Alex flinched before she said with a stutter, "Y-Yes."


    "You''re also the smartest girl in the school right?" Jenna asked again.


    A bit confused, Alex said warily, "Well...I wouldn''t say the smartest..."


    "She is." Elsa suddenly interjected.


    "What are you guys doing? You want her to do your homework or something?" I said with a smile as I saw Alex being stared at by the two predators.


    "It''s none of your business." Jenna replied with a slight smile. I was taken aback by her new personality, and I couldn''t help but feel intrigued at what she was going to do.


    "In any case, Alex is my best friend. You better not bully her." I said.


    "WHAT?!" Jacob shouted with a face full of betrayal. "I AM your BEST FRIEND!!"


    I shrugged and said, "I can have 2 best friends."


    Alex was also stunned when she heard me officially naming as my best friend. She grabbed my sleeves and said, "Really?"


    I looked at her and said, "Yes."


    "I see..." Jenna muttered ambiguously before Jacob asked, "Why did Mrs Henderson ask you to stay back?"


    "Ahh. That. She wants me to enter the decathlon team."


    Alex brightened up and said hurriedly, "So. What did you say?"


    "I told her I would think about it." I answered as I patted Alex''s head before the bell rang.


    [3rd Person POV]


    As Edward and Jacob rushed to the next ss, Alex suddenly found herself being surrounded by the two hyenas while she was getting some books at her locker.


    "W-w-what do you want?" Alex asked while bringing her hand up to cover her chest.


    "We just want to talk to you." Elsa said and mmed one hand on the locker behind Alex.


    "I...I know judo." Alex warned her with shaky eyes.


    Suddenly, Jenna grabbed one of Alex''s hands, and looked her straight in the eyes.


    "Can you teach me how to study?" Jenna asked in a begging tone.


    Alex''s brain short-circuited and she muttered, "What?"


    "To...study..." Jenna said in embarrassment while Elsaughed at her. She had been looking for tutors to help her learn how to study better, but no one was willing to take the job, or those who did had some ulterior motives.


    "Wh-Why?" Alex pushed her sses up and asked.


    "Well...There is someone who told me he would go out with me if I got second ce in the school final exam."


    "Ahh...Why not first ce?" Alex asked in curiosity.


    Elsa replied, "Well...he said the first ce was going to be his."


    Alex thought for a while before she narrowed her eyes and said, "Sounds like a narcissistic bastard that I know...It''s Edward isn''t it?"


    While Alex was talking with the girls, Enid walked by and mumbled to herself, "Must be nice..."


    Then, she realized that she was longing for friendships, therefore she pped both of her cheeks to wake herself up and said with determination, "I''m a lone wolf. I am the leader of a solo pack. I don''t need friends."


    -Highschool Cafeteria-


    Abby, Haley and Tara were sitting together at the same table to eat lunch.


    "So, are we having the party or not?" Haley asked.


    "I don''t know. He said he wants a quiet birthday party and just wants to focus on his work." Abby replied while pushing her hair backward.


    "He can''tin if it was a surprise birthday party." Haley said while crossing her arms.


    She kept ncing at Abby while looking like a guilty person, so Tara couldn''t help but ask, "What''s wrong with you?"


    Haley got defensive and said, "What''s wrong with me? Nothing is wrong with me!! What is wrong with you?!?"


    [Haley''smentary.]


    "Something is definitely wrong with me." She said after looking at the room a few times to make sure no one else would hear her.


    "So...Last Sunday...after the concert when I got home, I kinda...did something..."


    [shback starts]


    While lying on her bed alone in the room, Haley couldn''t help but put her hands on her chest while muttering, "So...That''s how his hands feel like..."


    Memories about the concert surfaced inside her mind. And instead of Taylor who was singing next to Edward, she could clearly see herself up there.


    Her left hand couldn''t help but go underneath her shirt, and her right hand was sliding underneath her pants as she clearly remembered the sensation of his hand on her chest before.


    Suddenly, the door of the room was opened, causing Haley to yelp and roll sideways, making her fall to the floor.


    "What the hell are you doing you idiot? You scared me." Alex said as she entered the room in her pajamas, and just finished brushing her teeth before bed.


    "No-nothing. I wasn''t doing anything." Haley said with a blushing face before she stood up and said, "I''m going to take a shower."


    "In the middle of the night?" Alex asked in confusion.


    "...Yes." Haley replied before locking the bathroom door and didn''t get out for over an hour. Luke, who was walking by the bathroom at that same time because he wanted to head down the kitchen to get himself a ss of water, heard some distant buzzing noises that made him ask himself, "Why is she brushing her teeth for so long?"


    It was confusing for him as he clearly heard the electric brush sound even before he went down the kitchen. He shrugged his shoulders and returned to his room to sleep.


    Haley only got out of the toilet after an hour with a refreshed face and she easily fell asleep that night.


    [shback ends.]


    Sitting on the chair, Haley continued hermentary.


    "I mean.. ughed awkwardly) what does that even mean? Am I the type of girl who will go after my friend''s ex? NO!... I mean..if I get her blessings, then... sure. "


    mentary ends]


    '' I can''t do it. I can''t tell Abby I have been fantasizing about her ex-boyfriend every night since the concert. Ugh...this is all Edward''s fault.'' Haley thought in frustration as she rubbed her head violently until her hair was all messed up.


    Tara widened her eyes and said, "WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU! We''re eating here! Now my food will taste like dandruff!"


    Haley responded as she took offense, "I DON''T HAVE A DANDRUFF PROBLEM!?"


    "Still dirty though." Abby replied mischievously as she took her te further away from Haley.


    "Bitches. All of you." Haley cursed, causing the girls tough before sheughed together with them.


    "In any case, even if we want to do the surprise party, we cannot enter his house anymore." Haley said pitifully.


    "Doesn''t he put a key inside a fake rock? Why can''t we use that?" Tara asked.


    "Well...After we broke into his house thest time, he kinda changed the hiding ce." Abby said while scratching her cheek.


    "So. Why don''t we do it at Haley''s house? I''m sure that your parents will allow you to do that." Abby said.


    "Yeah...We can do that...the problem is...who is going to trick him intoing over without spoiling the surprise." Haley muttered.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After getting home from school, I opened myptop while sitting in the living room and was working hard to finish the Pritchett Closet''s website.


    "Thank god for eidetic memory. But...I can remember the details of my past life as clearly as day, so how is that possible?"


    My work was easier now as I could remember the codes that I copied and pasted from the inte in my previous life instead of doing all the things from scratch.


    However, as I received the algorithm making skill from the gacha before this, it also came with a lot of programming knowledge and even hardware creation.


    "If I had all of my focus in it, I can create an AI in a month. Of course, not at JARVIS level, but at ChatGpt level." I muttered in excitement as it was every programming man''s dream to have their own AI to help them in their daily life. To own, their very own JARVIS.


    I still had 2 more weeks until I needed to submit the new Pritchett''s closet website, however, I managed to do so in just a few more hours of work that day before I finally finished it.


    "Nice!" I shouted as I stretched my hand up in the air before my phone started to ring.


    "Hello?" I picked up the call and asked.


    "Hey Ed. I got your present from Taylor. I''m on my way to your house right now." Pepper said while driving in his Mercedes convertible.


    "Is the present expensive?" I asked with a glint in my eyes.


    "Very." Pepper smirked and replied. "Hold on. I have another call." Pepper suddenly said and put me on hold. I didn''t even wait for the call to reconnect and just put my handphone on speaker and ced it next to myptop as I finalized the defense system for Pritchett''spany.


    "Jay had beenining that Earl managed to find a hacker to return his butt email prank. Therefore, I need to make the defense extra secure."


    I didn''t know this, but the website''s defense system would soon catch the attention of the FBI, and Pritchett''s Closets was going to be marked as a suspiciouspany and be put on the FBI''s watchlist. It wasn''t until they infiltrated thepany and did a manual infiltration routine that they realized it was just a simple closet''spany.


    Pepper finished talking with the other line and finally returned to his call with me.


    "Sorry for the long wait. Mitchell and Cameron called me and asked me to bring you to your neighbors house-"


    Before Pepper could continue, I asked, "It''s a surprise party, Isn''t it?"


    "...No. Why would you say that?" Pepper asked carefully.


    "You forgot my middle name is Sherlock, didn''t you? First evidence, my dad isn''t home yet even though half an hour has passed since he got off work. Second, Mitch and Cam''s sudden invitation. And the pause before you answered the question basically gave it away Pepper."


    "..."


    I sighed and said, "Okay. I will go. Let''s get this over with."


    Pepper sniggered from the other line and said yfully, "Why so pouty? It is a birthday party in your honor after all. Be more excited."


    "I am. I am. I''m just...I just wanted a quiet birthday party." I said in defeat before changing into semi-casual clothes and waited for Pepper in front of my house.


    We arrived quickly and I could hear the soft murmurs inside the house as we stood at the front door.


    "(Sigh) Can they be MORE sloppy than this?" Pepper said in dissatisfaction. "It''s like, they just threw this party togetherst minute.


    Well ''Spoiler Alert'', turned out that''s exactly what they did.

 Chapter 54: I’m shocked! (pikachu face)

    <h4>Chapter 54: Chapter 54: I��m shocked! (pikachu face)</h4>


    [Third Person POV]


    20 minutes before the surprise party.


    "The fishing line has been set, now it''s time for the lure." Phil muttered after Cam showed him a thumbs up gesture while he was on the call with Pepper. Most of the family members were in the kitchen, while the kids and the guests were in the living room.


    Jay sighed and said, "You put the lure first before casting the line."


    "It''s just a metaphor, Jay." Manny interjected with a ss of milk in his hand, and a milk moustache on his face.


    "Ay Papito! Why are you drinking milk now?! Why don''t you wait for the party?!" Gloria snatched the ss from Manny''s hand.


    "I''m drinking to forget mom. My broken heart needs some healing after Hannah Montana shot me down in the cafeteria today after my confession."


    "ALL I NEED''S A LITTLE LOVE IN MY LIFE!" eximed Phil.


    "Phil! Stop that. Go bring the confetti out of the garage." ire walked past Jay with a cake box in her hand. "Hold on, what kind of cake did you buy?" Jay stopped ire from rushing in for inspection.


    "You know, this whole thing isst minute. I can only get lemon cake." ire said it carefully.


    "Lemon?" Jay asked in confusion.


    "Lemon?" Manny scrunched his face in disgust.


    "Orange?" Phil suddenly walked in from his trip to the closet with pop crackers in each of his fingers.


    "Phil! That''s dangerous! And where is the confetti?!" ire said in frustration.


    "I will be getting it now. I just need some ammunition to guard against the roon family there." Phil replied.


    "You guys have a roon?" Manny asked. "I saw Jay run away from a racoon once."


    "Why don''t you go join the rest of the kids?" Jay pushed Manny gently from behind to get him moving as he continued to disrupt the adults'' conversations.


    ire smirked, but she didn''t tease her dad as she needed to shout at Phil first. "Put the popcracker down. There aren''t any roons in there! I checked!"


    "Fine. But I''m bringing Luke with me as an ally." Phil said before wanting to put the pop cracker down, but Luke appeared out of nowhere, startling Phil.


    "I heard someone call my name."


    As Phil was startled, he identally dropped the pop-cracker in front of him and ire who were facing each other.


    *POP* *POP* *POP* *POP* *POP* *POP*


    The mini explosions around ire''s feet caused her to jump back in fear and the cake box to slide from her hand. Jay tried to grab the cake box, but it was toote.


    "NOOO!" Phil screamed in slow motion as he jumped forward to grab the cake.


    BAM!


    The cake box fell perfectly on the ground, and only the top of the box was opened, revealing a decorated yellow icing cake with Edward''s name on it. But, before anyone could get relieved, Phil couldn''t stop his momentum and fell on top of the cake, ttening it and sttering the cake in all directions.


    ire gasped while Jay facepalmed himself as Phil slowly realized what he had done. His face turned ashen while Luke said in excitement, "That was awesome."


    Alex and Haley walked into the kitchen at the same time before Alex asked the question. "What happened?"


    Both of them gasped at the same time as they saw their dad still trying to get up from the floor with a circr cake shaped mess on his shirt.


    "Dad! What have you done?!" Haley asked in a horrified voice. "What are we going to eat now?! We don''t have anything else?!"


    "I-I-I-I..." Phil stuttered, and then Cam and Mitch entered the kitchen together with Gloria.


    "Ay, Phil, what happened?!" Gloria helped Phil get up from the floor, but then Phil slipped on the cream nearby and fell to the ground once more.


    Cam screamed in a high-pitched voice, "OH MY GOD, PHIL!"


    ire helped Phil stand up at this time, and she massaged her throbbing forehead from her frustration.


    "What are we going to do now?" Cam asked anxiously.


    "I will tell you what I''m going to do. I will go outside to the backyard to make sure I get far away from this mess." Jay said and tried to walk outside before Gloria grabbed his arm and said, "You''re not going anyway, mister. We''re going to put our heads together and clean up this mess!"


    "Gloria..." Jay tried to protest, but Gloria just gave him a re to shut him up.


    Suddenly, another adult that wasn''t rted to the family walked into the kitchen.


    "Hey ire. You didn''t answer my question about the cake, therefore I just picked it up when I got home from work." Ted said this while holding a box of cake and still wearing his captain''s uniform.


    "A HERO!" Phil said and tried to walk towards Ted to give him a hug before ire shouted, "NO! You stay here and clean this up. Kids, your dad needs a shower, so use him as a mop to clean up this mess."


    Luke was excited while Alex and Haley rolled their eyes before answering their mom, "Okay. We will do it."


    ire walked toward Ted and asked, "Did you decorate it? What kind of cake is this?"


    "Edward''s favorite. Chocte cake." Ted said, cing the cake box on the kitchen counter before opening it.


    "Alex, keep an eye on your brother. Make sure he doesn''t touch the cake." ire said this before she rushed to the living room. Alex red at Luke while he said, "What? I''m not going to steal Ed''s cake again. He will add to my punishment if I do it."


    In the living room, Jenna, Elsa, Tara, Abby, and Jacob were helping the family decorate the living room with balloons and colourful streamers for Edward''s birthday party preparations.


    Abby was cutting up some decoration paper to make a string of human origami on one side of the room while Elsa and Jacob were sitting on the sofa. Jenna and Tara were by the firece, trying to stick the streamer to the ceiling using adder.


    "Here." Elsa was handing over the balloon for Jacob to blow. She just sat beside him andplimented him every time he did a good job, without actually doing any work herself.


    "Bitch. Blow the balloons too. Or are you keeping your blowing energy for another purpose?" Jenna admonished Elsa while she was helping Tara stick the steamer on the ceiling. Abby and Jenna kept ncing at each other while being cautious of one another.


    "Pfff- Jacob. You''ll be so lucky tonight as your girlfriend is saving her energy just for you." Tara said yfully, making both Jacob and Elsa blush.


    "I-I''ll blow the balloon too." After being teased, Elsa finally started working. But then, Jacob took the balloon out of her mouth and said, "Don''t tire yourself. I can do it all on my own."


    "But-"


    "You just need to stay there while looking pretty to give me strength." Jacob smiled innocently, causing Elsa to blush and hide her face from him by turning to the side. "Dummy." Elsa said while smiling from ear to ear.


    Jenna rolled her eyes and threw a crumpled streamer towards Jacob and Elsa. ire passed by and said, "Okay. He''s going to be here any minute now. How''s the decoration?"


    "Almost done, Mrs. Dunphy." Tara replied.


    "Yeah. We''re almost done too." Jacob answered.


    "I did it." Abby said this while showing her origami paper.


    "Give me." Tara said and they put the human origami on the firece.


    "Okay. I need someone to look out the window and tell us when Edward is here." ire said after storing thedder..


    "I''ll do it." Elsa said as she walked to the front door and peered through a small window. "Hey, the car is here." she said in less than 10 seconds she became the lookout.


    "Come on," Gloria pped her hands together as she returned to the living room. "Vamanos! We need to get ready! After he walk in, we yell ''surprise''. Okay?"


    "In position everyone!" ire said. The rest of the family moved towards the living room. All of them were there. Even Lily was there in Cam''s arms. Except for Phil.


    "Shushh~!" ire shushed the group as they hid their presence while crouching behind the sofa and other ces that couldn''t be seen when Edward walked through the front door.


    "Mitch. Open it." ire said.


    "Why me?" Mitch asked in confusion.


    "Because, you''re awyer. You lie for a living. Go and open the door now." ire said.


    "For your information, I''m an environmentalwyer-"


    """ GOO!! """ All of the people there said at the same time. Mitchell finally gave up and went to open the door without realising that Phil was just getting downstairs with a party hat on his head.


    Mitch opened the door with a smile after hearing the knocks, and said, "Hi Ed. What brings you here?"


    [Edward POV]


    "...You called me here?" I replied as I saw Phil standing frozen on the stairs with a party hat on his head. He quickly tried to take it off, but he forgot about the rubber strap on the neck and identally choked himself as he did it hurriedly.


    "Phil. Go upstairs!" ire said it with a whisper that was audible to my ear. ''Am I supposed to pretend I didn''t hear it?'' I thought.


    "Mitchell. How are you?" Pepper intrudes on the house and kisses Mitchell on the cheeks, godfather style before whispering something to Mitch. "He knows."


    Mitchell was startled before he said anxiously, "Edward. Come on in. Cam is at the back."


    As I walked into the house, everyone popped out from behind their hiding spot and cheered happily, "SURPRISE! EDWARD, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"


    With a monotone voice, I said, "Wow. You guys did this all for me. I didn''t expect this in the least." I took out a handkerchief I prepared from my pocket and pretended to be wiping away my tears of happiness.


    The group was happy as they thought that they had been sessful in their surprise. Phil rushed down the stairs to join in the celebration and hugged me to wish me a happy birthday.


    "He''s lying. He knows." Abby caught onto my act immediately after she studied all of my facial expressions as I reacted to the surprise.


    "Ehhh~!" The group eximed in bewilderment as the secret was out.


    "Did you know it when you saw Phil with the hat?" Manny asked. Everyone looked at Phil, making him nervous.


    "No. He knows the moment I give him the invite." Pepper came to Phil''s aid when he noticed the man was pale.Phil finally breathed in relief and said, "Anyway. Let''s sing him the song."


    """ Happy Birthday to you~"""


    My dad came out with the cake filled with 14 lit up candles slowly from the kitchen to where I was standing.


    "Make a wish Ed." ire said after the song was finished.


    ''I hope this thing will be over soon.'' I blew out all of the candles while still maintaining a fake smile.


    ...


    Time at the party flew by. Meaningless conversation, birthday wishes, opening presents, finally, I sat down at an empty seat to eat a slice of chocte cake to rest a little.


    "Jay, the website is done. Pick me up at school tomorrow, I will go to set up the defence and connect the website to yourpany system." I said casually while taking a spoonful of cake.


    "Really? That''s fast. You didn''t ck on your job didn''t you?" Jay asked teasingly but with a hint of concern while sitting down and eating cake the same way that I was doing.


    "Even if I''m cking, it won''t be hard for your website to be the most advanced website in the world. You just need to wait for an award for the best closetpany at Expo Internationale du Closet."


    Jay scoffed and said, "Kid. You''re too green in the closet industry. Do you know howpetitive it is to get to the Expo? You need to give 100% effort and work for decades-"


    "Dad. Stop boring him." Mitchell interjected quickly before Jay could go on a full rant.


    "Well. If yourpany is paving the way with your capabilities right now, it might be hard. But what if yourpany invents a few products that will revolutionise the closet industry? For example, a Whisper Glider on the drawers to cut down on CN."


    "How do you know CN?" Jay asked in confusion.


    "What''s CN?" Mitchell asked.


    "Industry jargon for closet noise." I answered.


    [Jay''s Commentary]


    "In less than a month, that kid managed to learn almost all of the closet''s industry know-how, and make a few inventions of his own? I don''t believe it..." Jay said it with some apprehension.


    Then, with a nervous expression on his face, he said, "But what if...and that is a big "IF"...What if he really did it? I mean...I know that kid is a genius. Could it be that he had really invented something so advanced? Something... that will take Pritchett''s Closet to a greater height? We will be an industry legend if that''s true."


    [Commentary ends.]


    The reason I had been using my future knowledge to tempt Jay was because I had poached his daughter who would one day bring thepany to even greater heights. Therefore, I felt bad for him.


    ''But. ire is too important in my future ns, and has proven herself by bing an integral part of mypany in less than a month. I wouldn''t let Jay take her away from me after I had trained her and given her confidence back.'' I thought as I munched on the cake.


    I sat aside the empty te and said, "Not only that. I had also figured out a mechanism for alternating socks instead of just picking the socks at the top of your drawers."


    "What do you want, kid?" Jay finally decided to gamble on my words as he saw my confidence.


    "What is happening here?" ire approached Mitchell as she felt the tense atmosphere between Jay and I.


    "Shush ire. They are negotiating." Mitchell said.


    "So you want me to rent the patent? And share the profit with you?" Jay said while crossing his legs and smoking a Cuban cigar.


    ire walked between Jay and I, snatched the cigar out of Jay''s mouth and said, "No shop talk. It''s a birthday party. And dad, there are children here. What are you thinking?!"


    Jay grimaced before he stood up and said, "We''ll continue thister. Bring yourwyer too."


    "Sure. Tomorrow at 4?"


    "Okay. I''ll send someone to pick you up from school."


    "Or you know. I could do it." ire interjected. She turned toward me and said, "Go talk to your friends."


    "I already did." I said it with some trepidation about the situation.


    "No objections. Go." ire urged me to go mingle.


    "Why so pouty? It''s like you don''t want to celebrate your birthday." Abby asked after I sat next to her on the couch in the living room.


    "Can I tell you a secret?" I said.


    "What?" Abby turned her face to look at mine in intrigue. She no longer wore thick eyeliner or a ck lipstick, and if she didn''t wear a ck and white outfit, no one would even think that she used to be a goth girl.


    "I hate celebrating my birthday." As I watched Luke tease the kind giant Jacob, I smiled slightly and said honestly.


    Abby was stunned for a while before she said, "Wait. Seriously?"


    "Yup."


    "But why?"


    I sighed as I reminisced about my past birthdays, both in this world and the previous one.


    As the orphanage I used to be in was struggling financially, no one cared about the kids'' birthdays over there. If we managed to have 2 meals a day, that was enough celebration for the orphans.


    When I was kicked out of the orphanage, I couldn''t care less about my birthday. It was not until I met grandma that she celebrated my birthday for the first time in my entire life, but it was less than a yearter that I had lost her too.


    In this world, my birthday and the ssical musicpetition usually fall in the same week. My parents would just give me a present, and my mother would promise me to celebrate my birthdayter on, but after 5 years, I gave up on any hope that she would fulfil her promise.


    ''Dad did bring me somece special for my birthday a few times. Just the two of us... That was nice, but now my birthday just feels like any other day.


    Of course, I couldn''t tell Abby the true reason. Therefore, I lied and said, "It just seemed childish."


    Abby was stunned for a while before she pouted and whispered to herself, "Liar."


    "Hey Ed. What do you want for your birthday?" Jenna suddenly sat next to me and asked. The three-seat sofa was now full with me in the middle, and two gorgeous girls by my side.


    A few metres away from me, Manny swirled the ss of milk in his hand and muttered, "Why can''t I get girls like that? Should I pick up an instrument too? Does the flute count?"


    Alex, who was walking by at the time, stopped and stared at Manny before answering his question. "No." Then, she walked away, leaving behind a stunned Manny.


    "I don''t need anything luxurious. A spa session would be good enough." I said.


    "That thing cost around 250 dors though." Abby muttered softly.


    "Okay~!" Jenna agreed happily as there were lots and lots of spa session certificates at her house. She could just pick one of them and give it to me.


    Haley approached our sofa and wiggled her way next to Abby while saying, "Excuse me."


    "Ed. What did Taylor give you?" She asked.


    "Ahh. She gave me a guitar." I said with a hint of excitement on my face. It was a custom made Taylor PS12ce 12-Fret Grand Concert Sinker made from Redwood and Honduran Rosewood, and inscribed with the word, [May your songs shake the world].


    "I believe she gave me a Taylor guitar on purpose, but I can''t contact her right now to talk to her... or thank her."I said it with trepidation.I did send a few texts to thank her, but she still hasn''t replied to any of my texts.


    ''Should I hack into her phone to see what''s going on?'' I was thinking quietly. Not that I was feeling possessive of her, but the sudden shutdown ofmunication wasn''t in line with her personality. I was afraid that the agency had limited her freedom and taken away her phone, so I needed to do something to confirm my suspicions.


    "How much does something like that cost?" Haley asked as she saw Luke reaching out to touch the guitar.


    ''Hmm... I remember Luke has a pitch-perfect speciality. He managed to learn a song in just a few minutes and even be the lead in Phantom of the Opera theater act...But his ability is not explored by the writers.''


    Pepper, who was walking behind the couch, stopped as he heard the question and felt the need to rify how luxurious Taylor''s gift to me was.


    "With the custom-made requirement for Edward, and the inscription, something like that could go for more than 10 grand."


    "LUKE. PUT THE GUITAR DOWN NOW!" Haley stood up quickly and ran to where Luke was sitting before snatching the guitar away from him.


    ...


    The party ended, and everyone returned to their own house after saying goodbye to each other.


    As we stood in front of the Dunphys'' house, Abby grabbed my face and kissed my cheek unexpectedly, "Happy Birthday. My gift to you is the car I''m driving right now. I will transfer the ownership to you before I go back to New York."


    I was incredibly baffled when I heard that. After recollecting myself, I smirked and said, "So. You still remember what I said to you when we first met huh?"


    Abby blushed and said, "This is just a coincidence. I didn''t buy the same car you said you like because I think it will be meaningful or something."


    "It''s very meaningful. I think that this is the best gift I have gotten today." I said and hugged her sincerely, earning a whistle from Jacob. He was then punished instantly by Elsa as he had rooted for the wrong girl.


    "Not only that, you also offered to drive me everywhere for the next few weeks, whenever I needed a ride. That''s so thoughtful. You''re the best Abby." I said.


    Abby smiled as she heard that. "Okay. Don''t be mellow with me now."


    I finally released her, but then Abby saw I had an evil grin on my face, and she quickly caught on to what I had tricked her into.


    "Wait. I made no mention of driving you��"


    "Toote. No backsies." I said before I waved goodbye at the group and rushed home.


    "BASTARD!" Abby yelled from afar. Tara held her shoulder and said, "Just give up Abby. You lost this time."


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Why didn''t you give him your gift?" Alex asked Haley before they were going to sleep.


    "Shut up." Haley replied with a sad tone.


    "You know he won''t ridicule you for giving him something handmade." Alex encouraged her once more. Haley got annoyed by her sister''s constant questioning, turned her head that was resting on the pillow, looked at Alex, and said, "What about you? Did you give him your gift?"


    "I did. He said that he would make good use of it," Alex said with a hint of pride in her tone.


    Despite the fact that he wouldn''t take the SAT for another three years, she had given Edward a SAT level reference book and practice questions. Edward was bbergasted when he saw the gift, but he epted it gratefully as he knew Alex had tried her best to think about the gift that would benefit him the most.


    "Urgh!" Haley covered her head with the pillow to avoid listening to Alex.


    Her little sister shook her head and rested her head on the pillow before she heard Haley say something in a muffled voice, "I can''t give him that, can I? Not after the other girls had given him expensive gifts."


    Alex paused for a while before she said, "That''s true. Your gift is kind of worthless if you think about it."


    Haley got mad and threw her pillow at Alex. "Shut up and go to sleep-"


    "But. It doesn''t mean that he would hate it. You won''t know it until you give it to him. Your designs, I mean. Please don''t sew the clothes yourself. You''ll make a mess in our room." Alex said before ending it with, "Goodnight Haley."


    "Hmmm... Goodnight," Haley replied while falling into a deep thought.

 Chapter 55: Working hard.

    <h4>Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Working hard.?</h4>


    [3rd Person POV]


    Inside of Jay''s car.


    As the family drove home from ire''s house, Gloria asked with a dissatisfied expression, "You see him not smiling much? He must''ve missed his mother."


    She turned her face to look at Jay who was sighing as he heard the same statement more than 10 times today.


    Jay spoke calmly, "Maybe he''s just mature. At a certain point in your life, a surprise birthday party just seemed boring."


    Gloria pursed her lip in dissatisfaction and said, "What if I''m right Jay? Huh? What if he''s feeling....bad-"


    "Depressed." Manny interjected to give Gloria the word.


    "Yes. That." Gloria nodded to thank Manny before staring at Jay again.


    "What do you want me to do then?" He said, admitting defeat. Gloria finally smiled and said, "You don''t have to do much. Just invite him to our house and let him know we would always be there for him."


    Jay retorted, "Well... Always is such a long time..."


    Gloria red at him, causing him to change his words, "Always it is."


    -Dunphy''s house-


    In the kitchen, ire and Phil both in their robes were drinking warm milk before going to bed.


    "I''m telling you ire. Something is bothering him. He faked a smile the entire time he was here." Phil said with some concern in his voice.


    "Faked a smile? Really?" ire scrunched her face in disbelief before sipping the warm milk in the mug while holding the cup with both hands. "He''s not a tv series main character."


    "He could be if he wants to." Phil retorted.


    ire sighed and said, "I guess something is bothering him. I''m going to talk to him to find out what."


    [Edward POV]


    After I went home from my ''surprise'' party, I turned on myptop and continued working on my mobile game in development �C ppy Bird. My fingers tapped the keys on the keyboard with high speed as a result of my enhanced dexterity.


    "Nice. Adding Parallel Thinking to the equation, I think I can finish a 5000 word essay in just an hour."


    A pixted yellow bird was flying on the screen while passing the hurdles smoothly as my finger tapped the ''UP'' key on myptop without missing a beat.


    "The time estimate for the game toplete can be cut down to this Friday. Then, I can do the alpha test for the game...that is... the mobile version."


    The basics for the game had already finished. As I based the game on the original ppy Bird, I managed to skip the pre-development, research, character designs, world-building �C not that this was necessary, and fixed a few criticisms people had on the game.


    "Not only was it branded the most frustrating game when it wasunched, the addiction when ying the game became uncontroble that a trend of people destroying their phone after losing the game went viral. I need to make sure to avoid these types of things while maintaining the ads revenue for the game."


    Sipping my cup of coffee, I brainstormed ideas on how tobat the addiction to the game by writing on a piece of paper.


    "Let see...Should I code the energy feature for people to y? Like in every 10 tries, they need to wait for the energy level to be filled up first before ying again."


    To die in the game was effortless, therefore people would keep trying until hours for them to beat their own high score. If I used the energy feature to start the game, people''s interest in the game would lessen, and the revenue I was aiming for would be threatened.


    "Or, should I increase the sensitivity of the bird''s motion? I guess I need to get data from various groups for this one if they found the game was too hard. I will do it during beta testing then."


    I rubbed my chin in contemtion while mumbling, "ppy Bird was released during the time smartphone usage became widespread. Should I really release the game now?"


    To release the game early would bring me premature reactions from the game yers in the world. Although the game wasn''t banned, the extreme reactions from the game caused the owner of the game to feel guilty about it and deleted it from Apple Store and Google y Store.


    "Although...He might feel guilty ''cause people were using him of ripping off the game from another Helicopter game. So who knows what the real reason was."


    After trying to rationalize my decision, I finished my work on the game at 2 am before getting to sleep.


    ...


    "Good Morning Ed." Dad said as he stood by the coffee pot and poured a cup of coffee for himself. "Anotherte night?"


    "Yeah." I replied as I took out some ingredients to make a sandwich for myself before going to school.


    "Your Aunt called and wished you a happy birthday. She said she will try to stop by soon before going back to Cuba." Dad said as he sat on the kitchen counter.


    "My hot aunt? Sure, stop by anytime she wants." I said yfully while Dad narrowed his eyes at me.


    "Oh dad, I need to go to Pritchett''s Closet after school. Can you pick me up there when you get home from work? I wouldn''t want to make Abby wait for me until I finish my job."


    "You''re...the most busy 14 year old I''ve ever met. Rest a little. Go out and have fun." Dad said in a concerned tone.


    "I''m okay. I will rest when I earn enough to restfortably for the rest of my life." I replied with a smirk.


    "Ah. Wait a minute." Dad said before he stood up from his seat and rushed to get the mail out of his bag.


    "This is a letter from your Grandma and Grandpa. They couldn''t wait for you toe stay with them in the summer."


    Scratching my cheek, I said, "That''s still going on?"


    "Just for the summer. We don''t have to move now. You have already saved the business, and you also need to stay here in California for your music career. You will only stay for a month instead of the whole summer, so I will let you pick the date for you to go there."


    My apprehension on staying with my grandparents wasn''t because they didn''t treat me well.


    ''But there isn''t any wifi over there, nor is the cellr connection great. Grandpa barely used the telephone and Grandma never learned to use it in her entire life. There really isn''t much to do around the ranch. I will be bored to death there.''


    "Why don''t I just stay there for a week?" I negotiated.


    "A month." Dad replied.


    "10 days."


    "3 weeks."


    "2 weeks."


    "3 weeks."


    "15 days."


    "3 weeks."


    I sighed as I knew my dad wasn''t going to budge on this one. As I was racking my brain to convince my dad, he said, "You haven''t met them in 2 years as you need to attend summer school every time. They really miss you."


    "Alright. 3 weeks." I finally admitted my defeat while Dad shed a soft smile.


    After school was over, Abby drove me to Pritchett''s Closet as promised.


    "Don''t wait up." I said to her as I got out of the car. "My dad will pick me upter."


    "That''s it? Where is the driver''s fee? And Gas money?" Abby said yfully while holding her palm out to get money from me.


    "Where is my programming lesson fee? Two people can y this game." I said as I pinched her palm lightly.


    "Hey!" Abby chuckled before driving away.


    Inside thepany, I was surrounded by most of the office workers in the meeting room as they wanted to watch me set up the new website and also to badger me while I was working.


    "Hey, did you have Taylor''s phone number?"


    "Can I get your autograph?"


    "Are you and Taylor dating?"


    "MOVE. MOVE." Jay''s assistant, Margaret chased out the annoying flies from the meeting room to let me work in peace.


    "Thanks." I said to her. She nodded and sat next to me to try and study the new website.


    At the top of the website, the screens were alternating with the closet designs that I received from Jay. I asked him to give me pictures that were magazine worthy to be included, and the website disyed the professionalism of thepany.


    Visitors that registered their details in the website would also be entitled for a free closet consultation, which was a free service for potential customers in the first ce


    "Custom closet as unique as you are?" Margaret''s eyes twinkled in excitement as she saw the options on the new website.


    "That''s just the tagline." I replied. "You guys can keep it if you want, and change it if youe out with better slogans."


    "No honey, the one you make is good enough." Margaret said while patting my head. Then, she gave me a lollipop again. I took it without hesitation and ate it while I continued working.


    It took me an hour to finish setting up the new defense system and linking the website to thepany''s system. Not only did the details of the customers were kept in a tight vault, I had also cleared a tremendous amount of viruses from all of theputers inside the office.


    "Why did you guys have so much? Did all of you watch porn on yourputer while working here?" I asked the IT guy in confusion.


    "*Ehem*....Maybe..." The fat IT guy with a full beard replied.


    Jay walked into the meeting room as Margaret notified him I had finished the job wearing a ck zer as he wasing here as apany owner.


    "Here, I put in something extra as you did a hell of a great job. Your level of expertise could kick severalpanies out of business if you opened up your own."


    "Maybe in the future." I said with a lollipop in my mouth. "About the patent details, mywyer is supposed to be here at any moment. Would you like to see the technology first?"


    "Whisper Glide right? Let me see it."


    [Jay''smentary]


    "I will make sure to be critical in judging his work and invention. I''m not doing this to leverage the condition in our negotiation, but if he wants to try out in the closet industry, he will need a tough mentality to get him through it. It''s a tough industry to jump into without proper conviction."


    [Commentary ends]


    The more I showed Jay about the whisper glide technology and the sock-and-roll mechanism, his initial smiling face turned into a solemn one and he listened to every word I said while chiming in here and there.


    "So. What do you think? Is this good enough?" I asked him with a sly smile.


    [Jay''smentary.]


    "He...is a closet industry genius. When we discussed the closet together, he gave me such a warm feeling inside... as if... he was like a son I''d never had."


    Jay thenughed and said, "With this. Expo Internationally Du Closet would be within reach. Now, we''re no longer underneath the foot of the titans of the industry. We''re now...The Titans of the Industry! "


    [Commentary ends]


    "It''s great." Jay replied curtly before standing up from his seat. "I need to make a call to change the contract details."


    "Sure. Harvey is already here. Therefore we can start the negotiation." I said. Jay nodded before he rushed out of the room while calling someone.


    While we were at the meeting, I also shared a few ways for Jay''spany to exploit the green tax when changing theirpany trucks into hybrid trucks, and stille out ahead in profit and maintenance.


    The meeting took a long time and intense discussion before the agreement was finalized. I also received 100,000 dors from thepany after we signed the patent agreement as down payment.


    In the agreement, I would be entitled to 5% profits from the sales using my technology. It was a high percentage that Jay graciously agreed to, which surprising both me and Harvey.


    [Jay''smentary.]


    "I noticed something during the meeting. He''s not looking to take advantage of mypany, nor was he aiming for my money. He''s trying to help me grow mypany in ways that I had ignored before, and even gave thepany a new direction. That kid is a genius through and through."


    Then, Jay sighed and said, "For him to work extremely hard to help mypany without looking for much in return...I guess Gloria is right, he is a little depressed. Or, hecked the affection of a father figure that he was trying hard to prove his worth to others. Therefore, I will help him out too, as he has helped me."


    [Commentary ends.]


    "Hey Kid. You watch football?" Jay asked me as I sent Harvey away to handle the contract.


    I remember I still had the football training memories from my first gacha prize that I haven''t opened yet.


    "Sometimes." I replied honestly. I wasn''t a true fan of the sport and only watched it in a social gathering before.


    "Good. There will be a match this Sunday. Illinois versus Ohio State. Why don''t youe by my house to watch it? Gloria had been wanting to invite you to the house for some time now."


    "Sure. I will check with Pepper first cause I don''t know when he will call me to make the music video. I will confirm it with Mannyter."


    "Okay." Jay replied curtly before he drove me home after calling my dad to tell him not toe by.


    "Are you hungry?" Jay asked.


    "A little bit." I replied.


    We went to a restaurant and I met with the waitress, Maxine, a 55 years old kinddy who was a close friend of Jay. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and she was a really friendly person that wasn''t stingy with her hugs.


    She spoke with a slight southern ent while getting our order, "Who''s this? One of yours? He''s too handsome toe from your family, so did ya kidnap him?"


    Jayughed and said, "Believe it or not, He''s my business partner."


    "Really? How old are you, kid? 16? 17? " Maxine asked.


    "He''s 14." Jay replied before I could, shocking Maxine greatly.


    "Really? Wow, you must be some kind of genius." Maxina said and patted my shoulder softly. Her gaze turned menacing as she turned to Jay, "You didn''t exploit him because he''s a minor right?"


    Jay scoffed and said, "If I dared to do that, Gloria would kill me."


    "Well...It will happen sooner orter, so it doesn''t matter much I guess." Maxine teased Jay while Iughed at the joke. We talked for a while and I introduced myself before we ordered. Maxine returned with our sandwiches 5 minutester and sat next to Jay as they talked for a bit.


    "Take a picture of him and put it on the wall. He''s an artist too. He will surely be a famous person someday." Jay advised Maxine.


    "Really? Can I do that Ed?" Maxine turned toward me with an excited twinkle in her eyes.


    "Yes. He even did a concertst Sunday." Jay added again.


    "I don''t mind." I replied to Maxine.


    "Wait. Let me get the camera!" Maxine stood up quickly and rushed to the cashier table before getting out an old school camera.


    "Smile." She said as she snapped the photo. Her action caused the people around to be interested in who was at the table.


    "Wait. Is that Edward?" A random man said to his wife.


    "Who?" his wife asked.


    "You know, the one who sings the duet with Taylor." The man exined. The wife finally recognized me from the videos on Youtube. Not only them, but a few more tables had the same reaction as that random husband and wife and people started to chatter among themselves while pointing at me.


    "Ahh...I had disturbed your dinner. I should''ve done that when you''re leaving." Maxine said in guilt.


    "No need Maxine. I need to adapt to this, so it''s good that it happened." I said while waving dismissively to let her know it wasn''t a big deal.


    Maxine smiled and said, "You''re a good kid."


    "Right?" Jay added. Maxine then said, "Don''t hang out with Jay so much. You''ll only learn bad things."


    Jay almost spit out the coffee he was drinking while Iughed again.


    That night as I settled my ounts, I realized that I had made more than 200,000 dors in my first month in this new world.


    "130,000 dors from Pritchett''s Closet, 80,000 dors from the concert. I should invest this money somewhere." I muttered as I opened up the stock market websites. I got extra money from the concert from the impromptu performance of the song paid for by the organizer instead of Taylor.


    "Despite searching for so long, I still couldn''t believe that no one had actually created bitcoin in this world." I muttered with some dissatisfaction as I searched for some familiarpany in the stock exchange.


    "Not only that, there aren''t any school shootings, bullying in school is less than usual, literacy rate in students are higher, and rent around California wasn''t overblown."


    It wasn''t as if the issues were hidden as there wasn''t any news coverage on them, but the world was truly more stable than my previous world.


    "Is it because I''m in a si? Anyway, that''s a good thing for me. I guess I don''t have to wear a bulletproof vest to school." I muttered as I listed a few stocks that I had my eyes on.


    "I need to open up a trading ount first."


    I keep the list inside my bag before going to sleep that night.


    "Wait. Should I open up the memory now?" I muttered as Iid on the bed.


    "I guess it won''t hurt to do it now." I shrugged my shoulders before falling asleep.

 Chapter 56: Change.

    <h4>Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Change.</h4>


    (Personality thing is only for a short while)


    [Edward POV]


    As I waste getting out of bed today, dad walked into my room in his casual clothing to wake me up. He was wearing beige cargo pants and a white polo shirt instead of his usual captain''s uniform, as I had forced him to take a day off today.


    "Oh. You''re awake." He said in a dazzled state as he saw I was doing pushups with my shirts off.


    "299...300...301..."


    My hands were shaking as I forcefully did the pushups; sweat was dripping on the hardwood floor, and my eyes almost lost focus.


    "Wait. Edward. STOP!" Dad ran and slid on his knees to catch me before I fell to the floor.


    With panting breaths, I said, "No... I can''t stop... I need to bring my team to the Super Bowl... My body is too weak right now... Watashi Kara Hanarette (Get away from me.) "


    "What the hell?!" Dad became anxious as I was rambling and was trying to shove him away to continue exercising. rmed, he pped my face lightly to wake me up , "Edward. What are you talking about?"


    "I need to do this... IN ORDER TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP-"


    ""Ed! Are you possessed?!" Dad held both sides of my head, gazed me directly in the eye and said, "You''re Edward Newgate. You''re my son! So wake up!"


    My eyes regained focus, and I looked at my father, perplexed, "Dad. What are you doing?"


    Then, the muscle pain from 3 hours of continuous and strenuous exercise assaulted my entire body. "ARGH...WHAT THE HELL WAS I DOING?!


    "Apparently... sleep exercising." Dad finally breathed a sigh of relief and released me from his arms. "Get up, You need to go to school."


    "Ahhh. I don''t want to." I said as I rolled around on the floor with muscle pains preventing me from getting up.


    "No excuses." Dad smirked before he walked out of the door. I saw his face turn incredibly solemn as he turned his back towards me, but I kept my focus on the new memories inside my mind instead of him.


    "That''s why...Hiruma Yoichi...He''s someone who was obsessed with football."


    The reason I acted in such a way was because of the raw emotions inside the memory gacha. I received his memories for 2 years at that time, when he was training for the Japan Bowl.


    For a few hours of my life, I had truly turned into Hiruma and my skinny body condition disgusted me.


    "(sigh)... I need to take a shower. It feels a bit disgusting to have another man inside my body...No homo..."


    I forced my leg to stand up and walked to the toilet door. As I was letting the water from the shower head rain on my body, I opened my eyes as I recalled the memories from before.


    "Damn. I really don''t think that eidetic memory could be used that way."


    With my eidetic memory special ability, I managed to learn the Japanesenguage, all of Hiruma''s strategies in a match, his devotion in training, body-building skills and diet requirements, cooking skills and recipes, and even methods to ckmail and take advantage of other people using mind games.


    "I basically got a discipline talent from the memory gacha because of my eidetic memory."I muttered as I cleaned my hands and my body with soap.


    However, I recognise the memory orb''s limitations, in that I couldn''t learn anything that wasn''t rted to his football training memories.


    Otherwise, I could not only learn about Japanese student education, but also about Hiruma''s personal life when he wasn''t training to be the best quarterback.


    I could no longer experience the memory fragment of Hiruma Yoichi as a memory gacha could only be used once before it disappeared. If I didn''t keep my focus during my experience, I may not earn anything from the memory at all.


    To experience other people''s lives would also bring identity confusion into the user''s life, therefore, some preparation should be done before opening the memory orb.


    "Basically, the next time I should make a VHS tape of my life like in the movie 50 First Dates so that I can remember who I am after experiencing another person''s life."


    "The memories, obsession, passion, guilt, sadness, happiness... I experienced all of them. That''s probably why the memory prize is the lowest-ranking prize avable. The rewards were in their raw form and could affect someone''s memory if used incorrectly."


    After turning off the shower, I walked out of the toilet and got dressed for school.


    "Fuck. I can''t feel my arms." I cursed as I struggled to button up the white shirt I was wearing.


    The sound of someone using a blender could be heard when I walked to the kitchen. Dad poured the green-looking sludge of horror into a tall ss before giving it to me.


    "Drink this. It''ll ease the muscle pain."


    "What did you put in this?" I asked with a grimace as I smelled the sludge.


    "Kale. Banana. Chicken breast. Various Nuts. Raw eggs."


    Ted smirked as he saw my apprehension about drinking the protein shake. However, my frowning face suddenly turned into a determined one, and I chugged down all of the drink in only one shot. ''Hiruma drank worse things than this.'' I thought.


    With a satisfied exhale of breath and a green drink moustache on my lips, I said, "Thanks, dad."


    "Are you going with Abby, or do you want me to drive you to school?" Dad asked after he was impressed that I didn''t gag or puke after drinking the shake for the first time.


    I looked at the clock on the wall and said, "Please send me. I want to rest a little bit before going."


    I texted Abby that I would be going with my dad to school today while sitting on the couch and massaging my sore legs at the same time.


    ''Did I do squats too? How long did I exercise?''


    The chime from my phone distracted me from my thoughts. I picked up my Apple phone and read the message before replying to it.


    {Abby: Did you wake upte?


    Edward: Yeah. I don''t want to burden you and make youte too, so you just need to drive me back home afterward.


    Abby: ...I have a life too you know?


    Edward: What life? You barely even have friends.


    Abby: Go die!}


    "Ah. That raised my spirits. It''s always nice teasing Abby." I muttered as I kept massaging my legs. "It seems that the effect of my massage skill is lessened when I do it to myself."


    "Yup. Didn''t you get a spa ticket for your birthday? You should use itter when you finish school." Dad said casually while walking behind me. Although he was unaware of my gacha skill, what he said was correct, as being massaged by another person and being massaged by yourself were twopletely different things.


    He opened the front door before he realised something. "Oh right." He turned back to grab the car key and said, "Can''t go too far without these."


    "Really?" I narrowed my eyes at him for his tant attempt at making bad jokes.


    "What?" Dad replied with an innocent face, but the corner of his mouth that was raising up betrayed him.


    ...


    "Hey. Look at that kid. Isn''t he the one who performed with Taylor?"


    "Oh my god. He''s so cute."


    "He''s just overrated. A bitch-ass little shit who thinks he''s hot stuff."


    As I walked along the hallways of the school with Elsa and Jacob, whispers followed me everywhere I went. People were pointing their fingers at me, singling me out of my group, trying to initiate conversation, and more than 10 girls had asked me out today, including multiple high school students.


    "You want me to break your face?" Jacob growled at the pair of boys who spoke badly towards me.


    "Eek!" The boys flinched and ran quickly after being threatened by Jacob.


    "What are you doing?" I asked the kind giant who was looking out of character. "Are you showing off your masculinity now that you have a girlfriend?"


    "Yeah. I asked him to do that. I think that''s really hot." Elsa said before she grabbed Jacob''s face and made out with him�C using their tongues and running their hands all over each other''s bodies right in the middle of the corridor.


    " Get a room." I said it irritably because this wasn''t the first time they''d acted this way.


    Elsa and Jacob both blushed as they separated from each other.


    "I want to do that too... But... My mom is always at home..." Jacob said in embarrassment.


    "My house...is also out of the equation." Elsa said this while fanning her hot face.


    With narrowed eyes, I said, "If you say you want to use my house, I will hit you both."


    Both of them were taken aback by my urate guess of what they were thinking. They froze on the spot while I continued walking to the ss alone.


    "Hey Ed." Alex greeted me as we bumped into each other on our path to our ss. "Have you epted Mrs. Henderson''s goodwill yet?"


    "Goodwill?" I asked in confusion.


    "Not every teacher could give you a make-up test. So, it''s her goodwill, isn''t it? All you need to do is say ''Yes'' to be an academic decathlon participant."


    "Did she bribe you to convince me to enter?" I asked.


    Alex flinched before returning to her poker face and saying, "No. I just think you''ll make a good addition to the team-"


    "Well, I don''t." An Indian boy with clean-cut short hair and baggy clothes to hide his skinny frame abruptly interjected the conversation.


    "Sanjay. This is not about you!" Alex warned him.


    (In case you''ve forgotten who Sanjay is.)


    "I''m on the team. I supposed to have a say in this." Sanjay behaved confrontationally as he faced off with me. Although he tried to act tough, his shaky voice betrayed his actions.


    I couldn''t even cross my arms as they were numb, so I gazed daggers at him and said menacingly, "What?"


    He cowered back a few steps, but I guess as he wanted to impress Alex whom he has a crush on, Sanjay said, "Y-Y-You can''t enter the academic team just like that. Do you know how hard we have worked to advance our school until we''re finally ranked in the top 10 of the schools in the state, despite being inpetition with private schools all around? I can''t let you join the team as I''m confident you''ll bring more harm than good."


    "Sanjay. Mrs. Henderson asked him to join, so you don''t have any say in it. Anyints, take it with her."


    "Alex. He''s a singer. Singers are dumb. He will damage our record." Sanjay debated against Alex whilepletely ignoring me who was standing there.


    "Really? So you think I''m dumb?" I chuckled a little as I was fed-up with the cocky behavior of the nerd.


    "No offense, but for a guy who was always at the bottom of the ss to suddenly be pulled into the academic decathlon team, I couldn''t help but wonder if you''d seduced the teacher to pave your way into it. Again, no offense."


    "No. I want to take offense." I said as I took a step towards Sanjay.He cowered in fear, and his paper tiger attitude crumbled immediately as he thought I was going to punch him.


    "I-I-I Said NO OFFENSE!" He said this while quickly retreating a few steps back.


    "That doesn''t give you the right to say something offensive." I said as I continued to close the gap between us.


    "OKAY STOP!" Alex gets in between us to stop a fight from happening. "What''s with you?" She hushed me, unable to believe how hot-headed I was.To be honest, I just dislike the guy, even in the previous series.


    I suddenly realised that I was acting like a delinquent, and I stopped what I was going to do. ''Damn, Hiruma''s unpleasant personality had rubbed off on me.''


    Inside my mind, there were already some ns topletely obliterate Sanjay''s life or make him myckey for the rest of his life using Hiruma''s ckbook skill.


    I let out a sigh as I stood in front of Alex. I red at Sanjay while calming down before I said, "I understand your doubt. However, there is nothing you can do about it. I guess you''ll just have to wait till thepetition to know my value."


    "Wait. Are you joining?" Alex widened her eyes in surprise while Sanjay''s jaw dropped.


    "Yes. I''ll go inform Mrs Henderson of the good news."I said and turned my back to Sanjay and walked away.


    "I- I''ll walk you to the ssroom." Alex said in excitement while lightly jogging to walk beside me.


    "H-H-HEY!" Sanjay called out from behind. I paused and looked coldly at him before saying, "Also Sanjay. I will surely tell Mrs. Henderson about your opinion, so don''t feel too bad. She will greatly appreciate it when I tell her of your tough stance...word for word...without leaving anything behind."


    "No..NO. You don''t have to do that!" Sanjay gathered his strength to run towards me before Jacob suddenly stood in his path. "What do you want?" Jacob asked him.


    Sanjay''s eyes darted between Jacob and I before he decided to run away with tears in his eyes.


    "Hey. You''re not joining the team just to spite him aren''t you? If you don''t work hard for thepetition, I will ask the teacher to kick you out too." Alex suddenly warned me after I finished talking with Mrs. Henderson.


    I patted her head, making her flinch as she didn''t expect that. "Don''t worry. With me around, there isn''t any doubt about us taking first ce in the statepetition."


    "Let''s aim for the top 3 in the districtpetition first." Alex retorted hurriedly while hiding the blush on her face with her hand.


    "How long are you going to touch my head?" She said, pushing my hand away as I continued to pat her for nearly 30 seconds.


    "As long as you''re shorter than me." I replied yfully and tried to pat her again. The bell rang at this time, and lunch was finally over.


    "Hmph!" Alex snorted before she huffed while walking to her next ss.


    "We''re going to meet up for at least an hour a day to study for the decathlon. Text me your schedule, and I''ll try to work up the time."


    "Sure."


    In the next ss, Jenna sat next to me as usual. While ignoring the teacher who was rambling about his life story in front, I asked her, "Hey. The spa ticket stated that it could be used by up to four people. Is this true?"


    Jenna replied with a shy smile, "Yes. It''s true. Mom said it was a gift for a producer. But, he broke his promise, so she didn''t give him the ticket."


    "Ah...I see.." I said with my hands still at my sides,pletely motionless. At this moment, I couldn''t even bring my hand up to the table as I couldn''t even sense them anymore.


    "Jenna. Can you do me a favor?" I asked in desperation.


    "What?" She replied with a twinkle in her eyes.


    "Can you help me scratch my nose?" I said in a begging tone.


    Jenna widened her eyes and said, "Really? You want me to do it?"


    "Yeah. I can''t move my arm because I over-exercised." I exined.


    "Oh." She eximed tly and then reached out her slender hand in front of my face before she helped me to scratch my nose.


    "This feels weird." Jenna giggled as she continued scratching.


    "That''s it...a little bit more..."


    "I heard that sound in my mom''s room a lot." Jenna mumbled to herself as her face blushed red.


    "What did you say?" I turned to her and asked.


    "N-nothing. Enjoy the ticket. Mom said it''s worth more than... Well, not that much." Jenna decided to keep the information to herself after thinking about it.


    She was afraid that I would return the ticket to her if I knew the ticket cost her mom more than five thousand dors, and that she had stolen it from her mom''s drawer without her knowing about it.


    After seeing her weird behavior, I only shrugged my shoulders, as the girl had been weird from the moment I met her. I couldn''t care less about the sses today and only had a nice massage in my brain the entire time.


    ...


    "Hey. Here''s an idea. Why don''t you guys join me in the spa?" I said as I moved my shoulder forward so that my noodle hand could grab the car door.


    "What''s wrong with your hand?" Haley asked in confusion while sitting at the back of the car.


    "Spaghetti arm." Abby replied. "Also, I hate strangers touching my body."


    "What''s a spaghetti arm?" Haley asked.


    "They have manicures. I think." I replied.


    "He exercised too much, and now he has lost his arm function," Abby exined.


    "HAHA. Spaghetti arm." Haley guffawed as Abby drove us away from the school. It was a 30-minute drive to get to the "spa," which was located at the edge of town.


    "Wait. How much is the ticket again?" Haley asked in confusion as she the building The lone building gave off a luxurious vibe, but the security around it gave off an ominous one.


    "250 dors I think.." I muttered as I saw the sign on the building named Fantasia.


    "Oh. Rmended by a VIP member. You can park your car in front of the entrance as you''re our first VIP member today." The security guard changed his stoic expression to a friendly one in a matter of seconds after he saw our ticket.


    "Thank you." Abby replied awkwardly as she pressed the gas pedal and parked the car smoothly.


    Although the ce was luxurious, it was still within my initial estimation as I saw it was an ordinary spa when we walked through the front door.


    Asiandies with a bucket of wax walking around. Some people were getting massages, and manicures.


    "Isn''t the vibe here kinda off?" Abby whispered to my ears as her detective instinct kicked in. The people there were eyeing us as if they were a starving predator, and I could sense it too.


    "I guess," I said as I looked around the entrance to find the reception desk.


    We were greeted by a Europeandy with fiery red hair, a pointed nose, and deep eyeshadow around her piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a satin-full suit outfit that covered both her hands and legs, and she looked more like the owner of the spa rather than a worker.


    The only ce where her skin could be seen was her head and her deep cleavage on her G-cup chest. Haley and Abby both covered my eyes with their hands at the same time as they caught me leering into thedy''s bosom.


    Thedy with the name tag [Serefina] said, "Wee. As per the rules of our establishment, customers have to turn off any mobile devices or any type of recording devices before entering to protect the other customer''s privacy."


    "Sure." We replied and followed the instructions obediently. Abby had to reach into my pocket as my hands were totally useless and helped me to shut down my Iphone.


    "Please change into these robes. You can put your personal belongings in the locker provided. "


    Although the rules were pretty weird, I only thought all of their rules were to protect the d customer''s privacy. ''Maybe some VVIP''s used this ce.''


    "May I ask what your fantasy is abouting here today?" Thedy asked after we had finished changing into the robes.


    "I don''t need much. I just want someone to make me feel my arm again at the end of the session." I replied honestly while still staring at her chest.


    Thedy smiled seductively as if knowing what I wanted and said, "That could be arranged."


    "I want to watch him scream while getting the massage. And a manicure." Abby said with some irritation as I kept leering on the sexydy''s body.


    "Unfortunately the massages are a private session for those involved." Serafina said. Abby pouted and replied, "Okay. Put him next door to me then."


    "I want my face to look better, so I''ll book the facial." Haley replied while pointing at the asian massage section on the menu.


    Thedy then turned to Haley and said, "Unfortunately, we changed into an all female establishment a month ago."


    "That''s okay. I prefer women." Haley replied innocently without knowing what she was asking for. To be honest, all of us didn''t know what we were asking for. We were just going with the flow.


    "We''ll start with the mister." Thedy said while leading us towards a small room with a massage table in the middle.


    "Pleasey down over there and take off your robe." Thedy said while opening the cab next to the massage table after I had separated from Abby and Haley.


    Every high-end spa had a separate room to protect their customer''s privacy therefore we were the only one there. I didn''t even see another customer while we were walking to our room.


    "We will start with a massage." Serefina said before she started kneading my arm. She abruptly grabbed my right hand and walked one foot over it, gently massaging my arm with her crotch.


    "Is this a special technique?" I asked yfully whileying down motionlessly on the massage table while enduring the muscle pain.


    "Yes. I''ll show you a lot of new techniques today." She said with a seductive whisper as she batted her eyes at me. My teenage hormones reacted the normal way a man would when being seduced by an extremely sexydy.


    In the nextmunal room, Abby said with a whisper, "I''m telling you. Something feels weird in this ce."


    They were waiting for their own private session by the workers and were getting pampered before they would be massaged. They put green face cream on Haley and Abby''s face while a few workers cleaned their hair and wrapped it in a towel.


    The manicurists were also giving both Abby and Haley the best treatment possible, and they couldn''t help but feel extremely rxed while they were getting pampered.


    In my room, the massage went on for half an hour before thedy said to me, "Raise your hand over your head."


    "Okay." I replied with a flushed face and a half-mast underneath my boxer from her deeply intimate massage. Running her hand seductively up my thigh, whispering in my ears, and even lightly rubbing her body part on mine.


    "This part will be a little bit intense." Thedy said. Suddenly, I heard a clicking sound, and I found out that she had handcuffed both of my hands on the massage table.


    "What the hell-" I widened my eyes.


    Thedy jumped on top of my half-mast and started dry humping me the moment my hands were restrained.


    "The safe word is Catzi." She smirked before she bent over and started licking my neck.

 Chapter 57: Happy Ending Massage.

    <h4>Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Happy Ending Massage.</h4>


    [3rd Person POV]


    ''Why are these people here so sketchy?'' Abby thought as her eyes darted around the room.


    The cold and wet brush of the green-colored face mask solution made her flinch as she wasn''t focusing on what was going on in front of her but rather kept her eyes on the room Edward was in.


    "Pff- it''s just a brush Abby." Haley chortled as she saw her friend''s overreaction.


    "Sorry." Abby said to the worker meekly.


    Then, she got back into her detective mode and analysed the fake expressions of the people there, the sweat on their foreheads as they focused on their work, the hidden nce the spa workers gave to her and Haley as if they were their rivals, and the extremely high privacy setting on the establishment.


    The door would be locked during the massage session, therefore, she had no idea what was going on inside the room.


    Beside her, the carefree Haley eximed "Ahhh~" as she drank fresh cucumber water. "This ce is awesome."


    "Mm-Hmm." Abby replied perfunctorily without paying attention to Haley.


    ''Fantasia. A high-end spa establishment with a dark secret. My detective sense is tingling. Why did Jenna give this ticket to Edward? Is it really just a birthday present, or did she have another thing in mind?''


    ''My Edward is pretty dumb about this thing. I need to make sure that he isn''t exploited by some bad guy. Or worse, being ckmailed by them.''


    ''My instinct is telling me that something weird is going on inside this building.'' Abby thought as the manicurist cleaned her nails and put nail polish on them.


    "Excuse me, where is the toilet?" Abby asked the worker next to her.


    "Down the hall." The worker said and pointed to her left side.


    "Thanks."


    Abby stood up from thefy chair with a green mask on her face and towel wrapped hair before exiting the room.


    "Something is definitely wrong here." She said it with a determined glint in her eyes. Suddenly, a worker exited the room and crossed her path while she was going to the toilet. Her eyes quickly scanned the room within the small gap of the door crack, and she widened her eyes as she saw the sight of a customer ''doing it'' with the masseuse.


    Her face blushed red and she turned her head away in a hurry before jogging lightly to the toilet.


    "Oh my god. This is... THAT kind of spa!"


    Flustered, Abby grabbed her head as she let out a silent scream while still blushing hard.


    "Wait...Ed...I need to make sure...He''s not doing it!"


    With a newfound sense of determination, Abby ran towards the room Edward was in to check up on him.


    ''But. How do I enter the room?'' Abby thought as she reached Edward''s door.


    Stopping a worker on her path, Abby said, "Hey. He needs to take his medicine at 5 o''clock. Can you open the door for me?"


    "What meds?" The worker asked.


    "Are you trying to get his personal information?" Abby asked scathingly.


    The worker shivered and said, "Forgive me. I''ll open the door right now."


    As the door was opened, Abby widened her eyes as she saw what was going on inside the room.


    ***


    [Edward POV]


    To be honest, the massage was pretty bad. I couldn''t feel anything when she touched my body and her indecent touching with no actual skill only made my muscles condition worsen.


    But as she decided to remove all facade and get to her main work, I finally realised that I had entered the wrong establishment if my intention today was to just get a massage.


    As thedy was straddling me, I yelled hurriedly, "STOP! STOP!" I tried to forcefully remove my hand from the cuff, causing the entire table to shake.


    Thedy was baffled and she stopped licking my neck for a moment before she resumed her character. Her soft ass was moving front and back while she was sitting on top of me, and her warm tongue made my face flush as she licked my neck seductively.


    "Resist all you want, you can never-"


    "CatZILLA. CATZILLLAAA!" I muttered the safe-word immediately after wrecking my brain in trying to find the method to stop this session. Luckily for me, I heard the safeword loud and clear before she started going on top of me.


    "Eh." Serefina''s brain short-circuited and she straightened her back while still straddling my hips. "Are you seriously asking me to stop? Isn''t this what you came here for?"


    "Lady. I want a massage. I have muscle pain from over-exercising." I exined with sincere, fearful puppy-dog eyes.


    Thedy was baffled by the situation, but she decided to try one more time to persuade me, "Aren''t... this guy is excited right now? Are you sure you want me to stop ?"


    She was grabbing ''something'' underneath my boxers while intently studying my reaction.


    "Yeah. Please stop." I said decisively. "And take off the cuffs too."


    Serafina shrugged and said, "Okay. Too bad though, I think you''re really cute."


    Before she could climb down from my body, I heard the sound of the door being opened. Serefina and I both turned our heads towards the door, and found out that it was still closed.


    "It must be the other room." The masseuse said and got down from my body. I breathed a sigh of relief as she took out the key from her underwear.


    "Please don''t me me for this. People who show up with the VIP card are sure to get the best treatment possible...This kind of treatment..."


    "Really. The best? Even though you suck at massaging?" I teased as she unlocked the handcuff.


    "Well I usually suck...at something else. But you don''t want it...So...."


    "Soo..."


    Both of us weren''t looking at each other as the situation became increasingly awkward as time passed.


    "Do you want me to continue?" She asked. Then, she realised something and said, "What I did was of my own ord. I wasn''t forced, and neither did the establishment provide this kind of service."


    "A disimer, huh? So, will they cut you off and throw you under the bus if I report this?" I asked with understanding.


    Her eyes shook and she said, "Yes. I should''ve asked you clearly before. I''m sorry."


    "Never mind. I won''t report it. It''s useless to report it anyway." I muttered dismissively as she apologized to me. It was stupid to report this kind of service to the authorities.


    Not only did this establishment cater to some politicians and police superintendents, but the VVIP guests would also back them up if someone tried to shut the business down. The worst repercussion was that they would need to change the location andpany name before resuming their entire operation.


    As my body was still sore, I had no choice but to ept her offer. "I will say yes to the massage. The NORMAL one. However, this time, I will guide you."


    She smirked as she couldn''t help but feel the situation was funny. She said, "What do you know about massaging someone?"


    Because my name and age were concealed, she estimated that I was at least 17 or 16 years old, implying that I was still a child in her eyes.


    "I know plenty. And it''ll definitely be better than whatever it is you''re doing before this." I said cockily while smirking.


    "Let''s see, Mister. I have 5 years experience in massaging someone." She raised one of her eyebrows as she felt challenged by my words.


    "And in those years, how many times did you actually finish the massage without the "happy ending" option?"


    "Umm.." She was at a loss for words, as, like I said, she never actually needed to massage someone properly as long as she could service them after.


    "Also, if you can learn even one-tenth of what I teach you today, you''ll be the best masseuse on the. You don''t even have to use the happy ending to make the guests have their... happy ending. It''ll be intoxicating, addicting, and the greatest massage technique in the whole world. Even presidents will stand in line to be massaged by you."


    She chortled loudly and said, "You braggart. Okay, I''ll follow what you say. But, if you''re not satisfied afterward, I will take no responsibility for it."


    Laying down face first on the bed, I said, "First, locate the trigger point in my shoulder des. We''re looking for my myofascial trigger point. You should feel a small notch with your finger and press down on it using only half the pressure you usually use."


    "Only half? Are you sure?" She asked cautiously as she followed my directions.


    "Yes. You need to move your finger in the direction of the muscle fiber. Imagine as if you''re trying to elongate it." I guided her slowly in the massage session.


    From my hand to my back, my waist, and my legs, she followed all of my instructions carefully.


    Following the Murim World Massage Technique ingrained in my mind, my teachings allowed her to actually relieve the muscle tension on my body. As a result, I could feel my hands again after about half an hour of her massaging me.


    "Serefina, tell me. What is the funniest moment you''ve experienced in this line of work?" I asked her casually while she was kneading my back.


    It was her first time ever sweating while massaging someone in her 5 years of work. "In all of my years, I think this moment is the weirdest one."


    "Hey I asked the funniest." I retorted yfully.


    She snickered a little and said, "This also takes the top spot among the funniest ones. Not many people whoe here treat us as human beings, ya know. All of them just want the special service. I can''tin though, as I earned more than $20,000 a month doing this."


    "Wow. That''s amazing. So are you going to keep doing this forever?" I asked.


    She pinched my back and said, "Don''t ruin the vibe."


    "I''m not ruining the vibe. I''m just curious. What got you into this in the first ce?"


    My questions may seem intrusive, but Serefina didn''t mind them. In fact, it was the first time in years after she came here from Argentina that someone actually wanted to talk to her about her background.


    She shared about her childhood story, her broken dreams of bing an actress after being tricked into doing pornography by some slimy producers, and how she couldn''t help but enter this line of work just to continue living.


    "The man I love fell out of love with me. Broke my heart. And whenever the chance to be loved came along again, I ran away from it. What they fell in love with was an image of me. When they know the true me, they will run away again."


    "I understand that. I used to have a really nice pair of rollerdes. I was afraid that if I wore them, I''d wreck them, so I kept them in a nice box underneath my bed to hide them from myself and everyone around me."


    "What are the simrities between them?" she asked,ughing. "Feeling and roller des are two different things."


    "Or...It''s the same. Listen to me first. So, you know what happened when I kept them inside for so long?"


    "No. What?"


    "I outgrew them. I never wore them outside. I just wore them in my room a couple times, and never once did I use it on the streets the way it was intended to."


    Serefina paused her massage and listened intently to what I was going to say next.


    "If you aren''t going to use your heart, then what''s the difference if it gets broken. Just keep it to yourselves, maybe it''ll be like my roller des. When you do decide to try it, it won''t be any good. You should take a chance, you have nothing to lose."


    "...There is a bit of truth in there somewhere."


    "I guess. Also, your heart must''ve still been broken, but it wasn''t gone. If it were gone, you wouldn''t be this nice."


    "...I''m basically a prostitute. Do you really think I''m nice?" She asked in a solemn tone, her eyes ssy from our conversation.


    "Yeah. If you weren''t nice, you wouldn''t even stop when I asked you to stop before this, nor would you show concern for me when I said I had muscle pain. Don''t doubt my words. I never lie unless it''s absolutely necessary."


    She chuckled a little, and her mood was lifted. "Okay. I will listen to you, and take a chance on myself."


    "That''s the spirit. Seriously, my technique can make you the greatest masseuse on earth. Try it on another person and you''ll know I''m not lying."


    "I thought you weren''t lying unless absolutely necessary?" She couldn''t help butugh. "Is it necessary to brag?"


    "Lady, I never lied." I replied. Serefina didn''t know at this time that this particr short session would change her lifepletely.


    She suddenly felt a bit weird from the conversation before. "Why do I think that I had heard it before? The skate line."


    "Maybe someone told you that before. Or maybe the writer for the Home Alone movie and I shared the same mind. We would never know."


    "Ahh...a movie..." She muttered in disappointment before she let out a sincereugh and continued massaging me.


    For me, the half hour of massage was blissful. She had hit my sore spot and managed to wipe out the feeling of tiredness from my body. For her, it was a hellish experience, as she had never concentrated as hard as she did right now in her entire life.


    "OWW OWW OWW OWW CRAMP CRAMP CRAMP!"


    Both of Serefina''s hands cramped up at the same time, as the massage skill needed a strong physical capability and trained dexterity to do it.


    "Wait. Lemme help." I stood up while only wearing a boxer and helped her stretch out her hands while she was kneeling on the ground.


    I was only helping her to stretch out her hands, but if someone walked in through the door, they would see the back of her head moving slowly while perpendicr to my crotch area��as if she were giving me a massage with her mouth.


    At this moment, the door opened suddenly, and Abby walked into the room. She covered her mouth as she misunderstood the situation.


    "O... it''s cramping hard. What did you teach me exactly?"


    "You''re the one with no stamina. Didn''t you say you had massaged people for 5 years?" I asked, ignoring the stunned Abby.


    Finding the conversation weird, Abby decided to move forward to see the situation better. She breathes a sigh of relief after seeing that I am helping thedy ease her cramps. The worker opened the door for Abby, walked into the room, and helped Serefina ease her cramps instead of me.


    "What?" I asked her in confusion as I saw the intruder with a green mask keep staring at me.


    "No-Nothing. I just thought you were doing something else.." she said before she pulled me close and whispered what she had found out about the establishment into my ear.


    "So. We better go now." Abby advised.


    "Sure I can go now. I have already finished my thing. You and Haley should finish yours and meet me in the entrance after changing back into our clothes."


    "Okay. I''ll meet you there." Abby said before she ran outside the room to get Haley. I put on the white and fluffy robe before going to take a shower and changing into my earlier outfit.


    In 20 minutes, I had already finished with my preparation and sat in the lounge area while waiting for the girls to get ready.


    While I was browsing the magazines, Serefina walked towards me with an embarrassed face.


    "Are your hands alright now?" I asked with a mischievous smile.


    She faked a cough before she said, "Thank you for helping me before. And...telling me what I needed to hear."


    Although the advice resonated with her, she would still continue working here for a few months before actually having the strength to quit her job. Change was always scary, no matter how much motivation people could offer.


    "It''s okay. Now, you''re officially a disciple of the Master Alchemist. I hope that you will use the techniques I bestowed upon you to better yourself in the art of being a masseuse."


    She chortled and waved her arm at me and said, "Okay. Stop. I will lose myposure here. My boss wouldn''t like it."


    I smiled and said, "I wish you all the best, Miss Serefina."


    "You too... Edward Newgate." She replied with a sincere expression. As the YouTube video had gone viral, she knew who I was the moment I entered the establishment.


    "My advice. Next time, don''t ept gifts from a random stranger, okay?" She said this before turning around and walking away.


    "Well, that was weird." As I remembered my time at the Spa, I muttered.


    "I need to know if Jenna does this on purpose. I don''t think she would do this as she doesn''t want someone else to get near me, but who knows what she''s actually thinking about."


    I let out a long sigh and waited for the girls before Abby drove us quickly away from the building.


    "Why the rush? I still haven''t gotten a foot massage yet." Haley pouted while sitting on the same seat as I was, next to the driver''s seat.


    She hadn''t gotten the chance to climb on the back of the car before Abby had pressed the gas pedal. As the seat was narrow, half of her butt was on myp, and Abby didn''t care about speed bumps while she drove.


    "Well. That ce-"


    "I needed to get home and work. Sorry Haley." I interjected before Abby could tell her the truth. She used her eyes to ask me, {Seriously?}


    I replied back with my eyes by blinking twice, {Yeah.}


    ''It''s better if she didn''t know about it.'' I thought as I poked Haley''s puffy cheeks.


    "Hey! STOP THAT!" Haley said it with fierceness, but she was not at all threatening.


    ***


    [3rd Person POV]


    While Edward had gone to the spa, Ted received an invitation from Phil to hang out at his house after he returned home from the real estate office.


    "He spoke Japanese?" Phil was bbergasted when he heard Ted''s story of Edward''s sleep exercising and his weird behaviour this morning.


    "Yeah. I know for sure he hasn''t learned thenguage before." Ted muttered in a concerned tone.


    "It wasn''t that weird for him to speak anothernguage. My roommate Ling in college suddenly spoke Arabic at one time while he was sleeping, and he had never learned thenguage before." (True story)


    "Maybe." Ted muttered.


    "But if you''re still concerned, maybe you can get someone to talk to him and find out if there is something wrong with him. You know, someone he respected enough to share his feelings with, but who was not close enough to him that it would be awkward for him to see him the next day."


    "He meant him." ire walked by the kitchen and interjected in the gentleman''s conversation after she returned home from picking up Alex from her cello lesson.


    "Yeah. Me." Phil beamed up while volunteering himself. Ted was bbergasted at first, but after thinking for a while, he finally reached his decision.


    "Please help me, Phil." Ted requested with a sincere expression on his face.


    "I would help even if you didn''t ask me to." Phil said. "I will invite him over tomorrow to y some Mario Kart."


    "Phil." ire admonished him again while preparing for dinner.


    "To have a nice, casual talk with him. I won''t just y with him." Phil said in an unconvincing manner.


    "Captain, why don''t you and Ed have dinner with us?" ire offered.


    "Nah, it''s okay. Edward''s aunt ising for dinner tonight, and she wanted to cook for Edward."


    Aunt Cami was already in front of the house, wearing a brown jacket on top of her ck tank top, and tight jeans.


    Nervous as it was the first time she would actually spend time with her nephew, she was also looking forward to getting to know an estranged member of her family.


    "Hopefully Edward will like the food." Cami muttered to herself as she waited for Ted to return home.

 Chapter 58: I can handle this.

    <h4>Chapter 58: Chapter 58: I can handle this.?</h4>


    (This week episodes...starts!)


    [Edward POV]


    After getting home from the spa, I made sure to contact Jenna and ask her about her purpose for sending me over there. But in the short conversation we had, I realised that she had no idea about the ce and hadn''t sent me over there with malicious purposes.


    Unfortunately, my decision to contact her had finally given her my phone number and allowed her to save my contact information on her phone.


    [3rd Person POV]


    In Elsa''s house. The room was small, cramped, with a bed for three people, as Elsa stayed with two of her other sisters in the same room. Flowery wallpapers could be seen on the walls, and clothes and toys were thrown everywhere on the floor.


    "SHHhh-" Elsa shushed her 7 and 9 year old sisters after Jenna''s phone rang.


    "He''s really calling me!" Jenna squealed in excitement with her best friend while sitting on the bed together before she cleared her throat, put on an act that she didn''t care about Ed, and answered the call.


    "Hello?" Jenna said.


    "Hi. Jenna, I need to ask you something." Edward said on the other side of the line. Jenna removed the phone from her ear, squealed in excitement slowly before answering the question carefully, "What do you want to ask?"


    "It''s about your gift."


    "Oh." The question clearly disappointed Jenna, who eximed in a t tone. When Edward contacted Jacob to ask Elsa about her contact information, she really thought that he had done so to ask her out. But the questions Edward was asking her made her feel like she had done something wrong by giving him the present.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    While holding my iPhone in my ear, I walked into my house after waving goodbye to Haley and Abby.


    "Jenna. Please ask your mom about the spa ticket, and whether I should reimburse her for it. I''m sure you took the ticket without asking her, right? Also, I''m not mad at you. Don''t cry." I reassured Jenna as I could hear her voice bing shaky, and she choked up a few times.


    Jenna: "Mm-hmm... Okay. I will ask her. But don''t worry. I won''t ask you to reimburse it, as I was the one who took it in the first ce."


    "Don''t worry. I can pay for it. I''m rich now. Anyway, I really enjoyed the gift. I have muscle pain today, and it all went away after the spa session." I said it in a calm manner while changing the subject so as not to make the girl cry.


    "Text me when you have the conversation with your mom, okay?" I said to end the call.


    "Really? I can text you?" She asked in disbelief and anticipation.


    "Yeah. But if you don''t control yourself, I will block your number. Deal?"


    "Deal!"


    I could hear her squeal with someone, whom I presumed was Elsa, on the other side of the line. I said my goodbyes and ended the call as I entered the house.


    A sudden nostalgic familiarity hit me the moment I opened the door. A hot Latina woman was standing by the door to wee me back into the house as she waited for me to walk in.


    "Aunt Cami." I muttered as I struggled to understand her presence. Wearing a flowery apron on top of her regr clothes�C a low-cut tank top and tight jeans, she tied up her hair into a ponytail so as not to let it disturb her cooking.


    "Your dad invited me in. How are you, Ed? Did you have fun in school today?" Aunt Cami asked with a bright smile, as she was incredibly happy to see her nephew again.


    "School is fine. I will enter the academic decathlon though, so I have that to look forward to." I said as I gave my aunt a light hug before going upstairs. "I''m going to freshen up."


    Aunt Cami nodded her head to show she heard me, but she didn''t know I could hear what she was saying next.


    "So. He is a nerd."


    I stumbled in my step and almost fell down after I heard that.


    She turned towards me and said, "Okay. Today, I''m going to be making Ropa Vieja. A traditional Cuban food. The food of your ancestors..."


    "Ed. Phil is inviting you to his house tomorrow to y Mario Kart." Dad interjected as he walked out of the toilet.


    I narrowed my eyes as I looked at both my aunt and dad suspiciously. "You guys hang out...just the two of you...in an empty house?" I said in a teasing voice.


    "Ed." Dad stopped me immediately, as he knew where I was going with this. "She''s your aunt."


    I shrugged yfully and said with a mischievous smile, "Hey, I''m not judging."


    "What is it? What is he saying?" Aunt Cami asked dad as she was confused by our inside joke.


    "Nothing much. Ropa Vieja huh. I haven''t eaten it for years."


    "Is the dish the one that is called Old Clothes in Cuba?" I asked in curiosity while standing in the middle of the stairs.


    "Yeah. They are." Dad replied.


    It has been a while since someone other than me has used the kitchen inside my house. As I entered my room, I immediately went to take a shower, and then I opened up myptop to do something before going down to the kitchen.


    "I''m aware that this type of establishment does not record patrons, but I still need to verify it." I said as I hacked into the spa''s system.


    "Hmm..I can''t ess their camera... I guess I need to use a trick."


    First, I checked the employee''s email and found out who was the manager in the establishment. After that, I searched for the remote owner of the spa and hacked into his email.


    "Now, I will send an email from the owner to the manager." I muttered as I studied the owner''s way of talking in an email to avoid the suspicions.


    "I need to apply urgency, otherwise, the manager wouldn''t believe me."


    I sent an email as the owner of the business, saying that the FBI was looking into one of our VIP customers and that the spa needed to delete a month''s worth of CCTV footage to help the VIP customer and themselves.


    "Adding that the FBI is near the building is good, but I''m still not sure that the manager will destroy the footage." I muttered in concern.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    A private investigator was exhrated when he followed the trail of his mission objective to a suspicious spa facility.


    "I just need to get the CCTV footage, and I can get the reward from the agency." The slimy, middle aged man in a worn-out jacket muttered to himself.


    "Sorry kid. Nothing personal." He muttered as he captured a few photos of the spa with his camera.


    At this time, one of the security guards noticed the camera, and he alerted the manager immediately.


    "What- Seriously?" The male middle aged manager eximed in shock as he had just read the email from the ''owner'' at this moment.


    "Delete all of our customer list, and the CCTV footage for a month. NOW!" The manager barked orders to his workers before he formatted the spaputer system to destroy all of their data from the past month.


    The security guard kept his eyes on the private investigator when he got out of his car and walked into the building.


    "WHAT?! NO FOOTAGE!?" The private investigator was bbergasted when he heard it.


    ...


    While I read the taskpletion report from the spa manager and the report of a suspicious person asking about Edward Newgate while promising a huge amount of money for the information, I knew that something was wrong.


    "I guess some people want to y with me." I said while gritting my teeth.


    "Report the suspicious person for taking pictures of a minor and use him of being a registered pedophile. Bring the cop to our side by reporting about the situation first." I emailed the manager.


    The manager did as I instructed, and the private investigator was put into a holding cell by a few policemen who worked for the spa. At the time, the manager had no reason to suspect my identity because they had sessfully apprehended the suspicious man.


    The police found thousands of photos from inside a school, all focusing on me and including a lot of upskirt photos of female teenagers; therefore, the private investigator couldn''t dismiss the usations, and he was then arrested by the police.


    "Now. I need to know who is behind this." I muttered as I hacked into the private investigator''s emails. Unfortunately, the person who hired the investigator had only used a burner phone to investigate him, therefore their identity was still unknown.


    "Damn it." I cursed.


    A window popped up on myptop screen as my algorithm to find where Taylor was, hadpleted its task, distracting me from searching for the culprit.


    "Oh. She had a concert in an hour." I said as I read the datapiled by the program. I looked at the time, and there was still an hour before dinner. Therefore, I started to hack into the Vegas concert hall she was in and pinpoint her location in the building.


    The camera circuit in the building was a closed-circuit camera, therefore, I was going in blind and depended on theputer connected with the wifi to search the rooms one by one.


    "I feel like an obsessive stalker." I muttered as my finger continued tapping the keyboard with a speed superior to the world''s fastest typer. My parallel thinking ability also helped me to run two algorithms at the same time, making my invasion of the facility''s system twice as fastpared to my normal speed.


    "Even before this, I was a ghost in the system. Now that my ability has been upgraded, is there someone else who could actually notice my presence on the inte?" I muttered smugly before I heard my dad calling me from downstairs.


    "Ed. Come on down."


    "I''ll need a little time." I shouted back as I finally found Taylor''sptop. As I infiltrated theputer''s operating software, I saw that she was searching for my Facebook ount at this time with a fake ount, presumably to find a way to contact me.


    "Unfortunately, I never opened an ount. She must be frustrated." I muttered as I called her using the Skype apps on herptop.


    Through the camera, I saw that she was startled and threw theptop to the side of the sofa she was sitting on when someone tried to contact her through her brand newptop.


    "Wh-Who is this?" She muttered as she became intrigued by the call. Then, she covered her face with a handkerchief and answered theputer call, unaware that I had seen everything she was doing before.


    It was before she got her makeup, therefore she was giving me an average girl next door vibe instead of an artist vibe.


    "Hi Tay-tay." I greeted her with a smirk as the call connected. Her jaw dropped, and her brain short-circuited. I waved at the screen a few times and said, "Is this thing frozen?"


    She snapped back to reality and said hurriedly while grabbing theptop, which made her video screen all shaky, "Ho-How?!"


    "Long story. So, your dad doesn''t allow Juliet to contact Romeo anymore? What the hell?" I asked calmly while picking up her gift for me. "I got the gift. I love it very much."


    "Ah. That''s great. I put a lot of thought into that." Taylor calmed down a little and finally put theptop down.


    "Yeah. 10,000 dors worth of thoughts." I said yfully.


    "15." She corrected me while showing a sly smile.


    "Anyway, what''s going on with you?" I asked with some concerns. "Why can''t I contact you normally?"


    "How did you contact me right now? What did you do?!" Taylor asked fearfully.


    "Nothing. I''m just that good." I shrugged my shoulders and weughed together before she told me what had been going on.


    "Oh, you dropped your phone somewhere?" I asked.


    "They told me that. I''m sure that I kept them in my purse, but I had no evidence that they had taken it." Taylor said with gritted teeth.


    "Hmm...That''s too bad. I guess they want to teach you a lesson for disobeying them." I muttered.


    "I am talking to my dad, and we''re finding a way for me to get out of the contract with the agency. But it''ll be a long and hard process, especially with them holding the copyrights to most of my songs." Taylor said while holding her scrunched forehead.


    "Ed. Come on down." Dad called again from downstairs.


    "What is it? Do you need to go so soon?" Taylor asked while shing me puppy-dog eyes.


    "Yeah. My estranged aunt from Cuba is here. She is cooking me dinner." I exined while feeling conflicted inside. Should I end the call soon as my aunt was waiting for me, or should I continue talking with Taylor as her situation is currently like that of a lone soldier alone behind enemy lines.


    "I''ll go down in 15 minutes." I shouted back at my dad and decided to talk to Taylor a little bit more.


    She told me about her fans asking her where I was during her concerts, and how that question irked her so much that I had to take responsibility for it and sign her up with my agency as reparation. Of course, she said she was joking afterward, but I couldn''t help but feel that she was sincere in her request.


    "Do you want me to fuck up your agency? If I expose their dirty dealings, then it''ll be easier for you to break your contract with them. I can lend you Harvey if you want. She had been feeling that her abilities hadn''t been used to their best capabilities, and was itching to destroy something."


    Taylor chortled after I said that. While wiping the tearsing out of her eyes with her fingers, she finishedughing and said, "Never mind. I can''t let you do that. Those people are vicious. They will get revenge if you slight them. So it''s better if you don''t do it."


    "What if... they don''t know that it was me who did it?" I asked with a confident smile.


    Taylor thought for a while and said, "Maybe...I can use that to invoke the image use in my contract. As they failed to take care of their image, it''ll be better for me in the negotiation. But, as I said, they are really powerful.


    "No need to worry. I''m not saying that I would do it..." I said dismissively. Taylor was a bit disappointed but she felt that it was for the best. But then, I insinuated, "...When their dirty dealingse out, it won''t be me who''s responsible for them. I never im that I would try to smear their image."


    "Ahh..." Taylor brightened up, but her eyes were fearful. "Ed-"


    "No need to worry. I can take care of myself. Also, write down my phone number and keep it somewhere they can''t find it."


    "I will write it on my body then." Taylor spoke seductively.


    "Sure. but it will be challenging for you to read themter, especially if your movement rubbed the ink off. I ignored her tant attempt to flirt and shared my number with her. She saved my number inside her brand new phone and also on a little piece of paper that she would keep inside her underwear.


    "Wait. Before you go, shouldn''t you y me something with the ''Taylor'' guitar?"


    "I know you picked this brand for a reason." I sneered before I chuckled a little.


    "What song do you want to hear?" I asked.


    "A new song that you''ll make on the spot." Taylor said teasingly whileughing hard at my dark history.


    "Can you forget that? That is like a bad memory for me."


    "I WON''T FORGET IT!" She said in excitement. "Definitely."


    "All right, all right. I don''t have the energy to create a new song, but do you want to hear a song I made recently?"


    "YES! You know, you can consider me your fan right now. I kept going back to the videos from the concert and rewatching it over and over again." Taylor said.


    Iughed and exined, "I wrote this after reading a single hatefulment on one of my videos."


    "Whatment? Which song?" Taylor asked and went to search YouTube immediately.


    "The 7 years song. It was the first song I ever yed in front of people."


    "Got it. At the cafe, right?" Taylor said and clicked on the video immediately. "Whichment? There are thousands of them."


    "The one with the longest reply thread."


    "Ah, this one. [What is the problem with the world nowadays? How could you guys think that this song is great? It''s just a boy trying too hard to be famous. He''d be better off ying Disney songs, Peter Pan in Wondend, or something a kid would y instead of this sh*t.] Thisment?"


    "Yup." I replied, unbothered by thement from the troll who only wanted someone to respond to him and make people mad.


    "What song did you make?" Taylor asked, intrigued by the situation. "Did you really make a song?"


    "I could do that. But I made a Peter Pan song instead." I replied while I strummed the guitar to create a soft melody. "Do you want to hear it?"


    "I do." Taylor said hurriedly.


    ...


    " I heard you sing. Did you write another song?" Dad asked while we were waiting for my aunt to finish serving dinner at the dining table. I offered to help her, but she asked both of my dad and I to wait instead.


    "Yeah. I was video calling Taylor and sang her the song with her guitar gift." I exined.


    "IT''S READY!" My aunt said while putting the ceramic pot in the middle of the table. She opened up the lid, and the peppery smell of the spices and meat filled the kitchen.


    "Damn, it looks good." I muttered as I saw it.


    "Yeah. I don''t have a lot of ingredients, so I had to do it...my style." Aunt Cami said with a shy smile.


    "It''s okay. I''m sure it''ll taste great." I said as I scooped the meat onto my te, which was half-filled with piping hot white rice. Aunt Cami sat directly in front of me, smiling softly while looking forward to seeing my reaction to the food of our people.


    While I was mixing the rice with the dish using a spoon, I asked her, "What ingredient is missing?"


    "Well, the bell pepper. I did find a substitute for them though." Aunt Cami recounted her memory of the farmer''s market, where she found a shrivelled looking pepper and thought it could rece the bell pepper.


    "I see. That''s great." I said as I took a spoonful of the rice and meat. My dad did the same thing as I did, and both of us froze after chewing the food.


    With a forced smile, I put the spoon down and asked after swallowing it, "What pepper did you use exactly to rece the bell pepper?"


    "Hmm...I don''t remember... the vendor said it''s primo pepper."


    " I see... The pepper that is ranked number 4 on the Schoville scale." I said calmly while standing up. My aunt was confused and asked, "Is it bad?"


    "Cami. It''s good. But..." My dad also stood up a second after I did, his face bing as red as a tomato.


    "It''s TOO SPICY!" I couldn''t keep myposure anymore and ran to the fridge.


    "AHH!" Dad screamed as his saliva felt like melted magma in his mouth. He went to the kitchen sink and started to rinse his mouth under running water. I gulped the big jug of milk straight from the canister to wash away the spiciness, but the sensation was like a home squatter that wouldn''t leave even after you gave them a warning.


    Aunt Cami''s eyes shifted to the pot as a result of our reaction. "Americans. You can''t handle the spice as well as Cuban people could." Then, she took a spoonful of the dish to taste it.


    "See...it''s good." Aunt Cam said smugly before her smile froze, and her face started to burn up.


    "I...Wetina can...Handle this...NO I CAN''T!" She said as she ran towards the fridge and grabbed the milk from my hand.


    "HEY!" I eximed as I saw her gulp the milk greedily, spilling it all around her mouth, letting it drip onto her neck and enter her cleavage.


    If I wasn''t suffering from the spiciness, I would''ve enjoyed the scene. Too bad the sensation in my mouth was like someone had lit up a fire inside of it.


    I grabbed a cake in the fridge and started to eat it to fight the spiciness with sweetness.


    After half an hour, finally all of us managed to beat the spicy vour of the dish. The three of us were sitting on the floor with our backs against the kitchen wall, visibly sweating from our struggle to break free of the food influence.


    "What should we do now?" Aunt Cami asked while feeling guilty that she had put us in this predicament.


    "Why don''t we go to a Cuban restaurant and eat there?" I suggested.


    "Let''s do that." Dad said in a tired voice.


    "What should I do with the dish?" Aunt Cami asked. "Should I throw it away?"


    "No no. You''ve worked hard on that. Just put it in the fridge." I said while hatching a scheme in my mind to invite the people I don''t like into my house to taste the food.


    "He''s daydreaming again. I''m sure he''s nning some evil scheme, so I''m going to go change out of my wet clothes. Cami, do you have something else to wear?" Dad asked after urately guessing what I was doing.


    "..No. I think it''s fine..It''ll dry up soon." Aunt Cami said not to trouble us anymore.


    "No, Aunt Cami. It''s milk, so when it dried up, you''d smell bad. Why don''t you go take a shower? I have some clothes in my room that I made for my friend, so you can just pick one."


    "No. Ed-"


    "Aunt Cami. We''re family, right?" I said with a sincere smile to show her that she wasn''t bothering us. She stopped resisting and said, "Okay. Since you offered."


    "Good. You can change in my room. I''lly out a few clothes on my bed, so you can just pick one from them. Oh...but I don''t have any...underwear though." I said while scratching my cheek.


    "It''s okay. I don''t wear them anyway." Aunt Cami replied, causing my eyes to go straight to her wet chest.


    "Ed-" Dad called me out softly to snap me back to reality.


    While clearing my throat, I said, "That''s...okay. I''ll call the restaurant to ask if they have an empty table."


    It took us only 15 minutes to get ready. Aunt Cami picked a daring outfit, a red, one piece mini dress with a plunged chest cut as she picked the one I made for Abby.


    "Nothing else fits." She said this while covering her popped out chest in embarrassment. We had an enjoyable dinner where Aunt Cam shared a few embarrassing stories about Dad while he was in Cuba, and shared a few details of her life.


    Aunt Cam was 33 years old this year, and she had never been married. She had no education, and was working on the family''s business until now.


    "What is the family business exactly?" I asked, causing both my aunt and my dad to freeze.


    "No- Ed, Are you really entering the decathlon?" Dad replied.


    "Changing the subject, I see.." I said with narrowed eyes, causing both of them to have cold sweats. I decided not to torture them and let the topic go, making both of them let out a sigh in relief.


    "I better go now." Aunt Cam said after we got home from the restaurant.


    "Nonsense. It''s almost midnight. Just stay here." I said and pulled her hand into the house.


    "But-"


    "Dad will sleep on the couch, so you can just sleep in his room." I said.


    "Why me?" Dad muttered sadly.


    I turned to him and said, "You want my aunt to sleep on the couch? Or better yet, sleeping in my room with me? I don''t mind if she wants to-"


    "Okay. I''ll sleep on the couch." Dad spoke hurriedly. Aunt Cam and Iughed after seeing his reaction before she said, "You know. I won''t mind if I sleep with you. You''re my nephew."


    "If I''m under 10 years old, that''ll be fine. But I''m a teenager now, and you''re really hot. Therefore we won''t have the chance to do that anymore." I joked, earning a sincere chuckle from my aunt.

 Chapter 59: The Incident (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 59: Chapter 59: The Incident (Part 1)</h4>


    (The chap consists of a lot of POV changes and scene changes. Sorry if it confuses you. it''s also canon stuff, so somethings may looks forced. )


    [Edward POV]


    "This time... I will finally win...for my family..." Phil muttered as he put his entire focus on the Mario Kart game yed on his t-screen, 42 inch TV. The game screen was split into two, one was the driver ying Mario, the other one ying Luigi.


    Mario was in first ce while Luigi was in third.


    "GO dad!" Luke Cheered.


    "Kick his ass Dad!" Alex muttered with some hostility in her tone as she was beaten up in the game before. Both of the children were standing behind the sofa to support their father as he was the only one that had the skill to make it an even race �C or so they wrongly assumed.


    I chuckled a bit as I passed Princess Peach in front of me, earning Luigi second ce in the ranking, and my car was directly behind Phil now.


    After school was over, I went to the Dunphy''s house as Phil had invited me toe and y some Mario Kart with him today. I had beaten up Luke three times, Alex twice, and Phil 4 times. If he lost again, it would be his fifth defeat.


    "Come on. Come on!" Phil muttered while turning his WII steering to the left while moving his entire body as if he was inside an actual car to drift and kept his Mario''s character ranking.


    "You need to do better than that." I said mischievously while picking up a power up from the track. "Phil, do you know what is more powerful than family?"


    "Don''t distract him! Dad GO GO GO!" Luke interjected to try and stop me, but Phil was baited from my question.


    "What?" He asked while the finishing line was in front of us.


    " A Mario Kart Blue Shell." I said while throwing the weapon at him.


    Luigi: Omae wa mo...shindeiru.


    Mario: NANI?!


    Phil screamed in a slow motion voice, "NOOOOO...."


    Luigi stared at Mario while smirking as he threw the blue shell weapon toward his brother''s cart, a few meters before he crossed the finishing line.


    Mario''s cart was stunned, and it went out of the race. Luigi''s cart took the chance to cross the finish line easily, earning him the first ce in the ranking.


    "YES!" I eximed while making a tiny fish pump with my left hand as I won the race. Phil let go of his controller in disappointment while turning toward his children.


    "Sorry. He''s just too good."


    "Ugh. Me next. I''ll be sure to beat him!" Luke said while pushing Phil out of his way to take his ce.


    "I want to take a rest. It''s hard being too awesome. I can''t even drink anything as the losers couldn''t ept the reality that they were bested by me." I said while pretending to massage my sore neck.


    Alex giggled and said, "What do you want to drink?"


    "A ss of cold water would be nice." I replied to her politely as I turned to look at her face. She nodded and took 2 steps toward the kitchen before I said, "Oh Alex. Make sure you knock before opening the fridge."


    She scrunched her face in confusion before she turned back slightly and asked, "Why?"


    "In case there''s a... sd dressing."


    Phil and Luke looked at each other before they burst intoughter while Alex rolled her eyes at me. "Seriously?! Don''t hang out with my dad anymore. Hismeness is infecting you."


    "It was his joke." Phil defended himself whileughing uncontrobly with Luke.


    While we were having fun, Phil had already forgotten that he promised my dad to ask me about what I was currently feeling and we had been ying games for hours now. It was shaping up to be a pretty good day for the Dunphy''s and myself.


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Jay''s house-


    Dressing in her yoga outfit as she just got home from her yoga session, Gloria leaned on the wall while talking to Jay who was eating a green apple. He was eating a donut before but he changed what he held in his hand the moment he heard Gloria walk through the front door.


    "Manny will be back in a few hours. The Reubans are taking him to dinner." Gloria said as she was supposed to pick up Manny after her yoga session, but Manny had called her to ask her to pick him up a littleter.


    "That''s good isn''t it?" Jay replied.


    "Yeah. He finally has a good friend in his own age. The children are nning to have a slumber party this Saturday." Gloria said, while she was excited that Manny had his own friends now, she was also feeling lonely when her son was not around to spend time with her.


    "That''s alright. You know, with Manny not around, we can finally go to that spa I keep telling you about." Jay said as he instinctively knew Gloria was feeling a bit down.


    "Ay! I''m gonna take a shower. Do you care to join me?" Gloria said seductively after getting excited at the prospect of getting pampered.


    "You know honey there''s a gun in the footlocker in the garage. If I ever say ''NO'' to that question, I want you to use it on me." Jay said in a solemn tone before heughed together with Gloria and followed her from behind.


    -Mitch and Cam''s house-


    "Oh my god." Cam eximed in pleasure as he took a bite of the pastry Mitchell had made while they were in the kitchen.


    "What do you think?" Mitchell asked in expectation while studying Cam''s reaction.


    "Now, that is a scone." Cam said while taking another bite.


    "No butter, non-fat." Mitchell exined.


    "Shut up." Cam eximed in surprise.


    "Yeah. I wanted to make it for youst week, but we had the concert."


    "Yeah. That was great." Cam said while reminiscing about the concert. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.


    "I''m gonna go check on Lily." Cam said while dusting off the crumbs on his hand.


    Mitchell walked to the front door while Cam was moving to Lily''s nursery.


    "Surprise!" An old, hippy looking grandma with blonde hair and a giant ne made from seashell, announced her arrival.


    -Jay''s house-


    While Jay and Gloria were running up the stairs, suddenly a bird flew into the ss window, broke its neck, and died, leaving a bird shaped stain on the window.


    "Huh. That''s ominous." Jay muttered.


    "Ay. A bad sign!" Gloria said while making a cross shape with her hand.


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "YOU EMBARRASSED ME IN FRONT OF MY FRIENDS!" Haley shouted in annoyance and anger as she barged through the front door, walking briskly while ire followed her closely from behind even when she was clutching a grocery bag.


    "No. NO. YOU embarrassed YOURSELF in front of your friends. So you''re skipping school now?"


    "I''m not skipping school." Haley tried to exin herself, but was cut off by ire.


    "Your teacher called me to say you skipped school today?! Huh, is that an unfair usation too?!" ire exploded as she ced the grocery bag on the kitchen counter. She snatched the cold water from Alex''s hand and said, "Thank you Alex."


    Alex and the rest of the people there were stunned before ire argued with Haley again.


    "You''re taking your final exam in a week. Do you even PLAN TO study?!" ire said usingly, causing Luke and Edward to pause their match and turned toward the bickering duo.


    -Mitchell''s house-


    "Mom!" Mitchell widened his eyes in shock as he saw the woman. He said hurriedly, "W-W-What are you doing here? I didn''t know you were in town. You didn''t call."


    "Well, I couldn''t wait to see your new baby." Dede said as she barged into the house, trying to look for the baby. "And I...tried to call youst weekend, but for some reason I couldn''t reach any of you."


    "Oh..." Mitchell eximed while finally understanding why he received a phone call from his mom while he was at the concert before. At that time, he saw the phone ringing but he decided to ignore it and enjoy the concert so he could keep his sanity intact.


    "Mitchell, who was that?" Cam asked from the hallway after checking up on Lily.


    "Uh, it''s my mom." Mitchell said hesitatingly.


    Cam scoffed and said, "Oh, yeah, right. ''cause thest time she was here, The refrigerator mas rearranged themselves Into a penta-- Grandma! Hey."


    Dede smiled wryly at Cam while he had the same smile on his face. The situation in the house turned awkward and silent, waiting to be broken by the unlucky person who would speak next.


    ...


    -Dunphy''s house-


    [Edward POV]


    As ire had snatched my drink, I stood up and walked to the line of fire�C to the kitchen to pour a ss of cold water for myself as Alex had retreated far away.


    "Hi ire." I greeted casually while ire was arguing with Haley. ire and Haley stopped raising their voices at each other and turned their heads to look at me while I walked past them and reached for a ss of water.


    "What''s going on? Is Haley skipping ss?" I interjected myself into the conversation while speaking calmly.


    "It''s none of your business Ed!" Haley shouted as she thought I was going to take her mom''s side.


    "Did you go to watch the new boutiqueunch? They are only disying their full collection for today right? You would NEVER get a chance to see all their designs together again after this."


    Even though it seemed like I was asking her a few questions, I was actually helping Haley to exin herself as ire kept cutting her off.


    "That doesn''t mean she could skip school-"


    "It''s only PE. She attended every other period, and only skipped the PE ss." I corrected ire before I added, "I don''t think PE is important enough to affect her academic records right?"


    Alex mumbled to herself, "That''s true. PE is useless."


    Haley noticed that I was helping her,so she took the chance to make things clear with her mom, "Mrs Haram is an old bitter coot. A lot of people skipher ss-"


    "You shouldn''t be one of those people. We taught you better than that Haley." ire said before turning towards me, "Ed. Why are you defending her?"


    "I''m not. I just think that you could hear her out first beforeing to a conclusion. Do you just want to yell at her, or do you want to actually hear her reasons to do that and make the effort to understand her daughter''s life...even if it''s just a little bit."


    After saying my piece, I left the two people without getting involved any further while holding a ss of cold water in my hand. ire finally calmed down as she realized she had been freaking out while Haley''s eyes continued following my back until I returned to the sofa.


    "Ah. Mario Kart. Phil, did you have the talk with him yet?" ire spoke to her husband after she searched her memory about why I was there instead of at my house.


    "Talk? What talk?" Phil asked in confusion. ire hunched down in defeat before straightening her spine back up and said, "Remember your talk with Ted?"


    "Ah. That. Right..." Phil muttered while his face turned hesitant as he wanted to keep ying the game with me.


    "What talk?" I asked as I obviously could hear everything they were saying. "Bird and the Bees?"


    "Ew." Alex eximed in disgust.


    "You guys talk about Bees?" Luke asked innocently.


    "It''s not that kind of Bees Lukey." Phil muttered in embarrassment. "You''re still too young to hear that kind of talk."


    "So Haley. I will listen to what you want to say. So, exin it to me." ire turned her attention back to her problematic daughter while putting her right hand on her hip and her left hand holding the kitchen counter.


    Alex was baffled when she saw her mother''s change in temperament. "How exactly did you do that?" She asked whisperingly while taking a seat next to me on the sofa.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I said, "I didn''t do anything. She became self-conscious as she noticed my presence here. Therefore, she tried to hide the part of herself that may seem unsightly to me."


    "Why?" Alex asked in confusion after she realized the truth in my words by checking out her out-of-character mother.


    I turned toward her and said with a sly smirk, "Because...I''m her boss. No one would ever want to act out in front of their boss. Unless they are an absolutely abnormal person."


    ...


    -Mitch and Cam''s house-


    [3rd Person POV]


    The 1 year old baby Lily was looking at the abnormal person ying with her legs in confusion. The olddy tried her hardest to make the babyugh by babbling incoherent words to the baby.


    "Mom, what are you doing to her legs?" Mitchell asked while holding a teddy bear for Lily.


    "Tai chi. I did it every day in Sedona." Dede replied snobbishly before turning to her son''s partner. "Cameron, you should try it."


    Cam''s face froze as he was caught unprepared by the attack.


    [Mitch and Cam''smentary.]


    "Mitchell''s mother has a problem...With me." Cam said while gesturing at hisrge-size body. Mitchell scratched his head as he couldn''t find any words to defend his mother.


    Cam continued, "Last christmas, for example, She gave me a piece of exercise equipment And a lettuce dryer."


    "So, to recap, I gave her a gorgeous pair of diamond earrings, And she gave me... a hint."


    Mitchell opened his mouth to say something, but again, words eluded him.


    [Commentary ends]


    After Lily had fallen asleep, the trio moved their conversation to the living room so as to not disturb the baby. Dede had dominated the conversation alone for 15 minutes as she shared the details of her life �C living far away from the rest of her family members.


    "And living in Sedona has been transformational. I get up every morning, and I go to a vortex meditation site And work with a shaman to finally understand... How to live my spirituality." She said.


    "Yikes." Mitchell eximed while half-rolling his eyes.


    "And I''ve learned that the only way I can move to the next level of my awakening Is if we all can somehow get past... The incident." Dede said hesitatingly.


    "Oh, no." Cam muttered.


    "Oh, boy." Mitchell eximed in frustration.


    -The incident shback-


    The incident started with a simple wedding of Jay and Gloria. Jay in a dark and dashing suit while Gloria wore a beautiful white dress with a low-cut neckline that entuated her figure. It was a happy day, the weather was lovely, the guests were plenty, and the general atmosphere inside thevish wedding banquet hall was harmonious.


    The wedding photographer was interviewing Dede for her to give her wishes to the bride and groom.


    "I would like to congratte Jay and the lovely Gloria. I''m very happy for them." Dede said with a fake smile on her face.


    [Jay and Gloria''smentary.]


    "I wanted a big, beautiful wedding with Jay Because my ex-husband and I got married In a tiny, little office of a judge in Colombia."


    Jay held Gloria''s knees to show her his affection. But then, both of them lost their smiles.


    [Cam and Mitchell''smentary.]


    "Well, my mother wanted to go to the wedding To show everyone how okay she was with all of it, So I convinced dad and Gloria to invite her." Mitchell exined with a hint of frustration in his voice.


    "Who warned you that that was the worst idea ever? Anyone?" Cam said with a smile while slyly raising his right hand up. "Anyone?" He asked again. " Oh." He giggled as he saw he had raised his arm up.


    [Commentary ends]


    Back to the video interview.


    Dede chuckled awkwardly before speaking insincerely, "Of course, I''ve -- I''ve moved on.."


    "I was supposed toe with a date, But he just hurt his back, Which is very ironic because he''s young a-a-and -- and healthy."


    [Phil and ire''smentary.]


    "My mom started drinking these cocktails Called "horny colombians" with some of Gloria''s uncles Whom, apparently, the drink was named after." ire said in dissatisfaction while crossing her arms.


    Philughed and said, "Oh,e on, they were funny."


    "They kept patting my butt." ire said seriously while looking at Phil in disbelief.


    Philughed and said, "Somebody''s full of herself...:" He turned to the camera screen and exined on behalf of Gloria''s uncles, "It''s a -- it''s a Colombian wedding tradition, they said."


    mentary ends]


    While the guests were giving their toast to the bride and groom, the drunk Dede suddenly stood up and clinked her sses using a spoon to give her own version of the toast�C even though she wasn''t set to give a speech today, nor did she ask for permission from anyone to do so.


    "I would like to make a toast." Dede said.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Yeah, Nana got totally wasted." She said while remembering the incident. While giggling, she said, "Uh, it was really funny.." Her smile disappeared after recalling the entire memory.


    "Then it was gross."


    mentary ends]


    "To the bride and the groom, my ex." Dede started her toast. "35 years of marriage... And he couldn''t wait 10 minutes to run off with charo( slur for funny-looking things/slutty things)." Dede made an inappropriate joke, causing the crowd to gasp and Gloria to get mad.


    The bride then threw her napkin on the te as she tried to control herself on her special day.


    "I''m kidding." Dede said. The band drummer tried to save the atmosphere by doing a rim shot, causing a fewughter here and there.


    But instead of stopping when she saw people were dissatisfied with her, the drunk Dede became excited instead as a few people wereughing at her joke.


    "Seriously, I knew they were perfect for each other When I saw his wallet and her boobs." Dede covered up her insult as a joke again, making the crowdugh.


    Dede suddenly freaked out and tried to fight as she thought there were people around her trying to stop her toast. "Take your hands off me." She said while punching the empty air as she was too drunk to discern what was real and what was not right now.


    Mitchell decided to interject and run to his mom to snap her out of her disruption, "Mom. Mom!"


    "Oh, rx, Mitchell. What, did you take your ire pill?" Dede muttered, causing ire who sat at the next table to be offended. Luckily, Phil was there to calm her down.


    Mitchell said, " Okay, l-let''s just -- let''s get a little fresh air, okay? Come on."


    [Mitch and Cam''smentary]


    After remembering the better part of the incident, Cam muttered, "And then... it got weird."


    [Commentary ends]


    Mitchell and Cam were each holding one of Dede''s arms while Phil held her legs to escort her out of the wedding venue.


    Dede shouted to mock Gloria using a hispanic ent, "I''m Gloria. I''m Gloria. Keeess (Kiss)me. Oh, hey, kessss me..." She imitated a few disgusting kissing sounds, making the guest gasp and started to murmur among themselves as they saw her antics.


    [Luke''smentary]


    "Nana is really strong."


    mentary ends]


    Dede squirmed madly while the trio tried to hold her. She managed to free her left leg and kicked the wedding cake on her way out, sttering it on the floor.


    "Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi! Ooh! Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Dede mocked as she held out in front of the door despite Phil, Cam, and Mitchell''s best effort to get her out.


    [Gloria''smentary.]


    "During my vows to my first husband, Drug dealers burst in and assassinated the judge...This was way worse." Gloria said in a solemn tone.


    Jayughed and said, "What can I say? I drive women crazy."


    However, he saw that Gloria was unamused by his joke as a wedding was the most important thing for a bride. He quickly lost his smile and said, "It''s too soon, I guess."


    mentary ends]


    Back to the present day, Mitchell said, "Well, mom, instead of scratching it down a wall, Maybe we should just try and repress it Like a -- like a normal family."


    Dede shook her head and said, "I can''t. I need closure. I''m about to embark on a new journey. I met a man."


    Mitchell smiled and said, "Really?"


    Dede exined with a happy smile, "His name is Chas, And he''s asked me toe live with him In his foreignnd."


    "Wow." Cam eximed.


    A little bit concerned, Mitchell asked, "Where?"


    "Canada." Dede replied.


    "You''re moving to -- to Canada?"


    "French Canada."


    "Oh, that -- that''s wonderful." Mitchell eximed.


    "It is wonderful." Dede said before her expression turned conflicted once more, "It''s just that when I think of all the awful things That I said to Gloria and Jay And you and ire, I feel such guilt."


    "Give it time... And see Banff." Cam interjected. (Banff: Canada''s tourist spot)


    Mitchell said to him, "Cam, please."


    Dede confessed, "I just can''t give myself to him sexually." causing both Mitchell and Cam to be ufortable.


    "Okay, mom." Mitchell said while gesturing for her to stop.


    "Did not see thating." Cam mumbled.


    "Oh, don''t get me wrong..We...satisfy each other down there." Dede said, causing Mitchell to groan in disgust.


    Oh Yeah, don''t want to hear it-" Mitchell said.


    "That''s why I need everyone''s forgiveness. I need your help, Mitchell."


    Cameron interjected, " Did you hear that, Mitchell? Your mom needs your help to make love to her new man, Chas." With a deadpan grimace, he said, "That''s not weird at all."


    Mitchell said in frustration, "I''m just not really sure what you''re asking me to do here, mom."


    Dede exined as if it was the simplest method in the world. "Well, everyone''s mad at me.Maybe you could pave the way so that I can... apologize..."


    Mitchell turned to Cam who was shaking his head slightly as he knew what Mitchell was thinking about.


    "Don''t do it." Cam said with gritted teeth.


    Mitchell couldn''t help it and said to his mother, "Well. The family ising to ire''s tonight for dinner. Maybe I can talk to them about having you with us."


    Dede stood up from her seat and went to hug her son, "Oh! I knew I could count on you.Oh, my beautiful boy.I love you so much.."


    [Mitch and Cam''smentary.]


    Cam said, "There''s a fish in nature that swims around with its babies in its mouth. That fish would look at Mitchell''s rtionship With his mother and say, ''That''s messed up.''"

 Chapter 60: ‘The Incident’ Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 60: Chapter 60: ��The Incident�� Part 2</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Although Haley exined herself, there were several key points that I noticed she had been keeping as secrets. She exined why she thought she could go to the showing as she wanted to study about the clothes design.


    However, ire was skeptical of her as she said that. It confused me as I saw it. I didn''t know then, but I was actually the reason why she had be so relentless and out of control these days inside the family.


    [ire''smentary]


    "In a month, I managed to climb my position from a lowly intern...to all the way near the top. Why do you think I could do this?" ire said while pointing at her head.


    "Because I''m smart. Because I followed the rules. Sure, Edward had given me the opportunity to prove myself, and guess what? I ACTUALLY DID." She said braggingly.


    "Now. I''m no longer a housewife that worked under a 14 years old kid. I am officially hired by thepany. The future of thepany is bright and just created yesterday �C a mobile gaming branch!"


    "And I''m now the Logistic Manager for the Tourism Branch. I told my kids multiple times. If you work hard and study, the future will look great for you. I need Haley to understand that!" ire said begrudgingly before pausing and saying in excitement, "I also took a picture with Taylor-"


    [Commentary ends]


    "ire. Calm down." Phil said from afar as ire was slowly bing agitated. I didn''t interfere with the fight and let them both continue while watching the fight from afar while Luke ran off to his room. Alex stayed beside me, unsure of what was going on.


    "I know that if I tell you about it, you will react...the same way you react before you noticed Ed is here before this. That''s why I didn''t tell you!" Haley said in frustration while holding her tiny hand up and balled them up into fists �C in frustration. Not because she wanted to punch her mother.


    "So What? I can''t even be mad when I found out that you''re skipping school?" ire said after she realized that she wanted Haley to listen to her more than she wanted to listen to Haley.


    ''ssic mother''s gaslighting techniques.'' I thought while shuddering and having goosebumps from ire''s skill.


    "I''m only skipping a ss! I didn''t skip school! Besides, I didn''t go there alone-."


    "So if your friend jumps into ake, you will follow them and jump too?!"


    "If those friends are Abby and Tara, I will. Both of them are smart. They will make sure that it''s safe to jump into the Lake, BEFORE WE JUMP IN IT! Or If you''re behind me BEING LIKE THIS, I will jump in even without my friends!"


    ire rolled her eyes while Haley''s chin quivered. ''Damn, this is a full-scale war instead of a fight.'' I thought secretly while watching them bicker from the sofa.


    Phil decided it''s time for him to interfere so he rushed to the kitchen, "Why don''t we all take a deep breath-"


    "You don''t KNOW what YOU''RE DOING! You''re surrounding yourself with BAD FRIENDS HALEY!" ire said in frustration.


    "At least THEY DON''T TALK TO ME LIKE I''M AN IDIOT!" Haley shouted before turning her back against ire and walking away.


    As the string of rationality was snapped off inside ire''s mind, she shouted, "YOU''RE GROUNDED!"


    "SURE, YOU MUST BE WAITING TO SAY THAT SINCE THE START! Did you even listen to what I was saying?!" Haley said with teary eyes as she ran off to her bedroom upstairs.


    "Haley-" ire tried to stop Haley, but Phil stopped ire. "I''ll go talk to her."


    "Hmmm..." I rubbed my chin while looking at ire''s direction.


    "It''s awkward now. Are you still staying for dinner?" Alex asked.


    "I don''t know. I will see what happens next, then I''ll decide." I replied to Alex after turning to look at her face.


    ire heard our conversation and she flinched involuntarily after I turned toward her with an innocent smile stered on my face.


    "I...I''m going to make dinner." ire said before she ran to her bedroom.


    "Making dinner on her bed?" I asked sarcastically. Alex rolled her eyes and said, "You are enjoying this huh."


    "Not at all. I don''t like seeing people fight. Especially since it''s a very stupid fight." I replied.


    "Stupid...? Why do you say that?" Alex asked in confusion. "Mom is right. Haley shouldn''t skip school."


    "Yeah. That''s true from one perspective." I muttered. Alex became incredulous and asked, "Then, why do you say it''s a stupid fight when one party is clearly in the wrong?"


    "Want me to exin?" I asked teasingly.


    "Yeah. That''s why I''m asking." Alex said sarcastically.


    "Then, let''s go see your sister first. I''ll exin with some examples. Follow me my dear Watson." I said before walking toward the stairs.


    "What- Wait up!" Alex ran to chase me from behind before we walked to her room together.


    "By the way, when is your dad going to fix this step?" I asked after I almost stumbled on the broken step in the middle part of the stairs.


    "SOON!" Phil answered from afar with a tone full of agitation. Alex and I were startled by his voice and we turned to look at each other before weughed.


    Inside Haley''s room, Phil was trying hard to connect with his teenage daughter. Alex and I stopped in front of the door and peeked at his effort instead of barging in.


    Sitting on a chair next to Haley who was lying on her bed, Phil said, "Things with your mom got pretty intense down there, huh? All like east coast/west coast."


    "Uh..What?" Haley was confused by her dad''s speech pattern and couldn''t help but sit up on the bed and stare at him after putting her notebook down.


    "You feelin'' me?" Phil continued, causing more confusion all around. Even Alex who was eavesdropping with me was confused.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "Act like a parent, talk like a peer." Phil said excitedly. "I call it ''peer-enting. I learned it from my own dad who used to walk into my room And say, ''what''s up, sweathog?''"


    Heughed at the memory before his eyes turned full of confidence that this method would help him connect with his daughter, just like how his dad managed to connect with him.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Honey. I understand that you want to skip ss. I skipped ss too..."


    Phil lied at the end. He had a perfect attendance record in his school.


    "Me and my best buds will go around in the mall, having augh at each other, and we all will rent a...special...movie from the movie store-"


    "Dude. TMI." I mumbled to myself. "What special movie?" Alex asked me in confusion.


    "Nothing." I dismissed her question as to not expose Phil.


    "Dad. I didn''t skip to have fun. I can do that after school. I just need to go to the showcase. That''s it." Haley said to exin herself.


    "Well Honey. If that''s really important to you, why don''t you tell me? I can pick you up from school early, and we can go there together." Phil said without any lies in his words.


    While listening to what he said, I couldn''t help but break into a soft smile, in which Alex said, "That''s creepy."


    I unconsciously covered my mouth and asked her, "What is?"


    "You. Smiling like that. You like my dad so much?" Alex asked.


    "Shh..I want to listen." I said to stop the conversation with her. She smirked and mumbled, "Oh. You like him so much..."


    "Shut up." I said in embarrassment.


    Haley was silenced by her dad''s words. Her heart wavered, but she couldn''t bring herself to open up to her familypletely.


    "Mom just doesn''t trust me, and it''s not fair. All she wants is to control my life. If I asked you to pick me up early, would she really let you do that?" Haley asked.


    "Even if she said ''No''. I will pick you up anyway." Phil said. "And...She trusts you. It''s just... we don''t know what will happen when you go off alone. Weird things are happening out there."


    Haley couldn''t hear it anymore and asked, "Dad, is there something you want?"


    "Yes, there is -- To connect with this girl right here." Phil said while pointing at Haley.


    "Now,e on. Pretend I''m not your dad. We''re just a couple of friends kickin'' it in a juice bar."


    "What''s a juice bar?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "Okay, a malt shop, whatever." Phil said while trying not to act old.


    "Dad, I don''t-" Haley tried to avoid talking as usual.


    "No. Who''s dad? Who''s dad? I''m -- I''m Marcus from biology. Hey, Haley. How''s it going with you?" Phil tried his hardest to make her talk to him.


    Haley rolled her eyes and her phone rang. She picked it up and said, "Hey."


    While looking at her dad, she said, " No, nothing. Just talking to some dork I met in a malt shop."


    Phil was helpless as his teenage daughter was no longer responding to him. That was when Alex and I finally entered the room. I walked straight to Haley''s bed and sat next to her, startling the teenage girl.


    "Uhhh....What are you doing?!" Haley asked, bbergasted by the situation.


    "Is that Abby? Hey Abby, Haley will call you right back. Hang up first." I spoke loudly near her phone, and the call was disconnected after I said that.


    "HEY!" Haley admonished me.


    "Ed?" Phil was confused by my interference.


    "Dad. He isn''t Ed right now. He is Sherlock." Alex muttered tly with a forced-to-do-it tone.


    "Hey. Clearer. I didn''t use my second bet reward for nothing!" I retorted in Alex''s direction. She sighed and then repeated the sentence, "Dad. He isn''t Ed right now. He is Sherlock- Sorry, I can''t do this."


    Embarrassed, Alex moved closer to her dad for support.


    "Then the second reward didn''t count." I said to Alex in excitement. She rolled her eyes but she couldn''t object to my decision.


    Phil was visibly excited as he saw I was role-ying, so he took over Alex''s job quickly. "Sherlock. What case have you solved for us?"


    "Are you guys really going to y right here?" Haley asked in disbelief while pushing her notebook underneath her pillow stealthily to try and hide it. Her eyes were darting all over me and Phil before she tried to stand up and ran away. I grabbed her arm and said, "I''m going to solve the cause of the fight."


    "It all started on a nice and peaceful evening where Haley met an ordinary, but extremely good-looking boy. Named...me."


    "No. ED. Shut up!" Haley said while trying to block my mouth.


    "...Why are you the cause?" Phil asked in confusion. I bit Haley''s finger lightly, causing her to be startled and let go of my mouth.


    "Because. I helped Haley find the thing that she is passionate about." I said while wiping my mouth.


    "ED!" Haley admonished me seriously.


    Phil''s eyes widened and his corner lips couldn''t help but curl upward. "What is it?" He asked quickly.


    "If you told him, we''re no longer friends." Haley gave me an ultimatum.


    Ignoring her, I said, "She wants to be a fashion designer. Or...to make clothes on her own."


    "URGH! I can''t believe you!" Haley stomped off from the bed to the center of the room, extremely embarrassed as her secret was out.


    "Honey. Why are you mad? This is a good thing?!" Phil was extremely confused by Haley''s reaction.


    "Dad. GET OUT!" Haley tried chasing Phil out from her room, not knowing that themotion had attracted ire to eavesdrop on the door.


    "It is a good thing. And when you know about it, what will your reaction be?" I asked Phil before Haley could push him out.


    "Well... I will support her no matter what." Phil said without hesitation.


    "That''s the reason she''s reacting like this." I said, causing Alex, Phil, and Haley to fall into a confused state.


    "Why is that?" Alex asked as her scientific curiosity was invoked.


    "She''s a teenager. We tend to pry ourselves away from our parents. It''s not 100% the parents fault, but it''s a time in our life where we want to create an identity for ourselves."


    "So...Hormones?" Alex asked, causing Haley to let out an offended gasp, "AH!"


    "That yed a part. Yes. But the main point for a child to move away from their parents is because of their parent''s controlling behavior-"


    I suddenly heard a soft thud on the door, and saw shadows underneath the door therefore I knew someone was standing outside the room.


    ''ire huh.'' I thought before smirking slyly.


    Alex fell into a deep thought before asking, "Is this why you said the fight is stupid? But, I thought you''re saying that because you think both parties weren''t at fault. Doesn''t your reason tell us that mom is at fault?"


    Haley was in disbelief therefore she walked briskly towards me and said, "What the hell are you both doing?! Are you analyzing me? Do both of you thinks that you''re so smart that you-"


    By this time, Haley saw that I had her notebook in my hand. She widened her eyes and snatched the book from me immediately.


    "W-W-W Did you see it?"


    "Your drawings? It''s good." I said.


    "Your present- IT''S GOOD!?" Haley widened her eyes in confusion. She opened the pages and showed me sloppily drawn models in the book. "THIS...IS GOOD? Are you mocking me?!"


    "Yeah. It''s very good. When I first started, I drew much worse than that." I said while remembering my past life. Haley was in disbelief all this time, she thought that her drawings were embarrassing and not once did she show me her notes after I taught her the initial part of designing.


    With a flushed face, Haley said in embarrassment, "It''s...okay then..."


    "Wait. Don''t change the topic. I want to hear why you''re saying it''s a stupid fight." Alex interjected.


    "Everyone. There''s only one Edward. So don''t pressure him." Phil said while smirking at his older daughter''s reactions when she faced me.


    "I want to know why he thinks it''s stupid!" Alex demanded.


    "Okay. I''ll exin now." I said with augh, causing Alex to be embarrassed.


    "What do you think will happen when Haley turns 18?" I asked.


    "She will stay here." Phil said quickly. "...or go to college."


    "As if." Alex retorted.


    "Children may not know exactly what constitutes a Healthy Upbringing, but they will recognize it when they are not in a stable or supportive environment." I started to exin.


    "But we tried hard to show our support." Phil said.


    "Phil, I don''t say you. I just say in general."


    "Ahh." Phil nodded in understanding.


    "For example Alex, there are teens whoe from a home with very toxic parents, but they are always excusing everything they are doing with love. Like your mom and your grandma."


    ire widened her eyes and grabbed the doorknob, but stopped herself froming inside the room as she wanted to listen to what I was going to say.


    "It''s damaging when the parents demand perfection in all aspects, but secretly are pushing the child toward the aspects that they believe in. It will make her feel that her best wasn''t good enough, and they are useless if they make a mistake."


    Haley and Alex were silent as they heard my exnation.


    "So, some children will try their hardest to get their parent''s recognition, while some will stop trying at all." I continued. "I guess, Haley wants to keep her hard work a secret, so as to not let her family have hope on her, nor did she want to put hope on herself."


    "But why? Is my support damaging to her?" Phil asked in concern.


    "No Phil. She''s doing this because it''ll be easier for her to give up, when she finally sees that she couldn''t seed in this, just like how she couldn''t seed in anything. She doesn''t want to disappoint her family that gives support to her, therefore she just wants to do everything...on her own."


    "And the fight was stupid because ire was projecting herself on Haley, so much so that she became her own mother and tried to control her life to protect her from hurting herself in the future."


    Outside the room, ire fell into a self-actualization state as she thought about her fight with her daughter.


    [ire''smentary.]


    "You how growing up, we all have that voice inside our head That tells us we''re not good enough? Well, mine was outside my head, driving me to school."


    "I promised myself if I ever have children of my own, I won''t treat them, just like how my mom treats me. But I guess...Edward was right. I was projecting on Haley. I was treating her...the same way as my mom treated me before."


    ire shrugged and said, "Well. I didn''t go out of my way to destroy her life. So I guess I''m better than my mom in that aspect."


    [Commentary Ends.]


    "So...the fight is stupid...because they both want the same thing?" Alex asked after thinking hard about what I said.


    "Yup. They just cannotmunicate it well. That''s why, it''s stupid."


    "Shut up. Both of you!" Haley shouted. Suddenly, ire walked into the room while having a conflicted expression on her face.


    "Mom." Haley muttered in surprise.


    "Haley. I just want to say. I''m sorry. You''re not grounded. I just wants the best for you-"


    Before ire could finish her sentence, Haley hugged her. "Stop. I''m sorry. I should''ve told you what I was doing."


    Phil smiled and hugged both of her daughter and wife, "I''m sorry too. I''ll try to be less supportive in the future."


    "No Dad! You''re missing the point-" Alex said before Phil grabbed her and pulled her into the group hug too.


    "That''s nice. Also, I felt like Dr Phil there for a moment. " I muttered before I turned my attention to Haley''s notebook instead of the family.


    Suddenly, the front door doorbell rang twice, causing the family to stop their hug and release each other.


    "We''re going to have a talk about thister." ire said before she exited the room and descended the stairs while Phil followed her from behind.


    Haley saw that I was reading her notebook and she ran towards her bed where I was sitting.


    "Hmm? Did you design clothes for me-"


    "GIVE ME THAT!" Haley demanded as she tried to snatch the book from me. Her momentum caused her to crash into me, and we fell onto the bed together, her body on top of me, and our faces inches from one another.


    "That''s my birthday present isn''t it?" I asked knowingly while Haley was stunned as she could feel my breath on her face. Her body was pressing onto me, and it would be dangerous for me to stay in that position for so long.


    "Shut-"


    "It''s a nice design. Thank you. I couldn''t wait to work on it. Do you want to work on it together with me?"


    "Why don''t you guys get away from each other first before talking? I feel ufortable looking at you guys like that." Alex said as she cringed at the situation. Haley became embarrassed and moved away quickly while I was stillying on the bed while reading Haley''s notebook.


    "You have a lot of good ideas. Some of it are....courageous. But I think if executed properly, it can look nice." Iplimented her effort in working on her own outfits designs.


    "I will go down now as I don''t want to watch you two flirt." Alex said before walking away.


    "We''re not flirting!" Haley shouted sternly.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Urgh. Why did he have to be so...nice?" Haley said in frustration. "He didn''t have to interfere, but he did...I''m thankful to him...but I wish he would stop..."


    "...Otherwise, I''ll fall hard."


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley sat next to me while I was reading her notebook. I smiled and sat up next to her. "Here, see this. This is your first drawing right?" I said while pointing at a kindergarten-level drawing she had.


    "Shut up. It''s bad. I know." Haley said in embarrassment.


    "Here, this is thetest one right? Can you see the difference between them?" I asked.


    "....No?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "Thetest one has sharper lines. The body figure is more realistic. The outfit keypoints are more clear. You''re getting better at this, and I''m sure you''ll be even better in the future."


    Haley smiled as she was touched and said, "Thanks."


    "Also, I noticed that you put a lot of work into my birthday gift. Why didn''t you give it to me?" I asked curiously.


    Haley stammered and couldn''t say anything, "Ummm...."


    "If you give this during my birthday, it''ll easily be in the top 3 gifts I got, and we could''ve-"


    Before I could finish my words, Haley grabbed my head and kissed my lips unexpectedly while closing her eyes. She finally snapped out of it and pushed me away.


    "W-W-Why did you let me do that?!" Haley freaked out and asked while standing up and moving further away from me.


    "Me? You''re ming me?" I asked in confusion as I stood up next to her.


    "We''re not going to talk about this. That didn''t happen!" Haley said.


    "But it did." Suddenly, a childish voice interjected the conversation, making both of us turn our attention to the front door. Luke was smirking as he saw the whole thing and couldn''t wait to use the situation to his advantage.


    Suddenly, we heard some moring and sounds of arguments from downstairs. The sound of the strange female voice gave me goosebumps when I heard it.


    "Dede?" I mumbled to myself before walking downstairs, leaving behind a regretful Haley.

 Chapter 61: Disgust. (Part 3)

    <h4>Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Disgust. (Part 3)</h4>


    (Remember. This is written as a tv episode)


    [Edward POV]


    ''Why did she kiss me? Arghh! I don''t know what to do now...'' I thought as I went to look at themotioning from downstairs. Luke was sniggering as I walked past him while mumbling, "Now, if you don''t give me my bikes back...and give me 5 cakes...I will tell mom."


    Pausing my step, I stood in front of Luke and bent my spine to meet his eyeline. "Do that and I''ll set both of your bikes on fire."


    Luke was stunned and froze on the spot. He thought he could have the leverage in this situation, but with the hostages in my hand, could he really do anything. Not to mention, Haley heard what he said and was ring daggers at him with bloodlust emanating from her body.


    ''Good luck Luke.''


    Luke''s hand was gripped and he was then dragged into her sister''s room before Haley locked the door to have a ''private conversation'' with him.


    I continued to get to the front door, but the people there had already moved their conversation to the kitchen.


    "So -- so, anyway, mom really wants To smooth everything over with dad and Gloria, So I was thinking, would it be okay If she may join us for dinner tonight?" Mitchell asked hurriedly in a begging tone.


    ire was standing on one side of the living room while Dede stood in front of her and Mitchell stood in the middle of both of them to try and act as a mediator.


    However, instead of the rebellious-teenage-like behavior ire always had when she was with her mother, this time, she was actually talking to her while acting like an adult which surprised both Mitchell and Dede.


    "Mom. Mitchell said you want to apologize, so why don''t you do that first? Then, I''ll decide if I want to help you." ire said while looking straight to Dede.


    [ire''smentary]


    "When I saw mom on the front door, I don''t know why, but the...miniscule... sense of loathing that I had... toward her... BUBBLED UP TO THE SURFACE STRONGLY...and then melted instantly." ire said in astonishment while crossing her legs on the sofa.


    "The first thing shemented...no, rather...she criticized me for...was my hair... The minute that she walked into the house." She said while ying with her blonde hair that flowed till her shoulder.


    "The thing is, I hated her nit-pickings the entire time I was growing up. But I guess I had misunderstood something."


    "I had never grown up. Not until...right now. Not until, I realized that I had been doing the same things to my kid...Although in my defense, I did it unconsciously and not as bad as my mother did it to me before."


    "So today. I will try to treat her...like an adult...instead of...like a mother." She said with ssy eyes.


    [Commentary ends]


    As per the immortal words of Frankie Darts (Community Season 6), "One of the most unfair lessons we''re forced to learn is that our parents are human beings. We wanna think of them as gods or demons because then that would make us heroes but... Ugh. Give me a break. We all suck."


    I wonder why her quotes popped out of my head the moment I saw ire try to stand up to her mother.


    "What?" Dede asked in confusion while looking at Mitchell.


    "ire. It''s true. Mom wants to apologize-"


    "Then do it. To me first." ire said while crossing her arms. I couldn''t help but break into a wide smile as I saw her stand her ground and demanded inner peace.


    In the particr episode which was going on right now, not once did Dede apologize to Mitchell and ire about her behavior that impacted them at the wedding. She only wanted to apologize to Gloria, and not her family member.


    "Say you''re sorry." ire demanded again.


    Dede stammered while her eyes kept darting between Mitchell and ire.


    ''She must be confused as to why her usual maniption techniques didn''t work.'' I thought with a sense of disgust and repressed memories started bubbling up in me.


    ''The two of them are f*cking simr.''


    "I''m...I''m sorry." Dede apologized after thinking for a while. Mitchell widened his eyes while ire closed hers to ept her apology and gain inner peace. But for me, my loathing towards her increased.


    [ire''smentary.]


    "I thought that it would feel great. But no. All it did was...Making me see my mom as another human being." ire said before she lowered her eyes to start reminiscing about her memories with her mother. "I feel like...I understand her more now..."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Ed." ire called out to me as I came into her view. The conversation stopped as they wanted to talk in private. That''s why ire and Mitchell had sent Alex and Phil away.


    "He is?" Dede asked smilingly while pointing at me.


    "Disgusted by you." I said with a smile while walking toward ire. The Pritchett Family widened their eyes as they couldn''t believe their ears.


    "Ed? This is your first time meeting with my mom right?" Mitchell asked quickly while holding his mother''s shoulder as if presenting her at me as he couldn''t understand my apparent hostility toward his mother.


    "Yup." I replied curtly.


    "Then why did you say that? That''s rude Ed." ire said to admonish me and make me realize what I did was wrong �C just like a mother would.


    "I can''t help it. It''s biological. It''s the natural order of things. And I don''t want to be here if she''s here, therefore I will return to my house. It seems that I won''t be able to join you for dinner today ire." I said calmly but with venom in my voice.


    "I''m sorry. Do I know you? Why are you so..." Dede asked hurriedly after I told ire that.


    "It''s innate hate. I can''t help it." I replied casually with a deadpan smile on my face before waving goodbye at ire and Mitchell as I exited the house.


    Confused, Mitchell and ire turned toward each other.


    [Mitchellmentary]


    " What''s... Going on? Did the children tell him about the incident too? If they did, it''s an understandable reaction, but to mention it straight to her face..."


    Mitchell scratched his eyebrow before smiling softly, "That''s... Very brave... And satisfying..."


    His smile turned into a poker face as he crossed his arms and said, "Still...it''s their first time meeting. I wonder what happened between them?"


    [irementary]


    "That''s bad...for Ed..." ire muttered as she didn''t feel bad at all about her mom getting insulted.


    "He''s...not like this. He''s usually polite. Even when talking to some human trash we encounter during the job, he did it calmly and without disrespect. To discriminate against his actions on my mother means one thing...He knew everything she had done, and had a lower opinion of my motherpared to the other trash he met before."


    ire shrugged her shoulders and continued, "But...I can''t let him have a bad rtionship with my mom. Not if we''re going to work together for a very long time. So, no matter what happens, Ed needs toe to dinner."


    mentary ends]


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Well that was weird." Dede muttered.


    "Mom, why now? Why do you want to apologize now?" ire asked after thinking deeply for a while �C thinking about the kid who left.


    "Because... Because it may be thest time you ever see me." Dede muttered.


    ire was confused and she asked, "What are you talking about?"


    "Well, I''m -- I''m moving to a far and dangerous ce." Dede said as she sat down on the sofa.


    "Canada, but -- uh, she met a man named Chas." Mitchell added as he knew his mother wouldn''t exin properly.


    "Yeah. He''s a logger." Dede added to brag about her new partner.


    "Like a -- like a lumberjack?" ire asked.


    " No, he logs blood samples into a cholesterol study." Dede replied as if it wasmon sense, causing both Mitch and ire to look at each other in disbelief .


    Dede continued, "Anyway, until I''m past this whole wedding debacle, I can''t be intimate with him."


    At this moment, Alex and Phil walked back inside after seeing the situation had calmed down.. Haley and Luke also walked downstairs to meet their grandmother. Luke had dark clouds hovering over him from Haley''s threat, before the cloud dissipated as he hugged his grandmother.


    No matter how controlling and damaging Dede was to her children, she did a better job as a grandmother and was loved by her grandchildren.


    "ire. Just let here to dinner. Apologize to dad and Gloria, and She and Chas can live happily ever after." Mitchell said after pulling ire away for a private talk while Dede showered her love to her grandchildren.


    "In canada." ire muttered sternly.


    "In canada." Mitchell repeated the word hesitatingly.


    "Why don''t you make her fix this Instead of you doing it, as usual?" ire asked.


    "Whoa. What''s that supposed to mean?" Mitchell replied defensively.


    "Oh, you know, mom makes a mess, And there''s Mitchell to clean it up." ire said before she added a bit smugly, "See what there?"


    "Yeah. I''d like to learn that from you. Anyway, that''s so not true. If anything, you''re the one with a screwed-up rtionship with mommy- With- with- with mom!"


    ire said mockingly, "Wow, "mommy"?"


    "No, I didn''t say it -- damn it."


    After thinking for a while, ire said, "I don''t mind if she wants to have dinner together. Just clear it with dad first. I don''t want to pull a fast one on Gloria."


    "So me again?" Mitchell asked in disappointment.


    "Yeah. Who else that''s going to clean up after mom?" ire said mockingly.


    "Anyway, I''m going to go to Ed''s house to find out what''s going on with him." ire said in concern.


    "Okay. You''ll go there, I''ll go Dad. Who''s going to take care of mom? You know, someone needs to keep an eye on her."


    ire thought for a while before saying dismissively, "She''ll stay with her grandchildren. Big deal. I''m going to go find out what makes Ed so mad."


    Suddenly, a tiny voice interjected ire and Mitch''s conversation. "Ed is mad? Why?" Haley asked in concern.


    Turning toward his niece who''s standing behind him, Mitchell said, "I don''t know. He''s so full of disgust and anger-"


    ire stopped Mitchell from exining and said, "Go quickly. Otherwise they''lle here first."


    "Okay I''m going." Mitchell said hurriedly before running to the front door.


    ire turned to Haley and said, "I don''t know what gets into Ed. Did something happen that made him angry?"


    Haley was bbergasted before saying, "N-N-N-N-Nothing happened. Why are you asking me about that? I don''t know anything." She ran away quickly before taking out her phone.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Is he angry because I kissed him? Oh MY GOD! I didn''t mean too! What if he tells Abby about this!? URGHHH!" Haley groaned in frustration as she hid her face behind her hair.


    mentary ends]


    "Hello. Ed?"


    Haley called Edward using her phone to ask him to keep his mouth shut about the kiss and exin the situation to him. However, before she could say anything, Edward said, "I''m noting to have dinner with your family. I have work to do." Then, he hung up the call.


    ...


    15 minutes after Edward had returned to his house.


    "Where are we going?" Phil asked ire as he followed her from behind while they stealthily moved around the bushes in front of Ed''s house. "Also, why can''t we just talk to him normally?"


    "I want to go alone. But you insisted oning. So don''t do anything rash and follow my lead. No questions." ire said in a hushed, yet stern tone. She used a hand signal instead to inch closer to Edward''s house before knocking on the door three times stealthily.


    "Why don''t we just talk to him?" Phil asked.


    "Look. I asked Ted about it, and he said Edward wouldn''t do something like that unless he was really triggered by something he saw in my mother. We won''t have an answer just by doing that." ire exined.


    Less than 30 secondster, Ted opened the door, inviting Phil and ire in while monitoring the surroundings to see that no one was around to see what they were doing.


    "Ted. Where is the stuff?" ire asked after entering the house. Ted nodded and snapped his finger. A youngtina woman entered the kitchen with a briefcase in her hand.


    Phil widened his eyes and thought, ''Is this a drug deal?''


    "He''s not going to forgive me if he knew I had this. So you should be careful not to let him find out about it." Ted said in a solemn tone.


    "I''ll see what I can do." ire replied. Then, she grabbed the briefcase from Cami''s hand.


    "By the way, who is this?" ire asked Ted.


    "Ah. This is Cami. Edward''s Aunt. My ex''s sister." Ted exined and introduced the woman to each other. Suddenly, a loud ttering sound could be hearding from Edward''s room, causing all the people there to raise their guard up.


    "He''sing!" Phil said hurriedly.


    "Quick. Through the backdoor!" Cami said while ushering the couple out of the house.


    "Hey, who put a baseball bat in front of my door?" Edward asked from afar while descending the stairs. He finally entered the kitchen where he saw both his dad and aunt acting suspiciously while warily ncing at him.


    "Hmmm..." Edward eximed while narrowing his eyes at them. "You know what. I won''t care about it." He said while getting a ss of water. After downing the drink, he got out of the kitchen and said mischievously, "I''ll give you guys some privacy."


    "What happened there?" Cami asked after Edward had left.


    "I don''t know." Ted replied in confusion, not knowing that his son had misunderstood him to have improper rtions with his aunt in their kitchen as they thought he wasn''t at home.


    ire and Phil returned home with the briefcase before they decided to open it in their bedroom so as to not let others see it.


    "Wait..this is.." Phil muttered in astonishment as he picked up something from inside the briefcase.


    "Diaries. Family photos. Anything that reminded Edward about his past that Ted can keep him from destroying them." ire exined.


    "He destroyed them?!" Phil eximed in astonishment after learning about Ed''s past.


    "Let me see...there must be something here that could exin why he''s so hostile with my mother."


    ...


    -Jay''s house-


    The ring sun made Mitchell wear his sunsses before he exited the car.


    "Hey Dad...Uh, could I talk to you and Gloria for a second?" Mitchell asked as he met Jay who was half-naked and just gotten out of the pool.


    While drying himself with a towel, Jay said, Oh, she''s out to pick up Manny from his friend''s house. What''s up?" Turning toward thewnchair, Jayid down on the chair to rest.


    "Uh, well, you know, mom''s in town." Mitchell said cautiously.


    "Your mom?" Jay asked with a horrified look.


    Mitchell replied sarcastically, "No-No, your mom. She''s back from the grave. Yes, my mom."


    Jay chuckled and said, "My mom would be less scary."


    "Listen, she''s a wreck about what happened at the wedding, And she wants toe to dinner tonight To apologize to everyone." Mitchell exined quickly.


    "Still her little errand boy, I see." Jay said dismissively before closing his eyes to enjoy the sun.


    "No. Why does everybody keep say-- no. I -- I''m just trying to piece this family back together. So you''ll talk to Gloria about moming to dinner?"


    "Oh, Gloria would never go for that in a million years. She''s still furious with your mother, Which is why I''m not talking to you." Jay said clearly.


    "What did I do?" Mitchell asked, feeling unjust by his father''s words.


    "This conversation never took ce." Jay added.


    "Well, that''s not very nice. I drove all the way here." Mitchell said, not getting the hint.


    "No, you didn''t. You were never here. In fact, you never even called."


    "I would have called, but I thought it would be better To talk about th-- what -- what''s happening here?"


    Jay finally opened his eyes and looked straight to Mitchell. He said whisperingly, "Listen I would love to get this thing behind us, But Gloria would never forgive me If I pulled a fast one on her. That''s why you''re going to pull a fast one on her, And I''m not going to like it one bit."


    Finally understanding the situation, Mitchell shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay, that''s just great. No, that''s great. So it''s all up to me."


    "I can''t hear you because you''re back home And I''m taking a nap." Jay said before lying back down on the chair and finally sumbed himself to his nap. Mitchell mumbled to himself as he returned to his car and drove off to ire''s house.


    Along the way, he picked up Cam and Lily who had gotten ready to go to the dinner party at the Dunphy''s.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I returned to my house after getting out of the dinner party, I had forgotten about the kiss I had with Haley as I saw Dede.


    "Damn. Even though I have an eidetic memory, Ed''s vestigial consciousness wouldn''t let me ess the source of his trauma. I do understand why I had a sense of disgust when I saw Dede though. But It doesn''t matter. She''s only here for an episode. She''ll be in Canada soon. I don''t have to bother with her ."


    "My only concern is the rest of the family feeling hurt about me not going to the dinner. And I didn''t exactly leave the house with grace...Hmm...what should I do?"


    Haley called me, but as I was immersed with my thoughts, I blurted out, "I''m noting to have dinner with your family. I have work to do."


    I guessed that statement would be helpful for me to mend the rtionship with the family in the future, not realizing that Haley had called me for something else.

 Chapter 62: The Incident (Part 4)

    <h4>Chapter 62: Chapter 62: The Incident (Part 4)</h4>


    (Give me double stones for double chap! ??)


    [3rd Person POV]


    *ng-ng* (Law & Order theme)


    Inside Phil and ire''s bedroom, countless papers were spread out on the bed. There was a board on the side where Phil was pinning a picture on it, trying to connect the events scattered inside Edward''s journal and his family photos to further understand him.


    Sitting on a chair nearby with her hair tied up and wearing sses, ire used chopsticks to grab the noodles from the Chinese food container she was holding.


    "I got it. He yed at the symposium. Your mom was escorted out of a symposium for disrupting the event." Phil said in excitement.


    ire shook her head and said decisively, "No. Mom got thrown out on the 23rd. His performance is on the 22nd. They wouldn''t''ve met."


    Phil retraced the thread to see the journal page he had pinned up for the date, "Oh yeah. His mother promised him for their family to go Disnend on the 23rd, after he won the contest. But she broke the promise and brought him to another instructor instead for training."


    "That''s sad. He never went to Disnend." ire muttered with a dejected expression after checking the facts about Edward''s childhood.


    "Come on ire. Focus. If we crack this one, you know what that means?" Phil said solemnly. "It means, we will finally get the upper hand in our argument with him. We had never won against him...not even once." He added with some expectation of finally showing himself as an ''adult'' while talking with Ed.


    "Then, there''s got to be something to exin why that happened." ire said as she put the food container down and walked to the board. "He said it''s innate hate. Ed never picks his wordings carelessly."


    Phil nodded at ire''s words before he said, "It didn''t seem that he wanted to do that on purpose, rather that he couldn''t help what he was feeling. So what caused it? What triggers it?"


    At this moment, the door to the bedroom was knocked. ire and Phil turned their heads toward the door before ire walked slowly to open it.


    "Hi. What did you find out?" Mitchell asked as he entered the room. Cam followed behind Mitchell wearing a pink paisley shirt and jeans. "Ho Ho, someone''s been watching Castle. So who''s going to be Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic?"


    The group was confused about Cam''s statement and stared at him, making him smile wryly.


    [Cam''smentary]


    "Being a stay-at-home dad/trophy wife, I had nothing much to do except binge-watching some shows while taking care of Lily. "


    [Commentary ends]


    "Isn''t he just in his rebellious stage? I remember a friend of mine in highschool wanted to seem more edgy, therefore he acted rude around everyone else." Mitchell said.


    "I consider that too, but teenagers like that would be rude to everyone, not just a specific person." ire deduced brilliantly while staring at a picture of Edward''s mother on the wall.


    "ire?" Mitchell asked in concern as he saw ire was staring at the picture intently. She then said, "My instinct is telling me that this picture is useful, but I don''t know why."


    "Let me see that." Cam said while pushing ire away and took her ce to stare at the picture. "Wait. this ne...Isn''t this the same one that your mom is wearing right now?" Cam asked while pointing at the seashell ne Edward''s mother was wearing.


    "WAIT SERIOUSLY!?" ire and Phil shouted at the same time and pushed Cam away before Phil took down the picture and held it in his hand. ire took a closer look and said, "It''s simr. But That couldn''t be the reason...right?"


    In another room, a young teenage girl was in a dilemma of her own.


    "Why is he being like this?!"


    Walking back and forth by the side of her bed, Haley was lost in her thoughts and couldn''t help but be anxious as she thought that her friendship with Edward was ruined.


    "...I- I need to go talk to him..." She muttered before bing determined to settle the problems today.


    But, the moment she opened her door, she saw her parents opening their own door and were in a heated discussion about who should be the one to go talk to the boy she wanted to talk to. She instinctively hid herself behind the door to listen to their conversation.


    "You should stay here with your mom. I can handle this on my own ire. We''re best friends." Phil said hurriedly and tried to get away from ire who was holding him by the edge of his shirt.


    "That''s why I should go there. He needs an adult to talk to him, not a friend." ire debated. "And I''m not letting you hog all the credit."


    "Oh my god. Just go there together. This wasn''t supposed to be a hard discussion." Mitchell said in annoyance as he was tired of the couple''s antics.


    ''Wait. Mom and Dad want to go and see him?...I should cut them off and go there first to settle things with him before theye. Otherwise they''ll... know...'' Haley thought before she opened her bedroom door abruptly�C causing the adults to be startled, and descended the stairs quickly before exiting the front door.


    "I''ll be back before dinner!" Haley shouted before her parents could ask her where she was going.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Ah damn...the kiss...Now that my trauma has been repressed, I can finally think about that." I muttered while holding my chin with my fingers as I fell into deep thoughts.


    "(Sigh) I guess I should go and apologize." With slumped shoulders, I walked to the front door as I wanted to go over to the Dunphy''s and meet up with Haley.


    However, as I opened the door, the anxious girl who was trying to knock it with her balled up hand missed the target and stumbled into my arms unexpectedly. Haley''s face blushed as my arms wrapped around her, but she quickly shook her face to snap out of the feelings that were bubbling up to the surface.


    "Ah. Haley. I was going to go to your house to talk to you." I said as I helped her stand up properly. "We need to talk about the ki-"


    Haley covered my mouth with her hand in embarrassment and quickly said, "What kiss? Nothing happened between us. We definitely didn''t kiss each other."


    Gently moving her hand out of the way, I said, "Although I wanted to pretend it didn''t happen too, it did happen, and we need to talk about it."


    "No. We don''t have to talk about it. That...that is just an ident. I was feeling vulnerable from my fight with my mom, and I just wanted to kiss someone to forget about it. I would do the same to a stranger if they were around-"


    Ignoring her words, I said, "Although you want to deny that you''re attracted to me-"


    "Who''s attracted to you!?-"


    "I am attracted to you too. That''s why, the situation is nowplicated, and I had to return home to arrange my thoughts first."


    Haley was stunned by honesty. Her eyes widened and she mumbled, "Wha-"


    ''I''d be lying if I said that I never thought about it.'' I thought as I smiled at the doe-eyes girl. ''But...if I date her...then...what will happen if things don''t work out?''


    "Wait. If I''m attracted to you, and you''re attracted to me...doesn''t that mean..."


    "That we can or should ask each other out? That''s true. But, I wouldn''t want to make you suffer when you date me." I said calmly.


    Haley was confused and said, "What do you mean?"


    "Haley. You know that I dated Abby before right? And you''re her best friend." I said. Haley nodded and said, "But...I don''t think Abby would mind if we truly liked each other."


    "That''s true. But my main concern is not that-"


    "What is your concern? Don''t beat around the bush and just say that you don''t want to date me. I can take it." She said in annoyance.


    As I saw she was frustrated, I patted her head gently to calm her down and said, "My main concern is...we fall in love..."


    "W-W-We''re just dating. Why did had you think so far-"


    "Because. You''re my friend. One of my best friends in fact. If we date, and one of us falls in love with the other, then when it doesn''t work out, we might not be able to stay as friends. Then, I can no longer hang out with your family, nor will they feelfortable meeting with me. Even your mom will be affected, as she is working under me. So, I need to think far ahead about this. This isn''t a decision that I could make wantonly. "


    "Wait. You don''t want to date me because you want to hang out with my family?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "That''s the simple exnation. Yes." I replied with a gentle smile.


    Although I shared my true thoughts with Haley, I kept thest and final thought especially just for me. This word''s Ed was a child of divorce, and the previous life Ed had never fallen in love with someone, and doesn''t feel that I could ever trust someonepletely.


    If I dated Haley, I would just bring her more suffering rather than helping her grow as a person in our rtionship. I would just be a side character god had ced in Haley''s life for her character development, and I was afraid that I couldn''t give a positive impact on her life. I wanted to stay in the Dunphy''s family life for a long time, and if I date Haley, I would just give myself a time limit until we get bored with each other and finally have our unavoidable breakup.


    Parallel thinking has its own side effect. It was easier for me to overthink nowadays.


    Greatly confused, Haley asked, "So, you like my family more than me?"


    "I like them too, and I like you, so I don''t want to risk losing it all." I said, causing the attraction she has towards me to be reced by annoyance.


    "Urgh. Seriously?"


    "Yup. And If we date and break up, how can I teach you how to design after that? Maybe, we can try again yearster in the future, but right now, it''s not a suitable time for us to do that."


    "Ugh!" Haley groaned and turned her back towards me before walking away a few steps. But, she paused and turned slightly towards me while saying, "So...If you don''t know my family... or know me before this?"


    "I would date you, without doubt. Also, I''m a bit regretful. I was so stunned during the kiss that I didn''t feel anything. If I knew then, I would try to enjoy it more."


    Haley smirked and said, "Ha! Serves you right! And I would never kiss you again, so you just have to go through life wondering what that will feel like-"


    Without her realizing it, I had already stood in front of her and used my finger to raise her chin up. Then, I kissed her without saying anything. Stunned, Haley froze on the spot with her eyes closed.


    After 3 seconds, I finally separated my lips from her and pulled my head back. While licking my lips, I said, "Hmm...Tasted like strawberries."


    Unlucky for Haley, before she could react, we both heard Phil calling for us from afar.


    "E-money! Haley!"


    We turned to the side of the street where Phil was calling from and we saw ire and Phil were walking hurriedly toward us.


    "Wait, did they see us kissing?!" Haley said while freaking out.


    "Calm down. Don''t admit to anything unless they tell us they saw us kissing. Don''t even admit it if they were only hinting at it." I said whisperingly to Haley before greeting Phil and ire, "Hey. Sorry for my reaction before-"


    "NO! Don''t say sorry now! We will talk to you first." ire said hurriedly.


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    ire said, "If he apologized, then it means that his conscience had brought him back to the right path. I can''t let that happen."


    Phil nodded and said, "That credit is for us. Not to whatever the voice inside his head had talked to him about."


    ire nodded and said, "Yeah. It''s our time to shine. If hees to apologize on his own, then all of our preparation will be useless."


    Phil agreed with ire and muttered, "It''s on."


    [Commentary ends]


    ire cleared her throat and said, "Ed. What you did was rude, and we need to talk about that. Can you tell us why you did that?"


    I stared nkly at ire as I was confused by the situation. "Didn''t I just said I''m sorr-"


    Phil interjected quickly before I could finish my sentence, "I don''t know what happened to you in the past. Maybe...meeting Dede today has brought up some bad memories that make you want tosh out at an innocent person."


    ire added, "Also, you realized that walking out of the dinner is running away from conflict?"


    I tried to get a word in, "Yeah. I realized all of that. That''s why I was going to go there to apologize now-"


    Phil put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Ed. Dede is not your mother."


    His statement caused me to be greatly confused, but my reaction encouraged them to continue doing more of their bit as they thought my silence was an agreement on the topic.


    "Mom. Let him talk." Haley interjected.


    ire turned to Haley and said, "Why are you here? I thought you''re meeting your friends?"


    "No..I..uh..." Haley stammered so I spoke up to help her. "She came here with the same purpose as you."


    "Good job Haley." Phil said. "Wait. I need to be less supportive. Uhh...You did an average job?"


    I facepalmed at Phil''s words and Haley was baffled by the whole situation.


    Then, I realized that it would be better if I yed along with their bit instead of ignoring it. That way, it would end sooner.


    "Look. ire. I admit that I had some reservations about being in the same room with your mom, but I was just confused about what reaction I was supposed to have before. Now that I have time to think about it, I can act normally around her without insulting her everytime she takes a breath and wasting the world''s oxygen."


    "See. that. Ed, you need to get rid of that presumption. She is a controlling monster, but deep down... Deep Deep down... very deep down... she''s a nice woman." ire said.


    As the conversation was quick paced, I identally revealed my honest thoughts, "I don''t believe in deep down. I believe, you''re the thing that you do. Murderers, kidnappers, scammers. If you believe in deep down, then deep down these human trash are good too. Then, should they not...be punished for their mistake?"


    ire was taken aback by my words and fell into a silence. She hasn''t expected that type of attack, and now she''s at a loss for words.


    "Damn it." I cursed softly as I had unwillingly prolonged the difficult conversation these people wanted to have with me.


    "But Ed. Forgiveness will bring you inner peace in the future." Phil added to save ire from the brimstone. "If you''re not willing to forgive your mother, then you won''t find the peace inside."


    "What are you, Master Shifu?" I said in frustration while rubbing my head. Using my parallel thinking this time, I made an analogy that they could fight against and win against me if they thought about the situation properly.


    I sighed and said, "For me, forgiving the monster inside your family is like the movie, Beauty and the Beast. Kidnap thedy, force her to live alone with you in the castle, until she finally couldn''t differentiate a man and a beast. That''s not love. That''s Stockholm syndrome. When the beast was finally out of the castle, then Belle could see her situation in a different perspective. She''s a prisoner, nothing more."


    Phil smiled and said, "If you want to use beauty and the beast as an example, then you have to admit something. That...you are living inside a fairy tale. In the real world, there isn''t a prince cursed by magic. There''s only other people."


    ire added, "There''s no viin that wants to split you up. Or turned into a dragon."


    "ire, that''s a different story." Phil said quickly.


    "Still in a fairytale category, so it counts." ire said shamelessly. She hugged me suddenly and said, "I know how you''re feeling. I had a controlling mother growing up too. But now, I have my own family that I swore I would protect from going through the same pain I did. I want that for you too, as I consider you part of our family."


    I was baffled by her hug, and although I manipted the conversation in this direction, ire and Phil''s sincere feeling of wanting to save me from my emotional distress moved me. I realized that they had made a lot of preparation for this and I felt only gratitude for them.


    "Okay." I replied simply while maintaining a poker face. "Thank you ire."


    She finally released me with a soft smile on her face. Haley watched the scene and then sighed as she finally realized she couldn''t win in the affection ranking as the top ces were filled with her mom and dad.


    [ire''smentary.]


    "AND THAT''S HOW YOU DO IT!"


    [Commentary ends]


    Phil realized that he had lost and said hurriedly, "NO! Wait- I meant. Ed- Just because Dede was wearing a seashell ne same as your mom, doesn''t mean that-"


    ire stopped him quickly before he managed to spill out everything and revealed their secrets.


    "Wait. How did you know that?" I asked while narrowing my eyes at Phil and ire. Both of them broke into cold sweats before Haley turned to me and said, "Wait. That''s why you''re rude to Nana? Because she wore the same ne?"


    "What? No. My mom talked to her once while I was 8, and was influenced by using crystals and essential oils as a (Mockingly)natural remedy for sickness. (Normally) Do you know how many nights I had to suffer because of that? My dad had to sneak some antibiotics in my food just to feed me true medicine." I exined why I was so hostile towards Dede.


    ""Ahhh..." Phil and ire both eximed in realization.


    "How did you know about the ne?" I asked again while bing increasingly agitated.


    "Uhh...I need to go help ire make dinner. Bye Ed." Phil said hurriedly before he ran away.


    "Your WIFE IS HERE!" I shouted towards him as he sprinted toward his house. "How did you know ire?" I said as I turned toward ire.


    "Uhh...I need to let Phil help me make dinner. Don''t forget toe over Ed! Now. Talk to Haley." ire said before running off too.


    "They are suspicious." I muttered.


    Haley said innocently, "Aren''t they just hurrying to make dinner? It''s almost dinner time too, and I don''t think mom has cooked anything."


    Turning toward her, I patted her hair gently with some pity in my eyes.


    "URGH! Stop messing with my hair. And now with mom''s gone, I can finally be mad at you!" Haley said angrily.


    "What? Now we''re even. You sneaked a kiss on me once, I did the same thing to you. That''s it."


    Haley thought for a second before saying she reprimanded me, "Okay. I''ll ept that. But this is just for today. From tomorrow onwards, There will be no more kissing between us." She gestured ''No'' with her hands cutely, causing me to chuckle.


    "Sure." I replied simply, making her annoyed again.


    "Seriously. No more." Haley said again.


    "I know." I said before walking toward my house.


    "Wait, aren''t youing to dinner?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "I don''t know why, but my instinct tells me to bring a guitar with me. Also, as I had rejected you-"


    "No. I rejected you."


    "You kissed me first."


    "When did that happen?" Haley yed dumb shamelessly.


    I sighed and said, "If I rejected you, then I wanted to make up a song for you. But as You''re the one who rejected me-"


    "NO! Ughhh! FINE I got rejected! Are you happy!? Now give me my song!"


    ************


    Author: I fulfilled my promise. The next Chapter will be on Tuesday. I n on doing only 4 Chapter a week during Ramadhan, and I will return to my normal schedule after Eid. Enjoy the chap!

 Chapter 63 - 63 : The Incident (Part Last)

    <h4>Chapter 63: Chapter 63 : The Incident (Part Last)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "I''m sorry for blurting out about what I was feeling when I saw you. I realized that I should''ve kept the feeling buried inside like a normal human being instead of throwing it at your face so that you can keep the illusion that you''re a kind woman. How about that as an apology?"


    Haley stared at me with a deadpan expression before she said, "You realize she''s my grandmother, right?"


    "Ah. Grandmother. I guess I should include that she''s old somewhere in the sentence.


    As Haley and I walked together to her house, I relied on her help to adjust my undeserved apology to Dede and make it seem more sincere. I was carrying the guitar case on my left hand while Haley stood at my right side.


    Haley shook her head and hit my shoulder afterward after hearing my apology temte.


    She said in concern, "Be more serious. What if my mom thought you''re someone who can''t apologize for his mistake? Then you cannote over anymore."


    Rubbing my sore shoulder, I said teasingly, "Why do I feel like there''s a hidden contempt behind the punch?"


    "Must be your imagination." She said as we reached the front door. She quickly stood in front of me and said, "We''re here, so don''t you dare use that apology. I''m serious. Don''t do it."


    "I won''t. I won''t." I said dismissively while shrugging my shoulders. "I was only teasing you, I am not crazy enough to do that in front of your family."


    "Hmph! Don''t kid yourself. You are crazy enough to do that." She mocked teasingly before opening the front door.


    "Edward!" Cam saw me the minute I walked in and ran to the door from the living room sofa he was sitting on to give me a hug.


    "Hi Cam. Long time no see."


    "Gosh. It''s been a long time. How''s Taylor?"


    I was bbergasted by the random questioning so I answered, "She''s fine...I guess."


    "Good. So you''re keeping in contact? You have her phone number? Are you guys datin-"


    Before Cam could finish his words, Mitchell swooped in and pushed him out of the way. He greeted me calmly as if nothing had happened. "Come in. That must be heavy." He said while pointing at my guitar. "Are you back from practice?"


    "No. I owed Haley a song, so I brought it with me to repay my debt here as her family is gathering together."


    Mitchell eximed in wonder, "OOohh. A new song? I can''t wait."


    The uncles walked to the kitchen to call Dede to the living room, leaving me alone with Haley there.


    Haley whispered, "Wait. Did you write a new song...for me?"


    "Maybe." I replied teasingly, making her blush.


    Alex and Luke walked into the living room from the kitchen and greeted me.


    "I thought you weren''ting." Alex said as she stood close to me and Haley.


    "I thought so too. But I need to do this for your mom." I said while turning my focus toward Dede and ire, who were walking together to the living room.


    "I heard you want to talk to me?" Dede said with a calm tone and a scrunched up eyebrow that showed she was ufortable. I automatically gritted my teeth as I saw her, but then Haley held my arm and whispered, "Be strong. Be clear. Just like ripping off a bandaid. Be quick. Then you don''t have to care about this ever again."


    "Uhh...what is happening?" Alex asked, as she could clearly hear what Haley was saying.


    I nodded at her and took a step forward to get closer to Dede. As I reached her arm length, I said, "I want to apologize for my rudeness. Please forgive me."


    Dede paused for a second before she asked, "Can I know why you did that?"


    I smiled at her despite gritting my teeth inside my mouth and spoke with a strained voice. "Because, your advice about homeopathy had influenced my mother and caused me nothing but suffering in my early childhood. But now, I realized that the me was actually on my mother as she was too gullible to actually be tricked into a pseudo-cult that-"


    "Ed. Temper." Haley called out to me hurriedly.


    "Ah. Sorry again." I said it without any sincerity in me.


    "That''s all right. Not all people could understand the beauty and power of mother nature." Dede said without any guilt in her voice.


    Despite my brain debunking her ims in 20 different ways, I had to smile and say, "Will you forgive me?"


    Dede nodded and said, "I came here to get forgiveness. How hypocritical I would be if I didn''t forgive you. Come here." She opened her arms wide to give me a hug, and ire eximed, "A," Together with Haley when they saw I was forgiven.


    "Ah. You don''t have to-" Before I could reject the hug, Dede already had her arms around me. My forehead vein popped out from the anger while Haley enjoyed my misery.


    I maintained my smile despite smelling Dede''s all-natural body odor, which was forced onto my nose, and finally survived the ordeal after 10 long seconds.


    As she released me, I said, "As a peace offering. I had brought a traditional Cuban dish as a gift. It''s still frozen, so you should eat it when you get back to Canada." I said as I gave Dede the Ropa Vieja my aunt had made before this. The people that saw me giving a gift to Dede were all smiling, not knowing the story behind the dish.


    "Awwh. thank you. I''ll enjoy it." Dede said with a smile as she took the container from my hand.


    *Ding Dong*


    The doorbell rang and my apology session was finally over.


    "That must be Gloria." ire said while turning her head left and right before saying, "Mom. You should go sit near the mantel with Mitchell. You know...Furthest away from Gloria."


    "But-" Mitchell tried to protest, but ire used her eyes to make him obedient. "We''ll sit by the piano." Haley said and pulled me to the spot as it has the best view of the living room. Cam was sitting on a single couch with a champagne ss in his hand while Mitchell and her mom were standing nearby, face full of nervousness.


    "I''ll get it." Phil said as he descended the stairs quickly to open the door.


    "Oh, Mitchell, I know it''s silly, but I''m a little nervous." Dede said while locking arms with Mitchell.


    "Oh, no. That''s not silly...You should be." Mitchell replied sarcastically while patting his mother''s hand.


    At the front door, Manny and Jay walked in with Gloria.


    "Hey. How are you?" Phil smiled before turning to a well dressed kid in a dinner jacket and fedora. "Manny."He said while tipping an imaginary hat.


    "Phil." Manny did the same gesture before entering the house.


    "H. I came here to get the artist''s autograph!" Gloria said yfully as she entered the house in a pink floral pattern dress and green high heel shoes.


    Gloria walked two steps into the house before her smile disappeared instantly as she turned toward the living room.


    "Oh, boy." Mitchell eximed as he prepared himself for the uing storm.


    "Dede." Jay muttered as he saw his ex-wife.


    "Hi, Jay." Dede greeted him back before turning to the new wife, "Gloria."


    "What is she doing here?" Gloria asked with dissatisfaction.


    " What does she mean, "what is she doing here?" Mitchell told you I''d be here." Dede asked a bit fearfully as she turned to Mitchell for help.


    "Lies!" Gloria eximed as her anger bubbled up to the surface.


    "Look. I couldn''t tell her because she wouldn''te." Mitchell exined before turning to Gloria and saying hurriedly, "Gloria, my mom wants to apologize for everything."


    "So you just spring it on Gloria like this? Mitchell, what the hell is wrong with you?" Jay said shamelessly.


    "I don''t want her apologies." Gloria said in a dissatisfied tone.


    "And who could me you, honey? Which is why this is a terrible idea by you!" Jay said while throwing the me on Mitchell once more.


    "This is entertaining." I muttered. "I wish I had popcorn to enjoy this."


    "Shut up. It''s not." Haley admonished me.


    " Jay, Manny, let''s go." Gloria said while pulling Manny and Jay away to get out of the house.


    Dede realized she had to step up instead of leaving it all to Mitchell, so she approached Gloria a few steps while begging, "Oh, wait, wait, Gloria.. Gloria.."


    Gloria stopped trying to leave and turned to Dede.


    "I''d��I just want to tell you how sorry I am for ruining your wedding." Dede said hurriedly.


    "I was struggling with being alone...Meanwhile, Jay moves on so easily. And not just with anyone, but with a young, intelligent, and beautiful woman..."


    Gloria nodded as if acknowledging Dede''s statement before turning angry again.


    "I don''t expect you to forgive me. If I were you, I''d want to punch me right in the mouth." Dede said.


    "Do it." I muttered softly.


    Alex pinched me and said, "Be serious."


    "....I was serious."


    Gloria thought about it for a few seconds before sighing heavily as she nced at Manny.


    [Gloria''smentary]


    "I could''ve punched her in the mouth. I could give her a good punch that she would remember. But how could I do that...in front of the children. I don''t want to set a bad example for them. So I had to be better than el diablo."


    [Commentary ends]


    "No. I think. You have suffered enough." Gloria said while trying to act benevolent. Her act worked as Manny was watching her with glittering eyes as she cemented her position as his role model in his mind.


    Mitchell was excited as he saw the anger being thawed out of Gloria''s face. "Y-y-you see? Yeah, we''re all gonna move past this. And because of me, who -- who''s not a mama''s boy, but is a caring person with wisdom and emotional insight, So make a note, bitches." He said while pointing at the people around him.


    While sipping his wine and enjoying the drama, Cam said to Mitchell, "That''s not a good color on you."


    While standing facing Dede at a close distance, Gloria said, "I forgive you."


    Dede broke into a smile and held her chest in happiness. "Oh. Wow. I am not prepared for this."


    She walked toward the smiling Gloria before she said, "I just -- I wa-- I want to rip your head off!"


    Dede suddenly attacked Gloria and tried to rip out her hair. Gloria abandoned her intention to forgive Dede and returned to her actions by pulling her hair back. "You ruined my wedding!" Gloria shouted.


    Both Dede and Gloria started to fight, startling everyone there but me. While choking each other, both of them fall onto the couch. Gloria''s chest almost popped out of her chest therefore ire hurriedly closed them with her hand to censor it.


    Phil interjected quickly and hugged Gloria by the waist before pulling her away, while Mitchell pulled Dede away. ire tried to help Phil separate the two, but to no avail.


    "I got Gloria! I got Gloria! I got Gloria." Phil shouted as he threw himself in between the two women and held Gloria''s waist to pull her away. Gloria was confused by Phil, but didn''t mind it as he was on her side. Dede was limping her entire body on instinct as she was dragged away by Mitchell and Cam.


    "Stand up like a big girl.Come on." Mitchell muttered to make Dede realize they weren''t authorities trying to remove her from an establishment as usual.


    Jay finally decided to say something after seeing the situation deteriorate. During the fight. "All right, all right, all right. Stop it, stop it, stop it, the two of you!" He stood in between the two women and faced Dede.


    Haley said quickly as she became embarrassed by her family, " I am so sorry about this."


    "No, it''s cool. I like seeing your nana get beat up." I said dismissively as I enjoyed the show.


    Standing facing Dede, Jay spoke calmly. "This is ridiculous. Gloria didn''t steal me, Dede, and you know it."


    Dede lowered her eyes and nodded obediently.


    Jay continued, " We grew apart for years. And you left to find yourself, remember?"


    Dede said, " I thought I could handle this. I''m so sorry-"


    Gloria shouted in anger and tried to walk to Dede to beat her up before getting caught by Phil, "You don''t say "sorry" anymore! That word means nothing in your mouth!"


    "I got Gloria."


    Manny, ire and Phil tried to stop Gloria from giving Dede the beating of her life.


    Dede said, "I don''t know what just happened."


    Then, the living room became silent as the atmosphere worsened.


    "Ugh. This is unbearable. Can''t you just... ''Dr. Phil'' them like you did to us before?" Alex asked.


    "I can, but why should I?" I said.


    "Do it for us. Please." Haley said.


    Luke interjected, "Do it, then I won''t shout what you did inside Haley''s room before this-"


    I walked out of the corner where the kids were standing and said, "If I can put in my two-cents here."


    "Edward. I''m sorry for this-" ire tried to apologize while everyone else turned their attention towards me.


    "It''s okay ire. Dede said, She doesn''t know what just happened. But, as an outsider, I can see it. She came here today, because she was reaching out, and trying to hold on to something awesome." I said while pointing at Dede.


    "That something is ...passionate, and epting of hot foreigners,..." I said while looking at Gloria, then I turned to Mitch and Cam, "... gay dudes, stray artists," Lastly, I turned to Dede who was sitting alone on the sofa, "and Nutty people."


    I sat at the armrest of the lone couch Cam was sitting before and faced the whole family.


    "A family, that actually loved each other. When I spent the days where my dad wasn''t around, alone inside my house, I felt a bit jealous of Haley, Alex and Luke for having this kind of family." I continued.


    ire hugged the teary-eyed Phil who cried as soon as my words touched them. "He''s wonderful."


    With a shaky voice, Phil said, "I know. He''s perfect. I really want him to be our son-inw."


    ire was baffled and turned to Phil with a confused look, "What?"


    Mitchell felt that the time was suitable for him to change the subject.


    "Uh. Everybody. Edward said he had a new song he made for...Haley. So why don''t you y the song now?"


    Phil got excited and he ran towards me with my guitar case. "y it E-money."


    While pretending to be hesitant, I said, "Well...I guess if you want me to."


    The reason why it was so easy for the family to move on from the fight was simple. They just needed an excuse, as they had just released their pent up frustration with each other. Now, they just wanted to move on from the fight, and I gave them a way out with my intervention.


    I ced the guitar on my knees and locked eyes with the young girls in front of me. Both of them had a lovestruck twinkle in their eyes, but I ignored them, thinking they were just fans of mine. Further backing me up in my hypothesis were Manny and Luke, who had the same twinkle in their eyes as they waited for me to sing.


    [ying: Rhythms of Love �C in White T''s]


    I started ying the intro to the song, and the family fell in love with it instantly.


    "Oh, it''s a cheerful song this time." iremented.


    Phil added, "Of course. Haley made him cheerful. They should date-"


    ire closed Phil''s mouth before he could finish their words and turned toward me to make sure I didn''t hear them.


    After the intro, I started to sing while maintaining eye contact with the family, "?? Head is stuck in the clouds...She begs me toe down...Says "Boy quit foolin'' around"???..."


    Haley snorted before getting embarrassed as everyone turned toward her. She shook her head and focused on the song once more.


    "??I told her "I love the view from up here...Warm sun and wind in my ear...


    We''ll watch the world from above...As it turns to the rhythm of love..??"


    Phil, ire, Gloria, and Cam started to sway their bodies as the songpelled them to dance while Mitchell sat beside his mother.


    "??We may only have tonight... But till the morning sun you''re mine, all mine...??"


    "??y the music low and sway to the rhythm of love...??"


    Cammented, "The song is very different from the other songs he yed before."


    ire said, " I know. Isn''t this great? He''s not singing sad songs anymore."


    ??My heart beats like a drum...A guitar string to the strum...A beautiful song to be sung...??"


    I locked eyes with Haley for the next verse paired with a yful smirk that made her fall for me once more.


    "She''s got green eyes deep like the sea...That roll back when she''sughing at me...She rises up like the tide...The moment her lips meet mine...??"


    "Wait what?!" ire widened her eyes while Haley was frozen on the spot, thinking that I was a crazy person to actually put that on the lyric.


    "??We may only have tonight...But till the morning sun you''re mine all mine...y the music low and sway to the rhythm of love...??"


    "??When the moon is low...We can dance in slow motion...And all your tears will subside...All your tears will dry...And long after I''ve gone...You''ll still be humming along...And I will keep you in my mind...??"


    Haley couldn''t help but be touched as she remembered what we talked about before, but Alex could only conceal her feeling of envy that she didn''t know she had. Rather than being a love song, the song touched her more because she considered it an ode to a friend. That was, before the next verse.


    "??The way you make love so nice...We may only have tonight...??"


    Jay looked at me weirdly while ire widened her eyes. Haley turned to her mother and said quickly, "Not about me. Not about me."


    Although the rest of the family sighed in relief, ire finally connected the moans she heard inside Taylor''s cabin to me, who was singing the song in front of her. "Oh. My. God." She eximed.


    Cam almost spat out his drink in surprise at the word choice, but Phil was delighted because he took the phrase literally rather than understanding its meaning. Mitchell was staring at Haley with a grin on his face.


    [Mitchell Commentary]


    "I never seen Haley look more smitten than she is right now. (sing-song voice) That girl has a crush."


    mentary ends]


    Haley couldn''t help but blush the entire time the song was ying as I continued to tease her as I yed the song.


    "??But till the morning sun you''re mine all mine...


    y the music low and sway to the rhythm of love...


    y the music low and sway to the rhythm of love...


    Yes sway to the rhythm of love...??"


    -song ends-


    [Manny''smentary]


    "Ed has a vocal range and the way he ys with emotions on his songs give him a style that no other artist is able to provide. I''m proud to say that he''s my idol now. Also, I need to learn from him how to serenade girls. It was obvious that Haley had fallen in love with him after the song."


    [Jay and Gloria''smentary]


    Gloria said in excitement, "I know that Ed is an artist, and he will meet a lot of beautiful girls. But Haley is beautiful too. And for sure they are falling for each other."


    Jaymented grumpily, "I think the song is ''Meh.'' I like the other ones better."


    mentary ends]


    ...


    After dinner, Haley walked me home despite my repeatedly saying it was okay for me to go back alone. It was almost midnight when the dinner party ended, and my dad had already gotten to work.


    She helped me carry a takeout container for my breakfast tomorrow that ire had prepared as I was carrying the guitar case.


    Haley said, "I want to say it''s been a long time since mom freaked out, but you were there in the afternoon, so I would be lying if I said that."


    "Yeah. I got to exin to her that I was just ying around when I wrote the word ''make love'', but she wouldn''t believe me." I said with augh.


    Haleyughed too as we entered my house. I put the guitar in the living room while she put the container near the key drawer.


    "Like, what did she expect? Us doing it?" Haley joked yfully.


    I turned toward her and said, "Yeah. She''s funny. She doesn''t even know that we agreed that we wouldn''t kiss each other anymore...after tomorrow..."


    We locked eyes with each other before we stared at each other''s lips.


    Haley pretended tough and said, "Yeah...after...tomorrow."


    Our bodies inch closer to each other before I said, "Yeah...Tomorrow..."


    As if we were waiting for it, both of us moved our faces closer and kissed each other. I grabbed her body and pulled her up into the air and into my arms, as she was too short for me to keep bending my body. She wrapped her legs around my waist as we kept making out with each other.


    Our tongues intertwined with each other as we wouldn''t let each other stop. We were trying to make the most of the little time we had before tomorrow came.

 Chapter 64: Singles.

    <h4>Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Singles.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Today I decided to indulge in a full-course Japanese breakfast for lunch. As I had experienced Hiruma''s 2 years worth of memories, I had grown to long for this type of food in my normal life.


    My breakfast consisted of a 6 ounce salted salmon, a bowl of white rice, a bowl of miso soup, a te of tofu topped with bonito kes, a te of pickled daikon and quick pickled cucumber, and a few otherplimentary dishes.


    With a chopstick in my hand, I start to eat the breakfast that was made just for my newly acquired taste. My hair was styled neatly, and I was wearing a ck turtleneck and jeans as I greeted the guest today.


    Sitting in front of me, a sassy man was holding the chopstick skillfully as he tore into the salmon on the te in front of him. I had prepared two meals , one for me, and one for Pepper. Pepper was wearing a cream-colored suit and a paisley vest toe visit today.


    "I can''t believe it. With your skills, you can shut down a few Japanese restaurants if you decide to open a store. Is there anything you couldn''t do?" Pepper eximed as he closed his eyes to enjoy the crunchy exterior and the supple meat full of umami as he took a bite of the salmon.


    "I can''t drive...yet." I replied teasingly before I took a small bite of the rice using the chopstick.


    "Arrogant. Good, I need you to be confident when your singles are released next week." Pepper said casually despite dropping a major bomb at the breakfast table.


    "Huh? We''re doing that now?" I asked in confusion.


    Pepper smirked and said, "We''re going to ride Taylor''s and yours''s... taboo love hot topics and release three songs. People are begging for it. As a marketing tactic, and also, you''re going to leech on Taylor''s fame in the beginning of your debut. So, we''re going to release ''Two is better than one'' now."


    "That''s understandable. And a good choice. But Taylor and I still haven''t recorded the song yet." I replied. "Also, their agency is being a prick. They are rejecting the coboration agreement, right?"


    "No need to worry about that. Harvey had done her job well. You''ll get the full rights to the song, and Taylor will receive a one-time payment for her part." Pepper said. "Same condition as her ''Love Story'' song. You''ll get more than 400,000 dors for that."


    "Use it for Taylor''s payment. They are increasing the price for her contract right?" I asked calmly.


    "...I don''t want to tell you about this, but they wanted more than 700,000 dors as they are iming she was more famous than you, so her price should be higher."


    "It''s okay. As long as she will still sing the ''Two is better than one'' song."


    "That''s my n exactly. Paramount Pictures will foot the bill, so don''t worry about it. They are really stupid to reject OST royalties, just to not have some ties with us." Pepper said in irritation.


    However, Pepper didn''t know that Harvey and I had schemed something else for the song. She had tracked Taylor down to make her sign a contract that would ensure her royalties for the song. It might seem like a bad financial decision, right?


    The reason Harvey and I did that was because of a special use in an artist coboration in Taylor''s contract. If she coborated with me more than four times in a year''s time, my agency would be entitled to making decisions about Taylor''s future career. It wouldn''t work if our coboration didn''t reach five in a year''s time. Therefore, I need to n this properly.


    ''Simply speaking, I would have some power over her career, and could even help her get out of her contract with her agency.'' I schemed silently.


    A lot of artists have the same contract as Taylor. That was why the artist''s coboration wouldn''t go over four times, as the agency wouldn''t want to share the decision-making power over their artists.


    I could still hear Harvey''s heavy breathing when I asked her to hide the use in fine print when she made Taylor sign it. She really loves screwing others up through legal matters.


    ''Of course, if Taylor doesn''t want my help, then I wouldn''t reveal my hand and force any decisions on her career.''


    Pepper snapped his fingers in front of my face a few times. "Ed. Are you still here?"


    "Oh. Yeah. I''m here." I said after snapping out of my thoughts.


    " Like I was saying, the productionpany really wants your song. They are also eyeing ''It Will Rain" to be put into the movie. The meeting with the producers is next Wednesday. You don''t have to go to ss that day, so be happy."


    "Nice." I said with a sideways fist pump. Then, I said, "We can do ''Me and My Broken Heart'' and ''Grenade'' in the same singles release. We''ll put up a theme for the first single, ''LOVE AND HEARTBREAK.'' How about that?"


    "That''s great Ed! Let me jot that down." Pepper said before taking out a small notebook.


    "Finally keeping track huh. I told you not to trust your memory capability." I teased as I drank the miso soup by holding the bowl with both hands.


    "I gave up after trying to share your song names with a producer for the third time." Pepper said without shame in his voice. He even took out his sses to do his job properly, even though he was the owner of the agency.


    "Should we record a music video?" I asked after I saw Pepper had finished writing.


    "For which one? You can''t do Two is better than one. The studio wants to release the music video too for marketing purposes." Pepper exined.


    "We''ll do it for Grenade. I think I can do it quickly. If we have time, we can do it for the other one."


    "Ed. Making a music video needs some time. We need a music director, producer, editing team, film set, a storyline, and more. It''ll take at least 3 weeks, minimum." Pepper exined calmly.


    "What if, we already have a storyline? And I can handle the editing. How fast can you find a set director, a cameraman, and a fake piano prop that I could lug around with a rope?"


    Pepper opened his mouth, but then he closed it as he suddenly realized that I had already nned everything for the music video.


    Not that I need to n much, I just need to copy what I have already seen in my previous world. And with my eidetic memory, I could copy it�C frame by frame, and do it with a higher quality than in the previous world with my advancedputer skills.


    "But I''m going to need a creative director to have a second look at it." I said while holding my chopstick to take a pickled daikon and brought it to my mouth.


    "Oh. That reminds me. Cam said you created another song yesterday. I envy him." Pepper muttered as he counted the time Cam and Mitch could sit through me creating a song on the spot andpared it to his opportunity to do that.


    "Yeah. We can throw that into the album. I said casually.


    "Still haughty, I see. Good good. Keep it up." Pepper said encouragingly before he took a sip of his green tea.


    While Pepper and I were having a discussion on our future ns, I wondered how the Dunphys would react to the song I yed for them yesterday.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    In the hallway near the living room and the front door.


    "Make love, Phil?! MAKE LOVE!? Are you seriously defending him?!" ire said in frustration as Phil stood in her path and blocked her way to stampede into Edward''s house and give him a talking-to about his behavior.


    "He''s thinking about having SEX, and he''s 14!"


    While clutching her bag, she tried to fake out Phil by moving to the left, but actually was moving to the right, but Phil managed to catch her and return her to her initial position before she could get away from him. She looked at him in frustration, but Phil wasn''t budging from his position.


    "Someone needs to talk to him!"


    [ire''smentary.]


    "I had a nightmarest night." ire confessed with an ashen-white face. "That song...haunts me... I dreamt of Edward living with us...in our house...Everything is nice, and warm, but the only thing I could focus on was Haley''s bulging belly as she was nine months pregnant...at 16..."


    ire snapped out of her delusion and said, "So I need to go talk to him, and Haley too." She then said fearfully, "If...they had done it."


    "But she had driven off to school with her friends so early in the morning that I hadn''t had time to get to it. I know Edward is going to schoolte today, so I will go and talk to him first."


    mentary ends]


    "ire. He said, ''Make love so nice.'' ''Nice'' ire. If it were me, I would describe ''make love'' as fine, hot, or something of the sort. He said it was nice. I don''t think he''s talking about...you know...them doing it..." Phil said in Edward''s defense.


    "Oh God." ire eximed fearfully as she was reminded of her nightmare against night. "Don''t you remember how guilty Haley looked when she got back homest night? Something is going on with them Phil!" ire said in frustration.


    "ire. Back to my original point. Maybe, he''s saying that she made that feeling��love feel so nice again. Not the act, making love...the feeling...love... He''s afraid of loving someone, and now he can let himself fall in love again. What if that is the meaning of his song?" Phil tirelessly tried to defend Edward again.


    [Phil''smentary.]


    "I had a precognitive dreamst night." Phil confessed with a smile.


    "We were all in the living room...all dressed in formal clothes...Haley has a white dress on, and Edward was in his tux...I walked Haley down the aisle as she was pregnant and needed her dad. The band was ying ''Wedding March''."


    With a happy face, Phil continued, "Ed called me D-money and took her hand from me. I can see it in his eyes. He''s deeply in love with her, and she''s in love with him. That nothing in the world could stand in the way of their love. So yeah. I''m rooting for Ed..."


    Then he said seriously, "If... they are truly in love with each other. I wouldn''t force them to be together if they weren''t. "


    mentary ends]


    "Why are you so against them being together? Do you hate Ed?" Phil asked calmly.


    His tone made ire finally stop and think for a while. She started having questions like this �C what was the reason she was freaking out in the first ce, are they even dating each other, do they even like each other.


    ire took a deep breath to calm down before saying, "No. I don''t hate Ed. It''s just...they are too young Phil. Someone needs to tell them the truth. You''re not going to survive with just love. You need money. And a good job. Good education-"


    "Honey. You''re thinking too much. Ed''s a genius. Do you forget that you''re working under him?"


    ire was stunned and she shut her mouth quickly as she looked at Phil with a face full of realization. How could she be so stupid as to forget that?��that was what her inner thought was saying.


    "See. You can''t rebuke me as you know I''m right." Phil said as he pulled his pants up by grabbing the belt. It was loose from his struggle against ire before this. "He''s going to be a rich man. It is a blessing for Haley if they end up together."


    Suddenly, Alex interjected as she stopped in the middle of the stairs going down. "Or, she could end up with some Hong Kong businessman. Like I said, that''s the only way she''s going to survive in this world."


    "Alex. Your sister is pursuing her dreams as a fashion designer. Why don''t you show her a bit more support?" ire rebuked Alex instinctively without fully looking at her.


    Alex ignored her mother''s warning and mumbled to herself, "Please, like she''s going to pursue something in which she needs to truly try to seed.. If anything, she''s only doing it to get close to him."


    "What did you say, Alex?" Phil heard the mumbling but couldn''t make up the words as Alex walked beside him to go to the kitchen.


    "Nothing." Alex said curtly.


    "Doesn''t she seem to be in a bad mood?" Phil asked ire as he kept his eyes on the sullen Alex.


    "Please Phil. I only had time to think about one problem." ire said while holding her hands in front of Phil''s face to stop him.


    "Hey, this isn''t a problem. They aren''t even dating. Edward will tell me if they are dating. We have no secrets from each other." Phil said.


    "Oh yeah. Did he tell you what he did with Taylor at the boat party? Huh, did he?" ire asked instigatively.


    "Yeah. He told me about it. What''s the big deal? I did it too when I was his age. I did it with Mrs. Davis next door.


    ire was baffled by the situation and she said, "What are you talking about Phil?"


    "You''re talking about him giving Taylor a massage, right?" Phil asked in confusion. "That''s what he told me."


    ire rolled her eyes and scoffed in derision before saying, "Phil. That kind of noise didn''te from a massage. Believe me. I know."


    "Well, maybe you misheard."


    "Phil, she was walking funny afterward!" ire retorted.


    "Yeah, maybe from the muscle pain." Phil said defensively.


    "URGHH!" ire groaned in frustration as she couldn''t convince Phil otherwise.


    Alex walked out of the kitchen with acrosse stick in one hand, and a cello in the other. "So, no one is trying to help me? That''s fine." Alex said as she dragged her heavy stuff toward the car alone.


    "See. Something is wrong with her." Phil said again, but he was still standing in his spot, refusing to go help Alex, who was struggling to open the door.


    "For God''s sake, Phil." ire eximed before she went to help the sullen Alex.


    -Abby''s car-


    Haley was sitting next to the driver while wearing a purple blouse with cors up to her neck��looking modest for the first time this year, pair of white-framed circr sunsses that she put on her head, and teardrop dangle earrings on both of her ears. Her brown hair was curled into a wavy pattern, and she had put a lot of makeup on her neck today��for the same reason Edward was wearing a turtleneck shirt today.


    She kept ncing at the driver, who was wearing a ck leather jacket, a low cut top, and long jeans and was focusing on driving.


    "Hmm? Why do you keep taking hidden nces at me? You haven''t fallen in love with me, have you?" The twin-tailed Abby with the gothic maskara said.


    "N-N-NO!" Haley replied exaggeratedly. "Why do you think that? I was just curious why you''re wearing goth makeup again."


    "Well...it''s kinda embarrassing. But I''m not going to meet Ed today, so I''ll wear it." Abby said.


    Feeling as if a needle was pricking her conscience, Haley asked, "Why don''t you wear it in front of him?"


    Abby smiled softly as she reminisced and said, "Because. He said I looked pretty before. So...you know. I kind of want to stay the same way around him."


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Now what should I do? Should I tell her? Last night... we..."


    Haley couldn''t help but smile as she remembered the affairs ofst night.


    She was running her hands all over his hair as they made out heavily, not separating from each other for even a moment. As she wrapped her legs around her, she slowly moved her body up and down, dry humping him as they kissed each other.


    His hand grabbed her ass as their kiss became more passionate. They started to move around the living room, and even knocked over the breakfast container ire prepared for Ed as they walked before they fell together on the sofa and started to move their lips to other things.


    Back to thementary, Haley''s smile disappeared as she remembered her friend.


    "Well they were broken up. So it''s not cheating. And we didn''t n to do that, or to date after this. So...what should I do now? Should I tell her?"


    After thinking for a while, she sighed and said, "I shouldn''t. It''ll only hurt her. We''re not dating in the first ce. So why cause unnecessary drama? It''s not like they are dating right now."


    mentary ends]


    Abby arrived in front of Tara''s house and picked her up. Tara was wearing a denim jacket as usual but with her hair tied up in a ponytail this time.


    "Hmm...why are you dressing like a nun? Didn''t you say you felt good when boys froze in front of your boobs?" Tara asked casually as she saw the strange way Haley was dressing.


    "My mom forced me to do this. You know, cause we had a fight yesterday." Haley concocted an excuse hurriedly to avoid suspicions.


    Tara nodded and she epted the excuse as she thought that ire was a crazy person based on Haley''s stories. Then, she climbed over the door to sit next to Haley instead of at the back. As they were both small teenagers, they could easily share the seat without difort next to the driver''s seat.


    "Hmm? Did you put makeup on your neck?" Tara''s eagle eye could see the contour on Haley''s neck was different even though most of it was hidden by her cor.


    Haley broke into a cold sweat as both of her friends were staring at her. Suddenly, her phone vibrates as she receives a text message.


    Not only her, but both Tara and Abby received one too.


    "Oh. It''s from Ed." Tara muttered. Abby and Haley turned toward her before reading their texts, and were confused as to why Ed was texting Tara.


    Tara realized what both of her friends were thinking so she exined, "We exchanged numbers at his birthday party. He promised to do an interview for the school magazine after I pestered him about the concert."


    The girls epted Tara''s exnation and turned to their texts.


    Abby read the text out loud, "Come by my ce after school today - if you have a touch-screen phone, and some time to spare. I''ll make it worth your while."


    "What is he nning? Also, he sent a mass text. All of us received the same text." Haley said.


    "I don''t know. Maybe a party?" Abby thought before saying, "Nah. He hates that."


    Haley thought for a while before saying, "Ah. The stupid yellow bird."


    "The- what now?" Tara and Abby eximed at the same time.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Pepper. Discuss with the marketing directors. I want to release two singles at the same time for shock factor." Edward said after finishing his breakfast.


    Pepper widened his eyes and said, "But Ed. So far, the album only has 12 songs. If you release six songs as singles, then the album won''t sell well."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll just create a few more songs to put in there. So we will have 15 songs on the album. We are releasing it in September, right?"


    "Ed. You''re not a song pumping machine. You can not be sure that you can reach 15 songs." Pepper said with concern.


    "Well... I understand your concerns... but don''t worry, if there is someone on earth that would live his life without a music-creation block, it''s this guy." I said while pointing my thumb at myself.


    "If I added the song I yed yesterday, and the other song that I yed for Taylor, I already had 14. So I just need one more." I said to convince Pepper. He sighed as he saw my determined and confident look before saying, "All right. After all, thepany''s name is ENtertain. We''ll do what you want to do."


    "Thanks Pepper."

 Chapter 65: Sudden Party?

    <h4>Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Sudden Party?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    After a thorough discussion with Pepper, he sent me to school despite my objections and the fact that I had already missed the first period. Unfortunately for me, the next ss in my schedule was PE.


    I entered the gymnasium 5 minutes after ss had started�C dazed and confused as to how Pepper managed to get me here without me realising it, but the PE teacher didn''t care to ask me where I had been.


    "Move your ass Newgate. Why are you dwindling there? You have another 5ps to finish!"


    The merciful demon in disguise, the buddha nemesis, the anti-of everything kind, Mrs Johnson shouted while holding a board in her hand. She was an African-American woman with short dreadlocks and was in tight gym clothes right now.


    Her stern face and sharp eyebrow had struck great fear into your average middle schooler''s heart. Everyone I know has already experienced that at least once in their time here at the school. Not to mention, she is 6 ''3 in height, a size that had made her the tallest woman in the room for almost her entire life.


    "MOVE MOVE MOVE!" She shouted as she lightly smacked the back of a pair of sses wearing �C Jewish nerdy boy with shaggy hair, but the impact still caused the child to trip. The coach was concerned for a while when she thought she had broken a few of the kid''s bones, if only she could know he actually tripped because of a very different reason.


    "AHN~" Abraham moaned underneath his breath as he enjoyed getting punished by the coach. Then, he continued running with a horrible form purposely once more.


    (Abraham: One year older than Alex. Had a massive crush on Alex. Cameo-d on Season 3, episode 8 �C After the fire)


    The students here knew for sure that underneath her clothes was a tight, muscle-mommy body type that seemed to attract masochistic weirdos to always get on her nerves as they begged for the punishment.


    During PE, all students had to wear the same PE uniform. A grey shirt and bright red sport short pants. I didn''t conform to the dress code today and wore a high-cored white windbreaker instead. Helpless as I knew the coach had already targeted me, I shook my head as I reluctantly jumped into the fire�Cthat was her torture ns for today.


    "Oh. That''s good form Newgate. I guess you practised a lot." Mrs Johnsonplimented as I had finished onep around the gymnasium easily. My breath was steady, and my stance was still perfect even though most of the students here had alreadyzed around or given up trying.


    I quickly caught up to the middle position of the students on the tracks, not noticing that Mrs Johnson had jotted something down on her board while keeping her eyes on me.


    After finishing the secondp, I finally caught up to my friend who was running stably and with impable form.


    "Hi Jacob." I greeted.


    "Oh Ed. I thought you weren''ting." Jacob said as he controlled his breath calmly as he ran.


    "Where''s the troublemaker?" I asked.


    "I''m upset. Before this, you were only asking where I am, but now, I''m your second priority. I even got a text inviteter than the two of them." Jacob said sulkily.


    I was annoyed by that so I smacked him in the middle of his back.


    *Pap!*


    "Ow You bitch!" Jacob said with teary eyes as he tried to rub the painful part on his back. Too bad his arm was too big for him to reach it.


    "Your invite is special. I just copied the one I sent the girls." I exined as I jogged lightly beside him.


    "Yeah. Asking me to bring snacks is a special text. Aren''t I your gopher?" Jacob said sulkily again.


    "Really? Then, I guess my effort to make a Potato Leek Au Gratin, that took me over 2 hours to make- that I wanted to serve as a special dish for my ''bro'', was a waste in the end, since it will have to be thrown out. I will just buy you a potato chip Since that''s what a gopher eats."


    Jacob drooled as I began to narrate step-by-step, my method of preparation for the dish.


    "BRO!" Jacob greeted me happily as if resetting our initial greeting today. I just rolled my eyes at him and asked again, "The girls?"


    "Pretending to have cramps to get out of PE. Also, I don''t know how, and I don''t know why �C but a rumour about you having a party has already spread all over the school. Many people wants to talk to you to get into-"


    "Hey. Wait up." Abraham chimed in, suddenly clinging onto Jacob and I, putting his left hand on Jacob''s shoulder, while his right hand on mine. "Ed. You''re having a party? Will there be supermodels? Are Alex, and Taylor going to be there?" He asked as he let go of any thoughts of running by himself and let his body be dragged by us �C his effort mule.


    I ignored Abraham''s random linr questioning and said, "I''m not having a party though?"


    "Come on. Don''t lie ~ Everyone is talking about it. A party for the rich and the elite �C One where you can only get in if you have a smartphone. The poor and unpopr can''t get in. Although, there is another gossip that said you''re making a music video at your house, so only the selected few cane. I want in. I want to be in a music video too~ And I want to leer on Alex~"


    Abraham continued to beg as he was dragged by us. I got annoyed by his incessant whining and knuckled his head, causing him to finally release Jacob and I and hold his head in pain.


    "Ow. I''m going to sue. This is assault. I will see you at court. Unless..." Abraham joked as he rubbed his head in pain while following us from behind.


    "If I ever n a party, then I will invite you. But it isn''t a party. I''m only collecting beta testers." I said casually as we continued running.


    Abraham stopped pretending and said, "Hmm? Mobile games or apps? Or PC games? I can help you with that. I''m kinda a pro-gamer."


    "Sure. Come on by." I agreed to let hime easily as I needed data from various types of study groups. Abraham smiled widely, and before he could say something else, another boy suddenly interrupted our conversation to try and invite himself to my house.


    "Shuhh. Shuhh. We don''t need extras here. Or else I will tell your mom that you''re on Facebook and didn''t ept her friend request on purpose Leonard!"


    "BUT-"


    "GO AWAY LEONARD!"


    Abraham chased out the boy quickly as if he was herding a sheep. Although he was a nerd, Abraham had a reputation as the school bully. He was capable of bullying people through ingenious schemes, which earned my respect as a fellow agent of chaos.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Alex''s ss-


    Alex was sitting at her desk, taking notes as usual when a boy suddenly tapped her shoulder from behind. She turned around as a response and saw Jeremy Reed was trying to talk to her. The athletic kid was quite popr in her ss, therefore she was confused as to why he wanted to talk to her.


    "H-Hey Alex. Is it true? Are you really recording a music video at Newgate''s house?"


    "Uh...Why do you think that?" Alex asked in confusion.


    "Well...everyone is talking about it. Are you invited? I know you don''t have a smartphone..." Jeremy said in concern.


    Alex was baffled by the question and answered hurriedly, "I''m invited, but it''s not a music video. Although he did ask me to wear something ssy-" Suddenly, she realised something in the middle of her sentence, "Wait. How do you know I don''t have a phone?"


    Jeremy widened his eyes and stood up abruptly, causing the teacher and the rest of the students to turn toward him. Alex was shocked by his actions and turned toward the teacher quickly to avoid getting into trouble.


    "What''s the matter Mr Reed?" The teacher asked.


    "Uh...Toilet." Reed replied hurriedly.


    The teacher nodded in understanding while the studentsughed. The teacher said, "Go now. Don''t do your business here."


    The kidsughed out loud again at Jeremy''s misery as he ran away in embarrassment. He couldn''t admit that he had been watching Alex for a while now as he has a huge crush on her, right?


    After the ss ended, Alex walked to her locker to keep her books inside when she saw Edward was surrounded by multiple girls nearby.


    "I know how to dance. I can even grind-" Atina girl said while showing Edward she could jiggle her ''stuff'' to get an invitation to the supposedly music video production. The hungry for fame girls and boys had been bothering him the entire day even though he had already denied their assumptions.


    "I can grind too!" Barnes, an African-american weird kid, suddenly pushed thetina away and started twerking badly while trying to grind at Edward''s hips.


    "HOLY-" Edward widened his eyes and he saw Alex watching from afar as he tried to get away from the boy. He ran slightly toward Alex in his PE clothes and said, "Hey. Alex! Help meee!."


    "NO. Why don''t you ask Haley for help? Since You loveeee her so much that you even wrote a song for her." Alex said in a dissatisfied tone. Edward couldn''t hold hisugh as he saw the sulking Alex. He closed his distance to get close to her and said, "Wait. Are you jealous?"


    Alex blushed as he kept getting nearer. "If you want, I can do a song for you too."


    His smell of sweat didn''t trigger Alex''s disgust like the other boys did. In fact, she had even daydreamed into getting held by Edward. But before she could push him away, suddenly Barnes interjected their conversation.


    "I could even do one for your mom." Ed said once more, turning Alex''s embarrassment into confusion.


    "What?"


    While twerking happily, Barnes said, "I can even shake my booty."


    "ROY! GET OUT OF HERE!" Abraham and Jacob finally arrived to save Edward from the twerking maniac.


    "I WANT TO BE IN A MUSIC VIDEO TOO!" Roy yelled in desperation as he was dragged away.


    -High school-


    (JID- Rapper. Simr to Derek but he''s younger)


    "HEY DYLAN!" Derek, one of Dn''s ex-band members shouted to get his attention. The band had broken up after the Brian''s incident �C where Brian tried to punch Edward but only managed to get his ass, and Dn''s, handed to them.


    Derek ran toward the tall guy and clung his left arm around him while simultaneously pulling Dn''s head down for them to talk whisperingly.


    "Is it true? Did you get the message too? Party at Newgates?!"


    "What? No. and I didn''t get any message."


    "Aren''t you guys friends? Why didn''t he invite you?"


    "Cause it''s not a party!" Dn said in frustration, but it was hard for him to convince his friend about it as hecked the eloquence to effectively do so.


    Not only Derek, but a lot of the famous cliques inside the school had heard about the rumor. The school was a mess. Abby, Haley and Tara, the girls who were known to be close to Ed, were stopped a lot by the cliques as they wanted an invite to the party too.


    "It''s all my fault!" Tara said in frustration as she realized that the gathering had spread all throughout the school. Even the janitor knew about it now and was asking them if Edward wanted extra on the set.


    "I only told Madelyn about it. I didn''t know that she would tell others." Tara exined herself.


    "Didn''t I tell you not to trust that Bitch." Haley said with a grimace.


    "I know...but-"


    "She has hated Ed ever since the ''Yoko'' incident. I guess she was also the one to spread the rumours before this. Ugh, that two-faced bitch-"


    Abby finally interjected, "Okay. Enough. Don''t fight. Just talk to Ed. I''m sure he''ll understand."


    Tara sighed and said, "To think that I managed to slip my sister''s name into the guestlist this morning. I will note to the-"


    "Sis? The spy?" Abby asked curiously before saying, "Can''t wait to meet her." She effectively changed the subject before Tara could me herself more while stealthily texted Edward afterward. Edward didn''t have any strong feelings about the matter, and even thought it wasughable, but also keeping Madelyn''s name in his mind.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After an exhausting day at school, I finally returned home. Dn had driven me instead of Abby as the other car was full, and I didn''t have my bike today.


    "Here. Memorise this for your SAT next week." I said while giving Dn a stack of papers.


    "Again?" Dn asked in exasperation while reluctantly picking up the papers from my hand.


    "Really? That''s how you respond to your teacher? If you don''t want it, give it back to me-"


    Before I could snatch back the papers, Dn hurriedly pulled it away and said, "No. Thank you Oh wise one. I will totally read it after this."


    "Good good. You have grown well, young Padawan."


    "I have always grown well."


    "Maybe your height, but your brain isn''t well developed-"


    Dn tried to hit my arm for the remark, but I dodged it easily and smacked the back of his head.


    "How dare you try to hit your shifu. Go do 100 push-ups. Now." I said jokingly as Iughed together with Dn.


    The papers weren''t ordinary SAT reference materials and mock exam questions. I actually hacked into the Department of Education and found the question maker for California state''s exams before pinpointing herptop from the numerousptops inside the department and hacking into that.


    Then, I changed the questions slightly to give Dn for studying. If he read my notes thoroughly like he said, he would at least get the average test score in the SAT and would open up a path for further education in the future.


    ''I could''ve given him the original question and made him remember it before the exam. That way, he could ace it without a doubt. But if he doesn''t put in the effort to better himself, why should I even care about him?''


    It was an opportunity for Dn, and also a test from me.


    "Here. You should go domunity service this weekend. I have registered you to volunteer at a nursing home. It''ll look good for your college application."


    "Okay...Soooo my shift is gone?" Dn said, feeling a bit sad that he wouldn''t be able to make extra money by working on the ship.


    "Why? Are you missing the cougars? You didn''t have to go there if you want to meet them. If they have your phone number, they can just call you to their house-"


    "I''M NOT HUNTING FOR COUGARS!"


    "Really? If they offer you 10 grand for one night, do you take it or will you reject it?" I asked. Dn fell into a deep contemtion afterward, making meugh at him.


    After making fun of him, Dn left to go to the pier as he had be addicted to work there. Not only did the crew members be a good influence on him, he had inwardly turned Dwayne into his father figure since he never had one and was already working hard to prove himself to the crew.


    I noticed it as he acted like a kid fishing forpliments when he did anything around Dwayne.


    "It''s a good thing Dwayne understands what he''s going through and didn''t take advantage of him." I muttered as I saw Dn drive away. It proved how much he needed a positive parental figure in his life aftercking one for 18 years.


    After I took a shower and changed my clothes, I noticed that the hickey on my neck had faded.


    "Maybe because she didn''t have much timest night." I muttered as I changed into a tight grey t-shirt and jeans before walking to the 32 inch sma screen tv and connecting the HDMI port with myptop. The TV was a small one as I, nor my dad, had the chance to go and buy a new one after the family''s financial difficulty was stabilised.


    The game "ppy Bird" was now disyed on the mounted to the wall TV inside the living room. Immediately after finishing the preparation, the first beta tester arrived at my house and rang the doorbell.


    "What''s up bro?!" Jacob sped his hand with mine before changing it into a fist bump as he walked into the house.


    "Of course, my ''bro'' will be the first one to arrive." I said with a smile as I weed him to my crib. "Mi casa es tu casa."


    "Really?" Jacob beamed up as he hatched a sly scheme in his mind.


    "Of course, if you hook up with your girlfriend here, I will bury you under the ''casa''." I threatened him with a smile as I could practically read what he was thinking.


    Jacob coughed for a while and handed me his smartphone without saying anything. He was clear on what I wanted to do today as we already had a talk about it in school. I connect his phone with myptop before installing the game on his phone while sitting on the sofa nearby the tv.


    "If you delete it, you won''t be able to recover it." I warned him.


    "If it''s a good game, then I won''t remove it." Jacob replied casually as he took the phone back.


    "ppy bird?" He muttered as he pressed the game icon andunched the game on his phone.


    "Yup. Connect to the wifi at my house. Then, your score will be shown on the TV screen." I said while pointing at the TV. "I will also collect data from your gaming experience today, just to be clear on that. If you don''t want me to, then I won''t force you-"


    "What are you talking about? Just collect it." Jacob replied casually as he sat on the sofa to test the game. Before he yed one round, I asked him, "Where''s your girl?"


    "She''s getting ready with Jenna. Don''t know why, but they want to change into a dress." Jacob answered. We looked at each other in contemtion before we decided to forget about the matter.


    *Ding Dong.*


    "Ah. second tester." I muttered before standing up and walking to open the door. The next guest to arrive was Abraham�C who was brought here by his mother.


    "My mom made brisket for everyone." Abraham said as he handed me a 10 pound beef brisket inside arge, transparent container with a blue lid.


    "Oh. Thank You Mrs Cohen!" I shouted to the driver inside a blue Volvo on the street while waving at her. The chubby Mrs Cohen waved back before driving away to leave the children alone as Abraham had lied to her about the existence of parental supervision from a chaperone inside the house.


    Abraham barged into the house and sat next to Jacob while peeking at the game he was ying.


    "Dude. One point? Seriously?" Abraham mocked after he saw Jacob''s highscore on the TV screen.


    "Shut up. It''s harder than you think!" Jacob defended himself as he got started on his 4th try of the game.


    "Please. I''m a pro." Abraham said as he handed his phone to me. After a quick instation and a few rounds of the game, the scoreboard changed into 3 points for Abraham, and 2 points for Jacob.


    "WHY IS THIS SO FRUSTRATING!?" Abraham and Jacob yelled out at the same time.


    *Ding-Dong*


    As Iughed at the boys'' miseries, another guest finally arrived at my house. I opened the door and greeted Abby, Tara, Haley, and Enid into the house.


    (Too tired yesterday. I will post another chap tomorrow to make it 4 Chapter this week.)

 Chapter 66: Curse of the Yellow Bird (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Curse of the Yellow Bird (Part 1)</h4>


    (I''ll be back Tuesday)


    [Abby POV]


    Honestly it was a little strange hanging out with someone you had dated before. But for some reason, I kept finding myself wanting more of him in my life. After school was over, Haley, Tara and I went back together using my car.


    Enid hitched a ride with us as she was a tiny girl. We picked her up at school before I drove us to my house.


    "Why not go straight there?" Tara asked. "I want to change my clothes." I said. The true reason was to remove my goth makeup and pretty myself up before meeting with Edward but I couldn''t tell them that. That was too embarrassing for anyone to admit.


    I changed my clothes to some short jeans, a crop top see through thread sweater with a ck cropped tank top underneath. The outfit I wore both looked both baggy and sexy at the same time, which was picked on purpose today.


    I kind of wanted him to look, but also not too much. It was a stupid thought, I know.


    My stomach felt as if it had been filled with butterflies as we stood in front of Edward''s front porch. The dpidated, messy and gloomy house I remembered had beenpletely changed when Edward started to take care of it a month ago. We could see some sunflowers growing healthily in front of the house, but they weren''t blooming yet.


    Tara knocked on the door and Edward opened it up soon after.


    "Wee, the ''Totally Spies'' team." Edward greeted jokingly. He looked at Enid with a smile and said, "Wee SPY A."


    Enid was silent and nodded in eptance as she thought his words were fair. But Ed didn''t continue and turned to Tara before saying, "SPY B." Tara was confused by Edward having turned to another girl before she could ask what he meant.


    Next, he looked at Haley before licking his lips and saying, "SPY C. (Spicy)"


    Lastly, he turned to me and said, "SPY D."


    I quickly covered my chest as my eyes started to quiver. He looked at me with a mischievous grin, making me think that he knew...


    ''But how did he know? My cup size just got biggerst night. It''s now...in the D category...''


    [Haley POV]


    ''Spicy? He''s calling me hot?! NOW OF ALL TIMES! IN FRONT OF ABBY!? IS HE CRAZY?!'' I turned toward Abby with shaky eyes, only to find out she was ashen white and was hugging herself. My knees felt weak, and I knew I should say something to diffuse this situation.


    "ED! Seriously? Even if we-"


    Before I could finish speaking, Abby suddenly interrupted me, "You perv! Did you put a spy cam in my house? How did you know?!"


    "Know what?" Edward asked innocently, but his eyes were full of mischief. I was stunned, and became horrified a secondter as I realized I almost shouted we had kissed in front of everyone even though he was only trying to prank me and Abby at the same time.


    "ED!" Abby yelled again and wanted to put him into an arm lock straight away. But he was already taller than her now and could easily avoid her attack smoothly by pulling Enid in front of him.


    "Sorry about this. Consider it payback for spying on me."


    Enid was baffled by how quickly the situation deteriorated from the moment Edward opened the door. To be honest, I was confused too. The joke quickly broke all of the awkwardness we had with each other and brushed away the certain difficult topic that was preventing us from truly enjoying each other''spany.


    I was grateful for him as he took the responsibility for himself, but I was feeling a bit sad too as he might have thought about the matter for a long time and stressed himself out alone �C just like when he thought about us dating each other wouldn''t work out before this.


    ''This kind of life...feels a bit... lonely...doesn''t it?''


    [Edward POV]


    Not knowing the misunderstanding in which I lit the fuse on inside Haley''s and Abby''s mind, I pulled Enid left and right to be my barrier against Abby. Finally, the ex-goth girl calmed down a bit and started to think clearly.


    "Did my mom tell you? How do you know?" Abby asked suspiciously. By now, she really thought that I had installed a camera in her house somewhere to spy on her.


    "You don''t remember telling me?" I asked with a grin.


    "NO! I never told you! I only told Haley!" Abby said anxiously. Haley tilted her head in puzzlement and asked, "Tell me what?"


    "What?" Abby was baffled when she saw that Haley didn''t remember it. "I just told youst night?"


    "You never texted mest night?" Haley asked in confusion. Abby darted her eyes between Haley and me before muttering, "Oh no."


    "Oh yes." I smirked mischievously as I took out my phone and shook it in front of Abby. Her face turned ashen and she tried to snatch my phone away, but I used my Enid defense once more.


    "How long should I suffer?" Enid muttered with a deadpan expression.


    "As long as necessary." I replied to her even though she didn''t expect an answer.


    Her eyes shes a glint of excitement before it dimmed out again as she remembered she was only an extra in this party as she was not a part of the group.


    "Come on in." I finally weed them into the house after teasing them for a while. Haley and I stole a nce at each other as she walked in. I thought it was pretty funny that she was wearing modest clothes today. She gazed at my neck, and became embarrassed when she saw the spot where she put the hickey therest night.


    By this time, Abraham and Jacob had only reached 7 and 6 points in the game respectively and had be increasingly frustrated by it.


    "What? Only 7 points the highest? Are you guys noobs?" Tara joked as she saw the scoreboard on the TV. The boys gritted their teeths but they didn''t respond as they started the next game almost immediately to reach for a better score.


    "Give me your phones." I said to the girls before installing the game into their phones. Abby took her phone back after I had put the game in it with a dissatisfied expression as she was hiding her embarrassment.


    "Stop leering at her." Haley said as she took her phone from me. She thought I was staring at Abby''s chest after I knew about her increased cup size. I shrugged and gave Tara back her phone as Haley sat on the two seat couch with Abby.


    "Hey. I''m really sorry!" Tara said as she reached for her phone from my hand. "It''s okay. I don''t mind." I replied calmly as I turned to Enid.


    "I''m sorry too...for spying on you before." Enid said as she thought I wanted an apology from her.


    Titling my head in confusion, I gazed at her face weirdly before saying, "I don''t care about that though. If anything, your sister is at fault here."


    "What-" Tara eximed in bewilderment as she was used. Iughed at her reaction before giving Enid back her phone. "There''s no more seats left. Wait, I will go grab a chair from the kitchen."


    There was only a seat for 6 people in the living room as I only had a 6 seat couch. The single couch was used by me, the two seat couch was used by Abby and Haley, while Jacob, Abraham and Tara used the three seat couch.


    "Hey. Ed. It''s okay, she can just squeeze in here." Abby said as she called Enid to their seat.


    "Yeah. We''re only small people..." Haley added.


    "Small? Sure...." I said with a tone of disbelief as I looked at Abby. She became irritated and warned me, "Shut up, or I''ll poke your eyes."


    *Ding Dong* *Ding Dong* *Ding Dong*


    "The next guest is impatient huh." I muttered as I walked hurriedly to the front door before my doorbell broke. Manny, Luke, Gloria, and Alex hade by to y the game. Alex looked sullen while the rest were really excited to be here.


    Gloria hade by as she felt the need to chaperone there, since she had a hunch that there would be no adult present. Her feeling turned out to be true as there wasn''t any adult in the house, therefore, she stayed.


    But she didn''t n to bother us while ying the game and waited in the kitchen instead �C maybe while cooking something for the children.


    Luke and Manny didn''t have a smartphone so I let them use myptop to y the game instead. They sat on the floor while ying the game in the living room.


    "Where are your parents?" I asked Alex as I pulled her to sit next to me, sharing the single seat couch together. She wasn''t ying the game, so I appointed her as my assistant to collect data instead as she had no interest in ying the mobile games.


    "Home." Alex replied curtly as she held a pen and paper in her hands. She filled in the observation sheet I gave to her. Abby and Haley gave her side eyes as she was sharing the seat with me, but Alex and I didn''t notice what they were doing.


    The scoreboard changed quickly, and the top score was unexpectedly taken by... Haley. She managed to adapt to the game in just a few tries.


    ''I guess that''s expected as she basically lives with her phone being a part of her.'' I thought as I smiled at Haley. My smile actually made her break her concentration and the yellow bird on her screen fell straight to the ground. Abby chuckled at her before her bird fell too, ending her game at the 4th point score.


    "Hey. What is the purpose of us flying the bird?" Manny asked suddenly. Theptop gamers had quickly broken double digit as it was easier for them to y using the keyboard.


    "I guess it''s to get higher marks than your friends." Luke replied as he broke Manny''s record and then jeered at him, "So you can rub it in their face! BOOM!"


    "UGH! My turn!" Manny said as they changed users before starting a new round of the game.


    Alex was intrigued by the question so she continued to ask even though the boys had lost interest. "So, is that really it? Just for the score?"


    "I guess so. I made a few versions, and I wanted to see if this..." I pointed to the original ppy bird version without any programmed additional features, "...is good enough."


    "Oh. What other versions?" Abby heard our conversation and interjected into it as she was feeling too frustrated by the game.


    "As it is a bird, I changed the background to a forest. You need to fly through the trees, you can get power ups from fruits hanging from the trees, and you need to avoid an eagle, and the purpose is to get to the south before winteres. At every hundred points mark, you can unlock new skins and new power ups for the bird."


    "Skins?" Jacob asked in confusion.


    "New designs." I said casually before turning to Alex. "Both of them had yed the game for a while. Go ask them to fill the questionnaire."


    Alex thought for a while before asking in a whisper, "Before that. I want to ask you something. Why did you text me to wear ssy clothes? Are you trying to control the way I look now? Or is the way I dress not good enough anymore to be your friend?"


    She had been thinking about the question for an entire day after she got the text message. If answered incorrectly, Alex may stop wanting to be friends with me anymore, but I didn''t notice that at the time and answered honestly instead.


    "Oh that. I made a few sses frame designs from paper, and I wanted you to try it out after this. I also need to take a picture of it to submit it to the manufacturer after this, so I asked you to wear nice clothes. Are you mad at me for that? If so, I apolo-"


    "Wait! No, don''t apologize. I''m sorry for suspecting you." Alex said with an embarrassed blush on her face as she had forgotten about what I promised before. "Also, it will be expensive right? I''m okay with just the designs. You don''t have to send it to the manufacturer." She added.


    "Not at all. I''m using Pepper''s connection to produce my own product lines, so it''ll be good for me. The bad part is, I still haven''t figured out a way to make the lens thinner." I exined.


    Abraham suddenly interjected into the conversation as a fellow sses wearer, "The reason sses lenses are cut into rectangr shapes right now is because it is the thinnest part of the lens. If you make the frame design bigger, then the edge of the lenses will be too thick. It won''t look good."


    "Yeah. if you use 1.5 index one. But if you use higher than 1.7, then the lens will be thinner." I said casually.


    "There isn''t anything higher than 1.67 though. I checked it at the optometrist before this." Alex said in confusion.


    "Yeah. there isn''t now. But there will be soon." I replied with a smile. I found that bit of information when I checked into the ongoing research in the scientificmunity.


    A Caltech team of scientists needed a lens with a higher refractive index therefore they were experimenting with different materials to create a lens made from stic and polycarbonate.


    If Iunched the frame designs at the moment the new lens manufacturing became widespread, I could monopolize the eyewear fashion industry for a few months before another giantpany entered the game.


    Alex blushed hard as she saw my confident look while thinking about how hard I had worked on her gift before. She even considered stopping me from writing a song for her, but she stopped as her mind nked out when I reached for her sses.


    ''At my time, the lens index of refraction had reached more than 1.9, so a giant lens and giant frames was possible at that time. That''s why the trends move toward big sses in my previous world. But now I had to make do with only index 1.7.''


    "I-I...will do the questionnaire now." Alex pped my hand away before I could touch her sses and skedaddled quickly toward where Abraham was sitting to ask him a few questions�C also to get away from me. Her face was beet red at that time.


    But then, something happened in the living room that made almost everyone stop what they were doing or feeling.


    "ARGHH!" Jacob suddenly shouted as he died in the game again, stood up abruptly, and almost threw his phone down on the floor.


    "JACOB DON''T! CALM THE F- DOWN!" I said while simultaneously censoring myself as there were kids in the house. Jacob finally realized what he almost did and breathed in relief as I had stepped in and stopped him from destroying his phone.


    "Everyone. If you''re frustrated, take a break. Remember. It''s just a game." I announced to the group as I led Jacob to the kitchen for a drink to calm himself down.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    Running quickly to the living room while making loud high heel footstep sounds, Gloria asked hurriedly, "AY! What happened?! What happened?!"


    *Ding Dong*


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang as the next guest had arrived. As I was in the kitchen, Alex helped me open the door instead. Gloria turned to Haley and the teen girl replied hesitatingly, "Nothing happened Gloria. The game is just too hard. That''s it."


    "Oh. Good. I thought something happened." Gloria breathed a sigh of relief before turning to the kitchen.


    "Hey mom. Want to y it?" Manny asked before Gloria could walk away.


    Alex weed the two girls, Jenna and Elsa, into the house. Jenna was wearing a long ck skirt and white blouse that made her look like a young Mrs. Henderson while Elsa wore her tube top and jacket as usual.


    "You guys arete." Alex said.


    "Jenna couldn''t find her fav bra-" Elsa said before her mouth was cupped by Jenna.


    "Sorry. Are you guys still ying?" Jenna said as she stopped Elsa from exposing her secrets.


    "Yeah. Come on in." Alex said and led the girls to the living room.


    "Hey. Where''s his room?" Jenna suddenly pulled Alex to the side and asked.


    "What? What are you thinking of doing? He won''t let you-" Alex said in suspicion, but stopped her words halfway as she remembered how easy it was for her and her sister to get permission to enter there. "...he will...probably. Anyway, it''s upstairs on the right. But ask him first before going there."


    "I know. I know." Jenna said dismissively as the duo walked past Abby and Haley. Edward returned to the living room while dragging two chairs in his hand before Jacob followed him from behind while carrying chairs too.


    [Edward POV]


    "Hey Jenna- Wait. Gloria, are you ying?" I said as my attention quickly turned to from the girls to the hottin woman kneeling on the floor. Her sexy backside was covered by the standing Manny, otherwise the teen boys inside the living room wouldn''t be able to focus on their game�C not that Manny was doing it on purpose.


    "Si! The game is very difficult!" Gloria said in frustration.


    "Mom! Down Down. You''re going to fall!" Manny said hurriedly as he badgered his mother from behind.


    "Ay Manny don''t disturb- AHHH!!! MALDITO P��JARO YA VAS A VER... TE AGARRO Y TE TIRO A LA CACEROLA MALDITO HIJO DE...!!!! (DAMNED BIRD. YOU''ll SEE! WHEN I GET YOU I WILL THROW YOU RIGHT INTO A POT YOU CURSED SON OF A B-)" Gloria cursed as she lost the game.


    "Pfff-" I couldn''t hold back myugh as I heard what Gloria was saying. She turned to me and wondered why I wasughing, but then she remembered.


    [Gloria''smentary]


    "He...knows Spanish... and I cursed in front of him. Ayy! So embarrassing."


    mentary ends]


    "I-I''ll make some drinks." Gloria said before running away from the living room.


    "Alex. Ask Gloria the questionnaire too after this." I ordered as I returned to my seat on the single seat couch and was reading the data on myptop. Abby decided to stop ying the game and started ying around as Jenna''s existence here made her feel threatened.


    "Hey. Ed. Are youunching the game?" She said as she stood near me.


    "Yeah. Tomorrow I''ll put it on the Android and Apple store." I replied casually. Suddenly, Abby sat in myp as the seat was too narrow for the both of us. Alex, Jenna, and Haley widened their eyes as they saw Abby''s brazenness.


    "Uhhh... what are you doing?" I said as I patted Abby''s butt unconsciously. She perched her ass directly on my hips and was squirming in a dangerous way as she looked at the data on myptop. I knew that she was doing this on purpose, but I didn''t know why.


    "Wait. Kwazy Cupcakes. Candy Crush. Angry Birds. How many games did you have nned?" Abby asked in bewilderment as she saw my folders.


    "What? He has more games?" Haley said while approaching me. The lead highscore was cemented by Haley as she had reached more than 100 points with her immacte tapping skills and she decided to y around like Abby too. She sat next to Abby�C still on myp as they both sneaked a peek on myptop.


    "Uhhhhh...." I was so baffled that I didn''t know how to respond to the situation.

 Chapter 67 - 67 : Curse of the Yellow Bird (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 67: Chapter 67 : Curse of the Yellow Bird (Part 2)</h4>


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Dunphy''s family-


    "Come on, ire. I wanna go over there!" Phil said whiningly as he urged his wife who was reading a book while sitting on the dining table.


    "See here. He wrote this while he was 10." ire said while showing the book to Phil.


    She muttered tly, "'' Always had a fear of being typical. Looking at my body feeling miserable. Always hanging on to the visual. I wanna be invisible''... I mean. What kind of life had he lived to actually write something like this when he was 10?"


    "Don''t pretend to care. You''re only searching to see if he''s done bad stuff . Now, don''t invade his privacy any longer. What''s done is done. We''re giving Ted his family stuff back." Phil said after he snatched the book away from ire.


    The only reason he didn''t stop her sooner was because he didn''t know what she was reading about. But now that he knew they were wasting time because ire wanted to know Edward more, they could go over to his house to y the new game now.


    "But Phil. If he''s bing family, then I need to know more about him. Give me-" ire tried to take the book back, but Phil kept it away from her quickly.


    "No ire. Imagine if he found out. Then, he won''t talk to us again. Is that what you want?" Phil said while trying to convince ire.


    "FINE! I''ll stop!" ire said in frustration before walking away to change her clothes. She stopped midway, turned to Phil and said, "But you''ve got to admit. Some stuff in there is worrying. If it were me, I''d put him in therapy immediately."


    "I''m sure...he''s just expressing his creativity through writing. It''s fine ire. If you''re that worried, I''ll talk to Ted about this."


    "You don''t ever talk to anyone about anything. Have you talked to Ed yet about why he spoke Japanese when he was asleep?" ire said mockingly.


    "I will...Soon.!" Phil replied defensively and said, "Go change now. We''re really reallyte!"


    ire suddenly realized something. "Wait Phil. Did Ted say he was going to be home?"


    "I don''t think so. Also, he''s your boss. You are supposed to know." Phil said in confusion. ire checked herptop, which was open on the kitchen counter quickly and her face turned spooked.


    "Phil! He''s at work!"


    "So?"


    "That means, there''s no adults there! The kids are partying...without anyone to supervise OH GOD. THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE LOVE!" ire said then ran to her bedroom to change her clothes quickly.


    "NO THEY WON''T!" Phil shouted to ire to reassure her while keepingplete faith in Edward.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Uhhhh..."


    To be honest, I have no idea what to do now. I''ve had girls on myp before, but normally only one at a time. I should be able to enjoy these feelings of something new, but why the hell did it make me anxious instead.


    "This is, a card game? Are people going to be ying card games on their phones?" Abby said while gently pressing her firm buttocks on my hips. As the two girls continued moving, the g was raised at half mast, and I didn''t know how long I had until it reached full mast.


    "I''m sure he''ll do great. Let me see the Kwazy Cupcake ns again." Haley said while pushing Abby''s buttock away with her ass and perching hers on my hips too. Then, she took it a step further and started grinding slightly.


    My half-mast was now surrounded by each of their cheeks and was raised slowly, and it''s entering the danger zone. Luckily I was wearing jeans so it was a bit restricted at the moment, but it was still pushing against the girls, which made them even more excited.


    "Guys. if you don''t get off of him, I''ll spray you with a hose." Tara said with a deadpan expression as she watched her two best friendspete with each other andpletely victimize me in the process.


    "Yeah Haley. Go sit with Tara. There''s a spot open near-" Abby turned to look at the 3 seat couch, only to find that Tara had changed seats to sit with her little sister at the 2 seat couch, and Jenna had sat on the empty seat there.


    But something even more eye-catching at the 3 seat couch was that Elsa was sitting on Jacob''sp and in between his arms and was yfully kissing his neck as he was ying the game.


    "That''s...so brazen..." Abby mumbled under her breath before ncing sneakily at my face. Haley did so too and she started leaning back into my embrace.


    "No." I replied curtly before the doorbell rang and pinched both of their asses, causing them to let out a cute yelp at the same time. ire knocked on the door anxiously from outside saying, "Hello Ed. We''re here!"


    "OH MY GOD!" Haley was bbergasted and pulled Abby with her as she dove to the floor the instant ire was opening the unlocked door. ire and Phil walked in, and Gloria walked to the living room from the kitchen to greet them, as she was excited to see another adult there.


    While the trio was talking, Haley and Abby sneaked away�C crawling on the ground to get to the 2 seat couch directly in front of Edward''s seating spot.


    "Tsk Tsk Tsk." Tara clicked her tongue at her friend as she watched them in their miserable state.


    "Shut up." Abby and Haley said the same thing to Tara. She shrugged and continued ying the game while talking with her sister.


    "Is this a normal urrence for you?" Enid asked her sister in a whisper.


    "Kinda. Both of them are pretty weird." Tara replied casually.


    "You. Get off him." ire said while snapping her finger as she pointed at Elsa. Although dissatisfied, Elsa reluctantly slid down to the floor, leaning her back on Jacob''s legs as she didn''t want the adult there to report it to her mother.


    "Hi ire. Phil, you''re looking dapper." I greeted both of them without standing up as my body needed time to calm down from the attack before.


    "I mean. I always look handsome. ire could back me up." Phil said jokingly, which was met with an awkward smile by ire.


    "Ay ire. They aren''t doing anything. They are just ying games. Don''t bother them." Gloria said as she tried to pull the adults away.


    "Dad, do you want to y?" Luke called Phil from his spot. The two kids werepletely oblivious to what was happening behind them as they were focusing on the game before.


    "Ed. Whoseptop is this?" Phil said as he pointed at theptop Luke and Manny were ying with. "That''s my dad''s."


    "Oh yeah. You''re still using theptop we bought before? How is it?"


    I was a bit confused when Phil was searching for reaffirmation from me, so I replied, "Yeah. It''s a greatptop. You showed real skills for picking the right one, Phil."


    Phil celebrated happily with a turn and a fist pump. "Eat it ire."


    "Eat what?" ire said in confusion.


    "You always thought I picked useless things. Ed is telling you that I don''t."


    "Is this about the new thermostat again?" ire rolled her eyes before the couple started to bicker with each other. Suddenly, the doorbell rang again.


    "Wait." I looked around to see that all of the people I''d invited had already arrived, so I was confused as to who was at the front of the door. " Did any of you invite anyone else?" I asked the question to the group.


    "No/Nu-uh/Who has other friends?/ Who did it?/Who is at the door?"


    Murmurs wereing from everyone, but no one actually got up to open the door. ire was in disbelief and shook her shoulders before saying, "Fine. I''ll do it."


    She opened the door only to find a police officer in front of the house.


    "What''s going on officer?" ire asked with a hint of nervousness.


    "Oh. Hey Buddy." I called out from my seat.


    "Ed! Don''t call a cop buddy! They hate that. Be cool." Abraham said hurriedly as if he was actually guilty of something.


    "No. That''s my dad''s friend. Buddy." I said while walking to the door.


    "Who wants some tea?" Gloria suddenly walked outside the kitchen with a few sses of iced lemon tea I had prepared. "I''ll have one. Thank you." Jenna said to Gloria as she picked one ss from the tray.


    "Hi Ed. Long time no see." Buddy said.


    "Yeah. "Dn''s car was set on fire thest time you were here."I replied casually before hearing someone spitting out her drink and coughing a lot in the living room.


    "Ay What''s wrong? Why you spit? Did I mistake salt for sugar again?" Gloria asked hurriedly as she helped Jenna wipe her mouth with a napkin.


    With a strained voice, Jenna said, "No. Just entered the wrong pipe," as Gloria finished wiping for her.


    "So. No napkin for me?" Abraham said, his face drenched in ice lemon tea, as Jenna had previously identally aimed her projectile at him.Gloria gasped as she finally noticed him and said, "You need to change your clothes."


    "You can borrow my shirt. First Floor. Haley can show you the way." I said from afar as ire and I were talking with Buddy.


    "Why are you here?" I asked the cop.


    Buddy was feeling a bit guilty so he exined, "No, See...Actually, someone called the station and said that some teenagers were partying with booze and having a...sex party here. I didn''t want to but I had toe here to check if the report was true, which it clearly isn''t. Obviously someone filed a false report. It happens sometimes, people have too much free time (Karen) and think the police are their own goon squad. Sorry Ed, I''ll leave you alone now."


    Buddy turned his back to leave but I said, "Wait. If someone did that, they are probably somewhere nearby... perhaps taking a few pictures to share online...or with the rest of the school tomorrow.So why don''t youe in and try out the game I made? I''ll appreciate any feedback you may have."


    Buddy turned to look around the neighborhood before making eye contact with a blonde haired teenage girl who was taking a picture of him talking with me from afar from inside a green convertible.


    "HEY!" Buddy shouted at the girl, and she pressed the gas pedal and drove away hurriedly after getting what she wanted.


    "This...is going to be a problem. I''ll need to get back to the station-" Buddy said, almost walking away, but I grabbed his shoulder to stop him.


    "Why? So you can search the license te? Juste in. The picture and the nder will surely be on Facebook a few minutester. Maybe they are there now. So pleasee in and we''ll see who is the culprit together."


    Buddy gave up and nodded before walking into the house. He used theptop to y the game and took amemorative picture with all of the guests inside the house before getting back to the station. In the meantime, I had already called Harvey and exined the situation to her.


    "Yeah. Sure. If they are stupid enough to use their own ounts or you can get the IP address, I can sue them for defamation, nder, libel, anything you want and make sure to teach her a lesson." Harvey said from the other line. "If they''re over 18 I can insert counts for pedofilic actions there." She said viciously.


    "Thanks babe. I knew I could count on you."


    ...


    [Jenna POV]


    Although Ed had asked Haley to lead the nerd into his room, I took the lead instead and guided the geek there as if I had entered his room before. As the situation was too chaotic downstairs, no one actually noticed that I was doing it.


    "Well...Sorry, but I''m not interested in girls like you-" Abraham said as we walked into Edward''s room. I threw a random shirt at him and promptly kicked him out of the room before he could say or do anything.


    "He-he~" I couldn''t help but let out a giggle as I was alone inside the room.


    "It smells like him." I muttered as Iy in his bed and started sniffing his pillow. Without me realizing it, my hands reached underneath my skirt, but I quickly stopped myself after a minute and said, "What the hell am I doing? He''d hate me if he knew. He''s a clean freak after all!"


    Then, I walked out of the room, not knowing that I had left my scent all over his bed sheet and pillows over there.


    [Edward POV]


    While in the living room, I hung up the call before talking to Haley. "Hey, can you check who''s the one who will be posting the picture?"


    "Are you sure? I don''t think anyone would do it on their real ount." Haley said as she opened her Facebook page on myptop. As a lot of people were interested in the scandal, I changed the TV screen to show the Facebook site instead of the game scoreboard.


    "Imma bet 20 bucks that nothing will happen." Abraham said to Jacob. "Okay. Deal." Jacob said, and they shook hands on the bet.


    "Wait. Someone tagged me in something." Haley said before clicking on the notification that popped out on the bottom left of her profile. "Madelyn posted this a minute ago."


    "THAT BITCH!" Tara cursed out loud as she read the Facebook page.


    The culprit imed that my party was shut down by the cops, and that I was arrested�C she knew I was trouble of all sorts, iming everyone who came here were sluts, and even the picture of me talking with Buddy before this was taken from an angle where people couldn''t see ire in the picture who was actually standing by my side.


    "Told ya." Jacob said to the beleaguered Abraham, who had run out of money.


    "I thought she would use a fake ount to do it. I didn''t think she would be dumb enough to post it on her real profile." Abby muttered.


    "Yeah..." I said before emailing Harvey the details of the defamation.


    "Ed. Are you really suing her?" ire said in concern. "She''s pretty young, she might''ve made a mistake-"


    "ire. She was smart enough to use the police to back up her ims. She was smart enough to use the media to nder me. I''m doing her a favor now. She needs to learn the consequences of her actions. Some people live their lives without anyone holding them responsible for their shitty behavior; they live their entire lives thinking it is okay for them to do this kind of stuff."


    "...You''re kind of scary now." Luke was reminded of how persistent I was with his bike conspiracy prior to this.


    "But Ed. "Won''t it be better to forgive?" Manny said as he couldn''t pry his eyes away from the beautiful girl''s Facebook pictures disyed on the screen.


    "Manny. You''re talking with your dick. Pretty doesn''t mean they''re not responsible for their actions." I said before turning to Haley, leaving a stunned Manny and Gloria, who were trying to cover his ears as I cursed, but it was toote.


    "Can you post something for me?"


    "S-Sure." Haley replied with a stutter as she too thought that I was looking extra scary even though I had a smile on my face the entire time.


    Tara said hurriedly, "Ed. I''m really sorry for this. It''s all my fault. If I didn''t tell Madelyn about where you-"


    "Don''t worry about it. It''s not your fault. I''d expected this after she asked me out, and I rejected her before."


    With their eyes widened in shock, Haley and Abby eximed at the same time, "She asked you out?!"


    I was a bit startled by their synchronization before I answered, "Y-Yeah. She told me to forget about what happened before, but in no way did she give me an apology for it. She said, and I quote, ''You can do whatever you want with my body'' . But honestly, I''d rather touch a 100-day-old rotting corpse with maggots than actually touch her."


    Jenna heard my words and blinked her eyes slowly twice before asking, "Did you say that to her face?" And she continued under her breath, "...like you did to me?"


    I didn''t quite catch what she said at the end, but I answered her with a short smile regardless, "No. I actually put a lot of effort into... not doing that. I didn''t say anything to her."


    "I''m sorry for before...you know...when I called you names," I said as I noticed she was avoiding my gaze. "You turned out to be a pretty good friend when I got to know you better."


    Jenna beamed up and giggled to herself shyly while Elsa rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Great. Now she''s going to be even more insane." Elsa muttered.


    "Ed. Maybe if you get to know that girl better too-" Phil tried to intervene to diffuse my anger.


    "Nah. This is different. She maliciously schemed against me. I won''t forgive her so easily." I said decisively before typing something on Haley''s feed and attaching the picture of the cop before.


    Phil attempted to calm me down once more, "But. Ed. She''s so young-"


    "Phil. You do know she''s the reason why Haley and I fought before this right?"


    Phil widened his eyes before dering seriously, "Burn her to the ground."


    "PHIL!" ire admonished him quickly.


    [Hey guys, Edward Newgate here, borrowing Haley Dunphy''s Facebook page. Big things areing soon, so look forward to them.


    I know some malicious rumors have been started around here, but here we are with the one and only Buddy we know and we love, settling things right with thew. Don''t buy into the filth out there, and don''t worry, ourbel''s legal team is already working hard to protect our good name.]


    The picture showed Buddy the cop smiling while being with a group of children, therefore, it would change the nder narrative that I was arrested by the police. If the people were smart enough, they would figure out that Madelyn was lying. If they couldn''t figure it out, that was just an indictment of the American education system.


    "By the way, 2000 friends? Do you even know all of them?" I asked Haley jokingly after uploading the post. Likes and Comments notifications begin popping out before I log out of Haley''s Facebook ount on myptop.


    "Okay, let''s continue with the beta test. I want to finish the game tonight." I told the group to change the topic.


    The testing went on for 3 more hours before I finally got the data I needed. One by one, the guests left the house. I gave Abraham the empty container back after we had all enjoyed his mother''s brisket before this.


    "Say thanks to your mom. And don''t forget to give her this." I said while handing him a slice of tiramisu cake to take home.


    "At least this will soothe the anger in my heart." Abraham said in a depressed tone.


    "Big deal. Alex ignored you, and Haley beat your high score easily. Maybe you should consider the undeniable fact that... ''you suck'' instead of ming it on others-"


    "Bitch!" Abraham cursed beforeughing out loud at my joke and waving goodbye as he walked to his mother''s car.


    Next were Jacob and Elsa, who were dissatisfied as I caught them in front of my room trying to find a private ce to make out with each other.


    "Don''t be mad. Next time, maybe you''ll get lucky and Jacob''s mom will need to go on a church cruise or something. Besides, it''s too risky to do it here anyway as there are a lot of adults here at the moment."


    "Okay. Stop talking about it." Elsa said while pulling Jacob away. "We''re going to go and watch a movie at the mall. We can make out there."


    As Elsa, the little girl, pulled the giant Jacob away, he said, "I would love that."


    Manny and Gloria had headed home earlier than everyone else as Jay nned to take them out for dinner at a restaurant. Jay wished me all the best with myunch and even offered to invest in the game, but I rejected him as the game was almostpleted.


    After Jacob left, Tara and Enid were picked up by their parents to get home as they had ns to go on a vacation together.


    "You''re quite a good gamer Enid. I hope we can hang out again soon." I said to the little one.


    "...Wait. Really? You want to hang out with me?"


    "Yeah. Aren''t we already friends now? That''s what friends do?" I was confused by her choice of words, but then I noticed that her face lit up with happiness. She tried to control it and act cool though, saying, "Sure. I''ll hang out with you if you want."


    "Sweet. Bye!~" I waved goodbye at the two siblings before returning to the living room. I snapped my fingers at Alex before saying, "Let''s go take the pictures. I want to see what suits you best."


    "O-Okay."


    "Wait. I wanna model too." Haley said in a hurry before following us from behind. "I want to watch." Abby said as she followed the group too.


    ire said to Phil, "I should probably go supervise them..."


    (Author: Its been a tough couple of days. I want to get right back into writing, but I find myself unable to do it immediately. I will slowly get back into it.)

 Chapter 68: Curse of the yellow bird (Part 3)

    <h4>Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Curse of the yellow bird (Part 3)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Despite me only inviting Alex into my room, Abby and the entire Dunphy family had followed along�C squeezing themselves inside my small room to join in the fun.


    "Let''s try the circr frame sses first." I said as I held a papier-mache sses frame model that took me a lot of work to detail gently and put it on Alex''s face.


    As I had told her not to move casually to avoid breaking the model, she had to face me without managing to avoid her gaze as we sat face to face for me to study herpatibility with the ss frame.


    "She looks like Harry Potter." Luke said.


    "Urgh You-" Alex was angered and wanted to turn her face toward Luke who was standing behind her, but I grabbed both sides of her face to stop her from moving.


    "Stay still, Alex. First warning."


    "First warning? What are you going to do when she runs out of warning?" Phil asked while closing Luke''s mouth to prevent him from saying anything else. Except for Haley and Abby who were sitting on my bed, the rest of the family was standing behind Alex.


    "Punish her of course." I replied casually and with a mischievous smile. Before Alex could retort, I said, "The frame is great-"


    "So Vain." Abby retorted from behind. I gave a side eye to her before continuing talking to Alex, "But as your baby fat is still there. It''s notpatible with your face shape. Let''s try something else."


    As she had to take off her sses during the test, Alex''s farsightedness only allowed her to look at my face clearly�C only at my face. Her eyes were glued to my every facial expression change,ugh, face symmetry, and everything else that she could see on me.


    Her face blushed red which made me wonder if she was embarrassed to be doing this in front of her family.


    Haleyughed a little and said, " Hey Alex. He called you fat."


    "You have Baby Fat cheeks too." I said before Alex could explode, stunning Haley immediately. Alex and ireughed at Haley''s reaction while Phil and Luke got distracted and went on to take a tour of my room instead.


    "I''m not fat!" Haley said hurriedly.


    If there was one thing I understood clearly about Haley was that she was very self-conscious about her weight�C Alex even said she had an eating disorder in the series one time in my previous life. Therefore, I had to tread lightly while dealing with this topic.


    "I''m not saying you''re fat. Your figure is very thin. I''m just saying you have a baby fat cheek. It''smon in adolescence, and it''ll disappear when you be an adult. Just ask your mom and dad." I said reassuringly without even looking at Haley and changed Alex''s sses type to a top-half rectangr, bottom half circr sses type.


    "Oh. She looks good in this." I muttered in satisfaction.


    "Let me see!" ire said hurriedly and got in between Alex and I. "Oh. She looks really cute!"


    "Wait really?" Phil said excitedly.


    "Really?!" Haley muttered in disappointment.


    Abby already grabbed the circr sses and put them on while calling for me.


    "Ed. Does this make me look cute?" She said as she made a few poses with the empty sses frame.


    "It does. But if you wore sses for a fashion statement rather than necessity, my opinion on you will be lowered instantly."


    "Uhhh..." Abby was bbergasted as didn''t expect me to be so callous while Alex nodded lightly a few times as she felt satisfied that someone had shared the same line of thinking with her in this world.


    "So we''re picking this for Alex right?"


    Haley wanted to end the test quickly as the sight of me getting intimate with Alex was making her ufortable. But I haven''t finished testing all of my frames yet.


    "This one is a full rectangr frame." I said as I put a Rayban design frame on her face. After studying her face for a few seconds, I said, "This one is great too."


    "But you said it with no excitement in your face. Why?" Alex asked.


    "I''m torn now. Which one should I pick?" I said as I put my hand underneath my chin and started thinking deeply.


    Alex was baffled and said, "Couldn''t I choose?"


    I mulled her words and said decisively, "...No."


    Alex became irritated and said, "Why not? I''m the one who''s going to wear it!"


    "You can''t even look at your reflection wearing that, and I''m supposed to trust your decision?"


    She opened her mouth to retort, but no word coulde out. "Um- Well..."


    "Well is a hole on the ground when you''re thirsty. Just trust me. You can count on me to make the right decision."


    "Uuuuu....Burn!" Luke eximed to tease Alex. She turned to him and said with a scrunch up, puzzled face, "That''s not a burn. Just shut up if you can''t understand english."


    "Well yeah. How about this for a burn? You''re short!" Luke retorted...well...he tried. ire and Phil shook their heads slightly while Haleyughed at Luke''s burn as she really thought that did something.


    "Ed, you''re going to take the pictures now?" Haley asked. I turned toward her and saw both of the girls were ying with the frame model. "Want us to model for you?" Haley said while lowering her half-half sses frame seductively.


    "... if the model is broken I''m going to sue you guys." I said without mercy.


    ...


    After getting the pictures, I returned to the living room to clean up, just to see that everything had been straightened up and tidied. The empty sses had been put into the dishwasher, the sofa cushion had been fixed and chopped up, and the table had been wiped with a clean rag.


    "ire. Did you do this?" I asked in confusion as I turned to ire who was standing behind me.


    "No. I went up straight after." ire replied, not knowing what was the problem there."Ed. We''re going to go home now. Abby, you''re going home too." ire said.


    "But-"


    "No. I''m not letting you guys hang out alone in an empty house. That kind of environment is dangerous for teens."


    "Hey. Are you really going to create a song for me? I want you to know that it isn''t necessary anymore. The sses are enough." Alex said as ire had pulled both Haley and Abby to the front door.


    "Toote Alex. Toote." I muttered mischievously, causing Alex to widen her eyes.


    "You''d...done it?" Alex asked with a mixture of horrified and excitement disyed within her expression.


    I shrugged and said casually, "I got inspired while testing the frames before this. It still needs a few tweaks though."


    "MOM! I NEED YOU HERE!" Alex called out to her mother automatically as she didn''t know how to handle the situation. ire turned her head to look at Alex and I while releasing her grip on Haley''s and Abby''s hand.


    "What happened?" ire asked as she walked toward us.


    "He wrote a song. For me." Alex replied woodenly, amusing me with her colorful reactions. Haley and Abby''s face turned pale white as they heard it.


    "That man-whore." Abby muttered while Haley agreed with her.


    Phil ran towards me and hugged me unexpectedly as he was too happy at this moment. "One new song per day?! I don''t know which world I had saved in my past life for me to be blessed like this."


    "Pandora. Where the blue aliens live." I said seriously, making it seem to the simple others that I wasn''t joking .


    Phil was absorbed instantly and asked, "Am I the human or the alien?"


    "Neither. You''re the fish the dragon ate."


    Lukeughed while Phil sighed in displeasure as he thought he could be something awesome in his past life.


    "How can a fish save the world? You''re not making sense." Phil said.


    "Because...if the dragon didn''t eat the fish, then they wouldn''t have the energy to fight the human mecha robots. So the fish''s sacrifice allowed Pandora to fight back against the invasion."


    The entire group of people there was stunned by my eloquence, and even Phil had started to think that maybe being a fish wasn''t bad at all. The Avatar movie was released in March instead of December 2009 in this world, therefore the people here could understand the reference. The movie was one of the slight changes this world haspared to my previous world among a few others.


    "Okay. Stop talking about a fish. Ed. You really created a song? Do you want to y it now, or do you want some time to practice?" ire asked.


    "I can do it now. But it''ll be quite embarrassing since you guys are here."


    ire became anxious and muttered, "What? Us? Is it a sexy song? IS IT A LEWD SONG ABOUT MAKING LOVE-"


    "Lewd?" I muttered, confused by the usation.


    Before ire could spiral further, Phil closed her mouth and dragged her to the sofa to calm down. "Ed. Pretend we aren''t here. We won''t say anything. We really want to see you y your new song." Phil said, his eyes were begging me to let him stay.


    I sighed and said, "Okay then. But reserve allments till tomorrow. I''m too mentally exhausted to deal with the feedback now. I still need to finish up my game."


    "Ed. If you''re busy, we can postpone this." Alex said as she was feeling incredibly embarrassed and scenarios about me serenading her started to y in her mind.


    "Which instrument?" Abby asked.


    "I can do ukulele or guitar." I replied before Abby ran to my room to pick it up.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Guitar will be too romantic for just Alex. So ukulele is better for him to y with. Also, HOW DARE HE! Ughh He''s such a yer! JUST ONE DAY PASSED SINCE HE MADE A SONG FOR ME-"


    [Commentary cut short as Haley spiral into madness]


    "Okay. Here goes." I said as I sat on the edge of the sofa while facing the group audience sitting and standing nearby in the living room. Holding the ukulele in position, I started to strum a high tempo beat that reminded people of a cheerful atmosphere.


    {Bruno mars- Count on me}


    " ??Oh-oh... If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea...I''ll sail the world to find you...??"


    ire muttered, "He has a lot of songs about seas huh. No wonder as he''s the son of a ship''s captain." Haley widened her eyes as she heard the intro.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Damn it. That song is catchier than mine!"


    [Commentary ends]


    "??If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can''t see...I''ll be the light to guide you


    We''ll find out what we''re made of...When we are called to help our friends in need...??"


    "Another hit!" Phil shouted abruptly, causing all of us to be stunned. I froze and my hand that was strumming the guitar string stopped. I slowly raised my head to look at Phil and said in confusion, "What?"


    Phil became apologetic and said, "Sorry. Please continue." ire and Haley rolled their eyes at him while I shrugged and continued with the chorus.


    "?? You can count on me like one, two, three...I''ll be there...And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two...And you''ll be there...''Cause that''s what friends are supposed to do, oh, yeah...??"


    Alex blushed and muttered to herself, "Damn it. Now I can''t be mad anymore." Haley let go of her jealousy as she heard the word friends, and started to enjoy the song instead of keeping her vignce.


    "??Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh


    Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh, yeah, yeah...??"


    Luke was humming along unconsciously at the melody while Abby decided to record the whole thing using her Iphone.


    "??If you tossin'' and you''re turnin'' and you just can''t fall asleep...I''ll sing a song beside you..??"


    "Really?" Haley said in excitement. Abby rolled her eyes at her and said, "It''s only for Alex...Maybe...I don''t know."


    "??And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me~!


    Every day I will remind you, oh~??"


    "??We''ll find out what we''re made of...When we are called to help our friends in need..."


    "Everybody!" I called out to the audience for a sing along.


    Together: "?? You can count on me like one, two, three...I''ll be there...And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two...And you''ll be there...''Cause that''s what friends are supposed to do, oh, yeah..."


    Edward: Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh


    Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh, yeah, yeah


    "??You''ll always have my shoulder when you cry...I''ll never let go, never say goodbye...You know...You can count on me like one, two, three...I''ll be there...And I know when I need it I can count on you like four, three, two...And you''ll be there...''Cause that''s what friends are supposed to do, oh, yeah..."


    "Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh...


    Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh...


    You can count on me ''cause I can count on you...??"


    I ended the melody abruptly and stood up. "Thank you all foring. Have a nice day."


    "Wait-wait-wait! Ed! Why are you chasing us away?!" ire said with a smirk as she could deduce what I was feeling right now.


    "He''s embarrassed. He didn''t think the song through." Abby added to my misery by exining to everyone about the situation.


    "Hmm? Why are you embarrassed for a song about friends?" Alex asked with a reddish hue on her face from blushing.


    "It makes me look like I''ve never had any true friends before!!" I said in embarrassment before I walked to the stairs. "I''m going to scream in my pillow. Have a good night everyone. Please don''t contact me for the next 2 or 3 days. Otherwise the cringe will reappear."


    The groupughed at my actions before ending today''s gathering. The Dunphy''s then said their goodbyes and walked to their house while Abby returned to her home.


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    "I feel bad for suspecting him. Feeling embarrassed from a song about friends proved that he''s still a young kid." ire said and paused for a while as she waited for Phil to talk, but he didn''t.


    "Phil?" ire called out to him softly to snap him out of his daydreaming.


    "Uh sorry. I''m thinking about my life as a fish. If I''m a fish I have to be a swordfish...or a hammerhead shark..." Phil said in excitement.


    "Or a blowfish." ire added with a smile. Philughed as he looked at ire''s face before pushing her shoulder with his finger and said, "Someone''s feeling naughty."


    ire was bbergasted by her unconscious innuendo and gazed into the camera with disbelief.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "At first, I thought he thought about it a lot when he made the song for Haley. But when this happened, it made me realize that he didn''t n anything at all. Rather, the song is too easy for him to get it out; it''s like putting coins into a musical vending machine." Alex said.


    She paused and then showed a bright smile afterward, "And that vending machine is my best friend."


    Her face turned deadpan and she said, " I really hope he won''t date my sister. Ugh. I wanted to puke when I thought about it.."


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Abby, I''ll walk you." Haley said as she separated from her family members to walk with her friends.


    "Haley. Don''t take too long!" ire shouted from afar as Haley moved into a different direction from her house.


    "Okay mom!" Haley said as she grabbed Abby''s arm before whispering, "So. Are we going to talk about it?"


    "Talk about what?" Abby asked, trying to y it cool.


    "About how you tantly seduced your ex-boyfriend at his house. I thought you guys were finished. So why did you do that? Do you want him back?" Haley asked while hiding her tumultuous heart.


    "I don''t know. I lo- Like him. Just because we were broken up, doesn''t mean that I can throw away all of my feelings for him. I missed him...a lot." Abby said with a sigh.


    She turned to Haley and shared what was in her mind, "Although we said we''re going to be friends after. It was... awkward between us. We talked, but it wasn''t the same."


    "So when we reach a point where we can hang out normally again, all of the feelings I have resurfaced. I''m sorry if I made you feel ufortable. You helped me to avoid making things awkward before, right? That''s why you sat on him with me?" Abby said, feeling extra grateful today that she has a friend like the girl in front of her.


    Haley''s eyes shook and she said, "Y-Y-Yeah. It''s all nned out."


    "You know. You''re pretty smart Haley. You helped me in such a sophisticated way. If someday after I had gotten back to New York, and you felt that you wanted to ask Edward out. Do it. I will be rooting for you then." Abby said as she gave Haley a light hug.


    [Haley''smentary]


    While punching her chest a few times, Haley said in frustration, "The guilt is eating me inside out. UGH! But...thank god Ed and I didn''t date. Otherwise...it''ll be a disaster."


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "I need a shower." I said as I took off my clothes and walked to the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around my waist.


    I turned on the shower and put my head under the cold water to distinguish the excitement my body was experiencing from the girl''s attack before this.


    "Damn those two girls." I said as I put shampoo on my hair. My lower body kept asking to be ''taken care'' of, but I was too tired to care. As I was washing my hair, I suddenly heard the door hinges shrieking quietly as if someone was entering the bathroom. I didn''t lock it as I knew I was the only one in my house before I took a bath.


    "Hmm?" I peeked at the door with a head filled with soap, but I didn''t see anything unusual, just the door was opened slightly.


    "The wind maybe." I muttered as I continued to take a bath. After finishing my shower, I put on a robe and walked downstairs to get some coffee as I nned on staying upte today.


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I was confused as it wasn''t time for my dad to get home yet, but then I heard a familiar voice calling for me from the outside.


    "Ed. Are you there?" Haley was calling me with a frantic voice. I hurriedly opened the door in case something terrible had happened to her and said, "What happened? Are you alright?"


    "No. I''m in trouble. We both are in trouble." Haley said with desperation as she barged into my house. I closed the door and walked toward Haley who directly went to sit at the sofa.


    "Exin it to me." I said calmly.


    Haley opened her mouth, and then she realized she had almost exposed what Abby had shared to her personally before.


    "Anyway. You shouldn''t flirt with Abby, or me anymore!" Haley said. I sighed as I thought something terrible had happened. "I know. I''d controlled myself greatly today. It was the two of you that decided to torture me. What are you guys thinking about anyway?"


    "When did we torture you?" Haley said as she closed her face with mine, her left hand fell into my thing.


    "You know what you were doing this evening, like you''re doing right now. Don''t put your hand so close. I''m not wearing anything underneath."


    Haley blushed, but she didn''t take off her hand. "I''m serious about this. No more."


    "You said that yesterday too, and today you did it in front of your parents. So forgive me if I can''t believe what you''re saying right now." I said teasingly. Haley''s eyes shook before her gaze was distracted with something else.


    She saw the light hickey mark on my neck that became prominent as I took a hot shower before. She was quickly reminded of the affairs ofst night, and wanted to remove her hand before she identally slipped and it fell straight to my manhood.


    "Ah!" Haley let out a cute yelp before she said, "Why are you fidgety"


    "Haley! Come on!" I said as I stood up abruptly. "Also I''m not fidgety. But you and Abby''s teasing make me almost out of my mind. So, just leave. Before I do something that I would regret."


    Haley ignored my words and said, "Wait? You''re not? Then...why is it so..."


    "Haley. Be sure where you are going with this." I said as I turned toward her. Haley sighed before she said, "Okay. I know."


    She stood up from the couch and stood facing me before she said, "Seriously. After today. No more."


    "Yeah. No more."


    Then, she gave me an unexpected hug. A hug that someone would give if they wanted to say goodbye to someone else. I held the back of her waist as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Then, she realized something was poking at her from underneath.


    After a short period of internal struggle, she followed her impulses and said, "You know. It is my fault anyway."


    "What is?" I asked in confusion. Suddenly, she infiltrated her hands underneath my robe. "So I-I''ll help you to t-take care of this. After that, we''re not flirting anymore."


    ...


    After walking Haley almost to her house, I returned to my home to take a nap. I had set an rm to wake me up at 4 am to finish the game before the 9 amunch.


    I nned to send her to her house but she thought if someone saw it, they would get suspicious about it, and only allowed me to 20 meters from her house. I could see she walked in safely, and that was enough for me.


    As Iid in the bed and fell into dreand, I didn''t realize that someone was standing nearby my bed and was watching me sleep. The same person who had peeked at me while I was showering was still in my house, as I technically haven''t sent her away today after the beta test was over.

 Chapter 69: Flappy Bird launch.

    <h4>Chapter 69: Chapter 69: ppy Birdunch.</h4>


    (A/N: Nice)


    [Haley POV]


    "What''s wrong with you?!" Alex asked in confusion as I entered the room.


    "Hmm? What''s wrong with me?" I asked as I touched my face to understand what she was talking about.


    "You look...rxed...like you just got back from a spa or something." Alex said before she lost interest and continued reading her book.


    I swallowed my saliva in fear of how sharp my sister was before I went under my nket and pretended to go to sleep to avoid answering the question.


    ''Alex is so scary.'' I thought. Edward managed to do what none of the other boys I dated before did, that was....granted permission to go ''down there.''


    "But I cannot do that again!" I whined as I kicked up the nket without getting my legs out of it. The feeling of ''what if'' and ''if I could'' kept haunting me. Why did I ever decide to stay as friends with him?


    "Shut up!" Alex scolded me as I was too noisy while she was trying to study. I became docile andid down quietly in bed before I said to her, "What do you think about his song for you?"


    "It''s good." Alex replied curtly as she was disinterested in having the conversation with me. I scoffed and said, "A song about... ''Friends.'' HA! You''re in the friend zone Alex!"


    "Your song is about a girl who got dumped after a one night stand. I wouldn''t be proud of it if I were you." Alex said sarcastically.


    "NO! It''s ABOUT FORBIDDEN LO... I mean ummm being true to oneself ?? Yeah, being true to oneself !" I defended my song while throwing a bear doll at Alex. "JERK!"


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I nearly told Alex what happened, just minutes after being alone with her. What''s wrong with me?? And Why did I want to tell her everything ??"


    mentary ends]


    "Ow! SKANK!" Alex cursed as the bear hit her head.


    "HMPH! I''m not talking to you!" I said as I angrily pulled the nket to cover my face.


    Alex turned off her deskmp and went to bed 15 minutester, making the entire room dark. She lost all mood to study after our short fight.


    Underneath my nket, I was having a truly intense struggle about my actions today.


    "Why did I say he''s not like other guys?! THAT MEANT I DID A LOT OF GUYS! UGHH! He noticed, didn''t he? ARHH!"


    Although my words were on purpose to make him lose interest in me, the way he reacted caused me to admire him more. I guess he knew that I was only pretending to be a slutty girl, and was still a virgin at the time. The skills were from mock practice! (cucumber lol)


    ''Haley Dunphy is the most popr girl in school! I got a reputation to keep!''


    But now, I wasn''t sure that being a popr girl was the path I wanted to take anymore. It was easy being dumb and pretty, but I always felt lonely �C Like no one really understood me in this world.


    Ed spoke up for me. He helped me get closer to my mother. He sang a song for me, and threw away his prejudice towards my grandmother just for us.


    "It''s not fair! He''s too young. Why am I attracted to him?" I muttered. Abby''s words about giving me the green light for dating him in the future after she left, kept ringing in my mind. Blood rushed to my face as I thought about what we had done tonight.


    I stared at my phone, and saw that it was almost 1 am.


    "He''s sleeping now...right? Or...Is he like me�C restless and unable to sleep, as he keeps thinking about what we did before- Argh Whatever!"


    I reluctantly went to take a shower and clean up all of his traces from my body before I finally fell asleep that night. As if God wanted to torture me, I dreamt about the both of us going ''all the way'' as I gave him my first time... I may pretend to be "slutty" but I wouldn''t go so far as to actually be with someone that I wasn''t sure was worth the experience.


    [Jenna POV]


    (A/N: She seems mentally unstable, which was on purpose. I will tell you why this bit was important during the decathlon arc)


    -Evening, before the party had ended-


    "Are you sure you''re noting with us?" Elsa asked before she and Jacob left Edward''s house.


    "Yeah. I''m going to stay for a while. Don''t worry, my mom will send someone toe pick me up."


    As I waved goodbye to Jacob and Elsa, I went to Edward''s kitchen and started avoiding him to make sure he didn''t know I''d stayed behind. He did ask Alex about me a few times, but even Alex didn''t realize that I was still there, and they came to the conclusion that I had left with Jacob and Elsa to go to the cinema.


    From there, I lurked around his house until everything was over.


    "Oh...He''s singing a song...for Alex?" I muttered in jealousy as I enjoyed watching him sing from the gap of the closet door I peeked through. He created a phenomenal song as usual, but my heart felt ufortable as I saw himughing around with the family.


    "He never showed me that kind of smile...ever..."


    A sincere smile that showed he truly enjoyed thepany of the family. A smile where he wasfortable to be himself around them.


    "All I ever have is a teasing smile, or a kind smile, but never a sincere one."


    The family had left now. It''s just the two of us inside the house. My heart beats quickly as I follow him around without him realising it�C not noticing how creepy my actions were. I just wanted to understand him better.


    "He''s....taking a shower!"


    I took a small jump, giddily dancing around before silently walking toward the bathroom. I opened up the door and peeked at him from outside �C but I was almost caught by him, therefore I could only see his body for a few seconds.


    However, that was enough for me to rey the memory while adding my imagination to it.


    ''It''s big! AHH~!'' I thought in excitement before running away to the closet. As I was stalking him, suddenly the doorbell rang.


    "That''s the girl...Haley...why is she here?" I thought as I saw her sitting next to Ed on the couch. I couldn''t hear what they were talking about, but their conversation was heated. Suddenly, their conversation turned physical and they were doing adult things in the living room.


    "NO! He''s MINE!" I muttered in dissatisfaction as I watched the whole thing. I got turned on watching them, and my hand unconsciously slid into my panties as I watched. However, they didn''t have sex with each other, and I found out that they agreed to end their entanglement today.


    ''So they are broken up? I''m confused.''


    My breath became heavy as I dazedly entered Edward''s room while he was sleeping. I gazed at his face and muttered, "Liar. You told me you liked smart girls."


    "You told me you liked milfs."


    "But then you do that with Haley, so What am I supposed to do now?"


    "She''s like me, you know? So why couldn''t it be me?"


    Without me realizing it, tears fell out of my eyes as I asked the sleeping Ed my questions. I slowly got into bed with him, and I cuddled with him. I touched his ''weapon'', but the moment I did that, I remembered how angry he was when Madelyn slighted him before.


    ''Actions...have consequences...If he knew I was here...then I guess he would get a restraining order against me...''


    I finally realized that I had been creeping around him for too long, and I left soon after�C but not till I got a sample of what he tasted like�C kissing his lips before disappearing. My driver had already waited 6 hours outside the house so I just silently got into the car.


    I left Edward''s neighborhood around 2.30 am and went straight home. My tears kept falling down during the whole ride before I went and locked myself in my room so as to not let anyone know about it.


    [Edward POV]


    In the small, teenage boy room.


    "Why is my face wet?" I thought as I woke up from my 4 hours sleep. I reached for my phone to turn off the rm before I stared at the ceiling, trying to check if there was any leak from the roof or water damage, but I didn''t find any.


    "Weird."


    I washed my face and opened up myptop after drinking a cup of coffee before I started the usual grind.


    "I missed this." I muttered as I finished up the ppy Bird game. In my previous life, not sleeping at night to work on bugs and fullstack coding was a normal urrence. Although I didn''t wish to return to that kind of life, I have to admit I missed the experience.


    I had managed tounch an animated trailer for the game thanks to Pepper''s connection, but I had only posted it on Youtube a few days back. Although it hadn''t reached 1 million views yet, the feedback around the trailer was very good, and people were excited.


    Also a few days ago, I noticed that I had a fan club page on Facebook that had just been created 3 days ago and had already reached 31,000 followers. The agency reached out to the fan club and found out it was created by Lily�C the same girl who gave me the "Fairytail" keyword during myst concert.


    She was bbergasted when the agency contacted her, and ourpany soon reached an agreement with her to cooperate in running the page thus making it my official fan club.


    "Let''s see. I need to put the terms and agreement in." I muttered as I inserted the terms that Harvey had drafted after I shared her possible reactions from the users who downloaded the game. The terms and agreement would help me to avoid possiblewsuits against those who were utterly broken by the game.


    "The reason ppy Bird became viral was because of the game''s difficulty. It would be stupid for me to lower my difficulty here in the world. But...seriously, it will beunched 3 years earlier. Will it still be a viral game?"


    Even though I had some concerns about the game release date, I still continue to code while waiting for the gameunch. An official notice was posted on my fan club page about a game I created, and how I made the songs inside the game too.


    "Although it''s just a quirky soundtrack."


    At 6 am, suddenly someone knocked on my bedroom door three times. Dad opened the door and greeted me while standing in front of my bedroom without walking in, "Hey. I saw the light was up. You''re catching the sunrise?"


    I turned slightly to the left to meet his eyes as he opened the door. I rolled my eyes when I heard his greeting and said sarcastically, "You''ll never find me waking up early to catch the sunrise."


    Dad smiled and asked, "Are you finishing the game? Is there still much work to be done?"


    "Just sanding off the rough edges. I''ll finish soon." I answered dismissively as my fingers continued to type on the keyboard. I had to split my focus with parallel thinking to do so, otherwise it would be impossible for anyone to code without looking at the screen.


    "Okay. Do you want me to bring you breakfast?" Dad offered.


    "That''ll be great. Thank you. I want hash browns and coffee."


    "Wait- Do you want me to go out and buy it?" He was bbergasted as we usually didn''t go out to buy breakfast. Not since I unlocked my previous life memory a month ago.


    "Of course. The fridge is empty. I served all the food at the beta testing yesterday. There''s only the ''Ropa Vieja'' left. Do you want to have that for breakfast?"


    Dad gulped his saliva and said, "I''ll go out and get it for you. Do you want anything else?"


    "Nah. I''m good. Pepper ising here at 8, so buy some for him too."


    "Okay.For the record I... still think that I should take the day off today."


    He felt bad as he couldn''t be here for theunch. Although I was the one who decided he should go do the trip for a few movie studio execs, he couldn''t help but have a guilty conscience about it.


    "It''s all right. You need to do your job properly if you want the business to grow. I''m already searching for another ship captain, and we''re now leveraging the ship to buy another boat. We''re taking over all the business at the port anyway."


    "Hmm...A few businesses tried to create their own websites, but all of them suck. They desperately tried to convince me to introduce them to the web developer, but..." Dad snorted as he remembered the other business owner''s reaction. "...all of them were frozen when they heard my son made thepany''s website."


    Iughed and said, "They didn''t even know that?-"


    Before I could continue, a lightbulb was turned on inside my head.


    "Wait...I think...I can do it...Absorb them all- No Dad this isn''t the time! I need to focus on my work here!"


    Dad was puzzled and he said defensively, "I didn''t even say anything."


    "Go get my breakfast. Quick. I''m really hungry."


    "Okay. I''ll make sure to bring a big portion for you."


    I nodded at my dad before he closed the door and went out to the restaurant.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    Ted drove 15 minutes toward another part of town where he arrived at a restaurant Edward had rmended to him.


    "Hash Browns, muffins, coffee, and bagels to go please." Ted ordered with the waitress after sitting down on an empty chair.


    Maxine, the kind southern woman replied teasingly, "A big breakfast love? I thought you were dieting based on your son''s order?"


    "It''s for him. He''s working hard right now, so I''m bringing it over to him." Ted replied as he feltfortable around Maxine already as this was his 7th visit.


    He usually stopped by after work, as he wanted to get lunch together with the ship''s crew at the restaurant. All this was thanks to Maxine who always treated them kindly, every single time they visited so they all frequented the ce.


    "Wait. he''s already working?" A feminine voice interjected to Ted and Maxine''s conversation. Ted turned his head around the restaurant to scan for the source of the voice before he found a pair of mother and daughter were sitting behind him.


    "Oh hi Abby. And... Desiree."


    Both of them decided to go out for breakfast, and didn''t expect to see Ted there.


    Abby had turned her waist fully to face Ted and she asked again, "He''s working this early in the morning?"


    Maxine was baffled when she realized it and added, "On A SATURDAY!?" Then, she hit Ted''s shoulder.


    "OWW! I didn''t force him to work, but yeah, he did wake up early. Maybe around 4 am."


    "4 AM!?" Maxine eximed in bewilderment and hit Ted''s shoulder again.


    "Stop that!" Ted said while rubbing the sore spot on his shoulder.


    "He''s supposed to sleep in and wake upte in the afternoon. Like ordinary boys would. I''m not giving you coffee." Maxine said before she walked to the kitchen.


    "...the coffee''s for me though." Ted muttered but Maxine had already walked away.


    Desire looked at Ted''s uniformed attire while biting her lower lip. She especially enjoyed seeing his big arms, and kept staring at Ted without him noticing it.


    Abby had fallen deep in thought about Edward, so she said, "Mr...Newgate. You''re going to work right? I can give Edward his breakfast if you want."


    Ted thought for a few seconds before saying, "I don''t want to trouble you-"


    "It''s not troubling at all! I''ll be d to do it!" Abby said.


    "I thought we were going to the mall?" Desire mumbled in disappointment while looking dejected.


    "We can go in the afternoon. I want to see himunching his game." Abby said to try andfort her mother.


    "He said it''s not worth seeing. He would just upload the game to the store...and that''s it." Ted said, not to prevent Abby from going over there, but it was what Edward had said tofort him for missing theunch event.


    "Then I''ll just go to give him breakfast." Abby said decisively. Desiree sighed and turned to Ted.


    "How about this? After you finish,e pick me up at the Marina. I want to see the port as I have never gone there before." Desiree said. "I''ll hitch a ride with Captain Ted- if that''s alright with you?"


    Ted gulped his saliva as he saw Desiree batting her eyes at him. "O-Okay. We can do that."


    "Excellent." Desiree said as she moved her seat to sit at Ted''s table. She lightly touched Ted''s arm as she talked with him about how his son saved her before, and kept being flirty with him.


    However, Abby still didn''t realize what her mother was doing as she was too absorbed with the whole Ed situation.


    "What should I say when I enter his house? Breakfast is here? What if he thinks I am the food? Will he eat me? Ehehe~" She mumbled gleefully as she waited for the order to arrive. Maxine returned with the food soon after, and Abby grabbed the packaged food from Maxine before she could put it down on the table.


    "I''ll meet you there!" Abby said as she waved goodbye to her mother.


    "No rush~!" Desiree replied as she dragged her words before running her hands up and down Ted''s biceps again. "Oh. You''re so hard. You must work out a lot." She said as she ''identally'' squeezed Ted''s arm.


    "*Ehem* I do...quite a bit." Ted replied with a flushing face as he still hadn''t taken the hint despite Desiree''s advances toward him.


    Abby texted Haley before she drove to Ed''s house in excitement, not knowing how her text message would make Haley react. But she was lucky as there was no way for Haley to wake up in the early morning on a Saturday.


    Haley was still sleeping, with her hair unkempt and her mouth half opened. A strand of hair was stuck on her face because of the drooling out of her mouth. Her phone chimed a few times, but she didn''t even flinch at the sound.


    "Mom. I''m going to Edwards house to pick up my bike!" Luke ran toward the front doors without wearing his pants from his excitement.


    "Luke! Pants first!" ire yelled at him from the kitchen. Luke finally realized he was in his tighty whities as he looked at his legs. He ran up to his room, passing by Alex who was going downstairs while reading the novel, "The Scarlet Letter."


    "Honey. Can you please go with Luke to get his bike back? He finished all of his chores today." ire requested with a kind voice as Alex rarely gave her trouble when asked to do something.


    "No problem. I''ll make sure he won''t get his bikes back. That way, he will clean up the toilet after using them." Alex said casually and before ire could react, she was already outside the door.


    "This might be a mistake." ire muttered in concern. Then she shrugged and eximed dismissively, "Oh well," before going to the kitchen to make breakfast for the kids. Phil had an open house to attend today, and left the house around 6 am, so he couldn''te with Luke in his quest to finally reim what was his.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Bagel." I ordered.


    A pale white hand picked up the bagel and fed me while I was focusing on finishing the game.


    "Coffee." I ordered.


    Abby picked up the cup of coffee she got from my kitchen and said in dissatisfaction while feeding me the coffee, "This wasn''t what I expected when I came here today."


    "What Did you expect?" I smirked teasingly as I nced at her. She avoided my eyes and answered with a stutter, "A-Anyway. Are you finished?"


    "Soon. I''mpiling." I said as I took a break from myptop. I stretched my arms to the air as I let out a grunt. I massaged my right shoulder after that.


    "Are you okay?" Abby asked in concern.


    "I''m just tired." I replied.


    "I''ll help you massage it." Abby said before she stood behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. Right then, Alex and Luke barged into my room.


    "Hey, you didn''t lock the door. That''s dangerous." Alex said casually as I turned toward her with a surprised expression.


    "I want my bike. I did the chores. I want it." Luke demanded as he held his right arm towards me.


    "Speak politely." I said with a devilish grin.


    Luke whimpered before he changed his attitude, "May...May I have my bike back...please..sir?"


    "You don''t have to call me sir. Sure you can get your bike back. You did well. Of course, you could have gotten it earlier if you had just listened to me in the first ce, but this is good too." I said as I threw him the key to his bike lock.


    "This is for the new bike. Come by next week and we will get started on pimping out your old bike."


    "Yes!!" Luke shouted in excitement as his misery was over. I do hope he learnt something from this lesson and will apply it in his daily life after this.


    I turned to Alex who had a smile on her face as she was infected by her brother''s excitement. Although she always teased him , she was genuinely happy for him too when he achieved anything.


    Alex noticed I was staring at her and hid her smile immediately.


    "No. I''m just happy I don''t have to report to you anymore. It''s exhausting to have to supervise him."


    "Sure. Let''s go with that excuse." I said teasingly , making Alex avoid my eyes in embarrassment.


    "Hello children!" Suddenly Pepper appeared from behind Luke and Alex, startling everyone there.


    "That''s a bit of an overreaction. I told you I wasing. I thought that''s why you didn''t lock the door." Pepper said as he barged into the room. He looked at Abby who was frozen in spot while still holding my shoulder and said, "You guys have broken up... right?"


    "R-Right-"


    "Hey. Continue massaging. Alex, follow Luke to fetch the bike. Don''t let him touch anything else in the garage."


    "Sure." Alex replied.


    "I don''t need a babysitter!" Luke said in annoyance.


    Pepper waited downstairs for me to finish with my game. I uploaded the game exactly at 9 am and was finally finished with my first project in this world. I released 2 versions of the game, one with an ads option, one without. The one without cost 99�� a month while the other one was free.


    "Now. We wait." I muttered before Abby suddenly hugged me in excitement. "Congrats Eddy. I''m sure the game will do well! It''s very fun!"


    "Sure. Sure. But stop rubbing your body on me. I haven''t had a bath yet." I said while patting Abby''s back. She released me and blood rushed to her face as she was embarrassed.


    Directly after Abby released me, which took only a few seconds, I saw the data on the screen.


    " Already 100 downloads? Damn."


    The downloads numbers kept increasing and it reached 10,000 in just an hour, but I was no longer monitoring them as I had to follow Pepper to the recording studio.

 Chapter 70: Busy Day.

    <h4>Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Busy Day.?</h4>


    [Pepper POV]


    ''I''m worried.''


    As I drove Edward to the recording studio, I saw that he was taking a nap as he had woken up so early today.


    ''He''s been pushing himselftely.''


    Putting a jacket on the young teen''s body to cover him up from the cold, I drove a bit slower than usual to let him sleep a little bit longer. I couldn''t help but to notice that he put a huge burden on himself. It was as if... he feared that the moment he stopped working, he would lose all of his value.


    "(sigh) The curse of a genius. But I guess that''s my role in his story. I need to prevent him from crumbling." I muttered underneath my breath as I nced at him.


    Suddenly, I got a call from a close friend. I pushed the button on my bluetooth earphone to answer it and spoke in a slightly toned down volume lest I interrupt Edward''s sleep.


    "Pepper, we''re already here. Where are you?" Mitchell asked me. I guessed he had already arrived at the studio.


    "Patience my boy. A wizard is neverte, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to," I replied.


    "The ring is already in Sauron''s hand. The fire of Mordor has already spread throughout thends, Gondor has Fallen and the men of the Riddermark are now ves to the dark one''s will." Cam interjected, in which I assumed he had snatched the phone from Mitchell.


    Cam had recently beenining about how he was the only one that had been left behind while Mitch and I enjoyed watching Edward''s performance by ourselves without thinking about him. That was why I called him over today, just to rub his nose in the fact that no matter how much he pestered me , he would never get to see the magical moment once more. And also to finally shut him up.


    "Don''t be so dramatic. I''ll be there in another 10 minutes. Besides, I gave you guys the wrong time anyway, so no one else is there yet."


    "What? Why?!" Cam asked in frustration. I giggled and said, "Why indeed."


    [Mitch and Cam''smentary]


    Mitchell tried to exin, "Okay. A little while back, Cam gave Pepper the wrong time for a party."


    "A LITTLE WHILE?!" Cam was offended by Mitchell''s effort to downy the pettiness. He said, "It was 7 years ago! I didn''t even remember it. But he held a grudge for 7 whole YEARS!"


    Mitchell waited for Cam to calm down before saying, "So yeah. He yed us. But he already showed "mercy" and toned down the retribution because we have a baby."


    "Otherwise he would have left us stranded in the middle of the desert for a day." Cam added with fear in his eyes.


    "He wouldn''t do that." Mitchell said smilingly. Cam turned to him and asked, "Wouldn''t he Mitchell?.... wouldn''t he?? Of course He would."


    Mitchell looked at the camera with a frozen expression as he thought about the possibility of that actually happening.


    [Commentary ends]


    We arrived at the recording studio at noon. As I saw the studio, I couldn''t help but let out a disappointed sigh.


    "If only mother trusted me."


    I had a talk with my mother�C a rich widow that inherited almost all of my oil magnate father''s wealth for a chance to relocate the studio somewhere nearby a few days ago at her annual dinner party, but she wouldn''t let me do that as she thought I was currently being tricked by an incubus that would siphon away all of her wealth.


    "Pepper!" Mitchell called out to me in excitement after I parked the car. Ed was still sleeping so I held a finger on my lips and hushed Mitchell quickly. He took a look at my driver''s seat and nodded in understanding before we moved a bit further from Ed to have a talk.


    "So. How did it go? Do you have more money yet?" Cam asked snarkily as he joined Mitchell and I while holding Lily in his arms.


    "Are you crazy, bringing a baby here? She could burst an eardrum!" I said in horror as I saw the asian baby in Cam''s eyes.


    "Don''t be dramatic. It''s a studio. And see, I brought headphones for her." Cam said excitedly. He dressed her up like a panda, probably because of her heritage. That made me wonder, ''Is she Chinese? I remember she''s from a different country.''


    Mitchell noticed my confusion and said in defense, "She grabbed the clothes today and wouldn''t let go. So we dressed her up in the clothes she picked." He brought his palms together before saying, "Back to the original topic. Are you sure you canunch the album without more funding?


    "If only she would listen to me. Ande to meet Ed. I know she wouldn''t be able to withstand his charms." I said in disappointment. "To answer your question... No. But we can release his singles in a few days.... Mother threw me a check for being her favorite son. Although I am her only son... and only child."


    Mitch and Cam nodded in acknowledgement of my misery before I continued, "The revenue from that will be reinvested into his album production. Right now, I only have money for his music video production. I can''t even host brunch this week. I''m like you, I tell you. POOR. POOR!"


    "If you need help, I can talk to my dad. He might not seem like it, but he''s Edward''s hardcore fan. Manny said he listened to the song 7 years everyday, and even sang the song in the shower."


    "Really? Is your father rich?" I asked Mitchell in excitement.


    "Have you seen his wife?" Cam interjected.


    "Maybe I did. But I don''t remember." I replied.


    "Believe me. You would remember." Cam said with a slight nodding. Mitchell nodded too, but I still didn''t understand why they were doing that at the moment.


    We walked to the front door, but before I could press the keypad to enter the password, a hippie opened the door from the inside and excited the studio.


    "Oh. You guys are not pizza delivery men ." The music engineer Leo muttered while beingpletely high from the marijuana he was smoking. "Or...are you the pizza store owners? I''m starving. Where''s the pizza?"


    I gazed contemptuously at Leo and said, "You''re so high that you can''t even recognize your boss?"


    "No. My boss is a sassy little man. Not a sassy little pizza store owner, a wimpy ginger, and arge red balloon."


    "Hey! No one calls my husband a balloon." Mitchell said defensively. Cam patted Mitchell''s shoulder and said to him, "Mitchell, there''s a red balloon floating right behind me. But it''s good to know what you are thinking about."


    Mitchell realized he had fucked up, and he turned toward Leo in contempt. "You know what? You''re fired!"


    "You''re not my boss?!" Leo said in puzzlement.


    "Yeah. I''m his boss." I said to Mitchell before turning to Leo. "Also, you are fired. Please leave the premise now. Or I will call the cops on you."


    "Try me. The boss wille and bail me out." Leo said in confidence.


    I became frustrated and I yelled at him, "I. AM. YOUR. BOSS!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Ugh. How long did I sleep?"


    Finally waking up from my nap, I checked my watch and found out it was almost 12 o''clock. I was woken up by themotion that was happening in front of the studio, and walked right toward it after exiting the car.


    Pepper was yelling at the sound engineer that was as high as a kite while Cam was keeping Lily far away from the conflict despite his instinct telling him to stay there.


    Leo saw me and ran slightly towards me before saying, "Boss. These people want to fire me for ordering pizza."


    "Uhh... Oooook can someone please exin this to me?"


    "You''re the sassy little man? I thought....definitely... that he meant Pepper." Mitchell said in embarrassment. Pepper was still angry and I was put between a rock and a hard ce with this whole situation.


    But through some convincing and sweet talk, I managed to convince Pepper to let go of his resentment towards Leo. It couldn''t be helped that he didn''t recognize the owner as we were only here 2 times before.


    As I didn''t have a lot of free time, I worked diligently toplete 2 songs before lunch. Together with the songs I had previously recorded, I had 7 songs registered for my album. The two songs I did were Amnesia and Photograph, and Ipletely took over Leo''s job for sound synthesizing and editing, but he was still needed as he was the only one who understood the equipment other than me.


    "See. Even if I did fire him, it wouldn''t have made a difference." Pepper said in annoyance as we had Subway sandwiches for lunch today. I noticed that Pepper was struggling financially the minute he brought the food into the recording studio. There was no way that Pepper would eat anything from a fast food franchise if he had other options.


    "Yeah. But we''re paying him an average sry straight from the 70s. So it doesn''t matter much."


    I turned to Leo who was eating his pizza sloppily at the next table. He smiled innocently at me and I returned the smile before turning back to Pepper.


    "Enough about him. This topic only stressed me out. I finally found a director for the music video. He''lle here together with the Twilight producers." Pepper said.


    The Temple Hill Entertainment Maverick Production wanted to settle the song agreement earlier for "Two is Better than One", and for "It will Rain". All of the production cost for these music videos would bepletely covered by them as they wanted to release the song as soon as possible in order to help the marketing campaign for the next Twilight movie.


    From costume to staging, all of it would be handled by their productionpany, so I would just have to be there on time to film it. The music video would include scenes from the movie, therefore I didn''t have to do much unlike for my other songs where I would need to y my role as the singer and within the "story".


    "Sure. I''ll try to finish a few more songs before that." I muttered in a casual tone.


    "Ed. What happened to your game? Why is your name blowing up on the inte right now?" Cam suddenly walked into the breakroom while holding Lily in his arms. The moment Lily saw me, she automatically reached her tiny arms out to ask me to pick her up.


    "Hmmm." Cam let out a sad whimper as he noticed that Lily still liked me more than him.


    "I don''t know. Let me call Alex. She''s the only one with ess to myputer." I said as I took out my phone. The call rang just for 2 seconds before Alex picked up the phone.


    "HELLO! IT''S C-CRAZY!! SOMETHING REALLY CRAZY HAPPENED!" Alex shouted with intense excitement the second she picked up the phone. I put her on a loud speaker and Mitchell ran lightly to the breakroom to listen too.


    "What happened?" I asked her in confusion. Since I was totally in the dark of the whole situation as I had to keep all of my focus on recording. "Did the game fail?"


    Cam gave me a side eye, but then he realized that I was asking the question seriously. He said hurriedly, " Ed. Believe in yourself more. Your game is TRENDING!"


    "I''m sorry...What?"


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Audience Reaction-


    Lily, the president of Edward Newgate''s official fan club, had made sure that all other members of the club downloaded the game at the time of theunch to show support for the artist. Her curly blonde hair was hidden by the hood from the hooded sweater she was wearing, and her rectangr sses framed her face perfectly.


    "How are the downloads looking?" Lily asked using her headset as she sat on herputer table while monitoring the Apps store.


    "10,000 Android, 20.000 Apple." A manly voice responded to her from the other line.


    "In an hour? It''s okay, but we still need to pump the number up! Hear that rookie?" Lily asked.


    "Wait, Taylor just uploaded a video?" A child-like voice called back to her and sent the video link to their group text.


    Lily clicked on the link, and her browser was redirected to Taylor''s official Facebook page.


    The video started with Taylor stealthily recording herself outside a waiting room.


    "Wanna see something cool?" She talked to the audience. Then, she barged into the waiting room, revealing Selena Gomez, and a lot of other Disneybel artists were ying the ppy Bird game obsessively. They were startled by her presence, but they didn''t stop ying the game �C nor did they even look up from their phone.


    Taylor neared her camera to Selena and asked giddily, "What''chu doing?"


    Selena raised her head with a cute, frustrated expression. "Thinking about cooking a bird today."


    The video went viral when Taylor mentioned about the new game, ppy Bird.


    "I knew it! They''re a couple!" ''Rookie'' spoke in excitement. "There''s no way Taylor would do this if they weren''t dating!"


    "Or...They could just be best friends. I don''t know. I still think we shouldn''t putbels on it if they aren''t revealing their rtionship." The manly voice said.


    Lily ignored both of them and muttered, "Wait- Disney allowed them to post this?... Why?"


    "I think that''s because she didn''t advertise the game directly. It also helped in maintaining their star''s innocent image, so I think Disney won''t cause any trouble." ''Rookie'' hypothesized.


    "Or, they made a deal with Edward. We don''t know what is happening in the background. But one thing''s for sure, the game will blow up really quickly."


    Despite her efforts, Lily didn''t actually believe that Edward could make a good game, especially after she watched the trailer. It was just a bird jumping around passing hurdles in her opinion.


    But after ying the game, her first impression was proven wrong. The game was just so addictive for her she couldn''t stop ying, and she was sure that most people would feel the same way as her.


    "The best part is the bird''s taunts. I passed 10 hurdles, and it said, [Is that all you can do? And here I thought I was the one with the bird brain.] I want to roast that bird. Deep fry it. Hot wing sauce it-"


    "Shut up Rookie." The manly voice screamed. "The premium version is better. You can unlock a certain perk after passing 10 hurdles. I''m already at 50 points now. Wait- why can''t I y it anymore?"


    "Huh. What happened?" Lily asked in concern. "Is the game broken?"


    "No. The bird is telling me to rest. He''s holding a protest banner and has bandages all over his body. I can get back to the game after 20 minutes. Ohhh, I guess it''s because I have been ying for 2 hours straight."


    "Ahh...Really? He stopped people from ying? Won''t it be bad for him?" Rookie asked.


    "No. I think he made this to stop people from getting addicted." Lily replied with a bright smile on her face. "He''s a brilliant man." She mumbled while shing a fanatical glint in her eyes.


    "Oh. But I can y a minigame in between." The manly voice said.


    "A minigame?" Lily asked.


    "There''s a few options to choose from. A baby bird flight test- which is a bit sadistic cause I need to throw the bird from its nest and prevent it from falling to their death, a word guessing game, and a bird feeding game." Rookie exined.


    The game would soon break the record for the fastest game to reach 100 thousand downloads, and would reach 1 million downloads in just 3 days.


    "Hey, will he stop singing...you know, if he bes rich from the game?" Rookie asked, his voice turned a bit lower from the depressing thought.


    "Nah. He''s a bonafide musician. He won''t stop singing." The manly voice replied. "Lily, are you there?"


    "Y-yeah. I''m still here. Okay, I also think he won''t stop singing. Wait, did you guys check the credit section of the game?" Lily said as she opened the game on her Iphone.


    "All of this...is basically his solo work!" Lily said in excitement. "Our sailor is a genius!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "80,000 downloads? Seriously?" I asked while being bbergasted as I heard Alex''s report.


    "That''s only in the Apple store. You''re at 75,000 downloads in the Android store. It''s a bit slower there, but the numbers are starting to increase at the same rate as the Apple store." Alex said in excitement.


    "O-Okay." I replied with a stutter as the game debut had passed through all of my expectations. A few articles hade out about an artist who also moonlighted as a programmer�C some criticism about my decision, and some clickbait articles about me and Taylor that contributed to the virality of the game.


    "In my previous life, the game developer used "I will delete the game soon," marketing scheme to make people download the game as fast as they could, but I guess I don''t have to follow him on that." I mumbled to myself after hanging up the call with Alex.


    Only 5 hours after the game was uploaded into the stores, I had received more than 45,000 dors in profit after subtracting the tform tax and the server fee for the game. The ads, especially the ads revenue was pouring into my ount. My decision to include the option to watch 30 second ads to decrease the waiting time for 5 minutes was correct.


    "Pepper, we can upgrade the quality of the music video!" I said in excitement to Pepper as I jogged lightly towards him. Now that funds had been injected into my ounts, I could decrease the burden on Pepper''s shoulders�C However, he was adamant about rejecting my help.


    "I''m the CEO. I need to handle this problem on my own. Also, you don''t have to worry. My mom is an avid Twilight fan. When the music video is released, she won''t have a choice but to open up her wallet."


    "But Pepper. epting my help now will make the music video better since we would be able to use higher quality props and effects. That way, we can get a bigger profit."


    After some relentless badgering, Pepper finally said in defeat, "FINE. But you''re taking a bigger cut after this."


    "What- NO!"


    "No debates. Oh boy, you''re making me have a headache. I need to sit down far away from you." Pepper said as he ran away from continuing the discussion.


    The film producers arrived at 4 pm, and after I performed the song "It Will Rain" to them, the producers loved it so much that some of them even tried to hug me afterward. Of course, my Pepper shield wouldn''t let them do that.


    Cam didn''t mind the Pepper shield and hugged me tightly after hearing the song. Mitchell asked, "This is one of the songs you wrote at the very beginning right?"


    "Yeah. I wrote it 2 years ago." I replied casually despite Mitchell and Cam''s over exaggerated reactions. They gasped and tried to cover their mouth in a dramatic way, but I ignored them and went to y with Lily instead.


    "Did you like it, Lily?" I asked as I leaned into her face. She was still sitting in her car seat at the moment, and kept sucking on a pacifier.


    "Bah..Bahh..." Lily smacked my cheeks lightly after spitting out the fake nipple and gripped my clothes tightly. "Bah..Buh...Bed..."


    "Bed?" I opened my eyes wide when I heard that. Mitch and Cam were frozen, and Pepper was shocked by the baby''s first word.


    "Bed...BED..." Lily called out to me many times as she thought she had finally managed to call my name.


    Cam cried immediately and said, "She''s never even called us "DADA" before... Why is he so special??!" Cam leaned his head on his partner''s shoulder before Mitchell hugged him and patted his back.


    "Yeah. Let it all out."


    (A/N: The lyrics and reactions will be written during his music video release.)

 Chapter 71: A forced break.

    <h4>Chapter 71: Chapter 71: A forced break.</h4>


    (There''s a fucking heatwave in my city. My brain is melting away. Someone throw me inside a fridge!)


    [Edward POV]


    "Ed. You''re scaring us." Mitchell said after I wouldn''t stop smirking and burst out intoughter at inappropriate times while recording the songs.


    With a grin sculpted on my face, I turned to look at Mitchell before I bursted intoughter once more. "Muahahaha!" Iughed madly as I kept hearing the sound of coins falling into my pocket throughout the day after I knew the ppy Bird game would be a financial sess.


    There''s more than 1000 reviews of the game right now �C mostly being orchestrated from my fan club, but the game has gotten a 4.8 star review on both of the tforms.


    Pepper showed a soft smile and admonished Mitchell, "Why are you bothering him? It''s obvious that he''s feeling so happy he couldn''t hide it right now."


    "Ka-ching bitches!" I muttered beforeughing madly once more.


    Mitchell shakes his head before turning his attention to Lily instead.


    [Mitchell''smentary.]


    He looked around the room to make sure Cam wasn''t around before saying, "So. I know what he and Haley did."


    "I thought he liked her. But today, I was surprised when I finally realized who Edward''s true love really is..."


    "It''s Money." Mitchell said while gesturing money with his fingers.


    He then smiled and said, "Of course. I''m just kidding. But Haley still needs to be careful around him. With the way she spoke about him, I know for sure she would be ready to give it up to him at any time.."


    Mitchell stopped in the middle of his sentence and muttered, "...I should teach her about birth control." He widened his eyes as he realized what he had done. "I...Shouldn''t have said that."


    [Commentary ends]


    Today as I worked on my music, Cam chimed in here and there to try and give me tips about the songs I recorded for the first time here.


    "Okay. But what if I do this?" I said while doing the same exact thing I did before he gave me the tip.


    He smiled brightly and said, "That''s better. You''re lucky I''m here-"


    "There''s no consultation fee for a meddling middle aged man." Pepper interjected.


    "MIDDLE-AGED MAN!?" Cam let out an offended gasp before he retorted, "If I''m middle aged, you''re a grandpa!"


    Pepper gasped too, but their conversation was annoying me, so I chimed in, "For me. All of you are middle aged men. You guys belonged to a generation two levels higher than mine."


    Mitchell, Pepper and Cam all let out an offended gasp. Mitchell said, "I''m only one level higher. I''m wayyyyy younger than these guys."


    "By 4 years. Calm down Mitchell." Cam retorted.


    "Please Mitchell. There''s no way you''re a millennial unless you think about killing yourself everyday. And Gen Z like me wouldn''t care about the facts anyway. So all Gen X please get out of here so that I can finish my job."


    I chased them all out before finishing the recording for the song ''Before You Go.''


    "For Something Just Like This, I need EDM....But is that a genre that I want to dip my foot into?"


    Suddenly, the trio barged into the room again, strutting their walk as they wanted to make things clear with me.


    "WE''RE NOT OLD!" Mitchell said as he was selected as the group''s representative.


    "I mean...older than me. You guys still have some good years ahead of you." I said casually.


    "If we were at a bar, young people woulde to us. So we''re not that old." Cam interjected. I stared at him with a deadpan face before saying, "You just said ''young people.'' Sooo...."


    "So we''re NORMAL...aged people." Mitchell intercepted.


    "Sure.'' Normal aged''. I think that''s a thing... somewhere, probably... Maybe lol ." I replied with a sarcastic teasing, making them all angrier than before.


    Before they could spiral any further, I said, "There''s a simple test to see which generation of people you are-"


    ""DO IT!""


    "Okay. But first, answer me this. When you go to a bar, and find a stranger sitting on your seat after youe back from the bathroom, what do you do?"


    "Ummm..." Mitchell struggled to find the answer, but Cam was confident in his answer, "Simple. Talk to them-"


    Pepper cupped Cam''s mouth quickly before he said dramatically, "Can''t you see? The question is the test. THIS is ALLLLL....a trap!"


    I smirked at Pepper''s quick-wittedness before allowing them to think about the answer.


    "Come on. I don''t have all day."


    "Mitchell...You answer..." Pepper nudged his chin toward Mitchell while he kept his hand on Cam''s mouth to prevent him from destroying their chance.


    "Ummm....Ahhhhh....Mmmm... I will just ignore them and find a new seat?"


    I widened my eyes and said, "That''s surprisingly Millennial-like."


    "YES!" Mitchell eximed in excitement while Cam was finally released by Pepper.


    "Why is that the answer? Why can''t we go talk to them and find out their story? They may be private detectives thate to town to find someone." Cam asked.


    "What are you imagining Cam? The question just mentioned a stranger. There''s no backstory here."


    Cam was offended by Mitchell and said to me, "Okay. Mitchell''s answer wasn''t because he''s young, but he has avoidance issues. He will also avoid talking to an acquaintance if we meet them on the streets."


    "CAM!" Mitchell eximed in bewilderment. Iughed at them and asked them, "Next question. What drink do you order at the bar?"


    """ Cherry Daiquiri""" All three of them answer at the same time.


    "Wait, the question cannot be used for you guys. Forget you guys are gay." I said while theyughed at me.


    "Okayst question. How much time do you spend on the inte a day?" I asked.


    "Hmmm....For me, 1 hour for leisure surfing." Mitchell replied. I turned to Cam and he answered, "I''m basically on the phone all the time-"


    "Not connecting with you friends. But opening websites such as meme sites, reading articles, ying games, and other simr stuff. Not for faking human connection."


    Cam thought for a while before he answered, "None then. I get my gossip from the magazines and newspapers."


    "Same here, but I also can get first hand gossip from my friends in the New York Times. Do you know Lady Gaga is going to be guest starring on Gossip Girl?"


    "WHAT. NO WAY?!" Mitchell eximed and was absorbed in the gossip before he realized I was smirking at them.


    "We failed the test huh."


    "Yup."


    I saw they were saddened by it, and a light bulb suddenly lit up inside my mind.


    Pepper asked knowingly, the edge of his lips curled upward, "Why are you smirking?"


    "Nothing." I replied as I covered my mouth.


    "You got an inspiration...didn''t you?" Cam asked with some anticipation in his eyes.


    "...Uhh....No?"


    "HE DID! HE WAS INSPIRED BY US. THE OLDER GUYS!" Pepper announced to the rest of the studio. The bandughed at us before all of them were looking at me with anticipation.


    I sighed and said, "Okay. I will sing it only once. Also, this song will be for the next album, not this one. We already have more than 18 songs for this one."


    "18? How...Wait... Let me count." Pepper said as he raised his hands up to count with his fingers.


    "We had 6 songs at the beginning. Grenade, Toxic, It Will Rain, Amnesia, 7 years, The Lazy Song."


    Cam added, "Then, after he came to our house, he sang ''Photograph.'' So that makes it 7."


    "Me and My Broken Heart. Believer. Two Is Better than One. Before You Go. Something Just Like This. These songs are from his concert." Mitchell helped.


    "Yeah. So we have twelve. He sang one song each to the girls he''s flirting with. Rhythm of Love, Count On Me, and Just The Way You Are. So we now have 15. What are the other 3? Did you flirt with another 3 girls?" Pepper asked.


    "I''m not flirting with either though." I said without meaning it. They ignored my statement and asked again, "What are the other 3?"


    "Well I sang one to Taylor before, but it''s not because I''m flirting with her-"


    "As if." Pepper snarked, making me lose my words.


    "Anyway. I got another one called Whatever it Takes (Imagine dragon). I wrote that one when I was 10. I have no evidence for that im though as I threw out all of my journals when my birth giver left my home."


    "Birth giver?" Mitchell asked in confusion.


    "Yeah." I replied casually, not wanting to continue that topic.


    [Pepper''smentary]


    "I decided to put him into therapy in the summer." Pepper said with concern etched into his facial expression.


    mentary ends]


    "Let''s hear the songs then!" Pepper said in excitement. I raised one finger at him, and he let out a sigh as he saw I will not budge today. "Okay. Just one song....Only one!" I said decisively.


    "You hear that Lily, ''Bed'' is going to sing a song." Cam said to the baby in an affectionate tone.


    I smiled and said, "Give me half an hour to teach the band."


    ...


    The audience watched me performing the song through the ss wall while being thoroughly absorbed in my song creation. Well, all of them except Lily of course. Cam put sound dampener headphones on Lily''s ears as the music would get a bit loud for a performance. That way, she could enjoy the song without it damaging her ears.


    I stood in the middle of the band while holding the microphone stand with both arms.


    "This one''s for the young guys!" I said teasingly before starting. The drummer dropped the beat and I gently swayed at the melody.


    [FUN - We are young]


    The addictive drum beats made Cam turned to Mitchell and said in excitement, "My entire body is excited. See...Goosebumps are rising from my skin, and the song hasn''t started yet."


    "Shhhh. Don''t speak to you rascals." Pepper admonished Cam immediately.


    "??Give me a second I...I need to get my story straight..."


    I pointed at my headzily as my body swayed with the beat. After I got the dance talent, my movements became more natural whenever I needed to do a performance.


    "??My friends are in the bathroom getting higher than the Empire State...??"


    "I''m sorry...What?" Pepper asked in disbelief. "Pepper. It''s about us. He''s just imagining a situation....I hoped." Cam said to defend me and mumbled hisst sentence only for himself to hear.


    "Maybe he''s imagining Leo." Pepper said with some disgust.


    As if I was telling my story, I took off the microphone from the mic stand and walked around in the middle of the band.


    "??My lover she''s waiting for me just across the bar??"


    "??My seat''s been taken by some sunsses asking ''bout a scar, and...??"


    Camughed and said, "I knew that guy had a story." Mitchell rolled his eyes contemptuously at Cam before focusing on the show.


    "?? I know I gave it to you months ago...I know you''re trying to forget...But between the drinks and subtle things...The holes in my apologies, you know...I''m trying hard to take it back...??"


    The music slowed down and I walked to the ss wall to face the audience.


    "??So if by the time the bar closes....And you feel like falling down....I''ll carry you home...??"


    I raised my index finger up in the air as I looked up before I sang.


    "??Tonight~~~!!??"


    "??We are young~~!!??"


    "??So let''s set the world on fire...We can burn brighter than the sun...??"


    "HOLY MOSES!" Cam widened his eyes as he heard the chorus. He turned to the CEO, grabbed him by the shoulders and said, "Pepper. This needed to be put inside the alb- No. This needs to be released as a song for the singles. This will go viral for sure!"


    "Unhand me you country brute. You''re wrinkling my suit!" Pepper said.


    I didn''t care about their reaction and continued.


    "??Tonight~~!! We are young~~!! So let''s set the world on fire...We can burn brighter than the sun...??"


    The band members were extremely excited by the song and somehow managed to do it perfectly on their first try. All of us were unaware at the time, but Leo had pressed the record button and was actually catching the whole song on tape as he thought I was preparing it for the album.


    "??Now I know that I''m not...All that you got...I guess that I, I just thought...Maybe we could find new ways to fall apart...But our friends are back...So let''s raise a cup...''Cause I found someone to carry me home...??"


    Mitchell said, "I''m excited about the song. But should a 14 year old really sing about a scene at a bar? Did we point him in the wrong direction?"


    Pepper and Cam were silent hearing Mitchell''s opinion as they didn''t know what to say.


    "??Tonight~~!! We are young~~!! So let''s set the world on fire...We can burn brighter than the sun...??"


    "??Tonight~~!! We are young~~!! So let''s set the world on fire...We can burn brighter than the sun...??"


    The band sang the background choir, "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na NA"


    "??Carry me home tonight (na na na na na na)


    Just carry me home tonight (na na na na na na)


    Carry me home tonight (na na na na na na)


    Just carry me home tonight (na na na na na na)


    The moon is on my side (na na na na na na)


    I have no reason to run (na na na na na na)


    So will someonee and carry me home tonight (na na na na na na)??"


    "??The angels never arrived (na na na na na na)


    But I can hear the choir (na na na na na na)


    So will someonee and carry me home (na na na na na na)??"


    "What should I tell Ted now?" Pepper closed his face with his left hand as he thought about the implications of the song.


    "Yo-You could get someone to be a ghostwriter. That way his rep won''t get ruined." Mitchell threw out an unnecessary solution since No one in showbiz would care about it anyway.


    "Hmmm...I will discuss it with Harvey." Pepper said as he had no trust in Mitch.


    "Hey I''m awyer too!"


    "??Tonight~~!! We are young~~!! So let''s set the world on fire...We can burn brighter than the sun...??"


    "??Tonight~~!! We are young~~!! So let''s set the world on fire...We can burn brighter than the sun...??"


    The melody slowed down, and I stood back behind the microphone stand.


    "??So if by the time the bar closes, And you feel like falling down...I''ll carry you home... tonight??"


    The audience apuded at my performance and I walked calmly outside the room to hear what they thought about it.


    Mitchell inhaled sharply and said with a grimace, "Weeeeelllll....The song is great...so great...but the lyrics..."


    "Ahh..." I eximed in realization as I understood what he meant. "Don''t worry. That''s just MTV''s influence. You don''t expect me to actually be dead drunk at a bar and need someone to carry me back right?"


    "Not before the song. No." Pepper said with some hidden concern behind his tone.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Congrats. Now he''s not singing the song." Pepper said sarcastically towards Mitchell.


    While avoiding Pepper''s eyes, Mitchell said, "You''re the one who asked him if he had gone drinking before. So don''t put all the me on me."


    "Ugh. This sucks. That song is addictive. I could hear it being yed at bars all over the country. Thanks a lot Mitchell." Cam added.


    "It''s not my fault!" Mitchell said in frustration.


    "If only we had recorded it." Pepper eximed. Leo was walking by at this time, and he stopped when he heard Pepper''s words.


    "What''s wrong mini boss? Did I forget to press record again? I''m pretty sure I did before."


    The trio widened their eyes as they looked at the hippie. Pepper gripped both of Leo''s shoulders and said, "Are you sure? You recorded it?"


    "Yeah.I think. I didn''t smoke...you know...for a few hours now. So...pretty positive."


    Pepper released him and said in excitement, "Oh you high earth smelling man. Now, I''m no longer thinking about firing you. Instead I am thinking about pushing you into a bath."


    Leo sniffed his arm, but his nose had stopped working decades ago. He didn''t notice anything wrong with his body odor, shrugged, and then left the room.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    It was almost 11 pm when I arrived home after a hard day of work at the recording studio. Mitch and Cam left at around 7 in the evening as they had other appointments to get to.


    Cam insisted on being there for the music video production, however he gave up after learning that the shooting was tomorrow.


    "Sleep. Don''t do anything else. I need you to be fresh for tomorrow. Are you sure you''re bringing your own outfit?" Pepper asked after dropping me off in front of the house.


    "Yeah. I want to do it in my own style." I said. "You called the actress right?"


    "Are you sure you want to go with Penny? I do get the impression that she''s a sweet girl, but I don''t think she is the best choice for the female lead." Pepper expressed his concerns.


    "No need to get worried. She''ll onlye out for a few seconds. For some people, it would be hard for them to even catch her face." I said with a smirk.


    "Hmmm... Okay then. It''s your music video. Now. Go to sleep." Pepper said before stepping on his gas pedal and driving away.


    I sighed and turned toward the front door. I still needed to check up on the game for bugs or other reports. I took off my shirt as I entered the empty house. Dad would be back around 1 am, so I knew I had at least some time to myself.


    While I was walking with heavy steps toward my room, I suddenly heard someone giggling from inside it.


    "What the hell?" I opened the door, only to find Haley sitting on my bed while talking to someone on her phone.


    "Oh. he''s here! I need to go!" Haley said excitedly before ending the call with Tara. "Uhh...why are you shirtless?" She asked as she finally realized it.


    "The real question is, why are you here?" I asked, masking my confusion.


    "Ah. I want to congratte you forunching the game. I have been here since 10. Had to sneak out of my house to be here." Haley said as she scooted off the bed and walked towards me.


    "Anyway. Congrats." She said as she gave me a tonic hug.


    "I haven''t taken a bath all day." I said teasingly, expecting her to release her arms immediately, but she said, "It''s okay. You don''t smell."


    She finally released me after half a minute and said, "I''ll go home now. You should go to sleep."


    "I actually want to do a bit more work-"


    "After working all day?!" Haley asked in shock. "You''ll get burnt out. You should rest too, you know. You''re still young, so you don''t have to do everything by yourself."


    I chuckled a bit and said, "I''m doing some more work."


    I walked past her to open up myptop but she grabbed my wrist from behind.


    "You have the music video shoot tomorrow. So go get some rest!" She demanded. I got a bit irritated and I turned toward her. "What are you going to do if I don''t? Will you cuddle with me until I fall-"


    "Yeah. I''ll do that if you can get some rest." Haley said before I could finish my sentence. And even though I had run the same simtion inside my mind thousands of times, I still couldn''t understand how we reached the next scene.


    Haley was hugging my shirtless body on the bed. She was wrapping her arms tightly around me as she pressed my head on top of her chest while singing a luby.


    "Uhhhhhhhh...."


    "Rockababa...How does it go again?" Haley asked. I chuckled a bit and said, "Okay. I''ll go to sleep. You can go back to your ce now ."


    "No. I know that if I go away, you will just start working again the second I leave . So I''ll stay here until you fall asleep."


    I wouldn''t do that. Not anymore, not after I saw her effort in trying to take care of me.


    "Okay. Then, I''ll try to sleep now. So you should definitely stop singing."


    "..."


    After the initial embarrassment, my tiredness took over my mind, and I fell asleep in her arms despite the fact that I only wanted to pretend to sleep in order to make her go away.


    [Haley POV]


    After cuddling with him for a while, I finally realized that he had fallen asleep.


    "Even while asleep he is so pretty. Damn it." I let out a grunt as I yed with his face. He didn''t respond, so I was sure he wasn''t faking his sleep. Although I could''ve released him and returned to my house right then and there, I decided to stay a little bit longer.


    But then, he unconsciously moved in his sleep, reached out and wrapped his arms around me before pulling me close to his body.


    "Oh damn it." I muttered using a whisper so as to not wake him up. "I''m not a body pillow!"


    ''Well. he''ll release me soon...right?'' I thought as I buried my face in his bare chest.


    Minutes passed by, and I didn''t realize that my eyelids were getting heavier. And so, I fell asleep without even realizing it, while still inside thefort of his arms.


    ...


    [Ted POV]


    For the longest time, It had only been Ed and me in the house. I knew that the loss of his mother had taken a toll on his mental wellbeing , but Ed still pretended that he wasn''t affected by it and kept masking his true feelings by putting on a steel face.


    Pepper and I had a long talk after he called me on the phonest night as soon as I got home, and I finally realized that I couldn''t put off Edward''s psychological therapy any longer. He needed an outlet to express his feelings in a safe space.


    After waking up from my short sleep, I walked to Edward''s room to wake him up for today''s shoot. God, I was willing to bet that my son was the busiest kid in California at the moment.


    I turned the doorknob slowly and opened his door as usual. "Ed. Are you-" I paused as I saw he wasn''t alone in the bed.


    The lighting from the hallways made him open up his eyes, and his calm demeanor broke for the first time in a long...long time as he saw the Dunphy''s kid sleeping next to him. Haley opened her eyes abruptly as she heard my voice, and the two kids locked eyes with each other on the bed, only to realize that they were still hugging each other while they were sleeping.


    "" AHHHHH!!!!"" Both of the kids screamed at the same time andI felt a huge wave of relief wash over my entire body as I saw Edward''s childish reactions.


    "W-W-Why are you still here- DAD! This isn''t what it looked like!"


    He tried to convince me, but I just couldn''t wipe off my smirk at the moment.


    "I''ll give you guys some privacy. In the meantime...work on your story. Make sure it''s the same one for when you try to exin this to other people." I said teasingly as I closed the door again. I heard the two kids scream again inside the room, and I chuckled as I walked to the kitchen.


    "Teenagers." I eximed. "Also...Haley huh..." I muttered as I remembered howfortable Ed was around her. "Maybe...I can postpone his therapy...just a little bit longer."


    I was excited to see what change Haley could bring in Edward as they were with each other, not realizing that they had an agreement to keep things tonic, and were already regretting their night together inside the room.

 Chapter 72: Music Video Production.

    <h4>Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Music Video Production.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    We both sat on the bed, frozen by the current situation. Haley''s disheveled hair and messy clothing was evidence to anyone that might see us right now that she had spent the night here.


    And to be honest, no one would believe a teenager when they say they were just sleeping inside the room together. Point of evidence, my sniggering dad who was happily making coffee downstairs.


    "Argh! What am I supposed to do now?!" Haley screamed in frustration as she grabbed my shoulders and vigorously shook me back and forth. "MOM WILL KILL ME!"


    It had been 15 minutes since we were both woken up by my dad''s morning call. I understood that I am currently in a precarious situation and something needed to be done to make sure this ident didn''t turn into something bigger than it was.


    I helped Haley''s arm to stop her, and said, "When did your mom usually wake up on a Sunday?"


    "Ummm....I don''t know." Haley replied with a forlorn and defeated face. She was usually thest one to wake up in the house, therefore she didn''t know everyone else''s schedule.


    "No. We still have a chance. I''m looking at your mom''s schedule online, and she usually sleeps in on a Sunday, and wakes up at seven thirty. So, we just need to find a way to sneak you back into the house before she even notices you are gone."


    "But. Alex-"


    "I''ll tell Alex the truth. She''s trustworthy enough for this, she won''t sell us out. Even though she likes it when you get in trouble, she won''t falsely use you of doing it just to see you suffer."


    I hoped. If Alex wouldn''t do it, then I''ll use myst betting prize with her to convince her to do it. Despite my ns, I still have confidence that she would have my back.


    "Let''s go. I will help you climb to the roof. You can sneak back in by yourself after that. If the window is locked, just call Alex." I muttered.


    I remember that she had skillfully climbed through the house to get into an open window in one episode, but her proficiency in parkour was still low at this time. I hurriedly put on a shirt and followed her from behind as we sneaked toward her house.


    Grabbing her soft ass, I helped her to climb up onto her roof before the sun fully rose.


    "Hurry Haley!" I said while gritting my teeth. Luckily for me, she was tiny.


    "Waa-watch where you''re grabbing!" Haley said as my fingers dug deep into her ass cheeks.


    "But I need to grab this. Otherwise you''ll fall." I said as I propelled her up even further. She rolled into the small roof on top of the front door. Some leaves were caught on her hair, and as she tried to remove them, I said, "Leave it. The window is unlocked."


    Haley saw Alex gesturing to her to hurry while turning her head toward her bedroom door a few times. Alex yelled with a whisper, "MOM IS KNOCKING ON THE DOOR! HURRY!"


    Haley widened her eyes and did a ninja roll before she ran toward the open window. As I watched her enter the house, I decided to help her by ringing the doorbell to distract ire.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "Honey. Are you up yet? Dad and I have a surprise for you girls." ire said in a sweet tone as she tried to open her daughter''s bedroom door, only to find it locked.


    "Alex. Haley. I know it''s still early. But wake up sweethearts... Your dad is bringing us somewhere special. Guys?!" ire knocked on the door, but the girls still weren''t answering her.


    Phil suddenly appeared behind ire and said, "Honey. I forgot to text Edst night."


    ire was confused, "Why are you texting him?"


    "I was thinking of inviting him to the amusement park together. It''ll be an hour ride, so we need to get moving before traffic-"


    *Ding Dong*


    Suddenly the doorbell rang. A loud thud resounded from Haley''s room as she fell to the floor as she snuck into the house, but luckily her parents were distracted by the personing to their house so early in the morning.


    ire and Phil walked to the door, only to find Edward with disheveled hair standing outside.


    "I knew it! I sent the textst night! Ed, are you ready to go to the amusement park?" Phil said in excitement.


    Inside the teenagers'' room, Alex helped Haley to pick the leaves on her hair as she admonished her, "ARE YOU CRAZY!? WITH ED- OF ALL PEOPLE?!"


    "I''M NOT! And we didn''t do anything. He just didn''t want to go to sleep, but he has a mv shoot today, so I forced him to sleep. Then, I fell asleep too." Haley exined, although she didn''t have any hope that anyone would believe her.


    Alex''s angry expression disappeared. "Oh. That''s okay then."


    "..."


    Haley looked at her sister with a confused expression, but she didn''t say anything lest her sister would change her mind and thought she was sleeping with Edst night.


    Suddenly, Alex said, "I know you''re a virgin. If you really had sex with himst night, you would''vee back in a hurry. The only reason I think that you stayed over is because...you guys didn''t have sex-"


    "STOP SAYING SEX!" Haley screamed in embarrassment as Alex could read her behavior perfectly. She hurriedly took off her clothes and said, "Get me a robe."


    Alex rushed to their closet and grabbed the robe while Haley stood in the middle of the room�Cstark naked.


    "You didn''t wear a bra again?" Alex asked while rolling her eyes as she threw the robe to her sister.


    "No. I think I need to change it. My breasts gotrger again." Haley said as she wore the robe. Her chest had finally grown up to the perfect B cup size.


    Alex looked down on her tiny bump and said, "This is thest time I''ll be helping you."


    [Edward POV]


    "I knew it! I sent the textst night! Ed, are you ready to go to the amusement park?" Phil said in excitement. He then realized something, "Shoot. I''m not supposed to say that. Uhhh...Ed, are you ready to go somewhere special?"


    "Too Late." I muttered, making Phil slumped his shoulders in disappointment. As the golden opportunity prevented themselves, I didn''t waste the chance and said, "Sadly. I''ll not be joining you today. I have the music video thing in Pasadena."


    The only reason we didn''t have a shoot in Hollywood was because of finance. Pepper had gotten a permit from the Pasadena Train Station to shoot the video there, therefore we were renting a film studio nearby for the rest of the shooting to save some time.


    "Owhh..." Phil let out a grunt as he couldn''t spend some time with me today.


    "Ed. Did you juste here, just to tell us that?" ire said to me with a touched face. Her expression ate away at my guilty conscience, but I still needed to protect myself, "Yeah."


    ire hugged me and said, "Oww...You''re too polite-"


    She stopped her words abruptly as she smelled a familiar scenting from my body. She removed her arms and asked me, "Why do you smell like vani extract?"


    "I baked a cakest night-"


    "That''s the perfume Haley used right?" Phil interjected �C his voice drowning out my excuse. I gulped my saliva as ire turned to look behind. Haley and Alex juste out of their room, and ire''s thought process stopped as she saw Haley''s face.


    "Haley- Remove your makeup before sleeping! You''ll ruin your face!" ire said as she rushed toward Haley. I turned to Phil and said, "I''ll go now. Enjoy your outing!"


    "I''ll make sure to n it when you''re free next time." Phil said as he waved me away. Luke suddenly appeared out of nowhere and asked Phil, "Why is Haley barrel rolling on the roof like a ninja?"


    "Honey. You''re dreaming. Also, did the ninja wear ck clothes?" Phil asked Luke as I was having cold sweats next to him.


    "I guess?" Luke replied innocently.


    "Then how did you know the ninja was Haley?" Phil asked beforeughing. Luke shrugged and went away to have breakfast after greeting me, and I rushed to my house to get ready as it was almost time for my driver to arrive.


    Although the ''scandal'' was almost covered, I still have onest hole to tie up before the matter could be over.


    "DAD!" I shouted at the smirking man in the captain uniform standing behind the kitchen counter.


    "You sent your little lover home safely?" Dad asked as he shot me the knowing look.


    "We''re not lover-"


    "Don''t worry about it, I''ll keep your secret " Dad said before I could concoct some story to convince him. "You will?" I asked him in confusion.


    He nodded and said, "Yeah. I know what it''s like to date in secret. I won''t tell anyone about it as it''s not my ce to intervene. But Ed, don''t hurt her okay."


    "We''re not dating." I said before I huffed away. Dad nodded in understanding, which made me want to hit him.


    ''I''ll make sure to give him the most egregious sailing schedule after this.''


    But I wouldn''t actually pursue that thought.


    ...


    "Aunt Cam, thank you for driving me today." I said to the short-haired woman in sunsses driving the 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda. She nodded slightly while shing a proud smile.


    "Ed. You don''t need to say thank you to your family." Aunt Cam said as her hair fluttered in the wind. (E/N: This needs the Dom meme ?? )


    I hadn''t changed into my outfit yet and was just in a simple jeans and t-shirt �C which actually matched Aunt Cam''s outfit today. With me wearing sunsses just like her, we were currently looking more like a couple than Auntie and Nephew today.


    "But, I have a question. You don''t have a job, nor are you married. So how can you afford this car again?" I asked her casually.


    Aunt Cam almost swayed the car to anotherne as she was surprised by the question. The truck behind us red their horn before Aunt Cam snapped out of it and returned to the originalne again.


    "Phew." I let out a sigh as we''re finally not going to die today.


    "Sorry." Aunt Cam said before taking a deep breath. She then replied robotically, "It''s a family car."


    "Hmm...the family must be rich to let you drive a 200 grand car around. I wonder if I secretly have a giant inheritance waiting for me." I joked around as I mused myself with that thought. But, Aunt Cam looked at me with an excited expression instead.


    "Maybe." She said ambiguously. She had actually bought a junk car and restored it herself, but was too embarrassed to share her hobby with me.


    I turned to her and asked, "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "Me no hablo english."


    "?Que se supone que significa eso? (What''s that supposed to mean?)"


    "Me no...speak Spanish." Aunt Cam said with a smirk before she pressed the pedal to elerate the car. The momentum made my body jerk forcefully into my seat. I gave her a side eye as sheughed and changed the topic.


    We arrived at the location in less than 15 minutes, and I was shoved directly into my waiting room to change clothes.


    "Ed. You''re here. Also, you look good." Pepper said as he looked at me up and down. The ck suit fits my body perfectly, and I made it so that I would look a bit more muscr than I was wearing it.


    With my hands in my pockets, I said, "Thanks. We''re taking promotional pictures first right? And for posters?"


    "Yeah. You have to change into various outfits. I can''t wait to see what you have brought with you." Pepper said before he went to yell at a staff member for putting flowers facing the wrong direction.


    The photoshoot went on for 2 whole hours, as the photographer wouldn''t let me go.


    "Yes. Yes. Gorgeous. You''re by far the fastest artist that learned to pose correctly from me." The photographer in mboyant clothes said.


    Her short hair was styled t0 look as if there was a cat sitting on top of her head, and she kept jumping around, rolling on the floor, and sliding left and right, while she was taking the photos. Despite her frivolousness, my pictures turned out breathtaking, thirst-trapping, and totally gave the "would-definitely-be-bought-by-teenage girls" vibe we were looking for.


    There was a bubbly image where I stood in a field of flowers, looking like a golden-retriever-boy, and one where I looked like a devilish CEO with slicked back hair, a cross chain on my neck, wearing only a jacket but no shirt inside�C granting the fans who bought the poster to see the silhouette of my abs, and many more versions of me, enough for the fans to make a calendar from my images.


    ''Even Justin cannot fight against Ed''s marketing strategy.'' Pepper thought in shock as he saw the files I gave him. ''The kid is a true money making monster.''


    Although USA''s image management depends more on the artist being their true self, I had used the Korean Boy Band and artist strategies instead to drive the woman crazy.


    Despite some criticism from the industry ''old timers'' , the feedback from the ''new'' strategies would make my debut one of the most sessful debuts in all of history.


    "That''s enough North. He still needs to record the video." Pepper pped her in the face to wake him up after she had snapped thousands of photos of me and wouldn''t stop working.


    "No. GIVE ME ANOTHER HOUR- I''LL DO THIS FREE OF CHARG-"


    The photographer tried to convince Pepper, but he had already sent the security to drag her out of the studio.


    "Sorry about that. She''s not a bad guy. Just very obsessive." Pepper said to me while my aunt helped me wipe the sweat on my forehead.


    "She''s... passionate. So I guess I can leave the photo selection to you guys." I said as I opened up a bottle of water and gulped it all down.


    "Sure." Pepper said with a wide smile as he felt relieved that I wasn''t taking all of the responsibility for my album sess on my own.


    "Let''s go shoot the first scene. Is everyone ready?" I asked.


    "The main heroine- Oh she''s here. You''re LATE!" Pepper scolded the blonde woman that was running hurriedly toward where we were standing.


    "SORRY. MY CAR BROKE DOWN!" Penny bowed her head 90 degrees toward Pepper, shocking everyone there.


    "Honey. We''re not in Asia. Calm down." Pepper said while raising Penny''s head up as he felt guilty for yelling at the girl. Although he did it yfully, he felt bad regardless.


    Two men followed Penny from behind with some hurrying in their footsteps. One of them was short and was wearing spectacles, while the other one was tall and looked like a humanoid version of C-3PO. The tall one was also wearing a sh superhero t-shirt and was dressed like a 10 years old boy.


    ''Leonard and Sheldon?'' I thought as I saw Leonard grabbed Sheldon''s hand and forced him to run faster.


    "I can vouch for her. Her car broke down on the highway." Leonard said as he finally approached us.


    "What''s wrong Penny, did you ignore your check engine light?" I joked as I saw Penny''s teary face. This was the first job she had in months as an actress. She thought everything was over for her the moment her car broke down before this.


    "She did, even though I had told her to check her engine at a certified mechanic...or ask an engineer to do it. There''s no difference between them anyway." Sheldon said condescendingly before Leonard red at him and made him close his mouth reluctantly.


    "I-" Penny opened her mouth, but I said reassuringly, "It''s fine Penny. You aren''tte. We just finished the photo session."


    Penny breathes a sigh of relief, and Leonard did the same thing too. I turned to Leonard and held my hands out for a handshake.


    "You must be Dr. Leonard Hofstader. The cute guy next door that Penny was telling me about."


    "What?!-" Leonard turned to the surprised Penny. She snapped and said, "When did I tell you about him?!"


    "Oh. So you admit he''s cute." I said to Penny, making her lost for words. I turned back to Leonard and said, "I''m just kidding. Although you have a chance there, use it wisely. I read your paper about index refraction before while I was studying about lenses."


    Leonard was impressed, then Sheldon said, "Yes yes. That''s Leonard''s research for you, so simple that even a 9th grader could understand. Quite literally in this case"


    "And the condescending crazy person must be Dr Sheldon Cooper. Dr Leonard''s Hoffstader''s roommate. I''ve read about you too, you''ve been delving into string theory for so many years as a theoretical physicist yet no actual breakthrough has ever been made." I said while smiling.


    Penny and Leonard widened my eyes at my jab towards Sheldon. To be honest, I had no ns to create a good rtionship with Sheldon, nor did I want to go out of my way to tend to him. That was what masochistic people do.


    "Listen here. String theory had been researched for decade-"


    "Please leave the premises. We need to catch up with the schedule." I said to Sheldon before turning to Leonard and spoke to him kindly, notparable to the way I treated Sheldon at all, "Thank you for driving Penny here. You''re a good man. May I email you if I have any questions about the research I''m doing right now?"


    "Ummm...Sure..." Leonard replied while fidgeting. Sheldon didn''t know about me yet as he hates all kinds of music, therefore he behaved in his usual way around me.


    "How do you know that he was driving and not me?" Sheldon asked. I turned to him and asked, "Were you?"


    "No.."


    He went silent afterward as he couldn''t refute my words, nor could he lie about it.


    Before Sheldon could interject again, I exchanged my contact information with Leonard before sending both of them away.


    Pepper said hurriedly, "Penny. Change into these clothes." He pointed at an outfit hanging on a rack nearby us. "We need to take a photo."


    "O-Okay." Penny said before following the instructions hurriedly. Now, the music video shooting has officially started.

 Chapter 73: Smooth sailing.

    <h4>Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Smooth sailing.?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "This is..."


    As I saw the prop piano that I need to drag around in the shoot today, I was greatly surprised when I saw that it was a real piano instead of a fake one. Of course, it''s just a small piano, not the grand one.


    "Seriously?" I asked the prop crew in dissatisfaction.


    The 4 bald men sweat through their forehead and one of them said, "T-This is the best we could do...on such short notice." He said and pointed at the bottom of the piano. "See, it has wheels."


    "I can see that. It''s almost 200 pounds I- Hmm...Never mind."


    Although I wanted to scream at the men, what they said was true. The preparation was indeedst minute. I tried to pull the piano using a rope, but it was even heavier than I expected.


    "Damn. I''ll sweat a lot today." I muttered.


    There were only 3 main themes to the shoot today. The first part was a scene with me inside a bedroom, frustrated as my girl had left me�C in the music video. Not real life.


    The second part was me lugging the piano around the streets. Andstly the ending part where I finally reached my ex''s house, only to realize that she had found happiness with someone else.


    ''In the original mv, Bruno went to stand in front of a train as the ending after he got cheated on by his girl. His efforts meant nothing to her. He basically killed himself as he couldn''t live without her. But, I''ll change a few parts from that as I didn''t want people to misunderstand me.''


    "Where''s the actor?!" Pepper suddenly yelled out from afar. I raised my hand for him to notice me, and he ran towards me quickly.


    "We have a problem. Your aunt broke the nose of the actor who was supposed to y your ex''s new boyfriend." Pepper said in a hurry.


    "I''m sorry...what?"


    I couldn''t believe my ears as I heard that, and turned toward Auntie Cam with a look of surprise. She had an apologetic expression on her face as she walked towards me with Penny by her side.


    "I''m sorry Ed-"


    "What happened?" I asked her without getting angry.


    "He groped your aunt''s ass-" Penny tried to exin, but my aunt stopped her.


    "Ahh. Don''t worry then. I don''t mind." I said as I realised the situation. Aunt Cam, Penny and Pepper were surprised when they saw how easily I had epted the difficult situation. Pepper had already prepared a speech to convince me not to be furious at my aunt.


    "I''m sorry I wasn''t there. I wanted to break his nose too. Give me his name." I said calmly as I tried to convince my aunt she had done nothing wrong.


    "That was just a pig being a pig. I don''t me you. Seriously. I wouldn''t want to work with someone like that too. So if someone tried to do something inappropriate to you, and you worried about what I might think if you retaliated, then don''t."


    I smiled at my aunt and said, "In fact. I think you''re even more of a badass now."


    "Hmm...She does have a nice ass." Pepper said.


    "Hey-" Penny tried to retort.


    "Rx. He''s gay." Aunt Cam said to Penny while smiling in relief.


    Of course, when I find out the actor''s name, I will make sure to make his life a living hell.


    "But now, who is going to kiss her? You in a wig?" Pepper asked while scratching his head. The others looked at Pepper with a deadpan expression, while I thought about the possibility of the matter seriously.


    "Sure. I''ll do that."


    "I''m sorry. What?!" Pepper eximed.


    The group was surprised when they heard that. "I guess I will y 2 characters in the music video." I continued with a sly smile.


    ...


    [First scene]


    "Hurry up! We need to hurry to catch the train. Otherwise, we have to wait till tomorrow!" Pepper yelled to the staff as we recorded the first scene.


    Penny was wearing a red dress that entuated her figure, at the same time a low cut on the cor that made her chest more prominent. Meanwhile, I was wearing a simple grey shirt and jeans, and my hair was styled to look like an innocent boy.


    Penny and I wereying down a queen size bed in the middle of the set that looked like a bedroom. The lighting was sunny, and we were both looking at each other with an expression that we were falling deeply in love.


    "Stop making meugh." I said to Penny as I saw her awkwardly acting up close. She was stunned before she said, "Sorry. I''m a bit nervous."


    I smiled and said, "Just consider this a normal conversation instead. You don''t have to worry about the camera. Just look at me."


    She followed my instructions, and we locked eyes while facing each other in the bedroom.


    The director was watching the scene from the camera, and he couldn''t help but lean forward as he saw Penny and mine''s expression. She slid into my arms as she nuzzled her face inside my chest. I held her close as I kissed her forehead. But as I closed my eyes, her gaze changed into looking like a viin, as she was only faking her happiness with me.


    "Damn. This kid is a natural." The director eximed. "OKAY CUT! Next scene! yful fighting."


    We ran around the bedroom whileughing, I caught Penny from behind and threw her into the bed before inching our faces closer together.


    "CUT! NO! TOO AWKWARD! AGAIN!" The director yelled and the camera stopped recording.


    "You''re fine. It''s her. Don''t flinch when he gets closer. You guys are supposed to be lovers in this scene." Pepper said to Penny as he had the same thoughts as the director.


    "Sorry. It''s just...he threw me so suddenly..." Penny said, not continuing her next words which would be she had gotten turned on after I jumped on top of her.


    We shot the scene again, and this time Penny had prepared herself. She wrapped her arms around my neck as she pulled me closer to her chest. But before I could bury my face in them, the director yelled, "CUT. It''s perfect. The cheating scene now!"


    The camera recorded how Penny was always on her phone while we were spending some time together, and was stealthily talking to someone behind my back. She did it perfectly this time, and we didn''t have to reshoot the scene. The lighting on the scene gradually turned dark, signifying a doomed rtionship.


    "The fight scene!" The director said.


    "Really, do I need to change into my martial arts outfit?" I joked.


    The director was unamused.


    "..."


    After the awkward moment passed, Penny and I just shouted random words at each other in the bedroom as we needed to show that we were fighting.


    "HE''S JUST A FRIEND!" Penny yelled.


    "I SAW YOU IN THE APE MOVIE!" I yelled.


    "I TOLD YOU NOT TO SEE IT!" Penny yelled back.


    "THERE''S A TOPLESS SCENE OF YOU IN IT. OF COURSE I''LL SEE IT!" I shouted as I grabbed the pillow and threw it to themp, breaking it. Although it was unnned, the director decided to just go through it.


    Dialogues other than the first line weren''t important to the story, so we just did whatever we wanted.


    "URGH!" Penny grunted in frustration before walking away from me. I tried to stop her, but she pushed me away.


    "Okay . CUT! Now, we need to show a scene where she rides in a car with someone else- You drove a Plymouth right?" The director turned to my aunt as he asked. My aunt nodded in confusion as this part wasn''t in the nned scenes, but Pepper trusted the director''s instinct.


    "Okay. Penny out. We''re shooting the misery scene. Ed, try to lip sync to the lyrics while you act. We''ll take bits from that." The director said.


    "Okay." I said obediently. Even though I knew what to do as I nned the whole storyline, I appreciated the advice from the director and wasn''t behaving like a dick in this shooting.


    "I thought that he''d be an entitled little cunt. But, he''s a nice kid." The director said to Pepper in a whisper as I was focused on my performance.


    "I told you. Now, who''s the crazy one now eh?" Pepper smirked and fanned himself with a paper fan.


    "Still you." The director retorted.


    "Excuse me?!" Pepper let out an offended gasp, before the both of them chuckled together.


    Rain poured from outside the window as I screamed-sh-sing my frustration in the bedroom. Finally, we finished the scene on this set.


    "We''re changing the location!" The staging director said as I rested beside Penny near the director''s chair and we were looking at the shots together.


    "Next scene will be a bit tricky as you''re ying both of the guys. So what are you thinking about it?" The director asked me.


    "I need fake tattoos on my arms, a maic ''cross'' earring, and my hair needs to be styled a little bit messier. If I can change the colour to ck, then it''ll be better." I said as I imagined a 2020''s fuckboy to refer to.


    "TATTOO! You still haven''t given up on that?!" Pepper yelled in astonishment.


    "And we''re going to put the tattoo on my neck too." I continued.


    "NO!" Pepper screamed in frustration while Iughed at his reaction. The director nodded to my suggestion and some of the staff members were sent out to gather the material for the fuckboy character.


    ...


    While we were waiting for the staging to be finished, I checked on my ppy Bird game download statistics, and already 500,000 people had downloaded the game.


    "Making my first million never felt so easy...not that I was ever a millionaire before." I muttered with the edge of my lips curling up as I looked at my bloated ount number that barely passed the 1 million dors mark.


    Despite my casualness of the matter, I was feeling extremely happy on the inside and could barely hold myself together from doing a happy dance.


    "Ed. We''re ready for you!" Penny said. She was still in her previous outfit, while I needed to change into my other character outfit. An oversized tee that made me seem bigger, fake tattoos on my arms and neck, and the make up artist made my eyes smoulder using her makeup skills.


    "You''re going to lift her up and sit her down on the window sill, making out with her while trying to remove her clothes." The director exined.


    "I''m sorry. What?!" Penny was confused at thatst part.


    "Not truly taking off your clothes, just act it out. We''ll cut it before he takes it off." Pepper said.


    "Or would you." I said slyly to Pepper, making Penny blush a little. He smacked my head with the paper fan before Penny and I walked in front of the camera together.


    ''This state''sw was a bit weird about this particr case. See, It''s not actually a crime if a 14 year old makes out with a 22 year old, as long as we film it. Well...that''s an oversimplification, but yeah. It''s basically like that.''


    "Aaaaand. Action!" The director shouted the cue.


    Penny and I locked eyes with each other before I grabbed her and sat her on the window still before bending down slightly to kiss her. Our tongues entwined with each other, but then Penny suddenly let out a fakeugh.


    "Sorry. I''m sorry." She said as she tried to control herself.


    "What?" I asked.


    "No. Your change is just...too drastic. I can''t hold it in." Penny said as she tried to be professional and hopped down from the window sill.


    [Penny POV]


    ''Oh my god. The smolder in his eyes. He''s turning me on. Also, I can do the kissing scene two or three more times before it gets suspicious, right?''


    I couldn''t pry myself away from his charisma right now. I wanted to push him down on the bed and let him have his way with me. But I was lucky that the fact that we were on a film set helped me keep my sanity.


    ''If this was back in Nebraska...'' I thought as I bit my lower lips while looking at his lips seductively. The camera caught my reaction, and the director loved it as he thought I was still acting.


    Ed grabbed my bottom and brought me to the window sill again as the shooting resumed. The more he kissed me, the more I wanted to keep kissing him. Our saliva mixed with each other, turning into a bridge connecting our lips as we separated. He started kissing my neck, and slowly moved to my shoulder as he tried to undress me.


    My hands automatically groped his body, and as I had forgotten that we were still shooting, the director yelled, "CUT! Nice! Now, Penny would look through the window and see a piano there. And then your role is done."


    I was stunned when I heard that, my hands were still feeling his bulge. Luckily my hands were covered by the camera''s angle, so no one else knew about it except Ed and I. I removed my hands in embarrassment and hopped down the window sill.


    "Could...Could I stay and watch?" I asked while nking out as I watched Ed''s flirty smile.


    "Sure. You can stay." He said as he took off the fake tattoos on his arms.


    [Edward POV]


    I was surprised when Penny couldn''t control her hands, but I only thought that it was apliment to my acting skill and that she immersed herself into her acting too. The more I spend time with her, the more I realise she was just a normal girl without theugh track in the background.


    After changing into a light grey suit and washes away the ck dye on my hair, I finally moved on to thest scene where I needed to drag the piano around.


    "Damn, this is worse than I thought." I muttered as I held the rope and was pulling the piano through an uphill street. We changed the location to a real street in which we already applied for the permit to shoot, and the passerby was gawking at me to watch the music video filming.


    I gave them a wave while we paused the shoot for the assistant to wipe off my sweat, and Pepper''s staff mingled with the crowd that were trying to see the filming while we were at it.


    "Oh. Romeo from Taylor''s concert!" A female member of the passerby suddenly screamed as she finally realised who I was.


    I dragged the piano through a dangerous street, where I met a homeless guy and a Mexican gang�C all paid actors of course, and the most dangerous part of the shoot was when I needed to drag the piano through a working tunnel.


    We applied for the permit to use one of thenes there, and even though some traffic police were helping us to film the scene by redirecting traffic. It quickly became a zoo there, and I knew I had to finish the scene in one take to move on.


    Some lucky fans managed to take a photo with me on set after I finished my work. Most of the photos were uploaded on the fan club, and Pepper''s staff had to do crowd control when the fans started to arrive in droves after prolonged filming.


    Finally, after 7 hours, the filming was done.


    (Not going to make the filming scene longer as you guys wanted the final product anyway. LOL)


    ...


    I walked to the waiting room and changed out of my sweaty suit. Suddenly, Penny walked into my room while I was shirtless and said, "Um...Nice... Also, the guys are here to pick me up, so I''ll be going now."


    "Oh. Okay then. I''ll text you when we finish editing the video. Or you can watch it on Wednesday when it''s being released on Youtube." I said.


    Penny turned downcast, making me curious by her change of reaction.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked.


    "N-Nothing. I just thought...we were bing friends, but you said the ''let''s keep things professional''... line."


    "Ahh.. Sorry about that. Also, we are friends now." I said with a sly smirk. "Quite close actually given that you actually got to cop a feel on m-"


    "OKAY! STOP!" Penny covered my mouth hurriedly. "I''m sorry for that. I was in the zone. You know. Actresses...acting zone." She tried hard to convince me, but all she did was make meugh harder.


    "Stopughing!" She said cutely. I calmed down after a while and looked her straight in the eyes.


    She took a deep breath and said, "Thank you."


    "For what?"


    "For keeping your promise. Despite only ever meeting me once before."


    "Ah that. It''s nothing much."


    She took a step nearer and unconsciously ced her hands on my bare chest.


    "Really. I''m grateful for what you have done. Although I don''t know if the music video will seed or not, I can at least put it on my resume. Then, I''ll have something other than the stupid ape movie."


    The vibes got weird as she kept staring at my lips. We slowly moved closer towards one another before Pepper suddenly knocked on the door. Penny pushed me away, and I fell on the sofa nearby.


    "Kids. Don''t stay there too long. It''s fine while filming, but it''s not now." Pepper said with a sing-song voice before he skipped away.


    I saw Penny blush, and she proceeded to run away quickly from the room.


    "Damn. I really missed an opportunity there." I muttered as Iid down tiredly on the sofa.


    "Ed. Come on. Chop Chop. We''re getting out of here." My Aunt said as she entered the waiting room and saw that I was resting on the sofa.


    "Where are we going?" I asked her.


    "To get some proper food." She said with a smile.


    ...


    "I''m cutting out the fight scene." The director said as we reviewed the edited video.


    "Okay. I agree, I think it feels off too." I said.


    Currently, we were at Pepper''s house where the final edit would be done. The gorgeous mansion made me a bit intimidated when I walked in, but Pepper was a good host and managed to make all of us feel weed there.


    "The fight takes away from the feeling of betrayal, and it lowers the impact when the innocent guy sees his girlfriend with another man after going through so many challenges to get to her."


    My Aunt suddenly chimed in, "So...No car?"


    "We can add in the car scene. But it won''t be necessary." The director said. My aunt got depressed, and I patted her back to cheer her up.


    "It''ll take some time to align the lip sync with the music, but I think I can do it tonight." I said to the director.


    He was puzzled and he turned to Pepper.


    "It''s fine. He wanted to edit it on his own. And he has the skills to do it. Do you know that new game, ppy Bird? He''s the one who created it, made it all alone too."


    The director just smiled wryly at Pepper''s exnation. Inwardly, he was thinking about how Pepper couldpare making a game to editing a video, but he let me edit it on my own as he wanted me to learn a lesson when I finally broke down and gave up on the matter.


    Not that he was maliciously rooting for me to fail, but he wanted me to understand that one man couldn''t carry so many responsibilities, so he just let me be. As long as the original footage was safe, he could let others edit the video before weunched the singles.

 Chapter 74: What happened while I was sleeping?

    <h4>Chapter 74: Chapter 74: What happened while I was sleeping?</h4>


    (Note: I will only be posting till Thursday, and will take a break starting Friday till Tuesday next week for Eid Adha.)


    [Edward POV]


    "(Yawn), Finally, I finished it. Oh. It''s already 5 am now."


    Walking out groggily from my room, I put my hands up to stretch my back while ncing at the clock as I had been working on the editing for 7 hours.


    Despite my advanced skills, there was still ack of editing tools I needed, therefore I created them on my own after hacking on editing software. Otherwise, the whole editing process would only take me 1 hour.


    ''Still, I closed all of the two ways the softwaremunicates with thepany, making it look like pirate software.''


    I was satisfied by how the video turned out, but I still needed to hear what the director and others thought about it.


    "Maybe I''ll do a premier tomorrow after school." I said while stifling a yawn. I tried to shake my sleepiness as I felt it was more damaging for me to go to sleep now. Therefore, I decided to just stay up all night and sleep during the sses at school today.


    My presence downstairs startled my aunt who was staying in my house for the night, and was drinking beer after waking up early. She was only in a white tank top and wearing short pink-coloured yoga pants that were hugging her perfectly shaped ass tightly. Her nipple was protruding as she wasn''t wearing a bra, and her hair was a bit messy as she hasn''t tended to it yet.


    "E-ED. Why aren''t you sleeping?" Aunt Cam asked with a stammer, spitting back the beer into the cup. Some of it dripped from her chin, and she wiped it off with the back of her left hand. She covered her chest by crossing her arms, and was taking a step backward as she felt self-conscious when dressing so sexily in front of me.


    "Why aren''t you?" I asked back casually as I went to pour myself a cup of coffee. Honestly, I was too tired to even notice what she was wearing at this moment.


    "Did...Did you stay up all night staring into theputer? But..YOU HAVE YOUR FINAL EXAM TODAY! You should be well rested!"


    "It''s fine. It''s fine. Also, my final is next week. I don''t have anything special to do today." I replied yfully before walking to the living room and turning on the TV. I wanted to check the news to study the stock market.


    Cam got mad and snatched the remote away from me before saying, "GO TO SLEEP! You should get some rest, at least for an hour!"She also grabbed the cup of coffee from my hand and pointed to my bedroom while huffing cutely.


    "...Nah I''m good. Can I please have my coffee back?" I asked calmly, not trying to move at all.


    "...Are you being rebellious? Did you reach puberty?" My aunt asked in disbelief. I finally turned to look at her, and was a bit startled when I saw what she was wearing.


    "I haven''t gotten the dream yet if that''s what you were asking. Also, Wow." I smiled and eximed as I saw the sight in front of me. Her face flushed and she tried to cover up her chest again, but all it did was make her look even more seductive.


    "Shut up. Don''t leer on your aunt." She said in embarrassment and ran to my dad''s room to change into a robe. Dad was on the night shift today, so he would only be home at 6 or 7 am, depending on whether he wanted to have breakfast with the crew first or now.


    As I was watching the news, she returned while wearing a proper robe this time. She sat next to me and said, "Are you really not sleeping?"


    "Yeah. It''s fine." I replied with my eyes glued on the screen as I was still studying the stock market news.


    My aunt narrowed her eyes as she looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze, and she asked, "Is this a normal day for you."


    "Depends. Sometimes I stay up all night. Sometimes I sleep early. It depends on if I have work to do that day or not." I replied without thinking much.


    She sighed secretly and said, "Why do you need to do so much work anyway? With the games, the music, the clothes..."


    "I don''t know. I have the ability to do it, so why shouldn''t I do it?"


    "Yeah. But, did you enjoy doing it, or were you just doing it, because you think people expect you to do it?"


    I went silent at my aunt''s words. However, I threw the matter to the back of my mind as I saw a stock that I had bought before had doubled in its value, earning me twice of my initial investment before.


    "NICE!" I eximed.


    "So, you''re just going to ignore me?" My aunt asked again.


    "Yeah." I replied yfully, annoying her. She pinched my waist, which made me flinch andugh, but then she grabbed my head and made mey down on her thigh.


    "Go to sleep. You''re a growing boy. You need to sleep better. I''ll call your dad to see if you can take a day off today." She patted my shoulder in a loving manner as Iid down on herp with a confused expression stered on my face. I tried to get up, but she held my head down.


    "Wait. Camil-"


    "AUNT Cam. Don''t be rude. Or I''ll put the Primo pepper in all of your food again."


    Sheughed it off in a joking manner, but I knew that it was a thinly veiled threat and gulped my saliva in fear. But, as Iid down on herps, my eyelid got heavier and heavier.


    "Damn it." I cursed and I fell asleep soon after as my tiredness from yesterday''s shooting dragged me down into dreand.


    [3rd Person POV]


    "You''re the same as your mother. Can''t sleep if your mind isn''t at ease." Cam patted her nephew''s shoulder lovingly even though he had already gone to sleep, and she smiled as she brushed his hair from falling to his face.


    "I can''t believe I have a pretty awesome nephew, and it took me 14 years to finally meet and get to know you."


    ...


    -Dunphy''s house, 9 am-


    "Hey hun, what''s the nickname Jennifer Lopez stole from Jon Lovitz?"


    ire wasying down on the sofa while Phil was getting ready to go to an open house when his phone suddenly rang. "J-LO!" Phil answered the call before ire could answer his question.


    ire pursed her lip as she thought the line this time was not that bad, while Phil was excitedly snickering from his own joke.


    "Hey Phil. I wanted to ask you, do you want toe watch Ed''s music video premie-"


    "I DO I DO I DO I DO!" Phil said excitedly before Ted could finish his words.


    "Okay great. So you and your family members will be here at 6?" Ted asked.


    "Wait. Why don''t we use Jay''s house? He has a projector, and we can make it a red-carpet event." Phil said. ire heard what Phil was talking about, and she stood up and walked to him as she was intrigued by the conversation.


    "What''s going on?" She asked Phil whisperingly as her husband was still on the phone. Phil covered the phone mic and told ire about the situation.


    The news spread like wildfire, and all members of the extended family knew about the premier.


    -Pritchet''s house-


    "YES. YES. We can do it here!" Gloria said in excitement after Phil had called her to ask for permission to host the event at her house. Dressed in a floral blue dress, Gloria jumped up in excitement. Her chest jiggled as if a 10 scale magnitude earthquake was shaking the world, causing Jay to turn toward her.


    "What needs to be done here?" He asked, fearing that his n for a peaceful day had gone to the trash.


    Ignoring Jay, Gloria said, "We can all dress up. Take a photo-"


    "What is it? What''s happening?" Jay asked again, his voice shook a little as Gloria''s n sounded tiresome for him even though the event hadn''t started yet.


    "I even bought a new dress yesterday." Gloria said before finally noticing Jay. Her eyes shook and she said to the phone, "O-Of course, I didn''t buy the dress for nothing. My sixth sense was telling me that I would need it soon-"


    "Save it. What event?" Jay asked, not minding the meager spending of his new wife at all. Especially after signing the deal with Ed, Pritchett''s Closet reputation had surpassed his long time rival, Closets Closets Closets Closets, and sales were booming for thepany right now.


    Not to mention that a few extremely capable employees had been hired by thepany recently, and the employees had helped thepany to brace through the active development period perfectly.


    ''However, they were extremely interested in the website. But, I didn''t n to tell them who created it yet. I want to see the shock in their eyes when they find out a 14 year old was the one who''d done it.'' Jay thought secretly.


    ...


    -FBI Headquarters-


    "Did the agents we had sent to infiltrate Pritchett Closete back with any information yet?" A tough looking FBI team leader asked.


    "No sir. The information is only kept by the top brass of thepany. One of our agents even tried to seduce Jay Pritchett, but..." A meek-looking white guy said.


    "What is it?" The team leader asked.


    "He turned it down sir. He had also fired the agent. Also, we found out that Jay Pritchett recently had his second marriage to a Colombian woman. We''re now looking into the cartel to see if we can find the information through there."


    "Enough. Do you really think that''s true? We aren''t sure of Pritchett''s affiliation yet, but now we have to search inside the cartel?" The tough looking guy gritted his teeth in anger.


    "Sir. If I can say something...Are we even sure that he''s involved with a crime? I think it''s only an ordinary closetpany." A female agent with a cold-looking face asked.


    The team leader mmed the table with his fist and said, "Don''t you think I want to know that too? If our suspicions are true, then, the cartel and the Irish mafia had joined hands. The cartel will supply the drugs, and the mafia�C under the guise of the closetpany, will deliver it throughout the entire country. And now, they even n to go international. We have to find out what''s going on."


    "Our agents are working on it sir." The meek looking guy said before turning to another page, "We''re now working with a few university professors to try and bring down the website''s defenses as you hypothesized it''s a fake site that hides ck market trade inside of it. But, despite all of our best work, we can''t even scratch its first line of defense."


    "Send more people to infiltrate thepany. Make sure they do excellent work there for them to be noticed by the top brass. As long as we find the master password, then we can finally see what''s truly going on inside thepany." The team leader ordered.


    ...


    -Pritchet''s house-


    "I''m telling you hun, we can go to Expo Internationale Du Closet faster than I thought. The guys whom I kept telling you about, are bringing some of their work friends, and all of them are as capable as they are." Jay shared his news in excitement.


    "Ah Jess (Yes). Also, the youngdy wants to seduce their old boss. How many of them are you bringing in too?" Gloria asked teasingly as she didn''t believe that Jay would have eyes for another woman after being with someone like her.


    "This again. I''m telling you. I have already fired that girl. I could sense she wanted something else, and not me." Jay said before he hugged Gloria''s waist and made her face him. "Besides, I don''t need anyone else. I Just need you by my side."


    "Ayy Jay." Gloria said before she rested her face on Jay''s chest. Then, she smacked Jay''s left shoulder and said, "Go bring Manny from school. We also need food for the event."


    Jay sighed and said, "I thought we were going to spend the day, just the two of us today."


    Gloriaughed and said, "It''s not my fault your day ends so quickly." Jay smirked and grabbed Gloria before putting her on his shoulder, "Then, We should make most of my time before its over. "


    Gloria giggled as Jay brought her to their bedroom, postponing the event preparation a little.


    ...


    "Oh my gosh. The music video is done, and Ed is inviting us to the premiere." Cam said in excitement as he called Mitchell who was working at this time.


    "Cam, Ugh, I think I''m going to bete today." Mitchell said as he looked at the piling files on top of his desk. "I don''t think I can make it."


    "Really Mitchell? After all we went through with him? How could you?" Cam spoke usingly before walking to Lily''s room.


    Mitchell wiped his forehead with his hand and said, "You know what? I''m so sick of doing overtime. I''ll be there as soon as I clock out."


    "Good. Maybe next time, you''ll have courage to stand up to your boss when he asks you toe in on the weekends." Cam said.


    "I don''t know- Anyway, I got to go. See you there. Wait- Is there a dress code to this event?"


    "I''m not sure. You know what? Why don''t we just wear a Hollywood mor Fabulous theme. I''ll text the others so that they will know what to wear." Cam said in excitement as he leaned in to talk to Lily that was babbling in her crib.


    "Yes Lily. We''re going to see Edward tonight."


    "Yed...Yed..." Lily babbled.


    "Hmm...I guess that''s better than ''Bed''." Mitchell said sarcastically as he heard Lily''s voice through the microphone.


    -Highschool-


    "Hey. Ed is premiering his music video today at my grandpa''s house." Haley said to Abby after hanging up the phone call from her father.


    "I know. Mom just told me that." Abby said after hanging up the call from her mother. Desiree was also invited by Ted to the premiere, as friends.


    "I still don''t know how your mom can be so close with Ed''s dad." Haley spoke without thinking. Abby nodded and said, "Yeah. She was smiling all day after I picked her up from the docks. I think...she went on a date with him."


    "Ew...If Ed''s dad, and your mom...decided to get married...then, will you and Ed be step-siblings?" Haley said with a face full of disgust. Abby also grimaced and the thought of the matter bing true haunts her.


    "I...don''t think so. No. Please...No." Abby muttered with a hint of begging in her tone.


    -Middle school-


    Alex walked to Jenna, Elsa, and Jacob''s table before saying, "Hey. Ed''s music video premiere is tonight."


    "Really?" Jacob widened his eyes in surprise, before wallowing in self pity as Ed didn''t invite him to it.


    "Don''t feel sad. I think this is a surprise for Ed. He might not even know that the premier is today. Although from the looks of it, it''ll just be a premier for his close friends." Alex exined.


    "Ah. So another surprise?" Elsa said in excitement. Jenna lowered her eyes, and she wasn''t as excited as her other friends after hearing the news.


    "I... I don''t think I can go." Jenna said with a sullen face.


    Alex continued without catching Jenna''s mood. "The style is upscale...what? Fabulous something. Just wear something ssy. I need to go invite Enid." Alex said in excitement before turning to Jenna.


    "I don''t have that kind of dress. Can you apany me to the mall after school?"


    "SURE. LET''S GO SHOPPING!" Elsa eximed in excitement after interrupting the two girls''s conversation.


    "Wait. I also need...to invite Mrs Henderson?" Alex read the text from her dad twice as she was in disbelief about what was written.


    "Why her?" Elsa asked while Jenna finally showed a little bit of interest.


    "I don''t know. I''ll text him to see if he mistyped." Alex said before walking away. Elsa waved her off with a smile, before her face turned stoic as she turned to Jenna. "So...what did you do now?"


    "What?...Nothing." Jenna said while avoiding her best friend''s gaze. Elsa sighed and said, "You really are a bad liar. Now, tell me everything!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Hmmm....What time is it?"


    With a groan, I finally woke up from my sleep. I find myself to be alone at the sofa, as my aunt had already freed herself after her legs went numb from being a prolongedp pillow. I sat up from the 3 seat sofa and walked to the kitchen where I could hear some noise.


    "Good afternoon. It''s already 1 pm. I prepared lunch for you." Aunt Cam said.


    "Oh Ed. I knew I should have checked up on youst night. If only Longines hadn''t called me to pick him up from the bar." Pepper said while walking toward me. He came to visit after my dad called him to invite him to the premier. He already watched my edit, and had sent a copy to the director while I was sleeping.


    "The film is now finished. I can''t believe you did it all in one day. Also, the director is pretty happy to see such high quality edits." Pepper said as he grabbed both of my shoulders. "I''m proud of you. Come on, let''s eat."


    "Wait. Aunt Cam prepared it?" I asked while eyeing the food in front of me suspiciously. She rolled her eyes and said, "I didn''t use the pepper again! I CAN COOK!"


    "I...It''s better if we order out-"


    "Sit your ass down and eat!" She spoke sternly as she pushed me to take a seat on the dining table. Iughed at her reaction before turning to Pepper, "So far, we can release the singles without worry right?"


    "Yes. All the preparation is finished. You don''t have anything else to do for this. Now, it''s Harvey and mine''s job." Pepper said before criticizing my aunt about her coffee. "Ugh. This tasted factory made."


    "Brew your own then." Aunt Cam said in annoyance as she had never met someone more picky than Pepper in her entire life. I took 20 minutes to eat before showering and changing my clothes.


    Pepper suddenly stood up as if he was waiting for me to be ready and said, "Let''s go. We don''t want to bete to your premier now don''t we?"


    I was confused by the whole situation, then I saw my aunt had already changed into a ssy purple dress.


    "???"


    "Your dad is already waiting at the venue. We''ll meet him there." Pepper said before he grabbed me by the arms and started pulling me to the front door. My aunt followed us from behind, and was rushing as it was almost 3 pm, and all the guests had returned from their schools.


    "Can someone tell me what is going on?!"

 Chapter 75: Music Video Premier.

    <h4>Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Music Video Premier.</h4>


    (Myst chap this week as I need to prepare for Eid. I wille back on Tuesday/Wednesday next week, depends on when I came back from my hometown. Enjoy the chap!)


    [Edward POV]


    "I feel... a bit embarrassed."


    As I watched the group walking around with ssy outfits, I felt out of ce standing there with my white shirt and in jeans. Pepper and my aunt immediately left me alone after we entered Jay''s house, making me feel even more excluded. .


    Haley was actually the one who opened the door and she proceeded to immediately grab my hand and bring me next to the poster.


    Gloria had prepared a red- no, it was actually closer to an orange carpet, but Pepper was the one who had brought the official poster for the event. It was a blown up shot of me from my sexy photoshoot, where I was only wearing a jacket and nothing underneath. My eyes were smoldering, and my lips were parted slightly, giving me a seductive look in the photo.


    "You should be. Where is that guy?! I want to meet him, not this..." Haley said as she pointed to the poster before gesturing at my body. She was wearing a flowery ck dress that entuated her figure, and a ck high heels that brought her face closer to mine, but she couldn''t surpass my height just yet.


    I smirked and leaned forward before whispering in her ear, "Now I have actual proof that you''re secretly a pervert." She was practically drooling and was taking multiple pictures with the poster before her friends even got here.


    Haley blushed and snapped back to retort immediately, "No. My reaction is normal for a teenage girl- Stop staring at me." Her voice turned shaky as I kept my rizz up and was giving her a smoldering look at the moment. "Staring at you, how?" I asked seductively.


    She bit her lower lip and caught her mom who was walking by from behind to use as a human shield. ire was wearing a cream coloured dress, and had her hair tied up at the back. She was also holding a champagne ss in her right hand, which I was sure was full a minute ago.


    I turned off my rizz mode and asked ire, "Hey. Can someone tell me what''s going on?"


    "Hmm? You don''t know?"


    "Well...I can assume that people are gathering here to watch my video, but to be honest...yeah, I have no idea."


    ire smiled softly and said, "Well. Your dad called us, and invited us to your house. But Phil-" She pointed at Phil who was setting up the projector behind her, "...Offered to do it here instead."


    "Without asking Jay?" I asked.


    "Yup." ire leaned in and whispered, "Luckily Gloria put my dad in a good mood, so no harm done." She clicked her tongue twice, and I was positive that she was drunk right now as there was no way she would use euphemism while talking to me, or any other kids.


    Mitchell noticed this and pulled ire away from me immediately, "Heeeyyy, ire. Go sober up . Also, Ed, CONGRATULATIONS!" He hugged me and patted my back for a few short seconds before breaking it off.


    I smiled and said, "Thank you. It mustn''t be easy for you to be here. You have a lot of work at the firm right? I really appreciate you being here."


    Mitchell looked down shyly and giggled before saying, "No. No. Work is not as important as this evening."


    Cameron finally noticed me and ran from the kitchen before giving me a bear hug from behind, lifting my entire body in the air, and turned me around in excitement.


    "ROCK STAR! ROCK STAR! ROCK STAR!" Cam chanted while spinning me. "Cam. Don''t bother him. He must be anxious right now. Let him go." Pepper said from afar beforeing in to pull Cam back to the kitchen.


    ''Ahh, that''s why they were leaving me alone.'' I thought as only the kids were talking to me. Luke and Manny were ying tag inside the house, and I yfully caught Luke while he was running away from Manny.


    "Let me go- NO!"


    As I caught him, Manny finally could tag him, making him the next chaser.


    "Finally. I''ve been chasing him for 20 minutes." Mannyined. "And I didn''t even want to y this game in the first ce."


    "Then why do you keep chasing him?" I asked.


    "I don''t know." Manny shook his head before running away, and Luke chased him next. "This time, Edward can''t help you!" Luke shouted like a mad demon.


    "Luke is ying on easy mode." I muttered as I watched Manny get caught in less than a minute. His bulging belly made it hard for him to run faster. That was why he was always caught by Luke.


    ''In the series, Gloria always told him not to do anything that would make him ufortable. But in the end, he turned into an entitled, spoiled adult. Maybe he should get out of hisfort zone more.''


    "Heyya Kiddo. Congrattions. I''m sure you''ll hit it big!" Jay said as he walked in from the backyard and patted my back. I turned to look at him, pushing my thoughts on Manny to the back of my mind.


    "Why don''t you take a seat and wait for this thing to be over?" Jay asked although it sounded more like a statement, and pointed to the seats Gloria had rented for the event.


    Jacob and Elsa arrived at the premier after 15 minutes, dressed in a couple look with their matching jackets. Alex entered the house while dragging Jenna who seemed reluctant toe here. I walked to the front door to greet them, and to ask her ''why'' at the same time.


    "Umm..." Jenna opened her mouth a few times, but no words woulde out. Elsa on the other hand was ring daggers at me.


    [shback- Jenna POV]


    Elsa dragged me to the girls bathroom after ss was over, and there, I was interrogated about why I was reacting this way.


    "So. He''s already dating someone else? That bitch!" Elsa said with gritted teeth after I broke down and told her everything. Of course, my best friend gave me an hour-long lecture about stalking and breaking into someone''s house first before she returned to my side.


    "He''s just ying with you then!" Elsa said in anger. I was looking downcast the whole time Elsa was cursing at Ed before Alex suddenly walked into the toilet.


    "Hey. Are you guys ready?" Alex asked casually, not reading the atmosphere inside the room.


    "Hey. Is Ed dating your sister?" Elsa asked immediately after she saw Alex. I widened my eyes and tried to stop the conversation, before Alex replied casually, "No. They aren''t."


    "Are you sure? They haven''t done anything?" Elsa asked again.


    "I know my sister. If she''s dating someone, then she will be stuck to her phone the entire time. She might have hooked up with him though, cause she''s a bit of a slut." Alex replied before grabbing my wrist. I was stunned after hearing what Alex said, and thought inwardly in relief, ''Ahh...so they were just hooking up.''


    "Hey. Does Ed like sluts?" I asked Alex as she was his best friend.


    Alex shook her head and said, "No. He''s a bit special, that way. He is more attracted to someone''s personality rather than their beauty. If he thinks you''re not a good person, he won''t even nce at you."


    "What- Seriously?" I widened my eyes as I finally understood the scene I saw before.


    "Yeah." Alex replied before saying, "We need to go now. My mom is waiting for us in front."


    She dragged me to her family''s minivan where her mom greeted us with a bright smile on her face.


    "MOM! Don''t embarrass me!" Alex said shyly after her mom was being friendly with us.


    ''Why can''t my mom be like this?'' I thought depressingly as I felt jealous of Alex''s rtionship with her mom.


    When we were shopping at the mall, I had to shake my head a few times at Alex''s disastrous fashion sense and took charge in telling her what to wear, making the whole day more enjoyable than I thought.


    However, the guilt from me stalking Ed was eating me up on the inside making me reluctant to meet with him today.


    "Hi Jenna. Why so pouty?" Ed asked the second I walked into Alex grandpa''s mansion. My stomach fluttered immediately as I saw him, and I couldn''t take my eyes off him.


    "Um..."


    The cat got my tongue as my face blushed in his presence. Then, I finally noticed the seductive poster for the premier, and I gulped my saliva as I got turned on by it.


    [Edward POV]


    ''Well that was weird.'' I thought as I saw Jenna return to her usual demeanor. Abby and Desiree walked in after Jenna and the others had taken their seats, and I almost dropped my jaw as I saw Desiree''s dress.


    It was a shoulderless and strapless dress, that was pushing her humongous breast upward, almost popping them out of her chest, and it was a short dress that showed her pale white thigh.


    "Where''s Mr Theodore?" Desiree asked with a thirsty expression as she scanned the room.


    "MOM!" Abby called out to her in embarrassment. She was wearing a ck dress with a low cut top, with her hair tied up in a twintail hairstyle.


    "OH. There he is~ TED~!" Desiree lightly jogged towards my dad who was in the kitchen the second she saw him, leaving behind a stunned Abby.


    "Now that we are all here." Jay stepped up in front of the projector and started the premier as he couldn''t wait for the day to be over. He opened his mouth, and then he saw Pepper raising his hands with a serious face. "Pepper would...like to say a few words." Jay said as he pointed at the weird man.


    Pepper nodded and walked up to the front and stood next to Jay. He looked at Jay weirdly and said, "You can take a seat. I can handle this."


    "Oh right." Jay eximed casually before he sat down. He couldn''t care less about hosting the premiere, and was only starting the event because Gloria told him too. Abby and Haley were sitting on each of my sides, while the rest of my friends were sitting nearby on the same row.


    Pepper smiled softly as he looked at me before making a speech.


    "As you all know, Ed is pretty cocky." Pepper said, making the crowdugh. I shrugged as I wasn''t bothered by it and waited for what he was going to say next.


    "When I first met him, he told us he was going to y a song to repay our kindness to him. At first, I thought he was actually just going to show off, but before he walked to the stage, he told me... "There''s not a lot of adults who''d take a second look at me, especially bringing me around to y. You got the privilege to be my first fan because of that." And just like he said...I became his first fan, even before...he got onto the stage."


    Phil was holding my shoulders as he was sitting behind me proudly . ire was having aplicated look on her face, but I didn''t know why. She excused herself to go to the bathroom, scooching her ways to the left as she needed to get pass my dad and Desiree before getting out


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    "ire cried after that." Phil said as he gazed at ire who had ssy eyes and red nose sitting next to him. He then whispered, "It''s her time of the mont-"


    "Phil!" ire smacked her hand at Phil to stop him from continuing.


    [Commentary ends]


    Pepper continued, "And since then, it''s been a wonderful journey for me as I managed to watch him grow step by step to be a true artist. And without any dy, I wanted to share with you guys his first step to sess�C as his singles and music video release this Wednesday!"


    The audience apuded, and Phil whistled in excitement. I was a bit abashed at their support, and was nodding slightly to thank them. Haley and Abbyughed at me while keeping their eyes fixed on the projector.


    "So. Enjoy." Pepper said before pushing the y button with the remote in his hand.


    The video started with a 3 second countdown screen that I think Phil had added in.


    "I''m so excited." Jacob said as he lightly shook Elsa''s hand before focusing on the screen again. Elsa shot him a smitten nce before turning over to Jenna who had her eyes glued to the screen. Even the usually distracted Luke was focusing on the screen.


    The video started with an aesthetic shot of Ed and Penny having fun on the bed together.


    "That''s the waitress..." Abby narrowed her eyes as she saw Penny on screen.


    "Oh my. That''s very intimate." Cam muttered with a giggle as the video showed me tossing Penny on the bed and pinning her down. But then, Penny''s change of expression while she was staring at the screen startled the viewers.


    The setting changed, and rain could be seen outside the window of my room. I was sitting at the edge of the bed before singing, looking deeply in pain, "??Easye, easy go, that''s just how you live, oh??"


    "??Take, take, take it all, but you never give??"


    ??Shoulda known, you were trouble from the first kiss, Had your eyes wide open...Why were they open? (Ooh-ooh)??"


    "What''s going on? I thought they were happy?" Phil muttered.


    "Oh God. Previous memory. The trauma. Cam." Mitchell said as he thought about his exes while seeing this. He patted Cam''s shoulder to gain his attention, nevertheless Cam was glued on the screen.


    ??Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash (ooh-ooh),You tossed it in the trash, you did (ooh-ooh).??


    I picked up the picture of me and Penny on the nightstand and looked at it, before the picture cracked. The scene then alternates between me singing inside the room and pulling the piano on the streets with some effort.


    ??To give me all your love is all I ever ask, ''Cause what you don''t understand is, I''d catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)??


    ??Throw my hand on a de for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) I''d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)You know I''d do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)??


    "Truck. Truck. TRUCK!" ire shouted in bewilderment as the scene changed to me pulling the piano inside a tunnel, with traffic still moving behind me. She finally stopped after seeing the truck swerved to avoid me, and breathed in relief.


    "For ya? Isn''t that a bit racist?" Cam asked in concern at the same time ire was freaking out. Gloria stared at him and said, "He''s half Cuban."


    "Oh Yeah. Right."


    Jay gave a side eye at Cam before continuing to watch the video.


    This time, I was singing while pulling the piano. ??Oh, oh, I would go through all this pain, Take a bullet straight through my brain~!??


    ??Yes, I would die for ya, baby. But you won''t do the same...No, no, no, no~!??


    "He''s so sad." Haley sobbed while watching. I was confused and turned toward her. "But "he" is me? You do know that right???" I said.


    "Yeah. but he''s more handsome." Haley said.


    "..."


    The singing was taken over by the bedroom me as the street me was pulling the piano in front of a mexican gang.


    ??ck, ck, ck and blue, Beat me ''til I''m numb, Tell the devil I said "Hey" when you get back to where you''re from...??"


    I tried to ask them by showing the picture of my girlfriend, but the tattooed Mexican gang tried to intimidate me into going away.


    ??Mad woman, bad woman, That''s just what you are, Yeah, you''ll smile in my face then rip the brakes out my car (ooh-ooh)??"


    "Off- Who is the lyric for. Why is it so biting?" Desiree said while hugging my dad''s arm in between her chest.


    ??Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash (ooh-ooh) You tossed it in the trash, yes, you did (ooh-ooh)??


    The gang smacked the picture out of my hand, and I bent over to pick it up before walking straight forward.


    "(Sigh) She isn''t going to like this at all." Ted muttered ambiguously. Desiree looked at him in confusion before leaning her head closer and resting it on his shoulder. He coughed twice in embarrassment, but he wasn''t pushing her away.


    ??To give me all your love is all I ever ask, ''Cause what you don''t understand is, I''d catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)??


    My neat suit was bing messy as I had worked hard to pull the piano. I passed by a homeless man that seemed to recognize me, but he too couldn''t stop me from moving forward.


    ??Throw my hand on a de for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah),I''d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) You know I''d do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)??"


    "Oh he''s finally there." Phil said in excitement as he saw I had arrived at a house. I smiled as I saw Penny through the window, but she hadn''t noticed me yet. Suddenly, another man walked from behind her, grabbed her and put her on the window sill, before making out passionately with her.


    "Oh god." Jenna bit her lower lips as she saw my yboy character. "He''s so hot." Alex blurted out unconsciously, making Jenna turn to her. She realized what she said and avoided Jenna''s gaze, not knowing that Jenna felt a sense ofradeship with her.


    Abby and Haley also started to breathe heavily as they saw the yer, and they were leaning closer to me as if wanting topare the both of us. They did it secretly, before they identally locked eyes with each other, and moved their head to the initial position in embarrassment as they thought they were caught by the other person.


    ??Oh oh, I would go through all this pain, Take a bullet straight through my brain. Yes, I would die for ya, baby...But you won''t do the same...??


    My face crumbled, and I turned away from watching the scene before pulling the piano away.


    "..." Phil jaw dropped as he couldn''t believe what just happened. "But they seemed so happy..." He said with teary eyes.


    Abby sighed and stole a nce at me while I was watching the music video. Despite my great acting, my fingers were all curled up as I saw my own image on the screen.


    ''Still cringe. Damn. Next time, I won''t join them to see it.'' I thought.


    ??if my body was on fire, (No) ooh, you''d watch me burn down in mes, (No) you said you loved me, you''re a liar, ??''Cause you never, ever, ever did, baby..??


    The me dragging the piano turned away from the house and walked away, and Penny saw that I had known about her cheating. However, she seemed unaffected by it.


    "That bitch!" Haley cursed while Abby nodded to agree with her.


    Despite all that, the me inside the screen was still in love with her.


    ??But darling, I''d still catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) Throw my hand on a de for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) I''d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah) ??You know I''d do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)??


    He pushed the piano with all of his strength as he walked uphill, and his legs were weak from the strength he put into it. Inside the bedroom, I crumbled and was sitting with my back against the wall, no longer moving from the pain of my broken heart.


    Finally, we reached the ending.


    ??Ooh-ooh, I would go through all this pain, Take a bullet straight through my brain, Yes, I would die for ya, baby,But you won''t do the same...??


    I finally reached the train station, and was ying the piano while on the train tracks. It was filmed at a tricky angle that made me seem like I was putting myself in a dangerous position, but it was actually untrue. ire widened her eyes and said, "No...No...No No No No..."


    ??No, you won''t do the same...You wouldn''t do the same~! Ooh, you''d never do the same??


    ??No, no, no, no-oh??


    The train finally arrived. But instead of Bruno''s suicide ending, the train stopped in front of me, and I left the piano behind to get on board of it. The camera change revealed that I was waiting for the train in the first ce, and ire finally breathed easy when she saw it.


    "Ah. He''s moving on." Phil said with a smile on his face.


    The group apuded at me as I entered the train, and my music video premier was over.

 Chapter 76: A bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?

    <h4>Chapter 76: Chapter 76: A bit of an overreaction, don��t you think?</h4>


    (I''m back!! Also, I''m mentally exhausted from the auntie''s and uncle''s point nk questions such as, "When are you getting married?" "All your friends have a child already?" "When are you buying a house?" "When are you going to lose weight?"


    My introvert personality can''t handle the yearly torture anymore lol. )


    [Phil''smentary]


    "Although the song was great, I''m worried for Ed. He went through so much before he even reached puberty, and I''m afraid it will influence his personality greatly. Most people wouldn''t even notice it, but I''m not most people."


    Phil said in a concerned voice, but with a hint of bragging at thest sentence. His face turned sour and he said, "He''s not walking, he''s not enjoying life, but...he''s sprinting madly ahead, as if he is being chased by something."


    Phil had no idea what he thought was extremely close to the truth.


    "After talking to his aunt, I know for sure he''s pushing himself...pushing himself madly...it''s not normal. It''s not even normal for a kid to be as mature as him."


    "If he keeps walking this path�C He''ll eventually burn himself out for sure. It''s like my roommate Ling when he thought he could build a (voice break) Helicopter."


    [3rd Person POV]


    While the premier at Jay''s house was ongoing, 2 young women were watching Ed''s music video from aptop. A blonde, and atina brte. The blonde was sitting on a chair while the brte was standing behind her�Cwatching the music video over her shoulder.


    "He''s so dreamy. He''s only 14? Are you sure?"Selena said using a professional tone as she tried to hide her fluttering heart while watching the music video


    "I''m sure. And...I''m sure he''s still currently growing." Taylor said while licking her lips seductively. Selena rolled her eyes at her currently-going-to-be-her-bestie, and mmed theptop shut, startling Taylor.


    With narrowed eyes, Selena said, "Don''t even dare to think about it. You''ll go to jail."


    Taylor shrugged as the thing on the boat was only her and Ed''s secret, so no one else knew about it.


    "Disney is also interested in him right?" Taylor said to Selena with a sly smirk. She had been talking Edward up with a few producers and important people in Hollywood without him even asking her to do so.


    "Yeah. They ARE considering casting him in some shows, but...he''s not made for Disney image." Selena said with a wry smile. (A/N: That means, keeping things light for the general audience. Whatever degeneracy they did behind the camera screen didn''t count)


    "That''s good. I also don''t think Disney is his style." Taylor said while leaning back on the chair.


    Selena rolled her eyes again and said carefully, "So. Juliet. You''re going to meet him for recording this Friday right? Can Ie with you?"


    Taylor turned and looked at Selena in disbelief, "N-No. Why would you want toe?"


    She had nned to have some ''alone time'' with Ed, therefore she didn''t want to take a chance in bringing someone else.


    Selena gazed at Taylor suspiciously and said, "Now...I know for sure I need toe."


    ...


    [Edward POV- After the premier]


    "ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!" Cam started a chant, but only Gloria and Phil followed along to his words.


    Nevertheless, everyone agreed to repeat watching the video. My face was blushing as their support was tugging at my heartstrings. The younger generations caught my expression and they were sniggering by themselves before I finally stood up to try and move away from there. I have avoidance issues, I know.


    Pepper gave me a hug as he saw me standing up.


    "Why are you so flustered? Did you get worried that people wouldn''t like it? You''re a natural kid. You can sleep on a piano, and wake up to a hit song."


    He released me, but his hands were still holding my shoulders. He looked me straight in the eyes before saying, "I''m really proud of you."


    "*Ehem* That''s my line." My real dad swooped in and grabbed me from Pepper and mimicked Pepper''s action before this. He said, "I''m proud of you Ed."


    "Yeah. I know." I said with my face still red from the embarrassment. Haley giggled mischievously and said, "He''s blushing~"


    The group let out "A" and teased me a bit before the video reaction died down.


    [Mitch and Cam''smentary]


    "I didn''t expect Ed''s story telling to be so impactful." Mitchell said with eyes full of awe. Cam made a side eye at him and said, "Maybe because it resonated with you deeply? For me, I had never been cheated on, so..."


    Mitchell rolled his eyes before saying angrily, "How are we talking about me? We''re talking about Ed."


    Cam giggled and closed his mouth before Mitchell turned back to the camera.


    "How he yed with the ups and downs of life. That''s beautiful." Mitchell said, but Cam''s stifled giggling made him unable continue his words.


    [ire''smentary]


    "To be honest I was too drunk to remember how I reacted." ire said before the camera cuts to the scene of her drinking her 7th ss of wine during the screening.


    "But I''m sure it went great." ire said with a smile on her face, but her eyes were shaky as she was internally disappointed in herself.


    "Also, I remember groping someone''s...I don''t know." She said while trying hard to remember the affairs of the premier.


    [Commentary ends]


    Jay was enjoying the song 7 years that I had made into a lyric video while sipping a ss of scotch in his single seat sofa, with my dad, Pepper and Phil. He had poured them all a ss of his finest scotch as his mood was lifted through the song- although Phil was just an extra in there. (E/N: Also Phil adds "sprite" to 20+ year old scotch sooo that makes Jay mad, rightly so of course lol)


    I was hanging out with Jenna, Haley, Abby and Alex near the pool while sipping orange juices. Luke and Manny were ying together, while Jacob and Elsa had disappeared somewhere.


    ''My aunt was suspicious of them though, so I hope that they can make out without getting caught.''


    I sincerely hoped that Jacob could get his time alone with Elsa, but I was also annoyed that they were too clingy with each other. They were slowly merging into one individual, which makes me shudder everytime I think about it.


    As Jenna was left behind by her best friend, Alex stuck by her side lest she felt ufortable with the group there. She also secretly told me that Jenna didn''t want toe at the beginning, which made me think back about my interaction with her to find out why she was so mad at me.


    ''I really didn''t do anything wrong though?'' I thought as I talked with Haley and Abby.


    "Hey- Stop daydreaming." Abby said in annoyance as she saw my mind was elsewhere while I was talking to them.


    "I''m not daydreaming though. Like I said, I didn''t base the song on anyone."


    In fact, it was my own ''original'' in the world�C or rather, the me without my past life memories. It was the first song "he" created while he was 12, one month after his mom left his family.


    Abby was not convinced by my words as she still thought I wasn''t hearing her properly. I didn''t know that this was the side effect of the parallel thinking I was currently using. I used one part of the mind to control my ears and mouth, but another part to control my eyes. Therefore, she kept getting the feeling that I wasn''t totally there while talking to her, even while I was looking at her. Woman''s instinct was scary.


    Haleyughed at Abby''s misery before saying, "Enid and Tara arete. They said they wereing by an hour ago."


    "Are you sure you gave them the right address?" I asked in concern.


    "I''m...sure?" Haley said but ended her sentence like a question. "Hold on, I''ll check."


    Abby peeked at Haley''s phone before she facepalmed and said, "That''s on the other side of the town- HALEY! How could you!"


    "I didn''t do this on purpose!!" Haley shouted before calling the sisters hurriedly.


    "Ed. ED. Why don''t you tell us how you came up with the scenes?" Mitchell said in excitement while dragging Cam with him. He wanted to use me to settle one of their usual arguments, and had been watching our conversation from afar before deciding to interrupt as Haley and Abby moved away.


    Desiree was talking with Gloria about back pain before the duo was attracted to Mitchell''s question. The tipsy ire was nearby so she joined in the conversation too. She said before I could answer, "I don''t think he thought much about it. It seems fairly simple."


    Alex rolled her eyes while appearing out of knowhere with Jenna and said, "Mom. Do you really think he''d do things carelessly? I can promise you he thought about the matter deeply."


    I retorted, "When you put it like that, it puts a fair bit of pressure on me, doesn''t it?"


    "Sorry." Alex replied unapologetically and had a slight smirk on her lips before it faded away. I patted her head which made her beam up, while simultaneously getting red at by Haley and Abby from afar.


    "What do you think about it Mitchell?" I asked, not noticing the sparksing out of the girls eyes while they were eyeing each other. Jenna and Alex on one team, Haley and Abby on the other.


    Mitchell huffed loudly and prepared himself before saying, "Like I said to Cam, the whole video is about revenge. You- No, I mean, the character... was cheated on, so he made a revenge song to show everyone who the man- I mean girl, truly was."


    "Projecting much Mitchell?" Cam said snidely with a whisper, but everyone could hear it.


    "Cam, what do you think?" I asked.


    "For me, the piano is his effort in making things work. He tried hard, but the rtionship just couldn''t be saved. So he moved on by getting on that train." Cam said.


    "It''s close." I said, acknowledging Cam''s inner theater director skills. He grinned at Mitchell, making his partner roll his eyes again.


    "But not urate." I added, making the group even more interested. However, I sipped my orange juice and refused to continue borating. The group waited for a while, and was confused by myck of further exnation.


    "So...what is it?" Haley asked with glittering eyes. "And are you going to get tattoos next?" She asked, biting her lower lip as she couldn''t get the bad boy character out of her mind.


    "Haley." ire called her out to admonish her despite being drunk right now.


    "Ay, Ed. Don''t make us wait. Tell us." Gloria said anxiously.


    I smirked and said, "So you guys want the directormentary?"


    """ YES!""" They replied all at once with a frustrated expression.


    I chuckled a bit and stole a nce at Abby and Desiree before turning to Mitch and Cam. Abby noticed it, and her chest felt tight as she remembered the music video. To be honest she didn''t like the video clip so much�C rather, she couldn''t enjoy it. It brought back unpleasant memories when she heard it.


    "In the first part, like Cam said, the piano is his effort. But not only that, it represents his feelings. He worked so hard to get to her, only to find that she was with someone else. But then, why didn''t he leave the piano there?"


    The group went silent for a while before Jenna replied, "Because...he still had feelings for her?"


    "Yes." I said while turning my head to Jenna. I continued, "After his rtionship was over, the feelings turned into baggage instead. He tried to move on, but the baggage would still follow him. Until, he reached the train, and finally started to y with the piano."


    "There, he finally confronted his emotions, processed them, epted everything. He can finally leave it all behind and move on as a better person."


    "That''s why thest verse of the song was just saying he realized she wouldn''t love him the same way that he loved her. It repeated until the end, when he finally boarded the train."


    My exnation caused the group to be silent. Abby scrunched her eyebrows together and said venomously, "Why should He ept it? Why should he be the one who suffers?"


    I realized Abby was affected by my words, and turned towards her. "True. it''s unfair to be the person who didn''t make any mistake, and the one who suffered at the same time."


    "Umm..we''re going to go." Mitchell said before pulling Cam away. "But-But-But-" Cam stuttered as he was unwilling to miss the drama, but Mitchell was adamant to leave us alone. He even brought the other girls away with them, leaving only Desiree, Gloria and ire there. Although Mitchell hinted at them to walk away, they didn''t realize it and stuck nearby to hear what we were saying.


    I patted Abby''s head and said, "The anger, the feeling of betrayal, it will haunt us. But, it doesn''t mean that all the other people we met afterward will be the same. To carry the baggage with you means you will close off your heart to anything that might hurt youter in the future. You won''t be able to be at ease when you''re with a new person, and even if they didn''t do anything, you couldn''t help butpare them to the previous one."


    "Then, you''ll hurt yourself, and the new person, making the circle of anger and betrayal continue."


    It wasn''t my intention to have this talk with Abby, but I wouldn''t want to miss the chance to let her realize this. The more she denied that she was hurt, the more she would hurt others, and also herself.


    Mitchell and Cam opened their mouths slightly as they could still hear my words from afar, but they were so impressed by the way I handled things that there wasn''t really anything they could say to add to it. Desiree smiled and hugged Abby from behind. Abby was startled, but Desiree said, "He''s right you know."


    "But mom." Abby said with teary eyes.


    "Uhh..What is happening?" Gloria asked in confusion. ire whispered to her, "Her dad cheated on her mom."


    "What?! Cheated on her? Is he crazy?" Gloria retorted as she was so shocked that someone would cheat on such a sexy woman.


    [Abby POV]


    Why was he saying things like that? Why did he care so much about this topic? Couldn''t he just pick another song to use? Why must he bring up my pain to the surface?


    (Sounds selfish, but most of the characters in the series are self absorbed. I just followed along. And, I''ll remind you again, she''s a teenager.)


    Without me realizing it, tears pooled in my eyes as he patted my head. Luckily mom pulled me to her embrace, so I didn''t start crying in front of him.


    My mom brought me away from there, and sat me down. We finally have a talk about my dad''s behavior after we avoided the topic for too long.


    We ran. After the incident happened, we both ran away. We ran from New York all the way to California. We left everything behind as we were afraid to face the truth.


    Yeah, it sucked having dad cheat on mom. But if he didn''t do it, maybe I wouldn''t have been able to meet Edward at all.


    ''I wanted to move on, but I kept getting drawn back to him. Why must he be like this? Why can''t he just let me peacefully move on?'' I thought before realizing how hypocritical I was being.


    ''I was the one who stuck around, even after I had hurt him. I was the one who wanted to be friends, even after I ended things...''


    I turned to look at him who had a concerned look on his face as he watched me from afar. I couldn''t help but let out a chuckle even though I was still sad as I saw his stupid face.


    "Bastard..." I murmured to myself. "Now, I''m addicted to you." I said with a determined look on my face.


    "So...I will stop running."


    "And Maybe..."


    ...


    [Haley POV]


    My eyes shook as I watched Edward pat Abby''s head. I listened to what he said to her, and I realized something. He had never pushed her out of his mind, and kept thinking of ways to help her.


    "...So, maybe the reason he rejected me, wasn''t because of my family at all." I said in self depreciation while looking at him.


    *Splurt*


    I suddenly heard someone spew their drink from behind me, and turned hurriedly to find Mitchell looking at me with a spooked face.


    "You confessed?!" He shouted in my face to my horror, as I quickly cupped his mouth shut with my palm hurriedly.


    "Un-Uncle Mitch. This is not the ce to talk about it." I said as I saw my mom looking at me and my uncle. He nodded to show he understands my words as he calmed himself down before dragging me away to ''interrogate'' me.


    Not that he needed to use strong techniques, I practically told him everything since I was 4. Uncle Cam also tagged along as he understood everything when he heard Uncle Mitchell scream, and we moved our conversation to the kitchen where no one was around.


    "Umm...Basically, yeah." I confessed to both of them. Uncle Mitchell was still in disbelief while Cam instantly said, "What about Taylor?"


    "HE''S NOT DATING TAYLO- Uncle Cam! FOCUS!" I said to him sternly.


    "No...I mean...It''s good that he isn''t dating her...now...but, he really rejected you? And you still hang around him?" Uncle Cam said.( E/N: Well "technically" he didn''t "reject" her per say, they both talked and kind of both decided to air on the side of caution I mean Haley knows that if she just pushed a little more she would totally get him lol)


    "That''s...brave." Uncle Mitchell added.


    I rolled my eyes at the two big queens before saying, "He had his reasons. Also, he told me he likes me too."


    "I see. So he wanted to avoid a scandal." Uncle Cam came to his own conclusion. I was confused as I really thought that was true, but Uncle Mitch rolled his eyes at his partner and said, "He''s not. But Haley, I don''t think that''s all there is right? Is there something else you''re keeping away from me?"


    "Umm..." I hesitated to tell them, before I finally just let it go. "I slept with him."


    "SLEPT WITH H-" Uncle Mitchell looked around hurriedly as he stopped shouting to make sure no one else heard it. With a spooked eyes, he asked, "You guys used protection right?"


    "N- No. It''s not li-"


    "NO?!" Uncle Mitchell eximed in horror while Uncle Cam shook his head in disappointment.


    "No- It''s not like that. We didn''t do anything. We just...slept." I said, hiding the fact that we actually had done something before. I like Uncle Cam, but I wouldn''t talk to him about this. I will share it with Uncle Mitchell when we are aler on.


    [Edward POV]


    "I need to go." Jenna said since her driver had already parked in front of the house to pick her up. She hugged me and said, "Congrattions on your debut. I will pray for you."


    "Pray? Aren''t you.." I muttered as I knew for sure she was an agnostic. She blushed and said, "No- It''s different. It''s more like hope."


    "Hmm...You hung out with Mrs Green too much." I teased her, which made her blush even more. Mrs Green even said that she wanted to adopt Jenna to be her daughter if she had the chance, as she loved the girl.


    "Maybe." Jenna replied with a twinkle in her eyes as she remembered Mrs Green. Suddenly, the plot for Young Sheldon, where a slutty girl that George brought home was turned into a Catholic devotee by his mother came into my mind.


    "Whatever, As long as you''re happy. And also, how''s your tutoring going?" I asked.


    Her eyes shook and she nced at Alex with betrayal. Alex shook her head at her, trying to tell her she didn''t expose her secret when I smirked and said, "Ohh...So Alex is tutoring you. Good choice. She''s the only one in the entire school that can reach my level, so you''re good with this."


    "She''s trying hard, so you may not want to get cocky. I''ll make sure that she can get number 2." Alex said with a puffed up confidence.


    Iughed and said, "That reminds me. We need to change the term of the bet."


    "Hey. Don''t go back on your words now! Are you scared?!" Alex said instigatively. "Yeah. Are you scared-" Jenna followed along before she met my eyes and pulled her face away as blood rushed to her cheeks.


    "I''m not doing anything like that. It''s just there isn''t a number system anymore. So, if you get A''s for all the subjects in the final exam, then the bet is still valid."


    "Ahh. I forgot about that." Alex said in understanding.


    "So-So, you want to continue the bet?" Jenna said with a stutter.


    "Why not?" I said with a smile.


    "No-no reason. Okay. I''ll try my best." Jenna said with a renewed spirit after being downcast for the entire day. I returned to the party and was hanging out by the pool before I saw a magnificent sight.


    ire was surrounded by Gloria and Desiree. They were having an intense discussion, and needed ire to settle the argument for them.


    "See, although mine are smaller, they are firmer." Gloria said as she grabbed ire''s right hand and made her grope her breast.


    "Yeah. But mine is firm too, and it''s not saggy." Desiree said before she grabbed ire''s left hand and made her touch her chest too.


    "Life is good." I said as I watched them from afar. No one else noticed them beside me, and I thanked God for the first time in my life today as he gave me the opportunity to imprint the sight in my mind.


    "What?" Alex said and before she could turn around, I grabbed her head and kept it still. "Nothing. Just focus on me."


    She was confused, but she didn''t say anything and continued bombarding me with her stories of her day at the mall with Jenna. She was so excited to finally have a ''good'' outing with her friends she wanted to share even the tiniest detail in her stories.


    "I wonder if Mrs Green gives out sses?" I muttered to myself in amusement. Gloria and Desiree left ire alone after a while. Although I was keeping my eyes on the wives and ex-wife, I did listen to Alex''s stories attentively and chiming in here and there.


    "So. I was thinking. Maybe we can borrow your ce to study?" Alex asked her true purpose. Jenna was too embarrassed to study at the library, and the Dunphy''s house...well you know the rest.


    "Okay. Sure." I agreed without thinking much.


    [3rd Person POV]


    Inside the house, Pepper was talking with Jay and the others before he received a call from the movie studio that wanted Ed''s song for their OST. He moved a bit further from the rest and picked up the call. His excited expression turned solemn as the call continued.


    "Hmm...It''s veryte notice." Pepper said in dissatisfaction. "Let me talk to Ed first and I''ll get back to you. His debut is this Wednesday! How could you even ask him to postpone his song release? ''Two Is Better than One'' is already locked as the single''s release."


    The person on the other line said with a shaky voice, "I didn''t n this. The CEO suddenly got inspiration, and made all of our lives miserable. Please Pepper, we''re prepared to offer 1 million dors aspensation."


    "I don''t care about the money. I will ask Ed first if it''s even possible at all since it would destroy his theme if we pick a random song you know 1 million can''t even begin topare to his debut sess." Pepper said with a stern face.

 Chapter 77: A wee bit of trouble.

    <h4>Chapter 77: Chapter 77: A wee bit of trouble.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Jay bust out his grill, and Phil was helping him cook some nice steak while Pepper and I had the discussion in the living room.


    My Dad was helpless in this matter, therefore he just sat around to provide me emotional support, while my aunt was grinding her teeth at the audacity of the film studio.


    "Hmm...So they wanted to include the song as a part of their marketing n?" I asked, troubled by the sudden change in the schedule.


    "Do they know how hard it was? For me to edit the song as Taylor and I recorded our parts in different locations?" I slumped my shoulders, not ming Pepper at all for the current situation.


    While wiping his sweat, Pepper said, "That''s their n, and they are prepared topensate you for this. But, I still told them I would talk to you about it first. If you feel we should release it now, then I will follow you. "


    "Pepper. That is putting too much pressure on him don''t you think?" Mitchell interjected as most of the guests inside Jay''s house had heard about the current situation.


    "Why don''t you release ''Put my hands in my pants?'' That song is good. (A/N: The Lazy Song)" Luke interrupted while passing by to get away from Manny.


    "Cause it doesn''t suit the theme." I replied and my mind quickly spun to think about the potential song recement for "Two is Better than One."


    "Go y somewhere else." Cam said as he herded Luke away before returning to his position�C standing behind Mitchell.


    As the night deepened, I decided to no longer care about it and said, "I''ll think about it tomorrow."


    Pepper nodded without saying anything else as he understood that I couldn''t make the decision wantonly.


    As she was in a bad mood, my aunt did something drastic after she caught Elsa and Jacob making out in one of Jay''s 5 bathrooms, and had sent them both home�C separately of course.


    During that time, when I looked at their aggrieved faces, I noticed that they were no longer clingy with each other. In fact, they seemed to abhor each other.


    ''Did they fight?'' I thought as I waved at Jacob while he was driven off.


    ''Nevermind. I''ll call himter.''


    The premier was finally over, and my aunt drove me home as my dad needed to head straight to the port. However, she didn''t stay over today and left after dropping me off. Apparently she had a ''job'' to do, which was a topic that would interest me more if I wasn''t in a dilemma right now.


    Pepper and the others decided to give me some space to think, therefore no one would try and urge me toe up with an answer.


    After taking a quick shower, I changed into my rarely worn pajamas andid downzily on my bed. I covered my forehead with the back of my hand as I let out a heavy sigh.


    ''Now. What should I do? What should I do?'' I thought as I racked my brain for the solution.


    ''I really thought I could finally rx a little tonight. But that was just a pipe dream huh.'' I set up an rm for me to get out of bed after getting some rest on my phone, but...


    "I don''t think I can sleep again tonight." I mumbled with a heavy tone. "Fuck." I cursed softly as I forcefully closed my eyelids to force myself to sleep. While I was struggling, I heard a metallic sounding from outside the house, but I just ignored it.


    However, I soon heard a knocking from my window, I was startled by the sound and sat up hurriedly while looking at the closed curtain.


    "Wh-Who is it?" I asked with a stutter as I slowly walked to the window.


    "It''s me." Haley called out from outside.


    I opened the curtain, and saw the tiny girl cheekily smiling while looking at me.


    "Why are you here?" I asked in confusion as I unlocked the window to let her in.


    As shended inside the room, I saw that she was wearing thick clothing that was covering almost her entire body. I peeked outside and saw that she had carried adder toe here. "Smort."


    "Thank you." Haley said as she fixed her messy clothes.


    "I thought...You''ll stay up all night again today. So Ie to...offer my service again." Haley said casually while hiding her embarrassment.


    "The body pillow service?" I asked and a grin suddenly appeared on my tired face.


    "Y-Yes. We can call it that." Haley said while avoiding my eyes. As she was always being teased by me, she wanted to pay back so she said, "But. You need to grab me and throw me to the bed like in the music video-"


    Before she could finish her words, I did what she wanted and brought her to the bed. We fall side by side while locking eyes with each other.


    "This is a bad idea." I muttered.


    "I know."


    "We will be in BIG trouble if we keep doing this."


    "No need to worry, I have a solid n this time. I will get back to my house the minute you fall asleep." Haley said as she brushed my hair before tracing my eyebrow with her slender finger. Then, she pulled me closer and cuddled me before closing her eyes. "So. Don''t think too much. Just sleep."


    [3rd Person POV-shback]


    Mitchell: "Sooo...."


    Haley: "Soooo...."


    While Haley hitched a ride with her guncles (Gay uncles), sitting at the back with Lily while the adults were in the front of the car, Mitchell finally spoke up about their earlier topic. He nced at Cam while hesitating, but Haley said to him, "I don''t mind."


    "Mind what?" Cam retorted immediately.


    Mitchell nodded to Haley and said, "Are you sure about... just being friends?"


    "It''s not like there''s anything else I can do about it." Haley said in self-depreciation.


    "Don''t say that. You''re a beautiful girl. He should be d you''re interested in him." Cam said to reassure Haley before mumbling to himself, "Although...you''re not the only one."


    "What was that?" Haley said while leaning forward to hear better. Even Mitchell couldn''t catch what Cam said.


    "Nothing." Cam said smilingly while scratching the top of his head.


    "But to be fair Haley. You guys are really different. Maybe not getting together is a good thing?" Mitchell said in a concerned tone.


    "We get along well. I mean...Reaaaaaaly well. There''s never a dull moment when I am with him." Haley said.


    Mitchell smirked and said, "I thought you were moving on. Why are you trying to defend your rtionship with him?"


    Cam widened his eyes and eximed, "OOO....I didn''t catch that. Nice one."


    "Thank you." Mitchell said with a slight nod before getting back to Haley.


    Frustrated, she leaned backward and crossed her arms before pouting.


    "I didn''t mean to tease you. But, you guys didn''t even start, and you just...gave up. When you''re so clearly interested in one another."


    "Really? You think he likes me?" Haley leaned forward as Mitchell managed to bait her again.


    Trying his hardest not to roll his eyes, Mitchell said, "Weren''t you the one who told me that before?"


    "Oh. right."


    "I also think there''s more you haven''t shared with me yet, but I''m not going to dig into that now. What do you think...Ed will do about the song?"


    Mitchell avoided the sensitive topic as the time with his niece was reserved only for him. Cam smiled in understanding and didn''t say anything...yet. He''ll hold a grudge and slowly retaliateter on.


    "I don''t think he should agree to it. He worked really hard in order to get everything ready before the singles release. He couldn''t even get a little rest, but now, he will not be sleeping again."


    Cam got concerned and asked, "What do you mean? Did he have trouble sleeping?"


    "CONSTANTLY." Haley said in frustration.


    "... Why?" Mitchell asked after a slight pause.


    Cam became smug and said, "if you checked the records of the world''s geniuses. They''ll have a quirk of their own. Van Gogh cut off his own ear. Te went crazy and took a pigeon for a bride. There''s a lot more examples out there."


    "But...you can only remember two of them." Mitchell said, exposing Cam.


    He avoided Mitchell''s eyes and looked away. Haley fell into a deep thought and mumbled to herself, "Maybe I should go there...just to check up on him...I don''t want him to go crazy after all...But first, I need to go change my clothes...to make sure he didn''t get tempted to do anything else..."


    -Present time-


    "Oh. You''re already asleep. It''s unfair if you keep behaving like this. Why do you fall asleep so easily when you''re with me?" Haley mumbled to herself as she studied Ed''s sleeping face.


    "I''ll wait for a few more minutes before I leave."


    Although Haley nned to go back to her house, something unexpected happened outside Ed''s bedroom window. A peculiar event urred when a single gust of wind suddenly knocked down thedder Haley prepared to sneak away, letting it fall to the ground.


    Haley heard the clicking sounds, but she didn''t expect that it wasing from her escape route as the weather was clear today.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    After Cam dropped Edward off at his house, she drove all the way to Calexico- A city on the border of Mexico and California. The part of the city she entered was deste and quiet, and only the sound of her car engine could be heard.


    She pressed a button, and a warehouse door opened automatically. She drove inside of it before the door closed again, and it was like she was never there. Outside of the warehouse, a suspicious ck van that had been following Cam since she drove off from Jay''s house stopped 100 meters away from the building.


    "We finally have a lead. Who is the warehouse registered to?" A geeky agent named Mike asked his other team members.


    The lone female member of the team was continuously tapping her keyboard before saying, "It''s registered to a Donny co."


    "co? Like the drug lord in Brooklyn co? Is Pritchett connected to them?" The leader of the team, a tough looking man that looked like Ryan Reynold asked.


    "...I don''t think that this is the same co. This co is clean, and only a collector." The hacker said.


    " A fake identity then. Wow. This guy is good. He''s very clean." The team leader said as Mira sent him the documents to read.


    "Or. he''s really an ordinary man." The hacker said wryly, as she didn''t believe in the entire operation from the start.


    The geek took out a parabolic microphone to try and eavesdrop into the building, while excitedly saying, "If she is really meeting with the supplier, we will have the necessary requirement to continue investigating the case-"


    "Hey. She''sing out now." The hacker said, cutting off the geek''s sentence.


    "What happened? Did the deal fall off?" Ryan Reynold look-alike asked hurriedly.


    "I...don''t know. I was toote." The geek said in frustration.


    "Go infiltrate the warehouse, and find out what happened there. Mira, find out all you can about her. And for me..." The Ryan Reynold look-alikebed his hair and used his finger to neaten his eyebrows.


    "I''ll... seduce her."


    Mira rolled her eyes at her team leader while digging out everything the FBI got on Cam and the rest of Jay''s Pritchett''s family.


    -What actually happened inside the warehouse-


    "Is it here?" Cam asked in excitement as she met with co.


    "Yeah. it''s here." co said before revealing a rare car muffler that Cam had been looking for a long time now.


    She grinned and rubbed her cheek on the cold metallic coating of the muffler. Then, she threw a couple thousands of dors to co and said, "I won''t go to the race today."


    "I know. I know. You want to enjoy putting this beast together huh." co said as he admired Cam''s car. However, Cam smiled softly and said, "No. I won''t be doing that."


    co was shocked to his bone, and almost fell to the ground. "Re-Really? YOU...won''t? Cam...The mad racer...won''t?"


    "Shut up. I need to go be with my nephew." Cam said as she packed the muffler into her car. "Also, I''d quit street racing for years now."


    "I see, I see. Too bad. I wanted to see the beast in his prime." co said as he rubbed the engine hood in longing.


    "Call me if you find the engine." Cam reminded before she drove away to get back to Ed''s house. After a few hours round trip, it was almost 4 am when she arrived back in the town.


    Inside Ed''s room, Haley was bbergasted when she wanted to sneak out of the house, only to find out that her escape route had fallen.


    ''Ed''s dades back at 7 am, so...I will just go back home at 6.'' She thought before she slept next to Ed as his body heat while being in his embrace kept making her sleepy.


    When Cam returned to the house, she went to check on Ed in his room as she wanted to see if he wasn''t sleeping. That was also the main reason why she returned home, otherwise she would just sleep in a hotel nearby, or stay together with co for the night. co was her friend since she was 18, so she trusted him a lot.


    "What the-" She eximed as she saw Ed was sleeping with a girl on the same bed together.


    But as she saw his peaceful sleeping face, she came to a realization and closed the door slowly before entering the guest room. The room used to be a store room before, and Ed had prepared it to be her ce as it was harsh on Ted if she kept stealing his bed. Of course, Ed used professional service on the cleaning as he was too busy to do it on his own.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I woke up at almost 7 am today, and found out that Haley was no longer next to me.


    "When did she go back?" I muttered groggily as I haven''t gotten a non-interrupted sleep like that for more than a month now, since I got my memories back.


    "24 hours left, before the Singles release. Ughhh..." I said to make myself feel better. The Singles would be released at midnight, therefore I actually have less than 17 hours to decide if I wanted to change the song.


    "Guess I won''t be going to school today." I muttered as I walked to the kitchen to have some breakfast. Fast forward to the afternoon, and I still haven''te out with a decision.


    *Ding Dong*


    "Ed. We''re here." Cam knocked on the door before giving Lily to me the second I opened it. He barged into the house with his keyboard, and set up the instrument in the living room.


    "You know I have my own synthesizer right?" I asked him.


    "No. This one''s for me." Cam said and looked at me as if I had just asked a dumb question. I was stunned and couldn''t even argue with him next before we jammed to a few songs together.


    He asked, "Your theme is Love and Heartbreak right?"


    "Yeah." I replied. "I can think of several songs to rece it, and bleed the studio dry. Harvey is drawing up a few contracts to make sure I will receive a cut from the box office, and she promised me she can bump my numbers from 2.2 % to 7.5% if I let her handle it. Of course, it all depends on whether I''ll push back the song release or not."


    "I see." Cam said and went silent after. He only knows the surface knowledge of Hollywood, therefore he wanted to avoid giving me bad advice.


    "What songs have you prepared?" He asked as he stopped ying the piano. I was still holding the guitar, and I said, "Well...One of them is named, "Treat you better."


    "Why don''t you y it, and I''ll give my opinion after. Wait- Haley will be back from school in 10 minutes. Why don''t we call her here too?"


    "Sure." I agreed without thinking much.


    [Cam''smentary]


    "As much as I like the idea of him dating Taylor, I didn''t find any evidence to support that theory. So, if Haley really likes him, then I''ll try to help them be together."


    Although he tried to be nice about it, his face broke down and he started to sob. "I''m sorry. I thought I could be okay with this...But I''m not." He kept crying before he ran away from the camera screen. The number one EdXTaylor shipper was heartbroken when he finally epted the reality that the two artists couldn''t be together.


    mentary ends]


    We had lunch first as we waited for Haley. She then arrived together with Abby and Tara as they were there when Cam called her before this.


    "Ed. You''ll push back the release? Will you have time to record a new song?" Abby asked.


    "IF I want to push it back, Pepper said he''ll just rent a nearby studio instead of going to our studio in the desert. As long as I record it within 3 hours of the release, then it''ll be fine."


    I was confident that I could edit the song in that time as long as there weren''t anyplications with the machines. It was just an audio release for now, and music video production will be considered after seeing the people''s reaction.


    "Well then, we shouldn''t waste time anymore." Haley said before she dragged Abby away from me and sat together with Tara on the couch. "We''ll help you judge whether the song can rece it or not." She added with a cute face.


    "Sure. This is one of the options. "Treat you better." I picked the guitar strings as I slowly yed the melody.


    The beginning of the song was already addictive, and the girls couldn''t help but felt excited as they were the first people in the world that could listen to it.


    (A/N: It''s not the selected song, just the one of the options)


    ??????????


    "I won''t lie to you...I know he''s just not right for you...


    And you can tell me if I''m off,


    But I see it on your face,


    When you say that he''s the one that you want,


    And you''re spending all your time,


    In this wrong situation,


    And anytime you want it to stop."


    Cam gasped with widened eyes.


    [Cam''smentary]


    He took out the monthly gossip magazine�C February edition that showed an article about how Taylor was badly treated by her previous ex-boyfriend, one of the Jonas brothers �C Jose Jonah. The article even mentioned that he ''allegedly'' broke up with her over text.


    "I KNEW IT!" He said in excitement as he took the songs meaning the wrong way. "He likes her. WE STILL HAVE A CHANCE!" eximed the Tayward shipper.


    [Commentary ends]


    "??I know I can treat you better than he can.


    And any girl like you deserves a gentleman


    Tell me, why are we wasting time


    On all your wasted crying


    When you should be with me instead???"


    "??I know I can treat you better


    Better than he can??"


    I stopped after the first verse as I wanted to y some other songs too, but the group was looking at me in disbelief.


    "Why the hell are you stopping? CONTINUE!" Abby demanded and the others agreed with her. Stunned, I nodded and said, "O-Okay."


    ??????????


    "?? I''ll stop time for you


    The second you say you''d like me too??"


    The girls plus Cam squealed as the song directly touched their teenagers or teenage-like sentiment and they couldn''t help but fall deeper into my charms.


    "??I just wanna give you the loving that you''re missing


    Baby, just to wake up with you.??"


    Haley gulped her saliva as she looked around guiltily.


    "??You would be everything I need, and this could be so different


    Tell me what you want to do??"


    "Damn. I''m falling for him." Tara said while biting her lips.


    ""NO!"" Abby and Haley admonished her at the same time.


    Iughed as I could hear the girls conversation and continued with the chorus,


    "??''Cause I know I can treat you better than he can


    And any girl like you deserves a gentleman


    Tell me, why are we wasting time


    On all your wasted crying


    When you should be with me instead???"


    "??I know I can treat you better


    Better than he can


    Better than he can!??"


    "This is it. He needs to release this one." Cam said as he sincerely hoped that Taylor would hear this song. He directly called Pepper to notify him about the song.


    "??Give me a sign


    Take my hand, we''ll be fine


    Promise I won''t let you down


    Just know that you don''t


    Have to do this alone


    Promise I''ll never let you down??"


    Finally, I reached thest chorus verse. At this moment, all 3 girls were propping their chin with their hand as they leaned in to watch me while looking at me with swooned eyes.


    "??''Cause I know I can treat you better than he can


    And any girl like you deserves a gentleman


    Tell me, why are we wasting time


    On all your wasted crying


    When you should be with me instead???"


    "??I know I can treat you better


    Better than he can, oh


    Better than he can


    Better than he can??"


    I ended the song and asked them, "So...what do you think?"


    Tara said, "It''s a THOUSAND times better than the previous one. I mean, I can''t even remember the song-"


    "Two is Better than one." Abby helped her.


    "Yeah. That." Tara nodded slightly to thank Abby.


    "Soo...which girls did you write this song for?" Haley asked.


    "Umm..No, I just created this one as it suits the theme." I said while avoiding their eyes. "Next song is-"


    Cam interrupted before I could continue ying, "Ed. You don''t have much time left. We can all agree that this song is great right?"


    "Totally!" The girls supported Cam at the same time. Abby and Haley were ted as they didn''t like the previous song as it featured another girl, but they didn''t share that feeling with the others.


    Cam nodded and said, "Now. You have the song recement, so why don''t we move to a studio to record it. It''s to see if you can finish the editing before the release. That way, you can think about it clearly, and you won''t feel rushed to make a decision."


    "You think so?" I asked.


    "I know so. I already called Pepper after the chorus."


    Iughed a bit and said, "Okay. We''ll record it first. Girls, do you want toe with me?"


    "YESSS!" They replied at the same time.

 Chapter 78: Relying on a vote.

    <h4>Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Relying on a vote.</h4>


    I hitched a ride with Abby while the rest of the group was riding with Cam as they had no excuse to cram the car with him going in the same direction. They looked at me with puppy-dog eyes, but myfort mattered more than their enjoyment.


    "I talked to my mom about it." Abby said as she stole a nce at me while driving.


    "Talk about what?" I asked in a casual tone.


    "About our topicst night. I realized a few things afterward. I was really unfair to you before."


    "Well...That''s nice to hear, but I don''t me you for it."


    Abby smiled and said, "Good-"


    "I me your dad." I said, interrupting her.


    She giggled and slowly reached out her left hand before touching my hand with it. I just let her do that, and she looked me in the eyes and said, "Thank you Ed. Seriously."


    It was only a short drive to the tiny music studio Pepper rented so we couldn''t actually get deep in our conversations.


    I nodded my head while she gave me onest squeeze before releasing my hands.


    As she was parking the car, she hesitated and asked with a tiny voice, "If...possible, could I be your-"


    "ED!" Pepper shouted for me the second the car was put in park. I waved at him to make him wait there before turning to Abby.


    "Sorry. What were you saying?"


    "N-Nevermind." Abby said with a stutter before we both walked to the studio.


    [Abby''s POV]


    How dumb was it for me to actually want to ask him to be my boyfriend, right here, while he was already troubled by his song''s release dilemma. I nodded at Pepper as I saw him, and thanked him in my heart as his shout had helped me avoid making a huge fool of myself.


    Thatst song was nice, but I kept wondering what other options he had in mind. I hate Haley''s uncle for making us change spots, but it made sense as he needed to release the songs in just a few more hours.


    He didn''t have much time now. I couldn''t help but feel worried for him.


    ''Can''t someone else take the burden?'' I thought while watching his every move as we all entered the music studio.


    [Edward POV]


    "Ed. I wouldn''t want to rush you, but..." Pepper said as he nced at the wall clock. The time was almost 4 pm, and the entirepany was working overtime to handle the marketing for the new Singles. However, it was hard for them to do so without the name of thetest track.


    "We''re promoting that one as a mystery right?" I said to Pepper.


    "Yeah. We followed your ns, and to be honest, the reaction from the younger generations is great, but the older ones..."


    "It doesn''t matter much as long as we do release it afterward." I said dismissively.


    "Some loudmouths and no substance critics had been barking around, trying to damage your debut. I let Harvey handle all of the ramifications, but it looked like-"


    "Like someone was manipting everything from behind. You got that right." I said as I knew for sure who the "mastermind" was. It was the same person who tried to get dirt on me before. Through some intense digging, I managed to track down the "breadcrumbs" to the Vice Director of Taylor''s agency. His motive in doing so was to undermine Pepper''s agency and ruin my debut to make their agency e in to the rescue" and use their "connections" to make themselves look more impressive in my eyes.


    "Too bad for them though. I''m not a naive kid." I said as I tapped my IPhone keyboard and sent a few emails to the press and the authorities. They contained the details of a few entrapment cases and sexual misconduct that could be used to file charges against the Vice Director and basically end his career, but I still couldn''t touch other core members of the agency just yet since they''d made sure to keep their own hands "clean" from this whole situation dumping all the "me" on their chosen pawn.


    ''At the very least, I can take out one of my enemies. I got to look out for myself more.'' I thought.


    "Pepper, do you want to hear the song I yed before?" I said as I relied on Pepper''s opinion morepared to the others inside the cramped studio, after all he was the one with the connections in the music industry. I regretted my decision to invite the girls a little, as the studio was only as big as my living room. But I appreciated their support even more since I really needed it right now.


    I yed the song for Pepper, and his reaction was a bit different from Cam and the others.


    "It felt...a bit weird. Like you''re an obsessive guy, only hanging out with the girls just to swoop in when her rtionship crashes and burns."


    "That''s...specific...But I understand what you are talking about. I do have a few more songs in mind."


    "Let''s hear it all. I don''t think it''ll take more than an hour, right?"


    "It won''t. It''ll barely take 15 minutes." I said as I reached for a bottle of water.


    "Don''t strain your voice. If we actually do change the released song, then we''re going to need you to be in tip top shape."


    "I''ll be fine. It''ll hardly chip at my stamina." I said cockily but my expression betrayed me. Pepper understood and sighed.


    "Just...keep that in mind."


    "Thanks Peps."


    As I picked up the guitar again, I saw the girls were whistling and apuding my performance. Cam however was feeling a bit dissatisfied as he wanted me to continue with the first song, but Pepper smacked his arm and said, "Don''t pick the first choice without hearing the others. It''s the same as outfits. But I guess, your opinion, and your taste in clothes, was always like that huh, rushed without thought." Pepper then whispered, "I guess that''s why all your shirts look tacky."


    Cam was stunned and angry soon after as he was offended by Pepper''s words.


    "I firmly believe in my natural, illuminating, charismatic, and excellent taste. So I wouldn''t change my mind at all. I still think that the first song should be released today."


    "Illuminating? Yeah right. What are you? A lightbulb?"


    "It means I light up the room when I walk in- You know what, just wait till I can rub it in your face about this. Rub it over and over and over-"


    "That''s too much Cam. For God''s sake, we have children here!" Pepper said, causing Cam to freak out. Luckily for him, Pepper was just teasing. The others had absolutely no interest in their conversation as I was going to start ying.


    Fast forward another hour, we were now knee deep in debate about the song''s selection. Cam, however, almost passed out when he heard my final song, and Haley needed to fan his face to make sure he didn''t lose consciousness.


    "Don''t be so dramatic. It isn''t the time." Pepper said while purposely pped the paper on Haley''s hand to smack Cam''s face as he walked past them.


    "I got Harvey on the line. She''ll listen to the conversation." Pepper said as he finally reached my spot.


    "So, among the 4 choices, I think we can eliminate two of them, as they didn''t meet the theme requirement." Harvey said using a calm tone as she tried to be as rational as possible in the matter.


    "And the other song...did you make it about Taylor?" Thewyer asked in a concerned voice. "If you did, I need to know about it to make some preparations just in case someone gets funny ideas." She added.


    "It''s not about her." I said in a dismissive tone.


    Pepper was concerned and he asked, "Then, did you make the song...on purpose...for a marketing strategy? If that''s true, then that''s genius, but are you really going to manipte someone''s feelings like that? You are really close with her, am I not right?"


    "I can just change it to ''Treat You Better'' if you guys feel this way. And if I need to confess, then yes, I did make it as a part of a strategy. We were supposed to use ''Two is better than one'' to attract the listeners and, most importantly to prop up the rumors and chatter in order to build up hype over our uing coboration project after all that pairs us up with a HUGEbel and we NEED that to be a hit so we can make a name for ourselves since it''s going to need a big budget on our part with two music videos, as well as the funds to meet our minimum participation in the marketing budget, but now..."


    Pepper nodded in understanding and Harvey went silent.


    Thewyer said soon after, "Ed. Even your Youtube videos are viral. And that was an amateur production through and through. You don''t have to worry about it. If you want to release the song, then do it, but don''t do it because you want to use Taylor or you have to meet a deadline. Do it because you truly believe in that song."


    "I guess I agree with Harvey on this one. You don''t have to be worried. Like I said, you''re a superstar. I already know that your Singles will be sessful." Pepper said with one hand holding my shoulder.


    As I was getting swayed by the adult''s words, suddenly Haley and Abby interjected, "Nah, that song isn''t that great."


    "Really?" I asked as I turned to look at them. "Should I just release ''Treat you better?''"


    Haley opened her mouth to answer, but her guilty conscience stopped her from doing so. She didn''t like the lyrics of the song, as she knew it was about Taylor, but should she really sabotage his future just because she was jealous? Abby thought the same way, and both of them turned toward each other.


    Harvey asked hurriedly. "Ed. Does this mean you''re epting the studio''s request? You''re not releasing ''Two is better than one'' right now?"


    I realized that I still haven''t given my confirmation, and I turned to look at the clock. It was almost 6 pm, and I still haven''t made the edit yet.


    "I want to, you know...for money reasons." I said to the phone. Harvey said, "I know. Ka-ching."


    She was at the studio building right now, trying to finalize the terms of the contract �C If I push back the release for the song. The studio was willing to let go of the box office cut my agency requested as the first vampire movie only earned them 400 million in the worldwide box office, and they didn''t have much confidence on the second movie given the uncertainty of sequels and the "flimsy" market teenage entertainment presented.


    However, I knew that it would reach over 700 million at the international box office, therefore I was taking all I could get from the movie as the executives there were pissing me off.


    "By the way, I managed to drag the percentage to 6.9, but they aren''t budging much after that."


    I thought a bit and said, "But what if...I don''t give them an answer until almost midnight. Could you use that to pressure them?"


    Harvey chortled and said, "Nice idea kid. But if you don''t have a recement song, it''ll just be a waste of my effort. So finalize the decision first. ''Can I be him'', or ''Treat You Better''?"


    I was torn between the two songs, and Cam suddenly stood back up as if he was never fainting before, and walked towards us.


    "You may feel indecisive about it, but let''s take a look at this thing as a whole. The other song, Grenade and the other one-"


    "Me and my broken heart." Haley helped.


    "Yeah. that." Cam said as he prepared his debate. "Theme wise, Can I be him is morepatible with them than Treat You Better. Grenade gives the vibes of a broken man, Me and my broken heart made it that you''re healing, but Treat you better is about friendzone-"


    "Same as Can I be him. Both songs are simr." Pepper said, causing Cam to lose his momentum. Cam cleared his throat and said, "But the other one...it suits Ed''s theme more. The mature kid theme."


    "Ahh.." Pepper eximed in realization.


    "The lyrics were more mature, his vibes weren''t clingy, and most important of all, Can I be him? Taylor- Wait. No, sorry spiraling." Cam giggled and then rearranged his sentence, "If we put it to a vote, then I will put mine on Can I be him. Definitely."


    "That''s a nice idea. Why don''t we put it on a vote?" I said as I turned to Pepper, "which one?"


    "Can I be him." Pepper voted. I turned to Haley, and she said, "T-Treat you better."


    Abby was torn, but then she followed Haley''s vote, Harvey abstained from voting as she needed to be the rational one in the discussion.


    "Damn it. A tie then. So the vote is useless." Pepper said angrily. Suddenly, Leo- the sound engineer who was supposed to be in the desert studio popped out of nowhere and said, "Can I be him."


    All of us were shocked by his sudden appearance, but he only bit his sandwich and walked past us without saying anything else.


    "Holy- What just happened?" I eximed as I was incredibly puzzled by the development.


    "Who cares? Now it''s 3 to 2. Can I be him, won." Cam said with a wide grin on his face.


    (A/N:After sleeping on it, I think that song fits more with his vibes rather than Treat you better.)


    ...


    Before I finalized the decision, I called Taylor secretly to talk t0 her about it.


    "Hey. What are you doing now?" I asked as the call was picked up.


    "Getting dressed. I just walked out of the shower. I''m not wearing anything-"


    "Stop it skank!" Another voice�CSelena stopped her from going further as Taylor was currently in a shared space. She was currently in Ohio as part of her "Fearless" tour, and Selena would be her guest in the concert she had tomorrow.


    "That''s nice. Anyway, I need to talk to you about something." I said with a solemn tone.


    "What''s the matter?" Taylor realized that it was an important topic, therefore she didn''t tease me anymore and turned serious too. "Is this about Two is better than one? I told you not to care about the studio. If they really want the song, then they''ll take it, even after you''ve released it. Don''t cater to them. They asked at thest minute, it was their own fault."


    "I actually managed to pick a recement song. And I''m currently negotiating about the cut I''ll get if I push back the release. Harvey is making them bleed, and I like that more than to just ignore them."


    Taylor chuckled and said seductively, "You bad boy."


    I shrugged and said, "Anyway, about the recement song. There''s a high chance that people will think it is about you."


    "What do you mean?" Taylor asked, her tone bing increasingly excited.


    "You''re...not mad?" I asked in confusion.


    "NO!" Taylor eximed in excitement. "I feel honored that you think about me so much-"


    "It''s not about you. It just seems that way."


    "I''m currently upying most of your mind, that you can only make songs about me-"


    "Listen here Taylor-"


    "Ahh. I''m so happy right now. I could even dance."


    Taylor and I chuckled together before she took a deep breath and turned serious again. "I don''t mind. Do it."


    "Thank you Taylor." I said sincerely.


    "If you want to thank me, why don''t we go on a date this Friday after the recording?"


    I thought about it and said, "How about this? I''m an excellent cook. So, wannae to my ce for dinner?"


    It was the safest option given that the paparazzi were continuously stalking the teenage pop star.


    "Wait. You''re going to cook?...For me?" she giggled hard afterward and said after collecting herself, "Sure."


    "But it won''t be just the two of us."


    "A." Taylor eximed in disappointment. "Then I''m bringing my friend with me."


    "Sure. Just text me how many the day before so I can prepare the food."


    We talked for a while and I confirmed multiple times that she was okay with it. However, she didn''t want to hear the song before I released it, and wanted to feel the same excitement that the rest of my fans would.


    "Okay~ Anyway, I need to go. I''ve been standing naked in the middle of the room for 10 minutes now."


    "That''s...not a joke?"


    "Nope." Taylor said before ending the call abruptly.


    "Damn." I muttered before I returned to the room. "That image is going to stick with me."


    ...


    It was an hour till midnight, and I was working hard to edit the song. With Leo popping out of nowhere, it was easy for me to finalize the song and I was currently making a lyric video for the song.


    "Why is it so easy for you to do this? Do you know how long it takes for a normal person to create a lyric video?" Cam said as he viewed me as an abnormal monster for actually managing to finish the edit.


    I had prepared a few temtes for the music video, and my algorithms managed to cut off the time needed for me to finish the edit. The song lyrics were on the same level as the previous lyric video from my previous life, making those who watched it for the first time feel the freshness of the idea.


    ''Although Youtube pays less than the other exclusive sites, it was an investment for the future as I know digital tforms will bring out massive sess soon.''


    Pepper walked by and notified me, "Ed. They are prepared to give you a 7.7% cut. So should we proceed?"


    "Yeah. You can tell them we''re pushing back the song release. I''m going to upload the video to our official Youtube channel, and I have already sent an email to the publishers containing the Singles."


    "My my. Are you even adding "secretary" to your list of jobs?" Pepper teased.


    I just smiled and got back to my work. Haley entered the room with a ss of lemonade and handed it over to me. However, I drank it through the straw while she was still holding it. She was in disbelief, but she didn''t pull her hand away.


    "Thank you." I said.


    "Ugh!" She eximed and huffed away.


    "Damn. She''s really disappointed about the song huh." I muttered to myself.


    The clock almost strikes midnight, and all of the preparation is done. I sat on the couch while shaking my legs as I waited for the songs to be released.


    "Nervous?" Abby asked.


    "Excited..." I replied. " But also a bit nervous."


    She smiled and said, "Want me to give you a massage?"


    "Sure. That''ll be great."


    She walked behind me and was massaging my shoulders as I tried to rx myself. Haley rolled her eyes at us before saying, "The fan club is ready. They''ll help you to spam views after you upload the videos."


    "Did Lily say anything after hearing the song?" I asked in concern as my fan club president had gone silent after I sent her the song copy an hour ago.


    Haley looked at me as if I was dumb, and said, "She got too excited, and had a nosebleed. She was the one who rallied the fan club members, not me."


    "Ah. I see."


    The clock finally struck 12, and the songs were released to the public!


    "Let''s hope everything goes well."

 Chapter 79: Singles Released!

    <h4>Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Singles Released!</h4>


    (Sorry for thete Chapter, I fall of my bike and I''m pretty sure I''m a bit concussed lol. I''ll be back after Labor day)


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Ed''s Fanclub Leader Bedroom-


    "IT''S OUT!" Lily eximed in excitement as she bought all of the songs and opened the Youtube video to spam views to help Edward. She has 4 openptops in front of her that would help her in her ventures today. She also bought all of the digital copies of the songs the second it was released on Itunes.


    After setting up for getting the views, she clicked on the Grenade music video for real this time, and watched it properly instead of running it in the background.


    The scene finally showed the yer Ed, and Lily bit her lower lips and repeated the scene over and over again.


    "Damn it." She cursed softly as she realized she had fallen for the yer. After leaving ament, she realized that she waste inmenting as the video already collected more than 1000ments in less than 10 minutes of being published. Most of them were discussing the ''yer Ed'' though.


    "Can''t really me them." She muttered to herself before biting her lower lips.


    Then she listened to the other new song, ''Can I be him'' instead of Me and My Broken heart as she had listened to that song in the concert before.


    -Taylor''s hotel room-


    "KYAAHH~" Taylor screamed in excitement like a little girl as she heard Ed''s new songs while wearing headphones.


    "What the hell is wrong with you?" Selena asked with widened eyes as Taylor had suddenly started screaming. She was checking out the Grenade music video and had her headphones on, but Taylor''s scream startled her greatly.


    Taylor took off her headphones and her face blushed red. She turned to Selena and said, "HE''S CRAZYYY!! HAHAHA!! I LOVE IT!"


    "Love what?"


    "His song. That''s why he said he wrote it for me!" Taylor muttered in realization.


    "Did he?" Selena said as she bought the song quickly to hear it. It cost her 0.99 $ on Itunes, and when she checked the downloads, it had already been downloaded more than 10,000 times in less than 10 minutes.


    "He said no, but I know now... for sure he was pretending. AHH~ I''m so happy I could die now!" Taylor said as shey on the bed to indulge in the special feeling. Sheid on her stomach and swayed her legs as she gleefully downloaded Ed''s drippy poster and made it her phone wallpaper.


    Selena rolled her eyes at her friend before listening to the song by herself. She clicked y on the Itunes download, and wore her headphones again.


    [Can I Be Him- James Arthur]


    "??You walked into the room


    And now my heart''s been stolen??"


    Selena eximed, "Oh damn." She swayed to the music and listened to the lyrics intently now. His deep and velvety voice transported her, and she quickly became a fan of him. His vocal changes in every song had greatly shocked Selena, and she admired his skills in manipting his voice.


    ??You took me back in time to when I was unbroken??


    ??Now you''re all I want


    And I knew it from the very first moment??


    ??''Cause a light came on when I heard that song


    And I want you to sing it again??


    Taylor grinned widely and sent a text to Ed about the matter�C continuously teasing him about the lyric.


    Taylor: You like me.


    Ed: Not about you.


    Taylor: YOU LOVEEE ME.


    Ed: (sigh.emoji)


    [Chorus]


    ??I swear that every word you sing


    You wrote them for me??


    This was the part that made Cam faint before this. The country farm boy felt that his fantasy hade true. He even used an app to merge Ed''s and Taylor''s faces together to see how their babies would look when he got home.


    ??Like it was a private show


    But I know you never saw me??


    ??When the lightse on and I''m on my own


    Will you be there to sing it again???


    ??Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories?


    Can I be him???


    Selena blushed hard from the lyric and was amazed by Ed''s skillful vocal maniption. As she enjoyed the song, she kicked the squirming Taylor from the bed, making her fall down to the floor. "Oww what was that for?!" Taylor asked while rubbing her sore legs.


    "I''m...jealous." She muttered as she wanted someone to make her feel special too.


    -Taylor''s Fanclub chat- (A/N: Swift**s)


    BadBoyEd: He''s confessing right? I knew Taylor and him were dating.


    ??I heard there was someone but I know he don''t deserve you


    If you were mine I''d never let anyone hurt you??


    ??I wanna dry those tears, kiss those lips


    It''s all that I''ve been thinking about??


    ??''Cause a light came on when I heard that song


    And I want you to sing it again??


    Lily: Definitely.


    She chuckled at the lyrics and the Taydward shippers were having a field day with the song .


    "Seems that a lot of us won''t go to sleep tonight." Lily muttered to herself. The theories about h0w Edward came to fall in love with Taylor filled the group chat, and the fans were going crazy by making up impossible scenarios such as Taylor was there when Edward was born or Ed grew up in the same countryside as her.


    [Chorus]


    ??I swear that every word you sing


    You wrote them for me??


    ??Like it was a private show


    But I know you never saw me??


    ??When the lightse on and I''m on my own


    Will you be there to sing it again?


    Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories???


    -Dunphy''s House-


    Although it was midnight, none of the house members had gone to sleep right now.


    "Oh my god." ire muttered. "She gave him a private show? I knew it!"


    Phil would''ve rolled his eyes at ire if he wasn''t losing himself in the songs right now.


    While talking loudly, Phil said, "Honey, the song is soo good!"


    Alex nodded to Phil''s words. Although the song was great, she felt jealous of Haley as she could follow him to the studio while she could only listen to the song by buying it in the Itunes store.


    ''He''s going to pay for this.'' Alex vowed internally before getting back to hearing the songs while reading her books at the same time.


    [Bridge]


    ??Can I be the one?


    Can I be the one?


    Can I be the one?


    Oh, can I, can I be him???


    Ed yed with his voice skillfully as he sang the bridge, making Alex have goosebumps. But then, Phil tried to sing the same way as Ed does behind her, making her angry and shooting a re at her dad. Phil flinched and walked away quickly before Alex exploded in anger.


    -Jay''s house-


    "Manny, can you please stop the caterwauling?" Jay said in agony as Manny kept singing at midnight.


    "Sorry, I just want to practice this song to sing to Alicia tomorrow." Manny replied.


    Gloria was confused and asked, "Songs?"


    "Yeah. He just released it."


    "AYY GREAT! LET''S GO LOOK!"


    "Hear." Manny corrected his mom.


    [Refrain]


    ??Won''t you sing it again


    Oh, when you sing it again


    Can I be him


    Won''t you sing it again


    Oh, when you sing it again


    Can I be him???


    Gloria smiled widely and said to Jay, "Why can''t you be that romantic?"


    "Maybe because...I''m not a teenager anymore." Jay retorted before turning his back against Gloria and walked away.


    ''Damn it kid. Now I''m in trouble.'' Jay thought to himself.


    [Chorus]


    ??I swear that every word you sang


    You wrote them for me


    Like it was a private show


    But I know you never saw me


    When the lightse on and I''m on my own


    Will you be there, will you be there


    Can I be the one you talk about in all your stories??


    ??Can I be him


    Can I be him


    Can I be him


    Can I be him??


    -Jenna''s house-


    Jenna listened to the song with aplicated expression on her face. As she took off her headphones, suddenly her mom walked into the room.


    Alexandria Karlson, the ex-yboy model and now a D-list actress was wearing a satin white robe with a short skirt. Her chest was bare, and her frilly white bra could be seen. She had blonde, curly hair, and her curvaceous figure would make all the men whom she invited to the house drool as they took a look at her.


    She sat next to her daughter and asked, "Is the Ed Newgate you always talk about the same Ed that just released the songs?"


    "Yes." Jenna answered without thinking much. Alexandria paused and asked, "How is your rtionship with him?"


    "He''s my friend."


    "Good...Very good..." Alexandria mumbled to herself as she watched Penny''s scene in the Grenade music video. She saw that her acting was mediocre, therefore she suspected that Penny had provided some ''service'' to the singer in exchange for the job�C it wasn''t something that she hated, but she felt as if she had lost an opportunity instead.


    ''If only I listened to Jenna''s story properly.'' She thought.


    "Why don''t...you invite him here? I want to meet him." She asked. Jenna narrowed her eyes at her mother, but she had no change in her expression, making Jenna feel that her request was a genuine one.


    "Why?" She asked to get confirmation.


    "I''m just... his fan." Alexandria said while licking her lips.


    -Taylor''s room-


    "He''s outstanding. I can''t wait for Friday." Selena muttered. Taylor looked at her in dissatisfaction and warned her, "Don''t seduce him. He''s mine."


    Selena rolled her eyes and said, "It makes much more sense for him to be with me. We''re around the same age, you know?" (E/N: 14 and 16(17 in July the 22nd) lol but still closer than Taylor''s 19)


    "NO!" Taylor said and pounced on Selena on the bed before tickling her till she gave up on her intentions with Ed.


    ''Maybe...I can make a response song for him.'' Taylor thought as she finally won in her battle with her best friend.


    Back at the studio, Abby and Haley hugged Ed to congratte him for a sessful debut before they returned home with Cam and Tara as it was almost 1 am. Luckily ire understood that Haley was with Cam and her intention of going there was only for supporting Ed, so she didn''t freak out or try to track her phone.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Should I just hack Youtube and increase the views by 100 Million? I shouldn''t...right?" I muttered to myself with a wide grin on my face as I watched the worldwide reaction to my songs. Of course, I was just joking.


    ''Or am I?''


    Despite not fixing the views, I did however hack the rmended list of the Youtube users and Itunes algorithms so that it would boost my songs and music videos.


    ''In Pewdiepie''s fight against T-Series, the blue clothes boy said that whenever a user in India registered with the inte, they''ll be bombarded by T-series''s videos in the front page. Therefore, thepany''s subscribers climbed up like mad.''


    " I was just doing the same thing." I muttered as I saw my subscribers count quickly breached 1 Million.


    "Will I get a que from Youtube afterward?"


    "Ed, what are you doing here all alone? Let''s go home." Pepper said after he caught me grinning while reading a few articles about my debut. Despite the clock being almost 3 am, the debut hype still hasn''t died down yet. In fact, it rose up even more as the internationalmunity joined the fray.


    "Okay~" I replied happily before approaching him.


    Pepper grinned and said, "Ed. What do you think about this year''s Best New Artist Grammy Award?"


    "Unless I can beat Adele , I won''t get it." I muttered casually as I referred to my previous life memory. Pepper was stunned and opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out.


    "Calm down. I know that you''re a fan of Adele. I''m a fan too." I said with a mischievous smile.


    Pepper paused for a bit as he fell into a deep thought before saying, "No. I think...you''ll get the award. Wait- I''m sure of it."


    P.s. You know what "falsettos" are right?? That means singing overly high notes, usually tenors do this.)


    "Yeah Yeah. Let''s go home." I muttered dismissively and walked ahead of Pepper to get to the car.


    After Pepper entered the car, he said, "By the way, the meeting tomorrow will be postponed. So, you have to go to school."


    I looked at him with a horrified expression and said, "Are you crazy?"


    He smirked and said, "Why? Afraid that you''ll be surrounded by your fans?"


    "Of course." I said before both of usughed together. Pepper turned solemn afterward and said, "Ed. If you want to continue being an artist, maybe public school wasn''t the right choice for it. What do you think about going to a private school? I can get you into Dryden Academy. It''ll be far better than going to Palisades�Cboth in safety and quality of education."


    I remember Dryden Academy from the series. It was a private school for the elite, and only the richest of the rich could go there. Manny tried to apply there, but he botched the interview for it.


    "I don''t know. I''ll leave that thinking for the future. For now, I just want to enjoy this feeling of happiness and avoid things that could make it go away."


    Pepper smiled and said, "Oh. And the studio also asked if you want to be cast in the Twilight movie as one of the wolves-"


    "And now the feeling has gone away." I muttered.


    ...


    (Bonus Reaction)


    2231 Los Robles Avenue Building, Apartment 4A.


    Penny was watching the music video on the big screen tv inside the apartment with 4 male geeks.


    Sheldon Cooper didn''t know how to properly react as he watched the music video. He kept ncing at Leonard and Penny for them to show him the way he needed to react.


    Leonard Hofstader scrunched his eyebrows as he saw Penny''s makeout scene with the sessful artist.


    "Ohh that can''t be good for you." Howard teased Leonard with a slight chuckle.


    "Can''t be good for what?" Penny asked as she didn''t hear what Howard said properly. Howard decided to change the topic for Leonard''s sake and say, "Can''t be good for the artist. Now, he''ll be drowning in women. He''s going to be the most popr kid in highschool now...(sigh) and living the life."


    Penny was disgusted, and it showed on her face.


    "Also made Sheldon shut up and made out with Penny. Yeah...He''s my idol now." Howard muttered.


    Rajesh whispered to Howard''s ear as he still couldn''t speak in front of Penny. Howard flinched as he did it abruptly before snapping, "YEAH I KNOW I yed in high school too. You can''tpare us. Did you see what he looks like? Even at 14 he''s taller than me."


    Sheldon interjected, "To be fair, he''s not the only 14 year old who''s taller than you."


    Penny and Leonardughed out loud and Rajesh onlyughed with only his expressions. Leonard calmed down and said, "He''s a nice kid. I''m happy for him."


    "Nice? He''s pompous and rude." Sheldon retorted.


    "No. He just can notice a crazy person before he was trapped in a long term rtionship with one." Howard added, making Rajeshugh.


    Sheldon was unamused and he waited till theughter died down before saying, "I''m not crazy. My mother had me tested."


    "And I really want to see the doctor''s report." Penny added, causingughter again. Suddenly, her phone rang and she excitedly stood up from the sofa to pick it up.


    "It''s my dad. This means all my family has already watched it." Penny said before biting her tongue cheekily and ran out of the apartment to get to her own apartment right in front of Leonard''s apartment.


    Rajesh could finally speak after Penny was gone. He turned to Leonard and said with an Indian ent, " Now that he''s famous, will he still remember you?"


    "Of course he will." Leonard answered after hesitating. "In fact, I will text him right now."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I wore a mask and a baseball cap today before going to school. As Abby dropped me off, there was a crowd of photographers camping in front of the school�C trying to get a picture of me as my explosive debut was currently the hottest topic to talk about in the entire country.


    The Grenade music video had broken the record for the fastest Youtube video to reach 1 Million views, and several radio and media entertainmentpanies had shown interest in me and the agency.


    ''It''ll be tough from now on.'' I thought as I stealthily snuck into the school by walking by with a group of ordinary looking kids.


    Many kids asked for my autograph, a picture with me, and even my used underpants, making the hallways turn to chaos by the time I reached my locker.


    "ED! I WANT TO BE IN A MUSIC VIDEO TOO!" Barnes yelled out before he got pushed to the side.


    Even Alex was startled when she saw the crowd gathering around me. Themotion gained the interest of the teachers, and the school bell rang at the same time. However, none of the kids wanted to let me go before getting what they wanted.


    Mrs Henderson walked to the crowd and said, "Enough. All of you. Go to ss right now. Those who don''t will be put in detention."


    Her ice-cold tone made the kids shudder and the crowd parted like the red sea as she walked towards me.


    "I believe Congrattions are in order Mr Newgate." Mrs Henderson said with a soft smile before adding. "Why aren''t you getting to ss? Do you want to get detention?"


    I gulped my saliva and said, "I''m-I''m going now."


    I let out a sigh of relief as I entered the ss.


    ''Finally. Some peace.''


    I sat next to Jacob as usual, but I was shocked as I saw his face. He had deep eyebags and his cheeks were hollow.


    "What the hell happened to you?" I asked with a low tone as the ss was currently in session.


    "I...broke up with Elsa." Jacob replied before he sobbed and wailed, startling the old teacher who was writing on the board.


    Greatly shocked, I asked, "How the hell did that happen?"


    While still crying, he turned to me and said, "Con..(S0b)grats...on your...Singles...(Sob) release-" Before he could finish, he cried loudly once more, annoying the teacher in front.

 Chapter 80: A milestone.

    <h4>Chapter 80: Chapter 80: A milestone.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    It was finally lunchtime. I sneaked with Jacob to the library as my fans were still crowding the hallways and the cafeteria �C searching menacingly to find out where I was.


    "Sooo...what happened?" I asked Jacob after he calmed down. We were hiding behind the racks at the science and history section. It was my safe zone in the school as there weren''t any students that would go there willingly. I got the information from Alex who also used this spot as a means of escape from everything else.


    "I...messed up." Jacob said with his chin quivering.


    "What did you do?" I asked him again using a calm tone.


    "I..."


    Jacob finally revealed the reason Elsa had ended the rtionship with him.


    [shback]


    After Aunt Cam caught Elsa and him making out in one of Jay''s toilets, she apparently lectured them about their future after which Jacob tried to defend their rtionship by saying "I''m going to be a sessful football yer, and Elsa will support me at my side."


    Elsa raised an eyebrow at this and asked, "What would I be doing at... ''Your side?''"


    "I don''t know. Being a housewife I guess." Jacob replied without thinking much.


    [shback ends]


    I narrowed my eyes on Jacob and said, "You''re a special kind of stupid aren''t you?"


    He broke into tears again and hid his face behind his hands as he sobbed.


    I sighed as I thought about why Elsa broke up with him. The girl, albeit born in a struggling family, had a major sense of pride and refused to take handouts from others.


    Imagine how offended she was when her boyfriend wanted her to just stay home and be a housewife. Her entire life she had admired her mother for working hard to support their family after her dad died.


    ''Her dad went to buy milk one day, and was shot by a robber because he tried to help the store owner..''


    It was a tragic story for Elsa''s family as her dad was a rare good policeman and a better father.


    "You know what you did wrong?" I asked him after he calmed down a bit.


    "Elsa...doesn''t want to be a housewife?" Jacob asked in confusion. He had seen how happy his mother was in their home, therefore he thought that the best life he could give someone he loved was to make them a housewife too. It was a ssic two-way misunderstanding by each of them.


    I sighed and I said, "She won''t be offended if you express yourself better. She just doesn''t want you to control her life. Believe me, Elsa is a stubborn and prideful girl. She wanted to do everything on her own. Maybe you can blow a balloon for her here and there, but there are things that she wanted to do by herself. Did you ever ask her about her dreams? Or did you just expect to follow you everywhere when you''re trying to achieve yours-"


    I stopped abruptly, widened my eyes, and asked with surprise in my face. "Wait...your dream is to be a football yer? I thought you wanted to grow potatoes in the countryside?"


    "I''M NOT GONNA DO THAT!" Jacob yelled, hiding the fact that he thought the idea was not that bad in his heart.


    I didn''t exin about the situation more as it would be useless for Jacob to fully understand it. He wasn''t mature enough to handle this type of situation at this moment.


    "It''s not toote you know?" I said with a sly smirk.


    "What do you mean?" Jacob said, his eyes twinkled by the possibility of getting his girlfriend back.


    "Beg." I said a single word before I ignored him. Jacob was stunned and his mind worked quickly to understand what I meant. Suddenly, he grabbed my shoulders and swung me front and back while asking tearily, "What do you mean?!?"


    "I''m not telling you to apologize, as I know you can think of that on your own. What you need to do is beg her to take you back. She''s a prideful woman, so even if she wanted toe back to you, her ego won''t let her do that. Of course, there''s a chance she might not-"


    Before I could finish my words, Jacob had already sprinted outside the library to go and search for Elsa. I shrugged and I picked a book from the rack before flipping through it, while eating my packed lunch in between.


    In only 10 minutes, I had memorized almost half of the thick Science book. But then, someone mmed their phone with an article opened on top of the book.


    "Oh, Edward Newgate�C A copsing star? I haven''t even started yet, and they said my career was over? That''s refreshing." I said with a chuckle as I read the article.


    Alex snapped, "Don''t smile. Ask Harvey or whomever to shut the article down."


    "Nah. There''s no need." I shrugged before I pulled out the chair next to me.


    She sat down before grumbling about every single article that was hinting a negative image on me, but I truly didn''t care for them. It was mostly clickbait articles anyways. The ''Copsing Star'' article actually predicted my career would be short term and I would burn out soon, just like a dying star.


    They based their theory on how I changed the way I sing in every song, making it impossible for me to create a unique style of singing of my own.


    "Some even said you''re a hustler that is only singing for the money." Alex grumbled before she cursed at the article writer. Iughed and said, "That...may actually be true."


    Seeing that Alex was angry, I added, "I don''t mind. Besides, these articles are only the minority opinions right?"


    My sessful debut was known to the entire country, and I was currently receiving immense support on every single one of my songs. Miraculously, all of my three songs had climbed into the top 10 songs on most charts or something in less than one day.


    My debut shocked the entire music industry, and I couldn''t be happier about it.


    "Hmph! You should sue all of them!" Alex said with puffed out cheeks before turning her attention to my books. "Why are you reading about this? We won''t reach the topic till grade 12." She looked at me as if I was an idiot while waiting for my answer. But I justughed as a response.


    ''I hadpleted the entire sybus till grade 11, but I wasn''t going to tell Alex about that given how much she had worked to be the top student in school.''


    Alex didn''t have an eidetic memory, and her hardwork andpetitiveness was the thing that apanied her till she graduated as Magna Cumude from Caltech University. It was a huge deal considering that she was born in a normal family and didn''t have any special genius traits.


    "Uh. Whatever." She said while shaking her wrist slightly in the air. She wanted to get back to writing before I stopped her.


    "Is your wrist hurting?" I asked.


    " A little bit. Mrs William wanted a 20 page History essay on the Battle of Gettysburg. So I finished itst night."


    I stared speechlessly at Alex after I heard it.


    "What?" She asked in confusion.


    "She gave the assignment yesterday?"


    "Yeah. So? If I do it earlier, I can use the time to edit it, do more research, then submit it for full marks before the deadline."


    She turned to the pages again, and I grabbed her hand this time.


    "Hey, What gives?" She asked in irritation.


    "Don''t write now, let your hand heal first. Otherwise, you will need to take 3 days off to recuperate instead of a few hours just because you''re too stubborn to let it go."


    "I''m not stubborn-"


    "You''re. Let me help you massage it. I can make it better."


    Alex snorted as she heard it and said sarcastically, "You''re a genius masseur now too?"


    I justughed it off before she thought of something and asked me hurriedly, "Do you want to be a doctor in the future? Then, you can be the first Medical Doctor/ Artist in the world-"


    I pushed my sandwich into her mouth to gag her before I said, "Rx your arm. Follow my guide."


    She nodded while nibbling at the sandwich slowly and I gently put pressure on her forearm using my fingers. Alex wanted to scoff and rebuke me to say that it was her wrist that was hurting, but my electrifying touch made her brain filled with pleasure instead.


    I didn''t know what I was doing to her brain, and I used my [Murim beautifying massage] skill to her right arm slowly and gently. As I reached her wrist, my every touch made her squirm at her seat. Blood rushed to her face and brain, and her mind was totally nked out right now.


    "I...feel a little sick." Alex said suddenly before she identally let out a cute burp. Both of us were stunned and looked at each other before Iughed and she became embarrassed by it.


    "I- I don''t want to bete to ss. I will go now-"


    She tried to stand up and ran away, but I pulled her back down and said, "Lunch isn''t over in 5 more minutes."


    "N0- I need to...Humm~" Alex let out a cute moan as I started massaging her palm. For someone that writes as much as she does, her hand was the most sensitive ce to get a massage.


    "Don''t squirm. Be still." I said as Alex''s face had turned as red as a tomato as I massaged her palm. I changed my skill and used my interphngeal joint on my thumb to put pressure on the muscles underneath her thumb.


    "AHHHH!" Alex screamed as her brain was overloaded as I did the move. Her scream made the old Librarian startled, and she wanted to check up on us, but at her speed that was as fast as a turtle, I had time till lunch was over before she could finally arrive at my spot.


    "Hey are you okay?" I released my hand after she screamed. With teary eyes, Alex cursed, "Damn YOU!" and ran away quickly from there without even storing all of her books and utensils.


    Her chair was a bit wet, but I didn''t notice it. The bell rang soon after, so I helped her to pick up her stuff and ced it all in her locker before I walked to the ssroom. I texted her, but she wasn''t replying to my messages.


    "What the hell did I do?" I asked, confused. I understand that the massage skill could beautify someone, but I greatly underestimate the effect it has on the person getting massaged.


    [Alex''smentary]


    Covering her face in embarrassment, she said, "My life...is over..."


    "I can''t...see him again..."


    "Not after...(Softly) I peed myself..."


    [Commentary ends]


    [3rd Person POV]


    As Alex ran to the bathroom, she passed by Jacob who was trying to talk to Elsa at the moment. None of them noticed each other, and it was a good thing for her as she didn''t want anyone to know about her predicament right now.


    "I''m sorry. Please take me back." Jacob begged Elsa, but she only snorted and walked away, leaving behind a depressed Jacob. He had been trying hard, but he still hadn''t spoken the right words yet. It was an ordeal for him, and although he could ask Edward for the hint, this time he wanted to receive Elsa''s affection back on his own efforts.


    Jenna looked at Jacob as if he was an idiot�C which she was not wrong about, and walked with her friend.


    "Why are you ignoring him? You said you want to get back together with him?" Jenna whispered to Elsa.


    "I...I don''t know. Stop asking me! Or I''ll tell Edward you...you...you keep a lock of his hair and sniff it daily!"


    "HEY I DON''T SNIFF IT DAILY!" Jenna shouted in anger before pinching Elsa''s bare waist. She huffed away, but stopped and said, "And I don''t have a lock of his hair yet!"


    ''Yet?'' Elsa thought in confusion.


    [Edward POV]


    After school was over, I wanted to meet with Alex, but she was walking hurriedly away from me. I followed her while calling her, but she ignored me. And while I was following her, I identally walked to the school front where the paparazzis were waiting for me toe out.


    "Oh shit." I said while tipping my baseball cap down to avoid getting detected. Alex turned to look at me and saw my predicament, her feet stopped without her consent.


    "Hey. Is that him?!" One paparazzi noticed my figure among the students.


    "It''s him! EDWARD LOOK OVER HERE!" They shouted and started breaching the school''s fence to take a better shot of me with their cameras. I smiled wryly as I waved at them before Alex suddenly screamed, "Help. The PEDOFILES are entering the school!"


    "What?" The paparazzi was confused, but the students reacted quickly. "AHH!" They screamed and ran away back into the school. Alex grabbed my wrist in the chaos and pulled me to ire''s minivan.


    "HURRY! HURRY!" ire urged with her head sticking out of the window. She opened the car door wide and Alex threw me inside without warning. Before my feet were all the way inside the car, ire pressed the gas pedal and drove away while the paparazzi'' were blocked by the school''s security.


    "That was exhrating." ire said with a satisfied expression on her face.


    "This is kidnapping." I muttered. Alex rolled her eyes and suddenly realized something was missing inside the minivan.


    "Hey. Where''s Luke?"


    ire stopped the car abruptly and looked behind her, only to find that Luke was missing. All of us became anxious before ire remembered what Luke said to her before while they were parked in front of the school.


    [shback]


    "I forgot my bag. Wait for me. I''mma go get it." Luke said before getting out of the car.


    "Okay Honey. Be quick." ire advised before looking forward again. Then, the incident happened.


    "We...have to go back to pick him up." ire said before making a u-turn to the school.


    Alex and I chuckled before she hit my shoulder angrily.


    "Oww. What''s that for?"


    "What did you do to me? Why did I throw up after?" Alex whispered in a soft voice, but ire could still hear it. She leaned her head back to the seat and tried to hear our conversation better.


    The massage had released some of the tension inside her body, making her puke out the bad stuff. The massage also stimted parts of her brain, making her feel more refreshed than ever.


    "I told you. I''m only helping you release some tension in your hands."


    ire could only hear till the tension part.


    "Hmm...Luckily for you, it''s no longer hurting now. It was hurting for a few days. I didn''t realize you were so good at it. "


    ire could only hear thest two sentences. Her face turned ashen white, and her hairs were shaking a little.


    "How did you feel during?"


    "It was a bit... electrifying. Don''t do that to another girl. They won''t be able to take it."


    "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GUYS DO?!" ire finally snapped and turned to look at us with a face full of horror. The car swayed as she wasn''t looking at the front, making both Alex and I scream in horror.


    ...


    "We almost died because of your mom''s misunderstanding." I muttered to Alex.


    "I know." She said while looking at her mother in disappointment. ire just smiled wryly as she was the one at fault and tried her best not to bring out the topic again.


    After settling the misunderstanding and picking up Luke, ire brought me to her home instead of dropping me off at my ce.


    "So. You want me to walk home?" I asked with a disappointed tone.


    "Nonsense. I know you don''t want to celebrate, so I just bought a cupcake for you." ire said before she smirked, "Then you can walk back to your house."


    "That''s fair." I said with a ''didn''t-care'' shrug and followed her from behind. As we entered the house, suddenly Phil and Haley popped confetti at my face.


    "CONGRATULATION ED!"


    My dad, Aunt Cam, Phil, ire, Haley, Abby, Desiree, Jay, Gloria, Manny, Mitch and Cam were all there to celebrate my sessfulunch. Even the baby Lily was holding a balloon in her hand while looking at me with a shocked face. (She was surprised from the confetti)


    "It''s a sessful surprise this time!" ire bragged as if she was the one who made it all possible.


    I looked at Alex with a betrayed face, but she shook her head quickly as even she was surprised by the party. After asking around, I found out that the mastermind of the whole operation was in fact Phil, so I just sighed and reluctantly enjoyed the party.


    As Phil was telling me about their family''s trampoline he had just fixed, Pepper called me with some news.


    "I need to take the call." I said to Phil, making him look downcast.


    ire asked him as I walked away, "What is your problem?"


    "I want to share the first jump experience with him, but he doesn''t seem interested." He slumped his shoulders in disappointment.


    ire nodded in understanding and patted Phil''s back tofort him.


    "Interviews?" I asked after hearing what he said.


    "Yeah. A couple. I can help you with the scripts, but the main point is to do it tonight." Pepper exined.


    "Sure." I replied casually. Pepper breathed a sigh of relief before saying, "Wear some nice clothes."


    I scoffed and said, "When did I ever wear bad ones?"


    He paused andughed. "Okay. I''ll see you there."


    "See you there."

 Chapter 81: Interview

    <h4>Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Interview</h4>


    [Edward POV-shback]


    While I was still at the Dunphy''s house, Jay pulled me to the side for a private talk.


    "Can you do something for me? I''m in trouble with Gloria." Jay said with a calm voice despite his sullen expression.


    "What did you do?" I asked him teasingly while holding my sparkling water in a ss wine ire gave to me. I tried to stealthily exchange it with normal wine, but her keen eye kept botching my ns. She didn''t get mad though, and only shook her index finger at me while admonishing me lightly.


    "Hmmm...Can we do this, without you knowing about that?" Jay grumbled.


    I nodded and asked, "What do you want me for?"


    "I want to..."


    We had a short conversation before I decided to help Jay, but what he requested would be done another day as I needed to go home and change before going to the interview. What we talked about would be our little secret before the time came to unveil it.


    ...


    -Present-


    It was almost 6 pm when I left the party. I waved goodbyes to the family and was driven by my aunt to the desert. Abby and Haley seemed as if they wanted to talk to me about something, but I was too busy to notice.


    "You must let me drive this car one of these days." I muttered to my aunt as she skillfully maneuvered through the traffic before we got to the empty road to the desert.


    She snorted and said yfully, "In your dreams!"


    "Hmmm...I thought you''re a good aunt. Turns out I was wrong."


    She chuckled and said menacingly, "Wanna walk?"


    "Nevermind. You''re a good aunt. I don''t know who said that before." I said as I turned left and right to look for the culprit.


    We bothughed before she promised to allow me to drive the car after I was a bit older. She was only dropping me off as she has to go back to Cuba tonight.


    Although I was a bit sad to see her leave, I knew that she would be back. The job would take a month to be finished, and she promised to return to the US again as soon as she finished her work.


    "Maybe that time, you can cook proper food." I teased, earning a punch on the shoulder as retaliation.


    "I''ll make sure to include the primo pepper in the food."


    I gulped my saliva and didn''t tease her anymore lest she felt the need to spoon fed me the torture food.


    As we arrived and I got out of the car, Aunt Cam said, "Good Luck on your interview Ed. I wish I could be here to see it, but I''m alreadyte getting to the airport."


    "Seriously, they needed a better system than to be there 4 hours before." I grumbled to myself. Despite herteness, she exited the car and gave me a hug before driving away.


    I entered the studio after taking a deep breath to prepare myself for the interview. My yfulness was gone as I walked through the door. I saw Pepper and I asked him without even greeting him, "Can Taylor make it?"


    Pepper shook his head and said, "Although she''s on her way back to California from her tour, she''s still going to take a few hours to get back here. It wouldn''t be possible for her to join the interview�C plus, you''re thinking of doing a live web broadcast for the interview right? I trust you to get things under control for a live session, but I...don''t think Taylor can handle it yet."


    Pepper said that not to undermine Taylor, but he was afraid of the scandals and image damaging answers she could give since she hadn''t prepared anything for the interview. I nodded and didn''t ask anymore questions. The live broadcast was my idea, and I had asked Pepper and Harvey to help me negotiate with the interviewer.


    As it was still my first day after the singles release, thepany still couldn''t finalize the negotiation with the giant mediapany. Not to mention, they only wanted me there to perform in their talk shows for free, therefore Harvey tore them a new one when they brazenly demanded my participation in the negotiations before.


    ''Although the songs are good, thepany''s influence isn''t enough for it to demand respect from the corrupted entertainment sector in this country.'' I thought secretly.


    In moments like this, I sincerely appreciated my meeting with Pepper and the way he took care of me. Otherwise, I would just be another exploited artist in Hollywood.


    Pepper leads me to the meeting room where a young blonde woman was waiting for us. She would be the interviewer for today, Miss Reba Brayton�C or otherwise known as the female voice in WatchMojo videos.


    "Nice to meet you Edward. I loved your songs. Especially Grenade. Also, nice outfits."


    She bombarded me withpliments that made a good impression on her. She was friendly and insightful, which was unexpected as today was going to be the first day in her career for a face-to-face interview. Not to mention she needed to do it live.


    "Thanks. I also love your narrated videos." Iplimented back. She widened her eyes as she didn''t expect me to know who she was as even Pepper didn''t know.


    "How?"


    I shrugged and said, "I''m familiar with your voice. I''m a singer. Voices are my thing."


    "Is that so?" She giggled as blood rushed to her cheeks. She shook off her feelings and went back to professional mode. "I''ll brief you before the interview starts. That way, we won''t mess it up during the broadcast."


    "Sure." I said in agreement before we spent the next 20 minutes discussing what to do. She didn''t ask for my answers to her questions beforehand, but only briefed me about the questions category, and we discussed what can, and cannot be asked in the broadcast after this.


    After the briefing was over, we didn''t wait any longer and started the live broadcast now.


    [3rd Person POV]


    Pepper was nervously clenching his fist as he saw the broadcast was online. The link to the web broadcast was shared to the fanclub, and fans from all over the world kept entering the broadcast.


    Without waiting for long, the numbers had already reached 30,000 viewers. It was a higher count than a few medium sized broadcastingpanies, and the numbers were increasing rapidly.


    ''Genius!'' Pepper thought to himself as the entire broadcast was nned by Edward.


    He had settled the video quality problems, the inte connection problems, added the live chat functions to the video, and even settled the hardware problem by modifying a few equipment. Reba would also release the interview at WatchMojo and ABC studio after the shoot, for the people who only watch TV.


    ''If the world was more adapted to the inte, I know for sure I could reach millions of views.'' Ed thought to himself. Right now, Reba was sitting adjacent to him inside his music studio. Lyrics could be seen pasted on the walls, and some instruments were arranged neatly as a backdrop of his set.


    Underneath Edward''s cotton blend, a bit oversized, white shirt with ck flower patterns, was a microphone belt and the mic was clipped to his shirt cor for better audio. His hair seemed unkempt but still stylish and his outfit for today instantly became the topic of discussions for those who watched the live broadcast of the interview.


    "I''m proud to be the first to interview the Country''s newest sensation, the music prodigal son who returned and spread his wings higher than ever, Mr Edward Newgate!" Reba introduced as the broadcast was ready.


    The live chat exploded, and Ed smiled at the introduction. "Thanks Reba. It felt nice to ''spread my wings'' after being caged for so long."


    Reba chuckled and leaned forward before asking, "So. First day after your song release. How do you feel right now?"


    "Well...I feel blessed." Ed answered with a toothy smile, making the live chat boomed once again as the fans thought he was being cute. "I didn''t expect the songs to climb up so quickly."


    "But you did expect them to monopolize the top ranks?" Reba asked yfully.


    "Of course. I always think that if you don''t believe in yourself then no one will. Although I kind of have to admit that taking that first step was not all 100% my idea, but still. Once I decided to go for it I always kept my mind focused and knew that Great things wereing." Ed replied casually but with a hint of condensation, making the audienceugh. They especially loved his confidence about his arts.


    He added, "It also wouldn''t have been possible without the support from my fans and family, so I''m really grateful for them, and wish to share the sess with them. That''s why I made this website to connect with all of my fans today.."


    Reba nodded as she finally understood why Ed wanted to make a live broadcast instead of a normal interview today. She would be horrified if she knew he started making the website an hour ago. Ed had multiple codes in stock and could create a simple broadcast site like this in a matter of minutes. He just needed to design the website as the rest of the functions were already coded.


    >A...he''s so sweet


    >We love you ED!


    >Will you sing in this broadcast?


    The staff member ryed the chat situation to Reba through her earpiece after he monitored the situation.


    "Most of the people in the chat can''t wait to hear what we''re going to talk about today, but first, I want to ask, is there anything different happening to you when you go to school today? Given your sessful debut and all?"


    "I do get surrounded by the other kids asking for my autograph, and to take pictures but that''s all normal." Ed said dismissively.


    Rebaughed and asked yfully, "Does this happen daily?"


    Ed nodded mischievously and said, "Well it''s only been a day, but yeah sure I don''t think it will change soon," beforeughing.


    The chat and even the staff inside the studio alsoughed. The broadcast had started smoothly, and now there''s 100,000 people currently watching the live broadcast.


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "ire. Come on! The interview is already starting!" Phil yelled.


    "Coming~!" ire ran with a popcorn bowl in her hand and sat down next to Phil on the sofa hurriedly. Jay grumbled that he was disturbed by ire''s motion, but he turned his focus on the broadcast instead.


    "It''s rare to see a broadcast like this." Gloria muttered.


    ire nodded and said, "Yeah. It''s unique. All thanks to Ed who created the website and link for people to join the broadcast. I wonder if he''s going to challenge himself and make his own broadcasting studio after this."


    "MOM!" Haley, Alex, and Luke admonished ire at the same time as her voice had disturbed the broadcast. ire said sorry hurriedly before motioning to zip her mouth while the others stared contemptuously at her.


    -Pier-


    "My god. Is that really your son? How is he so different from you? Did you pick up the wrong baby at the hospital?" Dwayne joked as Ed''s charisma kept increasing day by day. Tedughed and said, " He truly is my son. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be that handsome."


    Dwayne grumbled and a sneaky teenager peeked at theptop to see the broadcast from behind him.


    "Goodluck Ed." Dn muttered before sending a prayer to his friend.


    -Back to the interview-


    "I''m sure a lot of people are waiting for your Album release since your singles have shaken the country. Do you have a title for the Album yet?"


    "Yes. The Album will be titled, ''Breaking''. As if, I''m going to break free of all expectations of me, and be my one true self." Ed answered. Reba and the audience were impressed, and they made a mental note to always remember the uing album name f0r them to buy during theunch.


    Reba asked, "Were you the one who wrote the songs for your uing album?"


    "Yes. I wrote all the lyrics and made the melody by myself."


    "That''s impressive. But, not surprising considering that you''re nominated as a global musical prodigy at age of 7. Which made me wonder. Why the change of heart? What made you move on from ssical music, to more of a mainstream style?"


    The chat was stunned by the exposure as most of the viewers didn''t know about Ed''s background. However, die-hard fans such as Lily were concerned for Ed as she didn''t want him to remember his previous hard life�C which she imagined based on the songs he sang.


    Edward took a deep breath, and although he tried to keep his smile, the viewers could see pain emanating from his eyes.


    -Cuba-


    A Latina woman wearing a floral dress was watching the interview through herptop. She flinched at the question, and was waiting patiently for Edward to answer.


    -Interview-


    "At first, I started this as a means of escapism, you know, as a way to get out all the stuff I held inside me, all the pain and troubles I felt and I guess that ssical music didn''t give me that "release" you know? I just needed to get the words out, to let my inner "voice" be heard, not just what could be expressed with notes on a parchment. But now, I find myself truly in love with making this kind of music. Even then, as I said before. I didn''t actually n to be an artist. It was all thanks to Mr Pepper Saltzman, mypany''s CEO, who you can see standing behind the camera there..."


    The camera cut to show Pepper on the screen. He only waved lightly at the camera before it cut to Ed again.


    "..He was the one who pushed me to try new things and supported me from day one. He made me who I am today. Without him, I would be aimless."


    Reba nodded in understanding and the live chats keptplimenting Pepper about his decision to pull Ed into the industry.


    The interview continued, and Reba asked about his music video.


    "Based on my sources, you not only came up with the story,but also directed, and even edited the whole music video alone with no help at all in any of that stuff. And as a result Many haveplimented your creativity and acting skill, so I was wondering, if you would ever consider acting as a career?"


    "Really? You think my acting was good?" Ed asked with a grin, which made the audienceugh again as he was behaving like a child starved forpliments.


    Reba lowered her eyes as her cheeks blushed a little before saying, "Well...You do have the actor''s charisma while you''re on the screen."


    -Apartment 4A 2231 Los Robles-


    " I wonder if he''ll mention me." Penny muttered as she watched the show with the boys.


    "I''m sure he will. You''re kinda unforgettable." Howard said cheesily which made Penny disgusted.


    Sheldon watched the screen without interest while Leonard was supporting Edward intently as he had replied to his text message before."


    The interviewer asked, "What about the female lead? I heard you casted her on your own. Who is she?"


    "She''s a friend of mine, her name is Penny and she is an aspiring artist.I saw her passion for acting and decided to give her a chance to try her luck so I hired her." Ed replied. Penny squealed, and jumped around in a circle from her excitement.


    "My name is known to 1 Million people!" Penny eximed.


    "1.239 Million people." Sheldon corrected, making Penny lose her enthusiasm. "Learn to count women." Sheldon added, which made Penny roll her eyes at him.


    "I rounded off!" She eximed.


    "H0w is he doing this? I can''t look at his system?!" Howard said as he tapped on the keyboard, trying to find out how the website could support this much traffic.


    "Howard. Cut it out." Leonard said with a bit of fear as he didn''t want anything to happen to the broadcast.


    "Aren''t you the least bit curious?" Howard said. "He could''ve spent millions on setting up the website. All I want...is to peek at it a little bit."


    Penny red dagger at Howard and said, "If you don''t cut it out. I''m telling your mother."


    "Telling my mother? What am I? 9-"


    As Howard saw Penny''s solemn face, he knew she wasn''t kidding so he stopped trying immediately.


    -Malibu mansion-


    "You''re dabbling in various genres, you got soft rock, pop music, ukulele style, so will you keep challenging yourself in other genres next? Will we hear heavy metal or rap music?" Reba asked. While she was waiting, she got the chance to listen to a few songs from the albums, therefore she was giving a bit of a spoiler to the fans.


    "Rap?" Eminem leaned forward to watch the broadcast as the topic intrigued him. He had taken interest in the new artist because of his intoxicating beats and synthesizing skills. If he hadn''t found out Ed had created the songs all on his own, he might have tried to poach the person who created all of the songs.


    Edward chuckled and said ambiguously, "Well...I won''t cross them off my list just yet."


    Eminem smirked and said, "Then, I''ll be waiting for you kid."


    The future rap god even left an anonymousment to support the new artist as he felt his kind of music was refreshing.


    -Cuba-


    "You''re half-Cuban right? So can you speak Spanish?"


    "I''m fluent in it."


    "How manynguages can you speak?"


    "Right now, I can speak Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese fluently."


    At first, the floral dressdy was saddened when she heard Ed had learned Spanish. She thought he did that just to spite her. But when she knew about his true intellect, she felt ashamed as a mother because she never knew how much potential her son had. Without her knowing about it, tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn''t watch the interview any longer and closed herptop before she broke down crying.


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Oh heavens. So you can speak 5nguages. You''re a polyglot. But it might not seem so shocking if people know you have a high IQ level. A genius with a 167 IQ, and now I''m wondering if your intelligence would be put to a better use if you entered the sciences instead." Reba said.


    She joked, not knowing that she was currently being cursed by the fans in the live broadcast live chat for her statement.


    > Is she crazy? She dared to try and influence Ed away from Us?


    > Can anyone find me that bitch''s?? address? I want to pay her a visit. Don''t worry, it''ll be a ''peaceful'' visit.


    >(�s�����)�s�� �ߩ���


    Alex grumbled as she read the chat, "These people. What''s wrong with the sciences? We can change the world over here."


    Haley retorted, "Ed''s music is already changing the world. He doesn''t need to be a geek too."


    Ed replied while the siblings were bickering, "Well I''m still in school. So who knows what the future holds. Even now, I''m dabbling in making a few inventions."


    "See?" Alex said to rub it in Haley''s face.


    "Oh, seriously?" Reba asked, fully surprised by the fact.


    "Yup. So far, I have enhanced a few mechanisms for the closet industry, and sold the patents to Pritchet''s closet. And I''m currently working on a new technology right now that would change the way people fry their food, making it healthier."


    The fans and even Pepper were shocked by Ed''s promations, while Jay smiled widely as he heard hispany name was mentioned in the broadcast.


    "That kid had done me a solid." Jay muttered. "The phone is going to blow up now!"


    He didn''t realize that thepany''s websites were already flooded by the fans as they wanted to see Ed''s inventions. Pritchett''s closet would receive their highest sales ever this following quarter, all thanks to Ed''s subtle marketing.


    "You know, with your intellect, you can just skip grades and graduate early. That way, you can go on tours. What do you think about that?" Reba suggested.


    Haley, Alex, Luke and Manny all answered at the same time, "NOO!"


    "I did think about it, but right now, I still want to enjoy my school life. I haven''t gotten enough of it yet." Ed replied.


    Reba smiled and asked, " I see. Staying in school is great too. You won''t be lonely. So are you like in any club, such as the chess club or theater club?"


    Ed chuckled and said, "No. I''m not joining any clubs, but I''m in the school''s decathlon team though."


    The fans were actively searching for Ed''s school''s decathlon team, only to find out that they couldn''t google anything for it online. They didn''t even know which school he attended yet.


    "What inspires you the most when you''re writing the songs? You wrote a lot of songs about heartbreak. Have you ever dated anyone before?"


    "Yeah. I have." Ed replied curtly and with a sad smile. The chat was going crazy by his expression and they kept bombaring thement to find out who was the one crazy bitch that dared to break his heart.


    Abby read thements with a dry mouth, and she couldn''t help but fear for her safety if people did find out about her. ''I was his only girlfriend, right?'' She thought in confusion.


    "Oh...Don''t know why, but that answer made me feel sad. So what happened?" Reba tried to pry.


    "I''m not answering that." Ed said with a teasing smile. The interviewer snapped her fingers yfully and said, "So close."


    Ed shook his head and said, "Nah. it was not close at all."


    -Outside the studio-


    A helicopter tried tond on an empty space near the studio building. As the studio was in the desert, there was a lot of empty space for the helicopter tond. However, it was illegal for it to do so without proper permit.


    "Are you crazy? Don''t jump out yet! We haven''t fully stopped!" Selena grabbed Taylor''s arm to sit her down before she made a fatal mistake.


    "We''re alreadyte! Come on Pilot! I''m missing all of his interviews!" Taylor urged the pilot to set the helicopter down faster.

 Chapter 82: Interview (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Interview (Part 2)</h4>


    (This counts as 2 Chapters lol.)


    [3rd Person POV]


    In a certain agency meeting room.


    "Seriously, 2 Million views in a live broadcast? SHUT DOWN THAT SITE RIGHT NOW!"


    However, the staff member of the agency ignored the words of the Board of Directors that wanted to scheme to get Ed into their agency. It''s not that they were being insubordinate, but there was nothing they could do to disturb the broadcast. Ed was currently cementing his name in the people''s mind, and his influence was growing exponentially from the broadcast.


    Little did they know, 1.5 million views wereing from the internationalmunity�C Europe and Asia. It would be hard for Ed to get 2 million viewers if he targeted the United States alone.


    -Studio-


    "At your concert, you did a legendary thing by ying a game with the audience, and created a song on the spot. Many fans are waiting for you to announce your next concert date so that they can y the game too. I''m even waiting for it." Reba said with a gleeful smile on her face.


    With a wry smile on his face, Ed replied, "Well. I don''t know if I will ever have a chance to do something like that again. The game at that time was only because I was tasked to drag the time in my performance, so I don''t think that it''ll ever happen again."


    The chat was filled with disappointed emojis and people wishing for Ed to change his mind.


    "However, I may be able to do that in smaller groups. If nned properly, it shouldn''t be impossible for me to conduct the game again." Ed added, flipping the audience''s mood once more.


    ''But the ticket will be far more expensive.'' Ed schemed in his mind.


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "As expected of the song vending machine." Alex mumbled to herself. Jay heard Alex and chuckled as he thought the nickname was urate for the kid.


    -Studio-


    "Talking about your concert, how''s your rtionship with Taylor?" Reba asked a point nk question, making Edward stunned for a second.


    >It''s finally here!


    >The MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION TODAY!


    >I really hope he says they are dating. I ''ship'' them so much!


    "We''re close friends. I met her for the first time during the concert preparation..."


    >So...No meeting him when he was a baby? Disappointing.


    >Stop pushing that theory. How is it possible that Taylor would meet him? She was 5 years old at the time, and WAS LIVING IN A DIFFERENT STATE!


    "... She even gave me a birthday present before. So yeah, she''s a close friend of mine. "Our thing" is a friendship and I would like to keep it like that till I be an adult."


    Reba smirked and said, "So...There''ll be a differentbel when you''re an adult huh."


    > OH YEAHHHH!!!!


    > IT''S GOING TO BE LEGAL THEN!


    > WE SUPPORT YOU ED!


    Ed looked at the interviewer with dead eyes, making her feel bad for her mistake in not filtering her words.


    "Next up, Ed is going to perform 2 songs for the audience, to show his appreciation and show the world what he''s made off. Be right back, after the break." Reba said to the screen before the staff member changed the broadcast to include somemercials instead.


    "How manymercial offers do we get?" Ed asked Pepper as he wiped his sweat and got ready for the live performance.


    "13. All offered us more than 250,000 dors as we already surpassed 2 million viewers." Pepper said in excitement.


    "Good. But we only have slots for 3 of them, so choose wisely." Ed said.


    Pepper nodded and said, "Of course. We had picked Nike, Swarovski, and Facebook. All paid in full."


    "Harvey did a good job." Edplimented sincerely. It was a miraculous work to finish themercial negotiations in only 25 minutes since his interviews started. The money was already in thepany''s ount, and themercial deals were already finished.


    "By the way, Nike wants to sponsor your concert. But we''ll talkter." Pepper said. "Even Ellen called us-"


    "ED!" Taylor suddenly appeared out of nowhere and lunged at Ed before giving him a hug.


    "Taylor. Why are you here? I thought you weren''ting?" Ed asked with surprise in his eyes.


    "I wouldn''t miss this for the world." Taylor said.


    The interviewer widened her eyes as she saw the pop star, but didn''t say anything that could bring her more trouble as she already had her first warning from the agency.


    "30 seconds before resuming." The staff called. Ed turned to Taylor and said, "Thank you for being here- Wait. Let''s do this." He then whispered something into Taylor''s ear, making her blush a bit before widening her eyes and slowly biting her lower lip.


    Pepper came up and quickly pushed Ed to the next venue �C the recording room with the band members standing by, and far away from Taylor as the time was almost up.


    "Break a leg." Pepper said.


    "That''s ominous. But thanks." Ed replied mischievously, making Pepper roll his eyes.


    "We''re starting in 3...2...1..."


    The live broadcast resumed again, and Ed sang the song Believer to the audience.


    (A/N: The song was already written before in the concert, so I won''t put it here again)


    After the song ended, the audience and the staff members inside the studio gave a big apuse to his performance. Ed rested a bit and drank some water with a smile on his face as he read the audience reaction.


    As he performed the song without holding anything back, the number of his fans worldwide skyrocketed, especially among young adults and teenagers.


    ''It felt different from a concert. I was feeling as if I''m an inte broadcaster instead. Maybe I can be a famous Twitch streamer when it finallyes out?'' Ed thought secretly.


    Now that the interlude was over, Ed returned to his seat adjacent to the interviewer to start the second part of the interview.


    "What a wonderful performance. I got goosebumps. Do you usually spend so much energy in an act like this?" Reba asked while showing her arm goosebumps to the audience.


    "Yeah. I grew up performing, and as I previously exined I think I always knew that I needed to sing so I wouldn''t even dream of going out there without pouring my whole heart into it." Ed replied.


    The interview continued for another 5 minutes with the interviewer asking Ed the details of his albums, and his background before this.


    "You''re a musical prodigy, especially on the violin. But, none of your songs have a violin in it? Why is that?" Reba asked.


    Ed was a bit surprised (or felt ambushed) by the question, but he kept his smiling expression and said, "Well...I have quite a bad memory from my childhood especially tied to that instrument. So...it''s been hard for me to touch it since then."


    The audience went silent for half a second before the chat rose up again.


    >Seriously? A bad experience? What happened? ??


    >Wait, I got an article. (link-Musical-Prodigy-passing-out-on-stage.)


    >Oh dang. No wonder he changed professions. Those ssical music snobs were really too much. Even when the kid passed out on stage they would still criticize him. ??


    >Send me the critic''s location.


    Ed decided to reveal his past on his own terms instead of waiting for people with bad intentions to use it against himter on. It was pre-nned, and even his expressions to pull the public support to his side. Even the link was given by a member of his staff lurking in the chat, and had permission to post the link there.


    Those who wanted to post their own link would be blocked by Ed''s algorithms as he didn''t want scammers to bombard his live broadcast.


    -Jenna''s house-


    Jenna finished typing her question on the chat before thinking to herself, ''How much gasoline do I need this time to eliminate all of those who wronged Ed?''


    Luckily for the critics, no one actually replied to Jenna''s question. They would all live on for another day. She sighed and continued to watch the interview beforeughing at Ed''s joke.


    ''Still. The gap between us is growing farther and farther. He''s going to be rich and famous, so what can I do to make him see me?''


    She thought for a while before deciding to ask her mom about the matter tomorrow.


    -Studio-


    "Moving on, we have a very special guest who has flown over, all the way from Ohio, just to show her support for Edward''s debut today. Please wee, Taylor S.!!!" Reba announced.


    The chat went into a frenzy as Taylor walked into the shot, hugged Ed lightly and shook hands with the interviewer before sitting next to Ed. The audience could also see the stolen nces apanied by yful flirting by those two, and their mind couldn''t take it anymore.


    -Lily''s bedroom-


    "KYAAAAAHHHH! SHE CAME!!! SHE CAMEEE!!!!" Lily, Ed''s fanclub President, shouted madly as she saw Taylor appearing at the interview.


    "Oh my god. My heart." Her face started to feel feverish, and her hand was mmy. She sat down limply on the chair while fanning her face with her hand. "I need a cold bath. I''m too excited."


    Her nose bleeds a little, but she decided to just wipe it off and ordered Ed''s 100,000 fans in the fanclub to show their support on the interview and spread out the broadcast information to all around the globe.


    Before Taylor''s Fearless album came out, she was just an ordinary artist and would only achieve great strides in her career because of the songs ''You Belong with Me'', ''Love Story'' and ''Fearless''. But right now, her career exploded even before she released the album to the market.


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "KYAAAHHH!!" Cam squealed in excitement as his idol�C the country artist came out on the screen. He almost reacted the same way as the President of the fan club if not for the fact that he was with the extended family right now.


    "Ayy Cameron, Quiet down. I can''t hear what they are saying." Gloria admonished Cam before he could react any further.


    Haley and Alex however were narrowing their eyes as they took a look at Taylor.


    ''Why the hell is she there?'' Haley asked herself while having a pouting expression.


    -Studio-


    "Fun story, Taylor actually came most of the way here in a helicopter." Reba exposed her, making the artist cover her face in embarrassment. Even Edughed at her when he found out.


    "Well..I needed toe here quickly. Otherwise I would miss this." Taylor said shyly. Ed nodded in admiration as he watched Taylor acting like an innocent girl. ''She''s really good at maintaining her image.''


    "But why? Why do you need to be here...today?" Reba asked teasingly.


    The audience was going crazy from curiosity and EdxTaylor shippers were reigning supreme in the chat while simultaneously baptizing thousands of new shippers into their cult.


    "Yeah. Why today?" Ed added, making Taylor blush for real. She hit his arm, and in that moment the chat exploded once more.


    >Oh my god. JUST DATE ALREADY!


    > WE NEED PETITION TO CHANGE THE LEGAL AGE LIMIT-


    (User got banned)


    >lol don''t go too far guys.


    "For some reason or other. Yeah. That''s my answer." Taylor replied ambiguously, making the staff inside the studio and the chatugh.


    "Also, it''s because... we have something important to announce." Ed said while looking at Taylor in the eye and grabbed her hand.


    -Abby''s house-


    "NOOOOOOO!!!!!" Abby eximed as she thought they were going to announce their rtionship. Desiree was startled as her daughter suddenly shouted, but she didn''t say anything and continued watching.


    -Studio-


    Not only Abby, but the chat almost broke when the audience saw Ed holding Taylor''s hand in the interview. Even the interviewer was excited at the scene, but she still maintained her professionality and asked, "Oh. What announcement?"


    "We...are going to coborate together on a major project,..." Ed said with a charismatic smile that drew everyone''s attention, "And release the songs to the public after we are both finished with our individual albums. Taylor''s Album ''Fearless'' will be released next month, on the 6th of June, and mine in September. Date hasn''t been decided yet."


    "But don''t worry too much while the full release may be pending we will not let you suffer such wait alone" As he throws a wink to the camera.


    Reba caught Ed''s hint and let the audience calm down first before asking, "What can we expect from this coboration?"


    "Taylor and I will release 6 songs together, not including the ''Love Story'' song in her Album."


    "That''s only for me." Taylor joked.


    Ed nodded and said, "We nned for each song to carry a part of a story, all different and independent from each other, but also deeply tried together creating a unique narrative for the special project we will be releasing on a special interview, after we both finish our albums."


    Taylor added, "We''re going to spend a LOT of time together...You know, to create the songs,..." She smiled shyly, making the whole audience melt from her cute expression and giving them the wrong idea about her words, "...And all the songs will be duets."


    "Ohh. That''s awesome." Reba eximed with pping her hands together. "Now that you''re going to spend some time together, what about your tour?"


    "The Tour will still be carried on as usual. I will be in New York City Next so you are all wee to join me there." Taylor turned to Edward and said, "Maybe you cane?"


    Ed shook his head and said, "Can''t. I have my finals. I''lle to the next one though."


    "I''ll take that as a promise." Taylor said with a mischievous smile.


    The interview carried on for a while, and the "couple" sang the duet version of the song ''Love Story'' once again before ending the show.


    "That''s all for today folks. Be sure to give Edward Newgate a lot of support in his career, and also to his new singles in the ''Love and Heartbreak'' cycle, by buying them on Itunes and other rted music websites." Reba said.


    Taylor added cutely, "Don''t pirate the songs, and support him properly instead!"


    Reba nodded at her before turning to the audience once more, "Lastly, I am actually being informed Ed has a surprise for you guys. As the chat kept requesting for the game to be brought back, Ed decided to y the game with the live audience at the end of the show, in which he will make a song on the spot using the equipment inside the studio. But that''s not all, he will ALSO be showcasing his unique talent I''m told. Signing out, Rebbeca Brayton, ABC studios."


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Seriously? Again? That''s a lot of pressure!" ire muttered in concern as she watched Ed get ready alone in the recording room. "Especially with the whole world watching."


    "It''s just 3 million people." Mitchell said before everyone red at him.


    "3.56 million to be exact. He has achieved what he wanted. Now, everyone will remember his name." Alex muttered.


    -Studio-


    [Edward POV]


    I know I was a bit crazy when I decided to y the game with 3.56 million people. But it''s worth it for me to leave an eternal impression on their mind after I finish the interview.


    "For those of you who don''t know, or are just joining us for the first time, I have already yed a game with the audience in a concert before, my first ever concert. At the time I was pressed for time so I came up with a few simple rules. A representative of the audience woulde to the microphone and tell me a keyword, after that we would have a short talk and proceed down the line for a while until I felt the moment was right to finally try to create a song using that word or their particr situation."


    The chat was astonished by my game, and definitely enthralled by my confidence to bet on me being able to create a song on the spot, just by hearing a keyword or a short "context" story.


    "Today, however. It''ll be a little different. As this is an inte broadcast, although I can read yourments, it''ll be impossible for me tomunicate with only one person here."


    "So. What song shall we y today? I will set up a keyword "race" if you will and only when a particr word reaches 1000, will I TRY to make a song using the winning keyword. Be aware though that my own custom made algorithm will count and validate your votes after you type "Key.T:" followed by your chosen word. Finally, for fairness sake, and to make it even harder on myself I will close my eyes when you guys type so that I won''t know what word wille out first and you can bepletely sure about your election fairness."


    And I did close my eyes to wait for the keyword count to be filled. The audience''s excitement was at its peak, even when the staff member put a text disimer on the screen to notify them that they would have no im to the song I created from the game.


    *Ding*


    "Oh. The keyword is here." I said before I opened my eyes.


    "Shivers?" I was confused as to why the keyword was selected, but it didn''t change anything about what I was going to do next.


    I chuckled a little as I saw their reasoning behind the keyword.


    >Oh my goodness. He''s giving me the Key.T: Shivers!


    > I''m Key.T: Shivers! �Cing when I saw Taylor and Ed''s chemistry! DATE YOU GUYS! WE SUPPORT YOU!


    I acted as if I was thinking for a while before saying, "Okay. I can do it." I said as the camera stayed on me as I had a coy thought. I walked to the door and presented my guitar for Taylor to kiss as I whispered loud enough for the mics to catch me saying, "For good luck".


    Some fans actually passed out as they saw the scene on their monitors at home. Taylor just jumped like a hyper 5 year old and squeaked like a teenager behind the wall, making Selena roll her eyes at her best friend.


    (A/N:You guys can check it out on Youtube under ''Ed Sheeran Performs Shivers by the Ellen show. Edward will do the show just like him. /watch?v=RSdFPWYE_MY&t=26s&ab_channel=TheEllenShow)


    Better vocals


    https://youtu.be/oP4HdIFBEfY


    "That''s my gift to him~!" Taylor jeered Selena yfully after she was outside of the shot.


    Although a bit disgusted, Selena said, "Sure sure. Anyway, he''s really ying with the fans huh."


    Taylor defended Ed quickly, "He never told them that''s a gift from me!"


    "Still... A lot of agency execs will want him to join theirpany after this. He''s even better at marketing himself than them."


    The show was starting, and the conversation stopped.


    Taylor pped while watching the show from outside the ss walls. Selena stood beside her and muttered to herself with a hint of disappointment, "He still doesn''t know I''m here huh?"


    "Yup. And I intend to keep it that way, so why don''t you leave?" Taylor ordered yfully.


    "Sure. After I meet him." Selena replied with a smirk, making Taylor roll her eyes.


    I took some time to set up the equipment and I talked to the audience while doing so.


    "Oooookk so I will try to give you guys a closer look on how my own mind works and a great example of how this works when I''m trying to write something on my own." I said as I finished my set up consisting of a loop pedal I was going to use to mimic some backup guitarists, a keyboard synthesizer I was basing some of the beats on, and finally a microphone I was connecting to the second phase of the pedal in order to provide backup vocals by myself and make it aplete song instead of an acoustic version.


    The chat continued to lose their minds and the people around the globe started spamming their disbelief.


    >Seriously? ??


    >Is this the level of a prodigy?


    >Who gives a F��K? Did I just see and hear that right?? Did Ed just ask his GIRLFRIEND!! For a good luck kiss?!? ????


    >OMG!! I can''t believe it!!! I CAN''T BELIEVE ITT!!!! I cannnnnhsgsvdhhsvdv (E/N: She clearly passed out on herputer ??)


    >>SOOOO CUTTEEEEE!!! LOOVVEEE THEEMMMM SOOOO MUCHHHHH!!! ?? ?? ?? ????


    >Ed: All ording to Kaikaku *Push sses*


    >NANI!?


    Selena muttered, "Seriously? Acoustic is one thing, but apletely synthesized song? One wrong move, and the entire song will go to shit."


    Taylor however didn''t have the same fear as Selena as she waspletely lovestruck and thus 100% confident in my abilities.


    "Just watch. Ow and you should also be careful, don''t wet your panties.He''s MINE"


    "Why the need to warn me? Did you wet yours when you saw him do it before?" Selena retorted, making Taylor roll her eyes for the second time.


    "Ok then I guess it''s time to get this show on the road" I say as I start recording the first guitar loop by strumming an addictive beat.


    The loop pedal was a rectangr board ced on the floor on which I had to step on again in order to save that first beat. And begin my second recording.


    Then I proceed to insert that second beat, carefullyyering it on top of the first one as soon as I got the clear record after which I moved on to the piano synthesizer from where I created the EDM beat only to move on to produce some drum-like sounds by tapping on the guitar finally allowing me to punch in the finished sequence with another pedal after which I could y my guitar to the "main" beat.


    (First string over the "backup" he just did for himself).


    [3rd Person POV- Eminem]


    "He''s seriously creating a beat right now." Eminem muttered to himself as he saw Ed was thinking about what notes to use as he fixed the rhythms. "This kid is a monster. Maybe I can coborate with him too." He said with a smirk before swaying his body to the beat. "But first, I need to know if he can truly sing."


    Not only Eminem, but a lot of celebrities and artists in Hollywood were impressed by Ed''s abilities. And without Ed knowing about it, a storm started brewing in the industry with him at the center of it all.


    [Edward POV- Studio]


    Only after all that do I record the backup vocals for the song by teaching "tatching" along to the beat. The beat was already addictive to the listeners, and people were rooting for me to sessfully create the song.


    Finally, I stood in front of the main microphone, gazed right into the camera, and punched a new pedal before I sang.


    [3rd Person POV]


    ??????????????


    "??I took an arrow to the heart (Ohh)??"


    "Amazing!" Pepper made a premature reaction while opening his hands wide. His hands hit the unlucky Leo''s face as he watched the show at his side.


    "Oh my. I''m so sorry." Pepper apologized quickly before checking up on Leo.


    "??I never kissed a mouth that tastes like yours


    Strawberries and somethin'' more??


    ??Ooh yeah, I want it all??"


    At the Dunphy''s, Haley quickly covered her mouth as blood rushed to her cheeks.


    ''Strawberry? Damn it. It''s me!'' Haley was shaken as she rushed to hide her favorite "strawberry vored" lipstick and shoved it into her purse as her eyes darted all over the room to see if people knew it was her, but luckily all attention was on Edward. She sighed in relief before someone suddenly spoke.


    "Who''s this... ''Strawberry Lips''" ire asked.


    Mitchell turned to Haley quickly as he realized it, but Haley shushed him using a gesture before he could say anything.


    "?? Lipstick on my guitar (ooh)


    Fill up the engine, we can drive real far


    Go dancin'' underneath the stars


    Ooh yeah, I want it all??"


    Taylor''s eyes twinkled as she heard about the guitar and she remembered their Yacht party together when Ed yfully fed her strawberries with Champagne in her room before they continued to "enjoy" each other.


    Meanwhile in the Dunphy Residence...


    Haley was bbergasted and thought, ''OW CRAP WHY DID I HAVE TO TELL HIM ABOUT HOW I''M TAKING MY DRIVER TEST SOON!?!? I DON''T EVEN KNOW IF I WILL PASS!!''


    As she couldn''t help but freak out thinking he would be disappointed in her after writing the song. It seemed that Ed''s song had a deep impact on the girls close to him, but he still didn''t quite understand how big his influence was on them.


    "??Mm, you got me feelin'' like


    I wanna be that guy, I wanna kiss your eyes


    I wanna drink that smile, I wanna feel like I''m high


    Like my soul''s on fire, I wanna stay up all day and all night??"


    Right on queue with the lyrics, all the girls blushed at the same time as they heard the next verse.


    ??Yeah, you got me singin'' like??


    "??Ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers??"


    > Oh my GOD. HE''S REALLY DONE IT!


    >AWESOMEEE!!!


    >I''m doooonee, take me to jail. I''m in love too... ??


    ??Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks


    And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back??


    ??And we''ll say, ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers??


    ??Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks


    And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back??


    All of those who heard the song couldn''t help but sway their bodies to the rhythm. Some even started dancing. Not even a Blonde Colombian Latina who just started swaying her hips nor the African American curly haired Beauty that had just caught on thest bit of the interview after someone told her "Believer" was up in the Radio.


    ??Into the car


    On the backseat in the moonlit dark


    Wrap me up between your legs and arms


    Ooh, I can''t get enough??


    "Seriously? He needs a lecture after this!" ire muttered.


    Somewhere else however a different, younger blonde had a different reaction however as she unconsciously broke her "innocent" fa?ade and just couldn''t stop herself from licking her lips as she stared right at the swaying figure in front of her.


    ??You know you could tear me apart (ooh)


    Put me back together and take my heart


    I never thought that I could love this hard


    Ooh, I can''t get enough??


    "Hehe~" Haley giggled.


    ??Mm, you got me feeling like


    I wanna be that guy, I wanna kiss your eyes


    I wanna drink that smile, I wanna feel like I''m high


    Like my soul''s on fire, I wanna stay up all day and all night


    Yeah, you got me singin'' like??


    Ed picked up the beat a little but most importantly his voice kept hitting all the notes and piercing falsettos(Singing technique that allows someone to hit notes higher than the singer can usually reach) which made the song even more intoxicating.


    ??Ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers


    Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks


    And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back??


    ??And we''ll say, ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers


    Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks


    And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back??


    While at the bridge, he closed a few sound loops and sang using a whisper. He didn''t strum the guitar, but instead he pped his hand to make a beat.


    "??Baby, you burn so hot


    You make me shiver with the fire you got


    This thing we started, I don''t want it to stop


    You know you make me shiver-er-er??"


    "??Baby, you burn so hot


    You make me shiver with the fire you got


    This thing we started, I don''t want it to stop


    You know you make me shiver...er ??"


    Ellen Degeneres, Jimmy Fallon, and a lot of other celebrity show hosts were impressed by Ed''s performance.


    "We got to bring him to our show!" Ellen shouted, and her thoughts were shared by a lot of talk show hosts.


    Ed strummed his guitar again and sang the ending verse powerfully.


    "??Yeah, you got me singin'' like


    Ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers


    Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks??"


    "??And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back ??"


    "??And we''ll say, ooh, I love it when you do it like that


    And when you''re close up, give me the shivers


    Oh baby, you wanna dance ''til the sunlight cracks


    And when they say the party''s over, then we''ll bring it right back, hey!!!??"


    4.5 million people cheered for Ed''s impromptu performance, and they had fallen to Ed''s charismatic entrapment. Majority of them would always ce Ed in his hearts after today, especially among teenagers and young adults.


    "Have a great day you guys. And good night!" Ed said before he waved goodbye to the camera. He cut the footage, but he didn''t shut down the website therefore people could still talk about his performance there.

 Chapter 83: Relaxation.

    <h4>Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Rxation.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "I''m starving."


    "Oh that''s right, you haven''t eaten dinner yet."


    I nodded at Pepper while holding my gurgling stomach as the clock striked 10 pm. I haven''t eaten anything yet since I came to the studio, and only ate a little food for lunch before this.


    After shooting a few more scenes with ABC studios for them to create a montage, Reba and the tv crew left the studio. The ABC studio version of the interview would be broadcasted on TV tomorrow evening.


    My live broadcast was uploaded to Youtube and the website I used to stream before. I had nned to develop that website to be my own personal celebrity page as people kept sharing the website link. There, they could also buy a few of my posters, my merchandise t-shirt and caps, mugs, and much more.


    "Poor dear, let''s get you some food." Pepper said as he tried to bring me away, but Taylor suddenly walked in front of me with her friend by her side.


    "This is..." Taylor tried to introduce.


    "Selena right?" I interjected as I held my hand for a handshake with thetina woman.


    Blushing a bit, Selena took my hand and asked, "How...do you know me?"


    "I watched Wizard of Waverly ce before. Although only a few episodes." I said with a light chuckle.


    She brushed her hair behind her ear and avoided my eyes. While fidgeting, she said, "I like your songs."


    "Thanks. I also like yours."


    "Un."


    Taylor gave us a death re for a second before changing her expression to a kind and innocentdy as I turned my head towards her.


    "Have you eaten dinner yet?" I asked. She had done me a favor bying to the interview today, and I wanted to do something nice for her.


    "No. I''m starving~" Taylor replied cheekily and grabbed my arm as she hugged it. "I want to eat the food you cooked, but I know you''re tired, so let''s just go to a restaurant."


    Selena rolled her eyes at Taylor as she was being coquettish before I asked her too, "How about you?"


    "Um...No I have eaten-"


    "Her agency doesn''t all0w her to eat after 6 pm." Taylor exined as Selena was troubled by the question.


    "OH you POOR DEAR!" Pepper eximed and gave Selena a hug. Even I was sympathizing with her situation. Her contract was really strict, and she was under heavy pressure all the time. That''s why she easily became friends with Taylor. They were in the same boat.


    "No. It''s- It''s fine!" Selena was bbergasted by the sudden kindness and blushed hard. She looked at Taylor to get some help, but her best friend had betrayed her and was currently gazing at my face.


    "Hmm..." I thought for a while before suggesting, "If...she had no choice but to eat something...then she won''t be in trouble right?"


    Pepper released Selena and asked me, "What do you have in mind?" Selena and Taylor also perked up their ears to hear what I was going to say.


    "How about..."


    I exined to them with a sly smirk on my face. Pepper guffawed loudly before saying, "Okay. I will call the restaurant!"


    Selena was startled, "He-Hey! Wait! I really can''t-"


    Taylor put her hand on her shoulder before saying, "Don''t worry~ You won''t get in trouble~"


    "We can have the 11 pm table at Amelia''s." Pepper said after finishing his call. It took him less than 30 seconds to get a table at the best restaurant in the city because of his connections.


    "Call Harvey too. We''re making this an afterparty... remember?" I said. Taylor chuckled and grabbed my hand with her left hand, and Selena''s hand with her right hand. She dragged both of us to the front door and said, "Let''s go!"


    But, my phone rang at this moment.


    "Oh. It''s Phil." I said before picking up the call. "Hi Phil!"


    "Ed!!! Your interview was awesome!!!! HA HA HA! Everyone was watching it!" Phil said in excitement. Cam snatched the phone from Phil and said, "Is Taylor there?-"


    ire grabbed the phone back from Cam before I could answer, "Ed-"


    She only managed to get one word in before it turned into a 3 way fight between Phil, Cam and ire to see who would get to speak to me first. I waited patiently as I heard the sound of their scuffle from the phone.


    Taylor was confused as I didn''t say anything for a while and asked in a whisper, "What''s happening?"


    I closed the bottom of the phone and said, "They''re fighting. It''s fun to hear."


    Finally, ire won.


    She said breathlessly, "An-Anyway. We''re all here, and we want to congratte you..Great job! Also, now that it''s over you go home and get some rest. You still need to go to school today. Just because you''re DEFINITELY famous now, doesn''t mean that you can skip school!"


    Iughed and said, "Okay~"


    I talked to the members of the family one by one, and had a short conversation with each of them.


    It was Haley''s turn, and all I could hear her say was, "Nice song. Wonder who were you singing it for?"


    "Can''t tell you anything about that one.." I said, not sure why I felt anxious as I heard her question.


    "Really? Then, you sang it for multiple girls?"


    "Nope." I replied curtly as I knew it was useless to try and defend myself.


    "Hmmm... Sure?" Haley asked with suspicions.


    "Yeah." I replied with a smirk.


    She paused for a while and cursed softly, "...Damn you."


    I also received a call from my dad and my aunt who watched the show at the airport, and even my grandparents were calling me topliment me. It was hard for me to keep up with their praises after a while.


    Jacob, Jenna, Elsa, Abraham, Abby, Enid and Tara send me texts after the show, all talking about the same thing. Although some behaved exactly like Haley in their lines of questioning.


    ...


    Taylor pouted with her cheek all puffed out as I had to settle a few things first with Pepper, so I was riding with him instead of her. Selena and her took another car to get to the restaurant, 30 minutes away from our location.


    While I was in the car, I opened myptop and ced it on myp to check the results of the interview today.


    "We achieved more than 10 million downloads of all songs together on Itunes. We broke all the records-"


    "You said we did, but it''s all you." Pepper teased, making me speechless a little. Iughed in embarrassment before continuing, "The merchandise sale is going crazy now. Especially the drip-inducing poster." I said as I checked the sales report.


    In one day, I had managed to do what a lot of people in Hollywood couldn''t. I''m bound to get some envy and bacsh from thister on, but it''s normal, and I''m prepared for it.


    "So...You finally epted the name." Pepper said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and said, "I haven''t yet, but it''s easier to talk to you when I use that name."


    The ''drip-inducing'' was the name Haley gave my sexy photograph poster, the one where I only wear a jacket, a ne, and looking at the camera lens sexily. She said a lot of teens will ''drip'' when they look at the poster, and the name stuck.


    "Sure sure. Keep telling yourself that." Pepper teased. He wanted to tell me to rest instead, but at the same time he didn''t want to diminish my enthusiasm on my special day. Therefore he was conflicted inside and kept making jokes to lighten the mood.


    "Total profit for today will be 8.9 million dors-" I said after totalling the sales, but Pepper interrupted me, "Ed. Don''t check the profit yet. Tell me, how do you feel first?"


    "I feel rich."


    "Ed..."


    "Hmm...Although I''m d that my name and my song is out there, I''m also a bit anxious."


    "Why?"


    "Expectations. What if I can''t do what I did today when I release my next singles, or what if my album reception isn''t great?"


    Pepper nodded as he listened to my worries and said, "I understand. That''s why you keep working, right?"


    I shrugged and said, "A bit. Yeah."


    He nodded and said, "Okay. How about this? Until we finish eating, we won''t talk about work at all. It''ll be a few moments of rxation... just to get the nerves off. Okay?"


    "I guess I can do that." I replied.


    "Okay. Now. Close theptop."


    "Ummm...." I was hesitating as I wanted to check a few other things. I also haven''t checked up on my game sales and reviews today as I was too busy with the singles release.


    For the game, I ced ire as a temporary manager to make sure that it keeps running smoothly. She was supposed to contact me if anything went wrong or if there was a bug report, but as she didn''t call me at all before the interview, I wondered what was happening on the game front.


    "Close it." Pepper said a bit sternly this time.


    I sighed and said, "Fine." I closed theptop and put it in my bag. Pepper smiled and praised, "Good boy. Now, look up."


    I rolled my eyes at him and looked outside the window. As we were still on the desert road, I was shocked when I saw the sky.


    "This..."


    "Beautiful isn''t it?"


    The sky was full of stars �C a sight that I could never see while in the city. The starry sky was like an endless canvas of the universe, and I couldn''t help but feel amazed by it. My eyes reflected the starry stars, and my mind turned rxed.


    I kept my eyes on the sky for a while, trying to take it all in. My anxiousness disappeared as I kept watching the sky and enjoyed the cold desert breeze. Pepper noticed it, smirked, and kept driving without saying anything.


    "Thanks Peps." I muttered as I snapped out of it as the sky''s color diminished when we got close to the city.


    "Why do you think I bought the studio here of all ces?" He asked with a smile as he made a turn to enter the city.


    "I don''t know. It''s free real estate?"


    "(Gasp!)", He was offended by my guess, and it showed on his face.


    ...


    (Amelia- Rachael Harris. ''Caught in the act'' episode- Owner of the Restaurant)


    As we reached the restaurant, some paparazzi were waiting in front of the door to take a picture of me. I waved at them as I entered the restaurant calmly before Taylor and Selena did the same thing 2 minutester.


    We didn''t avoid the camera as they were there because Pepper exposed my location to them.


    The restaurant was devoid of other customers as they closed the restaurant at 11 pm, but Amelia made an exception for us as she watched the interview before this.


    "Wee to Amelia''s. I really don''t expect the interview''s ending game. I still have the... ''shivers'' " Amelia, a blonde, sses wearing woman in herte 30''s, and also the owner of the restaurant came to the table as we all sat down.


    "Pff-" Taylor couldn''t hold herugh at the bad joke, while I stared at the familiar face in front of me. Amelia gave us the menu and waited for our order. She didn''t usually do this, but she couldn''t trust her employees to treat such high profile customers on their own.


    Taylor sat in front of me, and was warned not to y footsies by Pepper who sat next to me. Harvey couldn''t make it, so it''ll just be the 4 of us dining at the restaurant today.


    "Thank you Amelia." I replied as I took the menu from her, making her grin from ear to ear. It was a good deal for her as her restaurant would get some reputation while serving us and the articles the paparazzi would make had be free marketing for her restaurant.


    "I...Really don''t think this is a good idea." Selena said as she was afraid of the repercussions if she continued with the n.


    "Don''t worry. If you don''t eat, it''ll look weird, and people will find out what the agency told you. They will text you to eat, any moment now." Pepper said. He was confident because he knew someone was keeping track of the artist, and although he was revolted by the way those people treat their ''assets'', he knew they cared about their reputation more.


    And like he said, Selena received a text from her manager telling her it was okay to go on. Her eyes twinkled as she looked at me, making Taylor annoyed.


    "You''re very smart." Selena praised.


    "I know." I took thepliment cockily, making the whole tableugh. We ordered our food and Amelia went back to the kitchen to yell at the kitchen staff as usual.


    "You seem like you know her." Taylor asked as she caught me eyeing the restaurant owner.


    "Yeah. In a few movies and series." I muttered. The group was confused by my words, but they thought I was joking and didn''t ask further.


    "If I''m not mistaken, she has a son around Lily''s age." Pepper said. I nodded and said, "Who knows, maybe they can have a ygroup togetherter."


    ''And ruin Amelia''s 50,000 dor carpet.'' I added to myself.


    Selena was still worried, but as the food came, she threw away all of her reservations as she ate.


    "I haven''t eaten at night for 2 years now!" She eximed as she ravaged the ribs.


    Taylor and Iughed when we saw her messy face. Pepper took a napkin and gave it to her to wipe the sauce off her mouth.


    "AWww noo!" Taylor eximed yfully as Selena angrily cleaned her lips. We had a nice time at dinner but didn''t stay for long as we had already made the worker there work overtime.


    "Ed...wanna get...some ''dessert'' with me?" Taylor asked while licking her lips before we got out of the restaurant. However, she was unlucky as Pepper was still within earshot.


    "No. He needs to go to school tomorrow. You guys can see each other again on Friday. You ARE staying till Friday right?"


    "Saturday morning. My fight is on Saturday morning." Taylor corrected.


    "Then, we''ll get dessert together on Friday." I said tofort her.


    Although she was disappointed, she didn''t show it as we would still meetter on.


    "Where are you staying anyway?" I asked.


    "Taylor''s house." Selena replied.


    "Ahh. I see."


    "Wannae over?" Taylor asked.


    Pepper was in disbelief and asked, "Do you have the memory of a goldfish?"


    Taylor rolled her eyes and said, "Not now. Later on."


    "Sure. I wille over when we have the chance." I said and waved goodbye to the girls before going back to my house.


    ...


    [Taylor POV]


    ''Ahhh I want to be with him.'' I thought as we were separated from each other once more.


    "Should I just buy a house next door to him?" I muttered to myself. Selena who was sitting at my side was shocked and she admonished me hurriedly, "Are you crazy?!"


    "It''s just a thought." I replied. Although I was considering it. His poprity skyrocketed after today, and I was feeling a bit insecure about it. Before, I was the popr one, but...


    ''Now, he might be more popr than me.''


    My agency kept wanting me to y it slow, do country music first, tour the country to get experience, but now, two younger artists have surpassed my poprity because I kept it slow. Bieber and now Edward.


    "Should I really break the deal with the agency and go with Ed? I mean... Pepper is amazing." I muttered. I know that if I ask my dad, he could help me break the contract. But I would feel embarrassed to ask him to do it as I was the one who made the decision to sign with thispany before.


    Selena perked up and said, "Well...if you want to go there, then bring me with you."


    Although she hides it, I know that she was sick of her exploitative agents. Sheughed to make it seem like a joke, but the yearning in her eyes showed her true feelings.


    I grabbed her shoulder and said, "...No."


    "WHY NOT!"


    "It''s going to be only me and Ed there. And in the future, our childrens will take over our ce."


    "You''re crazy." Selena said with a dead expression. As we got to my house, I changed into my pajamas andy down next to Selena on the King sized bed. She was on her phone, reading about the articles that came out after our dinner.


    "It''s good. There aren''t any scandalous or malicious ims about your rtionship with him other than being close friends."


    "Why the hell aren''t there?!" I eximed angrily as I snatched the phone from her and started scrolling hurriedly.


    "I don''t know. Isn''t it better if they aren''t making you and Ed an item?" Selena asked in confusion.


    "Then how the hell can I keep the other bitches in ce! Ed''s contract doesn''t have a scandal use. He can date whoever he wants! That means, any random bitches can get close to him and try to take my c- Be his girlfriend!"


    "You wanted to say ''Take my ce'', didn''t you?"


    "Maybe."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    ''It''s been a while since I was alone in this house.'' I thought as I entered my bedroom. I took a bath as usual, and let myself be shirtless as Iy down on the bed.


    I turned my head slightly in the direction of the desk. Myptop was still closed as I put it on the table before.


    "(Sigh)... Should I?" I thought.


    "Or should I just rest tonight? I mean, ire and Harvey didn''t contact me, so maybe there''s nothing wrong after all?"


    The indecision even made my body twitch a bit, but there was a chain on the mattress, holding my body still. I couldn''t move...or rather, I didn''t want to move.


    "Okay... Let''s do all of that tomorrow." I muttered before I decided to close my eyes and take a well deserved rest.


    (End season 1)


    (Season 2 will start at Chapter 85 after the interlude. Comment below and tell me what do you guys think about the story so far. I''ll see you guys back on Tuesday! )

 Chapter 84: Interlude

    <h4>Chapter 84: Chapter 84:?Interlude</h4>


    (Check out the new fic cover. Tell me what you think!)


    [Edward POV]


    "Ugh..." I groaned as the light prating the gaps on the window not covered by the curtain hit me in the eye, disturbing me from my deep sleep.


    Without waking up, I changed position by rolling a little to the left to avoid the sunlight. It worked for 20 more minutes before the ray of light followed and hit my eye again. I could sense my eyes sizzling as if it was cooked, and I jolted awake as I thought I was on fire. "AHH!!"


    As the sun kept rising up, I had no other choice but to be a victim of its ruthlessness and had to wake up despite not setting any rms to wake up early today. My hair was messy and it seemed like it was licked by a cow, and I only opened my right eye to see what time it was.


    "Seven? Ohh... Yeay?" I cheered questioningly as the clock changed from 6.59 to 7.00 am while I was looking at the time on my phone.


    I had conflicted feelings as I was woken up at the same time I would always wake up, without the rm. I sat on the edge of the bed for 5 minutes before standing up and going to take a shower.


    "This...is this categorized as Lucky?... Or Unlucky?" I muttered to myself as I reached the toilet door.


    While having breakfast in the kitchen, I opened up myptop to check on my Singles sales progress and the ppy Bird report. My face was cold as I didn''t want emotion to be a factor in my calction therefore I tried my hardest to repress it. After all, I only have half an hour before Abby would pick me up.


    "Apple takes a 30% cut per 0.99 usd. The total downloads for the songs is 12 million downloads. 5 mill for Grenade, 4 mill for Can I be him, and 3 mill for Me and My Broken Heart." I made a quick calction and opened up an excel chart to set up my sales projection of the songs and calcte basic profits.


    "Thepany got 8.316 million from the sales in Itunes alone. But if I added a few other download sites, thepany made 11 million dors in one day. The next day sales projection will be lower as the initial hype was gone, but I still broke multiple records."


    "Merch got us another 2 million dors. And themercial from yesterday got me 750,000 dors. That''s all mine as the website and the broadcast was made by me. There wasn''t any use in the contract for that, so thepany isn''t entitled to it. That was what Harvey said. But I will still invest the money back into thepany and pay the staff for the broadcast ordingly."


    "Grenade music video broke 10 million views, while the lyric video for Can I be him didn''t reach 1 million views yet. Although it''s almost there. I guess it''s slower as I never did any marketing for it on Youtube." I muttered. "I won''t add the profit from Youtube to my calction yet as it was too small. I can do it after a month."


    I was only focused on the Grenade music video, and now Vevo wants it. They emailed thepany about putting the video on their channel and cooperated with the agency with terms that were highly advantageous to us, so I would let Harvey''s team negotiate with thepany.


    "Lastly, with me being the singer, song writer, editor, marketing exec, logistic exec, vice president, and also the hottest one there, my share for the song reached an astonishingly high 45%. So my bank ount was fattened with 5.4 million dors more today."


    My dad was walking by and almost tripped after he heard my words. He was spooked, not because of how much money I''d made, but the way I talked about them was as if I was talking about a meager amount.


    ''How many years would I need to work to get that kind of money?'' Dad thought depressingly. He didn''t bother me as I was focusing, and stood behind me to see what I was doing.


    "3 million will be reinvested back to thepany and 2 million more will be invested in several otherpanies. I already sent Harvey out to procure shares from Netflix and Amazon...seriously, I can''t do anything without her. I should give her a bonus." I muttered while my dad nodded behind me.


    Dad didn''t stop me from investing my money as so far, all of my stocks had given me high returns. He already marked me as a genius in his mind and gave up on trying toprehend how my mind works.


    "Moving on to ppy Bird. I got 10 million downloads from the Android store, and 15 million downloads from Apple. I think that was the limit as the downloads didn''t rise up for a couple of days now. The ads profit reached a staggering 100,000 dors a day. I breached the 1 million dor revenue, so I had to pay 30 % to both tforms. Fuck."


    My dad sipped his coffee with two hands in amusement as he enjoyed the show in front of him. He opened his mouth to alert me of his presence, but he decided to keep watching.


    "Thankfully, it''s only for the premium ads free game and not the normal one. I guess not many people decided to buy the game as it''s avable for free." I muttered.


    The inte and smart technology era also was just beginning, therefore a lot of online payment systems were still in the trial stage. It was hard for kids who actually enjoy the game to buy the premium version of the game as they didn''t have a credit card yet.


    "3.3 million from the premium download. Ads revenue was still at 400 thousand, but I earned the money from the ads daily. In a month, I will get at least 2 million from the ads alone."


    "This will be used to buy another ship for dad''spany, and that will also be his birthday present this year." I muttered. Dad widened his eyes as he heard it, and tried to interject, but I continued, "I can''t put the new ship under his name, so I''ll buy it under thepany''s name. It''ll be better for him not to increase his ie as he''s still paying alimony."


    Dad choked on his coffee behind me, making me notice his existence. "How long have you been standing there?" I asked calmly while handing him a napkin. He wiped the drink on his chin and said, "Thanks. Also, I just go here."


    "I see."


    "I have a question...why are you talking like you''re in a meeting?"


    "...I don''t know. This just helps me process the information better." I said before I ignored him and got back to work. After I finished my calction and sent the information to Harvey, I contacted thepany to get the EDM synthesizer/machine?�C which I would use toplete the ''Something Just Like This'' song and preparations for the future.


    *Horn Horn*


    "Abby''s here. Dad, ire will follow you to the meeting."


    He creased his brows and said, "Why?"


    "Simple. You''re too trusting and gullible. If I send ire alone, she''s too suspicious, anal-retentive, and overall awkward in a meeting as shecks experience. If both of you went there together, your synergy will make you guys apetent human being instead. Then, I can rest easy and leave it all to you." I said with a mischievous smile.


    Dad snorted but he couldn''t refute my words, therefore he smacked the back of my head (lightly) instead.


    "Okay. I''ll do it with ire."


    "That...sounds wrong. But sure. Goodluck dad." I replied. "Oh and wear a suit. I made one for you."


    He perked up and said, "Really?"


    "Yeah. other than your uniform, your taste in clothing is horrendous. I can barely keep myself from burning all of your clothes. So, I made one for you that I feel is appropriate."


    Dad was downcast and a dark cloud formed over his head. He slumped away as I walked to the front door and greeted Abby.


    "Hello there." I said while emting my inner jedi self.


    "Hello?" Abby replied, not getting the reference. With her twin tail hair, Abby had returned to her usual goth appearances. I nced at the choker on her neck�C the one that I gave her before, and couldn''t help but grin. She was wearing a tank top and a id skirt today, and was covering her legs with leggings.


    "Never mind." I said sweetly before hopping over her car door and sat next to her. "You know it''s risky for you when you''re driving me to school. Are you sure about this? I can hitch a ride with my dad or ride my bike there."


    "It''s okay. A promise is a promise." Abby said. "Besides, a few parents called the school and voiced their concern about the paparazzi. They are now banned from the schoolpound. They may try to camp out outside the school, but it''s useless so we don''t have to worry about it."


    I whistled and said, "Nice investigative work detective."


    "All in a day''s work, assistant." Abby replied with a grin as she felt tingly when beingplimented.


    "Although you just got the information through gossip."


    "... You couldn''t even let me have a little fun, could you?"


    I chuckled as Abby pouted. I patted her head, making her grumble and push my hand away.


    Although the paparazzi''s presence in the school had inserted more chaos in my life, it couldn''t bepared to how the students inside the school treated me. From an ordinary artist living in the school, now a lot of female students were looking at me with fanatical reverence instead. It pushed my school life towards alienation, and I still couldn''t figure out whether it was a good or a bad thing for me.


    "Luckily I still have you guys." I muttered. "Huh?" Alex was confused by my sudden remark and almost dropped the filling on her sandwich. Elsa and Jacob were still going through their drama, and Jenna was looking at me in reverence while sittingzily. Enid was intrigued as to how a broken up couple could sit on the same table, but she was preupied with her ursed ''Twilight'' book to say anything to them.


    We were eating in the cafeteria at the time, and I stole some food from Alex''s and Jacob''s lunch while they weren''t looking. Jenna chuckled as she saw me do that, but she didn''t expose my secret.


    "By the way, can I ask about why you guys broke up? Or is that question insensitive?" Alex asked bluntly to Elsa and Jacob.


    Before they could answer, I interjected, "Both of them are being stupid of course."


    "HEY!" Elsa eximed as she took offense.


    Ignoring the stubborn girl, I only looked at Alex as I talked without lowering my volume.


    "And yeah. That question is insensitive. If they wanted to destroy their rtionship just because of something tiny, then it''s up to them. We couldn''t interfere and tell Elsa that, {Jacob was raised by a housewife mother, and he saw that she was happy everyday. The only thing she was mad at him about was his desire of giving her the same life that her mother has. If it was a stupid thought, and if she ever told him about her dream or actually pry their tongue away from one another, to have a heart-to-heart talk... all of this could actually be avoided, as Jacob truly loves her for who she is.} I said again, we cannot interfere."


    "Though you basically just did." Alex muttered underneath her breath. Elsa''s eyes shook as she heard my ''sermon'' and turned toward Jacob. She finally looked at his face for the first time since their breakup. Without her knowing it, tears pooled in her eyes. Her chins quivered and her eyes fluttered, but they never actually closed.


    *Ring Ring*


    The school bang rang, indicating that lunch time was over. I whispered to Alex, and she nodded at my words before slowly pulling Jenna with her as she walked to ss. I took care of Enid and walked with her toward the lockers, leaving Elsa and Jacob alone in the cafeteria where they would reignite the love they had for each other.


    "So, why are you reading twilight? Are you trying to antagonize me?" I asked Enid yfully as she kept the book inside her locker.


    She shook her head slightly and said, "No. I want to antagonize my sister. She''s a fan of the series, so Imma spoil it for her."


    "Why?" I asked in confusion.


    Enid narrowed her eyes menacingly as she remembered what her sister had done and said, "She spoiled ''Harry Potter'' for me. So I will get my revenge!" She bounced a bit as she made a martial art punching action at me, making meugh.


    "And now, as you read the book, do you still think about spoiling the movie for her?" I asked as we walked side by side in the hallway.


    Enid sighed and said, "No. I won''t. The story''s too good for me to do that."


    I was revolted inside and I distanced myself from her a little.


    "Especially the wolves." Enid said with twinkling eyes.


    "Sure. Sure. You''re a furry. I understand." I said as I stopped in front of my ssroom door.


    "What- NO!" Enid retorted in disbelief.


    Iughed and said, "Sure. I ''believeee'' you."


    "But your tone isn''t showing it!"


    I guffawed before and wiped the tears from my eyes. I patted the chibi''s head and said, "Go to ss furry."


    "I''M NOT A FURRY!"


    Although I was a hater of the series, I wouldn''t actually go out of my way to prevent others from enjoying it. It was a matter of personal taste, even if the fans of the series have no taste *Ehem* I mean...All good things...


    ''If there''s one good thing about the series that I can think of, it''s that Robert Pattion suffered after acting in the series.''


    ''That suffering he went through was what made him truly understand the Batman character, and be a good Batman against all odds.''


    ...


    After school, Mrs Henderson asked me toe to her ss. She was wearing a shoulderless blouse with sleeves and her hair was tied up in a bun. Although she was only revealing her vicle, most of the male students inside the school drooled as they stared at her beauty.


    Not me though, that woman felt extremely familiar to me, so much that I couldn''t have sexual thoughts about her. But, that didn''t mean that I wouldn''t tease her.


    "Hello Mrs Henderson. I should warn you, although we''re in a private fan meeting, we need to maintain a professional behavior."


    She ignored me and gave me study materials and itinerary for the decathlon. I read the new schedule and frowned.


    "They are bringing thepetition forward?"


    Mrs Herderson nodded expressionlessly and said, "They changed the schedule, all because of one person...who was clueless enough to expose his schedule on live tv. Therefore, the organizer wanted to change thepetition venue to a new ce for the safety of the students."


    "I feel like that''s a dig at me."


    "Oh, so you''re not that clueless."


    "..."


    So, it was my fault that thepetition was moved up. Only the teamspeting in the decathlon would know about the new venue and date of thepetition. The organizer also asked the students to keep the information to themselves and didn''t share it with others until thepetition ended.


    "But, my final exam is on that date." I said with a scrunched brow.


    "The school had a meeting, and after a discussion, we decided to give separate testing for the decathlon members. The exams will be held two days before the decathlon, without any breaks in between the tests."


    "So...Monday next week?"


    "Yes Mr Newgate. After the decathlon, you will need to answer the supplementary exams, so prepare yourself."


    I nodded as I was confident with my skills, but I felt a bit guilty for Alex and Haruna �C the fourth member of the decathlon team, and also an exchange student from Japan. I don''t care about Sanjay and his future whining, nor did his name cross my mind at this moment.


    I looked at Mrs Henderson''s face with aplicated expression. She caught it and asked knowing, "What do you have in mind Mr Newgate?"


    "I was just wondering...if I take the supplementary exams and be the valedictorian-"


    "You won''t be the valedictorian." She corrected me.


    "I know, I''m just worried that it''ll make the other students feel cheated."


    Mrs. Herderson sighed slightly and paused for a bit before saying, "Mr Newgate...You actually don''t have to worry about this matter."


    "Why?"


    "Because...in your grade...there aren''t...any students with good capabilitiespared to the other grades."


    "Basically the kids in my grade are dumb dumb."


    She was stunned and replied in a tiny voice, "...Yeah."


    Alex''s grade 7 students had more than 7 smart, grade A individuals that were bringing the school name to a greater heights, while most of the students in grade 8...my grade...were basically glue eaters.


    "Therefore, it doesn''t matter if you take the supplementary tests. None of them are smart enough to notice it." Mrs Henderson insulted the entire grade 8 students without malice in her tone.


    Despite Abraham and Jacob being good students in the ss, they were actually average in intelligence. Others were...well...


    The teacher sent me away after briefing me about the decathlon. She also asked me if thepetition would interfere in my work as an artist. I set up my own schedule, and she had given me enough time to prepare for thepetition. Therefore, I could n my schedule more efficiently.


    "Study with the group if you have the time. Although you''re close with Alex, you never meet Haruna and you''re hostile with Sanjay. It''ll affect teamwork if this continues."


    I shrugged and said, "I''m not hostile with Sanjay. He''s the one who has a problem with me."


    "Then, be the bigger man and make up." Mrs Henderson said in a calm tone. I wanted to say no, but she told me something interesting that made me change my mind, "If you do, then I''ll kiss your lips."


    Just kidding, what she actually said was, "If you do, then I''ll mark the hours you spent with him as part of themunity work, so you won''t have to volunteer in the summer."


    "NICE!"

 Chapter 85: Slow Day.

    <h4>Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Slow Day.?</h4>


    (A/N: Season 2 Starts!...Although I haven''t even reached the 5th episode of Season 1 in Modern Family yet lol.)


    ''Damn it, I agreed without thinking much after she told me about the volunteer work. She yed me so darn easily...Not going to lie, I find that very impressive.'' I thought as I walked to Abby''s car. I jumped out the car door and sat next to her.


    "Hungry?" I asked.


    "A lil'' bit." Abby replied.


    "Wannae over and eat?" I asked.


    She blushed a bit and said, "Sure. The answer to that question will always be ''of course'' unless you lose your cooking skill."


    I shrugged and said, "It''s not that I''m good at cooking, it is your mom''s horrendous food that made youe on over."


    She chuckled a bit before narrowing her eyes menacingly. "I''m going to tell my mom that."


    I wasn''t afraid and said yfully, "Tattletale."


    She puffed her cheeks immediately as no one likes to be called a narc. I poked her puffy cheeks, making her expression change once more to be a cheerful one.


    Her hazel eyes were in direct view of the sunlight as we crossed an intersection. I gazed at her face, which in turn made her turn to look at me.


    "What?"


    "Nothing, I was mesmerized by your eyes. That''s all."


    Her lips curled upward before she remembered that she had brown eyes instead of the beautiful green or blue eyes. (E/N: Haley and Taylor my man needs the full set lol)


    "Don''t lie to me." She said with irritation before looking at the streets.


    "I''m not lying." I replied.


    "Brown eyes aren''t beautiful."


    "Maybe, you just never see it the way I see it."


    "Hmm? Then, tell me. How do you see it? And note that if I am not impressed by your answer, I will hit you."


    Iughed at Abby''s challenge and said, "Okay. But, if I do impress you, what then?"


    She was stunned and she thought for a while. "Well...If your words really captivated me, then I''ll...I will think about itter, but it''ll be good."


    I nodded and said, "Okay then. Challenge epted."


    I thought for a while before turning towards her.


    "See? Brown eyes are boring. You can''t change my mind." Abby said in self-depreciation as we almost reached my house.


    "Not quite. I just don''t know whether to do it in a poem, or just give you an example." I said.


    Abby widened her eyes and said, "Wait...did you seriously?..."


    "Which one?" I asked.


    She blushed a little, pretended that she didn''t care, and said, "Then...an example- NO NO... A poem!" She grinned like a 5 years old child, waiting for Santa us on the night before Christmas.


    (A/N: Brace yourself for cringe as I was aiming to make your fingers all curled up when I wrote the next part)


    I nodded and said, "Sure. Let me get into character first." At this moment, she had already parked her car in my driveway and waited for me to continue before she would go back home.


    As I remembered all of my past life memories, I also remembered what I read on the inte before this.


    "You hated your eye color, call it a dull and dirty brown,


    Wished for the deep blue of an ocean, where admirers'' hearts would drown."


    Abby chided, "True."


    I grinned and continued, "And it pained me when I realized, You''d never see it like I do. The way your eyes hints at a story, That I want to read right through."


    "They hold specks of stolen sunlight, that you''d miss with just a nce. And a depth of raw emotion, that can freeze you in a trance. They are a fix of melted chocte, When I''m craving something sweet, but hold a gaze so unwavering, that I find it meet-"


    "Okay okay okay stop!!!!" Abby blushed hard, her face as red as a cooked tomato, and she grabbed my arms while shaking my body to stop me from continuing. My eyes were spinning as she shook me, prompting me to stop. She finally breathes easy and before she could say, "Now go out-"


    I continued, "I fall right in the rabbit hole, when I look into your eyes. The brown of earth''s unfettered beauty, that I yearn to memorize. When I was tired of not belonging, they made me feel like I had been found. And I hope you never say again, that your eyes...are simply...brown."


    (credit to E.H poem)


    Abby was swooning as I finished, and I got out of the car before I needed to deal with the repercussion. I wasn''t trying to flirt with her, but I felt bad when I noticed she hated her own eye color.


    "Goodbye Abby. See you tomorrow." I said. Abby''s mood wasplicated as mixtures of confusion, stirred, longing, and happiness were swirling inside her mind.


    "O-Okay. See you tomorrow." Abby said. She couldn''t wait to share the poem to her mother and Haley�C which, by the way, would get me in a lot of trouble with the girlster on.


    However, I remembered something so I turned back and walked towards the car as she wanted to drive away. I bent over slightly, leaned my arms on the car door and said, "By the way. How''s your indie game going?"


    Her eyes darted all around as she stuttered, "W- I...I haven''t..."


    "So you don''t even do it when I''m not around huh."


    Instantly she lowered her head and admitted, "Yes."


    I nodded in understanding, and before I could walk away, she grabbed my arms and said, "Do..Do you have...free time?"


    "To help you make the game?"


    "Wha- Oh yeah. Yeah. For the game."


    I narrowed my eyes at her in suspicion before saying, "Sure. no problem. I''ll text you if I have some free time."


    "Okay... Then, it''s a date- It''s a lesson!"


    I was pretty sure that I heard her say date, but as she drove away hurriedly, and even knocked down a few garbage cans as she ran away, I couldn''t ask her what she meant by that. I shook my head and walked to the front door.


    As I entered my house, I checked my mail and read a few mails from thepanies I had invested in. After a cursory reading, I found nothing important in the mails other than ass-kissing me for more money, therefore I just threw the mail away.


    "I''m hungry." I muttered to myself before opening the fridge, only to find nothing inside. With a grimace on my face, I muttered, "Ughh..I need to go grocery shopping. Also, note to self, hire a housekeeper."


    As my work kept piling up, I figured out that I couldn''t keep doing all the work by myself anymore. And I do have the money to spend now.


    "I''ll contact Gloria to get the agency''s number." I muttered.


    Before taking a bath, I curled some iron and exercised for a good while in order to finally build some muscle. I''ve actually been doing it every day and only stopped if I had to go out and work. Hiruma''s discipline and experiences had impacted me greatly, and his knowledge of athletic performance enhancement training and muscle building made it easy for me to bulk up.


    I made a target that I would gain 20 more pounds of muscle before the year was over and finally graduate from my average skinny frame.


    As I did push ups without wearing my shirt, I mumbled to myself. "Maybe Hiruma''s standards also influenced me...*Hufff huff* Although my physique is still just average at the moment I feel inadequate as this body can''t be used in a proper, high performance game of football...not that I want to y football.."


    "Who''s Hiruma?"


    Suddenly, a feminine voice asked from my side. I turned my head to the source and found Alex pushing her sses upward as she pretended not to see my bare body.


    I shouted, "AHH PERVERT-"


    "I''m not a PERVERT!" Alex was bbergasted as I used her.


    "Intruder then!" I said decisively before continuing my workout.


    "..." Alex was speechless as I ignored her, and asked, "Did you forget I wasing here to study?"


    As I did another push up, I said, "No. But you should''ve knocked."


    She was embarrassed and said, "Well you didn''t lock the door. You should be more aware of your surroundings. What if a stalkeres in?"


    "Like you just did?"


    She retorted quickly, "I''m not a stalker!"


    I ignored her again and said, "Anyway. I''d cleaned up the dining table. You and Jenna can study there."


    "Will you...join us?" Alex asked carefully.


    I looked at the clock and said, "I''ll do nothing till 7. I decided that I could use a rest."


    "Yet you''re working out." Alex said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.


    "Wanna study at home?" I asked with a sly smile.


    Alex was exasperated and said, "No. My family is...being extra crazy today. I need to get out of there."


    I nodded in understanding and did another push up.


    "You don''t want to ask?" Alex said.


    "Nah. Let there be some mystery between us. That way, we won''t get bored of each other in 20 years."


    Alex was concerned and she crouched down next to me. "Are...you high?" She tried to sniff me for marijuana and even wanted to check my temperature, probably would have actually done it if I wasn''t sweating from my workout.


    I rolled my eyes at her and stood up before going to the bathroom.


    "Oh Alex, I called some food delivery, so please help me and open the door for them if I''m still in the shower when theye."


    "Is that a request or an order?" She asked while narrowing her eyes.


    "An order." I smirked as I patted her head.


    She puffed her cheeks as I grinned and walked upstairs to my room. After 20 minutes, I walked down in my gray shirt and sweatpants. I also had a harddisk on my left hand.


    "What''s that?" Alex asked as I walked to the TV and started hooking up the drive to the early age smart TV. Then, I sat down next to Alex on the couch while grabbing the remote.


    "This my dear, is a work of art." I said before going to the one piece folder on the external hard drive. Alex was curious as I clicked on the Arlong Park folder and yed the episode where the crew meets the sea beast, Moo-moo.


    Alex rolled her eyes and said, "You''re watching CARTOONS!"


    "It''s anime, and you''d just insulted billions of people by calling it a cartoon."


    When I arrived in this world, one of my main concerns of living here was theck of One Piece anime. In the previous worlds, I had followed the One Piece storyline for more than 15 years! However, I died there before I could even finish the Wano Arc!


    Myst memory of them was when Kozuki Momonosuke became an adult. That was it. I couldn''t even make it to the end of the Wano Arc. Was Kaido defeated? Did Yamato join the crew and set sail with them? I would never know.


    ''I almost cried the day in realization that bying here, I had once again fallen to the starting line of One Piece.''


    I was not an avid anime watcher in my previous world. However, I was a true One Piece fan. All I could do now was download the avable episodes from a few pirate sites to rewatch them again in my new life. Luckily, One Piece still existed here.


    ''Hell, it even existed in Hiruma''s world. An Anime within Anime. I wonder if Oda sacrificed his karma to spread One Piece to the whole multiverse.''


    "Who is that?" Alex asked as a pink haired swordsman came out on the screen.


    "That''s Zoro." I replied.


    As it was a parallel world, there were some details in the story that were quite different from my previous world. In this world, Sanji''s curly eyebrows were hexagonal instead of circr, God Usopp lost two teeth, and there were some other changes to different characters as well as some minor tweaks on the storyline, which made my viewing more refreshing.


    "Who''s that?"


    "That''s Sanji."


    "Why are you watching the Japanese version without subtitles?"


    I turned towards her and shushed her by cing my finger on her lips. "One more question, and you''re going to get kicked out."


    "Hmph!" She pouted before opening up her book.


    I opened up the subtitles in case she wanted to watch the show and we sat there for half an hour before Jenna arrived.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "To be honest. I feel a bit insulted. Although I know that he learned a fewnguages before, I didn''t expect to see him watching the show without trantion."


    Alex was a bit downcast as she muttered, "How did he find the time to learn that much? I studied all day long, and he can watch Cartoo- Anime,but... I guess he''s just smarter than me."


    She hugged her left arm as she confessed, "Honestly. It''s terrifying. I know for sure he was dumber than me a month ago."


    Her eyes showed hesitation as she said, "If that''s the case...if someone...can be smart...without even trying...then what''s the point of me studying so hard?"


    Although she said that, she wouldn''t ever stop studying. It was just a little rant to make her feel a bit better. She wouldn''t ever stop, as no amount of external pressure could ever hope to surpass the one she put on herself to achieve excellence.


    mentary ends]


    After the initial greetings, Alex wanted to move to the dining table to tutor Jenna, but the popr girl was curious as to why I was watching cartoons. Her obsession for me actually died down for a few seconds as she saw it, but rekindled as she saw my smiling face.


    "Why...why are you watching...this show?" Jenna asked me with hesitation.


    Alex chided, "Because he''s a boy. That''s why. All boys are childish."


    I nodded and said, "True." Alex rolled her eyes at me as a response for myck of enthusiasm for the conversation.


    Jenna swallowed her words as she heard my admittance and suddenly the scene showed Nami''s backstory. Alex''s eyes shook and Jenna was hooked to the screen. For 20 minutes, the two girls stood by my side as they watched the show.


    It ended with the Strawhats'' march to Arlong Park after Luffy put his hat on Nami''s head. Before I could press the button for the next episode, Alex and Jenna suddenly sat by my side as they wanted to watch the show.


    "Not studying?" I asked.


    "Well...Jenna just came, so I''m letting her rest a bit first." Alex said while Jenna nodded. I scoffed at them before ying the next episode and watched the Strawhats battle with the fishmen. Hours passed by, and I could swear that I saw Alex and Jenna wipe their tears as they watched the show.


    "I thought you said it was just a cartoon?" I teased Alex as I stood up from the couch to get a ss of water.


    "Wait. Are you not ying the next episode?" Jenna asked fearfully.


    I sighed and said, "If I watch it, then you guys won''t study. It''s almost 6 now. I''m stopping to get dinner."


    "NO! Seriously!?" Alex turned to check the clock and found out that she had been wasting 2 hours of her precious studying time to watch the anime. "YOU DEVIL!" She cursed at me.


    I was confused and I said, "Why are you calling me a devil? You''re the one who sat next to me?"


    "No! IT''S YOUR FAULT! Come on Jenna! We only have half an hour left!" Alex grabbed Jenna''s arm and pulled her toward the dining table.


    Iughed at them and walked to my bedroom. Halfway up the stairs, Alex said using a loud voice from afar, "Copy the show for me!"


    "Make it two!" Jenna added.


    "I don''t have enough drive. One of you will have to borrow mine." I shouted back.


    "I will take yours!" Jenna said hurriedly before Alex could open her mouth.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    Pepper was in a meeting with thepany''s staff after Ed''s sessful debut to the industry.


    "Harvey. Scandals?" Pepper asked the pixie cut, suit wearing femalewyer in front of him.


    "Many psychos imed that they knew him, or had done it with him. Some worse cases even imed they were carrying his babies. I shut them all down, so there won''t be another scandal except for the one with Taylor and Selena."


    "Even Selena?" Pepper asked in confusion.


    Harvey nodded and said, "Yes. A few... ''rational'' fans have started to root for Ed to end up with Selena instead of Taylor, as they were more... ''age-appropriate...'' They are even brainstorming their ''ship'' name right now. "


    "Will it damage his reputation?" Pepper raised his brow as he asked.


    "No. It''ll help him tremendously as the article has no ims to it. It''ll just spread his name to the public."


    "Okay. I''ll leave that, and the expansion of our legal team to you. I can''t wait to meet Donna."


    Harvey nodded while Pepper turned his head to face the logistic manager next. "How''s the merchandise sales?"


    "The revenue is expanding, and it''s gone international. In fact, most of the new orders are from Europe and Australia. A lot of Asians also want to buy the merchandise, however we don''t have a distribution channel over there."


    Pepper nodded and asked, "Can you find a stable channel?"


    "I can try. But it''ll take some time."


    After thorough discussions with his own staff, Pepper had another meeting with the movie studio and set up a recording session with Taylor on Friday through the proper channel �C her own agency. Although Taylor had confirmed that she was free till Monday, the agency kept iming that Taylor had prior schedules and tried to postpone the recording session.


    "Caged bird she is." Pepper channels his inner yoda after he gave the agency an earful.


    Harvey walked beside him and said, "A lot ofpanies want to offer sponsorship for his next concert. Have you talked to him about it yet?"


    "Not yet. He needed some rest, so I won''t bother him with unconfirmed stuff."


    "I see. I will try to get more than vocal agreement then. About his interview...it was posted to his website, which made the tvpany quite irritated. How do we respond to it?"


    Pepper turned to Harvey and said, "What are our options?"


    Harvey said, "We could pull it down and reupload it after the TV interview airs. However, the TV interview is quite different from the live broadcast and I took great care while drafting that contract. I''m pretty proud of it actually, one of the first to handle such a situation for such a talent I believe, so they don''t have any ims to force us to pull it down. We can just ignore them, but Ed will start his career with a bit of enmity with the TV station. I think we should avoid that."


    "But...he''s not going to be an actor?" Pepper asked in confusion.


    Harvey nodded in understanding and exined, "We don''t know that. He might get the opportunity in the future. So it''s better to be prepared. Not to mention that this industry is interconnected. Offend one then you offend many."


    (Quite chinese cliches, but it''s actually true. A lot of new actor/actress suffer from it)


    "Hmmm...What if...we don''t pull it down, but instead, we make it seem that the website is undergoing an update as we have a lot of traffic. So it doesn''t seem that we''re following the studio''s demand instead of technical difficulties...Better yet. What if we promise thework they will keep the exclusivity of the "Shivers" performance for some time, you know...tell them we will keep that song from our uing 3 song release next 2 weeks? I mean we haven''t even done the proper recording ourselves but they don''t need to know that..." Pepper said slyly.


    "That''ll work." Harvey said before she gave Pepper some documents to sign.


    As Pepper finished, his eyes widened and his face paled as he heard Harvey''s next sentence, "Lastly, about my sry..."

 Chapter 86: Personality and Hidden Dilemma.

    <h4>Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Personality and Hidden Dilemma.?</h4>


    [Jenna POV]


    "See here, X needs to be brought over to the left side, making the value of x is...?"


    "Hmmm....3?" I answered.


    "Don''t look at me, look at your calction." Alex said in slight annoyance. I could sense that she was bing increasingly frustrated the more she taught me, and it pained my heart when I realized that I had no talent in studying.


    "It''s...it''s okay to give up Alex. I''m dumb. I know it." I said using a self-deprecating tone. It seemed that I couldn''t win the bet after all.


    "(sigh) Nah. You can absorb things, albeit slowly. I tried to teach Luke before, and trust me, he''s the dumb one. What weck now...is time..." Alexforted me before turning the workbook to another page.


    I smiled wryly and thanked Alex from the bottom of my heart, but I knew inwardly that I should give up on the bet. Not only did I take Alex''s precious time to study, I...didn''t want to lie to myself anymore. With the finals starting on Wednesday, what other options do I have?


    ''After all, it''s an impossible bet.'' I thought when suddenly a warm hand touched both Alex''s and mine''s shoulder from behind us.


    "Arghh- Oh it''s you." Alex was startled at first, but then she just ignored Ed and said to me, "This time, we''re going to cover a little bit of history. Are you okay with getting homete?"


    Alex pushed her dinner time backward to help me study, but she was still being thoughtful to me.


    "Or, you can just eat here with me." Ed said, surprising both of us. We looked at him with shaky pupils, making him shrug and say, "It''s not fun eating alone."


    "O-O-kay. I''m going to text my mom to tell her." Alex said before she grabbed her phone.


    "If-If you okay with me...be-being here, then I-"


    "I don''t mind. Do you have any allergies I need to know about? Otherwise I''m afraid that I will identally kill you." Ed joked.


    I blushed a little and said while avoiding his gaze, "...Strawberries."


    "Oh. Strawberry allergies. That''s rare." Ed said with a smirk before he walked to the kitchen.


    "Hey! You didn''t ask me?!" Alex shouted in dissatisfaction.


    "Don''t be so loud Peanut Allergy!" Ed shouted back. Alex smiled and before she could start with the subject, Ed said, "Alex, inside my top right desk drawer, there''s a history notebook. You guys can use it if you want."


    "Hmmm? Okay." Alex said before she stood up and ran lightly to his bedroom. Oh how I envy her. But, with her gone, only Ed and I were left in the kitchen.


    I blushed hard in anticipation before turning slightly towards him. I wanted to observe him more, and I barely got the chance to do that in school today. My mind was a mess when I saw him skillfully handling the ingredients.


    The way he seductively takes out a pan, bending over to put things in the oven, his hair iling around as he chopped the carrot. I swear that my eyes were turning into a love shape like that perverted cook in the anime ''One Piece'' we just watched.


    "Ahh...so...beautiful." I eximed unconsciously.


    "Hmm? Did you say something?" Ed turned his gaze from the carrots to look at me and asked in confusion.


    "N-Nothing...Ed...Can I ask you a question?" I braced myself to ask.


    "Sure. What is it?" Ed said before turning the heat on the stove.


    "A-Alex said, you like girls..with personality. So...you don''t look at anything else?"


    "Hmmm...That''s a hard question. I do look at her appearance too. I can''t deny that a pretty girl will catch my attention more."


    I smiled gleefully as I heard that. That meant I had one of the criteria he was looking for. After all, I''m the prettiest girl in the entire town. (A/N: Her unconfounded confidence...)


    "So...what kind of personality do you like?" I asked with my heart palpitating fast.


    His gaze sharpened before he returned to his usual smiling face, and I was stunned as I saw a glimpse of his other face. The face that made me fall deeply in love with him after he insulted me. I bit my lower lips, hoping that he would show that kind of face more.


    [Edward POV]


    As I needed to start the history subject from scratch, I had written every important thing that the students needed to know inside a in notebook. This was before I got the eidetic memory curse from the gacha system.


    The book was no longer useful for me, but it could help Jenna. I wanted to help her, as despite everything, she was listening to Alex''s tutoring intently and didn''t ck off during the session today. That raised my impression on her, even though she was studying to win the bet.


    We got into a conversation after Alex was gone, and I was confused by her sudden question about the personality I like. I looked at her with a sharp gaze, wondering if she would change herself once more if I told her the truth.


    "For me, I like girls who are honest with themselves." I said after thinking about it for a while.


    She seemed confused, and she asked, "Why?"


    "What do you mean why?" Now I''m the one who''s confused.


    " I mean...Isn''t it better, if the girls are everything you ever dream off?" Jenna asked with the greatest confusion she ever had.


    "Why do your thoughts sound simr to a yboy magazine tagline?" I mumbled to myself before replying to her, "I won''t lie. That would be great. But, in the end, it''s a DREAM. A fantasy. I want girls who can share with me their passions, likes and dislikes and even fears so we can share adventures together, and have a positive outlook on life."


    Jenna scrunched her brows and asked with a slightly raised voice, "That''s...all obscure...what can I do with that information?!"


    "How should I know?" I replied yfully as my sadistic side enjoyed basking in her frustration.


    "Hey. I borrowed your biology book and ...a few more." Alex said as she walked back into the kitchen.


    "What does ''more'' mean exactly?" I asked while scrunching my eyebrows. "What did you do there?"


    "Please. It''s not like I was snooping around." Alex said dismissively.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "I was totally snooping around." She confessed. "Mom told me that boys will keep their important ''treasures'' hidden in their desk drawers, or in the sock drawers, or underneath their bed. I want to know what kind of ''treasures'' those are. I asked her but she wouldn''t tell me anything more about it."


    [Commentary ends]


    I nodded slightly as I trusted Alex. Then, I continued cooking for 20 more minutes before finishing dinner. Roasted carrots, steak cuts, and ravioli were served at the cleaned up dining table, and I enjoyed eating dinner with Alex and Jenna as the sun set.


    "I thought you were going to be working at 7?" Alex asked curiously with sauce on her lips as she ate the ravioli. I had to use ready made ravioli I bought from the store, which was an insult to my italian teachings.


    Wiping her lips with a napkin, I said, "I''ll start after dinner."


    Jenna scowled in jealousy but she had too much pride to stain her lips like Alex so that I would help her too. She stabbed the carrot with her fork before eating it in annoyance while eyeing Alex and I.


    Alex blushed a bit before saying, "Really? It seems to me that you''re deliberately dawdling. If you don''t want to work, just take a day off. You deserve it."


    [Alex''smentary]


    "What? You thought I stained my lips on purpose?.....Maybe..."


    mentary ends]


    "True. You work hard. You can take a day off." Jenna agreed with Alex.


    I did consider it, but I still needed to do a few more things before I could feel at ease. Before I could finish eating, I received a call from ire.


    "Alex, it''s your mom." I muttered before picking up the phone. She was startled and anxious for a few seconds before she realized that she had told her mom her whereabouts before, and wasn''t in any trouble.


    "Hey ire. Did you finish your negotiations?" I asked.


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Port, Whitebeard Tourism meeting room-


    ire nodded slightly while her eyes kept ncing behind her, in the direction where Ted was talking with the other sea captains.


    "Y-Yeah. The negotiations are finished. We''ve merged with 3 morepanies now...." She said with a slightly shaky voice.


    "What''s wrong?" Ed caught her tone and asked.


    "Well, the sea captains wanted to settle...who''s going to be...the Captain of thepany...using the old sea ways...and your Dad...agreed to it." ire said with a slight confusion as she wasn''t familiar with the old seaws.


    Ed tilted his head in confusion before he understood it. He nodded and said, "ire. You might want to move out of the room for this one."


    "What- What do you mean?" ire asked.


    "Just trust me." Ed said calmly.


    ire nodded and walked out of the meeting room and closed the door behind her before she heard sounds of fightinging from inside the room. Chairs were breaking, ssware shattering, and loud grunts terrified her very being.


    "Oh MY GOD!" She eximed.


    "Move ire. Move." Ed urged her. She was baffled by the situation and hesitated for a while before she decided to walk away.


    "Bring me the meeting minutes okay?" Ed said in a calm tone tofort ire.


    "Sure. I''ll stop by before I go home." ire said as she pushed the event ongoing inside the meeting room to the back of her mind. "Also, shouldn''t we get Dwayne here...you know, in case your dad loses?"


    "Nah. The rest of the captains are over 60, so it''s just a formality. There''s no way they can beat my dad in the game."


    "The game?" ire asked in confusion. "Aren''t they fighting?"


    "No. They are arm wrestling." Ed exined.


    ire breathed a sigh of relief and finally could calm herself down. Then, she smiled and said, "There''s still a lot I need to learn in this industry."


    Ed chuckled and said, "Yeah. But don''t worry. You can go slow. There''s no rush as long as I''m still around."


    Before ire could say anything else, Ed got another call. "Sorry ire, got to go."


    "Okay. I''ll send the detailster." She said before ending the call.


    -Desert Studio, Entertain Company-


    "Hi Ed. Did you have a nice rest today?" Pepper said in a kind tone after Ed picked up the call.


    "Yeah. Sorry for letting you guys deal with the issues alone. Do you want my help now?"


    "Oh No No No. I''m only calling you to ask if you''re okay. Also, we''re giving Harvey a 20% raise."


    "That''s normal. She was severely underpaid before this, to the point I even wondered if she was just doing us a favor." Ed replied without being surprised.


    Pepper shared with Ed various pieces of information about his sessful debut, and at the end of the call, Ed asked, "So. You sure you don''t need me to do anything?"


    "Of course. Leave it all to us." Pepper said confidently.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    *beep*


    "Why do you look so sad?" Alex asked after she saw me ending the call.


    "Nah. It''s nothing. I guess...I wasn''t needed after all." I said before changing the subject and getting back to my dinner.


    Alex shrugged as she couldn''t figure out what was going on, while Jenna looked at me with confusion.


    "Tomorrow we''re going to study again." Alex said to Jenna. She nodded and said, "We''ll just meet at the library next time-"


    "Before that, here." I interjected their nning and slid my hard drives to each of them. Jenna gulped her saliva while Alex was annoyed.


    "We Want To Study! NOT WATCH ANIME!" Alex retorted.


    "You can do both. Just watch it during your free time." I channeled my inner devil to tempt both of them.


    Dazedly, Jenna sumbed to the temptation and stealthily put the hard drive in her bag. Alex saw it, scoffed, and did the same thing before saying," We''re only going to watch it... After the final exam."


    "Y-Yeah. Or when I''m eating, or before going to sleep-" Jenna unconsciously blurted out her true thoughts.


    Iughed while Alex red daggers at me.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "I admit that the anime is a good distraction. But... It''s also poisonous. I need to NOT let myself be lost in it like today. Otherwise it''ll cut my study time short, make me get a B in my exam, lose my top ce in school, and have to apply to a normal top university�C Anyway, I can''t let that happen."


    mentary ends]


    Alex and Jenna soon left the house, leaving me alone in my living room. I walked to the piano inside the second living room and sat down on the piano chair.


    I opened the keyboard cover and cracked my fingers, making popping sounds.


    "It''s been a while." I muttered as if speaking to the piano.


    [Yiruma- Rivers Flow in you]


    "This is the first time I''m ying this."


    My fingers skillfully alternated between the keys as I yed the song.


    Inside my heart, a whirlpool ofplexity was raging, as my repressed emotions couldn''t be held back anymore.


    "After Ie here...Have I ever...mourn yet?" I asked myself as I looked upward while my fingers kept ying the song.


    "No. I was a coward. I delved into work, into finding money...and I pushed the eptance away."


    "But then, I was given the eidetic memory, which turned my life into a living nightmare."


    "Your image that wakes me up from my sleep, can''t leave me alone as I go through my day. The voice of the only...ONLY person who epted me...and loved me...through my entire life before... kept whispering in my ears."


    I mmed the keyboard, making a discordant noise resounded in the entire house.


    "How pathetic am I?!" I said with gritted teeth. The windows were pried open by the sudden gust of wind, and it started to shake the things around my living room. However, I ignored the wind as I continued ying.


    ''After...I got the eidetic memory, I couldn''t even forget if I wanted to. Time heals all things, but for me, time only turns the memories I have into empty husks. The memories inside were deleted, only leaving me with the empty shell of what once was my life.


    "I guess...That''s why I was sprinting...I want to shut all the noises down." I realized something as I kept ying. The song ended, and I yed another song by the same artist, Yiruma �C Kiss the Rain.


    "No matter how much I tried to move away, you kept standing there beside me, in my memories." I muttered.


    "Thank you Be." I said as tears flooded my eyes. I kept ying as I held back my tears from falling, while saying, "Thank you...for making me...a human being that knew what love from a parent was..."


    "I wanted to tell you that sooner, but the bruises in my heart were too big for me to say. For me to ept...that you were gone from my life."


    The soft wind brushed my face as I wiped my eyes.


    "I''m sorry...that I couldn''t be there...at yourst moment.."


    I couldn''t hold it back anymore, and tears started falling down my cheeks.


    "I''m sorry that I held on to you for so long." I muttered while sobbing.


    "Now...Please...I hope that you find peace...Please..."


    "I''ll always keep you in my memories...I won''t try to avoid it again."


    As if I was talking to her, I tried to smile as I said, "I''m happy here, with my new family...They treat me well...although some of them are dumb... I have aplicated mom, but that doesn''t bother me much. I have money now... If I were back in the past, then I could help you more with the money that I have now..."


    Suddenly, I felt warmthing from my back, as if I was hugged by someone. That was when I broke down and couldn''t continue ying anymore. I covered my eyes as I sobbed as I epted the fact that she was gone. She had moved on, and so should I.


    -3rd Person POV-


    As ire came to Ed''s house to send the meeting details, she heard the piano sounding from his living room.


    "He still kept the door unlocked. I need to lecture him about it!" She said angrily as she barged into the house.


    However, as she walked to the living room, she found Ed holding back tears as he yed the piano. She couldn''t listen to what he said as the sound of the piano covered his voice.


    It pained her heart as she heard the melody, without her knowing it, tears fell from her eyes.


    She walked to him and hugged him from behind. He stopped ying and broke down while ire keptforting him, "It''s okay..It''s okay...I''m here...We''re all here..."

 Chapter 87: Third Gacha!

    <h4>Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Third Gacha!</h4>


    [ire''smentary]


    "Despite how mature he is with others, deep down, he''s still a broken 15 years old." ire said before biting her fingers slightly. She removed her finger, brought her hand to herp and continued, "It''s not healthy for him to have ''periodic episodes of depression'' �C or at least I think that''s what it was all about."


    She lowered her gaze as she fell into deep thoughts.


    "I don''t know what happened, what was the cause of it, whether he cried because it''s going to be his mother''s birthday tomorrow, or because he''s relieved that his career change from ssical to mainstream music is taking off. Maybe he''s feeling under pressure to excel here too, and he broke down because he''s finally made it."


    She raised her head and looked directly into the camera and said, "All I know is that he needed someone to be there for him. And I don''t mean his dad. He needs...a motherly figure in his life."


    "So I decided to treat him like one of my children." ire said despite the fact she had already started treating him like one of her offspring weeks ago.


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Well, that was embarrassing." I muttered as I woke up in the morning. While stillying down on the bed, I recounted the affairs ofst night.


    As I calmed myself down, I went directly to bed instead of talking about it and slept like a log till morning came. To be honest when I noticed that ire was there, my heart almost dropped from the shock. That kind of emotional roller coaster helped me to calm myself faster than needed too.


    I talked with ire for a while, and she tried tofort me even though she didn''t know why I was crying. But as I was too tired, she just nodded in understanding and let me rest. I guess that''s why no one disturbed, nor called my phone after the incident.


    "Still...It feels as if I was abandoned. Even Haley didn''t start the usual midnight texting session with me."


    My mind was refreshed afterst night, and my spirits were raised after such a long time battling with my sense of loss.


    "I hope that ire will not tell anyone what happened- Oh hell, why do I even say that. I know for sure she WILL tell someone about it. What I need to do is to prepare for the aftermath."


    Finally, I got out of bed and went to take a shower as I needed to go to school today. Curiously, as I was getting dressed, Haley texted me toe to her house to have breakfast with her family.


    ''Did ire n this? Did everyone already know about it?'' I thought in concern. If everyone already knows, then I wouldn''t want to be there this morning as the memories were still fresh.


    "Why?" I texted Haley back.


    Haley: "Duh. To have breakfast. What else? Also, mom already called Abby and asked her to pick you up at our home. Soe quick otherwise Luke and Dad will eat your pancakes."


    I rubbed my forehead in frustration as I analyzed the text message.


    "So it''s one of two things, either she knows about it and is pretending she doesn''t while trying to act normal, or she really doesn''t know. But, since she''s not being awkward, I guess it''s thetter."


    "Maybe ire has actually kept my secret??...Unlikely...I guess Phil knows." I muttered to myself before I put an Armani leather belt on my waist.


    I was wearing a blue-colored short sleeve shirt with golden buttons, and straight cut ck pants which paired nicely with my sneakers. The shirt had a handmade insignia on the front pocket which I made myself.


    As the weather was bing hotter, I no longer wanted to wear long sleeve shirts and opted to wear lighter outfits instead.


    When I walked to the kitchen, I saw a note left behind by my dad as he had already gone to work early in the morning. It was just a few simple words of affirmations, but my heart felt a sense of warmth emanating from the sentences. I appreciated his effort greatly and muttered, "So...He knows."


    My cheeks felt hot from the embarrassment. I cursed softly, "Fuck..."


    "However, it''s also the right time for me to test the [Lie to Truth] skill that I gotst night."


    How did I get the skill you wonder? It''s from a game of poker that I yedst night with a humanoid bunny.


    ...


    [shback]


    After I went to sleepst night, I was transported to a white space without me realizing it.


    "Oh. So my mother''s birthday counted...Damn.." I muttered as I realized that the condition for the Day of Life or Death to activate the gacha session was activated.


    "So. What is it this time?" I wondered as my eyes shed traces of excitement as I walked deeper into the white space. However, I suddenly heard the sound of someone shuffling a deck of cards. I turned my head to the source of the sound, only to find a humanoid bunny in a butler''s outfit, a monocle on his left eye, and wearing a top hat smiling at me.


    My instinctive fear of the unknown strikes my heart and I had cold sweats on my back as I stared at the bunny.


    "Are you going to keep looking at me all session? Don''t you want your prizes?" The bunny said with a childish voice.


    "Who are you?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.


    "Gacha is a game of luck. What has more meaning to the game of luck than a casino itself?!" The bunny said ceremoniously and snapped his fingers. The white space suddenly turned into a casino, filled with numerous intelligent beings and a game of chances inside the hall.


    He snapped his fingers again, and I suddenly found myself sitting on a chair at the poker game table, facing the dealer (Bunny) in a game of cards.


    "First, let me exin a few rules of the unique gacha. Unlike the various gacha games that have infinite chances for a prize draw, here at the [Lucky table] you can use your karmic points as Bets. 100,000 karmic points to decide where to pull the prizes from.


    I widened my eyes as I understood the rules, and I couldn''t help but want to confirm, "So if I bet 100,000 karmic points to draw prizes from the One Piece world, then I could get prizes from that world?"


    "Basically, Yes. However, although the draws were narrowed, you still have a chance to draw apletely random gacha prize from your poker card. As you know, a poker card has abination of 8x1067 possible prizes. Your bet will narrow ? of that into the universe you wanted to draw your prizes from. And If you manage to draw the cards you wanted, then the bets will be doubled and given back to you."


    I scrunched my brows as I heard the numbers of possible draws. "That isn''t narrowing it down at all!" I retorted.


    The bunny shook his finger while clicking his tongue at me. He then said, "My boy, you understand what infinite means, so why are you pretending not to know it?"


    Iughed a bit and said, "Fine. I understand. Another question, if I increase the betting prize to...let say a million."


    The bunny smiled eerily and said, "Now you''re getting it. The higher your bets are, the lower the probability of thebinations you will get."


    I nodded and said, "Before that, how can I check how many negative and positive karmic points I have now?"


    The bunny slides 5 cards into the desk while simultaneously pushing it towards me. I picked one of the cards and opened it to read what was written inside.


    Edward Newgate:


    Affiliation: Official member of the Afterlife Corps.


    Current status: Singer/Game Maker/ Inventor


    Positive Karma: 13, 998, 099.5


    Negative Karma: �C500,000.5


    I couldn''t help but rub my forehead at the number of negative karma I umted. As my reputation soared worldwide, so did the numbers of karma I received from my influence on people.


    "Why is this happening?" I asked with a frown while looking at the negative karma value.


    The bunny sneered and said, "Try to remember your previous life. Was all the influences from a celebrity positive in nature?"


    "Ah you mean..." I blinked my eyes twice in realization.


    "Some will be influenced positively, some will take it the wrong way." The bunny exined simply.


    "I see..."


    Many groupies would postpone fighting for their future as they were rooting for me, some may even develop fanatical obsession, some may destroy their rtionship with their current/future partner because of my influence.


    "That''s pretty sad." I muttered.


    "That''s human." The bunny said.


    I throw the matter to the back of my mind before asking, "Howe I don''t have special value gacha roll in here?"


    The bunny smiled evilly and said, "The casino would only be opened to an agent who surpassed 10 million umted positive karma. The hundreds of karma gachas are only for poor people. However, you will still be deducted 666 karma points if you manage to draw your betting prize."


    I stared at the bunny with an inexplicable expression before I sighed and said, "How about the Grim Reaper? Can I still donate karma to him?"


    "You can still do it, but I advise not to do it until at the end of the session. Otherwise...you might not have enough points~!" The bunny ended his sentence with a singy-songy tone as he mocked my ''poorness''. It couldn''t be helped as I was a newbie at this part after all.


    Despite the fact that I could see a few other people inside the casino, I couldn''t register their faces into my memory even though I could see their faces clearly. There were also a few people sitting next to me, ying the same game that I was going to y.


    "You don''t have much time. Why don''t we start with the first draw?" The bunny urged.


    I furrowed my eyebrows and said, "How did you measure the time I have left?"


    "By the strength of souls. yers~~ ce your bets!" The bunny said.


    "Okay then." I muttered as I knew I couldn''t get the answer from the greedy bunny, so I ced my bets. As I imagined how many points I wanted to bet, a white poker chip appeared on my hand. I threw the chip to the bunny and said, "500,00. The year 2050 in my previous world."


    "Nope." The bunny inexplicably threw back the chip to my hand.


    "Why not?" I asked in frustration.


    "You cannot have anything rted to your previous world. So try again. You cannot get one piece''s ending using this method~"


    I sighed and thought for a while before throwing the chip back at him. "Captain America."


    "So Marvel universe." The bunny said and heid down the 52 cards smoothly in front of me. "Pick 5 of them."


    I nodded and I picked the King of Heart, Ace of Heart, Queen of Heart, The Joker, and 7 of spades."


    (There isn''t any specificbination for the card. It''s just based on his luck)


    "Ohh..So close." The bunny eximed and the 5 cards I picked merged into 1 of them.


    [Special Ability Prize: Captain America �� Enhanced Digestive System]


    "What the-" I muttered.


    "Congrats. You won the bet, and now, you won''t ever have diarrhea!" The bunny mocked before returning two chips to my hands valued at 500,000 positive karma points each.


    "PLAYERS! PLACE YOUR BETS!" The bunny eximed once more.


    I merged the two chips together and threw it at the bunny. "1 Million points for ''Everyone Else is a Returnee'' universe."


    The bunny changed facial expression for the first time in the session and muttered, "That''s why weebs are dangerous."


    I smiled at him, making him more annoyed.


    "Pick your cards." The bunny said and the cards wereid out in front of me again. I picked 5 cards, and got 3 Ace cards and 2 queens.


    "You''re... a very lucky man." The bunny said with vignce.


    The cards merged and turned into [Skill: Yu Ilhan: Rest]


    "Ohhhhh...." I eximed in bewilderment as I got the card that I needed the most right now.


    "Although the skill was an active skill that uses mana, Afterlife Corps had adjusted the skill to meet your needs in your own world. After the skill is activated, you will fall deeply asleep in 15 seconds, so make sure to lock the door before you activate it." The bunny said mockingly before giving me back 2 million worth of karmic points.


    "I see we have a peeper here. I''m only 15, you pedo." I said, making the bunny stunned speechless.


    Next, I threw only 100,000 worth of karmic points to the dealer.


    "Afraid are we?" He mocked.


    "Nah. I know the first 2 is ''newbie''s'' luck. It''s a casino''s trick to make you fall deeper into the betting. Am I right?" I said with a sly smile. The bunny spit out his saliva to the side in irritation as he mumbled, "So. I threw away 1.5 million points for nothing?"


    As I expected, I lost continuously for 5 more bets after the initial two, leaving me with card such as;


    [Special Ability: Kenji Harima�� Animal Affinity] (School Rumble)


    [Skill: Barney Stintson �� Photogenic poses] (HIMYM)


    [Skill: Akira Hayama �� Spice Handling] (Food War)


    [Talent: Malcolm Reese �� Chef]


    [Knowledge: Xia Shiyu �� Business management] (I have a Mansion in Post Apocalypse)


    "500,000 points for Marvel Comics." I said before throwing the chip at the bunny.


    He sneered and said, "Trying to get the amount you lost back? Friendly reminder, this is how a gambler bes bankrupt!"


    I shrugged and said, "I don''t mind. I still haven''t used any of ''my'' karma points."


    The bunny snorted andid down the stack of cards again. I picked 5 cards and it merged into a unique card, [Skill: Chameleon �� Acting]


    "See. I''m still lucky." I said with a sly grin that made fumese out of the bunny''s ears.


    The bet continued for another 7 times, with me losing every single betting session. I lost almost 3 million karmic points, and gained a few unique prizes from the gacha draw.


    [Skill: Batman �� Anti-recognizance]


    [Talent: Lee Jin Woo �� Golden Ratio Body Proportion] (The Novel''s Viin)


    [Special Ability: Mermaid�� Soul Voice ] (The Little Mermaid.)


    [IQ Increases by 20]


    [IQ Increases by 10]


    [Talent: Kakashi �� Fashionablyte]


    [Skill: Baby �� Driving] (Baby Driver)


    "Ah shit." I muttered as I got the Kakashi talent. "This will cause a lot of trouble."


    "HAHAHA!" The bunnyughed at my misery and said, "Not only that. You don''t even need Kenji Harima Affinity. All members of the afterlife will have added affinities to newborns and animals, so we don''t have to be afraid of getting mauled by a raging beast...Ever!"


    I lowered my head and cursed, "Damn it!"


    "Of course, you can cancel out Kakashi''s talent by getting a stronger...more perfect talent." The bunny whispered evilly.


    I raised my head up as I was tempted by his words. I then throw a 5 million worth of karma point to the bunny, making him stunned.


    "Sakamoto-kun." I muttered.


    The bunny grimaced and said, "Are you sure?"


    "Positive."


    "Then, pick out your cards!" The bunny eximed.


    I picked up 5 cards and checked them one by one. "Joker, Joker, Joker, King, King."


    The bunny''s happy expression shattered and his hands shivered.


    "I got the Full House." I smiled softly, making the bunny hold his head in frustration.


    The card''s merged and it turned into, [Skill: Sakamoto-kun �� Prank Proof]


    "Damn. It''s not what I wanted." I said.


    "Shut up you point guzzler! Do you know how much I lost!?" The bunny said and threw 10 million worth of chips in my direction. I smiled and said, "That''s your problem. Not mine."


    He was stunned, but then he realized that what I said was true. I was only gambling.


    I threw back the chip he gave me and said, "10 million points. Sakamoto-kun."


    "ARE YOU CRAZY!?" The bunny exploded!


    "I''m not. It''s just, there''s something else that I really wanted."


    "Fuck!" The bunny cursed before making the cards appear again. I picked 5 cards and smiled. "Ace, 2, 3, 4, and 5. So I got straight."


    The bunny almost fainted and the card merged into the winning prize, [Skill: 7nguage proficiency. (English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Mongolian, Korean)]


    "Damn it. Still not what I want." I cursed while the bunny looked at me with a spooked face as he threw 2o million points worth of chips in my direction.


    "You- You should ce your bet on another-"


    "20 Million points on Sakamoto-kun."


    The bunny gave up and said without any emotion, "Okay. You win. You win. Take it all then."


    I picked up the cards, and read them. "A king..."


    "A queen..."


    "An ace..."


    "A Joker..."


    "Andstly... A 10 of heart."


    "So I got the Royal Flush right?" I said with a kind smile, which made the bunny''s knees weak.


    The cards merged together, and I finally got the prize that I wanted!


    [Special Ability: Sakamoto-kun �� ''Exactly on time'']


    "Also, I got 40 million karma points." I added, which made the bunny fall to his knees. He had to be exchanged with another dealer, a female bunny in a sexy bunny''s outfit as he was too depressed to continue.


    I yed the game for another 5 times as I know the gacha will change its appearance when Ie here next session. As the previous gacha said, the method of drawing prizes was totally random. It was just that I had good luck to stumble into the casino this time.


    At the end of the session, I eliminated my negative karma and donated 10 million karmic points to the Grim Reaper�C freeing him from his imprisonment. However, I still have millions of positive points even after I did that, and I didn''t know what to do with them.


    "You cannot keep the point with you and bring them back to the real world. With no bad karma and tens of millions of positive karma, you will be the seconding of Jesus, or a Saint when you go back." The new dealer said.


    "So what should I do with it?" I asked.


    "There''s an option to store karma, but it''s only for 5 million values. The rest will be destroyed before you go home." The bunny said.


    "I see.. Then, how about donating them?" I asked.


    "You want to donate all of them?" The bunny asked in confusion.


    "Yeah. Just donate it to the unfortunate people in the multiverse. I would rather it be put to good use instead of being destroyed." I said.


    "Hmmm...I''ll contact my superior and ask him about it first." The bunny said before walking away.


    While she was gone, I checked the new prizes that I got after the dealer changed.


    [Skill: Bruce Wayne �� Trained yboy Character]


    [Knowledge Lex Luthor �� Image Management]


    [Memory: Kai Ling �� School Level Education] (Mass effect. Year 2170)


    [Skill: Kenichi �� Karate (First Year)] (History Strongest Disciple)


    [Charisma Increase]


    [Charisma Increase]


    [Jiang Chen�� Mutated Immune System] (same as Xia Shiyu. He''s immune to everything from poison or any infectious diseases. Even deadly ones]


    [Special Ability: God Usopp �� Lie to Truth]


    The dealer came back soon after, and she said, " Management decided that your intentions are pure. Therefore they decided to respect your choices and let you donate the karma points."


    "Pure?" I said, confused.


    The bunny gazed directly in my eyes and said, "We can see through a person''s soul. No lies or hidden intentions could escape our sight. If you nned to donate the karma point with a hidden agenda, then we would have rejected your request mercilessly. "


    "Ahh I see. Okay then, I guess my time is up right?" I said as I could sense the force pulling me back to the real world.


    "Yes. You have a good haul today. Enjoy your new Life Mr Newgate. There won''t be any sessions till months from now, so we won''t meet again. And as you donated the karma point with a pure heart, you won''t experience any difort as you assimted the prize you got today.]


    "That''s awesome. So I won''t pass out again. Gar-Chuu. I mean. Goodbye!"


    I disappeared from the casino in a rush and returned to the real world. After I woke up, I was invited to the Dunphy''s house for breakfast as I was dressing up.


    I looked in the mirror and found that I had grown 3 centimeters more, making my height reach 178 cm. My eyes seemed clearer and I noticed a change in my temperament as my charisma increased.


    "Not only that, a few skills have synergy with each other, making my changes seem more prominent." I said as I noticed the golden body ratio, the perfectness, Bruce Wayne''s trained yboy skill, and the karate skill superimposed with each other.


    As I continued to grow, I was sure that I could rece Ryan Reynolds as the sexiest man alive, or at the very least be tied with him in first ce.


    "*Cough* *Cough* The mermaid voice...This is a bit troubling." I said as I tried to use the soul voice, but the strain it put on my vocal box was too much. "I need more practice with it."


    Not only that the skill was on par with the Siren''s temptation, but a Mermaid''s singing had a more positive impact on the soul. It''ll take me years to master this skill, but I wasn''t in a rush, so I would go at it slowly.


    "Now, I hope that the [Lie to Truth] could help me face the breakfast ordeal today." I muttered as not only the skill would let me concoct a more effective lie, there was a slight chance that what I said was the truth.


    I didn''t realize it then, the ability waspletely useless if I used it in front of people withmon sense. It could only be used to trick some idiots. However, my impression of the Godly character Usopp-kun made me think that the ability was a good one.


    My misunderstanding also urs from the fact that the gacha draw this time didn''t show the level of quality for the prizes I got. If I could see it, then [Lie to Truth] would only be a white rank special ability.


    Not knowing I was cheated by Usopp, I said in full confidence of the ability, "Hopefully I won''t create a fucked up future if I use this."

 Chapter 88: Tribute (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Tribute (Part 1)</h4>


    (Sorry I''mte. I have a high fever. ??)


    [Edward POV]


    I walked to the Dunphy''s house without wearing a cap or a mask to hide my identity. My walking pace wasn''t hurried, therefore some joggers didn''t even pay attention to me as I passed by.


    "Of course, maybe they don''t even know me. After all, I am a just-debuted artist, on par with general nobody''s in the business..." I muttered to myself. If any of the aspiring singers heard what I just said, I might be beaten up by them.


    After I got the Batman skill, I knew for sure how to avoid people recognizing me instead of behaving super suspiciously inside a neighborhood where everybody knew everybody�C Unless the person was your other street neighbor and you could see each other''s house through your backyard.


    "Hey Good Morning." A friendly, bald ck man in medical scrubs greeted me as he passed me by while walking his daughter''s dog.


    "Good Morning Andre." I greeted him before passing him with a friendly smile on my face. He treated me like a usual passerby and had to pull his cute pomeranian away from me as the dog was attracted by my animal affinity.


    The orthodontist stopped a few stepster and muttered to himself, "Wait. Who is that? Why does he know my name?"


    I didn''t hear his suspicions as I was already turning on a corner to get to Dunphy''s street.


    "I didn''t think I would meet the Kevin Hart character today. I know he lives nearby...Should I introduce him to Dwayne? Will they be best friends here too?" I amused myself as I rang the doorbell at Dunphy''s house. Luke opened the door and said, "Come on in. Mom made chocte chip pancakes."


    I could smell the sweet scent as Luke opened the door, and I said, "Nice. I''m starving."


    I entered the house and walked with Luke, who was wearing a light blue dinosaur shirt with his shirt tucked into his pants zippers, to the kitchen where Haley was surprisingly behind the pancake stove�C flipping the already made pancake to cook the other side.


    "Hey. You''rete!" Haley grumbled in dissatisfaction as she had been pretending to cook for 10 minutes now. I was reminding Luke about his shirt when I was suddenly med by the teenage girl with a patch of flour on her nose that she wasn''t aware of.


    Haley was wearing a low-cut blouse, a giant Cleopatra-like ne, and she changed her hairstyle by wearing a high ponytail which showed the nape of her neck. She had to cook for her entire family because of me as she VOLUNTEERED to make the pancakes today, thinking that I woulde here early.


    "There was a cat stuck on a tree." I said, shrugging dismissively at her temper.


    "Oh. That''s okay then." Haley epted the excuse on face value without even having any suspicions about my words. She returned to the stove and stacked up a 10yer chocte chip pancake on a te.


    "..."


    ''Damn, this skill is OP.'' I thought wrongly. It was actually Kakashi''s [Fashionably Late] ability that helped. However, I was still influenced by my impression of Usopp.


    "Here." Haley said before giving me the pancake tower. I picked up the te with both hands and said in disbelief, "Wait. This is all for me?"


    "Yes." Haley said before putting butter and honey on top of the pancake.


    "HEY NOT FAIR! I ONLY GOT TWO!" Luke eximed in shock after he saw his sister''s generosity.


    "SHUT UP! YOU HAD CEREAL!" Haley gritted her teeth as she admonished Luke before pushing me on my back, "Go sit down and eat! I need to make a few more for Dad and Alex."


    Helpless, I walked to sit on the dining table while being red at by Luke.


    "NO! NOT THERE!" Haley shouted before I could sit. I stopped halfway awkwardly and turned to look at her. "W-Why?" I asked in confusion.


    "Go sit next to Luke!" Haley ordered without exining. I shook my head and obediently walked next to Luke and sat down. Here, I could get a clear view of Haley while she was cooking, so I had no objections. Although the patch of flour distracted me from looking at anything else.


    ''Luckily she still looks cute.'' I thought.


    Haley smiled as she looked at my face, and no longer continued to pretend to be a good cook as she half-heartedly made the pancakes for the rest of the family.


    Before I started eating, I took off 2yers of the pancake from the bottom and sneaked it into Luke''s te without Haley realizing it.


    Before Luke could exim in excitement, I shushed him. He nodded in understanding and only raised his hand up and made a silent cheer before eating.


    Haley red at us in suspicion but ire walked into the kitchen while arguing with Phil, distracting her from the truth. She was carrying an emptyundry basket while Phil followed her from behind.


    "But Honey, It''s the new generation Bug Vacuum. Guaranteed to suck all bugs below the diameter of 1 centimeter!"


    "No Phil. It''s a waste of money! If you find a spider in the bathroom, just call me- Oh...Good Morning." ire greeted me awkwardly as she noticed I was inside the kitchen.


    I paused for a while and warily said, "Good morning..." I studied the other people in the kitchen''s facial expression, but no one had the same awkwardness while seeing me as ire does.


    "ED! Bug Vacuum. Deal of the century or what?!" Phil''s eyes lit up as he saw me and he almost ran to the dining table to talk to me. I smiled at him and said, "That''s okay I guess. But I like the salt shotgun more."


    "Salt shotgun?"


    I nodded and said, "Yeah. It''s a gun...but it shoots salt. So you can role y Western movies while vanquishing your enemies-"


    ire interjected quickly, "NO ONE IS VANQUISHING ANYTHING!"


    [ire''smentary]


    "How could he change so much in the span of a night? He seems like...a man- or a kid, unburdened now. Although I''m d to see him being cheerful, I''m also afraid that he''s only putting a fake mask on his face and repressing his emotions."


    "I know...he is a smart kid. Therefore, I didn''t tell anyone aboutst night''s affairs...In case he marked me as someone he couldn''t trust." ire nned skillfully before muttering, "Well...when he''s moved on, then I will tell people about it."


    And take credit for his happiness, but she wouldn''t admit to this.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I might be dressed up today, but why does his beauty surpass me?" Haley muttered in dissatisfaction. She stared into the camera and asked, "I''m not crazy right? He got more handsome today. And even Taller!"


    [Luke''smentary]


    "Ed is giving me the same feeling as when I meet up with one of my teachers. However, none of them ever shared their chocte chip pancakes with me, so...I will die for him if he wants." Luke said in a serious tone.


    mentary ends]


    "Hey, you''re here." Alex said weakly as she entered the kitchen. She noticed that ire and I were having a stare off, so she asked, "Uhh..What''s happening?"


    ""Nothing."" ire and I said at the same time. I looked at Alex''s deep eye bag and said, "You didn''t sleep wellst night?"


    Haley scoffed and interjected, "She watched cartoonsst night before going to bed!"


    "HALEY!" Alex admonished her sister with gritted teeth as she was embarrassed. I chuckled and said, "Good job Alex!"


    "What?!" Phil, ire and Haley tilted their heads in confusion. Alex picked up a te of pancakes and went to sit next to me while saying, "He''s the one who rmended the...anime to me."


    "Anime?" ire said, as she almost couldn''t hold back her smile. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to make sure Alex didn''t see it.


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    While holding their hands, Phil and ire had an excited look on their faces.


    "It''s a happy day for ire." Phil exined.


    ire couldn''t wait anymore and said, "She had NEVER watched a kid''s show before! Nor did she ever behave like one."


    Phil nodded and said, "Now, I can find something we can both do. Alex and I can go to the convention together, dress up like the characters, discuss the show...All I need to do now is find out what show they were watching."


    ire turned to Phil slightly and said, "Honey. It''s... ''Anime.'' That''s the title."


    "Anime?...I think I''ll ask Edward where I can watch it."


    "It''s on Alex''sputer." ire added.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Is the show called Anime?" Phil asked in excitement. Alex rolled her eyes and said, "No. That''s the genre. It''s a Japanese style animation-" She stopped prematurely and ignored her dad as she turned to me and said, "I watched episode 1 to 10st night."


    "You didn''t study?" I asked.


    "After I finished studying." Alex said. She had sleptte to watch the show as she couldn''t take out the binging time from her study time. "You won''t grow taller then." I said.


    "..."


    ire interjected as she pushed Haley away from the stove as the different sized pancakes irked her, "So Ed. Do you have another busy day nned?"


    I thought about it and replied, "I have a recording session with Taylor after school... After that, I need to reject a fewpanies that offered to buy my game and... Wait...Are you guys free tonight?"


    "Tonight?" ire asked in confusion.


    "We''re having a family dinner outside today. Wanna join us?" Phil invited.


    "What do you have in mind Ed?" Haley asked.


    "I was thinking of inviting you guys to my house. But if you guys aren''t free-"


    "We are!" Haley, Alex, and ire shouted at the same time.


    Phil was looking at Haley''s face and handed a napkin to her, "Honey. You got a little something on your nose."


    "Oh god!" Haley screamed in embarrassment before grabbing the napkin and running away to check her reflection in the bathroom mirror.


    "Are you cooking?" Luke asked with a face full of chocte chips.


    I turned to him and said, "Yes. I will cook Italian food, but first I will need to go shopping for garlic bread, tomato puree, cooking wine, and meat."


    Then, I mumbled to myself, "And definitely not going to take a scooter to buy it this time."


    ...


    After Haley returned, she sat next to where Luke was sitting before as Luke had already finished eating.


    "Aren''t you eating?" I asked her.


    "..No." Haley said with a slight pause.


    Alex rolled her eyes and said, "She''s dieting, so she''s avoiding sweet stuff."


    "Alex!" Haley admonished her sister while ring at her.


    "Have you had breakfast yet?" I asked in a concerned tone.


    "...Not yet." Haley replied reluctantly. I cut a few pieces of the pancakes she prepared for me and fed her a tiny slice using a fork.


    She blushed and said, "No. I really don''t need to eat-"


    "You need breakfast. Also, if you want to diet better, you should have breakfast."


    "Really?"


    "Yup. Now, open your mouth."


    Alex rolled her eyes as Haley was fed by me and said, "Why are you guys flirting so early in the morning?"


    ire and Phil came back to the kitchen after having a discussion in the other living room and ire said, "Ed. This dinner tonight...do you need any help?"


    "No need. Juste and eat." I said.


    "Really? Are you sure?" ire asked again.


    "Yeah. I''m sure." I said while nodding. I wanted to do it using Noni''s way of cooking as a tribute to her. If there were helpers, then it would be risky for my n as there would be too many cooks.


    "You will go to the studio right? Will you have enough time to prepare?" ire asked again.


    I thought for a second and said, "Yeah I''ll have enough time. We are not going to the desert studio today. Only the studio in Pasadena."


    Taylor and I will record the song at the moviepany''s studio instead while recording a few scenes for the music video. However, most of the clip will be scenes from the movie, therefore we don''t have to do much work.


    "Can you invite the others too? Mitch, Jay, Cam, Gloria, Manny, Lily..."


    "Sure." ire said with a slight hint of concern in her tone.


    "I will go to the grocery store after the open house. Just text me what you want to buy." Phil offered.


    "Thanks Phil."


    I didn''t stay at the Dunphy''s for long as I needed to get to school. Although ire offered to send me to school, Abby had already waited for me outside the house. Haley and I rode in her car instead of going with ire.


    I also invited Abby and Desiree to the feast tonight. Not only that, I called Pepper, Harvey, and even Leo to the feast. At school, I invited Jacob, Jenna, and Elsa to my house. I even dared to invite Mrs Henderson, but she couldn''t make it tonight.


    I asked my dad to invite Dwayne and Dn too, however they were working tonight and couldn''t make it.


    "Ahh..I miss Aunt Cam." I sighed after I invited everyone that I could invite to dinner tonight. Pepper even contacted a party nner team and rented a few chairs and tables to set up in my backyard while I was at school.


    ...


    -Gymnasium-


    "Are we still going to let him join the team?" Sanjay pointed his finger at me while grimacing as I joined the Decathlon team practice for the first time.


    "Are you still going to be a major douche?" I asked while rolling my eyes.


    Mrs Henderson ignored Sanjay as she prepared the exam questions. Alex and Haruna�C the japanese girl that had an Edna Mode haircut looked at both of us in concern. Alex said, "We only have a few days left till thepetition. Sanjay, just bear with it. Ed, don''t mind him."


    "I never mind him." I said yfully, making Sanjay mmed the table and stood up in anger, "YOU BAS-"


    "Mr Patel. Can you tell me which scientist coined the word ''Big Bang''?" Mr Henderson started the mock question without minding the boy''s anger.


    "Uhh...Isaac Newton?" Sanjay answered, bbergasted.


    Mrs Henderson shook her head, and while the others wanted to open their notes to check, I answered, "Fred Hoyle."


    "Good Job Mr Newgate."


    "Light emitted from a star or gxy can be separated into a band of colors, called a...?" Mrs Henderson continued.


    Alex answered, "Spectrum."


    "Good Job Alex."


    "Why is she Alex and we are Mr?" Sanjay mumbled to himself in dissatisfaction.


    "How does the abundance of helium and hydrogen support the Big Bang theory?" Mrs Henderson continued.


    I answered before anyone else could, "Helium and Hydrogen are in the same ratio throughout the universe."


    Alex smiled while Haruna was a bit impressed by my quickness. Sanjay however still gritted his teeth at my existence, but he no longer wanted me off the team as I proved myself ''worthy''.


    After science, we move on to History questions.


    "When did Christopher Columbus arrive in America?"


    "1492." I answered.


    "You should give others a chance." Sanjay said in dissatisfaction.


    "Nah." I replied dismissively, making him almost explode again.


    Last practice was in the math category. There, we needed to solve a fewplex equations together before answering it. However, I could answer all of the questions by myself without any help from my teammates. Therefore, Mrs Henderson ced all of her trust in the math category on me.


    After school, I went directly to the movie studio�C driven by Abby in her car. She also stayed behind to watch the shooting while waiting there to drive me home.


    "Hey. You promised to cook something for me." Taylor said the moment she arrived at the studio. I smiled and replied, "Sure. Come on over today."


    "Wait. Are you serious?" Taylor asked, visibly excited by the invitation. She leaned in closer and whispered to my ear, "Do you want me toe alone-"


    "I''m inviting a few close friends to have dinner together. A lot of people will be there." I said before she could finish her words.


    "Oh." Taylor eximed before her expression turned downcast from the disappointment. "I thought you were only inviting me." She whined.


    I smiled teasingly and said, "Pepper is going to be there, so..."


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Okay FINE! I understand."


    Iughed and we recorded the ''Two is Better than One'' music video clip together. It took less than an hour for us to finish the recording, and only an additional 20 more minutes for us to record the soundtrack in the recording studio.


    I got back home at 4 pm and entered the kitchen without even changing my clothes as I needed to cook. Phil already delivered the groceries while I was at school, so I could start anytime I wanted.


    "Are you sure you want to do this alone?" My dad walked by and tried to take a baby tomato from a bowl beside me. I hit his hand with a wooden spat and said with an Italian ent, "Non. Go sit in front of the TV. I got this."


    "... Why Italian?" Dad asked in confusion.


    In a normal voice, I said, "I''m cooking Italian food. It''s normal."


    "Ed. You haven''t been normal since you were 1 year old."


    "..." I was baffled by his nonchnce in insulting his cute son and turned to the fridge to take out a few more ingredients.


    "Oh, and by the way, I invited Desiree." I said.


    Dad flinched and his eyes shook before he slumped his shoulders and walked away.


    "What is going on with you two anyway? Are you really dating?" I asked before he could exit the kitchen. He stopped at the threshold and said, "Nah. We''ve discussed it, but it''s not right. However she still wants to flirt, so I just have to put up with that."


    "Basically she''s using you as a practice target."


    "Basically. Yes."


    If anyone else heard it, they would be convinced that we were truly father and son as they could see how dense we were. As I wanted to make my own pasta, suddenly the doorbell rang.


    "Ed, I''m in the toilet." Dad shouted from afar.


    "Okay I''ll open the door!" I shouted back before wiping my hand and walked to the front door. I was surprised when I opened it, mainly because ire, Gloria, and Cam were already here 2 hours early before the gathering time.


    "We''re here to help. You didn''t think we would let you do it yourself did you?" ire said with a sly smirk.

 Chapter 89: Tribute (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Tribute (Part 2)</h4>


    (I''m back. Also, the new webnovel apps update sucks. It''ll be harder for me to check my notifications and review after this. Hopefully they change it back)


    [Edward POV]


    I raised my brow as I heard ire''s statement. However, as I saw their excited faces, I sighed helpless and said, "Okay fine. But we''re cooking it... MY WAY!"


    I invited them into the house and went directly to the kitchen.


    "Where''s Phil and Jay?" I asked as I know Mitchell hadn''t gotten off work yet at this time.


    "Phil is going to Luke''s school. He was in a fight." ire said, a bit concerned by her youngest child.


    Gloria widened her eyes and said pseudo-shoutingly, "That''s crazy?! Jay also went there because Manny was in a fight!"


    "Wait. Both of them are fighting?" Cam asked as he tried to snatch a cherry tomato from the bowl in front of me. I gave him the same treatment as my dad and smacked his hand with a spat. Ignoring his yelp in pain, I said to thedies, "Wait. They are in a fight...and you guys didn''t go there?"


    Gloria and ire looked at each other guiltily before ire took the bullet and replied, "Phil...can take care of it."


    [Gloria and ire''smentary]


    "Well...I went to Gloria''s house to pick her up...but then...something unexpected happened." ire said anxiously.


    Gloria was rxed and was leaning back on the couch. She said, "ire told me that he cried. So I want to help."


    "No. You found out on your own." ire said, hinting at Gloria to follow her script.


    "No No. You definitely told me. I opened the door, and you told me he cried." Gloria replied casually.


    " I wanted to go to Manny, but Jay said he could take care of it and I want Manny to be closer to him too, so I didn''t go this time." Gloria added.


    ire suddenly realized something. She turned to Gloria and asked with a whisper, "You don''t think Luke and Manny were fighting each other do you?"


    Gloria widened her eyes at the realization and her jaw dropped as she looked around anxiously.


    mentary ends]


    While narrowing my eyes at them, I said, "Really? You guys not going there and shouting at the school principal makes me wonder if you guys have any ulterior motives ining here."


    "We don''t pick a fight everywhere we go." ire admonished me. Gloria nodded at her, but I found their objection pretty funny as it differed from everything I knew about those two.


    However, if Luke and Manny were really fighting with each other, then that means I have stumbled into the beginning of the next episode.


    ''But they were not at Jay''s house, nor was there a football game on right now. The football match Jay watched in the series has already passed.''


    When ire found out about Gloria''s past, and how she used to drive a taxi to support her son as a single mother, her opinion on Gloria had changed thus she started to reach out to her more. Gloria wanted them to be a true family, and she admired ire who was now working a new job as she took care of her family. They easily became friendly with each other and their friendship continued to grow everyday.


    "So I guess the episode won''t happen anymore." I muttered as I continued to roll the dough to make my own pasta.


    "Ed, do you have a pasta strainer?" Cam asked as he walked behind me with a bowl of water in his hand.


    "Down there." I said and pointed to the kitchen rack behind me.


    "Of course, if you just got the store bought pasta...you wouldn''t need it-" Cam said smugly before he identally tripped on his own foot and fell down on the floor. The bowl of water he held sshed into Gloria''s direction, but she managed to avoid it.


    However, the water sshed into the electrical socket, short-circuiting it and generating sparks. The socket caught fire while the kitchen light suddenly went out. ire ran to the fire extinguisher hurriedly and put down the fire before Cam could even get up from the floor.


    "Ay Cameron! What did you do?" Gloria said while she helped him to stand up. I wanted to help, but my hands were filled with flour.


    "I stepped on something slippery." Cam said before he checked his shoes. But there was nothing there. However, both women already epted his excuse without even confirming his excuse.


    "Hey. The power''s out." My dad entered the kitchen and said after seeing the situation there.


    I frowned and turned to look at Cam. He noticed it and looked away quickly.


    "It''s okay. We''ll bring this all to Gloria''s house." ire said before turning to Gloria.


    "Okay. You can cook there. I will text the guests toe there." Gloria agreed easily and even helped carry a bag of groceries before walking to her car with Cam.


    "(sigh)...What''s wrong with my luck today?" I wondered.


    ...


    I was dragged to ire''s minivan instead of riding with my dad after ire gave my dad a flimsy excuse of wanting to talk to me about work in private. My dad had to agree to ire''s wish as he basically had no defenses against tough women.


    I was sitting next to ire who was driving and said, "So. What do you want to talk about?"


    "I don''t have many questions. I just want to know how you are feeling right now." ire said.


    "Is this because of yesterday?" I asked with a bit of annoyance in my tone.


    She nodded and said, "I''m worried you know. You suddenly burst out crying like that. And now, you suddenly want to cook for people-"


    "ire. Try to remember, what I was doing before I cried." I asked her while preparing my excuses.


    ire hesitated a bit and thought back about the events ofst night. "You''re ying the piano..."


    "What was I ying?"


    "I don''t know. It''s a sad song."


    "And...Have you heard that melodyposition somewhere before?"


    "Huh." ire suddenly realized something. "But it still doesn''t make any sense as to WHY you were crying."


    "Well...I was just sad. An olddy that I know passed away 2 months ago. I remembered herst night and felt a bit blue. I nned to mourn for her alone though, I had no idea that you wereing in. Next time. Knock please." I said yfully.


    ire nodded in understanding before she smiled creepily and said, "She died?"


    [ire''smentary]


    Her face no longer carried traces of concern as she said, "Sooo... That''s what happened!"


    "I was the one who basically intruded his house while he was processing his emotions. I can breathe easily now." ire said as she let out a sigh of relief.


    "This whole... cooking thing... I guess he wanted to make a tribute to her. I wanted to ask about the whole ''Granny'' thing more, but he didn''t want to continue talking about it. I guess she had fed him before while he was down in the dumps."


    "Still. For his privacy''s sake, I will not be telling others about what happenedst night." ire said before adding, "At least not talk about it in front of him."


    [Commentary ends]


    ''Thank you God Usopp.'' I thought to myself. I could imagine the guy giving me a thumbs up while smiling�Cshing his shiny teeth to the universe as he appreciated my gratefulness.


    "Wait. You invited Taylor to your house?" ire asked, bbergasted as I told her about the guests.


    "Yeah. She''s bringing Selena too if she has free time." I answered casually as I texted the teenage pop-star. ire was stunned and asked carefully, "Are..you guys...no... You guys ain''t dating right?"


    "Nah. We''re just close friends." I replied before putting the phone back inside my pocket. She looked at me with non-believing eyes, but I ignored her.


    Sure, Taylor and I did it before, but it wasn''t like there''s anything romantic between the two of us.


    When we arrived at Jay''s house, the dough was already ruined, so I had to use ready made pasta instead. I wanted to hit Cam so much as he ruined my food, but as Noni always said, ''If you don''t have enough time, then don''t blindly follow your ego. The people got to eat.''


    While I was cooking, the guests started toe one by one. Haley, Abby, Desiree and Alex entered the kitchen to see what I was doing, only to be chased away by me as I didn''t need the extra distraction.


    "Hey. I came here to help!" Abby said as she was pushed away by me.


    I stopped and said, "Okay. Then cut the tomatoes."


    She nodded and washed her hands while Haley red at the both of us from afar. Cam was boiling the pasta while Gloria was helping me to make the pie. I was cutting the bell peppers before I saw Abby''s horrendous knife-handling skill. I grabbed her hand and stood behind her before saying, "Like this."


    I guided her hand to cut off the ingredient carefully in a non-sensual manner, but she blushed anyway as she could feel my breath on her neck.


    "Wait. Did you get taller again?" Abby asked.


    "Less talking. More chopping!" I said sternly as I released her hand and let her do her own thing.


    "We only have 30 more minutes, people!" I channeled my inner Gordon Ramsey as I took control of the entire kitchen.


    Cam took out the pasta from the pot prematurely, which made me do the idiot sandwich bit on him. Despite his annoyance, he didn''t say anything as he had destroyed the power supply at my house. My dad and I had to stay elsewhere for the night because of him.


    "You can bunk with Luke." ire offered while watching me cook at the side of the kitchen after being banished from the kitchen for trying to use MSG in my dishes.


    "No. His room smells." Alex interjected.


    Haley was excited and whispered, "If he can''t stay there because of the smell...then he can drag the bed into our room-"


    "In your dreams youngdy." ire heard it and stopped Haley''s fantasy immediately.


    "Hello Hello, we''re here!" Phil entered the house with Luke while Jay and Manny followed them closely from behind.


    "Honey. What happened?" ire asked Phil while Luke stood beside his dad looking all guilty.


    Phil replied, "He-"


    "These two knuckleheads were fighting each other." Jay interjected while bringing Manny with him. "Apparently Manny called Luke his nephew...and Luke doesn''t know what those words mean.." Jay said carefully before looking at his grandson in pity.


    I noticed the event of the episode currently going on and turned to look at the group.


    Phil brought Luke and Manny together before saying, "Now, in light of what happened at school today, if you have any feelings you''d like to express, this is the proper forum-"


    Jay interjected again and took over from Phil, holding each of the kid''s shoulders. "For God''s sake. All right, both of you.Now, in this family, do we kick and punch each other, or do we love each other?"


    Luke and Manny answered reluctantly, "Love each other."


    "That''s right." Jay said and punished both of them by smacking them at the back of their head. "I''ll be in the den." Jay said gruffly and walked away.


    ire shook her head as she saw her dad''s simple conflict resolution method and turned to look at Phil who seemed a bit hurt that his father-inw had stolen his spotlight.


    After releasing a sigh, I continued to finish cooking. With my new talent, an irresistible smell started to spread from the kitchen that made everyone''s nose twitch in happiness.


    "I underestimated him." Cam said as he rubbed his sore hand from being smacked by a spat a few times as he tried to change the recipe or sneak something inside the food.


    ire, Gloria and Cam helped me to set the dishes on the table while I greeted the guests that just arrived. Taylor gave me a light hug as she entered the house while saying, "It smells good. So good that I''m now wondering if it was really cooked by you."


    "Of course it was me. None of the other people in the house have my skill." I said smugly, earring an eye roll from each of my assistants. Mitchell arrived while I was talking to her, but he couldn''t enter the house as Selena and Taylor were blocking the entrance.


    "Excuse- Excuse me." Mitchell tried to gain their attention, but I was talking to Selena at that time and didn''t notice him. "I''m d you came. I''m sure my food will be even better than Amelia''s."


    Selena chuckled before sliding her stray hair back to her ear and said meekly, "Don''t remind me. I got into a lot of trouble because of that day. My agency kept trying to get me to seduce you."


    "Oh. Then, I guess I''ll look forward to that." I replied yfully.


    Taylor narrowed her eyes in anger at her friend''s tant attempt at flirting in front of her before she hugged me by the shoulder from the side and red at Selena. "He''s mine to seduce!" She said jokingly but with a thinly veiled threat in her tone.


    Selena ignored Taylor''s hostility and said, "Too old."


    I swear I could hear Taylor gritting her teeth, but she turned to look at my face and said, "It seems that I must teach someone a lesson."


    "Don''t go overboard." I said before I finally noticed Mitchell who had given up trying to pass us and was now enjoying the drama.


    "Mitchell. Why don''t you juste inside?" I asked in confusion.


    "..." His excitement disappeared as soon as he noticed myment and was quickly reced with a sense of non-existence. He slumped his shoulders as he muttered to himself, "I...tried."


    Jacob arrived soon after, but Jenna and Elsa couldn''t make it to dinner as they had prior engagements.


    Pepper and Harvey would be a littlete, so they asked us to eat first instead of waiting for them.


    [3rd Person POV]


    As Edward went to set the table, Taylor and Selena were drinking a ss of sparkling water standing up in the living room. Suddenly, they bumped into Haley and Abby who were having a conversation at the pool table, and they eyed each other as they whispered to their friend about something.


    "Is it me? Or did it suddenly turn cold here?" Manny shuddered as he walked past the group of girls.


    "Haley. No-" Abby tried to stop her friend, but it was toote. Haley had already walked toward Taylor.


    "Hey. I like your hair. It''s so ''brave''. It actually shows a lot of ''confidence'' to go that curly." Haley said, plimenting'' Taylor in a clear passive aggressive way and mocking tone.


    "Hey. You must be Haley right? Ed''s ''Best friend''?" Taylor enunciated while feeling self-aware of her curly hair.


    Abby sighed and walked to Haley''s side to back her up while Selena was amused about the whole pissing contest.


    "I''m so jealous. You''re so tall... I wonder though, do the guys you date need to wear heels too or do you only go for those that like to look at the sky?" Haley added with an innocent smile on her face.


    Taylor giggled and said, "Like Ed?"


    Haley gritted her teeth and said after finding her smile, "Nah. Ed is fine with whatever size. Despite how ''small'' it is."


    Taylor checked her chest in embarrassment and said, "Hey quick question, does your push up bra hurt your back? I''ve been thinking about it for a while now, but I still can''tmit to using filling. It''s good to see some people just go for it."


    Haley was taken aback, and Taylor smiled as she felt that she won the contest, however as she turned to look at Abby''s voluptuous chest, she knew that she would still lose in this topic, no matter what.


    [Edward POV]


    All of us sat together at a long table with me sitting at the head of the table. I stood up and clinked my ss to gain their attention before saying, "I''m d that we all could gather here together today. So I decided to let you guys see a part of me that you never knew before."


    "Such a cocky kid." Jay said with a smile on his face.


    "While I was lost before, I met a kind grandmother who showed me that sometimes...there''s light, even at the darkest ce."


    "Francesca ''Isabe'' De Luca. You were a wonderful grandmother, and while you may have passed on, your memories will always live on within me. Thank you for your sacrifices, your care and concern, your love and everything that you have done for me. Wherever you are, I know you are in a much better ce. I will be forever grateful and thankful that I got to call you, at least for a while, my ''grandmother''."


    "Cheers!" I said while raising my ss up.


    """ Cheers!""" Everyone raised their ss and cheered before the feast began.


    (A/N: You guys might wonder if Ed is exposing his secret as a transmigrator. But he''s not. This kind of gathering is actually normal, even when you don''t know who the dead person was. It''s a tribute to her life, and to let the dead person know that their will lives within those who remember them.)


    ...


    "Hey, why don''t you get a drink?" Jay asked my dad after he saw he was only drinking water instead of scotch or wine at the dinner table.


    Feeling a bit embarrassed, dad replied, "Well. I decided to drink less from now on."


    [Ted POV]


    In the 2 years I wallowed in self-pity, surrendering myself to the temptation of alcohol and even bing an addict, I failed to see my son''s need during this period of time.


    I was grateful to the ''grandmother'' who took care of my son after I failed him before. She surely had a massive impact on his life, and I regretted that I could never meet this wonderful person while she was still alive, but most of all the fact that I will never get to truly thank her.


    ''I should stop drinking for good.'' I vowed to myself...and to my son, that I would be a better father from now on.


    [Edward POV]


    "Oh muh god! I can''t stop eating!" Luke said as he slurped the pasta in his mouth.His face was full of sauce, earning a disgusted look from Manny who was sitting beside him.


    "Can''t you eat ...like a human being?" Manny muttered.


    On another part of the table, Taylor had to eat warily as the big man in front of her kept staring at her. Cam couldn''t believe that he was sitting at the same table as his favorite artist, and now he could only stare at her while he waited for her to finish eating. Sensing his intentions, Taylor ate the food extremely slowly to avoid having a conversation with the suspicious man.


    "Ed. This is so good. Did your grandmother teach you how to make this?" Mitchell widened his eyes in surprise as he tasted the pasta.


    "Yes. All the food on the table is from the recipes she passed on to me." I answered.


    "She should''ve opened a restaurant before this. This is SOOO good!." ire added.


    I just nodded and didn''t share much detail about the ''grandmother'' I was referring to. However, none of them actually tried to dig deeper into the identity of thedy �C which I actually expected them to do.


    My heart felt at ease as I managed to bring together my two different worlds tonight, however, I was also a bit worried as if the episode continued, then a fight would happen today between ire and Gloria�C destroying the mood.


    "Yed." Suddenly, a one year old asian baby climbed onto my legs and stood up by using my leg as a support. As she couldn''t support her body for long, her torso fell towards my leg and her drool wetted my pants.


    "Hey Lily. Did you just wake up?" I asked with a smile as I picked up the baby in my arms�C not caring about the tiny splotch of drool.


    "The moment she wakes up, she calls your name." Gloria said in dissatisfaction as she was the one who stayed with the baby before.


    "I can''t help it if I''m just her favorite." I said, not realizing that Phil had started to turn the wheel of the future incident as he looked at both Luke and Mannyughing and joking with each other. Gloria went to sit next to Manny while I was distracted by Lily.


    "Gosh. We can learn so much from the kids." Phil said, earning the attention of almost everyone at the table.


    "Just look at them. They couldn''t even look at each other a second ago, and now they wereughing and ying with each other. It must all seem kind of silly now ugh? Whatever you were fighting about."


    Lukeughed and said, " I made fun of his ent."


    Gloria heard it and joined in the fun. Using an exaggerated ent, She said, "What ent?"


    The groupughed again, and Manny joined in the fun, "I made fun of him for having the same thing for lunch every day."


    Even Taylor chortled a bit as she heard it. I snapped back to reality and as I was already toote, I cursed, "Oh shit."


    "I made fun of him because his mom used to dig coal." Luke added, causing the entire table to be silent.

 Chapter 90: Coal Digger (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Coal Digger (Part 1)</h4>


    ( I Still hate the WN app new update.)


    [Edward POV]


    "(sigh)...I''m toote." I muttered to myself. "Oh well."


    After hearing what Luke said, Gloria was appalled and her smile disappeared. With a solemn face, she said, "What?"


    Manny felt that he needed to exin to his mother the matter �C like he always does. Although, it was also because he was confused by Luke''s promation before. Scrunching his eyebrows, he said puzzledly, "He said you were a coal digger."


    Phil was horrified and tried to stop Manny, "Okay, I think we can move on!-"


    " Who said I was a coal digger?" Gloria asked sternly while looking at Luke.


    Feeling that he had done something wrong, Luke tried to justify himself, " That''s what my mom told me."


    "What''s a ...coal digger?" Alex asked in confusion.


    Phil whispered to Alex, but his voice was clear enough to be heard among everyone at the table, " He heard it wrong. It''s "gold digger"."


    I facepalmed at Phil''s situational awareness. ire tried to defend herself while her face turned pale white from the usation. "I really do not think that I remember ever saying that."


    "Well, you said it in the car, you said it at Christmas, you said it in the Mexican restaurant-" Haley who was sitting next to Luke closed his mouth immediately as she sensed the hostility in the air.


    "Okay, Mr-Leaves-his-sweatshirts-at-school-every-day suddenly remembers everything. Thank you." ire said in disbelief as she tried to diffuse the situation using humor. She turned to the victim and said, "Gloria- I-"


    "I always felt that Manny and I weren''t weed in this family. But, we were bing friends, so I thought I was just mistaken. I guess I should trust myself more." Gloria said before throwing her napkin on her te and stood up from the chair and excused herself from the dinner.


    Jay sighed and said, "Well... I guess dinner''s over."


    ...


    As the group dispersed, I went to talk to Taylor and Selena. They were standing awkwardly by the pool, and managed to swipe some wine to drink during the chaos. Therefore, I joined them in drinking a bit while trying to ease their barelyfortable time in the rich man''s house.


    "You promised me an exciting time...It surely is an interesting dinner scene." Taylor said while scratching her left cheek, not knowing how to react in this entire situation.


    Selena added with concern in her voice, "Won''t anyone go talk to Gloria? I feel bad for her."


    "Latina chicks stick together huh. I think so too, but if there''s anyone who needs to go and fix the problem, it should be the perpetrator." I said calmly as I knew how the episode went, however I had an edging feeling at the back of my mind that asked me to go and do something.


    "ire?" Selena asked curiously. Her eyes lit up in intrigue as she saw my still calm demeanor while everyone else was treading on eggshells around each other.


    "No. Phil." I corrected her while trying to figure out what went wrong in this episode.


    ...


    [ire''smentary]


    With a regretful face, ire said, " If I say something everybody''s thinking, does that make me a mean person? Or does it make me a brave person?" She got her bravery back, "One who is courageous enough to stand up and say something..." Then, her moral high ground got deted again, "Behind someone''s back... to a 10-year old?"


    [Commentary ends]


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Kitchen-


    "Did you really have to call her that? A gold digger..." Jay asked, his tone was full of disappointment after he met ire who was drinking white wine directly from the bottle at the moment.


    "Ugh." ire wiped the excess wine on her chin. Her eyes were teary but she still kept a stoic face so as to not seem weak in front of other people, "You know what, dad? It was a year ago. And it was a natural question to ask.She''s a beautiful, hot woman, and you''re not exactly... You know."


    Jay was confused and shocked at the same time. "Not exactly what?"


    At that time, Mitchell tiptoed into the kitchen to grab a wine ss. ire noticed him and tried to drag him into the fire, "Mitchell, a little help?"


    " No, you are doing great." Mitchell fauxplimented ire before tip-toeing to the other side.


    ire knew that she had done something wrong. But she couldn''t get enough bravery to go up to Gloria''s room and apologize. That''s why she was drinking heavily in order to gather enough courage to stand up to her mistakes.


    Inside the living room, Ted was having a conversation with Cam �C who got a ''restraining order'' issued bymon ord from the majority of people inside the house that prevented him from going close to Taylor.


    "When you married your wife before, did this kind of issuee out?" Cam asked curiously.


    Drinking a ss of coffee, Ted shook his head and said, "No. My family epted her the moment theyid eyes on her. Of course, her being so much richer than me made the family have no misunderstanding whatsoever on the fact of whether she wanted to use me or not."


    "Wait. Your ex-wife is rich?" Cam asked, leaning closer to Ted.


    "Yeah. Her father used to be the Prime Minister-" Ted stopped abruptly and looked at Cam with a concerned expression, "I shouldn''t talk about that."


    -Gloria''s bedroom door-


    "Gloria. Come on. Talk to me." Phil tried to make Gloria unlock the door after knocking for a few times.


    "No. Go away!" Gloria chased him away, but her usual calm voice hinted at a sobbing mess despite how hard she tried to hide it. The only people she could lie to believing she was okay was only a naive person who took everything at face value.


    "Gloria. Since you need space, I''ll give you a moment." Phil said before he walked away.


    Before long, Manny came knocking at the door. However, her mother asked him to go y with Luke. Next, the second closest person to Gloria in this family approached the locked bedroom door and said, "Gloria. It''s Alex."


    Gloria stifled her sobs and said, "Alex. I''m fine-"


    "I know you''re not. But...I don''t think I can make you feel any better. I''m too immature for that." Alex said in a calm voice as she hid her disappointment to herself. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she said, "However. I think...I know someone who can!"


    "What? Who?" Gloria couldn''t help but reply as Alex managed to catch her intrigue.


    "Be right back!" Alex said before she went running down the stairs. She almost bumped to Haley who eximed, "Hey! Watch where you are going!"


    "That damn brat." Haley cursed as she saw Alex ignored her before she walked toward her group of friends. They were watching a football re-run, and Jacob was hooked on the TV because he couldn''t watch the live match before.


    "Jacob. Is that really your dad?" Desiree asked in disbelief as she saw the Viking looking rough-man who was the team''s coach. She leaned toward Jacob unconsciously as she felt something ufortable under her bottom and had her hand down there to find the cause of it.


    "Yes." Jacob replied while swallowing his saliva. With Desiree''s low-cut top and her constant moving on the couch, her jiggling breast was the only thing that could make him lose focus on the match.


    ''I''ll treat this as a trial for me not to lose my focus during a match.'' Jacob said inwardly as he put his utmost focus on the match to practice self-control. Before long, his mind was filled with the figure of Elsa having the same figure as Desiree as she jumped up and down. Up and down. Up and down.


    "Why are you having such a stupid look on your face?" Haley was baffled by Ed''s ''best friend'' expression as she passed by him to get to Abby.


    "Got it!" Desiree suddenly eximed and brought out a half cut cucumber from her ass. Jacob looked at her as she held the cucumber with both hands, and couldn''t help but fainted on the couch as blood rushed to his head...and to his pants because of the milf.


    "Why is he suddenly sleeping?" Desiree asked innocently as she waved her hand in front of Jacob''s face.


    Haley rolled her eyes as she saw the situation. "Your mom stillcks awareness that she''s an extremely hot woman."


    "What are you talking about? Anyway, will Edward really stay at your house tonight? You''re really lucky..." Abby said while pouting.


    Haley was in disbelief and asked, "Is that why you were so silent from before? I was just joking!"


    Abby ignored Haley and said, "Maybe. Can we do a sleepover?"


    "We''re not 13." Haley replied as she felt a headacheing in.


    "Hmm... I guess. Even though... while I was 13, no girls would want to invite me to a sleepover... And nevere to my house to y with me." Abby said with a faux sad tone.


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "Are you trying to guilt trip me? FINE! YOU WIN! You can sleep over at my house tonight!"


    "Thanks Haley. I love you!" Abby hugged Haley tightly, making her friend more annoyed. But then, Haley''s face shed a sincere excitement at the prospect of a sleepover. However, she hid it quickly as it wasn''t in line with her popr girl character.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "So. You want me to talk to her?" I said, baffled by Alex''s sudden request.


    "Yeah. You have a way with words that could help people let go of their grudges. So in a way, you''re the perfect person to go and talk to Gloria." Alex said anxiously, fearing my rejection.


    Taylor looked on amusingly while Selena''s eyes lit up again. Both of them were trying to make me involve myself in the matter, which earned them the subsequent title of ''daughters of chaos'' inside my mind.


    I sighed and said, "Fine. I''ll try."


    A part of me wanted the episode to move on as usual and not to involve myself in an extremely delicate manner, but my curiosity finally won over and pushed me to step lightly as I walked to Gloria''s room, trying to find what went wrong in this whole situation.


    *Knock Knock*


    "Hey. Gloria. It''s Ed. Can Ie in?" I said in a calm tone.


    Alex was hiding below the stairs and widened her eyes as she saw Gloria open her door to let me in. I mouthed my disbelief at her but Alex anxiously gestured for me to go in quickly.


    I walked into the bedroom and closed the door, but I let it remain unlocked this time.


    "Ed. I''m sorry I ruined your party." Gloria said with a sad tone as she sat down on the edge of the bed.


    "Nah. It''s alright. The party was getting boring anyway." I joked, making Gloria disy a slight smile before she went heartbroken again. "How are you feeling?" I asked as I sat next to her.


    "I don''t know how to feel!" Gloria said whiningly as she dapped her eyes with a tissue�C not wanting her tears to destroy her mascara.


    I sighed before I acted like an innocent boy as I asked, "Don''t you remember the first time we met? You make that joke about how rich Jay was?."


    "Yeah. But I didn''t call myself a ''coal digger''." Gloria replied after thinking for a while. Her mood was a bitplicated right now after she remembered the meeting.


    "True. It hurts right. Not getting the trust from the people who are bing your family."


    Gloria nodded and looked at my face, feeling a bit relieved as someone understood her.


    "From the beginning, I felt that Manny and I were not weed in this family. Wherever the family gathers, we will just talk by ourselves most of the time."


    "But it did be better right?" I added.


    She nodded again and said, "Alex was the first to reach out to me. Then, she slowly included me when the others were talking."


    "Yeah. Alex is usually an outsider herself, so she knows how you feel. You''d been married to Jay for only 8 months right?"


    "Jess (Yess)"


    "I think...you''re not that hurt because you were called a gold digger, but rather by the fact that it came from ire, right?"


    Gloria scowled and said, "Whenever I meet with ire...in the beginning..She will make this kind of face." Gloria imitated ire by pursing her lips a little and tilted her head at a 45 degrees angle�C showing a condescending look to everyone who could see it.


    "Oh my god. That''s so ire." I said whileughing a bit.


    Gloria couldn''t help but chuckle and said, "Yes. She makes this face a lot doesn''t she?" Her eyes twinkled in realization, but she still couldn''t bring herself to forgive ire yet.


    "She does." I said while nodding. "In fact, for the first few meetings where I was getting to know her daughters, she acted like I was going to steal them away and gave me that exact same look as well."


    Gloriaughed and said, "YOU SHOULD steal them all away!" But she paused a bit and whispered, "Not Luke."


    I was baffled by how the conversation got to this direction, so I grabbed the steering wheel and brought it back to the main topic. I saw a shadow standing in front of the door and knew that it''s time for me to let the main character take the lead back.


    "Look. I could try to defend ire. But it''ll work better if you hear it from someone who has been living with her for decades now. And apparently, he has a lot to say to you too."


    "Who?" Gloria asked in confusion.


    "Come in Phil. The door is unlocked." I said in a loud voice. Phil knocked on the door before he opened it and asked, "Gloria. Can Ie in?"


    [Phil''smentary]


    " ire likes to say, you can be part of the problem or part of the solution. Well, I happen to believe that you can be both." Phil said with a cocky smile.


    mentary ends]


    "Listen, ire feels terrible. She''s downing white wine straight from the bottle. Why don''t you talk to her?" Phil said, trying to cate Gloria to ease her anger.


    Gloria couldn''t help but get defensive. She stood up and said, " Why? I know what she thinks - A gold digger."


    " I know she said that, but that was a long time ago, before she even knew you." Phil said as he sat next to me.


    "I should go." I said.


    "No Ed. Stay." Both people said at the same time. For Phil, he was d I was there to be the buffer in the conversation. For Gloria, she wanted me there as I could understand what she was feeling. Therefore, I was stuck in an awkward situation there.


    "Does Jay buy me nice things? Yes, of course! All beautiful things! Look at this." Gloria walked to her clothes drawer and started to throw away her underwear to Phil and mine''s direction.


    "Yellow, red, blue...All the colors...Do you think I can''t live without these? Take them away, Phil." Gloria said while holding several underwear in her hand.


    Phil sat there obediently even though he was buried with the underwear. I lost my sight as a yellow underpant was stuck on my head, but unlike Phil, I took it off almost immediately.


    Phil lost his focus as he felt the soft sensation of the satin underwear in his hand., "Gloria. We all know you''d be fine without underwear. I mean, we know it''s not about that."


    "Creepy Phil." I retorted.


    "It''s about me not being epted by my new family." Gloria interjected. "Ed knows what I mean."


    Phil looked at me while I just nodded at him.


    "But, that isn''t the case now, right? After all, your family has already fully epted you, am I right?" I interjected, causing both Phil and Gloria to be taken aback.


    "Then, what is the problem?" Phil asked while scrunching his eyebrow.


    "It''s because. ire is her friend." I exposed Gloria. "In fact, her best friend."


    Gloria rolled her eyes and said, "Please. She''s not my best friend."


    "Really? When you have a hot new gossip that you couldn''t talk to Jay about, who did you call? Did you call your sister back in Colombia?"


    "Sonia doesn''t even have a phone." Gloria said with a hint of derision.


    "Then, is it Cam?"


    Phil turned to Gloria who''s fiddling with her fingers and realized, "She''s your best- I mean Close friend isn''t she?" He changed his words halfway as he was red at by Gloria, but the fact remains.


    "What should I do now?" Gloria asked honestly.


    I thought for a while and said, "You could...use the advantages of having a morally superior position to emotionally ckmail her to expose one of her deepest, and darkest secrets to you. Then, you will continuously hold the leverage in every dinner appointment, family meeting, trip discussion-"


    "Ed. That''s dark." Phil said. Even Gloria nodded as she agreed with him, but was sincerely considering it in her heart.


    I smiled and said, "Gloria. If I know something for sure about this family, is that they are very protective of each other."


    Phil nodded and said, "That''s true. I remember the first time ire brought me home. Do you think Jay thought I was good enough for his little girl? No way. But, over time, he realized that I loved ire as much as he did. And by then, Mitch had brought Cam home, so I was golden. ire just needs a little time. And then, trust me, she''ll be the most loyal friend you''ve ever had."


    "It''s natural for her to wonder about you and your dad. Most people would." I added. "You''re a 10, and Jay''s a 3."


    Gloria chuckled a bit and said, "He''s at least an 8."


    "See. If you were not in love with him, I don''t think you would give him something higher than a 5." I joked.


    Suddenly, there was a knock on the bedroom door.


    "Gloria. Come on, let''s talk about this." ire said from outside. Before Gloria and Phil could react, I said, "ire. I''ll help you enter the bedroom, if you act out the scene from Notting Hill."


    ire was baffled and she asked incredulously, "Are you serious?"


    Phil wanted to say something, but I cupped my hand over his mouth and signaled Gloria with my eyes to let me handle it.


    "Yes. Use your own words. Don''t be afraid to use real emotion."


    ire tried to avoid it, "Ed Open the door-" She tried to open the door, but it was locked again.


    "Come on. Do you want toe in or not?"


    ire was silent from outside the door. I heard a sigh and then she said, "Fine. I''ll do it."


    "Gloria...I''m not here...just as a member of a family...I''m also here as a friend..." ire said with some embarrassment. However, it soon disappeared as she got into the role.


    "I know...it''ll be hard for you to trust me again... But, don''t forget... I''m also just a girl...standing in front...of another girls'' bedroom...asking her too.." She was too embarrassed to continue and said exasperatingly, "To JUST LET ME IN!"


    I opened the door while smirking, and ire rolled her eyes the minute she saw me.


    She walked inside and saw Phil who was covered by Gloria''s underwear and was speechless for a moment.

 Chapter 91: Gold Digger (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Gold Digger (Part 2)</h4>


    (Confession: I tried, but I always forgot and now had stopped checking wn notification after they changed the format.)


    [Edward POV]


    As ire walked into the room, she saw a baffling sight of her husband covered with multi-coloured underwear. She noticed I was smirking as I watched the whole thing, and inwardly painted me as a culprit for this.


    "Ed. I''ll settle this with youter." ire said sternly. I tilted my head puzzledly, waiting for an exnation but ire already had turned to Gloria.


    "I don''t know what my husband is saying to you, or why he''s covered in your underwear-"


    "Obviously, I''m trying to seduce him for his money." Gloria interjected before ire could finish. "That''s what I do, right?"


    "Hey Gloria. Just a reminder. I''m also quite rich now." I chimed in while watching the show in amusement.


    Gloria almost broke herposure andughed. Both ire and Gloria red at me before turning to each other. I took the chance to whisper to Phil, "Hey. We should let them settle this by themselves."


    "Yes. I agree." Phil said before he stood up and shook off the underwear stuck on his body. A white, frilly underwear was stuck at his cargo short pocket, but he didn''t notice it.


    ire sat at the ce Phil sat before and she saw the stuck underwear.


    "Phil-" She tried to tell him, however, Phil stopped her and said with a hint of smugness, "Ed and I shouldn''t be here. It should be you guys...talking about it...Honey...You''re wee."


    ire was in disbelief at Phil''s words but her husband had already walked out of the room. I turned to Gloria and said, "Ha sudar" (Make her sweat)"


    Gloria nodded and said, "Lo har�� (I will)"


    "W-Wh-What are you guys talking about?" ire said with a tinge of fear.


    I smiled at her and said cheerily, "?Que lo disfrutes! (Enjoy it!)"


    I closed the door as I left the room and returned to the living room, leaving ire''s mouth agape and her suspicious about the whole thing. I already knew how the conversation inside the room would go, and they needed privacy for them to open up with each other. My presence there was no longer necessary.


    ''Though I felt a bit discontented when I had to leave.''


    I separated from Phil who was going to the kitchen after going downstairs. I heard Haley exim, "EWW WHY ARE YOU SUCH A PERVERT!" as she saw her dad with Gloria''s underwear, andughed hard as I walked to the pool area.


    Taylor and Selena were dunking their bare legs in the heated pool water after taking off their shoes and were drinking wine disguised as sparkling water.


    "Hey. Pepper and Harvey were here. They didn''t stay though as they had to go to Hollywood tonight to sign a few deals." Taylor exined.


    "Oh. Did they eat?" I asked as I feel a bit worried for those overworked people. Thepany needed to expand �C urgently.


    "Yeah they ate." Taylor said while nodding slightly and then stood up to face me. "I was also thinking of going now."


    "Aww...But I understand." I said with a sly smirk as I gazed in her eyes. Her cheek flushed a bit and she tucked her hair behind her ear as she whispered seductively biting her lower lip, "You know. My hotel is nearby..."


    "Skank." Selena muttered to herself.


    "Shut up!" Taylor said and hit Selena''s shoulder in embarrassment. "I''m only saying my hotel is nearby. I didn''t invite him to my room."


    She faced me again and said, "But...you''re basically homeless tonight right? If you want to check into a hotel, you could stay in the same one I am at."


    "Ahh...Maybe. I''ll talk to my dad first." I said.


    She suddenly leaned closer and grabbed my hand. I could sense she sneaked something to my palm as she did so. She said seductively, "And if you''re close...who knows what will happen."


    I smiled and said, "Yeah. Who knows, maybe Selena will have to be kicked out of your room tonight."


    Selena rolled her eyes and stood up next to Taylor. Her body swayed a little as she did. I looked concerned at her, "Are you okay?"


    "Yeah. My legs get weak sometimes." Selena said before turning to Taylor, "I''m only saying this once. No matter what happens, I won''t get out of the room."


    "Hmm...pervert." Taylor said mischievously, making Selena blush. "I''m not hinting at that!"


    Taylor licked her lips as her eyes darted between Selena and I, "Maybe...it won''t actually be bad if you''re there."


    Taylor dared to suggest so and didn''t fear Selena snatching her potential lover away was because of the fact that Selena''s poprity was still low, and she couldn''t reach Taylor and mine''s level yet.


    Selena was stunned and gulped her saliva while I coughed lightly and said, "We don''t know if I will stay there yet."


    "Wait. Ed. Before we go, are you nning on ying anything tonight?" Selena asked. Taylor''s eyes lit up and she said, "Yeah Ed. y something."


    "There''s no instrument here. And I''m tired from all the cooking." I made some excuses.


    Selena suddenly said, "Well. Too bad. If you yed, maybe I won''t mind you pocketing the hotel room key Taylor just gave you."


    Taylor coughed a few times and I just smiled softly at Selena.


    "No reaction? Damn. You''re tough." Selena said after studying my face.


    "I''m only holding myself back. I''m excited inside." I said using a monotone, making Selena gritted her teeth in annoyance. "So I''m not sexy enough? Is that it?" She said suddenly while pushing her index finger at my chest.


    I raised one of my brow and grabbed her finger before pulling her closer to me. She widened her eyes as I leaned forward and whispered to her ear, "Although I like hot-headedtinas, I still have a sense of self-control. I hope you understand that. But if you really want me to stop by, I don''t have any objections to that."


    Her ears felt hot as blood rushed to her face. She became embarrassed and walked away quickly after grabbing her shoes. Taylor licked her lips as she said, "I''ll be waiting!~"


    "Taylor! COME ON!" Selena called from afar.


    "COMING~!" Taylor shouted before leaning in and giving me a kiss on both sides of my cheek. "Don''t be too sad, okay. If you want any constion. Just hit me up. I''ll be with you...all...night...long." She ended her sentence with a seductive whisper in my ear.


    "Aww...and here I thought you really cared about my feelings." I said with a faux sadness. She giggled and joked, "Nah. You''re only a piece of meat for me to ride on."


    "Then you have to put in the grind for me to spread my legs." I added, making herugh hard and p my chest unconsciously. "We got into the wrong roles." Taylor identally snorted as sheughed, got embarrassed, and ran to follow Selena before I could say anything.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In Gloria''s room, ire tried hard to string her words as she faced the victim of her gossipy behavior.


    "I don''t know what to say except that I am really, really sorry." ire said in a begging tone.


    Gloria sighed and sat next to her before asking, "Just tell me one thing. How do you really feel that I''m with your father?"


    " Honestly, at first, it was hard. You don''t expect to wake up one morning with a new mom who looks like she fell off a mud p. But I''m getting used to it. The important thing is you make him happy, which you do, in so many ways." ire turned to the underwear scattered on the bed and mumbled, "So many colors..."


    "I don''t know if I can forgive you." Gloria said while looking downcast.


    "ire grabbed Gloria''s arm and begged, "Just tell me what I can do to make things right."


    Gloria thought about it and said, "There''s 2. You can...tell me a secret of yours...that will make you feel as embarrassed as I am if you''re the one in my ce at dinner today."


    ire was taken aback and asked, "And the second option?"


    "Go jump in the pool."


    ire widened her eyes and said, "Now?"


    "Yes. Go jump in the pool, with your clothes on. Then, I''ll know that you''re really sorry."


    ire paused to think for a while and suddenly stood up, "Okay." She walked bravely and got out of the room while Gloria excitedly followed her from behind.


    As the wives hade out of the room, the people in the living room eximed, "Oh HEYY!"


    "You guys work it out?" Phil asked.


    "Not yet. Gloria wants me to jump in the pool." ire said casually before walking out the house.


    "What?" Phil and the others were stunned at the situation and all of the family and guests followed ire and Gloria to the pool. Well, all except Jacob who still fainted on the couch.


    "This is so awesome." Luke eximed.


    "I know. Mom does not look good wet." Haley added.


    "Gloria, is this really necessary?" Jay asked exasperatingly.


    ire hurriedly said, "Dad, it''s fine. If I need to jump in this water to prove to Gloria how sorry I am, I will do it....It''s fine."


    "I bet she will chicken out before she jumps in." Edward said to Abby.


    "I''ll take that bet." Abby said and they did a gentleman shake on it. Only a second afterward, she lost.


    "You''re seriously not gonna stop me?" ire said agitatedly as she turned to Gloria.


    "Why would I do that?" Gloria replied, full of smugness.


    ire tried to reason. " Because... I am standing here. I''m showing you my willingness to-" She stopped as she saw Gloria shook her head while smiling, and gave up trying to get out of it. Without saying anything, ire jumped into the pool.


    "YEAYYY!!" The group cheered as ire sshed around in the water. " Are you happy?" ire asked.


    "Yess! I forgive you!" Gloria said whileughing.


    " Then give me your hand." ire said as she reached out her hand to Gloria.


    "That''s the oldest trick in the book. She''s gonna pull you in there." Jay said. Gloria retracted her hand but Jay added, "And that''s my job."


    He pushed Gloria in, making her shout as she fell in the water. "AY JAY!"


    *SPLASH*


    Everyoneughed again, and then Phil decided to speak up, "This is funny, but this is also a teaching moment."


    Jay was annoyed and he pushed Phil into the water too. Next, Luke and Manny tackled Jay into the water, Mitchell grabbed Alex and jumped into the water, and Cam jumped �C cannonball style into the pool.


    Haley wasughing at the side before Ed decided to push her in too. Of course, he took her phone out of her hand before he did so.


    "Family should stick together." Ed said, looking like a menace outside the pool.


    "Smile!" Ed opened Haley''s phone camera and took a picture of the family inside the pool. The guestsughed at the family, but no one ridiculed them for the evening. All except for Ed.


    As Edughed at the family, Gloria whispered something to ire.


    "He advised what?" ire eximed in anger as she knew Ed was the culprit who convinced Gloria to demand a secret from her.


    "Phil. Luke. Throw Ed inside." ire ordered.


    "What- No! This is a new shirt!" Ed tried to reason with them, but Phil and Luke''s excitement was at the peak. They caught him and dragged him into the water with them.


    "You deserve this ED!" ire said whileughing at Ed''s misery.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I rubbed my wet hair with a dry towel as I sat near the pool area. Haley walked next to me wearing a towel-robe after taking off all of her clothes. Desiree, Abby, Jacob and my dad had already left, and Gloria offered me a ce to stay in Manny''s room tonight if I wanted, or just pick out one of the guestrooms.


    However, I had something else nned so I rejected her and decided to check into a hotel instead.


    "Do you want me to put your clothes in the dryer?" Haley asked.


    "Sure. That''ll be great." I said as I began to take off my shirt in front of her. She widened her eyes as she gazed at my body.


    "Wait. How do you get all these muscles?" She said in astonishment and even ran her hand on my body to assure herself that it was true.


    "I work out, remember?" I replied dismissively to try and hide the gains I got from the gacha prize. Not only one year worth of Karate training, the prize also included the amount of pink muscles Kennichi had during that time. Therefore, I graduated from my skinny body because of it.


    She kept running her hand and even squeezed my chest while she said in disbelief, "I don''t trust you. You were not this big before. Is it because boys are in their growing stage now?" She fluttered her eyes as she gazed intently into my eyes.


    "Yup. I guess that''s the reason. Even some other ces grew too." I joked.


    Haley blushed and released my body immediately. With a cautious look, she said, "Pervert."


    "Hey, I meant my arms. What are you thinking about?" I turned the me back to her, making her cower in embarrassment. "Although that part did grow too." I added whisperingly, making her bite her lower lips in frustration.


    "Don''t seduce me!" Haley admonished me before grabbing my shirt and ran away. Iughed and went to the toilet to take off my pants and underpants, and ced them in the dryer too. Phil gave me an expensive towel robe to wear while waiting and we talked for a while before ire called him away.


    Mitchell and Cam left soon after but ire decided to stay behind to help clean up after the dinner. I helped her to wash the pot while she wiped the tables, but then Gloria came downstairs and said, "No No. You don''t have to do that. My house, I will clean it."


    "No Gloria. It''s the least I can do." ire said without looking at thetin woman.


    I turned to look at Gloria, and my jaw dropped as I saw her, already changed into her nightwear. It was a blue satin robe, and her chest area was pretty bare as she picked it extra small. The short skirt was also riding upward on her buttocks, making me see some glimpses that only Jay should see.


    "Gloria, are you crazy?!" ire was stunned speechless and tried to cover up Gloria''s body part from my leering eyes as she saw her.


    "It''s fine. Ed is harmless." Gloria said before walking to the fridge to drink some milk. She bent over as she opened the fridge �C directly in front of my view, and I was reunited with the underpant that had fallen to my head earlier. They were peeking out of her robe as if saying hello to me.


    "Fuck. First Jacob was tortured. Now me." I mumbled to myself as I got out of the kitchen quickly. I bumped into Haley as I turned the corner. She was still embarrassed from earlier, and she walked away quickly after nodding slightly at me. I went to the pool table to grab my phone after the minor collision.


    "Hey what you got there?" Alex said as she appeared in front of me. I was startled and checked my towel quickly. "? Why are you looking down?" Alex was puzzled by my reaction.


    "N-Nothing." I said hurriedly.


    "Hey Ed. Why don''t youe over tomorrow. We can bounce around on the tramp....poline." Phil said and decided to add something at the end because the sentence sounds too suggestive.


    "I also want to bounce, but I have work to do tomorrow. And since my house has no electricity, I will just stay at the hotel all day." I said as I pretended to be sad.


    Phil was disappointed, but he understood my blight. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Then. Just stay with us tonight. You can work there too."


    "I don''t think that''s possible. You guys are too much fun. If I stay there, I know for sure I will postpone my work again."


    "Honey. Don''t force him. Maybe some other time." ire said as she walked by and was wiping her hand with a wet towel. She had just cleaned the dining table while packing up the leftovers from the dinner.


    Thankfully, there wasn''t much left. Only a one person portion was there. "Who didn''te?" I muttered.


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang and all the people in the house turned to look at the door.


    "It''s almost 11...who rang the doorbell at thiste hour." Jay mumbled to himself as he walked to the door. But Manny suddenly stopped him midway and said, "Be careful Jay. it might be a criminal."


    "It''s not going to be a criminal!" Jay said gruffly. But then Phil chimed in with a worried expression, "What if it''s a stalker. We just hosted a party for 3 celebrities. One is even still with us. What if they wanted to scour for his fallen hair?"


    "Phil. Don''t be paranoid. It might be someone we know who''s in trouble." ire muttered, her words were to reassure herself more than to dispute Phil''s crazy stalker theory.


    "Or maybe. It''s a serial murderer who came to kill all of us." Luke added menacingly.


    "AY JAY!" Manny was afraid and he hugged Jay quickly. Gloria was a bit jealous and needed to hug someone too, so she picked the lonely guy in the crowd.


    While hugging me from behind�C covering the fact that she was using me as a human shield, Gloria said to Jay, "Do you want my machete?"


    "You guys are all ridiculous." Alex said while rolling her eyes.


    Jay had enough and pushed Manny away, "If a murderer doese. I hope he kills me quickly so I don''t have to keep dealing with this nonsense."


    But before he opened the door, the theories kept bugging him, therefore he picked up the baseball bat near the key rack before he opened the door.


    "Hey man. Can I have some food?" Leo �C who was clearly high was in front of the door as Jay opened it up.


    "Oh Leo!" I called out in relief. "That''s why there''s still a portion left."


    "Yeah man. I got lost, and my car ran out of gas on the third street. I had to walk for an hour to get here. You cannot believe this. I saw a car simr to my car before I got here."


    "Third street? But that''s just next street." Jay said quizzically as he heard Leo''s story.


    "What?...Hey man, Can I have some food?"


    "..."

 Chapter 92: Getting busy

    <h4>Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Getting busy</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Thankfully I managed to avoid thendmine of ireing to supervise." I thought as I breathed a sigh of relief after taking my bags from my house. My driver to the hotel? It was none other than the high dude, Leo.


    "No worries man." Leo muttered before he tried to light up a cigar while driving. Although he was doing me a favor by driving me to the hotel, I couldn''t let him smoke while I was inside the car.


    "Leo. I''m a singer. No smoking in front of me. It''ll damage my lungs." I said calmly without trying to antagonize him. Leo was startled and he said, "Sorry Big Boss."


    The drive was smooth, and within 30 minutes, I arrived at a luxury 5 stars hotel located in West Hollywood.


    As Leo drove me to the entrance, the hotel staff helped me to carry my bags as I waved goodbye to the hippie.


    "Boss. Your house is huge!" Leo was in awe after he saw the hotel. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he slowly raised his head upward to check out the building.


    "Yup. Next time, don''t bete, and I''ll invite you in." I said jokingly, in which Leo nodded seriously as the big boss image in his heart shot up exponentially after seeing my ''house''.


    Despite his effort, he will soon forget about who he was driving and which ce he had driven me to, making him the perfect guy to be hired as a driver whenever I wanted to do ''fishy'' stuff.


    Something shocking that I found when I ran a background check on Leo before, he actually bought a lot of IBM stock in 1962, and was basically a millionaire. But I guess after smoking weed for so long, he had forgotten that fact and was living as a hobo the entire time. He even forgot that he had a son, and now his son even had gotten married and had a kid, making him a granddad.


    "I should let them meet after this." I muttered to myself as I saw Leo drive away.


    "Mr. Luthor, your room is ready." The hotel concierge said after I walked to the hotel front desk. I had already hacked into the hotel system to check for room vacancy so that I wouldn''te here uselessly, and also reserved the penthouse suite under a different name.


    "Lead the way." I said as I didn''t want the hassle of finding my own room especially at the giant hotel. The concierge nodded and ushered me to my room with the highest professionalism. They didn''t inquire about my name, job, age, or even tried to strike a conversation.


    "Thank you." I said and tipped the concierge 100 dors for his effort and entered the room.


    "Hmm..Should I go there, or should I just go to sleep?" I muttered to myself as I took out Taylor''s hotel key from my pocket. Suddenly, my phone vibrates as I get a text message.


    Taylor: Waiting for you. (Pic.attachment)


    I opened it up, smirked, and opened myptop before I hacked into the hotel''s close-circuit camera system. You might wonder what was the pic she sent me. All I could say was that it rhymes with ''dudes''.


    Edward: Lucky for me, I''m on your floor right now.


    Taylor: Wait. Really?


    Taylor: Wait 5 minutes before youe in.


    The moment I walked in, I saw almost naked Taylor adorning a beautiful emerald-green lingerie, with garter belt on her thigh paired with a long white stocking that reached to her thigh.


    "You like it? I just got it from Victoria''s secret."


    Taylor said with a seductive whisper as she posed seductively with her hand sliding from her waist to her thigh as she did.


    "I should''vee earlier." I said before locking the door behind me after putting a [DO NOT DISTURB] sign on the doorknob.


    "Now, Shall we?" I said with a smirk as I climbed into bed with her.


    ...


    "Ahh~ This feels great." I eximed as the warm sensation spread throughout my entire body. The euphoric pleasure made me almost give up trying to keep my cool.


    Right now, I was naked and inside....a hot tub in my room after Taylor and Selena had returned to their workce.


    Taylor booked another room for Selenast night after dinner in case I wanted to stop by. I met Selena this morning when she came to Taylor''s room for them to check out of the hotel together.


    "That was awkward." I muttered as I remembered Selena''s embarrassed face when she saw me there... Let me reiterate. She saw me... ''there''.


    Apparently she still had the room key after getting kicked outst night.


    With a bottle of wine on my side and a few snacks such as strawberries and different types of cheeses, I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon at the hotel before starting my work.


    "So. They found out. Too bad there''s no evidence though." I muttered with a chuckle as I watched the hotel front door through the hacked CCTV footage and was counting the number of reporters who caught wind of me staying in the same hotel as Selena and Taylor.


    "23, and still rising." I said with a nod while inwardly bracing myself for the future Hollywood shitstorm I would get myself into now that I had debuted. They were trying to call the people involved out, but there''s no pictures of us so they couldn''t im that we had our sexcapades in the hotel.


    They couldn''t enter the hotel because the security wouldn''t let them, and even if they did, Selena and Taylor had already left the hotel. Taylor had to return to New York to prepare for her concert while Selena had to return to the shooting set of "Wizard of Waverly ce".


    "Thank you Bruce." I said as I toasted my wine ss to the person I received the anti-monitoring ability from.


    Bruce''s yboy skill also epassed how to create a ''positive'' scandal that would hide his alternate ego, therefore after reverse engineering the skill, I used that to avoid a scandal all together as I don''t want to deal with the Hollywood craziness just yet.


    Suddenly, my phone rang. I picked up the phone and said, "Hello Harvey."


    "Ed. Are you at XXX hotel?" She asked.


    "Yeah." I replied casually.


    "Did you meet with Taylor and Selenast night?"


    "Yup."


    "Did you do it?"


    "...A little bit." I said as I didn''t feel the need to hide anything from mywyer.


    "Don''t worry, thest question was just from me. I will send over a few bodyguards to protect you from the hyenas and a driver so that you can have a nice trip." Harvey said casually.


    "Thanks. But I''m not getting out of the hotel room. I''m still working on a new management system for thepany, it''s just something I recently figured out. I will send it to you in an hour?"


    Harvey was confused and asked, "Didn''t you go there for enjoyment?"


    "Nah. I only wanted a nice quiet ce to work."


    "... I really don''t understand you. Okay, I will wait for the document to arrive before I do anything else. So you actually lied to me about sleeping together with the girls huh."


    "Nah. I did that too.." I said with a light chuckle. However, Harvey didn''t believe me anymore and hung up after confirming my hotel room number. Then, I got a lecture from Pepper about the importance of using protection'' and also about maintaining my public image�C not acting out like a total incubus.


    "Well. that''s that." I said before getting out of the tub and wore a towel robe. I soon opened myptop and typed a 60 pagepany management guideline and emailed the document to Harvey. All in all it took me no more than 50 minutes to get it all out.


    "Hmm...that took me faster than I thought." I said before stretching my arms up and opened up my email next. Soon, I delved into the Newgate tourism business and my ppy Bird gamepany work and didn''t move from my position for hours until dinner time to settle all the work I had missed.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Entertain Company, New Office-


    Located nearby the busy Pasadena city, the old Saltzman 40 storey building, a ssic old skyscraper worth well over 100 million dors had just changed its ownership from Denise Saltzman to Sherman "Pepper" Saltzman and it was undergoing renovations to change it from a normal, dull and lifeless oilpany HQ to a more creativity inclined office under Pepper''s leadership.


    "Where do you want this Bamboo nt to go?" A skinnytin man from Guatem asked as he followed Pepper around as an assistant.


    "Lucky Bamboo nt. This nt brings health, prosperity and luck and should be ced in either the east side...if I want it to influence health, or the northeast part of the office if it''s for wealth. I guess, put it on the east side. I want Edward to be healthy after all." Pepper said as he fanned his face with a paper fan.


    Ronaldo nodded and walked away to ce the tree where Pepper wanted it to be. He had a rare, sincere smile on his face after he talked to Pepper and muttered, "He''s so kind..."


    Pepper had just hired Ronaldo to be his assistant after a rmendation from Edward. Not only that, a lot of the new employees in thepany were rmended by Edward and most of them were only starting out in their job, therefore Pepper was extremely confused by Edward''s choice.


    "I really don''t see why he asked me to hire that guy. He''ll thrive more as a party nner than an assistant." Pepper said in confusion as he watched Ronaldo walk away.


    "You''ll also thrive more as a party nner than a CEO." Harvey quipped as she walked into Pepper''s stripped bare office that was without a desk or a chair, the walls were broken down to be rebuilt, and the floor tiles were also removed.


    "That''s true." Pepper said in agreement before asking, "Did mother finish sending the money?"


    "Yes. In fact she even started a separate trust under the Company name. You basically have unlimited funding from your mother after this. Also, she wants...and I quote, "The twinkling little star toe have dinner at the estate whenever possible." I believe she has already been captured by Ed''s charm as you expected her to be."


    "Hmph! NOW she believes in me." Pepper said sarcastically.


    Without a change in expression, Harvey said, "Didn''t she already apologize to you? When my dad said sorry he gave me a hug. Yours gave you a building."


    Pepper smirked and said, "You poor thing, you might think this is a huge concession from her. But no. The loss of this building doesn''t even make a dent in her fortune. I can''t wait for her to be dead."


    "Now now. No need to send her your well wishes. Ed emailed me a 60 page management guideline. So take a look." Harvey took out the printed guideline and gave it to Pepper.


    "He also said he will handle the creation of an employee training and management manual soon." Harvey added.


    Pepper sighed as he looked at the pages. He turned to Harvey and asked in puzzlement, "I thought he went there to have FUN? I didn''t say anything as he was mourning the mysterious grandmother no one knows, but he actually went there to work instead?"


    Harvey nodded and exined his thoughts, "That is confusing for me too. 2 girls, and he chose work instead. This...cannot be done in just a few hours. It''ll take time to finish it, no matter how much of a genius he is. Unless someone spoon fed him the new management method and let him copy it, I don''t think he even met with the girlsst night."


    Pepper sighed again and shook his head. He said, "How''s the search for a therapist going?"


    "I found a female therapist with tight lips named Dr Linda Martin. Ed will have his first session on Thursday after his decathlon thing." Harvey said.


    "Ted gave the okay?" Pepper asked in confirmation.


    "Yes. He is also going to be there for support. But the hard part is to convince Edward."


    Pepper thought for a while before saying, "Just leave that to his dad. If he fails, then I''m going to try it."


    Harvey nodded before adding, "Not only this..." She pointed to the guideline. "...Ed also did some extra work by straightening out the taxes, handling future investments, and finding out a few distribution channels for the album to reach the global market. I checked his gamepany and the shippingpany if he did some work there too,as I expect he did, he''s working extremely hard. Someone needs to go there to stop him, or else...."


    "You know how he is. If we tell him to stop, then he''ll find another way to do it without us knowing about it instead." Pepper sighed exasperatedly.


    "Wait. Didn''t Linn call today?" Pepper''s eyes lit up as he remembered something.


    "Yeah. The Irtes audition starts tonight. Sarah Finn and Robert Downey Jr are going to be there." Harvey replied.


    "Good. Bring him there. He got the audition for his friends, so he needs to be there for support." Pepper said.


    Harvey smiled and said, "Okay. I''ll tell him and ask him to get ready."


    "Make sure he has dinner first." Pepper added. "It''ll be a long night for him. But tell him if he wants to go home early, he can. He just has to let his friends down by doing so."


    "You''re awful." Harvey said with a smile as she arranged for Pepper''s n.


    �CCuba�C


    At Havana''s club a few days ago, Cam was listening to her nephew''s new song using an earphone while checking her emails on herptop. She had a grin on her face the entire time she listened to the songs. She was wearing a feminine floral pattern dress but with her leather jacket on.


    "Hey chica-"


    "Not interested."


    Cam shot down the greasy looking Cuban man with a fedora on his head. The man epted her rejection and moved away slowly while checking out Cam''s body onest time.


    "That guy sucks. I wonder if he took a stereotype checklist for a Cuban asshole before he came to the club."


    Cam turned to check the source of the voice and found an American man sitting adjacent to her at the bar and was toasting his scotch at her as their eyes met. The man looked suspiciously like Ryan Reynolds and was wearing a yellow floral print shirt with a few buttons opened, revealing his taut chest muscles.


    She rolled her eyes and wanted to get back to the song but the man had already slid next to her and said, "Are you listening to Edward Newgate''s new song?"


    "Not inter- Wait, you know him?" Cam changed her mind about rejecting the conversation with the man.


    "Know him? I''m a fan of his, even before, when he yed the violin." The man said with a smile before sipping his scotch.


    Cam grinned from ear to ear as she talked to the man. He was nice, not a horn dog, and most importantly, he knew how to treat ady right.


    "So, are we going to keep talking, or can I finally know your name?" He asked.


    Cam smiled and said while fluttering her eyes at him, "Cam. Cam Monroe."


    "Wayne. Wayne Bruce."


    "Oh. Do you perhaps have an alternate ego in the night named Man-Bat?" Cam joked. Wayne slumped his shoulders depressingly but with a smile on his face that showed Cam it wasn''t the first time someone made that joke about his name.


    They exchanged numbers and he even asked her out on a date soon while he was still staying in Cuba. Cam learned that he was a businessmaning here to trade a few car auto-parts which made her extremely interested in him and what he was doing. Not to mention, he was handsome.


    After Cam left to go back to her hotel, Wayne''s friendly face turned stoic and he contacted his team.


    With a condescending sneer, he said, "I got in touch with the target. I knew not many women could resist my extremely charming face. See how easy that was?"


    The nerdy agent that followed him to Cuba rolled his eyes and said, "Doesn''t matter. Don''t expose yourself. The FBI don''t have jurisdiction here."


    "Do you think I''m dumb? I know what I''m doing."


    "Really? Then, why don''t you invite her to a hotel tonight?"


    "...Ady needs to be treated with respect-"


    "You have a crush on her don''t you?"


    "Shut up! I don''t! She''s just a mission target."


    "Really. Then...where are you taking her for your first date?"


    "...Cafe L''Amour."


    The nerdy agent grinned while Wayne cursed at him.


    "Hey you. American!" Suddenly, the Cuban man with the fedora that was hitting on Cam a few paragraphs ago shouted at Wayne. He walked briskly toward Wayne with a few bulky men walking along with him.


    "Uh-Oh. Herees trouble~" The nerdy agent said with a singy-songy voice and was looking forward to Wayne going to be beaten up by the local gang.


    "Ummm...I can''t fight back right?" Wayne asked.


    "Yup. You''ll risk exposing yourself. So you should either let them have their way with you. Bend over. Don''t gag. Or just run away."


    At the bar, Wayne looked at the gang member with an exasperated look as they were already encircling him. "Couldn''t you have told me that sooner?" He asked depressingly.


    "You''re a senior agent. You should have thought of that yourself." The nerd said before cutting off the call. Wayne sighed and put the phone in his pocket before saying, "Hey. Isn''t that Ryan Reynolds?"


    "Where?!" The gang member turned to check out the bar in search of the celebrity. Wayne took the opportunity to push the fedora wearing man and ran away hurriedly before he was going to get beaten.


    "MIERDA!! AG��RRENLO!!" ("Shit, get him!") The fedora wearing Cuban shouted.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Iron Man 2? Tonight? Why did they do it at night?" I asked in confusion after I talked to Harvey.


    "No idea. But, it seems that it''s because of Robert. You go there and you can ask them." Harvey said.


    I remembered an article about the Iron Man 2 movie in my previous life that mentioned Robert Downey Jrs unconventional way of improvising in the film.


    It caused the writers to almost be mad as they needed to rewrite the script multiple times because of the actor. It became that way because the studio had interfered with the movie production and even interfered with Jon Favreau work because they wanted to sell more merchandise.


    ''Of course, most of the imse from people who thought Iron Man 2 was the worst MCU movie.'' I thought secretly.


    "But...I want to finish my job. I''m even working on figuring out my air-fryers design today. I have a lot of things on my te!"


    "It''s okay if you don''t want to go. Just call Kaya and Anna yourself. I''m sure they''ll understand that you have no trust in them."


    "... Are you guilt-tripping me?"


    "I don''t know. Am I?"


    "..."


    I sighed and said, "Okay fine. I''ll go."


    "Great. The driver is waiting for you downstairs. Renaldo will be there to help you get in when you arrive."


    Harvey hung up the call soon after.


    "Aww. Renaldo''s here." I eximed happily before going to change my clothes. Luckily for me I brought a few options. I decided to wear a red nnel shirt on top of a white t-shirt and folded the sleeves to half my forearms. I paired the shirt with ck jeans and Nike sneakers before leaving the hotel room.


    "Let''s go to Marvel studio!"

 Chapter 93: Becoming an Actor?

    <h4>Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Bing an Actor?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    The ck SUV with dark tinted windows entered the studio district in Hollywood. I could see the Paramo*nt Pictures set, and a few other studios around.


    The buildings were beige in color and seemed lifeless from the outside. But inside them? It was filled with various sets ranging from an Old West Town to the New York city streets.


    It was my first time entering the sets, but, interestingly enough, not my first opportunity to do so. Apparently in our school, the teacher could bring the students here for a field trip. However, I had never gone before, nor was I in the drama club.


    "Damn. Marvel got a huge ass studio. They have upgraded!" I muttered as I stood in front of the set for Iron Man 2. Starting from facing bankruptcy and a low movie budget, the studio managed to revive theirpany with the production of the Iron Man movie.


    "We have arrived." The Singh (Punjabi) driver said with a thick ent. I nodded and asked, "Renaldo?"


    "He''sing." The driver said. I nodded and got out of the car before waiting for Renaldo at the entrance of the studio.


    A skinny Guatemn man walked hurriedly towards where I was standing and said with a thick ent, "Mr. Newgate. I''m Renaldo."


    "I know. Can we get in?" I asked after reaching my hand out for a handshake with him. He was mildly startled before he grabbed my hand and shook it. He shed a sincere smile and said, "Yes. Unfortunately, the interview is already over."


    "Wait. Are you serious?" I asked exasperatingly as the only reason I went there was to provide some moral support for the girls. "What about-"


    "They made it. And now they are fitting for the Irte bikinis." Renaldo said, urately guessing what I wanted to ask.


    I nodded and opened my mouth to ask, but he interrupted me again.


    "They want to meet you. They gave you a pass you can use to get to their dressing room. However, I don''t rmend you to go there." He said with concern while fiddling with a white card shape key in his hand.


    "Why not?" I asked in confusion.


    His eyes shook as he thought whether to tell me the truth or not. Finally, he decided to put his trust in me. "Well...All 20 girls are basically naked inside the dressing room as they are fitted for the outfit."


    "Ah. I understand." I said.


    Renaldo breathed in relief as he saw me being respectful to the girls. I saw his expression and shrugged, "Well, if the room is only for the 2 of them, I will go in. But if there are other dancers, I won''t invade their privacy."


    Renaldo heard my words, but he was confused regardless. "Then why are your hands slowly trying to reach the keycard?"


    I was startled and retracted my hand hurriedly. "Damn. You notice that huh?" I said jokingly, causing Renaldo tough for the first time in front of me. He usually tried to keep a professional manner, but today I managed to close the distance between us.


    Just like Pepper, Renaldo shared the same loyal trait which made me want to befriend him sooner than usual. Of course, if he fell in love with Pepper earlier�C just like in the original timeline, then I wouldn''t have any objections to it.


    "By the way, is Dwayne...single?" Renaldo asked me bashfully while leading me to the film set.


    "..."


    Right after I walked into the studio, I met with the set executive and she gave me a couple of rules to follow when I was inside the studio. First, I should not interfere with their work. Not that I needed to have it said after all it wasmon sense that shouldn''t even be included in the guideline anyway, but you would be shocked to know how many dumb rich people there are.


    While she was exining the rules, suddenly a pompous, and a bit condescending voice sounded from behind us, making me turn my head to the source of the voice.


    "What''s a teen artist doing here? Kid, if you want to audition for the Irte role, it''s toote."


    I saw RDJ walking towards me with a smile on his face. Just to be clear, he was in his Tony Stark persona as they were currently shooting, therefore he was ying around with a kid who he assumed was a lucky fan.


    "But Mr RDJ, I''m sure if I put on a wig and dance, I will be better than anyone you casted. So give me a chance?" I said with a pitiful voice as I persuaded him.


    RDJ''s face froze while Renaldo looked at me�C mouth agape in shock.


    "HAHAHA!" RDJughed hard enough for most people in the set could hear and he couldn''t help but break his character. He returned to the still pompous but kindhearted RDJ and patted my shoulder as heughed.


    "Kid, no matter what color wig you wear, there''s no way you''re dancing on that stage."


    "Ah, that''s fine though cause I onlye here to support my friends who''re auditioning."


    RDJ nodded and said, "You''re the singer right? The one who sang "Shivers" when you did that interview?"


    "Yes. I''m surprised you know me." I said with slightly widened eyes as he guessed my identity.


    "Well. I didn''t at first. But I was stuck at my friend''s child''s birthday party, and you were all the kids were talking about." RDJ said before he waved the exec away. After Iron Man 1, hepletely changed people''s impression of him from a druggie to a highly capable and respected actor.


    I thought that I would geek out when I met with him today, but surprisingly, Bruce Wayne''s identity management skill helped me to maintain my usual character. It was a surprise, and a good one. This way, I wouldn''t simp out on a short few people that I knew in my previous life if I identally meet them in the future.


    "Friend? Is it Don Cheadle?" I blurted out without thinking much. RDJ was shocked for real this time and replied with a stammer, "Y-Yeah...How do you know?"


    I shrugged and said, "Just gossips."


    He sighed and said, "So. It got out huh."


    Terrance would no longer be joining the Marvel movies after Iron Man 1 because of a disagreement on his actor fee. I was surprised that this happened in this universe too, but I guess I shouldn''t be too surprised as a lot of things stayed the same.


    "Let''s walk to the buffet." RDJ said and led me to where the stars dined. I couldn''t meet the dancers at this moment because they went directly to practice the choreography with the director.


    "Wait. You guys are shooting the scene tonight?" I asked in shock as I was in awe with the studio''s efficiency.


    "Well...We could do it sooner, but filming in Monaco took a very long time. So we''re rushing to meet the schedule" RDJ said, hinting that I shouldn''t try to cause any trouble.


    "You guys don''t look that busy though." I said dismissively.


    He looked at me with narrowed eyes and said, "You know I don''t usually act as a tour guide, but I never expected to guide such a rude guest my first time in."


    I chuckled a bit and said, "You didn''t really be a tour guide from the kindness of your heart right? I asked as I could see that we were both really bored right now."


    RDJ smiled as he had been exposed and walked to the buffet table to pick up some walnuts. He propped a few of them at once into his mouth and said, "You got me. Unfortunately, there''s no correct prize for the right answer."


    I shrugged and said faux-pitifully, "Damn. And here I thought I could get you to sign 1000 copies of the Iron Man poster."


    "Kid, I will sign it, but I want you to appreciate it because my signature is expensive- Wait. Did you say 1000?" He stopped and looked towards me in disbelief.


    I nodded and said casually, "Yeah. I want to sell them on Ebay for some pocket money."


    "AREN''T YOU RICH?!" RDJ breathes sharply while in disbelief. He turned to pick up a te and changed the subject quickly as signing 1000 posters would be a nightmare for him. "Try the chicken sd. A staff member brought it from home."


    "My autographs?" I asked puzzledly.


    "Try thesagna too."


    "My 1000 posters-"


    "This muffin is also great." He said as he plugged my mouth with the muffin. I red at him for a second before tasting the sweet muffin cream. It was sweet and choctey, so I forgave him.


    I stopped teasing the anxious RDJ after he broke into a cold sweats while trying to eat. I smiled and picked up a te before scooping some of the chicken sd. However, my nose picked up a strange smell as I sniffed the food."


    "Wait. How long ago did the staff bring the sd here?" I asked as I stopped RDJ from


    "Hmm? She just opened it now." He said in puzzlement. I was confused too and I tasted the sd a little, only for me to spit it back out and grimaced hard.


    "It''s starting to go bad. It''s better not to eat it." I said before wiping my mouth with a napkin. Even though I''m immune to bad food, I still couldn''t torture my taste bud by putting rotten food in my mouth.


    RDJ didn''t believe me and he sniffed the sd on his te. "But it smells fine?"


    "I don''t care if you don''t want to believe me. Just don''t me me if you get diarrhea after this." I said and threw my te to the trash bin before picking up a new one.


    [RDJ POV]


    I thought he was a geek, but I never thought that he was actually a nice kid. Previously, I lied to him about not knowing who he was when I first met him. I knew instantly who he was because Susan couldn''t stop talking about him.


    She even joined his fan club, and even asked me if I could help her get in touch with him before. Too bad that none of my connections could help me cause the kid''spany was basically a new and rapidly growingpany.


    Also, I admit his songs were great. Although, I liked ''Believer'' more than the others. He didn''t know this, but himing here was no longer a secret as the Irte dancers had basically dered his presence to everyone here. And apparently John wanted to meet him for some personal reason.


    Susan wasn''t a new fan of his. In fact, she had met him a couple of times behind the curtain at a symphony. I didn''t know what happened there, but she cursed the kid''s mother a few times when she got back. And she almost cried when watching his interview before.


    ''I should get his number after this.'' I secretly reminded myself as to not sleep on the couch again when I go home next time.


    I have a good impression of the kid. But now, him denying me the opportunity to eat the chicken sd that I had been eyeing for so long made my impression on him conflicted.


    ''Is he lying to get attention? Or is there something really wrong with the sd?'' I thought to myself. I sniffed the sd, but I couldn''t find anything wrong with it.


    "Oh well." I said before stabbing the sd with my fork and wanted to bring it to my mouth, but stopping at thest minute. "Damn it!" I cursed and threw the sd away.


    "Kid, if you''re wrong I''m going to kick you out!" I said to him as I called the staff nearby. He didn''t even react and was enjoying a slice of chocte cake with an intoxicated expression. To my horror, his hand reached out to take thest slice of the cake.


    "WAIT THAT''S MINE!" I screamed and snatched the cake with my fingers before eating it messily, without even trying to use a spoon or a te.


    [3rd Person POV]


    As the celebrities walked away while bickering with one another, the staff member that RDJ called before, got to work quickly and took the sd away from the buffet table.


    "Is it really gone bad? J will be sad if she knows." He said as he took a confirmation sniff on the sd. "There''s nothing wrong with it though?" He said with some confusion before smiling bitterly as he thought of something.


    "That must be it. That kid is lying to get RDJ''s attention."


    Then, he decided to put the sd back on the table and left the buffet table to do his actual work instead.


    [Edward POV]


    "Kid, you sang at a concert before right?" RDJ asked as we walked to the stage set. It was the set of the Stark Expo exhibition stage. The one where Iron Man performed together with the Irtes to announce the beginning of the Stark Expo.


    We walked to the stage where almost a hundred people were waiting and stood at the center of the stage. "Yeah. I have." I said with a mncholic tone.


    "Wait. Don''t you miss performing at concerts right now?" RDJ said in disbelief. "You know you''re an artist right?" He asked sarcastically.


    I shook my head and said, "It''s not that. I''m just too busy right now."


    He asked me about a few things. About the experience of facing thousands of people, how I handle my crowd control, and a few others in which I replied to all of his questions honestly.


    He was gathering data for his performance, and I didn''t want to snub his enthusiasm. Not to mention he brought me to many ces around the set and even introduced me to a few other people. I was looking around to see ScarJo in a leather suit, but too bad she wasn''t in the studio today.


    RDJ seemed to understand something and started to pry, "I know that your age is a secret. But can you tell me? You''re at least 16 right?"


    I shook my head.


    "Then, 17?"


    I shook my head again.


    "15?" He asked while gulping his saliva.


    I shrugged and said, "Around that. Yeah." He breathed sharply and looked at me up and down with disbelief in his eyes.


    I smiled wryly and RDJ felt weak on his knees.


    "I really thought you were a junior." He said, feeling a bit intimidated as my height had already surpassed his in such a young age.


    "I haven''t even finished middle school yet." I said casually, adding to RDJ''s disbelief.


    "Mike check. Sound check." The sound system staff suddenly tapped the microphone in at the stage to check the speaker quality.


    "Should we move?" I asked.


    "Kid...I mean, Ed. Can I call you that?" RDJ said carefully with a smile on his face. He was leading me around as a senior, but I guess he felt a bit awkward to strike a friendship with a teenage boy. After all, he didn''t share the same interest as the individuals who had visited a certain ind.


    I was weirded out and said, "Sure. if you really want to."


    "Do you want to test for the Spiderman role? I think it''ll suit you." He said.


    "Nah. I don''t want to date Zendaya."


    "Huh? What?" RDJ was confused, but I wasn''t borating anything.


    "Also, doesn''t Sony still hold the rights for the movie?"


    He smirked and said ambiguously, "Yeah. I''m not talking about now...Wait, but it''ll be hard in the future too. After all..." He looked at me up and down again and said, "You''re still growing."


    I opened my mouth to retort, but then I understood what he was talking about. I nodded in eptance and asked, "Not that...I do admit to having some interest in bing Spidey...Why did you ask me about that anyway?"


    "You don''t know, do you? I guess you never checked the articles about you." RDJ said in contemtion. I was confused and said, "What articles?"


    I was clear about most of the articles written about me in the music industry, so I was confused as to what he was talking about.


    RDJ suddenly shook his head and said, "Wait. Not an article. More like a fan cast. Your fans said you can be Spiderman as you have the intelligence. But seeing your reaction, I guess that''s exaggerated. You''re not THAT smart."


    "Hey Mike. Let the kid do the soundcheck!" RDJ suddenly said and dragged me to the microphone before I could react. I was startled but I let myself be dragged so as to not identally injure the man. They couldn''t film without the main character after all.


    "My voice is expensive though." I said cheekily as I made the money gesture with my finger. RDJ rolled his eyes and said, "The payment is not kicking you out of the set."


    "I actually don''t care much if I get kicked out. I only came here to meet Anna and Kaya, who I rmended for the interview. I''d rather be home now and continue working."


    RDJ was stunned and he asked with a tiny voice, "Really? I thought you came here to visit the set."


    "Yeah." I replied casually, making him stunned again. He then shook his head and grinned evilly. He said, "1000...no, that''s too hard. I will GIVE you...a signed Iron Man helmet instead."


    "Deal!" I said and we shook hands.


    [3rd Person POV]


    Renaldo had returned after calling Kaya and Anna out of the choreography practice as they were on a break.


    As the scene was short, there wasn''t a lot of choreography for them to handle, and being professionals, they had already trained the choreography to perfection, even surprising the head choreographer.


    The trio passed the buffet table to get to the stage where Ed was waiting, however the other dancers were gathering around the buffet table instead as they had just finished practicing as was famished. Of course, for dancers who took care of their body, they avoided sweets and high carbohydrate food and instead settled on the...chicken sd.

 Chapter 94: Playing around.

    <h4>Chapter 94: Chapter 94: ying around.</h4>


    (double Chapter today cause I forgot to post yesterday.)


    "Mic check Mic check 1 2 1 2."


    I was doing the mic check like RDJ asked me to do, but the guy face-palmed and said, "Dude. Trey could do that himself."


    Trey�Creferring to the staff member doing the sound check before this. I was surprised that he knew the staff member''s name.


    "Then, what do you want me to do?" I asked slyly, pretending that I didn''t know what he meant.


    "Sing." RDJ said with a hidden intention. He actually wanted to study more about my performing style by watching it himself, but he wouldn''t admit that.


    "Okay sure." I said jokingly. "Only because you asked me too."


    He rolled his eyes before grinning as he walked to downstage and mingled with the audience. He stood among the crowd members to experience the performance naturally and was crossing his arms as he waited for me to get ready.


    "There isn''t any instrument though." I said before a staff member suddenly ran towards me and handed me a guitar before disappearing like a shadow. Even RDJ was stunned as he saw that. Suddenly, he understood what happened as he saw the movie director standing beside him.


    "John. Finished your argument with Susan?" RDJ asked while I was tuning my guitar.


    "No. I will continue thatter."


    John Favreau hade to watch the guest member y, bing one of the many hired crowd members today. The crowd of 100 people screamed as I went up the mic.


    "This reminds me of my first ever performance in a cafe." I said while grabbing the mic, making a few peopleugh here and there.


    However, before I could continue, a fuming Renaldo walked briskly towards me and stopped my performance by shouting at me from down the stage.


    "Mr Newgate! Can I have a moment with you?!" He said with gritted teeth as he gestured for me toe closer to him.


    "Uh-Oh. Am I in trouble?" I said to the mic again before crouching at the edge of the stage to hear what Renaldo had to say.


    "Hmmm? What happened?" RDJ asked himself.


    John sighed and said, "I think I know..."


    I returned to stand behind the mic after Renaldo exined to me a few things, and I said, "Okay. So apparently I cannot sing my songs here without mywyer, so I will be doing a cover song instead. Also, I need to say a disimer that ''the footage captured purposely, or identally during my performance had no connection to the movie the studio is producing.'' Is it okay now?"


    I looked at Renaldo, and he sighed before nodding his head.


    "Huh?" RDJ was confused so he turned to John. The director then exined, "If he doesn''t put a disimer, we will be able to use it. Not that I WANT to do that, but that''s how copyrightw works."


    "Ahh... I get it now." RDJ eximed before inwardly praising Renaldo.


    "So, any requests?" I asked the audience after thinking for a while.


    RDJ suddenly shouted the first name that came into his mind, "ELVIS!"


    I looked directly at him and said in disbelief, "Seriously? How old are you?"


    "Shut up. His songs are timeless." He retorted quickly. I ignored him and greeted Kaya and Anna who were jumping up and down while in their Irte uniform, making me grin widely as my eyes followed their bounciness.


    The top part of the uniform was a crop top �C Iron man themed shirt with gold and red color while a replica of the arc reactor was pushing the girls breast upward, making them pop out of their shirt. The bottom part was still made with the Iron Man theme, and the short pants hugged the dancer''s bottom snugly.


    "Talk about fan service!" I muttered. RDJ and John nodded stealthily as they agreed with my words.


    (Just a costume reference)


    "Since RDJ requested it I will be singing a song but as I''m feeling old school there is nothing else I can do so I will be honoring "The King" and try to give you a worthy version of "I Can''t Help Falling in love." I said before picking on the guitar strings to create the melody.


    I closed my eyes as I immersed myself in the music and slowly, the murmurs from the crowd became less and less, until it finally stopped.


    ????????


    "??Wise men say.... Only fools, only fools rush in!!?? " I sang with a soothing and a jazzy voice, mesmerizing the entire crowd. Kaya cupped her mouth in awe while Renaldo raised one of his brows.


    "Dayumm." RDJ eximed as his jaw dropped from his shock. I didn''t know whether it was because I love this song before this, or that my Druid''s [Soul Voice] leaked out without me realizing it, but my voice had started to shake the souls of those who heard it.


    [Renaldo POV]


    "But I can''t help falling in love with you!??"


    I was honestly shocked when I heard his voice. I knew he was good, but I never really listened to his vocals properly before.


    Suddenly, I found myself transported to the 80s where everything was in a sepia filter. A dance club in the middle of nowhere. Only me, and the one person who was always in my mind was there. I wrapped my hand around his muscled waist as we danced.


    Ed''s voice reverberated at the dance floor. "??Shall I stay? Would it be, would it be a sin?"


    ''Oh Dwayne.'' I thought as I ced my head on his chest while he wrapped himself around me.


    "??If I can''t help falling in love with you??"


    ?????????


    [General POV]


    Ed finally opened his eyes and he was a bit startled by the crowd''s reaction. Some were in tears, some started dancing with a partner. Even Renaldo was hugging himself and was dancing as he enjoyed the song.


    "??Like a river flows


    Surely to the sea


    Darling, so it goes


    Some things are meant to be??"


    And just as he expected, some people started to kiss each other. However, it wasn''t at the level of brainwashing. Those people were in fact a couple. The single guys in the crowd couldn''t help but show a look of longing as they heard the song.


    RDJ and John Favreua were in a trance and was actually slow dancing with one another. They noticed it a minute in on their dance, and separated from each other with disgust immediately afterward.


    "??Take my hand


    Take my whole life too??"


    The crowd waved their hand in the air, gently saying it as they followed the song''s rhythms. Ed didn''t stop singing from the crowd''s strange reaction, but instead he poured his heart and soul into the song as he sang.


    ??For I can"t help falling in love with you


    For I can"t help falling in love with you


    Yeah~??


    With a hint of sadness in his voice, Ed locked eyes with the audience members and sang thest verse.


    He finished the song with a soft outro, and then a thunderous apuse was heard, shaking the entire movie set. Renaldo snapped out of his delusion, and hurriedly recovered his focus to try and protect me better.


    Edward smiled at the crowd and said, "Everyone, if you have someone you love, don''t wait until it''s toote to let them know. With that I think it''s safe to say the Mics are ok no?? Also Robert you now owe me a signed Iron Man Helmet, and you bet your sweet Hollywood ass I will cash it soon."


    The crowd giggled before they started chanting "ENCORE!" to encourage Ed to continue singing. Even John didn''t say anything and agreed with the rest of the crowd as it wasn''t yet time to shoot the next scene yet.


    But then, Edward suddenly shushed them.


    [Edward POV]


    "Hey. Can you guys hear that?" I asked the audience as I suddenly heard something strange.


    The crowd thought I was acting at first, but in their silence, they could hear some grumbling and screamsing from behind the stage set.


    John was concerned and he walked to the source of the disturbance hurriedly.


    "Ed. Let''s go take a look!" RDJ said with a hint of excitement. "Someone might just die here, and the whole ce will have to be locked down until we find the culprit!" He said, failing to control his excitement anymore.


    I rolled my eyes at him before jumping from the 1.5 meter tall stage,pletely making Renaldo feel horrified by my action.


    "Are you crazy?!" He yelled.


    I looked at him with a grin and said, "Calm your tits. Let''s go take a look."


    "That''s offensive." Renaldo retorted.


    "Why? It''s a bird." I said in confusion.


    Renaldo waspletely stunned by my reply, but he couldn''t do anything as I had already followed Robbie to look at what was happening. Kaya and Anna hugged me in each arm as I walked, making him sneer at my ''misery''.


    "Ed. Thank you for the opportunity." Kaya said with a sincere tone.


    Anna nodded and said, "If there''s anything... And I do mean ANYTHING you want from us, you can just-"


    Before she could finish, I interrupted her quickly, "Don''t say that. My intentions are pure. I just think you guys are great dancers, so I was only helping out a bit. You don''t need to repay me with anything."


    Kaya bit her lips and said, "But-"


    "No Buts. Also, your scene is barely less than a minute. Even Penny had more screen time in my music video." I said teasingly as I changed the subject.


    Anna noticed what I was doing and she didn''t say anything lest I felt ufortable with their persistence. After all we were only surface level friends, and not really that close. She released me and gestured to Kaya to do the same.


    Thetina girl reluctantly released my hand as I smiled wryly at them. We arrived at the source of the disturbance, only to find several dancers were clutching their stomachs as they banged on the toilet door. Not only the dancers, several staff members had already run out of the studio in search of a toilet while trying hard to clench their buttocks to prevent leaking.


    "What the hell happened here?" John asked furiously as he stopped an anxious staff member. It was the same staff member that RDJ had called to remove the sd from the buffet table before.


    "Uhhhh...I..."


    "It was the chicken sd!" A dancer said with gritted teeth as she held her hurting stomach.


    "Holy mother-" RDJ eximed in disbelief as he thought about what happened before. He turned to me quickly, but I only shrugged as a response.


    "I did tell you that sd had gone bad before." I said casually.


    "Ughh AGRHHH!" The same dancer who tattled before screamed in pain as she banged on the toilet door again. John and RDJ went to help the people who were clutching their stomachs, and some even fainted. I asked a staff member to call 911 as a lot of people needed medical attention.


    Before long, the ce was crowded with EMTs. Robbie gulped and inwardly thanked himself for trusting my words before this.


    "Otherwise, I would be in one of the ambnces." He muttered to himself while wiping the cold sweats on his forehead.


    ...


    The scene filming had to be postponed as the majority of the dancers were hospitalized. John Favreau invited me to the director''s office to talk after I settled my business with the dancers.


    However, Anna and Kaya decided to go home instead after getting out of the Irte uniform as it was almost 2 am now. I didn''t stop them and before they left, they invited me to their apartment, saying that I should stop by whenever.


    I just agreed to be polite, but I didn''t actually have any ns to go there.


    I knocked on the director office''s door two times before turning the door handle.


    "Is this the Ultimate Fighting Champion''s room?" I asked.


    John chuckled while RDJ said in excitement while mocking the director, "BOOM. I knew he would recognize you. You owe me 20 bucks."


    "(Tsk) Okay. Come on in Ed." John said before ignoring RDJ. We talked a bit about FRIENDs TV series before John finally spoke of his purpose of inviting me there.


    "You know. Linn told me that you had guessed almost the entire movie plot correctly." John said with a serious face. "Is the plot so predictable?" He asked with a hint of concern in his eyes.


    I shook my head and said, "No. Most of the new fans won''t even know who Iron Man''s enemies are. Not everyone is familiar with theics after all."


    "Then, how did you know? Did someone leak it to you?" He asked. He didn''t use me, but he was genuinely concerned whether or not the storyline had been exposed.


    "Well...I AM familiar with theics." I lied, but my acting skill made it seem like I was telling the truth. John eased up a bit and we got into an intense discussion about Marvelics.


    "Like I said. Pick one viin. It''s a loss if you put both in the same movie." I debated.


    "Not a lot of people know about Whish or Justin Hammer. It''s the only plotline that made sense." John argued back.


    "Justin Hammer created the Super-Adaptoid. A robot that could break the Avengers if used properly."


    "What the hell are you guys talking about?" RDJ shook his head in disbelief after John and I had been arguing non-stop for 30 minutes.


    John suddenly sighed and said, "I understand your concerns. But, there''s too many viins in the series. And we''re also going to introduce some new characters, so we can''t-"


    "Let me guess. Nick Fury and ck Widow?"


    John was shocked once again, but after a thorough discussion, I understood his dilemma in the production. It wasn''t his fault that the movie was going to be critiqued in the future. He really tried.


    But to be honest, even though some people critiqued the story, a lot more people thought that the movie was awesome. There were a lot more leisure watchers than diehard fans after all.


    "Hey... I...actually have an idea, but I don''t know if it is good or not." I said while scratching my cheek shyly.


    "Huh? What idea?" RDJ asked.


    "A song idea." I exined a bit more.


    John''s eyes lit up and he said, "Let''s hear about it!"


    ...


    4 am. I finally returned to the hotel, mind full of exhaustion. I jumped on the bed without even changing my clothes and muttered in amazement, "Can''t believe I have RDJ''s phone number."


    Renaldo had done his job perfectly and even acted as a mediator in my negotiation with John after he decided to ept my idea. The good news was, it would take a long time for the movie production to finish, so there was no rush for me to do what I suggested.


    "The bad news is... now I have added extra work to my already crumbling hill of unfinished projects."


    I sighed as I set an rm to wake up at 8 am, which was barely 4 hours from the time now.


    "Rest...wait...how do I activate the skill?" I muttered as I tried to summon the active skill. I tried a few chants. Zim Zim z bim, avada kedavra, abrakadabra, but nothing was working.


    But, all I needed to do was to actually close my eyes and have the intention of resting for the skill to activate itself. In less than 30 seconds after I closed my eyes, I had already fallen to dreand, which was a new record for a rtively overthinking person like me.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While the Dunphy''s were having dinner, there was one person missing from the dining table as she was preupied with her work.


    "Honey. Just eat first. I''m swamped with work right now. Ed has just sent over multiple orders that I need to analyze and reply to as soon as I can." ire said to Phil who called her to have dinner together as a family.


    She had tied up her hair and was wearing her eyesses as she looked at Phil, asking for his understanding.


    " But honey. You''ve been working all day long. " Phil said in concern.


    " Yeah mom. Aren''t you working part time?" Luke asked.


    ire said hurriedly to brag and to correct, "No Luke, not anymore I''m already a vice director."


    "For a 10 personpany." Haley said snidely. However, ire grinned and said, "No. 75 people now. We''re expanding quicker than Luke''s pants after dinner."


    "Hey!" Luke yelled.


    ire didn''t apologize and continued working.


    "Well, if mom isn''t joining..." Alex tried to stand up and leave, but Phil said sternly, "Sit down. This is our time together as a family. We''re going to sit here, eat this pizza, and talk about how your mother loves work more than us."


    "Well for one thing, people actually care about what I say and think at work." ire retorted without even looking at Phil.


    "Urgh, but I need to study." Alex groaned in frustration. Haley snickered at her misery and said, "Well. I, for one, do enjoy the time together with my family. Especially with dad, who has worked so hard to show us how much he loves us."


    Phil was touched, and his eyes became teary. With a choked up voice, he turned to Haley and said, "My beautiful daughter-"


    "So dad. I was thinking after we have this wholesome family time. Could I go to Ed''s hotel? You know he''s all alone there. "


    "..."


    Phil was stunned speechless and was influenced , but ire certainly wasn''t.


    "No you may NOT! He''s working hard, and you''re only going to disturb him. Go study for your finals instead. Otherwise you won''t be able to reach the next grade."


    Haley rolled her eyes at her mother and retorted, "Hey I can go to the next grade! I''m not THAT dumb!"


    Then, she continued with a concerned whisper, "I just need to make sure to get at least a D for every subject."


    "Dad~" Haley whined, trying to beg her dad to change her mother''s mind.


    "I''m with your mom on this one." Phil said wryly before turning to ire again and adding hurriedly. "Are you sure you can''t take a 15 minute break? Is Ed still working? He needs dinner too."


    "He''s going to a movie studio for something." ire said, before grinning hard as she managed to finish one of her assignments today.


    "He''s not even working? Then why are you trying to destroy this family ire?!" Phil asked exasperatingly.


    ire was bbergasted and finally turned to him. With a pitiful face, she said, "But...this is the first time he''s let me handle a big job... I don''t want to let him down."


    "What is he? Grandpa?" Alex muttered to herself as her mother''s desperation to prove herself to Ed had struck a familiar chord in her as it had a clear simrity to the times her mother tried to make their grandfather acknowledge her work.


    "Maybe because he is emotionally unavable too." She muttered again before checking her phone as she got a text message from Jenna.


    "He''s at a movie studio? Why?" Haley asked. "Is it the Twilight movie?"


    "No. It''s another movie studio. Marvel Martell something like that." ire replied casually before returning to look at theptop screen.


    "Mom. He''s not...resting again. I need to go there-" Haley tried to convince her mother, but Luke interrupted by shouting, "IRON MANNNNN!"


    He ran to his mother and grabbed her arm, startling the woman. "I WANT HIS AUTOGRAPH!"


    "W-What? Luke, stop that!" ire said as Luke kept shaking her arm.


    "Whose autograph?" Phil asked.


    "IRON MAN!!" Luke said while turning to his dad.


    "I''ll text him." Haley''s eyes lit up and she got to work quickly. Ed noted Luke''s request, and he told RDJ about itter on, getting Luke a personalized autograph poster of Iron Man.


    The next day came, and after relentless badgering from Luke since early in the morning, Phil gave up and agreed to bring the boy to the hotel to pick up the poster. He definitely didn''t go there because he wanted to y at the hotel. ''His intention was totally pure'' �C he lied to himself.

 Chapter 95: Not going home.

    <h4>Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Not going home.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Next morning, I woke up at 8 am sharp after having a 4 hour sleep. Despite that, my mind was refreshed as I managed to get a full, uninterrupted REM sleep and I felt better than ever.


    After having my morning coffee, I opened myptop before even having breakfast and started working. However, there were a few distractions that prevented me from putting my 100% focus on the work such as a text message from a certain father figure that said he wasing over to the hotel to hang out.


    "...But why?"


    I was confused when I saw the text, however Phil was already halfway to the hotel when I noticed the text. I sighed and put the phone back down, but at the moment it touched the desk, another text message chimed in. I grabbed it back and read the text from Haley next, "Abby and I areing too!"


    Haley: Don''t let dade into your room!


    Haley: Chase him away!


    Haley: If it''s toote, then text me before I go up there!


    Haley: Abby and I want to use the hot tub! We even brought our bikinis!


    "???"


    ...


    [General POV �C an hour before]


    "Luke! Do you want to pick up the poster now?" Phil shouted from the dining table after he ended his call.


    "What poster?" Luke asked in confusion, already forgotten about yesterday''s affairs when he woke up the next morning.


    Phil was taken aback and he said carefully, "The...Iron Man poster?"


    "OH!" Luke''s eyes lit up immediately. "That! Yes I want to go there now!"


    "Great. Go change your clothes, and we will go there." Phil said as he ruffled his son''s hair and patted his shoulder before Luke moved away. ire was in disbelief and she said, "Why are you going there now? And what did Ted say?"


    "Huh?" Phil turned to ire before remembering his call yesterday. "Oh that. He said he''s fixing the light features at his house today, and wants me too..." His eyes fluttered as he thought of an excuse before saying, "..lend him my jean overall?"


    "Why are you asking me?" ire became confused by Phil''s reply, but she didn''t make much of it.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "Okay. Actually, the first part is true. Ted is finishing the work at his house. They are going to have their power back this afternoon ." Phil said squirrelly and continually checked out his behind to make sure no one else was listening to it.


    "Here''s the thing. When Ted and I followed the electrical linest night..."


    -shback-


    "God, this ce is a dump." Ted said as he walked climbed into the attic, with Phil helping him to hold the shlight from behind him.


    "How long has it been since you guys came out here?" Phil asked as Ted stepped on the attic floor carefully to avoid harmful hazards.


    "Eer...Like in 2 years?" Ted said before moving a pretty big box out of the way to get to the router.


    Phil scrunched his eyebrow and said, "You guys shouldn''t keep that up here. It''ll be difficult to reset it."


    "I know." Ted agreed and said, "Miranda asked me to put it there before. Now, I will bring it back down." He ripped the router wire out and took off the device from the walls there.


    Phil was looking around to see a bunch of old instrument cases, a few old chairs, and even a creepy looking ceramic girl doll sitting inside a ss case. He shuddered as he locked eyes with the doll and asked, "What''s that?"


    "Oh...That''s Annabell. Believe it or not, Ed used to sleep with it."


    "Ed did?" Phil asked in confusion. "But he''s so manly." He blurted out.


    Tedughed a bit and said, "Not after he knows what it is. He loved the doll while he was a toddler, but changed his interest in instruments after that." Ted said before looking longingly at the doll.


    "Really?" Phil asked in disbelief.


    With sadness in his tone, Ted said, "More like, Miranda took all of his toys and reced it with music stuff to ... ''cultivate'' his interest in music. Now that I think about it, she had thrown away most of his toys. I don''t know that she kept ''Annabelle'' here."


    Phil empathized with Ted before he said creepily, "Maybe she did throw it out, and it came crawling back."


    Ted also shuddered and stepped away from the doll quickly. He turned to Phil and said with gritted teeth, "Dude, I sleep in the same house with this. Or, do you want me to give it to your daughters? You have 2 of them, right?"


    Phil shuddered at the thought of the doll living in his house and said, "N-No. My girls don''t y with dolls anymore. You can keep it...as a memoir. But promise me something."


    Phil suddenly turned solemn, making Ted swallow his saliva. "What is it?" Ted asked.


    "Don''t...EVER...let ire know that you have a creepy girl doll in your attic."


    "W-Why? Will she have a heart attack?" Ted asked in concern.


    "No. She will love it." Phil said and was checking around the boxes, when suddenly a paper bag fell down from the gaps of the boxes. Unlike the other stuff there that was old and dusty, the paper bag looked rtively new.


    Ted and Phil were both curious, and they stood around the fallen paper bag. Phil picked it up and his eyes widened as he saw what''s inside it.


    "This!?"


    -shback ends-


    "So. to make sure Ed didn''t suspect anything, Ted asked me to go bring him back...so that...we could ask him if he knew anything about what''s inside the paper bag." Phil said solemnly before pausing for a bit and smiled. "And maybe jump in the hotel pool for a little bit."


    mentary ends]


    "Luke. Make sure to pack your swimwear!" Phil shouted to Luke before turning to his daughter and asked, "Alex, you want toe?"


    With a pen wedged behind her ear, Alex looked up from behind the book she was reading and said, "And do what? Waste my time? That would let Sanjay Patel best me in the final exams? No thank you. I''d rather keep studying."


    Phil "Haley. What about you?"


    Haley, who was texting while sitting on a couch nearby, widened her eyes as she got an idea. She turned to her dad and said, "No Dad. I''m going out with Abby."


    "At 7 in the morning?" ire said in suspicion.


    Haley''s eyes shook and she replied with a stutter, "We-We''re going Hiking."


    "Oh." ire eximed in realization and said, "Be sure not to go somewhere dangerous. You know what, I never knew you liked hiking. Maybe we can go up a hill together sometime. Are you going there with Abby alone? Do you want me toe with?"


    Haley was horrified by what she had done and said hurriedly, "No need mom. Desiree is taking us there. And, look at the time. I need to go now! BYEE!" She ran away to the front door and got out of the house quickly before ire could try to bond with her again.


    "Uh...I thought we could do something together." ire said in a pitiful voice as she saw Haley leave.


    "I''m just concerned she''s going hiking with high heel shoes." Phil said. ire thought for a bit and then shrugged before walking away to make breakfast for the rest of her family.


    ...


    "Drive Drive Drive!" Haley ordered Abby as they saw her dad''s car pull out of the driveway. Abby''s blue dodger car followed behind Phil''s Prius stealthily as he drove it to the 5 star hotel in West Hollywood. It wasn''t an easy road for the girls to go there alone, therefore they had no choice but to follow Phil.


    "Are you sure he''ll let us in? He went there to work?" Abby asked in concern as she followed Phil''s car.


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "I''m sure. No one''s going to a hotel to work. That''s a myth! People go to a hotel to y around, or to have an affair! Some time maybe both."


    Abby nodded as if she learned something new, not knowing that she was slowly being corrupted by her popr friend.


    However, as Abby followed Phil, there was a minivan behind her car, following her without her knowing about it.


    "I knew it! She''s not going hiking!" ire said angrily as she followed Haley and Abby''s car. As her daughter was being dodgy, ire''s inner mama-bear personality was awakened to protect her daughter from making terrible mistakes, especially as Haley was in her early adolescence.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Now...What the f*ck should I do?" I muttered as I thought about the situation. After thinking for a while, I sighed and decided to not do anything about it and turn my focus back on my job instead.


    "If they want to fool around, then let them y. If they distract me too much, I will just kick them out." I muttered before I got a call from Mrs Henderson, snapping me out of my focus again. I groaned and wiped my face in frustration using my palm before picking up the call.


    "Hi Mrs Gorgeous. How may I help you today?" I said with a grin after getting back into my ssroom joker personality as I talked to her.


    "Mr Newgate. There''s some new developments about the Decathlon that I need to brief you about. Am I disturbing you right now?"


    I was confused because the woman could guess my feelings urately even though we were talking through the phone. But, my experience with her told me that it was nothing as she was an expert on this type of thing since I got into middle school 3 years before.


    "A little bit. But I can talk." I replied honestly.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll be quick. A Caltech university dean, Professor Gabblehouser, was interested in the Decathlonpetition-"


    "I assume they weren''ting for fun right?"


    "Yes. They areing for you." Mr Henderson said with a calm voice.


    "You know, if your voice was a level deeper, like (Deep voice) They areing for you!!! (Normal voice) Then, I would be shaking in my boots." Iughed a bit but there wasn''t a reaction from the teacher. I coughed twice and asked, "Why are they interested in me exactly?"


    "Publicity Mr Newgate. Publicity. The interest in STEM fields has been continuously declining in the younger generations. They figured they could use your participation in thepetition to boost the student''s interest in applying for these fields."


    "Ahh. I understand that. But that isn''t big enough news for you to call me."


    "Yes. That''s only a bit of a hassle, but it wasn''t a bad thing. The bad thing is Dryden Academy is entering thepetition."


    "How is that possible? I thought the finalists had already been decided in their district?" I asked with surprise.


    "They sponsored apetition today, iming the previouspetition was invalid as they weren''t invited to be in thepetition. They bribed judges and they agreed to it, fully backing their ims. They beat up Ryden Middle School today, and they have taken their ce as finalists in thepetition."


    "All in a span of a day? And on the weekend nheless?" I asked in disbelief.


    "Yes. They have deep pockets after all."


    I processed the information for a while and said, "So. They bribed the judges of thepetition?"


    "No. Theypeted fairly. They only bribed the regtingmittee to allow them to reenter thepetition."


    I was confused. "Why?"


    I could swear I heard Mrs Henderson sighed. She said, "Because of you of course."


    "Excuse me?"


    After some exnation, I finally understood the current situation.


    Dryden highschool was an elite, prestigious private school while the other schoolspeting were from a public school. They showed no interest in thepetition for years, but to suddenly force themselves to enter thepetition made me think there were some weird conspiracies afoot.


    It wasn''t so much because of me, but because of the interest the public has on me right now. If they beat my school in thepetition, then the Academy''s prestige will be raised upward, giving them some advantages, mainly the press since it was a given that the final results would be front page whether "the new rising star" won or not.


    "They also marked you as a ''must have'' student to enter their high school when you graduate next year. So they want to create a strong impression in your mind when you lose to them showing the superiority of their program."


    "They are very presumptuous aren''t they? They base all of their ns on the idea that they will win." I said with disinterest. Mrs Henderson said, "Yes. But, when they lose...don''t you think their face will be priceless?"


    I grinned evilly as I have the same thought as the teacher. "You sure do know how to motivate me Teach."


    "I''ll give you additional materials. Study them all today." Mrs Henderson said before an email popped out at myptop screen. "Efficient as always. Okay Mrs. I will memorize it before I go to school tomorrow."


    After setting the discussions, I added, "Also, there''s something I need to talk about."


    She listened for a while and asked, "Are you sure?"


    "Positive."


    "I will contact your father. After all, only after he gives his consent will I be able to move forward with the test."


    "Give me some time. I will talk to my dad about it first."


    "Okay. Skipping grades is not necessarily a good thing. But, to be honest, I don''t think there''s much for you to learn in high school next year. After you talk to your dad, I need to get the principal''s authorization to do this. It''ll take a few days."


    I finally ended the call after talking for a while. Although I have my concerns that Dad wouldn''t let me skip grades, I feel that I could do a lot more if I focus all of my time with work and creating instead.


    "I''m sure he will understand if I exin it to him properly."


    ...


    [General POV]


    As Phil drove to the main entrance, he and Luke walked to the reception desk and said, "Hi. We''re looking for Edward Newgate''s room."


    The receptionist was a bit irritated and said, "Paparazis couldn''t enter the hotel, and there''s no one registered using that name here. Please leave the premises before we call security."


    Phil was rmed and he said hurriedly, "Wait. I''m not a reporter. I''m his neighbor."


    "Yes. Neighbor. Adapted Father. Friend from school, which was clearly a tant lie as she was almost 30 years old, his dog walker, milk delivery man, and a lot more ''acquaintances'' havee by and asked to meet him today." She said using a mean tone. "However, I''ll say it again. There''s no one with the name Edward Newgate registered at our hotel today." The receptionist said sternly. Two bodyguards approached the reception desk, making Phil feel threatened.


    Suddenly, the desk phone rang. The receptionist picked it up and listened to the voice on the other side for a while. She stopped the security by putting her index finger to them, making the two burly men confused.


    Suddenly, the receptionist smiled and said, "You must be the Dunphy''s. Mr Luthor is expecting you. Please follow the concierge, and she will lead you to his suite."


    Phil and Luke breathed in relief before following the staff member from behind.


    A few minutester, 2 young girls came to the reception desk and said, "Hi. We''re looking at Edward Newgate''s room. I''m Haley Dunphy and this is Abby M-"


    The receptionist was irritated at first, but as she heard Dunphy''s name, her face changed to radiate kindness. She stopped Haley before she could finish her words as Edward had notified the hotel before about the girls and said, "I will arrange someone to escort you. Your father had already gone to the room-"


    "Wait. We''re not going there yet if my dad is there. C-Can you bring us there when he''s gone?" Haley asked meekly.


    The receptionist was confused, and she looked at the two girls properly before finding out that both girls were incredibly gorgeous. She nodded in understanding and said, "Okay. I''ll notify you when he''s gone."


    "Wonderful!" Abby said while sping her hand in excitement.


    Haley and Abby brightened up before the staff member arranged for them to wait at the lounge. They were given the best treatment by the hotel''s staff and couldn''t wait to enjoy their evening at the hotel.


    However, as Haley and Abby were escorted to the lounge, the staff member stopped an irate looking white woman who was following the girls suspiciously from behind.


    "Maam, do you have an appointment to enter the hotel?"


    "No. But that''s my daughter. I need to talk to her-"


    The staff looked at the hotel receptionist, but she shook her head at them as Edward had specified that only 4 people wereing in to see him today. They grabbed ire and dragged her out from the hotel room without giving her a chance to exin herself to the hotel staff.


    "HALEY!!" ire yelled as she tried to stop the staff member from throwing her out.


    Inside the lounge, Haley sipped her iced tea without any care in the world, and didn''t even pay attention to her surroundings. Abby heard someone calling her friend, but as she looked around, she didn''t see any familiar faces therefore she thought it was just someone with the same name.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    While I was working, Phil and Luke knocked on the suite door, distracting me from my work. I walked to the door and opened it, only for Luke to immediately hug me as he saw me.


    "Wait. Why? What happened?" I asked in confusion.


    "Thank you for the poster!" Luke released me and ran to the room to search for the poster himself before I could invite him in. Iughed and I turned to Phil who was trying to search for something inside the room.


    "Come on in." I invited him inside without paying attention to what he was doing.


    Phil walked to the pantry while I sat down on the chair, trying to search for something. "Ed. Do you want toe y with us?" He asked.


    "No thanks." I said as I kept an eye on him to find out what he was doing. After he checked the bar and found out there wasn''t any alcohol there, his face was a bit relieved.


    ''Oh. He thought I was drinking? Wait. Phil isn''t a suspicious guy. It must be ire who thought I was trying to get away with something as I stayed here alone.'' I thought.


    ''Luckily I am not an amateur and had the staff member clean up the bar before he came.''


    "You know, we can have some brownies... or some ''special brownies''..." Phil said suddenly before turning to study my face, but there wasn''t any change in my expression. No guilt, no fear, not even confusion.


    "There''s brownies?" I asked with an innocent face. Phil breathed in relief again and wanted to ask me something, but Luke suddenly walked into the room wearing an Iron Man helmet, and a ck rubber baton on his other hand.


    "This is so cooOOOOOL!" Luke eximed. "Did you get this for me too?!"


    " I wonder if it can withstand being hit like the true Iron Man. Jarvis, initiate the...The batting? Test! Ziuu Ziu Ziuu Swishhh" He said before moving his limbs as he made robot sound with his mouth. He brought the baton perpendicr to his head, wanting to hit his own head with the bat to test the helmet.


    I was horrified as I saw the helmet and stood up immediately. I tried to calm him down like Chris Pratt calming down the velociraptor and said, "Luke. Don''t...Move."


    "Why?" Luke said before putting one hand on the helmet, but still not releasing the bat. "Aren''t you curious?"


    I gulped my saliva in fear and said, "Luke. No. Don''t... That''s the original prop from the set of Iron Man 2, signed by RDJ himself. It is...priceless."


    "Oh. Then...that means it''s free right?" Luke said, increasing my fear.


    "LUKE NO!" Phil shouted as Luke tried to hit his own head. I swooped in hurriedly to save the helmet, but-

 Chapter 96: Phil the best dad. (Part 1)

    <h4>Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Phil the best dad. (Part 1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "NOOO!!!" I lunged at Luke, trying to stop him from destroying the Iron Man helmet. However, he stopped his baton at thest minute and swerved to avoid me, making me pass by him. I stumbled and almost crashed into the wall, but my martial artist instinct saved me, or maybe now I''m just prank proof.


    Using the inertia, I stepped on the wall, breaking it a little, and unconsciously did a backflip to handle the excess momentum beforending next to Luke. I red at him and took the helmet off while he was stunned, and walked away to put the helmet away at a safe ce before dealing with the kid.


    Luke and Phil looked at each other with an amazed expression, but I ignored them.


    [Phil and Luke''smentary]


    "THAT! WAS! AWESOME!!" Phil and Luke shouted at the same time,pletely forgetting Luke''s earlier transgression and sphemous action toward the Iron Man legacy.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Luke. What do you have to say for yourself?" I said in a cold voice and expression as I slowly folded my sleeves and took off my watch. I vowed to beat up the kid today, even if I had to do it in front of his father.


    Luke gulped his saliva and confessed quickly, "I-I-I wasn''t really going to hit it. I just want to punish you for punishing me! I won''t do it! SERIOUSLY!"


    "How should I know...''THAT'' is not an excuse?" I said as I walked menacingly to Luke. He backstepped quickly and said, "I swear! I SWEAR IT ON MY DAD''S LIFE!"


    "That isn''t worth much Luke. I still can''t believe you." I said.


    "Hey." Phil interjected, hurt by my statement. I turned to him and said, "Sorry" before turning to Luke again.


    "Calm down Ed. He even used a rubber baton." Phil said as he presented me the ''evidence'' to get Luke out of his punishment. I took a look at the toy baton and sighed in relief.


    Luke and Phil also breathed in relief. However, before Luke could look back up, I knocked his head with my fist.


    "OWW!" Luke eximed and grabbed his hurting head quickly. He got angry and snapped, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"


    "For making a mess." I said with a sly smirk before changing the subject, "You guys can use all the facilities downstairs when you want to y, you can even take some time at the pool. The room next to mine is also under my name, so you can use it to change cl0thes and all."


    Phil was confused, "Why did you book two rooms?"


    "Well one was for my dad. But he''s noting over yet."


    "But...Your house is...ready?" Phil said with a weird questioning inflection as he got confused by my action. "I''m sure you already knew about that. So why do you want to waste your money?"


    I shook my head and said, "I''m noting home today. I still have a lot of work to be done here. Also...I like it here. I''m not ready to go home yet."


    Phil caught my change in expression at thest sentence. He said reassuringly, "Okay... I guess I will go and change over there...Even though this suite is so big."


    I chuckled a bit and slid them the room key for the other suit.


    "Wait. You''re noting?" Phil said in disbelief.


    Luke added, "If you''re noting, can we still y?"


    I nodded at Luke and said, "Yeah. You can use everything, even without me."


    Phil interjected quickly, "No that''s not the point. If wee here, and only y by OURSELVES...then that means we''re taking advantage of you."


    "Nah. I don''t see it that way, and I paid a lot for a room here. Might as well let you guys enjoy it." I said with a cocky smirk. Phil was in disbelief and turned to Luke, not wanting to go y without me. But as he saw Luke''s expecting face, he had to relent and said, "Okay. We''ll go y, but only for half an hour!"


    I waved them goodbye as they reluctantly went to enjoy themselves. I put a [Do Not Disturb] sign on the door and before I could close it, Haley and Abby appeared on the floor �Cing out of the elevator and waved at me.


    "Hello there." I said as I channeled my inner jedi again.


    Haley rolled her eyes and channeled her inner Grievous before saying, "General Kenobi- Okay I can''t do that."


    My heart skipped a beat as she got the reference and I couldn''t help but grin widely as I saw her embarrassed face. Abby''s eyes darted between looking at each of us before bing wary of her friend.


    "How did you know?" I asked.


    She said in displeasure, "Dad made that joke about that for a year. I''m sick of it."


    ''I guess Phil was the original memer.'' I thought gleefully. Abby rolled her eyes and gave me the files I asked her to take from the concierge. "They will deliver the restter on. Their printer ran out of ink." She exined.


    "Okay. Thanks. You guys want to use the hot tub right?" I said before giving them the room key for the other room. Their eyes lit up as they epted the key.


    "Go stay there. I need to work here, so I''m not joining you."


    "Huuhh??!"" X2


    Both of the girls were confused and I shoved them to the other room for them to enjoy their time without involving me. I have a lot of work to do today, and I have only a little time to do it.


    "I still need to call Pepper and Harvey. Hmm...I need that Singles report now." I muttered before ignoring the girls and went to work instead.


    [General POV]


    "Isn''t this weird? We''re both...pretty girls. And we''re willing to join him in the hot tub." Haley said while Abby blushed. They had entered the hot tub after trying to tempt Ed for a while, but he didn''t change his decision at all.


    "Maybe something will happen, maybe it won''t. But as a young man, isn''t he filled with hormones and begging to join us when we are only wearing our bikinis?" Haley said as she pulled her triangr shape, golden color bikini to fix its position.


    Abby, who wore the white, almost-translucent-when-it-got-wet bikini, face''s turned bright red and she whispered to Haley, "You said we wereing here to hang out. Why is this suddenly turning lewd?"


    Taken aback, Haley''s eyes darted a few times before she decided to bulldoze through it. "Think Abby. Think! It''s not normal, right?"


    Abby thought for a while before sighing. "Yeah. I thought he would be excited to see us. But he couldn''t care less." She said with a dejected tone.


    "See. Something is wrong with him. Do you think it got something to do with the dinner before? Is he still depressed from the grandma who passed away?" Haley asked.


    Abby shook her head and replied, "I''m not sure... Also, this is boring."


    Haley rolled her eyes and turned on the bubbles feature of the hot tub and said, "If you find the right angle at the water jets...it won''t be so boring anymore."


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    "You''re right." Abby said blushingly as she made herselffortable.


    Down at the hotel lobby, Phil almost forgot the suspicions he had as he exited the hotel lobby with Luke. Both of them were gleefully ying around as they moved towards the pool, however, both stopped in horror as they saw the person standing in front of them at the hotel lobby.


    "C-ire?" Phil said in a shaky voice.


    "Mom?" Luke was horrified and hid behind his dad quickly. "Wait. We didn''t do anything wrong." He said in realization before bravely standing beside Phil again.


    "Where''s Haley?" ire asked with gritted teeth.


    "Huh? Haley is here?" Phil asked in confusion.


    "You don''t know? She followed you all the way from home!" ire said angrily. "I called you MULTIPLE times! Why didn''t you answer me?"


    Phil was shocked and he took out his phone to check, only to find 29 missed calls, notifications from ire''s number and numerous text messages. "Oh. I identally put it in silent mode." Phil said casually.


    ire was fuming mad, and lunged at Phil before angrily checking out his pockets. She found the room key and asked, "Which room are they in?"


    "ire. Why are you...already mad?"


    "It''s highly inappropriate toe to a hotel on her own, Phil! Not to mention dangerous! She needs to know that this type of behavior...is not okay!" ire snapped. She huffed to the elevator while Phil thought about the matter.


    "Are youing?" ire turned back to ask Phil as he was still in his initial position.


    "Well..." Phil muttered reluctantly as he nced at the pool and Luke. ire rolled her eyes and said, "Forget it!" She walked away alone to scold her daughter and drag her home.


    "Ahh. This is bliss." Haley muttered as she enjoyed the hot tub, not knowing a cmity was walking in her direction.


    [Edward POV]


    *Knock Knock*


    "Hmm? I put on the "do not disturb" right?" I muttered as I heard someone urgently knocking on the door.


    "Haley I know you''re in there!" ire shouted from outside the room. I was confused and went to open the door. Before I could greet her, ire barged into the room looking for Haley and Abby.


    "Where are they?" She asked after checking the closet, the toilet, and even inside the hot tub �C fearing that they were hiding under the water.


    "Who?" I asked while faking my confusion.


    ire raised one of her eyebrows and said, "Don''t lie to me! I know Haley and Abby are here!"


    "But...they are not?" I acted again, trying to help the two girls. However at the same time, Haley and Abby opened their hotel room door as they wanted to persuade me again and show me what I was ''missing'', but froze as they saw ire from afar.


    Luckily ire hasn''t noticed them yet. "ire. Do you want to see the newpany restructuring that I made? I could use your opinion." I pointed at myptop, making ire turn her head away from catching the girls, and gestured to the girls to move back inside the room quickly as before ire turned her head back to face me.


    "What?" ire said in confusion as she saw a glimpse of my weird expression.


    "Nothing. Let''s talk-"


    "Wait. I need to call the kids." ire said and took out her phone. She immediately called Haley again, wanting to know her location right now.


    [General POV]


    "Oh MY GOD OH MY GOD. WHAT SHOULD WE DO?" Abby was freaked out as it was her first time to get into trouble with a parental figure before. Despite her goth girl persona, she was actually quite polite to the adults.


    "No. Don''t worry. Search for nature''s sound right now!" Haley ordered as her phone rang. "Do it. QUICK!" She urged Abby before picking up the call.


    Haley mimicked a panting breath and said, "Hey mom...*Huff Huff*"


    "Haley. Where are you?!" ire asked angrily. "Why didn''t you pick up my call?"


    "Huh? I told you I was going Hiking with Abby. I must have lost connection on the hill. I just got your call right now." Haley said, faking her confusion.


    Abby yed the youtube video of the nature sound, making ire hear some birds squawking from the other line. She subconsciously rxed and thought, ''Did I see wrong? I''m sure she got to the hotel?''


    "Haley! Don''t lie! I saw you at the Hotel with Abby." ire said.


    "I told you. They never came." Edward added. "Shhh-" ire shushed Ed hurriedly.


    "Huh? Mom, are you with Ed? Why did you go there?"


    "Yeah Mrs Dunphy. It''s pretty weird to visit a 15 years old kid at a hotel early in the morning." Abby added, making both of the girls giggle pretty hard as they gaslight ire.


    "Wha- No! I followed you guys!"


    "Really mom? You followed us? Are you even sure that was us? Or did you follow some random girl somewhere? If you really don''t believe me, I can give the phone to Abby''s mom. You can talk to her and see if we were lying."


    ire was bbergasted and started to question her memory, "Wait. Desiree''s there?"


    "Yeah mom. I told you we''re hiking with her today." Haley said before urging Abby to y along. Abby made her most urate impersonation of Desiree and said, "Haley. Abby. Hurry up. I want to take a steam shower with him. The sweats are pooling at some weird ces."


    Haley mouthed, ''What the fuc-''


    Abby replied silently, ''Sorry. I panicked.''


    "Do you want me to run down the hill now?" Haley said with a hint of anger, making ire feel abashed and said, "No dear. Don''t run down the hill. It isn''t safe. You know what. I trust you. Be safe, and watch out for coyote-"


    Before ire could finish, she heard the ppy bird advertisement sounding from the other line.


    Pewdiepie Ads: Hey what''s up guys. Today we''re going to review the popr game ppy Bird-


    "What was that?" She asked in suspicion. Ed nodded in satisfaction as he heard the ads and said, "My money is being put to good use."


    Inside the next room, both Abby and Haley were baffled by the sudden advertisement popping out on the nature video and tried to shut it down quickly.


    "Uhh...Abby is ying Ed''s mobile game. She misses him." Haley said quickly. Abby pped her arm and mouthed, ''What the hell?''


    ''Sorry. I panicked.''


    ire looked at Ed suddenly and sighed, "Tell her it''s going to be okay. I''ll let you go now."


    "Okay~!" Haley replied gleefully before cutting the call. Both of the girls slumped on the floor as they breathed in relief after managing to fool ire.


    "Umm...Sorry you got to see that Ed." ire said apologetically as she realized she had misunderstood the situation.


    [Edward POV]


    "You should be more sorry that you barged into my room." I said teasingly before saying, "NOW. Can I please get back to work?"


    "Ah. Sure. I will go back now. I''m so embarrassed." ire said perfunctorily without feeling that much remorse. She then asked, "When are you going back home? Are you going back with Phil or your dad?"


    "Nah. I''m nning on staying here for a while." I said.


    ire was a bit taken aback and she asked, "Why?"


    "It''s closer to the Decathlon venue from here." I lied about my excuse and chased her away. "Anyway. I will be emailing you the arrangements for thepany that you need to implement next week. Don''t try to do it all in one day, and n your workload properly. I''m sick of Alex texting me,ining about you."


    ire was bbergasted and said, "I didn''t work that much."


    "Dinner is a time for family, ire." I saidzily before ushering her out of the room.


    ire held the door before I could close it and said, "I''ll prepare lunch for you tomorrow. You cannot cook here right? Do you have any requests?"


    "Just a sandwich will be enough." I said before closing the door.


    ...


    As ire finally went away, I breathed in relief and opened the door again before walking to the next room.


    Haley and Abby were still in shock about the matter as I walked in. "She''s gone." I said.


    "I''m still in disbelief that you guys managed to get away with it." I added with a grin before helping both of them get up from sitting on the floor.


    "Most of it is thanks to luck." Abby said.


    "Hey! My wless execution is the thing that sold it." Haley said angrily.


    Iughed before Haley stumbled and fell towards me. I caught her by wrapping my hand around her body, making her wet robe pressed right on my body.


    "Uh. Sorry." Haley said bashfully before sliding her stray hair behind her ears. Abby pouted and did the same thing, but at the same time pressing her massive tiddies on my chest.


    "Sorry." Abby said with a sly smile. Haley widened her eyes in disbelief before pressing her chest on my body too. I rolled my eyes at both of them and said, "You guys should leave before Philes back up. After all, I gave him the key to THIS hotel room."


    "Ugh!" Haley groaned in frustration before saying, "It''s boring anyway. All work and no y have made you a very boring boy."


    I coughed twice and said, "I...have responsibilities."


    "You''re 15. Enjoy life a little." Abby said before leaning forward and whispered to my ear. "You know, if you hade sooner. I don''t know...maybe Haley and I would''ve shown you something good." She blew gently into my ears, turning me on. However, she took a step back and said normally, "Too bad we''re going to leave now."


    "We''re leaving?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "Yeah. He''s not joining us-"


    "Wait. I just couldn''t join you...before. I finished my work for the morning." I blurted out.


    Haley and Abby had a sly smirk on their faces and said, "TOO LATE!"


    ...


    During lunch, Phil, Luke, and I went to the hotel restaurant and enjoyed the food together before he decided to ask me one more time.


    "Why don''t you join us to y tennis after this?" Phil said.


    "Are you really ying? Do you even know how to y?" I asked while taking a sip of the cold c.


    Phil scratched his cheek and said, "I used too. Oh boy. Haha. In college, me and my roommate always went and visited various clubs. We would pretend to be members to get in... it was a good stress reliever you know, two guys just ying around."


    His tone was happy, but his eyes were filled with suspicions. I creased my eyebrows as I thought about where he was going with this ''story''.


    "You know Ed. People rx in different ways. Like me and my roommate. Some went on vacations. Some meet new people. Some do...drugs."


    His gaze turned sharp as he wanted to study the change in my expressions, but as I had no change, he turned his gaze into a kind man again and said, "You know. Staying in the hotel for so long isn''t that rxing. If you want to stay in a room, you can just go back home."


    "Oh no. I like it here. I''m not ready to go back home yet." I said as I cut the steak in front of me and ate it.


    "Hmm?" Phil was confused by my reactions, but he shrugged and didn''t think deeply about it until he got hometer in the day.


    The duo waved goodbye to me after lunch, and I went back to my room to work. My dad called to say he was fixing the house and I could return today, but I wasn''t going to waste my money as I had already prolonged my stay over there �C with his consent before this.


    It wasn''t untilter that night, someone knocked on my door. I saw Phil when I opened it, and he asked me directly, "So Ed. Why are you avoiding going back home?"

 Chapter 97: Phil the best dad (Part 2)

    <h4>Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Phil the best dad (Part 2)</h4>


    "So Ed. Why are you avoiding going back home?" Phil said with a serious tone as I opened the door.


    "I got exposed huh." I clicked my tongue before inviting him into the room. I turned off theptop as I sat, and Phil was sitting right next to me.


    "How did you find out?" I asked curiously.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "I had no idea about it. I was just reaching and when something came out of it I could only go with the flow." Phil said puzzledly as he never thought a simple question could expose so much more.


    [Commentary ends]


    Phil sighed and walked to the desk and sat next on my right side. He patted my right shoulder and said in a calming voice�C while inwardly racking his brain to figure out how to gain my trust and make me believe that he actually knew about my predicament.


    "You avoiding your home... is the opposite of everything I know about you. You love your home...Or at least that''s what I thought. So will you tell me why you are not going back?"


    His tone carried no hidden intention, and he was truly worried for my current emotional state. I rubbed my hair in frustration and said without looking at him, "I don''t know. I have a lot of work-"


    "Ed-" Phil said with a head tilt as if he already knew I was lying. I widened my eyes, nced at him and sighed before saying, "The house...it''s starting to look better."


    "And that''s troubling...why?" Phil asked without urging me for an answer. He waited patiently until I decided to open up and said, "It is weird."


    "The house is weird?" He asked with puzzlement.


    "The reason is weird." I rified.


    Phil nodded and said with a smile, "I love weird things. Try me."


    Iughed a bit and took a deep breath before replying.


    "Well... I kinda... feel suffocated there. Especially when I''m alone in the house." I said, feeling as if a stone was removed from my heart as I confessed my true thoughts.


    Phil leaned forward, his face turned a bit more serious. "Did you start to feel this way when the house started to look ''normal'' again?"


    He was reminded of the messy and dpidated looking house before, and started to piece all the clues together.


    "Yeah." I said, rubbing my head together. Even I didn''t understand my unease being alone at that house.


    Yesterday when I slept with Taylor, I was extremely shocked when I felt at peace as I cuddled with her on the bed, knowing how difficult it was for me to go to sleep without the [Rest] skill that I had gotten. That was why I prolonged my stay here and was reluctant to go back home. I felt at ease here, or so I thought cause while I was still "ok" something was still missing. I knew I was avoiding something but I just decided to do what I had perfected and just ignore it all.


    The good time was ruined by a simple statement from Taylor though.


    -shback-


    While Ed and Taylor were cuddling on the bed, Taylor suddenly asked, "So... What are we?"


    "..."


    -shback ends-


    "When it...started to look the way it did before... you know. Before "she" left the house... I-...the memories just kept popping up even at the slightest prompt, the simplest things would bring with them some past memories. The silence inside the house just kept tearing my psyche apart. My heart was torn as to whether I should love her or hate her-"


    I took a deep breath to calm down and exined, "However, I didn''t feel the same way with the silence here at the hotel. What was once torture became peace once again."


    Phil nodded as I poured my heart out, and he kept listening without interrupting me.


    "Then, if you want to enjoy the silence...why are you working really hard here?" He asked.


    I opened my mouth a few times, and I couldn''t find the answer.


    He nodded in understanding and sighed. "You''re searching for peace, yet, you surround yourself with chaos when you feel like you have found it."


    My eyes lit up as I realized something. "I see. It''s a contrast between the two feelings. If I don''t find the source of it, confront it, and finally ept it... then, I will never feel at peace no matter where I go in the future."


    "My work obsession can be associated with myck of control during childhood. I was actually using work because when I am working I AM the boss so my word isw and I can finally feel that I am in control in my life. I''m surprised that you can see that Phil. You''re really wise." I said, fully in awe at Phil''s capabilities to connect with others on an emotional level.


    Phil''s mouth was agape as he didn''t know what just happened.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "I wanted to say to him that ''maybe you''re looking for peace at the wrong ce. Maybe it isn''t in the ces you frequent, but the people you visit. But, he made me swallow my words as he suddenly achieved an emotional breakthrough on his own."


    Phil was at a loss about what to do with the situation.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Sure. Let''s go with that." Phil said while avoiding my worshiping eyes. "Anyway. I also want to talk to you about locking your front door. Alex, Haley, and even ire have told me that you�C Why do you keep looking at me like that?"


    Phil was baffled as I was still having an awed look as he changed the subject.


    "You saw through that too huh." I said solemnly, making Phil more confused than ever in his entire life.


    The more ''normal'' the house looked, the more ufortable it was for me to stay there. I guess that was why the previous "me" trashed the house.


    I however, couldn''t do as he did because I have major OCD, but I still couldn''t ept the current situation either. I was stuck between the two lives, and I needed to get out of there hurriedly.


    I told him about the suffocation, but I didn''t delve deep into the matter. Phil nodded as he listened to my words attentively. He sighed before asking, "So. While you''re alone...you didn''t lock the door?"


    "Yes. I left it that way...in case I needed to make a quick escape from the house."


    Basically, I kept an escape route open in case I needed to make a quick gateway.


    When the house was unlocked, the suffocation I felt became slightly...manageable.


    At first, I thought I had developed ustrophobia, but, I quickly realized I only felt suffocated in my house. It was unsafe for me to do that, and I was aware of it. But I couldn''t stop it. Because...where else could I go?


    There was something genuinely wrong with me, and I needed some time outside the house to process the trauma the 12 year old kid had kept.


    In the 2 days I lived here, I wasn''t just working, but I was also deciphering thebyrinth of my memories and trying to find the cause for my current condition so that I could be at peace in my own home again.


    "To be honest, even the lights out thing was also..." I confessed while scratching my cheek.


    Phil widened his eyes and said, "What? Seriously? Did you trip Cam and let him ssh the socket?"


    "I didn''t trip him...I just...didn''t tell him there was an almond nut on the floor."


    Phil thought for a while and said, "Nah. That wasn''t your fault."


    I looked at his face and said, "No. It WAS my fault-"


    "No. You didn''t purposely put the nut there right? You just didn''t speak up. Also, don''t tell Cam about this." Phil said before he shuddered as he thought about Cam''s potential reaction to the news.


    "It''s okay to feel lost, Ed. Everyone feels lost at some point in time." Phil saidfortingly as he patted my head. "When that happens, what you can do is to find the answer at the route you haven''t walked on yet. Or, ask a guide- a wise man for the answer."


    I smirked and said teasingly, "So. Journey to self enlightenment? That''s kinda cliche right? Should I go to my hometown in Wisconsin? Find a country girl to help me conquer the beautiful celebrity only to then finally figure out the thing I have been searching for was right in front of my eyes the whole time!"


    "You can go the hallmark movie route too. Or, you can try to make the city...more bearable first before deciding to move far far away."


    "Like what?"


    Phil then smiled at me and offered, "Why don''t...youe stay at our house instead? Just to take your mind off the house thing.... O-"


    I shook my head and said, "No Phil. That''s just avoiding the problems."


    "I wanted to say ''Or''." He interjected with a smile. "Or, if the house feels suffocating. Then maybe...what you need is a new change."


    "Change?" I raised my eyebrow at him.


    "Yeah. Change. Smash the bricks. Change the tiles, the wallpapers, the furniture."


    My eyes lit up as I thought about it.


    "Change thewn. Break a few walls. Make it a whole new house. Then, you won''t find it familiar anymore. You won''t get reminded of your life again before it gets better."


    "That might work. I CANNOT believe I didn''t think about this before." I said in disbelief as I looked at Phil with my mouth agape. I stood up and said decisively. "I just have to smash the whole house, and build the entire thing anew from the ashes!"


    Phil was horrified and said hurriedly, "Wait. NO! THAT''S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"


    ...


    After an intense discussion on whether or not I should burn the whole house to the ground, I left the hotel with Philte at night to get back to the neighborhood. After all, I still had school tomorrow. And no, I wouldn''t be sleeping at the Dunphy''s. My dad was home, so as long as I wasn''t alone, I wouldn''t suffer staying in the house as much.


    "Ed. We need to talk." Ted said as I walked into the house. "Hmm?" I was confused by his sudden sternness, and saw Phil having a conflicted expression on his face as he stood beside me.


    "Do you know what this is?" Dad said, taking out a crumpled paper bag.


    "...Trash?" I guessed in confusion, not understanding what he wanted to do here.


    My reaction made Dad confused. He looked at Phil who was shaking his head at him, gesturing him not to go on with it, however he ignored the hints.


    "This...is marijuana." Dad said with gritted teeth.


    I tilted my head in confusion and said, "So. We''re having a party or something?"


    "Ed. What your dad is trying to say is...we found marijuana in the attic. Do you know anything about it?" Phil said, trying to salvage the situation. However, Ted was already fuming from Ed''s response.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "If I didn''t know about his thoughts and disorder, I would have the same reaction as Ted. But if I think about it...Marijuana is used to lessen anxiety. If Ed uses it, I''m sure it''s not for fun."


    [Commentary ends]


    "That''s not mine." I said honestly after noticing my dad''s facial expression. ''Who the hell would keep their stash in the attic? I never kept any stash around the house, so it''s not me.'' I contemted as I realized why dad was so mad.


    "I don''t smoke weed. And there''s only two people left in this house." Dad said with gritted teeth.


    "So by elimination, the weed is mine?" I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes before walking closer to my dad and snatching the paper bag from him.


    "What the-" Dad almost cursed, but I opened the paper bag and smelled the marijuana inside of it. My face grimaced as I smelled the musty smell, and said, "This must have been up there for years. Not only that the damp atmosphere up there had ruined the nt, it was also real cheap shit."


    "Hmm?" Dad was confused and asked, "It''s been there for years?"


    I checked the yellow paper bag and said, "Dad. It''s been there so long that the original white paper bag had turned into a yellow one." I showed him some traces of discoloration on the paper bag before saying, "Also. Nowadays, the new hybrid weed strain has taken over the market as it''s low in THC. This one is not."


    Phil nodded, but Dad raised one of his eyebrows. "And...how do you know so much about the nt?"


    I would''ve twitched my body if I didn''t have the acting talent. I just looked discontentedly at him and said childishly, "Because Edward is such a good good boy." I rolled my eyes in displeasure and smacked the paper bag on my dad''s stomach before he took it from my hand.


    "I''m vying to be an artist. Made over 2 million dors in less than 4 days. Do you really think I would risk that over some shitty weed?" I decided to gaslight him to sculpt the point inside his head. Dad was abashed and said, "So...Whose is it?"


    "How should I know? Maybe Miran-"


    "No. Ed. She''s still your mom." Dad said decisively. I clicked my tongue and said, "Anyway. Her."


    Dad fell into deep thought while I walked away to the kitchen to grab a drink. After I came back, dad didn''t pursue the matter anymore even though he was still feeling suspicious about the matter.


    Phil sighed and said, "Why is your family rtionship so strained? It must be because of the drugs. Now I finally understand why the government banned these drugs. They must be tearing up happy families." Phil said with gritted teeth as he held the paper bag in his hand.


    "This type of stuff. Should be destroyed!" He said and threw the paper bag into the firece. I was shocked, but I didn''t react.


    "Phil? What did you do?" Ted said in horror before turning off the firece using a switch, but the nt had already been lit up.


    "What? This type of stuff didn''t belong in a home." Phil said decisively.


    "I should prepare the snacks." I said as I saw clouds of smokeing out from the firece. In less than 5 minutes, all three of us were sitting nearby the firece with a funny smile on our faces.


    "Phil. You''re the best dad ever." I muttered to Phil, before we allughed together.


    "I need some snacks." Ted said as he licked his lips. "Put them in a bowl." He chattered, then he had a high revtion. "Bowl. It''s a weird word. I never noticed that before."


    Ed turned to Phil and talked to him while Ted was constantly muttering the word bowl in different intonation and nuances.


    "You shoulde with us to family camp this summer." Phil said excitedly.


    "I need to go Wiscount- Wiscount...Wis count what?"


    "Sheep?" Phil replied. "One sheep. Two sheep." He tried to joke, but then he got sleepy as he continued.


    "Dad. Should we go to Cuba?" Ed asked suddenly.


    "Bowl?"


    ...


    2 days passed by quickly, and it was now Tuesday.


    "Mr Newgate. You need to answer test papers from multiple subjects today. Are you prepared?" Mrs Henderson asked.


    After a heart-to-heart discussion with my dad (Under the influence of weed), he finally agreed to let me skip grades and to enter grade 11 directly next year. I would be skipping the freshman and sophomore year in high school if I managed to score in all of the examinations today.


    "I''m ready." I said to Mrs Henderson as I sat alone in the ss with her. She was appointed as the examiner by the principal, and would conduct the test as harshly as she could under the request of my dad.


    The pressure was great, therefore I had unlocked the memory from the year 2175 that I got from the gacha before and hadprehended even PhD level of knowledge in various subjects such as biochemistry, rocket science, and even medicine. With the knowledge, I finished the air fryer schematics and would start building it after the decathlon.


    ''I really didn''t expect to have so much knowledge from just a simple low quality memory gacha. But it seems the owner of the memory had embarked on the path to be a scientist, that''s why I had so much gain in it even if it was her memory from her early years.''


    I had already instructed Harvey to patent the technology, and I was waiting for the good news from her today.


    "Let''s begin." Mrs Henderson said before cing a thick mathematical exam paper gently on top of my table. I nodded and started the examinations quietly. My hand didn''t stop writing, not even for a second while I answered the questions.


    [3rd Person POV]


    -Dunphy''s house. Monday night-


    "I...Need to skip grades too! MOM! PLEASE!" Alex begged her mother, but her pride prevented her from throwing a tantrum and only followed her mother around while she was cleaning the house to annoy her.


    "Alex. We talked about this." ire said decisively as she threw the nket angrily into theundry basket.


    "Yeah. You feel that it will be harsh for me to be in a ss with the older kids. But mom, my friends are all older kids!" Alex debated.


    True. Before Ed, Alex spent most of her days alone in middle school. Now, she has a group of loyal friends that epted her for who she was, and she was reluctant to let them all go.


    If she skipped a grade, she could be in the same ss as Jenna, Elsa, and Jacob next year. Enid would be left behind, but Alex knew that Enid was smarter than she looks. If she skipped grades too, then they could all be together in the same high school next year. And the school life that she had always dreamed of will be a reality.


    A few houses over, at the Newgate''s house, various heavy machinery had been ced in front of thewn. Jay Pritchett and Cameron Tucker stood in front of the house with varying faces.


    With a sullen face, Jay said, "How in the hell did I agree to this?"


    "Cheer up Jay. Don''t you see? Ed chose us, because we''re the most creative people he has ever seen." Cameron said delusionally.


    "He gave us a blueprint." Jay said gruffly to slow down Cam''s enthusiasm.


    Ed had hired Cam who was doing nothing at his house as a co-project manager with Jay.


    Jay tried to reject the work at first, but Ed brought in 3 big guns to buy his effort. One- a tremendous advancement in closet technology. Two- Gloria''s breasts.


    With Gloria persuasion, there was no way for Jay to reject helping Cam as a co-manager in this project.


    Ed had paired them up together as Cam needed someone to tempt down his enthusiasm and crazy ideas and with the added bonus of Jay being a professional in DIY home improvement projects. Together, they made an okay team.

 Chapter 98: Pre-Competition Jitters?

    <h4>Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Pre-Competition Jitters?</h4>


    (I have a doctors appointment tomorrow, early in the morning. My adhd brain makes me unable to do anything, even if the appointment is 12 hours away lol.)


    [Edward POV]


    The sky was darkened by rain clouds, however it wasn''t raining just yet. The high pressure gust of wind had uplifted many girls'' skirts today, making a pervert''s dreamse true. However, I couldn''t enjoy the rainy day as I had to focus on the grade-skipping exams in front of me. I had already finished with the History and English Literature subject, and now, I was facing the Math subject.


    "Hmm?" As I jotted down the answer on the second final question, I suddenly realized something and turned to Mrs Henderson who was sitting directly in front of me in the teacher''s chair with a confused expression.


    "Why? You can''t answer it?" She said with a sly smirk. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and I could sense tiredness emanating from her voice.


    "This is Grade 12 stuff. There''s no problem with me answering it, but is it necessary?" I asked, hiding my curiosity about why she was behaving this way today when she had never shown her tiredness in front of the students...ever.


    "It''s your choice Mr Newgate." Mrs Henderson said before reprimanding me, "Also. Don''t talk while having your exam." She continued to mark my exam paper as she ignored me.


    I was bbergasted as I was the only student there in the ss, but decided not to argue with the teacher and turned my attention back to the test papers. It took me 3 hours to answer the first part of the test.


    At the same time, the rest of the decathlon team members were answering their own test inside another ssroom. As I was the only one in grade 8 while the others were in grade 7, I had to answer the exam question alone. Alex, Haruna, and the douche (Sanjay) were taking the exams in front of their ssroom teacher as I did it with mine.


    My situation was different from the other students. They were only making up the exam questions for the time we were going to miss school �C Wednesday and Thursday. Although thepetition was only on Wednesday, the school had allocated Thursday as a reward for the students to take a day off and enjoy themselves.


    ''Kinda missing the point of the whole enjoying themselves thing if they had to take the exam earlier isn''t it?'' I thought to myself.


    When they return on Friday, they will have to continue with the exams. While for myself, I was having all of the exams cramped together inside one day of school. It was unorthodox, but both the principal and Mrs Henderson allowed me to do so as they had absolute trust in me.


    "Come back after lunch for the rest of the test Mr Newgate." Mrs Herderson said as I gave her the papers I had finished. I nodded and asked, "Aren''t you going to lunch Ma''am?"


    Without raising her head, she said while marking the exam paper on the spot, "History is your weak subject Mr Newgate. Also, you don''t have to worry about my lunch. Go and enjoy your time with your friends. You won''t be able to for much longer."


    I smiled sadly as I heard that and walked to the cafeteria while thinking about what the teacher said. True, I wouldn''t be able to be among my newly made friends after I skipped a few grades.


    Sure, in the beginning, we could still gather together as we went through high school together. But then, it will just be on a special asion, and will most likely devolve into a simple nod as we pass each other in the hallways�C


    "I shouldn''t be too negative. Who knows what will happen in the future." I muttered as I walked the noisy hallways. The students were stealing nces and even pointing their fingers at me as I passed by. Some courageous girls even tried to strike up a conversation, and I refused their approach politely. But some of them didn''t know how to read the hint, making me depend on a more drastic method. For example, this manic pixie dream girl in front of me.


    "Ed. You''re so funny. Why don''t you make me your girlfriend? You''re always looking at me, so I know you''re attracted to me." The purple haired, short girl with a stout body and overall vain demeanor said while putting her hands all over my torso.


    While being coquettish, she said, "Oh my god. What is this? A six-pac? Are you perhaps hiding a-"


    Before she could go on any further, I pped her hands away from my body, and leaned in. Then, I whispered to her ears. As she heard my words, her face turned ashen and horrified, and she finally stopped behaving like a madman. I nodded in satisfaction and continued walking to the cafeteria, ignoring the gazes of all the other kids around.


    "So, Jenna is the weird one." I muttered in newfound understanding.


    ...


    [3rd Person POV�C Mrs Herderson]


    Gong Shin, the afterlife senior agent, had invited Henderson to a Korean barbeque cest night before the exams started.


    As the male agent put a wrapped ''samgyupsal'' into his mouth, he said to the woman, "You know, your role will be over once he gets into high school right?"


    "Don''t talk while eating. It''s disgusting." Herderson reprimanded the agent with a grimace on her face.


    Gong Shin smiled as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and said, "You really have changed. You won''t even bother to scold me if it was you before descending to earth. Too bad your time is almost over."


    Henderson nodded and said, "I know."


    With a hint of reluctance, she said, "When the school term is over...so will ...Mrs Herderson, the middle school teacher."


    Gong Shim suddenly put his dirty hand on Herderson''s shoulder and said, "Cheer up. Look at the bright side. At the very least thepany is giving us a 10% discount at this restaurant."


    "..." Henderson didn''t know how to respond to her visiting senior. But as he ruined her dress, she grabbed a fork and stabbed his hand, making the guy scream in pain.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Ed! Over here!" Jacob called from afar. The group was sitting around a circr table�C conversing with each other as they ate.


    "Alex. Look over here. This color is so pretty." Enid said as she showed Alex''s own hand to her. Nose deep in her studies, Alex nces at her fingers, smirked a bit before turning her attention back to her books. Enid sighed and continued to put nail polish on Alex''s other hand while Elsa and Jacob were acting like a dumb couple in front of them.


    "You''re so pretty. I just want to keep you right in my pocket." Jacob said as he flirtingly brushed Elsa''s hair behind her ear. Elsa blushed and said, "Then. We will be together all the time-"


    I got sickened by them and retorted, "If Jacob kept growing, he could literally put you in his pocket. Where''s Jenna?" I sat down next to Jacob and Enid (Circr table) and smacked Jacob right in the middle of his back for his revolting demeanor. It was as if they thought I couldn''t see them touching each other in intimate ces underneath the table.


    While Jacob tried to rub the sore ce, Elsa said, "She''s getting some food."


    I nodded and opened my lunch bag�C given by ire in the morning before I went to school.


    "Hey. Why is yours more special than mine?" Alex said in disbelief as she saw that my lunch was packed properly, while hers were just thrown into the paper bag carelessly. Not to mention mine was moreplete with additional fruits as snacks.


    "Because I''m more special than you in your mom''s heart." I said casually, causing Alex to roll her eyes. She wanted to retort but was disrupted.


    "Hey guys. Ed. I finished Baratie." Jenna said in excitement as she pushed Jacob away to sit next to me. I smiled while eating my sandwich, finished chewing first and swallowed before turning to her and said, "Really? So You didn''t study?"


    "... I studied a little bit." Jenna''s face flushed as she got caught. Alex rolled her eyes and mmed her book on the table before reprimanding Jenna. "Listen. I don''t care about your bet, how you guys are going to make out if she got all As. But I gave you my notes and energy. So if your grades are-"


    "Alex. Chill." I said, cutting Alex off before she could keep going with her rant. Alex snorted and returned to her book while giving Jenna a side eye. Feeling her guilty conscious pricked, Jenna quickly said, "I have already finished all the notes you gave me! I only watched the show while I was resting!"


    "Lies." Elsa added. Jenna red at her friend and said, "I didn''t lie! Although a weird thing did happen, I still studied?"


    "Weird thing? What happened?" I asked curiously.


    "No-Nothing. How''s yo-your test?" Jenna avoided my eyes and stammered making her look like she was hiding something. The entire group turned to Jenna as if they were hyena''s looking at delicious meat.


    "What happened Jenna? You can tell us. We are your closest friends." Enid said coaxingly.


    "And I''m your best friend." Elsa said.


    "And I''m your best friend''s handsome boyfriend." Jacob didn''t forget to use the opportunity to dere his identity once again. I threw the paper bag at his head, in which he epted the punishment as he knew he did something wrong. Then, Elsa and Jacob locked eyes with each other before they passionately make out with one another at the table again.


    We looked at the couple in disgust before turning to Jenna. "So, what''s the story?" Alex asked.


    "Well..."


    Although Jenna was apprehensive, she thought that the best way for her to understand what had happened was to gather external input�C in other words, let her friends think about that for her.


    "So I was watching one piece."


    [Jenna POV + shback]


    (I''m trying a HIMYM format on this one. If it''s weird, then tell me)


    "Jenna. Mr Davidson ising today." Mom said as she knocked on my bedroom door.


    "Who?" I asked in confusion while looking up from theptop.


    "Remember you asked me before? The ways to be famous?"


    "Hold up" Edward''s voice interrupted the shback.


    [School cafeteria.]


    "Why do you want to be famous?" Ed asked.


    My eyes darted between my friends who were staring at me, and I bashfully lowered my head in embarrassment.


    Elsa rolled her eyes and admonished Ed, "Why else do you think?"


    Ed thought for a bit and asked in disbelief. "Because of me?"


    [shback]


    "I was only asking what I could do. Don''t just spring a movie producer on me like this. I can''t even act." I said to my mom after she told me her ns.


    "Really? I thought-"


    "Mom. Seriously?!" I stood up in anger and walked to my mother.


    "Doesn''t matter. It''s toote anyway. Also, he''s one of the good ones....I think..."


    [School cafeteria.]


    "So. Is he one of the good ones?" Ed asked while narrowing his eyes.


    "I don''t know. It wasn''t him who came by." I replied.


    [shback]


    While in the living room, I sat far away from the movie producer, a Harvey Weins***n wannabe who came by to persuade my mom into casting me in his movie.


    "You know, there is a lot ofpetition out there...It''s going to be hard for your daughter to have a sessful debut as an actress." He said with a smile, but his words carried a certain threat. He scooched over to get close to me and put his hand on my thigh as he said, "She got a lot of chance...she just need to let loose a little-"


    My mom wasn''t having it and threw a ss of lemonade on that man before dragging me away. She chased out the perverted producer and told me, "Never get near that man ever again!"


    [School cafeteria.]


    "He touched your thigh? How?" Elsa asked.


    "How? What do you want me to do? Show it here?" I said sarcastically.


    "Yeah. Show it on Ed." Jacob interjected.


    "Me?" Ed was confused when his name was suddenly mentioned. I looked at him and he looked at me, before I turned to Elsa and said, "Ok...."


    "Do it! We want to know." Enid said teasingly.


    "Do it! DO IT! DO IT!"


    "You guys know you''re supporting sexual harassment right?" Ed said, causing the group to fall silent.


    "Not if she has your consent." Alex interjected, raising the group''s spirit once more. Ed thought and nodded, giving me his permission. I really love Alex at this moment. I wanted to touch- I mean, get closer to Ed for a long time now.


    [Edward POV]


    ''So how in the hell did a conversation move from a pervy producer to me getting molested?''


    Jenna blushed and giggled hard as she ced her palm on my thigh.


    "That''s pretty normal." Elsa said as she saw the example. Then, Jenna caressed her hand upward my thigh, making the whole group exim.


    "Too far!" Enid said with a blush as she stopped Jenna.


    "I think it''s not far enough." Jacob said in excitement before he got red at by Elsa.


    "You know the guy''s name?" I asked as I got a bad feeling about the whole thing.


    "Nah. Sorry." Jenna replied, her hand still on my thigh.


    I shook my head as I noted about the whole incident in my mind. There''s going to be consequences when you try to mess with my friends.


    "My mom invited you to the house. She wants to meet you." Jenna said.


    "Hmm? Okay. I''ll give you a call when I have free time." I replied casually as I too wanted to have a talk with her mother about the whole thing.


    Despite Jenna acting casual about the matter, I knew she was struggling with it. For example, she wore modest and baggy clothes today instead of her normal clothes.


    I patted her head and said, "Don''t worry. That asshole is nothing but a perv. It''s not your fault. Also, I will make sure he''ll pay for what he did."


    Jenna widened her eyes before lowering her head as she enjoyed the protection. Alex then sighed and put her books down. "I can''t study like this."


    I smiled and said, "Then. Wanna y a game?"


    "Can you say that again...but in Jigsaw''s voice?" Jacob asked. I turned to him and mimicked the toy and said in a hoarse voice, "I want. to y. a game!" While putting my hands together like a viin.


    "You really should stop hanging out with my dad." Alex rolled her eyes and leaned forward as she waited for the game to start.


    "Truth or dare?" Elsa guessed the game.


    "That should only be yed when we all get to highschool. It''s very easy for the game to turn wildly inappropriate, so we really shouldn''t y it right now. And definitely at the school cafeteria during lunch." Jenna said.


    "What game Ed?" Enid asked as she kept her nail polish in her bag.


    I took out my phone and opened an app called Undercover. "The game will give us 2 words that are simr to each other. What we should do is to use ambiguous and obscure words to describe the word we have gotten, and try to find the person with the different word- the undercover."


    "Huh. So, we will win if we catch the guy? How do we catch him?" Jacob asked in intrigue.


    "We''re going to vote every time a turn ends. But, even if the undercover is caught, he or she could still win if they guessed the keyword urately."


    "There''s also a Mr White role where the yer wouldn''t be given a word at all, but we''re not including it yet in the game."


    The phone would be a moderator for the game. After we all typed in our name and read our keyword, the game finally started.


    "We''ll start with Enid." I said as I read the game direction.


    Enid thought about it for a while and said, "Hmm...Jenna''s lip gloss?"


    The rest thought for a bit before they nodded at the clue. "eptable." Jenna said.


    "Alex." I said on behalf of the app''s moderator.


    Alex smiled and said, "Red?"


    "Sure." Elsa epted the hint.


    Next was Jacob, and he said, "Fruit."


    Jenna was next, and she said, "Supermarket."


    "Hey. That''s cowardly." Alex giggled and admonished Jenna.


    Elsa was next and she said, "Sd."


    "Huh?" Jenna was confused by the hint.


    "Huh what?" Elsa was bbergasted when she realized that none of them could rte with her hint. I smiled and said, "Thest one is me right? As we already know who the undercover is, I will say...the thing Jenna is allergic to."


    "Vote now." I ordered. All of us pointed our fingers at Elsa, while she alone pointed the fingers at me. She red at Jacob, and he reluctantly changed his vote to point at me, however it didn''t change the oue.


    I pressed Elsa''s name on the apps, and it showed that she was undercover all along!


    "What is your keyword?" She asked.


    "Strawberry. You?" Jenna replied.


    "Cherry."


    We yed a few more times, and everytime we caught someone lying, the whole table burst intoughter, and overall it was a great time for all of us. Alex managed to rx a bit before her exam, and I was able to create more valuable memories with my group of friends today.


    "Hey. Next week is the Summer Festival. There''s a stage for the bands. You should y there." Alex said as the lunch break bell rang.


    "I don''t think the school could afford my fee." I said with a slight smirk, making Alex roll her eyes.


    "If you don''t want to, then don''t." She said gruffly and turned away. I grabbed her wrist and said, "You''re really like your grandfather. I wasn''t finished. I''ll sing, if you get up on the stage with me."


    "Huh? I don''t know how to y in a band. Also, I y the cello." She said in confusion.


    "That''s okay. I''ll make a song that has a cello in it." I said confidently. She hesitated a bit and agreed afterward before we both walked back to our sses. I finished the rest of the exams without a hitch and I followed along the Dunphys as ire drove us home after school was over.


    "Ed. You''re staying at our house tonight right?" Luke asked.


    "Yeah."


    "Cool. it''ll be like sleeping over."


    "...What do you think I''m doing when I get there Luke?"

 Chapter 99: Overnight Chaos.

    <h4>Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Overnight Chaos.</h4>


    (I''m sick af, but I''m back. Lol.)


    [General POV]


    -Highschool-


    While Ed was ying a game with his friends at the school cafeteria, Tara, Abby, and Haley were also sitting around together at a simr table in another school trying to eat their lunch. However, unlike the warm,forting air that enveloped Ed and his friends, the air around the girls was ice cold.


    Tara carefully looked at Haley and then Abby who were ignoring each other. She picked her sd for a while before sighing and opening her mouth to break the silence, "So...What happened?!"


    "This girl is a SKANK!" Abby said with hostility as she pointed at Haley.


    bbergasted, Haley defended herself quickly, "Well...YOU''RE DELUSIONAL!"


    The other students whistled and chanted for them to fight each other. Abby showed her middle fingers with both arms to those eavesdropping and returned back to Tara.


    While calmly eating her sd, Tara wiped her mouth elegantly with a napkin as she swallowed her food before asking again, "You guys still haven''t told me what happened."


    Abby and Haley looked at each other warily before calming down a bit. Abby opened her mouth first and told her the entire story.


    After Tara listened to it until the end, she nodded and said, "So. You guys are idiots."


    "HEY!" x2


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Ugh. I can''t believe HER!" Haley groaned as she flipped her hair back. "Can you imagine she''s being possessive of Ed, even when she''s NO LONGER his girlfriend?"


    "In fact, even their first rtionship was a fake one." She said, then realizing that she was badmouthing her friend, and shut up immediately.


    [Commentary ends]


    Tara pointed at Abby with her fork and asked, "You''re not making a move, and you''re mad he''s hooking up with the blondie...that, for some mysterious reason you guys don''t want to tell me the name of? Or.... might that be because she is a famous person...or the info will hurt Ed if it gets out?"


    Tara''s sharp instinct made both Abby and Haley flinch, but they just nodded without confirming, nor denying, Tara''s hypothesis.


    Tara narrowed her eyes at both of her friends before turning to Haley, "And you. Didn''t you say you were not making any moves until Abby had gone away to respect her? And then got shut down by him before you could even do it?"


    "Well. It''s different now. Making a move is no longer a choice. It''s a necessity. Otherwise Ed will be entangled in the creepy Hollywood scandals and influences, and will lose his way."


    "And THAT''S why he needs ME." Abby added.


    Haley red at her and said, "NO! He needs ME! He''s hurting right now. I can make him whole again!"


    "Well I can too!" Abby said, not backing down. Tara just silently ate her sd while mocking both of her friends inside her heart as she thought about the whole thing.


    "Is this because of the guy who asked Abby out to prom?" Tara asked.


    Both of them flinched again and Abby started to stammer, "W-Who? No one asked me-"


    "The football team quarterback, the one you broke the nose of on your first day at school? Gossip travels fast, you know?" Tara said casually before finishing eating and starting to drink from a milk carton next. She nced at Abby''s and Haley''s chests and prayed that she could raise her cup size before the end of the year and not get stuck at A cup while disdaining both of her friends at the same time.


    "There''s a simple solution for this." Tara said, no longer pursuing the subject given that Abby didn''t want to talk about the football yer anymore.


    "What is it?" Haley asked.


    "Both of you....Hook up with him."


    "W-Wh-WHAT?!" x2


    [Abby''s Commentary]


    "So when I drove Ed to school today, I saw his text with"Taytay "... They were flirting, hard and he even nned to give her a kitten." Abby said in dissatisfaction.


    "He even saved her name so intimately, can you believe that?!" She widened her eyes in disbelief as she crossed her legs and arms at the same time.


    "I told Haley about it, and she reacted the same way as I am. I thought she was on my side, but it turns out she has her own motives."


    Then, Abby slumped her shoulders and said, "I know I''m being a brat. Ed and I aren''t even dating. But... I really don''t want to see him dating someone else ... I wonder if Ed will not date Tay- "the blondie" after hooking up with both Haley and I at the same time."


    Tara never said ''at the same time'', but that''s how Abby heard it.


    mentary ends]


    "Anyway, forget about Ed for a moment. Abby, you''re staying here for the entire summer right?" Tara''s eyes lit up as she heard the news from Haley today.


    Although Haley and Abby were ''fighting'', Haley was extremely delighted that Abby had extended her stay in California before she had to go back to New York.


    "Yeah. I don''t know what my mum''s n is, but she requested to transfer her station to this town city hall. If they ept her, we will stay here until I graduate. But if she can''t get the transfer, then I will just be here for the summer."


    "Ohhh We should buy bikinis!" Haley said in excitement.


    "Totally! And Invite Ed to the beach!" Abby was excited too, and both of the girls giggled as they nned for the summer.


    Tara narrowed her eyes at her friends and thought, ''Weren''t they fighting before?''


    A few hours passed by, and Abby drove Tara and Haley home after school.


    Haley was not backing down when Abby kept being wishy washy about Edward. It pissed her off. Before they knew it, they were fighting again.


    "You''re already his Ex- girlfriend. "EX"! Your rtionship is already over. It didn''t work out. Move on. Don''t be so pathetic."


    "Why? So you can date him? I saw the way you were looking at him. I never imagined you would betray your friend like this."


    "Betray you? What did I do to betray you!? You and Edward are over! Don''t you remember? You BROKE UP with him. Also, he''s already dating Tay-"


    As Tara was there, Haley stopped her words halfway and looked warily at her friend. Tara shook her head in disdain and said, "You don''t have to force yourself to censor it anymore. I can already guess who it is."


    Abby was silent for a while and was contemting hard before she said, "He''s sleeping over right?"


    "Yeah. Why?" Haley replied in confusion.


    "Then, try to seduce him." Abby dered.


    "EEEEEEXCUSE ME?!" Haley eximed in disbelief.


    "Seduce him, and if he makes a move on you, that means he''s only hooking up with Taylor. If it''s like that, then we still have a chance." Abby exined.


    "We?"


    "I don''t want to argue. I want both of us to have the chance. Besides, I''m not staying in LA for long. I will be gone after summer. So let''s have a fair fight for Ed. "


    Haley was touched and both of them hugged as they made up, but then Tara chimed in, "You guys are so cringey."


    Haley showed her tongue at Tara while Abby grinned hard before pressing the pedal, making Tara almost fall from the whish.


    "Bitch." Tara cursed before they allughed together.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    The smell of broiled salmon spread to the entire Dunphy kitchen.


    "Ed. Are you cooking today?" Alex asked in disbelief after she came downstairs from her room as she smelled the intoxicating aroma. Of course, while still holding on to her books.


    "Yeah. Your mother let me stay here today. It''s the least I can do." I said with a kind smile, making Alex blush inexplicably before she went to sit at the dining table.


    "What?" I asked in confusion as Alex was behaving strangely after the second part of school today.


    "No-Nothing."Alex hid her face behind her book as she stole nces at me once in a while as if studying me.


    [Alex''smentary.]


    "Am I behaving weirdly now!?....Well...Maybe...but it''s all ENID''s fault!" Alex grunted as her face flushed when thinking about what Enid said to her before.


    -shback-


    Alex was standing next to Enid as she opened her locker, and was shocked when she saw the numerous ''Edward Newgate'' merchandise inside the small metal box.


    "You...Seriously?" Alex looked at Enid in disbelief as she saw her caressing Ed''s abs for luck before closing the locker door.


    "What? He''s hot." Enid said casually.


    "He''s our friend." Alex said sternly.


    "Nah, he has a dual identity. Like Hannah Montana.Friend and an artist. I''m a fan of thetter, and good friend with the first one."


    Alex was confused and asked, "So what''s with the inappropriate touching then?"


    Enid took a deep breath before she exined with a dazed expression and turned on voice, "Well...Ed has given a lot of young girls�C like me, the courage to explore the suddenly... unfamiliar topography of their changing bodie-"


    "Okay stop!" Alex said with a blush. Enid grinned and continued, "I stick up the poster next to my bed, every single night and...-"


    "NO ENID! DON''T!" Alex ran away while Enid chased her from behind to stimte Alex''s prudeness and open up her mind to higher possibilities.


    "Don''t forget to peek behind the door while he''s staying over at your house. If you have any pictures-"


    "I Won''t PERV ON HIM!" Alex dered as she ran away from Enid again.


    -shback ends-


    "See. It''s all Enid''s fault." Alex muttered with a hot face.


    [Commentary ends]


    I ignored Alex and focused on the cooking for a few minutes before Phil walked into the kitchen after he got back from work.


    "Hi Phil, did you sell a house today?" I asked casually as he stopped to look at what I was cooking.


    Phil grinned and said, "A Victorian Era, 3700 square feet, 40% down payment, all in only one day!"


    I nodded while amazed at Phil''s selling skill and thought for a bit. Despite Gil Thorpe usually being the best salesman in the area, Phil was usually just behind him in sales, making him the second best salesman here.


    By my calction, he could get up to a million dors in sales revenue even if he only sold 4-5 houses per month, given the horrendous price of the houses in the city.


    Even the ordinary 3 bedroom house with a picket fence that the Dunphy''s was currently living in was priced at 1.3 million dors nowadays. Sure, they bought it almost 2 decades ago, but still.


    "Nice job Phil." I said and raised my right hand up. He smiled from ear to ear and high fived me before ire walked into the kitchen. Before Phil could greet her, I pulled his ear close and whispered something to him. He chuckled a bit and looked at ire.


    "What is it?" ire said with a smile, hiding her wariness.


    "Hey ire, it''s nothing. Ed just asked me what a bee makes."


    "Honey?" ire replied.


    "Yes dear."


    Phil and I bothughed while ire thought for a few seconds and then rolled her eyes at us. "Don''t hang out with Phil anymore. You''re infected. You need to make sure not to ruin your artist image by doing this kind of puns outside."


    "Nah. People will love it." I said as I bit on a macadamia nut before finishing with the broiled salmon. ire rolled her eyes and walked next to me and started helping out with the dinner preparation. However, the house''s doorbell rang at this time.


    "Hmm? Who is it?" Phil asked from afar as he walked to the door.


    "It''s Gloria!"


    Phil opened the door in excitement and asked, "What brings you here?"


    "Well I heard Ed is staying here for a boys night. Soo...." She dragged the reluctant Manny in front of her with a huge grin on her face.


    "Mom. It''s not a sleepover." Manny tried to argue.


    "No. You need to stay here and have the boys time with Luke! and Ed!" Gloria said in a reprimanding tone.


    "I don''t mind." I said. "The more the merrier. But, someone has to sleep on the floor."


    [Gloria and Jay''smentary]


    "Today is the anniversary of our first date, and Jay had nned something special...for just the two of us." Gloria said as she looked at Jay with a smitten look.


    Jay smiled with his mouth, but not with his eyes as he waited for Gloria to finish talking.


    "Manny didn''t want to say it, but he''s feeling a bit... what''s the word?"


    "Isted. Estranged. No friends want to hangout with him?" Jay guessed.


    "Yeah, thatst one. So when ire told me Ed is staying over with Luke, it was a perfect opportunity for Manny to have his first sleepover with his friends. I know Ed will take care of him, so I can leave him there with an easy heart." Gloria said.


    Jay didn''t want to correct Gloria as he wanted to keep her in a good mood.


    [Jay''smentary]


    He took out a CD and said, "Ed had given me the songs I wanted. 3 songs in Spanish. But the problem is...I...lost the trantion paper, and have no idea what the songs are all about."


    He rubbed his forehead in frustration as he said, "Now. I already promised Gloria something special for the ''dating'' anniversary...luckily Ed hinted to me after Gloria told him about it. Otherwise I would have no idea she was hoping for something special today."


    Jay was silent for a while and muttered, "How the hell should I y the songs now?"


    mentary ends]


    After dinner, the family went on to do their own things. The hyperactive Luke was reprimanded by his mother and had to finish his homework first before she would allow him to y with us, therefore he was thrown to his own room for him to do his work under ire''s supervision.


    Manny needed to do his homework too, therefore he joined Luke in his room. Alex had gone back to studying, leaving only Phil, Haley, and I in the living room.


    "Hey Ed. Wanna watch this?" Haley said as she took out a DVD. It''s titled, ''The Unborn.''


    "A horror movie? Really?" I widened my eyes in surprise.


    "Yeah. It''s going to be fun." Haley said with a grin and a slight shoulder tilt before she clung to my arm and dragged me to the sofa.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I''m not an idiot. It would be very dumb of me to try and show him a sensual move...while he''s at MY house." Haley said with a sly grin.


    "So I''m going to make a few girly moves. Such as-"


    -Living room-


    Haley was on Ed''s left side as they watched the movie. They cuddled underneath a nket with Haley looking fearful as she watched the movie.


    "BOOM!" The ghost popped out on the screen.


    "Kyaa!" Haley screamed in fear and clung into Ed''s arm while simultaneously pressing her body into his as she covered her eyes from watching the horror scene.


    Ed was helpless and couldn''t help but pat her tofort her. For him, the movie was boring. He couldn''t help butugh a few times because of how fake it was.


    -Back tomentary-


    "See..." She said while pointing at her temple. Then, she sighed and said, "It would all have worked better though ...if my dad wasn''t there too..."


    -Living room-


    "BOOM!" the ghost popped out on the screen.


    "Kyaa!" Haley screamed and clung onto Ed''s arm.


    "KYAA!" Phil screamed in a high pitched voice before he clung onto Ed''s right arm. Then, he collected himself and tried tough it off by saying, "I knew that was going to happen. God Haley, stop being such a coward. I''ll go make some popcorn."


    Phil walked away quickly, and when the ghost popped out on the screen again, he almost fell while he was walking behind the sofa.


    "Guys. Luke needs my help, so I''m not going to be able to protect you guys." Phil said, trying to act tough as if he was going away for Luke''s benefit. The ghost came on the screen once more, and Phil yelped before he ran away quickly.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Haley''s leg was on myp as she cuddled with me on the sofa. She kept squirming and intimately clinging onto my neck as sheid her head on my chest after her dad had moved away.


    "You...did this on purpose right?" I said as I brushed her hair.


    "Maybe." She said slyly and kissed my neck without any warning. I widened my eyes in surprise and said hurriedly, "Are you crazy? What if your mom saw that? Also, what are you doing?"


    "Nothing. What did I do?" Haley asked innocently. I pinched her ass, causing her to yelp seductively. I looked into her eyes and said, "Don''t y too much. I don''t want to get into trouble."


    Haley smirked and rested her head on my chest again before muttering, "You know. You can just do the easy thing and push me away."


    "Nah. Your body temperature is pretty nice. It''s like cuddling with a heat pack. Also, I''m feeling pity for you."


    "Huh? Why?" Haley said in confusion. She moved her head to look at me in the eyes as I said, "Well. You have been single for so long, I think you''re having rtionship withdrawal syndrome."


    " I AM NOT-"


    Before she could finish, I pushed her head back to my chest again. She pouted and punched me before saying, "You''re having thepetition tomorrow. Why aren''t you studying like Alex?"


    "I have already finished studying. Alex too, but she insisted on revising the materials." I exined. Suddenly, Alex walked into the living room with a book in her hand. She red at Haley in disdain before saying, "ytime is over. I need to study with Ed. MOVE!"


    "What? We''re watching a movie! YOU MOVE!" Haley argued.


    Alex turned to the room direction and shouted, "MOM! Haley is-"


    Before she could finish, Haley already jumped out and cupped her mouth anxiously. "Okay Okay!"


    Alex narrowed her eyes at Haley before walking to the sofa and sat extremely close to me. She put the book on my body and asked, "This. Have you read this part?"


    "Yeah. Do you have any questions about it?" I asked casually.


    "No." Alex replied.


    "... Then why did youe down?"

 Chapter 100: Chaos continues.

    <h4>Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Chaos continues.?</h4>


    (Woo-Hoo! We''re hitting triple digit! Gimme double the powerstone to celebrate!)


    [Edward POV]


    After Luke and Manny finished with their homework, they came to the living room with ire and Phil following them from behind.


    "Oh! Thank god!" Phil muttered as he saw Haley had finally stopped watching the movie.


    Haley was currently ring at Alex who disrupted her intimate moment and pretending to be on the phone, while Alex kept discussing the decathlon materials with me without caring about the hostile gaze.


    ire saw the scene in the living room and smiled brightly as we kept things PG without her there.


    "Ed, do you want some snacks?" She asked.


    "No need ire. Can I go to the room now, or do you still need some time to clean it up?" I asked.


    ire was taken aback and then smiled wryly as she was caught. She said, "I...No, Luke''s room is clean enough...for now..."


    "Okay thanks."


    "Are you boys going to sleep?" ire asked casually as if it was the most normal thing in the world.


    Manny and Luke turned to each other while I looked at the clock. "ire...it''s 8.30."


    "Luke''s bedtime is at 9...So..." ire said before pping slightly, "All the kids should go to sleep at the same time. Manny...and you included Ed."


    I paused for a while and said while meeting her eyes, "Yeah...I''m not going to do that."


    "My house, my rules." ire parented skillfully.


    "I still need to do some work, ire." I debated.


    "No arguments." ire said sternly. I narrowed my eyes at her, making her flinch.


    "What?" She asked warily.


    "Nothing. Just wondering about something." I muttered.


    "W-W-What are you thinking about?" ire asked as she crossed her arms together.


    "I''m wondering why you want me to follow your rules so badly." I said. "Does it stem from your cripping need for control, or maybe you wanted to pop open a ss of wine and have a good time with Phil after all the kids were forced to go to sleep-"


    "OKAY STOP!" ire said and put her hand on my shoulder. I still have an innocent smile on my face, which made ire feel twice the horror than if I made a scary face at this moment.


    "I''m not letting you sleepte. I''ll allow you to...extend the bedtime...until 10 o''clock. Then, all of you will have to go to sleep!" ire said decisively before she harrumped away.


    "WHOA HO HO HO~!" Luke and Manny eximed in excitement before Luke said, "Nice. We have ater bedtime! Thanks ED!"


    "Whatever. I''m not sleeping at 10. Otherwise I will wake up at 2. Phil, do you have any workout instruments?" I asked as I turned to Phil.


    "Umm...I think so?" Phil questioned himself. I scrunch my face in confusion, so did Haley and Alex.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "I have...a.... 5 lbs pink weight and the street strider...Oh, and also a trampoline!..." Phil said with excitement at thest part before he turned depressed again, "So no...I don''t have anything he could use to work out right now..."


    mentary ends]


    "That doesn''t matter. Luke, get on my back." I ordered.


    "ON IT!" Luke saluted before running to follow me from behind as we moved to his room. "Manny, you''re joining me!" I shouted at Manny who was frozen at his initial spot. Phil seemed helpless, and ire patted his shoulder and chest tofort him as she could guess what he was feeling right now.


    [ire''smentary]


    "Both boys, and even the girls were looking at Ed for direction and guidance...I guess Phil was a bit jealous... But he''s settling for Ed looking at HIM...for guidance." ire exined before she lowered her eyes and whispered, "But I need to make sure Phil doesn''t turn him into another...well you know...Phil."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Is this really necessary?" Manny asked whiningly, and he definitely didn''t want to work out thiste at night...or ever.


    "You''re asking me how to make a girl swoon right? If you don''te, I won''t tell you~" I said cheekily, making both Haley and Alex grin. Manny saw the girl''s reactions, and was immediately filled with motivation.


    "WAIT FOR ME!" He shouted as he ran to catch up with us. Haley and Alex decided to watch and they followed us to Luke''s bedroom and leaned on the doorframe without actuallying into the room. I took off my shirt as we got into the room, revealing my toned abs, but not yet sculpted.


    "Hum-" Haley bit her lower lips and let out a turned on groan, making me roll my eyes at her. I turned to Luke and said, "Can you ask your mom for a spray bottle filled with water? I want to spray your sister everytime she looks at me like that." I censored my wordings as I was with 2 ten years old, otherwise my words would be a lot more crude.


    Haley was taken aback while the othersughed at her. As I started to work out, Manny was a bit apprehensive to follow me in doing the routine.


    "Why?" I asked.


    "I don''t feelfortable exercising with people staring at me."


    Alex rolled her eyes and said, "We''re not even looking at you-"


    "You know what Manny. You''re right. If you don''t feelfortable doing it, then you don''t have to force yourself to do it. But in this case, there''s a simple solution for it."


    "Huh. What''s the solution?" Manny asked in confusion.


    I walked to the door, making both of the girls stare at me in confusion. Then, I waved at them and slowly closed the door to their faces.


    "What the fuc-" Haley almost cursed from outside the door. "HALEY!" ire heard it and shouted at her. I smiled in satisfaction, while Manny was thoroughly impressed by my actions.


    "What?" I asked him.


    "You know, I don''t think I will ever have the bravery to do what you just did." Manny confessed.


    I ced my hand on his shoulder andforted him, "Yeah. I know."


    "..."


    After teasing Manny, we started working out for real. I let him do simple body stretches first as a warm up before coaching him. Luke wasughing at Manny''s misery from beside me, so I slowly turned toward him with a stern expression.


    "This is all your fault." Luke was used as he was forced to do the exercise beside Manny.


    "I don''t even want to do this in the first ce." Manny eximed, and he could no longer do the knee on the floor push ups I gave him, andid t on the hardwood tiles.


    "I quit." Manny said while breathing heavily.


    "Hmm? I thought you wanted me to teach you how to get girls?" I asked.


    "If getting girls means changing who I am, then I don''t want to do it anymore." Manny argued as he turned andid on his back.


    I nodded and said, "Then. That''s that."


    "What? You''re not trying to motivate me? Or tell me about the benefits of needing exercises?" Manny asked in confusion after seeing I gave up so easily.


    "Why should I? With you knowing that question, I could assume that you''re already familiar with it. You''re a smart boy. I''m sure you''ve already figured it all out by now."


    Manny hesitated for a while, and his face turned crestfallen. I didn''t want to torture him for long, so I baited him. "Too bad your mother could only live for 20 more years because of you."


    "Huh? Why? Will Manny kill Gloria?" Luke asked in confusion, and tried to stop exercising, but I noticed it and used my eyes to stare at him until he did the pushups again.


    "Will I kill my mother Ed? Why?" Manny asked in puzzlement. His face lit up and there was a certain madness in his eyes �C a mama boy''s ''I will protect my mother no matter what'' madness.


    "Or will you kill his mother cause he''s not listening to you?" Luke hypothesized.


    "You BASTARD-"


    "Nah Nah. You misunderstand me. No one is murdering Gloria. I''m just saying, when Manny dies from a blocked artery at the age of 30, then Gloria will die from a broken heart and follow him into the afterlife." I replied casually while holding Manny''s head with one arm, stopping him from trying to lunge at me.


    Manny froze and he trembled with the fear of losing his own mother. I know I was being maniptive, but as Gloria said before, ''the only thing stronger than fear, is Manny''s love for his mother.''


    Now inside of Manny, his unwillingness of changing and trying to be better, the feeling of burdensomeness when he actually needs to take care of himself every single day to get better, were all being rewritten by the fear of actually killing his own mother...allegedly. This whole conversation was hypothetical.


    "You''re exaggerating." Luke said in disdain.


    "Luke. You don''t know a Latina mother. Especially a Colombian one." I replied. Manny had the tiny trace of suspicion in his heart before, and it was promptly distinguished by this statement.


    "ARGHH!" Manny broke into full speed squats and push ups after his spirit was lit by his love for his mother. But, he fell lifelessly on the bed just half an hourter.


    "Aren''t you going to clean up first?" I asked Manny who was sweating all over. Luke only did the initial part, so he wasn''t sweating, but he was tired as it was almost 10 pm right now.


    Luke''s bedroom has a bunk bed. Luke climbed into the top part, while Manny was already sleeping on the second part. Also, Manny couldn''t even climb to the upper part of the bunk bed without help �C further intensifying my desire to help him get the proper fitness a normal 10 year old boy should have.


    "Sweet dreams you guys. If we see each other in our dreams, let''s pretend we don''t know each other. Goof around a little bit before we get together. Alright?"


    "Uh." Manny answered with a groan and a thumbs up.


    "I will not be able to see you anyway. I''m thinking of bing Godzi and destroying New York, so don''te around that town." Luke muttered as he rubbed his tired eyes.


    I was taken aback at first before I replied, "Okay got it. Avoid New York."


    Luke nodded before he smiled and rested his head on the pillow, peacefully falling asleep.


    "I pity the residents of New York Dreand." I muttered before walking out of the room to take a shower.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Inside of the girls room, Haley grunted in annoyance after the door was mmed in her face. She paced from left to right, and right to left in her room, just muttering madly to herself about the ways Edward had slighted her.


    "Calm down. So he could see that you couldn''t keep yourself single any longer. He''s right, you know. Rtionships are like a drug in your system. It''s only been 2 months of you being single, and you''re now having withdrawal syndromes. Messing with Ed is like your nicotine patch. It''s good to alleviate the symptoms, but it''s not really the cure." Alex said in rare calmness despite her sister''s annoying behavior going on in front of her.


    Haley was taken aback for a moment before she said mockingly, "I know that!" Then, she added, "But he shouldn''t throw that to my face. And you threw yourself at him too."


    Alex was bbergasted and defended herself quickly, "What- I didn''t-"


    "Oh please. Where''s your boyish shirt, huh!? Why are you wearing a blouse right now? And why are you sticking to him like glue when I''m trying to watch a movie with my boyfri-"


    "See right there? Rtionship withdrawal. You know you really have a problem do you?" Alex said in a concerned tone as her sister''s behavior was rming for her.


    "Shut up! Without being in a rtionship, I don''t even know myself anymore!" Haley admitted with gritted teeth before she sat on the edge of her bed.


    Alex thought for a while and warily asked, "Don''t a lot of boys in school already ask you out? Why don''t you pick one of them and be done with it?"


    Haley scoffed but she didn''t answer. How could she reply that she felt they were nowhere near Ed? That would make her an obsessive bitch, and she didn''t like that.


    "I''m going to take a shower." Haley said after thinking for a while.


    "You didn''t name your electric toothbrush Edward, did you?" Alex asked in disgust.


    "NO!!!" Haley replied exasperatingly.


    There was only one bathroom on the upper floor of the house, outside of the girls room, shared by both Luke and the girls while ire and Phil had their own bathroom inside their bedroom.


    ire and Phil had already eased up on the bed as they both had a busy day today. However, they weren''t quite asleep just yet.


    After 5 minutes, Haley was showering inside the bathroom, free from all thoughts. She stood underneath the shower head stark naked inside the tub before putting on shower cream on her body. As she picked up the shower cream container, a bushy, 8 legged creature suddenly greeted her as it was exposed!


    She froze, her eyes blinked twice to process what was happening.


    "ARGH! SPIDER!" Haley screamed!


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I had already taken off my clothes and was only wrapping my waist with a towel and stood in front of the bathroom door. My hand halted as I was going to turn the knob as I heard some showering noiseing in from inside the room. Therefore, I turned back and decided to wait until the one inside was finished before I cleaned myself up.


    Until, I suddenly heard a distress shouting from inside the room.


    "AHH! SPIDER!!!"


    "Wait. Haley? HALEY, DO YOU WANT ME TO COME IN?" I asked as I could hear she was wreaking havoc inside the room.


    "YES PLEASE!" Haley yelled while trying to throw the soap dispenser to the 8 legged creature. The creature avoided her attack by moving to the left and right before inching its way toward her, causing her to scream again.


    I twisted the door knob hard, and the lock broke so easily that I was almost surprised by its brittleness, and almost fell down as the door was propped open abruptly. I entered quickly, unaware that I had closed the door as I mmed it shut.


    "KILL IT KILL IT!" Haley pointed her finger at the ''monster'' attacking her. I saw that the little guy had fallen down to the water and was almost sucked into the drain despite its tremendous effort to avoid Haley''s assault.


    "Hey. It''s alright." I said calmly to the both of them as I slowly scooped the spider out of the water.


    "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! KILL IT!" Haley screamed and pped my hand away from behind me, making the spider roll 3 times in the air before falling on the dry floor of the bathroom.


    "UGH! Haley!" I groaned in frustration as she kept throwing things at the creature. It kept avoiding her, but it seemed that its stamina was already on the brink of draining. Haley kept grabbing some stuff near her, until she finally grabbed something she was not supposed to�C my towel, and threw it at the spider.


    I was so baffled, that my jaw dropped as I turned to look at her. She froze as she saw what she had done, and now, there were 2 naked people inside the bathroom, staring awkwardly at each other for about 10 seconds as no one knew how to react to this situation.


    Taking advantage of the situation, the spider crawled to the tiny window up above the bathroom wall, and jumped outside of the house before spraying a web parachute and got picked up by the wind to go somece else. Or that''s what I imagined it had done.


    "Hey. What happened?"


    Both of us could hear ire''s anxious voiceing from in front of the door, breaking us out from our daze.


    "I''ming in!" She said and the door was opening slightly. Without me realizing it, Haley grabbed me and pulled me into the shower tub before closing the shower curtain and opening the shower faucet again. ire entered the bathroom, and almost reached the shower zone. She grabbed the shower curtain with one hand, preparing to open it and see what was going on.


    Haley held her breath and before she could open her mouth, I cupped it and shouted first, "ire. It''s Me!"


    ire instinctively stopped her hand and froze as it wasn''t one of her children inside of it. If it was Haley or anyone else, she would just barge into the shower without any concern about their embarrassment.


    "E-E-Ed? I thought I heard a girl''s voice?" ire asked in confusion and a bit of embarrassment.


    I mouthed to Haley, ''Why the hell did you pull me in here?''


    ''I PANICKED!'' She mouthed back as I released her mouth.


    ''What should I say now?'' I asked anxiously.


    ''Make something up! She can''t know! Or She''ll ban you froming...EVER!''


    "Ed? What''s going on?" ire asked again, her suspicions grew as I took so long to answer. I swear to god I got so many IQ points that it lowered my EQ points greatly to bnce it all out.


    "Uhh... I sound like a girl sometimes when I scream." I muttered, and regretted what I said the second it came out of my mouth. Haley almostughed, and I red at her, making her keep her voice down .


    "Really?" ire asked in both confusion and bewilderment as she processed it.


    "Yeah...I''m...self conscious about it... And will definitely suffer if you ever told someone else what happened here today. I might even stoping here forever." I said with a grim tone.


    ire was surprised behind the curtain, but she still hadn''t let go of the thinyer of barrier separating us.


    My heart palpitates like crazy, and my extreme skin-to-skin contact with Haley allowed me to hear her crazy heart beats too. But she was distracted and kept looking down during my whole ordeal, which drove me almost insane.


    ''Stop looking at it!'' I mouthed.


    ''SORRY. It''s just ... It''s right there.'' She replied with no sounds while pointing at something.


    "Oh. Are you sure you''re fine? " ire asked again in a worrying tone.


    "Yeah. The spider is gone now." I replied, hoping that she would go away soon without noticing anything weird inside the room.


    "Oh okay. I''m d then. I''ll help you pick up the shower dispenser." ire said and handed me the bottle of soap from the gap of the curtain.


    "That''s close enough ire. Thanks." I said hurriedly as I grabbed the bottle. I handed it to Haley to hold as her hands were running wild.


    "Also Ed, there''s an interesting feature on the shower if you feel that the water is not hot enough-" ire said in excitement as she wanted to share her knowledge of technology to me right now...while I was stark naked...in the shower...


    " Mrs Robinson, I''m going to stop you right there. Remember what I''m doing over here... and I don''t have any clothes on right now. Although I wouldn''t mind you joining me, I just couldn''t do that to Phil-"


    "Oh! OHHH!!! Right right. Sorry." ire was finally snapped back to reality and retreated hurriedly to the door. "Hey, why is the door broken?" She asked after collecting herself.


    "I don''t know. It broke before I even came in." I made some excuses.


    "Oh. I''ll have Phil take a look at it tomorrow. I will stand guard and not let anyone elsee in while you''re showering, so you can be at ease!" ire said, offering her hospitality.


    "No It''s okay ire. I''m still going to take a while."


    "It''s okay. You shouldn''t feel unsafe while you''re showering. I will stay." ire said and closed the door behind her as she walked out.


    "Okay thanks ire. I appreciate it." I said with gritted teeth while shaking my fist in frustration as she kept lingering, but I couldn''t actually say it was logical to ask her to go away.


    "Now what?" I asked Haley. However, she hit me in the chest and said, "A naked girl is standing in front of you, and you''re still hitting on her mother."


    "Well speaking as most men, if I have the chance with both mother and daughter, and especially together, I will not be afraid to take it. But this is a separate topic no? Now, how the hell should we get out of here?"


    Haley pumped off a couple of soap into her hand and started to wash me beginning from my chest.


    "What the?"


    "We''re in the shower. She''s going to be suspicious if you''re not showering." She said and her hand tried to go down below the belt, but I grabbed it and said, "True. We''re in the shower."


    To her surprise, I pumped out the shampoo and started washing her hair.


    "Oh my god, that''s so good." Haley moaned with her eyes turned to the back of her head as she enjoyed the head massage. Finally, blood could reach her brain and she said casually, "Big deal. You go out first, and then, I''lle out after you lead her away."


    "Haley. You had lived with your mother for 16 years. Do you really believe that after a guestes and uses her shower, she won''te to check, and even clean it?"


    "Oh shit. You''re right? What should we do?" She finally understood the severity of the situation and freaked out a little. "By the way, you''re really okay with both of us naked in the shower together huh?"


    "Well...it''s nothing I haven''t seen before. And you''re right, you did ''grow''." She replied casually before whispering seductively in my ear, "I''m a bit curious now to see where this will go."


    I smiled and whispered back, making her bite her lower lips as she heard it, "The thought of taking your virginity while your mother is directly next door is like the devil''s whisper in my ear. I''m... REALLY trying hard right now to keep myself rational, so please don''t make it even worse."


    "Humm~" She let out a cute moan before trying hard to calm herself up. She whispered, "You might have awakened something dangerous in me, or maybe there was always a seed there..."


    "Focus Haley."


    "Right. Sorry."


    "Ummmmm...." Haley and I thought for a while, before Haley snapped her finger and said, "I got it!"


    My eyes lit up expectantly and I asked, "What is it?"


    "When you open the door and meet my mother, drop your towel."


    "What the fuuc-" I paused...thought about it for a while, and replied, "That might work."


    Haley and I both nodded our heads as we were sure of the n was going to work, and she suddenly said, "Now with that solved, the next important question is...Are we sure we''re not going to do anything while we''re here?"

 Chapter 101: Oh no!

    <h4>Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Oh no!</h4>


    [General POV]


    At Jay''s house, the old man had prepared a candlelight dinner to celebrate his first date anniversary with his new, smoking hot wife who was wearing a low cut red dress that entuated her figure, making every man drool in her presence.


    "Really? We''re staying at home for the anniversary?" Gloria smiled with her mouth, but her eyes showed disappointment as she was expecting something more from her husband. They had finished a nice dinner together, and now were celebrating with red wine.


    Jay in a dashing ck suit smiled and said, "Well...the surprise I have tonight is made especially for you...I don''t want you to share the moment with anyone else."


    "Ay Jay! What present?" Gloria''s eyes lit up in excitement.


    Jay took out a small white box with blue ribbon on it and ced it on the table before sliding it to Gloria. She snatched the box from his hand gleefully and savagely ripped the ribbon off before opening the box.


    "A pair of diamond earrings! I LOVE IT JAY!" Gloria said before she stood up while simultaneously taking off her current earring to change it into the new ones.


    "Wait! Slow down!" Jay grabbed Gloria''s arm before she could run away with a soft smile on his face as she loved his first present.


    "There''s another?" Gloria asked with an excited tone.


    "Yes. But the next one doesn''t cost me money, but parts of my dignity." Jay joked. Gloria tilted her head slightly in confusion. Jay saw and sighed before he exined, "Well...I prepared a special song for us."


    Her excitement was at the peak, and she said, "DID YOU MAKE THE SONG-"


    "What- No! I asked...someone to do it."


    "You asked Ed didn''t you?" Gloria said, her excitement deted quickly.


    Jay''s mouth became dry and he thought secretly to himself, ''I...didn''t expect this.''


    "Anyway. Shall we?" Jay asked while romantically grabbing Gloria''s hand.


    Gloria nodded, but she didn''t seem that excited at the prospect of getting her own song. Many men had serenaded her with their own songs before, not to mention that this song didn''t evene from Jay.


    He leads her to the living room before hitting the y button to reveal the song. "This is just for you." He said in a low voice. Gloria didn''t make fun of his effort and said, "Then. let me hear it."


    He grabbed her by the waist, and they gently swayed together as they listened to the song''s intro. The ukulele sound reverberated in the entire living room. Gloria widened her eyes as she heard the first line on the song, which was in Spanish.


    ????????


    "Amarte Como Te Amo�� (Record scratch)"


    "Huh?" Jay was confused by the song stopping suddenly. Then, he heard a dreaded sounding from the audio.


    "Viking is taking the lead in today''s match-"


    "OH HELL!" Jay cursed as he realized he had identally taped yesterday''s football match over the song in the CD Edward gave him. He anxiously pressed all the buttons on the home entertainment speaker, but he identally pressed ''clean disk'' on the option.


    "Oh no!" Jay eximed with widened eyes and turned to a disappointed Gloria behind him.


    "I''ll...see if he''s still up." Jay said quickly before taking out his phone.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Despite my reluctance, we didn''t do anything inside the shower except take a bath together.


    "It will be bad for us if ire waited for a long time before I came out of the room.if by any chance we were caught, then we won''t be able to exin ourselves." I said using my logical thinking, making my lower body part turned depressed.


    "So...You''re not against us doing things?" Haley asked slyly and with a cute quizzical head tilt.


    I smiled and replied, "Nah."


    "So. You''re not dating then." She said clearly.


    "Huh? Why would you think I''m dating?" I asked her.


    "N-Nothing. I was just being dumb." She replied before turning off the shower.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Okay. Good news. He''s not dating. Bad news. How the hell should I tell Abby about the way I got the information?!"


    mentary ends]


    "ire. Are you still there?" I asked while holding the doorknob.


    "Yes." ire answered from outside the door.


    "Why? Don''t you think it''s a bit weird...and predatory to stay outside a teenage boy''s bathroom door?" I asked with a concerned voice, and wasughing with Haley inside the room as ire couldn''t answer the question.


    I got out of the room slowly, and found ire still waiting in the hallway despite her earlier embarrassment. She smiled begrudgingly and walked to the door, before Haley closed it from behind, making my towel get stuck at the door gap.


    "I prepared some warm milk for you in the kitchen. Go change into your pajamas first." ire ordered.


    I nodded and pretended to walk casually. ire saw that my towel was stuck at the door, and tried to stop me, "Wait. Ed-"


    She was toote. The towel fell down from my waist. ire turned back hurriedly to prevent herself from seeing it.


    "OH MY GOD!" I eximed. "Sorry ire. I''m so embarrassed!" I eximed in fake anxiousness as I opened the toilet door wide and signaled Haley to move out. She tiptoed quickly to get to her door, while I was still distracting ire.


    "Have you put on the towel yet?!" ire asked anxiously with her back turned against me.


    I looked at Haley who gave me an ''okay'' gesture as she sneaked into her room and said, "I''m done."


    ire breathed in relief and turned back again, but I had already walked away from the bathroom. "Also ire. I had already cleaned it, so you don''t actually have to wait until I''m done showering. You gave me a lot of anxiety by doing that." I said as I got to Luke''s bedroom door.


    ire opened her mouth a few times, but no words coulde out. She sighed and said, "Sorry. I was being difficult for you."


    "It''s okay ire. I will fix the door knob tomorrow, okay?" I said with a smile before entering the room.


    [ire''smentary]


    Standing outside of the bathroom door, ire barged into the bathroom and scanned the entirety of it before finally sighing in relief.


    " I don''t know why...but I didn''t think he was alone in there." ire said her concern. Her motherly instinct kept screaming at her, telling her something was wrong with the whole situation�C especially when Ed teased her to make her go away from there.


    "I really thought he was hiding something, that maybe he had a girl in there. But, he didn''t do anything wrong, and he even cleaned up the bathroom�C I feel so guilty about suspecting him now."


    She paused for a second before saying, "But still...I KNOW...something weird is going on...I just don''t know what yet."


    After a long silence, she confessed, "Also. I got a peek under there. But not clearly. That kid is going to make a lot of girls happy-"


    mentary ends]


    "Huh. That''s weird." I muttered as I saw a text from Jay after putting on some clothes. I called him without thinking much about it, and he picked up the call almost immediately.


    "Hey Ed. What''s the rate if I want to hire you to y for the evening?"


    "This evening?" What happened?" I asked in confusion.


    Jay exined a bit and said, "Look. Gloria is pissed. I''ll pay you 5 thousand bucks if you get down here as quickly as you can."


    "Sure. Lemme grab my instrument. But, you need to call ire and talk to her about it. She''s curfew-ing me, and won''t let me stay upte like I''m a child."


    "Hmm..I''ll talk to her. Hurry up Ed." Jay said before he ended the call. I changed into some dress clothes and walked out of the room silently without waking up Luke or Manny.


    "Where are you going young man?" ire said sternly as me getting out was timed at the same exact moment she came out after inspecting the bathroom.


    "Jay will call you and exin. Also, you need to drop me off over there." I replied casually before knocking on Haley''s door. ire looked at my brazen action in bewilderment, but then she heard her phone ringtone ring from the master bedroom.


    Haley opened the door while wearing only a robe, looked around carefully before whispering, "You wanna sleep on my bed?"


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I got a gig. Wannae? Is Alex still awake?"


    "Nah. She is already asleep. Wait, let me change my clothes first." Haley replied with a huge grin hurriedly before closing the door right at my face.


    "Is this payback from earlier?" I muttered to myself while having an amused smile.


    [Haley POV]


    "What was that?" Alex asked as I mmed the door.


    I turned toward her and replied awkwardly, "Nothing. Just dad checking up on us." I shuddered in disgust as I realized I had basically called Ed ''Daddy'', but I would not admit it to anyone ever.


    "Wait. Ughh Damn. Why the hell did he- Did I wash my hair today?" I groaned as I picked up the hair dryer to style up my hair. Alex asked, "Are you going out?"


    "Yeah." I replied casually.


    She was bewildered and asked whisperingly, "Are you sneaking out to a party?"


    "I don''t know yet." I replied with a smile. ''This is him asking me out on a date right?'' I blushed a little and was ted for him to finally take the initiative.


    "The shower thing might have messed with his head...oh well. If looking at me naked changed his mind, then that means I''m just that hot." I muttered with a low voice as I dried my hair.


    "What did you say?" Alex asked puzzledly as she couldn''t hear anything.


    "No-Nothing. You should sleep. BIGGG Day tomorrow." I replied as I turned to her before applying some makeup.


    I left the room after 15 minutes, and was wearing a low cut top blouse and a miniskirt. But then I froze as I saw my mom standing in front of my bedroom door.


    "Uh...Um...This is..." I stammered immediately.


    "I''m just about to call you. Hurry up, Grandpa is waiting." Mom said casually and walked away.


    "Wait. The gig is from GRANDPA?!" I shouted in bewilderment before I saw Edughing below the stairs. "YOU BASTARD!" I cursed at him.


    "Do you want toe or not?" Ed asked teasingly.


    "I....I''ll be there in a few minutes." I said after thinking about it for a while.


    "Great. Then you''ll be thest one there." Alex suddenly appeared behind me and walked past me before descending the stairs first.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I took a deep breath to calm myself down as ire drove us to Jay''s house.


    "Are you nervous Ed?" ire asked as she saw I was doing the breathing exercise.


    Before I could answer, Haley did it for me, "Yeah mom. It''s been a while since he sang his own songs in front of other people."


    I smiled while wondering how she knew me so well and said, "I''m not nervous. I''m just preparing my voice and my mindset."


    Alex added, "Also. You need to get back directly after singing. No dillydallying. There''s apetition tomorrow, and I need you to be in your best condition."


    "I''m always at my best. Anyway, Don''t worry about thepetition. As long as I''m there, we will win, no matter what the others throw at us."


    Alex snorted and said, "You sure brag a lot for someone who has never been in this type ofpetition before."


    "Yeah. The kids in this area have to thank my parents for that one. They waited so long to let me join in to give a chance to the other kids."


    Haleyughed and said, "You''re so cocky."


    "You mean unfounded confidence." Alex said while rolling her eyes.


    "We''re here!" ire said and stopped the car abruptly. All three of us let out a small shout before getting out of the car. Haley and Alex helped me with bringing the instrument inside the house while I brought the heavy speaker.


    Jay opened the door and greeted me outside the house before I could get in.


    "Finally!" Jay said with a smile and a flushed red face. "I had to keep Gloria interested by opening the second bottle of wine, so I don''t know how much of the song she''s going to hear, but do your best."


    "Okay. The cash?" I asked.


    "Here." Jay slid the envelope full of cash into my hand. ire narrowed her eyes as she walked toward us and asked," Are you guys dealing drugs? Why are you being so shady? And Dad, when did you even ask Ed to make a song for you in the first ce?"


    Drunk, Jay forgot that he promised to keep the deal a secret and said, "Well. At the party before. We made a deal. If he did this, then I couldn''t poach you to mypany for a period of 4 years- Oh wait." Jay turned to look at me in realization of what he had done.


    I opened my mouth a few times, but was too embarrassed and I walked into the house without minding ire wanting to halt me.


    Inside the room, Gloria was already ying with her phone while waiting for the song.


    "I wonder if this might be unnecessary." I muttered. Gloria turned towards me and said, "He took too long. The mood is already gone. But still put in some effort, so I don''t want to disappoint him."


    I nodded and said, "That''s why you''re called the best wife."


    "What? Ed you sweet talker." Gloriaughed dismissively as she felt embarrassed to be called that. I set up the impromptu stage with the synthesizer at my feet and ukulele in my hand.


    Haley helped adjust the microphone stand height to match my sitting on a chair position and kissed my cheeks lightly for good luck before going to watch it beside her mother.


    "Jay. Although you ruined my CD, I will still try hard to make this night a special night for the both of you. Gloria, will you take Jay''s hand and move right to the center of the living room. Definitely don''t mind the others, and just pretend there were only the 2 of you here."


    Gloriaughed a bit while ire rolled her eyes and said, "I can''t watch this. I''m staying outside." Even though she tried to keep an open mind, it was hard for her to see her dad bing intimate with another woman.


    I smiled wryly as I saw ire leave and said to Alex, "This song might not be good for underage girls-"


    "Shut up and y already." Alex said in annoyance, and definitely wouldn''t go away from there.


    I nodded and started to y a soft melody using the ukulele.


    ????????


    Jay looked into Gloria''s eyes and said, "Sorry I ruined our night."


    "It''s okay. There''s still hope for you." Gloria replied before putting her head on Jay''s chest as they swayed to the music. Haley groaned in disgust as she saw her grandpa being all lovey dovey and turned her face to focus on me instead.


    "??Amarteo te amo esplicado??" (T/L: To love you like I love you isplicated)


    "Wait. This is Spanish?" Haley''s eyes shook as Spanish was her weak subject. She turned to Alex, who sighed and said, "Okay. I will trante. Butter."


    "??Pensaro te pienso es un pecado?? (To think about you like I do is a Sin)


    Gloria raised one of her eyebrows and looked at Jay who imed he ''gave'' the lyric to Ed.


    "??Miraro te miro est�� prohibido??"(To look at you like I do is forbidden)


    She hit Jay''s chest hard and said, "You asked a 14 year old to sing like this?"


    Iughed from the stage and continued professionally, " ??Tocarteo quiero es un delito, oh??" (To touch you like I want is a crime)


    "JAY!" Gloria widened her eyes in horror. Alex looked smittenly at me, while Haley was trying hard to understand the song. Then, Haley decided to forget about the trantion and enjoyed the song instead.


    ??Ya no s�� qu�� hacer para que est��s bien (I don''t know what to do to make you be ok)


    Si apagar el sol para encender tu amanecer (If I should turn off the sun to turn on your sunrise)


    Fr em portugu��s, aprender a har franc��s (Speak in Portuguese, learn to speak French)


    O bajar luna hasta tus pies?? (Or bring the down the moon to your feet)


    The change in tempo made Gloria excited, and her dance with Jay became much more energetic.


    ??Yo solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you a kiss)


    Y regrte mis ma?anas (and gift you my mornings)


    Cantar para calmar tus miedos (sing to calm your fears)


    Quiero que no te falte nada ??(I don''t want you tock anything)


    "AYY JAY!" Gloria eximed lovingly and ced her head on Jay''s chest again.


    [Jay''smentary]


    "I don''t even know why she''s mad or why she was so touched. Edward will get mad at me when I say this, but I also lost the paper with the lyrics and trantion he gave me before."


    [Commentary ends]


    "??Yo solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you a kiss)


    Llenarte con mi amor el alma (Fill your soul with my love)


    Llevarte a conocer el cielo (take you to explore the sky)


    Quiero que no te falte nada ??" (I don''t want you tock anything)


    I turned to the girls and winked at them, making them blush. Haley decided to record the show as she needed to find out the trantionter, and I had no problem with her action.


    "??Si el mundo fuera m��o, te lo dar��a (If I owned the world I would give it to you)


    Hasta mi religi��n cambiar��a (I would even change my religion)


    Por ti hay tantas cosas que yo har��a (There are so many things I would do for you)


    Pero t�� no me das nis noticias, uh ??(But you don''t even give me the news (E/N: This is more a Spanish phrase to say that she doesn''t even acknowledges him) )


    [Gloria''smentary]


    "Now. the mood is returning..." Gloria said with a smile. "Also, I think, Manny can learn from Ed how to serenade a girl in Spanish. We are so passionate, so smooth. He lost interest in learning recently, and I really think that realizing this will help him."


    [Manny''smentary]


    "I was kinda jealous that I couldn''t go there and listen to the song on my ownst night. But seeing Haley''s video, I had a decision to make. With Ed teaching me how to get girls, and singing a Spanish song like he does, I think I can make Jenna fall in love with me. And yes, Ed''s friend, Jenna Mckenzie. Ed said she''s still single."


    mentary ends]


    ??Y ya no s�� qu�� hacer para que est��s bien ( And I don''t know what to do to make sure you are ok)


    Si apagar el sol para encender tu amanecer (If I turn off the sun to Turn on your sunrise)


    Fr em portugu��s, aprender a har franc��s (Speak Portuguese or learn to speak French)


    O bajar luna hasta tus pies ??(Or bring the moon down to your feet)


    My voice made the girls melt, and Gloria swoon. Of course, Jay received a lot of her affection for arranging this. He smiled as he knew the mood was back on.


    ??Yo solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you a kiss)


    Y regrte mis ma?anas (and gift you my mornings )


    Cantar para calmar tus miedos (sing to ease your fears)


    Quiero que no te falte nada?? (I don''t want you tock anything)


    The melodies of ukulele music reverberated in the entire house. My finger moved skillfully on the strings, capturing Alex''s admiration. "His fingers...are so nice." She blurted out unconsciously with a dazed face.


    ??Yo solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you one kiss)


    Llenarte con mi amor el alma (el alma) (Fill your soul with my love)


    Solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you one kiss)


    Quiero que no te falte nada ??(oh, no) (I don''t want you tock anything )


    Jay and Gloria danced, and he twirled her underneath his arm before pulling her back into his embrace.


    ??Yo solo quiero darte un beso (darte un beso) (I only want to give you one kiss)


    Llevarte a conocer el cielo?? (take you to explore the sky)


    "Ayy Jay. The lyrics are so romantic." Gloria muttered.


    "They are? I mean. Of course they are. It''s written for you after all." Jay said, ming the credit.


    ??Solo quiero darte un beso (I only want to give you one kiss)


    Quiero que no te falte nada?? (I don''t want you tock anything)


    I slowed down the melody at the end and looked at the atmosphere in satisfaction.


    ??Tu-ru, solo quiero ??(I only want)


    ??Tu-ru, eh-eh-ey??


    ??Yo solo quiero darte - (tu-ru) (I only want to give you)


    Quiero que no te falte nada?? (I don''t want you tock anything)


    I didn''t end the song abruptly, but yed the ukulele for a while as I let the music fade slowly away. Alex and Haley pped their hands as I finished singing, but Jay walked briskly toward us in a hurry.


    "GO. Go home. NOW!" Jay said as he chased us away.


    "What? Why Gran-" Before Haley could ask, and Alex could find out, I grabbed both of their wrists and pulled them away. I said to Jay, "Remember to return my stuff to my house tomorrow."


    "I will. GO NOW!" Jay said and chased us out again. Iughed and pulled both puzzled girls to the front door before disappearing from the house, and entered ire''s minivan hurriedly.


    "Drive ire. Drive."


    "On it!" ire knew what was happening and pressed the pedal in a hurry as we ran away from there.


    [General POV]


    After chasing the kids away, Jay turned back, only to find Gloria was gone from the living room.


    "Gloria?" He shouted to find out where she was.


    "I''m in the bedroom. I''m starting with, or without you. So hurry up!" Gloria said suggestively. Jay pumped his fist in excitement before running up the stairs to join her in ''celebrating'' their night together.

 Chapter 102: Decathlon begins!

    <h4>Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Decathlon begins!</h4>


    (I won''t be back till Thursday next week. I will be taking some time off to finish my Marvel fic, and lets hope to god I can actually end it this time yeh? lol. Have a nice day everyone!)


    [Edward POV]


    "Ooo Jay''s going to get some~"


    "Ed! That''s disgusting!"


    Alex looked at me as if I was lesser than vermin after I made that joke. Haley got irritated too, even though her reaction was more moderatepared to Alex''s. Despite them already knowing how human reproduction worked, it was still too much for them to consider their old grandpa was stit participating in that sort of thing.


    I made a zipping mouth gesture and threw away the key to calm them down. Despite that, my mouthole was opened just a few secondster.


    "Alex, when are you going to join me on stage?"


    "Hmm?" Haley turned to look at us with aplicated expression on her face. Alex rolled her eyes and replied, "You should make a song first!"


    "Hey. Alex, you''re going to y together with Ed?" ire asked from the driver seat.


    "Why? Am I not good enough?" Alex asked defensively. I flicked her forehead, making her groan in pain.


    "What was that for?" She growled at me.


    "Your mom is just asking, why are you so hostile to her?" I asked, making Alex freeze in realization. She turned to ire and said in a tiny voice, "Sorry mom. I''m too anxious about tomorrow, so I took it out on you."


    ire covered her mouth and had a touched expression. She said, "It''s okay Alex. You guys will do well tomorrow. Why? Because you''re all a bunch of SUPERSTARS!"


    Alex rolled her eyes while Haleyughed at her sister''s misery.


    After we got to the Dunphy''s home, ire immediately ordered us to go and sleep although it was only 11 o''clock. We didn''t argue with her though, and promptly went to the bed to get some shut eye.


    "Damn. Where should I sleep?" I muttered helplessly as both beds were already taken by Luke and Manny. Not to mention their cacophony of snores, I saw Luke''s drool dripping from the top bed to the bottom, and the drops falling only inches away from where Manny''s head was.


    "So...I''m not going to bunk with Manny." I muttered.


    After changing my clothes into pajamas, I went back out and walked to the living room downstairs with a pillow and a nket.


    I activated the [Rest] skill as Iid down on the couch, and within 30 seconds, I was transported to dreand.


    ''That was a metaphor. In the 4 hours of sleep I got after activating the rest skill, it even prevented me from dreaming as it targeted the most efficient way for me to handle my sleep... or so I thought.''


    "(Yawn) What time is it?" I muttered as I checked my phone when I woke up, feeling refreshed. "Oh boy. It''s 3 am. Time for a Krabby Patty."


    Although I was hungry and could eat at this time, unfortunately there weren''t any burgers around. I went to brush my teeth and opened myptop before studying about thepetition.


    "Although I joked about it before, I could use a burger right about now." I said while holding my grumbling stomach. I went to the fridge, but I didn''t feelfortable opening it and snooping around without the house owner''s consent, so I just picked an apple that was in a fruit bowl on top of the kitchen ind.


    Suddenly, my phone buzzed as I was reading about the expansion of the universe on the couch.


    Taylor: Hey, are you up?


    I smiled at the text message and replied.


    Ed: I''m always up.


    Taylor: Good. Check this out. ''[emailprotected]</a>''


    She sent me a link, and I clicked on it quickly. But then, it redirected me to a youtube video about a goat screaming in full volume. However, the prank failed as I always kept the volume off in my phone.


    Ed: Didn''t work~


    Taylor: Damn it!


    Ed: How was your concert?


    Taylor: It was fine. It would have been better if you were there though.


    Ed: I know. Your fans love me more than you. So it would be a better experience for them too.


    Taylor: GO F�C Yourself!


    Taylor: (Image.jpeg)


    ''That reminds me. I should include more GIFs in the overall GIF''s collections.''


    She didn''t stay online for long and went to sleep after talking about her day for a few minutes. She talked about a few things, such as how many men tried to hit on her today�C which I presumed she shared with me to make me jealous, and about how tired she was from the concerts.


    She would have to fly to Ohioter on, and next Phdelphia. It''ll take weeks for her to get back before she has to prepare for the summer concert and music festivals next.


    Taylor: When will you start your tour?


    Ed: Honestly, I don''t know yet. I could do it after this week is over, but I still want to participate in a few school events. I won''t get out of LA for now though. Maybe go to Las Vegas, but that''s it.


    Taylor: WAIT! I know a few concert staff in Vegas! If you yed it only for the VVIPs, you can earn an easy 10 million buck a night.


    Ed: Should I strip for them too? Not that I have any reservation for it, but I just don''t want to be put on the spot while I''m there.


    Taylor: Oh yeah. You''re going to strip on stage, and the old money bags will throw their golden dentures on stage for you! I look forward to that. (LOL.emoticon)


    Despite the jokes, I got to thinking about the matter seriously.


    ''When should I start my tour?...And my next concert? Should I make Pepper prepare for it now? Ahh...I still need to investigate Coldy here and get in contact with Chris Martin.


    Taylor: Hey, can we do a video call?


    Ed: Sure.


    The phone rang for a short few seconds before I picked up the Facetime request from Taylor. She wasying down on the bed and suddenly said, "Hey. Sing me something."


    "A luby?"


    "No. The song you sang to me before. There''s no recording of it, so I cannot find it online."


    "Ahh. Okay. But I don''t have my instruments with me." I said. "There is a piano in the living room, but I''m afraid of disturbing the Dunphys."


    Taylor scoffed and said, "You must be d to be sleeping with two girls. Sisters even."


    "Well that is every guy''s dream, but honestly, there''s too many people here. I can''t wait to go back to my house."


    She smiled a bit before pretending to be angry again. "I don''t care. Sing it to me!"


    I scratched my cheek and said, "All right. Just this once."


    She smiled from ear to ear with an expression that said, ''As if'' , and waited patiently for me to start while hugging her pillow.


    I cleared my throat before I started to sing using a calm and gentle voice as if I was singing a luby.


    ????????


    "??I guess Peter Pan was right, Growing up''s a waste of time, So I think I''ll fly away,


    Set a course for brighter days, Find the second star, I''m soarin'', And then straight on to the morn'', I know that I''ll be fine, ''Cause I know Peter Pan was right...??"


    I wanted to continue, but I saw Taylor had already fallen asleep. "Seriously? She must have been so tired." I muttered as I waved at the screen a few times, but she wasn''t reacting.


    Then, I heard a slight snoreing from the other side of the screen. Iughed a bit and screen recorded the video chat for half a minute before saying, "Good night Taylor. Sweet dreams."


    I cut off the call soon after. With a sigh, I returned to studying, and could only continue for 5 minutes before I was interrupted yet again. My heart almost dropped when the girl with messy hair suddenly appeared beside me with a ss of water in her hand.


    "Hey. What are you doing up?" Haley asked groggily as she went down to the kitchen to grab a ss of water, but saw me studying in the living room instead of sleeping in the bedroom.


    "You can''t sleep again?" She asked with difficulty of opening her eyes. One of her eyes was half open, and the other one remained shut.


    "No- I''m already-"


    Before I could finish my words, Haley had already sat down next to me and hugged me. She patted my armsfortingly and said, "It must be tough, not be able to use your sleeping support when she''s just in the next room from you."


    Iughed a bit, but Haley suddenly dragged me toy down on the couch. She intertwined her legs with mine, and nuzzled her head deeply into my chest as we fit together on the tiny couch.


    "I''m already up, Haley." I exined with a soft smile as I noticed what she was doing.


    "It''s 4 am. You should go to sleep." Haley said decisively and closed her eyes as she fell asleep while wrapping her arms around me. I sighed and cuddled with her, at least I nned on doing so until she got back to sleep. However, I underestimated her influence in my life.


    Her hand suddenly grabbed my but and she gave a few tight squeezes while pretending to be asleep. "Hmm?" I looked at her ''sleeping'' face before tracing her eyebrow with my fingers, and then traced her jawline lovingly. She flushed red despite trying not to care about it, but then my fingers turned vicious and I pinched her nose.


    "Are you pretending to be asleep?" I asked.


    "(Nasally)...No." Haley replied with a tiny voice. Iughed and released my finger, leaving her with a perceptible red tint on her nose. I kissed it and pulled her closer to me before letting her be and reading the materials I had printed with one hand.


    ''Damn it. Why am I sleepy?'' I thought with a yawn as I tried to read the study materials. Without me realizing it, I fell asleep soon after Haley. We stayed with each other for a few hours until the sun went up.


    [ire''s POV]


    As usual, I woke up at 6 in the morning and began my daily struggle of getting my children out of the door in time for them to get to school. First, I began with preparing breakfast for them, and also to make some coffee.


    Then, I turned on theptop and checked thepany''s overnight trip and the ship''s current status to make sure they weren''t lost at sea while I was asleep.


    "Oh yeah. The maintenance is today." I muttered before texting the ship repairer and cleaners to remind them about their appointment with us to prevent any dys in the schedules.


    ''Did I put out the extra bed for Ed or not?'' I wondered as I cooked the pancakes. But, since Ed didn''t say anythingst night, I thought I had already done so, and continued cooking with a peace of mind.


    I ced the pancakes on the dining table, when I suddenly saw a male leg hanging from the couch.


    "Ed?" I muttered as I walked to the living room. Then, I froze as I saw what was happening there. My face contorted in puzzlement as I tried to process the scene happening in front of me.


    I stood there for over 20 minutes to process what was happening.


    "Honey. I smell pancakes!" Phil, my husband, ran excitedly to the kitchen after following the smell as if he was a cartoon character, and stopped as he saw me.


    "What''s going on?" He asked as he walked near the living room. I pointed the ''thing'' on the couch to him, in which he responded, "Aww...Look at them so cute together with their head nuzzling-"


    "PHIL!" I shouted in anger before pping Haley''s leg. "Wake up!" I shouted. Both Haley and Ed woke up with a jerk. They were both still groggy, and didn''t understand why I was mad.


    "Mom. What''s with you? That''s a rude way to wake someone up-" Haley said with a hoarse voice.


    I fumed in anger as I said, "Exin yourself!"


    "Huh? Exin what?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "This might just be me...but I think...and seriously, this is just me...I think...she''s mad because she saw us sleeping together?" Ed said, acting as if this was all a big joke.


    "ED! Do you even know what you were doing?" I said, moments away before having one of my big freak out episodes. Phil hugged me from the side and said hurriedly tofort me and to allow the kids to exin themselves, "Haley. Why don''t you tell your mom what''s going on before she explodes into tiny little angry mom pieces?"


    "PHIL!" I admonished him, but honestly I thanked his calmness in dealing with this kind of thing.


    "We-" Haley tried to answer, but Ed interrupted her. "It''s all my fault Mrs Dunphy. I...have insomnia. Last night, Haley saw me in the living room, so she tried go get me to sleep, and will not be going away if I don''t try. As you can see, she seeded...That''s it."


    "That''s it?" I asked with a confused, but still angry tone.


    "That''s it." Ed replied decisively while Haley nodded. I calmed down a bit and processed the whole thing before asking, "Since when did you have insomnia?"


    "I don''t know. 1 or 2 years." Ed replied, making me feel a pang of guilt for suspecting him.


    I crossed my arms and asked, "S-So you guys didn''t do anything else?"


    "Do what?" Haley asked with a yawn, making me the one who''s embarrassed. "Don''t y with me Haley. Did you ONLY just sleep?"


    Ed and Haley looked at each other for a while before turning back to me with ''isn''t it obvious'' expression on their face and said, ""Yeah.""


    Phil believed them almost immediately and said, "So that''s it. Who wants pancakes?"


    "I do! I have been starving." Ed replied before he got out of the couch and went to the kitchen. Phil met him halfway and greeted him with a pat on the shoulder, "If you''re hungry, why don''t you just eat a midnight snackst night?"


    "Well...I don''t want to be rude. I had an applest night, so I''m sorry for that."


    My anger went away quickly when I heard he had been starving himself just because he didn''t get my permission to open the fridge. I sighed and walked to the duo and said, "Don''t apologize. I''m the one who''s sorry. Just treat this like your own house next time Ed. If you''re hungry, just find something to eat. I won''t hold it against you."


    Ed smiled helplessly and replied with an awkward voice, "O-okay." I almost rolled my eyes at him, but at the same time I felt deep sadness inside my heart as I thought about the ways he had been living. ''He must feel deep distrust for the adults. Thank god his therapy is tomorrow.''


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Hurry up Alex. We''re going to bete." ire shouted while Phil was in front of me, helping me fix my tie as I had changed into a ck suit with green lining on the cor and front jacket, and the school emblem was sewed at the front pocket.


    "We''re notte at all!" Alex said exasperatingly as she hurried down with a matching girl uniform, but with yellow lining instead of the green lining. "And, you. Seriously, you made yourself a Slytherin?"


    "Yeah. It will be easy for me to... ''Slyther in...your sister''s chamber of secretster."


    Alex rolled her eyes and made a disgusted face before ire caught her and said, "Now that Ed has designed a uniform that makes you look pretty, you should at least get some make up."


    "No- MOM!" Alex tried to protest, but Haley and ire had already encircled her like vultures eating their prey. "Haley. Give me the maskara." ire asked.


    "Which one?" Haley said as she took out 6 maskara tubes that she held in a wolverine pose. Alex couldn''t believe what was happening and red at me as if saying this was all my fault. I rubbed my nose and said, "So. Haruna has gotten her uniform right?"


    "Sanjay too, no thanks to you." Alex replied. "Hmm? Why? What''s with Sanjay?" ire asked.


    "Can you believe he was not going to give him the team uniform?" Alex said as she pointed at me. I coughed twice and defended myself, "The uniform isn''t obligatory. I only did this for fun."


    "Yeah. But if Mrs Henderson didn''t catch you, you would have only given the uniforms to Haruna, the substitute and me leaving Sanjay out. I hate him as much as you do, but that''s too childish isn''t it?"


    "Like I said. I just forgot." I argued. Honestly, I really did forget. Maybe it''s because I didn''t treat him like a teammate at all, but I had sent the uniform that I designed to him�C despite him being the only one that had to pay for it.


    I didn''t make it myself, but instead I ordered them from Pepper''s friend who ran a boutique.


    "Is he a Gryffindor then?" ire asked. "Griffindor doesn''t like Slytherin right?"


    "Like hell Imma give him Gryffindor." I retorted, causing Haley tough. "He''s..."


    [General POV]


    -Sanjay''s house-


    "HUFFLEPUFF! HE GAVE ME HUFFLEPUFF!" Sanjay screamed in frustration as he put on his team uniform. His dad, an Indian neurosurgeon, rubbed the suit he wore and said, "This material is so nice. Is this suede? I want one too."


    "DAD!" Sanjay shouted before he rolled his eyes. The decathlon team meets up at the school before they ride a school bus together to go to thepetition venue.


    Edward was surprised when he saw the substitute yer who came in with a matching Ravenw suit as Alex. "Hey-Hey-Hey ED! This is soo nice!" Enid said as she twirled to show off her uniform.


    "Why...are you here?" Edward asked.


    "The substitute dropped out. So I''m the substitute for the substitute." Enid said casually. Edward smiled and patted her head before saying, "I''m d it''s you. And you look damn nice."


    "I KNOW RIGHT?!" Enid screamed in excitement as the bus entered Dryden Academy grounds.


    "Wait. Did the venue change?" Ed asked as he noticed the school. Mrs Henderson who was dressed in a casual white blouse and long ck skirt replied, "Yes. They sponsored thepetition after all."


    The bus stopped at the parking lot near the football field. The group all disembarked off the bus in a calm manner as they were mesmerized by the surroundings. "The school is very beautiful." Enid muttered.


    "Too bad the benchmark for going here is that your parents must be a multi millionaire." Alex scoffed despite the awe she felt.


    "Hey look out!"


    Suddenly, a stray football flew across the parking lot, and almost hit Alex''s face. She flinched in horror and closed her eyes, but the pain she expected to have did note. She opened her eyes slowly, only to see Ed had caught the ball directing towards her in a casual manner.


    "Let the mind games begin." Ed muttered, confident that the ''ident'' was a scheme by the opposition.


    A young, tall african boy ran towards the team in a worrying manner and apologized the moment he stopped in front of them. In a Nigerian ent, he said, "I''m sorry. I didn''t look where I was kicking."


    Ed gave the guy another look, and replied with a smile, "Nah. It''s okay. People can make a mistake."


    The guy sighed in relief with a smile on his face. He put his hand out for a handshake and said, "I''m Sam Obisanya. I just came from Nigeria, and I really thought the football club I registered for was for... Well football."


    Edughed without the others understanding why and he replied to Sam, "Yeah. Americans are weird. They call football ser here. I''m Edward. You can just call me Ed."


    "Nice to meet you Ed." Sam said.


    Sam smiled at the friendliness and turned to Alex�C the almost victim. "And you pretty girl. I''m really sorry."


    Alex was bbergasted while Enid got excited for her. She pushed her friend forward, making Alex stand beside Edward. "Pr-Pretty?"


    "You are very pretty." Sam flirted. Alex turned to Edward to see if the football yer was messing with her, only to find Ed nodding along to Sam''s word.


    "Yeah. She''s very pretty." Ed muttered, making Alex''s face turn red. Sanjay gritted his teeth before harrumping away, and Enid kept going ''KYAAA'' in the background as she imagined the scene of 2 boys fighting for Alex''s affection.


    "Can I get your number-" Sam tried to ask, but Ed pushed him away lightly and turned his body back so he would face the field. "See. Your coach is calling for you."


    "I have no coach-" Sam tried to exin.


    "14 GO LONG!" Ed yelled to the team ying. The chubby boy with the number 14 on his shirt sighed and ran quickly before Ed threw the ball towards him with extreme precision and strength.


    The entire football field was silent as they saw Ed''s skill. "How many yards was that?" The football coach asked hurriedly as he saw a potential star. The assistant coach anxiously replied, "It�C It''s...wait a second...it''s...almost 65 yards...I guess..."


    "AND HE DID IT WHILE WEARING A SUIT?!"


    Back to the Dryden Middle school''s team, Ed whistled as he saw number 14 catch his throw. "You guys got skills."


    "How did you do that-" Sam widened his eyes in surprise and tried to ask, but Ed waved him goodbye and said, "Sorry Sam. We will talkter. I need to go inside the venue. Thepetition is going to start."

 Chapter 103: Decathlon (1)

    <h4>Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Decathlon (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Our team of charming, attention-gathering, well-dressed intellectuals�C minus Sanjay, entered the auditorium where thepetition was going to be held.


    "Damn Dryden and their bottomless wealth." Enid cursed underneath her breath as she noticed the size of the auditorium was at least 5 times the size of our school''s Assembly hall. And this ce wasn''t even part of their main building.


    I nodded at her remarks and added, "They are a private school after all. Even their teachers are well paid, not like ours who could barely live from their ie."


    Mrs Henderson nodded slightly as she led us to the registration table.


    "As and Gamma aren''t here yet. We''re the first visitors to arrive." Alex said after observing the surroundings. She frowned and added, "We''re too early."


    I patted her head slightly, making her calm down a bit. "It''s okay. We can take the time to prepare. Although... I don''t think I can join you guys for ast minute study session nor do I think using here early was a mistake on the organizer''s part." I took a look at a few old men walking hurriedly to where I was standing with a greasy smile on their faces.


    Haruna, the Japanese girl who received the Gryffindor themed uniform, walked to the stage to do a mic check, causing someughter.


    "And here is Mr NEWGATE with his new song, BEE SPELLS WITH THEIR BUTT-" But before she could sing my new song, she was chased out of the stage. (A/N: Banger song: Bees Can Talk by Moving their Butt)


    "Huh? Why''d you think that?" Alex asked in confusion before she was pushed away by the old man''s march.


    "Mr NEWGATE!!"


    The old school administrator almost ran to where I was standing with a surprisingly spring in his steps despite being over the age of 60. With a handlebar mustache and a suit that was too big for a man of his small size, the stout bodied administrator forcefully grabbed my hand and vigorously shook it up and down.


    "Wow. I can''t believe I managed to meet a prodigal artist right in the flesh." He said excitedly. I shed an insincere smile as I pretended to care as part of my deal with Mrs Henderson to behave today.


    As I saw her face carrying traces of fatigue, I decided not to give her any headaches today�C And I almost broke my internal promise the moment I met these bootlickers.


    Another tall andnky man in a dark brown suit and red tie�C who introduced himself as the school''s Vice Principal, shook my hand after the administrator. After the initial greeting, the Vice Principal said apologetically to us all, "I''m sorry for the mix up. Thepetition will start 2 hours from now."


    "To show you our apologies, how about, I take all of you Franklin Middle School students for a special tour around our Dryden academy?" He offered sincerely...without any ulterior motives...at all.


    ''As if.'' I retorted inwardly, but I didn''t say anything despite the obvious schemes of the private school. ''But at the very least he''s going to take all of us around. So we could kill some time...''


    As I turned to the scowling Alex, I mumbled, "But...To say that they were going to like it is a whole other thing."


    "Be back in an hour." Mrs Henderson reminded us before she sat on a chair nearby. I turned to her and asked in a low voice, "Are you okay?"


    "I''m fine Mr Newgate. Thank you for asking. Now, don''t keep the old- the representatives waiting."


    I smirked as I almost caught hercking and said, "Okay. We will go now. Have some rest. If you want something to eat, just ask one of the staff." I said before calling one of the staff members and slipping her 100 bucks to tend to the teacher.


    "Anything she wants. Okay?"


    The staff member nodded before moving towards Mrs Henderson to give her some breakfast while she asked another staff member to go and buy some coffee for the teacher.


    Mrs Henderson turned to where I was standing with a perplexed face. However, as I waved to her, she smiled softly instead and didn''t hold back anymore in asking the staff for a seat cushion to make herself morefortable.


    ...


    We visited the cafeteria, where the quality of the food there was on par with a 3 star Michelin restaurant, and theputerb was equipped with a state of the art system. Although, after I pressed a few buttons, I almost broke down their entire prided system, causing the administrator to pull me away hurriedly.


    "This here, is the pride of Dryden Academy, our Art and Humanities building." Thenky Vice Principal announced as we arrived at a humongous building, with Greek style pirs on the front.


    Haruna''s eyes glittered as she saw the building, and she asked, "This is the famed Archimedes-"


    "What do you think, Mr Newgate? Want to check out inside the building?" The Vice Principal interrupted her before she could even finish asking. I nced at the slighted Haruna and looked at the VP in unmasked contempt, but the old guys there were too presumptuous to actually understand what I was feeling.


    "Sure." I said before entering the building with my teammates. However, I decided to be extra critical in all of my evaluations, turning the old men flustered.


    "Do you want to- test our music room?" The administrator said fearfully while wiping his imaginary sweat on his forehead with a white napkin.


    "No need. Let''s move on to somece else." I said with disinterest, causing the old guys to be perplexed. They looked at each other before asking, "Then. Let''s check out the amphitheater-"


    "What about the Science Program?" Alex asked.


    "Ohh I''m sure Mr Newgate won''t be interested in that." The stout bodied administrator said with augh as if he had just heard a joke.


    "And why is that exactly?" I asked in a cold, bone chilling voice.


    The VP pped the administrator''s shoulder and clicked his tongue secretly before saying, "No. He''s just old and confused. Come. let me show you our Science program building."


    "I wonder if there are still sponsorships for brilliant students to enter this school?" Sanjay muttered to himself. However, the VP and the administrator heard that, took a second look at the Indian kid and replied condescendingly, "Unfortunately, our minority and diversity quota are already filled out for next year." The VP even took a nce at Haruna while saying that.


    Alex almost exploded, but I held her back and said with a kind smile, "I see. I understand. That meant, being half Cuban, I couldn''t get the sponsorship too right?"


    "Huh? Oh no Mr Newgate, however full our schrship quotas may be, we do still offer talented young men and women opportunities when they excel in their own areas, and dare I say Your Musical talent certainly fills that criteria.." The VP tried to retort.


    "Unfortunately, I no longer have any interest in the ssical music programs that are offered here. Also, while I would love to practice my songs here, I am afraid what I''ve seen would hinder my progress greatly." I said with a slight chuckle before I herded my teammates away from the administrator and the VP.


    "Wait a second Mr NEWGATE-" The Administrator shouted anxiously.


    I turned to him with a sweet smile on my face and said, "And Oh. I noticed a lot of your instruments seem to have been a little overused. And while the hardware quality of your ''state-of-the-art''puterb is indeed exceptional, your software severely limits its use. I could give you a technician phone number if you want."


    The VP face flushed red while the administrator started to sweat profusely.


    Enid checked her wrist watch before dragging Haruna and Sanjay away.


    "I believe that''s all the time we have for the tour today. I need to get back to the venue, otherwise I wouldn''t be able to win today''spetition if I''m not physically there."


    The two old men snorted as they didn''t believe my words at all. How could they, when a young teenager who had never achieved excellence in any academic records said he was going to destroy a rich private school team that had been cultivated properly and have an insane winning track record in almost all Nationalpetitions.


    I returned back to thepetition venue in a bad mood, when suddenly I heard a familiar voice calling for me.


    "EDWARD!"


    I turned to the source and my face beamed up as I saw Dr Leonard Hostader waving towards me as he made his way to where I was standing.


    "Leonard. How nice is it to see you. Why are you here?" I asked.


    Leonard instead took a look at my uniform and whistled in amazement, "God. Slytherin? Is there a Hufflepuff? I like the Hufflepuff house."


    "Yeah. The blue one is Hufflepuff." I said as I pointed at Sanjay.


    "Well most people would say he''s brown..." A greasy voice made a joke from beside us, and I saw a short Jewish man with a red dickey standing closely at Leonard''s side.


    "Well he''s more of a caramel, you know, the color of Halle Berry skin." Another voice retorted with an Indian ent, and I saw an Indian astrophysicist in a gaudy brown suit and a horrendous sweater vest admonishing his Jewish friend.


    "I was talking about his suit, but whatever." I added, causing the trio to chuckle.


    "Hi. Howard Joel Wolowitz, a fan, and a Master of Engineering from MIT university, at your service." Howard said with a slight bow.


    "Dr Rajesh Koothrapali. PhD in Astrophysic. I''m not offering my service. I just want to introduce myself." Rajesh said with a gleeful and innocent smile. "Also, I like you, but I love Taylor."


    "Nice to meet you guys." I said as I shook hands with both of them. "Although I''m d to get acquainted with you, I do wonder...why are you here?"


    "Oh. That. The Dean (Professor Gabblehauser) couldn''te today, so he asked for volunteers to be members of the panel today." Leonard exined.


    "So. Which of you guys are the panel members?" I asked with a slight smile. But then, all of them smiled wryly, making me frown in realization. "Oh no."


    "Well well well...Look what the cat dragged in." A condescending voice sounded from behind me.


    I turned around helplessly and said, "Hello Sheldon."


    "It''s DR Cooper for you in case you still don''t know who I am. Let me make it clear for your underdeveloped teenage brain. I''m your worst NIGHTMARE!" Sheldon said as he shed the panelyard nametag inches away from my face.


    Sheldon volunteered as the judge after Dr Gabblehauser relegated the task to anyone who was willing. He jumped on the first chance he got just to say this, "Now. I''m not saying that everything thates out from your mouth will be wrong...but I''m sure it will. Prepare for a rigorous judgment process where you, and the rest of your team�C Hey, where are you going?"


    Before Sheldon could finish his words, I turned to the staff member walking by and stopped her. I asked, "Did you hear what he just said?"


    "Y-Yeah.."


    "This counts as a conflict of interest in the judges table. I formally requested Dr Sheldon Cooper to be removed from the panel."


    "HEY YOU CAN''T DO THAT!" Sheldon tried to protest but Howard walked toward the staff member and said, "If I could say something about it...I witnessed the whole thing. And what Ed said is 100% true, and we all support it."


    "HEY!" Sheldon eximed.


    "Motion epted. I will discuss it with the organizer." The staff member replied.


    "NOOOOO!!!"


    The staff member snatched the name tag from Sheldon''s neck, causing him to exim, "Why are you so strong? Hey, YOU CAN''T DO THIS!"


    He tried to protest, but no one would speak for him. Even his best friend Leonard was relieved when he saw Sheldon was removed from the panel. Then, the staff member returned to where we were standing.


    Sheldon perked up and said, "So, youe to beg me to be a panel member back-"


    "Dr Hofstader, will you be willing to enter the board of judges in this game?"


    Sheldon was thoroughly offended by the entire ordeal, which made my stomach hurt from holding back myughs.


    I couldn''t talk to the foursome for too long and returned to be with the members of my team.


    "The first match will be us against Dryden." Alex said with a grimace. All of the team members were frowning, which made me perplexed. "Why are you guys already feeling defeated before the game even begins?"


    Their empty gazes turned into burning anger, but before I could ask what happened, I felt a tug on my sleeves. I turned and saw Enid, who then stood on her toes to whisper something in my ears. She exined what happened when I wasn''t there, where the team met with the yers from Dryden Academy, and was defeated in the thrash talk mind games.


    "T-They said they will throw us a few questions, for us not topletely humiliate ourselves as their mercy. They also said their teacher is one of the panel members, and looking forward to ying against us."


    I nodded as I heard Enid''s report and turned to the rest of the team. "So that''s it. A bunch of snobs said some bad words about our team, and now you guys are giving up?"


    "NEVER!" Alex said with gritted teeth.


    Haruna was a bit more realistic and said, "We cannot win first ce anyway. Luckily, we can still vie for third ce if we do it well-"


    "Nah. You''re thinking too pessimistically. Don''t worry. With me around, we can get first ce."


    Although I tried to motivate the group, they had never once seen me in action before, and couldn''t help but not trust my words. I knew why, therefore I didn''t speak much.


    "Hey. How many points did they say they were going to throw at us so as to not let us get humiliated?" I asked.


    "Huh. 3 questions. Why?" Enid replied.


    I smirked evilly and said, "Nothing."


    ...


    Instead of the Quidditch game, exciting announcer, the Decathlon was led by an old man with a hunched back and a drowsy voice, making it impossible for the yer and audience to not fall asleep as he gave his speech.


    "The first match will be between the Franklin Middle School team, and the Dryden Academy team." The old man announced. Both of the team members walked to the stage and sat side by side with the moderator''s podium erected in between the town team.


    The Dryden boys were all dressed in a blue zer with Dryden logo on their left chest, and had the snobbish air of ''Holier-than-thou'' around them.


    "They have a pretty punchable face." I muttered as I saw their faces for the first time. Alex snorted before suppressing herugh.


    "They look awesome. I wonder if we can buy those uniforms for our Physics cup." Rajesh said as he saw our Franklin team enter the arena. The nerds'' passion was instigated by the Hogwarts themed uniform, and some audience members couldn''t help but snap a photo of us as we posed on the stage.


    "Nah. I don''t think so. He made it on his own." Howard said. Sheldon snorted and argued, "Unless he puts copyright ims on it, we can do whatever we want."


    "Yeah. But you have to design it yourself. Can you?" Howard asked teasingly, making Sheldon cover his face with his shirt in embarrassment.


    The Decathlon rule was announced, the first 10 questions would be counted as 10 point answers each, and the next 10 question points would be decided by the moderator based on the difficulty of the questions.


    "Reveal, the Golden Snitch." The moderator said at the start of the game. Then, a covered up whiteboard was rolled to the side of the stage. The staff quickly removed the cover after getting the signal from the moderators, revealingplex mathematical questions on the board.


    "Why Golden Snitch?" Haruna asked.


    Alex sighed and exined, "To rte with the younger students of course."


    "Ahh. To gain their attention. Thanks Alex."


    I nced at our team''s side of the board and then turned to face the audience to focus on the moderator''s question instead.


    Alex and Sanjay both began to scribble on a piece of paper provided by the organizer to find out the answer for the Golden Snitch question, but they weren''t serious in doing so, while one diversity hire�C a Chinese kid from Dryden Academy did the same thing to find out the answer for their question.


    "It''s very rare for a team to be able to answer the Golden Snitch question after all." Haruna whispered to exin the situation to me. I didn''t correct her and say that I was familiar with the rules, but instead shot a smirking nce at Mrs Henderson down at the audience seat.


    She sighed and mouthed to me, ''Wait until you answer 10 questions.''


    I nodded to her without replying.


    "The first question is an easy one, What is the chemical form for Monosodium Glutamate?"


    Alex perked up and tried to press the buzzer, but I stopped her. She turned to me with a puzzled look, before the chance was snatched by the opposite team.


    "C5H8NO4Na" One member from Dryden answered with a smug face. Then, he made a thumbs down gesture to us to demotivate us.


    "Why do you stop me? I know that?!" Alex said frustratingly.


    I smiled at her and patted her head softly so as to not ruffle her hair and said, "Just. Trust me."


    Haruna raised her eyebrow at me, and decided not to interfere as she had already given up on this match inside her heart. Sanjay was still focusing on the Golden Snitch question, therefore I was only cating Alex.


    I gave up the next 2 questions, allowing Dryden to lead the match with 30 points ahead of us.


    "HAHA LOSERS!" The middle school students became juvenile as they saw our ''helplessness'' in this match.


    Alex started biting her nails in frustration, and even wondered if I was secretly bought off by the opposition team. Haruna closed her eyes as she epted defeat, and Sanjay was still focusing on the question.


    I turned to Dryden Academy and suddenly said something to them, "Do you guys remember what you said to my team before thepetition started?"


    "Mr Newgate, yers are reminded that they couldn''t interfere with-" Before the Dryden Academy panel member could reprimand me, Leonard interfered with him and said, "Don''t worry. Ed is a polite kid."


    "What?" Dryden academy leader, Ivan, asked in displeasure as he was forced to respond to me.


    "You told us, you''re giving us a chance to answer 3 questions first as part of your... ''mercy''..." I continued. The Dryden snobsughed as they thought I wanted to im what they promised right now as my team was losing, but I didn''t continue and turned to the audience once more, making the opposition team confused.


    "Oh shit. I got it!" Howard said with a bigugh.


    "What is it?" Rajesh asked him whisperingly, his eyes not moving away from my team.


    "Simple Rajesh. They trash talk them by giving 3 questions as part of their mercy. But Ed actually gave them his." Howard shared his hypothesis confidently. Even Sheldon couldn''t help but give his respect to me as I did it.


    "Hopefully he has something to back up his arrogance." Sheldon muttered to himself as he didn''t think anyone else could do what he thought he could do.

 Chapter 104: Decathlon (2)

    <h4>Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Decathlon (2)</h4>


    [General POV]


    "In the topic of optics, What is the shortest light pulse ever produced?"


    "130 attoseconds." Edward pressed the buzzer and answered in a split second after the answer was thrown out, making the Dryden team groan in frustration.


    "That is correct!" The old moderator announced with a happy face, but with no emotional changes in his voice.


    "What is the lightest element on earth, with no stable isotopes?" The moderator asked the next question.


    "Tecium." Edward answered again with incredible speed.


    "And that is correct!" The moderator announced again.


    The score was now 130 to 30, with the Franklin Middle School team holding a tight leash on the lead, putting the Dryden Academy team into despair.


    "Formal protest, only one person is answering the question!" The Dryden Academy team leader stood up and used Edward after he failed to answer 9 straight questions, courtesy of Edward''s incredible question solving speed.


    "Motion Denied." The moderator said before any of the panel could discuss the request.


    "He must be cheating! He''s a game developer. He must''ve hacked the question maker''sptop and read all of the answers beforehand!" Dryden panel members used Edward without evidence.


    "Umm...That''s impossible." Dr Leonard Hosfstader spoke on the microphone to defend Edward. The used boy just looked coldly at the panel member with a smug undertone in his expression.


    "What do you know?" Dryden Academy panel members tried to dismiss Leonard''s defense.


    "I know because Dr Jacob Turnstein, the moderator, and also the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in the year 1992, is standing on stage. He''s also the one who made the questions, and he had never once used aptop in his life." Leonard exined much to the panel member''s embarrassment.


    After someughter, Dryden''s team leader shouted at the Asian kid who was working on the snitch, "WE NEED THAT TO WIN! THAT IS WORTH 300 points! How much longer are you going to work on it!"


    The leader kept nagging and shouting at the asian kid in urgency, causing him to snap.


    "aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" The asian kik exploded in anger, threw off his entire body over the table and ran to the whiteboard containing the question before he tried to destroy it.


    "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!!" He shouted to the innocent whiteboard as he hit his head on the board, destroying parts of it.


    "Uhh. We''re going to take a break. Everyone else, please stay calm..." Leonard said quickly to the microphone before he went to help the kid who lost his sanity from the question.


    "I told you. That question is too much for a middle school student." Howard muttered to Rajesh who nodded in agreement with him.


    "Please. I solved that equation when I was 9 years old." Sheldon added in a condescending manner. However, instead of his friends being impressed with him, they let out a groan in disgust.


    On top of the stage, Haruna whispered to Edward. "That is normal."


    "Mental breakdown is normal during a middle schooler''spetition?" Edward widened his eyes in disbelief as he saw Leonard hugging the Asian boy from behind to try and subdue him, but failing.


    "You''d be surprised." Alex muttered, adding to Edward''s shock.


    "SHELDON. HOWARD. RAJ. HELP ME!" Leonard shouted to his friend with a flushed red face as he couldn''t stop the boy alone.


    "Ohh How I wish I had popcorn to enjoy this right now." Howard muttered from his seat with no intention of going up the stage to help.


    It took 5 minutes for the Asian boy to be exchanged with another Asian boy, and those who couldn''t discern between Asian people were now wondering how the staff member managed to calm the boy down in just a short period of time.


    During the chaos, Sanjay sighed in frustration as he couldn''t find the answer for the Golden Snitch question.


    "I guess we have to give up on the snitch." Sanjay muttered. Edward clicked his tongue, and before he could say he had already solved the question, he saw Mrs Henderson signaling him.


    "Hmm?" Edward was confused, but then understood what was going on as he read the teacher''s lip. ''Don''t solve it on your own. Teach Sanjay to do it. Otherwise, the team will stop functioning.''


    Edward paused for a while as he thought about the matter. ''True. I can solve it, but it''ll break the dynamic of the team. I should do it, when Sanjay truly cannot do it.''


    "Hey Hufflepuff." Edward called the Indian boy.


    "Shut up Slytherin!" Sanjay retorted.


    "On second thought.'' Edward grimaced, but he saw Mrs Henderson egging on him with her facial expression, causing him to sigh and followed the order. "Let me take a look at your calction."


    "Here."


    Unexpectedly for Edward, Sanjay gave him the paper without any hassle, making him a bit perplexed. Alex snorted and said, "He knows how to behave when necessary. Unlike someone else."


    "Who? Haruna?" Edward thwarted the usation, making Haruna confused.


    Edward grabbed a pencil and showed Sanjay where he did wrong. He guided him slowly, and even told him what method he should use. He then asked, "Can you do it now?"


    "I need some time. But I think I can." Sanjay replied with his eyes lit up.


    "I''ll try to stall for it, but if you cannot do it before thest question, then I cannot do anything about it."


    "I know." Sanjay replied before putting all of his focus on solving the equation once more. But this time, Alex and Haruna joined their effort with Sanjay.


    "If we can solve it, we will be the first team in the entire Decathlonpetition to actually solve a Golden Snitch question." Alex muttered to herself with excitement in her tone.


    The chaos finally subsides, and thepetition resumes.


    "List out the Earth''s important Eons." The moderator asked.


    Edward pressed the buzzer first as usual, and then he replied, "Well after the big bang, the first eon Earth faced is Hadean where thend is filled withva."


    "Erkk�C WRONG!" The Dryden teacher in the panel made a wrong buzzer sound with his mouth and tried to stop Edward, but all of the Phd members there looked at him in confusion.


    "Mr Hiles. You know the rules. You shouldn''t interrupt a student when he''s answering. You''re now removed from being one of the panels." The moderator said sternly.


    "Wait what? But he''s wrong-" Hiles tried to fight, but he was soon kicked out from the judges table. His recement? The caramel skin astrophysicist who never even thought he''s going to sit at the judges table today.


    "Please continue Mr Newgate." The moderator said.


    Edward nodded and shared the rest of the important Earth development Eons, continuing from Archean to Proterozoic, and then to Phanerozoic Eons. He took his time, and even spoke about the time range, and the possible species living during the time frame.


    "Perfect mark Mr Newgate. I will give you 50 points for that answer." The judges panel said after analyzing Edward''s answer. They couldn''t even find the tiniest w in it, making Edward receive an additional 10 points reward for a 4o point questions.


    "I''m formally protesting it. What the f- is Hadean?" Hiles shouted from the audience seat.


    Sheldon turned to face him and said angrily, "The first Earth''s eon after the big bang! If you actually listen to his answer, you would know!"


    Edward and the rest of the audienceughed at Mr Hiles, making him flush in embarrassment. However, his face was thick enough for him to stay there and didn''t storm out as he was still wishing for a turnover in this whole situation.


    The moderator continued with his question, in which Edward replied with the greatest details possible, thoroughly aweing the doctoral members in the venue today. A lot of the audience members were already half asleep, but nevertheless most of the audience still kept their interest in thepetition.


    Edward smiled as he answered the 19th question, but he was actually struggling inside. He could see Sanjay, Alex and Haruna were on the brink of solving the Golden Snitch question, but he also saw that the other team member was also almost there�C or at least what he assumed by the boys'' constant writing on the notepad in front of him.


    "Alex. This is thest question. Can you guys do it?" Edward asked whisperingly.


    "We still need some time. Just a few more minutes." Alex said anxiously while running the calction for Sanjay.


    Right now, the point was at 320 to 30. Dryden Academy only had one chance left to answer the Golden Snitch question before Edward answered thest question which was allocated with 50 points. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have any chance of winning the game today.


    Dryden team leader, Hiles Junior, turned to his teammates and said, "Whatever you do, we need to press the buzzer for the question first, even if we cannot answer it. Then, dy it until Ching managed to answer the snitch. Got it?"


    "You know if we cannot answer, the other team will get the chance right?" His teammate replied.


    "Yeah. But we can stall for time if...let''s say...one of you suddenly has a medical emergency..." Hiles Junior said in a ruthless voice before giving a sharp pencil to his teammate who dared to question him.


    His teammates regretted his decision, and prayed inwardly that he didn''t have to resort to the drastic action of poking his own nose with the sharp pencil to induce nosebleed in order to stop the event.


    The moderator tapped the microphone and spoke. "Last question, what are-"


    Before he could finish, the Dryden team had already pressed the buzzer. He turned to him and asked, "So what is the answer?"


    "Uhh...what is the question?" Hiles Junior asked.


    "If you don''t know, maybe you should''ve finished hearing it first, don''t you agree?"


    "Right. Sorry."


    Hiles rubbed the back of his head apologetically, but he grinned inwardly as he managed to stall some time.


    "What are the 3 parts of the soul that to describes? List and briefly exin?" The moderator asked.


    Dryden Academy had already ced their hand above the buzzer before even finishing hearing the question. Although it was cheating, no one spoke to stop them.


    Unfortunately for them, Edward was still the first yer to press the buzzer despite them trying to cheat.


    "OH COME ON! How is that even possible?!" Hiles Junior said.


    "Alex. ETA?" Edward asked with a whisper anxiously as he faced the judges alone.


    "Just answer the question." Sanjay said, but not giving up on solving the equation.


    Edward sighed and spoke using the slowest pace he could, " to''s theory of the soul divides the soul into three parts. There is an appetitive part, Epithymetikon, that deals with bodily desires, a spirited part, Thymoeides, that deals with more reflective passions, and the rational part, Logistikon, that deals with thinking and truth."


    "Perfect answer Mr Newgate-" Leonard apuded, but then Hiles shouted, "Wait! We''ve solved the Golden Snitch!"


    "No we don''t." His teammate whispered to him.


    "Just shut up and y along. Ching, how much longer?" Hiles asked in frustration.


    "Huh? You think I''m answering the question?" The Chinese kid asked in confusion. Hiles asked, "You''re not? Then what are you writing?"


    "Well I think Newgate''s answer is great, so I''m taking some notes."


    "FUCK YOU CHING!"


    "Also, my name is Li Xuan." The asian kid added. Hiles grabbed his teammate''s cor, and a rumble started at the loser''s table.


    "FRANKLIN MIDDLE HIGH WINS!" Rajesh shouted using the microphone. The audience cheered for what was basically a one man show by Franklin high, but then Sanjay stood up abruptly and said, "I''VE SOLVED IT!"


    His shout froze the entire venue, and people were holding their breath as he held the paper in his hands.


    "Huh? Let me take a look." Leonard said and walked to the Franklin team table and read the team''s solution to the problem.


    Leonard grinned and raised the paper up in the air before announcing, "They CAPTURED THE SNITCH!"


    The audience stood up and exploded with thunderous apuse. Leonard ran across the entire stage and showed the paper to the audience while ceremoniously shouting, "They captured the snitch!! They captured the sncthhhh!!"


    But then the moderator threw some cold water to their enthusiasm, "Unfortunately, Franklin Middle School was already announced as the winner. Therefore the points from the Golden Snitch will not be added to the total."


    "With a final score of 370 points, Franklin Middle School won the semi final, and advanced to participate in the final round of the Decathlon today." The moderator announced, making the audience cheered once more.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "So. Damn. Close." I clicked my tongue as I turned to the rest of my team.


    Unexpectedly for me, all of them were still beaming up with smiles as they felt a sense of achievement to be the first people in the entire state to actually solve this high level equation. I turned to Mrs Henderson who had a proud smile on her face, and nodded slightly as I finally understood her request before.


    Enid ran to the stage and hugged both Alex and I while saying, "Congrattions!! I knew you guys could do it!"


    Then, she faced only me before saying, "And Ed. That was...LEGENDARY! You really humiliated those guys. I got turned on-"


    Alex cupped Enid''s mouth before I could hear the rest of what she was saying and said, "Lets go. We need to vacate the stage for the next game."


    "Okay. Also Sanjay." I turned to the Indian kid who had tears in his eyes. "What?" He asked gruffly while trying to wipe his eyes.


    "Nice. Fucking. Works." Iplimented in a calm tone, which made Sanjay beamed up in a smile. He then muttered, "Thanks. I also want to say something."


    "What?" I asked.


    Suddenly, he bowed to me and said, "I''m sorry I''ve been a jerk."


    I chuckled a bit and just waved it off. "Just forget about it. I never did take it to heart."


    "Liar. You hold the longest grudge among all people I know." Alex retorted.


    "Then you know I will hold your words against you for a while right?" I replied to Alex with a cheeky smile as I patted Sanjay on the shoulder. "Let''s go eat. I''m starving."


    "Me too." Haruna said.


    "Yeah. I''m famished too." Sanjay said with a smile. We shook hands with the judges and the other yer who couldn''t even meet our eyes before we walked to Mrs Henderson.


    I froze as the teacher suddenly hugged me the moment we arrived at her spot. "Congrattions Edward." She said as she brushed my back 3 times.


    ''What the hell? Why does this feel so familiar?'' I thought with my hands shaking. She didn''t stay there for long and released me, only to find me frozen from her touch.


    However, she didn''t say anything and went to hug Alex, Haruna, Enid, and a short hug for Sanjay. By the time she returned, I had already recovered back to normal.


    "We won''t have any matches until after lunchtime, so for now, you guys are free to do whatever you want." Mrs Henderson said.


    I nodded and turned to Alex before asking, "Are you staying here?"


    "Yeah. I want to study thepetition. As is the team predicted to win thepetition, so I want to see how good they are."


    The rest nodded at Alex''s word except for Enid. "Well. I''m going to explore."


    "Good. Let''s go together."


    Enid smiled and interlinked her arms with me before we went to the football field together to watch them practice. However, their practice was already over when we got there.


    "Damn." I cursed.


    "Hey Edward. Are you interested in football?" Suddenly, I heard someone speaking with a Nigerian enting from behind me.


    "Sam!" Enid eximed in excitement.


    "So. Did you fail to make the team?" I asked.


    Sam was downcast and said, "Yes. I guess I should just stick to the original football."


    In ''ser'', he was part of the under 15 Nigerian National team before he received a schrship toe to Dryden�C a schrship which he only epted because he thought football carried the same meaning here in America. It was a funny situation, even for him.


    "I will return to Nigeria this weekend." He shared to me about his short experience in America, and the fact that he had no friends here. He couldn''t wait to go back home, and back to his usual practice with his team there.


    "Don''t worry. I''m sure that you''ll get another schrship. Or maybe a contract with a football club."


    "I wish." He said self-deprecatingly.


    We talked for a while, and I even threw a ball with Sam Obisanya a few times after taking off my zer. We yed American Football, for I wanted him to at least have one good memory with this sport before he returned to his country.


    But, as I started sweating, I didn''t want to ruin my shirt, therefore I took it off.


    "Hmmm~" Enid watched the show with a slight hum, crouching at the side of the field with a smitten look on her face, as I threw the ball towards Sam, which he in turn failed to receive it.


    "You suck Sam." I shouted at him teasingly.


    "Go easy on me. This is the first time someone has actually taught me something.." Sam shouted back helplessly.


    Iughed and encouraged him before we yed for another 15 minutes. I even exchanged numbers with him given that he was generally well mannered and a friendly guy.


    Enid''s face was flushed red when I got back to her, and so I asked, "You forgot to put on sunscreen?"


    "No. I''m fine." Enid said before she ran back to the venue, with heart full of excitement, and cameras full of pictures that she was going to share with Alex and Haruna.


    Then, we went to the cafeteria to get some lunch�C in the VIP section. I called all members of the team together, and also Mrs Henderson instead of just having lunch with Enid much to the young girl''s dissatisfaction.


    We returned to the venue after lunch, just in time to watch the start for the match for third position, Dryden versus Gamma.


    "So. They''re going to lose again." I muttered with a smirk as I saw the points, 50 to 10, with Gamma Conventional School taking the lead.


    "Theypletely lost all motivation after you destroyed them, so what else can they do?" Enid muttered. I had to say, I loved keeping her around. She truly knows how to appease my ego by ttering me.


    "Huh." I eximed as I saw the leader of As Middle school who was walking towards me.


    "Hello Edward. I''m Tara Dvinge. I love your songs." The blonde girl with a catholic schoolgirl uniform and a voluptuous body that couldn''t be hidden with her modest clothes offered her hand as she stood in front of me.


    I shook her hand while secretlyparing her with the same actress that had the samest name as her. But, the one in front of me had a nicer body than the t chested one in my memory. "Thank you Tara."


    Then, she suddenly changed her tone, and pulled me closer before whispering to my ears, "But, I''m still going to destroy you."


    I smirked and replied, "I look forward to it."


    The result of As''s win versus Gamma: 350 to 50.

 Chapter 105: Decathlon (3)

    <h4>Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Decathlon (3)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Also, can I get a picture?" Tara asked with a light blush after making a burning deration about winning thepetition.


    "Sure." I replied casually, and posed for a picture with her together. She gave her Iphone to her friend who in turn snapped a few pictures of Tara and I, before changing the students a few times.


    Alex rolled her eyes at the iprehensible treatment I was getting, and muttered, "Didn''t she JUST say she''s going to destroy us? Why are you being polite to her now?"


    "My celebrity image and student image are two totally different things." I replied with a fake smile as I waved to my fans.


    Enid decided to make some trouble and said, "Didn''t you just go easy on her because she''s pretty?"


    Alex and Haruna perked up at the statement as they smelled gossip, and they stared at the As team leader girl who was stealing nces at me.


    I sighed and said, "Let''s go study. Although we already know Dryden is losing, it''s still going to take a few hours until the final match."


    "Why do we need to study? We have you!" Enid said with sparkling eyes as she grabbed my arm and hugged it in between her tiny bumps. Her statement rmed me, but it shook me much lesspared to the attitude of others who were nodding in agreement to her.


    I turned to Mrs Henderson who shook her head in disappointment and gulped my saliva fearfully.


    "This is not the oue I expected it to be." Mrs Henderson muttered.


    When she inserted me into the team, her intention was to inject a fresh breath and make the team members more motivated. But my brilliance hadpletely outshined the others, making them forget that they had strength of their own topete at this level.


    "Students. Please give your best in the next match, and stop depending on Mr Newgate. He is not going to be here next year, but you all will." Mrs Henderson advised, but no one was truly listening to her �C except for Alex.


    "That reminds me of something. Have Edward''s gradese back? Is he eligible for skipping grades?" Alex asked, hiding the fact that she wanted me to fail the test so that we could spend more time together in high school after waiting for her to graduate in a year.


    "I have already submitted the results to the principal, and he''s currently reviewing Mr Newgate''s application. I can''t say anything about him skipping grades, but Mr Newgate''s performance in the examination was brilliant. He got full marks on all of the exams except for History, in which he was short of 1 point to get full marks."


    "Huh? What question did I get wrong?" I asked in confusion.


    Mrs Henderson showed a rare grin and said, "No. you answered everything right. But you didn''t write your name on the exam paper."


    I rolled my eyes and retorted, "I was the only one taking the exams there!"


    "Still. A mistake is a mistake Mr Newgate." Mrs Henderson replied, her face turned stoic again.


    The Gamma and Dryden match became heated as Dryden managed to catch up on point and forced the game to a tie in theter rounds. While waiting, I tried to convince the team to involve themselves in answering the questions with me, but only Alex was responding to my encouragement and was willing to try in the final match.


    Before the match began, I received text messages from Jenna, Elsa, Jacob, and even my disappearing aunt�C sending their prayers to add to my strength for me to win thepetition. I sent them back a text saying it was unnecessary, which earned me a 3 minute phone call from my aunt in Cuba admonishing me for my sphemous behaviour. But even so, I was just d to hear her voice again.


    ...


    The old moderator grabbed the microphone and dered, "The final match...between As Middle School, and Franklin Middle School, starts NOW!"


    The audience apuded his ''enthusiasm'', but mostly they apuded because he looked so pitiful.


    Among the sparse apuse sound reverberating in the venue, I leaned to Alex and spoke using a whisper to her ear. She blushed and blood rushed to her head as she felt my hot breath on her skin.


    "Alex. I won''t interfere until you guys truly need me. Okay?"


    She was startled and turned her face towards me instantly, but as I had leaned in before, our face was extremely close with one another. She was agape for a second and her eyes lost focus as they stared at my lips before she shook her head and said, "You can''t do that!"


    "I will participate if you guys are getting destroyed out there." I announced. Sanjay and Haruna gulped their saliva in fear as they heard my statement and protested, "But...we''re not as fast as you!"


    The Japanese girl belief had been reignited after theplete destruction of Dryden Academy, which earned them thest spot in today''spetition between 4 schools.


    They lost against Gamma a few minutes ago, and the sight wasn''t pretty. At least 2 chairs were broken, and 2 students suffered bodily injuries from the scuffle happening onstage. The school was banned from furtherpetition for at least 3 years because of the incident.


    "Don''t worry. I noticed that As wasn''t quick in their answers. They discussed it among themselves before they went for it, and that''s what made their team so strong. We will do it like them, but it''s up to you three to discuss it. I will handle the snitch this time."


    Haruna was in disbelief and blinked a few times before gritting her teeth in frustration. She and Sanjay didn''t say anything despite their disappointment, as the match was finally starting.


    Sitting across the participants, a member of the panel had tissue rolled up into his nose as it was broken from the scuffle.


    "Poor Leonard." I muttered as I shook my head in pity for the Caltech physicist. His jacket was a bit torn, and his hair was pulled during the fight. He sat at the judges table with dazed eyes as he silently cursed his luck and wondered if it was better for him if Sheldon had kept his job as the panel member.


    Rajesh was snapping pictures of Leonard as he sat beside him with a grin on his face while Howardughed at the audience seat. Sheldon was worried for Leonard at first, but then he felt that he deserved to be beaten after his ''betrayal'' before this.


    "Release the Golden Snitch." Rajesh said shyly into the microphone. As had 3 girls and 1 boy in their team, causing Rajesh to be overwhelmed. But as they were still kids for him, and he was in a public space, his selective mutism didn''t affect him that much rather than him just being shy in the setting.


    The staff member revealed the Golden Snitch question, which baffled As''s teampletely when they saw it.


    "The question is based on Fermat''s Last theorem, and it''s created by Dr Sheldon Cooper who''s in the audience seat. This unique form is worth 500 points if you guys could solve it. My advice? Just ignore them." Leonard said with a nasally tone.


    "Hey!" Sheldon retorted from the audience seat. "I solved it when I was 13! It''s easy enough for them!"


    Leonard turned to him and scowled, "You graduated high school at 11! You cannotpare your experience with the others!"


    I was confused as to why Leonard was so mad, but I couldn''t ask him about it now. I would learnter that Sheldon had underyed the difficulty of the equation when he submitted the equation to the staff member before. It was impossible for a middle school level student to solve the question unless they took 7 years of college level mathematics.


    The As team hadpletely given up on the snitch, but right now I was in a dilemma. ''Should I solve it, or not?''


    "The first question, what is the difference between a proton and a neutron?" The moderator asked.


    Alex''s eyes lit up and she pressed the buzzer immediately, startling both Sanjay and Haruna. She answered for a while with the panels and the moderator listening to her intently.


    "That is correct! 10 points for Franklin Middle school." The moderator muttered. The audience pped, and I patted Alex''s head gently to praise her. "Good job."


    She blushed a little and said, "Thanks. But that is just a basic question."


    "Yeah. That question IS kinda basic huh." Haruna muttered to herself.


    "The final match has 30 questions after all. They add 10 more questionspared to the other matches. I''m sure they just throw a few easy questions into the mix." Sanjay said as he fell into deep contemtion.


    "But, even the easy questions are points. So do your best!" I said to encourage them.


    "Second question, Whatponent must be equal for a chemical system to be in equilibrium?" The moderator asked.


    "I don''t know that." Haruna muttered. Alex rubbed her chin and said, "I read it before. But I''m not confident."


    Sanjay turned to the team member and said, "I...think I know. Alex, is it.."


    They discussed amongst themselves for a few seconds before they all turned to me. I shrugged and said, "I''m not telling you whether you''re right or wrong. Believe in yourself."


    Alex clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction before pressing the buzzer and answering, "The rate of the forward reaction, and the rate of the reverse reaction."


    "That is correct." Leonard replied with a nasally tone as his nostril was still blocked by the tissue.


    The audience apuded, and even Mrs Henderson smiled slightly as she apuded for the team.


    "Third question, What is the best indication that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide are of anthropogenic origin?" The moderator asked.


    The as team leader, Cara, immediately pressed the buzzer as she heard it and answered, "Comparing atmosphericposition from before the industrial revolution to the present."


    "Correct answer. 10 points for As." Leonard said. Cara jumped in excitement before waving at me with a blush as she sat back down.


    Alex red at the As team and muttered, "Guys...Let''s destroy them."


    As the match became heated, I was focusing on the Golden Snitch question which was otherwise known as "Fermat''s Last Theorem," this equation was first posed by French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in 1637, and had stumped the world''s brightest minds for more than 300 years.


    "It was solved in 1994, but like Leonard said, the question is too hard for this current middle school student level." I muttered. "But. It is a basic question far into the future though."


    I grabbed the yellow notepad nearby and used a pen instead of a pencil to answer the question.


    "The hypothesis said that there are no whole number solutions to the equation xn + yn = zn when n is greater than 2. This is what I need to prove."


    To answer the question, I need tobine threeplex mathematical fields of modr forms, elliptic curves, and Galois representations.


    "But. Can I finish this in time? Or will it be worthless?" I murmured to myself as I continued writing on another piece of paper. I nced at my teammates who were answering the question with a burning gaze in their eyes.


    "Well...I guess I should hurry." I said with a proud smile on my face as my team managed to keep their lead in answering the questions.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Outside of the venue, the Dryden team was standing facing Mr Hiles, the disgraced panel member who got kicked out for hisck of knowledge. He smacked Hiles Jr head with a rolled up paper and said angrily, "YOU GUYS ARE FUCKING USELESS!"


    The prestige of the private school had beenpletely shattered after they lost to a meagre public school, and now, Mr Hiles was called by the board member to discuss the repercussions of this incident. He would be lucky if he managed to keep his job after this.


    Hiles Jr rubbed his sore head and said, "This is all Newgate''s fault! If he weren''t there..."


    "Does it matter what you say now?" Mr Hiles red at his son. The young boy whimpered and took a step back in fear of being hit again.


    Mr Hiles suddenly thought of something and shed an evil grin. "Well... Newgate... IS the one responsible for this. So... We shouldn''t let him go so easily right?"


    He took out his phone and called someone. "Hey Tyler. You''re still a reporter? Do you know Edward Newgate?"


    In Franklin Middle School, the school session was finally over. Jenna waved goodbye to Elsa before getting into her driver''s car and was driven back home, unaware of the ck SUV following her car from behind.


    Jenna texted Alex and Edward to find out the result of thepetition, but none of them replied. "I guess it hasn''t ended yet." She pursed her lips and muttered in dissatisfaction.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    The score was now 270 to 260, with As taking the lead after managing to answer a 50 point worth of question before this. I was a bit hesitant to continue keeping my hands away from thepetition, but as I turned to nce at my teammates, I saw that they hadn''t given up yet.


    "There''s still 3 questions. 2 of which have 50 points each. I don''t know what''s the value for thest one, but I''m sure it''ll be higher than the rest of the questions today." Alex nned. "We still have a chance to turn this thing around."


    I nodded and said, "That''s true." I flipped the paper I was writing upside down to prevent anyone seeing it and said, "Also, you guys could count me in the game."


    Alex scoffed and said, "Nah. You just stay still. We got this!"


    I was taken aback at first andughed loudly soon after, causing the entire audience to look at me. Alex was confused, but I ignored her questioning looks.


    "Okay. I will sit tight. But if you guys don''t know the answer, I will take the lead. Is that a deal?"


    "Deal!" X3


    Enid was sping her hands together and praying for our sess. Next to her, Sam Obisanya was also praying, but in the muslim way of praying by raising both of his hands parallel to his chest.


    "Please, help Edward''s team win." Sam prayed.


    "Ditto." Enid muttered.


    "We are now down to the final 3 questions. Next question required the students to calcte, therefore you can use the A4 paper provided in front of you." The moderator said before asking, "What percent of a circle is 75 degrees?"


    Without even calcting, Haruna pressed the buzzer. As''s team gasped in disbelief, and so did the members of her own team. I looked quizzically at Haruna, but then she answered, "20.8%"


    "That is correct."


    The crowd apuded, and the team managed to take the lead again with 310 pointspared to As''s 270 points.


    "How did you calcte so fast?" Alex asked Haruna in disbelief.


    "No. I didn''t calcte it just now! I...had answered the question before in my workbook." Haruna confessed while lowering her head in embarrassment.


    I nodded and said, "Don''t be ashamed. You did great. I always know we can count on you with math problems, and I was right."


    Alex and Sanjay agreed with me. But right then, my phone suddenly vibrated. I had put it in silent mode before, and was confused as to who was calling me right now. I wanted to ignore it as the moderator was giving the next question.


    ''But...why do I feel so uneasy?'' I wondered.


    "Hold up!" I suddenly shouted, causing the old moderator to be startled. He held his heart quickly, and breathed heavily for a few seconds, but fortunately the worst didn''t happen, and his heart was still strong enough.


    "What is the matter Edward?" Leonard asked.


    "I got a call." I replied casually.


    "..." All of the people in the venue looked at me in disbelief, but I ignored them and answered the call after checking the caller ID. "Hello. Jenna?"


    My chest tightened as I heard the anxious sobbing sounding from the other side of the call. "Ed...Help me!" She said in a whisper.


    My face turned cold, and I stood up from my seat abruptly. Alex held my arm and said, "W-Where are you going? What happened?"


    I gave her my paper and said in a cold tone, "You''re the leader now. Turn this in when you feel it''s necessary. There''s an emergency that I need to attend to right now."


    "O-Okay." Alex replied. I ran down the stage amidst the murmur of the crowd, while Enid reced me on the stage.


    When I was almost out of the venue, Mrs Henderson stopped me by standing in front of the door.


    "Teach. I''m sorry. I need to go now." I said anxiously.


    "I know. But, can you do me a favor?" She said in a still calm tone, causing me to be perplexed.


    "What?" I asked hurriedly.


    "I picked up this car key outside on the grass. I think they belong to the Vice Principal. When youe back, help me return the key to him, can you?"


    I was taken aback at first, but I grabbed the key urgently and said, "Okay. I will give it back to himter."


    "Good. Now, I can go back and watch our team win." Mrs Henderson said with a slight smile as she patted my shoulder. "Go. Hurry." She whispered.


    I nodded and ran to the parking lot where a bunch of semi-luxurious cars were parked. I pressed the car key, and it connected to a double seat convertible of the Porsche brand in bright red color. Without thinking much, I opened the car door and activated the engine. I wore my earphone and yed a song as I pressed the pedal.


    Song ying : Teriyaki Boyz - Tokyo Drift


    [General POV]


    "L-Lets continue with the game." Leonard said using the microphone after Edward''s sudden departure from the venue. The old moderator took a deep breath, but before he could ask the next question, the door to the hall they were in burst open. A crowd of paparazzi rushed into the venue, shes of camera photography illuminated the stage.


    Alex covered her eyes with her hand from the malicious picture snapping, but then the crowd suddenly stopped.


    "Wait. Edward Newgate isn''t here." A paparazzo murmured.


    "What the hell did you guys think you''re doing!" Cara exploded at the paparazzis, her head still spinning from the shes of lights. The paparazzis were disappointed, and they murmured amongst themselves.


    "Where did Edward Newgate go?"


    "Did he leave?"


    "Hiles said he''s going to be here!"


    "HEY MY CAR IS STOLEN!"


    "Huh? A police chase is ongoing? A red Porsche? I will be right there!"


    (A/N: Check out a new fic from a friend of mine: Balls of Steel by GrandmasterOogway.)

 Chapter 106: Decathlon (4– Final)

    <h4>Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Decathlon (4�C Final)</h4>


    (Sorry for thete chap. I threw my back out and had to recuperate for an entire day. Eid Mubarak everyone!)


    [General POV]


    Irritated by the paparazzis sneaking photos of Edward Newgate''s Decathlon team, the Franklin Middle School team failed to answer the next question, allowing As Middle school to gain the lead with 10 points ahead.


    Alex helplessly clicked her tongue and red angrily at the paparazzis before she stood up and shouted, "Staff member! DO something! They are giving me a headache and interfering with the game!"


    "I agree. Please stop your sh photography while we are inside the venue. Better yet, get lost." The old moderator ended his sentence in a cold voice, striking fear inside the self of the nerds there.


    Rajesh stood up and said, "Yeah. Get out. Or we will call the police."


    The paparazzis ignored them and continued their selfish behavior, when suddenly all of their cameras stopped working.


    "Huh? What is happening?" A drug-addled, sly looking paparazzo muttered as he tried to test his camera a few times, only to find out it had been broken. "Fuck! What about the storage!" He cursed and took out his memory card from the camera to check it on hisptop, only to find that hisptop had broken too.


    "FUCK! WHO DID THIS?!" He cursed out loud. Not only him, but all 20 paparazzis there also found out that all of their electronics had been fried, and they had lost all data they had in theirptop storage and also their cameras.


    That meant, a lot of ck materials had been destroyed, leaving them with no source of ie, and no defensive items to protect themselves from the retaliation of those they had ckmailed before. They got horrified at the conjecture, and hurriedly moved out of the venue one by one before anyone else could find out what had transpired here today.


    Amidst the chaotic venue, Mrs Henderson walked back slowly to her audience seat, but her steps paused as she saw a sullenpany senior standing right in front of her.


    The korean man in a ck suit frowned and said in a cold tone, "Henderson. You have broken the Afterlife rule."


    "It''s a stupid rule to follow." The teacher rebuked, not showing regret for her actions.


    "Nheless, it is a rule. You cannot interfere with the affairs of the living. I had turned a blind eye when you offered help to the kid you''re observing, but to protect an ordinary kid? Why do you have to go so far to meddle in the mortal''s fate?"


    "..." Henderson paused for a while, as even she did not know why she did that. She pursed her lips and replied, "You put me in this world...as a teacher."


    "And?"


    "A teacher will protect her students."She said and snapped her finger once more.


    "So. You''re not satisfied with one offense, and you thought making two offenses, one witnessed by a senior agent, could finally give you satisfaction?" Gong Shin said sarcastically.


    "I''m not afraid of punishments. I just want to do what I think is the right thing to do." Henderson replied before walking past the frowning Gong Shin and sat back at her seat. Unbeknown to her, the senior manager in the Afterlife corps showed a slight smile before turning his face stoic again and sat next to the teacher.


    He handed her a disciplinary notice, and said, "I already arranged for you to be pulled back to thepany, but now...I guess you have to stay in this world for a little bit longer."


    "Right now, I just hope that kid doesn''t make so much trouble." Mrs Henderson said helplessly before willingly epting the disciplinary action without even trying to defend herself.


    "Oh right, you still haven''t told me the story." Gong Shin asked in a friendly manner.


    "Which story?" Mrs Henderson asked, confused.


    "The story of the best and most disciplined angel demoted because she ran a karmic draw for a 1 year old kid."


    Mrs Henderson opened her mouth a few times in disbelief, before she frowned and said, "I don''t want to talk about it."


    On the other side of the city, a red Porsche was being pursued by 4 police cars in a high speed chase. The roaring of the engine startled the passerby on the street, especially a realtor who had just gotten out of a supermarket with grocery bags in both of his hands.


    "Oh my god, kids today had watched too many speed racer movies!" Phil Dunphy eximed as he watched the red sports car pass by in awe.


    Inside the red car, Edward was cursing his luck. "Damn it. Why is the police so active today?" (E/N: 5 stars bro )


    While driving, the songs yed by his earphone raised his heartbeat up, and also his reflexes as he made a few difficult maneuvers on the streets.


    ????Wonder if you know


    How they live in Tokyo????


    "PLATE NUMBER, D. U. D. E. E., PULL OVER! RIGHT NOW!" The cops shouted using his megaphone to make Edward stop his reckless driving.


    ????If you see me then you mean it


    Then you know you have to go????


    "Sorry, I got a thing!" Edward shouted back at them and shifted the gear before drifting at thest minute at an intersection, losing 2 cop cars because they were toote to react.


    ????Fast and furious (Drift, Drift, Drift)????


    "PULL OVER! PULL OVER I SAID!" The cop said urgently.


    "Wait. Is that Buddy?" Edward looked behind using the back view mirror and was feeling helpless as he saw an acquaintance here today.


    "I really can''t stop now.." Edward clicked his tongue while trying to contact Jenna, but she didn''t pick up the phone.


    ????Fast and furious (Drift, Drift, Drift)????


    "Fuck it!" Edward swerved his car and changed his position to face the cop car as he put the gears in reverse.


    Buddy screamed in horror and pressed his brake, but the collision he expected didn''te. He was only tricked by Edward, who in turn took another corner, and managed to disappear from the police chasing him.


    "I could get addicted to this. COME ON. COME ON. Jenna! Pick up!" Edward muttered anxiously as he feared the worst. But then, Jenna picked up the phone.


    "Jen. What is happening? Are you alright?" Edward asked hurriedly.


    "Y-Yeah. I''m hiding inside my mom''s closet. They are still here, trying to find me. Apparently most of them are dumb, so I''m still safe." Jenna hushed her voice and said in disbelief after she miraculously managed to escape pursuit from the bad man''s goons. One forgot to tie his shoce and tripped. One suddenly got a phone call and decided to answer it instead of following her, and so on.


    "I already called for help. So tell me, is the front gate open?" Edward asked in a calm manner as to not increase the pressure on the young girl.


    "I-...I think so." She replied anxiously.


    "Good. I will just drive my car straight in. Don''t hang up the phone, and tell me what''s happening."


    While Edward was speeding to get to Jenna''s mansion, Alex was currently inside a predicament with almost no way out of her troubles.


    "We have...one question left... One chance...to turn this all around." Alex muttered while biting her fingers. "And thest question is going to be...the hardest of them all."


    "Come on guys. It''s not that bad!" Enid tried to cheer the team up, but no amount of effort could raise the team''s spirit. "What about that paper?"


    "I don''t know. Ed''s notes I guess." Alex replied before opening the paper. She was suddenly infatuated with the neatly written form and exnation that the paper showed, and almost forgotten to focus on thest question.


    The moderator was changed to Rajesh as the paparazzis had caused him to be unwell and had to sat down and rest


    "Now...it''s time for the final question. A question that will decide...whether the Franklin Middle school team could surpass As Middle school, or will As remain at the top, and be the champion for these 3 month championship games." Rajesh said ceremoniously. "ARE YOU READYYY!?"


    Both of the team were confused by the sudden change in atmosphere, and were looking at him in confusion. "Nevermind." Rajesh said dispiritedly before reading the final question. "Thest question will be a change of pace from all of the science stuff. It will be a History question...and It will be worth 100 points!"


    Alex stopped biting her fingers and wiped the non-existent sweat on her forehead as she looked at the score. 320 points for As. And 310 points for Franklin.


    The crowd murmured at the change, but Rajesh ignored them and asked, "What is-"


    "WAIT!" Alex suddenly shouted.


    "W-W-What?" Rajesh turned to Alex, but as she was a girl, his mutism appeared again, and he quickly hid away from her. Alex rushed to the judges table and mmed the papers on the panel''s desk.


    "We caught the snitch." She dered.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I drove to the mansion, a hot, burning anger spread out from my chest to my entire body. An orphan boy, unadopted till I reached adulthood and was kicked out of the orphanage... the onlyfort I had right then was to know I was not alone. There were a few children like me, unwanted by society. We consider ourselves the bottom members of society, and decided to look after one another.


    ( E/N: And so I had to be the hero Gotham needs not the one they deserve) or however that line went lol)


    But...One by one, we fall prey to the darkness of human society. One orphan girl was tricked into doing pornography, and died from drug overdose. One married a rich man, and was choked to death. We tried to save them, but we were always one step toote. In the end, we all went our separate ways, as it was too painful for us to keep sticking together.


    (A/N: TOO DARK!)


    "Please... PLEASE! I don''t want to bete again!" I muttered as I pressed the pedal, driving 150 miles an hour at a 70 miles per hour speed limit street.


    I finally arrived at Jenna''s house, and stopped the car directly behind the ck SUV parked in front of the door. I jumped out of the car without even turning off the engine and ran to the door. It was locked, but I broke it with a kick.


    The sound startled the goons loitering nearby, and they turned their gazes towards me.


    "Hey. I''m notte, right?" I asked with an angry smile while cracking my fist as I walked slowly towards them.


    Anky old goon tried to stop me by raising his hand to my body. "Kid. Get the fuck out- OWW OWW OWW!"


    I pulled his finger back, almost breaking it. The other goon nearby tried to intervene, but I did a full kick right to his head, causing him to fall into the floor and lose his will to fight immediately.


    I turned to the goon who was kneeling in pain as I was almost breaking his finger and asked, "Where is Jenna? Why are you guys here?"


    "Th-THE Boss. Has a movie part! It''ll help her! He wants to offer it to her! "


    "You mean, force her?" I said menacingly as I pulled his finger back a bit further, snapping it out of its joints. He screamed in pain, but I grabbed a new finger and stared at him to get the answers.


    With tears and snots on his face, the man said, "I don''t know. I just got here. I don''t know what the fuck is happening-"


    I put my hand on his head, and mmed it towards my knees, making him lose consciousness. "If you want to lie. Do it better."


    I made my way up the spiral staircase quickly and entered Jenna''s mom room.


    "COME OUT KID!" A tall, muscrtino man was banging on the closet door as he had finally found where Jenna was hiding. He broke the closet door quickly and grabbed Jenna''s wrist to drag her to his boss.


    "I don''t know whether I''m fashionablyte, or exactly on time, but I really am grateful that I can be both." I muttered with a sense of relief, causing both Jenna and the man to turn in my direction. I was at ease as the thing I feared hadn''t happened yet, and although it was presumptuous of me to let my nerves down, I know that the only thing I needed to do today, was to get here in time.


    "Who the fuc-" Before the man could speak, I hit him using Kennichi''s shotei technique, a soft yet hard strike with the bottom of the palm directly at his sr plexus. All the air in his lungs was pushed out,and he fell on his knees, gasping for breath.


    "Where is your boss?" I yanked his hair back and made him face me as I asked.


    Drool came out of his mouth, and he was in shock. He opened his mouth a few times, and said, "He''s...He''s at the guest room."


    "What is he doing there-"


    Before I could get the answer, Jenna abruptly hugged me. I was baffled, but I could sense she was shivering.


    "I was so scared!" She broke down and cried in my embrace. I brushed her back lightly as I took a deep breath to calm myself down and said, "You''re all right. I''m here now. It''s over."


    I calmed her down with the sound of the man dry coughing beside us. When he could finally speak, he said, "I''m going to sue you for assault!"


    Maybe he thought I would be scared of the flimsy threat, but he showed an evil grin as if his words meant something.


    "You know. After you guys intrude in this house, that means you guys have already lost all moral high ground. If we are in the south, I could even shoot you to death, and there will be no repercussions."


    I raised my fist up, and punched him right in the jaw. He fell to the floor unconscious, and I slipped the car key I used before into his pockets. I also took a few of his hair and pocketed it before I held Jenna''s hand and said, "Follow me. We''re getting out of here."


    She nodded and followed me obediently, her tiny hand grabbed onto mine, and wouldn''t let go.


    [General POV]


    "FUCK! How hard is it to capture a child!" The fat and sleazy producer yelled after waiting for so long in the guest room.


    "Have you guys found out where she kept her files yet?!" He screamed again. One of the reasons he came here today was to delete the ckmail material Jenna''s mom has against him.


    After he tried to make a move on Jenna before , her mother went ballistic and threatened to destroy his life.


    Even his wife was filing for divorce. If his wife got those files, then his life would actually be destroyed. He tricked Jenna''s mom into thinking he was backing down, and offered her a chance to audition at one of his friend''s new movies, before deciding to take some dark material of her daughter to exchange for his own.


    He bribed the police into ignoring everything that was happening around the area, and also bribed the driver who regrly took Jenna to school to get her schedule.


    "But, my men are fucking useless!" He shouted angrily. He stood up from the bed, while pitching a tent from the viagra he swallowed before, and walked outside the door to find the girl on his own.


    His anger doubled when he saw the girl being led away by a teenage boy the moment he walked out. He gritted his teeth and pulled out his gun before aiming at the boy.


    "Stop right there!" He said. Edward widened his eyes as he didn''t think he would cross paths with the madman. Jenna shivered in fear and hid behind him.


    "You think you can be a hero you little- Wait. I know you. You''re the famous Edward Newgate! HAHAHA... You should learn more about this industry kid. That way, you would know NOT TO MESS WITH ME! That girl is mine!"


    But to his confusion, Edward smiled even though he was pointed at by the gun. "You''rete." Edward muttered.


    The producer shivered in fear as he heard a gruff voiceing from behind him, "There''s a madman racing on the street. It caused a traffic jam. But Lucky for me, I saw Buddy on the road and told him everything." Dwayne said as he lightly picked up the gun from the frozen man''s hand. "And dude, you''re going to jail."


    Buddy the cop stood beside Dwayne and handcuffed the producer''s hand before he could even process what was happening.


    "I heard your confession, and even recorded it with my body cam. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court ofw. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you..."


    As Edward watched the producer and the goons being escorted away by the cops, he narrowed his eyes and said, "He must have something in mind to still be so calm."


    "Ed...Will you be alright?" Jenna asked with a shaky voice.


    "Ed. Were you the one who raced around the streets today? You''re giving me so much stress!"


    "What? No. I didn''t? And also, this car?" I said before I cheekily hopped onto the driver seat of the red Porsche and pretended I was driving it while simultaneously scattering the unlucky goons hair inside the car.


    Buddy narrowed his eyes and asked, "If it''s not you, then who?"


    "I don''t know. You should look into those guys. Not me." Edward said in an innocent tone. Although a bit distrustful, Buddy the cop sighed and internally forgave Ed as he knew why he was rushing to get to the mansion.


    Buddy led the kids back to Edwards house, where Jenna would wait for her mother toe pick her upter. He left the house after leaving his female subordinate over there to watch over Jenna andfort her after the traumatizing experience.


    A littleter when he found out that the goon was actually the one driving, he was extremely ted as the chase had racked up more than 50 thousand dors in damages.


    Not only that, a few officers suddenly stood forward and confessed that they had received a bribe from the producer, and provided a lot of evidence for his prior crimes. Tens of victims of the producer also stood forward and used him. Although Buddy knew someone was behind all of this, he was ted to see that there was no way for the man to get out of the offense right now.


    "I wonder who he had offended?" The police captain of the district Buddy was in, sighed after he got a call from the higher ups to make sure the man would go to jail.


    "Is it the Mckenzies? He tried to touch thest daughter of the family after all." He muttered as he took out a file from 14 years ago, where Alexandria Karlson decided to report her family for neglect and abuse after her husband died. The cause of death, the celebration of their first night together as an 80 year old husband and 20 years old wife was too much for said old man.


    Back at Edward''s house, Jenna was still shaken from the entire experience, and refused to part from Edward.


    [Edward POV]


    There wasn''t much ce to stay in the reconstructed house with all of the equipment around. I sat in the second living room near the couch while Jenna cuddled into my arms, she had already fallen asleep after the whole ordeal.


    I patted her arms tofort her as she was still distressed by the entire thing, but my phone suddenly rang. I answered it quickly and spoke in a hushed voice.


    "Hello. Alex?" I guessed.


    I was wrong.


    "ED! WE WON! 810 POINTS TO 320! WE WON BY A LANDSLIDE!" Enid shouted in excitement from the other line. A wide grin broke out of my face and I said, "NICE! I knew we could do it!"


    But then, Alex grabbed the phone and asked urgently, "What about Jenna? Are you guys alright?"


    I could hear Enid ask with a concerned whisper, "What about Jenna?"


    "Something happened, that''s why Ed left early." Alex exined briefly.


    "We''re all okay now. Did we get a trophy?" I replied and changed the subject as I didn''t want to share anything without talking to Jenna first.


    "WE GOT A GIANT TROPHY!" Enid shouted from the other line. "We''re going home now. Meet you back at our ce?" Alex asked. I turned to Jenna and looked at her sleeping face before replying, "Not right now. I will meet you guys tonight? We can go to Shaw''s diner. My treat."


    "Okay. I will tell everyone." Alex replied before ending the call. I threw the phone to the side, and opened up myptop to dig up some dirt about the dirty producers and orchestrated a few things.


    But, even hours after the incident, Jenna''s mother never came to pick her up.


    She had woken up from her nap, and still didn''t have the courage to separate from me for so long. I sat her down and asked her calmly, "Do you want Elsa toe and stay with you? Or, do you want toe with me to the diner?"


    The question was because I couldn''t get in contact with her mother, not because I wanted to go out and celebrate.


    Jenna hesitated for a while before saying, "I...Can I just stay with you?"


    "Of course you can." I replied instantly. She brightened up a bit and gave me a hug before whispering something I couldn''t hear.


    "You''re wee. And Hey, if you ever need me again, just give me a call alright?"


    She nuzzled into my embrace, but I stopped her and said, "Hey don''t run your hand all over the ce."


    "I didn''t-" She widened her eyes in disbelief, and then realized I was making a joke and smiled.


    "Finally. I haven''t seen your smile all day. I''ve started to miss it." I said with a smile, causing her to blush.


    "You know what, today gave me an idea for a song. Do you want to hear it?"


    Her eyes lit up and she asked, "A song...about the incident? Or about...us?"


    "A little bit of both kind of a promise about us too." I replied with a slight shake of my head as I pretended to think.


    She released me quickly and said in excitement, "Well. What are you waiting for? Go write it down before you forget about it!"


    "I don''t need to write it down. I can just y it-"


    "Then do it!" Jenna eximed, desperately needing something to distract her mind away from the whole incident.


    "Alright. Lemme check the piano first." I stood up and walked to the piano nearby, and Jenna followed me like a baby duck . I gestured for her to sit next to me on the piano long chair.


    "Also Jenna, if you got your panties wet while I sang, don''t throw it at me like you did at the concert yeh?"


    She blushed in embarrassment and hit me slightly on the bicep, "Who exposed me?''


    "I will not name the witness...you know... protect your sources and all that."


    She pouted but her excited eyes betrayed her. "Just sing."


    "Okay. After that, We''re going to eat."


    ??????????????????


    [One call away�C Charlie Puth]


    My fingers gently tapped the piano keys as I looked Jenna in the eyes.


    "?? I''m only one call away. I''ll be there to save the day! Superman got nothing on meee~! I''m only one call away. ??"


    She blushed in embarrassment and avoided my eyes.


    "??Call me, baby, if you need a friend. I just wanna give you love~


    C''mon, c''mon, c''mon??"


    She covered half her face with her slender hand as she peeked at me through the gaps of fingers.


    "??Reaching out to you, so take a chance


    No matter where you go, know you''re not alone??"


    My intentions were conveyed to Jenna, and she couldn''t help but shed tears again as she heard the song.


    "??I''m only one call away??"


    I sang with a decisive tone as I wanted her to know I would always be there if she needed me. Even if I was far away, I would definitely try. After all, she is one of the few precious friends I have in this life.


    "??I''ll be there to save the day! Superman got nothing on meee! I''m only one call away??"


    We went to the diner together, with her sitting at the backseat of my bicycle as I stressfully pedal away to the restaurant.


    ??Come along with me and don''t be scared


    I just wanna set you free.


    C''mon, c''mon, c''mon??


    We meet with Enid and Alex, who gave Jenna a hug the second they saw her.


    ??You and me can make it up, anyway...


    For now, we can stay here for a while...


    Cause you know, I just wanna see your smile??


    Jenna shared with the girls what happened, and shared the tales of my heroism with an excited tone and a sincere smile on her face. We ordered a lot of food as we waited for the others.


    ??No matter where you go, know you''re not alone


    I''m only one call away


    I''ll be there to save the day??


    Sanjay and Haruna came to the diner with a big grin on their faces as they raised the 0.5 meter tall silver-white trophy up high in the air. The whole restaurant apuded to congratte us as Enid announced our win to everyone.


    ??Superman got nothing on me


    I''m only one call away??


    Jacob was agitated and wanted to destroy the producer after Jenna opened up and shared the whole story to Elsa and him. I had to grab him by his pants to keep him in the restaurant.


    ??When you''re weak I''ll be strong


    I''m gonna keep holding on??


    In a way, for me to run over there to save Jenna today, was also a redemption for me who was alwayste in saving my friends in my previous life. While Jenna was afraid of letting me go, I too felt the same way. We went back to my ce after celebrating, and the group decided to let me keep the trophy for a while before donating it to the school.


    ??Now don''t you worry, it won''t be long


    Darling, if you feel like hope is gone


    Just run into my arms??


    ??I''m only one call away


    I''ll be there to save the day


    Superman got nothing on me


    I''m only one, I''m only one call away??


    "Hey Ed." Jenna stopped me from walking by tugging at my shirt. I turned to her and asked, "What is it?"


    I finally knew what she whispered before this. She looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "Thank you."


    I smiled and patted her head lightly before casually saying, "Anytime."


    "??I''m only one call away


    I''ll be there to save the day


    Superman got nothing on me


    I''m only one call away


    I''m only one call away...??"


    (A/N: New way of writing the song. Wdyt?)

 Chapter 107: You will suffer like I did! (Therapy- First)

    <h4>Chapter 107: Chapter 107: You will suffer like I did! (Therapy- First)</h4>


    (The therapy Chapters wille out a few times intermittently. It won''t be concluded in just one Chapter. It is a process after all)


    [Edward POV]


    It was a small, intimate office scattered with fake nts in a pot and obscure paintings hung on the walls. I sat on the beige coloured couch, shaking my foot in annoyance as I stared at the professional woman sitting right in front of me.


    She was wearing a red blouse with a few buttons opened, revealing her deep gully, and a short skirt with pantyhose. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun, and her neatness made it seem impossible for me to see stray hair.


    She pushed her sses up and said, "You know Edward, even if you tried to stay silent to pass the time, that just mean that you''re booking your next visit to my office-"


    "I''m not staying silent. I''m just busy thinking of ways to punish my dad." I replied before I leaned forward and asked, "By the way, have you ever met the owner of Amelia''s? You guys look so simr to each other."


    She chuckled and said, "Of course we''re simr. We''re twins after all." Dr Linda Martin replied with a smile.


    "Oh. That makes much more sense." I muttered with a nod.


    "Today, I don''t want to talk about myself. I want to talk about you. How are you Edward? How are you feeling?" She asked as she slightly leaned forward.


    "I''m fine." I replied curtly and dropped my back to the couch before staring into an empty space again.


    My dad had tricked me into going to therapy today. Not to mention, he had Pepper on his side as Pepper was the one who picked me up from school today under the guise of seeing the new office.


    My dad was already waiting for me in front of the Doctor''s office as I arrived there. With a wry smile, he exined the whole situation. I was so pissed off that I wanted to just walk away, but Pepper convinced me to try it out...just for this one time. If it didn''t help me, then he wouldn''t do the same thing he did today, ever again.


    Although I appreciated their concern, I had a lot more useful things to do today.


    "Edward?" Linda called out.


    I snapped out of my thoughts and replied, "Huh. Ah...Sorry. I''m just...incredibly busy. I need to think about my next singles release, which is this Saturday, and the fact that I have not recorded even one of the songs I promised myself to release."


    Linda nodded and said, "I understand. There are a lot of friends of mine who couldn''t take the time to stop, rest, and heal themselves. Some...which I never saw again. I hope that maybe... in this session, you would just take some rest from all of the busy thoughts?"


    "No. I would rather just use this time to think. At the very least, my time will be worth it then." I replied snarkily.


    Dr Linda wasn''t mad and she asked in a calm tone, "So you don''t think therapy is useful?"


    "No offense doc, but for me, unless you''re a main character of a movie or a series, therapy isn''t actually useful for you. It''s a waste of time." I replied honestly.


    "And, why do you think...that the main character, as per your words...was the one who can actually seed in their therapy?" Dr Linda asked after a slight pause.


    I was taken aback, and looked at her. Her gaze wasn''t filled with malice, but instead, she was curious. I sighed and replied, "Isn''t that just what it is? In a story, the plot is written to help the main character. So, their therapy session actually works."


    " I don''t think that for an ordinary man, a therapist is going to do anything other than take their money and let them vent a bit before promising them a path to get better in the next session. Again, no offense."


    The clinic fell into silence once more, and Dr Linda jotted down a few thoughts before she asked, "Why do you think that a therapist isn''t going to help you?"


    "Because, we ain''t friends. We don''t know each other. Even if I share my thoughts, beliefs, and what other things hidden inside of me, your job isn''t to help me isn''t it? It''s to judge. You''re listening, with the intent to show me what''s wrong with me. And for that, I think that a therapy session isn''t helpful, not at all." I answered defensively.


    Dr Linda paused for a second before she asked calmly, "And, is there something hidden inside of you? Something that you''re afraid l I will judge you for?"


    "Afraid? I''m not afraid." I replied with a scoff.


    Dr Linda smiled softly and put her books down on top of the coffee table separating us, "Edward. You don''t work as a therapist for 12 years, and not know what a scared young adult looks like."


    I touched my face for a bit, wondering if there was something wrong with my expression that caused her toe to the conclusion.


    "To make things clear, everything that you say here today, even if you confessed that you had killed someone...will stay between us. Your dad won''t get anything without your consent, although, I have to admit that I did talk with him before to get to know you better. "


    "Then you should already know. My life''s pretty normal."


    Dr Linda took her book back and flipped through the pages. She then muttered, "Going for a joyride. Not only illegal driving, but racing through the streets with a couple of officers in pursuit. Aggravated assault. Not doing yourundry. pping your friend''s mother. Using illegal substances such as marijuana-"


    "Allegedly and dad even mentioned not doing myundry, which I forgot ONE night, too far up that list." Iined.


    I had no suspicions that dad had talked to Dr Linda about the matter. After the incident yesterday, I had told Pepper and my dad everything as to make some preparation in case someone tried to use me of something.


    The assault referred to my excessive ''self-defense'' when beating up those goons before. Luckily for me, there weren''t any records that showed I had ever learned martial arts, or else my charges would be tremendous...if the matter actually got out...which it has not...and never will.


    "Dad just worries too much, doc." I said dismissively.


    Dr Linda nodded and pushed her sses up. She said, "Let''s just focus on only one thing on this list shall we? Can you tell me...why did you p your friend''s mother?"


    [General POV]


    Sitting outside of Dr Linda''s office in the waiting room were Ted in his Captain''s uniform, and Pepper in his work suit�C a suit which made him look like he was cosying the godfather. Ted was leaning forward and sping his hands together while Pepper was fanning his face with a paper fan.


    "Did you see his eyes?" Pepper asked with a shudder. "He looked like a predator about to bite our heads off."


    Ted sighed and said, "He...holds a grudge. Be...careful."


    Pepper smacked him with a paper fan and said, "He''s your son. Be braver."


    Rubbing his sore head, Ted said, "You know what he''s like. He hates things getting out of his control. And we tricked him today. So I KNOW...there will be repercussions...Just like with Dede."


    "Mitchell''s mother? What happened to her?" Pepper asked in shock.


    "Well...Ed gave her something horrible, and she had to be admitted to the hospital from gastritis. When I told him, he said mockingly, ''Maybe she could shove the crystal up her arse, she believes in their miraculous healing power right?''... Anyway, do you really think that this is a good idea?"


    "He gave her what?" Pepper asked in a horrified tone.


    "A dish that no one should ever eat." Ted replied dramatically.


    Pepper sighed and said, "We had to try at least. If he hates us for it, then he will hate us for it. I''d rather he hate us now than see something horrible happen to himter. On a happier note I did want to ask you something."


    "What?" Ted asked, looking at Pepper while drinking from his water bottle.


    "You slept with Sal right?" Pepper asked point nk.


    Ted sprayed out his drink and asked in astonishment, "Wh-What? Did she say we did? We DEFINITELY didn''t!"


    "Yeah. She said you guys just did some other stuff till you got bored, leaving her clueless when you left without sealing the deal. She kept talking about you as if you''re the evillest man she had ever met. But, she also has a thing for bad boys, and now, she''s going around asking for your number."


    "Wait- What?"


    "But don''t worry, no one will give it to her." Pepper replied, making Ted sigh in relief.


    "So now, she''s searching for your address instead." Pepper added. Ted turned to with widened eyes, and his spirit shattered when he heard Pepper''s next sentence.


    "And now, she has gotten it."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "The p?" I asked in confusion. "Are you sure you aren''t going to focus on something more serious, like the alleged street racing?"


    "No. I want to hear about this one." Dr Linda said with a cheeky smile. She had learned about the ways I had lived, and a few traumatic experiences that I had to go through from her conversation with my father.


    I sighed and said, "It''s not really that important."


    -shback-


    After Jenna and I arrived at our house when we got back from the decathlon winning celebration, we watched a few episodes of One Piece together in the second living room.


    *Ding Dong*


    Jenna flinched at the sound of the doorbell and automatically grabbed my sleeves. I patted her and said, "Don''t worry. I''m here."


    "I''ll go check it out. You keep watching." I told her before walking to the front door to open it. There, standing battered and with a wound at the side of her head was Jenna''s mom, Alexandria.


    "What happened to you?!" I asked in surprise, but Jenna''s mother shushed me quickly. She made sure Jenna wouldn''t hear it and said, "I fell during the audition."


    However, I saw her eyes were a bit red, and she got the sniffles. There was also a bit of white powder on her nose and her arm sleeves, which made me sure that she had done a bit of a chemical induced entertainment before...or in simpler words, she got high.


    I got mad and grabbed her sleeves before showing her the traces. She realized that I knew and said hurriedly, "That''s not it. I was notte... because I was high. I was auditioning, and my phone was turned off. But when I checked it out, my bodyguard told me that Jenna was already safe. And the producer said he was giving me the part-"


    "So you got high with him to celebrate?" I asked with gritted teeth. "Don''t you know how scared she was? And you didn''t think toe here andfort her-"


    "Jenna will understand. She always understand-"


    Then, I pped her. It wasn''t a p to hurt her, but just to snap her back to reality. She held her burning cheek in disbelief and widened her eyes. I growled angrily, "Wake the fuck up. She''s a child. She needed you, more than ever. But you-"


    "EDWARD!" Jenna shouted angrily as she saw the whole thing. She ran to her mother and checked her cheeks quickly, "Mommy, are you okay?!"


    Jenna turned and stood in between us. "What are you doing ED! Why did you p my mom!" She spewed angrily. I wasn''t scared of the startled chihuahua and looked at Alexandria. "See. When you are hurt, she throws herself in the line of fire to save you. But, you failed to do the same."


    Alexandria teared up, but I wasn''t in the mood tofort her. I turned to Jenna and asked, "Jenna. Do you love your mother?"


    "What kind of question is that? OF COURSE I DO! AND YOU!!!! APOLOGIZE TO HER RIGHT NOW-"


    I ignored Jenna again and looked at Alexandria. Her hands shivered before she cupped her mouth, and then broke down crying. Jenna hugged her tofort her, and I watched the daughter lead her mother to the limousine. I waved goodbye at Jenna, but she raised her middle finger at me to show that she was still angry.


    Even when I met her at school today she was ignoring me and flipping me off whenever she got the chance, and swore to me she would never speak to me again unless I apologised to her mother. She would still hang out and stick close to me, but she wouldn''t talk to me. It was such a confusing interaction that I needed to adapt to.


    -Present time-


    "Nothing, I was just lending her a hand." I replied casually to Dr Linda after thinking about the matter.


    "But your hand missed and hit her face?" Dr Linda said in a calm tone despite the sarcastic remarks.


    "Yes." I agreed, not wanting to continue the conversation further.


    "So, it has nothing to do with your repressed resentment about your mother leaving you?" Dr Linda analysed.


    I scrunched my face in confusion and asked, "How the hell did youe to that conclusion?"


    Dr Linda couldn''t manage to get me to open up despite her various methods of asking questions. After a while, she sighed and gave up on the session.


    ...


    [General POV]


    After Edward left the room, Dr Linda called Ted for a quick conversation.


    "He''s...a very guarded boy. I think it''ll take a few more sessions for him to finally open up." Dr Linda exined. "He''s also a very smart kid. He saw through me very quickly, so I don''t think I can deal with him the same way I would usually handle a kid. Without him willing to trust the process, and ready to open up, therapy will be useless for him."


    Ted sighed and rubbed his face before asking, "But doc, I don''t think...that I can EVER bring him back here again, not without his consent at least."


    Dr Linda nodded before saying, "I know. I already talked to him about this. And we came to a deal."


    "What''s the deal?" Pepper asked quickly.


    "He said, he wille again...if...his father also books a few sessions�C which I don''t think that''s a bad thing." Dr Linda said as she turned to Ted. "Maybe, you could also benefit from it. I know things haven''t been easy for the past couple of years for you right?"


    Pepper covered his mouth with his fan and said slyly, "Yeah Doctor. Like Edward, he also needs someone he could open up to. Anyway, I got to go. Edward will be pissed if I prolong this any further."


    Ted sighed helplessly and said, "Okay. I will do the talking."


    "Good. We will discuss the date of the sessions. Follow me." Dr Linda said and turned around before walking to the receptionist desk.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After that weird experience, Pepper drove me to the new agency building. It warmed my heart to see the giant ''Entertain'' logo being stered on top of the infrastructure.


    "We''re renovating the lower floor to make a studio." Pepper exined as we entered the elevator.


    "That''s expensive. Do we have the money?" I asked in concern.


    Pepper smirked and said, "Edward. Just know something. In the overall renovation of the building, thepany didn''t even pay one cent to do it."


    "What- How?" I asked in astonishment.


    "All of this...came from my mom''s pocket." He said excitedly before it turned into a longing tone, "Oh, if only I wasn''t gay, my dead father didn''t try to take me out of the will."


    "But, I can''t change who I am, So here we are." Pepper said self-deprecatingly. I patted his back before the elevator door opened on the top floor of the building.


    "This is your office." Pepper said as he showed off the modern looking corner office with a view, a mahogany abomination desk which showed my name on a triangr namete sitting on top of it. Numerous pachira nts near the walls, and letters from my loyal fans inside blue cardboard boxes arranged neatly next to the table.


    "Also, Ed, can you tell me why you made your dad do the therapy?" Pepper asked abruptly, and he managed to pass by my defence.


    I shrugged and said, "If I must suffer it, then he will do it with me. Peps, we need to start recording today, and this might seemst notice...but...I need to get in touch with a rapper."


    Pepper widened his eyes and eximed in bewilderment, "BEFORE THE RELEASE?! That''s in 2 days!"


    I nodded as I understood I was requesting unfairly and said, "My ns changed when I met with RDJ before. But I forgot to tell you about it."


    Pepper fell into a deep thought and exined, "If...If you asked me to search for a female artist�C bads, pops, or even show tunes, I could at least try."


    "But?" I interjected as I thought it was going to show up.


    "But...I have never...got in touch with a rapper before." Pepper said fearfully.


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Pritchet''s house-


    "Manny, why are you going up and down, up and down, up and down!" Gloria said in frustration after Manny kept going up and down the stairs.


    "Edward told me to do it. And mom, he gave me a few recipes so that I can still enjoy what I used to eat, and still eat healthy." Manny said in exhaustion as he tried really hard to keep his promise to Edward.


    Jay was reading his newspaper and shook his head in annoyance. "Great, now I''m also going to be forced to eat that."


    "What''s that Jay?" Gloria asked as she couldn''t hear it.


    "Nothing hun. I''m just admiring Manny''s effort, that''s all." Jay replied.


    "Ayy, if you''re admiring him, maybe you can join him so that he doesn''t have to do this alone." Gloria suggested cheerily.


    "I walked right into that one didn''t I?" Jay muttered to himself.


    -Mitch and Cam''s house-


    "AHHHHH!" Cam screamed shrilly as he watched a Youtube video on hisptop. Mitchell ran quickly to where he was sitting with Lily in his arms, "What happened? What happened? Do I need to call the police?"


    "Mitchell! Taylor came out with a new song!" Cam said in a weird high pitch voiced as he urged Mitchell to look at hisptop screen.


    "What''s the matter with you? Even though you''re a fan, don''t you think that this is a bit much?" Mitchell said.


    "A BIT MUCH Mitchell?" Cam said, offended by his partner''s remarks. "Wait till you hear what I mean by "new song", and then you''ll understand why I was screaming."


    -Dunphy''s house-


    Alex walked around the kitchen all smug as she shed her golden medal she got for winning the Decathlon before this. However, her face turned red with anger as she saw her mother.


    "Mom, do you really think it''s makes sense that Luke''s participation ribbon and Haley''s...I don''t know what that is-"


    "A full attendance certificate for her in 7th grade." ire replied.


    "That. Does it belong to the same disy case?" Alex asked in annoyance.


    Phil ran around the kitchen with Luke, both wearing a cowboy hat and boots. They had a holster around their waist, which stored the brand new gun that Phil had bought.


    "Let''s see if there is a bug in the kitchen, Sheriff." Luke said.


    "Affirmative assistant Sheriff." Phil said before they scour the entire kitchen, trying to find a bug or a fly to shoot down with their salt gun.


    "Phil. Stop ying with that thing." ire yelled at Phil from afar before she turned back to Alex, "Also. Stopining Alex-"


    "URGH! I don''t have to take this! I just don''t!" Alex said before storming off, feeling dejected by her mother''s action.


    "THAT BITCH!" Haley suddenly yelled out from the living room, making Alex stop in her tracks.


    "Haley!" ire yelled out to admonish her, but Haley had already ran to Alex since her rtionship with her had been mended and showed herptop screen, "See. This bitch is CRAZZZYYYY!"


    "Who- Wait. Taylor?" Alex asked in puzzlement before taking theptop from Haley. They watched hertest performance video from her tour, and realised something amiss at the reveal of her newest song.

 Chapter 108: Bucketlist.

    <h4>Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Bucketlist.</h4>


    (This chap is very long lol)


    [Edward POV]


    As I arrived at the studio in the desert, I threw my luggage to the side of the room before sitting down on the audio equipment panel. Dressingfortably in my ck hoodie with the Whitebeard ''One Piece'' logo on the back of it, and gray sweatpant, I greeted Leo who was eating a sandwich in the studio pantry.


    "Missed me guys?" I asked cheekily while ying with the huge musical synthesizer. The panel produced an R2-D2 sad beeping from my touch.


    "Aww. Don''t worry. I''ll be here till Sunday. I promise."


    Then, the panel produced a happy beeping sound. Pepper rolled his eyes as he watched my shenanigans and he patted my shoulder. I turned to him before he said, "Look at this. I guess your ''friend'' has gone mad."


    He showed a Youtube fan video of Taylor''stest concert that had been trending on the inte after its release.


    "Huh? Although I love crazy chicks, what did she do exactly?" I asked in confusion.


    "Just watch." Pepper replied with a solemn expression. As I took the tablet from him, he snapped his paper fan and fanned his face quietly.


    [??Starlight - Taylor Swift??]


    "Oh this song." I muttered as I heard the intro.


    "You know about it?" Pepper asked in bewilderment. I nodded before focusing back on the concert, not wanting to exin that I heard the song in my previous life before.


    "Yeah. It''s about one of her idols, Bobby and Ethel Kennedy. It''s a song about their life story." I replied, making Pepper breathed in relief.


    Inside the video, Taylor was wearing a beautiful white coloured princess-like dress and was sitting on a stool, holding her guitar.


    The part where she told the fans that she was inspired by me and wanted to sing a new song of hers in the concert was cut out of the video as the fan who recorded this couldn''t get her camera recorder out fast enough, but it was included in the caption.


    Taylor started to sing, "??I said, "Oh my, what a marvelous tune"... It was the best night, never would forget how we moved..The whole ce...Was dressed to the nines...And we were dancing, dancing... Like we''re made of starlight... Like we''re made of starlight...??"


    I bobbed my head at the tune and asked Pepper, "So. What''s wrong exactly?"


    "Keep watching."


    "??I met Eddy- on the boardwalk summer of ''45," The fans could see Taylor widened her eyes and blushed as she sang the wrong lyric, but she continued, bracing the embarrassment. My face froze as I realized the consequences of this, and Pepper just nodded knowingly as he saw my reaction.


    "?? Picked me upte one night out the window, We were seventeen and crazy running wild, wild


    ??Can''t remember what song he was ying when we walked in??


    ??The night we snuck into a yacht club party


    Pretending to be a duchess and a prince??"


    [General POV]


    "THIS...SHE''S TALKING ABOUT THE PARTY BEFORE-" Before Anna could exim, Kaya cupped her mouth and shushed her. Kaya whispered admonishingly, "Ed wasn''t supposed to be at the party remember? So SHUT UP!"


    In the Dunphy''s house, ire narrowed her eyes as she heard it. "I KNEW IT! I knew they did something wrong at the party!"


    Haley and Alex looked weirdly at ire, but she wouldn''t exin what she knew. In Mitch and Cam''s ce, Cam screamed in excitement again before he said, "Remember Love Story at the concert? Where they roley as a prince and a princess?"


    Mitchell jaw dropped in awe before he nodded in realization, "This...is a confession song right?"


    "??And I said, "Oh my, what a marvelous tune"


    It was the best night, never would forget how we moved


    The whole ce


    Was dressed to the nines


    And we were dancing, dancing


    Like we''re made of starlight, starlight


    Like we''re made of starlight, starlight??"


    At the dock, Ted wiped his sweaty forehead as he saw countless new bookings for his yacht trip. "How does this happen?" He asked.


    Dwayne beside him said gruffly, "One of the fans found the website. Granted Edward never hid it, but now we get bookings from all over the country. Some even from abroad."


    Suddenly, Ted''s phone rang. It was an unknown number, but he still picked it up as he was taught to be polite.


    "Hello?"


    "Hi. Sorry for calling youte at night. I got your number from your son." A familiar voice greeted Ted from the other line.


    "I''m sorry. Who''s this?"


    "Me? I''m...Robert Downey-"


    ...


    ??He said, "Look at you, worrying so much about things you can''t change


    You''ll spend your whole life singing the blues


    If you keep thinking that way"??


    ??He was tryna to skip rocks on the ocean saying to me


    "Don''t you see the starlight, starlight


    Don''t you dream impossible things"??


    Edward turned to Pepper and said, "I got a bad feeling that this is not all?"


    Pepper nodded and said, "You''re quite sharp. Yeah. Taylor went rogue and announced she''s leaving her agency today. Allegedly. I still can''t find a statement from her agency."


    "Wait what?!" Edward eximed in shock. Although he had inserted a hidden use in the contract in preparation to help Taylor get away from her agency, he never thought she would go wild on her own. And she really didn''t, but Edward didn''t know that yet.


    "But. The penalty!" Edward asked in bewilderment.


    "10 million dor contract breach penalty, and losses of her songs copyright." Pepper said with a solemn face. "But nothing is concluded yet. This may be some reporter twisting her words. We still don''t know for sure."


    Edward breathed in relief.


    "??Ooh, ooh he''s talking crazy


    Ooh, ooh dancing with me


    Ooh, ooh we could get married??"


    The fans shouted in excitement as Taylor sang the lyric, causing Edward to be taken aback. However, to Pepper''s astonishment, Edward showed a grin instead of bing worried.


    "Why-Why are you reacting like this?" Pepper asked fearfully.


    ??Have ten kids and teach ''em how to dream??


    Edward replied, "I don''t know. Bing Taylor''s song is on my bucket list. I can cross it out today."


    "??"Oh, my what a marvelous tune"


    It was the best night, never would forget how we moved


    The whole ce, Was dressed to the nines, And we were dancing, dancing...


    Like we''re made of starlight, starlight!


    Like we''re made of starlight, starlight!


    Like we''re made of starlight, starlight!??


    ??Like we dream impossible dreams


    Like starlight, starlight


    Like we dream impossible dreams


    Don''t you see the starlight, starlight


    Don''t you dream impossible things??"


    The video ends as the audience cheered at the red-faced Taylor. She did make a disimer about this song''s connection with Edward, but the media had already gone crazy with the incident.


    "We need to back her up a little, and downy the entire incident. Also, this is a good chance for Taylor and I to build our online presence if we y this properly." Edward muttered as he saw the online reaction.


    "Also, can you contact the Twilight movie studio?" He asked as he turned to look at Pepper. "Like, Right now?"


    -Taylor''s concert venue, Ohio-


    "So, are you going to tell me what happened out there?" Taylor''s lyric writer asked in a cold tone while pushing her sses up with a solemn expression as she faced the idolzing around the couch in front of her.


    "It was a slip of the tongue. Everyone can make mistakes." Taylor answered with disinterest as she kept fiddling with her phone, her innocent girl persona had been lifted as she finished the concert today.


    "You don''t make that kind of mistake! Don''t you know what a big deal this is-"


    "SHUSH!" Taylor raised her finger at the assistant as her phone started to ring. She grinned and cleared her throat a few times before answering the phone with a depressed tone.


    "Ed. I''m so sorry!" She said hurriedly. The lyric writer/assistant widened her eyes in disbelief as she saw the change in treatment. Taylor quickly chased her away as she continued to talk with Edward.


    "No worries. I kinda liked it." Ed replied, causing Taylor to break into a wide grin.


    "You did?"


    "Yeah. But I would love it even better if the song was truly for me, and not just a slip of the tongue."


    "Huh?" Taylor tilted her head in confusion.


    "Didn''t you make the song based on Ethel and Bobby Kennedy? The one who created the animal life sanctuary?" Edward asked.


    "Oh that." Taylor said with a tiny bit of disappointment as Edward managed to find out the true meaning of the song. Her n to test Edward by slipping her name in the song as she was satisfied with his answer to ''What are we'' failed as Edward wasn''t even bothered by the name mentioned in her song.


    ''But..he said he would love it if the song was truly for him? Was he expecting something more? Should I really? But the scandal! Urgh! Why must god make him too young for me!'' Taylor''s thoughts spiraled in agony as she talked to him.


    "Right now, we have a big opportunity to raise both of our names up. It''ll work even better for me because I''m nning to release my new singles this Saturday."


    Taylor was bewildered and asked, "YOU''RE RELEASING NEW SONGS! FOR WHO!"


    "For who? For me of course?" Edward replied in confusion. Taylor calmed down a bit and said, "Ah. Sorry."


    Edwardughed and shared his ns with Taylor.


    "I won''t do it if you feel ufortable with it-"


    "Wait. You want us to flirt a bit on Twitter?" Taylor asked in disbelief, her smile spread from ear to ear.


    "Basically. Yes. The public loves the drama." Edward replied.


    He already knew multiple ways to benefit from a scandal based on his future knowledge. When Taylor''s speech was interrupted by Kanye, her poprity exploded because of the scandal, and Edward nned to do the same thing with both of them right now.


    "Let''s do it!" Taylor excitedly agreed to what Edward was proposing.


    "Good. I will start." Edward said before he typed out a tweet mentioning the incident today.


    @EdwardNewgate: Well...this is awkward. (article link) @TaylorOfficial, Isn''t 10 children too much? I was only nning for 3 to 4, but if you insist... ??


    Lily�C Edward''s Fan Club president noticed the tweet and notified her entire army to make his tweet go viral. Within minutes, there were already 10,000 shares of the tweet, and over 50 thousand likes. She however, was frowning as the group''s fantasy was quickly broken by Edward''s quick reaction to the incident.


    "The forum instantly stopped after Edward''s tweet. Was he nning this or..." Lily muttered. The Tayward Shippers were going crazy before with a whole lot of conspiracy theories about Edward and Taylor''s rtionship.


    Some theorised that Taylor was the one who were overreaching in the rtionship, but now that Edward was tantly flirting with her, all of them fell into a confusion.


    Replying to @EdwardNewgate : @TaylorOfficial : You''ll be so lucky. ??. Anyway, that''s a slip of the tongue. I wasn''t singing about you. ?? ??


    EdwardNewgate: Really? We weren''t 17 in 1945? Our yacht venture is already exposed, so next, people will know we''re actually immortal vampires. (Tease.emoji)


    TaylorOfficial: ?? We''re not in a Twilight movie.


    TwilightOfficial replying to @EdwardNewgate and TaylorOfficial: Did someone say, Vampire?"


    "AH SHIT! IT''S A MARKETING PLOY!" Lily shouted by herself before she rubbed her head in frustration, turning her blonde hair all messy. "So, even the slip of tongue was nned huh!"


    She made her own theory about the whole incident but didn''t share it with the others as she was supporting both Taylor and Edward. Most of the fans shared the same sentiment, but that didn''t pour cold water to their excitement as Twilight released the "Two Is Better Than One" music video right at this moment!


    The reaction, like Edward expected, was explosive!


    But, that wasn''t all for the fans'' surprise today.


    "Are you sure about this?" Pepper asked as Edward shared his thoughts.


    "Well... She sang it for me, so I need to do a reply song right?" Edward said with a grin before typing something on his Twitter page.


    @EdwardNewgate: Hey @TaylorOfficial. Wait for an hour! I have a surprise for you! You CAN...expect a reply song for this, so be excited! A simple pre-release for my uing album, released on my website!


    -Mitch and Cam''s house-


    "KYAAAHHH!" Cam screamed girlishly after he saw Edward''s new tweet. Even Mitchell beside him was impressed after seeing Ed''s response to the whole situation.


    "Oh my god! I thought it was over when they released the music video." Mitchell eximed.


    "I need to call Pepper! Damn, why is he not answering!" Cam stomped his foot dramatically.


    "Maybe let it ring first?" Mitchell said, rolling his eyes.


    "It went to voicemail!" Cam


    -Dunphy''s house-


    Inside the girls bedroom, Haley was walking back and forth in the middle of the room while Alex was sitting on her bed.


    "Urgh! What is he doing!?" Haley groaned in frustration as she kept texting Edward to ask about the whole scandal, but Edward wasn''t responding as he was busy recording at this moment.


    "Stop bothering him." Alex admonished her sister, despite the fact that she was also doing the same thing.


    "Does he really want to date thatnky skank? Does he know what kind of mess he''ll be in if he did that? The public will tear them apart!" Haley eximed in concern for Edward, and also with a tinge of jealousy in her tone.


    "I don''t think Edwards is dumb enough to do that. I''m sure he''s just banking on the whole drama to further promote his artistic image by not wasting the free publicity. Can''t you see how fast their followers counts are rising? Edward is at 1.2 million followers now and Taylor is at 2.2 million. It started with Ed only had 500k followers. "


    "BUT STILL!" Haley eximed before she whispered, "Why her?"


    -Jay''s house, Kitchen-


    "Manny. What is this Twitter thing? And why do ire and Cam want me to look at it?" Jay asked in confusion after he received continuous calls from the members of his family.


    Manny replied excitedly, "It''s a socialworking website. You can share your opinions with others, and also-"


    "Stop Stop. I don''t want to know that. I just want to know why ire is asking me to check it out." Jay said hurriedly. "Only then, will they finally let me go to sleep." Jay sighed helplessly. It was almost 9 o''clock in the night, so he was already feeling sleepy.


    "Oh. Can''t help you there. I don''t have an ount." Manny replied.


    "Then, can you help me make an ount?" Jay replied while rubbing forehead. All of the ''trending'' stuff and ''viral'' stuff was giving him a headache.


    "Why don''t you ask my mom to do it?" Manny asked innocently.


    "Well for one thing, I don''t want to embarrass myself. Can you help me do the ount thing or not?"


    "What ount? What are you guys talking about?" Gloria suddenly walked into the kitchen wearing her pyjamas and asked casually.


    Jay flinched and said, "Nothing hun. I just found Manny still awake when I came down."


    Manny froze in confusion, and gave a side eye at Jay, but didn''t expose him as Jay mouthed, ''I will give your permission to make an ountter''.


    Jay ran away from the kitchen quickly, leaving only the smiling Gloria and the innocent Manny there. But the second Jay walked upstairs, Gloria''s face turned solemn and she asked Manny hurriedly, "Manny. What is this Twitter thing? And why do ire and Cam want me to look at it?"


    Manny froze again, feeling a sense of dejavu from his mother''s request.


    -Jenna''s New House-


    After the whole incident with the producer, Jenna and her mother left the house and rented a duplex near the city, where it was only a few blocks away from where Elsa was staying. Therefore, it was easy for them to hang out together in Jenna''s room.


    "Why are you so interested in this? I thought you''re still mad at Edward?" Elsa asked as she saw Jenna kept asking questions in Edward''s fanclub forum.


    Jenna shot her friend a re before turning back to herptop, "If he just apologise to my mom, then-"


    "Didn''t your mom say she was the one at fault?" Elsa asked again, causing Jenna to be annoyed. "Shut up!" She shouted at her friend. "Anyway, I won''t talk to him again until he apologises!"


    Elsa shook her head and muttered to herself, "Well, I don''t think he''s ever going to do that."


    Not only those who were close with him were feeling antsy and excited to hear his reply song, even the popstar who was getting the reply was squealing and excitedly calling her friend Selena as they talked about the matter.


    "I''m SO FUCKING JEALOUS!" Selena cursed as she watched the whole drama going on. Taylor sniggered and before saying nervously, "I don''t know what to do now? Should I just really quit the agency? Maybe leave the tour and go to him? Or buy a house next to his-"


    "Stop that you crazy psycho!" Selena stopped Taylor before she could spiral any further. "You know you can''t do anything until he''s legal!"


    "I KNOW THAT!" Taylor retorted back. "He gave me the same answer when I tried to ask about our rtionship before! So should I just wait? I have a life too you know! Multiple men are asking me out on a daily basis!"


    "THEN DATE THEM!" Selena replied exasperatingly.


    "THEY AREN''T HIM!" Taylor retorted back.


    Selena sighed and said, "You guys are both crazy. Just don''t do things you''ll regret."


    Taylor clicked her tongue before she became nervous again, "Arghh! Why is the clock moving so slowly! How much more time left?"


    Selena checked her phone and said, "It''s just been 5 minutes."


    Taylor punched the air with her whole body to show her frustration before calming down and tried to pass the time by asking Selena a few things. But then, Harvey called her, so she put Selena on hold and answered thewyer''s call.


    "Hey Taylor. Sorry to ask you about this, but...do you have Snoop dogs or Eminem''s phone number?"


    "Huh? What do you want them for?" Taken aback, Taylor asked in confusion.


    "Well Ed needs a rapper, and those guys are the only ones Pepper knows. Or at least I think they are after all he did ask for ''Snoopy something'' and ''M&M''." Harvey replied with a heavy sigh.


    "Rapper?" Taylor held her chin as she fell deep in thoughts before she replied, "I think I can help you out with that. But, I need something in return for the favour."


    After an hour, Edward kept his promise and released a simple video on his website. A ''Behind the scene'' that was exclusive to the ''true'' fans, which had already settled their subscription to his channel, as Edward never hid the fact that they needed to pay to see it.


    Even Taylor''s video was exclusive for her concert audience, but was illegally recorded and uploaded to Youtube, so no one couldin about Edward safeguarding the rights to his own songs. Of course, with only 1 bucks per month for the subscription to have ess to behind the scenes videos, most fans didn''t have anyints.


    "IT''S UP!" Haley eximed after she saw the link. She clicked on it hurriedly, and so did Alex. ire and Phil watched it together using the sameptop, so did Mitch and Cam, and Jay, Gloria, and Manny.


    "What should I do?" Luke asked as he walked behind his parents.


    "Come watch with us!" Phil grabbed Luke and put him in the middle of him and his wife before ying the video.


    The video started with the Entertain logo, and then it changed to Edward sitting crossed legged on the floor of his recording studio while holding the Taylor guitar in hisp. There was exciting music ying in the background, "''Cause you''re a natural! A beating heart of stone! You gotta be so cold!", which made Edward turn to his left and shout with a yful smile, "Leo. Come on! I''m recording here man!"


    The song abruptly stopped and Leo''s voice could be heard from the background, "Sorry boss-man!''


    Edward turned to the screen again and said, "Sorry about that. We''re currently getting ready for the Singles release this Saturday. I truly didn''t expect to make an exclusive today, but here we are."


    He had taken off his hoodie, and was only wearing a simple tight white shirt and had a metallic ne around his neck in the shape of a wolf head.


    Enid squealed as she saw the ne and muttered to herself, "I need that!" Her sister Tara rolled her eyes and said, "I thought you would focus more on his muscles."


    "You''re right! He''s getting hotter and hotter!" Enid eximed.


    Edwards'' casual behaviour in addressing his fans quickly earned him a lot of goodwill from them. Taylor''s attention however was focused on the guitar he was holding, and she giggled to herself, "He''s using my gift, to sing a song... to reply to my song..."


    Edward continued without knowing people''s reaction to his video, "This looks kind of shabby but this will only be for you my most loyal fans. So here it goes, I hope you enjoy this as it will remain exclusive for all of you in the "Superfan" Club until further notice.


    A lot of fansughed as Edward said that, such as Lily. She muttered, "Superfan? That sounds about right!"


    "Taylor''s song gave me inspiration today. It made me wanna sing something about a gorgeous young girl with striking electric blue eyes that I have met before." Edward muttered, not wanting to deal with the im that he wrote this song for someone specific.


    Cam snorted and said, "Taylor''s got blue eyes. Why don''t you just admit it already?"


    Mitchell admonished him and said, "And then what? Destroy Taylor''s career? He''s handling this with a lot of maturity Cam. He should be apuded for that."


    Edward took a deep breath and yed a simple melody using the guitar.


    [Ed Sheeran- Tenerife Sea]


    "??You look so wonderful in your dress, I love your hair like that. The way it falls on the side of your neck, Down your shoulders and back. ??"


    Taylor touched her curly hair with a grin on her face, unaware that her ears had turned red as she reminisced the time she and Ed yed together on top of the yacht. (Chapter 51)


    "??We are surrounded by all of these lies...And people that talk too much??"


    Edwards'' dreamy voice made the viewers who were watching fall into a daze and have a big smile stered on their face.


    "??You got the kind of look in your eyes, As if no one knows anything but us??"


    "Huh? What does that mean?" Haley asked.


    "They are at the centre of attention, but they could only see each other?" Alex guessed.


    "Thats-" Haley grimaced, but then stopped midway and changed her sentence, "...Sounds about right."


    "??Should this be thest thing I see? I want you to know it''s enough for me... ''Cause all that you are is all that I''ll ever need??"


    Cam wiped his tears with a tissue as he sobbed and said, "That''s so damn beautiful!" The next sentence however almost killed him.


    "??I''m so in love! So in love! So in love! I''m so in love??"


    Haley, Alex, Jenna, and Abby who were watching the show froze while Taylor covered her blushed red face with her curly hair, not knowing how to face Edward again after this.


    "??You look so beautiful in this light, Your silhouette over me, The way it brings out the blue in your eyes, Is the Tenerife sea??"


    "Beneath the spotlight?" Lily guessed, and it wasn''t only her who came to the same conclusion.


    "??And all of the voices surrounding us here


    They just fade out when you take a breath


    Just say the word and I will disappear


    Into the wilderness??"


    The way Edward sang the romantic song while making eye contact with the fans once in a while made them fall deeply in love with his charisma. It got them wondering, ''When will it be for his next concert?''


    "??Should this be thest thing I see?


    I want you to know it''s enough for me


    ''Cause all that you are is all that I''ll ever need??"


    The media was going crazy tonight about the Twilight Music Video promotion release, Taylor leaked songs, and now, Edward''s confession song, making it impossible for them to focus on only one thing to write for tomorrow''s headline, not knowing that all of them had fallen into Edward''s palm using his image management techniques.


    "??I''m so in love! So in love! So in love! So in love??"


    Jenna asked Elsa in a cold tone. "Have any of his songs before this mentioned something about love?"


    Elsa gulped her saliva and replied, "Not that I know off."


    "??Lumi��re, darling! Lumi��re over me! Lumi��re, darling! Lumi��re over me! Lumi��re, darling! Lumi��re over me??"


    "Light? Illuminate?" Alex tried to guess the sentence''s meaning. Mitchell however was impressed with Edward''s perfect French word pronunciation, and even got goosebumps on his arms from the performance.


    "Chills! Literal, CHILLS!" Cam eximed.


    "??Should this be thest thing I see?


    I want you to know it''s enough for me


    ''Cause all that you are is all that I''ll ever need??"


    "That kid. I never knew he could be so romantic." Ted muttered to himself.


    "??So in love


    So in love


    So in love, love, love, love


    So in love??"


    Gloria hugged Jay''s arm andid her head on his shoulder as she was mesmerised by the song, "Ay Jay. I don''t want it to end." She muttered.


    Jay nodded and said, "Although it''s not 7 years, this one is still good."


    "??You look so wonderful in your dress


    I love your hair like that


    And in a moment, I knew you best??"


    Edward ended the song abruptly, beats of sweat rolling down his forehead. He was under intense pressure the whole time as he needed to sing the song perfectly in one take.


    "That concludes the song, [Tenerife Sea]." Edward said with a grin, not expanding on the fact that he purposely picked this song to sing as it was one of the most difficult songs to understand among all the songs he had heard before.


    "Like I said, this song is inspired by a gorgeousdy with striking blue eyes that I had the pleasure to meet."


    Till the end, he didn''t im that the song he wrote was for Taylor, making it impossible for the fans to get the evidence for their dalliance.


    "Stay tuned for this Saturday. After getting to the top chart with the Singles ''Love and Heartbreak'', I will release 3 more singles with the theme, ''IMAGINE!'' See you guys soon!"


    The video ends there, and most of the audience was left in a daze as they still couldn''t believe that the video had ended like that. After collecting themselves, they became excited and curious about Edward''s next songs. For the subscribers, they also found a few cover songs posted inside the exclusive fansite, and couldn''t help but click on the next video as they couldn''t get enough of Edward.


    [Edward POV]


    After finishing the video livestream, Pepper gave me a white towel to wipe my sweat.


    "Can''t believe in an hour, you recorded 7 videos of yourself, coded the website, and nned everything almost to perfection." Pepper said. I grinned and wiped my head before tossing the towel to the side. "Are you sure you''re 15?" He asked in suspicion.


    "I''m just built different from the other kids." I replied cockily before walking to myptop to oversee the reactions and data from the livestream today.


    "500.000 new subscribers. So, 500 grand in just an hour. Eh... I think I can do better."


    The keyword Tenerife Sea quickly became trending on social media, and Taylor reached 3 million followers on twitter while I managed to reach 2.7 million followers, increasing both of our influence to the public arena today.


    I checked my Twitter page, andughed as I saw what Taylor had posted.


    TaylorOfficial: A ?? ?? You are on! I don''t think this is over! Something tells me you all can expect a new song pretty soon."


    I quickly reacted before Taylor could destroy everything I strived for today.


    EdwardNewgate: @TaylorOfficial Yeah. A new song from both of us, as we''re going to start our joint project together pretty soon!


    I called her quickly to prevent her from tweeting again and said, "I''m looking forward to a new song if you really want to create one for me, but don''t tweet anymore without my permission okay?"


    "Yes Daddy." Taylor replied submissively in a sexy voice.

 Chapter 109: Meeting A God.

    <h4>Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Meeting A God.</h4>


    [General POV]


    "Huh." Haley noticed something weird as she rewatched the exclusive video of Edward singing Tenerife Sea for the third time.


    "What?" Alex asked curiously.


    "You know that I haven''t seen him since Wednesday?" Haley muttered.


    "So?"


    Haley paused the video and pointed her finger at Edward''s knuckle. "He didn''t always have a bruise there, did he?"


    "Wait? You can see that?" Alex asked in a horrified tone as she squinted her eyes and tried to see the bruise, but it was barely perceptible for her. The only reason she knew it was there was because she saw it when they celebrated the championship at the family restaurant before.


    "So You know something. What''s going on?" Haley asked in a stern tone while crossing her arms together. Alex realized that her sister was sharper than she thought and said, "You know, I can''t tell you that. Not without his consent anyway-"


    "So did he get in a fight?" Haley guessed before Alex could finish her sentence.


    Alex was taken aback, and before she could react, Haley sighed and muttered to herself, "That...is...so hot."


    Alex scrunched her face in disgust, not knowing what to respond to her sister''s preference towards bad boys, which was something she inherited from her mother.


    "You know what, you should totally throw a party for your championship!" Haley turned to her sister with a face full of ulterior motive.


    "Huh? Well... That''s not a bad idea, but who woulde if I was the one who''s throwing the party?" Alex said self-deprecatingly.


    Haley sneered and said, "I thought you were smart. Don''t you get it? You only need to invite ONE PERSON! Then, the entire school will want toe on their own to YOUR party!"


    Alex was still confused, making Haley roll her eyes and say in frustration, "Edward! Just invite Edward!"


    "AHHH!" Alex eximed in realization. "But he''s so busy." She muttered.


    "Maybe throw the party on Sunday after he gets back from the studio." Haley nned.


    "Are you sure? Where are we even going to throw it? Here? Will mom let us?" Alex asked rapidly.


    "Just let me handle mom. You just focus on getting Edward here!" Haley said with a cocky grin. But as she turned her face away from Alex, her expression shook.


    "Now. How can I trick mom to go away?" She muttered to herself.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Inside the studio''s bathroom, I washed my mouth and was cleaning away the traces of vomit at the sink after I concluded the Twitter drama today.


    "Edward? Are you okay boy?" Pepper asked in concern from in front of the locked bathroom door.


    "I''m fine. Must be bad seafood for lunch or something." I replied hastily, not wanting for him to pry into my matters. As I looked up to the mirror in front of me, I saw a cold-looking Edward Newgate in a ssical suit scoffing at me.


    "Pathetic." He mocked.


    "Fuck off." I said before getting out of my imagination and wiped my hand with a paper towel. I pped my cheeks a few times and put on my fake smile again. I got out of the bathroom, my chest tightening ufortably as I passed by Pepper and walked to the recording room again.


    As I picked up my guitar, all of the other noises inside my mind and the ufortability disappeared.


    "Should I really open up to Linda?....Nah." I muttered to myself as I yed a simple melody to rest for a while.


    "Edward. For the ''Natural'' song...you''re releasing this first, and then you''re making the music video right? Do you already have an idea on what to make for the music video, or should I give that job to a creative director?" Pepper asked after he finished his call with the Twilight movie studio executives.


    The studio was delighted with the music video release timing and response. They also had been hinting about casting me into the movie for a while, but I kept avoiding the topic with them.


    "Yeah. I do."


    "Good." Pepper nodded, not bothering to ask about the budget for the music video now that we were flooded with the profits from the earlier song release and the streaming service. A lot of it was reinvested into other projects, and share acquisition from variouspanies, but thepany''s ount still stood strong.


    "By the way, how many views have I gotten on Grenade mv and all the songs download counts now?" I asked in a casual manner.


    "Views on Youtube, 50 million. It''s still rising. And the download counts had surpassed 20 million." Pepper replied in a calm manner. "You also have a few endorsement offers, but we will talk about that tomorrow. Are you going to rest now?'' He asked.


    "I''m finishing ''Whatever it Takes'' and ''Natural'' editing tonight before I''m tucking in. What about the rapper? Did you find someone?"


    "Harvey did. And she''s currently negotiating with the guy because...you know."


    I nodded at his remarks, and didn''t continue to ask further questions. The situation with the rapper was a bitplicated because the person I hired needed to spit out the bars I had written.


    It could be a bruise to their egos if they thought I was just using them for their image, and not their capabilities. It was a tough negotiation for Harvey that night, especially since she didn''t have a lot of time to do it.


    "Worstes to worst, I''ll just do it myself." I muttered.


    Pepper nodded in understanding before saying, "We''ll cross the bridge when we get there."


    ...


    Friday night, one day before the song''s release. Still, there were no signs of the rapper.


    I let out a heavy sigh and said, "You really can''t depend on an artist to be at an appointment on time huh."


    In the one day I stayed inside the desert studio, I managed tounch my Undercover casual game�C which I created just for fun, not for profit, did some photoshoot, discuss a fewpany endorsement offers �C just going in and out of meetings, agreeing toe to Alex''s party on Sunday, did some taxes, expose a pedofile ring connected to the sleazy producer �C making it impossible for him to get out of the crime, and many more. (E/N: thatst bit would get him "Clintoned" lol)


    "Well... at the very least, we found someone." Pepper said as we waited for the rapper by standing in front of the studio building together.


    I scoffed and said, "Nah. Don''t try to downy this. I asked you for a rapper..." As I said that, a ck SUV pulled up in front of both of us, its headlight illuminated our bodies, "...You gave me a rap god."


    Eminem jumped out of the SUV with a cold expression stered on his face. He swaggered towards us with his ck hoodie and ck cap, stretching his hands out to shake mine the second he got close to us.


    "Marshall."


    "Edward." I replied, shaking his hands.


    "I understand you don''t have much time?" He asked while shaking hands with Pepper.


    "Around 20 hours before the release." Pepper replied a bit fearfully. I gave a side eye to Pepper before leading Marshall inside the studio.


    "Harvey told you what I want?" Marshall asked as we walked side by side. Pepper was distancing himself away from us because of his instinctual fear of the pseudo-gangster�C or what other prejudice he has on the rapping artist.


    I nodded and replied, "A coboration sounds nice. But I have to warn you, I''m not good at rapping."


    Marshall scoffed and said, "I read your lyrics. You got bars. Of course, not as good as mine, but they are at least eptable."


    He continued, "What I want is not your writing skill anyway."


    "I know. You want the beat right? I can do that." I said, not knowing that my impromptu performance in the interview before when I sang ''Shivers'', had caused the rap god to gain a great impression on me.


    In the negotiation of his features in the song, he actually talked to his agency to negotiate with Entertain at an equal level, causing even the Dr to be confused.


    "We will discuss my songter. I assume we can finish this in an hour?" Marshall said as we reached the recording room.


    "Well. Maybe less than 20 minutes if I get what I want. As you well know I''ve already got some of my own stuff put together but I can show you the whole thing after we are done." I replied cheekily, making Marshall grin for the first time.


    I was wondering why he agreed to help me with this as he entered the recording room. I had already given him a demo of the song before, so he already knew what to do.


    And as I predicted, we managed to conclude the recording for the rap part of the song in under 20 minutes.


    "Well. That''s pretty fast." Marshall muttered with a mixture of disbelief and awe. " I don''t know whether you''re so decisive, or you''re just toozy to recheck the sound bites." He added.


    Pepper chimed in before I could answer, "The first one."


    I shrugged and said, "I know what I want, so I won''t waste my time trying something different, at least for now."


    We sat down inside the meeting room and talked about a few things after I finished with the full editing of the songs.


    "Now, I''m ready for the song''s release, and with 19 hours to spare." I said braggingly.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In Cuba, the FBI agent under the pseudonym Wayne Bruce sat on an outdoor table of a desert style cafe near the corner of the street.


    "You can see me right nerd?" He whispered to his earpiece while unbuttoning a few top buttons of his shirt, revealing his muscr chest.


    "Stop calling me ''nerd''. My name is Isaac."


    "Okay nerd. Should I button it up, or leave it?" He asked.


    "Leave it I think." Isaac replied from inside a stakeout van located a street over.


    Before Wayne could say something sarcastic about the logistic agent''s sexual orientation, Cam �C or otherwise known as Edward''s aunt walked to him.


    "I''m sorry I''mte." She said as she sat down in front of her.


    "Yet, I don''t see even a tinge of remorse in your face." Wayne said flirtingly as he leaned forward,


    "Ugh, I applied for a job with the FBI to help the country, now why the hell should I monitor your date?" Isaacined.


    Wayne ignored him and asked, "What''s wrong? You''re rarelyte."


    Cam lowered her gaze and said helplessly, "No. It''s my sister. She was trashed, so I had to bring her home."


    "At 10 am in the morning?" Wayne said in disbelief.


    "She''s going through some stuff." Cam said, defending her sister. After the couple ordered a few deserts and was genuinely enjoying their date, Isaac chimed in, "Wayne. I got some big news. Last night, the Perez family was attacked, and now they lost all of their influence in the city."


    "I''ll go to powder my nose for a while," Cam said before she walked to the bathroom, leaving behind a smiling Wayne. As she was out of his sight, his face changed into a solemn one and he whispered back to the earpiece, "How the hell- Weren''t they the ones under the CIA''s protection??"


    "Yes. And clearly the other powers in the city don''t want them to do that. We need to get out of the country, now."


    "Wait- Why?"


    "Director''s orders. The family has kept a namelist of the currently active US agents in this country, so he''s not taking any chances."


    "Ah fucking HELL!" Wayne screamed in frustration. "We still don''t know who did it?"


    "We don''t. The only clue we have is the one who did this, was a woman in a floral dress. Based on my data, she appeared 2 years ago, and had been hunting down our agents ever since. I''m assuming she got a connection with the Castros, she has been hunting down his opponents, and the ''potential threats to the country'' You know how these Commies are."


    "Shit!" Wayne cursed, not wanting to ept the reality of what was happening.


    "So, even though it''ll hurt, you need to end it with Cam, today." Isaac said decisively. "And I mean, END IT."


    Wayne couldn''t reply as Cam was already back from the toilet. "What''s wrong?" She asked as she noticed his expression was of a man spooked by something.


    "No-No. I... I just received a t-text from my boss." Wayne said.


    "And?"


    "He took back my vacation time, so I need to return to the States." Wayne said hesitatingly while grabbing Cam''s hands. "So, I can''t see you anymore."


    "Ah." Cam eximed suddenly before pulling her hands away.


    "Cami." Wayne called out in a depressed voice.


    "What? You''re going to go back right? Then, go back. We''re not a couple, so you don''t need to try to exin it to me."


    "Cam- I-"


    Before Wayne could say anything, Cam grabbed her purse and walked away from the table. She didn''t even look back once as she walked away. Wayne rubbed his head in frustration and said, "Let''s go back. The investigation of the Pritchetts is going nowhere. Maybe the team pursuing the Colombian lead will fare better."


    Isaac kept his mouth shut, not wanting to add more bad news to Wayne, especially since they couldn''t find any leads at all from their investigation on Pritchett''s closet.


    The Director was shutting down their entire operation, and the only reason Wayne could stay undercover in Cuba for so long was because Isaac had been helping him make excuses to the director.


    "Um, but before we go, the director asked us to go check out the street racing game tonight, and see if we can find a man named ''Doretto''." Isaac added. (E/N: What about ''Dorrito'' instead ??)


    Not knowing that he would actually meet Cam again tonight and get pped in front of a crowd of 100 people as he lied to her about going back, Wayne sighed and said, "Okay. But, we first need a car. A damn good one."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I hung out with one of my childhood idols, I finally understood why he epted the feature offer to rap in my song. After hisst album ''Re-Lapse'' came out, the response was quite mediocre for him, therefore he vowed to give all of his best effort in the next song albums.


    And no, he wasn''t meeting with me today to ask me for any help in making his own songs. His intention was to observe my passion, and to get inspired. So he purposely shared the lyrics for his new, still in the making, rap song titled, ''Not Afraid.''


    "Sing it." Marshall said suddenly as I read his lyrics.


    "What?" I looked at him in confusion.


    "I heard you rap in the demo. So do it. I wanna see how you''re going to spin this one."


    "Ummm..."


    "Well I did spit out your bars before-"


    "Alright I''ll do it." I said before suddenly standing up.


    "Where you going?" He asked in a teasing manner. I smirked and said, "Well I need a beat, so I''m going to take my synthesiser."


    Marshall''s face froze before he muttered to himself, "Right. I forgot he''s a little monster. Wait for me!" He quickly stood up and followed me from behind as I walked to the EDM synthesisers that Pepper had just bought for me.


    "You know, this lyric helps me a lot." I said suddenly, causing Marshall to scrunch his face. "Why?" He asked.


    "I can rte to it." I replied as my hand tapped a few buttons on the machine, creating the initialposition for the song.


    "I feel that there''s a lot more in the beginning before we get to this part in the lyrics, but Imma still do it."


    "Dre is still fiddling with the hook. When I get that, I can finish the entire song." Marshall said in a confident tone.


    "Really? But, it''s easy to see though." I unconsciously blurted out.


    Marshall raised one of his eyebrows before he let out a light chuckle and said, "If you think it''s so easy, why don''t you do it?"


    " A cob then? Or are you paying me a sry?" I replied cockily.


    "If it''s great, I don''t mind the cob." Marshall said suddenly, causing me to be taken aback.


    "Na-Nah man, it''s your song."


    "Shut up and sing." He said.


    "Wait. why don''t, you just join wherever you want? See if it fits." I said.


    "Huh? I don''t want to sing a few times kid-"


    "Don''t worry. Trust me." I said before grabbing my electric guitar.


    Marshall sighed and said, "Okay. Let''s y."


    I recorded the chorus echo, making Marshall widen his eyes. He grabbed a microphone quickly and we both swayed to the beat as we got into our performing character.


    Harvey, who just arrived and was watching on the other side of the room, chuckled and said, "So, when two crazy monsters meet, I wonder what''s going to happen."


    "??I''m not afraid (I''m not afraid)??" I grabbed the microphone and sang.


    "Yeah," Marshall said without singing.


    Edward: "??To take a stand (to take a stand)??"


    Marshall: It''s been a ride


    Edward: ??Everybody (everybody)??


    Marshall: I guess I had to go to that ce


    Edward: ??Come take my hand e take my hand)??


    Marshall: To get to this one


    Edward: ??We''ll walk this road together, through the storm??


    Marshall:Now some of you might still be in that ce


    Edward: ??Whatever weather, cold or warm??


    Marshall muttered, "If you''re tryna get out," while I sang, "??just lettin'' you know that you''re not alone.??"


    Marshall: Just follow me


    Edward: ??ho if you feel like you''ve been down the same road??


    Marshall: I''ll get you there


    Marshall grabbed his microphone tight and rapped, "??You can try and read my lyrics off of this paper before Iy ''em!??"


    I changed the beats quickly as I followed his lead in the melody.


    ??But you won''t take the sting out these words before I say ''em!


    ''Cause ain''t no way I''ma let you stop me from causin'' mayhem!??


    Marshall nced at me with an excited expression. Right now, he''s no longer Marshall. He''s, the one and only, the person who''seback was anticipated the most in this era, SLIM SHADY!


    ??When I say I''m a do somethin'', I do it!


    I don''t give a damn what you think!??


    ??I''m doin'' this for me, so fuck the world, feed it beans!


    It''s gassed up, if it thinks it''s stoppin'' me!??


    ??I''ma be what I set out to be, without a doubt, undoubtedly!


    And all those who look down on me, I''m tearin'' down your balcony!??


    ??No if, ands or buts, don''t try to ask him why or how can he!


    From "Infinite" down to thest "Rpse" album he''s still shittin''!


    Whether he''s on sry, paid hourly, until he bows out or he shits his bowels out of him!


    Whicheveres first, ?? for better or worse!??


    ??He''s married to the game, like a fuck you for Christmas!??


    "??His gift is a curse, forget the Earth, he''s got the urge to pull his dick from the dirt!


    And fuck the whole universe!??"


    "This is the part where Edward rtes to him huh." Harvey muttered while Pepper solemnly fanned himself with the paper fan. "I don''t like this. Not even a little bit." Pepper muttered.


    I walkedzily towards him as I sang the chorus, "??I''m not afraid (I''m not afraid)??"


    "??To take a stand (to take a stand)??"


    "??Everybody (everybody)??"


    "??Come take my hand e take my hand)??"


    "??We''ll walk this road together, through the storm??"


    "??Whatever weather, cold or warm??"


    "??Just lettin'' you know that you''re not alone??"


    "??ho if you feel like you''ve been down the same road!??"


    "YOU DID IT!" Marshall screamed in excitement with both of his hands raised up as he felt that most of the song was alreadypleted.


    As Pepper thought back about the chorus I was singing, he nodded in appreciation and muttered, "Edward is Edward after all! He scared me there for nothing!"


    While Pepper was deep in thought, Marshall suddenly said, "Do you want to meet Dre? Ande to my agency?"


    "EXXXCUSE ME!" Pepper gasped as he was offended by Marshall''s brave offer.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In Ohio, Taylor''s crew was loading all of her stuff into the road tour bus as they needed to get to the next concert venue.


    "STOP! STOP! Whatever is it you''re doing! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! PLEASE STOP!" Selena begged Taylor while on the phone with her, trying her absolute hardest to make her friend regain her sanity back.


    "He got a realtor friend right? Phil something. Maybe he can find me a house next to Ed. I know if I offer to buy the property at 3 times the market price, his neighbour won''t hesitate to vacate the house-"


    "LISTEN TO ME YOU NUMBSKULL!" Selena shouted again. "Just take a deep breath, and calm down first. You still have a career, and not to mention the fact that it isn''t legal yet for you guys to date, so just keep it in your pants for now!"


    "But, he loves me, and I love him, so why the hell should we wait?!" Taylor argued.


    "Look! Even I know he created the song as he did, leaving your name out and making excuses and keeping usible deniability because of the very same reason you said his name in yours and yed it off as a "gaffe" a mere slip of the tongue. He''s protecting you, can''t you see? So even if you don''t want to listen to me, please...just don''t throw away all of his efforts!"


    Taylor finally calmed down a bit after getting coaxed by Selena. After talking for a while, she smiled again as she said, "I can''t wait for our duet! I wanna be the first artist to officially sing together with him, and not do it because of a movie marketing ploy!"


    While Taylor was nning that, Marshall also had something to say to Edward.


    "Now that I had heard you rapping to that song, I can''t imagine it having gone any other way. So, let''s make this official, and sign a contract. You''ll feature in this song, and I will also give you credit for your songwriting."


    (A/N: Lack of reaction to the rap song cause there aren''t a lot of people around there, and the rap is too fast for me to include the reaction in between without ruining the flow. If you guys have any suggestions on how to improve the writing on the rap part, lemme know.)

 Chapter 110: Trending.

    <h4>Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Trending.?</h4>


    [General POV]


    At the set of Wizards of Waverly ce, Jennifer stone, a red-headed teenager with shoulder length wavy hair was filming together with Selena. As the director yelled, "CUT!", Jennifer tapped on Selena''s shoulder with an excited smile on her face.


    "Tell me please! Did Ed really make that song for Taylor? Or was it all just part of a grand marketing scheme for Twilight?!"


    Selena replied, "Well that''s what people on Twitter think. But I will tell you something. Until yesterday night, there wasn''t a "GRANDDD" marketing scheme at ALL!" She shook her hands together at the ''grand'' part with a silly smile on her face.


    "Really? SO It''s confirmed then-"


    "But," Selena stopped her friend with another ''but'', and an index finger at her face. She paused for dramatic effect before saying, "But. Ed took the opportunity from Taylor''s SLIP of the tongue, and concocted the whole thing...in just... under an hour! That man is a wizard!"


    Jennifer rolled her eyes and scoffed, "So you aren''t nning to tell me anything? I thought we were best friends?!"


    "We still are!" Selena replied with a smile. "I really did tell you the things I know."


    "Yeah, but not EVERYTHING you know!" Jennifer pouted and pinched Selena''s waist, causing her body to jerk.


    Compared to Taylor, Selena was closer to Jennifer more, and like she imed, they really were best friends. Selena desperately wanted to tell her everything, but she wouldn''t do that, not while they were inside the filming set at least.


    Selena scrolled her Twitter page and sighed, "Seriously. People still keep talking about it!"


    The #TenerifeSea was trending all over the ce, and Edward''s fans were split into two and debated whether Edward had just created the song to cover up the whole incident, or had already nned to sing the song for Taylor and finally got the opportunity to do it.


    Even a few celebrities were engaging in the topic, making Edward''s follower count rise to 4.3 million in just over one night of being a trending topic.


    @LilyFanClubPresident: My nose bleeds again. Last night was too much for me. #TAYDWARDFOREVER #TENERIFESEA #STARLIGHT


    @Gaga_Official: Last night, I squealed like I was a teenage girl all over again. I really love the whole #Teydward Drama.


    @Spain-Government: Unexpectedly, a lot of tourists arrived at our Canary Ind today for a tour of the Tenerife Sea after the song was releasedst night. @EdwardNewgate, Thank You!


    Even the real Slim Shady was tweeting about Edwardst night as he wouldn''t want to miss out on the opportunity. He posted a picture of him and Edward in the recording studio, making his page bombarded with questions about what was happening.


    Slim being Slim, he ignored all of the questions, making the curious fans frustrated and wanting to know more about the whole situation.


    While most people in the world were enjoying the whole drama, there were some that were against the whole thing. And one particr girl was in a bad mood all morning because Edward hadn''t replied to her text messages for the entire night, and was only replying to them in the morning.


    Haley read the Twitter post from a fan mockingly, "Oh, I wish they will be an official couple already.   ! Why can''t all these animals stay out of other people''s business?!" She stampeded off from her house''s kitchen to the living room, leaving behind Alex and her mother there.


    Alex was busily studying even on a Saturday. Her hair was messy, and she had a deep eye bag beneath her reddish eyes. ire was watching Haley storm off before turning to Alex and asked whisperingly after she saw Haley had gone out of earshot, "Alex, where is your decathlon medal? Why is it not in the ss disy I put it in yesterday?"


    Alex scoffed and said, "Why do you even care? It''s not like it''s an OUTSTANDING achievement that deserved its own glory right?" She grabbed her book and stormed off, leaving behind a taken aback ire.


    "Ale-" ire tried to reach out her hand and called out to her daughter, but she stopped midway.


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    "I screwed up! Big time!" ire said in a defeated tone and with teary eyes.


    Phil hugged her sideways andforted her, "Shh Shh Shh, it''s not your fault. You just don''t want anyone to feel bad. Sure, youpletely ignored Alex''s feelings, but at least your intention was good...right?"


    ire groaned and shook Phil''s hand off her body and said, "I should''ve made a bigger fuss for her championship...thing... I don''t know that she''s taking this very seriously? It''s not like Alex is trying hard to get all of these medals. She''s picking them up like flowers on the side of the street."


    Phil realized something and turned to ire before asking usatorily, "Were you the one who''s always stealing flowers from our neighborhood!?"


    ire grimaced and replied in a high pitched voice, "What?- NO!"


    [Commentary ends]


    Luke was on the house phone and passed by ire as he went to grab a banana.


    "Listen Manny, if you don''t finish those 200 sit ups, Edward is going to kill your mom." Luke said before pausing to hear what Manny said on the other side.


    "Yeah, I know he didn''t say that. The question is, will he really...not do it?" Luke said with a sly grin before going to torture Manny more as thetter was working out based on Edward''s schedules.


    At the same neighborhood but a few houses over, Jay was grimacing hard as he needed to argue with Cam over some matter in the Newgate''s house construction today.


    "Gosh Jay, Imagine, a water fountain arch, spanning from here, to the outdoor hot tub. THE. WOW. FACTOR!" Cam said excitedly as he stood in front of the backyard door. Edward was adding a patio on the backyard where he would rx and unwind after a busy day of work, and had given them the designs he wanted.


    Jay grunted and said, "No. Just follow what he wants. Why the hell do you want to do MORE work? It''s like this isn''t tiring enough already."


    Cam giggled and said knowingly, "I know that despite you pretending to be tired of this, you actually loveeee hammering and sawing stuff. I saw you smile a few times when you broke down his inner walls before."


    Jay sighed and murmured to himself while ncing at Cam, "Well. That''s not the thing I''m tired of."


    Unaware of what his partner''s father thoughts about him, Cam said, "Should we changed the cedar wood into Italian marble-"


    "That cost hundreds of thousands of dors. Also, Ed should''ve just moved out of this dump into a better ce now. He''s got the money. Why the hell didn''t he just do that?" Jayined.


    "Well. It may be the nostalgia-"


    "He changed everything inside Cam. So, it''s not that. And... moving houses will be cheaper than this." Jay grunted.


    At the edge of the city.


    "Ugh, what should we do? If these things go on, and Edward decides...to date someone else after this, It will be soooo difficult for him, you know?" Pepper said in concern while putting his head on the pantry desk inside the desert studio.


    While eating ice cream with a spoon, Harvey nodded and said, "Yup."


    "He is ying with fire!" Pepperined again.


    "Yup." Harvey replied nonmittedly.


    "I don''t know what he''s thinking, tying their twobels together. Sure, Taylor is a nice kid, but Edward is still way too young!"


    "Yup."


    "Do you even hear what I''m saying!"


    "Yup!"


    Edward walked past Pepper and Harvey to grab some coffee from the coffee machine while holding his phone next to his ear. "Oka-Okay- Calm down. You''re being CRAZY! I''m not dating Taylor!... YES! Of course I''ll tell you If I''m dating Taylor! So Stop CRYING!"


    Pepper asked after Edward finished talking, "Who is it?"


    Edward shook his head in frustration and replied, "Jacob!" He calmed himself down before asking, "We got a few offers right?"


    Harvey finally responded, "Yeah. Two magazine shoots, which can lead to a formal ambassador position... and amercial for soup."


    "For soup!?" Edward asked in disbelief.


    Harvey grinned and said, "For soup."


    Before Edward could react, his phone vibrated again. "Uhhh...I got to go..." He said urgently before running off to a ce where he could be alone. He got a text message from Taylor, or more urately, a 30 second "preview" video from Taylor, titled, "Reply to Tenerife Sea."


    While the video could be used as a reference for a sexual education study to teach youngs girls ways to ''relieve'' themselves, Edward had to open up hisptop after that and tightened the security for Taylor and his''s Icloud storage just incase in order to prevent any third party to ever get ess to their own personal files.


    "I don''t want my name to ever pop out when the Great Fappening happenster on." Ed vowed to himself.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Inside a photography office set, I was leaning against the mahogany desk as I posed for the camera. My hair was slicked back and I was wearing a double breasted, maroon coloured suit with the addition of a shiny new Rolex watch in my right hand.


    North, the entric photographer I was working with before, snapped a few pictures of me while lying down sideways on the floor.


    "Nice Ed! Another pose! NICE! Don''t stop changing! AH~ Be more ANNOYED! Yes! LIKE THAT! Look at me like I''m TRASH-"


    Pepper rolled his eyes at his friend and kicked her a little bit while warning her, "BEHAVE! Or I will hire another photographer!"


    North pursed her lips while rubbing her afro styled blue hair and said in excitement, "A ROLEX AD! Do you know how rare it is for thepany to endorse a newbie artist? And such a young one at that too!"


    "They even let me keep the watch." I added with a grin while fixing my tie, shing the merchandise. The representative from thepany was having lunch with Harvey, and didn''t interfere much with the photoshoot... because for some reason I didn''t understand... North was actually a giant name in themercial industry.


    North didn''t miss and snapped the picture of my smug look, which turned out to be so charismatic that thepany actually picked the impromptu shot to be included in their magazines and their promotional bannerter on.


    "Urgh! I could keep snapping pictures of him all day! Why!? WHY PEPPER!? Why the hell did you just give me an hour!" North grabbed Pepper by the cor before shaking him back and forth in frustration. "NOW CHANGE TO ANOTHER OUTFIT!"


    Pepper held North''s tiny hand and said, "Now now. Harvey is still negotiating with Adidas and Nike, so when we pick the winner between them, I will call you again."


    "Promise?"


    "Promise."


    I interjected at this moment before taking off my clothes, "Pepper, can we do a few shots for my website?"


    Pepper and North turned to me, with the photographer having a deranged look and Pepper having a concerned one.


    "Really? Must you do that now?" Pepper asked defeatedly as North had already celebrated her additional time to snap some photos today.


    "Yeah. Social media presence is important." I replied casually as I took out a giant pink feathery cape and put it over my shoulder.


    "Huh? This looks...menacing, and so charismatic at the same time. Did you design this Ed?" North asked.


    "No. Oda did." I replied, not exining the fact that when I saw the outfit they wanted me to wear today, my mind automatically went to the mafioso Donmingo from one piece. I grabbed the carved mahogany chair to the front and ced it next to the fake window before sittingzily on it and posing like the disgraced celestial dragon.


    North got goosebumps from my royalty look and her hands shivered. "N-No. It-Its iplete." She said with a shivering voice.


    "Good catch North." I said while nodding before Renaldo ran in with my custom made sses.


    "OH MY GOD!" North eximed before running around all over the ce to snap my pictures. Pepper shook his head at my shenanigans, his face full of tiredness from trying to keep his sanity intact today.


    Next, I changed into a blue and red zer with golden embroidery lining in a half square line from under my shoulder des to my sides, a ck undershirt underneath, a quick temporary dye on my hair to make me blonde and styled neatly, and a beige khaki pants with my right knee exposed from the on purpose rip.


    "Huh Edward? Why are you dressing up like a teenage girl''s doodle?" Pepper asked.


    I turned to him while the stylist was fixing my hair and replied, "Because it makes us the big bucks."


    It was the design Haley made for me for my birthday present before. It took a while for Longinus�C Pepper''s friend who ran a boutique to make it because of the insane specifications I requested of him.


    Pepper looked at me up and down with astonishment before saying, "I want to say ''You look ridiculous in this. What are you? A clown?''...But, this actually looks great on you."


    "I guess clothes DO make the man." Harvey added.


    "Wait. She actually gave it to you? I thought she was saying she needs to redraw it again...and again...and again..." Pepper asked in confusion.


    "She''s just feeling she''s not good enough." I replied.


    Pepper narrowed his eyes and asked, "So...How did you get it?"


    "Well...it doesn''t matter." I tried to dismiss the topic.


    "Edddd." Pepper called out sternly. I sighed and said, "I...might''ve asked Alex...to send me the designs...secretly..."


    Pepper let out a deep sigh and didn''t say anything else as I needed to work now. Next endorsement was from a chain brand, which fitted the outfit perfectly. Thepany saw my nest night and automatically made me the model for their newest design today.


    It was a silver chain with a lock design, and another golden chain with a cross. I posed a few times, mimicked the temperament of the korean idol artist, GDragon, andpletely made North fall for my charms.


    When the photoshoot was over, Pepper had to throw a bucket of cold iced water to North''s head, just to bring her back to reality. Regardless, it was a very sessful photo session today.


    ...


    I emailed a few pictures to my friends before getting a phone call from Jay.


    "Sup Jay?"


    "Ed. Your bedroom''s done. You cane back to sleep in your house starting tonight."


    "OH. That''s great news Jay. Thank you so much." I replied.


    ...


    [Alex POV]


    It was almost dinner time when I got out of my room and walked downstairs with my hands still holding the Science book I was reading.


    "OH GOD WHY!" Dad screamed like a girl as he forced himself to watch The Unborn horror movies again, and wanted to watch it till the end this time. He told us it was because he was a tough man, but mom exposed him and said he only wanted to look tough in front of Ed when he came by to resume watching the movieter.


    I didn''t think that Edward was still interested in finishing it, but I wouldn''t dismiss my dad''s effort to get through all of the jumpscares in the movie. He said before, he could handle horror movies...provided he knew when the horror factor came out in the scenes first.


    "ALEX! I cooked your favorite dish! LASAGNA~!" Mom tried to make a fuss over my achievement that she overlooked, but I was giving her the cold shoulder and didn''t respond to anything she said.


    "Alex, why are you still reading?" Luke asked while ying with his food.


    I rolled my eyes at him and said, "So that I won''t be a burden! Like you!"


    "HEY!" Luke gasped in offense. Then, he realized he didn''t care about the topic and continued eating his dino bites cheerily.


    Haley joined us at the dining table soon enough, dad being thest one toe over to the dinner table to eat. She whispered to me that over 50 people had agreed toe to the party�C if and only if...Edward was there.


    ''Huh. So, my name has no value at all. Good to know.'' I thought in a self-deprecating manner. But at least, all of my friends agreed toe to the party, so I got that going for me.


    "Haley! Don''t use your phone while you''re eating!" Mom admonished Haley despite not being together with us for dinner the entire week as she was busy working at her new job. Gosh I hate her.


    "No mom. Ed sent me an email?" Haley said in a puzzled tone. I was curious and asked her, "What did he say?"


    "He sent me a photo- WAIT A MINUTE!" Haley stood up abruptly, a huge grin broke out on her face.


    "What is it Haley? Tell us!" Dad asked excitedly, knowing that it was good news based on the reaction. However, my sister''s face was blushing and she couldn''t say anything as she was too embarrassed by it.


    I checked my phone as I received a text too, and finally knew what was going on.


    "OHH! Aren''t those the clothes you designed? Ed is actually putting them in magazines-"


    Haley cupped my mouth before I could finish my words, "Shut up Alex!"


    "WHATTTTT!" Dad opened his mouth wide and took Haley''s phone from her while she was distracted and gasped as he saw Edward''s great photo. I knew that when Enid knew about this, she would go crazy and haul as many copies of the magazine she could get, which made me concerned about her money management skills.


    Edward even included Haley''s name as the designer of the outfit, making her eyes teary.


    "We-We-We need to print this out, in a huugeee size, and give it to everyone we know! OW! HALEY! WE''RE SO PROUD OF YOU!" Mom said before she gave Haley a hug and cried along with her. Now do you see why I hate her so much?


    Anyway, I was still proud of my sister. I knew how much work she had put in on her designs, despite her efforts to try and hide it from anyone else. She would wake up at 3 or 4 am sometimes, and just doodle away.


    ''I thought my sister was just a dummy before, but turns out, she was actually quite cool.''


    "Wait- How did he get this-...ALEX!" Haley finally dotted all of the clues together, but I had no remorse for my actions.


    "Alex, why is he biting a medal in your photo?" Luke asked suddenly after he checked out both of the images Edward sent to each of us while the attention was focused on Haley.


    "Huh? What-" I was confused and checked the images Edward sent me, one of which, like Luke said, was him wearing the decathlon medal on his neck and was biting the golden ted metal sexily.


    I grinned from ear to ear as I saw it, but then I got depressed again when I remembered the matter of the decathlon. I turned off my phone and said, "I...I''m going back to my room."


    Dad was confused and asked in a calming tone, "Honey? What''s wrong?"


    "I...I just need to get back to studying-"


    "But why? All of your exams are over! You''re supposed to put your book down and start enjoying your end of the year now." Mom said.


    I got irked and red at her before stomping off to the stairs. But before I could get up, I heard dad whispered, "Why is she in such a bad mood- Wait...Is she...on her time of the month-"


    "DAD! OH MY GOD!" Both Haley and I shouted at the same time before my sister ran to follow me to the bedroom. We have a lot to talk about tonight, and I especially wanted to know what her n was to get our parents out of the house for us to have that party tomorrow.


    "It can''t be that...she has no actual ns...right?" I said with a light chuckle, not knowing how close my joke was to the actual truth.

 Chapter 111: Second Single Release.

    <h4>Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Second Single Release.?</h4>


    [ire''smentary]


    ire''s hair was a little unkempt and her nose a bit reddish as she sat on the couch wearing dowdy mom''s clothes.


    "I went to the girls room to take out the trash...But..."


    -shback-


    As ire tied up the trash bag, it hit her legs a little, which made her notice a metallic texture of the thing inside of it. She got a bad feeling, therefore she opened the trash bag to check.


    Her face paled as she took out Alex''s Decathlon gold medal from the trash bag.


    -shback ends-


    "She threw away her medal! That thing made her extremely excited and couldn''t shut up for 2 days, but now I found it in the trash?! Why did Alex throw it away? Is it really because of me?" ire asked with her voice breaking from the pressure and guilt she was feeling.


    "I tried to talk to her and ask her about it, but she wouldn''t talk to me at all!"


    "And now, I don''t know what else to do."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Honey. You made a mistake. Everyone made a mistake." Philforted the upset ire as she leaned into his arms. "I will talk to Alex. Who knows, she might not necessarily be mad at you."


    "Phil! She is mad at me! Why else would she throw away her medal and tune me out?" ire muttered in grief.


    Inside the teenage girls'' room, Alex was quietly listening to Edward''s songs with her headphones as she studied hard. Haley tapped her shoulder from the side, making Alex snap out of her focus and turned to her smiling sister.


    "What?" She asked.


    "I finished inviting people to the party. You''ve invited Ed right?"


    Alex was confused and said, "Why don''t you just invite him?"


    Haley rolled her eyes at Alex and said, "Don''t you know how long I''ve been trying to invite him to a party!? He just won''t say yes!"


    She was aggrieved at Edward''s tendency to stay home and work instead of going out and enjoying themselves. Haley had tried a few times as Edward and her were basically invited to every single party, but to no avail. Edward wouldn''t budge if the party wasn''t an important party for him, or one thrown by his close friends.


    That was why she was too excited to stop inviting people to the party at her house tomorrow. The amount of people she invited had already surpassed the 3 digit figure, which made Tara and Abby both speechless by her actions. Haley knew she would get lectured by Tara after this, but right now, there was a bigger problem.


    "Ummm...Ed isn''t answering his phone." Alex said. "Or replying to my messages."


    "Err..." Haley was bewildered, and didn''t know what to do now. Alex then remembered something and said, "Oh yeah. He did say he has a very busy schedule today and tomorrow. I don''t even know if he can make it over."


    Haley opened her mouth wide, and was frozen for almost a whole minute before she eximed, "WHY DIDN''T YOU TELL ME THAT BEFORE I INVITED EVERYONE!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Healty''s Choice Chicken Soup, it''s so good, you are gonna want to fire your grandma." I said to the camera with an innocent smile on my face.


    "CUT! Second take!"


    "Healty''s Choice Chicken Soup. It''s like lying in a wet and warm bed...That you''re not ashamed of."


    "Okay CUT!"


    The female director controlled herughter as I improvised in the scene I was shooting today. Not only her, but most of the people in the filming set were giggling.


    Wearing a simple white shirt and jeans, I stood in front of the kitchen set with a can of ''Healty''s Choice'' soup in my left hand. I asked yfully, "Why did you stop?"


    "Ed. That one is really good. But, please...just say the line we''ve written." The director said in a begging tone. I smiled and said, "Okay then."


    "Okay. Third take. Get ready." The director yelled at the crew. And I acted properly this time. "Healty''s Choice Chicken Soup. Try it today."


    The director finally concluded the shortmercial filming by shouting ''Cut''. My assistant Renaldo walked briskly inside the set with a refreshing cold towel in his hands and wiped my head with it gently.


    "Good job on the shoots. Themercial will start running on Monday, and I look forward to working with you again in the future." The female director walked to me and shook my hand as my job was over. She realized she forgot something and added, "Ahh...Also, good luck on the song''s release. When will ite out-"


    "In 3 hours." Renaldo replied before I could.


    The sun had already gone down when I walked out of the filming studio. The continuous photoshoot,mercial shooting, the meeting with Adidas''s representative, and finally promoting my songs release had made my mind extremely fatigued, but I couldn''t stop my day here just yet.


    "Renaldo, I need to go to the dock." I said when we got inside the car.


    "Okay." Renaldo said before he hesitated, " Mrs Dunphy and your father are already there for the employee meeting, why do you still need to go there on your own?"


    "I would just like to check on thepany on my own. Ahh, And also to yell at someone." I replied casually before changing the subject, "What did Pepper say after the meeting?"


    "He said that if you really want to push forward the album''s release, he''s not going to stop you." Renaldo exined. "Usually, a new artist takes several months to prepare for their album, but Pepper said if you actually want it, you can finish your entire album song track in a day, so this rule doesn''t really matter to you."


    ''Well Alex did call me the new song''s vending machine.''


    I nodded at Renaldo''s words and let him continue.


    "Right now, you have a big backlog of songs. So Pepper advised you to discuss with some professionals in the industry first before releasing it in order to make the final song selection ande out with the perfect arrangement and song distribution; he has already contacted a few guys to help you out with it."


    "Professionals? Who?" I asked as my eyes widened in surprise.


    "Well you know one of them. And for the rest, its-"


    We discussed for a while, and there wasn''t even a minute of silence in the car as we drove to the seaside.


    15 minutester, I finally arrived at the docks. No one noticed, but as the clock was nearing 9 o''clock where my second single "bundle" was going to be released, my fingers trembled a little, and my face paled.


    ''I...didn''t think that to release my trauma to the world would take so much from me.''


    ''I can''t stop working, even when I''m as fatigued as I am right now. I know...that if I stop and let myself be alone with those thoughts, it will be extremely harmful for my psyche. Part of me was screaming, asking me to stop what I was about to do.''


    As I waved to my dad who was standing in front of a group of people with a clipboard in his hand, I thought impulsively, ''Should I sail out to sea with dad, ande back a weekter when everything has calmed down?''


    However, as I kept ruminating about the matter, I became much more confident in that thought. After all ''Natural'' and ''Whatever It Takes'' weren''t just some songs I mindlessly copied from my previous life, but it was created by the ''child me'' and was written inside his journal.


    The journal''s gone, but I could remember everything written inside of it after getting the eidetic memory. The reason I decided to release the songs to the world was, in fact, one of my ns to unlock the traumatic part of my memory, and finally achieve inner peace with my identity struggle.


    "With this, I will bepletely able to move on from my childhood trauma, and who knows, maybe I could sleep properly at night without using the rest skill again."


    I walked next to my dad and stood at his side as he briefed the crew about several security concerns in their next trip.


    "I know that some of the customers are hard to deal with. Just so you guys understand, I''m not a fan of ''The Customer Is Always Right'' slogan. Most of the people in this world are idiots, so if you really don''t know how to handle them, refer to me or Dwayne quickly."


    A middle-aged man with pale blond hair, a protruding gut, and aical high pitched voice raised his hand.


    "Yeah Muppe- I mean Gary." Dad almost blurted out the guy''s nickname, but he managed to correct it as Gary didn''t hear what he was saying before.


    "What about ire? Can we ask ire?"


    To be honest, most of the crew members here had even bigger trust on ire than my dad. However, the issue wasn''t because ofpetency, but ire was coddling them by solving every single issue for them.


    "I''d rather you guys not call ire while she''s having the day off. Philined a few times because of you guys." Dad said with some apprehension in his voice.


    I spoke up at this time, causing all the attention to be focused on me, "ire will no longer be able to solve your problems."


    "Huh? Is she fired?"


    "What''s going on?!"


    "Poor Mrs Dunphy."


    People started to murmur, but I held my hand at them, making them all silent with a gesture.


    "Let me finish. As you guys know, ire has been promoted to be the logistic director. So if you guys have any questions about dealing with the customers, just refer to our customer service rep Dina. I need to stop you guys from being so dependent on ire, otherwise the wholepany operation would be in trouble when she isn''t around."


    Despite their reluctance, the crew nodded in understanding.


    "Dn. What''s the monthly record of you tripping on the ship''s deck and falling into the sea now?" I asked casually.


    "11 times." Dn replied with a proud tone.


    "We need to get the number down to at least 10 in the next month, okay? Dwayne isn''t getting any younger. He can''t always dive into the sea to save you. And how are your swimming lessons going?"


    "Awesome. Yesterday, I let myself rx while in the pool. But I don''t know why instead of going up and saving myself like the instructor said, I just kept suffocating." Dn said in confusion.


    I sighed and asked, "When youpare your posture to your sleeping posture, are you on your back, or on your front?"


    "Oh, I always sleep on my back."


    "That may be the problem buddy. You need your nose free from the water for you to actually breathe."


    Dwayne smacked the back of Dn''s head as he finally understood why Dn had so much trouble just for learning how to swim.


    "Also, in less than 6 hours, your SATs will be online. Are you excited?" I asked with a mischievous smile, which made Dn''s face pale.


    Dwayne interjected, "You know, if you didn''t get a score above 800, I will make you quit this job."


    "I know." Dn replied pitifully.


    "Glenn, I know we have a lot of fun, eating the leftover foods from the buffet, emptying the alcohol sses and all, but when you get your 3rd heart attack in less than 2 months, you need to at least try to change what you''re doing okay buddy?" I said as I turned to another crew member.


    "James. I talked to the insurance agent, and your dentures ARE included in our healthcare n. So please just go and make one instead of creeping out our customers with your ckened teeth."


    An old man with a white beard smiled, revealing his empty gums and his only two remaining teeth in his mouth.


    "Lisa. We will pay half of your college tuition if you decide to further your studies, so don''t worry about that too much."


    "Jerome-"


    "Tyrone-"


    I called out the crew one by one as I solved their issues, and then I said, "We now have 5 medium-sized yachts, and 2 small party yachts. Although this is great, it also means that we now have to focus more on ship''s maintenance and overall safety. We also have hired over 10 ship captains to expand our business."


    "Marco, Ace, Thatch, ..." I introduced the captain''s one by one, and we had a buffet to celebrate and for the crew to get to know each other. And I had no idea how, but Dn managed to fall into the sea for the 12th time today, which made me really worried for his future here.


    "I should fire him soon before he bes fish food." I muttered while shaking my head slightly.


    "Hmm?" As I watched Dwayne jumping into the water to help Dn, I noticed a new sailing ship docked right next to the port.


    Dad noticed where I was looking and said, "She''s a beauty, isn''t she? Too bad the engine is damaged, and now the owner is selling it. Although he offered a very cheap price, no one would actually want to buy it as it''ll cost too much to fix it."


    "Hmm...What''s wrong with the engine?" I asked. "And how cheap is he selling it?"


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Oh my god! I''m so excited!" Phil eximed like a teenage girl. Sitting at the dining table, he browsed through Edward''s fan website to talk with his other fans from all across the world, all of them waiting for the same thing.


    "15 minutes till the song''s release!" Phil shouted to his family without taking his eyes off theptop. At the living room, Alex was texting her friends on her phone before ire sat carefully next to her.


    "Alex, Why don''t we go out, just the two of us-"


    But before ire could finish her words, Alex stood up and walked away, leaving behind a choked up ire again.


    "Hey. No one can get in contact with him." Alex reported to Haley after trying to get in contact with Edward for the whole day, but she couldn''t.


    "Ugh! I can''t contact Pepper as he''s in a meeting." Haley groaned in frustration. "Is he doing this on purpose? Is that it?"


    However, despite her usation, Haley was worried for Edward, and was wondering if she had done something wrong. When someone who usually replies to your messages suddenly gives you the cold shoulder, it''s hard to be able to feel okay with it.


    "Ummm...." ire heard what the girls were discussing and she spoke up, making the girls turn to her. "There''s a ship crew meeting today at the docks, and Ed will be there. Do you want me to call his dad?"


    Haley brightened up while Alex frowned slightly before returning to her stoic face again. "I don''t care." Alex said before she walked away to her room.


    "Honey! She''s talking to you again!" Philforted excitedly as he gave ire a light hug. While ire was looking at Alex, Haley took her phone and gave it to her.


    "Call him. Please."


    "You know, he''s probably-"


    "MOM! Call him, and I will help you with Alex''s thing."


    "Huh- O-Okay!"


    ire called Ted quickly, and Haley could finally get in touch with Edward after a while. However, ire was standing next to her, making it impossible for her to invite Ed to a party, without ire knowing about it.


    "Hello? Haley? Did the line disconnect?" Ed asked as all he could hear was silenting from the other side of the call.


    "I- Can I call you back in a minute?" Haley asked.


    "Sure. I will turn on my phone. You can just call me there." Ed replied before Haley disconnected the call.


    "What did he say? Did he ask about me noting to the meeting today?" ire asked nervously as she was supposed to be at the docks together with the crew today.


    Haley rolled her eyes as she said, "Mom. I spoke. One line! Also, why aren''t you there?"


    "With all of Alex''s stuff, I don''t think that I can focus on work right now." ire confessed.


    "5 minutes!" Phil said excitedly again before adding, "Also. Your mom is missing out on a celebrity cruise. If she wasn''t fighting with Alex, we wouldn''t even see her tomorrow as she would be an onboard crew member for Iron Man''s party."


    ire looked aggrieved, but inside, she felt a bit proud and hopeful. She expected Haley to tell Alex about her sacrifice, and they could mend their rtionship again afterward.


    " Wow mom. You have a quick fix for your thing with Alex, but you decided to not go?" Haley said ambiguously.


    "What do you mean?" ire asked, grabbing Haley''s arm before she could walk away.


    "I''m just saying. You know Alex is a huge NERD. She loves Iron Man." Haley said with some ulterior motive. "You know, if you spend the entire day with RDJ, maybe Alex will finally see your coolness, but instead you decided to stay at home in your "mom clothes" and bother her. Even for me that''s annoying."


    ire widened her eyes in surprise while Phil was in shock.


    "Maybe...some time away from each other will be good for you guys. I can invite some friends, and Alex''s friends toe here to cheer her up while you''re gone...you know...if you want me to do it."


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Alex is not a nerd, at least ''THAT'' kind of nerd, I think so??. But who cares, this way I can make mom leave the house and we can have the party here without her ruining it." Haley said.


    "Also, I talked to Ed, and he said he could barely make it to the party as he has an interview tomorrow. He might make it at thetter half of the party, but I know a lot of people will leave the party if they know he''s noting."


    mentary ends]


    Haley didn''t mind it if Phil was the one who stayed home to monitor them as there were a lot of ways for her to use if she decided to send him somewhere elseter on. But not her mom. Whatever else she does she HAS TO get her mom away before the party starts.


    "The song''s out!" Phil eximed, shocking both ire and Haley. Both of them ran to the dining room where Phil was sitting and clicking on hisptop. Secondster, Luke appeared next to ire while Alex appeared next to Haley.


    "I can''t wait!" Luke eximed as he waited for Phil to buy the songs before listening to it.

 Chapter 112: Whatever it takes!

    <h4>Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Whatever it takes!</h4>


    (My carpal tunnel is ring up, so I will be taking some extra time to finish writing a chap, so the upload won''t be consistent for two weeks. )


    [General POV]


    "Which song shall we hear first? Enemy? Natural? Or Whatever it takes-"


    "Just y the first one." ire rolled her eyes at Phil''s questions as she couldn''t wait any longer.


    "So...Which one?" Phil asked carefully, in which ire threw her head back and gestured in frustration before calming down and said, "Whatever it takes."


    "Sure." Phil replied.


    While Phil and ire were arguing , the siblings were having a conversation on their own.


    "A second singles release isn''t normal right? I''m not crazy?" Haley asked in a puzzled tone as she thought about the matter.


    Alex replied, "No. You''re not crazy. He''s very brave to haveunched this. But none of it is free, so I guess it doesn''t matter much."


    "But people can pirate it and stream it online for free." Haley added again in a concerned tone. "Won''t that just make him earn less?.


    "Yeah. Sure. But for some reason, none of Ed''s interviews or songs are able to be pirated and posted online." Alex exined. She saw that Haley was still confused, so she rified, "That''s a good thing."


    "OOo..." Haley eximed before turning her attention to theptop. Before Phil could finally press y, she asked, "Hey dad. Wouldn''t it be better if we hear it with speakers-"


    "That''s a great idea Haley! I''ll be right back! Luke! To the garage!" Phil stopped his finger and stood up abruptly from the chair before running out of the kitchen to get his speakers. ire was bbergasted and looked at Haley with an expression as if she''s asking, ''Seriously?''.


    Haley could only shrug, and they both could hear Phil shout from afar, "And don''t you guys dare to listen to it first without me!"


    In another part of the country, a certain teenage pop star was also waiting for the new singles release.


    "I''m soo excited! He didn''t even give me a preview of the songs before it came out! That jerk!" Taylorined to her makeup staff as she waited backstage of her concert venue.


    But as she wore her headphones, her assistant barged into the room andined angrily, "Taylor! What are you doing!? You need to get onstage in another 15 minutes! Do you think that you still have time to listen to the songs?!"


    Taylor stared at the assistant and replied casually, "Yeah. 15 minutes. The whole three songs don''t even reach 12 minutes. I have 3 minutes to spare to get ready after."


    "But-"


    "The more you disturb me, the longer it will take for me to finish listening to them and I''m not moving until I do." She said in a sing-songy tone.


    "Urgh!" The assistant grunted and stampeded off as she couldn''t deal with Taylor''s shenanigans any further.


    "Tsk Tsk Tsk. I really should change my agency." Taylor clicked her tongue and muttered as she pressed y on the first song.


    [Whatever it Takes- Imagine Dragon]


    ????????????


    "??Falling too fast to prepare for this


    Tripping in the world could be dangerous


    Everybody circling, it''s vulturous


    Negative, nepotist ??"


    "Oh. I thought it''s going to be a romantic song." Taylor muttered iprehensibly, not hiding the fact that she was wishing for Ed to make another song for her. Although a bit disappointed, she continued to listen to the song.


    In the Dunphy''s house, as ire heard the lyrics, she widened her eyes and smacked Phil''s shoulders repeatedly to gain his attention.


    "O! What?" Phil eximed in pain before ncing at ire who was standing behind him.


    "The book."


    "What book- OOOOHHHH... The book. Seriously?"" He squinted his eyes in disbelief as he asked. ire nodded repeatedly and before she could talk, Luke put his index finger on his lips and shushed them.


    "I wanna hear the song, not you guys talking. Have some respect for Edward." Luke admonished them.


    "Oh-Okay. Sorry." ire was baffled, not knowing how big of a fan he was, and shut her mouth for the whole song after that.


    While ire was talking to Phil, Alex and Haley fell into a daze as they listened to the song. It was as if they could see Edward who was wearing his ssical music suit stood up in front of the stage, fighting the jeering of thepetitors as he yed his songs.


    "??Everybody waiting for the fall of man


    Everybody praying for the end of times


    Everybody hoping they could be the one


    I was born to run, I was born for this??"


    In a mansion somewhere in Hollywood, RDJ took off his sses and leaned forward in his chair from a rxed position as he heard the song. His wife Susan was beside him, having some tears in her eyes.


    "This is a song for me right?" RDJ asked cockily, but he quickly controlled himself as his wife red at him.


    ??Whip, whip


    Run me like a racehorse


    Pull me like a ripcord


    Break me down and build me up


    I wanna be the slip, slip


    Word upon your lip, lip


    Letter that you rip, rip


    Break me down and build me up


    Whatever it takes??


    Ted sighed as he heard the song. He turned around to look at his son, only to find him gone.


    "Where did he go?" Ted asked the surrounding crew members who were listening to the songs with him. They shrugged as they had no idea where Edward had gone. Dwayne replied, "He''s in the toilet."


    "Ahh..Okay."


    "Hey, although the whole melody raises up your spirit, don''t you think the lyrics are a bit sad?" Dn asked suddenly.


    ??''Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins


    I do whatever it takes??


    "It must be your imagination." Dwayne replied to Dn.


    ??''Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains


    Whatever it takes??


    ??Yeah, take me to the top I''m ready for


    Whatever it takes??


    ??''Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins


    I do what it takes??


    "Hmm...Why do I feel so choked up?" Selena asked in a perplexed tone while wiping her tears as she heard the songs in her apartment bedroom.


    ??Always had a fear of being typical


    Looking at my body feeling miserable


    Always hanging on to the visual


    I wanna be invisible??


    Eminem showed Dr Dre the song, and Dremented, "I know he''s rhyming. But it ain''t rapping, although it is quite simr and I can totally see it certainly does fuse hip hop vibes."


    ??Looking at my years like a martyrdom


    Everybody needs to be a part of ''em


    Never be enough, I''m the prodigal son


    I was born to run, I was born for this??


    "His years felt like an ordeal he had to go through. A life where he always had to meet others'' expectations of him. And since he was burdened by his ability since he was young, he thought that''s all he was good for. I think I have what I need now for his next therapy session." Dr Linda Martin said as she jotted down her thoughts in her notebook.


    ??Whip, whip


    Run me like a racehorse


    Pull me like a ripcord


    Break me down and build me up


    I wanna be the slip, slip


    Word upon your lip, lip


    Letter that you rip, rip


    Break me down and build me up


    Whatever it takes??


    "A puppet." Alex eximed suddenly. Haley widened her eyes and it became red instantly as she finally understood what Edward was conveying in the chorus.


    ??''Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins


    I do whatever it takes??


    ??''Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains


    Whatever it takes??


    ??Yeah, take me to the top, I''m ready for


    Whatever it takes??


    ??''Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins


    I do what it takes??


    Most of the fans who were listening to the songs didn''t feel what the people who were close to Ed felt.


    "Oh my god. This song makes me think that it''s possible for me to do anything!"


    "It already climbed into the top 10 songs, and it had just been released!"


    "Ahhh I really need to get tickets to Edward''s concert!! RIGHT NOW!"


    In a mansion in Cuba, a woman in a floral dress was listening to the songs with an iprehensible expression on her face. The bedroom she was staying in was filled with trash and empty alcohol bottles.


    "Hermana, ?No crees que es hora de que regreses? (Sister, don''t you think it''s time for you to go back?)" Edward''s Aunt Cam asked in a careful tone.


    "Cam...I...I can''t go back." Miranda�C Edward''s mother said in a choked up voice. "I could never go back now."


    (Eve Mendes- Edward''s mother look-alike)


    ??Hypocritical, egotistical


    Don''t wanna be the parenthetical, hypothetical??


    "(Sigh) Okay." Cam sighed.


    "But...you should go there...and take care of him for me." Miranda requested with a teary face as she turned to her adopted sister.


    ??Working onto something that I''m proud of, out of the box


    An epoxy to the world and the vision we''ve lost??


    "Good for him. Otherwise, we would never have met Edward the singer." Elsa said casually as she rolled around on Jenna''s bed. Jenna red at her and said, "Shut up if you don''t understand anything!"


    ??I''m an apostrophe


    I''m just a symbol to remind you that there''s more to see??


    ??I''m just a product of the system, a catastrophe


    And yet a masterpiece, and yet I''m half-diseased??


    "That''s...exactly what he is." Mitchell muttered.


    ??And when I am deceased


    At least I go down to the grave and die happily


    Leave the body and my soul to be a part of thee??


    ire squinted her eyes and asked in a concerned tone, "Did he just say when he''s deceased?"


    (??Underwater sound??)


    "Oh my god. Why are there underwater sounds? " Cam asked in a dramatic manner.


    Despite not ying along to Cam''s freak out, Mitchell was also feeling ufortable when he heard it.


    "Is he telling us...he''s drowning?" Mitchell hypothesized.


    ??Whatever it takes??


    ??''Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins


    I do whatever it takes??


    ??''Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains


    Whatever it takes??


    ??Yeah, take me to the top, I''m ready for


    Whatever it takes??


    ??''Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins


    I do what it takes??


    As the song ends, other than the fans who were absolutely loving the song, people like Cam, ire, Phil, and Ted were having mixed feelings about it. Pepper had already listened to the songs before, so he just sighed and said, "I can''t believe he took such a painful past, and packaged it into a top 10 song."


    Renaldo who''s standing next to Pepper nodded despite not knowing anything about Ed''s past, and said, "Well... Like Edward said... He doesn''t care about exposing himself as long as he makes money from it."


    "Hmm...Where is Ed now by the way?" Pepper asked as he felt the need to go there and give Edward a hug as he knew it would be a difficult time for him now.


    "He''s...at the pier with his dad." Renaldo answered.


    "Well...if he''s with his dad." Pepper said dismissively before going to handle a few more things for Edward''s career.


    In the Dunphy''s house, ire asked, "Haley. Can you still call Ed now?"


    "No mom. His phone is off again." Haley replied with a worried expression.


    Taylor also wanted to call Edward, but it was futile. No one could contact Edward at this moment.


    "What is wrong with him!?" Taylor grunted angrily as she tried to call him again for the 4th time.


    In the Edward''s website forum, Edward''s loyal fan was having a field day with all 3 new songs. And the reaction for ''Whatever it takes'' was especially positive.


    LilyFanClubPresident : " (''Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins) This is what I felt when I was listening to the song. Goosebumps all over!"


    TiaDalma: This song is soo inspiring! LOVE YOU EDWARD!


    Pluto: Red bull should hire this guy. This song gives me more wings than the actual drink. Although, this may contribute from the fact that I might have a severe energy drink addiction and the drink doesn''t affect me any longer. But still.


    By an hour after the release, the song had climbed to number 7 of the Itunes chart.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Blueekk!" I threw up my entire guts as I hugged the toilet bowl and kneeling on the dirty bathroom tiles. My eyes were teary, my nose runny, and drool was overflowing from my lips.


    With a sniff, I tried to calm myself down and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before sitting on the floor of the toilet.


    "Ughh. I hate panic attacks." I said casually as I held my hurting stomach. "The worst part is, I''m very confused whether the panic attack is mine or the previous guy leftovers."


    I really hated the way that my mind was hiding something away from me. The Afterlife Corporation told me that the previous Edward and the current me were the same guy�C I just had unlocked the memory of my past life after I got that skateboard incident.


    But the fact that my mind was keeping something away from me was very disconcerting. If I was truly the same guy, I should have ess to ALL the memories from before. So I did the stupid thing by revealing the song the previous me had written and wanted to keep hidden his entire life as he wanted to be a ssical musician.


    "Like ripping off a band aid." I muttered in a self-deprecating manner. And like I thought, I did really get ess to the traumatic memory by doing this.


    "But the wound beneath had already festered." I muttered with some regret.


    "Still...it certainly saved me a lot of time and money when measured against years of therapy before finally recognizing and facing my trauma."


    As I rested my head on the stall walls, I suddenly heard a knocking from outside the door.


    "Ed. You have been here a long time. Are you okay?" Dad asked in a concerned voice.


    "Yeah. I''m okay." I answered weakly.


    "Are you sure? Cause I can see you''re sitting on the floor." Dad asked again.


    "..." I stayed silent for a while before I unlocked the door. Dad opened it and looked around with a worried expression before saying, "Hey Bud, what happened?"


    "Ugh. Don''t ''Hey Bud'' me. I hate that." I said with a grimace. Dad helped me to unroll some tissue and helped me wipe off some dirtiness from my shirt.


    "Are you okay? Do you need me to call Dr Linda?" He asked.


    I waved my hand dismissively and said, "It''s fine. I just need to calm down. In fact, I''m a whole lot better nowpared to before."


    And it was true.


    Before, I didn''t even know why I had such a resounding hate for my mother. But now, the memory of ourst conversation together was finally opened up, albeit not fully.


    ''And don''t get me wrong. The trauma wasn''t because of the one conversation I had with that woman. It was from all of the collective trauma that I had faced from my early morning career, allpounded together with a statement from her.''


    "Okay. I won''t force you to talk." Dad said before he said, "Scoot over."


    "What? Don''t sit on the toilet floor. It''s disgusting!" I tried to stop him, but he was stubborn and he sat next to me.


    "I''m not going anywhere besides being there next to you."


    I smiled at his words and we sat there silently as I processed my thoughts without a peep from my dad.


    shback -


    Mid July, Year 2006, at the final of the under 14 International Violin Composition Competition.


    While wearing a small tuxedo, I was practicing my facial expression while holding a ck wood violin in my hand where I saw my mother talking to a woman in a floral dress. I didn''t hear what she was saying before, but she was arguing deeply with the woman.


    "What else should you do? Just leave him ande back!" The woman in the floral dress said with a raised tone.


    "I can''t leave my son!" My mom argued back.


    "This is for our country!"


    "Mom. What''s wrong?" I went to her and asked. My mom finally snapped out of it and the woman turned sideways and pulled herrge hat to cover her face.


    "Well honey. I...I don''t think that I can stay for yourpetition." Mom said.


    "But-But you promised-"


    "Honey. It''s not that big of a deal. You''ll win anyway. You have a god given talent for this." Mom said before she left with the woman.


    ''God given talent?'' The young me gritted my teeth as I thought in frustration. "So why the hell have I been practicing like a mad man if God has already given me everything I need?" I muttered angrily.


    The tiredness from practicing, the pressure from having to perform well and deal with the critical crowd, the fake smiles I had to wear, all of it was too much to handle for the young me.


    So when I went to the stage that day, I had my first ever panic attack, and fainted underneath the spotlight.


    ''What does it matter if I win? People will just hate me more if I win.''


    My eyes darted on the stares of the audience, and I couldn''t hear anything except a high pitched ringing tone in my ears. My mouth became dry, and my hands were shivering.


    ''Why didn''t mom understand? I did it all to make her smile, but she isn''t even here.''


    I clutched my chest as I fell to my knees in front of the whole audience. I saw Dad was running towards me.


    ''Does she really love me? Or does she love being a mother of a prodigy?'' I thought before I lost my consciousness.


    I was taken to the hospital and didn''t wake up for 3 days after the whole incident. I was just...so tired from everything at that time.


    When I woke upter, I found out from my dad that my mother had already left our family. I med myself for the whole incident. I thought by fainting on the stage, I had failed my mother''s expectation, and she didn''t need me anymore.


    -shback ends-


    "So...Dad... When are you going to tell me?"


    "Huh?" My dad who was sitting next to me was confused as I suddenly asked him a question. "Tell you about what?"


    "The real reason mom left." I confronted him. He sighed and said, "Well...your mom had something to do in her country. That''s all I can say for now."


    "So...who came out with the lesbian thing?" I asked jokingly.


    "That''ll be your Uncle Aaron." Dad replied with a small chuckle.


    Iughed together with him even though he was still keeping the real reason mom left away from me and we talked a lot about my childhood before he asked, "So. What are you going to do now?"


    "Well...I don''t know." I said while wiping my mouth. " Although I do know I need to burn my clothes now and take a bath. I do have a burning anger in my chest, so I might need to fight someone after this to let it all out."


    "Do you...want to join a fight club?" Dad asked jokingly. I turned to him with a fake surprised expression and said, "Dad. You broke the rule."


    He shook his head embarrassingly and said, "So I guess I need to turn in my membership after this."


    Iughed and said, "Don''t worry. I won''t tell anyone you slipped up."


    Dad nodded his head and patted my shoulder before he stood up first. He lent me a hand to get up and said, "Come on. I think you can borrow some of Dn''s clothes. He always falls into the sea so he keeps a few extra sets here."


    "Cool." I grabbed my dad''s hand and stood up with his help before we walked together to his office. There wasn''t anyone there, so the matter today was only known to me and my dad.


    ''Maybe next time, I should really avoid doing dangerous things that could mess with my psyche. Should I really open up to Linda? Hmmm...That''s a thought.''


    "What are you thinking about now?" Dad asked after I finished changing.


    "Nothing."


    Dad nodded and we didn''t return to the topic anymore. After a while, he asked, "Do you want to stay inside my ship tonight? I know you hate sleeping in the ship''s cabin, but-"


    "No no. None at all. In fact, I missed it." I replied instantly as I didn''t want to deal with anything else and just wanted to rest my mind for a while. Dad led me to his Captain''s cabin where I flopped onto the bed the moment I walked into it.


    Without me realizing it, I had already fallen asleep before it was even 10 pm today, and I didn''t even have to activate my [Rest] skill to do it. I didn''t turn on my phone, nor did I check the reviews of the songs after it was uploaded. I didn''t care about how many downloads I had, nor if people love the songs or not.


    All I wanted right now, was to rest a bit.

 Chapter 113: Popular Girl Street Cred. (1)

    <h4>Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Popr Girl Street Cred. (1)</h4>


    [Haley POV]


    "DAD! DID YOU GET IT!?" I yelled as I ran towards the kitchen after waking up as early as 9 am on a Sunday�C a day in which I usually slept till noon.


    "I GOT IT!" Dad turned with the GQ magazine in his right hand, and he opened up his arms wide expecting a hug. But instead, I snatched the magazine in his hand as I ran past him before breaking my momentum a few steps away.


    Disappointed, Dad shook his head lightly before grinning widely and said, "It''s on page 13."


    I flipped through the pages furiously before finallynding on Edward''s modeling page where he wore the outfit I designed for him.


    "OH. HE REALLY DID IT! I T-Thought he was lying!" I muttered, extremely touched by Ed''s decision, even though I felt that he was only doing so as charity.


    ''There was no way that I could ever be good enough to design something that was worth being included in any magazines...right?''


    Alex and my mother were holding the same magazine each in their hands with Alex staying as far away as possible from mom as I read through the article.


    Alex read the article out loud before I could finish, "The intricate design of the outfit designed by Miss Haley Dunphy managed to maximize the charm of the ne. We''re looking forward to seeing more interesting designs from her in the future."


    "Good for you Haley. You finally know which career path you''re going to take after you finish highschool." Alex added with a hint of lethargy in her tone.


    I could feel my blood rushing to my cheeks as I heard it. "Ugh...Why does he have to do this now? I''m not prepared for this!" I muttered in dissatisfaction as I ran away from the kitchen to hide my embarrassment amidst my family''sughter.


    I wanted to call Edward and admonish him, but he had the Billboard interview today and was going to be out of reach till 2 in the afternoon.


    "Brilliant bastard." I cursed while having a smile on my face before making my way towards Abby''s house as I received an urgent text from her telling me toe over.


    *Ding Dong*


    As I waited in front of the cottage-styled house, Abby''s mother Desiree opened the door while wearing only an apron. I widened my eyes as I stuttered, "D-D-Desire. Why are you naked?"


    "Huh? I am wearing something underneath." Desiree turned despite my shock. Soon my mind eased as I saw the dress she was wearing behind the apron. Before I could say anything, she hugged me and said in a giddy tone, "Congrats Haley! I saw the article! I''m really proud of you!"


    Her affectionate demeanor made me slightly abashed, and I couldn''t find any words to reply to her enthusiasm. Luckily for me, Abby called out from afar, "MOM! Is that Haley!? Let her in! I''m in my room!"


    "Okay~" Desiree responded before she asked, "Have you had breakfast yet?"


    "No, not yet."


    "When you finish whatever it is you girls are doing, thene to the kitchen. I will cook some breakfast." She said before she turned and walked away.


    "Or...you know...just buy it..." I muttered in a low voice.


    "HALEY!" Abby called out again.


    "COMING!" I replied and I ran to her room quickly, only to be met with a mess even bigger than in my own room.


    "Uhhh... What''s happening?" I asked as I looked at Abby who was only wearing her underwear and was standing in the middle of her room, with all of her outfits scattered on the bed and on the floor.


    "Help me Haley~" Abby whined as she ran and hugged me, burying my face inside her chest as she did so.


    "Ugh," I forcefully looked upward while still in her embrace in order to breathe and said, "Exin."


    She released me and said, "Well... Remember the time where Ed made dinner for everyone in your grandpa''s house?"


    "Uh-huh"


    "I made a bet with Ed on whether your mom would jump into the pool or not..."


    I widened my eyes and said urgently, "And?"


    "I... Lost...and Now, Ed is cashing in that bet... He wants me... To wear something pink and girlish to the party. Something that will remind him of Princess Bubblegum or Bubble from the Powerpuff girls."


    I face-palmed at my friend''s luck, while also feeling a bit jealous inside, but I hid that feeling carefully and said," Okay. Do you have anything pink-"


    I knew it was a stupid question as it came out of my mouth as all the dresses scattered around were either ck or white.


    With a sigh, I said, "We got a lot of work to do."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    ''I need to rest.''


    "EDWARD! Look over here!" The photographers called out as I walked in front of the Billboard Building wearing a leather jacket and ripped jeans. They snapped countless pictures of me while I posed for them.


    ''I need more sleep.''


    Light shes made me a bit dizzy, but I endured it and stered a fake smile on my face.


    "Hey, Edward, When is your Albuming out?" A reporter shouted his question while pressing the shutter button on his camera.


    "I may pull the Album release forward, and release it this Summer as I start the tour so keep an eye out for that if you want to get the exclusive release in the venue store." I replied casually. The hyena-like reporters snapped their cameras again, not shying away with the sh photography method as I responded to their preliminary interview today.


    "Are you touring together with Taylor?"


    "What made you decide to coborate with Em**em? Are you trying to get famous through controversy too?"


    "Who is your ''Enemy''? Can you name them?"


    "What''s your height?"


    "Are you a virgin?"


    I ignored all of the scandalous questions and just waved at the reporters before Pepper came by to escort me into the building.


    "You did well." Pepper whispered.


    "I know." I replied with a cocky smirk, which made Pepper roll his eyes.


    "Also, what is this? Why are you wearing a leather jacket? Are you finally going to be a bad boy in this industry? I knew I shouldn''t have gotten that M&M to help you-"


    "Stop spiralling. I just forgot to bring a change of clothes to the docks yesterday. This is Dn''s."


    "That troglodyte? We need to get you out of that, like, right now before his stupidity infects you." Pepper said decisively before he passed me over to the support staff.


    Pepper was shocked when he saw my new outfit. I was wearing an unbuttoned, oversized ck zer which suited me perfectly, revealing my toned abs and healthy-tanned looking skin. I paired it up with high waisted baggy pants and thick ck boots, andst but not least, a chain ne on my neck.


    "They told you to dressfortably for the interview." Pepper said in a surprised manner before looking at my abs, "Also...How?"


    "Diet and workout. Nah, it was only a suggestion. Also, I''mfortable in this."


    "Yeah, but a lot of young girls won''t be afterward. And maybe some of their mothers too." Pepper scoffed. I snapped my fingers and said, "That is...the point."


    He shook his head defeatedly and said, "At least put on a jacket. It''s cold inside the studio."


    "For a 5 minute interview?" I asked in confusion.


    "5 minutes is the total screen time, but you''re going to reshoot the scene a few times- Wait." He turned towards me and said, "I don''t think you''ll need to reshoot, so just befortable if you want."


    I nodded as I had the same thoughts as him and entered the Billboard interview studio.


    Although there will be an interviewer in the studio, the shots wouldn''t only consist of my introduction to the music industry. Jerry, the interview today would only serve as a guide for me to handle my speech well.


    Jerry sat in front of me, out of the camera. He smiled and we shook hands together. Hemented, "You know, Justin came here with a ck sweater. I really wish he had your fashion sense."


    "Well he is still young." I replied jokingly.


    "You are the same age he was when he started." Jerry muttered silently to himself as he checked out his notes and then smiled and said, "Okay. Are you ready? Why don''t we start with the greeting."


    I grinned, which made Pepper, who was watching from the side, have goosebumps on the back of his neck. "What else is he nning to do now?" Pepper muttered.


    "Hey What''s up Guys. This is a very special Billboard Interview.Yes today we have for the very first time the fastest rising star in the music industry, Edward Newgate." I greeted the audience with a cocky look on my face as I sat leaning back on the chair and had my legs crossed together.


    "Wait- That''s not..." Jerry tried to exin as I had changed the order of thepany and artist name, but he received death stares from the girls inside the studio, which made him promptly shut up.


    "Any problems??" I asked, acting innocently.


    "N-Nah. Nothing''s wrong." Jerry said while shaking his hand dismissively, not wanting to get into trouble.


    ''When a man is handsome enough, he will be given a lot of concessions in this world. Thank god I was born handsome in this life.'' I thought to myself as I gave a light wave to the female staff members circling around the studio to watch my interview. They covered their mouth, giggled and blushed as they waved back while I faced the interview questions casually.


    "Ok so, why don''t you start by introducing your new singles."


    "This is kinda confusing because I have released 2 separate sets of singles in the span of a month, and they tell two separate and different stories the first one is called ''Love and HeartBreak'', and the new one is called ''Dragon Dreams'' (Imagine is to much of a copy of the Beatles song) . Both were written and produced by myself, and their themes differ greatly from one another."


    "For ''Love and Heartbreak'', we can see the journey of someone who''s going through... living through a new process with his new love, but we also see his dark past and the clear pain leftover from his recent Heartbreak. The song Grenade especially resonated with a lot of the fans, and it has cemented its ce in the Billboard 1st rank for 3 weeks now."


    "''Dragon Dreams'' however I will admit is very personal and important to me since it''s based on my trauma and it was created to inspire those who are going through some difficult times. I hope that those songs can lend support to anyone hearing them and let them know that they are not alone, so they know that it does get better."


    "Aw..." The female members of the staff eximed unconsciously, which irked Jerry very much. He turned towards them and gestured for them to shut up, but again, he was met with deathly stares the second he tried that.


    I chuckled a bit before continuing with the interview.


    "Did the song''s sess affect my life? Yeah, definitely. My life waspletely turned over, thanks to Pepper Saltzman who decided to take a shot and invest in me. He saw something no one else had before and decided to bet on me. When I first started, I was just singing for fun you know? Just for me and my close group of friends and family. But now, I''m very thankful that I had the opportunity to share it with the rest of the world."


    Interviewer: Wow, what a story. One can not ignore how deep your own journey has been. But if you had to pick just a few things. What would you say were the biggest changes to your daily life, your everyday routine?


    "Well, to be honest it really turned everything upside down. I went fromzing around everyday and my day being mostly free to apletely busy schedule. We are actually preparing a LOT of stuff that will being out soon. Some things will of course be reserved for my Superfan subscribers but if you keep an ear out I''m sure you might be hearing news soon So..." I chuckled at my own y, but the women around me were basicallyughing out loud.


    "I knew that a lot of artists out there were annoyed that I didn''t follow the "industry standard" to bing a singer, which is basically flying around to radio stations everyday, and touring the country.. But I don''t feel bad about that, not in the least. I''m still young and today we have a LOT of amazing tools to get stuff out there. I honestly think it''s a bit underutilized so I jumped on it . While they might think I''m a newbie, the results speak for themselves, don''t they?? Besides, I have been performing at an international level since I was 7 years old, so technically I''m not ''new''."


    My words were filled with confidence, and there wasn''t any trace of worry in my face as I faced the questions. The interview continued for a few questions more before Jerry decided to take a break.


    "That''s it for the beginning. Nice Job Edward. Now, we need to record the songs to be yed in the background of the interview. We''ll go with Grenade, as it is your most popr song right now."


    "Yeah I thought so too. Will you bring the piano here or...?"


    Jerry smiled and said, "Of course."


    I thought that I would need to move into another location to record it. But again seeing 4 sweaty buff men pushing the piano into the studio changed my thoughts. ''Bigpanies indeed have their own ways of doing things...''


    I smiled politely at the buff men before sitting on the piano chair and tuning the key a little bit before I started singing the song live. My [Soul Voice] was instinctively activated at this time, and the audience was immediately captivated by my singing.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While Edward was conducting the interview, Haley finally returned home after doing somest minute shopping with Tara and Abby for the party. She raised her eyebrows when she returned as she saw her Uncle Mitchell and her mother were both lolly gagging in the living room while looking at the magazine article.


    "Haley! I showed your article to Nana, and she said she''s very proud of you. Your grandpa also said the same thing, and he promised you a gift...whatever you want...You know, as long as it''s still reasonable and not dangerous." ire backpedaled slowly as she continued her sentence while grabbing Haley''s hand.


    "Really? I mean. Mom, aren''t you going to work?" Haley asked while feeling fidgety inside.


    ''If mom stayed, then the whole party would be ruined.'' She thought to herself. And this wasn''t based on her prejudice on her mother, but from the data of the various parties she held before�C all destroyed by her mother''s nosiness. That''s why she vowed to never hold a party when her mother was around.


    "Well... I thought about it...And I think ... I should stay here. Celebrate with Alex. Let her know that I''m proud of her." ire said while avoiding Haley''s eyes.


    The stalled gears inside Haley''s mind churned for the first time in a while as she thought about the whole thing. "Okay. If that''s your choice." She walked to the kitchen, pretending to be okay with the whole thing.


    "Huh. That was easy." ire muttered in confusion as what she predicted didn''te through.


    Mitchell added whisperingly, "I told you she''s not nning to have a wild party with you gone."


    "How could I not be concerned about it, Mitch? A lot of mothers called me today to ask about the party. I''m just afraid that something will in fact be going wrong."


    "Isn''t Phil around?" Mitchell asked.


    "Yeah. But he''s not exactly trustworthy when ites to controlling the kids."


    While ire was talking to Mitchell, Alex was dragged by Haley to the kitchen by forcefully grabbing her by the arm.


    "Oww. What are you doing?!" Alex asked angrily.


    "Okay. I don''t know why you are being so pouty with mom, but this needs to stop. Right now. Or else, we won''t be able to have the party."


    "Huh? Isn''t mom going to work?"


    "No. Apparently your sullenness made her want to stay home andfort you instead of going to a celebrity party." Haley replied frustratingly.


    "Anyway. I need you to signal me when mom is nearby okay? I will pretend not to notice her." Haley schemed as she took out her phone and sat down in the kitchen ind chair.


    "Uhhh...What are you doing?" Alex asked warily.


    "Just believe me. Also, go hide!" Haley said before she pretended to be on a call.


    Alex was confused, but she still followed along her sister''s n as she too wanted to have the party without her mom there.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I was not nervous because I already had a n B, just a little something in my back pocket in case the ''guilt-tripping'' didn''t pan out. What else could I do to make mum leave the house besides that? Well maybe if I added just needled a bit more on some of the thing she''s been stressing about for weeks...-"


    mentary paused]


    ire walked into the kitchen to talk to Haley, but she noticed that she was giggling on her phone. Haley saw Alex''s signal, and she started her mission.


    "Hahaha. Ed, so you know...Mom isn''t going to the yacht party, so you can sneak in there if you want."


    ire was frozen when she heard it, and she stood motionlessly to eavesdrop on the call.


    "Hmm? You want me toe? But there''s a party at my house....Huh? We will be doing all that? Yeah of course I want you to...Mmm I don''t know. Are you sure we won''t get in trouble?? What is that?...International waters don''t have the samews as the country? How nice."


    ire was bbergasted and wanted to snatch the phone away from Haley, but Alex secretly signaled Haley to move away before she could do that.


    [ire''smentary]


    "I knew something was wrong with the yacht party! Urghh! I was wondering why Haley was so okay with it, turns out they never wanted me there in the first ce!" ire said anxiously before she pointed her fingers at the camera and said, "You know what. They don''t want me to go there, so that''s thest ce they''ll expect me to be."


    She grinned evilly before she said, "Of course I could stop them now but then I and the crazy one!! Me!! Crazy ire. Even Phil turns on me when I say there is something fishy going on but NO!! Not this time this time I''ll catch them in the act... Oh they are going to be so busted!"


    [Haley and Alex''smentary]


    "And that''s how it''s done." Haley said excitedly while flipping her hair back.


    Alex smiled before she added, "Until Ed finds out that you used his name AND sold him out, then you''ll have to deal with that next."


    Haley''s eyes dropped nervously and she turned to Alex before she mumbled, "Umm..."


    Alex just smiled as the chaos had nothing to do with her, and she was kind of looking forward to seeing how it would all turn out. " I can''t wait for the party." Alex muttered.


    mentary ends]


    "Honey. I''m going to the store." ire shouted from the front door before she pulled Phil over and said, "You''re going to get the stuff for the party. So you are going to the yacht party then??"


    "Why do you have to be so sneaky? I don''t mind if you want to go to the party. Just keep it professional, and... stay away from the drinks." Phil said while avoiding ire''s eyes at thest part.


    ire sighed and said, "I KNOW...how to be professional. I''m not really going to the yacht party. I''m just busting someone over there."


    She didn''t even tell Phil or anyone else about her actions as she didn''t want anyone else to warn Ed about her y. Not realizing that she was ying right into Haley''s palm, ire gave Phil a list of things to do before she got out of the house.


    "Luke! Let''s go, I''m dropping you off at your grandpa." ire shouted.


    "Coming!" Luke responded as he went down the stairs with a water gun in his hand. He had a tough job to do this weekend. That was, to fulfill his duty as Manny''s self-appointed trainer in his journey to bettering himself.


    "Let''s do this." Luke said as he cocked the water gun. ire was confused, but she brought him out of the house with her regardless.


    (A/N: The whole party will be around 3 to 4 chap)

 Chapter 114: Popular Girl Street Cred (2)

    <h4>Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Popr Girl Street Cred (2)</h4>


    [General POV]


    The pitter patter of Haley''s footsteps who was trying to set up for the party made Mitchell feel guilty about doing nothing while sitting on the living room sofa. He sighed and stood up before asking, "Haley. Do you need any help?"


    "Huh? Yeah Uncle Mitch! Go Make Alex change out of her gaudy clothes." Haley turned to Mitchell and pointed her finger toward Alex. She had finished setting up the snacks station, and brought out a dozen soda bottles.


    The iconic red stic cups were arranged neatly on the concession stand. Popcorns, pretzels, donuts, and various foods filled the living room with a sweet smell. The sound system was set up by Phil, and it was currently ying the song, [Leona Lewis �C Bleeding Love]


    For entertainment, a ping pong table was set up in the backyard. A Wii tennis game was also set up in the living room, together with a game of cards, jenga, and a few others.


    "Hmm...I think I got it all." Haley mumbled to herself.


    [Mitchell POV]


    "Today is Sunday...and After a long week at work, I just wanted to rx a bit." Mitchell said with a tired face. "Why can''t I rx at my house? Ha!!." Heughed self-deprecatingly as he faced the question.


    "Maybe because I''m just so sick of the baby talk."


    -shback-


    "Aguuggugu. Adadadada."


    "Uwauwaua. Dadadada. Come on Lily. Say it with me."


    Mitchell walked in the living room, and turned back as soon as he saw Cam with Lily sitting on the couch.


    The silent Lily was wide-eyed as she gazed iprehensibly at the babbling Cam, who recently just learned that baby talk may increase affection among baby and parents, which in turn ced Mitchell in an unending noise pollution torture by his partner.


    -shback ends-


    "I just...I just need to get away from it...just for a little bit." Mitchell confessed. That was also the reason why he came by so early to meet up with ire.


    mentary ends]


    "What''s wrong with my clothes?" Alex protested.


    Haley turned to her sister and said, "Well first of all, that''s a cookie-"


    "It''s the EARTH! This is a NASA shirt!" Alex retorted as she showed the blue Nasa logo on her oversized white t-shirt.


    "More like, ''NAAAA, You ain''t wearing that to my party, go change.'' I already picked out some clothes for you. Go put that on."


    Both Mitchell and Alex were taken aback when they heard what Haley said. "You did?" Mitchell asked.


    Haley replied in frustration, "Uncle Mitch, My name is written in a magazine today! I have a reputation to keep. If you''re staying for the party, I will ask you to go change your shoes too."


    "What''s wrong with my shoes?!" Mitchell asked in disbelief as he showed his shoes.


    Alex grunted and walked to Haley to protest, but Haley stopped what she was doing and red at her until she backed down.


    "...Okay okay. I''ll go change." Alex rolled her eyes before stomping her foot to her room to change.


    As Mitchell was left alone with Haley, he asked whisperingly while wearing a concerned smile, "Seriously, What''s wrong with my shoes?"


    Haley avoided his eyes as she had a lot of work to do right now, and didn''t want to spend 30 minutes telling Mitchell what was wrong with his outfits today.


    Mitchell sighed and asked, "Aren''t you changing your clothes too?"


    Haley was still in her casual clothes, and she finally realized it when Mitchell pointed it out. "Thanks Uncle Mitch. Also, if the cakees, can you help me pay for it?"


    "Sure." Mitchell replied casually as he took the money from Haley.


    The doorbell rang just a minute after Haley had gone upstairs. Mitchell thought it was the cake guy, therefore he went to open the door.


    "Hey-yo! What''s UP Haley''s Uncle! Beautiful Day, yeah?" A few teenage boys had already arrived at the party and they entered the house without any warning. They high-fived Mitchell and he responded instinctively towards them.


    "Um. Wait-" Mitchell tried to stop them after getting his sanity, but to no avail.


    "Hi. Can we also go in?" A group of teenage girls appeared and greeted Mitchell too, following the leads of the boys.


    "Ummmm...." Mitchell didn''t know what to do at this moment as Phil was still at the store, and there weren''t any other adults there at the house.


    He sighed and said, "Sure. Haley wille down in just a minute." He took out his phone and texted ire about the situation, hoping that she woulde back soon.


    ...


    -Port-


    "Of course his name wouldn''t be in the list. He''s sneaking in!" ire mumbled to herself as she read the guest list for the party today.


    The ship''s crew were getting ready to sail into a different port to pick up the celebrities guests at the appointed times, bringing stocks of foods and alcohol into storage as they cleaned up the ship''s deck.


    [ire''smentary]


    "What''s the n here? The n is simple. I just get into the ship, find out where Edward is hiding, and then bring him out. He promised to be there for the girls'' party, so he needs to keep that promise."


    mentary ends]


    Following her ns, ire snuck into the ship in search of the teenager.


    "Listen up people! We need to sail out earlier than we thought! Or the marina will be packed today." Dwayne, the ship''s captain for today, exined to his crew, not knowing that they had a stowaway on board.


    ire was looking left and right as she walked through the cabin''s hallway, and finally, she saw a glimpse of a boy in a red shirt and khaki pants at the end of the corridor. The boy wore a baseball cap, and now was entering the staff''s locker room.


    "Gotcha!" ire eximed before she stealthily moved towards the room.


    "BUSTED!" She sprang the door wide open, only to freeze when she found out that she had captured the wrong boy who was midway in taking off his pants.


    "Umm.. What?" Dn was also frozen by the suddenness. "Oh my god! I''m so sorry! I thought you were Edward. You know...Same clothes." ire was bbergasted and she tried to exin herself.


    "Oh. This. This is Ed''s. He borrowed my shirt, so I''m wearing his." Dn exined without pulling his pants up and just stood there in his underwear.


    "I''m really sorry for this!" ire said as she slowly closed the door of the locker room. As Dn was out of sight, ire suddenly heard the ship''s horn ring.


    "Huh?! Wait No No NO NO!" ire hurriedly ran outside to the deck, only to find out that the ship had left the port!


    "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!" She shouted grudgingly when she realized that she had been tricked. "HALEYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After I finished singing the song, the audience apuded my performance. Jerry said, "I don''t even remember when was thest time someone sang for a billboard interview so seriously."


    "Ah, you mean I should have sung casually?" I said in a joking manner, making the audienceugh.


    The interview went on for another 30 minutes before it ended. A few fans came out to ask for a picture after the interview.


    A couple of them kissed my cheeks as their friend snapped the pictures. As I had to maintain my image as a public figure, I kept my boundaries with the fans, especially with those who were asking me for my personal contact info.


    While Pepper was talking with the executives, Jerry asked me, "There''s a live studio recording for the ck Eyed Peas right now. Wanna watch them sing?"


    I looked at my watch and thought, '' I still have time. Haley said the party is at 3... I don''t think that there is anyone who''s going toe before 3.30.''


    I assumed so because Haley''s friends were from the popr student cliques. As far as I know, no popr kids woulde early for a party.


    "Sure. But I have to get going in 10 minutes." I said as I ignored the fact that it was a quarter to 3.


    ...


    [General POV]


    As Haley was excessive with the invites, the house was crowded in just under 10 minutes when the girls were changing. Haley was shocked when she saw the filled living room as she walked downstairs. She was wearing a brown, high waisted long skirt and a cored long sleeve yellow shirt. She also did her hair up in a bun, and added a touch of elegance in her looks with transparent frame fake sses and ck high heels.


    "Why are you guys here so early?" She asked with widened eyes.


    "Are you kidding ?? Rumor has it Edward Newgatewe is going to be here so everyone is going toe. If we didn''te early, then it''d be impossible to get in." One of the boys shouted. There was a line outside of the house, with numerous teenagers waiting in anticipation for the party of the year.


    "Haley! How many people did you invite?!" Alex asked in disbelief and a bit of fear as she followed Haley from behind.


    Alex was forced to wear a blue blouse with frilly sleeves and short skirt. Haley also put a blue hairband on her hair, and forced her to wear star earrings. It was the first time for Alex to dress up at a party, and a lot of boys were looking at her, which made her a bit anxious and ufortable.


    "I don''t know!! Don''t ask me that." Haley replied fearfully before she greeted her friends with an awkward smile.


    "Haley! Alex!" A familiar voice called out to them. Haley and Alex turned to see Abby and Tara standing near the walls�C ignoring the boys who were trying to talk to them.


    The boys were ogling Abby as she was wearing a tight, low cut pink strappy dress and had her hair tied up in a ponytail. Her figure was entuated in the dress, and the football team leader who got his nose broken by Abby before kept making motorboating gestures with his friends as he looked at Abby.


    "I hate Ed." Abby cursed to herself as she talked to Haley and Tara.


    "Where''s Enid?" Alex asked as she looked around.


    Tara replied, "She''s...here...somewhere. She always disappears on her own at parties though, so you don''t have to wait for her."


    Alex nodded and said, "I''m going to find Jenna and Elsa."


    "Alex! Wait! Should we...kick a few people out?" Haley asked with a concerned whisper.


    Alex scrunched her face in disbelief and fell into deep thoughts as she struggled to walk through the crowd. The smell of aftershave, perfumes, and deodorant assaulted her senses as she brushed with a few people, which made her profoundly dizzy. "Should we really?" She muttered.


    The crowd separated into various groups, and the kids mingled with one another. It quickly became rowdy, and Haley was continuously smiling and talking to people while carrying a stic cup in her hand, smoothly maneuvering through the crowd of people.


    "Hey. Haley. Is Edward Newgateing?" A tall, brte, highschool senior with skimpy clothing asked.


    "Yeah he will Anais. Also, put on a sweater!" Haley admonished the slutty senior whose main intention ofing here today was to seduce a rich artist, or be his side piece. She would graduate high school in less than a month after all. She needed a source of ''ie'' after this to livefortably.


    "Nah. I wanna be prepared." Anais said as she pulled down her top to reveal her cleavage even further.


    While Haley was talking, an uninvited guest suddenly came into the house.


    "OH MY GOD! THIS HOUSE IS SO SHABBY! IS EDWARD REALLY COMING?!" The uninvited guest talked in a loud tone from the front door, attracting the attention of the people nearby.


    "Hmm?" Jenna who was nearby turned to look at the loudmouth, and she scoffed as she saw who she was. Despite her current fight with Edward, Jenna still came to the party, as the party was held by Alex, not him.


    Jenna walked to the front door before the intruder could step into the house and confronted her. "Madelyn. You remember your restraining order right? Ed filed it and got it approved really fast so I''m assuming it''s still valid."


    Madelyn froze, while the people nearbyughed at her reaction. Embarrassed, she said, "Sh-shut up! Edward isn''t here anyway!"


    "Yeah, soe on in." Jenna suddenly invited her with a wave of her hand. Haley finally realized the conflict at the door, and moved quickly to back Jenna up in case Madelyn tried to start something.


    "Huh. Why...?" Madelyn halted her steps, confused by the sudden politeness.


    "I mean. I do wanna see how you scurry when hees here after this." Jenna said with a smirk, which made Haleyugh out loud, and Madelyn''s face turned red in embarrassment!


    "THIS ISN''T OVER!" Maldelyn stomped her feet and turned back quickly. Before she knew whether Ed wasing or not, she couldn''t do anything against the party. She was feeling dejected as the party was hyped out to be the party of the year by the entire school, but she couldn''t be invited into it.


    "If I cannot be there, then....I WILL MAKE SURE THE PARTY IS RUINED!" She vowed to herself as she walked to the car where her ex-boyfriend Brian�C who once tried to jump Edward and got his ass handed to himself, was waiting for her.


    "Hey-"


    "Shut up!" Madelyn shouted at the boy before he could even say anything.


    Inside the house. Haley''s eyes darted between her group of friends as she took a sip of the soda with an anxious feeling gnawing at her heart. Alex walked by and whispered, "He''s not answering the phone."


    "Hmm. Try to check with Pepper." Haley said.


    Abby noticed Haley and Alex''s action. She leaned in and said, "What''s wrong?"


    "N-Nothing. Ed will be here." Haley replied nervously before she walked away.


    "I''m not asking about that." Abby mumbled to herself.


    *Crash*


    "Oh my god! What happened!" Haley ran to the source of the sound, and found a brokenmp on the floor.


    "Sorry." A dumb hunk said apologetically as he continued opening his pretzel packet and ate it as if nothing happened.


    "Ugh! Idiot!" Haley mumbled before she asked everyone to stay away and reached for the broom. But as she was picking up the broken ss, it cut her finger and blood flowed out from the wound.


    "Ouch!" She eximed. She sucked the blood in her mouth as she thought to herself, ''Is Ed really noting? It''s almost 4.''


    There were over one hundred people in the beginning, but more than 3o people had left the party due to its being overly packed andck of presence from the teenage artist whom Haley promised would be there.


    "You should''ve been more careful." Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from behind Haley as she was trying to see the wound in her fingers. Her face brightened up instantly, and she turned around in excitement.


    "ED!" Haley hugged Edward who appeared out of knowhere without even doubting who he was. She released him and suddenly hit his chest, "Why are you sote!"


    "OWw!" Ed eximed with a smile on his face. "I got here 10 minutes ago though?"


    "Huh?" Haley widened her eyes, confused.


    "Just kidding. I just got here." Ed said with a mischievous grin as he slowly grabbed Haley''s hand. "We need to get this taken care of. JACOB!" He yelled suddenly.


    "What?" Jacob responded, finally separating his lips from Elsa. They were making out at the corner of the house, and didn''t even notice that Edward wasn''t here.


    "Can you help me clean this?" Ed asked.


    "Sure." Jacob replied before reluctantly separating from Elsa to go sweep the broken shards away.


    [Edward POV]


    I walked in front of Haley to open up a path as we went through the crowd to get the first aid kit in the kitchen. Mitchell was sitting in the kitchen ind chair alone, sighing as he was forced to be the guardian today as Phil suddenly had something to attend to.


    As Mitchell told Phil he wanted to go home 10 minutes before, Phil suddenly received a call about a potential buyer for a pretty expensive house that was listed on the market for 3 years now. He asked Mitchell for a favor to watch over the kids as he went to close the deal, and promised that he would be back in under an hour.


    "Oh my god. What happened?" Mitchell gasped as he saw the blood on Haley''s hand.


    "It''s just a little wound." Haley replied to her uncle.


    "I need to disinfect it." I said as I reached for the medical kit.


    "Haley. You should''ve been more careful-" Mitchell tried to lecture, but Haley whisperingly shouted at him, "Uncle Mitch. Go away. Now."


    "Huh?" Mitchell was confused, but as he turned towards me, he finally realized what was going on.


    [Mitchellmentary]


    "Haley wanted some time alone with Edward. Maybe...Maybe for her, dressing up her wounds...is romantic? I don''t know-" Mitchell guessed exasperatingly, already tired from today''s event.


    "All I want...ALLLLLL I want....Is just to have some time to myself!" Mitchellined. He found himself being surrounded by horny and decadent teenagers, and couldn''t help but sigh.


    "But God knows how I ran away from my family...and now, he''s punishing me for it."


    mentary ends]


    "How was your interview?" Haley asked excitedly as I opened up the alcohol sterilization pad to disinfect her wound. It was only a tiny cut on her left hand index finger, but still, I needed to take care of it properly.


    "It was quite fine. Grit your teeth." I said.


    "Huh? Why- OWOWOWOW!" Haley squirmed in pain as I cleaned up the wound. The searing pain when the alcohol entered the open wound made her a bit teary, and she couldn''t help but kick me a few times for it.


    "You should''ve warned me!" She yelled angrily.


    Iughed a bit and said, "You''re cute when you''re angry."


    "Hmmph!" She pouted angrily before slowly rubbing her legs on my shin which she had kicked before�C apologetically, not precariously. By this time, my presence there was already exposed, and a few teens were giggling as they pointed at me, whispering about how I was flirting with Haley and the possibility of her being my girlfriend.


    I put a bandaid on the wound and said, "Here. All done."


    "Great! Now I can finally show you off!" Haley said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the center of the party. I smiled wryly, but I didn''tin as I already knew she was going to do this before I even got here.


    "I just hope that I can get through this without causing any trouble." I whispered to myself.

 Chapter 115: Popular Girl Street Cred (3)

    <h4>Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Popr Girl Street Cred (3)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Hi! Can''t believe I''m finally meeting you." Anais suddenly hugged me in a friendly manner as Haley led me to her standing spot.


    "Hi. You look familiar. Are you perhaps a model?" I asked while scrunching my eyebrow and looked at the tall girl from top to bottom. Even without her high heel on, she was already almost at the same height as I currently was.


    When I changed her brte hair into a blonde one in my mind, I finally figured out where I had seen her before. It was from an episode in the Big Bang Theory where Howard and Rajesh creepily tried to find the house for America''s Next Top Model. She was the girl who opened the door for them.


    Anais blushed thinking I was making a move on her. "No. I''m really not a model." She said, twirling her hair coquettishly.


    Haley elbowed me and said, "You met her for one second, and you''re already flirting!" She then whispered, "Also. Not a very good pickup line."


    "It is a serious question though." I mumbled with a smile.


    "Anais." The girl extended her hand for a handshake as she introduced herself.


    "Well you already know me." I replied as I shook her hand.


    Haley said, "Anais is actually one of my close friends in high school.She is a senior so she will graduate soon, so you guys won''t have the chance to meet one another except here."


    "Oh no, a pretty girl like her, I think we''ll have a lot of good chances to meet." I flirted a bit, causing Haley to roll her eyes.


    Anaisughed exaggeratedly, and both Haley and I were taken aback. She gripped the edge of her shirt and pulled it up to wipe her ''crocodile tears'', revealing her perfect bosom with tanlines over the center area.


    "Oh Edward. You''re so funny." Anais said. Haley reacted quickly and pulled her shirt back down, "ARE YOU FREAKING CRAZY!?"


    "What?" Anais eximed, faking innocence. I smiled in disbelief and she winked at me before Haley dragged her away.


    "That was unexpected." I muttered.


    As I was left alone, a few boys and girls came and asked for a picture, in which I happily obliged them. After that, I turned and suddenlyughed out loud as I saw the pink princess standing nearby with a mad expression on her face.


    "Pfft- HAHAHA! You really did it!" I eximed. Abby gritted her teeth and said, "I will pay you back for this!"


    "Although, I got to say, you look really sexy in that." I said jokingly as I finally finishedughing.


    "Oh." Abby was perplexed, and she held her dress with her hand. "Sooo...You don''t like the emo look-"


    "Stop. I''m not saying that." I said as I leaned forward and whispered to her ear as the music was being loud right now, " I was just saying... That dress looks good on you."


    "Hmm..." Abby hummed with a poker face while twirling her hair with her finger. "How did your interview go?" She asked, changing the subject.


    "Oh It was pretty good. I even met the ck Eyed Peas."


    "Wait. Did you meet Fergie?" She asked excitedly.


    "Yeah. She''s very pretty. Also, I need a drink." I turned and snatched a drink from Troy, the twerking ck kid who was slowly swaying to the music, just after he got back from the snacks table.


    "What the-" He tried to protest, but as he turned around, he couldn''t actually find out the culprit that snatched his drink as I had already dragged Abby to talk somewhere else.


    I chased the kids who were sitting on the couch in the second living room near the kitchen away and sat there with Abby. I was too tired to keep standing and also feeling a bit sleepy at the same time.


    Abby snorted and said derisively, "Poor kid. He doesn''t even know what hit him."


    "He''ll be fine. So, tell me. What have I missed?" I asked as it had been a few days since I actually talked with my friends as I was too busy working to catch up on them. "Tell me everything."


    "Well..." Abby trailed off, her eyes moved toward the football team yer who was wearing a varsity jacket nearby. "Nothing much happened. Only the school is now getting ready for prom."


    [General POV]


    While Edward was talking with Abby, Enid finally showed herself by surprising Alex from behind.


    "BOO!"


    "ENID!" Alex eximed angrily as she almost spilled her drink because of her friend.


    "Sorry Sorry." Enid said as she helped Alex wipe her hand with a napkin.


    "Anyway, I met an interesting senior. She told me something very interesting." Enid said.


    "Huh? What''d she say?" Alex asked, interested.


    "Well she said that in highschool, having sex is a normal thing. Wait...Her exact words are, ''having sex is just chilling. Mouth stuff is just talking. Hand stuff is just a normal thing between friends. Unless you decide to be in an exclusive rtionship, you can just do whatever with another person.'' Isn''t that interesting? "


    "WHO TOLD YOU THAT!" Alex asked with a raised voice as she was horrified by Enid''s new knowledge.


    "See that pregnant girl over there? That''s Cheyenne. She told me that she got the baby from just ''chilling'' with her friend Bo." Enid said as she pointed her finger to the 8 month pregnant, Asian descent senior who already started working at a superstore nearby.


    "Ugh! Why doesn''t Haley have any NORMAL friends!?" Alex eximed in frustration before grabbing Enid by her hand and pulled her away, "Let''s go to my room. I need to wash that stuff out of you."


    "NO! I Don''t want another lecture!" Enid tried to protest. "Also, I wanna go talk to Edward!"


    "He''s here?" Alex asked carefully.


    "Yeah. He just came by. He''s talking with Abby in the second living room." Enid exined. However, Alex didn''t want to go talk to Edward and said, "No. I need to wash those dirty thoughts out of you first!"


    "NOOOO!!!!!" Enid tried to escape, but it was futile. She was already being dragged away. As Alex passed by where Jenna was, she gave her a heads up about Edward being here.


    Jacob leaned in to Jenna and Elsa before saying, "Do you want me to pressure him into apologizing? I don''t think I can do it perfectly like my mom did, but I do remember a few bible texts if you want me to try them."


    Jenna was taken aback and shook her head immediately, "Wha- No No. There''s no need. I wanna get a drink. Does anyone want anything?"


    "Nah I''m fine/ I want one." Jacob and Elsa replied respectively.


    Nearby the bathroom, Mitchell was chasing a couple out of the house after catching them in the ''act'', "This isn''t a WILD party! You should make better choices youngdy!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I traced my hand on Abby''s jaw, slowly moving it towards her chin. She blushed and tried to move her face away, but I forcefully made her look into my eyes. Her face turned extremely red and then she said, "Okay. You win! Stop!"


    Iughed and released her before turning to the kid around us and said, "See. I told you I can seduce her without even saying anything."


    "Dude. You''re a GOD! Next, Truth or Dare! ABBY!" Derek called out.


    Derek, one of Haley''s normal high school friends, had approached us and invited us to his game before this. Haley, Anais, Tara, and even a few others also had joined the game.


    "Wh-what?!" Abby replied with a stutter. "Tru- NO DARE!"


    "Edward Newgate will ask you now." Derek said with a grin.


    I furrowed my brows for a bit before I turned to Abby and said with a sly grin, "You need to make out with Haley."


    The group eximed while both Abby and Haley turned bewildered.


    "Why me?" Haley tried to protest.


    "I don''t know. I just wanna see it." I replied casually.


    "Hey... Can I get a picture?" A blonde girl in a summer dress suddenly crashed the party and sat in the middle of Abby and I as her friend snapped a picture of her and me together without my consent. Not stopping after that, she changed her position with her friend even though Abby was ring daggers at the girls.


    "Damn. They''re too much." Haley muttered in dissatisfaction as the game was ruined.


    "Well you guys can still kiss tho." Derek said yfully. Abby and Haley turned and locked eyes with one another, but seeing that I was preupied, they said, "Nah/Useless if Ed can''t see it."


    "I need to go to the bathroom." I sighed and stood up before walking away from the ''fans'' as they were crowding the group. Haley''s eyes trailed my back, and she whispered to Abby, "Does he seem tired to you?"


    "Yeah. A little bit. He turns into a bit of a whore when he''s tired, so we need to be careful." Abby replied. Haley''s eyes shook, but she nodded regardless.


    I heard what they were talking about and gave them a side eye as I walked away, but I couldn''t really say that what they were talking about was untrue. ''Whenever I''m feeling vulnerable, I do turn into a flirtatious man.'' I thought secretly.


    Now that I had realized that, I knew I had to be more careful while staying at this party as I didn''t want my inner lust demon personality to descend into... this earth. Otherwise, I would hook up with someone random at this party. Casual hook up sure was fun, but I didn''t want to turn my life here into a shitstorm of a mess just because I couldn''t hold myself together.


    I didn''t go to the downstairs bathroom, but I used the one upstairs where there were less people around. However, as I walked through the corridors, I came across Jenna who was just getting out of the toilet.


    "Hey." I called out to her, but she ignored me and showed her middle finger up in the air again. I smiled wryly, but at this time, an Indian girl suddenly called out to me to get a picture together. "Edward Newgate...Can I?" She asked shyly.


    I sighed inwardly and faked a smile before saying, "Sure." She snapped the picture before shyly bowing at me and went away. Jenna rolled her eyes and tried to move past, but I grabbed her wrist, causing her to be taken aback.


    "Hey. Did you notice that?" I asked.


    "Hmm?" Jenna was confused. Although she was still mad at me, she still stopped to hear what I said.


    "The more famous I am, the more people will call me by my full name whenever they want to talk to me." I said with a hint of sadness in my voice. "They stopped thinking of me as just an ordinary kid, and would only see me through rose tinted sses from now on."


    And to be honest, it felt kinda lonely for me as I was treated this way.


    "I don''t want to talk to you until-" Jenna said something to me for the first time in a while.


    "Shhh- Listen to me first." I shushed her by putting my finger at her lip. She widened her eyes at the touch, and red at me angrily as I stopped her from talking.


    "What I''m saying is that, the more famous I am, the less likely it is for me to get someone who wants to be my friend for...you know...me."


    Jenna''s anger dissipated a bit as she sympathized with my situation. I continued, "So I will apologize to your mom."


    "Huh? Wh-...What did you just say?" Jenna widened her eyes in disbelief after she heard that.


    "Yeah. Also, I don''t want you to think that I waste to apologize because I don''t like you or don''t want to be your friend. If anything, I have...I think I ''had'' now, a major mommy issue that prevented me from doing so."


    It was the truth. Although I knew that I could appease Jenna by making some perfunctory apology to her mother, I still couldn''t bring myself to do it. My foggy trauma had prevented me from doing so. I could see more clearly now that when everything had been brought to the open.


    Before, I did apologize for Dede, for something far less serious than physical assault.


    ''Maybe I have a bias towards the family?'' I thought. For some reason, I didn''t have any issues with Gloria and irepared to any other mother figures in my life.


    Now, I could see that I was behaving like a brat, and I didn''t want to do that any longer. I should treat people fairly after this. Even though I did p Jenna''s mother for her sake, it still wasn''t my ce to do so.


    "No matter how good my intention was behind the p, I did cross the line by being physical with your mother�C a stranger that I had just met for the first time. I realize that now. I will go and apologize to her... "


    "Yeah. You really crossed the line!" Jenna pouted angrily while crossing her arms together. Her mood was lifted, it was clear to see in her facial expressions.


    "Well I know that now." I said jokingly. Her lips curled up a bit, but she hid it and said, "Okay. Do it now."


    "Wait. You mean, Right now?...At this party?...With countless kids walking around?"


    "Yeah!" Jenna said and she pulled out her phone and wanted to dial her mother instantly, but stopped at thest second. "Or, did you lie to me about wanting to apologize to her?"


    I rubbed my head in frustration before saying, "No-No. I do want to apologize to her. Call her."


    She smiled brightly and pressed the call button without hesitation now.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Inside Alex''s room, the teenage girl was finally finishing her lecture about sexuality and manners as she sat her friend down on her bed.


    "No ''Chilling''. No ''talking''. No ''hand stuff''! You got that?!"


    Enid tried to defend herself, "I didn''t say that I WAS THE ONE who thought of it like that! That was what the senior told me!"


    "And I''m telling you it''s wrong!" Alex said decisively.


    After a thorough lecture, Enid slumped down on Alex''s bed and said whiningly, "Okay. You win. YOU WIN! I won''t say that again, so can you let me go now?"


    Alex smirked and said, "Sure. If you really have learned your lesson, then we can go out."


    Enid sat back up and said hurriedly, "I did. I really did!"


    Alex smiled and finally let Enid go now. They walked to the door, unlocked it, and were finally going to go outside when Alex suddenly saw Edward and Jenna standing together as she opened the door. Alex grimaced and closed the door hurriedly, causing Enid to be confused.


    "What''s wrong?" Enid asked.


    "Jenna is talking with Edward." Alex replied.


    Enid was excited and she asked hurriedly, "Really? Are they making up now?"


    Alex was a bit annoyed and she said, "How the hell should I know?" She walked back to her bed and angrily opened up her books while Enid opened the door slightly to peek at Jenna and Edward.


    "Ed is talking to someone on the phone." Enid reported.


    "Mm-Hmm..." Alex hummed, faking disinterest at the whole thing.


    "Oh they are hugging now. I guess they really did make up!" Enid reported excitedly. "We don''t have to hide or pick sides anymore!"


    "We never really picked sides!" Alex said with a scoff.


    "Really? I thought for sure you were picking Jenna''s side as you kept avoiding Eddy." Enid said in an innocent manner. Alex opened her mouth a few times, but she couldn''t find the words to refute her friend''s usation.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After having an awkward talk with Jenna''s mother, Jenna finally forgave me and gave me a hug.


    As we were going downstairs, she shared something, "You know my new apartment is close to Pasadena right?"


    "Yeah. How''s the new house by the way?"


    "It''s... Fine. There''s still ack of furniture, but it''s still great." Jenna said with a smile. "Mom is spending most of her time together with me, and you know, she brought me to a supermarket with her together for the first time before!"


    "Really? That''s great!" I replied with a smile as Jenna''s happiness infected me.


    "Yeah. And back to the story. Remember the waitress you kissed before?"


    I coughed twice and said, "You mean Penny? We didn''t really kiss-"


    "You kissed her in the music video." Jenna said, cutting off my excuses.


    I sighed and said, "Yeah I do remember her."


    "Well I met her at the supermarket. She has bangs now." Jenna said with augh. "She went there with the annoying Doctor Alex talked about before. What''s his name again?"


    "Sheldon? Or Leonard-"


    "It''s Sheldon. And... He''s really really annoying!" Jenna said with a grimace as she thought about the encounter. "It makes sense that he was fired from his work."


    I grabbed Jenna''s arm and pulled her, making her turn against me, "Wait. Sheldon Cooper is fired from Caltech?"


    Jenna replied casually, "Yeah. He insulted the new dean of the department or something. "


    I chortled, which made Jenna widen her eyes in surprise.


    "Wow you really hate him do you?" She said usingly.


    I shook my hand at her and said, "No. I''m really not."


    ''So, even The Big Bang Theory followed the episodes timeline in this universe. That''s reassuring.''


    "Then why are youughing?" She asked teasingly.


    "I''m just... I think your story is funny, that''s all."


    She rolled her eyes and thenughed together with me as we talked about a few different things - mainly talking shit about Sheldon.


    "She wore booty shorts outside... A flowery pink one too. And a pink sweater. That''s... very brave." Jenna said as she remembered what Penny wore when they met before this. "I don''t think I could pull that off."


    "Oh don''t you worry about that. You have a nice... behind.." I said without thinking. Jenna blushed and then red at me angrily. Elsa rolled her eyes while Jacob was like me�C we didn''t realize what was wrong with what I just said.


    "Hey Ed! Your interview is showing!" Haley suddenly called out from afar. I turned towards her and almost everyone at the party went to the second living room to watch my Billboard interview on the big screen.


    Abby and Haleyughed a bit as they saw my dress, while Jenna nodded in satisfaction as she could see my bare body on the screen.


    "Wait. What?" Suddenly, the clip changed into a different artist while they were still showing my interview.


    "IT''S TAYLOR!" Troy shouted in excitement as he watched the interviewer ask Taylor a few questions about myself.


    It was an impromptu interview scene and was recorded after Taylor had just gotten backstage after her concert, so she was looking a bit tired, but was still looking excited to give the interview. It was recorded the day before yesterday, with me having no idea that she had done the interview before. So it was a fun surprise for me as I saw it.


    Taylor leaned into the microphone as she said, "I''m really missing him. I will admit that what I want the most right now is to sing on the stage with him again. People may like his recorded songs, but for me, I love it the most when he sings the songs live."


    "Hey She said she misses you!" Troy swooned from the crowd. People whistled and were teasing me from here and there, which made both Haley and Abby pursed their lips in dissatisfaction.


    Then, the cameo changed into the blonde Marshall Matthers, which made a lot of the boys turn agape.


    Interviewer: What do you think about Edward Newgate?


    Marshall: He''s a monster.


    Interviewer: What made you decide to feature in one of his most recent songs?"


    Marshall smirked before he said, "That''s simple. Because he''s going to feature in mine."


    The bomb caused a lot of the boys to gasp, and people were cheering madly as they heard that. Not only at the party, but a lot of people around the country were in disbelief when Eminem suddenly disclosed about the future coboration.


    But for me, I was actually confused. ''When did we decide to work together?'' I thought to myself.

 Chapter 116: Popular girl street cred (4- Final)

    <h4>Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Popr girl street cred (4- Final)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    The interview continued for a while, and it even included my first Youtube video clip where I sang the song ''7 years'' at the cafe as part of my backstory. The additional ''discovered-by-singing-at-a-cafe'' stuff yed along with the American fantasy, and my whole experience was packaged in a movie-like manner.


    Although I didn''t like the narrative that they put behind me, I have to admit, they did a really good job with the interview.


    "Oh my god! A tiny Edward! I''d almost forgotten that!" Haley suddenly teased as she saw the clip from when I was 170 cm. I turned to her and asked inexplicably, "You do know I was still taller than you even right then....right?"


    She pouted and crossed her arms together before replying, "I know." She then asked, "How much money did they promise you when you sang at the cafe?"


    Iughed a bit and said, "None. I did that for free."


    "(GASP!) Impossible!" Jacob eximed.


    Haley, Jenna, Abby, Jacob and Elsa all turned jaw-dropped as they all knew how much of a money-loving man I was. The fact that I did that for free was iprehensible for them.


    "No. That can''t be it. You must have known that Pepper was a rich man, and you were making an investment-" Abby tried to justify my actions in a shivering voice.


    "Nope. Although I knew he was rich, I wasn''t aiming for that at all." I replied, causing the group to gasp once again. I grimaced towards them and said, "You guys are being very rude you know. I''m not THAT materialistic."


    "You say that because you don''t know yourself like we do." Haley said with a smirk.


    "Maybe he was aiming for the live-y slot at the cafe during peak hour? " Jenna hypothesized.


    "Or maybe he was going to use the song as ckmail material for the cafe owner�C something about childbor.." Elsa added.


    "No. I think he was aiming for the Youtube revenue instead." Abby joined in.


    "Damn, None of my friends actually believe in me. Where is Enid? I need her to be on my side." I said jokingly as I turned around, looking for the hyperactive girl. The restughed out loud as they managed to poke fun at me.


    "Seriously, where is Enid...or Alex?" I asked seriously after we all finishedughing. However, not one person could answer me.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Ay ire. Why are you so angry?" Gloria asked as she picked up ire from Long Beach. "I am the one who''s supposed to be angry! I drove 1 hour to pick you up." Gloria added yfully.


    ire finally broke her silence and sheined in a dispirited tone, "I...I failed."


    "As a mother?"


    "To bust Edward while he was sneaking into a party he wasn''t supposed to be in." ire exined before Gloria could assume more. Luckily for ire, the ship stopped at Long Beach to pick up the celebrities before it sailed out into the open seas. She managed to get RDJ to sign a life-sized Iron Man cutout and had stuffed the thing inside Gloria''s car trunk.


    "Ayy. Why do you want to catch him so bad? He''s a good boy!" Gloria defended.


    "Well I know that now." ire replied while bing increasingly irritated. "He was not even there today."


    "So why did you try and do something useless?" Gloria asked in confusion.


    "I..." ire hesitated for a moment while sneaking nces at Gloria �C fearing that she would judge him.


    "I drove for an hour. You can at least tell me why." Gloria said sternly.


    "Alright. Allright!" ire whined before she told Gloria everything, starting from her suspicion about Ed at the yacht party before, and Haley''s phone call. Gloriaughed at herter on, saying that she was the one who thought too much, and she should''ve trusted her family more.


    "Like today. Jay wanted to spend some time with Luke and Manny at the gym together. So I trusted them, and let them go on their own." Gloria said.


    ire scrunched her eyes in disbelief as she pursed her lips and asked, "Manny still doing the whole exercise thing?"


    Gloria replied excitedly, "Yesss! I don''t know what Edward said to him, but I never saw him more motivated than this. Jay seems annoyed at first, but now, he''s also trying to motivate Manny."


    In a mall nearby, Jay said sternly, "Get down and give me 10 more!"


    "But Jay/Grandpa!"


    "NOW!"


    Manny and Luke sighed before they grabbed their spoon and counted the bites they took for the huge ice cream parfait that Jay bought for them. It has banana, strawberries, various vored ice-cream, and it is served inside a huge bowl for a group of 10 people to share. But today, Jay made an exception for them.


    [Jay''smentary]


    "I cannot let Manny''s case be the precedent for the whole... weight loss program. Gloria won''t stop until she gets me to do the same thing. I CANNOT take the risk. I''m already 63 years old. I just want to eat my bacon sandwich in peace damn it!"


    mentary ends]


    "Urghh, I think I''m going to puke." Luke said as his face paled. He threw his spoon and tried to run away.


    "No you''re not." Jay said as he grabbed Luke by his arm and then gave the spoon back to him. Luke rolled his eyes, but he scooped the ice cream together with Manny and ate it again and again until his stomach really hurt this time.


    "Finish it, and I will let you go home." Jay said while eating a small ice cream cone on his own.


    At the party, Haley finally found out where Alex and Enid had been hiding. She returned to the living room to tell the group with Tara joining them, "So. Alex and Enid are holed up in my room."


    Jenna and Elsa nodded, but Jacob had a peculiar idea that he felt the need to share with the group, "Sooo...What do you guys think they''re doing in there? You know...people ain''t going to disappear from a party...unless...they were making out...or doing something...more..."


    His tiny whisper made the group froze for a second as they pondered the implication. The ones who were shocked the most were Tara and Haley �C being the middle schooler''s older sisters. They looked at each other while mouthing, "Is your sister a lesbian?"


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Well...Alex does have the sandals for it. I totally called it." Haley said while throwing her hair to the side with a smug look in her eyes.


    mentary ends]


    [Edward POV]


    Jacob''s theory, although it was overreaching, did check a lot of boxes that solved the group''s curiosity about Alex and Enid''s disappearance. And what he said was true, people didn''t usually go missing at a party unless they were hooking up with one another.


    I was snickering inside as I saw the group trying to pretend they didn''t know anything about Alex and Enid''s ''rtionship'' so as to not oust them before they officially came outter on. It was a collective group decision that was made in a matter of seconds as we watched Enid and Alex descend through the stairs together.


    ''Although, I was only pretending to have the same thoughts as them while ying along with their delusions...just for fun.''


    As they were caught by Haley, Enid and Alex went down reluctantly�C which cemented the theory that they were doing something secretive inside the room. The hyperactive girl brightened up, and ran to give me a hug as she saw me.


    "ED!" Enid called out as she jumped into my body, wrapping her legs around my waist as she hugged my neck.


    If Jenna, Abby, or Haley didn''t know what they knew about Enid now, they might get jealous and tell her to get off me, but they were smiling politely now instead.


    "I missed you!" Enid said.


    "I missed you too." I replied before she released me. With a flushing face, Enid tucked her hair behind her ears as thete embarrassment finally hit her. Alex rolled her eyes and said, "I''m getting a drink."


    Enid looked at Alex before she whispered to my ear, "Heads up. She''s mad at you. I don''t know why."


    I was confused by Alex''s clear effort to avoid me. While I was thinking about that matter, Jenna and Elsa were having fun seeing the drama in front of them and were gossiping with each other.


    "See. Alex''s mad that Enid is hugging Edward." Jenna said.


    Elsa nodded and added, "She must be jealous that both of them can hug each other publicly. Poor Alex."


    Haley fell into a deep thought and then decided to do something. She walked towards her Uncle Mitchell, and was whispering something to him. I was watching the whole thing, and I almost couldn''t help myself as I saw Mitchell''s expression turn pale and then that of eptance, sympathy, and understanding as he took a look at Alexter.


    I turned to Jacob and gave him a thumb up, "Good job dude."


    He blushed a bit, thinking that I was praising his observational skill and replied, "T-Thanks."


    I narrowed my eyes at the potato kid, wondering if some potato roots had grown inside his brain. Then, I sighed and turned towards Haley before saying, "Hey. I need to go now-"


    "Let''s dance!" Haley cuts me off before I could slowly remove myself from the party. She dragged me towards where the other kids were dancing, and started swaying her hips and her body as she put her hands around my neck.


    "Come on. Dance! Don''t be shy." She said instigatively, trying to arouse my dancing spirit. I sighed and suddenly grabbed her waist, pulling her close towards my body. She blushed hard and she couldn''t lock eyes with me anymore.


    "W-Slow down." Haley stammered as I leaned into her face.


    Abby saw what we were doing from afar, and she rolled her eyes contemptuously. Right then, the football yer approached her and said, "Hey."


    "Hmm." Abby replied disinterestedly, her eyes kept following Haley and I.


    The blonde, blue eyed boy smiled wryly and said, "You know, if you want to make him jealous, there is a simple solution for that."


    Abby was finally interested and she turned towards the boy. She asked, "How?"


    "Simple. Go to prom with me."


    Abby thought for a while, and as she nced at the sight of Haley and I dancing without a care in the world, she angrily replied, "I...will think about it."


    While Haley was dancing with me, she whispered, "You know, if I can get this party to end without any problem, I will be the first person in the school to ever achieve that!"


    "Wait seriously?" I asked in disbelief.


    "Yeah. Thest party, a high school senior gave birth on the dance floor. The party before that, the police barged into the ce. And before that one, Tara''s mother got drunk and started groping a highschool senior."


    "Damn. Don''t forget to introduce me to Tara''s motherter." I said jokingly, which caused Haley to roll her eyes. "Mommy issues!" She cursed before turning her backs against me and started grinding her bottoms at my crotch.


    "Hey." I tried to stop her, but that made her more daring instead.


    "What? I''m just dancing." She said mischievously.


    "EAT TRASH YOU RACCOON!" Suddenly, a feminine shout wasing from the front door. All of the party goers turned to the source of the sound, and saw a mad looking Madelyn with two roons in her hands. She threw the racoons inside the party, initiating a pandemonium.


    "So much for a sessful party." I said with a grin as I saw people were running out of the house in fear of the creatures.


    "Did you know that roons aren''t categorized as vermin or rodents, but instead they are ssified as mammals?" Alex suddenly asked Enid.


    "That''s what was on your mind right now?!" Enid asked in disbelief as she grabbed Alex and jumped onto the couch together to avoid the creatures �C further intensifying Jenna and Elsa''s ''shipping'' towards them.


    "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" Mitchell panicked as he ran out of the house,pletely forgetting his responsibility as a guardian�C especially in this type of situation.


    One roon jumped onto the boy who asked Abby to prom, and he screamed like a girl before spinning around, trying to get the creature off of him.


    The other roon was pulling at Haley''s skirt, making her scream in fear. Madelyn turned back in satisfaction, and she ran to her ex-boyfriend''s car in fear of the retribution.


    "Okay that''s enough." I said to the roon as I pinched it by the neck with my fingers, as if I was picking up a kitten.


    The girls watching were horrified and the boys were grimacing as they lost the opportunity to be the hero. With my [Animal affinity], I could sense that the animals weren''t hostile, they were just scared to be kidnapped and thrown into this house.


    The other free roon ignored the boy it was climbing onto and ran towards me before nudging my legs with its head, trying to free its little sibling.


    "Let''s get you back to your home." I said as I picked up the other roon and slowly walked away towards the door under the inexplicable gazes of everybody around and the throbbing sounds of music no one was paying any attention to.


    "Hey what''s up, party people!" Phil finally returned from the house sales, but he froze as he saw the sight in front of him. He quickly stuck his back against the doorframe as I went past him and brought the racoons outside of the house.


    I ced them down on the grass and said, "Now. Where is your house?"


    The critters were standing on their hind legs as they tried to show me where they came from, however, I saw arge racoon with a menacing growl on her face as I turned my head along with the little ones.


    "Oh my god! Ed''s in danger!" Phil said as he watched the show from afar together with the people left in the party.


    "That''s your mother?" I asked casually. The roons growled, barked, and even hissed, further intensifying the people''s fear for my safety.


    As I faced off with the creature, I heard the sounds of a car engine being ignited, and saw Brian and Madelyn in a sports car, smirking condescendingly at my misery from afar.


    I smirked and pointed my finger at the car suddenly, confusing the people around, and also made the mother roon turn her head towards the car.


    "They are the ones who kidnapped your children." I said casually.


    "What the actual fuck-" Alex cursed in disbelief as she thought I was being stupid. An animal couldn''t understand a human''s words, unless you trained them for a period of time.


    However, to the people''s surprise, the mother roon started growling and gnashing her teeth at the people in the car, and it sprinted towards the open window of the car instantly.


    "Go get them." I said whileughing before I patted the roons'' children''s heads and went back inside the house. The people at the party saw a legendary sight after that. The mother roon scratched Madelyn''s face and bit off Brian''s nose as it wreaked havoc inside the car.


    Brian identally stepped on the gas pedal, and the car crashed into a tree nearby. Finally, the mother roon''s anger was satiated and it leaped out of the car window before it went away together with its children.


    "I''ll call 911." Mitchell said as he sprang into actions. At this moment, Jay and the boys finally returned home from their excursion.


    "What the hell happened here?!" Jay muttered after he parked the car. Not long after, another car pulled into the driveway.


    "Sorry about your party. I really wish it could have ended better." I said to Haley after turning away from Jay who was standing at the door.


    "A-Are you freaking kidding me? That is like...the most awesome party...ever!" Haley said with a smile.


    "Yeah. We saw an ident involving a roon and a teenage couple. What more did you need?" Abby said whileughing at Madelyn''s and Brian''s misery.


    "We could continue the party if you guys still want." Alex said. Suddenly Luke shouted, "I''m going to hurl-"


    "Alex Honey, I got RDJ''s autograph for you!" ire walked into the house cheerily while holding the life-sized cut out on her hand. Luke was blocked by the cardboard cutout, and he couldn''t hold it in any longer.


    "BLUEEKK!" Luke puked all over the cut out, making ire froze in her ce. Then, Manny turned and did the same thing�C to Gloria''s shoes as she followed ire into the house.


    "Yeah the party''s over." Alex muttered before she turned her back against her mother and walked away.


    "Pfft- HAHAHA!" Iughed out loud as I saw ire and Gloria''s faces as one lost an autographed cutout, and the other her shoes. However, I received a phone call at that moment and my amusement quickly passed as I answered the call, but I kept watching the family so as to not miss out on their shenanigans.


    "I''m sorry mom. Jay forced us to eat the jumbo sized ice-cream dessert until our stomach hurt." Manny confessed-sh-exposed Jay.


    "Manny, Grandpa ordered us to keep that a secret." Luke whispered, but it was heard clearly by both Gloria and ire.


    "Trust them huh?" ire said in an annoyed manner as she turned to Gloria. It turned into a full on argument between Gloria and Jay, while ire was trying hard to chase after Alex. Haley stealthily backed away from being the center of attention, and was walking quickly with Abby to get closer to my position.


    "Okay I understand. I''ll fix it now." I said to the phone before I cut the call.


    "What happened?" Abby asked.


    "Nothing much. Just there''s a few bugs in the website I need to handle." I exined.


    "Wait. Your website still buggy? I thought you coded the hell out of it." Abby widened her eyes in surprise as she said that.


    I lied actually. The website was actually kind of perfect. But it was under attack at this moment, so I needed to get online to back up the defenses even though I knew it could handle the infiltration.


    "Myptop is back at the office. Can I borrow yours?" I asked the two girls.


    "YES!!!!! I mean, Yes. You can. Let''s go back to my ce. Haley is...going to be busy cleaning up after the party...right?" Abby replied hurriedly before Haley could say anything.


    "Y-Yeah." Haley muttered subconsciously.


    "Great. Back to my ce then." Abby said before she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the house.


    (A/N: Finally the party chaps are over. Now for a shoutout!)


    "Ever wonder what would happen if an unlucky transmigrator received the task of spreading our world culture and "culture" ahem... to a cultivation world? Would he avoid getting face-pped by some clich�� young master? Or maybe cure an Old Master''s erectile dysfunction just by making him watch a video of Stepsis getting stuck in a washing machine? Or maybe make the Elder of a Jiangshi n tremble in his shoes just by ying Silent Hill?"


    You might want to check out my friend''s new fic, "Cultivating Culture", written by "Extra26". The newly released fic is trending on Scribble hub, and nowing to your very own Webnovel tform. (Piggy: WN BETTER PAY ME FOR THIS!)

 Chapter 117: Urgency.

    <h4>Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Urgency.?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    I didn''t linger at the party and allowed Abby to drag me out of the Dunphy''s house as I felt the urgency to use Abby''sptop to get online right now.


    "Umm... Sorry." Abby said with a blush as she released my hand when we were out of the perimeter.


    "Why?" I said confusedly. "Also, we need to hurry. Can we?" I said urgently.


    "Umm. Okay!" Abby was perplexed, but she nodded seriously and we walked to her house at high speed. She then asked as she noticed that something was wrong, "What''s going on exactly?"


    "Nothing much. Just a group of egotistical people who wanted to destroy my website''s firewall." I replied in a casual manner. Abby was shocked and she quickly ran in front of me, "Then we need to hurry!"


    "No need to run. We still have time." I replied. She then gritted her teeth, turned back and grabbed my hand before pulling me to run together with her.


    "Ugh. I hate unnned sweating." Iined.


    "Shut up! Be more concerned!" She admonished me. As we got to her house, Abby opened the door quickly and dragged me into her bedroom without even letting me greet her mother.


    She gave me herptop and sat me down on her desk before she said, "Hurry!"


    "Okay." I replied and I slid my finger on the touchpad, turning theptop on from its sleep mode. However, as I pressed the space key, the screen showed Abby''s still open, for over 18 years old, something that definitely a child shouldn''t see.


    "AHHH!" Abby screamed in embarrassment and horror and mmed down theptop immediately. If I didn''t pull my fingers out of the way fast enough, it would''ve been destroyed by her barbaric action.


    "Hey!"


    "H-H-H-How much of that did you see?" She asked menacingly and with a stutter, her face became increasingly red as she tried to calm her emotions.


    "If I say nothing, and let you close the tabs first, or maybe delete your search history, can I use it as soon as possible?" I replied with a sly smile while tapping the table with my index finger.


    "Yo-You! Okay!" Abby wanted to interrogate me, however she realized that it was an inappropriate time to do so. She turned herptop against me and pouted as she closed her tabs and also deleted her browser history in a quick manner before giving me theptop back.


    "Also, you''re very brave to keep a password-lessptop in sleep mode without closing all of your tabs properly." I said as I opened up my website.


    "Especially if the website isbeled College Teen got her p*ssy destroyed by a big C*ck-"


    Abby cupped my mouth before I could say the entire title of the video she was watching and yelled in my ear, "FORGET THAT! FORGET THAT YOU EVER SAW THAT! ARGHHHH!"


    She screamed as she ran away from the room, leaving me with herptop to do my work. After she was gone, I muttered, "Also, even if you delete the browser history, I can still know what you had watched if I have ess to your cache and cookies."


    "Still, asian girls and tentacles, yoga sessions turn steamy, and even public stuff...Abby has a peculiar taste huh." I mumbled as I thought back of all the tabs she had opened before.


    The one I mentioned was the least weird of all of the options, that was why I picked that to mention. Otherwise, she would''ve spiraled into madness from the embarrassment and the overthinking on which of her tastes that I had stumbled onto as I saw her options she chose for her "relief" in her private time.


    "What happened between a man...or a woman with theirptop...is only for them and theirptop." I muttered in understanding before trying to track back the people who were trying to hack into my system.


    Abby suddenly walked in, her expression kept stoic despite the redness on her cheeks, and she said, "I told my mom you''re here. Will you have dinner with us?"


    "So...we''re going to pretend nothing happened huh?" I said jokingly.


    Abby tilted her head and asked in a fake puzzled tone, "What happened? You came in, I gave you theptop, and I went to notify my mom you''re here. Did anything else happen?"


    "So. Denial. Okay. Nothing happened. Also, that reminds me, I haven''t had lunch yet."


    Abby nodded in satisfaction before she turned concerned as she asked, "Seriously? Why haven''t you?"


    "Well I didn''t have the time. I was supposed to eat after the interview, but we ran a bitte so I needed to rush to the party..." I replied.


    "Oh. I''ll ask my mom to fix something up for you. What''s going on with your website?" She asked as she stood beside me, leaning her arm on my shoulder as she bent slightly to take a look.


    If I wasn''t focusing on the screen, I would''ve enjoyed the view of her breast dangling in the air, but damn those hackers. They had added to their crimes right now by preventing me from doing so.


    "I don''t know their aim. These fuckers are only trying to break down my defenses. I''m trying to trace back their IPs, but there are a lot of them and they have their own defenses too. There are around 50 people trying to breach my website at the same time."


    "50! This is a targeted attack. Shouldn''t you call the cops?" Abby asked in a horrified voice.


    "I already did. But they couldn''t do anything without a lead. And their cyber crimes unit is fucking trash." I replied through gritted teeth.


    Abby noticed that I was bing increasingly mad, therefore she offered, "Do you want me to use my mom''sptop to back you up-"


    "No offense Abby, but that will just slow me down. Can you call Abraham for me?"


    Abby pouted but she used my phone that I had unlocked and called my nerdy friend without going through other stuff quickly as it was an urgent matter right now. The call was picked up in a matter of milliseconds as the line connected and Abby ced the phone down next to theptop with the loudspeaker on.


    "Hey Ed the Bard. Nice party, and legendary pokemon training moment-"


    "You''re at the party? No. This isn''t the time. Are you home yet?" I asked urgently.


    "Yeah I had just turned on my PC. Why?" Abraham asked seriously as he noticed my tone. "Abra-Kadabra, do you want your fruit loops now?" Suddenly a shrill woman''s voice sounded from the other side of the phone.


    "Not NOW MOM I''M ON THE PHONE!" Abraham shouted back.


    "Pff- Abra-Kadabra. Imma use that. My website is under attack. Can I use your PC?"


    "What the- I can help you defend it! What do you want me to do?" Abraham asked urgently.


    "Give me...ess...to your...PC!" I said intermittently as I focused most of my attention on the screen right now.


    "Oh. Got it." Abraham realized that he couldn''t help me with his skill, but at the very least, he was a part of the PC master race and has his own high spec PC build and his very own server �C albeit a small one.


    "Thanks Abrakadabra. I hope you''ll evolve into an kazam soon."


    I gave him a link that would allow me to control his PC remotely, and he gave me the control without thinking much. Although I could''ve hacked into his PC on my own, it would take me some time that I didn''t really have right now.


    "Shut up! It''s Abra. Then, Kadabra. Only after that will it evolve into kazam!" Abraham corrected me. My speed increased up to 3 times after I took control of Abraham''sputer. Abby and Abraham could see what I was typing, but they couldn''t really follow what was written as my typing speed was too much for them.


    "Huh? FBI website? Why did you reach the FBI website?" Abby asked as she saw the bureau''s website popped up in a small tab on the screen.


    "I didn''t open their website." I said with a sigh. "I traced it back to their website." I continued. Abby and Abraham were both terrified, and I stopped pressing the buttons on the keyboard as the feeling of tiredness washed over me.


    I leaned back on the chair, my right hand went to my lip as I was missing a cigarette right now, but I realized I wasn''t smoking so I put it back down.


    After a slight pause, I muttered. "Now...why the fuck is the FBI trying to break into my defense?"


    ...


    [General POV]


    -FBI field base, California-


    "How in the HELL, is it that 50 of the alleged top FBI CYBER AGENTS!!! Focused on hacking!! Can''t break into...a firewall created...by a 15 YEAR OLD KID!" The heart-broken Wayne yelled towards the agents who he had collected as they had failed in their efforts to secretly break into the website and nt a few monitoring programs inside the international forums Ed had created to sniff out potential threats to the country.


    The reason Wayne could''ve takenmand for 50 agents was because it was a special coboration case between the FBI and the CIA, and it was actually a normal operation inside the country as they had nted the monitoring programs into a few websites, but none of them was detected by the websites owners.


    However, Ed''s defense program had be a nightmare for the FBI agents all across the country as they couldn''t even break into The Pritchet''s closet website, the Whitebeard Travel website, nor the Entertain website that they were currently attacking right now.


    Suddenly, an agent stood up from his chair and shouted, "I''m IN!!!!!"


    All of the attention turned towards him, and Wayne desperately ran through the crowd of agents gathering around the agent who seeded to ask, "Seriously? You got in?!"


    "Y-Yeah. I suddenly got in." The Indian agent, Jaganesh, said with his forehead sweating and his hands shivering from the adrenaline.


    "So. What are you waiting for!? Check it now!!!" Wayne ordered relentlessly and he looked over the agent''s shoulder as they went through the website''s codes.


    "Huh? It''s just a normal website? IMPOSSIBLE! Check it out! Thoroughly!" Wayne yelled in anxiousness as he would be in trouble if that was really true.


    They had spent countless hours monitoring the family, even flew to Cuba to conduct an operation there, they had spent millions from the Bureau''s already tight budget in conducting the whole operation, and Wayne even convinced the head of his team to allow him to coborate with the CIA on this particr hacking operation.


    Isaac, the nerdy FBI agent who teamed up with Wayne before held his shoulder and said, "Give up. Your hunch was wrong. They are just...a normalpany!"


    "NO! No "NORMAL"pany needs such a high-level defense for their systems!" Wayne tried to protest, but the evidence was against him. No matter how deep they dug into the system, everything was just a normal website system, and definitely not a front for a drug trade or human trafficking business.


    "I''m sure he just encrypted the data! P-Put on the decryption program and start analyzing!" Wayne said.


    "Wayne. Stop. Thepany has already reported the incident to the cops. We can''t go on much further without getting suspicions." Isaac said.


    "Jaga. Stop and get out before it gets traced back to us." Isaac saw that someone was trying to trace them back, therefore he knew he had to shut the whole thing down.


    He thought that the Cyber Crimes Unit was the one who was doing that, and he ordered a few agents to go down to the police station to get the cops there to cooperate with them in hiding the evidence. After all, they didn''t do anything to the website, so they could resolve the whole thing easily.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Are you sure about letting them into your system like that?" Abby asked concernedly.


    "Yup. Some people are so paranoid that they won''t stop until they know exactly what was going on behind the curtain." I replied as I leaned back on the chair and finally stopped what I was doing.


    The visible tracing that the FBI captured was also part of my ns for them to get out of the system quickly. After all, I didn''t want them to linger inside my house.


    Although I could fry all of their data and shut down their whole base if I wanted, why would I antagonize the veteran organization of the country just for a momentary feeling of superiority that would just overblown my ego and make me more careless in my future actions?


    "Damn dude. If it was me, I would burn down their whole base for sure." Abraham said in an impressed manner.


    "That''s why it''s hard for you to evolve. Anyway, thanks for your help. I will exit the remote control function now. When you get a suspicious link from email or illegal websitester, please don''t press it."


    "I''m not dumb! I just gave you ess cause you needed it-"


    I cut the call before he could finish his rant.


    "Well that made my mood a bit better." I said before I stood up from the chair and walked to Abby''s bed before slumping my whole body on top of it. Abby yelled from the desk, "HEY! Don''t sleep there!"


    "Let me rest a bit. Or...are you feeling embarrassed because you did something on the bed while watching the screenst night?" I asked jokingly. Abby blushed hard and shouted, "SHUT UP! Now get out of my room! I want to change my clothes!"


    I turned sideways toward her and leaned my head on my palm as I teasingly said, "So what? Just change it? It''s not like I haven''t seen it before."


    Abby scoffed and said mockingly, "That''s different. We were dating then. I don''t want to change my clothes right in front of my ex."


    "I don''t care. I''m too tired. I''m not moving." I said with my eyes glued towards her. She blushed and she grabbed a stuffed turtle nearby and threw it towards me. "Jerk!"


    "Hey. These things are already endangered. Don''t throw them like that." I teased as I caught the toy midair before it hit me. "Besides, why do you want to change now? I wanna enjoy seeing you like this for a while longer."


    Abby gritted her teeth in embarrassment and retorted, "I wouldn''t wear this kind of clothes in a million years! I only did this ''cause you won the bet!" She stood up and walked towards me before grabbing my arms and wanted to throw me out of her room. Although, I did notice that she was doing it more because she wanted me out of her bed rather than she wanted to change her clothes.


    Iughed at her and pulled her abruptly, making her fall at my side. Her skirt was lifted up a bit, showing her fleshy white thigh.


    "Oof- What was that for?" Abby asked angrily.


    "I don''t know. Let me rest a bit, you animal." I said jokingly as I looked into her eyes. She finally calmed down and asked carefully, "Are you really tired?"


    "Tired as hell. Mentally and Physically." I replied. "Although, if I fall asleep, I could be woken up by a kiss from a charming Gothic Princess."


    That earned me a pinch on the waist. "Oww," I eximed whileughing together with Abby.


    We yed for a bit, tickling and pinching each other before she suddenly looked into my eyes and said, "You know. I...I thought about Roy''s invitation to prom."


    "Hmm..."


    "Well... Do you have anything to say about that?" Abby asked as I wasn''t saying anything.


    "I don''t know. Do you WANT to go there with him?" I asked.


    "Well it''s either that or I don''t go." Abby said with a cute pout as she pulled her face away from mine. Iughed and pulled her chin back towards me, startling her a bit, and making her breathe quite heavily.


    I said calmly but the mood had be weird as Abby was staring at my lips, and I hers. "That would be a waste...you not going, I mean...You need to enjoy prom...after all, you only get the chance to go there...once...or 7 times..."


    "7?" Abby asked in confusion.


    "Not important." I replied. She thought about it and asked, hiding her disappointment, "So... you say I should go with Roy?"


    "I didn''t say that." I replied.


    She huffed angrily and said, "Then what? Go there alone!? You know how humiliating that is?! Abby the weirdo, going to prom alone!"


    "I didn''t say that either."


    She pushed my body angrily, almost making me fall out of her bed.


    "THEN WHAT! STOP JERKING ME AROUND!" She yelled.


    Iughed and then fell silent for a while. I did realize that she wanted to go there with me, I wasn''t that dumb. However, I was concerned that something woulde up at Prom''s night, and I had to choose between work and getting to the event.


    "Well. Don''t go with anyone...yet." I said.


    "Huh?" Abby was confused.


    "Like I said, don''t go with anyone yet. Wait for a bit...Maybe until Wednesday."


    "HUUUUH????"


    "Can you do that?" I asked in a serious manner. Abby pouted and thought for a while before saying, "Okay. Sure. I''ll wait. But if that ''someone'' is being a jerk and makes me wait 3 days for nothing, I will kick him in the nuts."


    "Ouch. Okay. That ''someone'' will make sure not to get kicked in the nuts. He would want to leave behind his progeny to the world someday."


    Abby was finally satisfied and she sat up from the bed. I got back to my sideway-head-on-palm position and asked, "By the way. When''s your moming with the food? I''m starving."


    Abby then realized that she hadn''t got the chance to tell her mom about that even though it had been an hour since I started the whole hacking war thing, and started sweating nervously.


    "Ummmm."


    "If you say that you forget to tell her, I will eat you. One way or another, I will be putting my tongue on something."


    Abby blushed hard and she pulled down her skirts quickly before giving me a re and said, "I will go and make you a sandwich. PB&J is okay?"


    "Sure."


    5 minutester, Abby returned to the room with a PB&J sandwich in one hand, and...Haley on the other?


    "What are you doing here?" I asked Haley in confusion. She was ring at me as she found me lying down on Abby''s bed before she said angrily, "I heard about the incident and wasing here tofort you, but it seems that you''re already feelingfortable here huh."


    "Well yeah. Lying down on another person''s bed is one of the few pleasures in the world that someone could acquire."


    "Huh?" x2. Both girls were confused by my remarks and they turned to look at one another. Haley went to sit on my left side while Abby sat on my right side.


    "You know, people are tweeting about what you did at the party. There''s even a video about the roon thing." Haley said.


    Abby nodded and said, "Yeah. It''s a pretty great party."


    Both of them turned towards me, expecting that I would say the same thing, but I just shrugged and said, "Eh. It''s fine."


    "What? Do you not think it''s a great party?" Haley asked in confusion and surprise.


    "It''s okay. But to be honest, my review was lowered mainly because a few people were not honest while we were ying the game."


    "What game? Who did it?" Haley asked in confusion once again.


    Abby thought about it for a while before she realized something and red at me angrily after. She turned towards Haley and said, "Don''t respond to him. He''s just leading us on to make us kiss one another."


    "Wait. The ''Truth or Dare'' game?!" Haley finally remembered that my dare was interrupted by the fans barging into the game and she red at me angrily. "You still hung up about that?"


    "Who wouldn''t I? I think I speak for all men at the party, when I say we were all feeling incredibly disappointed that we couldn''t see that happen." I said jokingly.


    Haley and Abby turned towards one another, and they weremunicating with their eyes as to whether or not they were going to do it.


    "Okay fine!" Abby suddenly said and pushed me t on the bed while I was still holding the sandwich in my hand. Haley giggled and she inches closer towards Abby, while Abby did the same thing. Abby ced one hand on Haley''s shoulder, and Haley ced her hand on Abby''s back.


    "Are we seriously doing this?" Abby asked.


    "I got a feeling that if we don''t, he won''t shut up about it...ever..." Haley replied.


    "That''s urate." I replied while taking a bite of my sandwich and enjoying the view in front of me. The girls were only separated by my body, and they sat on their knees on the bed facing each other.


    Then, Haley moved first and gave Abby a peck on the lips. Both of them blushed and they turned towards me. "Satisfied?"


    "Nah. That ain''t a true kiss. I wanna see the tongue dance. Again." I replied jokingly.


    "Enough!" Abby was embarrassed and she hit my legs angrily.


    "Well then. I guess you didn''t like Haley enough to kiss her properly. That''s okay, everyone has their own taste." I said in a casual manner.


    Haley was saddened and she turned toward Abby before asking, "Is that true?"


    "What- NO! Don''t get tricked by him!" Abby replied angrily but as she saw Haley''s sad face, she hesitated and said, "Well...I like you, and I don''t mind kissing you-"


    "So. What are you waiting for?" I instigated.


    "Shut up!" Abby admonished me. Iughed and waited for them to continue. Haley gazed into Abby''s lip and she slowly moved her face towards her friend''s. Abby gulped her saliva and prayed to god that she wouldn''t awaken anything as she closed her eyes and did the same thing.


    Then, they kissed each other slowly, before Haley opened her mouth first and then put her tongue into Abby''s mouth. Abby reciprocated her action and their tongue was intertwined a few times as they made out with one another before separating, all while I was taking a bite of my sandwich.


    "Nice." I muttered in awe as I thoroughly enjoyed my time as the lone audience there.

 Chapter 118: Conflicted feelings.

    <h4>Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Conflicted feelings.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    *Click*


    A sh of light startled the girls, which made them quickly separate from each other. They turned towards me with a horrified expression on their faces as they saw I was holding up my phone and had taken a picture of them kissing.


    "What the- DELETE IT!" Abby pounced at me in a hurry. I couldn''t even react before she grabbed my hand and tried to wrestle the phone away from me. Iughed and didn''t keep struggling and let her take it without fighting much.


    ''The photo was backed up to my own personal cloud drive anyway.'' I thought secretly. However, I waste in taking the picture, and what I captured wasn''t actually the sight of them kissing, but a millisecond after they had separated from one another.


    Still lying down on my body, Abby pressed her elbows on my chest as she opened my phone gallery to punish me at the same time. It didn''t hurt much as the ''cushion'' on her chest was helping her spread out her body weight, but she didn''t notice that.


    "Ow-Ow-Ow." I faked the pain while enjoying the soft feeling on my body.


    "This...feels weird. I need a pte cleanser." Haley said suddenly. Abby was annoyed and she turned her head quickly to re at Haley, making my face get hit by her ponytail.


    "Shut up. My mouth is not weird!" She shouted in anger. However, Haley mmed her body on top of Abby, further putting pressure on her punishment towards me, while at the same time she inches her face further and further towards mine, and gave me a kiss without saying anything.


    Abby was shocked, and was stuck between Haley and I in an extremely awkward position. "Wait a moment-" She tried to squirm her way out of the sandwiched position, but Haley was grabbing my hair, and I was holding her head as our tongue intertwined with each other.


    Haley finally was satisfied and moved her lips away. A bridge of saliva could be seen connecting our lips and it broke off as she moved her head further away from mine. While Haley and I were locking eyes with one another, Abby hit her in the arm as she sat up from lying down on my body.


    "O- What''s that for!?" Haley whined as she rubbed her hurting arm. She was sitting on top of my crotch unconsciously, and was a bit startled as she felt something hard there poking at her skirt.


    "I was supposed to do it first!" Abby said before she turned towards me with a sh in her eyes. I gulped my saliva, both in fear and turned on by her sudden approach. She grabbed my right hand and put it on her breast while she bent over and kissed me passionately.


    After a minute, she finally released me to take a breath, leaving me in a dazed and confused state while I wasying down on the bed.


    "Umm...what just happened?" I asked.


    Abby and Haley turned towards each other with a sly smirk on their faces before turning towards me and said, "Nothing out of the ordinary." Haley even shook her bottom a bit as she sat above me and giggled while looking at Abby, and the goth girl alsoughed together with her.


    [Abby POV]


    Although I was a bit jealous of Haley getting to kiss him first, I didn''t focus on that feeling much as I had expected it could happen when I invited him here today. At the party, he told me that he became flirty when he was tired, therefore it was our chance! For both Haley and I!


    And Haley had confirmed before that Edward wasn''t really dating anyone right now. To be honest, when she told me what happened in the shower, I was baffled and my mind short-circuited.


    It seemed silly, but girls tell each other everything, although Haley was a bit fearful of my reaction when she did it before. When she got to the part that Edward actually didn''t do anything even when a pretty girl like Haley was naked in front of him, made me wonder a bit about his sexual orientation�C whether or not it had changed from the time we dated before.


    However Haley told me that his orientation was fine, he just has a lot of self control.


    ''That fact made our work more difficult. ''So when Ed came here today, we girls needed to go to the extreme offensive to tear down his defenses. Him bringing up the kiss between us at the party was a good signal for both of us to start teasing him.''


    ''Why going in such a roundabout manner you ask? Because that guy is infuriating that is why!''


    With him being busy all the time, we couldn''t actually make our moves for weeks. I was frustrated by that, and my ''frustration'' was even exposed to him when he opened myptop before.


    "Abby, Haley." Edward called us in a serious tone. Haley and I stoppedughing and turned towards him with a mixture of expectancy and trepidation, but before he could say anything, we all heard the sound of the door opening.


    "Girls. Edward. It''s time for dinner- Oh my." My mom broke into a wide grin as she saw what was happening inside the room. She leaned on the door frame and asked, "What do we have here?~"


    Both Haley and I blushed hard and we pushed Edward away forcefully. Victimized, Ed fell off the bed after Haley climbed off him. "No-NOTHING HAPPENED!"


    "Don''t worry. I was also young once~ I understand~ I understand~" My momughed ''Ufufufu'' before waving dismissively with her left hand she held her burning cheeks with her right. "Just don''t forget to lock the door next time. A useful tips is that, if you need privacy, just y some music so that people won''t hear-"


    "MOM!" I couldn''t allow her to continue and humiliate me much longer. With a burning face and cold sweats on my back, I ran towards my mom and pushed her out of the room.


    "L-Let''s eat guys!" I tried to change the subject.


    "M-M-My mom pro-probably cooked dinner at hom-Home. I will go eat there- I mean, back at my ce.." Haley stammered hard and even stumbled as she got off the bed before she ran away out of the house at full speed.


    Edward was in disbelief about what just happened and he joked, "Desiree, shouldn''t the first tip you give supposed to be locking the door?"


    I red daggers at him while my momughed at his response, "Yeah. That is supposed to be the first tip-"


    "MOM!" I called out with tears in my eyes. "Please, can''t we just pretend this never happened?" I begged her.


    She showed her innocent, crescent moon eye smile and patted my head. I was feeling relieved for a bit, but then she subverted my expectations by saying, "Also. Next tip would be to use protection. And don''t gang up on Ed okay?"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I swear I could almost see Abby''s soul flying out of her body as her mom teased her. Iughed and stood up from the floor, but I finally realized what was happening underneath my pants so I plopped down on the edge of the bed with my back bent.


    "Oh my Ed? Did the fall hurt you?" Desire asked, but her eyes hid traces of teasing as she definitely knew what caused it. I crossed my legs together and said, "Yeah. I just need a moment."


    "Oh. Do you want me to check-"


    "Okay Stop. Don''te closer. I''m fine." I raised my hand to stop her from turning back and entering the room. She giggled as she was having fun with the whole situation. Abby was still standing frozen outside the room, her soul slowly trying to return to her body.


    "Are you sure~~" Desire asked teasingly.


    "I''m fine. Yeah. Totally fine." I replied with a wry smile on my face. Desiree stifled herugh and finally relented and walked outside the room. "I''ll be waiting for you guys in the kitchen~ I will also add 3 extra minutes in case Ed needs to ''handle his hurting area''. Poor Ed."


    I lowered my head and cursed with a smile on my face, "Fuck. She got us good."


    But honestly, I was also feeling thankful for her. If it wasn''t for her timely intervention, I would''ve done something that I would definitely have regretted tomorrow.


    ...


    "Cougar town?" I asked as I picked up the Tangerine chicken chinese food container in front of me. I was sitting next to Desire while Abby was pouting and sat at the single-seat couch adjacent to us.


    Sitting on the couch in front of the TV in the living room, I joined Desiree in eating dinner together. They usually eat the food at the dining table, but today was a special day because Desiree was waiting for the show to be broadcasted for a long time.


    ["What the hell is that? I look like a farm animal?" Monica Lewinsky stood naked in front of the mirror and yed with her saggy body parts.](Seriously).


    Desireeughed and said, "Yeah. You don''t have to watch it if you don''t want-"


    "No-No. I wanted to watch this for a long time." I said as I used the chopstick to eat a piece of chicken from the container. She bought a couple dumplings, fried rice, beef with broli, and shrimp with lobster sauce. The delivery man also gave her a few extra food and fortune cookies, making the table filled with food.


    Abby stabbed her food with her chopstick as she watched me having fun with her mother. The show was basically an older woman trying to get her love life back, which for some reason, resonated deeply with Desiree.


    "Oh. Cougar town is...actually a town." I muttered in surprise as I saw it.


    Desiree giggled and asked, "What do you think it was before?"


    "I don''t know. A town with lots of pretty ''cougars''." I replied.


    "Like me?" Desiree asked teasingly. I turned to her and said seriously, "Nah. You aren''t a cougar yet. You''re in the MILF category."


    "MILF? What''s that?"


    "OKAY! STOP!" Abby shouted and forcefully ended the conversation before I could exin. Both Desiree and I were confused by her reaction, but we didn''t say anything and turned our focus back on the TV.


    Honestly after binge watching Community TV series before on Netflix, I was curious about the show, but not so much that I would watch it on illegal streaming sites as it wasn''t avable in my country.


    ''But it was broadcasted around the same time Community does... This show is up, but there aren''t any signs of the other show. So does that mean...the college actually exists here?'' I thought secretly as I focused on the show.


    [Oh Travis. Your math teacher Mrs Pritchett got new boobs!- Monica said]


    Both Desire and I spat out our food as we broke into augh as we heard a familiar name.


    "Oh my god. Why?" Desiree wiped her mouth with a napkin as she kept giggling when they discussed Mrs Pritchett''s new boobs in the show.


    Abby was confused and she asked whisperingly towards me to get me to exin, "What? Why did you guysugh?"


    "Well ire''s name was ire Pritchett before she took Phil''sst name." The joke suddenly seemed not funny anymore when I exined it, which made me regret it a little.


    "This show is really for the older audience huh." Desiree said as we watched the part where Monica proimed that she wanted to lick a muscr teenage boy''s body as they watched the football game from the bench. She nced towards me and Abby, feeling a bit ufortable and awkward as they show rtes to her current situation, way too much.


    "So older women have it rough huh." I said while smiling awkwardly at Desiree as we idently made eye contact. She sighed and said, "You guys should go continue what you were doing in Abby''s bedroom before-"


    "MOM!" Abby admonished her mother. "Ed. Once you eat, get out!"


    "Abby, that''s not nice!" Desiree backed me up.


    "Yeah Abby. I wanna watch Cougar Town with your mother." I said. Desiree''s eyes lit up and she asked, "Really?"


    "Yeah. The show''s sucking me in." I replied.


    Desiree suddenly hugged me and said, "Yeay! I finally have a TV buddy!"


    "Heh. Cougar." I mumbled to myself as I enjoyed the hug. Abby broke her chopstick as she saw us, and harrumphed away. When Abby was gone, Desiree finally let me go and asked, "So. Mind telling me why you wanted to get back at Abby?"


    "She took advantage of my vulnerability even though I specifically asked her not to. So I''m punishing her a bit." I replied casually. Desiree was actually quite sharp in these kinds of matters, so I thought by confessing to her, I may get some insight about what I should do after this.


    "Well ... Abby''s a nice girl, but sometimes she doesn''t think too far ahead." Desiree said with a slight shaking of her head.


    "I know she''s nice. But if we really were about to do...what it seemed when you caught us in the room before, and if we did it would have just hurt both of us in the end. I have already made her cry once when we broke up. I don''t want to go through that again."


    Desiree was silent for a while before she said, "Well...tough luck Jr."


    I raised one of my eyebrows and turned towards her, "That''s it? I pour my heart out, and all you can say is ''Tough luck Jr". I guess men''s mental health is overlooked everywhere in the multiverse huh-"


    Desiree pinched me before I could spiral further, and she then continued, "Tough luck cause...no matter how much you n, you cannot actually n what you''re feeling. And even Abby couldn''t help it when she fell for you. She''s just now putting herself back out there, but-"


    "But. You guys are going back to New York, so it''s going to hurt her no matter what. It''s better not to start. It''ll hurt her less." I cut Desiree''s off with the harsh fact, silencing her. She realized that and turned her attention back to the TV.


    The credit scene finally showed up and I stood up from the couch. "Besides. I''m not looking for a rtionship. I barely have the time now with my never-ending work. And if I do date someone, who knows what my crazy fans will do to them."


    ...


    [General POV]


    As Edward waved goodbye to Desiree and walked back to his house, Desiree who was standing in front of the door suddenly asked, "So...Did you listen to what he had to say?"


    Behind her, a red-eyed Abby slowly walked towards the stairs. "I...heard."


    "What are you going to do about it?" Desiree asked.


    "I..." Abby''s eyes shook and she gripped the stairs railing tightly, "I...don''t know."


    Desiree let out a sigh, but then Abby continued, "But...I do know that...I won''t give up!"


    Desiree smiled as she watched her daughter run upstairs. But before she closed the door, she saw a small U-haul truck pulling over to the cottage styled house next to hers. She walked slowly to the neighbor''s house and asked the moving men, "Is someone moving in?"


    On the pickup tform at an airport nearby, atina wearing sunsses and jacket raised her hands up and said, "Finally! California again! I can''t wait to meet my babies!"


    Cam excitedly walked to gate number 4, and there she was finally reunited with her shiny purple car. She kicked out her friend who drove all the way from Calexico to deliver the car to her and said to the car while sitting in the driver''s seat. "Ooo how I missed you baby. Now, let''s go meet my other children!"


    She drove the car quickly despite her friend''s protest as she just left him there, but she just ignored the guy. " I can''t wait to see the look on Ed''s face when he sees I moved into the neighborhood. Although I don''t know where the house is... I really hope that it''s nearby."


    "Hmm... Their house is under construction right? Maybe Ed cane live with me!" Cam said excitedly. "AHHH I CAN''T WAIT!"


    With a fat bank ount from her sister''s generosity that was also hiding an ulterior motive underneath, Cam charged into the highway in high spirits. But the second she went over the speed limit by 1 Mph, a cop''s siren suddenly bellowed behind her car.


    "OH COME ON!" Cam shouted in frustration as the cop car next to her asked her to pull over.


    On another part of the airport, a teenage pop-star finallynded in California after finishing the first part of her tour. She was wearing a fur jacket and sunsses, her face was a bit annoyed from the shes of light from the paparazzi''s cameras.


    While the paparazzis were taking pictures of her as she walked out of the gate, she asked the assistant beside her, "The MV shooting is starting on Tuesday right?"


    "Y-Yes. You can rest for a day before-"


    "No need. I want to go see Ed." Taylor said with a smile on her face.


    "But- It''s already sote." The new assistant said whiningly. She was a petite, blonde woman with a height of 150 centimeters, and had a baby face even when she was nearing 30 years old. "He might already be sleeping."


    "Hmm...if he''s asleep, then that''s that."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I put on a mask as I entered my house. The dust flew all over as the construction crew were cutting some wooden nks in the middle of the living room.


    "Oh. Small boss. How are you?"


    "I''m fine Alexandro. Is my dad here?"


    "Yeah. Big boss is at the back."


    The muscrtin man pointed in the direction with his thumb before he went back to work. I nodded and went back to my room to pick up some stuff before I went to my dad and said, "Dad, can you send me over to Jacob''s house? If you can''t, I''ll just use the bike-"


    "Nonsense. I''ll drive." Dad replied quickly before he put down the beer bottle from which he was drinking from before.


    "Are you sure? If you''d been drinking-"


    "No. That''s non-alcoholic." Dad exined.


    "Huh? Non-alcoholic beer? Why the hell are you drinking non-alcoholic beer?" I asked in confusion, but dad ignored me and walked to the newly made patio and asked, "What do you think?"


    "I have already seen it yesterday."


    "Jay is putting the hot tub in tomorrow, and the outer part will be finished." My dad said excitedly.


    "Yeah. Then, you can invite Mrs Desiree to enjoy the hot tub together. Just text me the time. I will make sure I''m not there."


    Dad frowned and wanted to hit my head, but I was already taking a step back, making him miss his aim. "Too slow old man!" I joked.


    Heughed and retaliated, "But Ed. Are you sure about putting the hot tub in...after all...you can''t swim."


    "Hitting it right where it hurts huh." I nodded in eptance before it turned into a full blown insult battle between me and my dad.


    "China-made Popeye."


    "Night-time Alleycat singer!"


    "The one who killed Glenn."


    "yboy."


    "Beer gut."


    "No armpit hair."


    "Hey I''ve got armpit hair now."

 Chapter 119: SUS Sleepover.

    <h4>Chapter 119: Chapter 119: SUS Sleepover.?</h4>


    (Another few days, and I could finally took off my iron arm (Split). )


    [General POV]


    "Again. I''m sooo sorry." Buddy the African-American cop apologized to Cam.


    "I told you not to worry about it. Ed asked you to watch out for my car. If anything, I should thank you for keeping your word." Cam said with a smile before she took out a key from her jean pocket.


    Both of them were standing in front of Edward''s house as Buddy had escorted Cam''s car and even helped her cheat traffic by ring his siren as an apology to her for the previous ''misconduct''. Not that it was necessary, but why wouldn''t he abuse his power to do it when it could score him some points with the hottina woman?


    Cam opened the door and entered the rowdy house filled with cheers and promiscuous whistling from some strange men.


    "Hmm? What''s going on?" She muttered as she looked around the house. Buddy was also curious and wondered aloud, "Is Ted having a party?"


    "I...don''t think so." Cam shook her head as she knew that Ted wasn''t the kind of man that would throw a wild party.


    As the duo walked past the corridor towards the second living room, both of them were surprised when they saw a blonde woman wearing a bikini and twerking her bubble butt on a beefy construction worker''s crotch while the rest were surrounding them and cheering them on.


    "What in the fresh hell is this?!" Cam muttered with widened eyes and a gasp filled with disbelief.


    "Hey who are you guys?" One of the construction crew members asked. "You can''t be in here!"


    "She''s Edward''s aunt Carlos. Besides that, you guys invited a stripper here and threw a party?! HAVE YOU GUYS LOST YOUR DAMN MIND?!"


    As the group fearfully shrank back at the cop''s shouting, the ''stripper'' walked towards the duo and said, "Wait! I''m not a stripper. I''m Sal. Ted''s...friend. I came by to surprise him, but he isn''t home yet."


    She then drunkenly walked to the couch, sitting seductively with her legs brought up. The construction guy automatically helped her fanned her sweaty chest as she threw her hair back. The 5 bufftino guys stood behind the sofa while Sal sat on the couch, which would make Edward spit his drink and flip out if he saw the very familiar sight.


    "HUUUUHHH!!?" Cam eximed in confusion and anger, she rolled up her sleeves, wanting to throw the slut out of the house.


    "Wait. Youe here for Ted? So why are you...?" Buddy nced at the construction crew who had turned into Sal''s obedient dogs and were fawning all over her. One of them gave her a ss of wine, while two others were massaging her legs, and thest one was working on her shoulders.


    "Well... Just in case, after all if he says no, I do need to have some backup." Sal said with a grin.


    "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE PUTA!" Cam bursted out in anger and threw Sal out of the house like a drunk kitten.


    At the same moment Ted was justing home after driving Edward to a sleepover at a friend''s house. As Sal stumbled, she took a few steps andnded right into Ted''s arms, after he instinctively caught her stopping her fall. Noticing the familiar pecs on her hand as she caressed her savior''s body, Sal slowly looked upward in expectation.


    "Ted! You''re a hard man to find. Did you work out? Your chest feels harder than before." Sal said seductively as she stuck herself close to Ted''s body.


    The construction workers left the house hurriedly in case Ted wanted to have a talk with them, and Buddy also moved away quietly as he received a radio ping from his walkie talkie.


    "Ummm.." Ted was horrified when he noticed that Sal was there, and his anxiety doubled when he saw Cam looking at both of them with a disgusted look in her eyes.


    "Wait. I didn''t-"


    "No need for an excuse Ted. My nephew isn''t here, so I''lle meet him tomorrow. You...do what you want." Cam said while shaking her head slightly in disappointment. She walked to her car and drove away to her new rental house, leaving behind the nervous Ted and the tipsy Sal.


    While poking his chest with her index finger, Sal whispered seductively, "So. I see you have a new hot tub. Should we break it in...nude style?" She slowly untied her bikini top strings, startling Ted.


    "HELL NO!" Ted tried to cover her chest, but Sal had already taken her top off and was already walking drunkenly back inside the house so Ted followed her quickly from behind .


    "WOO HOO! We''re FINALLY GOING TO FUC-" Sal shouted before Ted tackled her and both of them fell onto the sofa.


    "Oh my god yes! Be rougher! I waited for this for so long!" Sal said as she pulled Ted''s head into her embrace, making him motorboat her while he was trying to free himself.


    While Ted was ''suffering'' from the drunken girl assault, Pepper was sipping a cosmopolitan at a bar when he finally realized that one member of his group was gone.


    "Where'' Sal?" Pepper asked while holding two margaritas.


    Mitchell grabbed one of the drinks from him and hurriedly said, "I don''t know. She might be hooking up with someone in the toilet again. You know how she is."


    He took a sip and decided to dump all his frustration from the day, "Pepper. Can you believe it? I had to chase away 15...15!!... Young teenage couples to stop them from having intercourse in the bathroom today! The young generation has absolutely no decency. It seems to have been demoralized way...WAYY to much."


    "Enough about that. I''m asking you. What should I do now? I''ve already proven myself worse than useless when Ed tried to find the rappers! Also for god''s sake who the hell calls himself "M&M". Shouldn''t they sue him for copyright infringement or something?!" Pepper asked exasperatingly as he was a bit drunk from the night''s out with the rest of his friends.


    "Well, that was expected after all you don''t have any connections in that industry, none at all. Don''t beat yourself up." Longinus said before turning to Mitchell and asked, "And you. Are you sure Cam''s okay with you leaving him alone with the baby?"


    Pepper interjected while Mitchell avoided Longines''s stares, "You ARE RIGHT!! I know what I should do now!! I have to show off my connections to him. After all, I don''t just know people in the music industry!"


    "Huh? What are you nning to do?" Jotham, a bearded fellow with a scarf around his neck asked.


    "A GALA! I WILL PLAN A GALA, JUST TO SHOW OFF!" Pepper said drunkenly.


    "Pepper NO! You''ll kill yourself!" Longines said hurriedly. A g wasn''t that easy to n after all and even Pepper, for all his talk, would fall short when it came to getting the really big names in the fashion industry to show up.


    Pepper came to his senses a bit and said, "What did I almost do?...Wait- The annual Versace summer time G! Fashion Designers! CEOs! Celebrities! I will make sure to get Ed invited there! As a VIP too! I have to get him the best Table. Mmmhhhhmmm it would be difficult though, maybe my mother can call one of her shrill bat-like friends..."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Here Ed! Let me help you!" said Mrs Green, who was wearing a lime coloured, long sleeved blouse tucked into her ruby coloured skirt, as she opened the door soon after I rang the doorbell.


    With a grunt, Mrs Green bent over to pick up the cello case from my hands.


    "No It''s okay Mrs Green. It''s quite heavy." I said, trying to stop her.


    She smiled despite her difficulty and said, "Nonsense. You''re our guest. Of course- Hrmmm..." She grunted again as she dragged the cello case which was almost the same size as her through the threshold of the house before she continued, "O-Of course, I need to give you the best treatment."


    I just smiled as shepletely cut me off in trying to help her and sent me to the backyard of the house where Jacob was spending time with his viking-like dad.


    "Come on! Punch harder!" Jacob''s dad was wearing two pads on his hands while Jacob was in a boxing stance wearing boxing gloves as he hit the pads on his dad''s hand.


    I didn''t say anything and sat down on a chair nearby, waiting for them to finish practicing.


    "Come on Jacob! Don''t pull your punches!" Mr Green said in frustration as Jacob was very reluctant to learn the self-defense techniques from him.


    "Turn your upper body as you punch, put some weight behind your fist! Come on, again!" He said while trying to motivate Jacob. But as Jacob threw a few more half-hearted punches, he sighed and put his padding gloves down.


    "Jacob. What''s wrong? I thought you could finally learn how to fight now that you have already been in one." He asked.


    "I- I don''t know." Jacob replied in frustration while biting his lower lips.


    Mr Green turned towards me and asked, "What about you? Do you know why that is?"


    I pondered it for a while and replied, "Well...when he fought before, he actually had a reason to do so. I guess he just needs something solid to motivate him before he can finally swing his fist properly."


    Mr Green sighed before he mmed his pads together and asked, "What do you think Ed? Wanna go a few rounds?"


    "Well I haven''t taken a bath yet, so I guess I can y around for a while." I replied before I stood up and casually walked to Jacob. He bit off his left hand gloves string and untied them before giving the gloves to me while having an awkward expression on his face.


    "What happened Jacob? Are you embarrassed?" Suddenly, a tiny, almost feminine voice I had never heard before wasing from the side. My whole body was startled and I automatically entered my full guard posture and turned towards the source.


    There, I saw a 10 year old boy frozen as my fist was almost connected to his face. The good looking, ck haired boy with a feminine figure and a long bang that covered his forehead, took a few steps back and said begrudgingly, "Hey!! What was that for?"


    "Well you surprised me. Where did youe from Dean?" I asked the kid. He was surprised and said angrily, "I WAS SITTING NEXT TO YOU!!"


    My [Prank Proof] skill didn''t activate, so I knew he wasn''t lying. Still, the little shit startled me a lot.


    ''But, has he achieved such mastery in the art of stealth that even I can''t notice him with my batman skill? Or am I just too tired?'' I thought secretly as I ruffled the kid''s hair.


    Dean was the boy who was frozen in front of the TV when the girls came in to study at Jacob''s house before. Like his brother, he also has a pathological fear of women, and it is even worse for himpared to his 6 foot 1 brother as he was always getting surrounded by girls thanks to his good looks and shy demeanor around them.


    Mr Greenughed and said, "Don''t mind Dean. He''s always popping out from strange ces."


    "I WAS HERE THE WHOLE TIME YOU GUYS WERE PRACTICING!" He shouted and harrumphed away in frustration. Iughed a bit before I turned to Mr Green with the boxing gloves neatly worn in my hands.


    "I''m ready." I said.


    "Good. We''ll start with a ''One-Two punch. Like this-" He tried to show me an example, but I interjected and said, "Wait Mr Green. My dad already taught me. Also, I could be considered a ck belt in Karate, so you don''t have to go easy on me."


    "Ooo Really?" Mr Green was a bit impressed and he couldn''t help but take a nce at Jacob before he sighed again.


    I punched the padding skillfully a few times as a warm up before adding the footsteps in. Mr Green smiled widely and instructed, "Left, Right, Left, Right, Hook, Duck!"


    He swung his left hand on top of my body, which I avoided by ducking skillfully.


    "Very good! Now uppercut!" He said as he positioned the padding in front of him. I did a left hand uppercut, which caused Mr Green to take a step back in shock from the force behind my attack.


    "You- How long have you been practicing?" Mr Green asked as he started to feel some slight tinge of pain in his hand from my constant punches.


    "Not that long. A year maybe." I lied.


    The reason why the punch started to hurt him even with the paddings on his hands was because my karate skill was taken directly from History''s Strongest Disciple�C which learned the skill from the best Karate Master in the world who could fight a great white shark with his bare hands.


    I didn''t notice it, but the karate anime BS techniques had unconsciously seeped out into my boxing as I sparred with Mr Green. That was why his hands started hurting. To save himself from the embarrassment, Mr Green said, "Good Job Ed. There''s nothing more to teach you. Maybe you can even join some amateurpetition with your skills."


    "Oh. We''re done?" I asked in confusion as I saw him taking off his paddings.


    "Well...We are. I only wanted to check your level. Come, you need some protein after working out."


    "But I''ve already had dinner-"


    "And you burned off the calories in the practice. So you need to eat again." he said with a grin. Jacob smiled cheerily and said, "Mom did make a special T-bone steak for us because you wereing today!"


    "Wait! I told you I woulde after dinner." I widened my eyes in surprise and started to feel a bit guilty.


    "Don''t worry Ed. Kitty has been so excited for Jacob''s first sleepover that she just decided to cook on her own." Mr Green said as he wiped his sweat with a small white towel.


    The dinner was great, and Mrs Green was a good cook. My onlyint was that everything on the dining table was some pretty heavy stuff. She made yam, mashed potatoes, fries, colew, fried chicken, T-bone steak, and a few other high calorie foods.


    "No wonder Jacob is so big. Hell, it''s a wonder he isn''t fat." I mumbled to myself as I stuffed the cut up steak into my mouth. I didn''t realize that they were also shocked by the amount of food I could eat, especially Mrs Green as she kept putting more and more food on my te. Suffice to say, it was a feast.


    "Hmm. at times like this, I miss Laurie." Kitty said suddenly.


    "Laurie?" I asked in confusion.


    Kitty turned to Jacob in surprise and said, "You didn''t tell him?"


    "About what? My slutty, college girl sister? No thanks. This guys is actually a-"


    Jacob met my eyes as he continued speaking, and instantly shut up as he noticed the malicious intent behind my kind and smiling eyes.


    "Has a what?" Kitty asked in confusion.


    "N-Nothing-Nothing. This yams sure a-are great huh." Jacob said before stuffing his mouth full of yams.


    "Has a what, Jacob?" Kitty asked again assertively this time. Jacob opened his fully stuffed mouth and muttered iprehensibly, "Yumpth Shmm Re Ghout (Yams sure are great)"


    "Urgh." Kitty groaned at the revolting sight before turning to me with a sweet smile on her face and exined, "Laurie isn''t a slut."


    Jacob choked on his food as he was shocked by his mother''s words, and drank some water quickly.


    Kitty ignored him and continued, "She went to college this year-"


    "And didn''t think abouting back home for almost a year." Mr Green said gruffly as he was dissatisfied by his daughter''s behavior.


    "Oh. Does she study far away?" I asked.


    "Nah, she''s only two towns away." Dean replied while taking some small bites of his steak. Half an hour of eating, and he didn''t even finish a quarter of his first serving while Mr Green, Jacob and I were on our second one.


    "Come to think of it. The semester''s over. So she wille home soon." Mrs Green said excitedly. I smiled and listened to some of Jacob''s embarrassing stories before we were shunted off into Jacob''s room. After I cleaned myself up and changed into my pajamas, I sat down on the bed while Jacob was going to sleep on the air-matress on the floor.


    "Why the cello?" He asked as he brought my cello case into the room.


    "For fun." I replied with a mischievous smile. He was taken aback for a while, and then he opened up the case. "Wait. This isn''t a cello-"


    "Of course it isn''t genius." I rolled my eyes at him before walking to the case and took out the ystation 2 I had just bought and a t screen monitor. "Your mom almost gave me a heart attack when she identally mmed it down on the floor before."


    "You''re smuggling contraband into my house?!" Jacob asked in surprise as he saw multiple PG 18 movies inside the cello case and a small dvd yer.


    "Of course. It won''t be a boy''s night without it." I said with augh before setting up the whole thing. Jacob was excited the whole time and we yed WWE Smackdown for a while before he suddenly paused the game as Ipletely obliterated him in the match.


    "Did you know?" He asked in a tiny voice.


    I was silent for a while before I replied, "I knew."


    "Who told you?"


    "No one. I checked the list."


    It was no coincidence that I came here today. This morning before the party, the football team name list for those who passed the recruitment came out, and unfortunately Jacob couldn''t make the team.


    He had been trying out for 3 years, but he was always one stop short as he was too gentle with his opponents in the field. Despite hisrge stature, the coach couldn''t actually bring him into the team as his nature would prevent the team from winning due to hisck of bravery.


    "You''d be better off opening a potato farm." I mocked whileughing. But Jacob took that advice seriously and said, "You know. My grandma has a potato farm."


    That was why his dad was training him in self-defense before. To see if he could change his nature a bit before next year''s tryouts. Although he pretended to be tough around Elsa, he couldn''t do the same thing on the field.


    "I don''t know what went wrong. At Jenna''s party before, I could run and tackle someone with my entire body, but in the tryouts, I just froze." He said casually while we continued fighting in the game. My Undertaker character took a steel chair and bashed his Batista character in the head, sttering blood on the ring as he bled.


    "Damn, you ain''t going easy on me." Jacob gritted his teeth and bashed his X button repeatedly to avoid getting pinned down by my character.


    "Of course not. This ain''t a pity party! It''s a skull cracking party!" I said with a cackle as my Undertaker characterpletely pinned Batista on the ground, and won the match!


    Jacobughed with tearsing out of his eyes. We yed for a few more times and watched an R rated movie before going to sleep at 3 am. The lights were turned off as weid down on our beds.


    But before I could activate my [Rest] skill, Jacob suddenly called me from afar, "Hey."


    "Hmm."


    "Thanks."


    "For what?"


    "Coming over to cheer me up."


    "Dude I''m basically homeless now. And I didn''te to cheer you up. Ie here to mock you while you''re down."


    Heughed before we fell into silence again only for him to say, "You know. I don''t even know if I want to y football."


    "Then, why did you decide to try out?" I asked.


    "I don''t know. My dad never tried to force me and repeatedly told me if it was okay for me not to y, but..."


    "But?"


    "I don''t know." Jacob said, confused by his own feelings about the game.


    "Are you...passionate about it?" I asked.


    "Well...I do love football." He said.


    "Then, you should try again next year." I said casually. He sat up from the air mattress and turned his head towards me in confusion, "What? Shouldn''t I just stop now?"


    "Why do you want to stop? If you love it, then try it again. And then again. And then again." I turned my head towards him and saidzily. He was abashed and he rubbed the back of his head before he said, "I...Can I really make the team?"


    "You know, you went crazy when you saw me almost getting hurt in the fight. So my guess is you ain''t built to attack. Maybe...you need to y defensive line, instead of focusing on getting through to take down the opposing QB just try to hold the line and keep your guys safe."


    "I tried to y defense too, but it still didn''t work out." He said. " "I''m a pushover," the coach said. Enough, let''s go to sleep. Don''t bring this up again. Talking about this whole thing is making me depressed."


    I shook my head andid it down on the pillow. As I looked up at the ceiling, I said with a smile, "You know. I got your back."


    "What?" He asked, confused.


    "In the fight. You had my back, even when I didn''t ask you to."


    Jacob was silent, and I continued, "So...I''m going to have your back on this too. Whether you like it or not, I will bring this shit up, until you''re finally ready to go and do your best on the field."


    "Why?" He asked in a tiny voice, akin to a whisper.


    "Free tickets to the NFL of course!" I replied teasingly. He finallyughed again and said, "It''ll take a long time."


    "Take as long as you need."


    "I might give up soon and open up a potato farm."


    "I will make sure you don''t. Also, you can do both when you''re rich after your football contract leaves you with millions."


    His eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "Then,e with me to the next try-outs!"


    "Dude, I''m already busy as fuck." I replied. He turned downcast again, but I added, "But sure. I will y along with you next year in highschool."


    "NICEE! YOSHHHH! I WILL DO IT!!! I WILL FUCKING DO IT THIS TIMEEEE!" He shouted out loud as he stood up abruptly, startling all the people in this house and the next door neighbor''s house.


    "JACOB GREEN! WHY ARE YOU YELLING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!" Kitty shouted from afar. "Are you boys roughhousing! Don''t make mee up there! There will be no more sleepovers if I have to go up there!" She added.


    "Sorry Mrs Green!" I shouted quickly.


    "Sorry mom!" Jacob shouted with me.


    We bothughed as the house finally calmed down, but Mrs Green chimed in again, "GO TO SLEEP BOYS! I CAN HEAR YOU LAUGHING!"


    "YES MRS GREEN/MOM!" Both of us answered at the same time.

 Chapter 120: Argument (1)

    <h4>Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Argument (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Damn. Why did I eat so much breakfast?" I muttered while holding my stomach as I walked through the school corridors with my ''entourage'' consisting, as usual, of Jenna, Enid, Jacob, Elsa, and Abraham.


    Each of us had juste back from settling our various affairs, and coincidentally met in the corridor so we decided to walk together.


    Elsa had just finished nning her summer camp schedule, and Enid wasing back from the highschool newspaper interview.


    Jacob had just finished watching the football team''s training and Abraham was kicked out from theputer club for being too annoying. Jenna had to take a supplementary lesson with the Phys-Ed teacher as she failed the ss, but it wouldn''t prevent her from getting to highschool next year.


    Walking staggeringly with her shoulders slumped, Jennained, "How could...she make me run 5ps... around the gymnasium..." She had changed her clothes back from the PE clothes, and it was funny to see her being forced to tuck her white shirt into her red shorts as she ran breathlessly before.


    "You know that the boys had to run 10ps right?" Abraham interjected, but he only earned a murderous re from all of the girls as they tried tofort Jenna.


    Iughed and said, "Weakling."


    "HEY!" Jenna tried to protest.


    "Are you not?" I asked as I turned towards her. She blushed a bit and said in a tiny voice, "But you don''t have to say that out loud." We allughed at her as we passed by the school board. The festivalmunity members were putting banners and passing out fliers and pamphlets to the students walking around.


    I took a few of the fliers and folded them neatly into paper airnes before I threw them all over the school.


    The school sses were already over, but some students still remained on site for their extracurricr activities and school clubs.


    With no more boring ssroom lessons, school life was bustling more than ever, even though there were less and less studentsing to school during the final week before the school''s out for the summer.


    The short haired Enid walked to my side and whispered, "So. What are you going to do with Alex?"


    "I don''t know yet. I will figure it out when I find her." I replied to Enid with a reassuring smile.


    To be honest, I had no idea why Enid thought Alex was mad at me. She was still responding to my texts, despite the fact that I hadn''t actually seen her...for a few days now.


    ''I am dumb, aren''t I?'' I thought to myself after finally figuring out the weird situation. But right now, I needed to settle onest thing before I would go to the music ssroom to meet up with Alex there.


    "You know Ed, if only one friend of yours is mad at you, you can still say the problem lies with her. But if you''re fighting with two people...maybe it''s time to think that you might actually be the problem." Elsa said teasingly.


    "..." The groupughed as I was taken aback by what Elsa said, and I frowned at them before stopping abruptly, making those who were following me from behind hit the people right in front of them.


    "HEY!" Enid said as her nose hurt when she collided with my back. "We''re here." I said.


    "Knockity knock knock!" I said while knocking on Mrs Henderson''s open ssroom door in a giddy manner.


    The teacher was wearing a polka dot pattern gown that made her look like a housewife in the mid-50s, and her hair was neatly tied up into a bun, with no stray hairs could be seen escaping from her hair tie''s grasp.


    "Come in, Mr Newgate. The rest of you can stay outside." Mrs Henderson said without even raising her head up to look in our direction. Elsa was muttering, "How did she do that?" while Enid was excitedly replying, "The legendary Mind''s eyes."


    "You guys are just too noisy." I said, breaking the delusions.


    I waltzed into the ssroom before sitting on the chair in front of the teacher''s table before she could extend her invitation for me to sit. Mrs Henderson raised one of her eyebrows as she finally looked up to look at my face. She took the test paper she was currently grading and ced it on the side.


    She took out a thick binder and mmed it on the table, producing a loud banging sound, startling my entourages outside the ssroom. I just smiled at her as she slowly flipped the binder pages and turned it upside down before sliding it over to my direction.


    "This is the Chicago ''The Shed'' open field concert. We are now constructing a stage simr to this one on the school''s east field." Mrs Henderson exined as she used a pen to point at the pictures inside the pages. "It''ll be right in the center of the school''s festival spot, and the concert won''t interfere with the other activities in the festival."


    "Wait. The school has the budget for this?" I asked in shock as I checked the specifications of the stage.


    Mrs Henderson looked at me in disbelief and said, "Don''t be silly. Of course we don''t."


    Iughed as I already knew who was the sponsor for the event. I helped set up the whole thing after all.


    The sponsor was the same souppany for which I had starred in theirmercial before, and now I had be their product ambassador for a healthy food lifestyle.


    My face would be used in their billboards, and also on their product. Of course, I checked thepany''s background and the soup''s ingredients to make sure that it wouldn''t bite me in the ass in the future if thepany turned out to be controversial.


    ''Thepany stayed true to their mission to keep their product organically made and healthy, so it''ll be good for my image too through the endorsement. I had to thank Pepper for this one. The CEO is one of his friends after all.''


    The stage was quite pricey as it cost more than 50,000 dors in order to get everything up and running, but it was actually a simple structure to make. The actual overall spending was actually lower than the initial budget estimate, therefore thepany had no problem with the sponsoring.


    Thanks to that, the organizer could insert a high end sound system all around the stage without much thought, so it was a win for me.


    "We''ve already sold tickets for over 1000 people, mostly for the students'' and their families. All of the proceeds will go to the Make-a-meal charity and be used to feed the homeless through soup kitchens around the state as previously agreed." Mrs Henderson said with a slightly proud smile on her face.


    "What''s with that expression?" I asked with a smallugh.


    Mrs Henderson''s face turned stoic again as she said, "You''ve grown. You''re no longer a money grubber."


    "Oh, I''ll make the money alright." I said with a grin. "There''s plenty of other ways for me to make money through the concert even if I donate the ticket''s sales to charity."


    Mrs Henderson froze for a bit before she let out a small sigh and continued with her exnations, "As you know, the whole event was approved as the school filed for the concert under the ''school event'' category. So, a student''s performance is a must."


    "Don''t I count as a student?" I asked in confusion.


    "No." Mrs Herderson answered curtly. I was taken aback at first, but then as I read the binder, I found out that my celebrity status interfered with the whole ''student'' activities thing. "I see. But that''s not a problem. I am nning to y together with Alex after all."


    "Only Alex?" Mrs Henderson asked.


    I was a bit frustrated and I said, "Again...Why is she Alex and I am ''Mr Newgate''? Shouldn''t you call me Edward already? The school is almost ending already."


    Mrs Henderson smiled kindly and said, "Okay. Then. Edward."


    "Wait. No. That gave me goosebumps. Go back-"


    Before I could finish, she smacked my head with a student''s test paper nearby. Iughed out loud as I had finally made her breakposure in front of me. Under her angry gaze, I shut my mouth quickly and turned my attention back to the binder.


    "Wait. The concert needs to end before 9?" I asked. "This is just a ''suggestion'' right? It''s not set in stone. Cause I don''t think I can finish the concert early. There''s various factors that could push the schedule back."


    "Well, a ''suggestion'' is an urate term for that. Don''t worry. I will handle the event myself, so time wouldn''t be a problem." Mrs Henderson said confidently. I breathed in relief before saying, "Okay then. I still need to find Alex and pried some answers from her- Not in a bad way of course."


    I backpedaled immediately as I saw the teacher narrowing her eyes at me. She sure did love Alex. Why wouldn''t she? After all, Alex was the teacher''s pet for almost all of the teachers in school, except for the PE teacher of course.


    "Don''t tease her too much." Mrs Henderson said.


    "I won''t." I replied with a sly grin before standing up from the seat. "Oh yeah. I will need at least 250 tickets for my fan club members."


    "I still remember the requirement Mr...Edward. I had allocated the fan club member spot on the left side of the stage so it wouldn''t seem that you''re giving them special treatment."


    "Thanks." I replied casually before walking out of the ssroom.


    ...


    Jacob held my cello case as we entered the music ssroom where Alex was practicing her cello with another sses wearing boy.


    "Good Alex." Finneas, the boy who would start a band together with Alex in the future, was teaching Alex how to improve her skills. He was wearing a shirt and a sweater, looking nerdy as he pushed his sses up as he flipped the musical notes in front of him.


    "AAAALEXXX!" Enid screamed in excitement and ran towards Alex before hugging her from behind. "OOF- ENID STOP TACKLING ME!" Alex said in frustration as it wasn''t the first time Enid would do this.


    "They are surely dating!" Elsa gossiped to Jenna''s ear. I rolled my eyes and said to Elsa, "You guys are not done with that? Just ask her if you are so curious about it."


    Finneas widened his eyes as he saw me, and he stopped ying his instrument as he suddenly saw a lot of people in the ssroom. I walked to him and extended my hand for a handshake, and he reciprocated my gesture instantly.


    "Hey. You look familiar."


    "We...Wepeted with each other before..." Finneas said with a smile on his face.


    "We did? Oh right. We did. In Spring Two thousand and five." I said as I released his hand. But, that wasn''t actually why I felt a sense of familiarity every time I saw him. I carefully scrutinized his face and looked at him up and down. He covered his chest and his crotch with his hand and his face turned red. "W-What?"


    "Hey...Do you...Perhaps..."


    "Wh-What is it?" Finneas urged nervously, feeling out of ce there as he was the only stranger around among this group of friends.


    "Do you...Perhaps have a sister?" I asked.


    "Huh? Y-Yeah. I do have a sister. Why?" Finneas asked in confusion.


    "Is her name Billie?" I asked again.


    He scrunched his face and asked, "How do you know her?"


    "OOOOOHHH." I eximed as I finally figured out where I knew him from. He is Billie Eilish''s brother, Finneas O''Connell.


    ''He cameoed in a future episode where Alex performed in a cafe. And in another episode where the Dunphy''s got a new neighbor. He was their adult son in that episode. So he appeared twice. Is it possible that I will see a look-alike/doppelg?nger in this universe?'' I amused myself with that thought.


    Jenna walked behind me and poked at my sides, startling my body and making me straighten my spine instantly. I turned towards her with a smile on my face and asked, "What''s that for?"


    With a pout, she asked, "How DID you know his sister?"


    "Just from here and there. Finneas, are you interested in performing at the school festival this Saturday?" I asked him after patting Jenna''s head. However, that seemed to irk Alex even more.


    "Hmph!" She was mad and stomped to the side of the room and put her cello inside the stand nearby before pulling Enid to the side. Jenna and Elsa squealed as they did, and Abraham was signalling Jacob, asking what was going on to make the girls react like that.


    While Jacob was exining to Abraham about the Alex and Enid rtionship theory, I smiled kindly at the ufortable Finneas and asked him a few more things.


    ...


    [Alex POV]


    ''Why did he bring his cello? Oh my god, is he kicking me out of the stage? DAMN HIM! FINEEE! I don''t wanna y with him anyway!''


    I turned to Enid and admonished her angrily, "You were supposed to give me a signal before he came. Now, I can''t even run away."


    "BUT WHYYY? You guys can talk it out. And I don''t think that Ed even knows what he did to make you mad."


    "He did NOTHING!" I said, my tone unconvincing. "But its dangerous to have him around. Or he''ll start his whole Dr Phil thing again."


    "Huh. What?" Enid tilted her head in confusion.


    "Ugh. I''m going to sneak out of here. Cover for me." I said to Enid.


    "Where are you going?" Suddenly, Ed''s voice sounded from behind me, startling the both of us.


    "E-Edward." I called him while stuttering.


    "Hi Alex. Long time no...see." Ed said with a sly smile on his face. He knew, didn''t he? Damn it!


    [Edward POV]


    I have no idea why Alex was acting like a shelter puppy who has a mistrust of humans. I patted her head, which made her widen her eyes and disarmed a bit of her hostility towards me.


    "Don''t go. We need to practice. Without you, I cannot do the concert. Also, I got this guy to agree to join the team. I also convinced him to invite his sister." I said while pointing at Finneas who was confused and dazed right now, wondering how the hell did I manage to get him to say yes.


    Alex''s eyes darted between the two of us, and she finally relented and let out a long sigh. "Fineeee."


    "Great. I have a lot to teach, so we''re going to spend the entire week together. Before we do that, do you have something that you wanna say to me?"


    "No!" Alex replied immediately and she ran away from me again. I sighed and turned to Enid, who in turn flinched as my gazended on her. "What about you? Do you know what that''s all about?"


    "Honestly..." Enid turned to look at Alex who was talking to Jenna before she continued, "... I don''t have the slightest clue about what''s actually going on..."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Sneaking away from the group for a while, Finneas took out his phone and called his 11 year old little sister.


    "Billie...You...How did you do it?" Finneas asked with an impressed tone as the call connected.


    "Huh? What are you talking about?" Billie was confused when she heard the question.


    "Don''t y dumb with me. How did the rising artist, Edward Newgate, know about you??!" Finneas asked angrily.


    "???"


    "If you don''t want to tell me about it, then it''s fine. But he told me to ask you this, so I will. Billie, won''t youe and join our band? We''re going to rock the school festival!"


    Billie was silent for a while as she was in disbelief about the whole situation. "You know I''m studying at another school right?" She wasn''t kidding. She was actually enrolled in an all girl school nearby.


    (A/N: Not the true backstory, I was just building it based on the cameo inside the series as Finneas''s character in the story doesn''t have any details. Not even his name was revealed if I am not mistaken.)


    While Finneas was calling his sister, Jenna and the others were watching Edward teaching Alex how to y the cello. However, they soon became bored as Alex had to repeat the same melody several times in order to perfect her skills.


    "Wait. I got an idea!" Jacob said before he turned to Edward''s cello case with glittering eyes. Then, he revealed the ''contrabands'' items inside of the cello, making the group widened their eyes in awe.


    "LET''S PLAY SOME GAMES!" Abraham said excitedly as he pounced on the PS2.


    In front of the school, a blonde teenage pop star was wearing a baseball cap on her head and was wearing a baggy, but familiar ck hoodie �C one that was worn by Edward before this.


    Taylor snuck into the school and walked to the musical ssroom with a grin on her face. "I wonder how he will react when he sees me here!" She said excitedly.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I saw that Alex''s mood was worsened as she saw the items inside the cello case that I brought. She turned towards me and asked, "Why did you bring that here?"


    "I can''t really keep them at Jacob''s house. If his mom finds out, he will be toast, at the very least he will get punished again, this time maybe for several weeks." I said jokingly, trying to diffuse the situation.


    Alex said mockingly, "That''s great. Edward Newgate. Ever the savior huh."


    "What''s wrong with you?" I asked with narrowed eyes.


    "Nothing is wrong with me." Alex replied before lowering her eyes and trying to y the cello once again. But I could see that she was distracted as she was ying so poorly even a newbie cello yer could probably beat her and so the instrument was producing some really unpleasant sounds.


    "Hey. Do it properly."


    Alex replied in a mocking manner, "Sorry that I don''t have a ''God-given talent'' to seed in everything I do. Some people are just born ordinary. We can''t all be like you-"


    "Okay that''s it." I said in a stern manner as I stood up abruptly from the chair I was sitting on. Although the others were sitting around the TV to watch Abraham versus Finneas''s match, all of them were instantly attracted by our fight. Enid''s eyes darted between Alex and I a few times before she reluctantly walked towards us, trying to diffuse the situation.


    Startled by my sudden change in temperament, Alex stammered fearfully, "W-W-What? I didn''t say anything wrong-"


    Before she could finish, I grabbed her right ear with my left hand. "Ow- What? You want to punish me by pulling my ear?" She asked in disbelief.


    "No. But If you don''te with me, you WILL....lose it." I said before I walked in the direction of the instrument storage room.


    "Oow-Oww- Wait I''ll walk on my own! Oww Oww Oww-" Alex was forced to follow along as I stuck true to my words.


    "Ed-" Enid tried to defend Alex, but I turned towards her and reassured her, "Don''t worry. I will just have a talk with her. Just a simple...talk." I said with eyes filled with malice as I dragged Alex''s body into the storage room. As we entered it, I locked the door to prevent anyone from getting in, and also a certain someone from running away again.


    [General POV]


    Elsa asked fearfully, "W-W-What do you think Ed will do to Alex in there?"


    "Well, usually when my mom tells her friend she will talk to me, it means I''m getting spanked when I get home." Abraham said.


    "Wait. So Edward is going to spank Alex?" Jacob asked in disbelief.


    "What the hell did I get roped into? What kind of group is this?" Finneas mumbled to himself.


    "She''s getting spanked? I''m ...so jealous." Jenna muttered, making everyone turn to her in disbelief.

 Chapter 121: Argument (2)

    <h4>Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Argument (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Thrown into the dim lighted, closed space instrument closet, Alex automatically made self-hug gestures as if she was prey waiting for the ruthless predator to devour her.


    "Wh-What made you so mad?" She asked warily as she tried to scour for the way out, but as I stood in the middle of the passage, she couldn''t reach the door without going through me.


    "Why are you protecting yourself like that? I''m not going to molest you." I said with a face full of disbelief.


    "WHY!? BECAUSE I HAVE NO BOOBS TO-" She retorted immediately and stopped halfway, face filled with embarrassment as she had revealed one of her insecurities.


    "Don''t worry. I''m sure they''ll grow when you''re older...No. I know that for sure... This isn''t about that, and you know it." I said sternly as I red at her. She shrunk back and gulped her saliva in fear as she studied my face.


    She pretended not to know and said, "I don''t understand what you want... It is all so sudden...."


    I replied mockingly, "Is it though? Or did I finally have it up to here with your shitty behaviour." I let the words sink in, as she fell into contemtion, I added sarcastically, "Yeah...that''s tough... I''m sure somebody out there feels sorry for you. It''s not me though. I''m here to beat some sense into you."


    "I''ll call the cops!"


    "They''ll be toote if you do. So tell me Alex...why are you avoiding me?" I confronted her as I took one step ahead. She took one step backwards as she nervously lowered her head and brushed her stray hair behind her ears. The whole closet fell silent for a while as I waited for her answer.


    "I...I''m sorry." Alex muttered, eyes full of tears. "Can you let it go now?? Don''t try to find out why? I...I really don''t want...you to know about it."


    I was a bit taken aback, but then, I shook my head. "No."


    She said venomously as she held back her tears, "WHY? So you can ''DR PHIL'' me? So That I''ll just be one of your ''projects''?"


    "Still, not even close, the reason is actually very very simple. I''m surprised you didn''t see it." I replied casually, which took Alex by surprise.


    "Huh?" She eximed, confused.


    "I will just tell you. The reason I''m pulling you here, inside the room, is because...I''m...your friend." I replied with a smile. "And besides, we only have one week left to spend together. After that, it will be a whole year before I can enjoy my school life with you again."


    Alex wiped her nose as she said meekly, "Really? You enjoy being friends with me?"


    "Of course."


    "Then that''s all the more reason I can''t tell you about it." She added.


    "So...the reason you''re so irritable and utterly insufferable...has something to do with me?"


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Don''t pretend you haven''t figured it out ''Sherlock''. Knowing you, you actually have everything figured out already. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have pulled me in here."


    "No, I really don''t have the slightest clue what''s going on. I wasn''t actually nning to do this until it was already toote, but your words really hurt me, so I wanted to make you suffer a bit."


    "Huh? What words?" Alex said with her eyes darting everywhere, feeling a pang of guilt in her heart as she didn''t mean to actually hurt me. It was just her self-defence mechanism that made her act out.


    Yes, when she said that I had a ''God-given talent'' before, the memory of my mother saying the same thing and leaving me forever surfaced inside my mind. The feeling was extremely ufortable, and I may have overreacted a bit mindlessly.


    "Not the time. We can revisit that after we settle this. Otherwise, for ourst week together, we will keep being awkward with each other, reserved and keeping secrets instead of outgoing and free, always pulling ourselves back when having fun, and honestly, I don''t want that to happen. That''s why, I''m going to give you an ultimatum."


    "NO!" Alex protested but I ignored her and continued. "I will give you...as many chances as I can as I take a step forward before I fully pin you to the end of the closet."


    Alex turned back to see it, and realized that she wouldn''t have that many chances.


    "So you will literally back me against the wall?" Alex said.


    "Smart girl." I muttered with an unconscious seductive grin. Alex suddenly gasped and blushed a little before she shook her head and said, "Well... What will happen when we get to the end?"


    Iughed and said, "A massage." Her eyes widened, and her face paled. I continued in a teasing manner, "Your sister told me you hated it when I massaged your palm before-"


    "No I didn''t!" Alex snapped suddenly, which confused me a bit.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "No...no no no no no no...I really can''t let him do that. What if I pee again? And this time...in front of him. If that happens..I will literally kill myself." Alex said in a horrified manner, but her cheeks had a little red tinge from her hidden expectation about the whole thing.


    The thought of him pinning her up against the wall, ''massaging'' a part of her body until she ''peed'' again, had caused Alex''s sanity to be divided, and she had fallen into a dilemma at this moment. Alex fanned her cheeks as she said, "I definitely can''t let that happen."


    [Commentary ends]


    "I really don''t want to do this." Alex said whiningly.


    "Yet. You''re still here. If you really wanted to go out, you could just use your 3 years of judo training and fling me over, but you don''t. So...I guess there is a part of you that wants to work this out too. No one wants to prolong their own misery, or am I wrong?" I asked with a sly grin as I took my first step. "Also, you lost your first chance."


    "Wait-wait-wait-" Alex tried to buy some time, but I shook my head and instigated her, "You called me someone with ''God-given talent''. Why am I the target for your anger?"


    "No. It''s not you-"


    "Then who? Is it your mother?" I asked as I took another step.


    "I didn''t even reply yet?!" She retorted angrily. "I am taking a step forward every 15 seconds. You really don''t have much time Alex. Are you sure you want to waste it with useless arguments?"


    "URGH!" Alex groaned loud and slightly raised her chin up to match her eyes to mine as I walked closer towards her.


    [General POV]


    Outside the room, a few kids were pinning their ears to the storage room door, trying to figure out what was happening in the room.


    "Can you hear anything?" Jenna asked Elsa with an anxious voice.


    "No. I can nearly hear the asional raised voice, but I can''t hear anything else." Elsa confessed.


    "We need a ss cup." Enid said as she tried to make a medium with her hand, but failed.


    "Enid. You...aren''t you mad?" Elsa asked carefully.


    "I''m more inclined towards the feeling of concern in this situation. Why?" Enid asked curiously. Jenna and Elsa shared a ce with each other, and then they both looked at Enid again.


    Jenna asked, "Isn''t Alex your...girlfriend? Aren''t you mad Ed is-"


    "WHAT?!" Enid interjected as she felt that she had heard something wrong. She picked her ears and asked, "Can you run that by me again?"


    "Isn''t Alex your girlfriend-"


    "WHAT!?"Enid was bbergasted once more, her brain short circuited from the shock she was feeling.


    Jacob, Abraham, and Finneas however, had no interest in what was happening beside them as they were focusing on the PS2.


    As Jacob and Finneas were ying a game against one another, a suspicious looking blondie was peeking through the gaps of the music room door, trying to find out the whereabouts of her ''friend'' .


    "Hmm? Where is he?" Taylor muttered. But then, a slender hand suddenly grabbed Taylor''s shoulder, making her startled. She turned back quickly, and saw a stern looking, beautiful teacher staring at her.


    "You''re...not a student from this school right? Can I see your visitor''s pass?" Mrs Henderson asked with a stoic face.


    "Well. I guess I''m caught." Taylor said with a smile as she took off her sunsses to show her face to the teacher. Expecting that she would be lenient with her, Taylor said, "I''m just here to meet-"


    "Do. You. Have your visitor''s pass?" Mrs Henderson asked again.


    Taylor was stumped and her brain short circuited. It was quite a rare asion for her to have someone ignore her reputation and treat her as an ordinary human, so her brain didn''t know what to do at this moment as she was currently by herself.


    "I...I don''t unders-"


    "You need to register first before entering the school. Pleasee with me and sort this out." Mrs Henderson said before she pulled Taylor to the teacher''s office.


    As if she was turning into a student again, Taylor whined as she was dragged away, "NOOOOO!!!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Although I could hear some chattering out from behind the door, I ignored them all and was giving all of my focus to Alex right now. As I took another step, she was flustered and shouted, "Okay! Stop! I''ll tell you. It''s becauseeeeeeeeeeee..."


    "Becauseeeeeeeeeeeeeee....." I mimicked her as she trailed off.


    "Becauseeeeee....(Sigh) I don''t know. I guess, my mother''s reaction towards my achievement irked me-"


    "No that''s not it." I interjected. Alex was surprised and she said, "YES- That is totally it-"


    "Your mother has always told you, since you were little, that ''Approvales from within''. (Canon stuff) Also, despite the fact that your mom''s reaction was repulsive, I don''t think you actually care about that right? You just need someone to dump all of the feelings onto, and she''s an easy target.


    Besides, you did hint at the possibility of my involvement being a factor. So if you wanna make a believable excuse, maybe include my name somewhere in your story."


    "Shut up! Stop being right all the time. It''s making me sick!" Alex scowled hard before she shrunk backwards as I took another step ahead. Her back suddenly hits the end of the wall, which was a tuba rack and a marching drum rack. One of the drum sticks rolled to the edge of the rack, and knocked Alex in the head as it fell.


    "OWW!" She eximed as she rubbed her sore temple.


    "Onest step." I said, making her ignore the pain and red at me instead. Before I could step on the ground, she said defensively, "OKAY! IT WAS MY OWN ISSUE! ARE YOU SATISFIED NOW?!"


    "Not until I hear the whole thing." I said with a smile as I patted her head. However, as I waited for Alex to continue, she kept her silence and was gripping the edge of her shirt while looking down on the floor, desperately wishing for her ''torture'' to be over.


    I sighed and stopped myself from blocking her exit and walked to her side instead with my back leaned against the wall. She peeked at my face, expecting that I would be mad at her, but instead, found me with a smile.


    "You may find it difficult to tell me what you''re feeling. I understand. It''s ufortable being the only one put on the spot, especially when you don''t like what you''re feeling right now. So, I will take an example for a red-headed woman I know, and give you an out so that you won''t feel terrible... alone."


    "Which red-head? I don''t think I know a red-head hanging out around you." Alex asked puzzledly.


    I rolled my eyes at her and said, "Cause that''s what''s important right now. By the way, it''s Lily Aldrin."


    "From How I Met Your Mother? THE SITCOM!?" Alex eximed in disbelief. I nodded after chuckling a bit and took a deep breath. Alex also turned serious, and she nced at my face as I spoke.


    "Well. I struggle with the idea of how receable I am... to some people. To some people I am just a lesson, or a distant memory, or how we used to be, or a stranger that turns into a lover for a while, but is doomed to be a stranger once more." I confessed without any lies in my words.


    "I struggle with the very idea of happiness, when I''m finally happy with life, somehow something alwayses around and takes that happiness away, and I''m left alone again. I... over think, and it destroys me inside. Do you think that I am being unfair to those around me when I think like this?" I asked her as we locked eyes.


    "How long have you felt this way?" Alex asked.


    "For as long as I could remember." I replied.


    Alex shed a tear, and her chin quivered before she let out her own deepest insecurity.


    "I...I threw away thepetition medal."


    I widened my eyes, but I didn''t say anything and let her continue.


    "I felt like...I didn''t really deserve it...that...I...didn''t actually do anything remotely significant at the event. In the first match, you carried the whole team. And again in the final match, even though I fought with my all against the other team... I was useless right? We were still going to win anyway since you solved the golden snitch."


    Her voice cracked and she started sobbing, " So what reason did I have to be happy about getting the medal? I had done nothing...nothing at all. And...it was making me resent you a little... even though I know I was the one who convinced you to join the team... I just couldn''t- I couldn''t forget that fact, and everytime I saw that medal, it was as if it was mocking me, telling me... ''I am..not good enough.''"


    "You''re-"


    "Stop. Don''t try to cheer me up with fake words. It took you 2 MONTHS to win the statepetition. I worked for YEARS! I gave my everything studying. But...How...How did you catch up to me?!" She gripped my shirt, and asked me angrily. She then realised what she was doing, and then released me, "I''m sorry. I didn''t mean-"


    "It''s okay." I said while patting her head gently. "It''s okay."


    "Shut up! It''s not. I... I just don''t know what to do." Alex said while wiping her tears as she tried to cheer herself up again. "Tell me what to do." She said as she looked into my eyes again.


    I smiled and said, "To be honest, your logic is quite wed. You were the one who contributed the most during thepetition, you just didn''t see that."


    "Huh? How-"


    "First of all, you carried the team till the semi-finals. Without your effort, the team wouldn''t even have had a shot at thepetition."


    "There''s also Sanjay-"


    "Don''t say that dummy''s name. Also, you''re the one who provided me with the most research materials for thepetition. Without that, even I would have been dumbfounded and left struggling to answer the simplest of questions."


    "Yeah right." Alex scoffed.


    "It''s true. My knowledge was very much limited to the sciences, I only expanded on it because of your urging, before that had you asked me about history, art, or even literature, I wouldn''t have a clue what to say because I had never read up about those topics before...You know, outside of the mandatory High School curriculum." I said honestly.


    "And, there is something else you should know."


    "What?" She asked, intrigued.


    "Well...you see how I always mention I have a good memory?" I asked while scratching my cheek.


    She rolled her eyes and asked with a tiny smile breaking out on her face, "Are you changing your tactics to shameless bragging?"


    "No, I''m not." I replied with augh before I turned serious again. "Just... would you please keep this a secret?" I said.


    She gave me her pinky finger, and Iughed at the childish gesture before I followed her lead and copied her action as we pinky promised. "I will." She shook our interlocked fingers up and down before sealing the deal.


    Then, I whispered to her about my eidetic memory. About how I could remember everything ever since I was 1 years old.


    "Wait! That doesn''t make sense. Sometimes you do forget stuff though." She asked with a confused face.


    "Sometimes I just pretend I do in order to get over an awkward situation. Some other times, the info takes a little longer to pop up, so it just seems like I didn''t remember from the beginning." I exined.


    "And you''re not wrong about the God-given talent. I do have one. But you are the one who carved the opportunity for me to use it. So part of the credit is on you." I said.


    She rolled her eyes but couldn''t conceal the smile on her face. She tried to cover it up again and said, "Okay. I will admit that getting it all out makes me feel much better now."


    I nodded with her and said, "That''s true."


    She then gave me a hug and said, "Thank you for not giving up on me. I''m not sensitive about this matter so I cannot help you solve your problem. But if you ever need to talk about something, you cane to me."


    "And that''s also a promise." She added as she released me. I smiled and wiped her teary eyes with my fingers and asked, "Do you still resent me now?"


    "Are you kidding me? You have an eidetic memory, but it''s not like you''re a full blown genius. I can catch up to you. I really believe I can now that I know what I''m fighting against."


    "The Pritchett''spetitive gene is really strong huh. Your Grandpa and your Mother would be proud of you." I joked.


    [Alex POV]


    I don''t have a tragic backstory.


    I didn''te from nothing.


    I came from a family that has loved me from day one, one that has been able to provide me with everything I need.


    I have a roof over my head and food on the table. Sure my parents are wed, but who''s not?


    There are no excuses for me not to excel. There are no limitations. No walls I need to break down. Everything was always well within my reach, but I felt like there was chasm separating us.


    I am...Not a genius.


    I cannot make a groundbreaking discovery yet.


    I cannot suddenly have a moment of enlightenment when an apple falls on my head, and turn that into something that etches my name into the world''s history books forever. When an apple falls on my head, all I get is pain.


    I am NOT a superstar! NOT a magazine worthy of ''Incredible human being''. And for that I felt that I would never do anything! People with incredible backstories change the world! and...I ...I just couldn''t.


    However, as I stood inside the room and talked with Edward, he told me something.


    "You know something wonderful about science?" He asked.


    "What?" I asked.


    "Science ispounding knowledge."


    "Huh?"


    "Every mind-shattering discovery, every awe-inspiring invention, everyborious calction about the universe...none of it would even be here if it weren''t for the efforts of the previous generations. Many of which had seen their names disappear from the annals of history."


    "But even then, even after their discoveries and names had lost importance, the proof of their life still lingers on."


    "How?" I asked, my eyes wide in anticipation.


    "Every time someone opens their book and learns, they are carrying out the will of the previous generation, and within them is the possibility... A potential...for them to increase our understanding of our own world, always carrying on said vestiges that made what they do possible. And, if we just keep doing this over and over, one day, we will definitely reach the stars."


    He spoke with his eyes glittering, as if he had seen the magnificence of humanity. He spoke with utmost trust in his voice, and his smile fascinated me. He made me feel as if I was one of those pioneers, as we built the path for humanity to reach the stars together.


    "So, don''t burn yourself out. Get some rest. There is an interesting future ahead of us, and I want us BOTH to be there to witness it." He said. Iughed a bit and said, "That seems optimistic. And also naive."


    He thenughed out loud. But he stopped as he didn''t expect me to say my next words, "But...I''m in."


    "In?"


    I turned to him with a grin on my face and said, "I couldn''t let you hog all of the work right? Especially if we truly want to see the stars."


    "Wait. I didn''t say it was going to be me who would-"


    "NO EXCUSES!" I shouted at him as I ran to the door. He tried to grab me, but I managed to slip past him. Heughed in disbelief as I opened the door and said, "Don''t you dare leave me alone and just focus on your career. You made me have a new ambition, so take responsibility for it!"


    I knew I was being selfish, but hey, I had just be a teenager. There surely had to be some leniency for people like me. I may not havee from misery, and I may not have been a superstar, but I will make sure...that in this lifetime...Humanity will be able to reach the stars.


    "Laughable dream...but...I''m excited for it." I mumbled to myself.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After Alex opened the door, Enid, Jenna and Elsa, all fell into the room as they were trying to eavesdrop on our conversation. They all immediately scampered and hurriedly stood up from the ground before Enid took the lead and carefully asked, "Have-Have you guys worked things out?"


    Alex proudly said, "Yes!" I just nodded in disbelief from afar before walking out of the closet.


    Jenna however couldn''t hold herself back as she shamelessly asked, "Did you get spanked?"


    "Huh?"Alex was confused by the questioning.


    I felt a bit tired and excused myself from the conversation, telling them that I had to go to the men''s room. I returned to the hallway in front of the music ssroom after only 5 minutes, and I was surprised to see a familiar face standing in front of the door.


    "Taylor. What are you doing here?" I said as she ran and gave me a hug the moment she saw me. She kissed my cheek in a friendly manner and said, "I missed you."


    "Wait. Visitor''s pass? You actually went to register?" I asked in confusion as I saw the tag on her neck. She rolled her eyes and said, "I don''t want to talk about that nightmare. Anyway, can we go somewhere more...private?"


    She nced around, and although there were only a few kids walking around as they needed to decorate the school, she still felt a little self-conscious and intimidated by their predatory stares as they were trying to figure out who she was.


    "Okay. We can go get some ice-cream. Let me get my bag." I said in a casual manner before walking to the door.


    "Wait, the teacher is letting you leave early?" She asked in disbelief. "That demon-like teacher?" She mumbled iprehensibly.


    I nodded, but with confusion in my face as I wondered why she was asking that question and exined, "ss is already over. I just need to inform a teacher, let them know I''m leaving. Besides, Pepper will vouch for me if the need ever arises so it''s not that hard for me to leave...Is everything okay? Why is your face so pale?"


    Taylor suddenly gazed into my eyes. She gulped a few times, making me think that something had gone wrong.


    "Ed...I''m...Late." She said while holding her stomach and I just froze.

 Chapter 122: Kinder Surprise!

    <h4>Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Kinder Surprise!</h4>


    (Sorry for thete Chapter. I have a high fever)


    [General POV]


    Near the Whitebeard business office, a ck-haired woman was sitting in front of ire near the port as thetter read her resume. The woman had a clear view of the ocean while ire was sitting with her back to it.


    ire then smiled awkwardly and said, "Francesca Dart. I read your resume...and..."


    "You don''t have to mind your words with me. I, for one, know that my resume is ordinary. I have no outstanding achievements, nor do I have a widework of connections. Which leads me to the question, why did your boss offer ME...an interview, and also paid for my flight ticket to LA? Frankie asked in confusion.


    Her no-nonsense attitude startled ire a bit, but she quickly collected herself and asked, " When did he email you?"


    "Last night." Frankie replied.


    "And he told you toe in today?" ire said, a bit mad about Edward''s overbearing CEO attitude. She was nning to lecture him, but Frankie''s next answer saved Ed.


    "No. He gave me a week''s time. However, I could do all my research about thepany from the website and finish it very quickly with the help of my friend Diane and since I found nothing wrong or ambiguous about it I decided toe here today to ask about your intentions in person."


    ire chuckled a bit and asked, "Why? Do you feel that there is something wrong with thepany?"


    "The generous sry, the potential employee housing, and the future trajectory of thepany he mentioned in the email, honestly, I thought this was a front for organ harvesting or human trafficking. The offer is too good to be true, especially for someone like me"


    "Luckily for you, we are a legitimatepany." ire joked.


    "I know." Frankie said seriously, making ire''s smile freeze.


    "A-Anyway-"


    "I''m not pretty enough to tempt a rich man, nor do I have a connection with him in any way that I know of. I''ve lived in Utah all of my life. So tell me ire, why me?" Frankie asked the question that had been bothering her for a while now.


    ire was silent for a while, but as the Vice-Director of Logistics, she figured that this was a test from Edward, and she needed to handle the interview properly lest Ed thought she was bad at her job.


    "I can''t answer on his behalf. If you''re really curious about that, maybe you can ask himter on once you''ve taken the job. But for me, I...I am impressed. You received the emailst night, and apparently you finished your research so fast you''re here today. Your efficiency is off the charts. I''m embarrassed to admit this but I became super excited about working with you as soon as I heard that."


    Frankie was the one that was stunned then. Her no-nonsense character usually turned people off, as they would see her as a pompous prick. To have someone think kindly about her persona made her blush a bit. Thest person who did that was Diane, her ''tonic'' friend and partner in managing her life.


    ire continued, "To be honest, Edward doesn''t hire people based on achievements, but rather potential and personality. There were a few people he chose, that made me question his ability, but he has not missed his mark yet though, he seems to have this unparalleled talent for seeing through people...."


    As soon as ire said that Dn walked past the pier carrying a box of tablecloths in his hands. Only to stumble on a tiny rock, and stagger to the fence until his body was flipped over when he hit the fence without slowing down as he fell into the sea once more.


    The sound of the ssh startled Frankie, but ire just smiled wryly without even looking back and said, "Well... he nailed everyone except for Dn."


    "DYLANNN Are you okay?!" Dwayne ran to the fence quickly to provide some help.


    "NO NEED. I can swim now." Dn said with a smile on his face as he swam dogstyle to safety.


    Frankie and ire both turned their attention back to one another after Dn''s promation. Frankie asked, "Who is Edward? Isn''t Theodore Newgate the boss of this business?"


    "Huh?...Oh yeah right. He''s not on the list of employees. He is Ted''s...Theodore''s son. He''s the one who is mainly in charge of the whole operation. Edward Newgate. Surprising right?" ire asked with a smirk on her face.


    "Why is that surprising? There are a lot of children who helped their family in the business." Frankie asked, confused.


    "Not that, he''s Edward. Edward Newgate? You... don''t know him?" ire asked, confused by Frankie''s reaction.


    Shaking her head slightly, Frankie said, "No. Is he someone famous?"


    "He''s...a new artist, his songs are pretty up there. I think my husband and daughters mentioned an award or.... something...He was even on TV a few times!"


    "Oh. I don''t own a TV. Nor do I listen to mainstream music." Frankie said while shrugging her shoulders.


    ire froze as she heard that.


    ...


    [Edward POV- Back to School]


    As I froze, my skill was suddenly activated, bringing me out from the storm in my mind. I noticed a subtle curling of Taylor''s lips as she pretended to be afraid, and realised that she was trying to freak me out.


    ''Damn. I had almost fallen into her trap.''


    Hiding my amusement, I pretended to be in despair before purposely stuttering and said, "A-A-Are you s-s-sure?"


    "Yes. I am 100% sure." Taylor said.


    ''Hmm...She didn''t rify. I guess, she wants to use the vagueness in her sentence to make it seem like I freak out over nothing. Ooo but Taylor sweetie, you have no idea who you are messing with...you have really underestimated me! y with fire and you shall get burnt... This is really my forte!''


    [Taylor POV]


    As soon as he freaked out about the ''pregnancy'', he would y right into my palms.


    "That''s..."


    Yeah that''s right. Say it. Show me that you hate it.


    "That''s...wonderful." Ed muttered with a smile on his face.


    I froze. He took a step forward and wrapped his hand over my waist as he pulled me in closer to him.


    "So we have one from the ten children you had nned." He said casually as he kissed my forehead. My mind quickly falls into a spiral as both of my fear and anticipation were trying to win the struggle they have against one another.


    "Wait-Wait-WAIT! You aren''t mad?" I said, desperately trying to push his face away before he could sneak in a kiss again. My mind was a mess right now. Shouldn''t men freak out when you do this.


    ''We have careers on our own. We are still young. We are destroying our future. Abort it. And a lot more simr reactions. This must be the first time ever someone in our situation has responded nicely to the potential of having a child together.''


    My breath quickened, and my heart beat vigorously as I imagined a life with him. A normal life in the country, with no one to bother us, no one to judge us, just me, him, and our 11 children.


    My stomach was filled with butterflies, and I may or may not be currently considering not correcting his misunderstanding right now.


    But then, Edward added with a downcast expression, "However, it seems that we have to separate now."


    "I KNEW IT! MEN ARE ALL THE SAME-"


    "When you get out of jail, we can be together again. I will wait for you with our child, and raise them properly in your absence." Ed continued, not minding my outburst.


    "Eh?" My mind short-circuited. Then I realised it, making my face pale. There was a hugeeeee oversight on my part. He was still a minor! Wait- NO! It was legal in California.


    "NOOO!! Ed! I''m not-"


    As I freaked out, I saw him smirking and trying to cover up hisugh. Anger filled my chest and blood rushed to my head as I realised I had been tricked by him. I stomped on his feet, making him exim in pain.


    "JERK! I am not that old! And I''m not pregnant!" I shouted before I stomped away. "I''ll wait in the car!" I said as I needed some time to calm myself down.


    [Edward POV]


    "Oww my foot." Iughed before Taylor walked away. I ran to the music ssroom and grabbed my beg before running after her.


    "We''ll continue the session tomorrow. Finneas, bring Billie tomorrow okay?" I said.


    "Wait- ED!" Alex called out.


    "I have an emergency! I gotta jet! Sorry guys!" I said and got out of there before anyone could ask anything. I ran outside the school to the parking lot, and opened the door of the tinted Mercedes SUV that Taylor drove over here.


    "We were getting ice cream right?" I asked to change the subject as I saw her still fuming in the driver''s seat.


    She was taken aback and asked, "We were?"


    "Didn''t we agree on that before?" I asked, tilting my head in a fake confusion. She broke into a smile, and she hid it quickly to pretend that she was still angry and said, "OKAY! But you''re buying!"


    I smiled and had to coax her for a long time afterward even though I was the ''victim'' of her prank.


    She wasn''tpletely kidding though. She waste, She was supposed to be at the shooting for her music video in 20 minutes, and we were still 40 minutes away from the set.


    "Soo...Ice cream or no ice-cream?" I asked with a mischievous smile on my face.


    "Ice cream!" she said decisively. We stopped by an ice cream shop and bought mint-chocte chips for her, and chocte fudge for me. She desperately wanted me to buy the ''Chubby-Hubby'' cookies and cream ice-cream, but that name scared me so much that I had to reject her suggestion.


    "Hey...Are you guys..." The fat ice-cream shop owner felt that we looked familiar as I was paying for the ice-cream. Taylor lowered her baseball cap while I smiled at him and said, "Yeah we are. We''re your regrs. I''m surprised you recognize us. Had you finally stopped adding liquor into your morning coffee Adam?"


    He was startled and he rubbed his face in embarrassment, no longer caring about our identities. Taylor widened her eyes and stared at me, but I subtly made a ''shush'' gesture at her to avoid her revealing my lie.


    "I''m...Yes. I stopped doing that. I also joined AA. I''m working really hard now." Adam said as he took the money from my hand.


    "Good for you. I believe you can beat your alcoholism Adam. You''re also bing much skinnier now. It won''t be long till thedies queue up." I said with a smile.


    Taylor nudged me as she thought I was going too far, making us finally exposed, but Adam''s mood was lifted by the joke, and heughed out loud before saying, "You know what. For my regrs, no charge! Take this!"


    He gave me my money back to my surprise. "Adam-"


    "No. Take it. I owe it to you. I haven''t felt this good in years!" He said with a wide grin on his face. He was being pushy, so I reluctantly took the money back and waved goodbye at the man as I walked out of the store.


    Taylor asked curiously, "Are you really a regr here?"


    "Nope. This is my first timeing here." I replied casually. Taylor stopped in her tracks as she was shocked by what just happened. I walked to the driver''s side of the door and asked her, "Gimme the keys."


    "No! You don''t have a license." She snapped out of it and admonished me immediately.


    "Yeah, I don''t. But if you want to make up for the lost time, you should really let me drive."


    She shrunk her head back and asked quizzically, "Really? How?"


    "Give me the keys and you''ll know." I replied.


    ...


    After I drove the red Porsche like a madman before, it was like a switch had been turned on inside my brain. I wanted to drive a car so much.


    "S-Sl-Slow down! There''s a bump ahead!" Taylor screamed while still holding her ice cream cone near her face. I was driving near 80 miles per hour on a 50 miles per hour road, and it scared her very much. I spun the wheel and turned the car into a small alley instead of getting to the main road after the speed bump. Taylor leaned on my shoulder from the centrifugal force, and said angrily as I elerated through the narrow gap between the buildings, "You''re done! Stop stop stop!"


    Iughed and through my shortcut, we managed to cut 10 minutes in our arrival time after avoiding the main route.


    "You''re crazy!" She said with ice cream smeared on top of her lips.


    Iughed and said, "You''re the one who said you werete." The car moved smoothly as we finally moved out of the city, and there was no other car on the road in front of us.


    "Hey. You got some ice cream there." I notified her.


    ''


    "Hmm? Where?" She asked, leaning forward to try and look at the back view mirror to see which part of her face was smudged.


    "Here. Let me wipe it." I said as I took a tissue from the box nearby. She smiled and pursed her lips at mine to wait for my fingers. However, I leaned forward and kissed her, licking the ice cream above her lips at the same time. She widened her eyes, and became a bit abashed as she didn''t expect the sudden attack.


    "What''s with you all of a sudden?" She said with an embarrassed smile on her face.


    "I just think it''ll be a waste of tissue paper. You know, I need to kiss you, to save our resources...and also save the world in the process." I joked.


    Sheughed and leaned to the side, putting her hands on my thigh as she whispered, "Handsome, and also environmentally friendly."


    "That''s what it said on my merchandisebel."


    Taylor smiled and blew her breath in my ears before she whispered, "I missed you."


    I turned to her and said, "I missed you too. And get your hand off my pants. I''m trying to drive over here. Shit- Cops. Act normal."


    Taylor saw the cops too and cursed, "Damn!" She went back to her seat and pulled her seat belt immediately. The cops stopped the car, and I turned the window''s down.


    "Good afternoon officer. What can I do for you?" I asked the rough looking man who was leaning in to look inside the car from the window. Unlike the ice-cream store owner, he recognized me immediately and took off his sunsses.


    "Edward Newgate? God, I''m such a fan of yours!" the cop said. "What are you guys doing here? Wait is that-"


    "Yeah that''s Taylor. And I really can''t say what we were doing. You understand right?" I said, hinting at him.


    He widened his eyes, darting his pupils between Taylor and I a few times, with his expression changing from disbelief to happiness as he did. "My daughter will be so happy if she hears this."


    "Then, it''ll just be a secret between us, and your daughter." Taylor added with a grin on her face as she hugged my arm.


    "Yes ma''am. Alright. You guys can go." He asked.


    "No need to check for Id? You guys are looking for suspects aren''t you?" I asked curiously. Taylor pinched my waist, hard. She then whispered, "Why the hell did you ask? Did you forget you don''t HAVE a license?"


    Luckily for me, the cop didn''t hear what she said as his walkie talkie was turned on this time. He leaned in again and said, "That''s right. I won''t tell you what the case is, but it has something to do with a serial strangler."


    "Wait. The Tea-time Stranger?" I asked in surprise.


    "I knew you could guess it. Unfortunately, it seems that the guy has moved his sight to this area. There have been 2 cases in the neighborhood already. You kids be careful alright?"


    "Yeah we will. Thanks officer Malone." I said.


    "Thanks officer." Taylor said. I rolled the window back down, and drove away from the police check in a calm manner. Taylor then turned to me and asked, "You know. I still don''t get it. How can you guess their names?"


    "Whose names?" I asked.


    "In the ice-cream shop, and now with the officer. How?" She asked. I turned towards her in disbelief, and said, "You know they were both wearing name tags right?"


    "..."


    "Then, let me change my question. Why did you call them by their names?" She asked after thinking for a while.


    I shrugged and said, "It makes them feel good about themselves. And when they do, it''s easier to get them to have a nice impression of us."


    "After that, we can get away with almost anything." I said with a sly smile. She rolled her eyes at me, before falling into contemtion about what I just said.


    ...


    We arrived at the set of ''Love Story'' Music Video Production.


    "OH boy here shees." Taylor muttered as we saw a stern looking staff member walking towards us.


    "Just be calm." I replied. "I''m here to support you if you decide to lie."


    "Taylor! You''re finally here!" She then saw me, and she scrunched her brows as she asked, "Were youte because you were on a date?"


    "No. There''s a major traffic jam, Jessica. A strangler is loose in the neighborhood." Taylor replied.


    "What?" Jessica asked, confused. Then, her lips curled upwards as it was the first time Taylor ever called her by her name. Then, her face turned angry again and she said, "Anyway. d you could make it. You need to change your outfit now."


    "The princess outfit right? Did you work on that? That looks really nice." I said. Jessica then broke into a huge grin and said, "I know right? It took me weeks to finalize it."


    "I can see that. I can''t wait to see how Taylor looks when she wears it." I replied. Taylor blushed and Jessica put the clothes on her arm before saying, "Go and change. We don''t have much time."


    The female director with ck hair and bright blue eyes walked towards us with a cup of coffee in hand before offering a handshake to me, "Edward Newgate right? God, I love "Enemy" so much, I even bought the short version and used it as a ringtone."


    "Well thank you for your patronage. You''re Mrs Trey Fanjoy right?"


    She raised one of her eyebrows and said, "I''m surprised you know me. I''m only active in the country music genre after all. Do you like country music Ed?"


    "I wouldn''t say I hate it."


    "Well then, maybe we can work together sometime."


    "I would love that."


    After exchanging pleasantries with the director, she walked me through the set and talked about her inspiration for the video. She even told us how she draws her ideas from the renaissance and the regency era periods, and also asked me about my opinion on the matter.


    One thing that needed to be noted though was that you had to be careful when you talked to her, otherwise, you would quickly find yourself being among one of the extras in her videos, and be forced to wear renaissance era style clothing as you somehow had to participate in a ballroom scene. Like I currently was.


    "Walk me through how my presence in the video is good for Taylor again?" I asked.

 Chapter 123: The Princess’s Plight.

    <h4>Chapter 123: Chapter 123: The Princess��s Plight.?</h4>


    [General POV]


    The director, Trey Fanjoy sat at the director''s seat, and rubbed her chin as she contemted about the music video and the two kids'' fate had tangled in the matter.


    "It''s funny. They''re feeling very threatened by a 15 year old child. Why?" She mumbled to herself as she watched how Edward Newgate, who was arguably the hottestmodity in the current music industry, allowed himself to be dragged so easily into the music video production.


    Edward however, was indeed aware of the significance of his participation in the music video, but he did it anyway to show his support for his friend. It made Trey acknowledge his integrity, and she slowly started being influenced by the shipping movement on Twitter, which wanted Ed and Taylor to end up together.


    Trey had already contacted hiswyers, who surprised her as they were already ready for her call.


    She mulled over the whole thing. The kid she was observing wasughing together with the makeup artist as she tried to put a fake beard on his face, and Trey couldn''t help but break into a smile as she finally made a decision.


    "Well. I''m not the one who will have to deal with the consequences soon after." She thought as sheughed.


    Her phone rang at that very same time however as she picked it up after checking the caller id.


    "Oh. You''re very, veryte. It''s best if you don''t evene." Trey said in a casual manner, making the other person in line express his shock with a gasp.


    "There is traffic! The police pulled me over and asked me multiple questions! I even needed to call mywyer; they even wanted me to go down to the station!" The male lead of the MV panicked as he tried to exin himself.


    It wasn''t his fault that he fit the police profile for the Tea Time Strangler, but the director didn''t care about him anymore. He was the ''next best thing'' , but not ''THE Best Thing''.


    "The shoot''s already over. There was an emergency, so we are pulling the curtains early. I''ll call you back... when we decide on the new schedule." Trey lied in a casual manner.


    ''If he fits the profile for the suspect... Maybe I should have a talk with the agency before changing the main lead...But I guess it''s unnecessary now... Although, I do hope Taylor would tell me about this sooner.'' Trey thought secretly. She also nned to turn off her mobile after the call, to make the ''previous'' male lead realize her hint.


    "Honestly. It''d be pretty stupid not to use Ed now right?" Trey muttered to the always angry Jessica who stood beside her.


    "Yes. But what can we do? The agency made it clear that we shouldn''t let Edward near this production at all." Jessica replied with an angry scoff..


    "Oh well." Trey smiled inexplicably, which made Jessica feel a little weirded out. "It''s not like they are checking on the progress..." She trailed off and walked away, which made Jessica''s eyes follow her exit while simultaneously questioning the director''s sanity.


    Then, she turned her head forward and snapped, "WHO THE FUCK PUT THE VASE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BALLROOM!? ARE YOU PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND-"


    [Edward POV]


    "Beard?"


    "Yes."


    "To make me seem like a college guy?"


    "That''s correct."


    The makeup artist answered my every question while she still kept her hands moving as she worked non stop on my face.


    "Hey, it tickles." I said as I shrunk my neck, trying to escape the brushes with the fake beard glue. The make up artist smiled in disbelief before pulling my head and making sure it was straight before continuing her job.


    "Don''t move. This is already pretty hard without you moving around like a squirrel."


    "Wait, you did makeup on a squirrel before? Was it called Alvin, Simon or Thedore?"


    She rolled her eyes and continued tickling me as she put on the fake beard on my cheeks. A golden vase, a ck suit, frills on the sleeve and the neck, and then the fake beard and ssy Duke hairstyle. As I looked into the mirror, I muttered, "Wait. Isn''t this the male lead''s outfit design?"


    "You''re overthinking. You''re just an extra."


    Suddenly, a voice answered my question from behind. I turned and automatically fell in awe as I saw Taylor in a princess-like, golden dress which was the same color as her hair. Gone was the seductress, and only her innocent girl persona was kept.


    Her cheeks were rosy, her lips were painted a natural color, her golden locks were styled like a Victorian era princess, revealing her nape and bringing attention to her neck at the same time.


    She smirked as she saw my reaction, andughed at my frilly outfit, "Who are you? Ron Weasley?"


    ''So she was also a Harry Potter fan. Good to know.''


    "That''s preposterous mydy. Look closer. There aren''t any simrities between me and that sniveling, shameful excuse for a man... none at all! I say."


    Taylorughed and blushed a bit. She lowered her gaze and said, "That...sounds nice."


    I tried to guess, "Insulting Ron is nice?-"


    "You, calling me... ''My Lady''." She interjected. Her already blushing cheeks turned even redder, and her words made the make-up artist gasp and cover her mouth before chuckling at the teenage drama going on in front of her.


    Taylor gazed into my eyes while shyly brushing her hair behind her ears, which made me stare in awe for the second time.


    "Ahh." I eximed before the make-up station fell into an ufortable silence. The make-up artist rolled her eyes again and said, "Don''t flirt just yet. I''m not done yet."


    "Then. I''ll wait for you at the dance floor...My lord." Taylor joked and ran away while holding her long skirt up before I could respond.


    The make-up artist mumbled aloud, "Hmm...To flirt so brazenly in front of other people...I guess that''s the beauty of being young."


    I rolled my eyes at her before chuckling a bit about the whole situation. After 10 minutes, the director called me to the center of the ballroom set. She then asked, "Ed. Do you know how to dance?"


    "No." I replied. "But I guess I''ll be a fast learner."


    "Well we''ll see if you can back up those words. Jay-jay. Take the lead." He said as he gave the floor to the choreographer.


    Thetina dance director suddenly pulled me forward and grabbed me by the waist. "Oh god." I eximed from her forceful action.


    "You''re going to partner with me, and I will teach you what you need to know." She said before she suddenly spun me around, and then grabbed my hand, making me lock eyes intensely with her as she made me pose.


    "I''m still waiting for your answer." She muttered.


    "Y-Yes ma''am." I replied hurriedly as I got swept away by her momentum. Taylorughed as she had already learned the dance in the morning.


    It took only 15 minutes to learn the ballroom ''Renaissance'' era dance, and I had thoroughly impressed the coordinator by truly capturing the essence of the dance in such a short time even when I was learning directly from her.


    "You have talent. Do you want to learn how to dance-"


    "He''s busy enough already." The director saved me from the awkward situation by shoving the excited dance coordinator aside and walked right at me.


    "Ed. A word." She called.


    "Sure." I replied before walking side by side with her to the edge of the set.


    "Hey, listen. The male lead couldn''t make it, so the shooting had to be postponed. So, I was wondering...will you shoot the scene with Taylor instead?"


    Although I had the feeling that she always wanted me to y the main lead from the very beginning, I decided not to expose her and simply say, "Okay. I will do it."


    Trey smirked and said, "Good enough-"


    "But I know that the whole video isn''t going to be shot in a day, or even just at this location. I mean I do want to do it, but I don''t know if I can make it to the next shooting. So, are you sure about this?"


    To my surprise, Trey dismissed my concerns and said, "Don''t worry. I have already contacted Harvey. She gave me the okay."


    "Oh. That''s great...But, the agency wants to settle the music video shooting today right? So how-"


    "Don''t worry about that. And don''t say any more words that could be used against uster on. Just y along. I know I am."


    I nodded with a confused face and said, "Okay then."


    ...


    The set yed the song Old Russian Waltz- Expectation as the scene started. We shot the dance scene first and foremost before the cast member forgot all about their choreography, and also because the director wanted to see Taylor and mine''s chemistry on the screen as we danced.


    Taking advantage of theck of a microphone in the set, I spoke to Taylor as we got ready in our stance, arm reached out, wrist almost touching one another as we spun while looking at each other. "You look wonderful in that dress." I gave her apliment.


    "Is this turning you on- Wait no. I need to keep an innocent girl persona here." She muttered jokingly. Both of us chuckled a bit with our eyes never separating from one another.


    The director was satisfied as she watched us through the camera and gave the cue, "Okay now lovers. Start dancing."


    We finally stopped spinning, and we danced the whole ballroom routine together. As we danced, I asked Taylor, "So. Apparently there is some kind of secret plot going on behind the scenes in my casting process. Any thoughts on that?"


    "Honestly, It was just luck." Taylor said ambiguously as we stuck a joint pose, hands behind our back, but still connected with one another.


    "Really? And does this dy luck'' know that I am unavable for the entire week because I have a small performance to prepare for? Does she know I can''t fly to Texas for 2 days to shoot the next scene at the castle and college? Mind telling me what exactly is ''Lady Luck'' nning to do about all that?"


    "Just believe in thedy. Has Lady Luck ever disappointed you?" Taylor asked jokingly, still not giving me an answer.


    "A lot of times actually." I replied. Taylor then whispered, "That''s too bad. Should Lady Luck cheer you up for her past transgressions? In her golden-ballroom gown that you couldn''t pry your eyes away from?"


    "I''d like that. But I have to rify. It wasn''t the gown I was in awe of."


    She looked a bit confused as we had to change position to face each other, with our hands together close to our chest.


    "I was struck by the person wearing it." I said. Taylor blushed and she missed a step, causing her to fall into my arms.


    "Be careful. It''s easy to get injured, especially when your skirt is dragging on the ground." I said with a concerned voice. She blushed before she stood back on her feet, "I know...I''m counting on that."


    "What-"


    Before I could ask, the director pped her hands and said, "WONDERFUL! MAGNIFIQUE! BRAVISSIMO! I KNEW IT! EDWARD''S A NATURAL IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA! EVEN MORE THAN TAYLOR-!"


    "HEY!" Taylor retorted.


    "I know! I did a whole song about that." I joked yfully, which made the staff members around the setugh out loud. Then, we continued with the next scene, which was the first time Romeo asked Juliet for a dance, and when they nned to sneak out of the ballroom hall to meet up at the back garden.


    The more scenes we filmed, the more validated the director felt about her split decision to cast me as the male lead today. However, as we finished the day, Taylor''s, short haired, sses wearing, chubby but still quite hot ghost-writer/assistant/agency-spy entered the set with a sleazy lookingwyer by her side.


    "What is going on? Why isn''t anyone answering their phones?" She asked angrily. "Also, why is Edward Newgate acting on this? Didn''t the agency clearly say to make sure Taylor stayed away from him?"


    "Hey." I called out to her with an angry expression on my face. She suddenly realized what she had done, and shrinked back to hide behind thewyer as I was walking up to her.


    "I-I''m-"


    "Shut up. SO...The agency wants me to stay away from Taylor? Why? Is she your ve?" I asked with fake anger. I already knew about the matter as Taylor had told me about it before, but now seemed like a good time to make my stance clear in all of this drama.


    "Mr Newgate. Miss Berry misspoke. Isn''t that right miss?" Thewyer interjected before I could continue.


    "And you are?"


    "Paul. Paul Winger. I''m awyer sent here by the agency directors, just in case. But as I step in here, I can guess their intuition was spot on." Paul said. "I need to talk to Trey. Let''s all walk together shall we?"


    Paul''s tone was calm, and it was hard for me to continue my act as soon as he intervened without making myself look like a fool so I just nodded along as we all walked to the director''s seat together. Trey was checking the footage, when she saw us and proceeded to expertly greet thewyer and the assistant happily when they arrived.


    "Trey. I hope you understand that while Mr Newgate here is certainly weed on site given his status within the industry and as a close friend to our star we don''t have a contract with Entertain. Thepany will be in big trouble if you act like this. You should have at least notified us of any problems so that we coulde to a possible solution." Paul said with the hidden meaning, ''You shouldn''t do anything without talking to us first.''


    "Because of that, all of the efforts the kids have done here today will be for nought. We can reshoot the entire thing tomorrow. Nothing personal Ed, I know you have a busy week. We''re nning to release the music video next Friday, and we really can''t adjust to your schedule. You understand, right? It''s for Taylor after all."


    "We still have the set for one more day, so consider today as a ''cheat day'' , a simple time for you guys to have fun together."


    I could''ve pointed out the multiple lies and inconsistencies in his speech, but I decided to hold myself back as I saw the look on the director''s and Taylor''s face.


    Taylor nodded at the director''s cue and had a determined look on her face. She walked towards where we were standing and called out to the assistant, "Ber-"


    But then, she suddenly stepped on her long skirt, slipped and fell down on the floor. Her fall however was so fake I nearly burst outughing while she screamed, "Ow..." in a monotonous tone.


    "Huh?" Berry and Paul were confused, but the director and I had already run towards the fallen girl.


    "Taylor? Are you alright?" I asked with a concerned tone, a skill that made the director almost break herposure as she wanted to praise me for it.


    "My-my leg." Taylor eximed in a poorly concealed fake tone. I raised one of my eyebrows as I thought to myself, ''She sure can''t act.''


    Trey checked her ankle and said, "This looks bad. It''s already bruising and swelling up. I think it will take about a week to heal at the very least, especially before she can reshoot the dance number."


    ''I''m surrounded by pig teammates.'' I thought to myself.


    "What bruise?!" Berry and Paul hurriedly came over and Berry checked on the ankle herself, but of course, Taylor''s legs looked normal to her.


    "I said it''sing up, not that it''s there right now." Trey rebuked her. Berry scrunched her face in frustration and shouted, "Is this your scheme-"


    "Berry. Can''t you see that Taylor''s in pain? She needs to go to the doctor." Trey said urgently. "Left leg or right?"


    "Right. Go�CGo to my family doctor. He''s nearby." Taylor said, trying hard to fake pain in her tone.


    ''I''m sure he is.'' I retorted to myself before saying, "Good. Let''s go." I then wrapped my arms around Taylor''s neck and waist, startling the girl. She stammered, "Wai-wait-"


    But I ignored her. The longer she stayed here, the easier it would be for thewyer to untangle her schemes. I picked her up in a princess carry, which earned a gasp from the people watching the ''scene''. She fit neatly in my arms, which made her blush up a storm.


    "See. Her face is bright red, clearly in pain. How can you still say that she''s faking it?" Trey added.


    ''NO ONE SAID THAT! Stop Talking!'' I screamed in frustration internally before turning to Berry and said in a cold tone, "I''m taking her to the doctor. Do you have any problems with that?"


    "N-N-N-No."


    "Good. I''ll meet you guys there." I said before walking away with Taylor in my arms. Some girls who were watching squealed and even snapped a picture of the fairytale worthy scene, making Paul and Berry bbergasted as they quickly went to try to confiscate the ''evidence''.


    As we got into her car, I nced at the girl who was burying her face in my chest and rubbing it inappropriately as she got the chance before saying, "Your left leg...Is it still hurting."


    "Yeah. It hurts...a lot." She replied, faking her pain again.


    I raised one of my eyebrows and asked, "Didn''t you say it was the right one back on set?"


    "..."


    "Okay. I''m busted." She said with a smile on her face.


    "So...is this your master n? Faking an injury so they postpone the shooting until I can make it?"


    "Isn''t it obvious? Although, my ankle and my knees are really hurting now. I slipped at thest moment, and mmed them pretty hard." It was clearly a tiny collision, but she was feeling extra-clingy and wanted to get pampered by me more.


    "I wanna say ''Serves you right'', but I''m afraid you would actually kick me so..." I joked as Iid her down gently on the backseat of her ck Mercedes Benz SUV. Sheughed and said, "I can''t kick you now. My feet are supposed to be hurting, remember?"


    After a light chuckle, I asked, "What''s the n now? And is the doctor a part of it?"


    "Yes. Dr Jaime always lets me y hooky when I want to. I''ve already told him about the n a few days ago."


    "And how did you get Harvey to join you on this endeavor?"


    "That''s...a secret between the girls...so I won''t tell you." She said while pulling her tongue at me before lying down on the seat. "Now, take your princess away to see the doctor- Wait, You still don''t have a license-"


    I smirked and pressed the pedal hard before she could finish her words, causing her to be thrown to the backrest. She groaned in annoyance and kicked the back of my seat as the car entered the streets. "Drive properly!"


    ...


    [General POV]


    Back on set Trey was still getting grilled by Paul and Berry after Edward had left with Taylor.


    "Trey. You do know it''s not toote to change the director. I hope you''re clear on that." Paul said through gritted teeth as all he could get after so long were somezy and ambiguous answers from the stubborn woman.


    Trey drank her coffee and said casually, "No. I''m not clear on that. In fact, I do know that those are just some pretty stupid threats that would only work if they came from anyone but a corporate ve, as it stands I have seen the budget and there is no way the studio is doubling that up in order to cover up your mistake."


    "You bitch-"


    "Whoa-Whoa-Whoa. What''s with all the aggression? And here I thought Pictionary night with Pepper was explosive enough." Harvey suddenly walked in, making Paul freeze where he was standing.


    "Hi. You must be Harvey." Trey stood up from her director''s seat and walked to shake hands with Harvey. Paul was visibly sweating as he was reminded of the terror he had felt thest time when the woman in front of him sat across from him during the coboration contract negotiation.


    Pulling on his cor a bit trying to breathe easier, Paul said, "Miss Specter. Why are you here?"


    "Well my artist is working here, unpaid if I might add. And, if I was the suspicious sort I might be forced to think he could have been tricked by some bad people, so I decided to air on the side of caution and rush over here in order to set things straight." Harvey said in a sarcastic manner.


    She looked around and then said, "I guess we have a lot of things to talk about...Don''t we Paul?"


    "Um..." Paul''s face paled, and then Harvey turned to the girl beside him. "And Berry. Long time no see. I guess you should report to your owner about the ... ''incident'' right about now, or they might fail to see the value of your continued employment and should that happen... who knows they might just realize that you have no value at all..."


    "HARVEY!" Berry screamed in anger.


    "What?" Harvey replied in a cold manner while ring at the girl.


    Trey interjected quickly before Berry would cry, "I guess...we should talk about the acting contract now, right?"


    "We should wait a bit first. Taylor might not be injured, we are still unclear on that." Paul muttered.


    "Keep lying to yourself Paul." Harvey snided.

 Chapter 124: A promise.

    <h4>Chapter 124: Chapter 124: A promise.</h4>


    (A/N: Made some revision on the previous chap. The director is changed back to a girl as it is a ''Canon Event'' that would set off the whole Kanye Vs Taylor beef. Her identity as a female is important in that one.(E/N: Part of why Kanye says the award wasn''t going for Beyonce cause Taylor ys the feminism card in a few interviews exactly in case you wanted to know lol)


    [Edward POV]


    Taylor was lying down on the backseat of the car with her hand propping up her head as sheid on her side, watching me drive through the heavy traffic. She smirked and said, "You know, I''m starting to wonder if the Duke''s ''horse'' is sick? Or if it''s just your riding skill that sucks?"


    "No. It''s only your poor attempt at a Victorian Era speech that stinks mydy. Besides, this is your stallion. Not mine."


    She was pissed and she sat up immediately before pulling herself near the back of my seat. She wrapped her left arm around me before saying, "Any more words, and it''ll be considered treason- Wow. Your shirt is really soft."


    She suddenly rubbed her hand around my chest, and even slipped it underneath the shirt before saying, "This one here is surprisingly hard..."


    "I know that you''re feeling turned on after sessfully finishing your scheme...But, please don''t distract me while I''m driving."


    "Oh? But what if I still want to do that? Will you stop me?" She slowly lowered her hands to my crotch area, and gave my family jewels a few squeezes while a sense of superiority filled her mind.


    Then, I suddenly hit the brake pedal, causing a bacsh in the car. She hit the back of the seat, and almost flew forward to the front seat if I didn''t stop her momentum with my hand.


    "Told you." I muttered. I didn''t do that on purpose. She truly had distracted me from looking on the road, that was why I didn''t see the asshole red porsche running the red light that almost caused me to run into him due to his reckless driving.


    "You did that on purpose!" She said angrily before she made her way to the front passenger seat. Her long and fluffy dress hit me in the eyes a few times, and even covered up my sight as she did her dangerous stunt.


    "Hey STOP That!" I warned her.


    She slipped and fell on the seat, with one of her feet almost kicking the gear shift, and another one was resting on my shoulder. Her skirt was a mess from the seat change, and it was pulled back, revealing her medieval-style panties.


    I then realized that she wasn''t wearing shoes, as the director had taken them off to check on her feet before.


    "Get your stinky feet out of my face." I said while pping her feet away. She gasped as she took offense before pushing her toe on my cheek, "You take that back! I don''t have stinky feet!"


    "I will take that back once you wash them!"


    The argument caused a fight, and it shook the entire car as we drove through the street, making some passersby look at the tinted window of the car with a weird look on their faces.


    After 5 minutes, both of us wereughing together at the silliness and the childish scheme that Taylor had done.


    "Hey. I don''t have my phone with me." Taylor suddenly said. "I don''t even have anything at all on me. All of my stuff is back on set."


    "Ahh. My phone is there too." I muttered. "And also my keys, my school bag..."


    She grinned and leaned to my face before speaking in a seductive manner, "So...You were really concerned about me huh? You freaked out so much you forgot to bring all of your stuff with you~"


    "I was, until I realized you were faking it." I replied yfully before grabbing her right hand and kissing the back of her palm. "But yeah. My heart almost dropped when I saw you fall on the floor."


    She couldn''t hide her grin, and then she flopped her head on my shoulder before speaking in a dispirited voice, "You know. I am waiting for you to break me out."


    "I know." I replied curtly. I was trying hard to follow the n for our coboration scheme to y in a perfect manner. It really did take me a lot of sleepless nights to get it just right.


    After all ,while I knew Taylor had her family with her at the time and a pretty decentwyer, the truth was that she was still just breaking into the scene and thus couldn''t be too picky on the terms which made the contract pretty tricky to pick apart without basically drowning both of us in debt.


    I didn''t want to give her false hope before I could finally break it apart. Thank God Harley was helping me along or I doubt I would have evene up with what we had now.


    She sighed and changed the subject, "Soo...When I finally get into your agency, you won''t withhold my pay, or try to pay me with sex right?"


    "Well If I could pay it with some orgasms, I would, but I think that behavior is frowned upon in America. I would have to give you a normal dividend payment because of that."


    She chortled and even snorted like a pig subconsciously, which made her embarrassed and a bit angry at me...for making her do that.


    "You''re the pig!"


    "I didn''t even say anything!" I said with quite a bit of mirth in my tone.


    "You''re saying it now!!"


    "HOW?!" I eximed in anguish.


    While I was traveling with the run-away princess, I didn''t realize that a picture of me carrying Taylor in a princess carry, and the details about her being hurt on the set�C which led me to do that, had spread throughout all social media.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Are you sure leaking the pictures is a good idea?" Trey asked while sipping tea from a small, porcin white cup while sitting in front of Harvey at a cafe table near the filming set.


    "I''m sure. It''s what Ed would do. To be honest, Taylor''s schemes, while surprisingly effective, were pretty childish. It was actually full of holes, the agency could pretty much use their own doctor and force a check up on her. They wouldn''t even have to give excuses other than their "concern" over her injury and given her current tour dates she would have no leg to stand on if she wanted to refuse."


    "But now that the picture is leaked... the burden of proof will be on the agency, not on her, especially with the kind of fans she and Edward have cultivated. Teenage girls are crazy over their "ship", their sacred "OTP"... (A/N: One true pairing. 2009 inte lingo.)"


    "...I believe that''s what they are calling it now... The pressure will be immense." Harvey replied casually as she read the Twitter trending responses from her alt ount she used to post the pictures anonymously.


    "I''m surprised they haven''t contacted you already." Trey said in disbelief after hearing her exnation.


    As Harvey expected, the tweet had gone viral, and the attention on the "Love Story" music video was tremendous. The low-iq fans were practically screeching on social media, and the thirsty women from Ed''s fanclub were practically licking the screen as they saw a 10 year aged up Ed in a Prince outfit.


    Harvey sipped her cup of tea before saying, "Basically before this went out there was still a small chance that the agency would choose to risk it and separate them, maybe evenpletely burying the duet, I wouldn''t even put it beyond them to leave it out of the album release altogether."


    Harvey continued, "But now they have no chance but to let them act together and, if they are smart they will try to mainstream their duet over "Taylor''s version" or risk facing the unrelenting criticism from their crazy fan base. Besides, it would also help them generate even more attention for her new songs while they are at it."


    Trey widened her eyes a bit before saying, "Now that''s a badasswyer."


    While the two were having a nice time together, the recordbel agency duo was in deep shit as they couldn''t even hope to prevent any of Harvey''s dominos from falling.


    "So. We''ve officially lost all possible leverage for the uing negotiations. Now the fans will be furious if we somehow manage to continue the shoot without Ed in the video, and that''s without even getting into the cost of setting everything up again, there is no way we can get the necessary budget for that." Paul said self-deprecatingly. "I just hope I am not fired over this."


    "They''ve already won." Berry said while biting her lips in frustration. "Damn it! AND NOW THE DIRECTOR WANTS TO MEET EDWARD! What should I do, Paul?" She asked with teary eyes.


    "How the hell should I know?"


    "I''ll suck your dick if you can help me think-"


    Paul was taken aback for a second, and then he seriously thought about the matter.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Hey. You hungry?" I asked.


    Taylor was startled by the sudden question. Her eyes sparkled in anticipation, then she turned depressed as she realized something. "A little bit. But we have no money." Taylor replied in a sad voice.


    "Nah. Don''t worry. I have some." I replied with a smirk.


    "Huh? Where? And how?" She asked in confusion as she turned her head towards me. "Didn''t you leave all of your stuff at the set?"


    "Well unlike the female dress, my "breaches do indeed have pockets." I said yfully. "I have my wallet on me."


    "Oh!!!!" Taylor eximed in excitement before she became dispirited again, "But you know. It''ll be impossible for us to go eat at a restaurant while wearing clothes like this-"


    "Who said anything about a restaurant?" I teased her before pulling the car over to a Big Belly Burgers''s drive through ce. I lowered the tinted window of the driver''s seat while the inte was connected.


    "Wee to Big Belly Burger''s where we filled you up with both food andughter. My name is Jessi. Can I take your order?" The one on the inte said without any emotion in her greeting.


    Taylor widened her eyes, as she giggled hard as it was her first ever entering a drive through with a boy. She hugged my arm as she leaned into my chest, trying to read the menu written near the inte.


    "Hi Jessi. Can I get a double cheeseburger, a cappino milkshake, a corndog, and some fries?"


    "Will that be all?" Jessi asked.


    I turned to Taylor and whispered, "Now you."


    "Ummm...Can I get a...sd-"


    Iughed at her before she could finish, "Hey. It''s rare for you to have the chance to get some fast food. Are you sure you wanna go with a sd?"


    "Rare? More like NEVER! But I see your point...Ummm...Can I get a Corndog, onion fries, and a strawberry milkshake? Oh... and can I take some tortis too? And the burrito? They look good." Taylor asked me with her killer puppy dog eyes.


    I already knew that I was the one who was going to have to finish all the food, so I just nodded helplessly at her. She brightened up and added onest thing to the order, "And I want arge slice of cheesecake-"


    "The cheesecake is only avable for over-the-counter order. It doesn''t have a take out. I''m sorry." Jessi replied.


    Before Taylor could remove the order, I interjected, "Can we order here and pick it up on the counter? Just put it on a disposable dish. Can you do me this favor Jessi?"


    "Hmmm..I''m not supposed to do that... But I guess if you want toe inside... There will be no problem. Yeah. I can do that."


    "That will be all."


    "The total is 29.90 $. Pull over to the front." Jessi said before the order disconnected.


    "ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Taylor scolded me angrily as I finished up the order. "How are we going to go there? I don''t need the cake. Just cancel it-"


    "Shhh Shhh Shhh Shhh..." I shushed her by putting my finger on her lips. She looked up to me with some anger on her face, which in turn made her look so sexy.


    "I will go pick it up. You don''t have to get out."


    Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment as she tried to convince me to change my mind, "You really don''t have to do that- I''m fine without the cake!"


    I smiled at her and said, "It''s okay. You know what they say, It''s all part of the Noblesse Oblige. If my princess wants cheesecake, she will get her cheesecake."


    Taylor chortled out loud while lightly punching my shoulder, "What the hell is that? Okay you know what? If you want to do it so much, then do it!"


    "I will do it."


    "Then do it!"


    "....I will?"


    Both of usughed together at the pointless fight. After parking the car nearby, I jogged inside the restaurant to pick up the cheesecake. I got a lot of stares from the customers and the workers inside the restaurant, but luckily for me, Jessi had already finished prepping the cake and was waiting for me at the cashier.


    It took me less than 3 minutes in and out of the restaurant before I jogged back to the SUV. I was sure that I got some pictures taken by some of the people there, but I just decided to ignore it and deal with any possible consequences if and when they came.


    This however was mainly because I didn''t know that my picture with Taylor had already been circting on the inte, so I assumed people wouldn''t pay much attention to a boy wearing a Victorian era Prince''s outfit out to buy fast food. After all, this is america. We have a lot of weird people over here.


    ...


    "This is good? Want a taste?" Taylor said before shoving her burrito in front of my face. I reluctantly took a tiny bite after finishing my own food and two-third of her order, so I was feeling pretty full at the moment.


    The car was parked at a cliff nearby where we could see the city.


    While munching the food, I asked, "Shouldn''t we hurry to your doctor?"


    "We don''t have phones. And we don''t know the roads in the city. So of course we just got lost. That is what we are going to tell them." Taylor said with a smirk before putting her barely eaten burrito in my hands as she expected me to finish it. She opened the lid for her milkshake before using her finger to scoop up the cream and lick it.


    ''Lucky for me I won''t get fat no matter how much I eat.'' I thought to myself.


    "UMM!! Sugar!!! OH How I missed you!" Taylor eximed longingly before she took a sip of her strawberry milkshake. As she brought the cup down, Iughed at the cream mustache on her lips, which made her confused.


    "What?" She asked without realizing it.


    "Haha! You''re...just...so cute tho...You have a little something on your lips. Hold on."


    Taylor nced at the back view mirror and saw her ''mustache''. She became embarrassed immediately and said, "Give me a tissue- *Chup*"


    Before she could finish her words, I had already leaned into her face and kissed her while licking the cream off her upper lips at the same time. She widened her eyes for a bit before closing them and enjoyed the sensation before I pulled myself back to my seat.


    "Wait- I haven''t had enough!" She said before putting some cream on her lips with her finger on purpose this time. Iughed and gave her a tissue this time, which made her annoyed. She ced her milkshake on the cup holder and leaned towards me.


    "What?" I asked in confusion.


    "Nothing. Just saying thanks. I haven''t had a date like this in a while and certainly none was even close to this." She said with a smile on her face before giving me an innocent kiss on the cheeks.


    "Your words are sweet, but why are your hands so naughty?" I asked with raised brows as she had slipped her right hand underneath my pants. But then, she brought it back out and said, "Wait, I forgot about this."


    She then gave her palm a seductive lick to use her saliva as a lubricant before slipping her hand back into my trouser pants and whipping my little cobra out.


    I tried to touch her, but she was bbergasted and pulled her body back quickly and pped my hand with her left hand�C which made me confused as she was still jerking me off with her other hand.


    "I can''t dirty this dress. It''s custom made. Jessica would kill me!"


    "Oh. Should I help you take it off-"


    "NO! She tied up the corset herself. And she made me vow to go back to her to remove it. Eating something while wearing it was already making me anxious enough."


    The production crew took 2 weeks just to create her gown for the show, while mine was basically a modified ssic suit that could finish production in just a few hours.


    "Wait. Then you know it''s incredibly dangerous if you continue-" I tried to stop her, but that made her even more turned on and kissed my neck before nibbling my ears. "Don''t worry. I will make sure none of it drips into my clothes."


    ...


    After about an hour, we finally arrived at the doctor''s ce. The slightly obese male doctor with a bald head and a pink shirt waved at us from afar with a smile on his face as we got out of the car.


    Dr Martin hugged Taylor�C the kid he had been treating for a long while now and said, "I missed you Tay-tay. You have grown up so much!"


    "I missed you too, Dr Martin."


    "Oh Tay, you have a little something on your lip. Something white and creamy from the looks of it." The doctor said obliviously.


    Taylor was startled and she traced the liquid with her finger before saying, "Oh. This is just a milkshake cream. See?" She then licked the ''cream'' seductively as she shot me a nce, making my entire body shudder at her boldness.


    "Jessica is upstairs. Waiting for you. And Taylor, your father heard about your... ''injury''..." Dr Martin said with a sad smile on her face.


    Taylor was instantly bbergasted and she said hurriedly, "What did he say?"


    "He''s sending you a ne to fly you back home. I told him that I would see to it though." Dr Martin replied. Taylor nced at me with shaky eyes before saying, "Wait. I promised Ed to be at the concert-"


    "If you don''t fly to Texas tonight, you have to go back to your agency. I''m just afraid that they will call another doctor there. You know how they can''t refuse your father. So going there is the safest bet for you if you want to get some rest." Dr Martin said while patting Taylor''s shoulder.


    He had already guessed she was faking her injuries in order to take some time off work�C which she had done so many times before. I was saddened by the sudden news, but I kept smiling as I turned to her and said, "Don''t worry. Maybe you can convince your dad to let youe to the show-"


    "IMPOSSIBLE! Dad only likes country music!" Taylor retorted subconsciously. Then, she realized what she had said and turned to look at my face, "No. Ed. I didn''t mean-"


    "I know. I''m not offended. But, if you really.... REALLY want toe...then just tell your dad, I will sing a country song at the venue if he decides toe."


    I thought she would be the one most excited by that, but the doctor grabbed me by the shoulder and said with glittering eyes, "REALLY!? Your father inw will be d to hear that-"


    Before he could finish, Taylor elbowed him on the ribs...hard...


    She smiled eerily at me and said, "You didn''t see anything."


    "Understood ma''am!"


    ...


    After picking up my things from the set and separating with Taylor, Harvey drove me back to my house on her ck audi R-8�C which she refused to let me drive no matter how much I pestered her.


    " When you get your license, I''ll think about it. For now, there is nothing you could ever say or do to change my mind."


    "Hmmm... Then, what if I tattle to Donna?"


    "..."


    She practically kicked me out of the car after we arrived at my ce. When I opened the door to my still-heavily-under-construction house, I was suddenly hugged by a hottina and was forced by numerous kisses on the cheeks like I was a kid again while she said, "Ay! Mi principito! I missed you so much!"


    "Aunt Cam! I missed you too!''


    "Ayy! Come see your new room! I don''t want you to stay in this whore-house much longer!" Aunt Cam said before almost dragging me away. I stopped her and nodded while saying, "I know it''s a whore''s house, that''s why I''m ripping everything apart-"


    "NOT YOUR MOM! That WHORE!" She said as she pointed at my exasperated dad who just came out of the kitchen.


    He sighed and said, "I told you! I didn''t do anything with Sal!"


    "LIAR!" Aunt Cam used him.


    "Whoa-whoa-whoa. I''m out of the loop now. What''s the story here exactly?" I asked as I stood between the two of them. "Dad, did Sale here? Did you bang her?"


    "ED!" x2


    "What? Dad is single right?" I asked yfully, making both of them bbergasted.


    "Ed. She was drunk as hell when she stopped by." Dad tried to exin, but I already knew that he didn''t do anything with that one sentence.


    He was the type to never take advantage of drunk girls after all. Almost all positive reviews about the ship rental business and professionalism were about him, so that says something about his integrity.


    "Hmmm...Then I need to tell her to be sober when shees next time. Otherwise dad will never get that piece." I muttered to myself aloud, which in turn shocked the two people hearing it.


    "EDDDD! SEE TED! THIS IS ALL YOUR INFLUENCE!" My aunt used my dad once again, which made me chuckle at their silly fight.

 Chapter 125: Sexy New Neighbors.

    <h4>Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Sexy New Neighbors.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    My aunt brought me to her rental house after scolding my dad for a while.


    "There is a full room with a Queen size bed, and one with a pull out couch. Which one do you want?" She asked after we entered the new home. My dad wouldn''t be joining us as his room was already finished at home.


    He didn''t want to change his room much after all but I still needed a ce to stay far away from the dusty house in order to protect my ''asset'' (Throat) so he agreed with my aunt''s suggestion to let me stay with her until construction was done.


    "Can I take a look first?" I asked her although I had inwardly decided to sleep in the room with the pull out bed. I couldn''t inconvenience her after all. It was her house. But knowing her personality, she would badger me a lot if she found out that I had that kind of thoughts.


    "Okay. I will heat up your dinner. I made Ajiaco. She said with a smile as she put her arms around my neck. Ajiaco is basically Cuban Chicken soup, and she served it with a side of rice and various dishes. It was apparent that she wanted to rectify my impression on her cooking skill after almost killing my dad and I with her fiery food before.


    Then, she said whisperingly, "Thendlord gave me a...Giant bed... I''m a bit afraid of sleeping on it. It''s too much for me alone. So take that if you want. The bed creeps me out."


    I chuckled and said, "Or, I can just join you there-"


    She pinched my cheeks and said, "Don''t flirt with your aunt!"


    Iughed at her and went to see the bed she was telling me about as I thought she was joking. But she wasn''t. It was a Wyoming size bed. If I start on one side, I could roll on it 10 times before falling over on the other.


    (Wyoming size bed)


    The bed alone took over ? of the entire room, and the main reason why thendlord left the thing there was because it would take too much effort for it to be moved to his new home.


    "Hmm...No air conditioner. Only a ceiling fan. She will suffer in the summer." I muttered as I looked around the room while I was checking how many pillows she had on the bed �C which was surprisingly no less than 20, until something else caught my attention so I went to the open window and look outside, where I saw a fluttering curtaining from the neighbor''s house.


    "Hmm? Desire doesn''t close her window at night? That is quite dangerous." I muttered as I tried to look inside the dim room. My eyes widened as I saw a figure of a woman sprawling on her bed, with her buttocks raised up, and her right hand holding a ''massager''...totally nude.


    "WHA-" I was shocked, but my lust got the better of me, as I continued to try and peek through the fluttering curtain which obstructed my view.


    "Come on curtain. Come on curtain." I chanted as I almost sat on the windowsill, trying to get a clearer view.


    Then, my prayers were answered as a strong gust of wind blew, making the entire curtain lift up. I unknowingly smiled as I got a crystal clear view of the entire thing. Desiree also noticed the wind, and her eyes widened as she looked through the window.


    But then, the wind suddenly stopped blowing as I quickly jumped off the windowsill and immediately closed the window before walking casually to the next room.


    "I wonder if she noticed it was me." I muttered to myself, feeling no guilt at all about what I had done. "By the way, that woman sure is pent up. If there''s no one to help her, then don''t me me for stepping up."


    "ED! WHAT ARE YOU MUMBLING ABOUT!" Aunt Cam shouted from downstairs, wearing an apron and was looking at me weirdly.


    "No-Nothing! I just think the bed is too big." I held the railings as I replied to her while discreetly covering my crotch area behind the piece of wood.


    "IT Is!! ISN''T IT?! It''s SO creepy! I don''t need a bed that big! YOU TAKE THAT ONE!" She said, pretending to shudder as she hugged her body.


    "NOO!" I shouted back whileughing at her antics before going to check the other room. The next room was a lot smaller, and there was only a green pull out couch in it. There wasn''t even a desk or anything else.


    I tried pulling the bed from the pull out couch but it took me a surprising amount of effort for it to even begin to give in as the couch was seemingly even older than me. Something that was made even clearer by the way it creaked as soon as I sat on it. Of course that was the very moment I knew for sure I didn''t want to sleep in this room.


    "Hmmmm...." I rubbed my chin as I fell into a dilemma. "Should I really try to convince Cam to sleep on the same bed together...?" I muttered.


    Suddenly, I heard the sound of something hitting the bedroom window.


    "What the-" I turned to the source, and at the same time, I saw a tiny, red, rubbery palm stuck to the ss.


    "AHHH!" I screamed as I got startled , but then I stopped midway as I realized it was the stretchy kind of palm toy kids usually yed with.


    I walked to the window and opened it, only to find Abby excitedly waving at me from 4 meters away. Compared to the window to Desiree''s room where I had to squint to see inside, the distance between Abby and my window was extremely close, and the houses were only parted by a hedge.


    "I KNEW YOU''RE GOING TO PICK THIS ROOM!" She said excitedly while spinning the stretchy palm.


    She wore a low cut white tank top and was standing there with only her underpants covering her legs, her hair was untied, and she had a moisture mask on her face, making me almost jump up for the second time.


    "Seeing your face, I might just decide to bunk together with my aunt." I replied teasingly.


    "Eww that''s gross! Isn''t that like incest or something?"


    "Well Incest is Wincest."


    "Maybe In bama."


    Weughed together before she tried to convince me, "Sleep here! We''re going to be so close! We can talk all night!"


    "That''s what I''m worried about. I wanna do some work while I''m here." I replied.


    "Work work work. That''s all you know." Abby scoffed mockingly. "What about my prom invitation? You''re working on that yet? Or did you spend so much time with the ''Princess'' that you forgot about it?" She asked sarcastically.


    "Ahh..So you found out huh." I scratched my cheek as I avoided her eyes. She smacked the window sill in excitement as she angrily eximed, "EVERYONE FOUND OUT!!" Then, she screamed silently as her hand was in pain because of her impulsive action.


    "Well...I will... at least I think... I just need to figure out a few things. Wait Abby, my aunt is calling me downstairs for dinner-"


    "You didn''t eat yet? It''s almost 10 pm. Go eat now!" She hurriedly chased me away before saying, "When youe back, we''re going to y WoW by the window."


    "We have no wi-fi here yet. It''s going to be set up tomorrow." I replied.


    "You can use ours. I''m sure it''s in range." Abby replied casually.


    "Yeah...but the ping..." I mumbled whisperingly as I remembered why I still regretted telling her that I knew how to y the game. Even after all that it was still an enjoyable night for me as I got to spend some time with Abby. It wasn''t anything sexual like back then but just a nice friend-type hangout.


    Although I did wonder why I didn''t get that ufortable feeling you usually get when you hang out with an ex. Was it because I had just been ''emptied'' by Taylor? No, it wasn''t that. It was because....


    "Because I know I can''t touch her huh." I muttered.


    "What was that?"Abby took off one of her headphones to hear what I was saying.


    "Nothing~" I yelled back at her. She looked at me weirdly and said, "Also, how the fuck are you just whip up an ount, and already reached my level in just 2 hours?"


    I smirked at her and said, "Don''t be sad. While true that most would say it''s probably cause I''m just that good but in this particr situation you might want to consider another possibility...that being that you...just suck."


    "UGHH!!!" Abby rubbed her head in frustration, messing her hair at the same time.


    "One more round or are we going to sleep?" I asked.


    "ONE MORE ROUND OF COURSE!" She shouted excitedly before we started a new round.


    After 15 minutes.


    "ONE MORE ROUND!" Abby shouted.


    After half an hour.


    "On...One more round!" Abby said with desperation.


    While we were ying, we got into a whole debate about how Shrek was actually a catch. She took the negative point of view, while I took the positive one.


    "He got a house of his own, his own swamp, he takes a ''bath'' everyday, so he''s technically hygenic-"


    "He bathes... In a swamp!" Abby retorted.


    "Don''t be prejudiced Abby. That''s just how ogres cleans themselves." I replied. Abby tilted her head in disbelief, not understanding why a conversation about a dragon morphed into Shrek.


    After an hour.


    "So. You got turned on by a man''s Adam apple?" I asked weirdly.


    Abby was bbergasted and she asked, "How the hell did you arrive at that conclusion? All I said is that Adam apple... contributes to how sexy a man is... Enough about me. What about you?"


    "Oh. Definitely a mesh panty hose." I replied casually.


    "Wait. The kind a stripper would usually wear?" Abby asked in disbelief.


    "Why do you think they wear it so often? To get more tips! Hell yeah I find that to be sexy."


    "You''re a weird dude."


    "Bite me."


    After 2 hours.


    "On...One more..."


    "Stop. It''s almost 3 am. Go to sleep." I replied to her.


    " I just need one win! Just one win!" She said in a deranged manner.


    I smirked and said, "Maybe tomorrow will be your lucky day, cause it''s certainly not happening today. Go to sleep." But just before I could close the curtain to the room, she shouted, "WAIT!"


    "What?"


    "When are you...going to ask me?" She asked meekly. I stifled augh and said, "I said I''m still thinking about some stuff but I say you should know by Wednesday thetest. If I do decide to do it by then but I still can''t figure out a good way to ask you, I guess I will just have to do it the good old way."


    "Good old way?"


    "You know...with the cards, reenacting the scenes from ''Love Actually''."


    Abby shuddered as I said that and she hurriedly muttered, "NO! Don''t do that. Not in a million years!"


    "See...That''s why I''m trying to figure out the best promposal for you." I replied before shutting off the curtain. Iughed as I could still hear her groaning in agony even from next room. I smiled as I flopped on the creaky pull out bed before activating my [Rest Skill] and just went to sleep.


    ...


    Morning came surprisingly quickly after you stayed up ying games all night. It was of course ok for me since I only need only 4 hours of sleep to be well rested, thanks to my special gacha rewards but unfortunately for Abby, she didn''t have the same advantages as I did. Therefore she had no choice but to y hooky today as she couldn''t wake up on time.


    I was eating a small amount of cereal at the dining table before my aunt got mad and asked me to wait for her to make breakfast.


    "I''ve already made yours." I said casually.


    "Huh?" She was confused, and then she saw some bruschetta neatly arranged on the kitchen counter. It was made with a baguette and some scrambled eggs mixed with basil and tomato. The bread was sprinkled with garlic butter and toasted in it before I put the eggs on it.


    It was a simple breakfast that could be done in just under 10 minutes. I had also prepared some coffee for her.


    "I''m the one who''s supposed to be taking care of you though!" She pouted as she skeptically took a bite of the bruschetta. Then, her eyes widened as she swooned from the taste, hurriedly picking up the te and went to sit next to me to devour the food.


    "Where did you get the baguette?" She asked.


    "From Phil. He went on a bread run this morning, and he called me." I replied honestly.


    "Hmm..He''s a nice guy." Cam said without thinking. I looked at her seriously, making her stammer, "W-what?"


    "You have no chance with Phil-"


    "I DIDN''T MEAN IT LIKE THAT...Wait...Really?" She asked in a surprise. After all, she was a gorgeous woman. It wouldn''t take much effort for her if she decided to seduce someone''s husband�C not that she would ever want to do that.


    I nodded and said, "Yes. He only has eyes for ire. So give up."


    I got smacked at the back of my head before my aunt asked, "Why don''t you eat what you cooked?"


    "I''ve already eaten the equivalent of 1 whole baguette. The cereal is just for dessert."


    "You''ll get fat." She joked


    I wiped my hand with a napkin and said, "Unfortunately, there won''t be a chance for me to store some excess fat in this lifetime."


    Cam snorted and said, "Even your dad grew a beer gut. You have to be careful."


    Well my dad didn''t have a digestive system like Captain America. I smiled at my aunt and stopped perusing the topic before asking her about her time in Cuba until it was time for school.


    She dropped me off near school, and even kissed my forehead in a familial way to try and make me embarrassed, but instead she was the one who ended up blushing.


    "I''ll pick you up-"


    "No need. I''m going back with my friend." I interjected before she could finish.


    "Who? Abby?" She said with some concern in her voice. "You guys could barely hang out together after the breakup. Are you sure about starting the rtionship again? She won''t stay here too long you know."


    I shook my head in disbelief while narrowing my eyes at her. "What are you talking about? We''re just hanging out as friends. Also, It''s not her."


    "Then? Who?"


    I smirked and turned around without any reply. But before she could say anything else the bell rang, which allowed me to make a quick exit from the conversation.


    "Who ED? WHOO!" She shouted from afar, but I just waved at her and pointed at my ears, gesturing that I couldn''t hear her.


    ...


    Inside the music clubroom.


    "This movie sucks." Jenna muttered.


    "Yeah. It really does." I interjected as I continued to teach Alex the cello from behind Jenna and the rest.


    Jacob held the CD case of ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' and said, "I thought it would at least be High Quality. Even the CGI is horrible in this one."


    "It''s because of the writer''s strike... I think." Enid added while thinking hard about the matter.


    I added, "Yup. That is true. The WGA strike made the production drag on, but Michael Bay still kept the release date, turning it into an under plotted, horrible, piece of shit movie."


    Alex chuckled before saying, "All Transformers movies are bad. Not just this one."


    "BOOOO!!!" The males in the club booed her after hearing that. Of course, there were only 2 Transformers movies at the time, but the first movie and the second one were iparable.


    "Okay Stop. Which movie should we watch next?" Elsa asked as she held two Bluray CD cases in her hands. "The Breakfast Club, or Dead Poet Society?"


    "Huh." I eximed as I saw the choices.


    "What?" Enid turned to me and asked curiously.


    "Nothing. It''s just...I heard about this movie before...But I had never made the effort to watch it."


    "In this life, or the previous one." Was left unsaid of course.


    "Well we can do it now." Elsa said, but we were then distracted by the sounds of the door opening. Abraham quickly covered the TV in case it was a teacher, but it was only Finneas and his sister, the 11 year old future Pop Star Billie Eilish.


    "Hey guys!" Finneas greeted excitedly.


    "BOOO!!" x5


    "What did I do?" He was bewildered from the response.


    I stood up and walked to him before saying, "Haha. It''s nothing. We just thought you were a teacher. Hi. I''m Edward." I said with a charming smile as I shook hands with a blushing Billie. Jenna and Alex saw her reaction, and rolled their eyes as they realized she was a fan too.


    "How old are you now?" I asked.


    "E- Eleven. I''m starting middle school after the summer." She replied while brushing her hair behind her ears.


    "Ahh 11.....Don''t start watching porn...yet-"


    "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN SAYING!" Alex shouted from afar before I could finish my words. Billie widened her eyes in shock and looked at me in disbelief.


    "What?" She muttered.


    "Nothing. I''m just saying. Watching porn will destroy your perspective on love. So don''t do it." I muttered under the puzzled gaze of everyone inside the room.


    Jacob asked, "What the hell are you even talking about man?"


    Billie nudged her brother and scolded him, "Did you tell him?! How could you!? I did it one time!"


    "I didn''t!" Finneas eximed, feeling that he had been done dirty.


    Billie saw the TV that Abraham uncovered, and sighed, "You guys were watching movies during school hours?"


    "Well it''s not like the teacher is checking up on us." Abraham said with a smirk.


    "Hey what is this? ''Requiem for a Dream''? The actress looks like Mrs Henderson." Enid said cheerily, not minding my topic of conversation with Billie at all.


    I widened my eyes and went to snatch the movie from her immediately. "Hell no! We ain''t watching this. Not ever."


    "What- why?"


    I raised the dvd up as Enid tried to snatch it back. I also used one hand to stop her from getting near me as I hid the dvd inside my shirt.


    "Just trust me. Otherwise, you will have nightmares about ''Ass to Ass''." I shuddered as I remember the time my caregiver in the orphanage forced us to watch the movie before as a campaign against drug use.


    I talked to Billie while the others were watching ''Bee Movie'', and discussed with her about the skills she had for the band. She also sang a cover of my song, ''Grenade'' with her guitar, blushing the entire time as I watched her with immense interest.


    "Aight. Tomorrow. Bring some nkets and pillows. We''re going to build a fort here in this ssroom." Abraham said excitedly. "Ooh. And Pajamas too."


    "Isn''t that a little childish?" Alex rebuked him.


    "We are all still children, ''Mistress''." Abraham said, earning a disgusted look from Alex and all the girls in the room.


    We practiced for a few hours, and ended today''s session by watching ''The Breakfast Club'' movie. It was a highschool movie set in 1985, where a group of misfits had to undergo detention together, and it turned into a heart-to-heart conversation between them, and brought them together as unlikely friends.


    Myint however, was the ending.


    "So, Bender was being an ass the entire time to her, borderline on sexual harassment, and ire still falls for him? Is it because he has a sob story, or are the women in that world just... irrational?" Finneas asked in disbelief.


    "I know right? And Allison�C which I thought of as Enid who had fallen to the dark side..."


    "Why me?" Enid interjected.


    I continued, "...Lost what made her unique, and then her character was thrown into the generic ''weird kid who is actually a pretty girl'' trope. She was cute even before."


    "A...Thank you." Enid said, touched.


    "He''s talking about Allison. Not you!" Alex added frustratingly. "And Brian contemting suicide from academic pressure was brushed off like a joke. ire even manipted him to write the homework the teacher gave them�C only him alone."


    "To be fair, he wrote a scathing letter to the teacher." Jacob tried to rify, but Alex ignored him.


    "Fucking Whore." Jenna muttered.


    "Yeah. ire is a whore." Alex cursed.


    I faked a gasp and said dramatically, "Alex! She''s your mother!"


    "SHUT UP!" Alex exploded, which made the entire roomugh.


    "But...the dancing at the end looked fun." Jenna muttered, which silenced theughter, " I also want to let loose like that."


    "Well you''re going to need weed. And also an LP yer." Elsa teased.


    "If you''re talking about the retro ones, there are a lot of them in the school''s basement." Abraham suddenly said. We all looked at him and asked, "Really?"


    "Yeah. I went there with a few of my friends before to look for treasures. But, all of them are broken though."


    "Let''s take a look. If it''s minor damage, I can fix it." I said while standing up.


    "As if." Abraham snorted, but Jacob stood up with me. "Sure. Let''s do it. Abracadabra. Do your magic."


    "ABRAHAM! ARHHH! Alright!" Abraham finally agreed after seeing all the people around him getting excited to move the LP yer. It took us half an hour to bring the heavy LP machine to the music clubroom, and another 10 minutes for Abraham to steal some music from the broadcasting club.


    "Are you sure you can fix it?" Finneas asked concernedly as he watched me opening up the interior of the machine.


    "I can. But it shouldn''t work for too long. The machine is too old for that." I replied. After fiddling with the wires for a while, the LP yer could finally produce a sound again after 25 years.


    However, as we put the LP record in it, suddenly the door of the music club room was pushed open. All of the kids froze, except for me. Mrs Herderson was standing at the door, scrutinizing each and every one of the kids, which made them feel as if they were being stared at by a predator.


    "Mrs Henderson! Did youe by to check up on us? Unfortunately, we had already finished with our practice." I said casually as I walked toward the teacher.


    "Why is that LP yer out of the storage area Edward?" She asked in a cold tone.


    "Hey you remember to call me Edward. Good for you." I said jokingly before adding, "We just need to hear some music samples. It''s hard to find ssical/mainstream fusion today. So we have to go back a few decades. Right, guys?"


    I turned to my friends while winking at them. They noticed the hint and hurriedly said, "RIGHT!"


    The bell that symbolized the end of the school day rang at this moment, which made all of us feel relieved. Mrs Henderson just raised one of her eyebrows while listening to my exnation, but she didn''t feel the need to interrogate us more, so she just turned a blind eye on this slight today.


    ...


    "Ed. Who''s picking you up? You want a ride?" Jacob asked from inside his mother''s car after he saw me standing at the curb in front of the school.


    "Nah. My ride is just running a bitte- Wait. Here they are." I said as I looked at the tattered red jeeping towards my direction. It stopped dangerously close to Mrs Green''s car, which almost caused her to have a heart attack.


    "HEYY EDWARD!" Penny got out of the car and ran towards me before giving me a hug.


    "Hey Penny. Long time no see." I replied. Leonard and Sheldon also got out of the car while bickering with one another.


    "She almost killed us, Leonard!"


    "Nobody asked you toe. Now Shushhh! Hey Edward."


    "Hey Leonard. C3PO." I said, turning to Leonard and Sheldon. Leonard and Pennyughed while Sheldon was confused.


    "I don''t look like C3PO. Don''t get me wrong, I''m ttered. But I just can''t see it." He replied robotically.


    "Anyway. What''s up?" Leonard changed the topic after Sheldon finished.


    "Oh. I need your help."


    "Sure. What is it?"

 Chapter 126: Peer Review

    <h4>Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Peer Review</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Penny, your check engine light is on." I said with a smile the second I sat next to her in the driver''s seat. She had cut her hair from thest time we met.


    Now, she had bangs on her forehead, and her hair was straight and it reached only her shoulderpared to the long wavy hair she had before. With a pink sweater on, she looked like a high school girl instead of a working woman.


    "I TOLD YOU!" Sheldon said as he was thrown off to the back seat after failing to shout ''shotgun'' before me to im the seat.


    Pennyughed dryly and said, "The engine light is on, but the engine is fineee~"


    "Is it really?" I gave her a side eye before I chuckled at her ''I got caught'' reaction.


    "Okay New topic. Edward, why do you need Leonard? You haven''t told us yet." Penny said while ncing at Leonard behind her.


    "And I never will. Penny, you should bring your car to my ce sometime. I could check out the engine for you."


    Sheldon chortled and said, "Please. As if you knew how to fix an internalbustion engine. "


    I replied casually, "Yeah. I do in fact. I can even build a working car using scraps. What''s your point, Mr ''I-Was-Not-Invited-But-Come-Anyway-Cause-I''m-Jobless-Cooper''."


    After being fired from his job for insulting the new dean Sheldon had spent almost a week doing various weird things in his apartment. His refusal to apologize to get his job back had been making life hard for everybody around him.


    "I''m not jobless. I''m on sabbatical-" Sheldon tried to exin.


    "Which is basically jobless. You know what, I won''t even be surprised if you went crazy and started to create ''luminous-fish'' and call them a ''billion dor idea'' now that you are not working."


    Sheldon froze and Leonard scrunched his forehead in both confusion and in awe. The crazy theoretical physicist turned to his best friend and said, "Leonard, did you break the statue of secrecy I gave you for our BRILLIANT!!!!...luminous fish idea?"


    "It''s your idea, Not mine. Besides, I haven''t agreed to be your partner. It wouldn''t be a good investment." Leonard said before turning to me and asked, "How the hell did you know that?"


    "Know what?" I replied teasingly. "That Sheldon would go crazy? I always knew it was only a matter of time."


    Leonard and Pennyughed. Sheldon waited for a while before he muttered, "I''m not crazy. My mother had me tested."


    After a while, Penny said with a blush, "Thanks for the offer Edward . I will bring the car by your house sometime."


    Leonard''s eyes darted between the both of us before he hurriedly said, "You know. I always wanted to get my hands dirty and try to fix a car too. Should I help you?"


    Sheldon looked at him confusedly and said, "What are you talking about? You hate getting dirt on your hands."


    "Shut up Sheldon."


    "And you don''t have the skills to do it."


    "Excuse me, I''m an experimental physicist. I could learn how to do it in no time."


    While the two were bickering, I turned to Penny and asked, "How was your audition? Did you get any calls?"


    She slumped her shoulders and looked down instantly as she heard that. Leonard heard it and replied for her, "She got lots...lots of them..."


    Penny added grudgingly, "But I got no parts! None!"


    "Huh? Why?" I asked puzzledly.


    Sheldon interjected as usual, "Maybe the directors went to the cheesecake factory, and got served by Penny. No one would want to hire her after seeing her work ethics."


    Penny was offended, but she didn''t acknowledge Sheldon but chose to respond to me instead "I don''t know. I have no idea why."


    ''I do know why. But you wouldn''t like me to say it.'' I thought to myself.


    Although her career was jump started by her part in my music video, she actually sucked when real acting was required. The only reason she looked good in the mv was because she didn''t have a single line of dialogue and she only came out in less than 45 seconds in the clip, plus my own system given talent did help boost both our on screen presence.


    It would take a brave director, or a reckless and desperate one to actually cast her for an actual role in a movie.


    "I''m sure you will get something in the future. Don''t worry about it." Iforted her as I put my hand on her shoulder. Leonard got jealous again while Penny blushed and looked at me with some expectation, but she didn''t request anything.


    "Back to the original topic, why did you want to meet with Leonard?" Sheldon asked to change the topic as the current one wasn''t to his interest.


    ...


    "So, you want me to help you figure out how to ask a girl to prom?" Leonard asked in disbelief. "How....What...WHY?!"


    Not only him, but even Penny and Sheldon were shocked by my request. All of us were currently at the Cheesecake factory as I needed to get some food. Penny even dropped her fries as the table fell silent. She was sitting next to me while the boys were on the other side.


    I kept my cool and acted casually as I ate my fish and chips while I waited for them to finish processing the information.


    Sheldon then took a sip of his ice tea and said to me, "Hmm...Long Ind Iced Tea is great. No wonder people drink this during their vacation."


    Penny snapped out of her frozen state and snickered at Sheldon. He wanted to order lemonade as usual, but I convinced him to try the Long Ind Iced Tea. As I simply pointed out to him that jobless people don''t change their routine but those on vacation rx and for example enjoy said drink which made him order it in a second hoping to prove that he wasn''t in fact jobless, but was actually just taking a small vacation.


    "This is great." Sheldon said with a smile as he drank the tea.


    "Okay-okay. Back to this, Edward...Leonard? Seriously?" Penny asked in disbelief.


    "Hey I can be romantic if I want to-" Leonard said hurriedly.


    "Oh no. I can handle the romantic part. I just need some ideas for making some series of puzzles for her." I replied before taking out my Iphone. "I have a few, but some of them need chemicals that I don''t have, and also quite dangerous."


    Leonard took the phone and read my list of ideas. He was shocked and asked, "URANIUM! What could you possibly think of that you would need URANIUM FOR?!? You are just asking a GIRL TO PROM!? REJECTED!"


    "Give me that!" Sheldon snatched the phone from Leonard and read the list on his own. "This one could work. Hacking into various government organizations and leaving clues inside their archives so that she can decipher them one by one."


    I nodded at Sheldon''s words, but Penny shouted, NOOOO!" She snatched the phone and pushed it back into my hands. "Girls don''t need all of that! You just need to be sincere with her. Don''t be an international criminal, just because you want to ask her out!"


    "But-"


    "NO BUTS!" Penny warned me before saying, "Or I''ll tell Pepper about it."


    "FINE!"


    Leonard thought for a while before saying, "You know, the puzzle about the periodic element sounds good. But you can''t spell prom with it without it bing Promt."


    "Or you could use some shcards and reenact the scenes from ''Love Actually''." Penny said.


    "How about you Penny? How did your date ask you to your prom?" I asked her curiously.


    "Which Prom?"


    "The first. Or the seventh. I just want to know the memorable ones."


    She thought for a while as Leonard muttered to himself, "Seven?"


    "Well there was one boy who decided to bring me flowers and asked me in front of the entire school..." She shared.


    "And did you go with him?" I asked.


    "No. He looked like a creep, so I went with his best friend instead-" Penny blurted out, and stopped halfway as she realized that she wasn''t going to look good in that story. "There was another one where I went with the quarterback, so we just went to prom together."


    "So, one man for each prom, or one man for the entire seven?" Leonard asked. Penny''s mouth felt dry and she answered meekly, "The first one."


    "Damn, so you lost your v-card 7 times?" I joked. Penny was bewildered and sheughed, "Oh no. I lost it years before-" She realized the topic was inappropriate again, but before she could change the subject, I asked, "So, did you sleep with your prom dates or not?"


    "Well I was young...So yes." She replied shyly.


    Leonard was depressed at the side, while Sheldon was spacing out already as he kept drinking his tea, and ordering more and more of it. Leonard then decided to change the subject, "Is this girl special to you?"


    "Kinda. She''s my best friend."


    "Only...a friend? Or a friend that you haven''t got the courage to ask out yet?" He asked while ncing at Penny.


    "A friend ...Well we did go out before, but she broke up with me." I confessed. "I don''t think we will go out together again, but I wanted to give her onest good school experience before she moved back to New York."


    "Ahhh...I got it." Leonard eximed before he took out his phone. "Can I ask Howard about this? He could give us a few ideas."


    "I don''t think so... Anything hees up with will probably get me kicked in the nuts, but you can try." I replied with distrust in my tone.


    Leonard talked to Howard for a while before thetter said using a loudspeaker, "Well She learned forensics. So you could say, "The human body has 206 bones. You want to see the 207th? Go to Prom with me-"


    I pressed the disconnect button on Leonard''s phone before Howard could finish. "See. Useless."


    ...


    "A friend of mine saw you shopping with Sheldon a few days back." I said while the waitress was giving Sheldon his third ss of "tea", I made a casual conversation with Penny.


    "Ohh. I saw her too. Why is she staying around here, and not at her mansion? Did her family go broke?" Penny asked.


    "Nah. The mansion is still there. But something happened, and she wasn''t ready to go back there yet. Anyway, what did you do there?" I asked, changing the topic.


    Sheldon interjected, his face flushing a bit from the alcohol. "I went to get some eggs, and Penny went there to create expensive urine."


    Leonard and I widened our eyes as Penny was bbergasted by Sheldon''s mumbling. I muttered, "Kinky," which made Penny turn to me with a horrified look on her face.


    "Also. She was in her time of the month-" Sheldon added.


    "I''M NOT! NoooO! None of that was true!" Penny eximed hurriedly. She then exined how Sheldon was criticizing her for buying supplementary vitamins, and how he misunderstood her sarcastic remarks about the urine part.


    As Sheldon got more and more drunk, Leonard and I changed our conversation to my air fryer invention. I drew the design on a tissue paper, which I slid over to Leonard''s side of the table for him to see.


    "Hmm..." He contemted the designs for a while. Penny was astonished and she hugged me, pressing my face on her chest as she did so. "Oh my god! You''re sooo SMART!" She said as if she was praising a child.


    I gave her a side eye and Sheldon said, "To you, he might seem so. Give me that!" He snatched the tissue from Leonard again.


    Leonard wasn''t offended and he looked up to me before saying, "Theoretically, it is possible. But there are several factors you need to consider. The bacterial infestation, the materials that could handle the heating system, the food taste...This is a whole new cooking equipment. People will feel that it''s reinvigorating at first, but if you fail to make it be a norm in people''s daily life, the invention''s hype will be short-lived."


    "Not to mention the money you need to handle the R&D for the technology, On Your Own. Want my advice? It''s better for you to just figure it out and finish the technology, patent it, and then sell it instead of building your own brand."


    "I am nning to sell it though..." I said quizzically with a slight head tilt. I wonder why he got the idea that I was going to monopolize the invention.


    "You''re not trying to keep it? Aren''t you a money-grubber- Wait. Sorry." Leonard shook his head quickly as Penny widened her eyes and gestured to him with her facial expression to stop talking.


    Iughed and turned to Sheldon who was scrutinizing the tissue paper. "Sheldon, you okay?" I asked.


    "Hmm... For materials, ceramics and stainless steel should be enough. You can also build the device with heat-resistant polycarbonate, and it would be able to withstand the needed temperatures. Also, I do agree with Leonard on the R&D part. You should sell it instead of doing it on your own."


    Leonard and Penny were surprised that Sheldon''s mind could still work after all that booze, but I didn''t have much of a reaction except for being annoyed.


    "I never said I would do it on my own. Why are you people...? Nevermind."


    "If you want, I can... help you out by buying the equipment you need to make a prototype. It''ll be hard for you to order it on your own unless you know people in academia." Leonard said.


    "Then, I will count on you with that."


    "Also, I know someone with a Master''s degree in engineering. Howard can be of help-"


    "Oh hells no. I want to do it in my aunt''s garage, and there is no way I''m going to let him near her." I rejected him quickly. Although it would be fun to see Howard get punched, I''d much rather he just stay the fuck away from my aunt after all it wouldn''t do for her to think that I was hanging out with people like him.


    "Hey...Are you Edward? Can I get a picture?" Suddenly, a young fan, presumably a 9 or 10 year old girl, walked to our seats and asked while holding the edge of the table.


    "Umm...You know what. I actually have a rule about taking pictures with fans outside." I said. She turned dejected, and almost left the table. I added, "But, I will make an exception today. Just. for. You."


    I spoke clearly to make sure the other people lingering around the table heard it. Although I have no qualms about taking pictures with fans, there was a ce and time for it. Me hanging out with friends �C was definitely not the time for it.


    I took a picture with the kid, and she skipped away happily after that. Sheldon was a bit jealous and said, "You know, I was responsible for the university''s 4 quantum gravity equations all of which made various impacts on changing humanity''s way of understanding the universe, but a 14 year old who knows how to sing is more famous than me."


    "Do you know how to sing Sheldon?" I asked instigatively.


    "I know how to sing, I just choose not to do it." Sheldon replied.


    "Really? There is a piano and a microphone right there. Why don''t you prove it?"


    Sheldon replied drunkenly, "Your juvenile attempt to make me sing here and embarrass myself is pathetic. However, I can sense that my frontal lobe isn''t working properly, and I am more prone to making bad decisions."


    Iughed and called the waitress who was passing by. "Hi, my friend here is an excellent singer. Can you let him use the stage?"


    "Ummm...I need to ask the manager first, but I think if Mr Edward Newgate vouches for him, then there would be no problem. Hi Penny. Can''t believe you''re sitting here."


    "Hi Caitlyn. I told you, I know him!" Penny replied with a fake smile while hugging me again as if marking her territory in front of the other girl. Caitlyn smiled wryly and walked away before Penny cursed, "That bitch always tries to convince people I don''t actually know you."


    Leonard said, "Well you can''t really me her. The probability to meet anyone, let alone a waiter, that has a connection to a famous person is abysmally small."


    Penny immediately red at him. I sighed at Leonard''sck of understanding of women andforted Penny, "Well...One day when you get famous, Caitlyn will go around telling people that she used to know you. She''ll be excited even."


    "Okay that''s it! I WILL SING!" Sheldon suddenly stood up and dered. He then walked to the stage and sat next to the keyboard.


    "OooH! I''m looking forward to this." I said as I turned my chair to face the stage and even took out my phone to record it.


    ??? (To Life- Fiddler on the Roof. See the Sheldon Version)


    "To life, to life, l''chaim! l''chaim, l''chaim, to life! Here''s to the father I tried to be!


    Here''s to my bride to be!" Sheldon started out normally before he made the tempo turn upbeat. The genius also has a pitch perfect ability, and he could sing every song that he ever heard if he wanted to. That was also one of the reasons he avoided songs. Otherwise, it would upy a big part of his brain.


    "Drink, l''chaim, to life! To life, to life, l''chaim.L''chaim, l''chaim, to life.!


    Life has a way of confusing us,


    Blessing and bruising us.


    Drink, l''chaim, to life~~~~~~! Fah~!"


    "DAI DAI DADADADA DAI DAI DADADADA DAI DAI DADADADA DAI! HEY!"


    ....


    As Leonard walked Sheldon home after taking the bus instead of the car as Sheldon was feeling adventurous, Penny drove me home in her car.


    "Thanks for driving me." I said as we got to my aunt''s house.


    "You''re wee sweetie." Penny replied. "And don''t worry. I''m sure your promposal will go great."


    "You too. I''m sure that you will get a part sooner orter-"


    "Hopefully SOON! I can''t take working in the Cheesecake factory any more! Otherwise, It will seem like I''ve already failed to catch my break." Penny said in a dispirited manner.


    "Like a bad batch of bread." I joked. Penny chuckled before faking irritation and said, "Okay. Good night." She then pressed the gas pedal and slowly drove away.


    Iughed and shouted, "Don''t forget to bring your car over...Next week!"


    "SURE! I WILL!" Penny replied from afar. It was only 7 o''clock when I returned to my ce. As I entered the house, I froze a bit when I saw Desiree and my aunt sitting together at the dining ce andughing while talking.


    Then, Desiree narrowed her eyes at me for a split second as she saw me before putting on a smile on her face again. My heart skipped a beat, but I didn''t react to it and walked to the dining table casually.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Sheldon- SHELDON!" Leonard tried to stop Sheldon who was saying away to a normal suburban house, but it was toote. Sheldon rang the bell, and when the dean of the university opened the door, he instantly said, "YOOOOOUUUUUU~"


    Gabblehouser was bbergasted and asked, "Dr Cooper, are you drunk?"


    "You fired me! And now, a 14 year old boy is going to rece me!" He whined as he leaned on the doorframe of the house.


    Gabblehouser turned to Leonard who was fidgeting behind Sheldon and asked, "Do you know anything about this?"


    "I honestly don''t." Leonard said, trying to keep his hands clean from the uing shit storm.


    "Dr Cooper, if you apologize, I will hire you back at the university." Dr Gablehauser said. Although he was offended by Sheldon''s remark, his genius was undisputed.


    Sheldon threw his arms down, iling them as he whined, "But I didn''t say anything that was untruwe....(Burp)...Untrue..." He almost fell down, but he grabbed the doorframe to keep himself standing up.


    "Sheldon. It doesn''t matter what you think. This is your chance. Just apologize, and you can go back to work with us..." Leonard took the chance to convince Sheldon.


    "Dr Cooper, do you want your job back?" Dr Gabblehauser asked.


    "I do. But I don''t wanna apologize."


    "Should I call your mother and make her, make you apologize?" Leonard threatened him.


    "ALLRIGHT!" Sheldon eximed exasperatingly before turning to the dean. However, instead of apologizing, he chuckled and said, "Gabblehauser...inside a house...er...Wait...Am I at your house?"


    "SHELDON!" Leonard cried out to him. Sheldon was shocked before his sanity returned for a short period of time. "Okay. Dr Gabblehauser. I''m sorry for...calling you a glorified high school science teacher...whosest sessful experiment was lighting his own farts..."


    Gabblehauser felt attacked again, but Sheldon continued, "I''m sorry. That was...uncalled for.."


    "Okay Dr Cooper. I''ll see you back at the office tomorrow. Now, get the hell out of my porch." Dr Gabblehauser said, wanting to put all of the matter behind him and start anew.


    "On second thought." Sheldon gestured with his index finger. Leonard was afraid that he would take his words back, but then, something worse happened.


    "BLUEEKKK!!!" Sheldon threw up inside of Dr Gabblehauser''s house.

 Chapter 127: Battle of Wits.

    <h4>Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Battle of Wits.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Desiree narrowed her eyes as I stood next to her. "Have you had dinner yet Ed?" My aunt asked cheerily.


    I smiled and said, "I''ve already eaten. By the way, the food in the Cheesecake Factory is great. We should all go there sometime. It''ll be my treat-"


    "NO! I will treat you!" My aunt interjected quickly. I shot a weirded out look at her before turning to Desiree and asked, "What do you think? Wanna go with us?"


    "Of course I will. I need to make sure you spend a lot of money. Then, we will be even forst night." She said, hinting at the peeping.


    "Oh, did Abby and I ying gameste bother your sleep? If we did, I apologize for that." I replied with an innocent look. Desiree narrowed her eyes again, realizing that she had lost the initial exchange and wasted her first probing.


    She only saw a glimpse of the peeper, therefore she couldn''t use me straight away. That was why we were ying a refined game of subtlety in our conversation. Desiree on the right corner of the ring trying to confirm her doubts, and me on the other trying to y the fool.


    "Yes. That too..." She replied while holding her chin and smiling precariously.


    I paused for a while and pretended to be confused before I asked, "That too? What else did I do?"


    "Oh don''t mind the olddy. I was just rambling." Desiree said. I smirked inwardly as if I didn''t respond to her weird sentence, it would seem as if I knew the hidden meaning behind it. It was a cleverly ced trap, but so far, I had managed to pull ahead in this match.


    I chuckled a bit and said, "By the way, have you seen my aunt''s bedroom?" I took the initiative this time.


    Her eyes shook and she guessed, " You''re talking about her...Her bed?"


    "Yes. You should try to roll around in it. It''s like living in mattressnd." I joked.


    "Did you roll around on it when you came yesterday?" My aunt asked curiously. "Yes. Who wouldn''t?" I replied with augh.


    "So, you were in that room at around 10 pmst night, right?" Desiree asked with a cold smile on her face. I gulped my saliva and replied, "That''s quite specific... and thus I can''t say for sure but yes, maybe it was around that time."


    "Hmm..." Desiree fell into contemtion as she couldn''t really pin the ''crime'' on me without proper evidence. So far, all she had was circumstantial and I was smart enough not to give her an actual timeframe for my presence in the room, but legal principle states that I was ''Innocent until proven guilty'' , not ''Guilty until proven innocent''. Luckily for me she was still an advocate of that, unlike the braindead people on Twitter and other social media who passed judgment without even properly looking into things.


    I was close to making her forget the matter, however, I failed to take ount of my aunt''s interference in the battle.


    "You know, after he got out of the room, heughed like a crazy person before checking out the next one. I guess he really liked the bed, or maybe he liked something else in the next room. Maybe even something else, perhaps the view outside the window?" My aunt asked teasingly.


    ''Ah shit.'' I cursed.


    "Hmm..I wonder what happened to make himugh after getting out of your room..." Desiree asked with a ferocious glint in her eyes. This time, she was sure that I had a part in the shame she felt that night.


    My aunt was confused. Her expression was as if she was asking Desiree, ''That''s what you focus on? I created a perfect opportunity for Abby for nothing!''


    Desiree noticed the gaze and flinched before saying perfunctorily, "Oh yes. He might have picked the other room because of that." My aunt gave her a deadpan look before she stood up from her chair. "You know what, you guys talk. I need to go call..." She shot a nce at me and seemed to change her mind on how to finish the sentence, "...My boss."


    "I thought you weren''t working?" I asked her with a suspicious gaze.


    "I''m still not." She replied childishly before walking away�Cswaying her hips as she went.


    Desiree then turned to me with a smile on her face, but her eyes still held a chilly glint. "So Ed. What did you do after you rolled around on the bed?"


    I pretended to be confused, but still answered her question with a smile, "Hmm? You''re still on this? ...Wait, after that, I was attracted by the curtain pping from the strong wind. So I went to the window and tried to see what was happening. But the wind suddenly stopped, so I lost interest and got out of the room."


    "Then, why did youugh?"


    "Well my friend sent me a funny text? Why are you so interested in this? Perhaps... you were in the dark room?" I turned the table against her, making her blush a bit from the sudden remark.


    "N-"


    "Hmm...you''re so interested in that, perhaps...you were doing something naughty in the room, and might be afraid that I saw it?" I joked. As she blushed, I pretended to be shocked and said, "Hold on... you...really were...?"


    "Enough. Let''s move on from this-" She tried to change the topic, but I mmed the table and then held my head in frustration as I shouted, "AHHH! I SHOULD''VE LOOKED BETTER! WHY DID I QUIT HALFWAY!!!"


    Desiree concluded that I truly haven''t seen anything else based on my reactions, and she stood up quickly, "A-A-Anyway. You should ask A-Abby to prom soon! BYE!" She ran out of the house before I, or my aunt could ask her any more questions about it.


    I chuckled to myself and my frustrated expression melted instantly. "Aaaannnnddd... I''m safe~" I exhaled in relief.


    "Safe from what?" My aunt suddenly appeared behind me, crossing her arms as she gazed sternly at me. I was taken aback and replied, "Safe...inside this warm and nurturing home you provided?"


    She narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion. My heartbeat quickened, but there was still no notable change in my facial expression. After a while, she finally relented and said, "Okay. Thank you. That''s what I was going for. I even did something good while you''re at school ."


    "Huh? What did you do?" I asked in confusion. She grinned and gestured with her head to ask me toe with her. I followed her from behind as we entered the pull out couch room I had slept inst night.


    To my shock, I saw the aberrant bed inside the room �C which filled the entire room from wall to wall, with only a small space for me to maneuver close to the door. "What the hell!?"


    "LANGUAGE! But yeah. While you were gone, I asked the construction crew at your ce to help me move it."


    "Cam! I can''t let you sleep on the pull out bed. That thing is falling apart."


    She shrugged and said, "I know. That''s why I had it thrown away." She then walked to her room and showed me something else.


    "AAaannnd ... I already changed my bed. I really....REALLY can''t sleep on that one. It made me feel very lonely."


    Inside her room was a normal looking bed however even after taking it out there was still proof that the humongous bed had previously been in there in the form of a huge stain on the hardwood tiles that they hadn''t been able to remove or hide.


    I rubbed the back of my head in frustration, but I didn''t say anything as I saw her excited face and decided to try to keep her happy. She truly did that because she thought I was in love with the bed after all.


    "But now. I''m the one who''s going to feel lonely. I should invite Luke�C No, He drools. Hmm... What should I do now?"


    ...


    [Dunphy''s family]


    "Hey. What''s going on with you?" Alex asked Haley who seemed down for thest two days.


    "Hmm? Didn''t you go out with dad? Why are you home so early?" Haley asked as she turned towards Alex who had just entered their room.


    "Dad only wanted to talk to me about mom stuff but I no longer cared to listen to that, so I''m here now." Alex exined.


    Phil had taken her out to spend some time with Alex in order to appease her anger towards her mother. But he was surprised when he realized that Alex no longer held a grudge. Her indifference was because she was beginning to be a teenager, and not because of ire.


    Saddened by the fact that his baby girl was growing up and was currently distancing herself from her parents, Phil almost cried in the car, but he kept it together until they arrived home.


    "Oh." Haley replied before staring into a distance again.


    "What is wrong with you?" Alex asked in a concerned tone. She sat on her bed , facing with her sister and asked, "Is this about your private ''afterparty'' with Ed before-"


    "NO!" Haley shouted in a weird high-pitched voice.


    "Then what? Are you jealous that Ed is asking Abby out to prom?"


    "I..." Haley''s eyes darted around, and Alex sighed as she realized she had hit the mark.


    "A few seniors asked you to go with them, right? If you really want to go, just go with them." Alex said, missing the mark this time. Haley''s concern wasn''t about the prom, but about the thing people usually do after prom�C akin to a tradition.


    Suddenly, Haley''s phone vibrated as she got a text. She checked it and raised one of her eyebrows.


    "What is it?" Alex asked noisily.


    "Abby asked me to go to Ed''s new room. There''s something fun there." She said.


    "Oh. Can Ie?" Alex asked.


    Haley was struggling inside. She was afraid that the message was code for something else, and she didn''t want to bring her innocent little sister with her. "It''ste. I can sneak out, but..."


    "I Can SNEAK OUT TOO!" Alex said excitedly.


    Suddenly, both of them froze as ire entered the room in an abrupt manner. Then, both of them burst intoughter as they saw what ire looked like.


    ire held her new auburn hair embarrassingly as she saw the reactions of her teenage daughter. But her mission waspleted as both of them stood up from their bed and went near her to take a closer look.


    "Mom, why did you dye your hair Red? Or... Hold on... Are you wearing a wig?" Haley asked, her face still full of smiles as she touched ire''s new hair.


    "I''m sure it must be a wig... Right?" Alex replied while holding her stomach. ire smiled and said shyly, "I thought I''d make a change. Doesn''t it look good?"


    "Mom, are you having your mid-life crisis?" Haley asked in concern before she said, "Hold still..." and snapped a picture of her with the phone and sent it to Edward.


    ire scrunched her face and said, "NO!! I''m 39 years old!"


    "Uuughh. That''s not something you should be proud to say out loud." Haley said, making ire feel bbergasted by the teenage girl train of thought.


    "But seriously? Did you change it for Dad? What did Grandpa think?" Alex asked, then she added. "What did Ed think?" Subconsciously, Alex had ced both her grandpa and Ed at the same spot in her mind, but no one realized it yet.


    "NO! I didn''t do it for your dad. In fact, your dad has been avoiding me ever since he saw it." ire replied with some helplessness in her tone. She didn''t know why Phil was hiding from her.


    At the moment, she still hadn''t realized how much her red hair had spooked Phil as it struck a deep fear in his heart because of her resemnce to a clown. He still needed some time to adapt to it, that was why he was keeping his distance from her.


    "Maybe he didn''t like it." Alex said. ire widened her eyes and sadly asked, "You think?"


    Sensing their mother''s emotions, the two girls nced at each other and came to an understanding immediately.


    "Or...He''s just too embarrassed about how much he likes it. You know dad and his weirdness." Haley said tofort ire.


    "Yeah mom. You look good. Don''t worry about it." Alex added. ire smiled and hugged both of her daughters at the same time. "I''m the most blessed mother in the world to have you guys." She said sincerely as she kissed both of them on the forehead.


    She released them after a while, and turned back to exit the room before saying, "Therefore, I will turn a blind eye if you want to sneak out to Ed''s house, as long as you are back before 12 o''clock. One time offer. Are we clear?"


    "Crystal!" x2. However, to their disappointment, Abby texted Haley again saying that she had been kicked out from Ed''s room for being too distracting as he was working, and went back to their bed.


    "Well...Mom already gave us a free pass...so it doesn''t matter if we''re using it today or tomorrow." Haley said slyly at Alex.


    ''But, he is working again. Seriously, he should just rest already. Should I just go to his ce and force him to do it? I tried to make him cut loosest Sunday, but then the attack happened. He really can''t catch a break!'' She thought to herself.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Pfff- Hahahaha. What did she show the hairdresser? Some Chucky photos?" Iughed out loud as I saw the picture and texted Haley back. She responded with aughing gif, and said, "I know right? Can you imagine me...with red hair like that?"


    Although she seemed like she was joking, she was actually fishing for attentionpliments. Being a good friend, I knew exactly how to reply to her.


    "I think you''d look great. But you''re a bit tanned, so you''d probably look like one of those troll dolls nobody buys."


    "Q@(#&$!"


    After making Haley mad, I continued typing away on myptop while waiting for her to calm down. My lips kept curling up as I investigated the Saltzman mega corporation, unknowingly gettingpletely sidetracked from my work as I kept thinking about the picture.


    "Ahhh. I want to see how ire will react when Jay calls her old to her face tomorrow. Too bad I have school." I muttered to myself before restarting my investigation. After a good while, I decided to continue developing an app that I had in mind.


    With my programming skills, I had finished almost 70% of the required code, and I would only need one more day to finish developing this particr project, one that could be sold for 1 billion or more in the near future.


    "But, why would I sell it?" I chuckled to myself. "I would just make the rich get even richer. It''s WAY better for me to keep it all in my pockets."


    "HEY YOU FUTURE VILLAIN! STOP SMIRKING!" Abby shouted for her window, feeling dissatisfied after getting kicked out.


    "Go to sleep you useless CSI!" I shouted back.


    "SHUDDUP! I will go to sleep when I want to!" She replied in a rebellious manner.


    "Go to sleep, or I will tell your mother that you nned to get a boob tattoo ." I threatened her.


    Abby was in disbelief and said, "When the hell did I say that?"


    "Does it matter? You''ll be in trouble anyway." I said with an evil grin.


    "YOU!!! BASTARD!" She mmed her window shut and pulled her curtain as she went away.


    ...


    Next morning came quickly. I went to school as usual, but as I got to the music ssroom, I was taken aback when I saw the sight in front of me. Abraham was in his pajamas, and he brought pillows and nkets with him to the school.


    "What the hell." I muttered.


    "Excuse me~" Suddenly, Jacob walked into the room, also wearing his pajamas and holding bags with nkets and pillows in them.


    "Wh- What?" I was confused as hell as I saw it. Jacob and Abraham grinned before saying, "Well..we don''t have anything to do, so we decided to stay and sleep here."


    Elsa, Jenna, Alex and Enid also arrived, and also stood in front of the door as they saw the scene going on in front of them. Elsa rolled her eyes and said to Jacob, "Is this what you said you''re going to surprise me with yesterday?"


    "Yes! See, I brought pajamas for all of us." Jacob said before he took out multiple new sets of clothes from his bag. "SWEET!" Enid reacted first and ran to Jacob to snatch the unicorn patterned white, silky pajamas from him.


    "Hmm...If everyone brings their nkets and pillows, we can actually build a fort." Abraham said as he spread out his nket on the floor.


    Billie and Finneas arrived soon. I expected them to have an interesting reaction, but they were already worried when they got there.


    "Hey, the buffdy ising over." Billie said.


    "Buffdy?" All of us were confused, except for me and Abraham.


    "My ''muscle mommy'' is here?" Abraham perked up.


    "Guys! Hide the contraband. The PE teacher ising! I said hurriedly. Jenna and Elsa closed the cello case with my ''illegal'' stuff inside them while Jacob threw his bags into the instrument closet.


    Finneas hid Billie among the cello cases, and just after he covered her up with a case, Mrs Johnson, the muscle mommy PE teacher with short hair and a whistle on her white t-shirt entered the room.


    "Hmm? Why are you guys standing around? Go and practice! We need you guys to get ready for the concert. Edward, can youe with me for a sec. The PTA members want to meet you."


    I narrowed my eyes at her and asked, "For what reason?"


    "I don''t know yet. They might want to ask you things about the concert." She said while mouthing ''Don''t agree'' in her mouth.


    "Then, they could contact mypany or the organizer could deal with them. I''m sorry, but I''m not going. Not without mywyer." I replied decisively.


    "Okay good. I just needed to hear that. By the way, what they wanted is to make you keep your words clean and no songs about vulgarities. So F*ck them." Sheughed before she mmed the door shut and walked away again.


    "NOO! Mrs Johnson-" Before Abraham could yearn for a punishment from the muscle mommy as usual, Jacob cupped his mouth and stopped him.


    Iughed before going to Billie''s spot and took her out of her hiding ce. "Are you alright? Also Finneas, why did you hide her? She came here legally."


    All of them finally realized that Billie was wearing a visitor''s pass around her neck. The girl became angry and stomped on her brother''s foot, blushing the entire time from the embarrassment.


    "Alright, now that the storm''s passed, let''s prac-" Before I could finish, Enid stood in front of me and dered, "LET''S HAVE A PAJAMA PARTYYY!!!!"


    I hit her head with my knuckle, which made her turn towards me with a pained expression. "O."


    "Don''t interrupt me. Okay. you guys have your party. Alex, Finneas, Billie and I need to practice �� Especially Alex."


    As we separated into two teams, Alex pulled me by my sleeve and whispered, "Hey, did you ask her yet?"


    "Abby? I did. I gave her a card this morning."


    "A card?!" Alex widened her eyes in disbelief and disgust. "That''s what youe out with?"


    "Yup."

 Chapter 128: Invitation…success?

    <h4>Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Invitation...sess?</h4>


    [General POV- High School]


    Lingering around Haley''s locker, Abby and Tara looked at the paper in Abby''s hand. Abby was wearing a skull cropped top that showed her belly button and deep cleavage paired with a red id skirt, and adding a small, high waisted panty hose as a finishing touch.


    A few boys had even walked into walls because of it, even some teachers too. She was still reprimanded about the outfit a few times , but she didn''t care as school was basically over and she was moving out next year.


    "So... that is a nk card...and Ed gave it to you...to invite you to prom? Did he forget to write the invitation in it...?" Tara asked, bewildered by Ed''s entric behavior. She was wearing a cropped jacket and a green shirt, paired with jeans and sneakers. She had put two pins on her hair, making her curly hair docile for a while.


    "Noo...He was...confident when he gave me this...Hmmm..." Abby rubbed her chin as she thought about the matter.


    Haley, who was wearing a dark coloured summer dress, rolled her eyes in annoyance before she said, "Could you guys please not...nerd out around me."


    "Huh? Nerd out? Wait. Did he tell you anything?" Abby caught Haley''s blunder instantly.


    Haley darted her eyes around, but then, she got mad instead as she definitely didn''t want to have any part in the conquest mission of a man she was interested in for another girl.


    "NO! He wouldn''t tell me anything! Alex however, wouldn''t shut up about it. I don''t have the slightest idea what he put in there, all I can say is that whatever it was he said you could figure it out. After all, you want to get a forensic science degree."


    Abby''s eyes lit up instantly. Then, she brought the paper close to her face and started sniffing it.


    "Eww." Haley eximed in disgust.


    "Shut up. I''m trying to find traces of lemon or urine in this." Abby replied with an embarrassed face.


    "Double Eww." Haley walked to Tara''s side, prompting her friend to quickly grab her arm and pull her close before whispering, "Hey. Are you okay?"


    Haley replied in a tiny voice, "Ye-Yeah. I just...I don''t really like this."


    "You don''t like Abby''s going to prom with Ed, or what they were going to do after?" Tara asked.


    "After! We...we were supposed to be equal in this. But once she loses her virginity to him, all I can do is be second ce."


    "But, you do know it isn''t actually confirmed yet right? Based on what Enid told me, Ed thinks the prom thing is something strictly between friends. I don''t think he has that in mind."


    Abby suddenly eximed, causing both of the girls to turn to her. " I got it! There really is a trace! We need to get to the scienceb. Come on!" She grabbed her two friends by their wrists and proceeded to quickly drag them off with her.


    "Ughh...I don''t want to follow." Haley groaned, but she didn''t actually try to stop her. No matter what she said, she was still interested in seeing how Ed nned to ask Abby out to prom. The term ''promposal'' wasn''t widely spread yet in 2009, so boys who put in the hardwork to ask a girl out were still a rare thing.


    As they arrived at the scienceb, Abby turned on a Bunsen Burner and put the paper on top of the heat produced by the fire. Slowly, the invincible words inside the letter appeared. Tara and Abby were excited while Haley was anxious, but then, all of them became disappointed as they saw what was written.


    "Hmm? A link?" Abby muttered to herself in confusion. "Is this like a treasure hunt thing? Where all of my efforts will effectively lead to an invitation from him? Does he consider himself to be the prize? Who the hell does he think he is?" She mumbled in dissatisfaction.


    "So, you are NOT going to solve it?" Tara asked.


    Abby turned to her and said annoyedly, "Of course I am!" Tara and Haleyughed before they followed Abby from behind to get to theputerb. However, the bell rang before they even made it through the door.


    "Wait- The ss-" Tara tried to call her friends, but Haley and Abby grabbed her and pulled her together with them. "We''ll just tell the teacher we were on our periods!" Haley muttered. Tara looked at her in disbelief before thinking secretly, ''Weren''t you the one who DIDN''T...want toe before?''


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Are there any teachers around?" I asked.


    "NONE! DO IT!" Abraham who was peeking outside the door mmed it shut and ran to my spot hurriedly. I put the LP disk into the yer, and yed the music.


    ??? ??? Ka Devito - We Are Not Alone (The Breakfast Club �C Homage)


    ??Things are clear in ck and white


    But living color tends to dull our sight, like dynamite??


    I pulled Enid''s hands and we danced together while staring into each other''s faces, singing the lyrics to the songs at the same time. Elsa and Jacob also did the same thing, while Jenna rejected Abraham as he tried to invite her to dance. He turned to Alex, but to his disappointment, Alex went with Jenna and danced the ''Molly Ringwald'' dance with her.


    ??Just imagine my surprise


    When I looked into your eyes and saw through your disguise??


    Abraham turned to Finneas�C which was startled by his desperate gaze. But then he sighed and let Abraham pull him to the dance floor. We sang the chorus together with the song.


    ??If we dare expose our hearts


    And just reveal the purest parts


    That''s when strange sensations start to grow~~~~??


    Edward: ??We are not alone


    You''ll find out when your cover''s blown


    There''ll be somebody there to break your fall??


    I sang while dancing together with Enid. Then, both of us split as if we have an unspoken understanding between us, where I went to grab Billie who was fidgeting at the side of the room �C watching us dance and brought her to the dance floor, while Enid went to grab Elsa from Jacob before going to dance together with Alex and Jenna.


    ??We are not alone


    ''Cause when you cut down to the bone


    We''re really not so different, after all, after all??


    Elsa iled her arms around while spinning,pletely absorbed in the song. Alex watched her with some embarrassment in her face, but then, she decided to il her hands around too as watching her friends let loose gave her courage.


    ??Not alone??


    "Let''s do it!" Abraham said.


    "Not yet!" I replied.


    ??Flying high above the sky


    The patterns down below look simplified


    A good ce to hide??


    Jacob took off his pajamas, revealing his blue tank top that he wore especially for today. Then, he did a flip, and at thest moment stumbled, and fell into Finneas''s direction.


    ??But on inspection of the dust


    I came upon this thing called trust, it helps us to adjust??


    I did the flip, and did the spin around the room like a madman while Jacob tried to apologize to Finneas.


    ??Just imagine my surprise


    When I looked into your eyes


    I knew right then I''d never let you go??


    Enid ran towards me with her arms stretched out, in which I grabbed promptly. Then, she spun underneath my arm before falling to my embrace and posed with her right legs raised up. I was stunned, and then I smiled as she quickly stood back up and spinned away.


    ??We are not alone


    You''ll find out when your cover''s blown


    There''ll be somebody there to break your fall??


    "NOW!" I shouted. Jacob, Abraham and Finneas had a glint in their eyes before they stood back to front with each other in this position, Abraham, Finneas, Jacob. They did the iconic hammer fist march between them while Jenna and Elsa did the side-by-side crab dance.


    ?


    ??We are not alone


    ''Cause when you cut down to the bone


    We''re really not so different, after all, after all??


    I did the same back-and-front dance together with Billie and Enid, before Enid broke free and started shaking herself vigorously, imitating Allison''s dance in the movie. She fell to her knees, and she shook herself so hard until she lost all of her energy and flopped down on the floor with her buttocks slightly raised up in the air.


    ??We''re not alone, not alone


    After all, not alone~~~~!!!!!!!??


    We each did our own unique dance style. I did an air guitar strum, Jacob did a karate chop, Abraham did an indian dance, Finneas and Billie started tap dancing, Alex iled her arms around like a basic white girl, while Jenna dance seductively, going up and down while rummaging her hands all over her body.


    ???????? (Bridge)


    "WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING AROUND HERE!" Suddenly, the buff mommy mmed the door open, and all of us froze under her stare. Abraham was directly in front of her as she entered the room, making him raise his head to look up to the teacher''s face.


    "ABRAHAM! ARE YOU MESSING AROUND AGAIN!" She shouted even though the kid was in front of him. I quickly shut down the music and the cheery atmosphere turned solemn with the teacher''s intervention.


    "Wait! No! I wasn''t the only one!" Aggrieved, Abraham tried to exin, but then he widened his eyes as he saw all of us were pointing our fingers at him. Even Enid who was currently face-nted on the floor didn''t fail to point in Abraham''s direction.


    "NOOOOO!!!!" Thest thing we heard was Abraham''s pitiful wail as he was dragged to the detention room after he was caught by the teacher. I suddenly got a notification on my phone at the same time so I grabbed my sweater and my sunsses as I realized it was time.


    Alex noticed it and asked, "Where are you going?"


    "I need to go somewhere really quick. Can you cover for me if the teacher asks anything?"


    "Hmm... Alright. Be back soon. We still need to practice." Alex said. I nodded and snuck out of the school without anyone noticing.


    ...


    [General POV]


    As soon as Abby got to theputerb, she typed in the website url on the search bar. Tara and Haley were both standing behind her, leaning forward to see what was disyed on the screen.


    "Hmm? A game?" She was confused when the website was loaded. Then, an 8-bit figure of her wearing a skull tank top, a red id skirt, and her iconic twin-tail hairstyle appeared on the screen, before the title of the game popped up on top of the figure.


    [What Would Abby Do] Title of the game. [Start game: Y/N]


    "Click yes now." Tara demanded, her curiosity couldn''t be held back any further. As Abby was still being too slow for her, she grabbed the mouse and clicked the button quickly. The game started, and Abby shot an unsatisfied re at Tara as she did want to click it on her own.


    Not backing down, Tara said, "If you continue staring at me without ying the game, I will take your spot and even go to the prom with Ed. Is that what you want?"


    "Shut up! I''m ying, I''m ying!" Abby replied urgently.


    As the game started it became clear that most of the effort during game development was put into programming the ''boobie physics'' for the 8-bit figure, which were bouncing up and down as the figure walked. It irked Abby, but at the same time, she was still feeling kind of ttered by it which was a really confusing experience for her.


    The 8-bit Abby walked along the streets of New York, where she met an 8-bit figure of Edward riding a bike. Sheughed as she knew exactly what Edward was referencing in this scene.


    "He really did put a lot of work into this. I''m impressed." Tara said with an awed expression. Haley, however, snorted in jealousy and crossed her arms together as she watched Abby y the game.


    A dialogue bubble popped up on the 8-Bit Ed while a robotic synthetic voice sounded out : [Oh, It''s the scary goth girl.]


    [What would Abby do?]


    [Option 1: Beat up the scrawny kid]


    [Option 2: Invite him to walk together]


    [Option 3: Force him to be the look-out while she buys weed.]


    [Option 4: Ignore him.]


    "Although I really want to see what happens when I click on the first one, I guess he wants me to stick close to the script. So I will close, Option 3." Abby muttered with a nostalgic smile on her face.


    In the 8-bit world, the 8-bit Abby caught the 8-bit Edward and threatened him, forcing him to be the lookout as she went to the alley to meet with the dealer. Then, she came back out of the alley with a brown paper bag in her hand.


    [What would Abby do?]


    [Option 1: Kidnap the annoying kid and sneak into the old salvage yard.]


    [Option 2: Get high together with the kid in the old salvage yard.]


    [Option 3: Let the kid cop a feel before ignoring him.]


    [Option 4: Surrender herself to the authorities as she hadmitted a ss B felony]


    "Pfft-" Abby couldn''t hold back herugh as she read the options. Even Tara and Haleyughed a bit as they saw them.


    "This little shit. I will make sure to beat him up when I see himter." Abby muttered as she clicked on the second option.


    [Are you sure about your choice? It''s not toote to surrender yourself to Justice, or go get some help.] An annoying pop-up bar appeared.


    "Little- '''' Abby clicked on the [Yes] option, then another line popped out, [(Sigh), All things considered I guess I still can''t handle a criminal. So I have no choice but to follow you]


    Abbyughed out loud to Tara and Haley''s confusion. "What- What is it?" Tara asked quickly.


    "This...This is exactly what he said when I pulled him with me when we first met." Unknowingly, tears pooled in Abby''s eyes as the memories shed through her mind.


    "He really is a bastard." She said with a smile as she wiped off the tears in her eyes. Luckily for her, she wasn''t wearing her gothic type mascara that day.


    As the game continued it showed several scenes where Abby forced Edward to go and audition for Dn''s band, a scene where he let her ride on his bike to get to school in time, the scene where she drove him in her car, the scene where they decided to be more than friends, then the scene where they broke up.


    After that there were various scenes depicting how she met Haley and Tara, how they hung out together and there was even a scene depicting Abby and Haley''s make out session, something that slightly irked both of the girls.


    By the end of it Abby, Haley and Tara were all crying as Abby was being hugged by her two friends from behind cause they knew that after the week was over, all that was left was the inevitable separation.


    Only after a good while did Abby manage to reach thest scene of the game. While she knew she could have finished the game in under 5 minutes, the crying and sobbing pushed the time table back over half an hour. But, she still had no regrets.


    "Wait. Is that the gym?" Tara said as she noticed where thest scene was. 8-Bit Abby entered a dark and empty gym, and the game ended with the screen still showing the scene.


    "Huh? Y-Yeah. You''re right." Abby''s eyes lit up and she stood from her seat quickly. "I need to go there."


    "We...We will stay here." Tara said and grabbed Haley''s hand before she could follow suit. As Abby walked away, Haley turned to Tara and asked in confusion, "Why did you stop me?"


    "Trust me. It''ll be better if you don''t see it." Tara said as she patted Haley on the back tofort her.


    In a few minutes, Abby finally arrived at the well-lighted gym. She then looked around the space, but she realized that no one was there.


    "Hmm? Is he not here?" She muttered before she called, "EDDD. Are you here?"


    But, no one answered her.


    "Hmmmmm....." She walked back and forth inside the gym, trying to find traces of Edward there.


    "Did he put another clue here?" She muttered.


    "Unfortunately...Yes." A voice said from behind her. Abby widened her eyes and turned around in excitement to see Ed''s figure standing there. He was wearing a dark brown jacket and jeans as he entered the hall.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Why is your face like that? Aren''t you d to see me?" I asked with a sly smirk on my face. Abby scoffed but her eyes were still smiling as she said, "After making me run around all day, you''re still brave enough to waltz in here with that stupid smile on your face."


    "Hey, you like my smile. It turns you on."


    "AS IF!" Abby said, but deep inside her heart, I know she wondered how the hell did I know that. I walked towards her as she did to me. We faced each other, and after a while, Abby became puzzled.


    "So, are you just going to stand there?" She asked.


    "I told you. You still haven''t fullypleted the puzzle yet."


    "HUUHHH?!!" She dragged her exmation in annoyance.


    "So, the ''genius'' girl couldn''t solve it huh. And here I thought it was simple enough for you."


    "SHUT UP! Let me think!" She muttered before she thought about thest scene carefully.


    "Wait. It was a dark gym!" Her eyes lit up and she ran to the switch immediately before turning off all of the lights in the gym. Then, she was surprised as she saw a glow in the dark writing on the floor, saying, "Will you go to prom with me?"


    She cupped her mouth with her hands as she was touched, before slowly walking over to where I was standing again. I was smiling at her, and I reached into my jacket sleeves before pulling out a single red rose.


    "So, will you?" I asked.


    "Yes!" She replied before giving me a hug.


    ...


    Inside a Mercedes convertible that was driving in the streets, Pepper admonished me, "That''s too much. And it''s definitely something that you shouldn''t have done if you just wanted to be ''friends'' with this girl."


    I sighed and said, "I know."


    Pepper caught my expression and said, "But. You seem to have no regrets."


    "Yeah. I don''t."


    "Good. Because now, you''re going to be responsible for that girl''s special night." Pepper said before he changed the topic. "Okay, now, let''s talk about bringing down that old witch."


    "You mean your mom?"


    "I mean that witch!"


    We were on the way to have dinner with Pepper''s mother, and I had never seen him this anxious before. Hopefully, I could manage his expectations about this particr meeting, as it was both an investor''s meeting as well as a family meeting all rolled into one.


    "You need to be very very careful with that old bit- Witch! Oh hell. You already know. Yeah, she''s a bitch."

 Chapter 129: Saltzman Consortium.

    <h4>Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Saltzman Consortium.?</h4>


    (Don''t know why timer is broken today. Or else this will already been up 20 minutes ago)


    [General POV]


    Inside a huge and luxurious dining hall, full with white marble tiles, contemporary art pieces on the walls, and giant size oil painting of an old man �C the former Mr Saltzman a.k.a Pepper''s dad, sat 5 olddies, 1 man, and 1 teenager, eating together.


    "Oh you''re such a cutie pie. Eat more sweetie. You look so thin~ We need to get you a bit of flesh." A sickeningly sweet and warm voice resounded.


    The ssy, 75 year olddy with short, white hair, and huge blue diamond ne and earrings, touched Edward''s cheeks lovingly before she put another spoonful of white caviar in his mouth.


    Ed smiled wryly with his cheeks bulging up like a squirrel as he faced the elderly grandmother. His cute demeanor caused thedies to swoon again, and their maternal instinct had fully activated at the dinner table today.


    (Helen Mirren Lookalike- Pepper''s mother)


    "Mother, stop force feeding him, his stomach will explode." Pepper said snidely as he cut his steak with a knife.


    "What are you worried about? That he''ll turn out like you? That''s impossible just look at him." Mrs Eve turned to Pepper and said sarcastically. Pepper gasped as he was offended, and his face was filled with disbelief.


    "Ooww don''t be so dramatic dear. This can''t be the first time you''ve ever heard it. Nor can I be the first one you heard it from." Mrs Eve said with a condescending smirk. "By the way, you put on a few pounds since thest time I saw you. I guess your life has been happy."


    "Mother!" Pepper widened his mouth in bewilderment before he tried to suck in his stomach to look thinner. Pepper had actually been dumbstruck since the second he sat at the table. After all, when Edward came in, he had feared that he would have been facing his mother''s evil streak and meanments only to find out that nothing of the sort happened, something which shook his worldview.


    The 5 older women were haughty at first, but after a fewpliments were masterfully sprinkled here and there by Edward, all of them had turned into kind and caring grandmothers, trying to cater to Ed''s every whim.


    The spoonful of caviar Eve just stuffed into Ed''s mouth alone for example cost more than 35,000 dors per kilogram. A spoonful of that would roughly be worth at least 2000 dors, and each of the grannies had taken turns to feed the cute ''grandson'' they never had, making Pepper feel a tiny bit jealous of said treatment after all he still remembered how they treated him when he was younger, all the snidements and criticism.


    [Edward POV]


    I was surprised when I saw Pepper''s mother''s face, and rmed when I saw one of her friends �C Mrs Latham. A brown haired, rich widow with a huge fortune behind her. Or as I know her, the rich mistress to whom Leonard sold his body to.


    "So Edward, please do tell me, why the first thing you did after getting a small fortune was to break down your house?" Mrs Latham asked in a curious manner.


    "Oh, that-"


    Before I could answer, Pepper interjected, "That was for his mental health and personal well being."


    The topic was changed quickly as the soft-spoken Mrs. Eve asked Mrs. Latham a question, "Jessica, you''re going to Caltech''s fundraiser tonight?"


    Mrs. Latham''s eyes lit up as she said, "Ow yes, I will be there. It''s always fun to tease the desperate scientists over there." Her friendsughed, but I still had to ask her why.


    Mrs. Latham didn''t expect the question and she turned to me with a surprised look on her face before she replied, "You could say...it''s like a guilty pleasure of mine. Although I don''t actually feel guilty over it."


    Mrs. Eve chuckled and said, "Oh stop it. You''re just out hunting for some ''food'' tonight. First you bring them down, then-"


    "Eve." One of her friends stopped her quickly as she thought the topic was inappropriate to discuss in front of a minor.


    "Oh. Sorry about all that Ed, don''t mind us olddies." Mrs Eve said with a smile. That made me feel ill at ease whenever I met eyes with Mrs Latham afterward. I knew that I had to be careful around her. Although I did have an acquired taste towards the famous MILFs, Mrs Latham actually belonged in the GILFs category, and I didn''t n to change my taste anytime soon.


    As the dinner continued, my worldview was shaken a few times as I managed to live a few scenes that I thought would only happen in the movies.


    "So Jessica, I heard you recentlye in possession of a prized item?" Eve asked.


    "Raphael: "Head of a muse"." Latham replied casually. "I will appraise it at Christie''s London this December, and donate it to my friend''s museum for the tax-write off."


    All the other rich people there nodded their heads while I narrowed my eyes at them as they brazenly talked about ''tax exemption'' benefits. But to be honest, I learned a lot from their casual conversations.


    "Edward, You seem to know what we were talking about?" Eve asked with a tiny bit of concern in her tone.


    I nodded at her and said, "Yeah. I got all of it."


    Eve gasped in surprise, but then Pepper sneered, "Don''t pretend you''re an innocent olddy. You''re deliberately testing him."


    "Yeah. I got that too." I said in a casual manner. Eve thenughed and said, "Well, I need to know if he has an actual brain, or if he is just another over glorified artist with a cute face."


    "A, you think I''m cute?" I said in a cheeky manner. Eve''s lip curled up, but she hid it with a napkin as she wiped her mouth.


    "I heard that you''re the actual brain behind the whole studio. And I want to know if my investment is in safe hands. So mind if I asked you a few questions?"


    Pepper snorted, "So, the building isn''t a gift, sincerely given from the goodness of your heart?"


    "Pass the test well, and I will give you a private ne alongside it. So Edward, are you brave enough to take on the challenge?"


    I smirked and said, "Sure."


    "Great, what is the distance between earth and the sun?" Mrs Latham asked in a yful, but sarcastic manner.


    "The average distance is 93 million miles. So, can I get my ne now?"


    Mrs Latham froze, but the consortium owner of the thirdrgest oilpany in the United Statesughed at her before saying, "Oh Jessica, did I forget to tell you? Edward is also the champion for the state''s sciencepetition."


    "It''s actually called the decathlon, but whatever." I added nonmittedly before turning to Eve. She saw my haughty look, and smiled as she liked my confidence. She asked me a few things about business management, and even Pepper was shocked when he realized that I could breeze through all of the questions.


    Eve was ted, and she hinted, "You know, Pepper considers you his son. And the consortium doesn''t have an heir yet. I have a niece, beautiful...but no brain. so why don''t you two get married-"


    "Mother. NO!" Pepper said quickly.


    "Sherman, if only you weren''t a raging homosexual and had gotten yourself kicked off your dad''s will, I would have a choice. But so far, there isn''t anyone that can inherit thepany."


    "Mother look, he''s already horrified. How could you suggest that to him." Pepper said as he watched my frozen face l.


    "Well, I was actually thinking about how you managed to get your title, ''raging homo''. What does raging even mean?"


    Eve opened her mouth to reply, but then she tilted her head as she fell into confusion. She looked at her son, and said, "You know what? He''s right. You''re an ordinary homosexual. I wonder why your dad added the raging thing?"


    Even Pepper was confused when he thought about it. We talked for a while before thedies requested me to y some songs for them. In their group, the only one who hadn''t gone to see me y before was Eve Saltzman, as the rest of them were basically my ssical musical period fans.


    After ying a few ssical pieces for them in the beautiful Steinway Italian grand piano since I refused to touch a violin but I did y some of the best Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mozart and other such ssical master''s pieces as thedies all promised me a gift.


    I also learned that the Saltzman consortium had their own electronics branch, so I discussed with Mrs Latham about renting the patents for my airfryer when Ipleted itter on. We reached a deal, and by the end of the dinner event, as she had already transferred the ownership of the private ne under thepany''s name proving she was a woman of her word.


    "Use it well." She said while pinching my cheeks. "I expect great things from you." She added.


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    Alex was practicing her cello carefully in her room alone; she had even taken out her metronome as she was trying to carefully match her tempo to what Ed had prepared. Meanwhile Luke was jumping around only wearing his underpants on the trampoline in the backyard. Haley was hanging out with her friends, Tara and Abby in the second living room.


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang. But, none of the kids moved from their spot. ire came out of the closet she was cleaning and loudly asked, "Seriously!? None of you are gonna get in the door!?"


    Haley, the only one around that could hear her mother''sint, turned to ire with an innocent expression before saying, "I thought I heard you were going to get it."


    "When Haley? When!?" ire said tiredly before walking to the door.


    "We''re here!" Gloria said with a huge smile on her face as she announced her arrival there. Jay was smiling behind her, but as heid eyes on his daughter''s new hair, he frowned.


    "What did you do to your hair? He asked in a disgruntled manner.


    " I thought I''d try something different." ire said while rummaging her finger through her new auburn hair.


    "What, looking old?" Jay mocked. ire was angered and turned away from Jay before stampeding off like a teenage girl whose need for validation had just been denied by her father yet again.


    Gloria turned to Jay and hit him in the chest before saying angrily, "Why did you say that?"


    "What? Am I wrong about it?"


    "You''re not wrong, but that''s not what you say to your daughter." Gloria said helplessly before running to get ire. Alex walked downstairs at that time and greeted her grandpa casually, "Hi Grandpa."


    "Hey Alex. I can''t wait for this Saturday." Jay said before he pulled Alex to his embrace.


    [Jay''smentary]


    "To be honest, the thought of going to a nightime, open field concert, was tiring me already. I really don''t want to go, but Gloria is forcing me to and I know I have no chance to get away from it." Jay confessed.


    He then proceeded to add with a reluctant expression and an almost frozen smile, saying his sentence in quotation marks, "After all, they are family."


    mentary ends]


    At the living room, Abby continued to pester Haley.


    "Come on. Let''s go shopping. I need to buy my prom dress." Abby said.


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "It''s impossible to buy a prom dress, just 2 days before prom! You need at least a week to do it!"


    "That''s why I''m bringing you with me! You''re the fashion designer! I''m sure we can do it! Otherwise, I will have to borrow one of my mom''s old dresses." Abby begged in a yful manner.


    Haley''s mouth twitched, but she continued to pretend to be disinterested. Not that she didn''t want to go shopping, but the purpose of the venture made her a bit reluctant to get up from the couch.


    "She can''t do that, Haley. If she did, then the boob cut would be saggy." Tara added while Abby nodded in agreement.


    Failing to calm ire down, Gloria walked to the girls sitting on the couch. "Haley!"


    "Heyyy Gloriaaa~ What brings you over?!" Haley stood up and walked to Gloria hurriedly before giving her step-grandmother a hug.


    Tara narrowed her eyes at Haley, but decided not to expose her exaggerated reaction when seeing her rtives. It wasn''t as if they hadn''t met for a long time when they had actually just metst Tuesday.


    "I came for Luke. He said he''s going to y with Manny again today." Gloria said. ire heard it from the kitchen, and hurriedly walked to the back door before shouting, "Luke! Gloria and Grandpa are here! Put on your clothes!"


    "I haven''t finished ying!" Luke shouted back. "Ask them to bring Manny here!"


    "Manny is having swimming lessons! Come on, don''t make Grandpa wait." ire replied before muttering in anger as she folded the kitchen towel, "I don''t want him to stay here longer."


    Jay walked into the kitchen at that time, and smiled as he faced his angry daughter. "Sooo...what brought this on? Did Phil say he liked red-heads?"


    "I wouldn''t dye my hair just for Phil dad! You know me!"


    Gloria saw that Jay was trying tofort ire so she didn''t disturb them and joined in the girls conversation. She asked, "I heard you guys saying something about shopping?"


    "Yeah. For Abby''s prom dress." Tara replied as she stood up too. "Want toe with us?"


    "AYY YESS! I want to go shopping too!" Gloria said excitedly. "I don''t have any daughters, but I had been longing to go shopping with one. I''ll help you pick out the best dresses for your prom."


    Tara and Abby were excited and they followed Gloria from behind while Haley stood there, frozen. She finally snapped out of it and asked concernedly as she followed along, "Dresses? Gloria, did you mean dress? Gloria~ Hey~~~"


    ...


    Standing in front of the house, Phil, who was wearing a suit, was reluctant to go inside as he got home from work.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "Okay so here''s the thing. I was...scared of ire''s new look, but afterst night...I changed my mind." He said with a happy smile on his face. As ire was d she had mended her rtionship with her daughters, she was in the mood for some ''fun'' with Phil.


    "But that was with the light dimmed out. Now, I don''t know if I can handle it yet. And I don''t want to break her heart by saying I don''t like it."


    mentary ends]


    As Phil walked to the kitchen, he widened his eyes as he saw ire, stabbing the chicken they were going to eat for dinner with an angry shout, "AHHHH!!!!"


    He quickly turned back to run, but ire noticed him. With a knife in her hand, as she asked menacingly, "Where are you going?"


    "To get to...safety... Honey, why are you so angry today? I thought the fight was already over?" Phil asked warily as he turned back towards ire, inching closer to her, but still mindfully keeping himself out of her arms reach.


    "It''s not the girls. It''s my dad. Can you believe he said I looked old when I dyed my hair?" ireined while touching her hair.


    Phil''s eyes lit up, and he said with a warm tone, "Honey, you know how your dad is. He''s afraid of...getting used to new things." He went to ire''s back and rubbed her shoulders to calm her down, while carefully removing the knife from her hand.


    ire suddenly turned back, and asked, "Tell me honestly, do you...like my new look?"


    "I do." Phil replied instantly, as if it was an autonomic reflex. ire smiled, but then Phil added, "I love every single part of you, so I may not see any ws. You''re perfect in my eyes. But if your dad says it,he may have a point."


    ire froze, and Phil immediately took the chance to run away.


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    "No, it''s not that she''s not beautiful with that hair color. I just don''t know how to feel when I''m around her. She''s making me scared, and aroused at the same time. I''m... ''Sca-roused''-"


    "Phil No." ire shut him down quickly.


    mentary ends]


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After I was done kissing the olddies collective asses, Pepper drove me to the Entertain building as I had some work to do there.


    "Can you help me get in touch with Coldy? I need to talk to them before the concert." I said to Harvey.


    "Coldy? What is that?" Harvey asked in confusion as she had never heard of the name before. In this universe, the Coldy band had never taken off globally, but they had been gaining reputations across Europe.


    However, I knew that it was only a matter of time before they became a worldwide sensation as Chris Martin did have a cameo in the Modern Family series. Besides, it only took me a few minutes of research to find out what they were missing in this timeline.


    "It''s a British band. I want to bring up a few things they might like. I also need you to get in contact with Sia... You know what... I''ll give you a list of the people I want to get in touch with."


    "But...We''re settling Taylor''s contract first right? Otherwise, we won''t ever hear the end of it if she isn''t the first artist to join thepany." Pepper said in a careful manner.


    I was taken aback, and I nodded in realization. "Damn, I almost shot myself in the foot. Okay, We''ll settle Taylor''s issue first before we reach out to the others but I still need to talk to Coldy, like immediately. I have their number, but it''d be incredibly awkward for me to contact them by myself."


    Harvey rubbed her throbbing forehead and said, "I don''t even want to know how you managed to get their contacts. But, I will officially get in touch with them. As you predicted, a lot of artists and big name producers want to join in the charity programs. Eminem has already donated 100,000 dors and pledged to double the amount soon, Dr Dre has already given 130,000, Rihanna however has decided to give 80,000 dors but she keeps asking to meet you, furthermore..."


    "So far, we have collected more than 2 million dors for the soup kitchen. Should we donate all, or keep one part for ourselves, there are some loopholes we could legally use after all running such a program does take quite the budget?" Harvey asked.


    "Donate it all. I will personally donate 20 grand per month for half a year, that should max out the charity tax exemptions for what I am personally iming for the IRS." I said in a casual manner. Harvey smiled in acknowledgement before she said, "Okay. I''ll let the ount manager know about it."


    "Last thing, I developed a new app called "Instagram". I willunch it at the uing Vegas tour during the first concert, so I need you to make both the user terms and conditions as well as the required documents for it to function as its own entity." I said with a sly smile on my face.


    Harvey sighed as she got a lot more work to do, and said, "I really need a team to help me out."


    "Hire anyone you want. ppy Bird is currently giving me 100 grand per day, so..."


    "Show off." Harvey scoffed before smiling at me and said, "Okay. I''ll officially hire Donna then."


    "Great. Can''t wait to meet her."


    "Talking about other artists, that reminds me. Ed, someone named Sean Kingston is trying to see if you''re open for coboration." Pepper interjected.


    "Ah? AHHH!! For what? Did he have a song for us to do or does he want to write something together?" I asked


    "Eenie-Minie... something something... miney moe?? I forgot. I will check my notester."

 Chapter 130: Temptation.

    <h4>Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Temptation.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    That Thursday, before I went to school, I opened myptop while waiting for Harvey to connect me with the person I was looking for. So, as the workaholic I was, I decided to check up on the reviews about my new app while I waited.


    The development of the Instagram app was quite easy. After all, I had won incredible coding skills that allowed me to easily set up and even improve the functions the original app had. After Ipleted it, I hand-picked a few hundred people from my fans club to be the beta testers for the social media tform. So far, the people gave me very positive reviews, but as the number of testers was still too small, the full experience of the tform couldn''t be achieved just yet.


    "I should include 6 second Vine videos in this too. Insta didn''t have video features in the beginning, and Facebook''s video yer was too slow to load. Vine became famous because people started posting creative videos and skits. I will aim to corner that market too." I said while biting on my sandwich, alone in the dining room as my aunt had to go to ''work'' today.


    As the development of smart-phones with touch screen technology hadn''t be widespread, I also developed the website version of the tform, mimicking what the developer in my previous life had done.


    "The impact will be low in the beginning. It wasn''t until 2012 that the original app started trending globally, thus, leading to a ''1-Billion-dors'' acquisition from Facebook."


    Although I guess I could move that timeline up if I start using it myself, especially if I can get other big name artists to open up ounts too. After all, people will certainly rush in if they think they will be able to ''follow'' their idols and see their updates so they can feel closer to their lives.


    "The hashtag search is also up, and I need to make sure that the cancer named ''influencers'' doesn''t take advantage of the appter on. Otherwise, it will lower the IQ of the entire younger generations in this country."


    "Ugh. I hate thinking about the long-term effects of something. It made me think about my highschool year-end essays." I muttered. If people could hear me, they woulde to the conclusion that I was delusional, as I was still in middle-school.


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang, interrupting my meal, so, left with no other choice, I reluctantly went to open the door, and found the neighboring pair of mother and daughter standing outside of my aunt''s house.


    "Good morning Abby, Desiree. Why are you guys here so early?" I asked.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be at school? Why are you still here?" Desiree asked in concern. "Are you skipping school? You''re not supposed to do that Ed."


    "He must be skipping. I will tattle to your dad!" Abby threatened yfully.


    "I have a conference call, so I will be going a bitte today. I have already informed all my teachers about it." I replied casually. "Come on in. Have you guys had breakfast yet? Also Abby, why aren''t YOU at school?"


    "Oh..Um..." Abby nced at Desiree, but before she could ask her to hide it, Desiree beamed up and said happily, "She has an interview with the NFA today. If she gets in, then she can enter the 10 week training program in the summer, and skip directly to Penn State College next year for the forensic program. Isn''t that great?"


    Abby was in disbelief, as she secretly turned to peek at my expression. However, I was perfectly keeping my poker face for the entire time even though there was a storm brewing inside my mind.


    "Oh. That is great." I eximed monotonously.


    Desiree realized what she had done, but she didn''t regret it. Compared to aplicated ''fling'', her daughter''s future was more important.


    "Our kitchen pipes are broken, so I had to close off the water source. Can we trouble you for a bit Ed? Abby needs to take a shower-" Desiree finally told me the reason why they hade knocking at the door so early.


    "MOM!" Abby eximed in embarrassment. Then, she turned to me and said, "I don''t smell. I don''t need a shower. Come, smell me!"


    My expression sank, and I flicked her forehead with my finger. "Go take a shower. I need to get on the call. I don''t want the interviewer to faint from your smell."


    "EDDDD!!!" She tried to put a headlock on me. Desireeughed seeing our antics and said, "I''ll fix you guys some breakfast."


    "Oh I''ve already eaten. Just make some for Abby." I replied while still fighting off the angry girl.


    "Ugh!" Abby gave up and stampeded away, but before she entered the bathroom, she called me whisperingly, "Ed."


    "What?" I said, turning towards the hallways where she was standing. Desiree was already inside the kitchen, and their distance was almost the same but we were separated by a wall from where I was sitting. I drank some water to cleanse my mouth as I looked at her.


    Abby didn''t say anything and gave me a mischievous smirk. Then, she pushed her skirt down, leaving her only with her ckced panties and a tank top.


    I spat out my drink, making Desiree turn towards me. "Are you alright Ed?" She asked.


    With a strained voice, I answered, "I''m already. The water just got in the wrong pipe." I hit my chest a few times to recover, my eyes were still stuck at where Abby was standing as she took off her tank top, revealing her ck bra.


    She put her finger on her lips as she posed seductively. Suddenly, theptop rang and I was finally connected with London. However, I was glued to the sight of Abby taking off her panties, but crossing her legs at the same time, preventing me from fully enjoying the sight.


    "Ed, aren''t you answering the call?" Desiree asked, distracting me.


    "Oh...right...the call..." I said, but still letting theptop ring. Lastly, Abby turned and took off her bra with her back against me, giving me an inviting nce before entering the bathroom door and throwing away her bra outside the room.


    "Damn..." I eximed as I pulled my pants crotch down to make ''it'' morefortable. I know for sure if Desiree wasn''t around, I wouldn''t be able to control myself and would enter the bathroom with Abby, making me miss the important video call.


    "Ed?" Desiree asked again, confused as the ringing sound reverberated throughout the kitchen.


    "Right... OH Right!" I said and pressed the spacebar quickly and the one and only Chris Martin, the lead singer of the Coldy band appeared on the screen.


    ...


    [Abby POV]


    Standing behind the closed door, I started to freak out. Sweats beads out of my forehead as I cupped my face.


    "Wh-Wh-Why the hell did I do that?! Urghhh!!!"


    Although my brain was telling me it was wrong, my body was so turned on by it that I actually wished for Ed to be brave enough and enter the shower with me.


    "NO ABBY NO!!!" I admonished myself as I gave my cheeks some ps. "Wake up! Don''t fall to your exhibitionist tendencies again! You''re better than this!"


    -shback, Mall-


    As I went shopping with Haley''s step-grandmother, who forbade us to call her by that name, she happily told us a few tips to get boys.


    "See, that''s where you went wrong! You should be there for him, but not all the time. You should...let hime to you too. Otherwise, he''ll consider you... as a... aaahhh... how do you say?? Ahhhyy, solo amigos... Just a friend! ." Gloria said in a disappointed tone after Haley told her about a boy she was crushing on. It was Ed of course, but Haley didn''t want Gloria to know that.


    "So, he''ll put them in the friendzone? But I don''t think he did that. His gaze changed when he saw them. Even when he''s tired, his eyes brighten up quickly." Tara said while holding her chin.


    Both Haley and I blushed, and I asked her whisperingly, "Which one of us made him cheer up more?"


    "I''m not going to fall in that trap. My point is, he clearly has feelings, so why isn''t he making a move?" Tara asked Gloria.


    Thinking what she was talking about was rhetorical, Gloria wantonly said, "Ayy They''re boys. Not men. Boys don''t know much about how to face their feelings. If you really want him, then YOU should be the one to make a move!"


    Haley thought for a while before asking, "Then Gloria, have you ever been put in a friendzone?"


    Gloria haughtily said, "No. All men who see me want me to be more than my friends." Her smirk made us feel helpless, and when Gloria''s chest jiggled as she moved, we knew she wasn''t lying.


    "How about this? This one looks good, and doesn''t make you look like a street prostitute like the one you''re wearing now." Gloria said to me, making me freeze in my spot.


    Tara chuckled and said, "True. But, he likes her that way."


    "Ayy, he likes a prostitute!?" Gloria asked in shock and disbelief.


    "Yes!" Tara replied mockingly.


    "TARAAA!!!" I shouted angrily before I chased her around.


    Gloria also brought us some food as we continued shopping. Putting the Victoria Secret bags on the floor next to her, Gloria continued giving her tips. "You see, You cannot give men the thing they he want so easily. You need to make him desperate. Crazy."


    "Even if you like him more than he likes you, he doesn''t need to know that. He needs to feel like you''re a prize he HAS to fight for." Gloria added while holding her new brassiere. "You can, give him some glimpse...Tease him...But not go all the way."


    "And when he is almost losing his mind, then and only then..." Gloria finally realized that in front of her, was her step-grandchild, and froze.


    "Then...what?" Haley asked curiously as she took serious notes about the tips Gloria was talking about today. "Oh no. ire is going to kill me." Gloria muttered fearfully.


    -shback ends-


    "Hmm...First stepplete...I need to make him crazy enough before prom.." I muttered.


    Then, I quickly took a cold shower to clear my head. But while I was showering, I finally realized a huge w in my actions today.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "That idiot. All of her clothes are outside the door." I muttered as I had the same realization as Abby who was still showering in the bathroom.


    Abby took a while in the shower, but luckily for her, Desiree was looking at the garden in the backyard.


    "Chris. Give me a sec." I said to the person I was chatting with.


    "Okay. I''m looking forward to hearing about that "Yellow" song. Come back soon." Chris said yfully. As I talked to him, I managed to pry his ideas about some songs, and confirmed that the song I wanted wasn''t produced by him yet.


    I walked to the bathroom door and put a towel down, along with the change of clothes she forgot to bring in. I also took her old clothes before opening the unlocked door and kicking all of that stuff in.


    "Mom?" Abby asked fearfully.


    "No it''s me, you horny idiot. Although I enjoyed the show, next time do it when your mom isn''t around."


    "T-Th-There won''t be a next time!" Abby said anxiously before pushing the door close and locking it. Iughed and returned to theptop where I continued talking with Chris.


    Harvey found out that they were not under any agency, and they were independent artists going on tours across Europe.


    "So Chris, can you take some time to consider my offer? I would really love you guys joining me in my agency."


    Chris was a bit distressed and he asked, "Why are you inviting me? I mean, our band...Although I''m confident in it, we haven''t really gotten big in almost a decade."


    "You guys just don''t have the proper way of showing yourself to the world. But I have. And like you, I''m also confident that you guys can make it big, but not bigger than me though." I added with a small smirk.


    He chuckled at the joke/statement before I added with a serious tone, "Chris, go talk to the guys. The decision is in your hands. Do you want to keep going on small tours, or do you want your music to be spread worldwide. Come join me, I can make it happen. We...can make it happen."


    He fell into a silence, then, he finally sighed and said, "You know, I will be joking if I said I don''t want to join you. Especially when you cane out with a song, just for us, in our style...in just a few minutes of us talking. So you know what? I still have to run it by the guys but I''m in!"


    "Great! Do let me know as soon as you have their definitive answer and I will send a private ne to pick you guys up and bring you over to the states. Also a quick side note, when you speak about my invitation, make sure to say that I invited you as the first ''MALE'' and THIRD artist to sign with the agency."


    "What''s with the necessary distinction?" Chris asked, confused.


    "Let''s just say that if I don''t do that, an angry princess will initiate a blood feud with me or maybe even with you guys, and I have no confidence that I could survive that."


    "Blood feud? Princess? Ahhh Tay-"


    "Shhh! She might be listening in on the conversation. You never know." I joked. Chris was stunned, and then he guffawed out loud. We talked about a few things after that, and his initial reservations about talking with mepletely disappeared as we talked about music.


    Chris told me that he had booked a few gigs in London, and was reluctant to fly over immediately as the people who bought his band''s tickets were his loyal fans. Therefore, we would push the signing to a few weekster, during my summer vacation.


    "Okay, I still need to get to school, so I will talk to youter?" I asked. He smiled and said, "Sure, but make sure it isn''t 2 o''clock in the morning still yah?" It was 10 in the morning for me, and it''s currently 3 in the morning for him.


    Iughed and said, "You''re still young right? A few sleepless nights mean nothing to you."


    "Bollocks. I''m almost 30. I can''t even drink beer like I used to." Chris said with a smile.


    ...


    When Abby came out of the door in a formal dress with a zer on, Iughed out loud at her state, which earned me a second round of her ire. But Desiree quickly pulled her away to get to the interview on time.


    After a long time, I went to school with my bike instead of being driven off by other people.


    "Ah, the wind feels great." I muttered as I cycled through the neighborhood''s streets. However as I entered the main street, the hot breeze quickly made me sweat.


    "Hmm...Summer ising." I looked at the blue sky and the sparse clouds. I arrived at the school as usual, and parked my bike at the same spot I usually did. When I walked to the music ssroom, I froze as I saw the sight in front of me.


    "You know, there is a myth. When you skip school, then you''re going to miss out on the craziest school day that ever happened. The principal fought a goat. A celebrity came to school...Etcetera... I really thought it was made up before. But now, I fully believe it."


    Fluffy pillows, air mattresses, girls in pajamas, and most importantly, a nket fort fully erected inside the music ssroom. Alex smiled and said, "Luckily for you, you only skipped for half a day, so you didn''t fully miss it."


    "Whose idea was it?" I asked with a surprised smile as I entered the room and saw Jacob in a ck pajama,ying on the mattress while Elsa in a red pajama answered, "Well...We needed to do it because of Abraham. He was still feeling betrayed because we sold him out... so I asked him what he wanted, and he wanted this."


    "And where is he?" I asked. "Here Ed!" Enid gave me a change of clothes after running towards me. Like a camping tent, the fort was open at the side, so I could see what everyone was doing.


    "He caught a cold, and had to stay home. It''s a slight cold, but his mother won''t let hime so he doesn''t infect us. We need to be healthy for the concert after all." Finneas said, being fully integrated into the group. He wasying together with Billie, reading some manga I had in my cello case.


    Iughed at Abraham''s misfortune and joined my friends in the nket fort.


    "What will you guys do if the teacheres?" I asked as I sat beside Enid and Alex.


    "We''re not dumb." Alex said and pulled a string hanging nearby her. Then, a red curtain fell down, enclosing the fort. "Ahh, the theater curtain." I muttered in realization.


    Enid nodded proudly as she exined, wanting to take credit for her idea, "When the teacheres, she''ll see it as no more than a backstage curtain, lose interest, and go away!"


    "I don''t think it''ll work exactly like that, but don''t give up hope, yeah?" I muttered while rubbing her head, making her pout in dissatisfaction.


    Alex snorted as she had the same thoughts as me. The lunch bell rang shortly after, but none of us got out of the fort as Jacob put on the movie, [White Chicks] that he had brought from home.


    "Hmm...My bandmates, our time hase..." I said as I looked at the clock hanging on the wall.


    "Urghh/Ahhh." Groans andints were flying around as Alex and Finneas didn''t want to get out of the fort, while Billie was already up and ready for the practice.


    "I''ll go to the toilet first. You guys can stay inside the fort until I get back." Iughed and walked outside the door, wearing a sweater to cover up my pajamas. I only changed my shirt when I wore it, so I was still wearing my khaki pants.


    It took me only a few minutes to get back. Before I could call my friends out of the fort, suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Jacob quickly turned off the movie, and all of them went silent as I opened it.


    Suddenly, a rough hand pushed me on the chest as a few highschoolers in football jackets barged into the room.


    "Roy." I muttered.


    "Little Bitch." Roy muttered as he looked at me angrily as I couldn''t see he still had a clear roon scratch on his neck. He cracked his fist as he said, "I have a score to settle with you."


    "I don''t think I''d ever talk to you before." I titled my head in confusion as I cheekily confronted him. The vein on his forehead throbbed as his face flushed red.


    His two friends started to encircle me as he started his viin monologue. "You see, you took something of mine. And I want it back..."

 Chapter 131: I have a can…of whoopass, and I’m not afraid to use it.

    <h4>Chapter 131: Chapter 131: I have a can...of whoopass, and I��m not afraid to use it.</h4>


    [General POV]


    As soon as the visitors came, Edward''s group of friends saw them through the gaps of the curtain drop. Enid was the first one who saw it, and she took out her phone to film the situation intuitively knowing Ed might need proof if anything was to happen.


    "Who the hell are those guys?" Jacob muttered in irritation before standing up on the air mattress, causing the others to sway from his big motions.


    "Hey, Ed is asking us to wait." Elsa grabbed Jacob''s arm to calm him down and restrain him as she noticed Ed''s signal.


    Jenna held her left arm and started to shiver quietly as the situation reminded her of some bad memories. Alex noticed it and hugged her to calm her down.


    "It''s okay. He''s here. No one can hurt you." Alex muttered subconsciously as she watched the scene with a fiery glint in her eyes.


    [Edward POV]


    Being surrounded by the three boys, I had no fear. In fact, I was quite curious as to why they were targeting me. I put my hands on my back, and gestured to the direction of the pillow fort.


    ''Don''te out.'' I whispered in my heart. ''Hopefully, they will get the hint.''


    Seeing my casual demeanour, it intensified the burning anger inside Roy''s heart. The 6 foot 2'' muscr football yer gritted his teeth and swung his fist at me. I avoided it by quickly stepping back while taking a few careful steps back casually keeping a good kickboxing stance at the same time.


    Iughed at him and asked in a yful manner, "So that''s it? No words, no exnations, nothing? I should at least know why you want to kick my ass, right? You said I have stolen something from you?"


    "ABBY WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO PROM...WITH ME!!!" Roy exploded, trying to punch me again. But as he stepped forward, I grabbed his arm and used a judo throw on him, mming him on the floor.


    "Argh!" He eximed in pain before gritting his teeth and using his legs to chase me away. His two friends were hesitating at first, but they ran up to me to help the downed idiot. I let them, and they each held me by the arms as Roy stood back up while wiping his nose.


    "Why are you sweating like a pig? Are you on drugs or something Roy?" I asked yfully again. He held my chin and said, "Shut up, or I''ll rip out your mouth!"


    "That''s concerning, after all, I need my mouth to sing." I said casually. Roy was having none of it, and before he could swing his fist, I asked, "So, now that I''m all locked up, mind telling me now why are you here? Are you in love with Abby so much that you decided tomit an irredeemable crime here?"


    My sentence swayed both of Roy''s followers, but the main culprit seemed to be out of his mind. Roy cackled and said, "Love? No. I despise her."


    I widened my eyes a bit before returning to my rxed expression. Roy continued, "I had all of it nned out. I just need to bring her to prom to enact my revenge. But you ruined everything!"


    "Revenge ns?"


    Feeling as if nothing could go wrong as he was in the superior position, Royughed and said, "Simple. Slip something in her drink-"


    "Roofie her? You have a roofie Roy?" I asked in a friendly manner.


    Roy didn''t realize it and answered in confusion, "Yes. I bought it. Let me continue. And then Bring her to a dirty motel. Take a few naked pictures of her to show to the school. And then, maybe invite a few of my friends to-"


    Before he could finish, I had already broken free of his friend''s grasp and punched him directly in the nose. My expression was filled with anger and I was staring at Roy with a murderous gaze.


    "ARGHH!" Roy yelled out with blood flowing to his lips. He cupped his nose in agony and took a step back before Jacob ran out of the pillow fort.


    "YOU DIRTY MOTHERFUCKERS!" Jacob screamed as he ran out of the nket fort and tackled Roy directly into the instrument rack, making a huge racket as the trombone and the cymbal scattered on the floor.


    One of Roy''s friends, Bill, shouted, "Damn it!" and then took out a small flip knife from his pocket. I saw that the girls wereing out of the fort, so I yelled, "Don''te out."


    "What-" Bill was distracted and he turned to the fort direction, so I took the chance to grab his arm and twist it. He screamed in pain and dropped the knife as I brought his arm far and violently enough to dislocate the shoulder.


    Then, I turned to the other panicked boy on the side who realized that he was in a pernicious situation, so he turned and ran out of the door quickly, betraying his other friends and leaving them at my mercy in the room.


    Before I couldugh, I saw that Roy was holding Alex''s cello like a baseball bat, and wanted to swing it at Jacob. I kicked Bill''s butt, making him fall to the ground, and pulled Jacob a few steps back as Roy swung the cello, saving him from a dangerous situation.


    Once he missed, the cello mmed to the walls, breaking it into two halves. My anger deepened and I said to Jacob, "Go take care of the other one."


    Jacob didn''t reply and he turned towards Bill in a hurry. I walked slowly towards Roy, and as he swung his fist at me, I countered it with a straight punch that caught him right in the face. Once, twice, three times, until he could just barely remain standing.


    "You know, when I fight, I usually n on how to put the opponent down quickly." I muttered.


    The army training in my previous life had been ingrained deep into my soul that I would find the quickest and most practical way for me to immobilize my enemy instead of prolonging a fight.


    "But now, I don''t want to do that. I''m going to hurt you Roy. And I''m going to enjoy every second of it." I muttered before punching him again, making him fall with his back against the wall.


    My right hand knuckle was bloody from the counterforce, but I ignored it as I grabbed Roy by his hair, forcing him to look at me before I punched his face again. One of his teeth became loose, and it fell out of his mouth.


    I wasn''t satisfied, and I wanted to hurt him more. But before I could attack him again, someone grabbed my wrist, preventing me from doing so.


    "Enough Edward." A cold, feminine voice ordered. I turned and saw Mrs Henderson looking at me with a disappointed expression. She shook her head slightly, asking me not to continue, and it was enough to snap me back to reality immediately.


    ...


    The cops came, and the two boys were detained while the teachers were calling their parents. I also submitted the video evidence to Harvey, and not let the cops touch it before she could handle the matter lest they conveniently eliminate the evidence.


    With my fat bank ount, it''d be impossible for me to trust the police 100% as I could be targeted by them too for some easy cash grab or even worse end up being used as political capital on some asshole Democrat''s campaign.


    Harvey immediately delivered on her end as she contacted a prosecutor she knew back from her Harvard days, and while Roy was transferred to the emergency ward, the cops had to check his urine content. It showed that he was high on methamphetamine, so it helped my case to avoid getting sued with ''excessive self-defense'' ims.


    Harvey said, "It''s better to pull this whole matter under. If people find out about this, it''s not you or even Roy who will be getting the worst of it. I mean don''t get me wrong your fans will tear him apart for sure but...-"


    "I know. They''ll attack Abby too. I''m clear on that front. People are stupid, even more so when they are obsessed with celebrities, they''ll at the very least find a way to me her for putting me in that position in the first ce. You can handle the aftermath. I need to sit down and clear my mind."


    Harvey nodded before she yfully said, "You do realize that if anyone else finds out you said that, your celebrity career is basically over."


    "It''s fine. I have you. Plus knowing the type most would just drool over me even more as they would see me as the ''bad boy/asshole'' type... This generation is screwed up." I replied.


    As Harvey left after school finally ended. However, I couldn''t go home when the bell rang, not just yet.


    "Although you''re indeed holding the moral high ground, it still doesn''t change the fact that you were fighting on school grounds." Mrs Henderson said with a cold voice before putting me in the detention room.


    "Wait here. I''ve already called your dad. You can go home with him when hees to pick you up." She said before leaving the ssroom, effectively leaving me all by my lonesome.


    "Damn it." I cursed out loud as I was trying to ease up my frustrations. I was actually the only one left as the rest of my friends were luckier and thus their parents had alreadye to pick them up and tofort them after a traumatizing experience.


    Even Jenna''s mother came quickly, abandoning her interview in the process, which made me feel proud of her growth. Who would have thought my p could change someone''s life. I should p people more often.


    (I''m delirious when I wrote this. Forgive me)


    "Urghughuuuuurrrhhhhghhhhh..." I groaned loudly as I watched the ticking clock slowly go by, but my father still hadn''t arrived. It had been 15 minutes since I was thrown in the school jail, and I was already bored out of my mind. My phone was confiscated by the teacher, so I had nothing to do here.


    Suddenly, the door opened, causing me to brighten up, but I got sullen again when I saw only Mrs Henderson entering the ssroom. She didn''t say anything and put the first aid kit on the table before pulling a chair up right beside me.


    "Hand." She ordered.


    I gave her my hand, and she put antiseptics on my cracked knuckle, which made me wince in pain. "Not so tough now huh." She dabbed the cotton ball doused with antiseptic ruthlessly on my hand.


    "Oww Oww Oww. That hurts!" I squirmed all over, but she wasn''t letting go of my hand.


    "Be still! Or else I''ll have to do this, all over again." She threatened. If she wasn''t wearing a poker face, I would say that she was enjoying this.


    After the torture, she finally put on a bandage on my knuckle while saying, "I understand that you''re angry."


    I was taken aback at first before I let out a long sigh and said, "I know I shouldn''t have done that."


    "Well, regret is a bitter medicine. But I guess you weren''t regretting much, right?"


    I nodded and said, "Yes. I only regretted not handling the matter better, not kicking that bitc-"


    The teacher red at me, causing me to change my wording immediately. "Not kicking that guy''s behind."


    "And knocking out his teeth?" She asked with an angry expression.


    "Yeah..." I trailed off as I took my hand back from the teacher. She then let out a sigh and said, "Next time this kind of thing happens, ask someone to call me immediately."


    "You''re going to beat them up for us?" I joked. She suddenly put her hand on top of my head, making me shudder in fear. But then, she did the unexpected thing and started ruffling my hair, "Yes. I couldn''t let them hurt my good student after all."


    Even though I was feeling warm inside, I raised my eyebrow as I said, "Just a ''good'' student?"


    "A good student, and a good boy."


    "I''m not a boy."


    "You''re a good boy."


    "I''m not!" I brushed her hand away, and saw her smirking as she put her hand down. Annoyed, I crossed my arms and said, "When''s my dading?"


    "He''s almost here. In the meantime, don''t break any more rules. I''d hate to have to give you detention again on thest day of school."


    "When did I break the rules?" I asked with a shrug.


    She paused before saying, "Building a pillow fort, sneaking contraband in the cello case, not wearing an appropriate school outfit (pajamas)..." She saw that I was surprised, and she decided to tease me, "But I''m not afraid that you will do these things again. After all, you''re a good boy."


    "..." I was bbergasted, and my annoyance made me swear internally, ''Oh. I''ll show you a ''good boy'' alright.''


    Maybe it was because of my ego, or my puberty hormones making me unable to ept what she thought of me, so I decided to go out big on thest day of school. I couldn''t continue correcting her as my dad had finally arrived at the school and entered the ssroom.


    He was wearing his ship captain''s uniform and hat as he had toe over immediately after finishing a cruise trip.


    "Dad-"


    "We''ll talk in the car, Ed. Mrs Henderson I''m sorry my son has troubled you." My dad automatically apologized to the teacher, and had a private talk with her for a while before she could release me.


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Honey, we''re here! Alex is fine!" ire said as she entered the house.


    Phil yelled back, "Is Ted back yet? I''m worried that Ed will be abandoned if he''ste."


    "He''s rushing there as fast as he can." ire replied back.


    As Alex returned, Phil hurriedly asked, "What happened, what happened? Tell me everything! How did you get into a fight?!"


    "Uhh...why are you so excited?" Alex asked warily as she put her cello case down.


    "Dad just watched Fight Club." Luke tattled.


    "No I didn''t!" Phil pushed Luke away under ire''s menacing stare, and turned to Alex again to get the answer.


    "Well....Ed told us not to say anything, so that is what I''ll do." Alex said teasingly before opening her cello case, "Also, I need a new cello. I can''t wait for thewsuit to get a new one. I need to y it in the concert this Saturday!"


    "..." Both parents were speechless by Alex''s focus. ire didn''t want the matter to be brushed off so she asked, "Why did the fight happen? Your teacher told me a few things, but I also need to hear it from you."


    "Oh, just some boys being idiots. Are you going to buy me a new cello or not?"


    Phil interjected, "Sweetheart, we can go buy a new one after this, but we need to know what happened�C the full story."


    "Sorry, but I can''t tell you." Alex said. "Why?" ire asked with narrowed eyes.


    "Because I promised Ed. Besides, this isn''t the first time he got into a fight-" Alex realized that she had said the wrong thing when she saw the look of confusion in her parent''s face.


    "Anyway-"


    "No. Not anyway. Tell me! Did Ed fight around a lot?! Should I be concerned?" ire freaked out and held Alex by her shoulder, preventing her from walking away.


    "Ummm...."


    While Alex was being interrogated, Jacob also had to face some questions from his dad about the matter.


    "Did you fight?" His dad, Mr Green asked casually while Jacob sat next to him in the car.


    "Yes." Jacob replied curtly.


    "Did you win?"


    "Yes."


    "Good."


    And that was all they talked about for the matter. Jenna, Elsa, Finneas and Billie, all of them were interrogated by their parents, but they didn''t break their promise and just answered simply about the fight.


    "I''m sorry Billie. That must have been horrifying for you." Billie''s mother said to her while they were in the car, and the pair of siblings were sitting on the backseat.


    "Hey. You okay?" Finneas asked as Billie had been silent since the fight happened.


    "Finneas." Billie muttered.


    "What?"


    "I think...I''m in love."


    "..." Finneas widened his eyes in horror and they both kept their silence before getting home to talk about the matter where their parents could not overhear.


    [Edward POV]


    My dad was silent while we were on the road home. "So...anything you want to ask about?" I muttered.


    He was still silent, so I said, "Alright then-"


    "How could you get into a fight Ed?! I didn''t teach you to get into a fight!" He said angrily.


    I scoffed at him and said sarcastically, "Are you sure you want to yell first? Shouldn''t you be clear about what happened first before you decide? Or do you want to be like Grandpa?"


    My dad was taken aback, and he went silent for a while to calm himself down. After taking a deep breath, he asked calmly, "So, what happened?"


    I told him about the entire fight, and the Abby factor in that. He nodded and said, "Still, you hurt him, quite badly Ed."


    "Don''t worry. Harvey will handle the matter."


    "That''s not the point."


    "Dad. I''m tired. Can we talk about thister." I interjected as I really don''t want to get into an argument with him right now. He sighed and said, "Alright, we''ll talk after dinner. Here, I couldn''t find any ice, so you have to use this." He said as he handed me a bag of frozen peas he had bought from a store nearby "Put it on your knuckles. It''ll help with the pain."


    "It doesn''t hurt that much." I replied.


    "Just do it. Why are you being so stubborn? Is it my gics? Or are you just being rebellious?" I rolled my eyes at him before looking outside the window as we drove home.


    We had dinner with Aunt Camter on, but we didn''t revisit the topic as my aunt was so angry, she wanted to go to Roy''s house with a machete. We had to spend the entire night cating her.


    ...


    "Ahh I''m tired." I groaned as Iid on the giant bed, wanting to get some rest before I had to open up myptop to do some work. But before I could, I heard some knocking on my bedroom window.


    I sat up reluctantly and went to the window with the intention of telling Abby that I needed some alone time, but I widened my eyes as I opened the curtain.


    "What the- Abby, stop!" I yelled immediately as I saw her connecting our windows together with a piece of wood, and was bncing herself on top of said wood to sneak into my room.


    "Shh! Don''t yell or my mom will notice!" Abby put her finger on her lips to gesture to me to be silent. Then, her body swayed from the wind, and she almost fell off the beam. I held my breath as I saw it happen but luckily she managed to bnce herself on it again and showed a huge grin as she did it.


    "You''re fucking crazy!" I cursed as I opened the window quickly and reached out my arm to help her cross the path.

 Chapter 132: First.

    <h4>Chapter 132: Chapter 132: First.?</h4>


    (Sorry I missed the upload time yesterday cause I was a bit sick.)


    [Edward POV]


    "Safe~!" Abbynded on my room in a cheer after doing such a dangerous stunt, which annoyed me so much. Add on to the fact that she was only wearing a baggy ck sweater, and that made it even worse. She wasn''t even wearing shoes as she walked on the piece of wood. She was incredibly lucky she didn''t get any splinters.


    "So Ed, I hear you fought against 3 men today, kung fu style!" She said with a mischievous grin while doing a few karate moves.


    "Make it 3 men and 1 goth girl." I said before hitting her right in the temple with my healthy knuckle.


    "OUCH!" Abby was startled and she rubbed her painful head with teary eyes immediately. She red at me and shrieked angrily, "What was that for!"


    "For BEING STUPID! You could''ve died!" I said angrily while meeting her eyes. She widened her eyes in realization, and blushed a bit before saying, "I...I wouldn''t die from that. It''s less than 3 meters tall. At most, my legs would- "


    Before she could finish, I hit her again. Usually, I keep my hands away when handling a woman, but she really annoyed me today.


    "Are you going to do that again or not?" I asked menacingly.


    "NO!!" Abby replied quickly while giving me a dirty look.


    While she was squirming in pain, I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "How did your interview go?" I asked in a casual manner. ring daggers at me, Abby jumped on my body and pushed me on the bed before sitting on top of me.


    "My interview went fine~ I''m a genius after all~"


    "A genius that just moments ago wanted to jump to her early death." I snided, not caring about her position. She suddenly got her face closer to mine, her ck hair falling to my cheek.


    She gazed at me with a mischievous look before asking, "Are you really not going to tell me about the fight? I like bad boys. If you tell me, I might even swoon and start to take everything off right now~"


    "As much as I would love that, I need to do some work." I said before forcefully flipping our position. She was taken aback, and her eyes showed disappointment as I walked away to myptop.


    Theptop was on top of a medical ward type of desk as the room has no space for a normal desk.


    ?


    Abbyughed a bit and said, "It''s bad for your back if you do it like that."


    "Then, be my back support." I replied. She smiled and then sat with her back against mine as I did my work.


    "What''chu doing?" She asked.


    "I''m searching for a projector, and a few ropes." I replied. "But I don''t think I have time to buy a new one, so I have to borrow the projector from Phil."


    "Hmm? You want to borrow it to watch a movie?" Abby asked, raising one of her eyebrows. "With who?"


    "It''s for school tomorrow." I replied casually while doing maintenance on my websites. Abby was bored and she turned to look at theptop, at the same time pressing her breast on my back to still provide me with some support.


    "This new cushion feels great." I joked. "Soft, ample back support with a slight irritation on the skin from the rough surface. Rmended to remove the cover before sitting. 4 stars."


    She gave me a stink eye and said, "HOW DARE YOU! Change the review to 5 stars right now!" She tried to tickle me, but as she kept distracting me from my work, I turned and looked at her with a solemn expression.


    Startled, Abby asked while stammering, "W-what?"


    5 minutester, she was waving the white g on the bedroom, breathing heavily with a flushing face as I tickled her all over. I was sure that my aunt could hear herughing, but she decided to ignore it�C which I was thankful for.


    After a while, Abby hugged me from behind again and stuck her body closer to mine before asking, "What''cha doing now?"


    "I''m currently making sure no terrorist organization has stepped foot on my forum." I replied. I had already written a few algorithms to analyze the conversations in the forums, so it wasn''t that much work.


    "Sound''s serious." She muttered with her hands feeling up my abs.


    "Do you want to listen to some music?" I asked as I knew for sure she was bored.


    "You can put on anything." Abby replied. "Alright then." Then, I opened Youtube and put on the music video for ''Stacy''s mom."


    "Abby''s mom, has got it going on~" I sang along with the video, causing Abby to narrow her eyes at me. "What?" She asked menacingly. But I continued singing along to the song, "Abby''s mom, has got it going on~ Abby can''t you see, your mom is the girl for me-"


    Before I could finish, she attacked me by biting my shoulder.


    "OW..Alright alright." Iughed out loud after teasing the girl. She pouted and pushed me away before standing up beside me to fix her sweater as it was riding upwards, revealing her ckced panties.


    "Nah, it''s fine. By the way, have you bought the dress yet? Can I take a look at it?" I asked to change the subject.


    She was startled and then stammered, "N-N-NO! It''s bad-bad luck for the...date...to see the...prom dress...before the we-, before prom!"


    I gave her a weird look before sighing and said, "At least tell me the color theme. Then, maybe I can find something simr."


    "ck of course!" She replied decisively.


    "I kinda suspected that. Wait- I should bring you a corsage right?" I asked.


    "What''s that?" She was confused. Then, I googled the image for a corsage and showed it to her. She was still confused and asked, "Is it important?"


    "I don''t know. This is the first prom for me too, you know."


    Her lips curled upward and she muttered, hiding her excitement, "Hmm... So I managed to be your first in something. Lucky for me~"


    I turned to her with a soft smile on my face before I rified, "First Kiss, First Date, First time smoking weed, First time I went down on someone, First time someone went down on me, First tit job-"


    She cupped my mouth with a blushing face immediately, "Okay! Okay! I get it! I get it!" Then, she held my face and kissed me softly on the lips. We locked eyes for a while, and our face was inching closer and closer.


    "Yo-You should get back to work." Abby said after moving her blushing face away. "Y-Yeah. I should." I muttered before turning my attention to theptop again. Abby stared at my bandaged hand while I was working, and her hands shivered slightly before she hugged me from the back as tight as she could.


    "Can I hear a song from your album?" She asked suddenly.


    "Sure. Which one?" I replied in a casual manner as I have all the copies of my songs in theptop.


    "The one you sang for me before."


    "Got it." I muttered before ying the song that I sang just for her before, titled ''Just the way you are''.


    ...


    [General POV- shback]


    "You''re so cool. Like an alpha wolf! When Jacob moved to protect the wolf pack leader was awesome too. They all be like, Hiya! HIYAA!! And then you were like, PUNCH PUNCH! And Roy be like, Wham! His body hits the floor. Look, I even got his teeth. I will make a ne from this tomemorate this day forever."


    Enid muttered to Ed''s poster on the wall excitedly as she arrived home and was lying down on her bed. Her bedsheet was a huge picture of a Siberian wolf, and she got a lot of stuffed wolf toys all over the bed.


    *BAAAM*


    Suddenly, an angry teenager with a t chest opened the door to Enid''s bedroom quickly.


    "HEY! I NEED SOME ANSWERS!" Tara demanded."Tell me, Why are Bill and Roy thrown into juvenile jail? You know the details right?"


    Enid''s eyes moved to the left as she avoided her sister''s prying stares and hiding the tooth in her hand at the same time."I don''t know! I don''t know anything!"


    Tara narrowed her eyes at Enid and said, "You know your phone''s storage is connected to the cloud right?"


    Enid widened her eyes in surprise and grabbed Tara''s arm before she could go and open up theptop. "NOOO! I promised Ed not to tell anyone about it!"


    "So ED WAS involved!"


    Enid gasped and said, "YOU TRICKED ME!"


    "What happened? Did Roy finally go crazy? Why is Bill- Wait, I got a text from Jay."


    "Jay?" Enid tilted her head in a puzzled manner.


    "You know, she''s Hendrick''s girlfriend...Well, Ex from today onwards. He usually hangs out around Roy and Bill, so I asked Jay to find out if he knew anything about it." Tara exined while Enid thought about the matter.


    "Wait, if you find out on your own, that means I didn''t break my promise right?"


    "Exactly." Tara replied before checking her messages. "Well, Jay said ''Roy went crazy for Abby''s boobs. Want to break Ed''s arm for touching it before him. Want to use a roofie- Wait, is this real?" Tara widened her eyes in disbelief as she understood the situation.


    "YES! It''s pretty crazy right? You should''ve seen the fight! Pow POW! I swear Ed could film for a movie with his moves." Enid said while mimicking Ed''s punches.


    While the two siblings were talking, Abby stood beside the door, listening to everything they talked about while holding a pink lipstick on her hand.


    "Promise me, not to tell Abby about it!" Enid said to Tara after telling her the entire incident.


    "Why? She needs to know!" Tara didn''t agree with Enid or with Edward''s approach on the matter.


    "Ed told us, if Abby knows, she will be sad, and he wants her to be happy on thest few days she has left in LA." Enid begged Tara. "So don''t tell her, okay?!"


    Even though she was reluctant, Tara finally let out a long sigh and said, "Okay. I won''t...right now. I will tell her when she gets to New Yorkter, and when she is finally settled down there."


    Abby yed with the pink lipstick in her hand with aplicated expression on her face. Then, she decided to put the lipstick by the door and walked out of the sister''s house without saying anything to them.


    She entered the house because Tara had left her lipstick in her car, and she wanted to return it to her. She didn''t think she would stumble onto a big secret.


    As she drove home, tears started to fall. "That bastard. I already told him I don''t like people lying to me." She said while wiping her eyes, but her mouth was smiling. "That bastard." She muttered with a slight chuckle.


    [shback ends]


    "Ed, when we go to prom tomorrow, I want to tell you somethin- Wait, why are you opening up the school''s nning blueprint?" Abby asked after she was surprised to see the picture popping up on theptop.


    Edward smirked and said, "Preparing for the war tomorrow."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I only finished my work close to 2 am. Abby was already lying down, groggy and had almost fallen asleep on my giant bed but she sat up after seeing me standing up.


    "Where are you going?" She asked.


    "I wanna go get some drinks. You want something?"


    "Sure. Does your aunt have beer?" She asked. I thought for a while and said, "She only has somedy beer that she purposely bought to make sure I would be too embarrassed to drink it."


    Abbyughed and said, "Then, whatever you feel like drinking, make it two."


    "Alright. Tepid water it is. I would give you some milk, but we''re out of that too" I said before going to get the drinks for a while.


    "Why milk?" Abby muttered before realizing something. "JERK! I don''t want my boobs to get bigger!" She threw a pillow at me before I could go out of the door.


    When I got back, I saw Abby fiddling with her fingers and with a worried expression on her face.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked affectionately.


    "Huh? Ah nothing, nothing." Abby replied dismissively before grabbing the drink I handed to her.


    "Umm...do you want to fuck?" Abby asked after getting some determination.


    "Eh, I''m alright." I said with a shrug, causing Abby''s brain to short-circuit.


    "Th-Then, do you want a blowjob?" She asked again with a flushing face.


    "I''m okay." I rejected her again, which made her eyes get teary.


    "Do you want to cum on my tits?" She asked with a weak voice.


    "Eh." I replied with a shrug. "Bastard." She cursed underneath her breath.


    "I want to conserve my energy for tomorrow, but if you have anything in your dirty mind that is close to a cuddle, I''ll take that." I said yfully.


    "I WAS ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING! NOTHING!" She exploded and started ranting to herself about my obnoxious face and about how much she wanted to punch me. After turning off the lights, Abby insisted on being the big spoon and hugged me from behind as weid on the bed together.


    "Ahh, this bed finally feelsplete." I muttered. "Being alone in this abomination intensifies my loneliness."


    Abby was still pouting and she said, "Good, Suffer." Iughed a bit before turning to face her before pulling her face into my embrace. Abby bit her lips and said, "Hey, do you really don''t want to do anything-"


    "Shh Shh Shh Shh, go to sleep." I said while patting her on the head. She was dissatisfied and pushed me away beforeying on top of me, trying to punish me with the weight of her body.


    Honestly, I was itching to say yes to her invitations. But not right now. Not today. I grabbed her tightly to prevent her from moving after she forced me to roll over a few times, and while we wereughing and giggling, suddenly my door mmed open.


    "You know, I waited...I''d been nice. I let you kids y. But it''s almost 3 am-" My aunt barged into the room with a moisture mask on her face and started scolding the both of us.


    "It''s 2.30." I corrected her without thinking.


    She was in disbelief and she said sarcastically, "Gee. I was mistaken. It was 2. 30....IN THE MORNING! Now, I don''t know what kind of ying you kids want to do, talking about having sex, and not actually having it, giggling andughing, shouting and screaming...."


    "...I swear if you guys don''t go to sleep in 5 minutes, I will jump into that giant mattress, and force you guys to fuck even if it means that I had to push your body myself! Last warning! GO TO SLEEP!" She then mmed the door shut as she went out of the room.


    Both Abby and I were stunned, and we turned to look at each other before we giggled in a low volume. However, my aunt''s sensitive ears still picked that up and she said, "SLEEEEPPPP!!"


    "Alright!" I replied before both Abby and I closed our eyes as we hugged each other. Abby slowly pulled the nket to cover the both of us, and then we talked for a few more minutes.


    Abby suddenly sat up and removed her sweater, revealing her bare breast andced ck panties. I was stunned for a bit before shey back down and pulled the nket to cover her body. "I can''t sleep with that on. Too...hot...Don''t you think?" She said while smirking evilly.


    "Oh lord, help me pass this test." I mumbled to myself as Abby hugged me and put her head on top of my chest as she faked sleeping.


    The anger in her heart was finally soothed as right now, I was the one who was put in an anxiety ridden position. She then nudged her head even more and then put her legs on top of mine, her hand dangerously close to my center of gravity.


    "Lord, Please." I prayed inwardly as I avoided moving to identally prevent myself from touching those I should not l touch under any circumstance at all today.


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Mom, I need 5 more of those nkets." Alex said before pulling Luke''s nket from his body, making him shiver in the cold morning.


    "Alex, what is this? What are you guys going to do?" ire asked in disbelief before helping Alex stuff all of the nkets inside her empty cello case�C after she threw away the broken cello inside of it.


    "I''m not clear yet." Alex replied to ire''s disbelief.


    -Green''s house-


    Jacob was standing next to his mother in their backyard as she went to hang theundry early in the morning. Mrs Green looked weirdly at Jacob as she hung the nkets on theundry pole. Jacob then removed the nket and then put it inside a big luggage bag beside him.


    "Jacob, this is not what I meant when I say let it dry first!" Mrs Green scolded.


    -Abraham''s house-


    "How about this one Bubuleh? You used it during your circumcision." Abraham''s mom said while giving him a green nket. Abraham froze and said, "No! MOM! Are you trying to embarrass me? Burn this and scatter the ashes to the ocean with the rest of my penis!"


    -Enid''s house-


    Enid attacked her parents in their bedroom by pulling the nkets away from them, and she also packed a few of her wolf logo nkets before muttering to a wolf doll not so far away, "Today is the day! We''re going to go out big!!!"


    -Jenna''s house-


    "How many nkets do you want sweetie? 100? 200? I will swing by your school when I go to the film setter on to drop them off." Jenna''s mother said in a casual manner.


    "Thank you mommy. I love you!" Jenna said before giving her mother a tight hug.


    -Elsa''s house-


    "Another nket? Why don''t you just pack the whole house with you and bring that to school?" Elsa''s policewoman mother started a huge rant about how weird school was nowadays while her younger siblings followed her mother around the house like baby ducklings, mimicking her as she nagged.


    "AND DON''T YOU DARE LOSE MY BLANKETS LIKE YOU LOST MY TUPPERWARE!" Her mother nagged.


    "I Didn''t lose them! They were broken so I threw them away!" Elsa retorted. "Oh, and how were they broken? They just...magically imploded? Or maybe just thought ''Oh, I''m too big, so I must split myself in half?'' ''Oh, I just got a bruise, It has nothing to do with the bat on my husband''s hand.'' ''Oh, Mr President, I don''t know how the bullet got into your hea-"


    "OKAY STOP THAT!." Elsa shouted hurriedly. Her mother widened her eyes and then said, "I almost went there. Thanks for stopping me."


    "You''re wee." Elsa said before carrying all of her bags to the car.


    -Edward''s ce-


    Abby rubbed her eyes as she sat up from the bed. "Why are you up so early?" She asked the overly active boy. But then, Edward turned to her direction and pulled the nket wrapping around her body. Abby shrieked in embarrassment and covered her bare boobies immediately before scolding, "YOU CRAZY MOTHER FU-"


    "Yeah yeah. Finish that sentence and I will make ite true." Ed said in a casual threatening voice.


    "FFFffffffuuuu- Flower?" Abby changed her words instantly.


    Ed smirked before saying, "I''ll pick you up in a limo at 5." Then, he walked outside of the room before kicking his aunt''s bedroom door open. "POLICE! THIS IS A BLANKET RAID!"


    His aunt yelled in horror as she was woken up abruptly from her deep sleep, but Ed was ruthless and he pulled the nket away from her bed, making her fall to the floor!


    "OOOOOOHHHH....YOOUUUUUU....PUUUUTA MADRE!!!!" Cam cursed after Ed walked away in satisfaction, managing to enact his revenge for her intrusion into his bedroomst night.


    In the music ssroom, a small army of eight grader teenagers had assembled when Ed stood on a tform to address them.


    "Ladies and Gentleman. Today, we will no longer be bound by the strict rules this establishment imposed upon us. TODAY!!! On our veryst day, we will decide the rules for this school!!!!"


    The crowd cheered and pped before Edward continued, "TODAYY!!! We''re going to�C"


    (Next Arc, A CommunityXRelife Crossover.


    Fort Wars!)

 Chapter 133: Fort Wars (1)

    <h4>Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Fort Wars (1)</h4>


    (4 Chapters for this episode. CommunityXRelife )


    [General POV]


    A huge nket fort was erected inside the music room, and the fort was extended all over the school''s corridors, speedily encroaching the school''s facilities and ssroom as it grew continuously.


    A camera crew was filming the entire process diligently, following the kids who were building the infrastructure with vigor.


    Sitting on a brown, cushioned chair in the middle of the room was Edward. He wore a crown on his head, a leather jacket and ripped jeans. Next to him stood Jenna, Billie, Enid, and Alex. They were sitting on cushions on the floor, while Jacob guarded the door to the room.


    Simr to the construction site, a lone camera-man was following Edward around with a camera and was exclusively filming him.


    *Knockity Knock-Knock*


    "That''s the secret signal my lord. It must be the jester who ventured out of Fluffy-Shire in search of the news." Jacob muttered while saluting Lord Edward by cing his hand on his football under armor he wore on top of his red pajamas.


    "Let him in." Edward ordered. Jacob saluted the lord before opening the door. Dressed in a green and red pajama paired with a jester cap on his head, Abraham kneeled in front of the chair and said, "Esteemed Lord of Fluffy-Shire..." He turned to the girls and said, "...Honorable members of the Royal Harem..."


    "HEY!" Alex retorted while Jenna and Enid blushed. Billie''s mind was nking out, therefore she didn''t respond to the salutations.


    "Enough Jester, what''s the situation inside the Council of Authority?"


    "Yes my liege. The (teachers) meeting will continue for another half an hour. We estimate that 50% of the construction will be done by then." Abraham replied.


    Alex rolled her eyes at the role y and stood up before walking next to Edward while he was still talking with Abraham.


    "Good enough. Have we recovered the contraband snatched by the Ice Queen yesterday?" Edward asked. Abraham nodded and said, "Yes, we found your cello case inside the PE teacher''s office, it will be retrieved and brought to the movie square immediately afterward."


    A projector had been set up in that area. Students who wanted to just lie down and rx while watching a movie surrounded by the warmth of their friends and the softness of the pillow fort could go there.


    "And how''s the propaganda department faring?" Edward asked.


    "I should be the one who answers that, my liege."


    Instead of Abraham, Elsa who was wearing a ck and white pajamas and fake sses walked in through the door, gave Jacob a peck on the lips before kneeling next to the jester.


    "We have recruited almost 70% of the students in this school, and even found some allies in our nearby alma mater. Some clubs decided to implement the ''wait and see'' approach before joining us, such as theputer club and the mathematics club."


    She continued, " May I be daring and suggest that these clubs need to be destroyed immediately, my liege, as to rid of unstable factors in these uncertain times." Elsa said in a cold and menacing manner while pushing her sses upward.


    Jacob swallowed his saliva and mumbled to himself, "I need to make sure she wears those sses in our next make-out session."


    "Wouldn''t the principal be mad if he knew we stole his chair?" Alex whispered to Edward, but he grabbed her and made her sit on hisp as she got close enough to him. Alex blushed and wanted to move away, but Ed put his finger on Alex''s lips while still focusing on Abraham.


    "Shh Harem member number 3. Abraham, what did the chess club say again?" Ed asked in disbelief while Alex lowered her head in embarrassment, her face doing a perfect imitation of a tomato.


    "There''s rumors that they are nning a mutiny, my lord! They wanted you to finish building Fluffy-Shire before usurping the throne to build their very own ThreadCity!"


    "Hmmm... Then, let''s give them a chance to do that. Invite Joshua Liu, the president of the chess club for a one-on-one duel against me. Tell him, he can pick any match that he''s confident in. If I lose, I will hand over Fluffy-Shire to him."


    "But Sire!" Elsa eximed worriedly. Ed held one of his hands to stop Elsa while bruising Alex''s hair like she was a kitten on the other.


    "My administrator. Remember what I said to you when we started building Fluffy-Shire. I aspire to build a ce, where we could finally realize our life-long desires, to finally pull a pillow, and sleep in ss!"


    Alex rolled her eyes while the rest of the ''harem members'' giggled at Ed.


    "For years we have been tormented by sleepiness and the rigid atmosphere of school, where we were forced to relive the same numb-minded lectures instead of spending our days frolicking in the meadows, and living our childhood lives to the fullest."


    "Fluffy-Shire is more than just a ce, it''s a symbol. It''s a symbol for every single teacher in the world to fear! For an idea of escape, where we can finally be free, it is immortal!"


    "Alright, tone it down." Alex whispered to Edward before he could get more heated.


    "If Joshua wants to be the leader and carry on the symbol, I will be d to step aside, provided he has the capability to do so. That''s why I''m giving him a chance. But, if he loses, then I want the unconditional surrender of all the members of the chess club. He has 20 minutes to decide, or else...he would learn our ways of peace...by force!"


    "Great decision my lord. I will pass on the message personally, and even drag Joshua to kneel in front of you if need be." Elsa said before standing up, saluted Ed and then walked away.


    The camera-man smiled as he watched Ed''s generous character. Enid then walked silently behind Ed and asked, "My lord, what do you want me to do to Joshua?"


    "He has 10 minutes to surrender, if he doesn''t then all members of the chess club are to be conscripted to build our encampment on the front lines. As for Joshua himself, throw him into the dungeons for even daring to think about the idea of usurping me. I''ll trust the shadow guards to handle this."


    Enid coughed twice, causing Ed to look at her in confusion before he remembered, "Ah, Wolf guards. Sorry. I will trust the Shadow Wolf Guard to handle this."


    "Right away my lord." Enid said before she bowed and slowly walked out of the room. Alex turned to the camera in disbelief as she witnessed the entire thing.


    [Alex''smentary- Documentary style]


    "Okay this is quickly getting out of hand. And to think that the reason this whole thing started is because Mrs Herderson told him he''s a ''Good boy''? I have never seen this level of pettiness before."


    [Jenna''smentary]


    Jenna tied her pajama shirt into a crop top to reveal her belly button. She said, "Although I was demoted to be the 4th member of the Harem, I will work hard to earn the affection of his majesty and im my rightful seat on top of his majesty''sp for a session of patting-"


    mentary ends]


    "Now that the kingdom''s affairs are in order. Billie, are you ready?" Ed turned to Billie and asked. He stood up and walked to the nked out Billie and grabbed her hand, snapping her back to reality.


    "Wha-" Billie eximed.


    "I''m asking if you are ready?" Ed asked in a calm manner while shing a charismatic smile.


    "We��Um...Can we draw the straws again?" Billie asked worriedly.


    "I already asked you if you wanted to do this before, now, Finneas has already set up the stage for you in the East wing."


    "NOW TO THE TEACHER''S LOUNGE!?" Alex suddenly shouted in horror. Ed turned to look at Alex behind him and smiled mischievously, "Yes. If we want to dere the beginning of the war, they should be able to hear it right?"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As we crawled through the nket fort corridors on top of a cushioned floor, I turned to the cameraman who had to duck walk while holding the camera on his shoulder and asked with augh, "You okay mate?"


    Breathing hard, the cameraman replied, "I''m alright. I just wish I knew earlier that I would be squatting so much today so that I could have prepared myself for it."


    "Sorry, we could walk, but it''d be rude to the citizen''s of Fluffy-Shire as we pass by and disrupt them."


    "Nah-nah. I understand." The camera-man replied. I then looked into the camera and exined, "Right now, we''re going to the East Wing where Billie, a member of my band for the school show where we are going to perform in front of over a thousand people, will sing a cover for us. It will be her first time performing for a crowd."


    I then added on, "Not only will Billie sing for us, but even Alex and Finneas will have to do the same thing as they need the experience of performing before being pushed in front of such arge crowd tomorrow."


    "You should''ve told us sooner!" Alex retorted as she crawled in front of me. I smacked her ass, causing her to yelp in pain as she dared to question my methods and crawled pass her as I talked with the cameraman.


    We finally arrived at the bulletin board area where the pillow fort was big enough for a crowd of people to stand up in. Finneas waved at us while setting up the microphone stand. The twerking kid Barnes was holding the dolly carts with the speakers on it. He was tasked to run away with the speakers if we were interruptedter on.


    Billie was standing behind the microphone with a worried expression on her face. Holding an acoustic guitar in my hand, I walked to her and put my hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you okay? I know I said you had no choice, but I won''t force you if you really don''t want to."


    "No. It''s alright. I want to do it." Billie said before brushing her long, silvery blonde hair back, eyes filled with determination. She was wearing a ck sweater and ck sweatpants, and she took a deep breath before giving me the signal to start.


    I held the wireless microphone in my hand and looked at the small crowd of around 20 people in front of me before starting the show, "Good Morning everyone. Are you guysfortable?"


    The crowd cheered, holding up their nkets and pillows in the air and shook them as I asked. Iughed a bit and said, "Alright, We''re not going to dally any further, as the longer we stay here, the more dangerous it''ll be for us all. Today, there will be 4 different performances being yed all over the school. Make sure to catch all of them. To start it off, we have Billie, a good friend of mine with an amazing voice."


    Billie blushed a bit, and I turned to her and spoke as if I was only speaking to her, "It''s true."


    "Okay Shut up." She muttered with her face all red.


    "Billie is going to sing a cover for you guys. We all know the song that shook the entire school in January. Now, I''m not going to tell you guys the name of the song, as I know you will definitely know this one. Give it up for....BILLIE EILISH!!!!"


    The crowd pped and cheered for Billie before I counted the cue and started strumming my guitar.


    [Song: All star | By: Smash Mouth | Acoustic cover ft. hunter (Youtube Female Cover) /watch?v=l0-dZH-cQEE&t=1s ]


    The crowd exploded into excitement as they heard the intro. I turned to Billie and muttered, "I told you they''ll know the song." Finneas yed the piano while Alex was responsible for making the beat. The cover wasn''t as intense as the song, as it carried out a more mellow vibe and the songs focused more on Billie''s vocals.


    Billie took a deep breath, closed her eyes and then sung, "??Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me, I ain''t the sharpest tool in the shed.??"


    "SHREKKK YEAHHH!!!" Jacob screamed from afar while hitting his armor a few times.


    Billie smiled seeing the people''s reaction and she grabbed the microphone with one hand, and made a gesture with another, "??She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an "L" on her forehead.??"


    The beat dropped, and the crowd jumped around and sang the song together with Billie.


    ??Well, the years starting and they don''t stoping,


    fed to the rules and I hit the ground running.


    Didn''t make sense not to live for fun,


    your brain gets smart, but your head gets dumb.??


    She took out the microphone and was finallyfortable singing in front of the crowd. Students all around rushed to the East wing, and the number grew to more than 40 students quickly.


    ??So much to do, so much to see,


    so what''s wrong with taking the back streets?


    You''ll never know if you don''t go,


    you''ll never shine if you don''t glow.??


    She turned to me and pointed her finger at me while I faced her.


    ??Hey now, you''re an all star,


    get your game on, go y.


    Hey now, you''re a rock star,


    get the show on, get paid.??


    She made a money gesture before looking upwards while slowly raising her hand.


    "??All that glitters is gold,


    Only shooting stars~ break the mold~~.??"


    "??It''s a cool ce, and they say it gets colder,


    you''re bundled up now, wait ''til you get older??"


    The students who were holding a nket wrapped it with their friends as they swayed to the music.


    "??but the media men beg to differ,


    judging by the hole in the satellite picture.


    The ice we skate is getting pretty thin,


    the water''s getting warm so you might as well swim.??"


    "It''s SUMMER BREAK!" I shouted, causing the crowd to cheer once more.


    Billieughed while continuing, "??My world''s on fire, how ''bout yours?


    That''s the way I like it and I''ll never get bored.??"


    She walked closer to me and muttered without the crowd could hear, "Sing it with me."


    "Sure." I replied.


    We shared the microphone she was holding as we harmonized.


    Together: ??Hey now, you''re an all star,


    get your game on, go y~


    Hey now, you''re a rock star,


    get the show on, get paid.


    All that glitters is gold,


    only shooting stars break the mold.??


    Billie vocalized during the bridge, "Whoo~ YEAHH~~"


    She stepped into the crowd and danced together with them as she sang.


    "??Hey now, you''re an all star,


    get your game on, go y.


    Hey now, you''re a rock star,


    get the show on, get paid.


    All that glitters is gold,


    only shooting stars...??


    I swear I could see Finneas wiping his tears as his socially awkward sister had finally shown her true self to the world.


    ??Somebody once asked, could I spare some change for gas, "I need to get myself away from this ce."


    I said yep, what a concept.


    I could use a little fuel myself,


    and we could all use a little chaaange~. ??


    Billie turned to Alex and said, "You''re next." Alex almost froze, but she didn''t miss a beat because of it.


    ??Well, the years starting and they don''t stoping,


    fed to the rules and I hit the ground running.


    Didn''t make sense not to live for fun,


    your brain gets smart, but your head gets dumb.


    So much to do, so much to see,


    So what''s wrong with taking the back streets?


    You''ll never know if you don''t go,


    you''ll never shine if you don''t glow.??


    Jacob, who was keeping an eye on the teacher''s room, suddenly made a gesture to me. "They''reing out!"


    Billie didn''t realize it and was still engrossed in the song. Finneas stood up while ying the keyboard, and two students helped him to move the keyboard while he kept ying on it.


    I walked next to Billie and we sang together, "??Hey now, you''re an all star,


    get your game on, go y.


    Hey now, you''re a rock star,


    get the show on, get paid.


    All that glitters is gold,


    Only shooting stars break the mold~??


    Billie ended it with an amazing vocal bellowing, "??All that glitters is goooold~~,


    only shooting stars~~~ break the mold~~~.??


    The crowd cheered as she finished the song. The number of students there had grown to over 60 people, and then Jacob shouted, interrupting the atmosphere, "THE TEACHER''S HERE!!!!"


    "RUNNNN!!!" I shouted as I grabbed Billie and we ran away together following Alex and Finneas who were already ahead of us. I had to sling the guitar to my back as I crawled on the floor again, giving onest look at Mrs Henderson who just arrived at the previous stage.


    "What is going on here? Who''s responsible for this?" She asked, but no students were answering her questions, which truly surprised her because it was the first time it happened ever since she started teaching.


    [Billie''smentary]


    "When Edward first asked me to join his band, I thought Finneas had talked him into it. My brother...is a bit nosy sometimes." Billie exined, her eyes were glossy.


    "I had always wanted to sing in front of people, but...I was always too afraid to do it." She continued. "But today, when Ed told me that I needed to rehearse...I needed to get out of myfort zone... I honestly wanted to run away." (Remember she''s 11 at the time)


    "But when Alex and Finneas agreed to it, I also felt pressured to agree to it. And right now, I...Love Ed for making me do it." She chuckled a bit before adding, "Finneas will freak out when he finds out I said that. Just to be clear, I don''t "Love" him like ''like'' him, I just Love LOVE him. He''s an awesome person, and I truly think that I could never love anyone more than I love him, which is unfortunate for my future boyfriend."


    [Finneas''s Commentary]


    "I knew Billie could sing. But When she stood behind that mic, My hands were mmy, my breathing got quicker, and even my mind started to nk out. It''s just... I was the one who had to start the melody, and if I made a mistake then the whole performance would be fucked up."


    "Thankfully the star was there. Well...Billie''s ordeal has passed, so right now, Alex is bing exactly like Billie before she performed. I hope that she will do well." Finneas said in concern.

 Chapter 134: Fort War (2)

    <h4>Chapter 134: Chapter 134: Fort War (2)</h4>


    [General POV �C Student Imagination Version]


    It was a peaceful day in this warm and cuddly Fort Fluffy-Shire. The inhabitants of this realm were happy and content with the handsome lord''s effort to protect them from the terror of sleepiness and the cold hard hell of school.


    As Lord Fluffy-Shire had decreed the ''No Three Fs'' rule for the fort �C which were Fires, Farting, and... mating, some students decided to be creative and ''borrowed'' the microwave from the teacher''s lounge to cook instant noodles to eat inside the fort.


    "HALT!" A team of patrol guards who were wearing football under armor stopped the batch of students who were holding their ramen bowl and inspected them.


    "Have you started a fire during your cooking process?" The guard asked while encircling the peasant.


    "N-NO Sire, we are just simple folk. Fire is a luxury that we won''t ever have." The peasant said fearfully. The guard grabbed the fork inside the peasant''s bowl and took a bite out of his ramen.


    "Good, you can go now." The guard said after illegally collecting the taxes from the citizens. Seeing the dissatisfied looks on the peasant, he asked menacingly, "Is there anything you want to say?"


    "Lord Fluffy-Shire won''t-"


    "The LORD...ISN''T HERE!" The guard said while holding the peasant''s cor. "Unless you want me to kick you out of the fort, maybe you should realize that-"


    But before the guard could continue harassing the peasant of the realm, he felt a cold breeze blowing from behind him. He turned in that direction, and froze as he saw the woman in a white dress staring coldly at him.


    "Mrs...Mrs Henderso-" The guard stammered fearfully. The peasant realized it and shouted immediately to warn the others, "RUNN! THE ICE WITCH IS HERE!!!!"


    As the children screamed in a childish voice and scattered in multiple directions by quickly crawling away, Mrs Henderson walked slowly towards the frozen guard and ced her hand on his shoulder.


    "Mr Jameson, Please follow me to the teacher''s lounge. We need to talk." Mrs Henderson ordered. The corrupt guard gulped his saliva and nodded obediently to the teacher before following her away.


    [General POV- Normal Version]


    Mrs Johnson, the PE teacher, was wearing a green PE coach outfit with her zips lowered, revealing her white tank top and a bit of cleavage. She walked next to Mrs Henderson and stammered, "Hey...This...I...Have no words..."


    She was speechless as she saw the fort, and Mrs Henderson nodded beside her. "I know. It''s iprehensible. We should shut it down quickly before a student gets hurt."


    Mrs Henderson walked to the front entry of the fort and touched the rope holding the fort together.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you. Some of the knots are load bearing. If you touch the wrong ce, you''ll copse the whole thing and bury a lot of students inside." An old janitor suddenly warned Mrs Henderson while he was mopping the floor.


    Mrs Henderson and Mrs Johnson turned to the janitor. The PE teacher then asked angrily, "Wait, did you know about this? And you did nothing to stop it?"


    The janitor shrugged and continued mopping the floor. He couldn''t really say that he wanted to stop it before, but once he got 50 dors richer, he just turned a blind eye on the whole thing, couldn''t he?


    The two teachers thought for a while before Mrs Johnson said, "If we cannot take it down, then, we should find the ringleaders. Once we take them out, then the whole operation will crash to the ground. We just need to find out who the ringleader is."


    Mrs Henderson sighed and said, "I know who the ringleader is."


    "Really? How- Who is it?" The PE coach asked in disbelief.


    "It''s a good boy that''s trying to pretend he''s a bad boy." Mrs Henderson replied before taking out her phone and calling the ''alleged'' ringleader of the operation.


    "Then, if you know who he is, you might be able to tell me, just why...why is there a cameraman filming us right now?" The PE coach turned to the camera-man next to them.


    The camera-man whispered, "Just pretend I''m not here," causing both of the teachers to stare in disbelief. While the call was connecting, Mrs Henderson said to the other teacher, "Go inside and try to find out where Ed and his friends are."


    "Okay. See you inside." The PE coach grinned before getting on all fours and crawling into the fort''s corridors at a high speed, startling the students who were rxing around as she passed.


    ...


    Inside the music ssroom.


    "Hip-Hip, Hooray!" The girls and the boys threw Billie up in the air, making her giggle while still fearing for her life after her sessful performance.


    "Okay-okay, put me down." Billie said shyly with a red face. Edward finally lets her off easy and then puts her on the floor on her own two feets again. While the rest of the group wasplimenting Billie, Enid walked in and whispered to Edward from behind, "It''s done My lord."


    Edward turned to her and took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and began to wipe Enid''s nose as she had some dirt on it. "Good Job. Now, don''t go anywhere. Alex is going to sing next."


    The cameraman zoomed into Enid''s blushing, but still excited face as Edward was being affectionate with her. He was treating her as if she was his little sister, and she didn''t feel bad about it, not in the least.


    [Enid''smentary]


    "Joshua? Who''s that- Oh, the chess club. Right right. I''m not going to tell you guys what I did to him. That''s a secret that only me and Ed should know though so keep quiet about it." Enid said with a smirk before sighing sadly. " I wanted to watch Billie sing too! I was looking forward to it!"


    The camera-manforted Enid and said he recorded the performance.


    Enid brightened up and said, "Really? Ed will put it on his streaming websites right? I remember hearing him saying that hiswyer already asked for permission from Smash Mouth."


    [Commentary ends]


    Alex heard it and was frozen. Her palms were sweaty, her knees suddenly became weak, her arms turned heavy. She looked at Edward who was uploading something on hisptop, and her fear doubled.


    She tried to shake off her nervousness, but it wasn''t working. At this time, Ed''s phone started to ring. He smirked and he answered the call in a confident manner.


    "Hello Eve, what can I do for you?"


    "Don''t be coy Edward." Mrs Henderson said coldly. "I''m calling about the pillow fort."


    "Pillow fort? Where?" Ed acted surprised. Mrs Henderson didn''t y along and asked, "I''m sure you know, that any injuries, and any mishaps that happen under your instigation will be ced on your permanent record. You''re almost graduating, Ed, are you sure you want to risk that?"


    Edward was silent for a bit, but a smile never left his face. Then he replied, "If I was indeed the one responsible for it, then yes, I would have a slight fear of getting branded as the ringleader. But I''m not. The one responsible for this, is Lord Fluffy-Shire. You find him, then you can end this."


    Ed wanted to cut the call, but the teacher then said, "I see. Then, you don''t mind Mrs Johnson taking a look inside the music ssroom to find out who Lord... ''Fluffy Shire'' is, don''t you?"


    "No. Not at all. But..." Ed pretended to be distressed before he said coyly. "But, it depends on whether or not she can make it to the ss."


    "Hmm? And why wouldn''t she?" Mrs Henderson asked with a raised brow.


    "Let''s just say that if she crawled from the East wing, she needs to get past the sport''s entertainment district where a quizpetition is currently going on." Edward said in a calm manner as he sat on his ''throne''.


    "Even though she may be a fan of the game, I don''t think that she would be willing to abandon her responsibilities just to watch a quizpetition." Mrs Henderson said while watching the camera-man with a confused expression. Then, she decided to walk to the teacher''s office to get more allies.


    "No, I think you misunderstood me. I don''t think she''ll just watch the game. I think that she''ll register her name to participate in it." Edward said while beckoning Jacob toe near him.


    "Then you had greatly miscalcted Edward. I thought you were smarter than this." Mrs Henderson said with a scoff.


    "Really? Even if the price of thepetition was a Vintage, 1973 ''Lou Gehrig'' , Mint condition Baseball card worth well over 500 dors. Which might also just be thest piece she needs toplete her collection? Something that she''s been working on for more than 5 years?" Ed askedzily while holding his head with his hand while propping it on the armrest.


    "I think that under those circumstances she just might abandon her responsibilities. In fact I have no doubt she would. Don''t you think so too Mrs Henderson?" Ed enunciated the teacher''s name, the girls watching him swoon at his behavior.


    "..." Mrs Henderson was silent for a while. Before she could refute Ed''s word, the boy added, "Even in the extremely unlikely scenario where she might manage to pull herself together, do you really think that thepetition is the only hurdle she needs to ovee to get there?"


    "You mean ''here''." Mrs Henderson interrupted, causing Edward tough. "And she''s not the only teacher in this school." She added.


    Ed stoppedughing and grinned evilly before saying, "I know."


    Mrs Henderson looked around the teacher''s office, and widened her eyes as she noticed that it was all empty. "What the- What did you do, Edward Newgate?" She enunciated his name in a menacing manner, but Edward justughed.


    "I didn''t do anything. I''m not Lord ''Fluffy-Shire'' Remember?"


    The old History teacher was actually teaching on thest day of school. It was the first time ever he was so excited to teach, as the students were actually responding to him. The listeners were wrapping themselves in nkets and thought that they could finally realize the year-long temptation of sleeping in History ss.


    But when they actually had the chance to do it �C while being provided with pillows and nkets to do so, they found themselves to be wide awake instead. Especially so for the grade 8 students who''re having theirst day in this school.


    "You... did you really manage to get the entire school in your grasp?" Mrs Henderson asked in disbelief.


    "Not me. But yes." Edward said while smirking.


    Not only that, the math teacher was currently ying basketball with his homeroom students, the school administrator was bought off with some ssy brunch, the pregnant English teacher was bought off with a massage session by a licensed masseuse, and thus there weren''t any teachers left to help Mrs. Henderson anywhere else in the school.


    Mrs Henderson walked to the camera-man and finally asked something that she had been suspicious about. "How did you guys get permission to film here?"


    The camera-man replied casually, "Oh. The Principal did it. He signed the release and everything."


    Mrs Henderson''s face turned sullen and she looked at the camera-man in contempt. Then, she returned back to the call. "I see. I''m in a very disadvantageous situation. But I wouldn''t count my chickens before they hatch if I was Lord Fluffy-Shire."


    "And why is that?" Ed asked curiously. Mrs Henderson looked inside the fort, and saw a student patrol holding up an ordinary student who was holding a bowl of instant noodles.


    "Do you know why dictatorships fall, Ed?" She asked. Ed was silent, and then she smirked and said, "Because, power corrupts people and absolute power corrupts absolutely . And when that happens...then the kingdom is going to be at risk of an...insurrection."


    "Yeah, if the king is ipetent." Edward scoffed. Mrs Henderson chuckled a bit and said, "If only you knew how many dictators have said that..."


    [Mrs. Henderson''s Commentary]


    "I know he wants to y a game. I''ll show him that some people cannot be messed with. Everything he builds...shall fall...and from the ashes, will rise a new democratic republic- Wait, why am I getting absorbed in this? I''m the teacher!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Well. The fuse is lit. Mrs Henderson is raising an army." I said with some anticipation in my tone as I stood up from my throne.


    Jenna asked in a quizzical manner, "And why are you so excited about it?"


    "Just because." I answered dismissively before walking up to Alex. "When the next school bell rang, we will start the next performance. Alex, are you okay? Do you want some more time to practice?"


    Alex pouted while crouching near the wall and said, "I don''t WANTTT more practice. I NEEEEED it! There''s a difference."


    Billie was confused and said, "You already sing well enough. Why do you feel you need more practice?" She wasn''t being sarcastic. Alex had sung in the rehearsals after being instigated by me.


    "That''s different. I''m going to sing in front of strangers!"


    "Nah, we are all schoolmates. Don''t worry about it Alex. Even if they don''t like it, I will make sure none of them would ever DARE to say it to your face." Abraham said confidently.


    "I second that." Jacob said.


    "Third." Jenna joined in.


    "That doesn''t help!" Alex got angry and chased the trio away while they wereughing.


    ...


    Before we got to the West wing which was near to the cafeteria, I asked Elsa about the progress of the expansion.


    "Right now, we are currently 75% finished. However, it would be hard for us to expand from now on as various small forts have been erected, and its residents are preventing us from keeping up the pace." Elsa pushed up her sses, feeling a bit discontent by the resistance and her inadequacy to handle the matter herself.


    "Activate the hounds. If they are still resisting...well just tell them that they will be thrown out there, left to sleep in the cold if they don''t" I replied in a cold manner.


    The group was shocked, but they nodded as they obediently followed the order. Abraham looked at his watch and said, "It''s almost time."


    Billie was holding a bass guitar and she muttered to Alex, "The pressure must be twice of what I felt before as you''re singing a song that''s never been released before."


    Finneas then rebuked before Alex could, "Yeah. But it''s Edward''s song. It''s sure to be a hit. Just enjoy yourself while you''re singing, Alex."


    "That''s true. You guys are all growing. I''m proud of you." I said before pulling the trio all together for a group hug. "Also Alex, not to increase the pressure on you, but you''re going to be the first girl ever to sing a song that I wrote. Not even Taylor has the privilege to do so."


    Of course, I had cleared it with Taylor before. And for some reason, she didn''t mind Alex singing the song. I guess she wasn''t threatened by Alex at all. And she knew I treated Alex like a lil sister.


    And for all intent and purposes, I had already copyrighted the song under mybel. I just need to find a singer to sing this songter on. Alex could sing, but she didn''t want to be an artist. So she was just singing this for fun.


    Alex''s face paled after my words, and Billie admonished me, "Why are you saying that NOW!? You did that on purpose!"


    I turned to Billie with an astonished face and said, "Hey, it''s the first time you ever scolded me- GUYS! Billie just told me off!"


    Billie was bbergasted and she blushed hard as the entire group congratted her. Jacob then said to her, "When you could start to tell him off, then it means that you''re finally opening up to us! Wee ABOARD BILLIE! We''re all co-dependant, so it''ll be a long time for you to get rid of us!"


    I nodded in agreement while Billie was bing increasingly embarrassed. Alexughed out loud, and the pressure she felt lessened after that. I held the guitar and signaled Finneas who''s handling the drums.


    "It''s time." I muttered.


    The school bell rang, and it was time for a break. The students were walking to the cafeteria, and they walked towards where we had set up.


    "3...2...1..." I counted before I started to strum the guitar. The students who heard the music had their eyes lit up and they rushed to our stage immediately.


    [Echosmith- Cool kids]


    ??????????


    The students encircled us immediately as we yed the intro. I smiled towards them and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Give a big apuse to Alex Dunphy who''s singing, Cool Kids!"


    The entire school had known that we were going to make impromptu performances today, so I didn''t have to say much. Alex looked at the crowd with her heart beating wildly. Then, she decided to take off her sses and grabbed the microphone with both hands before singing.


    "?? She sees them walking in a straight line


    That''s not really her style??"


    Her voice was mellow and a bit raspy as she was going through puberty, and the crowd was hooked on it immediately.


    "??And they all got the same heartbeat


    But hers is falling behind??"


    Alex was still anxious and she kept looking around. I get close to her to give her confidence as she continued.


    "??Nothing in this world could ever bring them down


    Yeah, they''re invincible...


    And she''s just in the background??..."


    When Alex read the lyrics after rummaging through my stuff before, she had rted hard to this song. That was why I decided to let her sing it today.


    "??And she says


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in??"


    "??I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids~??"


    She turned to me as if asking if she did well �C as she couldn''t see the crowd''s reaction. I nodded while smiling at her antics. She got more confident and brushed her hair to the left side before singing again.


    "??He sees them talking with a big smile


    But they haven''t got a clue


    Yeah, they''re living the good life


    Can''t see what he is going through??"


    She turned to look at me, but I just smiled. Jenna looked worried for a bit before she decided to push the thought to the back of her head and decided to focus 100% on Alex at her moment.


    ??They''re driving fast cars


    But they don''t know where they''re going


    In the fastne, living life without knowing~??


    "EVERYONE!" I shouted. The crowd then sang together with Alex.


    "??And he says


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids!!!??"


    Our voice reverberated throughout the school. Alex went to Billie and shared a microphone with her as they continued the song.


    ??I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to get it


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids??


    Finneas slowed down the beat while I strum the guitar slowly. Alexughed and wore back her sses before shouting, "EDWARD NEWGATE EVERYONE!" The crowd cheered at my name, and she did the same thing with Billie and Finneas, making our name etched for eternity in the school grounds.


    "??And they said


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids??"


    [Jenna''s and Elsa''smentary]


    "So, he did a song about us? After all, we''re the most popr girls in school." Elsa said with a thick face. Jennaughed and said, "I know right?"


    [Commentary ends]


    ??I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids??


    ??I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    ''Cause all the cool kids, they seem to get it


    I wish that I could be like the cool kids


    Like the cool kids??


    I yed the outro with the band member while Alex was huffing her breath and raised her arms out to the crowd. "CROWD SURF-"


    But before she could do something to embarrass herself, I grabbed her and snatched the microphone from her. "No crowd surfing! Enjoy your lunch everyone!"


    We all needed to run away quickly after singing the song. I said to the crowd, "Next will be a performance by Finneas O'' Connel. He will be singing a song that he wrote by himself. Stay tuned!"


    .(Just rmending thetest and first original novel of my friend @Kismet.


    It''s a cultivation novel without the brain-dead Chinese characters. It''sedic, funny, and serious when it needs to be. Check it out and show him some support! I hope you''ll enjoy it.


    Synopsis:


    Imagine a Xianxia MC. Imagined? Good.


    You might think he fights other young masters, face ps them, gets the jade beauties that aren''t actually green, and bes an immortal. If you have imagined that, congrattions, but that''s not who I am.


    I''m apparently Demonic Sect Elder, Type A. Crippled, and in severe need of disciples. Help.


    ----


    "Demonic Sect Elder, Type A" by [Kismet] - make sure it is this one


    /fiction/73508/demonic-sect-elder-type-a )

 Chapter 135: Fort Wars (3)

    <h4>Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Fort Wars (3)</h4>


    (Double chap today.)


    [General POV]


    In a dim-lighted room, a jester wasughing maniacally after he managed to break into the custodian''s space and took out all the confiscated items throughout the school year.


    "FINALLY!!! I HAVE IT BACK!!!"


    He took out a lightsaber toy from the pile of contraband in front of him, which consisted of porn mags, toys such as bb-guns, lightsabers, yo-yos, skateboards, tamagotchi-game, nintendos and other assorted lost items, bra paddings, teddy bears, barbie dolls, and much more.


    Some of the porn mags pages had already been yellowed by age as he basically picked up all the confiscated items from 1993. "Mine ... My treasure...My precious!!!" Abraham rubbed the ''rare'' porn mags on his cheek as he was extremely excited to explore a curious new era for him.


    Abraham put a few porn mags and toys into his bag as he was one of the main contributors to the pile. But he suddenly felt a chill on his neck as was putting a yboy magazine with Alexandria Carlsen (Jenna''s mother) on the cover among his possessions.


    "What the-" Abraham turned to the door, and saw it was empty. He breathed a sigh of relief, but then, the light flickered, and a woman in a white dress suddenly appeared at the door frame.


    "ARGHHH!" Abraham shouted in horror as he clutched his chest. His breathing became rapid, and he broke in a cold sweat feeling chills on his back. "Ice Quee- Mrs-Mrs-Mrs Henderson." He called out.


    The Ice Queen smirked and walked slowly inside the room, and said to Abraham, "Oh. Nice little pile you got there."


    "Umm..." Abraham sweated profusely, not understanding what was the Queen''s motive in finding him. "Is this tribute for Lord Fluffy-Shire? Not a menacing name, I don''t think it''s a name fit for a king, don''t you think the same?"


    The teacher took away the magazine Abraham was holding as she realized it was the most appropriate thing to do. She didn''t take away the other magazines though.


    "I...I told him that." Abraham said in a depressed manner. Mrs Henderson nodded in understanding and added, "But... He''s not taking your opinion seriously...Right? That''s because, he''s the king, and you... you''re just the...clown..."


    "THE JESTER!" Abraham corrected the teacher in an angry manner. Mrs Henderson walked behind Abraham and whispered to his ear, "Sure...But is that.,.what you really want? Ask yourself...who is the one who has built the majority of this...wonderful...infrastructure. Was it the king? Why is he the only one enjoying the benefits from this?"


    Abraham widened his eyes in horror and he turned back quickly. He almost stumbled on the pile as he backstep from Mrs Henderson and said, "I- I will not be instigated by you! The k-King is protecting all of us!"


    "I see. I will not be able to break you huh." Mrs Henderson said while slightly shaking her head. Abraham was a bit excited, but before he could say anything, Mrs Henderson added, "I''m not that someone that is finally close to you... that someone that has been inside your mind for years now..."


    "No..Don''t say it!" Abraham begged with a shaky voice.


    "What''s Alex doing now? Oh...I forgot...She''s a member of the king''s harem...right?" Mrs Henderson said with an evil smirk.


    She then shook her head quickly to stop herself from actively enjoying the whole game. She put her hand on Abraham''s shoulder before saying , "Think about it... If you make the right decision...then you cane and join us in the new Republic..where everyone is equal."


    "I...I-" Abraham stammered. Mrs Henderson nodded in satisfaction as she managed to sway an important member of the opposing ringleader''s team. Suddenly, she grabbed the BB-Gun on the pile and turned towards the door quickly. She fired off a few shots, startling the 2 students that were walking past the room.


    *Pop* *Pop* *Pop*


    The pellets popped 3 balloons the students were holding. She then said, "No Helium balloons inside the school!" The students quickly ran away to avoid her gun and her scolding.


    She turned back towards Abraham, but at that moment, several more students with a huge number of helium balloons in their hands walked past the room casually, and she didn''t realize it.


    "I''ll be waiting for you." She said before she walked away, leaving behind a jester who''s having an existential crisis about his identity and loyalties.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Nice job everyone!" I said as we all had lunch together inside the music ssroom after Alex did her performance. Enid was holding a few grapes over my head, and slowly lowered them to my mouth to feed me as I sat on the throne.


    "I-I want to do that next!" Jenna said decisively with a blush on her face. "Sure!" Enid said excitedly and took turns with Jenna to feed me stuff. I didn''t even have to use my hand to have my lunch today because of those two.


    Alex rolled her eyes and said disdainfully, "You''re enjoying this aren''t you?"


    "What''s not to enjoy? Anyway, Alex. You almost ruined the ending by going off script."


    Alex was so embarrassed when I brought it up and she buried her face on her legs as she sat on the floor.


    "Crowd surfing. What the hell is even that? There were barely any people there, at most in the low tens." I said in a sarcastic manner, making Alex want to bury her face in a hole somewhere.


    Finneasughed dryly before saying, "Well...Ed...Should I really sing my song in the next performance? There''s still time for us to change it to a cover song."


    Most of us were confused by his sudden request but Billie spoke first, "But...You were the one who wanted to sing your own song."


    Finneas scratched his cheek and said, "Yeah...I know that...But now...I don''t think it is a good idea."


    I looked at Finneas who was having some self-doubt and said, "I know how you feel, Finneas. It''s scary to share your stories with the world."


    "You could say that." Finneas nodded in agreement. Billie sighed and said angrily, "NO! You''re doing it!"


    "I''m not..." Finneas said to Billie.


    "Then, you''re stupid!" Billie shouted.


    It turned into a huge fight, and finally we had to interfere before both of them said something that they were going to regret. I took Finneas outside the room to cool off, and then he said, "Sorry about that."


    "It''s fine. You know, I went through this too, right?." I shared.


    Finneas raised one of his eyebrows and said, "Really? I didn''t think so. You are always so confident that any song you write is going to be a hit. And with great reason there''s just no ''missing'' with you. I...don''t think I have it in me... to be like that."


    I nodded in understanding. Unlike me, he didn''t have any future knowledge for him to know that he had made something great, nor did he have the luxury of having a future hit selection to pick and choose for his next release, therefore, it was normal for him to have some self-doubt about the whole process.


    "I could say to you that ''you have what it takes.'' or... ''your song is a banger''...But, I don''t think I can make you believe it. You wanna know what''s the easiest way for you to believe?"


    He looked up to me and asked, "What?"


    "You need to sing it." I replied in a casual manner. "Besides, I don''t me you. Even my heart starts palpitating when I think about my next performance."


    Heughed a bit and said sarcastically, "Surely you jest. You''re already a worldwide artist-"


    "But I''ve never had a worldwide tour. I barely got into nning a short one barely hitting a few states and I am already freaking out, organizing venues, merchandising, promoting the tour, booking pre show singers, creating setlists for each and every show, choosing what to feature and so much more." I half joked.


    "Nah, you can do thatter. People already love you, so you can be sure that they''re going to love your songs. So don''t me me if I can''t believe you when you say you''re still nervous about it."


    Iughed and patted Finneas on the back, making him confused. "Oh, but I am. See." I showed him my sweaty palm, and he was shocked when he touched it.


    "All of us are facing our fears today." I said while looking up to the ceiling. "So, what do you say?" I asked him.


    He was silent for a while as he thought about it.


    [Finneas POV]


    I hate Edward Newgate...or at least I used to.


    Growing up, I was always overshadowed by him when wepeted in ssical music contests.


    "The winner of the XXpetition is...Edward Newgate!"


    And the crowd would stand up and p for him as he picked up the trophy, while I was scolded by my music teacher for not winning thepetition behind the stage.


    All of my life, I wanted to catch up to him.


    But then, the purpose of my life disappeared.


    I was lost, and my interest in ssical music was lost too.


    When I entered middle school, I was surprised when I saw him attending the same school. But, the once great ssical musician Edward Newgate, had downgraded into a typical teenage delinquent, an all around loner.


    He rejected everything, and subconsciously, I emted him. I had no close friends, I became brash with my words, and even with my little sister...


    Then, he decided to change once again. He made his mark in mainstream music, and I was confused.


    Wasn''t he like me?? Didn''t he decide to throw away music from his heart?''


    I couldn''t find the answer. I could only watch him from afar as he became more and more sessful. So I became his shadow again, and the chasm between us grew further.


    As I became more mature, I realized that he had never known me, and all of my obsession with him was meaningless as he had never once looked in my direction.


    I decided to walk my own path.


    However, fate yed a cruel trick. When I was alone in the music ssroom, a nerdy, but cute girl walked in and asked me to teach her to y the cello.


    I didn''t think much about it at the time and the thought of spending some time alone with a cute girl in an empty ssroom excited me.


    It went on for a few days before she said that her friend was going to join us. I was surprised when I realized that her friend was actually him.


    And to top off my excitement, he seemed to know me. All this time I thought I belonged in his shadow, but he actually noticed me! It was like a shackle had been broken inside my heart, and he asked me to be a member of his band.


    As we practiced together, I realized that all of my assumptions about him were unfounded.


    He was not the rebel I thought he was.


    He wasn''t a loner.


    He cared about other people �C maybe even too much.


    When I told him that I had written my own songs, he wasn''t surprised. I could read his expression at this time. It was as if he had always known I had it in me. I was shocked, and I became anxious again.


    What would I do if I failed to meet his expectations?


    ''And now, he''s telling me...that he has fears too? I...thought it was impossible for him to be scared.''


    He was confident when he gave Alex permission to sing his song. He already knew it would be a hit. And he had the same confidence about the song I''m singing. So why should I be scared?


    The image of him ying his violin in front of a crowd of thousands of people had been imprinted in my mind ever since I was 8 years old. He was my hero back then. And right now, he has be my hero again.


    Better than a hero. He''s now...my friend.


    "So, what do you say?" He asked.


    " I guess...I should sing it...my song I mean." I replied after thinking for a while. He nodded while smiling and he pats me on the shoulder. "Don''t worry, if you choke, I will help you."


    "I''M NOT GOING TO CHOKE!" I shouted back. Suddenly, both of us could hear some gigglinging from behind us. We turned back, and saw an array of heads popping out from the door, peeking at us while smirking and giggling.


    "Get a room you two." Alex teased.


    "BROMANCEEEE!!!" Enid shouted in the background.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Alright, the gym is ready. I had already text sted the students, so we need to go there now." Elsa said after entering the music ssroom.


    "Great. Let''s go." Edward said before leading the way to the gymnasium. The drums, the speakers, and the microphones were already set up over there by a professional team, and they just needed to bring their guitar and cello there.


    "Alex, are you sure you want to use your cello as bass? I''m not saying that you don''t have the skills, but we need to run away after." Edward said with a bit of concern.


    "Oh don''t worry. I''m using YOUR cello, so I could just leave it there if I want." Alex said jokingly.


    Edward rolled his eyes at Alex before they left the corridor. 5 minutester, a woman in a white dress appeared in the same corridor.


    "Are you sure the ''killswitch'' is in there?" Mrs Henderson asked.


    Abraham nodded and replied in a depressed manner, "Yes. He connected the ropes together so that he could shut down the whole thing if he wanted to."


    Not knowing about the conspiracy transpiring behind his back, Edward hit the drums a few times throwing a basic Rock rhythm while saying, "It''s been a while since I yed this."


    Alex replied sarcastically, "And you''re showing off your ''rusty'' skill by making a perfect beat ."


    "Yeah. It''s barely perfect. If I had practiced, then it''d be phenomenal." Edward replied jokingly while making a *ba dump tass* �C bad joke sound, causing all of his friends around to roll their eyes.


    "They''re here!" Jacob announced before opening the gymnasium door. A crowd of middle-schoolers ran inside as they wanted to get the best view, and they quickly surrounded Edward and the band as they staged themselves in the middle of the basketball court.


    "Good afternoon everyone! As promised, we present; Finneas O''Connel with the song, "Just a kid!" Hope you guys enjoy this!" Edward introduced. The crowd pped their hands and cheered as they had waited for the moment impatiently.


    Finneas breathed sharply as he grabbed the microphone and he looked at me. I nodded and Billie started ying her guitar.


    [Just a kid- Simple n]


    Finneas started singing, and unlike the other girls, he wasn''t being awkward while he was behind the microphone.


    " ??I woke up it was seven, I waited ''till 11


    Just to figure out that no one would call??"


    "??I think I''ve got a lot of friends


    But I don''t hear from them


    What''s another night all alone??"


    "Oh, I didn''t think the lyrics would be so..." Jenna muttered in surprise as she took another look at Finneas. Elsa nodded as she agreed with Jenna, and she danced subconsciously as she was hooked with the band.


    Finneas became more confident as the crowd reacted positively to his song.


    "??When you''re spending everyday on your own


    And here it goes!!??"


    ??I''m just a kid


    And life is a nightmare!!??


    All of the kids listening to it, especially the ones who are going through puberty, were rting strongly to the song.


    ??I''m just a kid


    I know that it''s not fair


    Nobody cares


    ''Cause I''m alone and the world is having more fun than me tonight!??


    The crowd cheered, and a few girls even brazenly walked beside Finneas and danced there as he sang.


    "??And maybe when the night is dead


    I''ll crawl into my bed


    I''m staring at these four walls again??"


    Finneas was a bit distracted by the girls, especially those who were touching his body as they danced but he continued nheless. He actually nked out, so Edward had to supplement him.


    Edward: ??I''ll try to think about thest time I had a good time


    Everyone''s got somewhere to go??


    Finneas turned towards Ed, and he gazed at him angrily and gestured to him with his facial expression to focus. Finneas gulped his saliva and returned to his microphone.


    ??And they''re gonna leave me here on my own~


    And here it goes??


    The crowd exploded into a massive cheer as they danced all around the band.


    ??I''m just a kid


    And life is a nightmare!!


    I''m just a kid


    I know that it''s not fair!!


    Nobody cares


    ''Cause I''m alone and the world is having more fun than me!!??


    But then, the sound attracted a few teachers into the gymnasium. Mrs Johnson, the PE teacher grinned and stealthily ced the card she had won into her pocket before making ways towards the band.


    ??What the hell is wrong with me?


    Don''t fit in with anybody


    How did this happen to me?


    Wide awake, I''m bored and I can''t fall asleep


    And every night is the worst night ever??


    Jacob saw the teacher and went to stop her quickly. But as he didn''t know how to do that, he started dancing in front of the teacher.


    "What the- Move Green." Mrs Johnson said. But Elsa and Jenna had already followed Jacob to help the band. Before long, a number of students were dancing around Mrs Johnson, barricading her from moving forward to shut the whole thing down.


    Finneas saw it and showed a thumbs up to Jacob as he continued singing with a peace of mind.


    "??I''m just a kid~


    I''m just a kid


    I''m just a kid (Billie: I''m just a kid)??


    Yeah, I''m just a kid (Alex: I''m just a kid)??


    (Edward: I''m just a kid)"


    ??Yeah, I''m just a kid (Billie:I''m just a kid)


    ( Alex: I''m just a kid)??


    Edward was working hard on the drum until his forehead sweat rolled to his chin. He mmed the drumstick hard as Finneas sang.


    ??I''m just a kid!!!


    And life is a nightmare!!!


    ??I''m just a kid!


    I know that it''s not fair!


    Nobody cares!


    ''Cause I''m alone and the world is-


    Nobody wants to be alone in the world??


    Some teenagers had tears in their eyes as they swayed their bodies to the music. As Mrs Johnson heard the lyrics, she was baffled and stopped trying to shut down the music and stared at the band with aplicated look.


    Finneas took out the microphone from the mic and started to move around the gym.


    "??I''m just a kid


    And life is a nightmare


    I''m just a kid


    I know that it''s not fair??"


    "??Nobody cares


    ''Cause I''m alone and the world is-


    Nobody wants to be alone in the world??"


    ??Nobody cares


    ''Cause I''m alone and the world is having more fun than me tonight??


    Billie walked to Finneas and he sang while looking at her in a suspicious manner to the onlooker.


    ??I''m all alone tonight !!??


    ??Nobody cares tonight!!??


    ??''Cause I''m just a kid tonight!!??


    Edward raised his hands as they finished drumming, and the crowd exploded into excitement as the song finished.


    "FINNEAS! FINNEAS! FINNEAS!"


    "ALEX! ALEX! ALEX!"


    "BILLIE! BILLIE ! BILLIE!"


    "EDWARD! EDWARD! EDWARD!!!"


    The fans chanted the band members name, and at this moment, Mrs Johnson finally arrived at the main vocal spot and grabbed the microphone from Finneas.


    "Alright, alright, Settle down! It''s been fun, but it''s now over!" She said, pouring cold water to the crowd''s excitement as they went quiet immediately.


    Mrs Johnson turned towards the band member and said, "You guys. If you want to sing, you could just tell us instead of doing this ...Wait a minute...Where''s the main culprit, Edward Newgate?"


    Alex, Billie and Finneas were clear that their journey would end at this stage, and they replied to Mrs Johnson at the same time with a smirk on their face, "We don''t know."


    "Ahh...shit!" Mrs Johnson cursed, forgotten that she was still holding the microphone.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Although it seemed that I had abandoned my friends, it was all a part of a much bigger n. I returned back to the music ssroom, but there, I was surprised when I saw Abraham sitting on the ''throne'' I used to sit on.


    "Hello there." I called out, feeling that the atmosphere inside the room was a bit weird.

 Chapter 136 - 136 : Fort Wars (4 – Final)

    <h4>Chapter 136: Chapter 136 : Fort Wars (4 �C Final)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Hello there." I muttered.


    The jester looked up from the throne before pulling a lightsaber toy in his hand and replied, "General Kenobi."


    Iughed a bit and my eyes went to the 5 rope knot dangling on top of the throne before asking , "So, have you fallen to the dark side?"


    Abraham turned on the toy lightsaber in his hand, revealing a blue glow. "As you can see, the one who had turned to the dark side...wasn''t me."


    I noticed a lightsaberid down near where I was standing, so I picked it up before turning it on. A red glow appeared on the lightsaber, in which I reacted with a chuckle.


    "So, by any chance if I told you... a story... a story about tragedy... the tragedy of Darth gueis the Wise, would you stand by my side again?" I said while twirling the lightsaber a few times.


    Abraham said angrily, "YOU RELEASED THE HOUUNNNDDDSS ON THEM!" He gritted his teeth and stood up before shing his lightsaber with mine.


    " You promised to enact peace in your rule! But now? Those who challenged your rule, fell in disrepair. You''d unleashed a tragedy, akin to a nuclear war , onto this realm. Have you no regard for others...for human life?"


    My face changed from a smiling king to an evil overlord. "Don''t be so dramatic. It''s just... a necessary sacrifice. All for the glory of the empire."


    "YOU!" Abraham retracted his saber before swinging it at me continuously, in which I blocked every single one. Then, I side-stepped and tripped him, making him fall to the cushiony floor.


    "(Clicking tongue) Poor...Sad Jester. So what if you had seen my true face? You''re powerless to stop it." I teased before I walked slowly to my throne. I sat there crossing my leg while looking at him coldly.


    The camera-man zoomed into my face while crouching, with an excited expression as he filmed the whole thing.


    ...


    [General POV�C Hounds]


    Sanjay Patel vowed to be a worthy rival to the lord of Fluffy-Shire, whether academically, or in charisma. And at the moment he was failing his ambition miserably, not to mention that right now, he had to face the consequences of challenging the throne.


    "Stop releasing the hounds on my subjects!" He said angrily.


    However, the citizens of his fort were currently melting as they watched a cute little corgi dog present their belly by rolling on the floor with its little dumb tongue hanging out of his mouth.


    "AWWWW." The citizens �C or more urately, the girls, eximed as they wanted to pet the dog. But its owner, Barnes of house Troy stopped them and said, " Sir Fluffy ''Hound'' Templeton the Second is a knight underneath the king, and also the official mascot of Fluffy-Shire. Unless you''re a citizen of our realm, you''re not permitted to pet him."


    "Aww..." The girls eximed sadly. Troy then added while holding a piece of paper in his hand, "All that could be subverted if you just sign this contract �C selling the ownership of thends to our Charismatic Leader, King Newgate the Third. You''ll keep the ownership of your fort, but you''ll serve under a rightful leader if you sign this. What do you say?"


    Sanjay was pressured by his group of friends, before his co-owner of thend, Haruna, pushed him away and took the contract paper from Troy. "We''ll serve the king." Haruna said before signing the paper quickly, her eyes twinkling as she stared at the dog.


    "NOOOO!!!" Sanjay screamed in despair as he watched everything he built was taken away from him.


    "Come on ''Hound''. We need to attack 2 more encampments in front of us." Troy pulled the dog leash slowly to remove him from Haruna''s embrace as they needed to finish their work.


    "We have 3 hours left before school ends. I hope we can make it." Troy muttered as the short legged dog looked at him while they were walking side by side.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Abraham swung the lightsaber towards me again and again, but I side-stepped to avoid all of his shes. When our lightsabers shed, we actually stopped its momentum just before it hit each other to avoid breaking the toys.


    I jumped on the throne and said, "It''s OVER Abraham! I have the high ground!"


    "You underestimate my power!!" Abraham said menacingly before trying to sh his saber at me, but I thrusted mine and prated underneath his armpit. Shocked, Abraham staggered while the saber was still sticking on him, and he slowly fell to his knees.


    [Abraham''smentary]


    " I was confident to fight him, after all I had practiced fencing for over three years, but I still failed in the end."


    [Edward''smentary]


    "Well...I had watched all the Star Wars movies...twice... So it makes sense that I won."


    [Commentary ends]


    With a huffing breath, he asked, "So, did my struggle even make you sweat?"


    "I wish I could say it did, but I don''t want to lie to you in your final moments." I said as I turned my back to him.


    Abraham chuckled and said, "Maybe...if it is you...you could actually handle the burden of being a...king..." He struggled at the end before he dropped lifelessly on the soft and warm floor.


    I sighed and I went to take back my lightsaber from him, but then I heard someone slow pping from behind me. I turned and saw Mrs Henderson standing beneath the killswitch knot that I had engineered with an astonished expression on her face.


    "You kids''mitment to your roles is really surprising. Too bad that it all must end now." She muttered before reaching out her hand for the knot. "It''s been fun Edward." She said with a satisfied smile on her face as she untangled the knot.


    But then...nothing happened...


    Confused, Mrs Henderson turned to look at me as I was helping Abraham stand back up after his ''death''. Then, a banner fell from the ceiling, shocking the teacher.


    [YOU LOSE!] The banner said.


    "What the-" Mrs Henderson widened her eyes before turning to me again for the exnation.


    "Did you really think Abraham would betray me?" I asked with a teasing smile on my face. "Although he likes Alex, it''s more like a deep admiration rather than love."


    "Yeah. I''m a SIMP for Alex! Did I use that right?" He whispered to me after dering himself as a simp loudly. "Besides, I''m the one who gave everyone their roles. I''m the one who named the girls his harem members. Nice performance right?" Abraham said before he took a bow.


    ''Yeah actually, you could join the drama club.'' I said as I nodded.


    And quickly proceeded to continue teasing the teacher. "I know you were going to target one of us. Therefore, I decided to make a controble target that you could easily reach out to."


    "Why did you think my hat had bells on it? It WAS to gain your attention." Abraham added while shaking his jester hat, making some ringing noise. Both of usughed together while Mrs Henderson kept looking at us with a scrunched face.


    "Even if you had nned every second of it, Ed, you should have known that all of this was going to end when he led me to you. So why did you do it?" She asked, trying to find the answer for her confusion.


    I shrugged and said, "Because...I don''t need to continue this anymore. I have already achieved my goals."


    A scruffy looking man in a Guiness World Book of Records t-shirt suddenly entered the room and announced, "YOU DID IT! YOU BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD!"


    "With 652 meter square footage, you managed to surpass the previous record at Tiandle Community College. The record for thergest nket fort in the world is now held by your school!" The officials announced.


    The camera-man pumped his fist in excitement as he witnessed the whole thing before getting back to his work.


    Mrs Henderson was nking out for a bit before she muttered to herself, "Guinness... Book of Records?"


    Iughed and said to her, "How did you think I convinced the principal to allow me to do this? You''re slipping, teach. You''re usually better than this."


    "You should''ve told me. I would have ruined everything." She said self-deprecatingly. Iforted her by saying, "No. That would have ruined the entire purpose of today."


    "And that was?" She asked with raised eyebrows as she walked to my side.


    "To get on your nerves for onest time." I replied with a smirk.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Well...if my powers hadn''t been locked as a punishment, maybe I wouldn''t have been able to enjoy thest game he prepared for me." Mrs Henderson muttered to herself as she followed Edward and Abraham from behind as they led her towards the true killswitch.


    After herst interference in the mortal affair, herpany senior had taken away her privilege until summer vacation started. For once, she had experienced a mortal struggle to understand the world around them. To her surprise, she didn''t hate that feeling.


    "It''s...my ssroom?" Mrs Henderson said in disbelief after finding out where the true killswitch was.


    Edward chuckled and said, "Well...It''s always darkest underneath themp. Besides...that''s not all I had prepared."


    "Huh?"


    Abraham opened the door, revealing a ssroom filled with balloons, snacks, and even a banner saying, [Grade 8 -Mrs Henderson ss]. A group of students suddenly shouted, "SURPRISE!! It''s a farewell party!!!!"


    All of Mrs Henderson''s grade 8 students were waiting patiently inside the ssroom for her arrival since the minute Alex and the others had been captured by Mrs Johnson, the PE teacher.


    Jenna, Elsa and Jacob had to rush to the ssroom after slipping away from the PE teacher to join the party together with the rest of the students.


    They had already been released from the principal''s office after signing the participation document for the World Book of Record, and received a t-shirt and a certificate for their involvement.


    Right now, they were inside the assembly hall, distributing the t-shirts that the students would receive after getting the world record while the grade 8 students were having the farewell party inside the ssroom.


    Not only for Mrs Hendersoon''s homeroom, but various teachers were also having farewell parties thrown by their students. The unexpected surprise for the teachers would soon be a tradition in the school, finally breaking down the barrier between students and teachers, albeit only slightly.


    "I''ll miss you teacher." Jenna said while crying as she hugged Mrs Henderson. Elsa, and a lot of the girls also hugged the teacher as they said their final goodbyes to her. The teacher was looking at them with a kind look before subtly wiping her tears away as she enjoyed the party.


    "Everyone, let''s count this together!" Abraham said as the teacher was standing at the killswitch knot.


    "3...2...1...0!" The students counted before Mrs Henderson untangled the knot. The nket forts all around the school started to fall, with no longer any students being inside of it.


    Abraham''s chin quivered as he mumbled to himself, "Fluffy-Shire..."


    Jacob noticed his sadness and said, "Cheer up. After summer, we will make an even bigger better legend, only during Highschool next." Abraham nodded while holding back his tears.


    Mrs Henderson walked to Edward before the party ended. "So, you''re finally graduating. I don''t know whether to be d that you CAN graduate, or fear for your shenanigans in the next school."


    Edwardughed before saying, "Don''t worry. I''ll try to tone down my shenanigans. It''ll be boring if you''re not there to try and stop me, plus remember I will already be starting nearly halfway to my next graduation, maybe that will keep me entertained." I said with a mischievous look


    She chuckled and suddenly ced her hand on top of my head. "Hmm...You''ve gotten tall."


    He was a bit taken aback before he rxed and enjoyed it, "Yeah. That''s what happens when a boy grows up."


    "Hmm...Then, I should say that...you have grown up to be an amazing young man Edward. I''m proud of you."


    Edward didn''t expect the sudden attack, especially one right on ''the feels'' so he just lowered his head as he nodded to her words. Suddenly, the teacher pulled him into a hug and said, "I know that you''ll do amazing things in the future. Just remember, when you''re always looking out for others, you also need to be taken care of. "


    "I will." Edward said with his voice shaking. She rubbed his back a few times as she said, "Good. I''ll trust that you''ll keep that promise."


    "Ed, we should go." Jacob suddenly interjected. "What for? Isn''t the assembly next?" Mrs Henderson released Edward and asked.


    Jacob and Edward looked at each other before Mrs Henderson sighed and said knowingly, "Ed...I thought you''re done with the shenanigans?"


    "Well...I haven''t graduated... yet...So just bear with it for onest time?" Ed said wryly as he scratched his cheek.


    ...


    -Assembly hall,st period of school-


    The African-american, old principal stood behind the podium as he gave his final lectures before the summer vacation started.


    "Use your 3 months of summer vacation properly. Do some volunteer work. Don''t do dangerous things... (  )


    He droned on for over 10 minutes before he said, "Give a big apuse to the team of students who made today possible! Now, our school name will be eternally recorded in the World Book of Records!"


    The crowd cheered for the students who made this all possible. But before the principal could continue speaking, suddenly an amplified Acoustic guitar sound reverberated throughout the hall.


    "What the-" The principal wanted to ask who did it with his microphone, but he found out that his mic had been turned off. The red curtain on the stage suddenly opened, and revealed 4 figures standing on top of the stage, each holding a different instrument.


    The crowd cheered and pped as they had waited for the final performance today since the principal started speaking!


    "You guys must''ve suffered long!" Edward joked before turning to the principal and asking politely, "Sir, I promised to sing a song for them before the school ended. Now that you have finished your inspiring speech, will you be so kind as to allow me to take over the stage?"


    Although he hadn''t finished speaking, the principal was too satisfied with Edward''s achievement today to say anything else even if it was only a record for thergest nket fort.


    "Okay. I''ll give you guys my permission." He said before he ceremoniously left the stage in Ed''s hands.


    Edward took a deep breath before saying, "You know, I thought a lot about what to sing on this stage today, and I''m sure that all of my band members-sh-friends did too."


    "Maybe it was the thought of noting back to this school that made me mncholic, or the fact that I''m happy that I won''t need to see your faces again that made me happy-"


    The crowd jeered at Edward, but with a smile on their faces as they knew he was joking.


    "We all have countless memories inside this school''s hallways. I''m sure some are good and some are bad, but the truth is that this school has taught us so much. We even met people who, whether we knew or not, will maybe stay in our life for a long time."


    "Sometimes we didn''t want toe, but then, someway, somehow it just turned out to be the best day of school we ever had. So my point is that maybe there''s a silver lining in all of the suffering. Even if the day did indeed turn out bad we know that we learnt something that will be of use tomorrow even if it was just a small life lesson aboutmitment, persistence and resilience."


    "So for those of you who have doubts that one day, your life might not be better. I will say that I can assure you, from the bottom of my heart that it will be if you only take that step forward and follow your dreams and never give up while learning as much as you can along the way. I can vouch for that." Edward said while ncing at his group of friends below the stage and around him.


    "Alright, enough chit-chat. For myst present for you guys today, I will sing an ''Edward Newgate signature'' original song, and I hope you guys will love it."


    The crowd cheered again while Edward took a deep breath to calm himself down. The song he was singing wasn''t something that he had heard in his previous life, but it was something that he decided to make as he got the inspiration.


    Not knowing how people would react to the song, he was feeling quite nervous for the entire day. But as he watched his group of friends face their own fears, he knew he had to do the same thing.


    [Ed Sheeran- Celestial]


    Edward strummed his electric acoustic guitar as he sang, "??You see, tonight, it could go either way...Hearts bnced on a razor de??"


    The band members were a bit astonished as they heard Edward''s way of singing, but Alex, who had heard the song photograph before, smiled widely as she yed the cello with her fingers.


    "??We are designed to love and break


    And to rinse and repeat it all again??"


    The crowd swayed their body gently to the song as he sang. Jenna suddenly teared up from the thought of saying goodbyes, causing Elsa to hug her on the back tofort her.


    "??I get stuck when the world''s too loud


    And things don''t look up when you''re goin'' down??"


    Edward remembered the days when he felt lost, and didn''t know what to do.


    "??I know your arms are reachin'' out


    From somewhere beyond the clouds??"


    He paused the music, looked at the sky before closing his eyes, and then hastened the rhythms for the chorus while reminiscing. Mrs Henderson nodded in understanding when a soft wind suddenly blew inside the assembly hall.


    "??You make me feel


    Like my troubled heart is a million miles away??"


    "??You make me feel


    Like I''m drunk on stars and we''re dancing out into space??"


    "Hmm? Drunk on stars...or star?" Enid sniggered as an image of a blonde artist came to her mind.


    "??Celestial!!??" Edward took a step back as he heard Alex and Billie sing the backup vocals and focused on the guitar before singing again, "Celestial~??"


    The crowd cheered. Jacob wiped his tears slowly as he fixed his gaze on Edward, not wanting to miss even a second of his friend''s performance.


    "??I see the light shinin'' through the rain


    A thousand colors in a brighter shade??"


    "??Needed to rise from the lowest ce


    There''s a silver lining that surrounds the grey??"


    Ed unknowingly activated his [Soul Voice] as he sang from the heart, making all those who listened to him rte strongly to the song.


    "??When I get lost, will ite back around?


    Things don''t look up when you''re goin'' down??"


    The happy and bad memories that they had reappeared inside their mind, and the figure of those who always stood with them became clearer.


    "??I know your arms, they are reachin'' out


    From somewhere beyond the clouds??"


    "??You make me feel


    Like my troubled heart is a million miles away??"


    "??You make me feel


    Like I''m drunk on stars and we''re dancing out into space??"


    "EDWARDDD!" Jenna shouted in encouragement before the chorus.


    "?? Celestial


    Celestial, oh-oh??"


    "??We were made to be, Nothin'' more than this, Finding magic in all the smallest things??"


    "??The way we notice, that''s what really matters, Let''s make tonight go on and on and on~??"


    Edward sang, "??You make me feel??", and was continued by his friends.


    (Alex and Finneas: We were made to be nothing more than this. Finding magic in all the smallest things)


    "??You make me feel??"


    (Alex and Finneas: The way we notice, that''s what really matters. Let''s make tonight go on and on and on)


    "?? You make me feel


    Like my troubled heart is a million miles away??"


    The corgi who hadn''t gotten home yet also swayed his tiny tail as he heard the song.


    "??You make me feel


    Like I''m drunk on stars and we''re dancing out into space??"


    "??Celestial, oh-oh??


    ??Celestial, oh-oh??


    ??Celestial??"


    "??We were made to be


    Nothing more than this (oh-oh)


    Finding magic in all the smallest things (celestial)


    The way we notice, that''s what really matters (oh-oh)


    Let''s make tonight go on and on and on


    Celestial??"


    ...


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 Chapter 137: Fort Wars – Reactions.

    <h4>Chapter 137: Chapter 137: Fort Wars �C Reactions.</h4>


    [General POV]


    "MOM! Edward''s show is up!" Manny yelled after setting up theptop with the TV screen in the living room. Luke was there too as he made it his job to make sure that Manny would keep exercising and dieting every single day.


    Not that he wanted Manny to be healthier, but he fell in love with the ''powerful'' feeling of being a coach and thus wanted to make Manny''s life a living hell.


    Compared to how bloated Manny was before, now, his jaw had be more angr and his chubby cheeks had sunk, making a few girls notice him �C which made him more confident about Ed''s technique to pick up girls.


    "Grandpa! Come quick!" Luke ran to Jay who was drinking a ss of scotch at the bar and pulled him towards the couch. Jay sighed and said gruffly, "I...I don''t think that I will be interested in watching this."


    "Ayy Jay don''t be an old man." Gloria interjected as she walked down the stairs while wearing an earring.


    "Hey... this whole thing''s for teenage girls who are crazy over everything that has to do with him, not me!" Jay angrily gruffed.


    But Gloria quickly added in a careful manner trying to avoid sounding patronizing , "Alex...is singing too. You should give her support. Isn''t that right Manny?"


    Luke suddenlyughed and said, "Yeah Grandpa. Alex will need it."


    Not that the family was looking down on Alex, but they just never heard her sing before. So they were a bit doubtful about her participation in such a show.


    {Fort Wars!} was the title of the video. The thumbnail was of Edward sitting on a throne with a red-lightsaber, which made his fan''s both feel incredulous and excited to click on it.


    The movie yed with texts floating up in the screen �C Star Wars style!


    "Aren''t they afraid of getting sued?" Jay muttered in disbelief.


    In another house.


    "Oh OHHH!" Phil eximed in excitement as he watched the show. Next to him was Haley who was holding a Vogue magazine and asking ire a few questions.


    "Mom, it says here men who''re attracted to emotional/gothic type girls, and even psycho girls, have massive issues with their mother. Do you think that''s true?" Haley asked with an expression of disbelief.


    [Haley''s Commentary]


    "I was wondering why Tara rmended this issue to me. Turns out, it can give me a deeper understanding on why...he''s like that." Haley said carefully and with a wry smile.


    "Of course, if it''s written in a magazine it must be true right?? I mean I don''t see why I shouldn''t believe it? I mean, they are a hugely poprpany why would they lie?" She asked with a worrying chuckle while holding the magazine.


    "It''s said that to attract the attention of these kinds of men, I should be more affectionate, don''t y games with them, give out a motherly impression? What the hell does that even mean!? I don''t have any idea of how to do any of these things!"


    [Commentary ends]


    "Honey, instead of reading the magazine, why don''t you help me fold theundry?" ire said to avoid answering the question by her daughter. Not because she didn''t know the answer, but because she knew it all too well.


    "Hmmm..." Haley scrutinized her mother''s face, before she slowly picked up theundry and folded it messily but with her eyes stuck on ire.


    {Today we''re going to build a school-wide nket fort, and try to break the world Record!}


    The video opened with the sight of Edward speaking to a group of students in a normal tone, before it changed 5 minutester into a feudal lord tone after the nket fort was erected.


    "Pfft- HAHAHA! Why are they all so serious!" Haleyughed out loud, while feeling slightly jealous of those kids. Even ire and Phil couldn''t help smiling as they watched it.


    "When Luke and Alexe home, We will make our own-" Phil said excitedly, before it was shut down by his wife, "NO Phil!"


    [Phil''smentary]


    "I want to build a fort too! It''s been a while since the kids wanted to do anything like that . I miss that." Phil said with sad eyes.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Performance? He''s singing in this?" Haley asked when Edward dered it in the video.


    "Forget about that. What kind of contraband is he smuggling ? That''s my main concern." ire said with narrowed eyes.


    The video continued with Abraham kneeling in front of the throne, {"Esteemed Lord of Fluffy-Shire.....Honorable members of the Royal Harem..."}


    All of them were frozen as they heard it. Especially Haley.


    [Haley''mentary]


    "He said WHAT!" She yelled incredulously.


    Far away from California, a blonde teenage girl was watching the video while on a video call with her best friend at the same time.


    "Selena, are you watching it?" Taylor asked as she skipped the video to thest section as she wanted to hear Edward''s song first.


    "I''m watching it from the start! Also, I''m jealous. I always imagined ying with my friends in school like that." Selena muttered on the screen.


    "Really? Hmmm...What should I do?" Taylor rubbed her chin as she thought about it. "Well...I will watch the end first, then I will decide whether to watch the whole thing."


    "Weren''t you the one who was so excited, you just HAD to call me even if I was still on set? Didn''t you say you missed him ''SO SO MUCH''? "


    "Hmph! I do miss him, but he''s out there ying without even thinking about me who''s suffering over here!" Taylor said while crossing her arms angrily.


    "Suffering? Bitch you''re in a mansion-"


    "Enough talking. I will y the song first!" Taylor then clicked on the y button, and listened to ''Celestial'' together with Selena.


    {"?? You make me feel


    Like my troubled heart is a million miles away??"}


    {"??You make me feel


    Like I''m drunk on stars and we''re dancing out into space??"}


    {"??Celestial, oh-oh??


    ??Celestial, oh-oh??


    ??Celestial??"}


    "Aha- I can''t!" Taylor squealed and paused the video to calm down her huffing breath and flushing face.


    Selena teased, "So, you sing Starlight for him, and he replied with Celestial-"


    Taylor chortled out loud and then jumped on the bed before squirming -kicking all the pillows to the floor.


    Selena was jealous and muttered, "I want someone to sing for me too! Or at least make some lines for me in his songs..."


    Taylor suddenly sat up and pped her face a few times to calm herself down. "That was dangerous! I was just thinking about buying a house next to him."


    Selena raised her eyebrow and said, "And?"


    "And nothing. Just thinking about it." Taylor replied casually before they both watched the show from the beginning.


    {"Esteemed Lord of Fluffy-Shire.....Honorable members of the Royal Harem..."}


    Both Selena and Taylor were frozen. But then, Selena realized something before Taylor could explode.


    "Look, there''s no ''Lady''. Or Queen." Selena pointed out.


    "Hmm?" Taylor''s brain repressed the image of Alex sitting on top of Edward''sp as she heard it. Then, she realized it was true.


    "They are...WERE... only his harem members. Calm down. Don''t go psycho. There''s still a long way to go before the movie is finished." Selena cated Taylor.


    As the video cuts to Jenna''smentary of wanting to substitute Alex, Taylor and Selena also nodded as they were thinking of the same thing.


    Meanwhile in Edward''s Fan Club chat forum, the members were bombarding the chat, disying the same sentiment.


    @LilyLeader: I want to sit there too! I''m so jealous!


    @BeyonceLover: Still, I want to see Taylor sitting there even MORE!


    @EdForever: I want to serve under the lord! AHHH! WHY IS HE SO HANDSOME! #VILLAIN_EDWARD_IS_SEXY


    @KimJongSun: Don''t you think Supreme Leader Edward is better?


    @EdForever: I don''t care! HE can TRAMPLE me anytime he wants-


    (Admin: User is sent to time out for 5 minutes)


    @ClownDaddy: Give me back my nket Alex!


    Inside Mitch and Cam''s house, Cam was eating popcorn while Lily sat on hisp as they watched the show together. Mitchell was still at work, so they were watching it by themselves.


    "Okay Lily, I know your Dad asked us to wait for him, but Daddy just couldn''t wait any longer. Don''t judge me." Cam made excuses to his 1 year old adopted child.


    "JED!...ED!" Lily pointed at the TV every time Edward came out. Cam was baffled as to how Lily could possibly recognize the main lead, but attributed the matter to Ed''s charisma.


    "Even babies are captured by him." Cam said before he texted Mitchell that he would wait for him with a winky face.


    In Mitchell''s workce, his entire floor of paralegal andwyers were standing behind Mitch as he streamed the movie on hisptop. He had clicked to watch it the second it was uploaded, and he had already streamed it till the scene where Billie was singing ''All Star''.


    "I didn''t expect Ed to find another talent." Mitchell muttered to himself while eating a biscuit. His middle-aged fat man colleague poured some tea for him, and he said, "Oh. Thank you."


    "You''re wee. So, he is really close to your family?" The college asked with a thick face. "Could you get me his autograph? I missed hisst merchandise sale, now my daughter isn''t talking to me."


    Mitchell said smugly, "Well...He is quite busy..."


    "Oh..Umm...You know what, why don''t I...Do this work for you today? So can you take the time to consider?" The man said before picking up a thick stack of files on top of Mitchell''s desk.


    "Oh you don''t have to. I will ask him!" Mitchell said with fake reluctance. The middle-aged man smiled and said, "No. I want to do it. You should just enjoy watching this-"


    Before he could finish, Mitchell''s boss knocked on the open office door twice, earning everyone''s attention. "What are you guys doing here? GO BACK TO WORK!"


    The colleagues all scampered away to avoid being targeted by the boss. Mitchell mmed hisptop shut, but the boss was already walking towards him.


    "Mitchell." The boss called out politely to Mitchell''s surprise. As it turned out, the boss also had the same dilemma as his middle-aged colleague.


    "So you know...If you could...It''d be great." The boss asked politely.


    "Oh. I understand. Amanda is a nice girl. If...You know what ...Nothing."


    "What? Tell me."


    "Well... There will be a small...Just a tiny...concert by Edward tomorrow. Not many people are invited ... But I am... If I wasn''t busy reviewing thoseb reports on the McNutty pollution case, I could-"


    "What are you talking about Mitchell? I gave the research work to Jolene. She should send you her full report before Monday. You can take Saturday off like usual." The boss said suddenly. Mitchell smiled and said, "Oh. I guess... I can go to the concert then. And you know what? Why don''t I take Amanda with me? I do have backstage passes."


    The boss grinned widely as he walked away from Mitchell''s office. He stopped by the door, turned back and said, "Mitchell. You had done some exemry work this week. Why don''t you take the rest of the day off?"


    [Mitchell''smentary]


    "I really didn''t think that my impulse to watch the show today could lead to such a wonderful opportunity." Mitchell grinned before fixing his seat to show more confidence.


    "Is this what it feels like to be famous? People want to give you nice things and just treat you so nice all the time? I sure could get used to this." He said smugly.


    Then, he realized something and he said, " Maybe I should call Haley after this. I...don''t actually have the tickets yet...I sure hope that I can find one..."


    [Commentary ends]


    Inside the Dunphy''s house, ire was so excited and was shaking Phil violently as she watched Alex''s performance. Even Haley was shocked by her sister''s performance, but she was so embarrassed when she saw Alex wanted to do a crowd surf.


    "Damn it Alex! You ruined your own image!" She muttered.


    "How did Edward n this? Why is he making his teacher run around? Does he have a grudge with her?" Phil muttered in confusion.


    In terms of poprity between the ''cast'' of the movie, Mrs Henderson was actually leading in the ranking as her cold-blooded beauty was shown to the entire world. Next was Enid, the shadow guard, and cementing his ce in the top 3, the corgi, Sir Fluffy ''Hound'' Templeton the Second.


    "A...He''s so cute!" Selena eximed as the video cut to footage of the dog licking Ed''s face, making himugh and break character as he sat on the throne.


    "Hmm...I wonder if he likes cats too." Taylor mumbled to herself.


    Inside the room of a certain ''D'' producer office, a certain X-Stein producer smoked his cigar as he watched the figure of the children inside the show.


    "Hmm...I wanna see their feet." He muttered. "Should I cast them in my new show?"


    But too bad for him, he wouldn''t even manage toe close to the cast members as they got Edward as their backing. Fame carries a certain degree of treachery, so Ed knew that he had to be careful when releasing his show on his tform.


    With 3 millions subscribers in the first month of the streaming site release, the names of the cast members in the show had spread all over the world - albeit it was still only circling amongst Edward''s fanmunity.


    Entertainpany Co-CEO Pepper was watching the show when he suddenly sighed. "At first, I didn''t think that it''d be good for his image to release this...It just seemed so... childish"


    "But unexpectedly, people liked to see their idol doing dumb and rtable stuff." Pepper added as he saw Edward''s name was trending again on Twitter.


    Harvey nodded and suddenly said with a smirk, "Yes. You have no talent in this. You should just let him handle thepany from now on."


    "..." Pepper was speechless and couldn''t find the words to refute Harvey for a while.


    Eminem watched the show with a poker face before he sniggered and muttered, "Yo Dre. Come check this out man. He''s fighting with lightsabers."


    "Huh? Weren''t you watching a documentary?" Dre asked in confusion.


    In Jay''s house, Luke and Manny eximed in awe as they watched the lightsaber fight in the dim room.


    "That''s soo cool!! Mom! What is a lightsaber?" Manny asked as he had never watched Star Wars before. (He''s 10)


    "That''s from Star Trek Manny. I want one! Grandpa! Buy me one!" Luke pestered Jay before getting back to the show.


    "It''s Star Wars Luke! Your uncle Mitchell''s head will actually let out smoke if you say it wrong." Jay said with a chuckle.


    "I know it''s Star Trek! I watched it with my dad before!" Luke said disobediently.


    As the story showed that Ed had been ying the teacher from the beginning of the story, viewers around the world were shocked by the revtion and the inte exploded.


    @LilyLeader: All ording to the n. (AizenSosuke.img)


    Inside an apartment in Pasadena, Sheldon suddenly shouted while sitting on his spot on the couch, "IMPOSSIBLE!! This must be scripted!"


    Leonardughed while sitting on the lone couch and said, "No-no. It''s real. It''s a documentary."


    "I refuse to believe this! Also Leonard! You lied to me! You said George Lucas came out with an exclusive!" Sheldon stood up and ran away to his room in anger. Rajesh and Howard alsoughed at Sheldon before Rajesh said, "I didn''t know that he was a Star Wars fan. Is he also aic book fan?"


    "Ohh. We should invite him here and show our collection to him sometimes." Leonard added.


    "Or use him to get close to George Lucas, and get a cameo as a Jedi in the next movie!" Howard said as if he got a great idea.


    While his friends were disdaining him, a certain director inside the Skywalker Ranch was watching the show before he mumbled, "Hmm...Is it the right time for another Star Wars movie yet? Or should I just sell thepany?"


    George Lucas couldn''te to a decision today. But he knew deep down in his heart that if he dide out with the new movie, a certain teenage singer would be his first choice to be a Sith Lord, and do the soundtrack.


    RDJ watched the fight scene and he said to John Favreou, "I told you. The kid can act."


    "Yes. I do believe you. But there aren''t any roles suitable for him. And we don''t have the rights for the spiderman film." Jon replied.


    "Give him a role to fight Scarlet. I''m sure he''d love her to wrap her legs around him." RDJ said sarcastically while teasing John''s questionable choice in the new movie.


    @ClownDaddy: Congrats Ed for breaking the World Record!


    @LilyLeader: Congrats Ed for breaking the World Record!


    Even on Twitter, a lot of celebrities were tagging Edward in their tweets to congratte him.


    @MileyCyrus: Congrattions Edward Newgate! I didn''t think that I would be absorbed watching a documentary, but you have changed my view!


    @SamuelLJackson: Motherfucker, why didn''t you use the purple lightsaber?


    @AndrewGarfield: Oh my god, My Jedi heart is screaming inside of me! @EdwardNewgate, You should be a Sith Lord!


    @EwanMcgregor: You were the chosen one Edward! It was prophesied that you would destroy the Sith! Not join them!


    @EwanMcgregor: Ahh, I''m not satisfied with the 2 minute fight. I want more! The plot twist is mindblowing! The JESTER is the MVP!


    @Hayden: I agree with @EwanMcgregor.


    As the world reached Edward''s performance, they swooned together with the rest of the students.


    Haley mumbled to herself, "Is he still sad about his grandmother? I didn''t expect that...Hmm..."


    Phil swayed to the music before he muttered, "I don''t know why, but this song reminds me of Pokemons."


    Haley: ...


    ire: ...


    CameronDiaz: It makes me miss my school days. I didn''t expect that.. @EdwardNewgate I''m your fan now!


    Back to Taylor, Selena was baffled when Taylor suddenly ran out of her room, shouting for her dad.


    "DADDY! I want to go to the concert tomorrow! YOU CAN''T STOP MEEEEE!!!"


    @LilyLeader: Celestial? Hehe, I guess it''s a reference to the girl who sang Starlight before? Haha, #Tayward_Forever!


    The song Celestial quickly started trending everywhere, and the fires of Edward and Taylor''s shippers were reignited again, pushing the shippers towards a new fanatical level.


    ...


    [Cam''s house]


    As the world was reacting to the show, Edward was currently being squished by a group of people on top of his giant bed. His group of friends wasying on top of him in a dogpile, preventing him from moving.


    "We don''t want to go!" Eximed all of the people in his social group. Jenna, Enid, Billie, Alex, Finneas, Abraham, Elsa, Jacob�C All of them were currently at Edward''s house as they didn''t want to separate as school was over.


    "Get lost you guys! I have to get ready for prom!" Edward shouted and tried to push them off, but to no avail.


    "NOOO!" x8

 Chapter 138: Summer Plans.

    <h4>Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Summer ns.</h4>


    (i''m sick af this week. i''ll post another chap tomorrow to make up for monday)


    [Edward POV]


    "You guys are so heavy!" I groaned as I rubbed my sore back after forcing all the people off me. Jenna and Enid happily rolled around my giant bed while Alex, Billie and Elsa were sitting on the edge. The boys were all kicked out from the bed and were spread all over the room.


    Holding a Metallica album, Finneas asked quizzically, "You listen to heavy metal? That''s...unexpected."


    "That''s Abby''s." I replied casually before taking out 3 sets of suits from the closet. Iid them down on the bed while I took off my shirt, making the girls squeal in surprise.


    "Shut up! This is my room! I can be naked in here if I want!" I said in a sarcastic manner as I threw my shirt to Enid. She grabbed the shirt and sniffed it before saying, "Go ahead. Be naked. We won''t mind~"


    "I would mind. I don''t want my girl to look at other naked men." Jacob said in a serious manner.


    "Toote." Jenna said with a chuckle, causing Elsa to blush. "Shut up!" Elsa said before attacking Jenna.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Jacob asked in worry and confusion.


    "Porn. She watched porn." I exined simply, which made Jacob sigh in relief and Elsa threw a pillow at me in embarrassment.


    "GO DIE! ALL OF YOU!" She exploded before running away. As weughed, Finneas suddenly asked, "So, now that summer''s here? What are you guys going to do?"


    Abraham was fiddling with the illegal items he snatched from the contraband pile in school and replied, "I don''t have a n yet. What about you?"


    Finneas replied, "I''m not sure, but my mom usually brings us to our beach house in Montauk for summer. We''ll spend a few weeks there, usually after the 4th of July."


    Billie nodded before saying, "If any of you guys want, you cane with us. We''re usually bored out of our minds there."


    "Hmm? Your parent''s don''t take you guys sightseeing?" I asked in confusion.


    Finneas and Billie looked at each other before Billie replied, "Well...they usually spend some time at another couple''s house. I don''t know what they do there though."


    I nodded while inwardly replying, "Swinging", but not saying it to the kids as I didn''t want to ruin their perception of their parents.


    "Montauk? That''s a coincidence. I usually go there with my family too. Not my dad though, he is busy training his team in the summer." Jacob added after bringing the angry Elsa back into the room and made her sit on hisp as he patted her head to calm her down.


    "Ahh, you guys could y together then. Maybe try some surfing or skinny dipping." Abraham joked. Jenna and Enid were watching me the whole time as I tried on my suit, and then Alexughed as she saw the sight.


    "AHAHA, the suit is small! What are you? The HULK?" She joked as I checked out my reflection in the mirror. The suit was great, but too bad for me, I had already outgrown it.


    "Can you believe that I had this suit tailor-made just 2 months ago?" I said as I took off the shirt and was left shirtless again. "Finneas, this was never worn. Try it. See if it fits you." I threw the suit to Finneas before he blushed and said, "I don''t want to undress-"


    "Go outside the room or use the toilet next door if you''re shy." I said with a tone of disbelief. Finneas realized it and ran away quickly as the groupughed at him.


    "Hmm...I remember you being my height before. Now...you even got muscles." Jenna said before she touched my abs without me realizing it. Enid was jealous and she pinned Jenna down before saying urgently, "I want to touch too!"


    I took a step back before she could, which made her pout in dissatisfaction. Iughed before saying, "I...I don''t know whether all of this can fit me. I asked Pepper to bring my suit this morning from the office, but I don''t know if he already did."


    "Oh. Your aunt told me to remind you, your stuff is in the living room. I''ll go get it." Alex said before she ran out of the room. Suddenly, I heard both Alex and Finneas let out a horrified yell, and Alex scolding Finneas for being naked in the corridor.


    As they were arguing, Enid asked, "Ed, you''re going to see your grandparents right?"


    "Yeah. I''ll be staying at the ranch for a while. Hopefully they really have installed wifi there, or I''ll be living like it''s the middle ages all over again."


    "Ranch? Your family has a ranch?" Jenna asked curiously.


    "Yeah. Horses, cows, sheeps. Usually my grandpa and I just ride horses around the ce while my cousins annoy me for as long as I stay there."


    "Wait. Do you wear a cowboy hat when you ride?" Jenna asked as her eyes lit up.


    "Yeah. Why?" I asked in confusion.


    Jenna giggled for a while and said, "Nothing. I don''t have anything to do in the summer. I envy you. I want to ride horses too."


    Without thinking much, I replied, "Well you could alwayse to the ranch-"


    "YEAYY!" Jenna celebrated suddenly before I could finish my words. Enid whispered in dissatisfaction, "Lucky."


    "Wait Jen. Didn''t you say you were going to church camp?" Elsa suddenly asked in confusion. Jenna flinched as she remembered it and sighed depressingly. "Yeah."


    All of us widened our eyes and eximed in disbelief, "CHURCH CAMP!?"


    "You...the slut...are going to church camp?" Enid muttered in shock.


    "What do you mean slut? I''m a nice girl now. Modest, Catholic girl." Jenna said jokingly. "My mom is going there to-"


    "To hunt for virgin boys?" I added while still in shock. Jenna red at me and said, "NO!"


    "To make the priests break their vow of chastity?" Billie added, which impressed me a bit.


    "NOOOO!....No...I guess...no?" Even Jenna was confused by her mother''s intention as she thought about it.


    Iughed a bit before asking, "Enid, You''re going back to Transylvannia to run together with your wolf pack?"


    Enid was shocked and she asked, "HOW DID YOU KNOW?"


    "Wait...For real?" Abraham asked in surprise.


    "Not the wolf part!" She retorted angrily before throwing her tiny fist at Abraham from afar. "But I will be going to Transylvannia to meet my grandparents. It is only for a week, and I will be back before the 4th (of July)." Enid exined.


    Abraham and I breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there were nothing paranormal happening inside the room before Elsa spoke, "My mom had to work, so I usually stay at home to take care of my brothers. But this year, I could work part time at the mall!"


    "Oh yeah. We could do that this year." I muttered in amusement before offering, "If you want, I could give you a part time job at mypany. You''re good at administrative work, so it''ll be a waste for you to be selling banana split."


    "Surely you jest! But I don''t want to work at a boringpany. I want to hang out at the mall all day!" Elsa said decisively.


    "Sure sure." I said dismissively before Finneas walked into the room wearing a dashing brown suit. Alex also walked in while carrying a garment bag. I whistled at Finneas and said, "Whew. That looks great on you."


    "Thanks. I also love it very much." Finneas said with a smile while still blushing as Alex looked at him.


    He then turned his attention to the rest of the small suits. "Take them if you want. I don''t think there''s anyone else that could fit them. Wait...Maybe Leonard..."


    "Leonard?" Billie asked in confusion as she walked next to his brother to check out the suit.


    "Dr Leonard Hofstader. He''s a Caltech experimental physicist." Alex exined.


    "Why him?" Abraham asked in confusion.


    "Let''s just say, he only has one suit, and it''s an ugly corduroy suit. So I feel pity for him." I muttered before opening the garment bag and taking out a ck suit.


    "Hey, have you bought the flower for your date yet?" Enid asked suddenly.


    "Hmm? Wait, isn''t it a corsage? Abby told me she didn''t want it." I asked with a shaky tone.


    "The Corsage is a flower. You should definitely bring her flowers! What the hell were you thinking!? No flowers for your date?" Alex said angrily.


    I was shaken by her words, and turned to Abraham instantly, "Abraca-genie. Is there a way?"


    "There is a flower shop open till 6 in the town. If you want it, we need to be fast because there will be a lot ofst minute buying too for dudes in simr predicaments." Abraham said in a casual manner.


    I turned to the clock and breathed in relief as it was only 5 pm. "I should ask my dad to buy it." I said before calling my dad.


    "Wait. 6? Wait wait wait- Ed, prom starts at 5. Wh-what are you still doing here?" Alex asked fearfully after I finished my call.


    "Oh that. Apparently Haley said only the nerds and the loserse at 5. All the cool kids will be there at 7. So Abby wants to go there at 7." I exined as I buttoned up my shirt. "Aaaand now I need to take off my pants, so all of you...get out of my room."


    The girls sniggered and said, "No~"


    I had to relent and walked out of the room to change into my pants before returning.


    After changing into a dashing ck suit with a white undershirt and a ck vest, I stood in front of the mirror topare the looks with a ck tie and a navy blue tie.


    "Hmm..." I changed the ties for a while before I said, "Both of them are good... What am I saying? I look good in everything."


    "Choose the olive ones. It''ll bring out your eyes." Alex suddenly said.


    "Hmm? Since when did you have a clue about fashion?" I asked her teasingly.


    "Not me." She shook her phone as she said that, and I saw she was texting with Haley on the screen.


    "I see. Olive color then." I said before throwing both ties on my hand to the bed and picking up the olive colored one.


    "Now onto the next question, double windsor knot, or single windsor knot?"


    "What''s the difference?" Jacob asked in confusion.


    "Well...if a double windsor knot, then it means...that I''m there formally. It is for official business. There will be nothing more happening in the night except for the event."


    "Huh????" All of them were confused by my exnation before Enid asked, "Then, what about the single knot one?"


    "That''s more of a ''trying-to-seduce'' my date kind of knot. There''s no difference between wearing that, and not wearing anything at all."


    "Hmm..you should totally go there without wearing anything." Jenna blurted out unconsciously.


    "Where the hell did you learn all this stuff?" Abraham asked with a scrunched eyebrow.


    "Captain Raymond Holt." I replied casually.


    "Who?" Alex asked.


    "Not important." I said before deciding on a knot style.


    "EDDD~ Have you called the limo service yet?" My aunt suddenly shouted from downstairs.


    I shouted back, "I have! They wille at 6.30!"


    "Good! I''m going over to Desiree''s house for a while to give her my camera!." Cam said.


    I was confused so I shouted, "Why a camera?", but she was already gone.


    "Of course, to take your pictureter on." Alex said whileughing.


    After getting ready and styling my hair, I walked downstairs and hung out with my friends as I waited for the appointed time.


    "Hmmm...Ed, you have a hot tub right? We should totallye by to use itter." Abraham said sneakily.


    "The construction isn''t done yet. But the hot tub can be used. You guys cane if you want, but I''d rather go to the pool at Alex''s grandpa''s ce." I said.


    Alex''s eyes lit up and she said, "Yeah. We should go there! I''ll ask grandpa if we can hang out at his house. But...Ed, you have a busy schedule right?"


    "Kinda. Starting tomorrow till 3rd of July, I have a full schedule about my album discussion, music video shootings, appsunching, and albumunching. Then I''m free for one day before I have to fly over to Wisconsin."


    "Damn. So what''s the point of us going there if you ain''t gonna be there too. I don''t want to go to the pool just with Abraham. He''s a perv." Enid said.


    "Hey!" Abraham retorted.


    "Shut up! I have seen your bag! Disgusting pervert! You know all the girls in the magazine are already old and have saggy tits by now right?" Enid shouted.


    "You don''t understand the value of vintage collections!" Abraham debated and tried to get me to be at his side, but I just shook my head in disappointment.


    "You''re not going to be here on father''s day either right? My dad wanted to invite you toe y with us, but I guess he''ll be disappointed again." Alex said, ignoring the bickering duo.


    "Hmm? Phil does? I am here. But I''ll be spending the day...you know...with my dad." I said with a smile.


    "Really?"


    "Yeah. We have a tradition. We will buy a lottery ticket at thest moment, then spend all night long grieving at the tv when we don''t win the Powerball." I said with augh.


    ...


    [General POV]


    After getting the call from his son, Ted drove to the flower shop immediately after getting home from work. However, he was surprised when he saw a huge crowd of people lining up at the shop �C most were teenage boys in a suit.


    "Ted?...Ted! Over here!" Suddenly, he heard a sound calling for him in the beginning part of the line as he was walking to the end. He turned and unexpectedly saw Desiree queuing in line and was waving at him.


    He walked to her with a smile on his face and said, "What are you doing here?"


    "Abby changed her mind about the corsage. So I had to buy it at thest minute. What about you?"


    "Ed changed his mind about the flowers." Ted said beforeughing together with Desiree.


    "Dude! No cutting in the line!" A teenage boy behind Desiree said, interrupting their chatter.


    "Oh, I''m-"


    "He''s my boyfriend!" Desiree suddenly hugged Ted''s bulky arm, causing him to be abashed. "So you should stop staring at my ass, or else he will punch you."


    "Umm...Shit!" The kid cursed before running away quickly as he saw Ted''s scary face.


    "What was that?" Ted asked in confusion.


    "Just a horny teenage boy. He''s been bumping on me purposely a few times." Desiree said in an aggrieved manner. "Sometimes, I wonder why this always happens to me."


    "Hmm? You don''t know? You''re a beautiful and sexy woman. That''s why-" Ted suddenly realized what he was saying, and Desiree fanned her flushing cheeks as she became embarrassed by it.


    "A-Anyway. Ed and Abby huh." Desiree said, changing the topic while still holding Ted''s arm as they step one foot forward in line. A blonde boy shouted, "YESS! LAST ROSE!" as he walked out of the store, making the crowd murmur in grief.


    "Y-Yeah. Ed and Abby. Our children...are going to prom with each other." Ted said before wiping the sweat on his forehead.


    "Hmm...Too bad, If they didn''t, then maybe something could actually happen between us." Desiree said.


    "Maybe." Ted replied.


    "You know, we will go back to New York this Monday." Desiree added.


    "Did Ed know about this?" Ted asked.


    "I think he does. Abby passed the interview, and her 2 month program will start quickly."


    "I see. Too bad you won''t be able to see the house after the renovation is finished. I know you wanted to." Ted said, referring to the times Desiree stopped by the house, always with snacks and drinks as he was working with the construction crew.


    "Nah. I was just going over there to look at you with your tank top on, all sweaty while you sawed wood." Desiree said teasingly, which made Ted cough twice.


    "If I had a regret, it would be that I never went on your cruise trip." She added.


    "Ahh...That reminds me, one of my friends is sick, so he left me the keys to his ship." Ted said suddenly.


    "Hmm?"


    "If you want, I could show you the sea tonight..."


    Desiree smiled widely before she said coquettishly, "Oh... you won''t mind going there...just the two of us?"


    Ted thought for a while before he said, "Sure. It''s a small boat anyway. I can steer it on my own."


    "That''s not what I mean. Forget it." Desiree said disappointedly. After getting the flowers and the corsage, they went home in their own cars, but before Desiree started her engine, Ted said assertively, "So...I''ll pick you up at 8?"


    "What...Su-Sure."


    "Good. I''ll bring some red wine." He said before he entered his car.


    ...


    At Desiree''s house. While Edward was getting ready with his friends, Abby too had her own little helpers.


    "So, how do you want your hair done?" Haley asked as she was on hair duty.


    "Same as usual." Abby replied, referring to her twin-tail hairstyle.


    "Tch. Boring." Tara grunted as she held an eyeliner and was working on Abby''s makeup.


    "You wear a bra right?" Haley asked as she could see Abby''s chest in the dress just by standing behind her. Abby was shocked and said, "You need to wear one?"


    "OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO! In fact! I should check if you wore panties!" Tara retorted before she tried to pull Abby''s skirt up. "HEY! Privacy much!" Abby pushed her skirt down before Tara could look.


    After setting the hair, Haley sighed as she said, "Are you really serious? You want to wear a goth choker to prom? What will he think? There''s no difference between this and a dog cor."


    "Should I wear a dog cor? He''ll love things like that." Abby said teasingly.


    Haley rolled her eyes before taking off the choker angrily, "Wear nes instead! And don''t you dare use ck nail polish today! Nor the ck lipstick!"


    "No ck lipstick? But I was already done with her eyes!" Tara shouted before grumbling angrily.


    "What- Damn it Tara! I told you, don''t do goth!"


    "She told me you said it was okay!"


    "Do you even know me?!"


    Abby sniggered as she watched her friends were fighting before she asked, "Hey, you guys watched the show yet?"


    "Yeah. We did." Tara replied.


    "And...did he really sing...it for Taylor?" Abby asked hesitantly.


    "Huh? Which song?" Haley asked in confusion, which made Abby feel a bit relieved.


    As Haley went away to pick out the earrings from Desiree''s box of jewelry, Tara whispered, "Soo...Tonight''s the big night huh. Just....Just don''t do anything you''ll regret...okay?''


    "I''ll...keep that in mind."


    "And if someone randomly offers you a drink, by all means, don''t take it."

 Chapter 139: Prom (1)

    <h4>Chapter 139: Chapter 139: Prom (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Don''t drink and drive...what else...oh, use protection-" Before my aunt could finish her words, my dad interrupted, "Beware of spiked drinks. And...don''t drink...at all... you don''t even have a license yet, so don''t drive..."


    He gave my aunt a sideway re before grabbing my shoulders, "Be responsible. Okay?"


    "Yeah dad. I''m more responsible than you. Stop worrying. It''s school prom, not a rave." I muttered in annoyance as it was almost time to pick up my date.


    My dad smiled as he saw my worrying face and said, "Alright, I won''t hold you back any longer."


    "But first!" My aunt suddenly took out a DSLR camera and snapped a picture of me holding the flowers. I posed for the camera without any embarrassment, making my group of friends boo me.


    "Wish me luck guys. And make sure to not be around when I get hometer on." I joked as I got out of the house. Enid showed her tongue at me in annoyance before saying, "NO! We will still be here! You can''t throw us away!"


    "Also, you guys need to have a picture of you...all together.." My aunt said before gesturing for my friends to stand next to me. Alex pulled me back into the house before we took multiple group pictures together. Then, Alex and Finneas started to bicker as thetter was still wearing the suit I gave him.


    "Wanna bet how long it will take for them to date each other?" Jacob suddenly whispered at me.


    "Well, knowing Alex, he could be simping for her for an entire year, and she would still be oblivious. So it''s indeterminate." I muttered seriously. "I guess...one and a half years?"


    "I''ll take that bet too. I will make them date each other before summer ends." Jenna muttered with a sense of purpose.


    "Hey no! That''s cheating." Jacob said before Elsa took Jenna''s side, and they all got into an intense argument with each other.


    Iughed before waving at them as I walked to Abby''s house. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down before knocking gently on her door.


    *knock knock knock*


    Then, I waited for a few seconds before Desiree opened up the door. With a smile on her face, she said, "Abby will take just a few more minutes."


    "Oh. It''s okay, I''ll wait."


    "Here." Desiree suddenly gave me a box with corsage in it.


    "This is...?"


    "A flower to give to Abby. You know how to put it on right?"


    "I think I do." I said while nodding. "So, are there any interesting things going on in your life now?"


    "You...Don''t have to make small talk." Desiree said with augh before both of our attention was pulled by the girling down the stairs.


    Her dress was beautiful. The top half was modest but still a bit transparent, revealing some cleavage. She was wearing ck high heels, and a teardrop ne on her neck. She stepped down slowly as she smiled at me with her glossy pink lips.


    "Damn...You''re beautiful" I muttered subconsciously, which made Abby blush.


    "Hey!" She suddenly turned into the golden retriever again, breaking the elegant girl charisma that she showed earlier on. Iughed a bit before I handed the flower to her. "This is for you."


    "Sunflower?" She was confused as she took it.


    "That was the only flower left in the store." Desiree suddenly said, surprising me. "How do you know?!" I asked her with widened eyes. She was a bit startled, but she said nothing to exin it.


    "Thanks Ed. I love it." Abby smiled widely before she gave me a single rose. "This...is to put on your jacket right?"


    "I think so?"


    Both of us turned to Desiree who then sighed and said, "Yes. Put it on him."


    "Where?" Abby was confused and she patted my chest a few times, trying to find the slot for the flower. When she was finally done, it was my turn to give her the corsage.


    As I was stumbling in my effort to stick the flower on Abby''s chest, Desiree coughed twice as she whispered, "*cough*On her hand. *Cough*"


    "Ahh." I finally realized it and put the rose on her hand like a bracelet.


    "Kinda feel like you did that on purpose to cop a feel." Abby joked as she touched her chest.


    "I plead the fifth." I answered while avoiding Abby''s face, which made her annoyed.


    "Get closer together. I want to take a picture." Desiree said before taking out a digital camera.


    "MOM! That''s not necessary-" Abby tried to pull me by the wrist to get away, but I stopped her and said, "Prom photos are necessary."


    "Huh?! This is embarrassing!" She retorted.


    "You''ll need it! 20 years from now, when you''re with your children, and they find a box of items from your highschool year, that is when you''re going to sit on the edge of the bed, reminiscing. This is why the picture is necessary. Otherwise, how would your children believe you were taken to prom by a superstar?"


    "HUHHHH!??"


    Abby was confused, and Desireeughed as she thought about it. After taking a few pictures, Abby finally had enough and grabbed my hand as she pulled me out of the house.


    "Bye mom! Don''t wait up!" Abby shouted as we ran towards the limousine. The driver�C a Korean man in his 50s, was standing by the car with the door opened as we rushed inside.


    "Go James." I muttered at the driver.


    "On it Mr Newgate." He nodded slightly before he closed the door.


    "James?" Abby asked while tilting her head in confusion, wondering why I was so familiar with the man.


    "Don''t be racist Abby. A Korean man CAN have a western name. His full name is James Kim though...."


    "I WAS NOT BEING RACIST!" She said before she pulled my cheeks in anger.


    The driver was provided by mypany although the limousine was rented. They couldn''t have a stranger driving me around while I was doing a potentially scandalous thing could they?


    The interior of the car was filled with red leather, and there was a mini fridge near the side door. Abby took out a bottle of champagne out of excitement and showed it to me.


    "SEE! They are giving us the FULL service!"


    "Nah, this is just the privilege of riding with me." I said as I confiscated the bottle before she could shake it any further. "Besides, you don''t drink. So don''t ruin it."


    "I c-can drink if I want to!" She pouted before crossing her arms together. Iughed a bit before saying, "Do you know the difference between a wasp and a bee."


    "Of course I do. I''m not stupid." Abby said begrudgingly.


    "Well...I''mma tell you anyway. A wasp is...dangerous, but Ab-bee is cute."


    Her eyes lit up and she sniggered on her seat while still pretending to be mad. Then, she realized that we were taking the wrong direction to the school and was rmed instantly.


    "Ed! I think he''s kidnapping us!" She muttered.


    I scrunched my face as I asked, "How the hell did youe to that conclusion? I''m picking up Dn and his date."


    "Huh? We are not going to be alone in the limo?" She said with a hint of disappointment in her tone.


    "We will be alone on our way back home. Dn, with his genius intellect, decided to park his car inside the school a day before to make sure he would get a good parking spot. But then, he realized he had no way of getting his date to the venue so asked me for help, and I couldn''t just say no..."


    She looked at me in disbelief before we suddenly heard a thud. The limo braked suddenly, causing Abby to fall into my body as the bacsh hit us.


    "What was that?!" I asked with a raised voice.


    "Someone ran in front of the limo. I could barely stop in time." James exined before he got out of the car to check on the kid.


    I stood up and got half of my body out of the sunroof to check on the situation, before I saw a familiar face sitting on the curb. Abby stood beside me too and she let out a gasp as she saw what I saw.


    "Dn!" I shouted.


    Waving from the curb in a weak manner, Dn kept his smile as he said, "Don''t worry, I wasn''t hit badly."


    "Why are you getting hit at all? What happened?" I asked.


    A fed-up tall girl in a sexy red dress answered the question for him, "He was so excited after seeing the limo that he ran towards traffic!"


    "HUHHH!? What are you Dn?! An overly excited puppy?!" I shouted in disbelief as I understood the situation. "Also, Nice to meet you again Anais." I greeted the girl while the driver helped escort Dn to the door.


    "Nice to see you too Edward! You have be even more handsome since Ist saw you!" Anais said as she followed the driver from behind. Iughed a bit before saying, "You''ve be hotter too-"


    Before I could finish my words, Abby elbowed me in the waist in jealousy. Both of us got back to our seats as Dn and Anais entered the car.


    "Are you sure you don''t need to go to the doctor?" I asked in concern as I saw the limping Dn.


    "Don''t worry about it. This wasn''t the first time something like this happened. Besides, I promised Anais I would take her to the dance." Dn said as he nced at his date. Anais''s lip curled up a bit before she hid it with her purse and said, "Don''t be dumb. I don''t want to dance with a cripple, so you better get that checked out first."


    I wanted to add, ''He isn''t ''being'' dumb. He IS dumb.'' to the conversation, but I held my tongue as I saw Dn was suffering enough. "James, do you have any painkillers?" I asked.


    "There''s a box underneath the seat in the front." James replied. I nodded and scooted to the front seat before taking out a med-aid box.


    "Ooooh." Dn eximed in excitement as I brought it to him. "Lets see, n B pills, condoms, viagra, morphine, Marijuana, White powder-Wait a minute! This isn''t the First Aid box."


    "Ahh... Wrong box! Try the other one!" James replied in a casual manner. All of us were frozen for a while before I closed the box slowly and went to exchange it. I gave Dn some painkillers, and we never spoke about the first box again.


    "So, how did you two end up going to prom together?" Anais asked. Abby blushed a bit, and I replied, "No. I will tell you when you tell me your own story. How in the hell did you decide to go with Dn?"


    Anais was a bit flustered before she replied, "You know...He''s the only one tall enough."


    "Huh?" Abby was confused.


    "He''s...the only one tall enough...that I don''t feel like a giant woman when we walk together." Anais exined shyly while fidgeting, which was an unexpectedly cute gap for the slut that shed her tits at me at our first time meeting.


    "Anyway, that''s the reason for me...So, what''s yours?"


    "Oh, we''re neighbors." I replied casually with a sly smirk, which made Anais exim in realization and Abby pout in annoyance.


    "We''re here!" James said as it took only a short drive from Anais''s house to the school.


    I held Abby''s hand as I escorted her out of the car, gentleman style, and Anais helped the loopy Dn as he took quite a few meds without me realizing it.


    "Smile for the camera!" The school photographer said after we registered our name on the sign-in book. All 4 of us posed together before we entered the venue through a silvery-white balloon arch.


    The venue was filled with streamers and teenagers dancing. The DJ yed the song, [Low by Florida]


    "This...is magnificent." I muttered while enjoying the music.


    "The gym?" Abby asked with an excited expression as she watched the crowd dancing madly to the song.


    "No. The balloon arch." I exined. Suddenly, a bald man with a petite figure appeared beside me. He was wearing a beige shirt and brown tie, and was pushing his sses up. He agreed with me and said, "I know right."


    "Ummm."


    "Ed, that''s the principal." Abby whispered as I had no idea who the man was.


    "Oh. Hi." I said and shook his hand as he offered it first. I was wondering why the principal wasn''t Brown as it was shown in the series, but a dude that looked a bit like Moby, but I couldn''t even continue thinking as a group of girls suddenly let out a blood curdling scream as they saw me.


    "OH MY GOD IT''S EDWARRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!" A blonde teen with spectacles and a yellow dress almost fell to her knees. They started to encircle me and the principal while pushing Abby away. I held her quickly to prevent her from falling, and the tiny principal stood in front of us like a knight, barricading the girls from getting closer.


    "A.. Al-Alright girls. Listen up. No one! And I mean NO ONE! Shoulde close to Mr Newgate today, without his consent alright! See here!!" The crowd stopped as the principal shouted.


    He suddenly swayed his arm to form a circle as he continued, "I''m creating a forcefield around him. Alright. So everytime you guys even think about getting close to him, the forcefield will bring you back to reality. Let him enjoy his first prom okay! Everyone, move away- I said MOVE AWAY!"


    He chased the girls away while giving me a thumbs up and winking, which made me mutter, "He''s like a white...tiny...little knight. Even though I don''t know his name, he is still helping me. I WON''T forget you!!!"


    "Stop being dramatic!" Abby said before she checked me all over to make sure that no one had assaulted me.


    "Ed. We''re going to sit for a while before dancing." Anais said while helping Dn stand straight. He had been swaying like a gas station balloon for a while because of the painkillers.


    "Oh. And, we nned on leaving early, but I don''t think Dn is in any condition to drive." Anais added.


    "Yeah. I can see that." I muttered as Dn suddenly fell in my direction, and he grabbed my face as he said groggily, "Hey...Ed...Where''s the limo-Ughhh..."


    "Why did you n to leave early?" Abby asked.


    "Well...you know..." Anais said while ncing at Dn''s crotch area. Abby was confused for a second before she realized what Anais was talking about.


    "Wait. You guys are dating?" Abby asked in shock.


    "Nope. But, he brought me to prom. So I need to return the favor." She said with a wink. "Also, you guys are wee to join if you want. I don''t mind-"


    "STOP!" Abby shouted quickly before Anais could finish her words. I was frozen on the spot as Anais walked away with Dn whileughing. Abby grabbed my arms and pulled me to the dance floor before saying, "You need to wipe that drool on your face."


    "Ahh...Sorry. The thought of you, and her...sandwiched together..."


    "Finish those words and you won''t be able to get me, or her." She said as she red at me. Iughed and grabbed her right hand while my left hand was wrapped around her waist. I pulled her close suddenly, our face inches away from one another.


    "So, tell me littledy, is this your first time on the dance floor?" I asked with a smoldering look. She blushed a bit before answering, "Yes. So you have a lot of responsibility tonight. Make sure I don''t look weird."


    "Understood."


    ...


    [General POV]


    At the snack''s table, a ginger kid with a white tux reached into his inner pocket and looked around to make sure that there wasn''t anyone watching him. Then, he took out a sk and poured the liquor inside the punch bowl before getting a drink for him and his date.


    As he walked away, another asian kid with a blue tux stood in front of the punch bowl and did the same thing. Ed and Abby were dancing on the dance floor while being watched by a trio of girls.


    "Ugh, can''t believe he''s cheating on her on the SAME day he sang a song for her." A brte girl with a t chest scoffed as she held a red stic cup.


    "Men are all the same! Not to mention that girl is such a huge SLUT." Another girl said.


    The blonde who screamed before suddenly said, "Wait. He might not know she''s a hoe. Think about it! She usually wears revealing clothes, but now that he brought her here, she''s covering it all up? I think there''s something more here. He might have been tricked by her!"


    "Yeah. You might be right."


    "That slut. We need to separate them."


    "For Taylor."


    "For Taylor."


    In a few seats next to them, Anais was helping Dn get his sanity back, or as close as he could get to it by continuously whispering to him what he was going to miss out on if he kept being loopy. Suddenly Derek�C Dn''s previous band mate walked to them and asked her what happened to him.


    "Ahh... You bringer of misfortune." Derek muttered before his date called him back to the dance floor. Before he left, he said to Anais, "Don''t worry. This has happened before. Just let him sleep for 10 minutes. Then he''ll be back to normal."


    "Happened before? Wait. Does this kind of thing usually happen to him?" Anais asked.


    Being a perfect wingman, Derek replied, "Yeah. He''s a poor guy. But honestly, if he didn''t care for others so much, he would get less...injured. Helping a grandmother cross the road, helping a cat stuck in a tree...He''s a nice guy. Just... a little bit naive."


    "Oh. I see." Anais eximed, her gaze turned softer as she looked at Dn.


    On the dance floor, Edward and Abby were happily dancing, unaware of the girl who was purposely walking towards them. She was holding a red cup that was filled to the brim with toilet water and grinned menacingly as she gazed at Abby.

 Chapter 140: Prom (2)

    <h4>Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Prom (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "I didn''t know you liked Star Wars." Abby said as we danced together. The DJ was ying a slow song as we were holding each other and gently swaying to the music.


    "I loved it, but thest 3 movies made mepletely annoyed." I spoke with a face filled with disdain.


    "Last 3? What was that? I have never watched them before. But I do know about Luke and Leia." Abby said with a giggle.


    "Really? What do you know about them?" I asked curiously.


    "Just the general theme. Hey, here''s an idea. How about we pretend that we''re them for the evening? I''ll be Leia, and you''ll be Luke." She said, unaware of the implications about our parents that woulde from such ''roley''.


    "Ugh." I groaned in disgust whileughing. Abby was confused and she asked, "Wh-what''s with that reaction?"


    "You REALLY don''t know anything about the movie do you? You just suggested that we change our home state to bama." I joked, but she still didn''t get it, so I exined, "Luke and Leia are brother and sister."


    "Ughh What!? How could you watch something like that?!" Her face was filled with disgust, which made meugh out loud, causing a few people around to turn in my direction.


    Fortunately as they did so, a kind-faced boy saw the girl who was walking towards us while holding a cup. He intercepted her quickly by grabbing her hand before she could spill the dirty toilet water on Abby.


    "Hey, be careful!" He said. The water fell on the floor, making the students around all stare at the nerdy brte girl. Feeling self-conscious as everyone�C even Abby and I, were staring at her, she stammered and said, "You don''t deserve Ed you whore!" before running away.


    "What was that?!" Abby asked in disbelief. I narrowed my eyes at the direction the cursing girl was running, and my 6th sense told me that something more was going on.


    Before I could confirm it, the principal suddenly appeared near me and said in a dramatic manner, "I fear that a conspiracy against us might be afoot."


    I nodded in agreement, but as he left, I realized, "Wait. Us? Principal Delton? Hello?!"


    Despite me calling him, the teacher never looked back and continued walking till disappeared into the crowd. I grabbed Abby''s hand and said, "Let''s rest for a while."


    "O-Okay." Abby was startled by my sudden action, and we left the dance floor, just a few seconds before the student council president walked up the stage.Miranda Cho was a petite asian girl with brte hair and a beauty mole on the lower side of her lips.


    "Okay everyone. I hate to interrupt, but it''s time for the Prom King and Prom Queen Vote! You guys need to pick a name from the senior and junior student and cast your vote by putting it in the collection box near the photo booth."


    The crowd murmured in disappointment, which made her add in a sad manner, "I understand your frustrations. There is a certain individual amongst us today that would certainly defeat every single one of the males in the hall, but Edward Newgate is not even a student yet, so, by rules, he can''t participate in the event."


    I was confused when I suddenly heard my name, but I just smiled and waved politely at the president who was gawking at me before Abby and I sat down at an empty seat near Anais and Dn.


    "How''s he doing?" I asked Anais.


    "He''s a bit better. But still loppy." She replied while turning her face away from Dn to look at me.


    "And now, we will start our annual dance battlepetition! Contestants, please get on the circr tform if you want topete! The winner will receive the Dance King Crown, and will be called on the stage together with the Prom King and Queen!"


    As I heard the president''s next announcement, I was confused. "Dance battle?"


    "You cannot be surprised. Step Up movies and sh mobs are trending this year." Abby said teasingly before she stood up and said, "I''m going to get a drink."


    While the crowd was heating up from thepetition, I held Abby''s wrist to make her sit back down before I said, "No. I''ll do that for you. Anais, you want a drink too?"


    "Yeah sure- Wait. Where''s Dn?" As she turned to look at her partner, she realized that he was gone from his seat. She got concerned and stood up quickly, before we suddenly heard people chanting Dn''s name.


    "What the-" I almostughed out loud as I saw Dn dancing on the battle tform. Anais was stunned, and Abby''s jaw dropped as we saw Dn dancing fluidly like a bonafide professional dancer.


    While on the effects of the drugs, he almost passed out a few times, but luckily he regained his consciousness at thest moment, which seemed like he was making a wave while dancing.


    The dance was legendary as he was dancing with the grim reaper at this moment. No one could handle Dn''s momentum on the dance floor. He was krumping �C which actually meant his muscles were spasming uncontrobly from the pain, but the crowd loved it and cheered him on nheless.


    "DYLAN! DYLAN! DYLAN! DYLAN! DYLAN!"


    "Help... me." Dn muttered in a tiny voice with tears pooling in his eyes.


    ...


    After saving Dn from the dance floor, the poor guy took a short 10 minute nap before he got his sanity back.


    "Pffft- What is this? It burns." Abby suddenly spat out her drink as soon as she tried to drink it.


    Anais smelled her cup of water in intrigue and took a small sip before smiling widely and said, "Oh, this is almost pure vodka. Nice."


    "Oh, alcohol! Ed are you trying to get me drunk?" Abby teased as she washed her mouth with bottled water instead of drinking the no-no juice.


    I was absent minded when I went to get the drink that I forgot to check if someone had spiked the punch bowl before. I smiled at Abby before drinking all of the contents of her cup in one shot, making both her and Anais widen their eyes in disbelief.


    "Ahhh. Refreshing. So, you want to get back to the dance floor?" I asked with a grin.


    "Why don''t you ask Anais? She has been sitting here for the entire time." Abby said as she truly did pity the girl. Prom was supposed to be a beautiful thing for girls, but it was ruined for Anais as her date was on heavy medications.


    "Sure. Anais, do you want to dance?" I asked the giant girl. "I think I''m tall enough...right?"


    She giggled and said, "Barely. But I''m really bored, so I''ll dance with you for one song." She said before she stood up. Iughed as I grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor.


    The music was upbeat hip hop music, so we both just enjoyed ourselves and got lost in the rhythm. I still kept an eye on Abby as I was afraid that something was going to happen to her, which Anais seemed to notice.


    "You really don''t think much do you? You have just released a video with a song that people associated with Taylor, but you brought another girl to prom. So of course people were going to target Abby as she is a clear break in their fantasy story."


    "Oh." I eximed with a hint of disbelief.


    Anais was confused by my reaction and she asked, "What?"


    "I didn''t think you''d notice things like that. You''re pretty smart aren''t cha?"


    "Shut up." She said whileughing.


    As the music was over, Anais and I returned back to the seat. To her joy, her date had already regained his sanity and was down on one knee- okay maybe he wasn''t fully there yet. Dn said, "Will you dance with me mydy?"


    Anais blushed and said angrily, "Took you long enough!" She took his hand and let Dn lead her towards the dance floor before they danced intimately with each other. His hand was on her back as they swayed together, but Anais grabbed it and lowered it to make Dn grab her ass.


    Abby and I wereughing before I invited her to the dance floor again. I asked, "How''s your night going?"


    "It is great. I think I had built up my prom expectations so much in my head that I forgot that it was just a normal school dance." Abby replied.


    "Really? What''s different from your imagination?"


    "Well... for starters, there isn''t a spotlight shining on the main couple as they dance and people were more modest, instead of just making out right in the middle of the dance floor." She said as we turned to the couple next to us.


    Who were basically licking each other''s faces to the point that the principal had to intervene and bring them outside of the venue to cool down. But, they had never returned after presumably leaving in order to continue their night somece else.


    As the night went on more and more couples left the event even though it hadn''t reached the end yet. The crowd had be more sparse, leading those who didn''t get a date to be increasingly nervous as they hadn''t even gotten the chance to dance with anyone yet.


    "Oh look, Brain and Madelyn are here too." I muttered in a casual manner as if I didn''t sic an enraged mother roon on them before. Brain still has a bandage on his nose, and Madelyn had bandaids all over her face.


    The near death experience had made them be more mature and less annoying, which made them somewhat more tolerable in my book.


    "Hey, Ed, a lot of girls are looking at you." Abby said as she looked in the ''no-date'' girls direction.


    "They sure are." I replied dismissively as I focused my intention on her. She held back her smile before saying, "You know, they probably had the same expectations as I did tonight. But they just couldn''t find anyone to be their date."


    "Hmmm... Funnily enough the number of boys and girls who don''t have a date is quite simr. Alright, I know what to do."


    After escorting Abby out of the dance floor- as if nothing else, I am a gentleman I walked up to a group of nerdy looking boys who were standing near the wall, just staring at other people as they danced.


    "Hey you guys. I have a proposition for you." I said with a sly grin while Abby went to the girls and talked to them at the same time. Then, we helped them to pair up into a few awkward couples after making them get to know each other.


    It took us around 30 minutes to make sure that none of the kids were left behind, and when we were finally done, the student council president, Miranda Cho, walked towards us with an anxious expression.


    "Hey..." She called out with a tiny voice.


    "Hmm? What can we do for you Miss President?" Abby asked with a smile. She had a good impression on the girl as they wereb partners before.


    "Miss President...It can''t be... that you don''t...have a date too right?" I asked teasingly.


    "Well if only I wasn''t so busy nning this whole thing I would have been able to get a date too!" She said while pouting angrily. But too bad for her, there weren''t any boys left for us to fix her up with.


    "Why don''t you ask Edward for a dance? I need to go to the powder room." Abby muttered with a smile. "But only for one song!" She added yfully.


    At this time, Anais and Dn had also gone back to their seats, with Dn''s face still in a daze due to Anais''s teasing. She was waving at Abby as she also needed a break too, which made me feel at ease.


    "Alright. You should go together with Anais."


    "I''m not a child." Abby rolled her eyes, but she still followed my advice and went to Anais to invite her to the bathroom.


    Miranda''s face was blushing the entire time as we danced together. A few of her close friends teased her as they danced near us, which made her want to bury her face in a hole somewhere.


    "Yo-You areing to this school next year right?" She asked.


    "Yeah. I''ll skip a few grades and directly enter the junior year sses."


    She smiled widely and said, "Oh. I''ll show you around when the timees...you know, if-if-if you want."


    "That''ll be nice. Who better to show me around the school rather than the student council president right?"


    "You know it!"


    As the song ended, I suddenly saw a crowd gathering in front of the girls bathroom and I got a bad feeling about it, apparently so did Miranda as we both quickly walked together to check out what was happening over there.


    ...


    [General POV]


    As Edward had gone to the prom, most of his friends left his house one by one. Thest one remaining was Jenna, as she wanted to wait for her mother toe and pick her up. (excuses lol)


    However, her scheme to bury her head on Ed''s pillow and sniff it was ruined as Cam invited her to have dinner together. They be quite close as Jenna just had something that appealed to the mother-types.


    As they were eating and talking, suddenly the doorbell rang. "Oh, that must be your mother." Cam said before wiping her mouth with a napkin and left the table to open the door.


    But as she opened it, she was confused when she saw an almost tiny man standing in front of the house while fidgeting.


    "Umm...You must be Edward''s sister. I-I''m Leonard. He told me toe and pick something up?" Leonard said while avoiding Cam''s scrutinizing gaze.


    "Sister?" Cam was ttered and she held her face with one hand before excitedly waving the other, "No-No. I''m his aunt. Are you trying to hit on me?"


    Leonard was bbergasted and he said hurriedly, "Ah! No-No Ma''am. I was...I just thought you looked really young... I''m sorry."


    "Oh I wasn''t angry at you." Cam was taken aback by the reaction, and as she looked at Leonard a bit closer, she couldn''t help but think he was cute, like a sick twisted puppy.


    ''He looked like a scared little chihuahua.'' She thought. "I remember now. Ed told me he left a suit for you, but you need to try it on first to see if it fits."


    "A suit? Why is he giving me a suit?" Leonard was confused. At that time Jenna walked to the door and joined the conversation, "He outgrew it but the suit is still new so he really doesn''t want to throw it away since he has never been able to wear it before."


    Her face was filled with disdain as she thought that if Edward had worn the suit even once, she would''ve brought it back to her ce instead of giving it to a nobody. But as it stood it had never been on his body so she didn''t have the drive to stop Ed from donating it.


    "Oh...So He already outgrew it huh...Lucky him." Leonard said self-deprecatingly as he had already reached his height limit in life, which wasparable to Edward before his growth spurt.


    Leonard went inside the house to try the clothes on before Cam asked to take a look at it before he could take it off.


    "It''s great, although the leg pants are a bit long and the shoulders too big." Leonard said while internally thinking ''How the hell are they too big? He was 14 years old when he had this made?!?''


    .


    "Of course it''s great. It''s Armani, it''s worth well over 2000 dors." Jenna muttered suddenly, causing Leonard''s face to turn ashen.


    "Re-Really? I... I can''t take this." He tried to take it off, but Cam stopped him.


    "Nonsense. Ed wants to give it to you. So you gotta take it." Cam said before she added, "Besides, you look handsome in that suit."


    Leonard blushed hard and could no longer look Cam in the eyes. Soon after the doorbell rang and Jenna''s eyes lit up as she heard it.


    "That must be my mom." She ran towards the door happily to invite her mother inside as she wanted to introduce her to Edward''s aunt.


    "Mom! Come on! You''ll like Cam. She''s a very nice woman." Jenna said as she dragged her mother inside the house. Alexandria was wearing a white fur coat with a white tank top and short skirt as she had just finished her shooting.


    But as she came face to face with Cam, she couldn''t help but be shocked by the fact that she was so beautiful.


    ''No This can''t be! Jenna has already gotten close to the Green chick. I can''t let her get close to any more maternal figures. If she does she''ll know how awful I really am at my role.'' She thought fearfully as she shook hands with Cam.


    "And who''s this?" She asked the short man standing beside thetina aunt. "Oh, I-I''m Leonard. I feel like I know you."


    "Oh, you might have seen me in some of my work before. After all, men like the films I usually get a role in." Alexandria said with a hint of self-depreciation.


    "No. That''s not it. I got it. I saw you at Cho''s restaurant before." Leonard said with an excited face as he finally figured it out.


    "Oh. Do you live nearby too?" She asked with an excited face.


    "Yeah 2311 Los Robles."


    "We''re 2315 Los Robles! We live in the same block!" Alexandria muttered.


    "Oh, you guys should get to know each other." Cam said as she tried to act as a wingman for Leonard.


    He however quickly became shy as he was surrounded by two beautiful women, and after a short conversation, Leonard, Jenna and her mother all left the house to get back to their ce.


    "So that''s why Edward doesn''t want Howard toe near his house. And I can''t help but agree with him."


    ...


    Back to Prom.


    As Abby and Anais went to the bathroom, two girls stared at their direction before slowly making their way towards them.


    "Ugh. My lipstick is all gone." Anais muttered angrily as she fixed her makeup in the bathroom mirror. "Huh? Why?" Abby asked in confusion as she washed her hand.


    Anais giggled before saying, "I made out with Dn for a little bit. He''s a sloppy kisser. It''s like kissing a golden retriever."


    Abbyughed as she also looked into the mirror to check on her appearance, but then she saw a few girls staring at her from behind.


    "Huh? What do you want?" She asked in rm. Anais raised one of her eyebrows and said, "Are you guys one of the blondie''s idiotic fans too?"


    "Taylor isn''t an idiot! She''s an icon!" One of the girls retorted. She was the bespectacled blonde girl that was obsessed with Taylor, especially the Taydward ''ship'' and the one to put forth the idea that Abby was in fact tricking Edward into taking her as his date. Her friend on the other hand was more on a moderate side, but the blonde girl was basically a lunatic.


    "I didn''t say SHE''S the idiot." Anais scoffed as she moved closer to Abby to protect her.


    The brte girl said, "No, we don''t want to do anything. We just wanted to talk to you. Don''t get too close to Edward. He''s dating Taylor. We don''t want you to trick him."


    "How am I tricking him?" Abby was bewildered by the usation. Anais however was getting irritated and thus decided to be more confrontational as she said, "Whether Edward wants to date Abby, or me, or even change his taste and date Dn or any other person here is none of your business."


    "We-"


    "No. He doesn''t even know you guys. You have no right to interfere in his life, or even Abby''s life. Let''s go Abby."


    "No you stop there!" The blonde girl suddenly shouted and she took out a pair of scissors. "Kennifer, Are you CRAZY!" The brte asked fearfully before taking a step back from her friend.


    "If protecting Taylor and Edward is crazy, then you can call me that. I''m warning you slut! Don''t trick Edward any longer! Or I will-"


    "You will what?" Abby asked in a cold manner as she didn''t feel threatened by the girl at all.


    "Don''t indulge her Abby. This bitch is insane. Let''s go." Anais said as she grabbed Abby''s arm and they both tried to walk out of the toilet.


    Kennifer shivered in anger before she suddenly decided to follow her impulsive thoughts.


    "I did warn YOU!" She suddenly snipped a part of Abby''s hair, targeting one of the twintails she had tied up, making it look unbnced.


    Her silky ck hair scattered on the floor, which made Abby freeze in her spot. Anais exploded and punched the blonde girl in the nose.


    "YOU BITCH!" Before she could go on to beat up the girl who was crouching on the floor and cupping her hand on her bleeding and broken nose, Abby grabbed her and pulled her away.


    The shouting attracted some people to the bathroom as they wanted to see what was going on inside and that attracted Edward too.

 Chapter 141: Prom (3- Final)

    <h4>Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Prom (3- Final)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    My blood boiled as I saw the bizarre sight in front of me. I clenched my fist while walking into the girls bathroom, but before I could lose my temper, Abby looked in my direction and hurriedly grabbed my arm.


    "Ed. Look at me." She said as she tried to gain my attention. After she called me a few times, her efforts managed to bring me back to reality, otherwise I would''ve followed my idol; Kazuma''s example of true gender equality.


    "It''s fine. I''m fine." She said with a smile as she gently held my face. Right then, the principal broke through the crowd and was shocked as he saw the scene.


    It didn''t take much questioning to see what had happened here with the scissors still on the girl''s hand, and the scattered ck hair on the bathroom tiles.


    "(Dramatic Gasp) Miss Olten! You! What have you done? What WERE YOU THINKING!?"


    The crowd gasped as they realized what she had done, and Kennifer ran away crying under the gaze of the crowd.


    Anais walked towards Abby before she said in an angry manner, "Hey. Do you want me to shave that girl''s head? Just say the word. I WILL do it."


    "There''s no need for that. I...I just want to get out of here now." Abby said in a depressed manner.


    I nodded and grabbed her hand before I walked away with her. "Come, let''s go."


    "Wait! I''ming with you guys." Anais said as she followed us from behind. We didn''t go out of the school, but instead went to the rooftop as per Abby''s request.


    Anais helped Abby to style her hair with a choked up voice, making it a twin bun instead of a twin tail.


    "I''m sorry." Anais said in a depressed manner while touching Abby''s hair.


    "No. It''s not your fault." Abby replied. Anais suddenly said, "I wasn''t talking to you. I was talking to your hair."


    The abruptness made Abbyugh for a bit, and Anais decided to leave us alone after helping Abby calm herself.


    "Now, are you going to tell me why you''re being so weirdly and scarily calm? You look like a psychopath in a horror movie who hides everything behind a smile?" I asked her with a concerned expression.


    "I am calm." Abby replied. "I just think that the whole situation is funny."


    "Funny how?"


    "It''s funny cause I realized that that girl, and me, we aren''t actually that different after all."


    "Huh?"


    "We are both...delusional." Abby said with a heavy sigh.


    "It''s like the Universe is currently pping me awake, telling me that... you''ll never be mine. No one...in the world wants us to be together..." She muttered as she held back her tears. "So yeah. I''m not mad at her. I''m mad...at myself...for my stupid decision when I let you go before."


    She turned her face away from me and decided to sit on her favorite spot in the school. I scrunched my eyebrows before I sighed and decided to sit at the edge of the roof, dangling my legs in the air as Abby and I sat together, watching the night sky.


    Abby suddenly said, "I know."


    "Know what?"


    "About what started the fight." She said suddenly.


    "Abby, I didn''t mean to lie-"


    "I know that too. I know you care about me. When I think about our story, it is ironic how this all happened. I was scared...that you would turn out like... like my dad so I decided to leave you before I got too attached to you...Well that turned to shit, and it was also the stupidest decision I had ever made in my life."


    Sheughed a bit, which made me smile. "I know. I''m awesome after all." I joked.


    She continued after rolling her eyes, "And now, when I know that you really lied to me, the world-shattering feeling that I experienced before didn''te. Instead, my heart...is filled with happiness."


    "That was when I realized that I was feeling more than ..." She blushed a bit and didn''t continue, which made me quite baffled.


    "Hungry?" I guessed, which caused me to get hit by her as she threw a mock punch at my bicep.


    "Why is that the first thing thates to your mind!?" She said angrily.


    I chuckled and said, "You''re the one who didn''t finish your sentence."


    She smiled and looked at the sky again before saying, "So don''t worry about me anymore. I''m already okay with it. It took me a while, but I finally managed to move on."


    "Well, sorry to break your self pity party, but we don''t actually know what''s going to happen in the future."


    "What are you talking about Ed? We both know our story is going to end after I go back to New York." Abby said in an annoyed manner.


    "I''m sorry, but I''m a firm believer ofmunism."


    Abby froze and her entire mind nked out before I added, "Rommunism."


    "Ugh. You... you little-...What is that?" She was torn between getting angry and being curious, but clearly thetter won the struggle.


    "Well Abby, rommunism is a worldview...that I learned from someone amazing."


    "Oh. Who''s that?"


    "A coach from the south." I replied before I exined, "This worldviews...reminds us of romanticedies with good looking people, such as Ryan Reynold, Sandra Bullocks, etcetera..."


    "Jennifer Lopez." Abby added.


    "Her too...if ALL those attractive people with amazing apartments and interesting jobs, usually in some... creative field, can go through some light-hearted struggle, and still end up happy, then so can we."


    Abby widened her eyes in surprise before slightly nodding her head in agreement of what I just said.


    "Believing in rommunism, is all about believing that everything is going to work out in the end." I said as I held her hand.


    "So, when you feel like everything is going wrong in your life just remember that It''s fine. Consider that you''re going through the dark forest. Fairy tales do not START nor do they END in that dark forest. That setting usually shows up in the beginning or in the middle part of the story."


    "So don''t be sad. Your story is just beginning. Both our stories are.."


    She leaned her head on my shoulder, and after a while, I said, "You know I...care about you right?"


    "Yeah. I know." Abby replied in a casual manner. "I care about you too." She said.


    "So, what do you say? Want to go back to the event?" I invited her. "You still owe me ast dance."


    "Alright." She nodded slightly before she smiled and said, "Last one there is a rotten egg!" Then, she ran away quickly as I stood there baffled as her change was too drastic.


    "Wait What?!" I realized it toote and she was already gone. However as I took a step forward to chase after her, I found myself unable to do so.


    [Abby POV]


    I knew he wouldn''t be able to choose me. I was being selfish when I made him invite me to prom, but I didn''t want to go with anyone else.


    Our rtionship was cut short because of me. If I didn''t freak out that day, would we still be together? My heart shattered when I thought about that day. But as they say, there is no medicine for regret.


    As I thought about it, maybe it was for the best that we had broken up before. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to act together with Taylor or to kickstart their whole career in such an explosive way.


    I always knew Ed had a weird obsession with money. I would hate to be the one to hold him back. Taylor is better than me in that regard. I just hope that she will always be there for him.


    Although I was clear on that, I still allowed myself to hold on to a tiny sliver of hope. The girl attacking me in the bathroom made me realize that I was delusional.


    But then, something interesting happened.


    ''What the hell was that? Rommunism!'' I thought funnily as I ran away from Edward.


    The hope that was dying in my heart was ignited once again. Maybe not now, or maybe not even 5 years from now. As he said, we don''t know how things might turn out in the end.


    "So what if I have to move away? It''s not like the time we spent together is going to be erased from existence."


    Now, I have a new kind of hope. Not the hope that he would end up together with me in the future.


    But the hope that if we meet againter on, we won''t be held back by our circumstances, and maybe... just maybe we could finally say what we truly want to say to one another.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Moron!" I cursed myself after Abby had disappeared from my sight.


    It was all my fault. I was the one who let that happen. It was because I was being selfish, and now Abby had gotten the brunt of it.


    Although I was clear of the potential repercussions as I invited Abby here, I thought that I would be able to protect her from getting hurt again.


    But now, I couldn''t even move my legs as I watched her disappear from my sight.


    What would I do when she truly goes away? Would I still be able to protect her like I did right now? My chest tightened as I thought about it.


    I thought I was prepared to say goodbye, but I still kept finding myself making irrational decisions. I could''ve said No when Abby hinted about prom, or I could''ve distanced myself from her as I need to make sure to stabilize my ''star crossed secret lovers'' rtionship status with Taylor.


    I let out a long sigh before I finally walked towards the dance hall slowly with aplicated feeling in my gut. When I arrived, the students were looking at the stage as the student council president was speaking.


    "Ed! Over here!" Dn called from afar as he stood together with Anais and Abby. My date couldn''t look me straight in the eye as I walked towards her.


    "And now...the winner for the prom king....*dadadada* Edward Newgate�C Wait guys! I told you not to vote for Edward!" Miranda said in exasperation through the thunderous pping of the crowd.


    "Huh?" I was confused when I suddenly won, but then someone cleared up the situation for me. A skinny boy who was holding hands with a braces wearing girl said, "You made us get together. So we will vote for you, even if you weren''t part of our school students."


    Dn was so excited and he pushed me to the stage. He really did look like an over-excited puppy, and Miranda stared contemptuously at the crowd beneath her as she angrily said, "I can''t even call out the second ce up here as you morons all voted for Ed or freaking South Park. Are you guys fucking with me?"


    The studentsughed at the pitiful student council president. It wasn''t Miranda''s whim that she wanted a senior or a junior grade student from the school to win the Prom King position, but it was specifically added to the year''s school prom rules.


    "WHO ELSE IS GOING TO BE KING IF NOT LORD FLUFFY OF FLUFFY SHIRE?!"Anais suddenly teased from the crowd. I blushed a bit as I shrugged her off, but a lot of the crowd was agreeing with her, which made Miranda perplexed and didn''t know what to do.


    "Miranda. It''s fine! Don''t worry about it. In fact, it would look weird if a famous person didn''t win as our prom king." The principal said haughtily before adding, "Continue with the prom queen!"


    "Ugh. This better not affect my transcript!" Miranda said before saying, "Now...Whoever''s the one lucky enough to be elected as the Prom Queen for our ''Whatever in the budget'' night Prom Event, please remember to act with decorum as you guys stand on the stage."


    "And the winner for the Prom Queen election is...!! *dadadada* Abigail Rutherford!!!"


    "Huh? Who''s that?" Dn and Anais looked around puzzledly, but then the principal nudged Abby towards the stage, "They are calling you!"


    "Wait. No one knows my true name!" Abby asked in confusion, but the principal wiped his sweat and said, "Nonsense. Of course everyone knows it. Why wouldn''t they know it?"


    Miranda was also confused, "Abigail Rutherford? Who''s Abigail Rutherford? If You don''t respond, I need to call out the second ce winner. Abigail Rutherford? No one? Seriously? No one?"


    Although I knew who the girl was, I could see it in her eyes that she would rather die than admit her name was Abigail.


    "So following the rules, Abigail will be kicked out from thepetition. The true winner of the event is....ABBYY!!!!!"


    The crowd cheered in excitement as they heard it. Not only did Abby work together with me to help the kids get a date before, the incident in the bathroom also had made her receive some pity and admiration votes from the crowd.


    "Oh. I did something useless." The principal mumbled before Dn and Anais excitedly brought Abby to the stage. Themittee ced a crown on her head and a satchel over her shoulder as they did to me.


    "KISS HER!" One of the crowd members shouted. A few girls instantly protested and quickly osted him, but one by one, the agents of chaos inside the room became more excited because of the girls'' reactions. The boys in the crowd chanted to instigate them, pressuring Abby.


    "Well...we can''t disappoint them." I said in a casual manner. Abby rolled her eyes in annoyance and said, "Did you rig the votes? How in the hell did we win?"


    "I don''t know. Maybe the crown just loves me." I replied as I waved gently at the crowd in a royal manner. The true story was, the nerdy boys and girls who were helped by Abby and I to get a dance partner had voted for us as they felt that somebody actually cared about them.


    The total votes Abby got didn''t exceed 10, but as a lot of the girls inside the halls had voted for themselves, she became the automatic winner for tonight.


    Abby blushed and she inches closer before she kissed me on the cheek just to shut them up. The crowd cheered explosively, and that was how her prom night ended today. The modest kiss also brought down the scandal between us down, and probably bought Abby some good will since most of the people who didn''t believe that we were just friends, or Taylor''s fanatical fans were finally reassured that nothing was actually going on between us.


    After the event was over, a few students asked for a picture together with the prom royalty, and we didn''t say no. Dn won the Dance King title, and when he was on the stage, he pulled Anais with him and they made out right in front of the crowd.


    The limousine arrived soon, and this time, it was only Abby and I who got in on it. Dn and Anais were heading back to his ce �C which was actually an studio apartment Dn had rented after he moved out of his mom''s. The money from his work on the cruise allowed him to be more independent, and that was the first thing that he did after buying a cheap car.


    "So he got a lot of ''nightly'' tips?" Abby asked in disbelief after hearing the story of how Dn got his money.


    "Yeah. If the guests were cougars, he would usually find more than 300 dors tucked in his underwear at the end of the night. And the best part is, he didn''t even know how they managed to slide it in his pants in the first ce." I said jokingly.


    Abbyughed in pity before we suddenly fell silent as we looked into each other''s eyes.


    "Ummm...So..." Abby stammered while fanning her flushing face. "What are we going to do now?" She asked.


    "Well right now I''m going to take you home." I replied in a casual manner, which made her face get even redder.


    "Whatcha thinkin ''bout you dirty girl? I''m just sending you home." I said teasingly as I reached into the mini fridge and took out 2 cups of different tastes of pudding.


    "I KNOW THAT!" Abby shouted in embarrassment as she snatched a cup from my hand and started to eat the pudding angrily. Iughed and sat right next to her, and suddenly said, "I think that there''s something wrong with my tie. It keeps choking me."


    "Hmm? Let me see." Abby leaned in with concern and tried to look closely at the knot. But as she was near, I snatched a kiss on her lips, making her freeze in disbelief.


    "Ahh Abby, you can tell me if you want to kiss me. You don''t have to be so coy and pretend to look at my tie." I joked as I easily loosened my tie.


    Abby was bewildered and she smiled in disbelief before saying, "Coy? I''m the one who''s ying coy?"


    I licked my spoonful of pudding before I pointed at her with the stic utensil and said, "Yes." She pounced at me instantly like a startled cat, trying to get even.


    When we reached her home, I escorted her to her door like a gentleman while the limousine drove away.


    "Do you want toe inside?" Abby asked while biting her lower lips.


    "Yes, and yes." I replied. "Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion, but then ignored my peculiarity as she led me inside. Suddenly, Abby received a text from someone.


    "It''s Anais. Umm...." Abby''s face flushed red instantly and I could imagine that smoke wasing out of her ears as she read the text. I got curious and I snatched the phone from her hand despite her protest to look at it on my own.


    "Dn is in the hospital. His entire body cramped out after ejacting- Alright, Delete text, and also deleting this from my memory."


    Although he did manage to ''seal the deal'' after the dance,well... kind of... his ''deal'' at least but he had to spend the night being warded instead. The poor guy didn''t even get his ''deal'' out of any actual action but as a little side effect of his ident earlier that evening. I texted Dwayne to tell him that Dn was in the hospital, and also texted Frankie as she was responsible for managing the employee''s health insurance.


    "Lucky guy." I pursed my lips with a small smile before I said to Abby, "Well. I better get going."


    "Wait." She suddenly grabbed my hand.


    "Hmm? What is it?"


    "Well, despite the risk of being selfish again, I have to remind you...that you promised me I would get the FULL...prom experience today." She said shyly while looking at the floor.


    My blood rushed to my face before I coughed awkwardly, "Well...I know. But I thought-"


    "No need to think so much. This is all part of the prom tradition. There''s absolutely nothing more hiding beneath it."


    "Well if you say so."


    We gazed into each other''s eyes, and slowly inched our faces together. But then, I suddenly received a text from my dad, disrupting the atmosphere.


    "Huh. That''s weird. He said he''s noting back home today."


    "That is weird. Wait...Where''s my mother?" Abby finally realized that her mother wasn''t here, and after texting her, she received the same kind of text as I did.


    "Huh. Weirder and weirder. Oh well." Abby and I shrugged our shoulders before she wrapped her arms around my neck and I around her waist as we wrestle our tongues together.


    She tried to unzip her dress, but was unsessful, so she turned her back towards me and said, "Help me with this."


    "Alright." Then, I smoothly pulled her zip down and then we continued with the prom tradition in her bedroom.

 Chapter 142: Morning After.

    <h4>Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Morning After.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    I woke up as I felt a prick on my nose, and a slender finger tracing along my eyes and face. I slowly opened my eyes to see Abby smiling at me. She had removed her makeupst night, therefore I was greeted by a cute barefaced girl.


    We were both lying on the bed in her mother''s room, hugging each other without any clothes on. The consequence of the impulsive action we tookst night as we went there to search for protection after running out of stocks in her room .


    "Morning." She greeted me with a smile. "Last night was great."


    "Great? Try phenomenal." I joked as I pulled her body closer to mine. She blushed a bit before slightly hitting my chest and said, "Don''t mess around. Get up quick. I need to throw this sheet into the washing machine, and mine too! Otherwise my mom will see the blood on it."


    She pushed me away and stood up next to the bed. I admired the sight of her naked body before she said, "Get up now! You need to go back to your house before your aunt knows you are gone."


    "So, you used me only for my body ugh? My dad is right. Women are all the same! They trick you in bed with flowery words, and then you''re worthless the next day."


    She threw a pillow at my face and said, "Hurry! I think I heard the sound of a car pulling up!"


    "Wait. Oh Shit." I heard the same sound, and I quickly helped Abby change her mother''s sheets and jumped into the shower with her to clean upst night''s traces before quickly getting dressed in the bathroom.


    She peeked out the door as soon as we were done and signaled me when she saw that her mother was still at the front door talking with someone.


    "I''m going out the window- Wait. Isn''t that my dad?" I asked as I recognized the voice speaking to Desiree, and both Abby and I froze as our minds pieced the ''clues'' together as we tried to solve the puzzle.


    "Di-Did they spend the night together?" Abby asked nervously.


    "N-N-Nothing is going on between them right?" I was also stuttering. "If, and this is a BIG ''if''...If they really did go out with each other, does that mean..."


    "We''re going to be step-siblings?" Abby said in horror. Our eyes met identally, which made both of us flinch and take a step back. Luckily for us, we didn''t shout.


    "I don''t know whether to be turned on or disgusted right now." I muttered as I walked into Abby''s room. "You and I both." Abby said as she went to greet her mother.


    "Oh wait. Don''t forget to run by the pharmacy to buy some n B pills." I reminded her.


    "Wayyy ahead of you. I was already texting Haley as we were getting in the shower." Abby replied with a smirk.


    "Haley? Uhhhh..." I didn''t know why but I was feeling quite guilty.


    "Hmm?" Abby was confused by my reaction, but I just waved her off and entered her room. Then, I jumped out of the first storey window, holding the windowsill as I wanted to carefullynd on the grass. However, Inded quite badly and sprained my left ankle a bit.


    "Shit." I cursed as I braced through the pain and limped in my aunt''s house direction to change my prom clothes before returning to Abby''s front door in a roundabout manner.


    Abby was crossing her arms with a dissatisfied expression as she interrogated Desiree, "Where did you two gost night?! I have been worried sick!"


    I was confused by her act but then I decided to join in the fun and appear right behind my dad, "Hey. I saw you pulling over with Desiree... Did you guys have sexst night?"


    "EDWARD!" Desiree gasped in disbelief while my dad froze in his spot. "N-No, I was just showing her the coast."


    "Really? You didn''t bring her to the ''extremely romantic ocean nightview'' ce where you can admire the stars together while having a ss of wine, did you?"


    "I..." My dad opened his mouth a few times, but he couldn''t seem to answer the question. I narrowed my eyes at him and Desiree before I said, "You did. Didn''t you? And you didn''t get back till the morning, so I guess you included the sunrise experience, or were you guys just so tired that you decided to juste back in the morning."


    "SUNRISE! THE SUNRISE THING!" Desiree answered quickly. "Hmm...Why are you so bbergasted mom? Are you sure that nothing happened between the two of you?" Abby asked with narrowed eyes.


    Both of us were taking the morally superior position right now so that our parents couldn''t even begin to say anything against us except for merely trying to answer our questions honestly.


    Suddenly, a gentle breeze flew, carrying the faint scent of body soap towards Abby''s mom. "Wait. Why do I smell-" Desiree''s eyes suddenly lit up as she nced in my direction. She wrapped her arm around my neck as she pulled me in close and sniffed my scent a few times.


    "Yeah. This is my body wash." Desiree''s face became stern as she nced at the surprised Abby and saw her hair was still wet, and so was mine. "Did you guys just take a shower together?" She asked while narrowing her eyes.


    She then gasped and asked in a concerned tone, "Tha-No. That can''t- couldn''t''ve happened. You guys are exes! You...you guys didn''t sleep together after prom right?"


    "What? N-N-N-NOOO!" Abby replied.


    "My my, that stutter sure is convincing." I mockingly told Abby as she red at me. "Don''t change the subject! Did you and Mr Newgate sleep together or not!?"


    "NO! We did not!" Desiree replied decisively. "He was only being a gentleman, and a true friend. We did nothing but talk all night."


    "Lame dad." I said, making my dad look at me in disbelief. "I didn''t think my dad was THATme. Or are you guys lying right now?"


    "Answer my question Ed! Did you just take a shower at my ce? Did something happen between you and Abby?" Desiree asked.


    "Did you happen to sleep with my dad?" I asked.


    "No!"


    "Then neither did we. I was being a gentleman, and we talked a lotst night." I replied in a perfunctory manner which made them think I was mocking them.


    "Wait. this is going nowhere. And we don''t have to exin ourselves to you. I''m going to go ask your aunt whether you were herest night or not." My dad said while hiding his guilty look.


    "Sure, go on. She went to Calexicost night, and hasn''t returned since." I replied in a casual manner. It was a damn good luck for me that I went to change my shirt first and saw her note near the key drawer.


    Unlike my dad, Cam knew when to give me my much needed privacy, therefore she had made herself scarcest night. If only I had found out sooner. Well...I don''t regret it though.


    "Dad, let me see your wallet." I said suddenly. My dad was confused, and Abby was interested. "Why? What are you looking for?" She asked.


    "He always keeps a condom in one of the slots even when he isn''t gettingid. I wanna check if it is still there."


    "Sure. I have nothing to hide." My dad gave me his wallet instantly. "But know this, once you open it, you will be someone who has no trust in his own dad."


    I had no qualms with that so I opened it without hesitation. "Oh. It''s still there."


    Abby breathed in relief and said, "Thank god. I don''t think I can handle you as my step brother."


    "Only in this era Abby. I have a feeling the step siblings'' preconceptions will change a lot after a few years. Especially in the sites you usually frequent." I joked, but no one got the joke, which made me quite sad.


    "Sites? What sites?" Desiree was curious. Abby blushed and brushed her off quickly before saying, "Don''t speak nonsense. You have your concert this evening right? Go and get ready!"


    "Wait Abby. There is still a chance they did it without protectionst night. In which case-"


    "WE DIDN''T SLEEP TOGETHER!" My dad and Desiree said exasperatingly at the same time. I still narrowed my eyes at them as I muttered, "See...Synchronicity. They sure are being suspicious- Ow."


    "Hmm? What''s wrong Ed?" My dad asked.


    "Nah, I suddenly felt a jolt in my ankle." I said as I reached my hand to grab my dad in order to stand straight. Abby and Desiree looked at me in concern as I winced in pain.


    "Did you trip somewhere?" My dad asked as he held my arm to support me. "Yeah I did, after leaving school it was dark so I tripped on an uneven sidewalk." I replied without hesitation.


    Abby''s eyes darted around as she was thinking that my injury had something to do with the ''strenuous exercise'' we didst night, and wanted to offer her help. My dad stopped her as he said, "Let''s get that checked. We will stop by the doctor before going to your school."


    "No. I''m fine. I will be fine." I said as I tried to power through the pain and stand on my own and smiled when I managed to do so, "See. I''m fine-" I seeded in taking one step ahead.


    "No I''m not." Then, I fell on my face as I tried to take another step forward with my left leg.


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Where''s Haley?" Desiree asked after ire called and invited her to the house for some ''tea'' time.


    "She''s out with Abby." ire said with a knowing smile on her face. Desiree touched her face as she said, "Hmm...I think that something happened between Abby and Edst night."


    ire widened her eyes in surprise, "Really? How did you know?"


    "Well for starters, she washed both of our sheets this morning and she never does that, no matter how much I ask her to. And today not only did she do her ownundry but she even washed my sheets too! So I''m extremely confused right now.


    "It''s hard to say with just that. Haley has been helping me with the chores recently too. I think she is basically trying to annoy me as she constantly follows me around the house, trying to emte everything I do. So I guess the chore thing is something the girls read in a magazine or something."


    ire continued, "Besides, why would she wash your sheets too. It''s not like they would mess around on your bed. That would just be disrespectful."


    "Hmm...I guess you''re right. But they are still suspicious." Desiree said with a sigh.


    "Annnndd?" ire tried to instigate her friend.


    "Annnddd what?" Desiree asked, confused. She sipped her tea as she nced at ire.


    "Don''t y dumb with me. Abby told me you spent the night with Ted!"


    "Pff-'''' Desiree spurted out her drink straight to ire''s face. "What!? I mean. I''m sorry ire." She reached for the tissues and helped ire to wipe her face quickly. "


    I don''t know what she told you, but nothing happened." Desiree rified with a blushing face.


    Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Phil ran down the stairs while shouting, "I''ll get it!" He ran towards the door, almost tripping himself over a broken step, and then opened it up.


    "Huh? Hi?" Phil was confused as she saw the brte standing in front of his house.


    "Hi. My name is Francesca Dart. I''m the interim managing director-"


    "FRANKIE! COME HERE!" ire realized who the guest was and invited her inside quickly. "Will you excuse me?" Frankie let out a sigh and passed by Phil and walked towards the woman sitting in the living room.


    "Oh Hey ire, What time will we be going to Alex''s school festival?" Phil asked as he checked his watch.


    "At noon! Don''t go anywhere! Alex especially asked me to make sure of that." ire said.


    As Frankie was greeting Desiree, Luke suddenly walked towards ire and said, "Mom, did you know that the word ''Ohio'' looks like a tractor?"


    "Huh? Honey, have you done your homework yet?" ire asked, but Frankie was a bit stunned and she quickly intervened, "I think so too. It does look like a tractor doesn''t it?."


    "Ha! I knew I was right!" Luke said. "Thank you, kinddy." He did a short, gentlemanly bow at Frankie before walking away, which made a smile break out on Frankie''s almost stoic face.


    ire looked at her in a puzzled manner and asked, "Does the word Ohio really look like a tractor to you?"


    "There is some resemnce, yes." Frankie said.


    "You''re great with kids. Do you have a child of your own Frankie?" Desiree asked as she wanted to get to know the newdy.


    "God no." Frankie replied in a casual manner before saying to ire, "What time shall we start preparing for the mobile application''s release?"


    "Wa-Wait wait wait. Hold on. What do you mean ''God No''? You don''t like kids? Then how did you-" ire was baffled by the situation.


    Frankie replied, "I have...a mentally challenged sister. So I know how to respond to a child-like train of thought. It''s better to reply and affirm his curiosity rather than to judge. It will save you time and effort."


    ire''s face froze, and she said quickly, "Luke is not mentally challenged!"


    [ire''smentary]


    "I mean...there are some signs, but he''s...he''s a sweet sweet boy!"


    mentary ends]


    "Oh no no no no. I''m not saying that he''s challenged. I''m just saying that he''s simr to my grown up sister who''s a bit challenged." Frankie asserted quickly to prevent any misunderstanding.


    Frankie wondered if she had touched ire''s insecurities, and wanted to quickly change the topic now, "So we still need to handle a few things before the app''s release tonight. The ads have been running for a few days, but I am still unsure of how Edward is going to make money from this free app?"


    "Hold on. So Luke is simr to her? Should I bring him to a doctor to get him checked out?" ire asked anxiously.


    Frankie was concerned and tried to cate her, "Oh No-No. If your family doesn''t have any history of mental issues, then that boy is just a curious boy, that''s all."


    "Honey! Do you know the word Ohio looks like a tractor?" Phil suddenly walked in whileughing.


    ire''s face became determined as she mumbled, "I need to bring him to a professional."


    ...


    After buying the n B pills from the pharmacy, Haley stared at Abby with a dissatisfied look as they drove home together.


    "You didn''t EVEN think to USE protection?" She asked angrily.


    "We did. And then we ran out." Abby replied with a smirk. "YOU USED IT ALL-" Haley opened her mouth in shock before she blushed and tried to ask, "So...how was it?"


    "It was freaking great! Ugh!"


    "Why the ''ugh''?" Haley asked mockingly.


    "Yeah ''Ugh'' cause we can only do it once!" Abby replied in an angry manner. "I''m already going to New York this Sunday."


    "Good! I mean, Oh noooo..." Haley said in a fake manner. They went to Tara''s to pick her up before they drove towards the middle school festival together. During the drive, Tara and Haley made Abby spit out every single detail aboutst night�C whether it was girth, length, or even the direction it was going.


    "Damn! Now I''m attracted to Ed! Should I break up with my boyfriend and go after him?" Tara asked jokingly. "By the way, did you guys know about Dn?"


    ...


    In a hospital nearby.


    Pepper opened the ward door in an extravagant dramatic manner before grabbing an intern doctor nearby, "Where is he!" he asked.


    "H-He''s over there!" The intern replied in fear as she pointed to a hospital bed with the curtains drawn to cover up the patient. Pepper strode towards the bed quickly and entered the space dramatically before grabbing the doctor there "Tell me it wasn''t a tragedy doctor! Tell me that we can still save his legs!"


    "No. It was just a sprain!" The doctor replied in confusion. "Wait Pepper?"


    "Teddy?" Pepper recognized the doctor and released him instantly. "Mitchell''s ex-boyfriend?"


    "I knew I recognized him from somewhere." Ed mumbled to himself as his left leg was wrapped in bandages. His dad was standing behind him with a concerned expression, "Ed, should you really perform today? The doctor told you to rest for 3-4 days."


    "It''s okay. I''ll rest after I finish performing. Besides, that was just a suggestion." Ed replied in a dismissive manner.


    "No! Let''s do an MRI! Or a CAT scan! We need to make sure that your leg and your whole body is really fine!" Pepper said while grabbing Edward and shaking him.


    Ed smiled and said, "Hey hey Pepper, rx. Take a chill pill, I''m okay."


    Teddy backed up the teen, "He is fine! He''s healthier than most kids. It''s just a sprain, so don''t worry about it too much."


    "Yeah Peps. I''m at least better than Dn over there." Edward said as he pointed towards the patient bed in front of him. Dn was peacefully sleeping and had an IV bag connected to him, with the warning sign ''Do note near'' ced around his neck.


    "Wait, you know him?" Teddy asked. "That poor kid." He shook his head as he remembered the events ofst night.


    "What happened to him?" Ted asked in concern as Dn was a part of his crew.


    "He took a pretty big blow to the head and then mixed up a few medications trying to fix it, but it just caused him to ejacte continuously at the slightest touch and simtion after a while. That''s why we banned all the nurses from going near him. We had to put him down as he''s been spraying his... ''stuff'' all over."


    "Oh damn." Edward muttered in surprise.


    Teddy nodded and said, "Well a good thing about it is that a neurobiologist has offered to take care of all the expenses of his case, from medications to scans and blood work if he and his caretakers agreed to have him as a case study. She only asked of could connect a few electrodes to his brain in order to use the results in her research. She''sing over right now."


    "Who''s she?" Edward asked.


    "Her name is Dr Amy Farrah Fowler." Teddy replied.


    "Oh dayum..." Edward muttered again.


    ...


    In an airport nearby, Taylor and her dad disembarked from his private ne. He was wearing a cowboy hat and outfit while walking side by side with his daughter.


    Scott said, "Where''s your friend?"


    "Selena? She''s driving straight to the school and will be waiting for us there." Taylor replied casually before she pouted and said, "So let me go alone."


    Her dad smirked and said, "No can do. Or else you''ll run straight to that boy again."


    "I thought you liked him!" Taylor protested in anger.


    "I do! That''s why I''m getting you away from him. He deserves a normal girl-" Taylor punched her dad on the arm before he could continue. "I hate you!" Taylor muttered before huffing away while her dadughed at her demeanor.


    Taylor suddenly stopped walking as she read a text on her phone, and turned back towards her dad in a hurry. "Dad, we need to go to the hospital right now!" she demanded.


    "Huh? Why?" Scoot asked in confusion. Then, Taylor showed him an article, opened from a link that Selena sent to her, about Edward being admitted to the hospital.


    [Breaking News! The Teenage Pop Star Edward Newgate was admitted to John Hopkins Hospital hours before his charity concert!]


    Paparazzi started crowding the front of the hospital as Edward''s whereabouts were leaked by an irresponsible hospital administrator looking for quick cash, and it quickly became a zoo there.


    "Fuck. I can''t even run now." Edward cursed as he saw the crowd from behind a curtain.

 Chapter 143: School Festival!

    <h4>Chapter 143: Chapter 143: School Festival!</h4>


    (Sorry for thete chap. Dealing with some personal problem yesterday.)


    [Edward POV]


    *Snap* *Snap *Snap* *Snap*


    "Mr Newgate, how did you get injured?!"


    "Will you cancel the charity concert!?"


    "What will happen to all the donations?!!"


    "Does Taylor know you''re injured!?"


    shes of camera light basked my body non-stop as I walked out of the hospital towards mypany car under the escort of a few burly bodyguards to keep me safe.


    The paparazzi kept shouting their questions and even tried to break through the bodyguard''s protection, some of them almost seeded and I was pushed a few times even with my injuries.


    "Animals ALL OF YOU! ANIMALS!!" Pepper shouted with gritted teeth as he tried to chase the paparazzi away.


    "Alright everyone! Stop!" I said while pping my hand loudly. My voice carried a trace of anger, and the rambunctious group of the paparazzi was actually stunned and then calmed down a bit by it.


    ''Hmm? Did I awaken Conqueror Haki?'' I thought in confusion as I saw a now calm group of people.


    "Which one of you is from an official newspany?" I asked. Only 3 of them raised their hands in an obedient manner, which saddened me a little.


    Most of the ''reporters'' here were part of the hyena faction�C which stalked celebrities in order to make fast money from either ckmailing or selling private information and pictures to media channels, and some just enjoyed the feeling of destroying someone''s image and reputation.


    "I will answer just one question from each of you, only the official media though." I muttered.


    "That''s discrimination!" One greasy looking hyena said as he grabbed his camera and started snapping pictures again.


    "It is." I replied honestly, which excited the crowd as they felt that they had won something great today.


    "You, the blonde who looks like Lois Lane." I said as I pointed at the woman right in front of me.


    A little ttered, the woman smiled for a second before she held a recorder at me and asked, "How did you get injured? And will it affect the uing charity event?"


    "Oh, I just tripped on an uneven sidewalk. It will not bother me to sing on stage, so no. It won''t affect the concert." I replied casually as I pointed at my bandaged ankle and feet. I had to wear a slipper that my dad bought from the gift shop, so everyone could see it. "As you can see. I can still walk by myself."


    Although it was painful for me to do so. I was just faking it in order to avoid worrying my fans about the possibility of the concert being canceled after my injury.


    "Next, the reporter from Orange County."


    The tall man nodded with a serious expression before asking, "Why does the charity event target only the homelessness in this state? What about other ces in the country?"


    "I think that question should be asked to the politicians rather than a teenage boy? Don''t you?" I replied with augh, causing the reporters to chuckle too.


    Then, I paused for a while before replying, "When I was 9 years old, I used to ride my bike everyday to a convenience store in the city, one day I decided to look around and I saw a homeless guy camping in an alley nearby, so from that day on everytime I walked out of the store, I would give him a dor."


    The crowd was attracted by my story and the camera shes stopped.


    "One day, after a hard day at school, I wanted to get a special type of candy... As you might already imagine, I came across some trouble with some bad people that were still lingering there. They were dealing illegal substances, something that could put them in jail for life, and I was unlucky enough to witness it. " I said with a nostalgic expression on my face.


    The reporters all held their breath as they listened, and so did my dad�C who was part of the bodyguard squad, and Pepper as they never had never heard this story before.


    "One of them saw me and pulled a knife on me. I was terrified but right before he could lunge at me, the same homeless guy I kept giving my change to, suddenly tackled the thugs and proceeded to drive them all away. One person heroically faced off against 3 guys just to save a little kid he didn''t actually know... Nice story right?"


    "Well the homeless guy got stabbed." I said, causing the crowd to let out a gasp. "Luckily for me though, at thest second, the thug finally decided to run away. To this day I don''t know what it was that made him run. Did he suddenly grow a sense of morality or maybe just got spooked after seeing the blood in his hands? Whatever the case he simply ran away instead ofing after me next."


    "So I was saved, and I never saw the homeless guy again. I asked around after that, his name was Will... I think . A good- No, a great man, a guy who had made some bad financial decisions and had to sleep on the streets. I asked the clerk about him. And he told me that every time I gave Will a dor, he would go into the store, buy one of those 99 cent hotdogs, and that would be his meal for the day."


    I looked into the crowd and saw their faces change drastically as they heard the story. "So If you''re asking me why I''m holding a charity event to feed the homeless, you only need to know about Will."


    The crowd was silent for a while, with some furiously jotting everything I said down on their notes.


    "Okay! Last question. Jaime over there from the Hollywood Times." I said with a smile as I turned to the familiar looking woman in front of me. She looked simr to a K-pop idol that I have seen in my previous life, but I had never learned her name before.


    "Um, you know me?" She asked with an impressed smile.


    "Yeah. I remember all the pretty ones." I replied. She blushed a bit which made the camera shes swarm appear once more. I was helpless and said, "How many thousands of photos do you guys need? You will only use one or two in the articles."


    Some reporters were embarrassed, but some didn''t bother to stop. Jaime came back to her senses and asked, "That...made my next question rather awkward. Will Taylor S.e to the concert today? My sources tells me that she was back at her parents house till yesterday-"


    As expected of the writer in the gossip panels in the Hollywood Times magazines. Well, almost the entire magazine was filled with gossip, so it was more of a tabloid magazine rather than a normal one.


    "Oh I certainly hope she will." I interjected quickly as I was already fed-up with the light shes. "I have already given her the VVIP tickets. Not only her, but her dad too."


    "Her dad? Why?" Jaime''s eyes lit up as she caught on, but I just showed a toothy grin and said, "No morements~, I should probably go and get some rest like my doctor told me too. Goodbye."


    "Wait!!!!" She shouted, but I had already gotten in the ck, 7 seater SUV car with Pepper and my dad. The shes of lights be tremendous as I leave, and I know for sure that the gossip media will have a field day with my answers.


    "Ed, I''m sorry that you had to go through that." My dad said, in which I thought he was referring to the paparazzis gue, but I was wrong, " I won''t scold you for going out on your own-"


    "Oh, right. That was all made up." I said suddenly, which caused Pepper and my dad to widen their eyes in shock. Even the driver was shocked and he identally swayed the car, causing our ride to get red by people''s horn.


    "AN ACT!?" Pepper gasped in disbelief after calming down. "I thought you really had gone through it- The story...felt real!"


    "Yeah I know. I''m an amazing actor." I replied haughtily with a smirk.


    Truth be told, the story was from my past experience, that needed a slight alteration in order for me to tell that story.


    When I was almost stabbed before, I had no parents, and I didn''t go there to buy some candy, but it happened after I had run away from the orphanage in order to search for my ''true parents''. How naive I was at that time.


    My dad was still suspicious about my disimer, "Ed, if you fear that I would be angry-"


    "Dad. Mom didn''t even let me eat candy or ride a bike. Don''t you remember you were the one who bought me my first bike after she left?" I said in a casual manner to remind him.


    "Ahh..That''s true." He finally relented and believed that I had lied before. "Won''t you get in trouble if someone decided to confirm whether it was a true story or not? If there was a stabbing, there should be a record of it." He added.


    "Well, to be honest it will be difficult for them to confirm anything. There are a lot of crimes in the city, and stabbings, although rare, have reached more than 100 cases per year." It would increase exponentially in the future, making a stabbing case look normal then.


    "And I didn''t even specifically say that the homeless guy was dead. If they actually want to ask me about it, I can y the traumatized card, and those who dare to keep asking will be hunted down by every single one of my crazy fans. "


    "Ahhh..." Pepper eximed in realization. He gave me a faux-contemptuous side eye as he muttered, "You scary little man."


    "Hey I''m already taller than you. Anyway Peps, let''s go to the festival now! I wanna shoot some ducks."


    My dad and Pepper looked at each other as they heard it. "You know you can''t join the festival crowd right?" My dad said with some hesitation.


    "Huh? Why not!?"


    Pepper answered, "Most of the ones who came are your, and I''m quoting you now, ''crazy fans''..."


    I was stunned for a while, "... Shit."


    "Language!" x2.


    I crossed my arms as I pouted at my seat before I said, "I want to try everything there."


    "I will ask someone to buy it for you- Wait, did you just say ''everything''?" Pepper asked in disbelief. I nodded with a grin and said, "Yeah, everything!!!!" Iughed insidiously, which made Pepper feel a headacheing in.


    ...


    "Tsk." I clicked my tongue as I watched the bustling field from inside the music ssroom. "I wanna y too!" I said whiningly before I turned towards Mrs Henderson and Pepper who were discussing today''s affairs.


    "The concert will start in 3 more hours. When I''m done with the final safety check on the newly constructed stage, I wille and get you so that you can get ready backstage." Mrs Henderson looked at her tablet while saying that.


    Pepper nodded in understanding, "Alright. We can do that. About the dancers-"


    "There''s dancers?" I muttered in confusion, but Pepper ignored me.


    "The stage can support up to 30 people dancing vigorously on top of it." Mrs Henderson replied.


    "Thank you." Pepper smiled.


    "Heeemmm... There''s dancers?" I muttered again.


    "What about the fireworks? Have they been set up?" Pepper asked again.


    "No, we couldn''t get the permission from the city. It would be okay to use them somewhere else, but they couldn''t let us do it in a school area." Mrs Henderson shook her head slightly in disappointment.


    "There''s dancers?"


    "Shut up Ed." x2.


    I scoffed after getting scolded and limped my way towards the door as I heard a knock. Just to be clear, I knew about all of that stuff. I was just trying to annoy them, an endeavor in which I seeded.


    "SURPRISE!!!" The cute Enid yelled out after I opened the door.


    "Surprise? I asked you toe here." I said with a smile as I invited her in. "Where''s the others?" I peeked at the corridor to search for my other food delivery man- I mean friends�C good friends. The best of friends...


    "They are still waiting in line. I''m bringing this first ''cause I don''t want it to get cold." Enid said as she gave me a footlong, golden coloured corn dog and mustard packets as she didn''t know if I wanted the condiment or not.


    "NICEE!" I eximed in excitement as I reached out to grab it. But Enid pulled her hand away in a yful manner, "Give me my reward first?"


    I sighed and asked, "What do you want?"


    We didn''t agree to a reward beforehand, and I paid for all the food before I sent them out to hunt. So I was a bit taken aback when Enid wanted something, but then I realized she was just ying around.


    "Nothing much. I wanna be the first person ever to get your autographed album! THE FIRST!"


    "Oh, that''s easy. Alright, you got it. Now gimme my footlong meat. Ah Pepper, not the kind you always get."


    Pepper snorted and said, "If I could ever get a footlong, would I still live a single life?"


    "Stop focusing on Dwayne and start focusing on those around you. He''s out there, you just can''t see it." I said in a casual manner as I took a bite of the corn dog.


    "Huh? What are you guys talking about? Footlong what?" Enid asked in a quizzical manner. Mrs Henderson interrupted quickly, "Enid, don''t you have something else to tend too? If you can get more food, then you can demand even more rewards."


    Enid''s eyes lit up, "Really? I''m going now! WAIT FOR MEEE!" She dashed out of the room immediately before I could even say anything. "Hey! I didn''t agree to that yet! Enid!"


    She had already disappeared before I could finish my words. I bit the corn dog with a solemn face and muttered with my mouth full, "She won''t spread the word right?"


    "Why ask when you already know?" Mrs Henderson said with a smirk as she walked beside me. She had already finished the discussion and would be heading out now.


    "Wanna try?" I offered my corndog to her, which to my surprise, she actually leaned forward, brushed her hair behind her ear, and bit on it seductively before returning to normal position.


    "It''s sweet." She said with a weird face.


    "I know, it''s disgusting." I said while taking another bite. "But I just can''t seem to stop." I added. She raised her brows at me before walking away while muttering, "You''re a weird little kid."


    "Hey! I''m a MAN~ Not a kid!"


    Pepper walked towards me after finishing a call. "Mitch and Cam are here."


    "Oh, why are they here so early?" I asked in a casual manner as I finished my corndog and threw the wooden stick in the trash can. "I don''t think it''s for the food."


    "How could you finish that? Anyway, Mitchell wants to meet us."


    "Oh, tell him he can onlye if he brings me some slushies. And some food"


    ...


    [General POV]


    "A slushie?" Mitchell was walking with Lily and a brte 10 year old girl through the festival.


    "Mitchell, there''s a slushie stall right here. Does Ed want the Red, or the Blue one?" Cameron asked. "Amanda, do you want a slushie too?"


    "I want to see Edward Newgate." Amanda demanded like an entitled brat as she stomped her feet.


    "Cam, what is Red, and what is Blue?" Mitchell asked, ignoring the kid.


    "I don''t know, they wrote Red and Blue. I don''t think there''s any vor, just color." Cam replied with an exhausted face.


    A few stalls away, Haley and Abby were also walking around the festival street before they suddenly bumped into the hurrying Enid.


    "Hey watch out!" Haley shouted but then realized who it was, and said, "Enid! Watch where you''re going! You''re going to get in trouble!"


    Abby looked at her friend weirdly before turning to Enid and asked, "Why are you running?"


    "Cause I want a reward!" Enid said before she ignored the duo and ran away. Abby then turned to Haley and spoke sarcastically, "And what''s with the motherly scolding?"


    "Huh? Did I seed?" Haley asked in confusion.


    "Seed in what?" Abby was also confused.


    At the activities section of the festival, Jacob was swinging down a hammer in a violent manner at the hammer arcade game. The score kept going upwards, and it stopped at 831 after the bell rang.


    "Congrats! You broke the record!" The facilitator of the game gave him a fluffy pink unicorn as a prize. He grinned and gave the prize to Elsa who was already holding multiple stuffed animals and prizes.


    "Stop! I don''t need anymore gifts!" She said exasperatingly, but her boyfriend ignored her plight and went to the next game instead.


    Jenna was following the couple from behind before she ran into Enid. After hearing the exnations, her eyes lit up and she abandoned the stupid couple to go food hunting with Alex , Finneas , Billie, and Abraham.


    Soon after, Abraham knocked on the music ssroom door using their secret code with a small load of junk food.


    "Tofu burger? Are you serious?" Edward looked at the impertinent kid. "Huh? You asked us to get the weirdest food in the festival right?" Abraham asked in confusion.


    "I said I wanted to eat rare or weird food, but only good stuff. Tofu burgers aren''t weird. It''s just vegan." Edward said while taking a bite of the burger. "Urgh, disgusting."


    "Then stop eating it!" Pepper yelled at him, but Edward kept munching every single thing his friends brought him, leaving no leftovers.


    "Try this deep fried oreos." Finneas walked around with Billie and handed the food to Edward.


    "Huh? Oreo? This is interesting." Edward''s eyes glinted in excitement before he turned to Billie. The girl sighed and said, "Deep fried broli."


    Edward was weirded out, but he kept smiling. He popped a single deep fried oreo into his mouth. "Oh, this is actually good."


    "Good for diabetes. What''s wrong with this festival? Why is everything deep fried?" Pepperined. Edward ate the broli and said, "This is actually tasteless."


    "Stop eating everything Ed! You''ll get fat!" Pepper chastised him.


    Alex walked together with her dad, Phil, who gave Ed a hug the moment he met him. "Heyyy! It''s been a while since I saw you."


    "Yeah, I missed you too Phil." Edward muttered as he wrapped his arm around Phil, but it was actually to take what Alex was holding. "Hmm? What''s this? I mean, I know it''s cotton candy. But what was it before?" Edward asked.


    "It was supposed to be a puppy. But we took too long and it''s already melted." Alex rubbed her head in annoyance as she gazed at her dad.


    "Oh. Puppies are good too." Edward said as he bit off the already small cotton candy in one bite.


    "As a design right Ed?" Alex asked with a smile, but Edward just smiled ambiguously at her.


    "You''re talking about the design right?" She asked again, fearfully this time.


    "Maybe..." Edward answered with a mischievous smirk.


    Alex was shocked, but Phil was just smiling by her side. "Edward, are you nervous about ying today?"


    "You should ask your daughter that question. Her face is getting pale." Edward teased.


    Jenna appeared after the family had left to go enjoy themselves in the ferris wheel. They will join Manny and Luke there, together with Gloria and Jay.


    "Finally! A normal looking food!" Pepper said as he saw the chocte covered banana in Jenna''s hand. "Ok, time for the show is drawing near. I will go get the bodyguards. Edward, don''te out of the room."


    "Okayy~" Edward was left alone with the girl. Jenna fidgeted before asking, "S-so, can we really ask for a reward?"


    "Enid just can''t shut her mouth huh?" Edwardughed a bit before saying, "Sure. I can give you a reward if you want."


    "Really? Great! Then, I want you to feed me the banana!"


    "I''m sorry, what?"


    Jenna pointed at the container and showed that it had 2 chocte covered bananas in it. "Oh, that banana." Edward muttered. "Sure. Say Ahhh~" He grabbed a stick of banana and pointed it to Jenna''s mouth.


    She blushed and bit her lower lip before looking at Edward with dreamy eyes. She slowly brushed her hair behind her ear as she leaned forward to lick the chocte dripping from the banana, from the bottom to the top.


    "Ahum~" She moans slightly as she puts the banana inside her mouth while maintaining eye contact with Edward who''s contemting life right now.


    "Umm... So big~"


    "Alright, stop it right there!" Edward said as he pulled his hand back. "My Edward Banana!" Jenna whined pitifully.


    "Why the hell did you do that?" Edward asked in disbelief. "Well, I read my horoscope today, and it said that I should start my summer with an impact so you wouldn''t forget me."


    "''What was that?" Edward asked as Jenna''s voice was too tiny for him to hear. "Nothing!" Jenna said as she stuck her chocte covered tongue out.


    "Well the horoscope thing got it right. I''m not ever going to forget what just happened." Edward muttered. Jenna blushed and ran away from the room. Just seconds after she left, Mitchell finally got to the ss.


    "Hey Ed! I bought some slushies and fairy bread." Mitchell said in excitement.


    "Oh, did Cam bake them?" Edward asked as he grabbed the rainbow sprinkle covered bread.


    Mitchell paused and then eximed in disbelief, "What?"

 Chapter 144: Charity Concert (1)

    <h4>Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Charity Concert (1)</h4>


    [Edward''s P.O.V.]


    After Mitchell exined Amanda''s situation, I agreed to help him by meeting the girl and taking a photo with her. I also gave her my poster and signature before ushering her away as politely and quickly as possible, as she was beginning to get on my nerves. She appeared satisfied, though, and Mitchell wouldn''t get into any trouble.


    "I''m sorry, Ed," Mitchell said.


    He felt apologetic for leveraging our connection for personal gain, but I wasn''t holding it against him. I knew from the TV series that he had practically no work-life bnce, as his boss kept pressuring him.


    "It''s okay, Mitch. I''m just d you could make it," I reassured him.


    "Bahhh-" Baby Lily disyed excessive enthusiasm as we hadn''t seen each other in a while. She yfully nibbled my cheek while I held her, resulting in my face being covered in baby slobber. I burst intoughter at her antics and started tickling her, eliciting baby giggles that made Cam''s face turn red with jealousy.


    "Hey, Ed, we should head backstage now," Alex suddenly entered the room. "Alex, good luck out there! Break a leg!" Cam eximed enthusiastically as he took baby Lily from my arms, despite her clear reluctance to leave me.


    "Wait. Taylor is almost here. I want to meet her before going on stage," I mentioned as I wiped my face with a wet tissue.


    Pepper, who had entered the room alongside Alex, chimed in, "No, she won''t make it."


    "Huh? Why?" I inquired, perplexed.


    "She actually went to the hospital to surprise you there, but now she''s stuck in traffic. She won''t be here for at least another half-hour, so it''s better for you to get backstage first," Pepper exined.


    I let out a sigh before responding, "Alright. Make sure to give her the tickets."


    "Don''t worry about it. Now, go and get ready," Pepper urged. "If you''re toote, the crowd will start to gather, and it will be problematic if they spot you walking backstage."


    The venue was situated in the middle of a field, with no discreet pathways to avoid being seen by fans. So my best bet was to get backstage before the crowd started congregating for the show.


    "It''s still an hour and a half until showtime. Isn''t it too early?" Alex questioned, looking a bit confused.


    "It''s not early at all! In fact, there are already DOZENS of people in the field," Pepper responded.


    "Hmmm..." I stepped out the door, and suddenly, a tall blonde girl shouted, "Surprise!" and embraced me.


    "Taylor!" I eximed excitedly, returning her hug, while Pepper and Alex snickered behind me.


    "Ahh, you bastards yed me," I teased as I turned to the duo. Taylor continued to smile and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I missed you."


    "I missed you too," I replied. Suddenly, Taylor''s expression turned serious, and she began sniffing my clothes.


    "Taylor?" I asked, feeling both confused and concerned.


    "I smell the scent of another girl! Who''s that?" She inquired indignantly, but her eyes still sparkled yfully.


    "Does it smell like talc or baby powder? Because you can see my other girl right behind me."


    Taylor turned around and saw Lily, her face flushing red with embarrassment. I swallowed hard, wondering whether I should be honest or not, but Pepper came to my rescue. "Girl, he needs to get backstage right now. You can have your lover''s quarrelter."


    "Oh, is it time already? Alright, I''ll go be with my dad. I''ll introduce you guys after the concert," Taylor said with a smile.


    "Sure," I replied as I watched her walk away.


    Pepper suddenly grabbed my shoulder from behind and said, "Ed...why were you so nervous when she asked you...if there was another girl?"


    "I...don''t know what you mean? Let''s go! We''re alreadyte!" I hurried towards the stage, not wanting to delve into that topic with Pepper.


    "Hmm...Suspicious," Pepper muttered as he followed me. "Hey Pepper, can wee?" Cam asked with a grin.


    "As long as you keep your mouth shut... Nah, we both know you won''t be able to do that. Just don''t get on Ed''s nerves," Pepper replied nonchntly.


    As I exited the schoolpound, a few bodyguards joined me on my way to the staging area. Some fans recognized me and eagerly took out their phones to snap pictures while screaming for my attention. I waved politely with a friendly smile.


    "Hmmm. Only 30 people. Pepper, should I call them over?" I inquired.


    There weren''t many people around yet, as most fans didn''t see the need to arrive so early. However, this specific group consisted of members from my fan club, who were decked out head to toe in my merchandise and held banners with my pictures and name.


    "Why?" Pepper asked, taken aback.


    "Well, they came here quite early, so I want to create a nice memory for them," I exined.


    Pepper grinned and responded, "Okay, if that''s what you want."


    "Call them over," I instructed one of the bodyguards apanying me. The burly African-American man nodded and approached the scattered fans, informing them of my desire.


    With faces flushed with excitement, the crowd of teenage girls hurried over to me, causing me to take a step back in surprise.


    "Hey, it''s Lily," Imented as I spotted the bespectacled blonde girl in front of me. Lily''s face lit up, and she asked with excitement, "You remember me?!"


    "Yeah. You gave me the keyword ''Fairytale'' at one of my previous concerts. You''ve cut your hair a bit shorter, but I can still recognize you. How have you been?" I inquired warmly. Other girls were grinding their teeth in envy as they waited for their turn.


    "I-I''ve been well," Lily replied with a stutter and a blushing face. She couldn''t even meet my gaze.


    "Don''t be so nervous. I just had another Lily slobbering all over my face a few seconds ago while she was in my arms. You guys share the same name, so you could borrow a bit of her confidence," I reassured her.


    "Huh?" The fan club members were puzzled, and some were infuriated, thinking I was talking about my significant other.


    "Ed! Eddddd!" Baby Lily called my name at a perfect moment. I chuckled and held her in my arms before saying, "See. You really could use some of her confidence."


    The fans blushed in embarrassment, while the fan club president was initially startled but then broke into a wide smile. "Hi Lily," the adult Lily greeted the baby.


    "Lily," the one-year-old mumbled her name while clinging to me, casting wary nces at the girls to assert her possessiveness.


    I conversed with all of them, learning their names and chatting with those who were brave enough to ask for personal pictures. Only after that did I enter the backstage area, still holding baby Lily in my arms.


    "She really doesn''t want to be apart from you! What magic did you use? Why does my daughter adore you so much?!" Cam grumbled in confusion as he took Lily away for the second time, despite her reluctance to leave me.


    "Cam, my entire existence is magic. Alright, Alex, what about Finneas and Billie? Have they arrived yet?" I inquired.


    Alex responded, "Yes, they''re on their way here. So... what do we do backstage?"


    "Typically, we''d familiarize ourselves with the stage and check our instruments. But there''s already a professional team handling that, so let''s just get a feel for the stageyout. Oh, and we need to change into our outfits."


    "Outfits?"


    I nced at her boyish attire and remarked, "Yes, you DEFINITELY need to change."


    "Ugh," Alex groaned and obediently went to change her clothes. When Finneas and Billie arrived, their fashion choices were also critiqued, and they too willingly went to change.


    We proceeded to the stage, which still had the curtains drawn, to acquaint ourselves with itsyout and ensure we didn''t interfere with the dancers as we moved around.


    "Actually, we won''t even move around; we''ll just perform from our designated spots," Billie teased. I yfully tapped her head with my knuckle, causing her to pout and almost shed a tear.


    "Peps, have the dancers arrived?" I inquired.


    "EDWAAAARRRD!" Before Pepper could respond, someone called my name from behind, and I was enveloped in a dual hug.


    "Kaya, Anna! d to see you guys here," I greeted them warmly as Anna examined my height with her hand, looking incredulous.


    "How are you taller than me now?! What did you eat to grow this quickly!?"


    "Mainly fertilizers and steroids," I replied, momentarily shocking both of them, as well as anyone who overheard. "I was just joking," I quickly added, earning relieved sighs from the surrounding crowd.


    With a wry smile, I shifted the conversation to more professional matters. I learned about the spotlights, speaker cements, dance choreography, and more as I prepared for the performance.


    "Hey, Kid, I''m not toote, am I?" Just minutes before the audience could enter the venue, I spotted some familiar faces heading backstage.


    "Hey, Robert. Why are you here so early? Weren''t you nning toe towards the end?" I asked, smiling as I walked over to greet them.


    "Jon chased me off the set," RDJ exined, giving me a light hug before turning to two individuals beside him. "You know them, right?" He asked, sporting a mischievous grin.


    "Of course. ScarJo and Don. I''m quite surprised to see you guys here," I said enthusiastically as I shook hands with both of them.


    "Well, we came to support the cause. And Jon might have actually kicked us off too," Don Cheadle quipped yfully.


    Scarlett added, "The dancers kept talking about you, so I got interested..."


    "In me?" I flirted with a side smile.


    RDJ rolled his eyes and swatted my shoulder, remarking, "You''re 15! Don''t make a move on her. She won''t fall for it-"


    He was the one who got swatted next. Scarlett rolled her eyes and said, "Ignore him."


    I chuckled before asking them, "You guys should find your seats. The performance is about to begin."


    RDJ quickly nodded and said, "Sure. Do you want me to be the MC?"


    "Uuuff, sorry pal... your offer came a bit toote," I yfully responded, ying along with RDJ''s feigned offer.


    [General P.O.V.]


    "Tickets, please," An official staff member checked the tickets of parents and students, permitting their entry into the venue. Most attendees wore excited and with eager smiles, though some parents seemed less enthused and were likely coerced intoing by their spouses or children.


    "Gloria, I thought we had VIP seats?" Jay inquired, trailing behind Gloria and Manny as they made their way to the stic chairs in the seating area.


    "These are the VIP seats. If you buy regr tickets, you have to stand behind us," Manny exined. He had donned a zer as if he were attending a ssical music performance, which irked Jay.


    "You''ll ruin that jacket with your sweat," Jay grumbled.


    "It''s fine; the sweat might help me lose weight faster," Manny retorted.


    "Hey, ire!" Gloria greeted ire enthusiastically as she waved her ticket, spotting the Dunphy family already seated. The seating arrangements had no specific assigned spots, so Gloria decided to sit next to the Dunphys.


    "Hey, we''re here too," Mitchell greeted Gloria and Jay from their seat one row behind the Dunphys. Lily wore noise-canceling headphones to join the concert, and Gloria was so excited to see the baby that she took Lily from Cam''s arms.


    "Why does she like everyone but us?" Camined, waving his hands in the air in mild frustration.


    "You''re the one who insisted on bringing her to a concert, Cam. Wait, is that the VVIP section?" Mitchell''s eyes lit up as he recognized several celebrities seated in front of them.


    "Gloria, couldn''t we afford those seats?" Jay asked incredulously, observing thefortable, cushioned chairs in front of them.


    "No, the tickets were reasonably priced. But I wanted to sit with the family," Gloria replied casually, irking Jay.


    Eminem, RDJ, ScarJo, Don Cheadle, Taylor, Selena, Jennifer Stone (another actress from "Wizards of Waverly ce"), a few TV anchors and journalists, several Hollywood directors with deep pockets, and many more top models, actresses, and artists were present.


    "What are they all doing here?" Cam asked, excitement lighting up his face.


    Mitchell responded, "I don''t know, maybe the charity event tugs at their heartstrings?"


    Cam snickered with an expression that seemed to say, ''As if.'' Suddenly, the music ring from the speakers seized the attention of the entire audience.


    "It''s starting!" Haley eximed excitedly, waving two balloon sticks with Edward''s name on them. Abby had cut her hair short following the previous night''s incident, styling it into twin buns. She, Tara, and Haley joined forces to cheer Edward on.


    Several cameras, including a Jimmy Jib camera, were capturing the show, which was being broadcast live on various streaming tforms.


    "Wow, there are already 190,000 viewers tuning in," Pepper muttered in astonishment. "They only need to pay $10 to watch it, right? And the numbers are still climbing. Edward''s advertising campaign is really paying off."


    "Yeah, $10 to watch, an extra $5 toment, and another $5 to create your own chat channel. The kid''s brain is a money-making machine," the Director chuckled heartily.


    "This is what Edward meant when he said that he could make a lot more money, even though he donated all the proceeds from the event tickets to charity. Nike and SOUP have already signed a deal for amercial, with payment tied to the number of viewers," Harvey exined.


    "A few morepanies are vying to include him in theirmercials, be it as an actor or even in his own page videos and even NBC and ABC have reached out to us," Harvey added. "Donna is handling those negotiations."


    "Edward left all the business to you. I''ll just trust your judgment," Pepper said, patting Harvey''s shoulder.


    "So, you''re basically passing all the work to me," Harvey quipped.


    "Without further ado, presenting the one and ONLY...Edward Newgate!!!" the Emcee dered after giving a brief introduction to the concert and its charity cause.


    Suddenly, a man wearing a white mask and a ssical suit appeared on stage with a violin in hand.


    "Huh?" Abby was puzzled, but Haley''s eyes sparkled as she eximed, "That''s Edward!"


    Taylor, who was watching, was momentarily perplexed before recognizing Edward. "Why is he... holding a violin?" She murmured with a worried expression.


    Edward began ying Vivaldi''s "Four Seasons (Winter)," instantly captivating the entire audience, who fell into a trance-like silence.


    "Oh my god," Cam whispered. "That''s why my sister didn''t want him to do anything else."


    Ted, standing next to her in the VVIP section, wore a solemn expression. He sighed deeply and remarked, "It''s been too long."


    The symphony seemed to w at the hearts of those present. Suddenly, Haley noticed that her cheek was wet. "Huh? Why... am I crying?"


    Despite the powerful melody, Edward''s anger and sorrow seemed to permeate the entire venue, causing hearts to race, throats to tighten, and emotions to swell. Some felt suffocated, some began to weep, and others experienced intense anger.


    "The kid''s a prodigy..." RDJ''s eyes widened in disbelief, sensing an overwhelming anger emanating from the music.


    Edward continued to y for about three minutes before abruptly stopping. The entire audience remained silent, and then Edward seized the violin with both hands, hoisted it into the air, and smashed it to the ground.


    Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd, taking a few moments for them to regain theirposure.


    "Holy fucking shit!" Abraham eximed. Mrs. Henderson closed her eyes, and a solitary tear trickled down her left cheek.


    The curtains were drawn open, revealing the figures of Finneas, Alex, Billie, and several dancers, all wearing masks simr to the one Edward had worn, along with Victorian-era-style clothing.


    Edward removed his mask as he returned to the microphone stand and tore away the fluffy neckties around his neck as the giant screen at the back showed a text in big bold golden letters.


    A King who had lost his Kingdom.


    The Revolution had begun.


    Edward took a deep breath and got lost in the music as it started, with Alex on the cello, Finneas on the violin, Billie on the drums, and a bronze bell in front of her. Her eyes held traces of excitement and nervousness as she watched Edward perform.


    [Coldy, "Viva Vida."]


    The song''s introduction filled the audience with anticipation. Thebined efforts of Alex and Finneas were joined by Billie''s beats. I grabbed the microphone while still clutching my guitar in one hand and began to sing.


    "??I used to rule the world~


    Seas would rise when I gave the word??"


    "??Now in the morning, I sleep alone


    Sweep the streets I used to own??"


    ire''s expression froze while Phil teared up, murmuring, "He must''ve been so lonely." Cameron was also moved, while Gloria asked Manny, "What did he say?"


    The song continued, "??I used to roll the dice... Feel the fear in my enemy''s eyes??"


    "??Listen as the crowd sings... Now the old king is dead, long live the king??"


    The elderly history teacher pushed up his sses and mumbled, "This feels familiar."


    ??One minute, I held the key~ Next, the walls closed in on me??


    ??And I discovered that my castles stand upon pirs of salt and pirs of sand??


    Finneas smirked as he yed the violin, his eyes locked onto Edward''s back with an intense gaze. Billie smiled as she struck the bell.


    Edward, brimming with excitement, raised his hand as he sang the chorus.


    "??I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringin''!


    Roman Cavalry choirs are singin''!


    Be my mirror, my sword and shield.


    My missionaries in a foreign field.


    For some reason, I can''t exin.


    Once you''d gone, there was never, never an honest word.


    And that was when I ruled the world! ??"


    The crowd erupted in excitement, even those initially reluctant parents had now changed their minds and were fully immersed in the concert.


    "??It was a wicked and wild wind.


    Blew down the doors to let me in.


    Shattered windows and the sound of drums.


    People couldn''t believe what I''d be??"


    A gentle breeze caressed Edward''s face as he continued to perform. Taylor whispered, "Is it time for the revolution now?"


    Taylor''s dad, Scott, maintained a stoic expression, but his left foot tapped the ground subtly, following the rhythms.


    "??Revolutionaries wait.


    For my head on a silver te.


    Just a puppet on a lonely string.


    Oh, who would ever want to be king???"


    Unbeknownst to Edward, the lyrics had stirred deep emotions in two people close to him��his dad and his aunt��causing tears to flow.


    "??I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringin'' (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)


    Roman Cavalry choirs are singin'' (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)??


    Be my mirror, my sword and shield,


    My missionaries in a foreign field (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)??


    ??For some reason I can''t exin,


    I know Saint Peter won''t call my name??


    ??Never an honest word,


    But that was when I ruled the world??"


    "The guy who stands in front of the Gate of Heaven." Abby''s eyes lit up as she realized what Edward meant.


    "??Never an honest word,


    But that was when I ruled the world??"


    "So he was never true to himself while he was on top of the world," RDJ muttered. "Damn, I have no words... Damn..." Don Cheadle was astonished as he tried toprehend the lyrics.


    "??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~!??


    ??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~??


    ??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~!??


    ??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~??


    ??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~!??"


    The chant of "??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh~!??" filled the air with an inexplicable emotion.


    Jacob muttered, "Is this about the French Revolution? Why are some people crying?"


    Elsa rubbed her forehead in frustration and retorted, "Do you really think this is JUST about the revolution?"


    "That''s what Ed told us," Jacob replied naively.


    "??I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringin'' (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)


    Roman Cavalry choirs are singin'' (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)??


    ??Be my mirror, my sword and shield,


    My missionaries in a foreign field (??Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh??)??


    ??For some reason I can''t exin,


    I know Saint Peter won''t call my name??


    ??Never an honest word,


    But that was when I ruled the world...??"


    Beads of sweat glistened on the children''s faces, yet their eyes shone with fanaticism as they soaked in the thunderous apuse from the audience. Mrs. Henderson wore a satisfied smile, while the Dunphy family had never been prouder of Alex and Edward.


    Edward, catching his breath, shed a grin before addressing the microphone, "WHAT''S UP, FRANKLIN MIDDLE!!!"


    "OHHHHHHH!" The crowd surged with excitement, their voices ringing out as they cheered for Edward and the rest of the band!

 Chapter 145: Charity Concert (2)

    <h4>Chapter 145: Chapter 145: Charity Concert (2)</h4>


    (I have a bit of a medical emergency this week, so I will be taking a few days off.)


    [Edward''s P.O.V.]


    "Oh, how I missed this," I muttered as the crowd chanted my name.


    The opening act had been more sessful than I had nned. Through my earpiece, I could hear Pepper updating me about the web broadcast, which had grown to 350,000 viewers in just a few minutes since the concert began.


    ''3.5 million dors in my pocket. Though,pared to the 300 million citizens in the United States alone, the number of the audience is quite small. I want to take this to the international stage, but I have little time to do that,'' I thought to myself.


    "How''s the stability and quality of the broadcast?" Harvey asked the director, reminding her to provide updates every 10 minutes or if there was a surge in viewers.


    "The picture is still high definition, even with choppy inte. The quality won''t degrade. How did he do it? Even the live TV broadcast stations aren''t as stable as his," the director eximed in wonder.


    I nodded in satisfaction before turning back to the crowd. "Everyone, before we continue as you know this is actually a school event SO I want to introduce a few talented people who are joining me on stage today."


    "The bespectacled beauty with the cello there is Alex Dunphy," I pointed at Alex, who was wearing a white dress and a cropped jacket.


    She grinned, pushing up the Ray-Ban-style spectacles I had designed for her, earning cheers from the audience, especially from her family and friends.


    [WE LOVE ALEX] Abraham suddenly unfurled a banner, causing Alex''s face to blush bright red.


    "Take that down!" Alex screamed, making the crowdugh. Jacobplied with her request, not wanting to distract her.


    "And we have another cutie patootie on the drums here, but that''s only for now. She''ll show you how she shreds on an electric guitarter. Billie Eilish!"


    The crowd cheered for the young girl. After my documentary was released, Billie''s reputation had surpassed that of Alex and her brother, bing the most famous person on the stage after me.


    Perhaps it was because she sang a cover song from Smash Mouth, earning her a lot of older fans who cheered for her today. Billie smiled shyly as she waved at the crowd, still d in oversized clothes with Albert Einstein pictures on them, her hair tied up in twin buns, shorts, and boots.


    "Next up, the handsome, though not nearly as handsome as me, Finneas O''Connell!" I said as I pointed to the cool-looking boy right behind me. Like me, Finneas hadpeted in various ssical musicpetitions since he was young, so he knew how to maintain a stoic demeanor in front of a crowd.


    I covered the microphone and whispered to him, "Smile, Finneas. You forgot to smile."


    "Ah, right!" Finneas was taken aback and started waving at the crowd while shing a shy smile. It was a new experience for him, as the crowd exploded with cheers and chants of his name, reinforcing his decision to leave ssical music behind and enter mainstream music.


    "Andst but not least, your one and only... Me!" I joked with the crowd, earningughter all around.


    "For our next performance, I''m singing something I''m sure you guys are already familiar with, one of my very first singles to hit it big ''Me and My Broken Heart.'' Enjoy," I announced. The crowd erupted in cheers, and I turned to my friends, asking, "Are you guys ready?"


    "Well, at the very least, I''m not not ready," Alex answered pessimistically, making Billie and Finneasugh. I smirked and returned to the audience after offering a few encouraging words to my friends.


    We performed ''Me and My Broken Heart,'' ''7 Years,'' which brought a bright smile to Jay''s face, ''The Lazy Song,'' and ''Believer,'' which received an explosive reaction from the crowd. Sweating hard, Billie and Finneas waved at the crowd in satisfaction, while Alex tried to cover her face as the embarrassment waved over her.


    I hugged the band members, and shouted to the crowd, "Give it up for Franklin Middle School student''s performer! They did pretty well, don''t you think?"


    The crowd cheered thunderously as I hugged Finneas, Billie, and Alex one by one. They bowed to the crowd as their performance was already over.


    The show reached the first break, and we bowed to the crowd again before going backstage. Atina girl in a cream coloured dress was getting ready as we left the stage.


    "Hey, Good luck out there." I said to Selena. She grinned and said, "Thanks. I''m really nervous."


    "Don''t be. Most of the crowd out there are parents and kids. They would be supportive no matter how hard you fail."


    She rolled her eyes and scolded me, "Shouldn''t youfort me instead of praying for me to fail?"


    I shrugged my shoulders in a baffled gesture while joking, "I didn''t." Iughed a bit and patted her shoulder, "Break a leg!"


    She nodded with a face filled with determination as the emcee called her name.


    "Presenting the Disney Channel star Selena Gomez!" the emcee announced in excitement as the red curtain was drawn open again.


    ...


    "Thanks a lot, you guys," I said as I hugged each member of my group one by one. All of them were drenched in sweat and visibly tired from the continuous performance.


    "Go and enjoy the rest of the performance. Just know that you guys have done something extraordinary today," Iplimented them, eliciting gleeful giggles.


    "Ah, I have no energy left," Alexined. "We will be getting paid for our help, right?" She smirked, making a cash money gesture with her hands.


    I smiled mischievously and said, "Unfortunately, you guys didn''t sign any contracts, except for today''s release. So..."


    "Ugh, money grubber!" Alexined, though I was just joking. I had every intention of paying them well for their help today.


    Billie chimed in, "I''m all right. You don''t have to pay me."


    Finneas added, "Me too."


    "Really? If you get paid, you can invite Alex on a luxurious date. Don''t you want the money?" I teased Finneas.


    "WHY WOULD I EVER WANT TO DATE ALEX?" Finneas replied, his face flushing.


    "I DON''T WANT TO DATE YOU EITHER!" Alex retorted, offended by Finneas''s remarks. Billieughed at them and said, "Ed, are you tired? Don''t you want to rest for a bit too?"


    "I''m actually fine. You guys are the onescking stamina," I replied, flexing my biceps. "Besides, Selena agreed to sing only 2 songs."


    "Really? Without getting paid?" Billie asked, confused.


    "No, her payment will be donated to the cause. Also, she''s managed by Disney so a charity event in a middle school was right up their alley. They agreed to let her in the second they saw the previous livestream numbers, so I don''t have to pay her at all. Mickey is taking this one on his own." I said with an evil smile.


    "Money grubber," Billie grumbled with a small smile.


    "Money-sucking demon," Alex added after catching her breath.


    "Not even Mickey is safe from you..." Finneas added


    "Hey!" I yelled at them, causing them to giggle and run away. "Pff, kids," I snorted in annoyance, waving goodbye to them before turning to Finneas, who was the only one that stayed behind.


    "Can... Can I stay backstage and watch?" he asked with a stutter.


    "Sure. Just don''t peek at the dancers changing though," I reminded him.


    He was astonished and said, "You can do that??"


    "As long as you''re famous enough, they might even change voluntarily in front of you," I replied.


    "DON''T TEACH HIM BAD THINGS!" Alex and Billie shouted from afar as they were apparently still within earshot.


    [General P.O.V.]


    As Taylor watched Selena perform on stage, she gritted her teeth in jealousy before turning to her dad. "If I hadn''t gone back to Texas, I would be up on that stage instead of her!"


    "Huh? Why is that my fault? I didn''t ask you to fake an injury. Besides, isn''t rxing and supporting your friends'' performance good?"


    "No! If I don''t sing, then I can''t go to the afterparty! Then Ed and I can''t��" Taylor protested before abruptly cutting herself off, realizing she had almost revealed her true intentions to her dad.


    "Can''t what?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow. "Nothing. SELENA, YOU GO GIRL!" Taylor shouted toward the stage. Selena saw her and waved several times, signaling their close friendship to the world. It was a bit calcted on her part, but it would still benefit them both.


    The emcee interviewed Selena after she finished performing, during which she spoke about how the cause moved her and her desire to take action. As expected, her reputation soared positively as both the live audience and those watching the broadcast believed in her heartfelt answer.


    "Hey, Honey, do those clouds look darker to you?" Jay suddenly noticed nimbus clouds gathering in the previously sunny sky.


    "Look at the stage, Jay," Gloria replied, rolling her eyes.


    "I''m just worried. We''re in the middle of an open field, and we didn''t bring an umbre," Jay said yfully.


    Luke turned to ire and asked, "Mom, do you have any snacks?"


    "Hmm? Luke, are you hungry?"


    "A little bit."


    "Didn''t you stuff your face at the festival earlier? How can you still be hungry?" Haley asked in astonishment. Luke growled and retorted, "How can you be so close with Ed and still only be best friends?"


    "AHH!" Haley gasped in offense, while Mitchell and Cam looked at Luke in astonishment.


    It didn''t take long for Selena to finish her performance and return backstage. After all, she just sang 1 song.


    "Hey, you did great," Edward said. Selena smiled brightly and hugged him. "It''s been a while since I performed. I was so nervous," she confessed, her hands lingering on his chest as she gazed at him with a dazed expression.


    "Hey, if Taylor sees this, she''s going to kill us," Edward joked as he lightly brushed off Selena''s hands.


    "Taylor won''t mind. As long as we''re not dating," Selena replied flirtatiously, biting her lower lip


    "Well, we''ll talk afterward," Edward joked before waving her goodbye and walking onto the stage.


    "Hello again, everyone. Did you enjoy my friend''s performance?"


    "YESS~!"


    Ken the guitarist, McGee the drummer, Jess the keyboardist, and Johnson the bassist��all of Edward''s previous helpers from his first concert��had reced his friends on stage.


    The emcee smiled and approached Edward for an interview. "Hold up, Ed. Before you start the second half of the performance, I''m sure there are many people here who would like to get to know you better."


    "Sure, shoot," Edward replied casually, holding his guitar.


    The emcee grinned slyly before asking, "A little birdie told me that you changed your album release from next spring to just a week from now. How did that happen?"


    The crowd started to murmur, and Phil shouted, "NICE!"


    Not only him, but many more people were eagerly anticipating the first album. Even in the live broadcast, the audience was flooding the chat with messages about the album.


    Abby rolled her eyes and said, "Rumors? It''s not a rumor at all. He TOLD the emcee to ask that." Haley overheard it and was astonished as she watched Edward''s acting on stage. He pretended to be surprised and curious about how the emcee got hold of that information.


    Haley chuckled before muttering, "(sigh) That Edward..."


    "Well, I don''t know how you got the information, but it''s true," Edward confirmed. The crowd erupted in cheers, causing Edward and the emcee to wait for them to settle down before continuing.


    "The album, ''Breaking,'' will be released a day after July 4th, so make sure to show me lots of support!"


    "Not only that, but I will also kick off a tour across the state starting on July 14th. From here all the way to the East Coast, I will perform in 33 locations before wrapping up the tour in Las Vegas," Edward continued.


    "Oh, when can we buy the tickets?" the emcee asked curiously.


    "You can check the tour schedule on my website for the locations, and you can buy tickets directly from the venues or online through the website, although I should warn you that ces will be limited and I am personally working on a special surprise for the Vegas week" Edward replied, hiding his capitalistic smile and shing a charming one.


    "And for those of you who are hoping to follow me on the tour, you can keep up with my updates on my Instagram."


    "Instagram?"


    "It''s a new social media app I created," Edward said with a slightly embarrassed tilt of his body, introducing the app to the world. He took out his phone from his pocket and disyed his Instagram page for everyone to see as the image was replicated on the huge screen at the back.


    In the live broadcast, a small banner advertising the Instagram app popped up in the left corner of the screen.


    Quickly, the number of downloads for the newly released app on the different stores exceeded 100,000, and Edward''s followers on his Instagram page soared.


    "Wait, you made this app?" the emcee asked,pletely shocked as he saw the smooth interface and high-quality behind-the-scenes photos and short videos of Edward and his friends preparing for the concerts, along with a few pictures of him shooting the music video with Taylor.


    Capitalists like Jay saw right through what Edward was doing and smiled, appreciating the kid''s business sense.


    "ire, don''t you need to get to work?" he asked his daughter.


    "Oh no. Frankie offered to handle it. I left it all to her," ire replied casually.


    The emcee continued, "So Ed, I heard another rumor that the next song you''re going to sing is directed at a certain someone?"


    "Huh?" Taylor smiled and quickly covered her mouth as the camera focused on her.


    "Well, I won''t confirm nor deny that, but now that you brought it up I have to say that when you hear the song, you might think of something along those lines," Edward replied bashfully. The fans screamed in excitement, while Haley turned to Abby, only to find that her friend had no reaction to this.


    "You''re not mad?" Haley asked.


    "Why? We''re not dating. Besides, he already told me he was going to do this yesterday," Abby replied casually before shouting in support of Edward.


    "Okay, I''ll y along. Yeah, we won''t KNOW who the song is directed to then," the emcee said sarcastically but yfully.


    "Yeah, let it be a mystery," Edward joked, making the crowdugh.


    "Without further ado, give it up for Edward Newgate with his new song, ''Check Yes... Juliet,''" the emcee announced yfully, looking in Taylor''s direction.


    Surprised by the whole situation, Taylor''s face turned bright red, captured by the live broadcast, causing people all over the country to jest at the both of them.


    Edward turned to the band and counted a few beats before ying his electric guitar in a Pop rock melody.


    [We the Kings - Check Yes Juliet]


    "??Check yes, Juliet, are you with me? Rain is falling down on the sidewalk. I won''t go until youe outside.??"


    The shippers erupted in cheers as Edward sang. Lily, the fan club president, nervously wrung her hands as she muttered, "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! HE''S CONFESSING DIRECTLY!"


    "??Check yes, Juliet. Kill the limbo. I''ll keep tossing rocks at your window. There''s no turning back for us tonight.??"


    The camera zoomed in on Edward''s face as he sang into the microphone, causing most of the girls in the audience and those watching the web broadcast to swoon.


    "??Lace up your shoes. (Background singer: Eh oh eh oh.) Here''s how we do.??"


    "??Run, baby, run~??"


    People who were sitting stood up and began to dance, rocking their heads back and forth, following the rhythms.


    "??Don''t ever look back! They''ll tear us apart! If you give them the chance??"


    "??Don''t sell your heart, Don''t say we''re not meant to be??"


    "??Run, baby, run! Forever we''ll be...You and me??"


    The crowd jumped and danced excitedly, while the entire world eagerly awaited Taylor''s reaction. As expected, the girl covered her mouth with both hands, her face flushing red from embarrassment.


    "That jerk! He should''ve given me a warning," Taylor muttered in mock anger, her attempt to stifle her smile proving futile.


    "??Check yes, Juliet, I''ll be waiting. Wishing, wanting, Yours for the taking??"


    "??Just sneak out, And don''t tell a soul goodbye??," Edward sang with a wink, leaving Taylor in a daze.


    "Don''t," Taylor''s dad suddenly said, dousing Taylor''s wild imagination with a dose of reality.


    "??Check yes, Juliet. Here''s the countdown. Three, two, one, now fall in my arms??."


    "??Now they can change the locks, Don''t let them change your mind??."


    "Ahh, this modern-day Romeo and Juliet are good too," Cam muttered aloud.


    "??Lace up your shoes. (The background singer: Eh oh eh oh.) Here''s how we do??."


    The crowd held its breath and then erupted in energetic cheers as Edward sang the chorus.


    "??Run, baby, run! Don''t ever look back! They''ll tear us apart, If you give them the chance~??"


    "??Don''t sell your heart, Don''t say we''re not meant to be??"


    "??Run, baby, run! Forever we''ll be!! You and me??"


    "WOOO!!!" The crowd erupted in cheers. The atmosphere was electric, even as the sky slowly darkened.


    "??We''re flying through the night, way up high,


    The view from here is getting better with you by my side??," Edward crooned.


    Jenna shot a murderous re at Taylor from a distance. "I need to be a singer too," she muttered under her breath.


    "Why not be an actress, sweetie?" Her mother suggested.


    "??Run, baby, run~ Don''t ever look back. They''ll tear us apart, If you give them the chance??"


    "??Don''t sell your heart, Don''t say we''re not meant to be~ Run, baby, run~ Forever we''ll be...You and me~??"


    Edward stopped strumming his guitar and walked to the edge of the stage, dragging his microphone stand with him as he bent over the stage looking down at the people and the general direction of Taylor''s seat in the VVIP section.


    "??Run, baby, run~! Don''t ever look back. They''ll tear us apart! If you give them the chance.~! Don''t sell your heart. Don''t say we''re not meant to be.??"


    "??Run, baby, run.~Forever we''ll be~You and me.??"


    "??You and me


    You and me??"


    The crowd cheered and chanted, "Edward! Taylor! Edward! Taylor!"


    Edward chuckled and asked through the mic, "When did my name change to Taylor?"


    The crowdughed, but the excitement couldn''t be brushed off. They continued to scream and chant for a while as Edward took a break to drink some water. After some time, the crowd began to calm down. Just as Edward was about to say something, a random person suddenly shouted loudly from afar.


    "Game!"


    "Huh? What game?" Edward asked, confused.


    "The song game!" The random person shouted again.


    Edwardughed and replied, "I''ll do that when we have more time and we''re indoors. For now, let''s focus on the show. Look up, we don''t have much time."

 Chapter 146: Charity Concert (3)

    <h4>Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Charity Concert (3)</h4>


    (I''m back. Sorry I have a mini heart attack and major asthma attack. So I was resting for a while.)


    [General P.O.V.]


    "This is breaking news! Ugh, why is he broadcasting this? The value of this information will be lower," a sleazy paparazzo muttered as he checked the pictures he had snapped with his secret camera, as Edward didn''t allow sh photography inside the concert.


    In the world of paparazzi, the less people knew about the information, the more valuable it was. That''s how it worked in their line of work but now everything was actually being broadcasted and most news agencies would have their own people stuck to monitors getting everything on real time.


    Having been ignored during the interview in front of the hospital earlier, he vowed to exact revenge by capturing unttering pictures of Edward on stage. But as he reviewed his shots, he was stunned to find that all of the singer''s pictures were immacte and dashing.


    "Why is this happening?" he asked with teary eyes. "I just want ONE... Just ONE bad photo..."


    Then, he was spotted and escorted out of the venue by a muscr African-American security guard in PE clothes.


    Far away from the venue, Desiree was busy packing her belongings as she and Abby needed to move back to New York the next day. Her skin glistened with sweat, and her red tank top clung to her body.


    They hadn''t brought much with them to California, so it wasn''t difficult for her to fit everything into three suitcases. After finishing, she wore a satisfied smile before turning her attention to theptop, where she was watching the concert.


    "Hmm, I can still catch thest song. Wait, I''ll bring an umbre too," she muttered as she rushed out of the house. However, in her haste, she forgot to change her outfit when she got into the car and even left the door unlocked as she walked out.


    At the VVIP section, Selena kept teasing Taylor about the previous song. "You know, he did multiple songs for you, and you only tweaked a line for him in your song, Starlight," Selena said with a serious expression.


    "So maybe you should write a song just for him," she suggested. Taylor pondered it briefly, but then her dad chimed in, "No. You cannot do that. I haven''t heard his country song yet. I haven''t judged him still remember that for all the loud screeching you do these days you started singing country so we will still wait and see."


    Taylor rolled her eyes and replied, "Dad! He will do it... I think... I''m not sure. I forgot to ask."


    Scott looked at his daughter while she tried to avoid his gaze. Meanwhile, on Edward''s website and forum page, discussions about the songs were exploding with activity. Almost everywhere in the country, people were starting to believe that there was something going on between Edward and Taylor, no matter how much they tried to ''cover'' things up and any opinion on the contrary was quickly followed by a continued post and repost of the leaked Princess dress photos.


    However, the conversation quieted down as Edward continued the performance with another song.


    [Edward''s P.O.V.]


    "Did you guys bring your umbres? I checked the weather forecast this morning, and it said it should be sunny. I don''t know why we can smell the scent of rain right now," I spoke casually with the audience as they murmured with worry.


    The clouds kept darkening, and distant sounds of thunder could be heard. ''Why is this happening?'' I thought anxiously.


    From the injuries this morning to not getting permission to walk around the festival, and now rain threatening my performance, I felt like I was cursed today.


    ''Shouldn''t my luck be good? Or is there another Gacha session tonight, and my karma points have been tallied now? If so, did my bad karma surpass the good ones? How is that even possible?''


    "Well, I don''t want to end the concert early. I have three songs left to perform. One of them, you guys have already had the chance to listen to, a song from my newly released single, ''Natural.'' Then��"


    The crowd cheered upon hearing the song''s name, prompting me to pause. I smiled as I patiently waited for them to calm down before continuing, "Seeing you guys like this, I think I will keep the other two songs as a surprise."


    Although there were some yful protests here and there, it didn''t change my mind.


    For the next song, I decided to focus on singing and avoid the dancers. Just then, I heard Enid''s hoarse voiceing from the crowd, and I turned to wave at her, unable to hold back myughter.


    I signaled to the band, and the dancers rushed to the stage, circling around me as I sang.


    "??Will you hold the line??"


    [General P.O.V.]


    "Why do I already have goosebumps? This is what Taylor meant when she said we definitely need to watch him live," Jennifer Stone, Selena''s best friend,mented while rubbing her bare arm.


    ??When every one of them has given up and given in? Tell me??" Edward''s gaze turned murderous, sending shivers through the crowd. They held their breath, their hearts racing, and their eyes filled with excitement.


    "??In this house of mine...Nothing everes without a consequence or cost, tell me ??"


    "??Will the stars align? Will heaven step in? Will it save us from our sin, will it???"


    "??''Cause this house of mine stands strong??"


    Gloria instinctively did the Christian sign of the cross, silently offering prayers for Edward''s soul. "God, don''t me him. He''s not an infidel. He''s just a child."


    "??That''s the price you pay... Leave behind your heart and cast away!!!??"


    "Oh MY GOD." Phil widened his eyes. "My blood is rushing all over my body." As he jumped around like a liy kid on a sugar rush.


    "??Just another product of today!! Rather be the hunter than the prey!!??"


    "Wait, is this the song you guys put in the movie?" Scarlet asked RDJ in a hushed tone.


    "Uh...no," RDJ replied, filled with regret. "Although now I kind of wish we had, that does it next time I''m making him go over all his material."


    Edward advanced toward the front of the stage, enveloped by the dancers who seemed to burst away as he passionately sang the chorus.


    "??And you''re standing on the edge face up!!??"


    "??''Cause you''re a natural!!??"


    The crowd erupted in cheers, with a few undergarments soaring through the air and making their way toward the stage.


    "Stop." Scoot firmly grasped Taylor''s hand, preventing her from attempting to remove her bra. "Ugh," Taylor eximed in frustration, resuming her modest demeanor.


    "??A beating heart of stone, You gotta be so cold, To make it in this world??"


    "??Yeah, you''re a natural! Living your life cutthroat! You gotta be so cold! Yeah, you''re a natural!!??"


    "Ahh, I can''t even analyze it," Edward''s therapist muttered as she enjoyed the show through herptop. She even danced around and momentarily forgot about her work as she listened to the song.


    Edward smiled and stared directly into the camera, "??Will somebody...Let me see the light within the dark trees shadowing???"


    "??What''s happening? Looking through the ss, find the wrong within the past, knowing??"


    ??Oh, we are the youth, Cut until it bleeds inside a world without peace, face it??"


    "??A bit of the truth, the truth??"


    "What is the truth?" Luke asked his mother.


    "Even I don''t know, Luke," ire replied.


    Edward extended his microphone to the audience, and they sang the lines of the song together, creating a loud symphony of voices.


    ??That''s the price you pay~~


    Leave behind your heart and cast away~~??


    ??Just another product of today~~


    I''d rather be the hunter than the prey~~??


    "Good job, everyone!" Edward muttered with a satisfied smile before he continued, "??And you''re standing on the edge face up��!!??"


    "??''Cause you''re a natural!!??"


    ??A heart of stone,


    You gotta be so cold,


    To make it in this world??"


    The web broadcast exploded with cheeringments from the fans.


    "When is heing to our city?" a girl in Texas asked.


    "Let me check... Um... the 20th!"


    "Buy the tickets! NOWW!"


    Unaware of the situation with his concert tickets, which had already sold half, Edward continued, "??Yeah, you''re a natural! Living your life cutthroat! You gotta be so cold! Yeah, you''re a natural!??"


    Suddenly, all of the dancers around stopped and kneeled, while Edward looked down and sang, "??Deep inside me, I''m fading to ck, I''m fading... Took an oath by the blood on my hand, won''t break it... I can taste it, the end is upon us, I swear-??"


    "End? What end?" ire muttered in concern.


    "??Gonna make it??"


    The crowd held their breath, while Ted vowed to himself that he would see Edward through the therapy session.


    "??I''m gonna make it!!!!!!!!!!!!??" Edward shouted, causing the entire crowd to be stunned, and then it exploded into thunderous cheers a few momentster.


    ??Natural! A beating heart of stone??! ??You gotta be so cold to make it in this world??!


    ??Yeah, you''re a natural! Living your life cutthroat??! ??You gotta be so cold! Yeah, you''re a natural??!


    Edward walked back to the center of the stage, preparing for the ending.


    "??Natural... Yeah, you''re a natural!??"


    The dancers brought a throne to the center. Edward sat on the throne with a cold expression on his face, eliciting immense cheers from the crowd.


    "Fluffy-shire," Abraham said while wiping his tears. Elsa rolled her eyes and immediately said, "NO!"


    [Phil and ire''smentary.]


    Phil was excited. "It was as if I was watching a movie! I got goosebumps all over my body."


    ire nodded and said with a face filled with astonishment, "He''s not exaggerating. It appear...all over..."


    Phil nced at ire in confusion before continuing, "Not only that, my Instagram page got a lot more followers during the show."


    "Huh? How many?" ire asked.


    "Five!" Phil said in excitement. "I''m going to be... what''s that word Edward said?... Yeah, Insta-Famous!"


    [Haley and Alex''smentary]


    "We... have split opinions about the song," Haley muttered while crossing her arms.


    Alex nodded and continued, "I think it''s too dark and I also think that she only enjoys it because she can''t catch the lyrics or understand what any sentence actually means."


    "Hey!" Haley eximed in offense. "I got what they meant."


    "And..." Alex trailed off, trying to make Haley continue.


    [Luke''smentary]


    "I didn''t understand a thing of what he said, so I just danced to the beats," he confessed.


    [Jay and Gloria''smentary]


    Gloria babbled iprehensibly in Spanish for a while before she said in a decisive manner, "Ay, we need to bring Edward back to the church. He''s gone astray. Right, Jay?"


    Jay sighed beside Gloria before he said, "Well, not exactly. He''s just facing the world with a logical attitude right now. I think it''s the best choice for him. When a man is no longer naive, then there''s not a lot of things that can hurt him anymore."


    "So you''re saying he shouldn''t believe in God, Jay?!" Gloria said angrily. "Un d��a, toda familia va a arder en el infierno (One day, the whole family will burn in hell), excepto yo (except me)."


    [Mitch and Cam''smentary]


    "Eh, I liked it but I do have to admit that the song is not for us," Cam replied. Then Mitchell said sarcastically, "Because all of our songs are either Abba, Adele, Or Gaga?"


    "Don''t make it a gay thing," Cam nced at Mitchell in disbelief. "Well, I like it," Mitchell said, emphasizing the ''I''.


    [Commentary ends]


    As the song concluded, Edward grabbed a clean towel to wipe his sweaty forehead before turning to the crowd.


    "I''ve just been notified that we''ve reached our target for charitable donations from people all across the country. Let''s give a round of apuse to all the school staff members!"


    The crowd erupted in apuse, apanied by whistles and shouts from various directions.


    Edward smiled and continued, "As you all know by now, I started this concert with some ulterior motives. But that doesn''t mean the cause was bad."


    "Ulterior motives?" ire was confused, and Haley asked her, "You didn''t check his interviews before the concert started?"


    "What interview? Show me," demanded ire. Haley took out her phone with the interview page already loaded.


    The title read: [A young pop star almost died being stabbed in an alley?] There were several more articles about Edward circting today, including:


    [Injured a few hours before the concert? Will the young pop star give up?]


    [Hidden motives behind the charitable cause. Surprising story from Edward Newgate!]


    [Why does a kid do more for the homeless than the politicians?]


    Edward continued, "With the cooperation of the SOUPpany and the soup kitchens all around California, fresh meals will be delivered at least once a day to all the soup kitchens across the city."


    Most of the food in these soup kitchens used toe from canned donations, mainly because they were nearing their expiry dates. As a result, the choices for the homeless were limited.


    "I hope that with this effort, people will start looking out for those around them and not turn a blind eye to the plight affecting our country. Damn, I sound like a politician there. In 20 more years maybe I''ll run for president. How''s that sound?"


    Edward joked, but some people, with their eyes filled with fanaticism, took it seriously.


    "President Edward!"


    "Run for the White House!"


    Edwardughed for a moment, waiting for the audience to settle down before suddenly putting on a cowboy hat, leaving them all confused.


    "Well... I''m pretty shy about doing this, but a promise is a promise. When Taylor came here from Texas to attend the concert, I told her that if her dad came along, I would sing a country song to thank him for taking the time to bring her here."


    The crowdughed and cheered for Edward, causing him to blush. "Stop, guys. I''m telling the truth. So, I had to create a country song to fulfill that promise."


    "It was quite challenging, and I had no idea what to write for a long time," Edward exined. "Until one day, a neighborhood dad-"


    "He''s talking about me!" Phil eximed excitedly.


    "Told me a story of how he and his wife first met, and how he always knew they would be together."


    "Aww, Phil," ire was touched and hugged Phil.


    "So, this song is inspired by their love story. Enjoy, ''Your Man.''"


    Edward skillfully strummed his guitar, and the drummer helped provide the beat. The country music rhythm made people sway to the music, and then Edward began to sing in a deep voice.


    [Josh Turner - Your Man.]


    ?? Baby, lock the door and turn the lights down low ??


    "Pff-" Phil nearly spewed out his drink as the song began. ire froze in her spot, while the rest of the adults in the family looked at them in astonishment.


    "??And put some music on that''s soft and slow??"


    "The nerve on that kid! HAHAHA!" Jay guffawed loudly.


    "??Baby, we ain''t got no ce to go~ I hope you understand??"


    Taylor''s face blushed red, while her dad furrowed his brow. Taylor thought he was angry, but he suddenly smiled and eximed, "Good stuff!"


    Edward yfully brought his guitar to the front of the stage, serenading the crowd.


    "??I''ve been thinking ''bout this all day long


    Never felt a feeling quite this strong


    I can''t believe how much it turns me on??


    ??Just to be your man??"


    "I wanna dance!" ScarJo suddenly said. "With my husband."


    "Well, he''s not here, and my wife ain''t here either," RDJ said before he took ScarJo''s hand. They danced lightly to the melody. Not only them, but a lot more couples started to dance together as they heard the song.


    "??There''s no hurry, don''t you worry


    We can take our time??


    ??Come a little closer, let''s go over


    What I had in mind??"


    "What, Phil? What did you HAVE IN MIND?" Cam teased. "I-I, Honey, trust me, I didn''t tell him any of that!" Phil tried to cate the embarrassed ire hurriedly.


    "??Baby, lock the door and turn the lights down low


    And put some music on that''s soft and slow??


    ??Baby, we ain''t got no ce to go


    I hope you understand??"


    Jay and Gloria were dancing, and Gloria turned to ire, saying, "ire, you need to enjoy this! This is your song!"


    Haley stepped away from her mother in disgust. ire saw it and nervously tried to exin herself, "Honey, no! We didn''t- Damn it! EDWARD!"


    "??I''ve been thinking ''bout this all day long


    Never felt a feeling quite this strong


    I can''t believe how much it turns me on


    Just to be your man??"


    Taylor''s dad was thoroughly impressed, and he told Taylor, "I approve."


    "Yes! Thank you, Daddy!" Taylor said as she hugged her dad.


    ??Ain''t nobody ever loved nobody


    The way that I love you


    We''re alone now


    You don''t know how long I''ve wanted to??


    Enid''s face blushed red, and she turned to Alex, saying, "I didn''t think that your mom and dad were so affectionate."


    "I have no mom and dad from now on," Alex said in embarrassment, trying to hide her face behind her hair.


    "??Lock the door and turn the lights down low


    And put some music on that''s soft and slow??"


    Edward''s sweet and melting voice made many girls swoon once again. With a dazed face, Selena asked Taylor, "Hey, are you sure we can''t share him?"


    "Back off, bitch!"


    Edward continued without knowing about the catfight going on in the VVIP section, "??Baby, we ain''t got no ce to go~ I hope you understand??"


    "??I''ve been thinking ''bout this all day long


    Never felt a feeling that was quite this strong??"


    "??I can''t believe how much it turns me on


    Just to be your man??"


    "ire, don''t be mad. He''s not doing this on purpose - I think. If you listen to the lyrics, it''s about how much I love to be your man, not about waiting to do ''it'' with you," Phil tried tofort his wife.


    ire nodded reluctantly and said, "No, Phil. I swear he is doing this on purpose!"


    "What does ''it'' mean? Sex?" Luke asked, causing both of his parents to freeze in their spot.


    "??I can''t believe how much it turns me on


    Just to be your man~~??"


    The gentle outro put a smile on everyone''s face. Those from Texas and the country''s state had all fallen under Edward''s spell, especially with his handsome cowboy look and deep singing voice.


    "How about it, folks? Did you enjoy the music?" Edward asked in a southern ent, earning thunderous cheers from the crowd.

 Chapter 147: Charity Concert (4-Final)

    <h4>Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Charity Concert (4-Final)</h4>


    [Edward''s P.O.V.]


    To be honest, doing a country song was quite challenging, considering I hadn''t been exposed to that genre much in my previous life. As I finished the song, I received a notification from Pepper saying, "There''s a storm warning on the West Coast."


    "I understand," I replied.


    I nced up at the sky and frowned inwardly, sensing that raindrops would soon fall.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, it''s time to say goodbye. A storm ising, and we should seek shelter indoors."


    "NOOO!" Enid''s voice echoed from the crowd. Many people were reluctant to see the concert end, not just Enid. However, the darkening sky was a clear indicator that we needed to return home swiftly. Thunder and lightning added to the growing sense of anxiety and concern among the audience.


    I smiled and signaled the staff members to prepare for the final act. They nodded and began setting up a grand piano at the front and center of the stage. With a casual stride, I took a seat at the piano when a staff member ced a microphone in front of me.


    "For thest song, which I find rather ironic, it''s called ''It Will Rain.'' It''s been an enjoyable evening, everyone," I said softly. I closed my eyes, and my fingers started to glide across the piano keys.


    [Bruno Mars - It Will Rain]


    The music instantly captivated the audience, hushing any remaining murmurs.


    I sang with emotion, "??If you ever leave me, baby,


    Leave some morphine at my door??"


    [General P.O.V.]


    "M-m-morphine?" ire stuttered nervously, her face disying disbelief.


    "??''Cause it would take a whole lot of medication


    To realize what we used to have, We don''t have it anymore~??"


    "Oh," Jenna eximed in realization before muttering, "A pain that only drugs could alleviate. He''s just like you, Mom. Except you snort it through your nose."


    Alexandria''s face froze at her daughter''s words. It was the first time Jenna had spoken sarcastically to her, leaving her stunned and speechless.


    "??There''s no religion that could save me,


    No matter how long my knees are on the floor, oh??"


    "Ay, that infidel," Gloria murmured as she made an imaginary cross (again), silently praying for Edward''s soul (again).


    "??So keep in mind all the sacrifices I''m making,


    To keep you by my side, To keep you from walking out the door??"


    Edward gazed at the darkening sky as he poured his emotions into the song. His presence left a deep impression on the minds of those in the audience as he sang.


    "??''Cause there''ll be no sunlight


    If I lose you, baby??"


    "??There''ll be no clear skies


    If I lose you, baby??"


    Enid''s eyes lit up before she mumbled, "So, who''s this for? It''s not Abby, Taylor, or his mother, because that would just be weird. If it''s for the deceased grandma, then it would be even weirder."


    ?? Just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same


    If you walk away, every day it''ll rain, rain, rain ??


    Enid then realized, "Ahh, the Twilight movie. I forgot about it. Wait��did I really just forget about Twilight?! I need to reread the whole book twice this summer to make sure this doesn''t happen again!"


    "?? I''ll never be your mother''s favorite


    Your daddy can''t even look me in the eye, oh ??"


    "So, not me," Taylor muttered.


    "Not me," Abby muttered.


    "Not me," Haley muttered.


    "Not me," Phil muttered. ire was baffled and scolded quickly, "Why would it ever be for you!?"


    "??If I were in their shoes, I''d be doing the same thing


    Saying: ''There goes my little girl


    Walking with that troublesome guy''??"


    In a street nearby the school, Desiree patiently waited for the traffic light to change so she could get to the concert. The strong wind made her hair flutter, and as she pressed the gas pedal after the light turned green, she failed to notice a truck approaching from her side.


    "??But they''re just afraid of something they can''t understand, oh~


    But, little darling, watch me change their minds


    Yeah, for you, I''ll try, I''ll try, I''ll try, I''ll try??


    ??And pick up these broken pieces ''til I''m bleeding


    If that''ll make you mine??"


    Secondster, shattered ss littered the streets. Her car''s engine was smoking, and people began to shout for help.


    "?? ''Cause there''ll be no sunlight


    If I lose you, baby


    There''ll be no clear skies


    If I lose you, baby ??"


    "Abby, isn''t your mom here yet?" Haley asked.


    "Well, she''s supposed to be here. But it''s already toote," Abby replied. "It''s better if she stays at home," she muttered in concern. "I don''t know why I''m getting a bad feeling."


    "??Just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same


    If you walk away, every day it''ll rain, rain, rain??"


    Edward scanned the crowd, and at that moment, a light drizzle began to fall from the clouds.


    "??Oh, don''t you say (Don''t you say)


    Goodbye (Goodbye)


    Don''t you say (Don''t you say)


    Goodbye (Goodbye)??"


    "Ahh, I don''t want this to end," Selena whined. "I haven''t had enough." Taylor nodded beside her, and her dad ced his cowboy hat on her head to shield her from the rain.


    "?? I''ll pick up these broken pieces ''til I''m bleeding


    If that''ll make it right ??"


    The rain began to pour, but no one left the venue.


    "??''Cause there''ll be no sunlight


    If I lose you, baby


    And there''ll be no clear skies


    If I lose you, baby ??"


    Edward''s shirt became wet, and his muscr physique became more pronounced, causing a few girls to blush. His hair fell onto his face and the piano, adding to the legendary performance.


    ?? And just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same


    If you walk away, every day it''ll rain, rain, rain ??


    Edward yed the outro for a while and smiled as he finished the song.


    "Everyone, it''s been a wonderful evening! I''ll wait for you guys at my next concert! Goodbye! And walk safely! Get to shelter, quickly!" He said while standing in the rain. The crowd cheered, but the rain poured heavily. Edward led the way for his friends to get backstage, while most of the crowd members left the field in a hurry.


    Thankfully, no one was hurt inside the concert venue. Cam and Mitch had already gotten backstage earlier as Cam was carrying Lily while also bringing Amanda with him.


    [Edward''s P.O.V.]


    "Those poor kids. Luckily, there''s no school anymore," I muttered as I watched the crowd scurry away.


    Alex rolled her eyes as she wiped her wet hair with a towel. "That''s incorrect. You should say, ''School'' is out for the summer.''"


    I gazed into her eyes, taking her aback for a bit. "W-what?"


    "You know, you''re the spitting image of your mother. Without the promiscuity," I said in a casual manner, unaware that the mother bear was within earshot.


    "Promiscuity? PHIL! What did you tell him?!" ire reacted harshly.


    "I really didn''t tell him anything!" Phil defended himself.


    "Oh, you guys are here. Get some dry towels. The staff is picking up more," I pointed at the bundle of clothes nearby. Then, I took off my shirt, causing Alex to yelp. ire chased her away to be with her uncles quickly.


    Most of the VVIPs had already been escorted outside by their bodyguards; otherwise, the backstage area would be crowded. Among my friends, only Jenna and her mother needed backstage shelter. The others had already gone with their families.


    "The weather forecaster really ruined everything, huh," ire muttered as she rubbed her hair with the towel vigorously.


    "Hey, Rainer Shine is only a human being," Phil defended his favorite weather forecaster.


    Suddenly, I heard a sneeze from behind. A smile unknowingly shed on my face as I saw Taylor rubbing her nose as she walked towards me.


    "Hey, great concert! Great performance! Great...body..." Taylor eyed me up and down like a piece of meat. "Ahem" Her dad suddenly cleared his throat to announce his presence there.


    Taylor blushed and introduced us quickly. "Ed, this is my dad, Scott."


    "Hi, Mr. Scott. I''m a great fan of your work," I offered my hand, and he shook it promptly.


    "You mean this piece of work?" He said, ncing at his daughter.


    "Dad!" Taylor protested.


    "Yeah," I agreed with him.


    "HEY! UGH!" Taylor groaned and went to dry herself up while I talked with her dad for a while.


    "So, any intentions of going into the country music arena?" He asked jokingly.


    "At this moment, no," I replied with augh.


    "Okay, enough pleasantries. I know you want my daughter..." Scott suddenly turned serious. I wasn''t intimidated and replied, "Yes."


    He was taken aback for a second before he grinned and added, "...to join yourpany. Honestly, I''m against it. Even more so when I found out that the both of you were being intimate with each other."


    Taylor caught thest sentence, and her face blushed red from embarrassment. "Dad, we��"


    "No need to lie in front of me, Tay-tay. So Edward, if I say that I will let her go to yourpany right away... and even pay all of the penalty for breaching the contract, on one condition!... You need to stop being intimate with her...will you do it?"


    "Dad, we��" Taylor tried to intervene, but Scott stopped her. "I want to hear the answer from you, Edward."


    "Well, if we are being honest here, No," I replied, causing both Scott and Taylor to widen their eyes. "Because I can get her to sign on to mypany on my own," I smirked.


    A satisfied smile appeared on Scott''s face, while Taylor held her burning cheeks and tried to hide her smile.


    I added, "Although we are not dating right now, we won''t know what''s going to happen in the future. Also, I like Taylor. I don''t want to cut off my opportunity to call her my girl before anything even happens between us."


    Scott raised one of his eyebrows and growled with a grim face, "You guys had already slept together. What are you even talking about?"


    "DAD!" Taylor yelled in protest, shocked by her dad''s words. Iughed a bit and didn''t continue speaking, as I could already see Scott trying to hold back his smile.


    "Alright, I won''t bother you kids anymore." He shook my hand again as he said, "It''s been a pleasure seeing you on stage today."


    "It''s also been a pleasure getting to know Taylor''s lovely dad."


    "Hmph." Scott snorted before he walked away. "Wear a shirt!"


    "Ahh, I forgot." I finally realized that I was shirtless the entire time. "YOU FORGOT?!" Taylor was baffled, but then she smiled as she walked towards me.


    However, before she could reach me, Selena walked over and grabbed her arm before saying, "Wow Ed. Nice body."


    I grabbed a white T-shirt from the chair nearby and wore it quickly. "Alright, enough free shows."


    "Hehe~ If you want me to pay you back, I can��"


    "STOP!" Taylor cupped Selena''s mouth before she could finish her words. She smiled at me worriedly as she excused herself, "I need to talk to Selena in private. Do you mind?"


    "Nah, not at all. Go for it."


    "Also, Ed, how''s your foot?" Taylor asked before she walked away.


    "It''s fine now. I''m on painkillers. Plus the adrenaline from performing, I haven''t felt anything for a while." I confessed. "Also, I have to warn you, I''m not joining the after-party if you feel like sneaking in."


    Selena pushed Taylor''s hand away and asked hurriedly, "Huh? Why not?"


    "I''m injured. ugh) I need to rest." I replied in a casual manner. Taylor and Selena walked away in dissatisfaction. I walked towards where Pepper and my family were standing, but someone intercepted my path before I could reach there.


    "ED! Nice show!" Kaya said as she hugged me with her sweaty body. "Hey, I just changed." I scolded the dancer insincerely.


    "I just realized that I haven''t shown you yet about our choreography in the movie," Kaya said as she took out her phone.


    My eyes lit up, "Ah, Irte dance. Let me see."


    "Hehe. Here, this is me and the other dancers changing." She said as she showed a picture of the dancers in only their underpants. Luckily, their fronts weren''t facing the camera as Kaya snapped the photo.


    "This is the dance." She showed the oldie-style dance she and the other Irte practiced and then showed several pictures of her and the other celebrities in the show.


    "This is us (Kaya and Anna) and ScarJo before the show."


    "This is us and Jon."


    "This is us with Samuel L. Jackson."


    "This is a video of us scissoring the night before. Sorry about that."


    I was stunned as Kaya blushed and scrolled over to the next photo, trying to smoothly gloss over the topic. "Hold up. You and Anna?" I asked in bewilderment, and also a bit of excitement. The 5 seconds I saw on the video had burned deeply into my mind, and I needed answers.


    "Ah no. We weren''t dating if that''s what you''re thinking of. That was just stress relief," Kaya replied casually.


    "Edward, I need to talk to you," Mrs. Henderson suddenly interjected. "Can you wait 5 minutes? I need to hear more about this," I said, trying to get the details from Kaya''s mouth.


    "Excuse us," Mrs. Henderson grabbed my arm and dragged me away. "KAYA! I NEED DETAILS! DETAAAAILLLLS!" I eximed, causing Kaya to snicker.


    To my surprise, Haley and Abby were also standing near my family and were currently sharing their opinions about the concert with my proud aunt. Their shirts were wet and sticking to their bodies, which was a treat to the eyes.


    Mrs. Henderson briefed me about the donations we received during the concert and wondered if I wanted to give out to the charity personally. I rejected that offer and left all the work to the school, as I was already busy enough in the summer.


    "What are you going to do this summer?" I asked casually.


    "Teach summer school," Mrs. Henderson replied.


    "Damn, that must suck," I grimaced.


    "Compared to your schedule, mine is rtively peaceful," she muttered with a smirk.


    She was right. I had a full schedule this summer. With the concerts, album promotions, interviews, and also meeting the fans, I would not return to California until thest week of summer. And even then, I would have a lot of things to do.


    "Also, Edward, your Album. We still need to finalize the list of songs going inside it. How about tomorrow?" Pepper asked after I finished talking with Mrs. Henderson.


    Before I could answer, my dad interjected, "No. Tomorrow is Father''s Day. We have a tradition on that day."


    "Yeah. We''re going to lose the lottery," I added.


    "Maybe we can win something this year," my dad said wryly.


    "As if. We have no luck whatsoever," I replied whileughing. "Also, we need to send Abby and her mom to the airport tomorrow."


    "We will?" my dad asked incredulously.


    "Yeah. I already promised them," I said as I waved at Abby. But then, I was shocked as I saw she was crying. I rushed towards her and asked hurriedly, "What happened?"


    Her hand shivered. Her mascara was smudged, from the rain, and also from the tears from crying right now. She sobbed and hugged me tightly before she broke down in my arms.


    "Haley, what happened?" I asked the pale Haley who was nking out. She snapped out of her daze and said, "D... Desiree."


    "What happened to Desiree?" I asked hurriedly.


    "She... She got into an ident. The police... c-called Abby to tell her that," Haley choked up as she spoke.


    "What?" I was shocked, and then my heart started beating quickly. "Did they tell you where she is right now?" I asked Abby.


    "She''s... She''s in the hospital," Abby said, holding back her tears.


    "Alright. PEPPER! I need to go, right now!" I shouted. Pepper was stunned and asked, "Go where?"


    "Dad, can you drive us to the hospital?" I asked before I told Pepper about the situation.


    "Again? Alright," my dad muttered and decided quickly.


    ...


    20 minutester, we reached the emergency ward. I kept holding Abby''s hand as I dragged her to enter the hospital, as her legs were too weak for her to walk by herself.


    "Hi, we got a call. It''s for Mrs. Desiree Rutherford," I asked the front desk nurse. The African-American nurse whom I recognized from the TBBT series was surprised to see me again.


    "What''s wrong now? Did you break your other leg?" She asked yfully as she checked the list. "She''s in room 420."


    "Oh, that''s not a good sign," Haley muttered. I turned towards her in disbelief, but I didn''t say anything. With heavy steps, we walked towards the front of ward 420.


    "Hey, take a deep breath. It''s going to be okay," My dad advised Abby. She nodded with a face filled with fear and then inhaled deeply.


    She opened the door slowly, and her face turned ashen as she saw the figure of a woman with cement bandages all over her body. Even her face was bandaged as it was badly burned.


    "Mom," Abby cupped her mouth as tears fell. She hugged me as her body fell limp. My face turned crestfallen as I looked at Desiree''s situation. But then, we heard someone calling for us from the other bed with the curtains still drawn.


    "Abby?" Desiree slowly opened the curtain to reveal herself.


    "Huh?" We turned to the next bed instead of looking at the badly injured woman and found Desiree smiling at us with only a cement bandage on her left leg.


    "Hey, Abby. I''m fine!" She called with a smile on her face.


    "Oh, just a drunk bastard. I almost died if it wasn''t for the car behind me. He rammed my car from behind, pushing me out of the way."


    I breathed a sigh of relief as Abby ran to her mom and hugged her tightly. As I noticed that Desiree had broken her left leg, I nced down at my sprained left ankle and muttered, "This CANNOT be a coincidence."


    "Who is he? Is he here?" My dad inquired about the man who saved her.


    "No. He didn''t have any injuries, so he left after giving the police his statement," Desiree exined. "I didn''t even catch his name. He cursed a lot in Italian, and he wore a blue train conductor uniform."


    "Huh... What did you say?" I couldn''t believe my ears as I heard it. ''That...is him...right?'' I thought secretly.

 Chapter 148: Cause and Effects.

    <h4>Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Cause and Effects.?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Abby hugged her mother while sobbing. Haley cried from the side, and Desiree pulled her close to give her a hug too.


    Their reactions were normal, as during the time we were driving over, the ident was reported exaggeratedly in the news outlets. The drunken truck driver had died on location, and even one passerby was hit by shards of the broken down truck, causing permanent blindness in one eye. The other victim''s situation however was still unknown.


    "Thank god." I breathed a sigh of relief as I rubbed my chest to calm down my rapidly beating hearts.


    "Edward, youe here too." Desiree said, with a slight nudging with her head to beckon me toe closer.


    "Huh? I don''t need a hug." I said yfully, but I still walked slowly over towards the hospital bed.


    "You don''t, but I do." Desiree said as she pulled my arms forcefully into her embrace to give all 3 of us a hug.


    "It was so scary. My life was shing right before my eyes." Desiree muttered in a solemn tone as she tightened her arms around us.


    "Did you see a good memory, or a bad one?" I asked her in a curious tone as I slowly pulled my body out of her hug.


    "You know what, I don''t even remember what it was that I saw before. It''s all be blurry now that I tried to recall it back." Desiree replied, her hands were still shivering from her near death experience.


    "Did your body freeze, you couldn''t even understand what was happening until the truck hit, and you have a really really urgent sense to make your life better now?" I asked in a casual manner.


    "Y-Yes. How...do you know it so well?" Desiree widened her eyes in disbelief, while Abby and Haley gave me a sideways nce from burying their heads in Desiree''s bosom.


    I would never admit that one of the reasons I pulled myself out of the hug was because I couldn''t be in their position. Not ever! And any insinuation on the fact is nothing but nder.


    "Well...let''s just say I have a lot of experience with trucks." I shuddered as I thought of the memory of when I was returning home from the grocery store in my scooter before all this even started. (Chapter 1)


    "Huh?" Haley raised one of her eyebrows, but I just waved one of my hands to dismiss it.


    "You know, there''s an amusing theory about the ''life-shing-back-before-your-eyes'' thing, but I''m not sure if the timing would be appropriate for me to say it."


    "Just spit it out." Abby demanded angrily, her cheeks still pushing hard on her mother''s chest, further igniting my jealousy.


    "I''ll tell youter," I smirked, causing Abby to pout. She buried her head in her mother''s chest again while silently muttering, "There is noter...Jerk."


    "Ed, I will go handle the paperwork." My dad said as he excused himself from the room, while giving a subtle nce at Desiree. Abby and I caught it, and shuddered.


    Desiree then flinched in pain as Haley identally pressed on her left broken leg. "Um, I''m sorry!" Haley apologized quickly and pulled herself away a few steps from the patient. Desiree waved it off saying she was fine, but Haley was still apologetic.


    "What did the doctor say?" I asked before I grabbed the medical board in front of the bed and checked it out myself.


    "Broken tibia and femur, well, it will take at least 2 months before you can take out the cast." I licked my lips as I read the doctor''s medical assessments. "It could take even longer... considering your age..."


    "What was that?" Desiree''s eyes shone a deathly glint.


    "N-Nothing. I''m just talking to myself." I said in a nervous manner before saying, "I''mma go and catch up with dad."


    My dad was talking to the doctor and helping Desiree handle her release documents. He also tried to find the one who had helped her, but it was as if no one even remembered that guy.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While Edward was visiting Desiree in the hospital, the charity crew members and concert''s performers were having an after party in a club in the city.


    The concert had be the talk of the town, and the number of users who downloaded and created an ount in the instagram app skyrocketed. As the app also provided a web version, the numbers of users had reached a staggering 300,000 users in just an evening.


    In Ed''s previous life, the apps had only reached 1 million users in 2.5 months, but Ed could achieve that in a week, maybe less.


    "It was a brilliant execution. Not only did he manage to gain a lot of traction for the application''sunch, but he also posted a few behind-the-scenes photos and videos on his profile page, so the ones who just HAD to see it needed to download the application." Frankie Dart said as she monitored the app''s growth and data.


    Frankie called ire through a bluetooth headset as she worked from her office in the port, while ire was hurrying to go to her neighbor''s house after she went home from the concert.


    ire shed a proud-motherly-smile and said, "Edward is amazing. Frankie, I hate to say this, but I think I need to ask you to handle this one alone for just a few more hours."


    "Huh? Why?" Frankie asked, not annoyed by the situation.


    "Desiree got into an ident. She texted me through Haley, asking me to bring some of her clothes so that she could go back home."


    "Oh, what happened to her?" Frankie asked, concerned.


    "She broke her leg in a car ident. I''ll tell you more when I get more information." ire replied before entering Desiree''s house. She forgot that she didn''t ask her for a key, and was surprised when she realized that the door was unlocked.


    "That careless-" She muttered to herself.


    Frankie nodded and said, "Alright then. I''ll see you on Monday. Although I want to meet you tomorrow-"


    "I know. You need to tend to your sister. Bring her to Disnend. That''ll be fun." ire said casually as she rummaged through Desiree''s suitcases.


    In a different neighborhood, the hoarse-voiced Enid was walking back and forth angrily as she replied to a nderous tweet.


    "How dare they say that Ed is unprofessional? He sang his songs till the end!" Enid growled with the voice of a middle-aged heavy smoker.


    "Stop talking, you''re creeping me out." Another hoarse-voiced girl muttered. "Just report him for pedophilia." Tara added.


    "Already did." Enid replied. "But there''s thousands more of them, saying Ed is hiding money, Ed is godless, and many more. All of these people should just DIE!"


    "They''re TROLLS! Ignore them. A lot more people are supporting Ed right?...See, even Tom Hanks is tweeting about it, and also wants to donate to the cause."


    A lot of celebrities had voiced their support for Edward, and it was as useful as sending thoughts and prayers to natural disaster victims. Only a few of them actually reached out to the charity with the hope to contribute to the cause.


    "Donate, or pledge? Ed told me never to trust those guys until they actually open up their wallets. Otherwise, they will say they donated a certain amount, but they actually crowdfund the money without even putting a dor of their own." Enid said menacingly.


    Tara was in disbelief and said, "I didn''t think that Ed was such a pessimist."


    "He''s more of a realist." Enid defended her idol before plopping down on her bed, whimpering about not getting to see him again for a long time.


    "Ugh, idiot." Tara looked at her sister disdainfully before walking out of the room.


    After the concert, Pepper was bombarded by the paparazzi in front of the school door.


    "Mr Saltzman? What can you tell us about the whereabouts of Edward Newgate?"


    "Where is he?"


    "Is he refusing to give interviews?"


    "My sources said that Edward rushed to the hospital after the concert was over, is that true?"


    The reporters nced at Jaime who asked thest question, licking their lips as if they had stumbled into breaking news.


    "Alright calm down. Enough the shes!" Pepper said in annoyance as he tried to cover his eyes from the pictures. Bad move from Pepper as it would make him look guilty of something even though he wasn''t actually going to be featured in theter articles.


    "Edward is fine. He went to the hospital for an unrted issue, not because of his health." Pepper exined carefully.


    "What about the money collected? When is he going to allocate it to the charity?" A random reporter shouted.


    "The donations had all been transferred to the soup kitchens in the city. You can check their transcripts when you go to cover the story over there...which I don''t think you will. You only know how to point your finger at someone trying to do good, as if it was a vile thing to do. Did the politicians pay you?"


    The paparazzi were speechless by Pepper''s words, and they nced at the reporter who asked the initial question, wondering if Pepper''s usation was true, and if it was, why didn''t they also get the bribes to attack Edward''s credibility?


    Edward''s reputation kept shooting up after the event. He was trending, especially on Twitter.


    @RobertDowneyJunior : Hey @EdwardNewgate, it was a fun evening! Make sure to set aside VIP tickets for me for your next concert.


    @Cameron_Diaz: I tried to buy the ticket, but it was sold out! (cry.emoji)


    @ScarJo: If only it wasn''t raining. Then we don''t have to experience such a rushed exit. But it was fun to see Edward all nervous.


    @Don_Cheadle: Make sure to not catch a cold!


    +1


    +1


    +1


    @SoupKitchenPasadenal: Thank you @EdwardNewgate for caring about the least fortunate. We have received your charitable donations! Thank you very much!


    At the airport, Taylor was showing a face full of unwillingness as she followed her dad to their private ne.


    "Why are you still pouting? Ed wille to Texas on Monday right?" Scott asked in disbelief.


    "I''m not pouting!" Taylor replied before stomping her legs as she entered the ne. "Can''t believe he''d just leave me alone to go with another girl. Just because they had sex once, doesn''t mean that they need to do everything together!" She muttered in dissatisfaction, not being honest in her words.


    She had been told about the ident, and she sympathized with Abby. So she''d let her have onest night with Ed before she moved away to New York.


    "Honestly, Ed can make it as a country singer. I must bring him to watch a few shows while he''s there." Scott said with a wide smile.


    "NO!" Taylor dismissed his thoughts instantly. "I want to be the one to show him around!" She said, emphasized on the ''I''.


    "Then you bring him to watch the shows." Scott replied. "Maybe bring him to try bull riding."


    Taylor rolled her eyes and said, "Dad, you know our state has passed the ''Saloon'' era right? Why are you still obsessed with ''Wild Wild West''! You''re embarrassing me!"


    Scott was stunned for a while before he muttered with a sly smirk, "Daughters always being embarrassed by their father is a rite of passage, and I don''t n on stopping it anytime soon."


    "Ugh." Taylor groaned while crossing her arms together before silently sitting down in her seat as the ne took off.


    She then licked her lips in a subtle manner, "If we finish the entire MV shoot in one day, then we can mess around for 2 whole days without any interruptions. Hmm, I should contact the director and see if she can change the schedule."


    "I can hear you." Scott interrupted, causing Taylor to flinch, but she soon went back to ignoring his intense gaze.


    In an apartment in Pasadena.


    "God, I remember when I went to a concert before, and it started to rain. It was actually quite wonderful, but then the bassist got electrocuted, and the lead vocalist wanted to help him, so he got caught in it too." Penny shared as the group watched Edward''s performance through Leonard''sptop.


    "Not me, I would never go to a concert out in the open." Howard said.


    "And why is that?" Leonard asked, as Rajesh waspletely mute when Penny was around.


    "A number of reasons. Bugs. Mud. Adequate lighting. If I want to go to a concert, I would pick somewhere where people can''t see each other, just grinding our bodies against each other-"


    "That''s not a concert. That''s a rave." Penny scoffed. Leonard gazed at Penny, causing her to be startled and quickly defended herself, "What? I know about it, doesn''t mean that I''ve gone to one before."


    "Have you gone to a rave before?" Leonard asked. Penny quickly changed the topic, "Not important. Can you rewind to the country song again?"


    Sitting on his spot on the sofa, Sheldon rolled his eyes as he was eating and watching tv. "For god''s sake, don''t make me listen to that torturous drivel anymore."


    "But Sheldon~ Aren''t you from Texas? Shouldn''t you like country music?" Penny asked curiously.


    "He doesn''t like any kind of music." Leonard said with a chuckle. Sheldon gazed at him and said, "Leonard, should I remind you that there''s a use in the roommate agreement about sting music in shared spaces?"


    "Ugh.." Leonard groaned, but he didn''t care about Sheldon''s threat. Instead, he enjoyed rewatching the concert''s song again with his friends. "If you don''t like it, go to your room." Leonard said casually.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    It was almost midnight when Desiree could finally be released from the hospital. After sending her and Abby home, my dad and I walked back to my aunt''s house.


    "Edward, you should go and rest. Do not try to open yourptop or do any more work today." My dad said.


    "Well, I need to-"


    "Ed, try to understand my worries. You injured yourself today, and you didn''t even follow the doctor''s orders. You have worked hard all day, just try to get some rest tonight okay?"


    "Hmmm...Alright then. I will go straight to bed, and you go straight to Desiree''s bedroom."


    My dad coughed twice and said defensively, "Like I said, we really didn''t do anythingst night!"


    "Hmm...I wish I could believe you." I muttered with some apprehension before smirking and walking up to my room. My dad sighed and exited the house, feeling a strong desire to get a drink today, but still keeping his vow to quit drinking.


    After taking a shower and eating a PB&J sandwich, Iid down on my giant bed, staring at the white ceiling with wide eyes, not feeling sleepy in the slightest. I crouched a bit to try and reach for my phone, but gave up midway and stared at the ceiling again.


    Am I addicted to my phone? I don''t know. It happened a few more times, but I still kept my willpower strong as I stared at the empty ceiling.


    "Psst- PSSTT!" Suddenly, I heard a sounding from my window. I got out of bed and opened it, "Abby, go to sleep. You need to take care of your mom tomorrow. You guys have an early flight."


    "Come on, it''s myst night in LA and I don''t think that it could be any more graceless than this." Sheughed.


    "You have no grace." I corrected her, making her angry.


    "I SO do!! I can be graceful if I want to!"


    "Nuh-Uh."


    "Yuh-huh."


    We talked and talked, until it was almost 4 am. It was thestte night conversation that we could have for a while, maybe ever and none of us wanted it to end it this early.


    ...


    [General POV]


    6.30 in the morning. Near the port, inside a run-down bar. A mustached barkeeper was wiping the desk when Ted walked into the tavern.


    "Oh Theodore. Did you decide to start downing whiskey again after waking up this morning?"


    "Stop Joking Jim. I''m picking up Dwayne here, and also, mind firing up the grill and making me some bacon and eggs?"


    "You know we open at 8 Ted. Luckily, I have a soft spot for you, so just wait a sec- Oh, and help me throw out that drunkard will ya?" Jimughed as he walked into the kitchen. Ted scanned the room, and then widened his eyes as he saw the lone man pouring whiskey into a cup and gulping it down in one shot.


    "You!" Ted walked towards the man quickly. He was wearing a train conductor uniform, and Ted''s instinct told him that this man was the one who got involved in the ident yesterday''s evening.


    To Ted''s surprise, the man still had rity in his eyes, as if the 15 bottles of several kinds of alcohol (whiskey, vodka, tequ and others) was only some mineral water that he had been pouring into his throat all night.


    "Sir, May I ask you a question? Are you the one who saved my friendst night from being killed by a truck?"


    "Hmm? Oh, I remember that. Yes. That was me."


    "JIM! Put this man''s tabs on my ount!" Ted quickly shouted to the barkeeper. Jim frowned and said, "Are you sure? It''s a couple thousand bucks!"


    "It''s fine!" Ted waved his hands to the barkeeper as he smilingly turned to the man. Although Ted had no proof that the man was the one who saved Desiree, and the only evidence he got was the man''s confirmation, his instinct told him that the man could be trusted with his words.


    "Oh thanks a lot for that. I''m waiting for my junior colleague, and she didn''t show up all night, so I had to keep drinking or the barkeep will throw me out." The man joked before offering his hand for a handshake, "Theodore. Theodore Franzetti."


    "Theodore Newgate. I''m surprised that we have the same first name." Ted said. Theo smiled and replied, "What a coincidence."


    (Ted: Edward''s current Dad. Theo: The train conductor grim reaper )


    After some initial introductions, Ted asked, "Theodore, you''re a train conductor?"


    "Yes. But I don''t think you want to buy my tickets now. You still have a looong way to go. Longer now that you''ve stopped drinking." Theoughed.


    Ted was confused for a bit but he attributed Theo''s weirdness from his drunkenness, and didn''t pursue the matter.


    "You know, I used to be in jail." Theo said, surprising Ted, but he didn''t show any apprehension to sit together with the man.


    "How long?" Ted asked, drinking his cup of joe.


    "Longer than you can imagine. But my son bailed me out. HAHAHA." Theo guffawed loudly before he went silent, and spoke in great self-deprecation. "My son...I left him on the doorstep of the orphanage when he was 1 year old, and he still grew up to be an excellent man."


    Ted went silent, and then he asked, "What are you doing now?" If Theo was in need of a job and shelter, Ted would offer him his help. Like Theo, a lot of the sailors had gone through jail time before, but it doesn''t mean that they were bad guys.


    Ted trusted his instinct with his crew, and his current instinct told him that Theo could be trusted.


    "Me? I can still work on the train tracks, and my boss was eager to give me my job back." Theo replied in a happy manner. "So I epted his offer, and applied for a one day off. Then, Imitted a crime again, and now, I''m just waiting for those guys to throw me back behind bars."


    "Crime? What could you possibly have done?" Ted asked in confusion.


    "You know, the ident." Theo replied. Ted was shocked and asked, "They will put you in jail because you got into a fender bender?! How is that possibly a crime?"


    Theo muttered in a tiny whisper, "It''s because I didn''t do my job there."


    Theo turned to Ted and said, "Nevermind, I''m drunk. Tell me about your son Ted."


    "My son? He''s my precious boy." Ted replied proudly before they bothughed out loud. Ted told Theo about Ed starting with him as a baby. He even showed Theo the baby pictures of Ed he still kept inside his wallet.


    Theo listened to all the stories with a kind smile, his eyes unknowingly shed some tears that went unnoticed by Ted.


    "So, your wife left?" Theo asked as he downed a cup of vodka.


    "Just over 2 years ago. How about yours?" Ted asked.


    "Bang! Shot in the head by the mafia!" Theo said with augh, but his eyes turned moist, and shortly after, he broke down crying. Ted went silent and patted Theo in the back as he processed his emotions.


    "How about your son now? What''s he currently doing?" Ted asked.


    "Oh he''s doing very...very well right now. I''m d that he didn''t follow in my footsteps, although there were some dangerous slippery slopes here and there." Theo replied before he reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes.


    "Want one?" He offered. "Sure." Ted epted and they both lit up their cigarettes. As Theo inhaled a puff, he asked, "What are you doing here so early in the morning Ted?"


    "Oh, I''m buying lottery tickets with my friend."


    "Lotto? Isn''t it toote now?"


    "If I can reach the next town in....45 more minutes, then I can make it." Ted replied as he looked into his wrist watch.


    Theo nodded before he smirked and muttered something Ted couldn''t hear.


    "I''m sorry, what''s that?" Ted asked, confused.


    "Nothing, hey can you do me a favor? Buy these numbers for me, and give them to your son. Of course, your money."


    Tedughed and picked up the tissue paper with the numbers that Theo wrote down on. "Okay. I''ll make sure of it."


    "Oh, my junior is here." Theo suddenly stood up from his seat. "Where-...Mrs Henderson?" Ted was shocked when he saw a familiar face entering the bar.


    "Good Morning Mr Newgate. Drinking this early in the morning is not good for you." Mrs Henderson said in a gentle manner.


    "He''s not drinking, He''s not drinking." Theo spoke up to defend Ted.


    Suddenly, Dwayne also entered the bar, looking for Ted. As Ted greeted Dwayne, he didn''t realize that the colleague duo had already disappeared.


    "Hey, it was nice meeting with you. I should get your number. Desiree would love to meet with you to thank you herself." Ted said, but as he turned, he was surprised when he saw that the duo was no longer in his sight.


    "Theo?" Ted looked around the bar. "Mrs Henderson?" He called, but no one answered him.


    "Boss, we need to go now if we want to make it." Dwayne urged.


    After a few seconds of silence and searching, Ted said with a heavy sigh,"Alright. Let''s go."

 Chapter 149: Goodbye~

    <h4>Chapter 149: Chapter 149: Goodbye~</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    7.00 am. Abby and I were still talking to each other through the window. Suddenly, Desiree knocked on Abby''s already open door to announce her presence,


    "Abigail? You didn''t sleep?" Desiree asked while cleaning the area around her eyes.


    "Ah. Not yet. I will sleep on the ne." Abby replied, her eyes still bloodshot from the overnight conversation.


    "Pff- Abigail." I couldn''t hold back myugh.


    Turning back to look at me with a red face, Abby shouted, "SHUT UP!"


    Desiree walked near Abby before bending forward, hands on the windowsill as she greeted me, "Good morning Ed."


    "Good Morning Desiree. Want me to help you scrub your back? It''ll be hard for you to shower with the cast on."


    "PERVERT! Mom, ignore him!" Abby pushed her mother away as thetterughed. Abby said, "I''ll go help my mom."


    "Alright, I''ll go to the Dunphys for breakfast. Call me after you guys are ready." I muttered, my hand still propping my jaw as I looked out the window.


    Abby was reluctant to go away, and fidgeted for a few seconds. Then, she stepped back into the window area again and said, "You''re not going to sleep right?"


    I rolled my eyes at her and said, "I told you I''m going to the Dunphys. Your mom chose to go to the airport with ire. Remember?"


    "Ahh, Right. Sorry, brainfart moment." Abby said in a cute manner before running away with a blushing face.


    It was normal to get impaired cognitive function after a sleepless night. Yesterday at the hospital, ire offered to drive Desiree to the airport, as she thought it was more normal for her to do so instead of my dad and Desiree couldn''t drive with her cast.


    It was actually true when you think about it. She was her best friend, and my dad was just a guy she went on one date with. A date in which I still had my suspicions that they did much more than just ''talk''.


    Also, airport farewell moments would just be too awkward. Imagine when Haley and Tara started to cry, and I just stood there like an emotionless robot. So it''s better for me to send her off right here, and let her friends be there to apany her in the end instead.


    "HuahhhHHHH" I yawned, my eyes were moist from the sleepy tears. "Hmm, why is he not texting me back? Did he get the ticket or not?" I muttered as I checked the text messages I had sent to my dad.


    "I should make a whatsapp type chat app or IMessage before I go to Texas." I muttered. It would be easier for me to chat with my friends, and also for us to share pictures from our vacations/camp/work.


    I went to take a quick shower before changing into a simple sweatshirt and sweatpants, paired it with my Nike sneakers, and a ck baseball cap. My legs were still hurting, so I walked instead of jogging, like I usually would, towards the Dunphy''s house, while avoiding recognition from the passersby.


    "Dor bills, dor bills~ Watch it falling for me, I love the way it feels~Dor bills, dor bills~Keep on falling for me, I love the way it feels~" I hummed with an excited tone as I checked the subscription numbers climb up on my streaming site�C [Entertain].


    As I live streamed the concert yesterday, I was true to my words and donated every penny that I collected from the people buying the pass to watch the concert live, however, subscription to my website,menting passes, and group chat passes were counted in a different way.


    I managed to get 4.5 million dors from the concert pass alone, and 2.1 million dors more from everything else, including themercials yed during the live broadcast.


    "Almost half a million people bought the pass. Damn, it was truly shocking." I muttered. Not immediately, but a lot of people bought the pass throughout the show. They could also check the number of donations collected on the screen, and the numbers matched with the amount I had donated to the soup kitchen before, doing wonders for me and thepany''s credibility.


    "The most surprising one was Pepper''s mom." I let out a heavy sigh as I reached the Dunphy''s front door. Pepper''s mom�C Eve, did a high ss move and gave me some pocket money in the exact numbers of the donations I collected, straight into my tax free trust, and also doubled the amount of funds in the charity, but she donated it under an anonymous alias.


    Her only request was for me toe and have dinner with her again, which was hard for me to reject considering how deep her pocket was.


    "I''m sorry Nonni, but in the ranks of ''the grandmothers I love'', you have been pushed to second ce." I mumbled to myself when suddenly a gust of wind pushed an acorn seed to fall right on top of my head.


    *Bonk*


    "Oww...Fucking squirrel." I cursed as I saw the innocent animal staring at me from a tree nearby, waiting for me to leave as it wanted to get his treasure back.


    [Squirrel POV]


    Why is he staring at me? Is this another Dolittle situation? Should I report this back to HQ? It would be bad for my agent''s record if he understood my ns of destabilizing the Middle East. Should I nip this threat in the bud? Too bad, he gave me some good vibes. If he was a squirrel, I think we could have been close friends.


    [Edward POV]


    ''Why is he staring at me? Oh, I guess it''s because of my [Animal Affinity]'' I thought as I threw the acorn back to the tree before ringing the doorbell.


    "I got it!" I heard Luke''s voiceing to the door, and he opened it without any hesitation.


    "Dude, what if I''m a kidnapper?" I narrowed my eyes and used a scolding tone as I entered the house.


    "Do you have any candy?" Luke asked casually.


    "Uhhh..No?"


    "Then don''t worry, I won''t go with you."


    "That''s not how it works- Luke!" I widened my eyes in disbelief as Luke walked back towards the kitchen smilingly. I rubbed my forehead in frustration before following Luke, my nose picked up a sweet scent.


    "Pancake? French toast?" I muttered as I saw the Dunphy''s family working hard in the kitchen. ire was flipping pancakes, Alex was making French toast, while Haley put some chocte chips and syrups on the dish before bringing it to Phil who was waiting at the dinner table.


    "Ho~Ho~ A king for a day." I greeted Phil.


    "Ed,e eat!" Phil invited with a high spirit.


    "Usually people just give a card for Father''s day. Don''t let my dad know about this, or he''ll have some unrealistic expectations." I said to ire and Haley. Theyughed before Haley grabbed something from the kitchen top. "We did buy a card though."


    I chuckled a bit before Alex walked towards me and shoved a te of French toast onto my hands. "Here. Your eyes are red. You should rest more."


    "I will once I send off Abby and Desiree." I replied. My words were like pouring cold water on the excitement, causing both ire and Haley to be depressed.


    "Ahhh. I don''t want to say goodbye! It''ll ruin my mascara!" Haley muttered in a joking manner. I smiled and sat next to Phil as he enjoyed his ''Father''s day'' surprise from his family.


    "Hey, Ed, are you okay?" Phil asked after seeing that his family was no longer paying attention to us.


    "Huh? Why do you ask?" I looked up from devouring my breakfast.


    "You look a little upset." Phil said in concern. I was a bit surprised, but I didn''t want to talk about it and changed the topic quickly, "I still haven''t slept sincest night. By the way Phil, did you get interviewed at the end of the concert yesterday?"


    "Uh, there was an interview?" Phil''s eyes lit up.


    "Yeah, I think, Cam and Mitch did it. Or so Pepper told me, but I''m not sure which media it was for yet."


    "Oh, lucky them." Phil lowered his head in depression, before his mood lifted again as ire walked over with a te of pancakes. She kissed the top of his head and said, "Enjoy Honey. I''m going over to Desiree''s house. I''ll be using the minivan to take them to the airport."


    "I''ll help you load the suitcases." I wanted to finish my breakfast and leave with ire, but she stopped me.


    "No need, Ed. You said you haven''t slept. It''ll be 2 more hours before they leave. Haley and I will go there first, and we will call you when it''s almost time. Try to get some rest before then." ire said in a soft and gentle manner, which spooked me a bit.


    "Who are you? And what have you done with ire Dunphy?" I widened my eyes and asked in a horrified voice. She rolled her eyes and said angrily, "I can be sensitive if I need to! Nowe on Haley! Let''s go!"


    After she left, I asked Phil, "Any idea what that''s all about?"


    "Well she seemed to get the idea that the ''It will Rain'' song was created for Abby." Phil exined.


    "Oh, that song wasn''t even about me." I said casually. Alex sat next to me after finishing her work and said, "Really? Then who was it about? Please don''t tell me it''s my parents again. I can''t even handle the one song, now there''s going to be 2 of them." Alex begged.


    Iughed and said, "No. It''s actually about my dad. You know, after my mom left him. He didn''t drown himself in morphine though, but I just learned about it at the time, and thought it was edgy."


    "Ahhh." Phil eximed in relief. "I can rest easy now. And ire doesn''t have to keep you away from your house until she finds the stash anymore."


    "She''s there now?" I asked in confusion.


    "Ah no. She said she was going thereter." Phil exined subconsciously.


    I was puzzled by Phil''s words, but I decided to just ignore it. I talked to Alex for a while, and then asked Phil, "Hey, can''t you buy her a smartphone?"


    "Huh? For Alex?" Phil asked, confused. Even Alex was confused by my sudden request.


    "Well I can buy it for her, but I got a feeling that she won''t ept it. Wait- Alex, I can use your payment to buy you a new phone."


    "Why do I need a new one?" Alex furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.


    "I wanna make a chat app, and it will be able to send pictures, so all of us can update our vacation progress in the group chat? What do you think?"


    Alex''s eyes lit up and she said, "Dad. Let''s go buy it!"


    "NOW?" Phil, who was eating his pancake, stopped just before it could reach his mouth. "Yes now! Come on!" Alex urged.


    "What about my father''s day celebration?!" Phil asked, aggrieved.


    "We only nned for the breakfast thing. There''s nothing else." Alex walked towards Phil and started to pull his arms to make him stand up.


    Although it seemed to be overbearing, I saw Phil smiled widely as he could spend time with Alex. In all of his children, his rtionship with Alex was quite strained as Alex was generally a serious person. So whenever she acted unreasonably, Phil didn''t actually hate it, but he loved it instead as it felt like Alex was a young child again.


    "Ed, what phone?" Alex stopped mid-way and asked with an excited re.


    "Ask your dad. He''s well versed in this stuff. You can trust him." I replied in a casual manner.


    "You saw through me Ed." Phil said, but before he could brag, Alex pulled him away. "Ed- ED- Take care of Luke!"


    "Don''t worry~ I''ll make sure to keep an eye on him!" I replied. Then I looked around, and Luke was nowhere to be found. "Ah damn it." I cursed.


    ...


    As the furniture in the house was included when Desiree and Abby moved in, the house didn''t change much. I was standing alone in the living room as Phil helped Desiree load her suitcases inside the minivan.


    Abby walked by, her eyes were still red, and her cheeks were a bit sunken from the prospect of saying goodbye. Her mom followed her closely from behind, and she asked in a careful tone, "Are you sure you can handle giving back the key to thendlord?"


    "Yeah, no problem." I replied casually. Desiree then smiled and gave me a giant hug, pushing my head into her bosom for thest time.


    "I''ll miss you Ed." She muttered.


    "I''ll miss my Cougar...Town head too..." I said as I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her closely. She released me and said, "Don''t worry, I''ll keep emailing you about the show every week."


    "Nicee!" I replied, excited. I really wanted to watch the show, but as I had a tremendous amount of work to do, I had already missed several episodes. Luckily, Desiree shared every single detail with me, making sure to keep me up to date as if I had actually watched it.


    She waved me off as she exited the house, leaving me alone with Abby.


    "Don''t cry. I will hate it if thest memory I have of you is your crying face. That''d give me nightmares for weeks." I joked. Abby, who was feeling mncholic, punched me in the arm lightly as she got annoyed.


    "You should be grateful that I appear in your dreams! Even if it''s a nightmare!" She said jokingly.


    "No. I don''t want a goth girl to enter my dream. Unless it''s a wet dream."


    "Pervert!"


    "Anyway, don''t be so sad. I''lle see you when my tour reaches New York." I said as I grabbed her hand. She stared right into my eyes with a look of determination on her face.


    "No. Don''te." She said suddenly.


    "Huh? Why not?" I raised one of my eyebrows, and my tone was annoyed.


    "If youe, then I know for sure that I will desperately want to follow you back." Abby choked and closed her eyes as she started tearing up.


    I sighed as I held her chin, pulling it upwards so that I could see it clearly. She opened her eyes and stopped crying. She wiped her tears and said, "So, don''te."


    I rubbed my hair in frustration before I looked at her angrily. She smiled wryly and said, "Come on. Do me this favor."


    "Sure, but, you HAVE to text me at least once a week, even when you''re busy." I relented.


    "I will."


    She stopped crying and then she said, "You know, close- close your eyes."


    "Hmm?" I was confused at first, but then, I followed her request. Then, I could feel her presence, especially her face, was so close to mine.


    "Hey-"


    "Ed. Don''t open them. Feel it instead." She said before she put her hand on my face. I sensed her warmth, and I could hear her voice more clearly.


    "When my dad left, the figure of him getting out the door kept lingering in my mind. I don''t want it to happen to you too." Abby said. "I want yourst memory of me to be a good one."


    "What do you propose?" I asked.


    She touched my nose as she gazed at my face intently, trying to remember every single detail. "You can only open your eyes, when you can no longer...feel me."


    "Ugh, I regret making you watch How I Met Your Mother." I joked, but I didn''t open my eyes. Then, I felt a soft sensation on my cheeks, my nose, and my forehead.


    "Don''t forget me, okay?" Abby said before she kissed me on the lips. Then, she slowly backed away, released her hands that were holding mine, and walked away without saying goodbye.


    I stood alone inside the house for over half an hour until I could no longer feel her warmth on my lips, and I tried desperately to remember the sensation.


    "Goodbye Abby." I muttered as I opened my eyes, feeling that the world was a little bit colder as I did.


    ...


    [Edward''smentary]


    "You know what''s worse than seeing a person you like leave? The lingering hope that she would still be around as you couldn''t see it." Edward muttered. "No closure."


    "Do I want her to stay? Yeah."


    "Will I get over this? No."


    "Does Life still go on even If I didn''t? Yes."


    mentary ends]


    [General POV]


    At the airport.


    Abby hugged Haley, and as thetter expected before, she cried sobbingly, ruining her makeup.


    "Take care of yourself Haley." Abby said as she released her friend.


    "You too. Make sure to text me right when yound. And don''t shut me out when you get there okay?" Haley demanded. Abby chuckled and said, "Yeah. I will."


    "Hey, take care of Ed okay." Abby requested.


    "I will. Don''t worry about it." Haley said with determination.


    "Then I can rest easy and leave it all to you. Goodbye Haley."


    "Goodbye Abby."


    Haley waved at Abby as thetter pulled her suitcase and walked into the departurene. ire and Desiree were also emotional, but they didn''t cry like the teenagers.


    "Can you make sure Ed gives the key to thendlord?" Desiree asked.


    "Don''t worry. A teenager with a key to an empty house is just a recipe for disaster." ire said as she nced at Haley. Haley flinched, but she didn''t say anything to avoid her mother knowing that she had been sneaking into an empty house her dad listed for sales.


    "You guys don''t have to worry about Ed. What''s he going to do? Work there?" Haley joked, causing both Desiree and ire to smile. Desiree quickly waved goodbyes to the duo as she followed Abby to enter the departure hall.


    "Let''s go." ire said to Haley. Haley nodded and followed her mother.


    On the drive home, Haley texted Ed, but thetter wasn''t replying.


    "Odd. Oh, maybe he''s sleeping." Haley muttered as she knew Ed hadn''t slept yet since yesterday.


    Unbeknownst to her, Edward was currently ring [Steelheart- She''s gone] song as heid down t on his bed in a depressed manner.

 Chapter 150: Father’s day

    <h4>Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Father��s day?</h4>


    (the timer broke or something. Smh)


    [General POV]


    Cam was almost deafened by the music sting from Edward''s room as she entered the house.


    "EDD!! Turn the volume down!" She shouted, but there was no answer. She was puzzled, and stomped up the stairs in an angry manner. However, she was a bit startled as she saw Edward slumped on the edge of his bed as she opened the door to his room.


    She walked slowly and turned down the volume of the speaker, causing Edward to look up and notice her presence.


    "Oh, you''re back. How was the race? Have you lost your car yet?" Edward asked in a yful manner, however the fatigue in his face was undisguised.


    "C-C-Car? I didn''t go to Calexico to st-street race-" Cam''s eyes darted around in a guilty manner, not understanding how on earth did her nephew know about her personal life.


    Edward scoffed a bit and said, "Please. I had already known from the first time I got into your car. Did you really think that I am so naive, I wouldn''t know what a nitrous tank is?"


    "Umm..." Cam stammered for a while, but she couldn''t find any excuses. She slumped her shoulders and said, "Yes. I went to watch a race. I didn''t participate in it. Please don''t tell your dad about this."


    "Why would I? Next time, bring me with you. I wanna watch too." Ed replied, his spirit was lifted a bit from seeing his aunt''s anxiousness.


    "R-Really?Ok... S-Sure." Cam replied perfunctorily, wanting to move on from the topic. She sat next to Edward, and asked, "So, what''s got you down? Is it because Abby left?"


    "A little bit." Edward replied without changing his facial expression.


    "Oww my poor nephew." Cam wrapped her arms around Edward''s head and pulled him for an embrace, pushing his face close to her chest.


    "You smell like motor oil and prostitutes- I mean, cheap perfume." Edwardmented, causing Cam to raise her eyebrow in annoyance. "You want me to let you go?" she asked angrily.


    Edward chuckled a bit and held Cam''s arm to make sure she didn''t. "No, no. I didn''t mean that. I need this."


    Cam''s gaze softened, and then she asked, "Have you had lunch yet?"


    "Not yet." Edward replied. As Cam wasn''t at homest night, she didn''t know that Edward hadn''t gotten any sleep yet.


    "Let''s go out and eat something special, then we can get therge bowl of ice cream at the dessert ce. How about that?"


    "Sure. Imma go change first."


    "Want to invite your friends toe with you?" Cam offered.


    "I''ll see if Enid is free right now. I especially need her energy." Edward replied, as interactions with Enid always boosted his mood upward.


    ...


    -Jay''s house-


    "Is everyoneing tonight?" Jay asked as he sipped a ss of scotch at the bar.


    "Jess(Yes). All family members will be here." Gloria replied as she put down a bag of groceries on the kitchen top. "I bought all the meat you want for the barbeque."


    "And apparently a few other stuff too." Jay said yfully as he saw the Victoria''s Secret bag on Gloria''s hand.


    "Ayy, you don''t like your Father''s day gift?" Gloria said seductively. "I was nning on wearing it tonight, but if you don''t want it-"


    "When the hell did I say I didn''t want it? You can buy anything you want hun." Jay replied quickly and kissed Gloria on the forehead, causing thetter to giggle.


    Then, Gloria became hesitant, and asked in a careful manner, "Did Manny give you a card yet?"


    Jay replied solemnly, "No. And honestly, I don''t expect it. Ah, also, his dad called him while you were out, he wants to take Manny out to ''have fun'' this evening, just the two of them."


    "Javier? Did you tell Manny about it? I''m afraid that he won''t keep his word again. It''s not the first time he has done this."


    Jay sighed and said, "Manny was the one who picked up the phone."


    Gloria blinked her eyes in helplessness, feeling as if a headache wasing in.


    Manny suddenly walked into the kitchen from upstairs and asked his mother, "Mom. Is Edward alsoing to the barbeque today?"


    "Huh? We...I don''t think he knows about it. Why?" Gloria asked.


    Conflicted, Manny spoke, "Well if he ising, I don''t know if I would WANT to out with dad-"


    "HE''LL COME!" Gloria''s eyes lit up and she announced before Manny could even finish his words.


    "Huh? Really? Then, what should I do?" Manny asked with furrowed brows as he didn''t know whether to choose his estranged dad or Edward.


    Gloria pushed Manny from behind to move him out of the kitchen, "Ay, don''t worry. If your dades, he can join us. Easy right?"


    Jay was baffled when he heard it, but Gloria turned to him and mouthed, ''He won''t evene. Don''t worry.''


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Unfortunately for me, Enid had to spend time with her dad today, therefore I had to eat the ice-cream with just my aunt.


    "What''s with the look on your face? Are you not happy spending some time with me?" My aunt asked, irritated as she devoured her ice cream sundae angrily.


    "Yes." I replied.


    "You Jerk." My aunt cursed with a smile.


    There were a lot of people in the dessert ce, especially teenage couples who got together to n their future summer ns.


    "It''s not you...but, I want to go to Daytona beach and meet college boys. So, it''s better if we break up." A teen girl said to his boyfriend before he cried.


    It was the perfectbination for me as I could enjoy watching some teen drama as I ate my ice-cream. Not to mention that they were all so absorbed in their own dilemmas that they didn''t even notice my presence in the shop.


    "Well, now that I think about it, it''s really perfect that we both wanted to get dessert at the breakup ce huh." She added.


    "Huh? Why? Did you break up with someone? Wait, were you even dating?" I asked curiously.


    "Of course I''m dating! I''m still young!" She replied angrily.


    "You''re almost 30-"


    She threw her cherry stem at me, which I avoided skillfully and said, "It''s not like I don''t want to believe you. But I have never seen strange men traipsing around the house while I stay with you."


    She rolled her eyes and said, "I''m not that kind of woman."


    "You mean, not having sex till marriage kind of woman, or after 3 dates kind?"


    "Um...It feels weird talking to my nephew about these things, also ... the second one."


    "Nah, don''t worry about it. I was smart enough to know about all of this stuff before anyone even taught me. So, which bastard broke your heart?" I asked with a sly smile, causing my aunt tough.


    "Well it happened in Cuba." She started sharing her story of how she got her heart broken just before she came back to LA. About how her ex-boyfriend told her he wasn''t who she thought he was, and he wanted to end things as he needed to get back to his country.


    "I thought I met the one, but instead, I was just his side piece." She sighed heavily as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.


    "Oh, in his defense, you are a fine piece..."


    Cam was ttered, but then I smiled mischievously and added, "...of work."


    "AHH!" She gasped in offense, before sheughed.


    "Are you dating anyone now?" I asked.


    "Nah. I''m still in the ''moving on'' phase." She muttered.


    "Wait, how long did you guys date?" I asked incredulously.


    "Less than a week-"


    "No shit!- Sorry. And you haven''t moved on yet? How good is this guy? He must be a beast in bed-"


    Before I could finish my thoughts, she cupped her hand on my mouth to stop me. She red at me and said, "We didn''t even...sleep together."


    My jaw dropped in shock before I asked with a stammer, "Th-Then...why? I...need to learn the technique..What''s his name? I need to meet him."


    "Ugh! NO! I don''t want you to learn from that guy! EVER!"


    "Then, tell me. Why?"


    "Well... long story short...we clicked...There were no boring conversations. We argued, like everyone else but it felt...nice... I don''t know. It was the first time that happened to me." She became embarrassed as she spoke, and avoided my eyes.


    "And you guys didn''t even have sex."


    "That''s what you''re focusing on?" She asked, baffled.


    But honestly, I couldn''t believe my ears. "Damn...Did he actually tell you you were his side piece? Or was he married?" I asked.


    Cam rolled her eyes and said, "No. But it felt that way."


    "He could''ve ended it because he''s afraid of a long distance rtionship."


    "But he still lied to me."


    "About what?"


    Cam opened her mouth, but she couldn''t answer it as she remembered that she left the table before her ex-boyfriend could even exin it.


    "Ummm..."


    "You don''t know?" I raised my eyebrow, "He could actually have been a member of a secret organization, you know be a fed or something so he couldn''t use his real name...or what you think he meant? But, hold on... they would need a reason to get close to you if they wanted to send someone undercover sooo... Do you have any secrets that would gain the interest of such people?"


    "Ummmm.....I really don''t want to talk about this." Cam widened her eyes as I spoke, and her face paled as she realized a few things. "I need to call my sister."


    "You mean my mom?" I asked with augh. She nodded warily and asked, "You...want to speak to her?"


    "Nah... Don''t worry about me. And for future reference, the answer to that question will always be ''No''." I replied casually before I took out my phone to check my messages. I wasn''t in the mood to reply to anyone before, so there were a few notifications from my friends and also some from Pepper.


    My aunt sighed and went outside the restaurant to make the call.


    I finally saw a few texts from Haley. She was worried about me, and thest text asked me if I wanted to go to Jay''s house this evening and join them for a barbeque.


    "Will everyone be there?" I asked her, and got the answer in less than 5 seconds as my phone rang when she called me.


    "Hello?" I asked warily.


    "YOU DARE TO GHOST ME!" She shouted.


    Iughed a bit and said, "Sorry, I was out with my aunt."


    "Hmph! Are you okay?" She asked even though she was mad.


    "I''m better now." I replied with a smile as I was touched.


    "I was wo- What is it mom?" She was distracted and didn''t continue, and after speaking to ire for a while, she asked, "Are you with my dad?"


    "Huh? No. Phil hasn''te back from the Apple store yet?" I asked in confusion.


    "That''s where he went! He only told us he went with Alex to get some fruit. MOM!"


    Iughed as I heard Haley shouting for her mom, and after a while, she said, "Sorry about that."


    "No-No. It''s fine. So, what time?"


    "Oh...you''reing?" Haley said in a baffled tone. I was confused, "Yeah...You''re the one who invited me?"


    "Ah. right. Bring your swim trunks too." Haley said with an excited tone.


    "A pool party? I''m not in the mood to swim-"


    "Then just eat and tan. We''ll meet at 4."


    "Can I bring someone else?"


    "Depends on who you''re bringing." Haley asked in a cold voice.


    "Uuuhhmm ok, Chilling. I was talking about my aunt. Can shee too?"


    Said aunt conveniently came back to her seat at that very moment, and tried to ask me what was going on with a few gestures while trying to understand the situation. "Oh, I was thinking of going to sleep after this. I haven''t gotten any shut eye yet sincest night."


    "Oh. Shame then." I said to her before I replied to Haley, "So I guess I will be going alone. But I need to get back before 7. I have ns with my dad."


    "Ah. the losing the lottery thing. Alright, I don''t think it''ll take too long. But I''m not quite sure as Grandpa is the one grilling."


    "Huh?" I was confused at first, then I remembered that Jay overcooked the meat in the series. I rubbed my forehead and said, "I see..."


    "But don''t worry. It''s still good. You just need to chew a bit more." She said warily. Iughed out loud, causing Haley and my aunt to be confused.


    "I''ll see you there."


    "o-Okay." Haley stammered before we finished the call.


    "Look at you, all smiling and excited about meeting another girl. It took you only one afternoon to move on from Abby- ED! I''M SORRY!"


    My head and shoulders dropped as I heard Abby''s name, so my aunt apologized and tried to cheer me up again.


    "Ah. Wait. I forgot. Where''s Dad?" I muttered as I got into the car with Cam to leave the restaurant.


    She shrugged her shoulders to indicate that she had no idea, therefore I called him.


    As he picked up the phone, I could hear some throbbing music in the background and the DJ announced, "Give a big hand for, Kimberly!"


    "Dad...are you at a... strip club?" I asked incredulously.


    I heard his nervous voiceing from the other side of the call, "Well...Yeah, but not because of the reason you''re thinking of! I-"


    "Ugh! Can''t believe you didn''t invite me!" I cut him off, causing him to be stunned speechless.


    "What is it?" My aunt asked from beside me as she drove the car.


    "Dad is at a strip club." I replied.


    "Ed- I''M NOT-"


    "YOU DEGENERATE OLD MAN-" My aunt widened her eyes and cursed at the phone, causing my dad to be stunned again.


    "I''m really not! This is the only ce that still has lottery tickets left. I went to 7 ces, and it was all sold out!" My dad tried to exin himself, but I ignored him and said, "Dad, you shouldn''t go to the stripclubs at noon. That''s too pathetic. You should wait till the night shift. I''lle with you next time."


    "You''re NOT GOING TO A STRIP CLUB!" My aunt and my dad shouted at the same time.


    "Ugh. Unfair." I pretended like I was pouting, which made my aunt stare at me incredulously. "Is Dwayne there?" I asked.


    "Y-Yeah. He''s here. Why?" Dad asked, full of wariness.


    "Can I talk to him?"


    "Not until I know what you''re going to talk to him about." Dad said.


    "Ah nevermind. I''ll just add him to the call." I said as I called Dwayne too. He picked it up instantly, "Hello?"


    "Dwayne. Since you''re there, can you buy my dad a fewpdances on my behalf? I''ll reimburse youter." I asked.


    "EDWARD!" My aunt''s face turned horrified as she heard me.


    "What? I''m just trying to give him a father''s day gift."


    Dad: ...


    Dwayne: ...


    The stripper: ...


    ...


    Half an hourter, I was dropped off to Jay''s house by an angry aunt. She still hadn''t stopped scolding me as she kept trying to drill into my mind that ''women are not objects'', such nonsense... even after I told her I was joking, but that didn''t stop her from giving me a lecture.


    "Hey you made it!" Haley opened the door in excitement.


    "I haven''t even rang the doorbell yet. Were you waiting for me at the front door?" I asked teasingly. She blushed a bit and grabbed my hand before pulling me in, "Dad has just arrived."


    "Hey ED!" Phil greeted me with excitement before he waved the new iphone box in the air, "We got it!"


    "Oh-ho. Let me see it!" I walked towards Phil and Alex as they showed the new phone to ire. "Nice stuff."


    "Yeah, we went to 5 stores, just to pick the best one." Phil said proudly. Alex scoffed and said, "Turns out, the best deal was at the first store, so we went around town for nothing."


    "Aww, don''t be like that. Didn''t you like spending some time with your dad, especially on...Father''s day." I muttered, causing Phil to turn sad, and Alex to be anxious.


    "O-Of course I liked it!" Alex replied through gritted teeth as she knew she was yed. She mouthed to me menacingly, ''This is not over.''


    "Phil, it''s the first time Alex is using a smartphone. Why don''t you show her the features?" I instigated again, causing Alex to be bbergasted. Phil''s eyes lit up as he said, "That''s a great idea!"


    "Damn it!" Alex cursed in a whisper.


    Then, I turned to ire and said, "Luke told me he''s going to follow a stranger if he has candy."


    "NO I DIDN''T!" Luke who was ying with Manny turned ashen, "You TATTLETALE!"


    "LUKE! Is that true!" ire asked, horrified.


    "I''m just worried for you Luke." I said with a fake concerned voice.


    "LIAR!" Luke shouted, but ire dragged him away to give him a thorough talking too.


    "Why are you making trouble everywhere? The atmosphere was nice before." Haley asked in confusion, but not apprehension.


    "Well I need a good show to watch to uplift my mood, plus this way we do get some alone time... Now, where are Mitch and Cam?"


    Sheughed, "You''re targeting them now? They''re by the pool. Let''s go!"


    Well I wasn''t lying. I used to watch the modern family episodes whenever I needed augh. Now that it exists in real life here, all I can do is concoct my own episodes and watch them live.


    "Hey-hey. There''s the rockstar." Jay greeted me with a smile as he checked on the meat.


    "Hi Jay. Happy Grandfather''s day." I said yfully, which made himugh. "I''ve prepared something special for dinner today. A genuine Polish-style bratwurst."


    "Nice. I can''t wait. I''ll eat that even if you overcook it." I muttered. Jay''s smile froze and he said, "Why would you think I am going to overcook it?"


    "Um..." I stammered, and turned towards ire who''s scolding Luke while making sure that Jay saw who I was looking at.


    [Jay''smentary]


    "So, no one is brave enough to tell me they don''t like my grilling, and have to make sure a guest takes care of my feelings too?" He asked angrily.


    [Commentary ends]


    "I''m going to go and see Lily." I avoided talking much to Jay as I grabbed Haley''s hand and brought her to see her guncles. She almostughed out loud and blew my schemes, so I need to bring her away quickly.


    Mitchell and Cam were talking and in a good mood by the poolside. "He-Hey, Happy Father''s day Mitchell." I said as I hugged Mitchell to celebrate him.


    Cam''s smile froze a bit, but he was still nodding along as he didn''t want to blow up there.


    [Mitch and Cam''smentary]


    "Why not, Happy Father''s Day Mitch...AND CAM? Why only Mitch? Does my stay-at-home dad status make him equate me with taking a more feminine role in this rtionship?" Cam said aggressively.


    Mitchell rolled his eyes and said, "It''s because I''m closer to him than you Cam."


    [Commentary paused.]


    I turned to Cam and acted surprised before I said stammeringly, "Oh y-yeah. You too. Happy Father''s day Cam."


    mentary restarted]


    Cam was crying in a dramatic manner as Mitchell patted him on his back, trying tofort him.


    "He thinks I''m the MOTHER!" Cam exploded while sobbing, face full of tears.


    mentary ended]


    I sat with Haley near the poolside, watching Mitch and Cam argue with each other, Alex was caught by Phil and he wouldn''t stop teaching her, Luke was scolded by ire, and a smile rose up in my face.


    "You''re Satan." Haley muttered teasingly. I acted shocked and said, "How did you know my name mortal?"


    Sheughed as we both enjoyed the chaos together.

 Chapter 151: Who’s your daddy?

    <h4>Chapter 151: Chapter 151: Who��s your daddy?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Haley and I wereying down on the pool chair as we enjoyed the sun with a drink in our hand. We were both wearing sunsses as we watched the drama unfolding in front of us, and to avoid direct sunlight at the same time.


    "They are pretty pissed off. You''ll be in trouble when they find out you deliberately stirred them up when they were supposed to be enjoying the barbeque." Haley said.


    I turned towards her with an astonished face. She was confused and asked, "What?"


    "Nothing. Aren''t you changing?" I replied with a smile. I didn''t want to tell her that I was surprised she knew what ''deliberately'' means, as I was afraid to discourage her.


    "You want to see me in a bikini so soon?" Haley teased. "I thought you weren''t going to swim?"


    "I''m not." I replied before I sighed and said, "I can''t wait to grow up. I miss popping up a can of cold beer as Iy in the sun."


    "Same." Haley muttered in a guilt-free manner. Sometimes, she snuck in a couple of beers while her grandpa wasn''t at home as she tanned by the pool, so she knew what I was talking about.


    "Hey, what do you think about Father''s day?" Haley asked in a curious manner.


    I pushed up my sunsses and turned to her, "Father''s day is the step-dad of the whole holiday celebrations."


    "It''s the time when single moms posted on FB to try and make this day about them, and for fathers to be overlooked once more after getting a few lousy cards. Most people don''t even bother to celebrate the event, so seeing your family get together is refreshing for me."


    "Well...to be honest the gathering is actually for summer, not father''s day." Haley exined. I smirked and said, "I know."


    She smiled in a guilty manner and said, "It''s not like we don''t like...our dad."


    "I''m not saying it like that. I''m just saying, people don''t make much of a deal about this daypared to the other celebrations. Let''s take your family for an example. What did you guys do on Mother''s day?"


    "Let me see...Humm...Well we woke her up with a surprise, then allowed her to make a wish, and this year, we almost went to the beach, but Alex brought out the water quality report, so we just stayed home and celebrated."


    "And what did you do with your dad today?" I asked,


    "I gave him a card...and made him breakfast...the same thing as we usually ate on weekends."


    "And..."


    "Well that''s it."


    I smiled while Haley ruminated on what I was talking about. Gloria walked briskly towards the both of us, "Ayy, do you know what happened? Why are Cam and Mitch suddenly arguing? And why is Jay so grumpy?"


    "Isn''t Jay always grumpy?" I muttered. Gloria nodded and said, "That''s true. But there''s something weird going around-"


    "Hey Gloria, are you making any sauce for the steak?" I asked, changing the subject before she could catch on.


    She smiled and said, "Yes. I''m going to make a ...traditional Colombian sauce that has been in my family for generations."


    "That sounds interesting. Can I learn it?"


    Gloria smiled widely and said, "Yes! YES! Come to the kitchen. I''ll show you the steps."


    "Seriously?" Haley lowered her sunsses as she gazed at me. I shrugged and said, "Yeah. It sounds fun. Besides, Cam and Mitch have relocated inside."


    "Well...I''lle with you." Haley hesitated before standing up, "But I''ll go change first."


    As I entered the house, Phil suddenly surprised me and asked, "Ed, you''re making another app?"


    "Huh? What app?" I asked, confused.


    Alex then reminded, "You know, the group chat app."


    "Ah. right. Sorry, impaired cognitive function."


    "Why?" Alex asked, confused. She used the information to get out of her dad teaching her about the new phone. Otherwise, the lecture would still be going.


    Phil was excited as he heard about the group chat app and the prospect of exchanging photos with me over the summer. As an early adopter to any new technologies, Phil couldn''t wait to use the new app even though it wasn''t even in production yet.


    "Haven''t slept yet since yesterday." I replied in a casual manner before I narrowed my eyes at them, "Didn''t I tell you about it this morning?"


    Phil widened his eyes and asked in shock, "But you had the concert yesterday right?"


    "I don''t think you did?" Alex replied, unsure. I actually didn''t tell them, just ire could figure out what happened without me saying anything.


    I chuckled before I talked to Phil about the app again, "It''s still just an idea right now but I''ll work on it after I get back from Texas. Phil, have you made an instagram ount yet?"


    He turned excited and said, "I DID! I even have 10 followers already!" Alex rolled her eyes as even she got wayyy more followers than that, considering that she posted a few behind the scenes photos and tagged me in her ount.


    "That...nice." I muttered, hiding my pity. I couldn''t say that I have a quarter million followers now, as it would just sound like a brag.


    "Do you know the real potential of the ounts?" I muttered with a sly grin. Alex was confused, but when I asked Haley the same question before, she coulde out with a few advantages in just a jiff.


    "Potential?" Phil tilted his head. "To be...famous?"


    "That too, but the thing I''m talking about is more of a business advantage�C"


    "Cam, you''re being unreasonable. Facial hair doesn''t mean that people will see a person as the dad. You don''t need to grow a beard, or MAKE ME SHAVE MINE!" Mitchell said exasperatingly as Cam followed him from behind.


    I looked towards them in amusement as they argued, and Haley came back after quickly changing her clothes. She had tied her hair into a ponytail, bringing attention to the nape of her neck, corbone and herrge earrings. She changed into a blue bikini, and was wearing a see-through cover dress as she walked indoors.


    " What are you guys talking about?" Haley asked, but her attention was fixed on me instead of her own family.


    "Instagram. Ed is going to teach me some stuff." Phil replied in excitement. Haley widened her eyes before she nodded knowingly and said, "Oh yeah, the influencer thing."


    "Ugh...Influencers." I groaned in disgust as I heard it. She was baffled and said, "You''re the one who named them...it... that!"


    "I know I know. I''m just...quite revolted when I think about what''s going to happen in the future. Stupid people being famous everywhere. Peoplepletely forgot about human decency as it is. I don''t even want to think about what will happen the more they live in an online world."


    Alex rolled her eyes and said, "If you hate it so much, then why DID you create the tform?"


    "Well mostly for the money, and the immense pleasure of sliding into a girl''s dm." I joked, but no oneughed...yet.


    Haley''s eyes became hazy, and then she realized something, "Can I see your ount?"


    "Yeah sure." I didn''t think much and gave her my phone. Alex smirked evilly and said, "Dad, you should learn from Ed. Maybe he can help you in promoting your business."


    I rolled my eyes at her while Phil was a little troubled by the suggestion cause he couldn''t quite understand the benefits of her suggestion therefore he didn''t want to waste his time.


    "Well...I''ll at least listen to it."


    "Sure. Meet me in the kitchen." I replied before I whispered to Alex, "Trying to get revenge on me?"


    "The Empire Strikes back." Alex muttered with an evil grin.


    "You''ve underestimated my power." I eximed before I walked towards the kitchen. "Stop quoting Star Trek." Haley said to both of us.


    "Wars! Star Wars!" Alex replied begrudgingly.


    Haley followed us from behind while checking my instagram ount. She was startled when she opened my dms, "You got...12,000 message requests!"


    "Ooh, it''s still going up." I muttered nonmittedly as I walked right next to Gloria. "What sauce are we making today?"


    "Are you just going to ignore me? How are you going to handle this?" Haley asked in dissatisfaction. "I''ll help you screen the messages. There''s a lot of thirsty bitches here that need to get a reality check."


    Iughed and said, "There''s no need. I have employees whose whole job is to handle it."


    "(Gasp) They sent you pics too! Those sluts!" Haley groaned without registering what I said in her brain. "Just make sure not to reply to any of them okay? Or I''ll be in trouble." I said before I ignored her.


    "What pics?" Alex peeked on the screen, and then let out a disgusted gasp too. "Can I see?" Phil asked.


    "NO!!!" Alex and Haley shouted at the same time.


    "Ayy Ed, I don''t have a couple of ingredients." Gloria said in a depressed manner after she checked her fridge for stuff to make her sauce.


    "Oh dang. That''s too bad." Phil muttered sadly, "I love your special sauce."


    "Can''t you substitute- never mind." I tried to suggest, but was met with Gloria''s piercing re instead.


    "You still have the A1 sauce right?" Phil asked when I was checking the fridge.


    "You know, you do have the right stuff here to make a chimichurri sauce." I said.


    "Huh? Chimichurri?" Phil asked, confused.


    "It''s like Salsa...I think...But it''s pretty nice. Good with chips, tacos, bread, and even meat."


    Gloria''s eyes lit up and she said, "Yes, that can work too."


    "You know how to make it?" I asked her. Her smile froze, and before she could reply, I said, "Maybe...I can do it? As a gift, for Jay."


    Gloria''s smile turned soft as she realized I didn''t want to make her feel embarrassed, and she patted my head as she said, "Alright. You make it. I''ll help!"


    "Right. Can you get me some tinfoil, a lemon, 2 peppers, whole garlic, and shallot?" I asked her politely.


    "Foil is here." Phil replied as he was standing right in front of the foil drawer. As Gloria took out the ingredients from the fridge, I talked to Phil about ways he could boost his brand using social media.


    I cut off the top of the garlic and made a few cuts in the shallot, but not all the way through. Then I sprayed some olive oil, salt, and pepper as I wrapped them inside a foil. I cut the lemon in half and gave the ingredients to Alex.


    "Can you ask Jay to put this on the grill?" I asked.


    She nodded and went to the backyard while I waited.


    "So, no goofy videos?" Phil said, depressed.


    "Definitely. You want to seem professional. You should do the same on your Facebook too." I exined.


    "What about me? How can I...have more followers?" Gloria asked after I finished talking with Phil. I looked at her from top to bottom before I said, "You just need to post a picture of you. That''s it."


    "Ayy you sweet talker." Gloria smiled, ttered. Iughed a bit before I turned to Haley, "You still opening up the requests?"


    "I counted them, and so far, there''s 93 girls who send you...pics from the 100 messages I opened." She said in dissatisfaction before she scolded me, "You shouldn''t have made this. This makes it easier for sluts to throw themselves at you."


    I justughed and ignored her. "Well if you recognize a few famous people, don''t delete anything."


    "Even if they sent you pics?" She asked. "Wait? There''s someone who did?" I asked, astonished.


    "Don''t be so excited! I''ll tell this to Pepper!" Haley scolded in a jealous tone.


    "I''m...not?" I was confused by the usation. "Did I seem excited?" I asked Gloria.


    "No. You didn''t." Gloria replied honestly. Haley groaned and walked away from there, leaving us all behind.


    Sensing the suitable moment, Phil muttered, "Ed, I have been wanting to ask you. How are you feeling? With Abby and Desiree moving away? Are you alright?"


    "I don''t know what I feel, but I''m alright." I muttered with a wry smile.


    "Oh no. Poor baby." Gloria eximed sympathetically and gave me a pity hug. "Losing a first love...is hard..." She added.


    "Love? Who said anything about love?" I replied quickly with a puzzled tone.


    Phil gave me an understanding smile as he said, "Yeah. It might not be love, but you got to admit, she was someone special to you. Or else, I don''t think you''d have asked her to prom, even going out of your way to make it a special day for her."


    Gloria smiled teasingly and said, "You were in love. You just don''t know what it was."


    "Well if that was true, teasing me about it would be quite insensitive right? You already know I''m going to be devastated...Not that I''m saying I am-"


    "Ed. It''s okay. First love hurts. I still remember when I had my first love. She was a lovely girl�C Mitchelle herty. We met at band camp, and we were very close. Like you, I don''t know what I felt at the time. It wasn''t until we went our separate ways that I knew I was in love with her."


    Phil added, "I was...DEVASTATED. It haunted me for a while, and I regretted not keeping in touch with her. But that taught me something important."


    "That being...?"


    "Love. She taught me what it felt like. So when the next girl came along, I wasn''t confused anymore." Phil patted me on the shoulder, "So cheer up Ed."


    "That advice actually makes things worse, but I appreciate the intention, Phil." I said in a dry manner before going to the grill to pick up the ingredients.


    Gloria pped Phil''s arm, causing him to exim in pain.


    "Oww. what''s that for?" He asked, aggrieved as he rubbed his sore arm.


    "Ayy Phil. She just left this morning, and you told him that. Of course he''s going to feel bad. He hasn''t moved on yet, and you already told him to find a new girl." Gloria said angrily.


    "Wait. That''s not what I meant." Phil widened his eyes as he realized what he had done.


    I returned to the kitchen soon, and put all of the ingredients into arge blender. I added paprika powder,tro, salt, and red wine vinegar and started blending all of the ingredients together.


    "That looks good!" Gloria''s eyes lit up as I opened the appliance and poured all of the sauce into arge bowl. Then, I grabbed a spoon and tasted it. Phil and Gloria did the same thing, and they eximed in wonder as they swallowed it.


    "It''s very delicious!" Gloria said excitedly, shaking her entire body as she did.


    "Hmm...It needs more salt, and a little bit more lemon juice." I muttered ndly as I watched Gloria''s chest heaving up and down as she celebrated.


    "Really? This is already great enough." Phil muttered with a drool on his mouth, not sure if it was from the sauce or watching Gloria.


    "Trust me." I muttered as I added the missing ingredients. After tasting it for the second time, I was finally satisfied and grabbed a piece of bread before dipping it onto the sauce.


    "Yeah. This is perfect." I muttered with a mouthful before I asked, "Is the meat ready?"


    "It''s supposed to be. Let me check." Phil said excitedly as he couldn''t wait. Gloria followed me and tasted the sauce with the bread, eximing a few times as she loved it.


    "Manny,e here!" Gloria called. Not only Manny, but Luke and ire also followed along as they wanted to taste it. Mitch and Cam had calmed down, and they helped set up the table for dinner together with Gloria and ire.


    "Alex,e on." I eximed in disbelief as I saw her hanging out around Haley in order to read the messages that I had gotten on my dms.


    "The meat is served!" Phil announced excitedly as he brought the meat to the table. As he cut into them, it revealed that the meat was cooked perfectly at medium rare.


    Jay entered the house proudly, bringing the extra bratwurst with him. "Jay. This is really good." I muttered as I chewed a piece of meat.


    "It''s not too tough for you?" He asked with a smirk, causing ire and Mitch to freeze for a second.


    "It''s not. Those who said you''re bad at grilling really don''t know their stuff." I ttered him, causing him to get an ego boost.


    [Jay''smentary]


    "I have a reputation to keep." Jay muttered with a solemn expression.


    The shback started, and it showed that Jay used a meat thermometer�C something that he had never used before, just to make sure his meat was cooked perfectly today.


    He continued with thementary, "Of course, I won''t ever admit that I used it. Now, let me see if they still critique my grilling now."


    [Commentary ends]


    [General POV]


    Edward sat next to Haley in the living room, gently grabbed his phone back and put it inside his pocket after finishing his dinner.


    "Ugh. Give that back! I was having a lot of fun!" Haley demanded with a smile on her face.


    "Nuh-uh. What did you even do with those texts?" Edward asked in confusion.


    "Well I ignored the sluts, but there''s a few of them who messaged you to thank you for your music. It was fun reading that." She grinned in a proud manner, which made Edward confused as to which one of them was the artist.


    "Is your dading to get you? Or will you go home with us?" She asked.


    "He''sing. I asked him to pick me up at 6.30." Edward replied before stretching his arms as he suddenly felt incredibly tired after sitting next to Haley.


    She realized it and pulled his head gently to put it on her shoulder, but as she was tiny, there was a big gap there and it was impossible for Edward to do so. Edwardughed as Haley was embarrassed, and then she cuddled with him instead.


    "I''ll just shut my eyes for a moment." Edward muttered, not believing that he would actually fall asleep. But in less than 3 minutes, he was proven wrong.


    "Hehe." Haley grinned mischeviously as she watched Edward''s sleeping face. At this moment, a vengeful kid saw what was happening, and moved closer towards where they were sitting.


    "(Mimicking Helicopter sounds..) Ratatata... Private Ryan, stay with me." Luke whispered to Edward''s ear before Haley grabbed his face and pushed him away violently.


    "What are you doing?" Haley whispered angrily.


    "I''m trying to give him a World War shback." Luke muttered before he made some war noises again. "The bomb is here. *Ka-Boom*. MEDIC!"


    "Luke, get out of here!" Haley chased him away, but as she couldn''t move from the spot, Luke continued with his drama. Manny was nearby, and was pulled by Luke to act together with him. He wrapped his arm around Manny and pretended he was limping, "Tell...tell my wife...I love her."


    "Luke, I feel ufortable with this." Manny muttered while Luke pretended to be dead.

 Chapter 152: Lotto.

    <h4>Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Lotto.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    ''Why is Fortunate Son ''worming'' in my brain? What happened while I was asleep?''


    "Ed, do we have the dips?" My dad asked, snapping me out of my daze. I had already returned to my still-under-construction home after my dad picked me up from Jay''s ce.


    He was sitting next to me on the couch as we watched the TV, waiting for the lottery announcement time. I slid over a guacamole dip and asked him, "There''s no chicken wings this year?"


    "Oh. Wait, I forgot. They''re in the kitchen." Dad stood up and rushed to get it. "Come on Dad! That''s the most important part... And you also promised me that I would get to try beer this year." I shouted teasingly towards him.


    "Wait, did I really?" He widened his eyes in shock as he carried a tub of chicken wings to the couch.


    "Yeah, it''s true."


    "Really?" He furrowed his brows, trying to remember the conversation we had in the past year.


    "Why would I lie? Also, is your memory failing you already? That might be normal considering how drunk you were at that time."


    "Ah..." Dad eximed in disappointment�C not in me, but in himself. He tried to persuade me, "You have seen how miserable I was. Are you sure you want a beer?"


    I shrugged and said slightly, "Well I''m not going to be an alcoholic. I just want to have chicken wings and beer, like people always do in tv shows."


    "Oh...alright then." My dad shook his head slightly, "A promise is a promise. But to be clear, I''m only giving you ONE."


    "Sure." I nodded. "Give me the German one." I muttered as I saw him reaching his hand for the light beer.


    "Uhh...alright." He hesitated a bit before he relented and gave me a can. I smiled happily as I opened it.


    *Ker-ck. Psshhh*


    "Ummm. The foam-" I quickly drank the overflowing water while giving an angry side eye to my dad, "Did you shake it?"


    "How is it possible? You saw me sliding it to you." He smirked slyly as his scheme seeded, barely holding back hisugh as he saw my reaction. I rolled my eyes and picked up a chicken wing.


    "The extra spicy sauce?" My dad asked.


    "The medium one is fine." I replied.


    "Weak." My dad eximed teasingly. My veins throbbed as I got annoyed and I grabbed the ''extra spicy'' sauce from his hand and poured it onto my chicken wings.


    "You''ll regret it." He warned with slightly raised brows.


    "I don''t think that it''ll be worse than what Cam cooked before." I said jokingly.


    "Is she still sleeping?" My dad asked as he opened up a can of beer for himself. Although he vowed to quit, this seemed like a special bonding moment with his son, therefore he made an exception.


    "Like a log." I replied with a slight nod as I chewed on the chicken wings. As my dad warned, the spiciness did hit strongly, but I could still handle it.


    "Dad, the numbers?" I asked him.


    "Here, 20 you, 20 me, 10 in the shared pile, as usual." He said as he split up the lottery tickets ording to our yearly traditions.


    "I know it''s dumb to ask but what are you going to do with the money if you win the big prize?" I asked with a slight chuckle.


    "I will still answer it even if I know we won''t win. Like usual." My dadughed before he said, "Well..."


    "Don''t tell me you''re going to buy a new boat. One day you''re going to drown at sea with all your boats." I rolled my eyes as I could guess what he was going to answer. It was the same answer every year, and I was sick of it.


    "Maybe not a simple boat. Maybe a luxury Yacht ship. You know, one of the ones with a pool on top of the deck." My dad said in an awe-inspiring voice as he remembered the Yacht that he saw in the magazines before.


    "Then, you could take Sal, and Desiree, and have a threesome cruise all over the world, only toe back with 2 more people in their bellies."


    He scoffed and said, "I''m not going to invite Sal."


    "So ...you ARE going to invite Desiree. I got to say, Dad, me, living in the same house as my ex-girlfriend, will make you have grandkids sooner than you think."


    "I''m not going to invite her either." He didn''t mind the joke and answered me truthfully, slightly shaking his head.


    "So you''re not going to invite your best friend? You know, the one that you talked all night with before-"


    "Shut up and eat your chicken." He pushed the chicken I was holding into my mouth as he put the tickets on the coffee table.


    "Wait, Grand Price 166 million dors? Wasn''t it 96 million?" My dad was astonished when he saw the number.


    "That wasst week. Unimed." I replied to him as I checked out the ball reading bimbo on the screen. She kinda looks like Margot Robbie, which didn''t surprise me as I know at least 4 other actresses that had the simr features.


    "Honestly, even if someone wins, they will just get around 120 million, so the number is a scam. Even lower if they decided to bump up the tax bracket. Not to mention the IRS tax, and also the state tax." My dad muttered.


    "166 mil, will be 126 mil after Federal Tax of 24%. Since we live in California we are exempt from State Tax, as they won''t take anything from the lottery winning. 126 is what we would get if we win. But I think we''re going to get bumped up in the tax bracket, so it might be 37%, and we will get only 104.8 million." I analyzed it.


    "Still, that''s a lot of money." My dad inhaled sharply before he squinted his eyes at the screen.


    "Enough for you to start dating again. The statistics show that even an ugly man with a face that only a mother could love, would be able to find their ''true love'' in a hot, 22 year old blond woman, with great tits, after winning the lottery."


    My dadughed a bit before he narrowed his eyes at me and said, "You think I''m one of those... ''statistics''?"


    "Who knows? Just to be clear, I have no problem with you remarrying dad. Even if you still love mom, you already understood long ago that she won''te back. So if you''re lonely, just find someone."


    "Hmm...I''ll think about it." My dad replied before he smirked, "But you are still forgetting the main condition and that is we need to win first."


    "So Never. Understood." Iughed as I picked up a tissue box to wipe my hand before putting it on the coffee table again, near the arranged lottery tickets.


    ...


    "The first number is...6!" The TV announcer read the number on the drawn out ball.


    "Ugh...12 cards already useless." I groaned as I waited for the next number.


    "All...12...in your pile...Ed, are you unlucky?" My dad asked. He only got 2 tickets burned, so he was smirking at my misery.


    "Let''s see. I have a strong feeling that I will win something today!" I muttered in confidence.


    "The second number is...12!" The TV announced again.


    "YES!" I eximed while my dad groaned. He threw away 6 tickets to the side, "Maybe I can win the constion prize."


    "In your dreams old man!"


    "The next number is...22!" The TV announced again.


    "YESS! 3 numbers! I won....7 dors!" I shouted in excitement as I stood up from the sofa. My dadughed breathlessly as he said, "7...7 dors...(Laugh)...And you''re celebrating like you won... the grand prize."


    "The Powerball numbers haven''te out yet! I still have the chance to make this 100 dors! But you? All of your tickets are useless!"


    "Well I still can get ..what is 18 times 4 dors?"


    "72 dors. But we won''t count the single number one. That''s petty."


    He rolled his eyes as he picked up the cards that he threw away, "Well..there''s still 2 numbers...and the powerball. I won''t give up yet."


    "That''s the spirit." I muttered sarcastically as I finished my can of beer. "Give me another one?" I asked.


    "NO!" He answered sternly.


    "I''ll give you my 7 dors." I tried to persuade him.


    "Get out of here." Heughed.


    "The fourth number for the lucky winner tonight is...7!"


    "OHHHHH! I HIT 4!!!!!" I eximed in shock as I saw it. My dad widened his eyes and stood up immediately.


    "Seriously? If you got the powerball, do you know what it means?" My dad gulped his saliva as he looked at me incredulously.


    "4 numbers is 100 dors. 4 numbers plus the powerball... it''s 50,000 dors!" I muttered, causing my dad to swallow his saliva. But me being me I decided to poke some fun at him as I added with a small smirk, "...My Angry Bird game ie for a day."


    He slumped immediately and said, "That ruins it."


    Iughed at his reaction, but my hand was shivering at that time. It was a wonderful feeling when I saw my numbers on the screen. I was never a lucky person before, so this feeling waspletely novel for me.


    "The final 5th number....32!"


    "Aw..." I groaned as I missed thest number.


    "There''s still the powerball." My dadforted me.


    "I know. What about the shared pile?" I asked.


    "Well...none of them make it. Only 1 ticket got 2 numbers hit." My dad muttered in disappointment.


    "We already knew this would happen. Why are we still disappointed?" I asked as I sat back on the couch.


    "The powerball number is...11~" The announcer said, but as expected, none of the tickets got thest number.


    "At the very least we got our money back." My dad muttered.


    "I won the money! You won nothing!" I teased him.


    "Ughh...Next year...next year for sure!" My dad vowed. Iughed as I waved the winning card at him. Even when he could buy the numbers every week to try the lottery, he only picked to do it on Father''s day, and I admired him for that.


    "Ed, you''re staying here tonight?" He asked.


    "I want to use the hot tub, but you unplugged it after the "Sal Incident''''. So I''ll go pack my stuff and sleep at Cam''s tonight."


    "Sure. By the way when you visit Texas do buy me a cowboy hat will ya." He slumped on the couch while I checked the tickets.


    "I will. Wait... Dad, why did you only buy 49 tickets?" I asked him quizzically.


    "49? I''m sure that I bought 50." He straightened his back and helped me to double check the tickets.


    "Is it in your pocket?"


    He patted his chest pocket and his pants pockets, and said, "No. I had taken them ALL out before. It must be here somewhere." He rummaged around the table, but thest ticket was still missing.


    "I''ll try to find it. In the meantime, you should go pack your clothes."


    "Alright. Try to check your undies too."


    "They''re not going to be in my undies!" My dad snorted as he chased me away. Iughed and went to my room, and the minute I jumped on the bed to rest for a bit, my consciousness faded and I fell asleep.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Where is it?" Ted muttered as he checked his car for the whereabouts of thest ticket.


    "I got a feeling that it was an important ticket, but I can''t remember why. Did I meet someone this morning? Why am I forgetting stuff? My memory is usually good." He muttered in concern.


    "Hey TED! DID YOU WIN?!"


    Ted turned to the sound of the voice, and saw Phil Dunphy waving at him as he walked in his direction.


    "You just got home?" Ted asked with a smile.


    "Yeah. After Edward was gone, it was pretty boring." Phil joked.


    "I didn''t win, but Ed won." Ted replied with a toothy grin.


    "Really?" Phil''s eyes lit up. "He won the jackpot?"


    "He won 100 bucks." Ted said before heughed. Phil was taken aback at first, and thenughed after congratting Ed.


    "Where is he?" Phil asked.


    "He''s...asleep. By the way, have you seen a white piece of lottery ticket somewhere?"


    "Huh? Did you lose your ticket?"


    "Only one."


    "I''ll help you find it!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    There was some burning sensation in my eyes, which made me ufortable. "Ugh." I groaned as I flipped over and buried my head in the pillow to avoid the sunlight.


    "What time is it?" I muttered in agony as I checked my phone. I widened my eyes as I saw it was already 9.30 am, which meant that I had slept for over 11 hours!


    "HOLY SHIT!" I cursed as I shot up of bed. "My flight is at 11! Damn it!"


    "Edward, are you up?" My dad shouted from downstairs as he heard the sound of a violent opening of the door. I rushed to the bathroom while yelling at him, "WHY DIDN''T YOU WAKE ME UP!?"


    "Why should I do that?" My dad asked in confusion.


    "Because!!.....Wait...It''s MY PLANE. Ah, sorry Dad." I apologized to him, which made him smirk in understanding. I eased up and went to the bathroom to get ready, and returned to my room to pack up my clothes.


    After 45 minutes, I went downstairs dressed infortable clothes while carrying a big suitcase.


    "Pepper is on his way." My dad muttered as he sipped his morning coffee. I went to the coffeemaker and poured one cup for myself while my dad smirked and said, "It''s been a while since you slept in."


    "Ugh, I don''t want to make this a habit. The longer I sleep, the more money I lose."


    My dad was puzzled, and then he said, "Well...speaking of money...I still haven''t found thest lottery ticket."


    "Ignore it. It''s not like we were going to win." I waved it off before saying, "I will be staying in Texas for 3-4 days. You know that right?"


    "I know. And if I want to join you, I can just use your ne, right?" My dad said in understanding.


    "Also, there''s a stripper pole on the ne. So you can invite some girls."


    "What-" My dad''s face froze, and his coffee spilled onto hisp.


    "I''m just joking. I haven''t seen the ne yet." Iughed as my dad wiped his pants with a clean towel.


    "You weasel." My dad muttered spitefully.


    "But I am hoping that it will. I want it to be like Iron Man''s ne." I muttered in a serious manner, which made my dad taken aback.


    *Ding Dong*


    "There''s Pepper." My eyes lit up and I went to open the door hurriedly. Pepper gave me and my dad a bear hug as he entered the house, and a bodyguard helped to carry my suitcase.


    "Ed, there''s something you need to know. This morning, Fanjoy (Love Story MV Director) called."


    "Oh, what''d she say?"


    "She asked if you have any allergies concerning horses...and whether or not you can ride one."


    My dad interjected, "Oh that won''t be a problem. His grandparents have a ranch, so he already knows his way around a saddle."


    "Oh that''s wonderful." Pepper eximed in relief and said, "We should go now. Otherwise you''ll bete."


    "I think I''m alreadyte. Taylor has started shooting right?" I asked knowingly. She had started to shoot her solo parts, which meant that I only had the garden scene, and the castle scene left.


    There was also a college scene, which we will shoot during tomorrow''s busy schedule. We were supposed to shoot one scene per day, but apparently Trey was on a tough schedule, and we had to finish the shooting as soon as we could.


    "She has, and she keeps blowing up my phone, asking if your flight had already left, even though she was the one who told you to be there at 3."


    "Maybe she wants me to watch her performance." I muttered, and I was dead wrong on that. She actually didn''t want me to watch her solo act where she lip syncs to the song as she was too embarrassed.


    "She might. We''ll know for sure when we get there."


    "Don''t forget my hat!" My dad interjected again while giving me a bear hug. "Take care of yourself. Don''t y around...too much." He muttered. He already knew it was useless to ask me to behave myself, therefore he was hoping that I could at least contain it.


    I rolled my eyes at him and said, "I know I know. Alright, you smell like coffee."


    "And who''s fault is that?" He gave me a stink eye.


    "Yours." I replied, leaving him stunned.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "(Whistle) Nice ride." Edward eximed as he saw the private jet Pepper''s mother gave him. "God-Grandmother really understands me."


    The white jet was among the top models currently in use around the world, it was simple, but luxurious with a sleek design that captured Edward''s interest immediately.


    Pepper was startled, "Since when is she your ''god-grandmother''?"


    "Since she gave me almost 5 million dors for pocket money just yesterday." Edward muttered teasingly as he walked into the ne. To his surprise, there was a lounge area at the center of the ne which separated the seats and the pantry.


    The lounge had long couches on both of its sides, and a small, circr tform in the middle. Edward was excited and went to examine the ne in all its entirety.


    "What button is this?" Edward muttered as he pressed the small red button on the stage. Suddenly the ne''s interior lights dimmed and multicolour lights started shing all around. Intense music was ying, and a pole suddenly emerged from the stage, connecting to the top of the ne.


    "Ahh. Nice!" Edward muttered as a sexy flight attendant took the pole and started dancing while slowly taking off her shirt. It was a present that his newly found god-grandmother gave him as he was being so easy on the eyes.


    "Alright. Stop! STOPPP!!!" Pepper shouted, but the performance continued.


    Partway through the show as the ne was high up in the air, Edward suddenly received a call.


    "Wait. Should I put my phone on flight mode?" Edward asked worriedly.


    "This is not a cheap ne. You can answer it." Pepper replied.


    "Hello?" Edward nodded and answered the phone.


    "Edward, I found the ticket. It was under the tissue box. I think it got at least 3 numbers correct. Do you remember the winning numbers fromst night?"


    "Of course I do. Let me see...6, 12, 22, 7, 32, and the powerball is 11." Edward muttered. Ted was silent for a while, and he asked, "Can you repeat that."


    "Sure. 6, 12, 22, 7, 32, and 11." Edward repeated kindly. "Hello? Dad?" He asked in concern as Ted went silent for too long.


    "Ed...It hit." Ted said in a shaky voice.


    "Hello? What hit?" Edward asked, confused.


    "The numbers....it all fits." Ted pinched his cheek, not sure whether what he was seeing was real, or a dream.


    Edward became solemn, and he asked carefully, "You mean..."


    "We won...WE FREAKING WONNNNN!!!!"


    "HOLY SHIET!!!!!!"

 Chapter 153: Texas

    <h4>Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Texas</h4>


    (WN is extra buggy today and yesterday.


    The summer vacation arcs will be hastened, and I won''t get into much details like in the previous one as to catch back up with the Modern Family episodes. Even TBBT doesn''t have episodes in the summer, so it''s a nk timeframe there.)


    [Edward POV]


    Inside the jet.


    "Take the money, and leave my son alone." I muttered, channeling my inner evil Korean mother inw as I slid a thick envelope towards Pepper.


    Wearing a blonde wig, the ugly looking Pepper said meekly while fidgeting, "But mother-inw-"


    "YOU DARE CALL ME YOUR MOTHER IN LAW? I DON''T AGREE TO YOU MARRYING MY PRECIOUS SON BEHIND MY BACK! YOU SCOURGE!" I grabbed the ss full of water and sshed it on Pepper''s face.


    He flinched and closed his eyes, before he opened it back with bewilderment.


    Both of us were silent for a while, before Pepperughed and said, "That was pretty good. Now it''s my turn. I''m going to be a rich CEO. You''re my assistant."


    "Alright." I muttered as I picked up a ss and stood beside Pepper. He took off his wig and crossed his legs, "Tell that woman toe meet me."


    "Sir, it''s not a good way to win a woman''s heart by forcing her?"


    "Forcing her? I''m buying her! Everyone has a price! Like you!" Pepper nced at me beforeughing evilly. "So find out what her price is...and I''ll have her!"


    I eximed, "Hooo" while rubbing my arms, "I got goosebumps."


    "Can you guys please stop ying? We''re almost there." Renaldo said in exasperation.


    "Hey, it''s either this or a pole dance show again? Which one do you want me to do?" I asked him jokingly. After I received the call from my dad about us winning the lottery, I was frozen for almost 10 minutes, and missed out on the ending of the sexy dance.


    I became absorbed and tilted my head back condescendingly like Boa Hancock and used everyone around me of being poor until Pepper showed his family inheritance value to me, causing me to snap back to reality.


    Renaldo was taken aback, "This one. This one is much better. Next time, I''m going to join you. After all, you''re the one who POISONED us by forcing us to watch Korean Soap dramas."


    "Boys Over Flowers is good right?" Iughed as the duo nodded in excitement. Of course, they were reluctant to watch an Asian drama at first, especially when there was no broadcast on the TV channel, or was there a convenient tform for them to use.


    So I created an algorithm to take the already subbed videos on the inte, remove the ads, increase the quality, and make it so that they could watch the show using an app I called Entertain. It was a test app�C like Netflix, that I nned to release after settling the distribution rights with the foreignpanyter.


    "You''re still going to buy 49% of Netflix?" Renaldo asked.


    "I want to buy the ENTIREpany!" Iughed maniacally as Pepper threw some dors to rain over me. I calmed down and turned to Renaldo, "But I know it''s impossible, so buy as much as we can. We''re notcking money right now."


    Pepper was a bit worried, "It''s only 120 million. And You have to split it with your dad!"


    "Oh no, I''m buying the stocks under my dad''s name. It''s his share after all. I''m just his financial nner. I have other ns for my half."


    Although winning the lottery could create some rift among family members, especially when only my dad''s name was on the ticket, my dad didn''t care much about the money.


    Well, it''s hard for him to care when I created almost 30 million on my own in only 3 months, and our family wealth kept increasing as I kept reinvesting the profits.


    Even if he wanted to swallow the lottery prize by himself, I wouldn''t care much as by my calctions, I would be able to create the same amount before the end of the year.


    Pepper''s eyes lit up, "Really? Now?"


    "Yup. In a week. But, we need to record the 6 songs and finalize the coboration contract first before I could pull her over to us."


    Wended in Texas smoothly.


    "Oh... Are you sure we are in Texas? Cause I can''t see any cowboy hats or tumbleweeds rolling around. " I asked jokingly.


    Pepperughed while Renaldo rolled his eyes. "The SUV is out front. You''ll need to change inside the car. Are you...okay with that?" He hesitated.


    "I don''t have a problem with that. Just don''t take any pictures of me in my bare skin. If you do, I will charge you 10.000 bucks each." I nodded as I listened to the staff members.


    The make-up artist breathed in relief as they saw that I wasn''t nitpicky, narcissistic or uncontroble, but only a little bit juvenile, which made mebeled as ''great'' in their book.


    Renaldo nodded and said, "Don''t worry, managing your privacy is in my job description."


    "Also, I''m quite hungry." I muttered as I patted my stomach.


    "Yeah. It''s lunch time. We''ll grab a bite while we are on the road." Pepper decided. The staff members nodded, and we rushed to the film set in a 3 SUV convoy soon after.


    I wanted to try some signature foods while in Texas, but all we could do was to stop by the Hometown Buffet to get some take out.


    "How far are we from 5501 More Avenue in Valley Vige?" I asked the navigator.


    "Around 20 minutes. Why?" She replied.


    "I want to go there, of course, not now. But if we have time." I replied.


    Pepper was confused, "Why? What''s there?"


    "Oh, it''s the house of the mother of my acquaintance. I need to have a good rtionship with her to get some ckmail material... I mean, I want to visit her."


    "?" Pepper tilted his head in confusion, "Who''s your acquaintance?"


    "An annoying ass... I mean Theoretical Physicist." I replied dismissively.


    ...


    *Tap* *Tap* *Tap* *Tap*


    I was holding the reins while sitting on top of the horse as I directed it to walk around the garden in a calm andposed manner. Now, I had returned to my mature Prince appearance and outfit, same as the previous shooting, to continue the filming today.


    "Good Job Ed! But can we do another take, from another angle?" Trey shouted through a stic megaphone.


    "Sure. But Jimmy deserves his carrot first." I said as I patted the horse leg.


    "Huh?...alright, sure." Trey was confused at first, but she just followed along as she thought the action was among my whim. It wasn''t that hard to do, so she just wanted to move it along.


    "There Jimmy. Are you happy now?" I talked with the horse. He snorted and looked at me dirtily before munching on the carrot that the staff member gave him.


    It seems that my [Animal Affinity] not only made animals feel innate liking to me, but I could also have a surface understanding of what the animals wants or needs. It surprised me at first, and I found out that the bigger the animal was, the better themunication with me and them.


    "Great Job Ed. Now, another shot with Taylor sitting together, Princess style." Trey directed.


    "Taylor, stop showing that nympho expression! You''re supposed to be a pure and innocent princess!" Trey shouted in annoyance at Taylor who had glitter in her eyes.


    "Umm..." Taylor looked around her, and realized that everyone had noticed her expression. She blushed and ran towards me, hitting my leg as she unfairly released her embarrassment at me.


    "Giddy up." I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into myps, causing the crowd to murmur in shock.


    "ED! USE A STAIR! I CAN''T AFFORD THE MEDICAL BILLS IF YOU GUYS GET HURT!" Pepper shouted in worry.


    "Ahh. Sorry!" I shouted back at him with an innocent smile, which made him shake his head.


    "And you my princess... I don''t think me riding in on a horse was in the original script right?" I asked Taylor as I slowly directed the horse to move. She grinned and said, "I made the agency double the budget for the MV. So she can insert a few more scenes."


    "Even a bed scene?" I joked.


    "You want to put that in?! I''m not prepared for that yet." Taylor replied with a joking expression. The shooting went well, and we managed to finish all of the scenes before nighttime.


    "Wait...Wait wait wait... You already finished all your parts for the duet? I thought we were going to work on it together!!" Taylor said angrily after we finalized the shooting. Trey and Pepper heard the argument and decided not to interfere as it was the matter of the young people.


    "We can still do that. If we can make better songs, we can just rece them. The reason I wanted to record it first is..." I exined to her about my ns, and her eyes lit up after she understood it.


    "Although, it will be a long and difficult journey for you to get back the rights to your previous songs and albums. Luckily the Fearless album hasn''t gone into production yet, so Harvey is confident that she can bring it to our agency."


    "So you can make money from it instead of my current one?" Taylor raised one of her eyebrows, but I flicked her forehead and said, "I won''t take your money... You know you''re special, so why are you still trying to make us fight?"


    She smiled and said, "Isn''t that what people who didn''t see each other for a long time do? We fight because we miss each other?"


    "Which TV show did you get that from?"


    "Selena''s show."


    "Ah, you got it from Wizards. Got it."


    She cupped her mouth as she tried tough modestly, but guffawed anyway.


    "So, are we doing ''it'' in these costumes tonight? Or should I give this back to the manager?" She asked flirtatiously.


    "Well..." I looked at her up and down, "Keep it. DEFINITELY keep it"


    She chuckled with a blush on her face, but suddenly, her dad appeared from behind. Taylor and I were startled at first, but her dad''s next sentence made our brain freeze.


    "It''s your first time in Texas right? It would be impolite if I didn''t offer you my room for the night. You can stay at my house with your manager. I have already talked to him, and he agreed." Scoot said decisively.


    "No! WE-...Umm..." Taylor stammered as we had already made ns to spend the night together, but all of it turned to dust after her dad''s intervention.


    I could clearly sense that Scoot had an ulterior motive hidden in his invitation. It could be to prevent Taylor and I from staying in a hotel room together, or to make sure that we would connect with each other emotionally first before doing anything else...howeverte that may be.


    I was not surprised though, her house was gigantic.


    "Damn." I murmured as I entered the house. Taylor giggled and said, "I don''t know if mom made dinner today. I''ll go check."


    "Wait. Let mee with you." I grabbed her hand and followed her to the kitchen as I wanted to see how luxurious it was. The house was several times bigger than Jay''s 6 room and 6 bathroom house �C which was downyed in size in the TV series.


    There wasn''t any food, so I offered to make some simple snacks for all of us with Taylor enthusiastically offering to help me in the kitchen.


    I made a twice baked potato, and while I was putting the potato in the oven for the first baking, she muttered coquettishly, "Now we wait for it to soften, weird, cause I have no problem with the opposite.."


    I raised my brows at her and said in a faux-admonishing manner, "Really? Innuendo? While your father is in the living room?"


    "Well we have no other ce. In fact, we should squeeze in a quick one here, cause I don''t think he''ll let me be around your room tonight." She muttered, depressed.


    I chuckled a bit and patted her head, "Wow, You''re shorter than me now."


    She snorted and said, "Short? Hard to imagine someone actually calling me that."


    "Maybe Yao Ming, a basketball yer from China, could do it."


    "Huh?" She was confused, but I just shrugged the matter away. "Now take out my meat, (Her meat) from the package, (literally out of the package) and we''re going to smash next, (The potato). And that''s how you do innuendo."


    "You need to win at everything don''t you?" She said in fake-dissatisfaction as she grabbed the meat and angrily ripped the wrapper around it. "Oh, the stic broke."


    She muttered honestly, but then she saw me smirking and giggling as I melted the butter with cream, "Ahh, I WIN!" She eximed andughed out loud.


    Trying to control myugh, I said, "Damn it...I want to do something about the cream, but you totally take away my ideas." It was true. An innocent attack has a higher damage value for me rather than a nned one.


    It only took a short time for me to finish cooking. Like Taylor expected, her dad was ''patrolling'' the hallway at night, so we couldn''t get a chance to stay in together.


    So I just slept and woke up at 4 am to try my luck, but Taylor had truly fallen asleep by that time, so I didn''t want to bother her. Instead, I opened myptop to develop the group chat apps.


    3 days passed by very quickly as Taylor and I enjoyed each other''spany. Whether it was shooting the MV, or recording the duets. Our rtionship progressed further, but for some reason, we still haven''t decided as to whether we wanted to be an official couple yet, mainly because of her hesitation about her career as well as my own insecurities. Also added a bit more context and reasons for them not going all the way.


    Scoot arranged for me to experience living in olden age Texas by bringing me to an old-timey saloon while riding a horse. I of course recorded the entire thing on video and posted it on my Instagram spread amongst several posts and stories. It got half a million likes on average, and went viral on all social media tforms.


    I also posted some videos I recorded during the Love Story MV shooting, which created an explosive reaction from the fanshippers. But, I hid the fact that Taylor and I had finished recording our duets as we didn''t want to alert her entertainment agency.


    "So, Taylor and I will leave first. You guys will wait for the next flight. Do you have any objections to that?" I asked the staff members and Pepper in a polite manner.


    "None. Enjoy yourselves." Pepper was being considerate as he knew what Taylor and I had in mind. I smiled as I waved at the staff before entering the private jet. I tried to make them leave first and we took the next flight, but Pepper insisted as he didn''t want me to stay behind without an adequate security detail.


    "Hmm...So...Is this your first time?" Taylor asked coquettishly as she fired up the pole dancing stage.


    "Second if we count the- I mean, first!" I quickly changed my words as she red at me. I enjoyed her performance as we were alone and managed to ''get some fun activity in'' on the private ne. As wended in LA, our whereabouts were leaked by a certain interested party, causing a mayhem of paparazzi photography after we got out of the airport.


    It turned into a major news event, with people pointing fingers at us with every possible usation they could make. Such as, carbon footprint, being a bad example as a public figure, moral degeneration, and many more.


    It was quickly shut down by the fans as they saw my videos and stories on my Instagram. A small counterattack was made by the fans, which thoroughly discredited the tabloids sites that tried to ruin my reputation.


    "Why is this happening?" Taylor asked with annoyance as we got back in the SUV.


    "Oh. Simple. They''re testing my Instagram apps influence, and using me as the mainb rat. I guess a few parties are already showing interest in it." I replied in a casual manner before smirking evilly. "Too bad for them, I''m not going to let them have a piece of the cake that easily."


    Oh, a quick side note, before I left the state, I made sure to finish my side quest and went to visit Sheldon''s mother �C Mary Cooper. Then, I emailed the pictures from my visit to Sheldon, Leonard, and also Penny, causing an uproar in the 2311 North Los Robles Avenue.


    [General POV]


    "AHHH!!" Sheldon screamed in shock after he opened up the email from Edward.


    "What happened?!" Leonard rushed from the kitchen to get to Sheldon, "Did you watch a jumpscare video again? I told you not to watch anything with the tagline, ''Can you believe this?'' and check thements first."


    Anxious, Sheldon turned to Leonard with a pitiful face and heavy breathing, "It''s not that. I...was vited."


    "What?" Penny, who was sitting on the couch, scrunched her face in confusion and walked towards Sheldon. She then cupped her mouth as she stifled herugh as she saw the pictures on the screen.


    It was a naked Sheldon in his baby years, and Sheldon tried hard to prevent Penny and Leonard from seeing it.


    "How did he know where my mother lives? Did you tell him Leonard?" Sheldon asked anxiously.


    "How is that possible? I don''t even know where your mother lives." Leonard lied. He was the one who told Edward the exact address.


    "AHHHHH!" Sheldon yelled a second time as Leonard scrolled down the email.


    "What what?" Penny wanted to understand his reaction now. It was a picture of Edward with a notebook, which made Sheldon''s face turn pale.


    "Wait. Is that...Mertens conjecture? Did you try to prove that M(n) is always bounded by the square root of n? That''s an amateur mistake." Leonard said haughtily. As Sheldon was alwaysmenting on his work before, he wanted to enact his revenge for the longest time, but couldn''t as his roommate was smarter than him.


    "I was young, and naive. Oh how I wish I could rectify my mistakes." Sheldon sighed.


    "Wait. How young?" Penny asked.


    "I tried that when I was 5 years old." Sheldon answered, which made Penny''s face turn sour.


    "He graded my papers Leonard! Make him stop!" Sheldon begged as he saw that Edward took out a red marker and made an F minus mark on his theorem.


    "Well it is a fair mark." Leonard backed Edward up. "The theory was disproved in 1995. You should''ve known better."


    Sheldon breathed heavily, and almost had a panic attack that night. It was then he decided to put Edward''s name inside his ''mortal enemies'' list, at number 64, directly beneath Penny who was numbered 63.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "He vowed to get revenge? Let him try!" I muttered as I received an email from Leonard.


    "Can you not check your messages during your therapy session?" Dr Linda muttered in exasperation as I was being elusive again.


    "Ah, sorry. Where were we?" I ced my phone in my pocket as I tried to act like I cared. "Oh wait. Times up."


    "No, don''t pretend like you just realized the time. I know you''ve been counting the minutes. So don''t worry about the time. Your dad decided to add on an extra 2 hours for the session today. So you don''t have to worry about not getting enough time." Linda said with a smirk.


    I froze, and then scratched my forehead in frustration as I faced the doctor. I looked at her unkindly, "What do you want to know?"


    I decided to just throw her a bone so that we could end the session sooner. I was incredibly busy after all as I wanted to finish up on my album preparation.


    "Let''s begin with...Your mother." She muttered.


    "Well...Your mama is so-"


    "And I''m not talking about the yo mama joke this time, so you can avoid the detour." Dr Linda interjected quickly before I could call her mother fat a second time, or insinuate that she was so slutty that she would charge 1 dor for a ''session'' and have 100 bucks by the end of the night.

 Chapter 154: Album List.

    <h4>Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Album List.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Entertain Company building, inside the meeting room, an unexpected confrontation urs.


    "Like I said, push the ukulele song to the next album. It doesn''t suit this one!" Paul Shaffer, a Canadianedian/singer/others mmed his palm on the mahogany desk, only to pull it back quickly and squirm in pain as the hardness of the desk shocked him.


    "I think you should keep it in. Just a few weeks ago, the song '' Somewhere over the Rainbow'' by Israel...Kama..." Lional Richie, an American singer, songwriter, record producer, etc, struggled at his sentence.


    "Israel Kamakawiwo''ole." I helped him.


    He turned to me and nodded slightly, "Yeah. Him. Although the song isn''t widespread yet, I think it''s only a matter of time. Edward''s song ''Toxic'' has the same potential."


    Both of them were invited by Pepper to the studio to help me in my album preparation, and surprisingly, Pepper had a close enough connection with Paul that he was here barely an hour after he called him.


    Dr Dre was also forced by Eminem to take a look at the song''s selection in their own studio so we were having the discussion as a pretty diverse group.


    "But you have to remember, Edward''s song isn''t part of his single. ''Toxic'' will only be released with the album." Paul Shaffer debated. "Besides Ed, I really think you should consider my suggestion."


    "Putting some mediocre songs in the album cause I have too many great songs?" I chuckled at him, "I won''t do that."


    "That''s a shame. If you do that and spread your hits around you won''t need to stress about your career for at least 5 years. I won''t deny that the Album will explode! But the pressure will pile up on you as soon as the next album is in production. It might even be enough to stop you from writing songs entirely."


    "Paul''s concern is valid." Lionel suddenly supported Paul, causing him to brighten up. "I''ve seen many young people burn out from the expectations ced upon them. Don''t get me wrong, I am excited about the album. But I want to see you grow even more."


    Pepper was so touched by Lionel Richie''s words that he took out a white handkerchief to wipe his tears. I rolled my eyes at him before turning to Paul and Lionel, "Don''t worry, I still have lots of...ideas."


    "Let''s refer to the list and continue listening to the songs. So far, we only confirmed 6 songs for the album, and all of them were from my previous singles." I muttered in exhaustion.


    Today was the day for me to finalize the song list for my album, ''Breaking''. My debut album, Paul and Lionel, insisted that it only consist of 18 tracks. But for someone who was referred to as a ''song vending machine'', it took a lot of effort for us to finally confirm what we should put in and what should be kept for a second release.


    Honestly, I agreed that a few of the songs shouldn''t be included in the first album as they didn''t quite hit the theme, but now that I think about it, my album has no theme except for ''breaking the expectations''.


    So whatever I put in, people would just think that it was a part of my artistic view. They would support me even when I wanted to put ''What does the Fox say'', or ''Gangnam Style'' or another such ''nonsense'' song in the list.


    So far, my whole repertoire looked like this:


    Whatever It Takes.


    Believer.


    Me and My Broken Heart.


    Enemy


    7 years


    Amnesia


    Photograph


    Count on Me


    Just the way you are


    Toxic


    Thezy song


    Before you go


    Rhythms of Love


    We are young


    Can I be him


    Grenade


    Shivers


    Something Just Like This


    Cool Kids


    Celestial


    Viva Vida


    Check Yes Juliet


    Your Man (Country)


    It will Rain.


    Two Is Better than One (Feat Taylor)


    Natural


    Tenerife Sea


    One Call Away


    Treat You Better


    Peter Pan Was Right


    Darte Un Beso (Spanish)


    Piano Compositions:


    Kiss the Rain


    Rivers Flow in You.


    I raised my eyebrow as I saw the two extra songs on the bottom of the list. Pepper saw my look and exined, "Well ire told me about it. And I figured, why not? It could even be a bonus track in the Album. Besides you did leave the original sheet out on your piano, if you wanted that to remain a secret you should have been more careful."


    Paul Shaffer highlighted a few songs with a neon marker, "First, The duet with Taylor is a must. I don''t think anyone disagrees with this?"


    All of us shook our heads. Paul nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Thus, Can I be Him, Tenerife Sea, and Check Yes Juliet should obviously be included too."


    "I didn''t think you were a shipper too." I teased Paul. He smiled and teased, "No. I know a fake public rtionship when I see one. Although... I haven''t seen you with Taylor in private yet, so my opinion could still change."


    "Well you should keep the same opinion for now." I joked, but Paul caught the hidden meaning behind it and turned disappointed instantly.


    "You have a studio contract with ''It Will Rain'' and ''Enemy'', so both of those should be included in order to boost visualization once the moviese out." Lionel suggested. "If I''m not mistaken, Celestial and Tenerife Sea are in your streaming sites right? So you don''t have to put it in."


    "HEY!" Paul retorted, but Lionel was right.


    "Maybe people would want to hear the studio version instead of the live version, so we can put it aside first, and thene back to themter." Pepper suggested.


    "So we have 5. Amnesia and 7 years are to be included no matter what." I muttered decisively. Pepper grinned as he knew the importance of my first performance, and teased, "Sure enough. A sentimental kid."


    "I agree to it too." Paul said while Lional nodded along with him.


    "Me and My Broken Heart, Grenade and Can I Be Him are part of my first single. Natural, Whatever it takes, and Enemy are the second one. So we have 6 confirmed songs there."


    Lionel mumbled, "Minus the superimposed, 5 plus 2...add 6...minus 1... So...10!"


    "Nah, it''s basically 4, cause the other 6 have been released as singles." Paul joked.


    After a thorough discussion, the final songs list to be included into the album is..


    ''Breaking''s 18 songs list:


    Two Is Better than One.


    Can I be Him


    Grenade


    Me and My Broken Heart


    Whatever it takes


    Natural


    Enemy


    It Will Rain


    Toxic


    Lazy Song


    Tenerife Sea


    Viva La Vida


    Before You Go


    Celestial


    Check Yes Juliet


    7 years


    Amnesia


    Photograph.


    Bonus Soundtrack: Musical Compositions


    Kiss the Rain


    Rivers flow in You


    "Ugh. It''s finally done." I groaned as I stretched my arms upwards. Paul and Lionel had already finished their discussion a while ago, leaving only me, Pepper, and Leo in the room.


    The discussion wasn''t a one time thing, and it had been going on for almost a week.


    "We can re-release the album next season with the other songs as bonus soundtracks, and maybe even release it differently per season, making the album a limited edition." Leo muttered, which shocked me a bit.


    "Nice. Then Imma get more monehh." I speak in an urban British ent, which made Pepper frown. "Please don''t do that again." He muttered.


    "It''s almost 1.00 am. Let''s get you home." Pepper suggested. Without me realizing it, it was already the 2nd of July, and when I returned home today after work, we were already getting into the third.


    I stopped him and said, "Nah, we still have more work to do. Are you up for it, or do you need some rest, old man?"


    Pepper gasped dramatically, "You take that back! I''m only 42 years old! I''m still young!"


    Despite his forbearance, he passed out on his chair 30 minutes after I started mixing music and finishing up the sound for the songs. Then, I burned all of the songs into one CD.


    "I''ll let Haley test it." I muttered as I kept the ordinary looking CD into myptop bag.


    "Peps. The release date?" I asked.


    "I''ll call over some more professionals first before I send it to production and don''t forget the meeting with the marketing team. Aaaannd, like you said, Amazon really has arge distribution channel, and they are willing to sell things other than books. Harvey is negotiating with them, and I believe we can get it done before the 12th."


    "Great. So June 12th. I''ll try to see if we can make a pre-order request on the website." I muttered.


    "Ah Ed. There''s something else. Do you want to go to Europe for your tour?" Pepper asked suddenly.


    "Wait...what?" I was confused. Then I checked out the request we got for performance dates in a few European countries. It could certainly be included into my national tour, turning it into a ''world'' tour but... "We don''t have the time. Unless...I skip the first 2 weeks of school?" I was forced to tell Pepper


    "Well..." Pepper was confused by the question.


    He knew that school was basically useless for me now given my genius, but he still wanted me to experience it as it could help my social development. Otherwise, I would just be another Hollywood kid snorting heroin and getting Stds if he were to leave me alone.


    "If it''s the norm then-"


    "NO!" Pepper stopped me immediately. "I''ll try to see what we can do. In the meantime, you should go and enjoy the 4th of July celebration with your family."


    "Peps, what about the G? Can I make it?"


    "This-...I totally forgot about that. Let me check the schedule. Aha! The G is on the 7th of July. You only have a short interview in the morning, so we can still make it to the G. I''ll notify Taylor too so that she cane with you."


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Has it started yet?" Phil asked in an urgent manner as he ran towards the couch in the second living room. ire, Luke, Alex and Haley were already watching the Tv when Phil intruded their space and jumped in between his children, causing them to groan.


    "Phil, at least take off your necktie." ire rolled her eyes as she reminded Phil who just got home from an open house.


    "I feel like I keep seeing Ed on the TV these days." Alex muttered. Haley replied, "Yeah, cause he did a lot of interviews to promote his album. And Mom and Dad want to watch every single one of them."


    "This is the seventh time alreadyyyy." Luke chimed in. "I''m already bored. Can I go y in the backyard?" He asked ire.


    "Don''t be silly Luke. You need to show your support for your big brother. I thought you guys were close." ire replied.


    Luke then said casually, "Well he''s my friend, not my big brother. Maybe for Manny. But not me. Also, I haven''t seen him in almost 2 weeks."


    Alex then teased, "Aww, did you miss your ''big brother''?" While trying to pat Luke''s head like a dog.


    "Cut it out!" Luke brushed her hands away, and they started to fight. "Shh Shh Shh! It''s starting." Haley had no interest in her sibling''s squabble, as her entire attention was on the TV screen.


    After the interview ended, Haley asked, "Mom. Can I follow Ed''s tour?"


    "W-what? Honey, you''re too young. It''s dangerous!" ire tried to brush the matter away, but Haley wouldn''t back down, "It''s not like you''d have to pay for anything. Uncle Cam told me he can get me an internship at Ed''spany. So I''ll be getting a summer credit, and I can watch every single one of his shows too."


    "But Honey, what about Family Camp? You promised your dad that you''re going to join his team this year." ire said, her voice shaking at the prospect of losing control over her daughter.


    "I''ll...I''ll talk to dad. I''m sure he''ll understand." Haley muttered and left, causing ire to freeze in her spot.


    [ire''smentary]


    "It''s not that I don''t trust Haley, or Edward. But I understand- I mean, I hear things, gossip really." ire muttered with a guilty conscience.


    "It''s not that hard to imagine that Haley could very well be pregnant by the time she returns from the trip. Which is too dangerous. So...I have to get her to stay." ire vowed.


    She then sighed, "I keep using terms like ''family'', ''brother'', ''one of us'' when I refer to Ed to prevent this sort of stuff, but it''s all useless."


    mentary ends]


    [Edward POV]


    When I returned to my aunt''s house, I was surprised to see that everything in my room was already cleared out.


    "What''s going on?" I asked Cam who was smirking as she carried a luggage bag with her. "Are you leaving me too?"


    "Too? Wait. No, I''m not leaving." Cam was startled and she held my face as she exined it to me, "We''re just moving back to your house."


    My eyes lit up, "The construction is finished? I thought Jay needed another 3 days?"


    "No. Turns out he''s just dragging the time because he wants to boss people around and hang out with the construction workers. Gloria caught him in the act, when she thought he was cheating on her."


    "Wait. What the hell did I miss!?" I groaned in frustration as I called Alex immediately. "My useless spy! This is the kind of thing I need to know!"


    ''It surely can make an episode! Argh! Wasted opportunity to watch it!'' I thought to myself.


    Cam was weirded out by my reaction, and she said, "Alex won''t know. Even ire didn''t know. I only know this because I was there to witness it."


    I grabbed my aunt''s by her shoulders immediately, "Tell me everything."


    [Cam''smentary]


    "I''m worried. I think Ed''s condition has worsened. I should follow Dr Linda''s advice and slowly let him see that he''s living in the real world, and not a Tv show. But honestly, I''m too scared to do it. What if I somehow break him more?"


    mentary ends]


    "Jay had been texting, andughing, while using your whatsapp beta app. You''re still renaming the app right?"


    "Don''t change the topic. What happened next?" I asked, my eyes glittered from the excitement of a ''hidden'' episode I''d never watched before.


    Cam was disappointed, but she hid it and continued, "So Jay had been texting the construction crew, cracking jokes about wood and everything but he''d been hiding it from Gloria. He was also taking a few weeks off his work to finish the construction, so Gloria thought he was working hard."


    "Honestly, What''s the point of him still going to work after marrying Gloria? Umm...Sorry, continue." I rubbed my head apologetically.


    Cam was excited, "You really like Gloria huh?"


    "Well who wouldn''t? Anyway, what happened next?" I changed the topic quickly as I sensed she was going to tease me about it.


    After that she told me the full story. When Jay was trying to cover up his tracks, Gloria ambushed him near the hot tub, causing him to fall in the water.


    Then Gloria got to know from the construction crew that the work was actually finished, and she scolded Jay for thinking that she would be angry when seeing that he was working on something that he loved. She thought it was sexy, and they made up right there in front of everyone.


    "I never thought that I would be jealous of a rtionship like Gloria''s, but right now, I am." Cam confessed.


    "Me too." I muttered.


    "Should we both marry a rich older partner?"


    "As long as she''s still perky, I can think about it. Like Nicole Kidman, or Chandler''s mom in Friends."


    Cam rolled her eyes and we walked towards my new house together.


    The new living room was designed to give a minimalistic, but elegant feeling to the household. A 56-inch Sony Oled t-screen TV was mounted on sitting eye level just beside the gray brick firece, with a full entertainment system installed around it. The living room had plenty of natural light, and even some potted nts in the corner.


    Cam gasped and jumped on the new couch immediately. "This is so nice!" She eximed. Iughed and pressed the switch on the side of the couch as I told her "Check this."


    The couch turned into a bed, and she was dropped along with it. She red at me beforeughing as we continued our tour of the house.


    "You''re living here now, right?" I asked Cam.


    "Huh? No, I was thinking-" She tried to reject my offer but I guess you could say that ''the cat got her tongue'' when she saw my smirking expression.


    "You''re staying here. The guest room has already been turned into Cam''s room, so you don''t need to find a new ce anymore." I said in a decisive manner before walking towards the basement.


    Cam was touched, but then turned confused, "Ed. Where are you going?"


    "Oh, I need to check up on the most important part of this whole project." I replied casually.


    "The basement?" She followed me from behind, and once we entered the dark underground space, she prayed for her safety before I turned on the lights. A sparsely equippedboratory space was revealed, surprising Cam.


    "What? You''re going to be the real life Iron Man?" She joked as she walked around theb.


    "Well yes...but actually no. I mean, I aspire to have the money part of Iron Man. Not the heroic self-sacrifice part of him. Although the yboy part does seem interesting too." I replied honestly. Camughed and then said, "Okay I''ll go make lunch for us."


    "You don''t need to make any for me. I''m going over to Haley''s." I replied.


    "Huh? Aww...And here I thought we were going to have more aunt-nephew bonding time." She joked.


    "We can still have dinner together. I already promised to eat lunch with my friends today, and Jenna''s mom is going to pick us up."


    "Jenna and who?" She asked.


    "Jenna, Enid, Alex, and me. We''re going to see Jenna''s new house, and hang out by the pool." I exined. "And surprisingly, her new house is just a block away from Jay''s."


    Jenna''s mom had sold her previous mansion to buy a slightly smaller one. It was a good thing for Jenna, and she wanted to invite all of us over to celebrate, but we could not all gather together until the 4th of July.


    "Ah, tell dad not to store any fireworks in the basement." I reminded Cam before I left the house.


    [Cam''s POV]


    I contacted Gloria after Edward left as I wanted to ask her for some advice�C she was Edward''s favorite person and I wanted to know why.


    "Huh? Oh, Ed forgot his bathing suit." I muttered as I remembered Edward leaving the house empty handed. "He won''t y in the pool nude...right?" I mumbled with some concern.

 Chapter 155: Shenanigans

    <h4>Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Shenanigans</h4>


    (A short 4th of July Arc)


    [Edward POV]


    "Hi Mrs Jenna''s Mom." I greeted the bikini wearing blonde woman as she opened the front door.


    "You don''t know my name?" She asked with a seductive smirk as she weed me inside.


    "I know, but I''m confused whether to call you Mrs Karlsen or Mrs Mckenzie." I said honestly as I entered the house.


    She chuckled while her hand slowly patted my arm, "Just call me Alex."


    "I can''t. Otherwise the smaller Alex will get mad." I joked. "I can do Alexander..."


    She scoffed, "Not Alexander. That sounds like a man''s name."


    "To be honest, ''Alex'' sounds like a man''s name too." I said casually, and at this moment, Alex and Enid finally got out of the car and gathered together with me. Alex gave me a side eye before greeting the mother and they went to change into their swimsuits immediately.


    "Jenna''s still in her room. She said she wants to finish watching ''Enies Lobby''? I don''t know what animation she was watching, but she binged it every single day this week." Alexandria told me.


    "Wait. Jenna is already at Enies Lobby? Oh Shit." I cursed. Alexandria was taken aback and became serious immediately. "What''s going on?" She asked.


    "Well I don''t think that Jenna wille out of her room today." I said. "Why?" Alexandria was rmed and she quickly walked up the stairs to go to Jenna''s room.


    "Honey, are you alright? Edward is here." The sexy mother opened Jenna''s unlocked door, and was stunned when she saw Jenna sobbing in a heart wrenching manner as she watched a pirate crew set fire on their ship.


    "Gomen Ne..." Merry''s voice sounded, causing Jenna to wail, "MERRY!"


    "What-what-what?" Mrs Alexandria was confused, but I went next to Jenna while trying to hold back my tears too. "Merry." I mumbled.


    "WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!" Alexandria eximed, but no one would answer her. Jenna hugged me as we watched Merry''sst moment with the Strawhats, and she cried in my embrace for over half an hour after the episode ended.


    By that time, Enid and Alex were already ready to y by the pool, and were confused by the fact that Jenna and I were still in her room. They knocked on the door, and saw that Jenna was calming down from her crying.


    "What happened? Did Edward bully you again ?" Alex asked while giving me an usatory look.


    "Oi." I retorted with a deadpan stare, making Jennaugh a bit. "Yes. Edward bullied me." She said suddenly.


    "Hey!"


    "What? If you didn''t watch the anime when we had a study session before, I wouldn''t be hooked like this! And I wouldn''t be crying because of a ship-"


    Jenna said in faux-anger, but was interrupted by Alex. "LALALA! NO SPOILERS! I just got to Water 7!" Alex stuck her fingers inside her ears to avoid hearing the information.


    "Get him!" Enid shouted with a grin, and all 3 of them attacked me at the same time.


    "Ouch, who''s biting! Hey! Who''s hand is touching my ass!!"


    After getting ''bullied'' by the girls, Jenna went to change her clothes.


    Jenna was picking her outfit while I was still in her room, but she had no shame about changing in front of me. She even asked me about the bikini she was going to wear.


    "What about this one Ed?" She ced acy ck bikini on top of her dress as she looked at me in a coquettish manner. Alex and Enid looked at each other before they nodded knowingly.


    "Come with us for a sec." Both of them grabbed Jenna, one arm each before dragging her into her closet. After 5 minutes, Jenna walked out while wearing a boring one piece swimsuit and a face filled with discontent.


    "Oh damn, I forgot my swimming trunk." I muttered as I suddenly thought about it.


    "Huh? So what are you going to do?" Alex teased, "There''s no other male in this house, so you can''t borrow one. Unless you want to wear a girl''s bikini?"


    "He should wear a thong!" Enid eximed. I ignored Enid and said, "It''s fine. I just won''t get in the pool. Enid, the album''s ready. I''ll set one aside for you as soon as the production starts."


    "Yeay!" Enid squealed before hugging me from behind. "Piss off molester." I pushed her head, making her take a few steps back. That didn''t dampen her enthusiasm, and she kept asking me about the album song list.


    "Ed, will you set aside one for me too?" Jenna asked coquettishly. "Sure, it''d be 15.99." I replied in a deadpan voice. She was astonished and speechless after that.


    "No friend''s discount?" Alex asked teasingly.


    "Oh no. I marked up the price for my friends. You can get it out there for only 14.99."


    "WHAT..." Jenna and Alex were both speechless, but when they saw my smirking look, they realized that they had been teased.


    "You jerk." Alex cursed with a smile. We all went to the pool, and while the girls were getting ready, I heard a voice calling for me from afar.


    "Edward, can you help me?" Mrs Alexandria called.


    "Sure." I replied casually as I walked towards her. She was lying on her belly and gave me suntan lotion when I was near.


    "Can you help rub this on my back?" She asked as she untied her bikini tops, showing me her bare back.


    I was stunned for about 2 seconds before I shook the lotion bottle, "Alright." I helped her without any embarrassment, which annoyed her a little. So she upped the teasing by making some noises as I thered the oil on her back, "Ummm...You have great hands Ed. It feels good."


    Iughed a bit and before I could finish it up, she asked, "Can you do my legs too?"


    "Um..Sure." I hesitated for a bit before I politely helped her. I started from behind her knee going up almost till her butt before I went down again. My massage skills instinctively kicked in at that time, and it turned her fake sounds into real ones.


    "Umm... It feels so good! Can you do it more?" She asked with begging eyes after I finished up. "You should tan now. Or you''ll lose sunlight." I said with a smirk as I pped her thigh 2 times.


    She groaned before grabbing the suntan oil and started pouring it on top of her bikini, making it a bit translucent. She caught my eyes as I identally gazed on it, and said, "You want to help me rub it here too?"


    "Well...Maybe next time." I said before walking back to my friends. Alexandria smiled in satisfaction before licking her lips.


    I had to get out of there quickly as she kept giving me some suggestive looks. Not that I hated or was repulsed by it, but I drew the line at my friend''s mother. Sisters might be okay. A hot aunt is considerable. But not their mother. At least for now... maybe... probably...


    I went to sit by the pool when Alex''s head popped out of the water. Before she could open her mouth, I scolded her, "Hey. You missed an important new story."


    "Huh? What about?" She tilted her head, confused.


    I told her about Jay and Gloria''s story, in which Alex rolled her eyes and said, "I can''t know all of what my family is doing. I have my own life too."


    "What a joke." Jenna suddenly chimed in, causing Alex to be embarrassed before Jenna added, "Or, maybe it was because you were distracted after all you HAVE been texting Finneas 24/7?"


    Alex blushed and sshed some water at Jenna. Enid, who was floating nearby, became coteral damage and she choked on the water afterward.


    "Sorry." Alex apologized to Enid.


    Enid waved it off before asking me, "Ed, are you cameo-ing in Twilight?"


    "Huh? Where did you get the news? Of course I won''t be." I replied, a bit shocked by the information.


    "Really? But there''s a lot of articles about it?" Enid ced her hand on her chin and thought deeply, "Hmmm...Wait. It''s not an article. I read about it in the forums. People have been trying to get you to cameo."


    "Over my mom''s dead body." I replied while shuddering.


    "Why your mom?" Jenna asked, confused.


    "Well I''m still too young to die." I replied jokingly before I took off my shirt, revealing my muscr physique.


    All 3 girls blushed while Jenna''s mom lowered her sunsses before whistling. I shrugged at their reaction and threw the clothes far away. I needed to do that because the girls were sshing a lot and I wanted to keep the shirt dry.


    "Close your mouth Enid." Alex rolled her eyes at her friend. Enid snapped out of her state and wiped her drool, "Sorry. It was just too sudden."


    "Perv." I teased Enid, making her submerge half her head in the water as she blushed.


    "Oh right. You know how my dad has been watching One Piece with me?" Alex said suddenly.


    "Yeah. You have a dad. Stop bragging." Jenna suddenly teased. I gave her a high five as Alex was stunned, before I turned back to Alex, "Sorry. The timing was too good. Continue."


    "Well...He insisted we watched it from the beginning together, but when we watched Arlong Park, he cried...like a gut-wrenching sobbing kinda cry."


    "That''s interesting." I muttered.


    "Yeah. But then, when we watched Dr Hiluluk, or any other sad episodes after that, he didn''t cry anymore. He didn''t even cry when Luffy and Usopp were fighting, so that made me curious."


    I nodded as I was curious too. Alex continued, "Turns out. He was watching the show in advance before he watched it with me to give himself a pre-cry at the sad moments so that he won''t cry in front of me to make himself look cooler."


    "Did he seed?" I asked.


    "I could clearly see how he held back his tears and sobs, so not so much." Alex said. Iughed out loud before I asked, "Didn''t he say that showing emotions is part of being a sexy modern man? Why is he trying to cover it up when watching the show with you?"


    Alex looked a bit guilty and said, "I think...it''s my fault. I told him I didn''t want to watch the show with him if he cried like that when we watched Nami''s backstory together."


    "Ahh... It is your fault. You don''t have to think about it anymore."


    Alex sshed some water at me angrily. Jenna smiled and said, "I kinda wish that I had someone to watch the show with now."


    "I think I want to start watching it now that you guys keep talking about it." Enid suddenly interjected.


    "You go and wolf out with the rest of your Twilight fanatics." I chased her away, causing her to pout. "I WILL CATCH UP WITH YOU GUYS BEFORE THE SUMMER ENDS!" She vowed before sshing Enid and Jenna with water. They got into an intense water fight immediately, so I ran away from there to avoid getting sucked into the fight.


    Suddenly, my stomach gurgled. "Oh, right. Lunch." I muttered.


    "Edward, should I order some pizza?" Alexandria asked as she noticed that it was time for lunch.


    "Don''t worry. I got this. Jenna told me she wants to try my cooking. I assume you guys went shopping for the ingredients this morning?"


    "Ah right. We did. I''ll leave it all to you. Just...don''t make it too fatty Okay?" Alexandria said in a worrying manner. Honestly, she only ate sds and other diet foods in the house, so their kitchen was basically empty. It wasn''t until they went shopping this morning that it got filled up.


    After half an hour, the 3 wet girls walked into the kitchen while drying themselves with a towel while Mrs Karlsen was still tanning out in the backyard.


    "Wait. Shirtless apron. I need to take a picture of this." Enid''s eyes lit up as she saw me standing behind the kitchen counter. I smiled and posed as she snapped a picture of me and shared it with the members of our group chat.


    "Wee to my Only Pans. Today, I''m going to serve you guys a delicious shrimp aglio olio recipe handed down in my family for generations."


    "Only Pans?" Alex was confused.


    "Not important. Try it." I pushed the tes towards them before putting a parmesan garnish on top of them. Jenna was excited and she was the first one to grab a fork and try out the food.


    "This is amazing!" She muttered with her eyes full of awe after tasting it. I smiled and said, "I still have garlic bread in the oven, and Caesar sd for your mom. I''m thinking about making zabaglione with strawberries for dessert, so wait for 10 more minutes."


    "Ah. Ed. Marry me." Enid proposed after taking a bite. "I can''t live without your food after this."


    I snorted and said, "Nah. You''re too short."


    "HEY!" Enid retorted while Jenna and Enid red at me too as all 3 of them were simr in height.


    I slid the dessert cup towards the 2 of them, and their pouting faces lit up immediately.


    "Wait...I''m allergic to strawberries." Jenna muttered in a guilty manner as she saw I was going to serve her too. "I know. That''s why I made yours from mango." I smiled as I slid the desert cup to her.


    Her face turned red and she lowered her head immediately as she ate the dessert quietly. Alex scoffed and bad-mouthed me, "under her breath... Lady Killer."


    Enid joined in, "Heart Breaker."


    "Taylor Lover."


    "Love Maniptor."


    "Alright. Enough." I stopped them before they could continue. Mrs Karlson tried the food after she got enough suntan, which was an hour after the girls finished with their lunch.


    "Oh right. What are your ns for tomorrow?" Enid asked.


    "I am nning on developing my spotify app. Why?" I asked.


    "Well..." Enid was a bit restless, so Alex spoke for her, "Tomorrow is her birthday."


    My eyes lit up and said, "Oh. You''re finally bing a teenage wolf?"


    "Shut up! Anyway, I have no ns for it. So... I was thinking of celebrating it with you guys." She said tsunderely.


    Iughed and patted her head before saying, "My house is already finished with the construction. Why don''t you guyse over?"


    Alex''s eyes lit up, "Is yourb also ready?"


    "The ce is, but some equipment hasn''t been delivered yet. It''s only halfplete, but we can y around with some toys there."


    Jenna and Enid rolled their eyes at the excited Alex as they had no real interest in science. After a while, I went back home by taking a ride with the Dunphy''s, and Phil suddenly asked, "Ed, have you ever bounced on a trampoline before?"


    "I don''t think I did." I replied honestly.


    Phil was excited as he invited, "I was nning to teach Luke about trampoline skills today. Why don''t you join us?"


    "Oh." I answered tly. "Well I have a lot of work to do today. And I already promised to hang out with Haley and study new fashion styles."


    "Huh? Really? Was it your n, or was it Haley''s n?" Alex asked with a knowing look.


    "Haley''s." I replied honestly. "She''s going toe over."


    "Oh. That''s too bad, but fair. She invited you first after all." Phil muttered.


    Alex was skeptical, "Dad, will you really let your young, beautiful teenage daughter hang out in a guy''s room all evening without anyone monitoring them?"


    "They are learning. So I don''t think I need to be worried." Phil said.


    "You''re asking the wrong guy. You should ask your mom that question." I gave Alex a hint. She scoffed at me before saying, "I know. I will do that as soon as I get home."


    ...


    While I was reading some news articles about me on myptop in the living room, Haley suddenly walked into the house, "Lock the door! My mom is nning oning."


    Iughed a bit and said, "Nah. She won''t. She just ''realized'' that she has a few more documents to work on. It''ll take her at least till dinner to finish that, so you don''t have to worry about it."


    "That''s sinister."


    "Well I AM her boss." I joked before calling Haley to sit right next to me. She opened up her doodle book and was excited to share everything about her inspiration with me. And I was surprised when I saw that ALL of her male designs were catered specifically to fit my image.


    I hugged Haley suddenly while she was still talking, which stunned her. "Umm...What?"


    "Nothing. I''m just really fucking touched... That''s all." I muttered before standing up and grabbed myptop bag.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "That''s what works for him? I mean..." Haley tried to cover up her smile. "I honestly didn''t expect that." She added. "And I didn''t even n for it."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Here. This is for you." I handed her the nk cd case. She grabbed it and was confused, "What''s this? Your album?"


    "No. It''s much better than my album. It''s aption of every song I have sang so far. Don''t tell anyone else I gave it to you. After all there are some unique songs and thus that and the masters are the ONLY ones of their kind." I muttered with a smirk.


    Her eyes lit up and she was ttered, "What? Why did you give it to me?" She twirled her hair as she avoided gazing straight to my eyes. I didn''t answer and changed the subject instead, "I have onest final interview on the morning before I fly to Wisconsin. Can I snap the design and give it to Pepper now? I want to wear it during that interview."


    "Oh...Sure! It''s...yours anyway." Haley said coyly while covering her blushing face.


    "Ah, Alex told me you wanted to follow me on tour?" I asked after sending the pictures to mypany. Haley was taken aback before she got angry, "I did! But mom won''t let me go."


    "I agree with her. Honestly, the schedule is kinda inhuman, so it will be pretty miserable for the interns to follow us along." I exined, but Haley was still unsatisfied.


    "Well if it''s inhuman, then why are you pushing yourself to do it?" She asked angrily.


    "Cause I''m tough enough." I said while flexing my biceps. "And if you want toe, just tell me. I''ll save a VIP ticket for you."


    She couldn''t hold back herugh, and we hung out until it was almost midnight. We had dinner with my aunt and dad, and spent all night together in my bedroom.


    "Hey, your mom is calling." I said as I saw her phone screen. She was sitting on my bed while I was typing on my desk.


    "Ugh...I''m not finished yet." She groaned in frustration. Iughed and said, "Well you better go now before she storms through the front door."


    "Can''t you give her more work to do?" Haley asked with pitiful eyes.


    I chuckled and said, "Well not right now...Maybe tomorrow."


    "Ugh. Alright, thene on." She suddenlyy down on my bed and patted the mattress beside her. I was confused and she exined, "I''ll help you go to sleep, same as before."


    "Thanks, but I still need to (Yawn)... finish up."


    "Don''t argue. Come here." She patted the mattress insistently, so I sighed and went toy down next to her. She was satisfied and said, "Okay. Now. Go to sleep."


    "Only because you''re making me. If you get in trouble with your mom after this, it''s not my fault." I said in a casual manner.


    Haleyid on top of my chest as we cuddled together. I wish that I could say that I didn''t miss it, but honestly I was looking forward to it. I didn''t want to get her into trouble so I activated my [rest] skill to fall asleep quickly.


    Unexpectedly, I found myself in an open field right after the clock struck midnight.


    "What the...Today?" I shouted, confused.


    [General POV]


    "Aww...He''s so cute when he''s sleeping." Haley whispered gleefully as she saw that Edward was already asleep. "Even faster this time. I guess I''m like his sleeping pill." Sheughed, but then her face turned ashen as her ear picked up on something weird.


    "Hmm? His heart beat..." Her eyes shook in horror, and she patted Edward''s face a few times to wake him up, "Ed...ED!!! TEEEEDDD!!! CAMILLLAAAAA!!!!" Haley shouted for the adults immediately.


    Ted and Cam barged through Ed''s bedroom door in their pajamas. "What happened?" Ted asked urgently. Haley was crying and said, "Edward is...not breathing."

 Chapter 156: Fourth Gacha.

    <h4>Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Fourth Gacha.</h4>


    [General POV]


    Afterlife. A ce where souls converge after the physical body experiences death. So what does it mean when an Agent enters the Afterlife realm?


    What would happen to the agent''s body when they conducted their gacha session?


    The answer is: Their body will enter a suspended animation state, until the time when the session is over, and their soul returns to their physical body.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Umm...Hi?"


    I walked warily towards the shaman-like existence in the middle of the grassy field. The shaman was wearing a cloak made of straws, and her face was hidden by a viking-style helmet with giant horns.


    However, the smell of grass and the gentle crashing of the waves soon made me rx a little. This ce reminds me of the MCU''s ce where Odin passed away besides Loki and Thor.


    "Is this Valha?" I asked her jokingly. She grunted and didn''t answer my question while giving me a nk sheet of paper.


    "Your Karmic Point. Beware." She muttered.


    Edward Newgate


    Affiliation: Official member of the Afterlife Corps.


    Current status: Singer/Game Maker/ Inventor/App Developer/ Chef


    Positive Karma: 142, 000, 022 (5 million in storage)


    Negative Karma: -11 000 111.05


    "Holy shit that''s a lot of bad karma. What the hell did I do?" I scowled as I read my data sheet. "Also, why am I being summoned here today? What special day is this?"


    The shaman whom I could only see her mouth scowled at the question, "You talk too much." She bonked my head with her wooden staff, causing me to whimper in pain.


    "Ahhh!" I groaned as I rubbed my sore temple. "Alright. I won''t ask. It''s not like there''s any rule that needs to be followed for me toe here...Right?" I muttered sarcastically.


    She was silent for a while, and then she said, "Today...your summon still follows the rule of life and death day. However, I don''t think that there is a person alive on your earth that knows the significance of today."


    "Huh?" I looked at the mournful shaman as she reminisced about something. I was confused so I asked politely, "What day''s significance is today...if I may know...ma''am."


    "Do you want to test your luck or do you want to know a boring story?" She asked with slight dissatisfaction. I was upset so I confronted her, "Why are you so angry? You''re the one who brought me here."


    "No. I wasn''t the one who brought you. And I already told the people at afterlife corps to stop sending people to my session." She growled in dissatisfaction before she took out multiple small bone pieces, and a worn out mat.


    "Is this...Bone divination? Isn''t this an ancient Chinese tradition? What does it have to do with Nordic religion?" I asked curiously. The shaman scowled and said, "You really talk too much."


    "Well I will shut up when you tell me about the ''boring story''." I asked with a teasing smirk. She was stunned for a while before she asked in disbelief, "You don''t want to get your power ups? I can only do one thing. If you want to hear my story, then you''ll have to give up the karmic gacha for today. So which one will you choose-"


    "Well I choose the story." I interrupted her, and she was stunned by my reply. She paused for a while. "What?" She eximed in disbelief.


    "Yeah. I think your story will be more interesting than the gacha." I muttered in a sincere tone. "To be honest with you, I''m not looking forward to the gacha right now. My life is quite perfect as it is." I smiled as Iid down sideways on the grassynd, propping my head up with my hand as I leisurely looked in her direction.


    "So. Tell me. What day is it today?" I asked her again. She was silent for a while, before she bonked my head angrily again and said, "Sit upright if you want to listen to it. Don''t be disrespectful!"


    "Ouch." I eximed with a smile as I noticed that she had put down her guard. "I''m sorry. Please. Enlighten me." I asked in a mischievous demeanor, which made her frown again.


    ...


    [General POV]


    The door to the hospital emergency ward was pushed open. The EMT medical officer was sitting on top of Edward''s body, pushing his chest to make sure that his heart would keep beating using CPR.


    Ted, Cam and Haley followed the gurney from behind, but was stopped by the medical officer as they wanted to follow Edward to the ICU.


    Haley and Cam broke down crying. Ted gritted his teeth and blood was dripping from his clenched fist.


    "Ed! Don''t Die!" Haley wailed as she could see the doctor trying hard to resuscitate Edward from behind the ss wall.


    "Clear!" The doctor pressed the defibritor on Edward''s bare chest before giving him an electric shock to revive his heart function.


    "It''s not working!" The intern doctor said. "Increase the voltage and try again!" The resident doctor yelled.


    [Edward''s POV]


    "Oww... Why does my chest suddenly hurt." I muttered as I rubbed my sore chest while listening to the shaman''s story.


    "So Sage. All of the people who know about the ''Old Gods'' have disappeared from my world?" I asked her, ignoring the pain.


    I found out that her name was Sage after insistent badgering, and two times getting bonked in the head. However, it was hard for me to have a bad feeling for the woman. She had basically been alone here for hundreds of years. She''s an old grandmother. I have a soft spot for this kind of lonely person.


    "Yes. I am now puzzled as to why you''re here. No one is supposed to be here anymore." Sage muttered with a concerned voice. "I wonder if this has something to do with Gong Shin. That old guy loves to interfere afterall." Sage mumbled.


    "What was that?" I asked her. "Nothing. Now that you''ve listened to my story, you only have time for only one gacha roll."


    "Oh. The strength of my soul right?" I guessed. Sage nodded and said, "Your soul is still too weak. You can only support being here for 45 minutes to an hour."


    "It''s okay. Then, roll it for me. Ah, what about the grim reaper dude-"


    "Stop talking and ruining my concentration." Sage growled before she shook the bone pieces in her hand. The sky suddenly turned cloudy, thunder and lighting appeared on the sky.


    I stood up quickly, "Uhh...What''s happening?" My mind was racing and my breathing became rapid.


    "That''s the background effect." Sage said casually. I almost fell down after hearing it, "That''s it? I really thought that something would descend from the sky."


    Sage snickered, "As if something will descend from the sky because of you."


    I was shocked, "So...things CAN fall out of the sky?"


    "..."


    Sage was silent, and then she threw the bone pieces on top of the worn out mat with a circle akin to apass on it. Suddenly, an illusionary scroll popped out from the mat, almost making me fall on my ass from the shock.


    "The guy who designed the background effect is really sinister." I grumbled as I sat down cross-legged in front of Sage.


    She opened the scroll and then sighed, "I don''t expect this toe out. Seriously, why don''t you try to scheme better? Doing this kind of thing will only expose you more easily."


    "Who who who?" I urged her for an answer, but she just threw the scroll at me. I read it and widened my eyes from the shock.


    [ck-Gold Quality Enhancement- Soul Upgrade (One time use)]


    "What the-" Before I could react, a golden glow appeared on my body, and the suction force that I had been feeling to get me back to my world disappeared.


    "Congrattions. Your soul strength has been tripled. You can stay here for 2 more hours." Sage said in a tired manner. Iughed as I realized that someone was pitting against Sage in this session, and she lost... badly too.


    Sage thought for a while before she said, "Well. There is another way for me to chase you quickly �C I mean, for you to end the session. That is... for you to empty out all of your karmic points."


    I rubbed the back of my head and said, "That''s true. But... It''s impossible for me to roll all of my 130 million points, even if I applied the high quality roll every time."


    "Edward, don''t you feel it?" Sage suddenly bes mysterious. "What?" I asked, intrigued.


    "When did a gacha roll with a session master be an ordinary one?" Sage said with a smirk. I was surprised and said, "Wait...You have a special characteristic? Like the casino?"


    "Yes. I am the Sage after all. You can make me an offer. And if I ept it, then I will conduct a ''Divinition Roll'' for you."


    "What''s that?"


    "Unlike the randomness of the gacha, my Divination Roll will give you something beneficial, that you will definitely need in the future. However, once you object to my divination, or you tried to question me about the future, the session will be over, and I could not use a Divination Roll for you again no matter how hard you beg of me."


    "It''s fine. I trust you Sage." I mumbled. "So how much I need to offer?"


    Sage was silent for a while, "I cannot interfere, but let''s just say that you cannot afford my service for less than 50 million karmic points. The subsequent gacha roll will cost you 10 million points each, and this is not negotiable."


    "Oh yeah? Lucky for you, I''m a rich man." Iughed before I shrugged and said, "I leave my fate to you Sage. Help me"


    She snorted and said, "That''s natural." She took a deep breath before shaking the bone pieces in her hand again while muttering some ancient mantra. The background effect appeared again, which made me mutter, "The dedication of these people."


    Sage then dropped the bone pieces on the mat, and another scroll popped out. She reached towards the scroll and read it, " [Purple Quality Consumable �C Fire Immunity �C Natsu Dragnell. One time Use]


    "Wait. Fire?" I furrowed my eyebrows as Sage threw the scroll to me. I ced it on the floor as I thought about the implication, ''This...the prize is something that was ''predicted'' by Sage, and I was sure to need it in the future...So I suffer from a fiery incident? If so, will I be the only one there?''


    "Sage. I-"


    "Remember the Rules, Edward Newgate." Sage said quickly. I shut my mouth quickly and nodded, "I''m sorry. Continue."


    Sage paused for a while and said, "Alright. I''ll let you off with a warning."


    She then shook the bone pieces again, and the gacha session continued.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "We have to put him on life support. I''m afraid... he won''t have much longer." The doctor shook his head in sympathy as he broke the news to Ted and Cam. Ted staggered and fell down on the chair while Cam broke down in tears.


    "How long does he have?" Ted asked lifelessly.


    "Less than a day." The doctor replied. "If his condition doesn''t improve, then the best choice we have is to let him go."


    Haley wasforted by ire and Phil who came to the hospital as soon as their daughter called them. Outside of the hospital, the paparazzi was held back by the security before they could break into the ICU ward.


    Pepper wiped his tears as he entered the hospital, trying to keep himself steady to support Ted and Cam at the critical moment. Harvey asked the doctor, "Do you know what happened to him?"


    The doctor shook his head and said, "We don''t know. The Toxicology report came back clean. He is not on any substance, nor was he poisoned. His body just...stopped. I am not clear on how to exin it. I have called a few specialists, and they are rushing over right now to take a look."


    Harvey was confused by the treatment so she gave the scruffy looking doctor a weird look. The doctor understood her apprehension and said, "Well...the director''s daughter...is the fan club president for the boy."


    "Lily?" Harvey was shocked when she heard it. After talking to the doctor, Harvey quickly went to do some damage control to protect Edwards reputation as some party had leaked his condition to the press.


    "Assholes. All of them." Harvey gritted her teeth, and her eyes turned red. She read the usations that Edward had overdosed on drugs, and was ''already dead'' on the article''s ims, and vowed to destroy each and every single one of the bastards that profits from others misery.


    -In Cuba-


    Miranda, the woman in a floral dress andrge white hat, received a call from her sister from America. Her eyes turned red and she walked towards the bloodied man tied up to the chair before holding a gun right in front of his face.


    "(In Spanish: Donde va a ir estar cargamento de armas) Where''s that weapon shipment going to be?"


    The man replied, "(In Spanish p��drete traidor los Castro-) Fuck you traitor. The Castro-"


    Miranda suddenly took out 5 bullets from the revolver, leaving only 1 bullet inside the gun chamber. She then pulled the trigger, shocking the man in front of her, "You have 4 more chances...sort of. Unless you spill the information, I won''t stop."


    "I won''t tell you."


    Miranda pulled the trigger again.


    "You won''t," The man shouted, visibly shaken.


    Miranda pulled the trigger again.


    "Wait. Stop-"


    Miranda pulled the trigger again coldly.


    The man was nervous, "Do you know who I am?"


    Miranda was still silent and she pulled the trigger once more. Then, she pressed the muzzle of the gun right on top of the man''s forehead, "Goodbye." She muttered.


    "THE SHIPMENT IS AT XX PIER! 10 O''CLOCK TOMORROW!" The man shouted quickly. Miranda lowered the gun slowly. The man smiled as he thought that he was safe. But then, another woman in a floral dress put her gun behind his back, and blew up his head.


    "Mercy is not for these vermin Miranda." The woman said.


    "I''m going to America." Miranda suddenly said. The woman was shocked, "Did you forget your deal?"


    "I didn''t. But, my son is on the death bed right now. And if you tried to stop me again," Miranda slowly aimed her gun at the woman''s head. "Then you will die."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Charisma of Wicked Wisdom'' Talent �CJames Moriarty ]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C Detective Skill �C Shinichi Kudo (Detective Conan)]


    [ck-Gold Quality Gacha �C Kotoamatsukami (Distinguishing Heavenly God Illusion) �C Uchiha Shisui (One time use)]


    "Call me, Edward Uchiha from now on." I said in an arrogant demeanor. Then, Sage bonked my head with her staff again.


    "Sit down. I need you to focus. There is something that you desperately need. And the rareness of the prize is iparable to everything that you''d gotten before." Sage muttered.


    "Wait. Really? What is it?" I asked her. "Also, will my eye change into a Mangekyou Sharingan- Alright, I''ll focus." I shut up quickly as she picked up her staff again.


    Currently, I have spent over 80 million karmic points in this gacha session, making it the most expensive session yet. And the prizes that I''d gotten were extremely precious.


    "Hmm...I can only store some luck before I vie for that ''item''." She muttered iprehensibly before she looked me straight in the eye, "I can guarantee that I can get out that item if I roll 3 random gacha for you. Of course, the price won''t change."


    "This item...Wait... No question right. I don''t feel that you''re trying to trick me Sage. So I believe in you. You can do whatever you want, but just leave enough points for me to cut off my negative karma yeah?"


    Sage shed a tiny smile and said, "Okay. I won''t disappoint you."


    [Green Quality Gacha�C Piloting Skill �C Maverick]


    [Purple Quality Gacha�C Dance Skill �C Robert Alexander III / Moose (Step Up Movie)]


    [White Quality Gacha �C AI Creation Memory �C Tony Stark]


    "Ohh...I got Jarvis...Or Maybe Friday...But it''s a white quality one so the memory will be short." I mumbled to myself.


    Sage then took a deep breath and then she muttered, "Well...I need another random one."


    From expecting, to suddenly feeling that she wasn''t reliable, I narrowed my eyes at her before I sighed and said, "Sure."


    She nodded and continued, "Last one. I promise."


    [White Quality Gacha�C Hairspray Hand �C Aizen Sosuke]


    Iughed out loud when I read the prize, and while I was tearing up, Sage was shaking her bone pieces in a solemn manner while mumbling the ancient mantra. Lightning and thunder danced together in the sky, before a lightning bolt suddenly struck at the center of the mat as Sage threw her bone pieces.


    "Oh damn! What is it?" I calmed myself down after getting shocked, and waited for Sage to finish reading. She smiled as she threw the scroll at me, "You got it. The Rare Item."


    [ck-Gold Quality Gacha �C Talent Shredder �C Afterlife Corp]


    "Wait. This is a Corporation item." I muttered in confusion, "Why do I need this- Oh! This must be it." I snapped my finger as I thought about the danger of having ''that'' skill with me.


    Sage paused for a while before she said, "Before you continue joking, I''ll remind you that [Special Ability �C God Usopp �C Lie to Truth] is only a white quality gacha prize. It only works on dumbasses... and won''t actually influence the fabric of reality like you''re thinking of...Dumbass."


    I was stunned for a while before Iughed to cover up my embarrassment. "So. What do you want me to use this on?"


    "Use it on your [Prodigy''s Fate �C Kousei Arima] talent that you got during your first birthday." Sage muttered.


    "Heh? I rolled the gacha on my first birthday?" I asked her in shock. She stared at me for a while before she was astonished, "You didn''t know? How could you NOT KNOW? This is not in line with the rules!"


    Sage was restless for a while before she asked, "So you don''t know about your [Elderly Lady Killer] Talent too?"


    "I have a talent like that?" I shrieked.


    "I...I''ll tell the guys back at the HQ about this so that they will rectify the situation." Sage muttered after thinking for a while. I nodded at her remark before using the consumable talent that she mentioned.


    "Good. Last time, your guardian intervened so that the talent activation would fail. Now, you can have a normal rtionship with the people around you and it won''t turn into a ''creative tragedy''."


    "Huh? Guardian? Wait-...Did the ident involving Desiree.." I widened my eyes in realization.


    Sage nodded, but she didn''t exin as it wasn''t part of her responsibility. It was enough that she helped me understand what had happened, and I was thankful for that.


    "Okay. Let''s continue." I muttered. Sage looked at me weirdly and said, "That''s it..Your points are finished."


    "Ahh...Hahaha." Iughed to cover up my embarrassment again before I felt a suction force pulling me away to my real world.


    "Thank you Sage. Even if my world has forgotten about you, I will never forget you. I''ll do a wikipedia entry about the old god''s existence as tribute when I get back." I smiled as I waved at her.


    "Hey Edward." Sage suddenly shouted.


    "What is it?"


    "Make ast roll. A normal one this time." She suggested while handing over the bone pieces in my hand.


    "Really?" My eyes lit up before I threw it happily, "Alright, one high quality-"


    "Do a normal quality." She quickly said.


    "Alright. One normal quality, 66 karmic point gacha roll." I announced. A white quality gacha scroll popped out, and Sage quickly handed it over to me. I opened the gacha quickly as my soul was dissipating, and widened my eyes when I saw it. I hugged Sage without warning, making her freeze in ce.


    "Oh my god. You''re the best session master ever! Thank you Sage!" I almost kissed her cheek, but my soul dissipated before I could do that.


    I got a nice treasure at myst gacha roll. [White Quality Gacha �C One Piece Anime (Until Ending of Wano Arc) Memory �C Inaki Godoy]


    ...


    [General POV]


    Haley couldn''t ept reality. "Why? Why is this all happening? He was fine just a few hours ago!" She cried at the edge of Edward''s bed after the doctor let the peoplee and visit him to say their final words before the doctor pulled over the life support equipment.


    "Shi Shi Shi Shi Shi Shi Shi." Suddenly, all of the depressed and crying people in the room heard a strangeughing from the bed. Ted, Cam, ire, Phil, Harvey, Pepper and Haley looked at Edward''s face, only to realize that the man wasughing.


    Edward suddenlyughed out loud, and the EKG machine''s reading suddenly spiked.


    "Edward?" Haley muttered in confusion, and all of them took a step back in surprise as Edward suddenly sat up andughed while saying, "GEARRRR FIFTHHHHHH!"


    "Wait. Where the hell am I?" Edward was shocked when he saw the white surroundings and the people around him. Only then did he realize that he was wearing the oxygen mask, and was wearing a patient''s gown.


    "Um...How long was I asleep?" Edward asked amidst the people''s shock. The doctor''s were shocked. The nurses were shocked. His family and friends were shocked. The squirrel who''s stalking him was shocked. And even his fans were shocked.


    "ED!" Haley rushed to hug Edward after he woke up from his sleep. Edward was looking at his dad with an expression asking, ''What''s going on?''


    "This...This is not possible. I was sure..." The doctor shivered as he checked Edward''s pupil dtion. "IT''S A MIRACLE!" He shouted.

 Chapter 157: Mommy attack?

    <h4>Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Mommy attack?</h4>


    Quote of the day: The universe is a cold uncaring void. The key to being happy isn''t to search for a meaning, it''s to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually, you''ll be dead.


    It was my birthday btw


    [Edward POV]


    "What''s wrong? What happened? Why am I here?"


    I got so many questions after I woke up from my sleep. It took a while for my family to calm down after the ''miracle'' happened. I was surprised when they said that my heart stopped, but I wasn''t rmed as I could guess it was a part of the gacha experience.


    ''I really need to know the schedule of these things.'' I scolded inside my heart.


    While I was thinking, I found myself in the center of a group hug without my consent. Haley, ire, Phil, and my aunt suddenly hugged me, while Pepper and my dad waited for their turn after the first group finished.


    "I was only asleep." I mumbled, but no one would believe me. They didn''t let me get discharged from the hospital, therefore I was stuck there until the doctor coulde out with a reasonable exnation of what just happened.


    I rolled my eyes and continued sleeping after I was moved out of the ICU ward. The Dunphy''s left to get some rest, leaving only my dad and my aunt inside the ward. It''s not that they didn''t want to stay, but the doctor didn''t want the ward to be crowded.


    "Edward, did you eat something strange?" The doctor asked the next morning.


    "No." I replied honestly.


    ''Should I just ''Kotoamatsukami'' my way out of this? I think that will be too wasteful...right?'' I thought secretly while narrowing my eyes at the doctor.


    The blonde resident doctor who was checking up on me had no idea that she was in a pernicious position, and continued to question me about my habit and diet, trying to find a clue that could help her in the diagnosis.


    "Hmm..." She looked at my dad and aunt before asking hesitatingly, "Did you...had any sexual intercorse in thest 24 hours?"


    I snorted, "I wish. But no."


    She nodded before scratching her head in confusion, "I still can''t figure out what had happened to you. So, I''m asking for your consent to share your details with a good friend of mine."


    My dad frowned but I was intrigued, "Oh. Who''s he, Dr Isabelle?"


    "He''s a board-certified diagnostician with a double specialty in infectious disease and nephrology. His name is Dr Gregory House, and he''s in town for a seminar."


    My dad opened his mouth to reject it, but I interrupted him quickly.


    "By any chance, is he from Princeton-insboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey?" I asked the doctor. She was surprised and asked, "You know him?" Even my dad was surprised and looked at me in awe.


    "Well he''s one of my favorites." I replied with a smile. I turned to my dad and convinced, "Let hime. Only then you''ll believe that I was only sleeping. Then, we can go aboard the ship and see the fireworks from the coast."


    I didn''t try to urge my dad to take me out of the hospital quickly after I learned what happened when I was asleep. It didn''t take too much thinking to know how worried that they must''ve been when I was frolicking with Sage in the gacha realm.


    ''Hmm..I already miss that girl.''


    Also, I really need to stay in the hospital because 2 of my ribs were cracked. Shocking right? It happened during CPR, and it was amon thing in the procedure. And the culprit for this issue? My CPR certified Dad, so I really couldn''t me him.


    "Are you sure? Pepper is already suing the hospital after they leaked your conditionst night." My aunt said while giving a suspicious look at the doctor. Dr Isabelle scratched her cheek in a guilty manner.


    Even though it wasn''t her fault, she was still implicated as the person responsible was part of the hospital management, and now the entire group of doctors on the floor was implicated. The hospital''s reputation flunked, and Pepper wanted to transfer me away to another private hospital, but I stopped him as I didn''t want the hassle.


    "It''s fine. I trust Dr House." I looked at my dad, and he sighed soon after. "Alright."


    Half an hourter, a limping, scruffy-looking man walked into the ward using a cane. He was wearing a simple suit, and went directly to snatch theb reports from Isabelle''s hand as he entered.


    "This report is wrong. His heart didn''t stop entirely." Dr House caught the irregrity in the diagnosis. "But it was lowered to almost 3 beats per minute. So it''s like he''s dead, but not really."


    "Whoa." I eximed subconsciously as I saw his intense style, causing the doctor to turn and look in my direction, "Hi. Dr Gregory House. I liked your rock song."


    He offered me his hand, and I shook it, "Edward Newgate. Ask anything you want if that means I can finally go home."


    Dr House smiled at me, but I knew that he had an intense distrust in other people.


    "Okay, I''ll take the challenge. I want to see how long you can stay honest and keep your reputation intact." He muttered.


    "Try me." I replied with a grin.


    "Have you tried any new, trendy or under-the-counter recreational drugs in thest few days?" He asked.


    "I had an aspirin two days ago. That''s it." I replied.


    "Really? A famous, newly rich young boy, didn''t live his life indulging in vices?" He snarked sarcastically.


    "Well I''m still too busy for that. Maybe in the future." I replied. My aunt scolded me quickly with a gasp, "Edward!"


    "Hmm, that''s strange. If your heart didn''t slow down to a phase akin to a suspended animation, I would just say you were only asleep." Dr House said after a thorough questioning.


    He asked about the material of the clothes I was wearing, whether or not I was bitten by a pet or any insectoids, how many sexual partners I had �C which I whispered to him in reply because my dad was still around.


    ''I WAS ASLEEP!'' I shouted in my mind.


    "You''re a good kid, surprisingly." Dr House muttered with a trace of worry. "You said you just moved back into your house? Mind if I look around?"


    "That''s impossible-" My dad wanted to stop the madness, but I interrupted, "Sure. You can go there with my aunt."


    "Ed. This is highly inappropriate." My aunt protested. Her reaction was normal for Dr House, but my attitude towards him was greatly surprising for him.


    "It''s fine. He''s not trying to hurt me. He''s just trying to find the answer. So let''s cooperate." I muttered. ''So that I can go home soon.''


    "If you want to go home, you can go home." Dr House suddenly said, surprising all three of us. "Your body is quite healthy, and there''s actually no reason for these guys to keep you here. All the examinations are done, so yeah. You can go."


    "Really?" My eyes lit up as he said that. Dr House added, "But! You need to wear a heart monitor for at least 3 days, even when you''re at home, so that we can get a clue of what''s happening inside your body."


    "Alright." I agreed with the requirement instantly.


    As he helped me wear the mobile heart monitor, he exined, "This thing will beep if your heart slows down again, or if you have an intense heart rate. So don''t exercise for a few days, and keep yourself calm."


    "Wait. I''m not going to be here in 3 days." I muttered as I looked in my dad''s direction.


    Dr House nodded in understanding and said, "It''s fine. You only need to send the result to the hospital afterward. It doesn''t matter where you''ll be. I can refer you to the nearest hospital if it''s really necessary."


    "Alright then. Thanks a lot Doctor." I said with a smile. Dr House smirked and left, leaving his contact number behind.


    After changing my clothes, I was escorted out of the hospital under the guard of 6 bodyguards. Although, we went to the parking lot first as I boarded the SUV there, so the strict guarding was a little bit much.


    "Hmm?" I suddenly turned my head as I could feel a gazeing from afar. However, I couldn''t find the culprit for it.


    "What''s wrong?" the bodyguard asked me.


    "I don''t know. I just felt something nostalgic." I muttered as I gazed toward a huge cement pir. I didn''t investigate as I thought it was a stray paparazzi that managed to break through the, so I just left the hospital quickly.


    My aunt told me afterward that Dr House had examined the entire house for toxicity and other harmful substances when I was finally discharged. I wanted to watch the scene, therefore I checked the hidden CCTV I had installed, while eating ice cream straight out of the tub.


    "Come over."


    "No."


    Haley replied decisively after I video call her using theptop, however, she was smirking afterward, signifying she was joking. She was on her bed, with a face filled with fatigue and sunken cheeks. Her eyes were a bit puffy, which made me feel a bit guilty from how much she had criedst night.


    The reason I was speaking to her like this was because I was grounded by my guardians until the doctor coulde out with an exnation.


    For now, they were calling my condition the ''Sleeping Beauty Syndrome'', and it wasn''t decided yet whether the condition was harmful or negligible for my body.


    "Come on. It''s the 4th of July and I cannot even go to the parade." I said pitifully, trying to earn her sympathy. She then shook her head and said jokingly, "No...I don''t think I wille over for the rest of my life."


    I shed my puppy dog eyes, "Pretty please?"


    "Uhh... Damn it, why are you so cute? Alright-" While Haley was pretending, suddenly herptop was snatched and the screen was reced by ire''s image. "Edward. What are you doing?"


    "I want to go to the parade, but I''m on house arrest. So I want to invite Haley here." I said casually to ire without flinching. She was taken aback before saying, "Alright. I''lle over-"


    "No need. Haley is fine." I interrupted her. "She''s my ''sleeping pill'' after all. It''s just patient care ire.You don''t have to worry."


    "I would worry! Especially since I''m going to leave my teenage daughter with a hot guy." ire blurted out.


    "Mom. Ew." I could hear Haley''s voiceing from afar. ire turned sideways and said, "You know what I meant."


    "But he''s broken." Haley retorted. "He needs my help. And I don''t want to go to the parade without him."


    "Yes ire, I''m broken- Wait, I got another call. Text me if you''reing Haley. I''m not decent." I muttered as I was only wearing a robe at the moment.


    "Not decent? Are you nude-" The excited Haley snatched back theptop from her mom, and before she could peek at the screen, I cut the call.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "So no one wants to go to the parade?" ire asked in a helpless manner. "Luke, you too?"


    Luke shrugged and said, "It''s not fun to go there without Edward. We promised to y with the fireworks together."


    ire smiled helplessly as she rubbed Luke''s head, feeling that her son was pretty cute.


    [Luke''smentary]


    "Of course we didn''t make any promises. Edward told me that he has installed the new ystation at his house and bought a zombie game that we can y together. I was looking forward to it all week."


    "So I was nning to go there today, but he got into the hospitalst night. But he still let me y by myself."


    mentary ends]


    Phil was a bit sad, but then he had a great idea, "Well Alex is going to the parade with Finneas, Haley and Luke want to go to Ed''s. So why don''t we bring our barbeque ingredients and fireworks, and we all go there this evening?"


    ire shook her head, "We don''t know what''s wrong with Ed. I don''t want him to get fatigued and pass out again. Haley told me he had been working continuously before it happened, so I want him to get some rest."


    "Yeah, but think about how sad he is. He was looking forward to this day, to see the fireworks, the parade, But now, he''s being grounded and treated like a weak man. I know Ed, and I know how much he hates being treated as a burden." Haley interjected quickly.


    "Wait. Really?" Phil asked in realization.


    Haley nodded and said, "Didn''t you notice? Anyway, he''s not going to rest even if we told him too. So let''s just go there, and we can keep an eye on him."


    "But his dad is there. Even his aunt will be there." ire tried to reason.


    "Yeah but can they honestly stay with Ed all day in his room to keep an eye on him?" Haley said, trying to get inside ire''s head. ire widened her eyes in realization before saying, "She''s right."


    "It''s settled! Let''s have the 4th of July celebration at Ed''s ce!" Phil announced in excitement.


    ...


    At a cafe in a town nearby, Cam was sipping a cup of tea while sitting facing a woman in a floral dress.


    "You''re not going to meet him?" Cam asked.


    Miranda shook her head, "No. I don''t have the strength to do it."


    Cam squinted her eyes, "So you''re going to keep stalking him from far?"


    "Maybe." Miranda sipped her tea and answered nonmittedly. "You should go back now. Don''t let him out of your sight."


    Cam nodded, "By the way, did you bring what the doctor wanted?"


    Miranda took out an envelope and slid it over to Cam, "The family''s history of disease. I went back 4 generations. There''s only one person with a history of heart problems from the result."


    Cam shook her head in annoyance, "It''s your dad. Damn it. Even after he''s dead he keeps causing problems. That Diablo."


    [Edward POV]


    Something strange happened. Instead of her entire family, only Haley appeared at the house.


    "I thought-" I muttered, confused. I peeked outside the house after I opened the door, but no one else was there.


    "Well they AREing. My dad and your dad want to have a barbecue. They are moving Jay''s grill here." Haley muttered as she carried a food bag in her hand.


    "Ahh. I see. And what''s this?" I asked with my eyes glued on the bag. I was a bit hungry, and the smell from the bag wasn''t helping.


    Haley blushed immediately and said, "Well...I...when you texted me that you wereing home, I wanted to cook something for you. So I learned how to- No, it''s silly-"


    Before she could change her mind, I grabbed the bag immediately and said, "This is for me right? No take backs!"


    "Wait. It was the first time I cooked! So I don''t know if it will taste good!" Haley was embarrassed and tried to snatch the bag, but I tiled my arm to get the bag out of her reach.


    "No. Take Backs! Besides, I''m starving. I''ll go put this in a bowl-"


    "Wait. Let me do it! Youuuu..." She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the couch before dropping me on it, "You sit here and rest. Don''t do anything..." She then blushed and went to the kitchen beforeing back 5 minutester with a hot bowl of soup.


    "Oh, chicken soup. Nice." I muttered as I tried to grab the spoon, but she stopped me. She hid her embarrassment and avoided my eyes before saying, "I''ll feed you."


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    Suddenly, the heart monitor sent out an rm, causing Haley to be shocked. She ced her hand on top of my chest and said hurriedly, "I''LL CALL THE DOCTOR-"


    The rm stopped as I calmed myself down. "No. It''s fine. You just made my heart race for a bit." I muttered in embarrassment. Haley was taken aback and pulled her face away, before she blushed red. "Oh." She muttered tly.


    We couldn''t look into each other''s eyes, and I could feel that my heartbeat was racing again, therefore I changed the subject, "So, the soup?"


    "Oh right. The soup." Haley muttered in realization. She then grabbed the spoon, and gently blew at the hot soup. My eyes were glued on her face, and honestly, I couldn''t look away.


    Before she could feed me, she hesitated, "This...will make the heart monitor beep again right?"


    "There''s a possibility." I muttered knowingly. "But don''t you dare stop."


    She blushed and then gently pushed the spoon into my mouth. I smiled as I ate it, and then the heart monitor beeped once more.


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    Haley was startled again, and she hurriedly said, "Don''t think too much. I''m just feeding a sick person. Calm your heart down."


    I smiled wryly and said, "Can you grab me a cup of water? You, not being here...might help me calm down."


    "Okay. You should eat it by yourself first." She blushed and went to the kitchen obediently. As I saw she had disappeared, I stuck my tongue out and whimpered, "SALTY! SALTY! SALTY!"


    It was like she had boiled the soup using ocean water. I couldn''t help but send her away and grabbed myptop bag to grab the bottle of water inside. I washed my mouth quickly, and then I heard her shouting, "Ed. Where''s your cup?"


    "Inside the top left drawer." I shouted back. Then, I grabbed the bowl of soup, and decided to down it all in one shot before the taste hit.


    "God. Help me." I prayed before I did it. Haley then came back and saw that I was eating the soup deliciously. Her eyes brightened and she smiled, "Were you THAT hungry? There''s still some more left if you want it?"


    "???"


    I grabbed the cup of water from her and acted calmly, "Yes please." I gave the bowl to her and asked for a second serving.


    She smiled and skipped to the kitchen with a hum while I muttered sadly, "Now I know why she gave me the ''Kotoamatsukami''. It''s to hypnotize myself so that I can finish the soup."

 Chapter 158: Truth or Lie.

    <h4>Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Truth or Lie.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    After finishing the entire soup without giving Haley a bite, I took a screwdriver and started to open up the backup heart monitor that the doctor provided without taking off the one I was wearing.


    "Oh. Simple enough. I just need to tweak the sound system a bit." I mumbled before making some modification to the backup machine.


    "What are you doing?" Haley asked in confusion after she walked into the living room from the kitchen.


    "This is a backup heart monitor. Do you dare to wear it?" I asked her with a sly grin. Haley was taken aback and then refused, "No! I don''t want to."


    "Just for one minute." I pleaded.


    She blushed and said, "No! I don''t want to expose what I''m thinking. Like you did."


    [Haley''smentary]


    "It''s pretty dangerous. If that thing beeped in front of my family, then my mom won''t let me stay alone with him anymore. But I think my dad would push us to be together, so I''m torn on whether to do it or not."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Come on. I''ll personally put it on you." I tried to persuade her. She was hesitant before her eyes lit up in realization and smacked me on the shoulder, "YOU JUST WANT TO TOUCH MY BOOBS!"


    "Ah. You caught that huh." I joked while Haley gave me a side eye but with a face full of smiles.


    "Edward. Are you feeling okay now?" Phil asked in a careful manner as he entered the house through the backyard door after settling the grill with my dad.


    I shook my head andined, "No no. Don''t do that."


    "Do what?"


    "Treat me like I''m going to break at the slightest touch. The only way you should greet me is by giving an excited shout like you always do. If you continue doing this Phil, I''ll... resent you." I spoke honestly.


    Phil and Haley were taken aback, and they fell into contemtion. Phil smiled wryly and scratched his cheek before changing his expression and shouted, "ED! Are you excited for the fireworks!"


    "Now that''s what I''m talking about!" I stood up and gave Phil a light hug before we went to the backyard together. "So Phil, wanna y with this?"


    His eyes lit up as he saw the backup heart monitor, "y? How?"


    "Simple. The sensitivity of this thing is outstanding. It can even detect the heart fluctuation if you lie about something. Same as a lie detector." I muttered some nonsense before giving it to his hand.


    He hesitated a bit before seeing the heart monitor on my chest. His eyes lit up and he asked, "Tell me a secret"


    I rolled my eyes in disbelief before saying, "Alex had her first kiss today." Phil was taken aback, and even Haley followed us from behind was shocked. Both of them automatically gazed at the heart monitor, and found out it wasn''t beeping.


    "Wait. Really?" Haley''s eyes lit up, but Phil was depressed, "Wait Haley. It could STILL be a lie. Unless we see the-"


    "I have an STD." I mumbled with my hand in my pocket, and then the heart monitor started beeping. Phil''s face turned deadpan and he knew that he couldn''t argue with my statement anymore.


    Soon, Cam and Mitch joined in the party together with Lily. Gloria, Jay and Manny also arrived after getting back from the parade, together with Alex after Jay picked her up.


    "Hi Gloria. Nice dress." Iplimented as I saw her red, white and blue themed dress that hugged her body. She smiled and said, "Thanks. Manny didn''t like it. He said that I looked like the g."


    Iughed a bit before exining to the others about the ''lie detector'' game. "So, do any of you guys dare?"


    Mitchell creased his eyebrow and said, "I don''t know. I think that this will bring disaster to our already strange rtionship."


    "Why? Do you have something to hide?" Cam used him directly. Mitchell nked out, while Jay tried to stand up and run, "I''m leaving-"


    "Come on Dad! Let''s try it." ire persuaded him while holding the edge of his shirt to prevent him from going away.


    "Yeah. It''s not like you have something to hide...Right Jay?" Gloria said with a smile while hiding her murderous gaze. Jay sighed and said, "One question. Just one."


    "To be clear, one question each, or one question total-" Phil tried to get a clear statement.


    "Total." Jay said gruffly.


    "Alex. Will you do the honor of squirting some lube on Jay''s chest and ce the electrodes there?" I asked Alex who was standing behind me calmly.


    "Wait. I''m starting? No, let Phil start it first." Jay pointed at Phil.


    "No. Let ire start first." Phil pointed at ire.


    "Wow, you really are suspicious of your own wife huh? I wonder what question you have loaded in your mind." I chuckled a bit, which made ire'' face freeze.


    [ire''smentary]


    "This situation is turning dangerous." She muttered. "A few days ago, I donated Phil''s ''FUN'' shoes because he never wore them. It was a Chewba shoe or something, anyway it was furry, and I didn''t like it anywhere near my closet."


    shback to ire screaming as she noticed the shoe inside the dim closet space.


    Back to thementary, "I even thought it was a roon a few times. I just couldn''t take it anymore. So...I went behind his back."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Can I squirt the lube?"


    All the people there turned to look at me�C no, towards Luke who''s standing behind me who tried to mimic my voice. My heart monitor almost exploded as I really thought that I had blurted out my thoughts, but luckily I didn''t.


    ire smiled and said, "Well you can''t." Alex rolled her eyes at Luke before helping ire set up the machine.


    After a minute, ire was already strapped into the machine. "Me. My question first!" Phil shouted.


    ire looked nervous, and she whispered, "Don''t ask anything embarrassing Phil."


    "Don''t worry. I only have one question." Phil smirked slyly before asking, "Do you think I''m funny?"


    "Well..." ire hesitated for a while, not knowing how to answer the question. "Umm...funny is a subjective thing." ire mumbled.


    "Welle on, the question is not that hard. Answer it with Yes or No." Mitchell urged whileughing at ire''s misery, not knowing that Cam was silently taking note of his reaction.


    Haley grabbed my shirt sleeves and gestured at me to lower my head. She then whispered, "Are you trying to spread chaos again?"


    "Well a little bit. Don''t worry, I''ll try not to include sensitive things."


    ire hesitated for a while before answering, "Yes. Phil. I think you''re funny."


    All of them waited for the beep, but the machine was silent. ire breathed in relief while Jay grumbled, "That thing must be broken."


    "Next question." I announced.


    "Wait. How many questions should I answer? It can''t be from all of you right?" ire''s face turned anxious, so I said, "Let''s make it a rule that one person should answer only 3 questions."


    "Okay. Me next. ire, did you take my ice-skating trophy?" Mitchell asked.


    "You''re still hung up on that? Also, that''s our trophy." ire gritted her teeth angrily before answering, "No. I didn''t take the trophy."


    "Wait what?" Mitchell was confused, so he turned to his dad. Jay sighed and said, "You guys couldn''t stop fighting after winning it, so your mother decided to donate the trophy back to the ice rink."


    "How could she do that?/ She had no right to do that!" Mitchell and ire retorted at the same time.


    "And you didn''t stop her?" ire used her dad. Jay just shrugged and didn''t answer.


    "So all this time, I resented you for nothing?" Mitchell said in realization.


    "Wait, you resented me?" ire was shaken, but Cam interjected, "Me! ME! I''m next. ire, did you keep my yellow top tupperware after I gave you the pudding a month ago?"


    ire rolled her eyes and said defensively, "No I didn''t Cam-"


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    "I KNEW IT!" Cam used dramatically. "I want it back today ire." He muttered as Mitchell calmed him down.


    "Who''s next?" I asked, not minding the murderous gaze that ire gave me.


    [ire''smentary]


    "I wasn''t lying!"


    [Luke''smentary]


    "Mom didn''t lie. The tupperware wasn''t in her house. I took it to store a bug before, and left it at the park. That tupperware is gone."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Next will be Cam!" I announced with a sly tone. "Why are you so excited?" Haley nudged me, causing everyone to look in my direction. "Well I have a question I want to ask him."


    Cam gulped his saliva and tried to make a poker face, but people could see that his chin was quivering. Alex went to attach the electrodes before I asked, "Cam-"


    "Ed. I''m sorry, but it wasn''t me who said your performance was ''mediocre'' in the after concert interview. I said it ''wasn''t mediocre'', but the journalist twisted my words."


    "That''s...not what I was going to ask, but thanks for telling the truth." I smiled before I turned to Phil, "Can you pose sexily in front of Cam?"


    "Huh?"x2. Phil and Cam were confused, but Phil stood up and posed anyway. I asked Cam the question, "Do you Cam...think that Phil is sexy?"


    ire and Jay widened their eyes while Gloriaughed out loud. "Come on Cam. You can answer this!" Gloria yelled.


    "Huh...Of course no." Cam muttered his truth, but then the heart monitor started beeping. Mitchell was bbergasted and used Cam, "You said you were not attracted to him!"


    "Wait. I don''t...!" Cam tried to defend himself, but the heart monitor beeped again this time. Cam was spooked, and then Gloria asked, "Well Cam. Do you think Jay is sexy too?"


    "NO!" Cam answered in a high pitched voice before the monitor beeped again. "Okay. That''s all 3 questions. Next person." I interjected before Cam could argue and defend himself. His face turned pale white, and he was extremely distressed.


    "Next is Phil!"


    "Can we stop this?" Jay grumbled. "No. I haven''t got a turn yet." Gloria protested.


    Alex quickly helped her dad with the ''lie detector'' before Phil sat in a mediation pose with his legs crossed on top of the chair.


    "Huh? Phil, what are you doing?" ire was confused. Phil turned to her and said, "Meditation can calm down your heart rate. I figured that if I want to beat the system, I should do this."


    I nodded in acknowledgement before muttering, "Alright. Anyone want to ask something?"


    "Oh. I do." Jay sat straight and gazed at Phil, "When you dated ire, you had that fluffy feather earring. Why did you take it off?"


    "You can only ask something I can answer ''Yes'' or ''No'' to. Also, ire told me to take it off." Phil muttered sagely while meditating. ire was a bit embarrassed, and she leaned towards Phil before asking, "Next. I want to know. Phil, do you still find me attractive?"


    "With all my heart." Phil replied without hesitation. The heart monitor didn''t beeped, which made ire hug him in contentment. "Oh, you''re going to be rewarded for this tonight." ire mumbled while holding Phil''s face.


    Luke suddenly asked, "What do you mean by ''reward''?"


    Phil and ire froze while Alex replied, "Luke. that means they are-"


    "Alex, stop!" ire shouted hurriedly before turning to Luke, "No. Mommy just means...that she''s going to take dad out for ice cream tonight."


    "Yeah. Strawberry vored." Phil added before ire shouted at him, "PHIL!"


    "Huh? V-Vani?" Phil was flustered.


    "Oh Ice cream. Nice euphemism." Cam and Mitchell chuckled together before ire red at them.


    "That became even more dirty." I muttered whileughing together with Haley. Phil was nervous, but he kept his cool, until Luke''s Iron Man figurine head''s dropped underneath Gloria''s chair.


    "Gloria. Can you get it?" Luke asked.


    "Okay." Gloria spread her leg and bent down without getting off the chair, exposing her deep gully at the same time. Phil and I were in a daze as we saw it, and Phil''s heart monitor beeped at that time.


    "PHIL!" ire cupped her hand over Phil''s eyes immediately. Haley scrutinized my chest and furrowed her eyebrows. "Why is yours quiet?" She asked.


    I shrugged and said, "I didn''t get a good look."


    "Got it!" Gloria picked up the tiny Iron Man head she was searching for in excitement, not knowing what just happened.


    ...


    "Next is Gloria." I muttered before asking, "Have you ever been arrested before?"


    Gloria''s smile froze and she avoided people''s eyes. "Pass."


    "Wait, you can pass the question?" Phil muttered in disbelief, wondering why he didn''t think about it before.


    "Alright then. Did you ever keep a machete in the back of your car?" I asked again.


    Gloria cleared her throat and then mumbled, "Yes. A long time ago."


    "Wait, let me ask you next. Are you still keeping a deadly weapon in your car nowadays?" Jay asked with a hint of concern.


    Gloria yelled, "PASS!"


    "Nuh-uh. You can only Pass one time." Jay interjected quickly. Gloria''s eyes shook and she muttered, "No?"


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    [Gloria''smentary]


    "I knew I should''ve put some thumbtacks in my shoes to throw off the lie test." Gloria pped her forehead as she was disappointed in herself for not using the knowledge and experience she had.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Okay. Let''s explode some fireworks~" Gloria stood up and she pulled the electrodes from her cleavage before handing it over to Alex. Then, she walked away.


    "Wait. Gloria, we still haven''t done Jay and Mitch." I tried to persuade her. "Hold on, hold on. Why just us?" Jay asked with a sly look.


    "What do you mean?" I was taken aback at first, but then I realized it.


    "Well you are wearing the machine now. So why not you? And Haley''s already almost 16, so why exclude her?" Jay said.


    "Sure. Strap on the lie detector on a teenage girl. That''s like handing a loaded gun to her parents and helping them aim it at the back of her head." I muttered in concern before turning to Haley, "Run. I''ll take the heat on this one."


    She smiled and said, "I''ll run after watching you answer the question."


    "Well I heard something interesting about the hot tub while I was installing it." Jay suddenly exposed me. "Did you put on extra security there because you wanted to soak in it nude?"


    "Well not just me, but yes." I replied casually, not embarrassed about my motives at all.


    "Oh. We should borrow it sometimes." Phil mumbled, which caused ire to re at him.


    "Me me me me!" Gloria raised her hand and shouted excitedly, "Are you dating Taylor?"


    "Not at the moment. Alright,st question." I turned to the crowd, and then Phil raised his arms up quickly, "Well... my question is kinda sensitive."


    "I don''t mind it." I replied, as I was controlling the result anyway.


    "Okay then. It can be all of us, or either one of us, but do you have someone here that you find attractive?"


    The crowd ''Oooh'' while Haley blushed, but then I answered casually, "Yeah. I do."


    The beep didn''t go off, and they ''OOOh'' once more. "And it''s ire." I added, causing Phil to freeze. "And also Gloria." I added again, and Jay froze.


    "And a little bit of Jay." I added once more, causing Jay to shake, and Gloria to froze.


    "What the hell-" Jay cursed, but his lips were curling a bit. Then, I took out the car key that I modified in my pocket and pressed the switch in front of them.


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    "AH! You little scoundrel!" Jay grumbled beforeughing out loud. "You''ve been lying to us, and manipting us." Cam muttered in disbelief.


    "That''s horrifying, and also quite ingenious." ire muttered in astonishment. I made a performer''s bow before saying, "You guys figure out which one is the lie and truth on your own."


    "Oh no mister. You''re not brushing this thing off." ire grabbed my shirt before I could walk away. Phil was excited and he said quickly, "ire, you didn''t think I was funny?"


    ire was taken aback and she said quickly, "What? Phil, I think you''re SOO FUNNY! YOU''RE THE FUNNIEST MAN I''VE EVER MET!"


    "If you really think so, then strap on the lie detector to test it again!" Mitchell asked quickly.


    "Well I''m really thankful that he stopped the show before it got to me." Jay grumbled while sipping his beer.


    My dad finished grilling the meat while I was being admonished by the group of people, and before long, the night sky darkened.


    My friends all gathered inside my house before we moved towards an open field together, at a deste ce outside the neighborhood.


    Jacob and his family were here. Elsa and Jenna came together. Finneas and Billie rode their bikes here along with Enid and Abraham came with his cousin who carried a truckload of fireworks with him.


    "Ummm... Can you guys all stand behind me? Or you know, just generally far far away from here?"


    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*


    "Ed. Your heart is racing. What''s wrong?" My dad asked in confusion. Haley and my friends had a worried expression on their faces.


    "Nothing. Nothing. I just have a bad feeling being around explosive things." I mumbled as I feared for the worse.


    I honestly don''t know whether having the fire immunity skill was a good thing or a bad thing for me. It made me be very anxious whenever I could think about a possible situation where I could need it.


    "Don''t worry. My cousin is a licensed firework starter!" Abraham shouted in excitement.


    "There''s something like that?" My aunt asked him in astonishment. He shrugged and said, "There is when your name is registered by the police."


    "Are you sure you didn''t mean arsonist?" I asked him jokingly. Then, his cousin lit up the firework, and it flew up into the sky.


    *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*


    A beautiful greenish firework exploded and illuminated the night sky. My nervousness soon lightened as I saw that everything was going well.


    "HE SAID WHAT?" Alex shouted to her dad while the firework was ongoing. "You told my dad Finneas kissed me?!" She shouted at me in anger.


    Finneas was taken aback when he heard it, while Jenna was excited as she heard the tantalizing piece of information/nder.


    Iughed as I was chased by Alex for a while as we watched the fireworks. It took almost 30 minutes for the fireworks to end, and after hanging out with my friends for over 2 hours in that ce, we finally retired for the day

 Chapter 159: Wisconsin (1)

    <h4>Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Wisconsin (1)</h4>


    [General POV]


    "Hi, and you''re back to watching MTV news." The MTV logo turned to a picture of Edward''s leaving the hospital before the concert.


    "Teenage Pop Star Edward Newgate has found himself in a perilous situation yet again when he was rushed to the hospital at midnight before the 4th of July. The details of the situation have been confirmed by our investigation on the scene. Here''s what had happened."


    "Edward Newgate was rushed to the hospital because of a heart failure episode, and he was ced on life support immediately by the doctors. Moment''s before the doctor could announce his time of death, he miraculously woke up from his condition, stunning all the doctors in the world."


    The screen showed the toxicology report of Edward that was leaked purposely by Entertainpany to make sure that people wouldn''t use Edward of abusing harmful substances.


    "His peculiar condition was nicknamed by the doctors, calling it the ''Sleeping Beauty Syndrome''. It is still uncertain whether or not his situation is harmful to his well being, or if he will have need of another miracle to keep on living."


    "On another note, the Entertain Company had sent out a notice saying that Edward Newgate''s debut album, "Breaking", will be released earlier than previously scheduled, bringing the release date forward to 7th of July."


    "Fans around the world have been sending prayers for Edward Newgate ever since the news first broke out, and we, for one hope that he can get through his predicament and return to the stage in time for his first world tourunch in a few more weeks."


    The screen changed to a clip interview with Robert Downey Jr answering a question about Edward in his Iron Man promotional campaign interview.


    The interviewer asked about Edward''s condition, and RDJ replied with a heavy smile, "Yeah. I called him as soon as I heard the news. He told me he was fine and that people were just exaggerating, so I guess he doesn''t want to make people worry about him."


    "But you did?" The interviewer asked.


    RDJ nodded and said, "Of course. I''m pretty damn worried about him. I even considered barging over there with my Iron Man costume to fulfill his ''make-a-wish'' request, but he was discharged before I could do that."


    The actor wasn''t joking. He really did consider doing so.


    "He told me he needs to wear a heart monitor right now, and most importantly, his condition is no longer life threatening. Like the nickname the doctors gave this new condition, he was actually sleeping the entire time." RDJ continued.


    Then, the screen changed to a clip interview of Taylor after she got out backstage from her concert in Vegas. Taylor was hounded about Edward and whether she was going to see him, but Taylor refused toment on the subject and walked to her SUV quickly.


    However, the camera recorded her reddish eyes and pale face as she had just gotten the news.


    "Next up, Britney had shown us another shocking action by shaving her head-"


    [Edward POV]


    "You''re a bastard, you know that?" Taylor cursed while Skyping with me in the morning as we watched the MTV interviews together. It wasn''t just l MTV reporting on the celebrity gossip, Edward''s condition and his album release date had been reported by major news channels such as BBC, CNN, etc.


    "Well I''d be stupid if I missed this opportunity." I muttered while shaking my head slightly.


    "I know. That''s why I said you''re a bastard. Do you know how many of your fans are crying right now?" Taylor admonished me.


    To be clear, her reddish eye and upset demeanor after leaving the concert hall was true.


    Her concert ended at 11 pm, and she was resting in the building until she read a text message from Selena telling her what had happened. She wanted to jump on a helicopter and immediately rush to the hospital, but I woke up in time to stop her.


    It took me a lot of effort to convince her that I was fine, and to make sure that she didn''t cancel her fan meet the next day because of me. Although she was doubtful about the authenticity of my words, she calmed down after I requested a favor from Dr House to vouch for me.


    "So, you''re banking on this incident to sell more albums?" Taylor asked with a skeptical look.


    "Obviously." I shrugged and shook my head at the same time. She narrowed her eyes and said, "It''s not what the rumors say... that you''re only doing this because you don''t have much time left right?"


    "Well...who do you think spread the rumors?" I smirked slyly, causing Taylor''s hair to rise behind her neck.


    "You demon! Ugh! You''re seriously a monster! How could I ever be attracted to you?!" Taylorined seriously. I then leaned forward and flirted, "But you are turned on right now aren''t you?"


    "Stop joking around....and... yes...soe back from Wisconsin soon." She licked her lips before sending me away with a warm smile.


    The decision to take advantage of the chaos was taken arbitrarily after I got back from the hospital. Not only would it do some damage control on the whole incident, it also served as promotional material for my album release... You know what they say, ''When life gives you lemons...''


    And yes, I also agreed with Taylor that my approach was highly hical since it could be seen as taking advantage of people''s vulnerability and I did have a problem with it at first, but in the end I realized that it helped me to control the narrative myself in what could otherwise be a HUGE problem so I went ahead and did it.


    Also, I had to defend myself in this one. None of the information that I had sent out was untrue...Well except for the rumor. But it wasn''t even me who came out with the theory. I just fanned out the fire by pushing it to the main discussion of the forum thread.


    "Am I really feeling guilty right now? Pull yourself together!" I mumbled to myself before I walked down the stairs while carrying a small luggage. My dad was eating a sandwich that I had made for breakfast before he said, "Okay. Let''s go. Your grandparents have already called me 3 times just this morning to ask if we were on the flight yet."


    "Did you tell her that we can''t use our phones in the air and that we''d call them as soon as wend?" I asked with a puzzled look. My dad was silent for a while before saying, "I...didn''t think of that."


    "Where''s aunt Cam?" I asked after I took a look around. "I want to say goodbye before we leave."


    My dad was hesitant and he grabbed my shoulder, "Well Ed... there''s been a... change of ns."


    My aunt suddenly appeared from behind me with a small bag on her shoulder, "I''M COMING WITH YOU! ISN''T THAT EXCITING!?"


    I scowled after being stunned for a few seconds, "So you''re justing because you want to keep an eye on me. Honestly, when will this nightmare end!"


    "For all of us, when the doctor finallyes out with a diagnosis. Until then, buckle up." My dad said with a grin. I scoffed and grabbed my sandwich. A driver from my agency picked us up and drove us to the private airport where we would get on the private ne to fly to Wisconsin.


    "What''s that? Reducing Carbon Footprint? I''m sorry. I''m not Greta-"


    "Ed, what are you mumbling about?" My dad asked in confusion while sitting in an aisle in front of me�C sitting face to face with my aunt.


    "Nothing!" I shouted back before turning on the TV channel to watch a movie during the flight. I picked, [Enchanted] by Disney, and was enjoying watching the movie for the first time in my two lives.


    As I saw the princess�C Giselle summoned animals using her voice, I got an inspiration to try something out.


    "AaaaAaaAaaAaaa~ (Mimicking Amy Adams)"


    "Huh? Edward, what are you doing?" My aunt asked as sheughed at my effort.


    I was a bit embarrassed and said, "I don''t know. I feel like I can do that too."


    I was wondering if I could use my [Soul Voice] and [Animal Affinity] that was enhanced by my afterlife aura to be a real life Disney princess- Prince. If by any chance I could make it work, then it would be game changing for me.


    A paparazzi wanted to follow me around? A swarm of rats will drag them to the pits of hell. Someone wants to spy on me from afar? They need to pass my murder of crows first, and also my cat army.


    "What are you thinking about that you''re grinning from ear to ear?" My dad asked in confusion as he walked by to grab a cup of water for himself. It''s not like we didn''t have a flight attendant, but he wanted to check up on me.


    I scowled a bit before tly answering, "World Domination."


    "Alright. Normal boys'' thoughts. It''s my fault for interfering. Continue." My dad waved dismissively under my unsatisfied gaze before he returned to his seat.


    (Just to be clear, he''s mad because of the way they were treating him, but at the same time he couldn''t get mad at them as their concern is still valid.)


    ...


    "Hi Grandma Jules. Hi Grandpa Sam." I greeted after getting out of the airport. My Grandpa looks kinda like the Other Ron from Parks and Recs, while my grandmother looks like Marshall''s mother from HIMYM.


    My grandmother has wavy rusty hair with a tall and still attractive figure even when she was almost 55 years old this year. She opened her arms and said in a sweet and warm voice, "Edward. It''s been so long!"


    She pulled me into her embrace, and I was surprised that I could only reach her bosom as the woman was freakishly tall.


    In fact, in the family, my dad was considered to be the runt of the litter with his 185 cm tall height. Even my grandmother was taller than him, and she still loves to wear high heel shoes when going out.


    (Edward''s grandmother �C Suzie''s kson, aka Marshall''s mother.)


    (Sam Elliot �C Ted''s dad/ Edward''s grandpa)


    "Dad." Ted nodded slightly at his dad.


    "Son." My grandpa replied with a nod too. The old white-haired man with a cowboy hat and thick white mustache turned towards me before smiling slightly and patted me on the shoulder. "You''ve grown."


    "I know." I replied casually. My grandparents smiled before my grandma said excitedly, "We should hurry home. I''ve spent all night making the perfect brisket for you. I know how much you love grandma''s brisket."


    My eyes lit up, "Oh. I can''t wait. Did you ughter the cow at the ranch?"


    My grandmother hesitated while my grandpa smiled, "Yes. I picked the juiciest looking one."


    "Nice." I nodded before wiping my imaginary saliva.


    "By the way, Ted. Is this your new wife?" My grandpa pointed out casually as he saw my aunt. You sure like themtinas."


    Cam and Ted were stunned before Cam got flustered and offered her hand to my grandparent, "Hi. I-I''m not his new wife. I''m his ex-wife''s younger sister, so I''m Ed''s Aunt...technically."


    My grandmother''s eyes lit up, "Oh. So you''re part of the family. Come here you!" She walked towards my aunt and gave her a big hug while my grandpa just nodded at her. Cam was taken aback at first before she just went with us.


    "She smells like Canada right?" I whispered to my aunt after my grandmother released her.


    "Canada?"


    "Maple syrup and vani."


    "Oh right. Canada- Wait, why vani?" She almost went with it before she got confused by the category.


    I turned to her and said in a normal voice, "Well you know we got vani through a beaver''s anus? And the beaver is Canada''s official mascot."


    "WHAT?!" She widened her eyes in disbelief. "Ed, don''t prank your aunt." My dad interrupted quickly. My aunt rolled her eyes while Iughed.


    "Is Uncle Aaron here?" I asked as we got in the van.


    "No. But your Aunt May and cousin are here." My grandma replied excitedly.


    "Hmm Aunt May. If only my name was Peter." I mumbled to myself.


    "Then you''d be the real life spiderman?" My aunt said in a sarcastic manner. I turned to her and nodded, "You do get me."


    We then took a 40 minute drive in my grandpa''s van which he used to pick up the guest for the ranch. Luckily for us, he didn''t bring the pickup truck or else me and my dad would have had to sit at the back during the whole journey.


    "Ow there''s been a mountain lion spotted at the mountain trail, so don''t wander off too far okay Ed?" My grandpa advised as we passed by the hiking trail entrance.


    "Don''t worry Grandpa. I''m not even nning to get out of the house." I replied, causing my grandparents to be confused. We could finally see the ranch after a while.


    The grass was green, cows and horses were grazing on the field, the ducks and chickens were waddling around and almost every animal that we passed was looking at me weirdly as soon as I got near.


    "What''s he talking about Ted?" My grandmother asked with a whisper as she stole a gaze at me.


    "Uhhh.." My dad hesitated, "I''ll tell you what''s going on when we get home."


    ...


    After exining about my situation to my grandparents, my grandmother hugged me for a long time. She didn''t let go for over 20 minutes of burying my face in her bosom.


    "Oh you poor poor child." My grandmother tried tofort me.


    "I''m actually pretty rich right now." I joked after I could finally breathe.


    "Alright. You go and wash up before we have dinner." My grandmother ordered. Granted it was only 4 pm, but here in the ranch, we had dinner really early, went to sleep soon after but also woke up before sunrise.


    "Which room should I stay in?" I asked in confusion. My grandparents suddenly realized something and looked at each other. "Oh no. There''s only 2 beds left."


    "What?" I was in disbelief. My dad then muttered nervously, "But we have 3 people."


    "It''s fine. Ed can bunk with his cousin Amy like they always did." My grandmother muttered sweetly. A teenage girl suddenly walked towards the living room and was stunned as she heard the statement.


    The red-haired girl with a short stature said hurriedly. "Grandma No! We''re already teenagers! It''s weird for me to bunk with a boy!" She was wearing a ck crop shirt and a jean short. She also has arge chain ne on her neck as she was in her punk era.


    (Jenna Coleman- Amy)


    "And hello to you too." I rolled my eyes at her before saying to my grandmother, "Don''t worry Grandma. I''ll just bunk with Dad."


    "No. Your dad''s bed is a single bed. But there''s a double bed in Amy''s room." My grandmother said in an oblivious manner.


    "Or we can throw him with the cows." My cousin Amy shot me a dirty look.


    "There''s no difference between that and staying in the same room as you." I replied back. She was irritated and almost lunged at me but I held her short head with my arm, making her swing her fist uselessly.


    "Seriously grandma. No." I muttered.


    "Nonsense. It''ll be fine Edward." My grandmother waved her hand dismissively as she had already made the decision. My grandpa then threw my luggage inside the room before I could say anything to him.


    " This is going to be a long 5 days." I rubbed my face in frustration before going to wash up before dinner.


    "Oh, I should tell you. I invited Miss Allison from church to join us today." My grandmother said before walking away.


    "Who''s Miss Allison?" I was confused.


    "Just a new friend of mine. She moved here from New York to teach the kindergarten here, and everyone in the town loves her!" My grandmother replied.


    "Well we''ll see about thatter." I muttered suspiciously.


    *Ding Dong*


    Suddenly the doorbell rang. My grandmother sped her hand in excitement and went to open up the door in a hurry.


    "Hi Jules. You''re looking even prettier today." The energetic woman wearing a pink cardigan said excitedly as she was weed into the house. I widened my eyes in shock as she was incredibly gorgeous and also quite familiar.


    ''Jennifer Garner? How...Why?...WHAT?!'' My mind was a mess as I saw her.


    She looked at me and suddenly gasped, "Prince Edward?!"


    "Who? Ah right. You''re famous now?" My cousin said sarcastically as Jennifer Garner�C I meant Miss Amy was stunned to see me. Allison shook her head quickly to snap herself back to reality and said, "Edward Newgate. Hi. It''s a pleasure to meet you."


    "Hi. Miss Allison. You''re incredibly pretty. And I can guess why my grandmother invited you here, but right now I get a feeling that I might want want topete with my dad-"


    "Ed. Don''t say nonsense." My aunt stopped me hurriedly. "Also. Ted. Wipe that drool off your face."


    "Hi. I''m Cam." My aunt then introduces herself calmly. "You must be Edward''s fan?"


    "Oh yes. I''d also followed him on Instagram, Twitter, Forum...and I''m even in his fan club." Allison said in embarrassment.


    "Oh Edward? You''re THAT famous?" My grandmother asked in surprise. My grandad was nonchnt and he asked, "You''re making decent money?"


    "Yes. And Yes." I replied casually. "Now. Where''s that brisket?" I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. My grandmotherughed and told me she was proud of me for a few more minutes before we could finally get to the meat.


    I met my aunt May at the dinner table, which in case you''re curious, she didn''t actually look like Melissa Tomei, but just looked like a younger version of my grandmother.


    "Ed. Do you want to say grace?" My grandmother said as we held hands together at the dinner table. My grandma was a hardcore baptist, but the rest of the family not so much.


    "No thanks." I shook my head, causing my grandma''s head to droop in disappointment.


    "I can lead it grandma." My cousin said hurriedly.


    "Suck up." I whispered to her.


    "Sell out." She whispered back.


    "Alright. No concert tickets for you then."


    "NOOO! I want to go!" She quickly changed her attitude and begged me.

 Chapter 160: Wisconsin (2) - Awkward Dinner.

    <h4>Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Wisconsin (2) - Awkward Dinner.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    I had a mncholic feeling in my stomach as I sat at the long dinner table together with my extended family members.


    My grandpa was sitting at the head of the table with my grandmother next to him, on the same side as my Aunt May, the teacher and myself.


    On the other side was my dad, Cam, and also my annoying cousin Amy. There was an empty seat for my uncle Aaron, my other cousin and my uncle-inw�� Amy''s dad, Jim.


    "Where''s Uncle Jim?" I asked my aunt May as I passed the bread to Allison.


    My aunt smiled proudly and said, "Well he''s taking Maggie to California to visit her college. He''ll be back tomorrow. Ohhh I''m so proud of her!"


    I furrowed my eyebrow and said, "Oh, she''s got into Santa ra right. That''s only an hour away from our house. By the way, why didn''t you tell me? They can ride back here with us."


    My grandmother interrupted, "Oh it''s fine. They bought the tickets a month ago. I don''t want them to go to waste."


    "Well you can actually get a refund, and then ride home for free." I said with a smirk.


    My grandparents and my aunt were confused. I asked them, "How do you think we got here?"


    "You bought a ticket...Right?" My grandpa asked.


    "Edward''s got a ne." My aunt Cam blurted out.


    "YOU GOT A PLANE?!" My grandmother shouted in disbelief.


    "Hey! I wanted to say that." Iughed at my aunt while the rest of my family was stunned. "So Grandma and Grandpa, if you want to go somewhere. Just give me a heads up and I''ll arrange it for you."


    "As long as it doesn''t interfere with his performance schedule." My dad added.


    "(Mockingly) As LoNg aS iT dOesn''t interfere-" My cousin was murmuring by herself, so I catapulted a green pea at her using a spoon.


    "Hey. You little-"


    "You''re the one who''s little now Strawberry Shortcake." I interjected. She hmph''ed and pouted before saying, "I haven''t hit puberty yet."


    "Your growth spurt started 2 years ago. Admit it. This is as far as you''ll grow!"


    "Ed. Don''t tease Amy so much. She will cry." My aunt said gently. I nodded at her and said, "Well she used to tease me a lot in the past. Now, she has to experience the consequences of her actions."


    My cousin sneered and said, "A nice way of saying that you could NEVER beat me before, so you can only use your newfound height to suppress me."


    "Yes." I said while pointing at her. She got irritated but I ignored her response.


    My dad smiled as we heard her. Granted, I did sumb to her bullying a few years back, but it wasn''t a hostile bullying situation, and the main reason I always lost was because my dad asked me to be gentle when dealing with a little girl.


    "What about Uncle Aaron?" I asked.


    Amy was ying with her food before she said, "Didn''t you hear?"


    "Huh? What happened to him?"


    "Well he got divorced. His wife was cheating on him with the town pastor." Amy spilled the tea. I widened my eyes in surprise then my grandmother cleared her throat and said, "Amy please. Not in front of the guest."


    "Well I guess she''s been calling him ''Daddy'' instead of ''Father'' then huh..." I added, causing my grandmother to look at me in disbelief while Amy wasughing.


    Allisonughed awkwardly as my grandmother smiled at her.


    "So Ed. How rich are you now?" My grandpa asked to change the subject.


    "I could livefortably for a few years even if I stopped now." I replied. My granddad nodded his head in approval and said, "Just don''t lose yourself in your riches. That''s the most important thing."


    "Sam, you''re not asking him more about the ne?" My grandmother asked in both shock and anger.


    "Well what''s more to ask? He got a ne." My granddad replied in a tired manner.


    "So Allison. Tell me about yourself." I asked in a maic voice as I looked at the Jennifer Garner look alike who sat next to me at the long dinner table. She blushed a bit and brushed her hair behind her ear while I kept staring at her face intently.


    "Edward, you''re making her feel ufortable." My grandmother said in a scolding manner.


    I pretended to have a realization and asked, "Oh...Did I really? I''m sorry Miss Allison."


    "Oh. No. I''m not ufortable at all!" Miss Allison spoke quickly. I turned to my grandmother with a grin, "See? She''s not ufortable at all."


    My grandmother rolled her eyes before getting back to her food while I flirted with the kindergarten teacher.


    "Well, I am currently teaching a kindergarten ss in town. And I just moved here a month ago. Um...What else? What else? Oh right, I love my job, and I hope that the kids in my ss will warm up to me soon. Most of the boys seem to avoid me, and I''m not quite sure why."


    She was excited about her job, and it was clear to see on her face. Her dimple caught my eyes and my heart couldn''t help but skip a beat as she identally met my gaze.


    "It''s because they have a crush on you." I muttered, causing her to widen her eyes before blushing. "No they don''t." She shook her head shyly.


    "No. I''m sure that they do. I can say confidently that 9 out of 10 boys in the ss have a crush on you. Hell I would''ve had a crush on you if you were my teacher." I maintained eye contact while slowly pouring the wine in her ss.


    "It''s hard not too when you see the perfect woman in front of you." I added.


    "You''re kidding." Miss Allison said as she fanned her hot face, and let me tell you it wasn''t just because she had eaten my grandmother''s spicy chili.


    "What about the 1/10?" My cousin interjected, destroying the mood.


    "Well that one is already falling in love. Unlike you who has stunted development. Also, eat your peas and no meddling, the adults are talking."


    She grimaced and smacked the table, "I''m older than you!"


    I scoffed and said, "By 3 days. And when you think about it it''s not surprising you were born on April 1st given how big of a joke you are."


    She gasped while Miss Allison was chuckling. Seeing that she was humiliated in front of a guest she kinda likes, she exploded.


    "Oh that''s it. You and me. Outside, right now!" She stood up quickly and mmed her napkin on her empty table. I smiled but before I could answer, my dad interjected, "Amy. Can I please ask you, as a personal favor, not to wrestle with Ed today?"


    "But-"


    "Dad, it''s fine. I want to take my revenge after all these years of getting bullied by her. Now that I''ve hit puberty, she has lost her chance to win against me in a fair fight."


    She scoffed and said, "Who said I''m going to fight fairly?" She gazed at my crotch which rmed me a little bit. It made me understand that I would need to protect my weak part in the fight after this.


    "Amy. Please sit." My aunt said in a stern manner, unbing of her temperament. I furrowed my eyebrow in irritation while Amy was shaken and she sat down obediently after that.


    My grandmother was concerned, "Amy. They''re kids. And apparently no homing isplete without Amy and Edward fighting each other."


    "But you know what just happened to Edward." My aunt muttered, causing me to frown.


    "I''m fine, Aunt May. Don''t worry about me. It was nothing." I replied to her, but my dad interrupted me.


    "Amy. I''m sorry. But for Edward''s sake. Don''t rile him up too much these few days okay?" My dad asked sincerely.


    "Dad. I told you I''m fine." I said with a hint of agitation in my tone.


    "Well that''s not up for you to decide is it?" My dad blurted out with an angry voice subconsciously. My grandmother was taken aback, while I narrowed my eyes at him.


    I sighed without saying anything before changing the subject. "Grandma. Grandpa. I''m confused about something."


    "What is it dear?" She asked in a sweet manner while my granddad just looked at me.


    "Well, you''re 55. And my dad is 45. Considering that Uncle Aaron is the firstborn and is at 50 years old this year, he has a 5 years old age difference with you. So...(Gasp!) Grandpa!"


    "It''s not what you think!" My grandpa said quickly with a nervous voice.


    My aunt was shaking while my grandpa raised his head from his te to stare at me. My grandmotherughed and said, "That took you long enough to find out."


    "Find out what?" My cousin Amy was confused.


    "Well I did figure it out years before, but I never had the courage to actually ask about it." I muttered in a casual manner.


    Well my grandmother wasn''t my true grandmother after all. My grandpa''s first wife died of tuberculosis while my dad was 17, and my aunt May was the result of my grandpa''s second marriage.


    So that made Amy my second cousin. I think. I''m not so sure about it.


    "Wait. What?" My cousin was shocked when she realized it.


    "Dummy." I insulted her. It took a while for my grandmother to finish the story, and without me even noticing, I was already finished with my food.


    I wiped my mouth with a napkin before saying to the crowd, "Excuse me. I have some work matters to attend to." Then, I stood up and left the dinner table and went to my room after washing my dishes in the kitchen sink.


    "I''ll go with you." My cousin said as she stood up and followed me from behind.


    [General POV]


    "Allison. I''m sorry for Edward." The grandmother said.


    "Oh not at all. He''s been really nice. It''s even...kinda unexpected." Allison smiled warmly.


    Grandpa Sam sighed after Edward left the dinner table.


    "Do you really have to poke the wasp''s nest like that? You can see that Edward is barely maintaining his temper around you. What a good kid. If you were my dad, I''d already shot you." Sam muttered with some annoyance.


    Ted shook his head in disappointment, but his disappointment wasn''t with others, but with himself. "I know. I made a mistake."


    "It''s not Ted''s fault. He''s been under so much pressure thesest 2 days." Cam muttered worriedly.


    Granny Jules held Ted''s hand and said sweetly, "Ted Honey. I know that you''re worried about Edward. But putting a bubble wrap on him won''t work."


    "I''m not. I just want him to take it easy for a while. But no matter what I do he just won''t listen to me." Ted said pitifully.


    The grandmother patted his arm tofort him while Aunt May said, "He''s in a rebellious age. Of course he won''t listen to you. It''s the same thing with Amy."


    "I just hope they won''t cause chaos like they did when they were younger. Last time they released the cows from the shed and I had to search all over town to find them. We even found some of them staring at a ribeye poster in a restaurant parking lot, and I''m pretty sure that those are still traumatized." Grandpa Sam muttered.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Who are you calling? Your girlfriend?" My cousin badgered me as Iid down on the bottom part of the double decker bed. She was peeking at me from the top bunk, and was annoying me the whole time I was getting myself settled.


    "Shut up or I''ll ce you up in the fridge." I warned her.


    She sneered and said, "Try it. I''ll tear your balls off before you can do it."


    "Shhh Amy." I shushed her as the call was connected.


    "Hey Haley. How''s the first day of Family Camp?" I asked her with augh.


    "It''s PRETTY FREAKING AWFUL! The mosquitoes are feasting on my blood. I''ve been bitten almost 20 times already." Sheined. "Also, there isn''t any wifi anywhere other than the dorm, so I was bored out of my mind for the whole day."


    "Aww. That''s harsh." I listened intently.


    "I know right? And to think I have to spend 2 weeks living like a savage over here. Do you know how much gossip I''ll miss out on? And when I get back, all of them will already be irrelevant."


    "That''s true." I nodded and asked, "You have another activity nned for tonight right?"


    "Yeah. The stupid Art and Culture night thing. Dad wants to audition for a part, which is soo embarrassing."


    "Oh. What kind of y is it?" I asked curiously.


    "I don''t know? I don''t remember, and I''m not INTERESTED" Haley replied in annoyance.


    "But this is something good. And you should definitely make your dad audition for the main lead part."


    "He''s not going to do that. He wants to get started on a small part-" Haley stopped her sentence in realization.


    I smirked and said, "You noticed it too right? He wants to get started small, then the next few years, he''s going to vie for bigger and bigger parts. So you''re going to have to go to Family Camp for years!"


    "You''re right!" Haley was in disbelief. "Oh, that guy is so slick. I was almost tricked by him. I''m going to make sure that he gives it all and peaks in this camp. That way, we won''t being here anymore."


    Iughed a bit and said, "Good. You should join him too. I''d already told Alex to email me pictures after you all get home. Also, talking about a slick dad, want to hear something awful?"


    "What? What did your dad do now? Is he sleeping in the corridor in front of your room again?" Haley asked with a chuckle.


    "Nah. He and my grandma made it seem like we don''t have enough room and made me bunk with my demonic midget hell spawned cousin."


    "HEY!" Amy shouted in offense as she could hear everything.


    Haley was taken aback, "Oh. Your cousin...is a girl?"


    "Yeah. But don''t worry. We''re not in bama, so it''s safe." I joked. Haley snorted as she held back herugh. She was clear about the bama joke as I exined it to her before.


    "Why bama?" Amy asked in confusion.


    "Didn''t your mother tell you it''s not good behavior to eavesdrop on someone''s conversation?" I scolded her before going back to the call.


    "Why are you so mean to me?!" Amy yelled in annoyance and teary eyes before running out of the room.


    "Ed. Did she cry? You''re being really mean and I mean... if she cried." Haley muttered in concern. I was shocked when I saw Amy running out and muttered, "Yeah, I guess I was being king of an asshole. Although in my defense. She started it."


    "Huh? What did she do?" Haley asked in intrigue.


    "Well...if you must know...it started during the summer when we were 7 years old."


    [shback 5 years ago]


    A young Edward with a messy wolf cut hairstyle opened the fridge and took out a box of Eggo (Frozen Waffle Brand), only to find it was empty.


    He looked at the young Amy who was eating the waffle in front of the TV and said, "Did you eat thest Eggo and put the empty box back into the fridge?"


    "Yeah." Amy replied nonmittedly. She then smiled and said instigatively, "That must suck huh Vivaldi?"


    "You yed with my feelings. I was excited to have an Eggo on myst morning here, but you ruined it with your devil-tainted pranks. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS."


    Seemingly challenged by Edward''s deration, Amy muttered, "Oh yeah? Then how about this?"


    She then dropped the half-eaten waffle on the floor on purpose right in front of Edward''s angry gaze.


    [shback ends]


    "So...your fight started since then?" Haley muttered in disbelief.


    "Yeah. That''s why you should never test me with food stuff. Especially the sweet ones I could never have when I get back home. As I just showed I do hold a really long grudge about that." I exined.


    "You know what? I want to say be mature, but I''m sure you''ll already know better." Haley muttered. "Mom''s here. I have to go."


    "Alright. I''ll call you tomorrow?" I stood up and tried to figure out which way Amy went.


    "And don''t you dare forget about it!" Haley said before ending the call.


    ...


    I searched all over the house before walking to the barn and then the stables, but I couldn''t find where Amy had run off too.


    "Damn that midget." I cursed before I met Apollo, our Shepherd dog who was taking care of the goats.


    "Hey Big guy. Long time no see." I petted the old dog for a while, causing him to wag his tail in excitement. "Do you know where Amy went?" I asked the dog.


    He then turned his head to the direction of the hill. I sighed and asked, "Can you lead me to her?"


    He nodded and walked in front of me a few steps before stopping and turning his head back to make sure that I was following him. We walked for over 1o minutes before I could finally see where Amy had gone.


    She was sitting inside a tire swing under an oak tree, wiping her tears with the back of her hand as she processed her emotion.


    "Amy?" I called out. She was surprised to see me there, "Go away Ed. I know you don''t like me too." Apollo left me behind and went towards Amy before he put his head on her feet, trying to cheer her up.


    "Too? Who else doesn''t like you? That privilege is reserved just for me, so I need to know who dares to try and snatch it." I joked as I walked close to her, but a murderous glint shined in my eyes. I


    She was silent, so I tried to persuade her, "Come on. Talk to me."


    "No." She pouted and turned her head away to avoid looking at my face.


    "Come on. I''m sorry I called you a demonic midget. That''s unfair. You''re not a demon." I said.


    "BUT I AM A MIDGET?!" She shouted incredulously before standing up, "You have a lot of nerve calling me that after you ignored me for almost 3 years! Now you''re back, and you hate me, and my stomach is cramping�C and my sister is going away, and everything has changed, and I don''t know what to do."


    Her chin quivered and her eyes were red, but she stared at me right in the face as if telling me that all that was happening to her was actually my fault.


    I was stunned for a bit and then I smiled wryly, "Well I''m sorry for the part where I got something to do with it."


    "As if! You must be pretty happy right now! With your singing career taking off, your private ne, dating a star- I hope that you''ll choke on the heroin you''re pushing up your nose."


    "I haven''t done drugs yet though." I replied casually. "Also, I said I''m sorry. What more do you want?"


    She was irritated and she stood up, "Come at me."


    "Huh?" I was confused when I saw her getting into a stance.


    "I always knew one day you''d be taller than me, so I''ve been learning martial arts to take you down when it happens."


    "Oh. Good for you."


    "STOP BEING SO SMIRKY! I''ll throw you down on the floor... But I need you to lunge at me first as I haven''t learned how to do it when you''re standing yet!"


    Iughed out loud and said, "Give up. I also have a ck belt in martial arts."


    She widened her eyes in surprise and said, "Really.... FFFFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!"


    I waited for her to vent out her emotion first before saying, "Let''s go back. I''ll pop some Eggo into the microwave for you, how does that sound?''


    "I''m not a child!" She scoffed before her eyes shook in hesitation, "Will you put some whipped cream on it too?"


    "As much as you want." I promised.


    She then thought for a while and then said, "Okay. But one more word about my height, and I swear to god that I''ll throw you down this hill."


    She saw my smirking face and then her face turned horrified.


    "I''ll tell Grandma that you used god''s name in vain."


    "What? No I Didn''t! EDDY!"


    I walked away quickly and she had to run after me from behind to make sure that I didn''t rat her out to our grandmother. Apollo followed us around in excitement as we walked back to our house.


    From her little tantrum episode, I noticed one thing. If you asked me what the Dunphy''s were doing, and how their life was going, I could answer it all in detail.


    But when ites to my own family, I didn''t know a damn thing about what was going on in their lives right now.


    I didn''t know that Amy had be more introverted after her boy friends didn''t want to y with her anymore once they hit puberty, so she had been feeling quite left out.


    I didn''t know that Uncle Aaron had a divorce, which was a pretty big deal for me not to know anything about. I should help him get back on his feet soon. And also while I was helping, maybe I could convince him to bring me to a strip club.


    "Well, I hope tomorrow will be better." I muttered before going to sleep.


    ...


    The sky was still dark out when a loud rooster crow suddenly startled me from my sleep. Amy almost fell from the top bunk in surprise and I sat up hurriedly. Then we both turned to the corner of our room where a dumb looking rooster had infiltrated too.


    "How in the hell?" I muttered in confusion, not knowing how the rooster managed to get in.


    My grandpa barged into the room before we could collect ourselves and said, "Mornin''. Brush your teeth and meet me at the barn. The cows are not going to milk themselves."


    "Ugh." I groaned and fell back on the bed.


    "Now Ed." My grandpa ordered.


    "This kind of ''tomorrow'' isn''t any better." I groaned as I reluctantly left my bed.

 Chapter 161: Vacation time.

    <h4>Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Vacation time.?</h4>


    (Hi. Sorry It''s a Holiday In my country. And also I was punched in the face, so I was resting for a while LoL. I had queued up Chapters to be uploaded till Monday, so there will be continuous one Chapter per day. If it wasn''t uploaded at the time I normally did, then the timer did something wrong and just ping me at my discord channel.


    Discord link : https://discord.gg/72GxvxYG )


    [Edward POV]


    "How could you drag him into the barn first thing in the morning Sam? He''s a growing boy. He''s supposed to get some more sleep!" My grandma touched my face affectionately as we sat at the breakfast table.


    It was only 5.30 in the morning, and there wasn''t anyone else there as they hadn''t woken up yet. Amy tried to wake up before, but she fell asleep in the bathroom, so I just left her there with the toothbrush still in her mouth.


    Grandpa wasn''t feeling guilty at all and said excitedly,"You should''ve seen when he was milking Daisy (the cow). She was shooting milk like a fountain. She''d never done that before. We got buckets of milk from Ed''s efforts alone."


    "Alone? You didn''t make him do all the work, did you?" My grandma asked suspiciously.


    "Uhh..." My grandpa hesitated and looked at me for help, so Iplied, "Yes he did Grandma. He was just standing there doing nothing. He also tried to make me milk a bull, but I was too smart to fall for that."


    Well I was helping, but I didn''t say that I was going to help him.


    "SAM!" My grandma asked in shock. My grandpa smiled and waved it off, "Ed. You''reing with me to see the horses this afternoon."


    I was a bit hesitant, "You''re not going to make me jerk them off will you? Cause I got to tell you, I''m not going to do that... Not in a million years."


    "Well you''ll do it if you''re desperate enough." My grandpa said with a grin. "But that wasn''t it. You still remember Stud right?"


    I thought back and realized, "Oh yeah. He''s supposed to be my horse."


    "Yeah. He''s supposed to be growing up with you. But right now, he''s already a full grown horse."


    "It has been almost 3 years. I wonder if he still remembers me." I muttered casually as I ate the pancake my grandmother had made. Her secret recipe was to cook it in bacon grease, which made me devour 3 tes of pancakes right before my dad woke up.


    He sat at the breakfast table and my grandmother served him coffee. "What about mine?" I asked her mischievously. She smiled in confusion while pouring a cup of coffee for me, "You drink coffee Ed?"


    "He''s drinking more coffee than me per day. But you shouldn''t drink coffee right now. We''re going to the hospital after this." My dad interjected before turning to my grandma, "So no coffee for him mom."


    I snatched the coffee from my grandmother''s hand and muttered casually, "No need to worry. I already emailed the monitor''s data to Dr House."


    My dad and grandparents were surprised, although my dad''s reaction was leaning more toward irritability.


    "You''re supposed to let the doctor handle it, Ed." Dad said scoldingly.


    I scrunched my eyebrow and said annoyedly, "I don''t want to drive 3 hours back and forth to the hospital just for them to do something that I could do by myself. I could do it right here using a simpleptop and an adapter. Dr House already said that it was okay when he got the email so I don''t know what you''re angry about."


    "Ed is right Ted. Do you really want to waste 3 hours on the road?" My grandpa backed me up. "You could''ve spent that time working."


    I nodded in agreement while my grandmother looked at both me and my grandpa in disbelief.


    "Well if you STOPPED working and rx for once Sam your grandson wouldn''t be like this!" My grandma started to nag.


    "I''m going to wake Amy up." I ran to my room quickly while holding my cup of coffee.


    "Young Man! I haven''t finished talking!" My grandma shouted from afar before shooting my grandpa a dirty look. He was smiling as he was proud of me, but his face turned fearful as he saw grandma''s unhappy gaze.


    "I should get to the barn." He excused himself.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "I don''t know what else to do. He won''t stop working." Tedined to his step-mother after Edward and Sam had left the breakfast table. "I thought I could make him get some rest over here. But he brings all of his work with him."


    Jules then sat in front of Ted, leaning slightly forward as she held her arm, "Well Honey. You''re his dad. If you don''t want him to do something, then just say it."


    "It''s not that simple. Whenever we have this little tiff about work, I can''t seem to win any argument he is making."


    "That''s the problem!" Jules pped Ted''s arm, "You''re ASKING him to."


    "Well isn''t that what a father should do?" Ted replied, confused.


    "No. You''re his dad. As long as he lives under your roof, he should listen to what you are telling him to do." Jules advised, however wrong the advice was.


    "Then he would actually buy a new house and move out." Ted replied knowingly. "I can''t do that to him. He hates being restricted the most."


    "Well...Hmm...Maybe I can ask Amy to show him around town. A lot has changed since hest got here. Also, when Maggie arrives, she can keep an eye on him. You know how Edward always had a crush on her."


    "I don''t think that''ll work anymore." Ted replied while sipping his beer.


    Jules smiled slyly, "Oh trust me, when he sees her it''ll definitely work. But in the meantime, maybe you could prevent him from working by...I don''t know... forgetting to put hisptop in his luggage?"


    Ted didn''t catch the hint, "But he packed his suit on his own."


    Jules shoot him a look, "But...Mayyyybeee....He- Ted I don''t know why you''re not getting it. Just take hisptop away!"


    "AHH! Right, right."


    Amy suddenly appeared behind Ted, scaring him as she spoke, "I smell pancakes."


    "Amy, go spit out your toothpaste first and finish brushing your teeth!" Grandma Jules scolded as the toothbrush was still in her mouth.


    Amy took the toothbrush off and said casually, "Also. I don''t think that''ll work. He''s already on his hisptop right now, working on his apps ."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Luckily for me, my dad didn''t tape myptop shut like Phil was going to do in the future. He just took it away, and said that he would give it to me after dinner. In the meantime, I needed to act like an actual teenager, and go outside of the house to y.


    Therefore, I hotwired my uncle''s pickup truck and drove to town with Amy.


    "We''re going to be in so much trouble!" Amy muttered with concern. "I love it!" Her face changed up instantly as she enjoyed the drive.


    "Also, don''t use the road by the creek. Sherif Miller usually stays out there." She advised.


    I furrowed my eyebrow in confusion and asked, "Why should I avoid him?"


    She looked at me in disbelief, "Because...You don''t have a license?"


    "Reach into my pocket." I said casually.


    Amy almost did it but stopped and pulled herself back quickly, "You''re not tricking me. Grandma said that a girl should never do that if a guy told her to do it."


    "What am I going to do? Make you touch my penis? My license is in my pocket." I replied in disbelief before getting my cash clip together with a DMV card out by myself.


    "Please don''t say penis in front of me. Ever again." She warned me.


    I nodded slightly, "Right. You''re onlyfortable with people calling it peepee or-"


    "STOP SAYING IT! ALSO!" She took out my cash and spread it out on her hand, "We''re going to have so much fun in town."


    I nodded in understanding and said, "Okay. Just keep your hoo-ha in check. I don''t want you to pee from excitement-"


    "STOP IT!"


    She punched the air beside me a few times, and after she calmed down, she looked at me in confusion and asked, "Why do you have a license?"


    "Well it''s a fake one." I replied.


    The license was forged, but with my skill, there was no difference between that and a real one I was going to get after I passed my driving test... Because I actually did hack into the DMV system and forged myself a new one. I just paid Dn 20 bucks to go and pick it up for me after.


    And I also did a good thing afterward and upgraded the DMV system so that it could run 100 times more efficiently. However, to my surprise, it didn''t change a thing about the DMV''s slowness, so in the end it was just useless.


    "You''re going to get so grounded when I tattle about this to your dad." Amy muttered with a smile, but she didn''t actually do that.


    "It''s fine. Then I won''t let you buy whatever you want with my money today." I muttered coaxingly and tried to grab my cash back.


    She pulled her hand away and then said, "What if wepromise and don''t tattle to your dad, and you still buy me that Viking''s T-shirt."


    "I thought you''re a Badger''s fan?" I asked with one raised eyebrow.


    She smiled evilly and said, "All our family is. Don''t you think it''ll be fun to wear it at the dinner''s table and see who I piss off?"


    "You''re fun. I like you." I told her.


    Sheughed and said, "Thanks. I like you too. But mostly for your money."


    I scoffed while sheughed mischievously. While we were in town, I had to put on a baseball cap and sses to disguise myself.


    "Oh, is that Miss Allison?" Amy pointed out when we were driving in front of a hardware store.


    Miss Allison was struggling with her bags, and no one was around to help her.


    And it was actually weird since it is Wisconsin which means that if there is someone around, they would have helped her. She was wearing a red, one piece dress with cap sleeves and a low cut neckline, or what can simply be called a ''Summer dress'' and it was extremely eye-catching.


    No wonder they said a 7 bucks summer dress could cost you 70,000 dors in child support if you weren''t careful.


    I stopped the truck next to her and rolled down the window, "You need some help over there?"


    She turned quickly, some stic tubes fell down at the same time as she turned.


    "Oh Edward. Hi. I was just buying some stuff to fix my sink."


    "What''s wrong with your sink? And why did you buy...well...a lot of stuff that isn''t actually helpful for sink repair." I said as I saw within her bag. It has wallpaper rolls, some sters, sandpaper, showerhead, and more.


    "Well... My house still needs a lot of work, and I haven''t yet got the time to do it since I moved here."


    " Then, throw the stuff in the back, and I''ll lend you some help. I might not seem like it, but I''m very handy." I offered.


    "Oh..Um..Are you sure?" Miss Allison asked. The gentle breeze made her hair pped in the wind, so she had to brush the stray hair behind her ears. My heart skipped a beat and said, "Sure. Hop in."


    She was so excited that she almost did a little dance. No scratch that. She did dance a little.


    "What ARE you doing? What about my shirt!?" Amy whispered angrily as Miss Allison went to store her stuff.


    "I''ll buy you two shirtster. Be nice." I coaxed her.


    "Be nice? Why?" She asked with suspicion.


    "Well...I kinda want to date her. So be cool." I muttered, after censoring myself for a bit. It''s better than what I was going to say, which was ''I kinda want to sleep with her''.


    The girl was astonished when she heard it, and when Miss Allison opened the door to enter, she was confused when she saw the frozen Amy.


    "What''s with her?"


    "Nothing. She was just surprised when I told her I did most of the renovations in my house myself."


    "Oh! So you didn''t just say that." She said coquettishly, causing Amy to be even more shocked. The poor girl was speechless there and didn''t know what to do.


    "I thought you were justing to my house to see where I live." Miss Allison continued while shooting me a flirty look.


    "That too. I want to know whether or not you just throw your underwear everywhere when you live alone."


    Sheughed, and then went silent after trying to think about it. "Give me 5 minutes before you get in, okay?" She requested.


    "Personally, I don''t mind. But okay." I replied casually before stepping on the gas. It was only a 10 minute drive to her house, and I helped her carry her stuff back into the suburban house with flowers on the window.


    "It''s a nice house." Iplimented honestly. "Amy, here''s 50 bucks. You can go hang out at the mall if you want." I turned to Amy and tried to send her away.


    "Oh hells no. I''m not leaving you alone with her." She muttered angrily.


    "Alright then. But if you''re staying, then you''re helping."


    "Just to be clear. Your dad kicked you out the house to y and yet here you are,ing to a stranger''s house, to work more?"


    "I do see the irony here too." I muttered with a slight nodding.


    ...


    I helped Miss Allison by fixing her sink and wasying down under it as it was a small space for me to squeeze in. I asked Amy to turn off the water line first before opening the pipes, which was a wrong decision to make.


    "Ed! I''m really sorry!" Amy muttered with augh after she saw I was wet from the dirty water. I had already finished with the repair, which I had to do pretty quickly in order to keep myself from drowning.


    I narrowed my gaze at Amy menacingly, causing her to shut up.Miss Allison interjected, "I''ll get you some towels and a clean shirt."


    "No need. Since I''m already dirty." I said before grabbing the hem of my shirt and taking it off, revealing a muscr stature.


    Both Miss Allison and Amy were startled, and Amy mouthed ''What the fuck'' while Miss Allison nked out as she gazed into my abs.


    "I''ll help you with the shower head. Although I''m curious as to why you bought the one with the pulsating jet stream function." I smirked mischievously at Miss Allison, causing her to turn her head away and look at the ceiling clearly trying to avoid my eyes.


    I hit the mark with that one. A singledy''s shower head was a good tool for her to pretend she got a boyfriend in the bathtub. But before I could tease her more, Amy chimed in.


    "It''s just a shower function?" Amy was confused.


    "Right. You haven''t hit puberty yet." I muttered while nodding my head.


    "I ALREADY DID!" She shouted in frustration before stomping away angrily. She didn''t leave the house, but just sat in front of the TV and watched MTV while I was working.


    After I installed the new shower, I gave it to Miss Allison and said, "Here. Think of me when you use it."


    "W-W-Wh-Why would I think of you here...? I''m just going to be showering." She stammered.


    I gave her a knowing look and said, "Sure. But that means that you''re going to think of me when you''re in ces other than the shower. And that does sound exciting for me."


    She widened her eyes before chuckling at my teasing, "You shouldn''t flirt like that. I''m already an old woman." She pressed my nose with her finger as if to show she was angry, but her smile betrayed what she was truly feeling.


    "You''re in your 20''s. Big deal-" I said before she was slipping on some spilled soap, and almost fell on her back.


    I grabbed her by the waist quickly and pulled her towards me. The inertia caused her to fall on top of me in the bathtub, and the shower head was turned on as I had hit the faucet.


    Her dress became wet and started to stick on her body. I turned to her and asked, "Are you okay?" while the water was still running on my head. Both of us became wet while she rubbed her leg and said, "Oww...It doesn''t hurt much."


    She was looking incredibly sexy with her skirt riding up and her bosom constantly getting wetter.


    "Umm...We should get up." She said in embarrassment as she caught my gaze on her chest. I cleared my throat and said, "Yeah. I''ll grab you a towel."


    "Thank you Ed." She said with a blush. We locked eyes and I lowered my gaze towards her lips. Her bosom heaved up and down as she closed her lips with mine. She closed her eyes as she waited, and when I was going for the kiss, suddenly, my phone rang.


    "Ahh damn it." I cursed as Miss Allison managed to collect herself and pull herself back from the distraction.


    "Y-Y-Y-You should get that." She said while she was running away. After she left the bathroom, I picked up the call angrily and asked, "What do you want?"


    "The truck." My grandpa muttered with a teasing tone. "Did I interrupt something good?"


    "Yeah. Something really good." Iined.


    "Oh I''m not going to be sorry for that." My grandpa replied, "I need the pickup truck to pick up your Uncle Jim and your cousin from the airport."


    "Ah right. Are they almost here?" I asked while rubbing my face.


    "Yeah. That''s why I''m calling you." My grandpa said casually.


    "Alright. Hey, just a thought. Why don''t I go to pick up Uncle Jim and Maggie from the airport?"


    "The car only seats 3. But I think you can squeeze in 4 people there." My grandpa replied after thinking for a while.


    Between driving for 2 hours to pick up his family from the airport and work on his farm, it was stupid for him to say no to the offer. He didn''t even ask me if I had a license. He only cared whether I could drive the car or not.


    I told Miss Allison about the pick up. "I''lle by and finish up tomorrow."


    "Ah no need. I can finish the rest by myself." She replied as if she didn''t want me to stay there any longer.


    "Are you sure?" I asked as I looked around, "The wallpaper is going to be a lot of work."


    "It''s fine. Really. I can''t thank you enough Edward." She muttered.


    "Oh. We got back to ''Edward''. That''s disheartening. I kinda like it when you call me Ed sweetly." I flirted.


    She held back a squeal and spoke in a shaky voice, "Well, I-I-I''m not going to be here tomorrow. I''m thinking about going on the hiking trail-"


    "Oh. The hiking trail. I''ve never been on that. So we going on a hike tomorrow?"


    "Uh..Yes?" She was confused, but agreed nheless.


    "Great. I''ll see you tomorrow. And, I''ll leave my phone number here. So call me tonight when you settle on a time." I replied with a sweet smile before leaving with Amy.


    We saw Miss Allison in a daze as we waved at her from the door, and I chuckled as I thought she was adorable.


    ...


    It was around lunch time when I got home after picking up my family. Uncle Jim has a simr appearance to Stanley Ti, but his mustache was thicker. He has a balding head, and a fit body despite being in his 50''s.


    And Maggie was a good Christian girl, dressed in modest clothing, who always had a sunshine smile on her face while being in front of the adults.


    (Maggie- Abigail Cowen)


    "I''m starving." Amy said.


    "Oh, we should stop by a restaurant. I''m starving too." Uncle Jim replied as he took over driving the car.


    I was nagged by him for a while as Amy ratted me out, despite him initially falling for my fake license card and apuding me for taking the initiative to pick them up. I saved this grudge in my ''Amy book of mishaps'' and I will make sure to settle the score with herter.


    "And after I bought you the t-shirts." I said while wearing a Badger''s football team shirt myself. I even bought a new pair of pants after my previous one got wet in Miss Allison''s bathtub.


    She stuck her tongue at me while Maggie smiled at the both of us.


    The restaurant we were stopping by was close to the airport, and I offered to pay for the food in exchange for Uncle Jim to let my fake driving license go. He epted the offer readily before he started to brag about Maggie''s impossible achievements!


    I was sitting next to Amy while Uncle Jim and Maggie were sitting right next to us.


    "Oh. I really didn''t think Maggie could get into college at times, especially after she burned down the barn, smoking with her friends, and told me the cows did it...I had already given up hope. But she actually performed a miracle." He hugged his daughter proudly as she sat there in embarrassment.


    "Or when she called the deepest point on earth the Marinara Trench." I chimed in.


    "Or when she thought Y2K was a band and not aputer virus." Amy added.


    "No one asked for your input." Maggie rolled her eyes.


    "Oh. I have to go to the toilet first before we drive back." Uncle Jim shook his legs slightly before running to the back of the restaurant.


    After we saw he was out of sight, all of us leaned in closer before Maggie said, "Okay. So I guess you guys can already guess. I didn''t really get into college?"


    Amy and I looked at each other before we turned to look at Maggie together, "Yeah." x2.


    "I''m wondering how you managed to trick uncle Jim and how are you nning to keep that up when you''re supposed to be already there. I can''t believe he''s not suspecting anything." I asked.


    Maggie smiled and exined, "I gave money to a college boy to act as a student guide, and I also made out with him a little bit so that he''d be more motivated."


    Amy and I nodded in understanding before I asked, "Why are you in California?"


    Maggie couldn''t hide her grin, "I HAD AN AUDITION! I''M GOING TO BE AN ACTRESS!"


    "Really? That''s so cool!" Amy said excitedly.


    "I know right?!" Maggie shouted before looking around guiltily to make sure her father wasn''t listening.


    "Oh, what kind of movie was it?" I asked her.


    "Well they haven''t decided on a name yet. But they said that they are going to hire me. They even gave me a huge signing fee!"


    "Oh. Do you have a contract? Can I see it?" I asked her with a smile, but I was feeling uneasy inside.


    "Sure. But don''t let dad see it." Maggie said and reached towards her bag before giving me a stack of papers. I read it while nodding my head, causing Amy and Maggie to be expectant.


    "Right? It''s awesome right?" Maggie added again.


    I pretended to be calm, "Yeah. It is awesome. If your aim was to be a PORN STAR!"

 Chapter 162: Summer Beverage.

    <h4>Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Summer Beverage.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "What''s wrong with you all?" Uncle Jim was confused when he got back to the deathly silent table after emptying his small dder.


    "NOTHING...EVERYTHING''S FINE!" Maggie replied with an ashen face, and her tone became weirdly high pitched. Her chin quivered, as if to prevent herself from crying, but she still tried to hide the matter.


    "A-Alright then. Let''s go- Wait. I''ll smoke my cigarette first."


    "Then we''ll stay right here." I replied with a smile, and a better acting than Maggie was currently doing. Uncle Jim was a bit relieved and said, "Okay. You cousins catch up! I''ll call you when I''m done."


    "Alright." I nodded at him. He wanted to speak to Maggie and Amy, but he saw that they were ignoring him, so he just awkwardly walked away.


    The second Uncle Jim was gone, Amy and I scolded at the same time.


    Amy whispered angrily, "What the hell were you thinking?!"


    " How could you not notice it was for porn!?" I scolded.


    "I-I...THEY GAVE ME A LOT OF MONEY!" Maggie tried to defend herself, but we rolled our eyes at her in disbelief.


    I kept reading the contract in concern while asking, "Did they have any videos of you yet?"


    "WHAT? NOOO!" Maggie answered in disbelief.


    "Hey you''re the one who signed up to be a pornstar! I''m just trying to fix it!" I scolded her angrily.


    "Can it still be fixed?" Maggie asked with teary eyes. "I didn''t even take off my clothes when I got to the audition before. They just said that they liked me, gave me the money, and next thing I know they are saying they want me in Europe next week."


    "It''s theirmon M.O." I exined. "They got a use in here that said if you want to cancel the contract, you need to pay 10 times the signing fee."


    "And also, flying you to Europe is to iste you from people that could help you when they try to pressure youter. ''Cause they can''t really force you to do it. But they can pressure and ckmail you. It''s morally wrong, but it was still legal within the scope of thew."


    (Based on a true syndicate in our world that still roams free even though they had ruined the lives of countless girls.)


    Amy cried and said aggrievedly, "How can they get away with it?"


    "Simple. Money. Maggie, although I do think you''d make a decent pornstar, is it really something that you want to do?" I asked with hesitation as I met her gaze.


    Maggie was furious, "HOW CAN ANYONE!?"


    I nodded and said coyly, "Right. Also to be honest, if I had a cousin who actually did this thing, it would be horrible for my own image. So...I''ll help you cancel the contract."


    Maggie grabbed my arms tightly and gazed into my eyes, "Are you sure?"


    "Yeah. Give me the signing fee. I''ll do something about it." I said with a sigh. This situation made me thankful that I hade to Wisconsin for a break. Or else, I might have caught a huge blow when I saw my cousin in an adult videos website.


    Maggie then avoided my eyes guiltily. I narrowed my eyes at her and asked in suspicion, "You still have the money right?"


    "I-I"


    Amy interjected, "They gave you 20 grand. Of course it''s still there...right? I mean. You can''t spend 20 grand in just a few days. It''s impossible...isn''t it?"


    Maggie''s chin quivered again and she said, "It...it''s gone."


    "ALL OF IT?!" Amy shouted in confusion. "What did you do with it?"


    "Prada, Gi, Channel, or all of the above?" I asked.


    "All." Maggie lowered her head. "But that isn''t all there was. I also put down a deposit on a house, and paid the rent for 6 months!"


    "Oh. So you''re still sensible with your money." I nodded as I heard it. "Wait...This is all a part of your fake college thingy right?"


    "Yeah." Maggie replied in a tiny voice while Amy red at her. "I also used that money to pay off the student guide to trick Dad..."


    "Impressive." I muttered mockingly while I red at her.


    "Well if it wasn''t a pornstar contract, it COULD have been." Maggie dropped her head on the table.


    "You know if I want to cancel the contract, I''d have to fork out 200 grand plus legal fees. How are you going to pay me back?"


    Maggie and Amy froze.


    I continued, "You don''t think I''m doing this for free do you?"


    "W-W-" Maggie stammered and couldn''t find the words.


    "If you can''t, then I''m going to have to get the money from your dad-"


    "PLEASE Don''t! I''ll try to get the money! Please Help me Ed!" Maggie begged.


    I sighed after I was done teasing the almost crying girl. Even though my dad and I just won the lottery, and I had over 30 millions dors in my personal ount �C after making investments here and there, I didn''t think I had it in me to do some more charity.


    "Girls. Ed. Let''s go." Uncle Jim called, causing the conversation to be halted.


    As we got into the car, Uncle Jim suddenly said, "Now that we''ve filled up, it felt a bit cramped in here. Amy, why don''t you get into Edward''sp so that we can have more space."


    "I''m not doing that." Amy replied begrudgingly. "Maybe Maggie can do it."


    "Yeah. Like the beginning of a very...special...video." I muttered whisperingly, causing Maggie to blush.


    "Huh? What was that?" Uncle Jim asked in confusion.


    "Nothing." X3


    We smiled awkwardly at him, and were silent on the whole ride home before we continued the conversation in Amy and I''s room.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Inside the Entertain Company building, CEO''s office.


    "Okay. Email me the contract. I''ll handle it." Harvey said while she was on a call with Edward.


    "I can dig out the dirt on these guys. Can your prosecutor friend get them locked up? They are targeting a lot of people." Edward asked Harvey with concern.


    Harvey shook her head, "These types of people are like eels. They are slimy and dangerous. It''s better to just cut the ties with them. Who knows what kind of backer they have."


    Edward sighed.


    Harvey then continued, "Your album release is tomorrow. I don''t think you should get involved in this Ed. Because legally, they are untouchable unless you can destroy them at the root."


    "Hmm... Then, if I tracked down the entirework, maybe we can do something about it right?"


    "I''m not rmending you to do so. It''ll take a lot of money to hire private investigators-"


    "It''s okay. It''s just a thought. Maybe I will do something, maybe I won''t." Edward muttered with a chuckle.


    Harvey nodded in satisfaction and asked, "What did the doctor say? A lot of people on the inte are already praying for you who died a few days ago, so I''d like it if you can get back on screen soon."


    "There''s no rumours like that. Don''t lie to me." Edward scoffed.


    "Yeah. You should know. You''re the source of all the rumours after all. My mistake for trying to trick you." Harveyughed while teasing Edward.


    After Edward talked with Harvey for a while and exined about what the doctor said, Harvey fell in disbelief.


    "The doctor really let you pick the name?"


    "Yeah. I''m just going to go with Sleeping Beauty Syndrome. People already know about that. And I don''t want to let my name be famous that way." Edward exined.


    Rare diseases usually use the name of the first patient who got it as the term, so Edward wanted to avoid that.


    While Edward was talking on the phone, Amy and Maggie were staring at him from afar, through the gap of the door, after he kicked them away to speak privately with hiswyer.


    Amy whispered, "He''s been speaking for a while. It must be difficult to get you out of the contract."


    Maggie''s face was ashen and she replied nervously, "Is there really no other choice? Should Ie clean to dad-"


    "Come clean about what?" Cam and Jules- The grandmother suddenly appeared behind the girls, causing them to flinch.


    "What are you guys doing?" Jules asked before she took a nce from the girl''s previous point of view. "Why are you peeping on Ed?"


    "We''re not peeping!" Maggie defended herself.


    "You need toe clean about what?" Jules asked before Maggie could prepare herself mentally.


    Caught off guard, Maggie idently muttered, "About porn-"


    "ABOUT HER PORN ADDICTION!" Amy interjected quickly and loudly. To their luck, Ted and his sister were walking with Uncle Jim, and heard what they were saying.


    "Maggie?!?" Uncle Jim and Aunt May eximed in bewilderment. Maggie nced at Amy in shock, and she was stunned speechless about the whole situation.


    "NO! I don''t have a porn addiction-"


    Amy whispered at her, stopping her from continuing, ''which is better? Being a porn star, or having a porn addiction?''


    "I-I-" Maggie teared up from the helplessness. Uncle Jim and Aunt May nodded their heads in understanding and hugged their daughter sympathetically and lovingly.


    Aunt May muttered, "It''s okay. The first step to get better is admitting that you need help."


    Amy snickered beside Maggie while Uncle Jim said, "Of course, this matter should be handled privately. But I''m grateful that you trust your family so much that you made an open deration about it."


    "What''s going on?" Edward asked while he was on hold on the call. Themotion outside the door caught his attention, so he let Harvey read up on the contract first alone.


    "Maggie and Amy told us they have a porn addiction." Grandma Jules muttered with a concerned expression. "You should follow us to church tomorrow Ed. I''ll ask the pastor to pray for you so that ...this doesn''t happen again."


    "Grandma! I didn''t-" Amy was speechless when she heard her name included in the addiction stuff, and tried to defend herself, but Uncle Jim and Aunt May pulled her into the embrace too and said, "It''s okay. You''re okay."


    Edward smiled and returned back to his call, "Sorry about that. Where were we?"


    "Your album release. Pulling the dateline forward is a great way to prevent Pepper from getting all fussy over you. (After he copsed) But right now, Pepper''s almost losing his mind from the mountains of work he needs to settle before tonight."


    "That''s still good-"


    "He got drunk yesterday and roleyed Marilyn Monroe the entire time after we clocked out." Harvey added, causing Edward to burst inughter.


    "Youugh now, but wait till he starts calling you, intoxicated at midnight!" Harvey muttered in annoyance as she spoke from experience.


    "Ah. So he disturbs you and Donna''s intimate hour huh?"


    "Don''t talk about that." Harvey said angrily. "Anyway, your album is basically ready. Are you prepared for whates after?"


    "I am." Edward muttered casually.


    "Good. As you know, including the tour and all the interviews, you might not meet your family again for at least 3 months." Harvey warned. "It''ll exhaust you mentally and physically. It will also take a toll on all of your rtionships-"


    "I already said I''m prepared for it. You don''t need to keep selling it." Edward muttered self-deprecatingly.


    "You''re sure that you can handle the cooking video on your own? Should I send a film crew there?" Harvey asked again after having the initial discussion with Edward on how to show people that he was still in great health.


    "You underestimate me. But I guess, I still need a professional tool. An HD video camera. I can edit the 1 minute video on my own and upload it tonight."


    "Are you sure? You know you''re supposed to be resting." Harvey asked in concern.


    Edward paused for a while and muttered helplessly, "...Yeah."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I confiscated the luxury items that Maggie had splurged on and gave it to my grandmother and aunt May as gifts, earning me the position of the most loved from the young generation in the house.


    Maggie was almost crying, but she had to keep a smiling face as she congratted her mother and grandma, which caused Amy to snicker again.


    Luckily for me, Uncle Jim had indulged himself by buying a 2300 dor Panasonic Camcorder, which earned him more than a week of sleeping on the couch with his wife.


    I borrowed the camera and recorded a short video of me making a special summer drink to be posted on my instagram ount.


    "Umm... You''re purposely trying to be sexy right?" My uncle Jim asked in confusion after he saw me wearing an apron with no shirt on.


    "I''m not trying. I just am." I replied teasingly. Unbeknownst to me, Amy and Maggie couldn''t keep their eyes away from me, and Aunt May was already reacting the same way as them.


    "What are you making?" My dad asked curiously.


    "It''s called Rose Green Grape. It''s nice and refreshing to drink in the summer, and that is what I''m aiming for."


    "First, we need to crush the shine muskat at the bottom of the ss, before adding 20 ml of apple syrup. Then, put circr ice inside of the ss, before adding one serving of Yakult drink, and then top it off with Rose tea. Lastly, We garnish it with some mint leaves." I exined to my family while making the drink.


    "Give it a taste." I slid the ss of 3 coloured drinks in their direction. From the top, it has Red, white, and green colours, and it looks aesthetically pleasing.


    "Umm..Delicious." My grandmother tasted it first, and gave me a thumbs up. "We''ll drink this at dinner today."


    I nodded, but then she added, "Ed will make it for all of us."


    I almost stumbled and asked Maggie aggrievedly, "Didn''t I just exin the way of making it?"


    "Yeah. But I couldn''t catch a word of what you were saying. Your nipple is trying to get out of the apron-" Maggie blushed as she pointed at my chest.


    I rolled my eyes before starting the recording. As for the video, I shot it in a food aesthetic style before I recorded myself drinking it.


    "Give it a try this hot summer." I said with a smile before ending the video.


    It took only a few minutes of editing, and then I posted it on my instagram. After I was done, I didn''t even check the notifications and spent some time with my family.


    I helped my grandmother in cooking dinner together �C more like I was captured and guilt-tripped into, ''because I was already wearing the apron''. Although in the end it was a nice moment I could share with her.


    Right after the very early dinner, which was at 4.30 pm, Maggie and Amy told Uncle Jim and Aunt May that they wanted to spend some time at the ranch rather than going back to their house in town.


    Amy looked around and shut the door after making sure that no one was paying attention to us. We put a monopoly game in the middle of the room, and sat surrounding the board.


    "So, what did thewyer say?" Maggie asked hesitantly. "Also, should I roll the dice? Or just pretend we are ying?"


    "We have already taken it out. Just roll it." I muttered before casually ying the game. Amy became the banker, and I went against Maggie.


    "Amy. The money." I said annoyedly to the nked out girl.


    "Oh. Right." Amy was startled and she did her role quickly.


    "Well thewyer said she''s going to take care of it. So you can take your mind off it." I muttered as I boughtnd and built a house on the board.


    Maggie just rolled the dice absent-mindedly and said, "Oh. Okay. Good. But what about the money?"


    "What about it?"


    "How am I going to pay it back?" Maggie asked while biting her lip in frustration.


    "You''re an adult now. How do you think you can pay it back?" I asked.


    Amy was silently watching the whole thing, and felt that the atmosphere there had be a little bit weird.


    Maggie thought deeply for a while, and Amy and I could almost see the smokeing out of her flushing face as she never used her brain all that much.


    "I give up- Wait. I can be your girlfriend. And then the debt is off!" Maggie suggested her brilliant idea.


    I scoffed and said, "Are you forgetting who I actually am?? If girls were what I wanted, do you really think I couldn''t just get them? "


    Amy rolled her eyes at me and muttered, "That''s douchey."


    "A little bit. Yes." I turned to Amy while nodding a bit in agreement. "See Maggie. Not only do you owe me, you also turned me into a douche."


    Amy was silent for a while before she spoke, "Maggie. I know you don''t want to hear this, but I really think you should tell mom and dad."


    "Why? So that they will disown me?" Maggie teared up again.


    "No. But, it''s better than letting Ed take the responsibility. He''s the same age as me, you know?" Amy coaxed.


    I had no objection to what Amy said. To be honest, it wasn''t my burden to carry. It was Maggie''s.


    I was only helping her because I could. Even if I really had a cousin who became a porn star, I don''t think it''d matter much to my reputation�C except with the conservatives in this country. But who cares what they think?


    Maggie was silent for a while before she realized that she had been dependent on me.


    "Of course, you can still wait to tell them after I break the contract. No rush." I muttered.


    Maggie nodded a bit before she smiled softly and said, "Are you sure you don''t want me to be your girlfriend?"


    "E...Isn''t that like incest or something." Amy curled her lip in disgust as she shot Maggie a dirty look.


    "It''s not. We''re not really rted. We are half...rted...right?" Maggie asked me.


    "How should I know?" I retorted.


    "Well grandma is not your dad''s mom, so he and my mom are only half-siblings. So it''s like, we''re half cousins. If you don''t want me to date me alone, you can add Amy into the mix." Maggie instigated.


    "No thank you." I muttered quickly. Amy looked at me in bewilderment before arguing, "I was going to say no, but why did you say no? Am I not pretty enough for you?"


    "Yeah." I nodded calmly, causing Amy to sulk and Maggie to burst out inughter.


    "Alright Maggie. Yound in my plot. So you need to pay rent." I said after Maggie rolled the dice.


    "Oh. I don''t have enough money for rent." Maggie said in a teasing manner. "Do you ept other methods of payment?" She said while unbuttoning the top of her blouse, revealing her supple-white chest.


    "Maybe. What kind of payment are you thinking of?" I didn''t back down. Maggie crawled purposely while locking eyes with me, and before she could touch my thigh, Amy interjected by kicking her body away, causing her to fall on her side.


    "STOP THAT YOU SLUT!" Amy shouted.


    Iughed before I said to Maggie who was in pain, "By the way. You really have acting talent."


    "Oh. You think so?" Maggie asked in excitement.


    "Yeah. Acting talent for pornography." I added, causing Maggie to attack me with her legs. However, as I fend myself off, I identally elbowed Amy''s chest.


    "Oww It hurts." Amy said while rubbing her boobs.


    "Sorry. But I don''t feel anything." I muttered.


    "WHAT? Do you mean that there''s nothing to feel? Are you saying I''m t chested?"


    "Get him!" Maggie shouted before she and Amy lunged at me at the same time.


    It turned into a 3 way fight between Amy, Maggie, and myself, and it ended with me locking both of their limbs, causing them to beg for mercy as they asked to be released.


    ...


    [General POV]


    On Instagram, Edward''s social media page was trending after he posted the short video with unnecessarily high quality on his ount.


    [Edward Newgate �C 1 hour ago]


    <video>


    </video>


    Caption: As you guys can see, I''m still alive! Don''t forget to support my debut album which will be released tomorrow! ''Breaking'' will be avable for sale worldwide after a good night''s sleep!


    However, you might feel ufortable sleeping peacefully on this hot summer night. So try this drink, it always helps me to beat up the summer heat!


    Likes: 114, 000


    Comment: 12,232


    The video was also shared around countless times on the social media tform, and it popped up on the [Explore] page.


    Some of thements on the video were pinned after Edward read them.


    @EdwardFanclub : Edward! d to see you''re healthy!


    @RDJ: Is the naked apron thing really necessary?


    Edward replying to RDJ: YES.


    @Taylor: I''m thirsty now.


    Edward replying to Taylor: I know. (Wink wink)


    A lot ofments were wishing for Edward''s well-being, and little was about the drink itself. The video was then shared to MTV, and a few talk show programs �C after the broadcaster negotiated with Entertainpany.


    The legal department of thepany had to be doubled to handle the extra workload brought by the Instagram app, the Whatsapp app, and also his album sales.


    Not only that, thepany itself expanded quite rapidly after the development of the new apps, tripling the numbers of employees in their departments l.


    However, before Harvey could finish her work for the day, an unexpected �C yet a bit expected guest visited thepany.


    The man who looked a little like Ryan Reynolds shed his badge to the security at the main entrance to the building and said, "FBI Agent Wayne Bruce. I came here to see Mrs Harvey Spectre."


    The security guards looked at each other before deciding that the matter was outside of their pay grade and contacted Harvey for instruction.


    Harvey sipped the refreshing Rose Green Grape drink and ordered, "Let him in."

 Chapter 163: Platinum award on First day?

    <h4>Chapter 163: Chapter 163: tinum award on First day?</h4>


    [General POV]


    -Documentary narration, voiced by James Earl Jones. -


    7th of July. ''Breaking'' Album was avable for sale in hundreds of stores all across the country.


    Fans queued in line to get the album �C mostly consisting of female members of the poption, and their male partners that were dragged along reluctantly to apany them.


    A journalist interviewed one of the female fans, asking what time they started waiting in line for the album. The next footage showed the interview that had been conducted:


    -Footage started-


    Gloria Delgado smiled and waved to the camera while Jay Pritchett brood beside her.


    Jay mumbled to himself quietly, "We can just buy it from him. We know him."


    "We''ve been here since 6 am. I thought we were going to be the first in line...but already there were hundreds of people lining up." Gloria smiled before pointing at the huge line in front of her.


    "I''d rather go to church than wait here like this." Jay continued mumbling. "Is the store open yet?"


    "No. 5 more minutes." Gloria replied while checking her watch.


    In Colorado, the interviewer there interviewed the neat looking girl with a horrendous fashion sense �C Annie Edison.


    "I''ve been here since midnight. But if you want to ask when did people start to queue up, it was around 4 am."


    The interviewer asked, perplexed, "Then why did youe here at 12 am?"


    Annie was a bit confused and replied with an expression that says,'' isn''t it obvious?''


    "Because, I want to be the first one to get it?"


    -Footage ended.-


    James Earl Jones continued narrating, "A historic day indeed. After the beginning of the inte era of information, sales of a new artist''s album were declining."


    "However, Edward Newgate, a prepubescent, aspiring artist managed to create a historic record, in getting the GOLD certification status, in the United States alone, by surpassing 500, 000 million album units in sales."


    "Not only that, he managed to break thest artist''s record for the fastest selling album, "Eminem: The Eminem Show, released in 2002, which hit 2 million units in global sales, in just one day."


    "Will Edward Newgate manage to break the record for the fastest album selling of all times, held by Micheal Jackson himself, in his album, ''Bad'' released in 1987. An album that cemented itself to be top record in the USA �C 7 million units sold globally in his first week?"


    "Despite all of the amazing sess, the whereabouts of Edward Newgate is still unknown. Numerous attempts for an interview were declined by his agency, citing that ''Edward is still in recuperation after his health scare''."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I watched the MTV interviews about my album release, I smiled, alone inside the empty house, after Grandma made everyone there go to church for the Sunday mass.


    Luckily for me, Grandma saw Amy and Maggie trying to attack mest night, so I just need to pretend that they made my ''cracked rib'' pain red up.


    I celebrated after grandma had left, and while I was trying to prepare for my hiking date, my grandpa caught me in the act and pushed *ehem* ckmail *Ehem* me into releasing the cows onto the field while he handled the horses.


    "Hmm...I didn''t think that she was going to go to church this morning. I didn''t forget that grandma said she met her at the church, so I guess I selectively ignored the fact." I muttered dejectedly.


    I sighed and turned off the TV before changing my clothes into a simple tank top and old jeans and went out to the field to release the cows for their grazing time. I also brought my grandpa''s guitar with me to pass the time. Although he promised me that he would be quick, I didn''t believe him.


    I sat on the wooden fence while wearing a cowboy hat and held the guitar in my hand.


    "Hmm...There''s no one around." I turned to look, "So I guess I can y something I like, and won''t seem nerdy in front of others. Isn''t that right Apollo?" I said to the old dog sitting in front of me.


    "Arf-"


    "Good boi." I throw him a treat before picking the guitar strings. "As I''m watching an open field, what elsees to mind except for middle earth?"


    "Arf."


    "I know I know. There''s a lot. But bear with me." I spoke to the condescending dog as he gave me a side eye.


    [Ed Sheeran - I See Fire]


    "??Oh, misty eye of the mountain below


    Keep careful watch of my brothers'' souls


    And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke


    Keep watching over Durin''s sons??"


    Unaware that my sincere singing had captured the attention of the animals around, I was enjoying watching Apollo''s reaction. He pretended not to like it, but his tail was wagging.


    "??If this is to end in fire


    Then we should all burn together


    Watch the mes climb high into the night??"


    "??Calling out father oh


    Stand by and we will


    Watch the mes burn auburn on


    The mountain side (high)??"


    "??And if we should die tonight


    Then we should all die together


    Raise a ss of wine for thest time??"


    "??Calling out father oh


    Prepare as we will


    Watch the mes burn auburn on


    The mountain side


    Destiones upon the sky??"


    "??Now I see fire


    Inside the mountain


    And I see fire


    Burning the trees


    And I see fire


    Hollowing souls


    And I see fire


    Blood in the breeze


    And I hope that you remember me??"


    "MOOOO!!!"


    "QUACK QUACK QUACK!"


    "Oink Oink Oink"


    "Beek Beek!"


    I was startled when I realised that I was surrounded by farm animals after I stopped. I almost fell backward from the fence, but luckily I managed to hold it with my left hand to stabilise myself.


    "What the-"


    "Moo. (Continue.)"


    "Beek. (Or will bump you)"


    "Quack. (Make you birdfeed)"


    "Oink. (Or bacon)"


    "Alright alright. Shut up." I scolded the animals as they stared at me instead of running all over the field as usual.


    "I mean, who even- Who lets you guys out?!" I used the goats.


    "Beek! (weak Lock)"


    They moo''d and beek''d at me while I was holding a guitar, trying to get me to y a song for them again.


    "I hate that I can understand what you''re thinking." I cursed at the cows while staring at them in dissatisfaction. Even though they can''t smile or show emotions, I could sense that they were snickering at my misery.


    "Go and eat! Scatter! Otherwise grandpa won''t let me go back home!" I shouted at them, but they still kept staring patiently at me. If my grandpa saw this, he would chain me to the ranch forever. I need to handle the situation quickly!


    I rubbed my head in frustration, wondering why the hell did I bring my guitar here. Originally, I was nning on fiddling on it while I waited for my grandpa toe back, as he said he would.


    "Apollo, you too?"


    "Arf!" The English shepherd dog barked at me in excitement while wagging his tail, before he called his descendants to the field. Even a stray cat came with the puppies, and they kept nudging their heads at my feet, as if trying to encourage me to y.


    "Damn it." The ice around my cold heart melted, and my expression eased up.


    "Okay. One more. But when someonees you guys all need to scatter! Promise me that, and I will do it!" I made a deal with them.


    They replied in their respective sounds, which indicated that they understood me.


    "Alright. Then, follow my lead."


    "And this time...


    We''re going to get funky~


    Funky~!"


    I took out my phone and yed the music for [Cha Cha Slide].


    ??Everybody p your hands??


    "Quack. (No Ducking Hand)


    "Ah right. Sorry. This''ll make this verse awkward." I muttered as I smiled apologetically at them. They swayed their body in excitement as I instructed them to dance, at the same time doing the dance on my own.


    ??p, p, p, p your hands


    p, p, p, p your hands


    Alright now, we''re going to do the basic step??


    "??To the left


    Take it back now, y''all??"


    "Nice." I eximed as I saw most of them could do it. "If someone sees this, it''ll be like the weirdest dream they''ve ever dreamt."


    "??One hop this time


    Right foot, let''s stomp


    Left foot, let''s stomp


    Cha cha real smooth??"


    I smiled andughed as I watched the animals doing the silly dance of their own.


    "??Turn it out


    To the left


    Take it back now y''all


    One hop this time


    Right foot, let''s stomp


    Left foot, let''s stomp


    Cha cha now y''all


    Now it''s time to get funky??"


    It''s free dance time. Apollo and his puppies shook their bodies in front of me while the cat stretched itself a few times.


    "??To the right now


    To the left


    Take it back now y''all


    One hop this time


    One hop this time


    Right foot two stomps


    Left foot two stomps


    Slide to the left


    Slide to the right


    Criss cross!


    Criss cross!


    Cha cha real smooth??"


    I was having fun, unaware of a worn down car rolling to the side of the field slowly. The man inside of it rubbed his eyes a few times, not believing what he was seeing was real.


    "?? Let''s go to work


    To the left


    Take it back now y''all


    Two hops this time


    Two hops this time


    Right foot two stomps


    Left foot two stomps


    Hands on you knees, hands on your knees


    Get funky with it


    Oh yeah


    Come on, cha cha now y''all??"


    I wanted to continue, but as I turned back while dancing, I saw my uncle Aaron who just got back from handling his divorce matter inside his car, stunned speechless with his mouth agape.


    "Quack! (Scatter!)" The animals quickly ran away in the presence of another human being, leaving me alone there�C stunned as I met my uncle''s eyes.


    "W-W-W." The scruffy looking man in an oversized suit stammered. My thoughts raced to find the solution for this situation, and I finally got an idea.


    I smirked at him and said, "No one will believe you." Then, I walked away as I saw my grandpaing from afar.


    My uncle stayed there for a while with his face nked out. I ran away quickly before my grandpa could give me anymore work, and used my uncle''s pickup truck to get to the hiking trail entrance.


    ...


    While I was on the road to get to the hiking trail up the hill, I received a call from Pepper.


    "GOLD ED! Your album passed 500,000 sales in just a few hours!" Pepper shouted in excitement, causing me to distance my phone from my ear a bit to protect my ear.


    "Well, I knew it would happen based on the pre-orders. W-"


    "DON''T TRY TO CALM ME DOWN! I WANT TO FEEL THIS RUSH FOREVER! OH MY GOD!"


    "Pepper? Pepper, are you okay?" I asked him after hearing he was out of breath.


    "I''m fine. Just dizzy from the head rush." Pepper said before getting excited again, "RIAA is sending people to give us the Gold album certificate today. Although....They are asking for an interview."


    "Well you can set it up when I get back in 2 days."


    "2 days? I thought you were noting back till the 10th?"


    "Nah. I''ming back on the 9th, before midnight. So I''ll be there on the 10th."


    "Ah I see. Ed, how are you feeling right now? Do you feel the same rush as I do?!" Pepper asked.


    "Well..."


    "What''s with that tone? Are you not excited?" Pepper asked in astonishment.


    "I''m excited. I''m excited. But right now, I''m more excited about my uing date."


    "What? Ed. I can''t hear you clearly!" Pepper shouted in confusion. I checked the mobilework line and noticed that I have only 1 bar left.


    "I''m going hiking! I''ll call you tonight."


    "Tonight? Oh. Hiking. Alright-"


    Then, all the voices disappeared and the mobilework was gone.


    "Hmm, if she''ste, I will be out of the grid, bored out of my mind, and most importantly, I can''t even know if something happened to her or if she needs to cancel our ns." I said before I stop the car and then change the gear into reverse.


    I wanted to go back to the area where I was still connected, but then I hit the brakes again.


    "But, if she''s already there. Then she couldn''t contact me to tell me when she arrived. Damn it. Why the hell did we n it like this?"


    I tried to call her for confirmation, but thework provider said that the number was unavable. I smiled and elerated the car in excitement as I drove to the trail entrance, where I saw that she was already waiting for me.


    Miss Allison was kicking the stone on the ground lightly as she was bored out of her mind there. As she saw my car, she brightened up and waved at me quickly.


    She was confused when I waved back and got out of the car after putting it in park, "You''re going hiking in jeans?"


    "You going up there in heels?" I shoot back. She was wearing a ck tracksuit and a ck tank top, and her hair was tied up in ponytail style. She was wearing light makeup, something not too excessive as it smudged as she sweated.


    "Well, people say that the trail is not too rough." She replied with a blushing embarrassed face.


    "And you listened to them?" I asked teasingly, "They say that cause they live here. They are used to it."


    She widened her eyes in shock and said, "Oh. Then...I did something really stupid didn''t I?"


    "Well not quite. I admire you for trying to look nice for me." I flirted before rummaging the back of the truck. "Luckily for you, I was prepared in case something like this happened. These are my cousin''s shoes. You can use them...or you know... just destroy them."


    She smiled, and hesitated, before her expression changed into a look of determination,"Ed. Before we go up there. I need to be clear on something."


    "What is it?"


    "We...we can''t date each other. Maybe in another 2 years, when you''re an adult, we can have that chance. But I need to be clear on this. We''re just going together as friends."


    My brows scrunched a bit, although I was confused when I heard she mentioned 2 years. Did she mistake me driving for me being older than 16?


    "Okay then. Although that ruined my day, I''m still d to be spending the evening with a gorgeous girl like you."


    She was prepared for me to get mad, but not quite prepared for apliment, so her face blushed greatly.


    "N-No! No flirting too!" She said faux-angrily, which made me depressed as she looked really cute right now.


    "Hey. It''s either we can''t date, or we can''t flirt. You can only pick one." I teased her while shrugging my shoulders.


    She stammered a few times, and finally gave up. Although, her smile showed that she didn''t really hate it.


    "After you." I said to her as I ceremoniously opened up a path for her.


    "We can walk side by side. The path''s big enough." She said with a confused smile.


    "But then, I can''t see it jiggle- I mean. Yes, we should walk side by side." I said teasingly, causing her to hide her happiness behind a scoff.


    "Then you walk first!" She said,


    "So you can look at my butt?"


    "No one is going to be looking at anyone''s butt!"


    "Well, say for yourself." I said while ncing at her behind. Sheughed and hit my chest lightly before grabbing my hand.


    We walked side by side as we faced the hiking trail,flirting and teasing each other all the way. After passing some slippery and dangerous obstacles, we almost reached the top of the hill.


    "Ah. So refreshing!" She stretched her arms back as she watched the view from the top. It took us only 40 minutes to reach the top, and overall, it was a fun experience.


    "Yeah, it really is. It can''t bepared to the city''s air at all." I said as I sat on a rock while admiring the view.


    "But I''m confused." She said suddenly.


    "About what?" I asked in confusion.


    "Isn''t this a popr destination? Why are there no people around?" She asked while tilting her head.


    I widened my eyes as I remembered something my grandpa said about a mountain lion.


    "Oh shit. We need to leave. Right now." I grabbed her arm and pulled her to get to the path again.


    "Hey. What''s going on-"


    Suddenly, we heard a roaring from afar. Allison turned pale, and she almost blurted something out, but I pressed my finger on her lip to stop her.


    "This might be superstition, but I heard from my grandma�C not blood rted-"


    "Is that important right now?!" Allison retorted.


    "Sorry." I smiled apologetically, "Well she said not to mention it''s name. Or in this case, the name of the species as to not attract its attention. It might seem stupid, but let''s try it out."


    Allison nodded obediently and held my hand tightly as we moved down the hill in a rush. However, before we could crouch down to pass dangerous obstacles, we suddenly heard some rummaging from a bush nearby us.


    We both froze on the spot, and then a white rabbit suddenly popped out of the bush. We breathed in relief, and as I turned around tofort Allison, I saw the sight of a muscr giant cat crouching behind us.


    Allison didn''t notice it at first, but as she followed my line of sight, she teared up and said fearfully, "Mountain lion."

 Chapter 164: Big Cat Problem.

    <h4>Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Big Cat Problem.</h4>


    [General POV]


    The house on the ranch became busy after the family returned from Sunday mass.


    All of them were still dressed in suits and modest clothes, but Uncle Jim was already in his t-shirt as he took off his clothes in the car while they were still on the road home.


    "It''s a good thing he''s not here, but where did he go?" Grandma Jules asked as she wore an apron to prepare for the celebratory feast. May and Cam were helping in putting up a banner and streamers in the living room as they were preparing to give Edward a surprise.


    "Don''t look at me. I don''t know anything. If anyone knows anything, it''d be Amy." Maggie shrugged with her hands up and pointed to her younger sister with her mouth.


    "Amy. Do you know where he went?" Ted asked as he untied his necktie slowly.


    Amy silently drank her water before she said ufortably, "I don''t know."


    "Hmm...Well, you''d already told him to be here for lunch right Sam?" Grandma Jules turned to Grandpa Sam. He nodded as he sipped his beer, and Jules understood that that was the best answer she could get from him.


    "What happened to Aaron?" Jim asked as he saw his brother-inw nking out and seeming to be out of touch with reality.


    "The divorce settlement must be hitting him hard." Ted muttered sympathetically, as he knew the feeling. "I''ll talk to him."


    Jules nodded and let Ted handle the matter while she took out the potatoes. Aaron was staring at an empty wall, muttering to himself, "Is Edward Jesus? Or a Disney Princess reincarnated into a boy''s body?"


    He tried hard to understand what just happened, as he was sure that what he saw was real. "Otherwise, how the hell did he make the cows dance?"


    The good news is he was no longer thinking about his divorce, or how he got cuckolded by the ex-town preacher. The bad news was that now he thought he might currently be having mental problems such as schizophrenia or delusions.


    Maggie pulled Amy aside and asked her a question away from the rest of the family, "Where is he?"


    "He went hiking." Amy replied with a careful whisper.


    "Alone?" Maggie raised her eyebrow.


    "No. With Miss Allison." Amy replied, "Don''t tell anyone."


    "Why is he with her?" Maggie asked, confused.


    "Well he''s kinda interested in her." Amy replied, causing Maggie to widen her eyes in shock. Amy added quickly, "But they are not going out or anything. He''s interested in her, she''s not going to date him."


    "But she is interested in him?" Maggie asked with a face full of excitement from the gossip.


    "I don''t know. Maybe. But Ed is weird. He likes older girls a lot. He''s been talking to a highschooler two nights in a row."


    "Oh. So you might say...that he has a cougar problem?" Maggie said, snickering at her own joke.


    Amy didn''t get it, "She''s not that ferocious? She''s a housecat...Maybe?"


    Maggie stared at Amy nkly, unsure whether she should exin it or not.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    The beast had brown-golden fur, and its eyes were malicious. It lowered its center of gravity as if trying to pounce at us.


    "Wee Hee Hee Hee Dee Hee Hee Hee Hee WeeOhWimBaWeh~"


    The wilderness turned silent for a moment as I suddenly sang.


    Even the big cat was confused and tilted its head.


    Allison was stunned and whispered with teary eyes, "What?" after I suddenly started singing in front of the mountain lion.


    I stood in between the puma and Allison, as I knew that my perks would save me. But I couldn''t say the same for her. The lion kept staring and roaring at her. Without my intervention, I was sure that it would attack her as soon as it got the chance.


    "Just trust me." I said as I nced at her quickly.


    "Wee Hee Hee Hee Dee Hee Hee Hee Hee WeeOhWimBaWeh~"


    "ROAR!" The puma was anxious, but as I looked into its eyes, it calmed down a bit. However it still tried to move towards Allison while licking its lips.


    "Do the background music." I whispered to Allison. She was horrified and muttered, "We''re going to die!"


    "Not if you do the background music!" I urged her while my palms started to sweat.


    "Wee-ooh wim-o-weh. Wee-ooh wim-o-weh. Wim-o-weh o-wim-o-weh o-wim-o-weh o-wim-o-weh" Allison sang reluctantly and tearfully.


    "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight~" I sang sweetly as I smiled at the puma.


    Seeing the kempt fur on its body, I assumed that it has some experience with a human being before. That''s why I chose this song.


    ''If it ever spent time with a human being, I am 100% sure that it would hear this song once or twice or many, many times.''


    "In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonight~" I sang carefully as I took a step back from the big cat.


    Allison was astonished when she saw the puma being docile and stopped at its ce, no longer trying to get to her. She kept singing with all of her might as we slowly retreated from the spot.


    "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight." I sang as Allison slowly tried to pass the obstacle behind her.


    She needed to hold the rope tied up between the trees to pass the slippery rocks and a tiny water stream, and she had to do it while retreating, which increased its difficulty.


    Suddenly, the calmed down lion walked slowly towards me, causing Allison to hurriedly chant the "Wee-ooh wim-o-weh" without stopping.


    "It''s okay. Just be careful and slowly retreat-" I said, when suddenly the big cat nudged my hand and roared gently.


    "Meow (Food!)"


    "Hmm?" I turned to the crying Allison and asked, "Do you have any food on you?"


    "Wim-o-weh? I...I..." She stammered and reached into her pocket before taking off some beef jerky.


    ''So that''s what attracted her!'' I thought I reached into the puma''s head and slowly tried to pat it. Allison was scared speechless as she saw I seeded, before I ordered, "Throw the beef jerky towards me. You slowly retreat."


    "Edward. What about you?" She asked while crying, hesitating on whether to throw the food towards me, or to the bush far away.


    "I''ll be fine. Please. Trust me." I said while looking into her eyes. The puma was still gazing at her, causing her to be stunned again. Then, she gritted her teeth and threw it towards me. I grabbed the beef jerky midair and quickly took it out of its package.


    "You want this?" I asked the mountain lion cheekily.


    "You have a death wish!" Allison scolded me with a tiny voice. She finally crossed the obstacle, and urged me, "Put it there ande to me!"


    " It''s fine. She''s not dangerous." I said as the mountain lion started to eat the jerky in my hand obediently. Allison was still scared, and I told her, "You can go down first. I''ll catch up with you!"


    "NO!" She almost shouted, causing the cat to be rmed again. Seeing the repercussions, she quickly changed her tone and spoke carefully, "I won''t leave you here alone."


    "Alright. Wait a minute." I said as I got down on one knee and started petting the beast''s fur. "You''re a beauty aren''t you? But this is not your ce. You should move out of this hill, or the humans will hunt you down."


    The puma snorted, but she kept eating the beef jerky. I smiled and said, "Tsundere. Alright. If we are fated, we will see each other again. But right now, I have to get her to safety, so I need to say goodbye."


    "Roar!" The puma roared as if she understood what I was saying. Then, she rushed to the bushes and disappeared.


    I breathe a sigh of relief before standing up. I turned to Allison who was in disbelief and flopped on the ground as her knees gave up before crossing the obstacle skillfully to get to her.


    "Are you alright?" I asked her worriedly as I tried to help her stand up.


    Her face was ashen and my hand could feel her sweaty body, presumably from the anxiety in the confrontation before. She looked at me with a nk face before bursting into tears. She embraced me and pushed her face into my chest as she sobbed.


    I brushed her hair to calm her down, and after she collected herself, she suddenly looked into my eyes before inching nearer and giving me a wet, sloppy french kiss. I was a bit taken aback, but then I closed my eyes and enjoyed it.


    She breathlessly pulled herself back after almost a minute, prompting me to ask, "What''s that for? And why did you stop?"


    Maybe it was the suspension bridge effect, or being in a life and death situation changed her mind. Right now, she didn''t have the apprehension she had before and followed the mountain lion''s example by pouncing on me.


    "That''s for saving me." She said before she bit her lip seductively, "And I''m stopping because-" She almost kneeled on the ground as she reached for my pants, but I stopped her quickly.


    "Not that I don''t want it, but we should get out of here quickly as I don''t know if there''s only one predatory beast here." I muttered with some dissatisfaction towards myself.


    Not that I had anything against doing things outdoors, we were still in a precarious situation.


    She widened her eyes in realization and then blushed in embarrassment. She avoided her eyes and said guiltily, "That pulled me back to reality. Sorry Ed. I almost crossed the line-"


    "What? No. Don''t apologize. We''re just changing the ce, not stopping what we were about to do." I teased before I held her hand and we rushed down the hill. And the second we entered the pickup truck, she hesitated again.


    "On second thought." She muttered guiltily as the hike down made her regain her sanity.


    "Fuck!" I cursed regretfully. As I started the car engine and drove away from there, I was unaware of the pair of gleaming, jade green eyes in the dark bush watching me.


    ...


    After dropping Allison off at her house, she hugged me lightly before saying pitifully, "Your hug is nice, but I think I need my mother''s hug more."


    "Oh. Where''s she? Want me to drop you off?" I asked with a slight chuckle.


    She thought for a while and said, "She''sing tomorrow. So I''ll just wait."


    I held her hand and said in concern, "Then, I think it''s better for you to spend some time at our ranch. Maybe sleep there for one night until you feel better. I promised not to make a move while you''re there."


    Sheughed a bit before saying, "I''m not going to be alone. I''ll just call my friend to sleep over at my ce."


    "Alright then." I muttered with a slight nod. She then bit her lips and said, "Also, you might not want to make a move, but I don''t trust myself...so..."


    I chuckled and brushed her stray hair behind her ear, "I''ll remember the deal. You know, when I''m legal, I will get my reward for today. I won''t even care if you''re married then."


    She hit my arms lightly and said insincerely, "Stop it!" Then, she shot me a cheeky look before running towards her door. "Bye Ed."


    "See you tomorrow." I waved her off before driving back to the ranch. As soon as I opened the door, I was confused when I saw a few people standing in the living room, all staring at me.


    "Congrattions Ed!" My family shouted after a 10 second moment of silence.


    "???" I was confused as hell, "Is that how you''re trying to surprise people?"


    Amy rolled her eyes and muttered her dissatisfaction, "I told them that. After an intense discussion, they decide to let you know first before shouting anything."


    "Amy- Shhh!" Grandma Jules put her finger on Amy''s lip.


    "Why?" I asked. "Not that I''m not grateful or anything."


    "Well your grandma doesn''t want you to get startled...incase...you know." Grandpa Sam exposed his wife.


    I furrowed my eyebrows before letting out a long sigh. Then, I shook my feeling away before smiling and said, "Thanks you guys."


    Maggie cleared her throat. I added, "...and girls." She nodded in satisfaction before shouting excitedly, "Your ALBUM HIT BIG!! You''ve been on MTV for hours!"


    I was a bit embarrassed when everyone praised me at the same time, and I enjoyed the small party my family did for me before receiving congrattory calls from my friends and texts from my acquaintances.


    "Uncle Aaron." I greeted curtly.


    "Edward." Uncle Aaron did the same. Both of us didn''t know how to face each other, making the atmosphere between us weird.


    "By the way..." I said after a moment of silence before looking at my uncle up and down. "That''s what you''re wearing?"


    He was wearing an oversized shirt, and also worn down jeans. Jeans actually looks good worn down, but in his case, it just looked old.


    "What''s wrong with my shirt?" He asked in surprise.


    "Everything. You should pay more attention to your looks." I blurted out, and hid myment inside my heart, ''No wonder your wife left you.''


    I made a one-sided promise to help him in creating a new image for himself despite his reluctance. After my grandma spoke in my favor, uncle Aaron finally relented.


    "Well...Ed...now that you''re rich as hell...do I still need to pay back-" Maggie tried to levy on her debt, but facing my murderous re, she decided to shut up quickly. "Nevermind." She muttered.


    "Good news. Mywyer texted me saying that the contact is now invalid. You are no longer an aspiring adult cinematography actress." I said.


    She brightened up before slumping her shoulders down. I smiled at her misery and said, "So you no longer have any reason to NOT tell your parents about this."


    "Can I postpone it one more day! Just ONE MORE DAY!" She begged tearfully.


    "Sure." I nodded, causing her to gleam, "You can postpone it, but do you really think Amy will?"


    Maggie was stunned and turned to look at her corpse-like sister who was breaking down every second from her dedication to protect the secret. Even her teeth were loose from the pressure.


    Maggie finally gave up, and before she moved away, she whispered in my ear, "You know. I read that a lot of rich guys love to have young, sexy, slutty girlfriends as their ything."


    "And you want me to introduce you to them? Sorry, you won''t make it-" I continued, causing her to hit my arm in anger. "I will if I want to! But that''s not what I''m trying to say."


    "You''re not aiming for my wealth and hoping for me to pamper you in California right?" I guessed with a horrified face. "Although the idea of a taboo rtionship is a turn on, we''re not living in bama, so Imma have to reject you right here."


    "Oh. Your loss then." Maggie said nonmittedly before trying to show her side. "Now that I think about it, maybe some other celebrities-"


    "Get out of here." I scolded her and chased her away.


    After finishing the short celebration, my grandpa called me out to the field. He was riding a brown horse while pulling the rein of a humongous ck horse with him. Compared to the ck horse, the alreadyrge brown horse looked like a foal.


    "I wanted to introduce you guys again this morning, but you disappeared before I got there." Grandpa Sam said teasingly as he got off his horse.


    I rubbed my head apologetically before the ck horse moved closer towards me. Its towering height put his shadow on my body, blocking most of the sunlight at the same time.


    "This is-" My grandpa tried to introduce.


    "Stud right? Long time no see. Do you still remember me?" I rubbed the side of the horse''s head while he lowered his head to look at me.


    My grandpa almost stopped me from doing so at first, and was shocked when the aggressive horse was behaving meekly in front of me.


    "How- Wait. Did he really remember you? That''s why he''s not letting anyone on his back for the past few years?" Grandpa muttered puzzledly as he saw I was bonding with the horse happily.


    Even his own horse was trying to move closer towards me, but Stud was being possessive and snorted before moving his head violently, preventing the other horse from getting near.


    "Neigh~~ (Stingy)" The brown horse snorted.


    "Come on Brownie." Grandpa Sam said as he pulled the brown horse''s rein to move further from Stud.


    "You still remember how to put on a saddle?" He asked me. I shook my head slightly and said, "I never learned how."


    "Well I''m going to teach you that today. Then, maybe you can take Stud out for a ride."


    "Alright. Let''s get started." I smiled at my grandpa as he started to take off the already fixed saddle on Stud''s body.


    For tourists or casual riders, he might''ve let them just ride the horse without going through the hassle, but to be a skilled rider, especially if he wanted me to have the opportunity to ride alone, he needed to impart the necessary skills on me first.


    Or else, if and when an ident happened, I wouldn''t be able to protect myself. He taught me how to escape tangled feet, how to use a knife to break free, and how to calm down the horse for almost an hour. When I was finally ready to ride the horse, it was already sunset.


    "Well..." My grandpa took off his cowboy hat apologetically and scratched his forehead. "I think we should go back now. Or else, your grandma will rush over here with the shotgun."


    I was shocked, "But, I haven''t even ridden him yet!"


    "You can do it early in the morning tomorrow, if you don''t disappear again. Come on, I''ll let you ride back to the stables."


    "Ugh." I groaned and finally hopped on Stud''s back. He was excited and suddenly started to run away, kidnapping me with him."


    "Oh damn it! STUD, HEEL!" My grandpa quickly hopped on his horse and started chasing us.


    ...


    [General POV]


    It wasn''t until a few hours after the sun went down that Edward returned home with his grandfather. His buttocks hurt from the ride, and he went to his room quickly to rest after taking a shower.


    Edward fell asleep around 11, which was considered quite early for him even after having such a long day. After Maggie returned, Amy went to live in her home in town, leaving Edward to sleep alone in the room.


    Edward has no objections about that at all, in fact, he dly wanted to send her home himself.


    The next morning, Uncle Aaron who had a promised appointment with Edward was ordered by Grandma Jules to wake him up for breakfast.


    Ted had spent some time with Grandpa Samst night, and was still hungover. Even though he promised not to drink anymore, Grandpa Sam saw that he was struggling, and decided to let him vent out his emotions.


    "Edward-" As Aaron pulled the nket, he was stunned when he saw a golden-furred beast sleeping beside Edward. He froze as the beast woke up and stared at him. Then, the beast ran away through the door without a sound, making Aaron feel that he was delusional again.


    Edward rubbed his eyes as he woke up, "Oh. Uncle Aaron. Did Grandma ask you to wake me up? I''ll be in the kitchen in a minute."


    "Um...Ed...You slept...alone right?" Uncle Aaron asked a question that was confusing to Edward.


    "Huh? Of course. Amy has already left- Are you okay? Or are you drunk?"

 Chapter 165: Crazy Stupid Love In Wonderland

    <h4>Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Crazy Stupid Love In Wondend</h4>


    (I''m back. Thank you for all of your well wishes. Just to be clear, I didn''t have surgery, but pneumonia. I was depressed for a while, cause the infection activates the same virus that caused my dad to die in 2016. He suffered for several years before his death, bing like a living mummy at the end. That will be my fate in a couple of years. Lol.)


    [General POV]


    It was 3 am in the morning. In front of the Entertainpany, multiple paparazzis kept camping out for even a tiny bit of news about Edward, while the staff members were busy and working overtime inside the building.


    "Pepper. You''re going to Ed''s hometown?" Renaldo asked as Pepper was standing by a line of ck SUVs at the building parking lot. More than 30 staff members could be seen loading things up into the transport as Pepper directed them.


    "Yes. Ed wants to do something there, and he needs support. So I''m joining in to break the news to him!"


    "Is this about him hitting 2 millions album sales, and hitting multi-tinum in one day? Can I join you?" Renaldo''s eyes lit up.


    He was wondering why thepany kept the information from Edward, and now he understood. It was just that the CEO wanted to tell the artist the news himself!


    The media was already hyping up Edward''s achievement, and predicted that he will be among the rare few artists in the world that can get 10 million unit sales in the first week, and get the highest RIAA Diamond Certificate.


    That''s why Pepper was being urgent right now. He wanted to tell Edward first before he got the news from the media.


    Pepper shook his head and said coyly, "Don''t be greedy! Harvey needs you here."


    "You just want me to deal with the reporters all by myself." Renaldo pouted. Pepper smiled wryly as his motive was exposed. Even though Pepper loved the attention from the cameras, he found it extremely tiring today�C especially since it had interfered with his work multiple times.


    [Edward POV]


    "Why do I still smell like a puma even though I had already showered?" I sniffed my t-shirt after waking up in the morning. I caught the sight of Uncle Aaron who had already walked away lifelessly, which made me think that he was still depressed.


    "Poor guy." I muttered sympathetically before going to take a shower again. After brushing my teeth, I went to change my clothes into a blue-ish gray suit, pairing it with a Rolex watch, and yellow Ray Ban sunsses.


    "Good. I looked like Ryan Gosling." I muttered as I posed in the mirror. I did the pose, the left hand wrapped at my body, while the right hand was almost midair with my fingers lightly pinching together, looking contemptuously and condescendingly at the other person from top to bottom.


    "Great. It works." I smiled before I left my room.


    "(Whistle) Come on. Let''s go." I snapped my fingers annoyingly at my uncle who was sitting at the breakfast table. Then, I frowned, "Really? That''s what you''re wearing?"


    My uncle was wearing a simple orange shirt and jeans, paired with worn-down sneakers. Although the clothes were fine, it wasn''t a good look for him in my opinion.


    "What''s wrong with my clothes now?" He said in disbelief.


    "Hmm...I guess it doesn''t matter. I''ll burn everything in your closet when we get back anyway."


    Uncle Aaron scoffed as he thought I was joking and pointed at the food on top of the table, "You don''t want to eat breakfast yet?" I shook my hand at him, and he added.


    "Your grandma will be upset." Uncle Aaron frowned as he reluctantly stood up.


    "It''s an hour and a half ride to the city. I''m not wasting time eating breakfast here. Grandma already packed some food for the ride." I said as I exited the house, leaving behind a grumbling old man.


    ...


    It took us all morning, and more than 15 shops just for me to give my uncle a brand new look. I threw away his velcro wallet in front of him, making him stare at me nkly. I also maxed out one of his credit cards, which made him groan in pain.


    However, do not underestimate the heir of a 100 acre ranch. Breeding horses wasn''t a poor guys'' business. I brought him to a salon afterward and made him change his unkempt hairstyle and also shaved off his messy, patchy beard.


    "I feel stupid." He said as I made him change into his new clothes inside the salon''s fitting room. Rather than a fitting room, it was more of a stage because it was set up in a half-circr manner at the center of the salon, with only a curtain to hide the one''s inside.


    "Don''tin. By the way Tiffany, what are you doingter?" I shouted at my uncle first before flirting with the stylist. She has brte hair and caramel coloured skin. Her smile gave off a kind vibe, but her eyes were a little mischievous.


    She touched my shoulder lightly as she smiled, "I don''t know what I''m doingter."


    "Oh I know what you''re doingter."


    "Really? You know?"


    "Can you guys stop flirting?" My uncle said tiredly as he opened the curtain, revealing a dashing middle-aged man. Tiffany widened her eyes as she saw him, and I smiled in satisfaction as I saw my masterpiece.


    "Clothes do make the man." I said as I went to check his outfit. A simple white shirt and a ck Armani suit changed his looks from a farm boy to looking like a CEO.


    The key was not to wear a necktie, as although it could look better, the necktie would also give a formal appearance, as if he was a working man. This manly style suits him more as it made him look like a rich man going out to y.


    "Hmm...Something''s missing." I mused for a while before taking off my watch and making him wear it.


    "Now it''s finished."


    My uncle was looking at me in disbelief before he checked out his reflection in the mirror.


    "This doesn''t suit me-"


    "Shh!" I shushed him and turned to the stylist, "Tiffany, be honest. You''d sleep with him right?"


    Aaron was astonished and embarrassed while Tiffany looked at him from top to bottom. She then nodded honestly, "Yeah. I probably would."


    Aaron thought she was being polite, but was ttered regardless. "Now, do you want to give him your number?" I asked again.


    Tiffany paused for a while before she smiled, "Yeah." Then, she wrote her number on a piece of paper and gave it to Aaron. "Call me."


    "He will meet you at Julie''s restaurant for dinner tonight, at 7 o''clock." I replied for him before he could even open his mouth. Tiffany didn''t have any objection and said, "I''ll look forward to it."


    She touched his arm slightly before she turned and walked away, slightly swaying her hips as she did. My uncle was still in disbelief as to what just happened, and his eyes couldn''t help but go nk as he watched her backside.


    After getting my uncle a date for the night, we need to settle the next crucial thing.


    "What-NO!" He protested immediately as he heard the next n.


    "Then, you really want to pick up your date in this worn down car? Even the pigs at the farm won''t get on this piece of shit." I said sarcastically as I directed him to a nearest car dealership.


    Aaron was silent, and then he asked, "Why are you doing this Ed? Why go through so much trouble?"


    "Revenge." I replied jokingly, causing him to widen his eyes in shock. "I''m just joking. Although, you still owe me for making me believe my mom was a lesbian and thus making me homophobic for a few years."


    "Joking aside, you can say that I miss my uncle." I said without looking at him. "The uncle that used to joke around, the one that used to chase after me with a chicken in his hand while trying to make me cry, the uncle that would just crack up inappropriate jokes at the most inappropriate moment, and not this broody, batman wannabe loser kinda uncle."


    "Times are tough for you right now. I may not understand what you''re feeling, but I do have the experience of someone close to me betraying me too."


    Uncle Aaron''s eyes reddened, but he didn''t break down. He smiled and then asked, "So, you trying to make me mad by spending all of my money?"


    "No, that part is actually genuine. Your fashion sense is really unappealing. I just thought that the shopping stuff would help you like it did me."


    "Hmm? What do you mean?" He asked, confused.


    I smacked my lips as I knew that I spoke too much and was hesitant, "Ummm..."


    "Maybe your experience will help me?" Uncle Aaron said in a gentle tone, which made me feel a little bit guilty if I didn''t say it.


    "Maybe...Alright, the reason I brought you shopping, even though it was embarrassing to admit, my life changed even before my career started, during my first shopping trip in fact."


    "Hmm? Exin." Uncle Aaron was confused.


    "Well, I went shopping with Pepper, Cam, and Mitchell. You know them right?"


    He nodded and let me continue without interrupting.


    "To thank them, I offered to sing a song I wrote, and then it exploded on Youtube. It started a whole new life for me. Now, my album is selling like crazy, and it all began there on that one fateful shopping trip." I said in a mncholic manner.


    "So, you''re trying to give me a fresh start?" He said with a touched expression, which made me scowl in disgust.


    "Wipe that expression off your face! We''re here!" I said angrily to hide my embarrassment as the car pulled into the car dealership parking lot. My uncle smiled as I walked out of the car, and he sat at the driver''s seat for a while to process his thoughts before getting out.


    I was talking to the agent there, and after my uncle joined me, we went to check out a few cars before I fell in love with one of them. Unfortunately, my uncle decided on another one.


    "I''ll take that Lexus." He said to the agent.


    "Are you an idiot?" I smacked his chest before pointing at the sleek ck, 67 Chevrolet Imp in front of me. "You''re taking this one!"


    "What? No. I don''t like it that much. I want to use a hybrid car. It''ll be good for the environment."


    "You''re joking right?" I rolled my eyes at him before retorting.


    "This is THE car from Supernatural! It''s cheap now...well not that cheap... but it''ll be extremely expensive in a few more years! Not to mention that Gary here refitted the entire thing so skillfully that there''s almost no differencepared to a brand new car!"


    "Yeah. I was thinking of using it myself, but my wife won''t let me." Gary added with a look of pity on his face.


    "But-"


    "No buts!" I said decisively before forcing him to sign the deal. He was a bit taken aback, but he relented after a thorough brainwashing from me.


    When he went on a date with Tiffany tonight, his little bit of resentment from being forced into it disappearedpletely.


    Turns out, she was a huge fan of the show. She loved it so much that she actually forgot her panties and bra in the car after whatever it was they did inside of it �C which was found by my grandmother the next morning.


    "My work here is done!" I muttered.


    ...


    Pepper finally arrived at the ranch. And when I told my dad about my ns, he was displeased that I couldn''t split myself away from work for more than a few days.


    "I just want to record a short video about the ranch and have an online fan meet first before the actual fan meetter on." Iined in dissatisfaction to Maggie and Amy as we followed the crew around the ranch.


    "Ed, what is the n here? What is the purpose of your short video?" Pepper asked.


    "It''s a blog. I just thought it''ll be fun. And the fans would like to know more about me. So I decided, why not?" I replied to Pepper as he nodded.


    "But there''s no script." He said in concern.


    "I''m not nning a serious blog. It''s just for fun. I''ll introduce the ranch and my daily life here. It''s a 20 minute video, max."


    Then, I proceed to drag the team around for over 10 straight hours as we shoot the video. It was a challenge to shoot the scenes at night, but thepany has a custom video camera, built from my blueprints, so the video quality didn''t decline.


    In fact, the starry night sky was clear to see on the screen, prompting the director to salivate and shoot a lot more picturesquare scenes.


    "Ahh..I''m tired." I said as Iid down on the grass on the open field. Maggie and Amy lie down with me, with our heads close together.


    "Don''t you mean fatty-goo?" Maggie snickered. Amy and I were confused and we nced at her, "What?"


    "Fatty-goo?" She muttered again, confused as to why we were reacting like that.


    "Do you mean fatigued?" I asked with my lips curling up. Amy broke intoughter while Maggie cupped her face with her hands in embarrassment.


    "HAHAHAHA. Fatty-goo! We have another Marinara Trench moment!!" Amyughed until her stomach hurt. I alsoughed, but I apuded Maggie for trying too. I guess she read the word somewhere instead of hearing it, so that''s why it happened.


    "Ed. You''re now famous all over the world now." Amy said after we calmed down. "But, you''ve never sung in front of us before."


    "Yeah. What''s that about?" Maggie added in a dissatisfied tone, but she actually just wanted to push the spotlight on me.


    "Why would I sing in front of you poor people?" I said condescendingly, causing me to get beat up by the both of them.


    After the coercion failed, they begged me to do it, so I did it with a guitar in my hand while sitting crossed legged on the ground.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Edward picked the guitar as he yed a soft melody. Amy and Maggie looked at him with glittering eyes, while the staff members stopped what they were doing and looked into the trio''s direction.


    [Artist : Anson Seabra �C Song : Wee to Wondend]


    "?? Wee to Wondend, we''ve got it all


    Potions and pastries that make you grow tall


    Forests and cottages, castles and cards that can talk ??"


    Pepper has a fatherly smile on his face, while Ted walked towards the trio, but stopped before he could destroy the vibe there.


    "?? Wee to Wondend, look where you''re at


    Maddest of hatters, the Cheshire Cat


    Magical cabins and lovely white rabbits with clocks ??"


    Amy shook her legs as she thought excitedly, ''Is this a song about this ce?''


    "?? Dancing through a dream underneath the stars ??"


    "?? Laughing ''til the morninges ??"


    Amy and Maggie looked at each other before theyughed softly. Edward smiled before he looked into the sky with a mncholic expression.


    "?? Everyone that leaves has a heavy heart ??"


    "?? Oh, Wondend I love ??"


    Ted finally broke into a sincere smile after having a tough few days. Pepper decided to join in, and the staff members could hear the songs through Edward''s microphone that was clipped on his shirt he forgot to turn off.


    "??Wee to Wondend, I''ll be your guide


    Holding your hand under sapphire skies


    Let''s go exploring or we could just go for a walk??"


    Memories about a special ce Ted had always yed with his brothers on the hill resurfaced in his mind. He thought he had forgotten all about it, but surprisingly it was still there.


    Not only Ted, but all the people who heard the song fell into nostalgia of a time when everything was interesting, everything was easy, when they looked at the world with a childlike wonder instead of having the heavy burden of being an adult.


    "??Wee to Wondend, where should we go


    There''s a tea party along down the road


    Make an appearance and maybe they''ll sing us a song??"


    A golden-furred puma heard the song from a tree nearby, and it fell into reminiscence about the time he had with his owner. It closed its eyes as he slept on the tree branch.


    "??Dancing through a dream underneath the stars


    Laughing ''til the morninges


    Everyone that leaves has a heavy heart


    Oh, Wondend I love??"


    "I-..." Pepper choked up, and he was startled as he found himself almost saying, ''I don''t want to leave''.


    "??Nothing around here is quite as it seems


    Not sure if anything''s real or a dream


    And the only thing sure from the start


    Is the song that''s inside of your heart


    Don''t let it leave??"


    Edward closed his eyes as he paused for a moment. Then, he opened it back up and smiled at the family members who were watching him.


    "??If this was a dream, then at least I''ve got


    Memories for when morninges??"


    "Now that I must leave with a heavy heart


    Oh, Wondend....I love??"


    As Edward stopped singing, the audience apuded as hard as they could. Maggie was astonished, "You''re really a singer!"


    Edward knocked her head with the guitar lightly, "I literally have an album!"


    Maggie rubbed her temple in pain while Amyughed at her misery. Pepper wiped his tears as he walked toward Ed, "I have an idea. Why don''t we use this song in the short video?"


    "Then I''m going to need proper recording equipment." Edward had no objections about it and agreed easily.


    Ted didn''t allow Edward to y around more and sent all of the teenagers to sleep.


    "Are you alright Ted?" Pepper asked after he saw Ted''s solemn face.


    The nked out Ted snapped back to reality, "Huh? Oh, I''m fine."


    "Are you sure? You don''t look fine." Pepper patted Ted''s shoulder tofort him. "I may know what you''re feeling, if you want to talk about it."


    "Hmm... You know?" Ted chuckled a bit.


    Pepper scoffed before he calmed down, "My son went to serve. One day, I received a call from his Commander. He was hit, and he shows no signs of waking up."


    Ted''s hand shivered, and his ears started ringing as the memory of when Edward stopped breathing shed into his mind.


    "I''m not saying I know what you''re feeling, but at the very least, I can listen." Pepper added, trying to get Ted to open up. However, he noticed that Ted was behaving strangely.


    "Ted? Are you okay? Ted?" Pepper tried to call him, but Ted couldn''t hear anything except the loud ringing in his ears before everything became silent. His heart rate elevated, and his hand started shaking.


    Ted was having a panic attack, and Pepper tried his hardest to help him out.

 Chapter 166: Father and Child.

    <h4>Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Father and Child.</h4>


    [Theodore POV]


    My world shattered...


    The illusion that my child would always be safe and healthy was proven just to be... just that, an illusion. I couldn''t do anything to stop it from happening.


    The heart monitor that didn''t work. The doctor that almost announced my son''s death. The touch of his lifeless body became a recurring nightmare for me.


    I...couldn''t do anything to stop it.


    I...almost lost my son.


    By some cosmic miracle, he managed to wake up, but I just couldn''t rx.


    What should I do if he falls into that state again?


    What should I do if I didn''t manage to get him the proper help he needs?


    What if the next time this happens, he doesn''t wake up?


    The debt I have to him kept gnawing at my heart. The debt of not being there during the most difficult times of his life.


    I was a...useless dad. A drunk. An alcoholic. I ran away from reality on my own, leaving behind my son facing the tough times alone.


    A child who lost their parents is an orphan. Spouses who lost their partners are widows or widowers. But how does one call a parent who lost their child?


    Nothing. Because there are no words that could describe the pain.


    "Ted...Ted...wake up!." My dad shook me out of my nightmare. I was startled and quickly raised my body and sat on the bed. My entire body was wet from the sweat, and I was huffing my breath.


    I turned to look at my father slowly, and I saw a concerned look on his face.


    "We should talk." My dad said.


    I shook my head slightly and said, "No. I need to-"


    "Ed is fine. He''s sleeping. He''s not doing anything." My dad said in a calming manner. "You on the other hand...You need to get some help."


    That was the memory of my first night on the ranch. My dad brought me to drink and vent out my emotions, but I couldn''t do it even though I was drunk. That''s when I knew that alcohol would not work on me anymore.


    I couldn''t calm down my feelings no matter what. And when I couldn''t see what Edward was doing or where he had gone, my anxiousness almost made me crazy.


    Days passed by, and when I saw Edward was bonding with his cousins and his family here, it actually helped. I knew that I couldn''t get rid of his freedom, so all I can do is to surround him with the people I trust.


    I tried to hypnotize myself, to believe what the doctor said. But I still couldn''t. Maybe it''ll work one day. I just need to keep trying.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Damn, my dad got a panic attack?...My dad?" I asked incredulously after hearing the gossip from the staff members after I woke up from my sleep. They didn''t see meing, and were surprised when I suddenly appeared behind them.


    "You and your cat feet." Pepper scoffed after he saw the whole thing.


    "Thanks." I received thepliment with a smile, but for some reason Pepper looked at me in disbelief.


    "Hmmm..." I rubbed my chin as I fell into contemtion. Pepper walked towards me and stood one step behind me as I was facing the couch.


    "What evil deeds are you nning next?" He asked with a hint of fear in his tone. I was still rubbing my chin as I replied, "I think...I need to have a long talk with my dad."


    "Hmm? Really?" Pepper''s eyes lit up, "That''s actually what I was going to convince you two to do today. Now, I just need to focus on convincing your dad about it."


    He wanted to walk away, but I raised my hand as I stopped him, "I''ll do it by myself."


    "Really? It''ll be...awkward...especially since the both of you have an emotionally distant disposition, even towards eachother." Pepper said with a sarcastic smile.


    I nodded as I agreed with him, "Yes. But from my continuous watching of TV drama series and rom movies, the heart-to-heart talk will be the climax of a story."


    Pepper was baffled, but before he could react, I walked away to find my dad. He was eating breakfast at the moment. I stood next to him and muttered in a solemn manner, "We need to talk."


    My dad spit out his coffee as a reflex, and then looked at me with shaky eyes. "I''ll wait for you by the swing. Come after you''ve finished eating." I told him.


    "Ed, don''t you want to eat-" My grandma was concerned and her eyes darted between the two of us. I shook my head slightly and said, "No. I need to settle this first."


    "Why does Ed look so scary right now?" Maggie muttered with a sense of fear. Amy unexpectedly licked her lips, "Don''t you think he looks so sexy being like this?"


    Maggie looked at her sister in disbelief while I left the kitchen to wait at the small hill behind the house. It was the ce where I traced Amy before after she ran away crying.


    I sat on the tire swing as I waited for my dad. The old tire however was already too small for me to actually enjoy it. I became mncholic as I looked over the grassy ins. A few birds started to perch all around me. Even a small sparrownded on my head.


    In the few days I''ve been here, I''d basically conquered the heart of every animal here except maybe the bugs.


    I waited and waited, and was surprisingly patient. It wasn''t until two hours had passed that my dad reluctantly came towards the spot. I already expected he would bete. He needed some time to prepare himself �C hell, even I needed to prepare.


    "Ed."


    "Dad."


    We greeted each other with our brows scrunched. My dad was still hesitant, but before he could open his mouth, I ordered, "Sit down."


    "Here?"


    "On the rock over there. Or the grass, your choice as long as I can see your face." I said as I pointed at the huge boulder nearby.


    "Can''t this wait until we get back?" He asked reluctantly as he didn''t want to sit.


    "You know. You forced me to go to therapy. I could do the same thing to you. But instead of therapy, I''ll just tell Sal how to make you drunk and let her have her way..."


    "Alright. I''ll sit!" He quickly sat in front of me, perching his butt on the boulder as he sat there awkwardly.


    "Good. To answer your question. No. This matter can''t wait until we get home. We both know that once we get back, the both of us will immerse ourselves in work again, and then it''ll be prolonged until only god knows when."


    "And based on the TV rules, unresolved issues wille back and kick your asster in the future. You could get addicted to pills, and then knock yourself out. Then when I visit you at the hospital, you''ll conspire with the doctor to tell me that you''re dying to teach me a lesson about not caring for you. You''ll tell me that my dad ising, and then reveal that you''re not my true dad-"


    "Ed...Don''t get me wrong...I''m intrigued by the story...but what the hell are you talking about?" My dad stopped me and asked me in confusion. He smiled a bit as he thought it was nonsense, which actually aplished all my goals.


    "It''s nothing. I just want you to rx a bit." I smiled as I looked him in the eyes. Then, I sucked in my breath exaggeratedly, "Here goes. Dad. We need to talk about that night."


    "Ed. I don''t want to relive it-"


    "That wasn''t the first time it happened." I cut him off, causing him to stand up in shock. His hand shivered as he looked me in the eyes, trying to see if I was lying.


    "W-What?"


    I sighed and said, "Sit down. Calm yourself down first. It''s not as serious as you think."


    "Ed...how long?"


    "Since I was a baby? I think. Honestly, you''re building up all the fear in your mind. Let me exin what happened to me." I said dismissively as I gestured for him to take a seat again.


    After he calmed down, I asked, "Dad. What happens to aptop you''re still using, if they''re being tooggy?"


    "What- what does this have to do with your disease? Unless you have aputer virus-"


    "No. Not aputer virus. Well, I don''t think you knowputer terms, so I''ll just continue. You''ll reset it. Then, it will work better. My deep sleep is simr to that."


    "This isn''t scientific Ed..." My dad was bing incredibly confused. Then, I smiled and said, "You know how long a person needs to fall into a deep REM sleep?"


    "No." He shook his head as he didn''t have a clue of what I was talking about.


    "Well, they take at least 6 hours. In the 8 hours of sleep the doctor told you to get, only thest 2 are actually when you fall into a deep sleep cycle."


    "6 hours?" My dad muttered, amused. "But I only slept for 5-6 hours?"


    "Yeah. It depends on someone''s age and habits too. So, now you know a normal person needs a long time to do it right?" I asked him calmly, as if I was a teacher giving lessons to a very slow student.


    He was a bit insulted but he nodded anyway. I then continued, "Well I can enter a deep sleep process in under 30 seconds."


    My dad almost stood up in shock again, but midway I scolded him, "Are you going to stand up every single time? Or are you just hitting your leg day?"


    He was a bit embarrassed, "How did you know this Ed?" He still needed a little push to get confirmation lest I was trying to trick him.


    "I can take a brainscan if you want. And show it to you." I muttered without fear. It was true. Using my [Rest] skill, I can enter a deep sleep cycle in just a few seconds, so I wasn''t afraid of him trying to make me take the test.


    "So, I only need a shorter sleep than most people, and sometimes, my body will fall into an extremely deep sleep, like the one you saw before. It happened a few times, and it was actually very beneficial to me."


    "How so? The doctor almost announced your time of death." My dad asked with a concerned voice. I shot him a dirty look and said, "Didn''t you hear what Dr House said before? My heart beat slowed down, but it was still there. The doctor couldn''t see it, and almost made a mistake."


    My argument was based on the data Dr House showed me before. Although I couldn''t exin what happened to my soul at that time, my strategy was to concoct a convincing story about my physical body.


    "Like aptop, my body condition will get better after the cycle. My mind will be clearer, and my bodily function will improve. But dad, you have to keep this a secret."


    My dad was already confused from the bombardment of information, and fell into another because of my request.


    "Why can''t I tell this to other people?" Right then, he did have a sense that I was trying to trick him, but he still wanted to hear what I was going to say.


    I scoffed internally but pretended to have a worried expression on the surface, "Well...You can say that it''s dangerous for me if it''s revealed."


    "Why?" He was dying for me to spit everything out at this time. He kept shaking his legs anxiously, and his palms started to get sweaty.


    "You know about the theory of evolution?" I said in a solemn manner before I joked, "Or is it banned here by the Baptist Church?"


    "It was banned till the 90s. But they couldn''t control the spread of information anymore after that." My dad blurted out, which caused me to be baffled. "Don''t get sidetracked. I want to know WHY is it dangerous for you if anyone else knows?"


    "You can say that, I am currently evolving from the path of a homo-sapien. I can be called a homo-superior�� a word that doesn''t mean that I''m a superior homosexual."


    "Don''t joke." He chuckled but stopped himself quickly.


    Was I feeling guilty that I was lying to my dad? Absolutely not. Compare my lie to the truth:


    Truth; My soul is connected to the afterlife, and I can get abilities, knowledge, and talents of all of the human beings in the multiverse, by rolling a gambling gacha using my karma points as the payment.


    Lie; My body is entering a deep sleep cycle, resetting my bodily function and making me healthier.


    I didn''t hesitate to pick the lie if I could help my dad regain his internal peace.


    "So...you already knew all this before that happened?" He asked in disbelief.


    "Yeah." I replied shortly. "So the medical bills are actually a wasteful expenditure in my opinion."


    He falls into contemtion, disbelief, and even anger at the doctors in the hospitals.


    "Can I confirm this? Do you know when you''re gonna fall into that reset again?" He asked anxiously.


    "Yeah. I think you can. But I won''t know if it was going to happen until I was trying to go to sleep that day." I said.


    ''Great. Now I have to figure out the timing of my gacha session. Hmmm...I can make him confirm it during my birthday, his birthday, or my mom''s birthday. Sage''s day is also good, but I need to wait a whole year for that. Maybe Halloween? They said I will get called during Life or Death day, right?''


    "It''s going to take a few months. Wait at least until October. Then you can confirm it."


    "It happened quarterly?" He asked in disbelief. "How have I never noticed this?! What have I done all these years?"


    "Well to be honest, if Haley didn''t put her head on my chest, no one would know. I didn''t n for anyone to know. I don''t want to be taken to a research institute and get studied, you know? If you are really afraid, you should let me go to sleep with Haley everyday-"


    "Stop." He raised his hand to stop me quickly. Then, he rubbed his forehead and groaned, "Should I really?"


    My eyes lits up, but he continued, "Maybe... I can do it?-"


    "DON''T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT OLD MAN!" I shouted quickly to prevent him from getting any strange ideas.


    After I made him get rid of those thoughts, I opened up to him about my difficulties in my work, just venting out on him. I did that to his benefit, but the way he was smiling warmly and looked satisfied was irritating me.


    "Ah Dad. There is another way for you to confirm that I''m an homo-superior."


    "What?" He asked with augh. He didn''t believe my words about me being an evolved human being, but he did believe that I have special skills that need to be protected. That was good enough for me.


    "You should make me a brother or sister. With a lot more experimental subjects, you can confirm it. Maybe 10 more?-"


    He red at me, and I ran away quickly. "EDDDD!"


    ...


    For myst day at the ranch, I didn''t do anything much other than spending some time with my grandma and grandpa, and helped around with the work at the ranch.


    I noticed that the film crew were following me sometimes, but I ignored them. I nned to have an online fanmeet right here, but I decided to wait until I got back to California to do it because of my dad.


    Me bringing the crew here for a film shoot made him have a panic attack, and I don''t want to find out what''s going to happen if I went ahead and did a full on live broadcast.


    I hate to admit it, but I had more fun at Wisconsin than I thought. Especially with the animals.


    As I was putting my clothes into my suitcase in preparation to get back, I heard a rough meowinging from outside of the house. I wanted to check it out by going to the front door, but my grandpa stopped me with a solemn face.


    "Ed. Stop. Jules! Get the gun! There''s a puma outside!" My grandpa shouted.


    "Wait. Grandpa-"


    "Ed. Stay here! I need to protect the livestocks." My grandpa said before I pulled him back, "I said wait. She''s not dangerous."


    "She?" My grandma came to the front door with a shotgun in her hands. I smiled wryly and said, "I know that puma."


    "Ed. Don''t be ridiculous-" My grandpa tried to stop me, but my uncle stood up for me, "Dad. What Edward said is true."


    "Huh? You too Aaron?"


    "Just...Let me out first. You can follow me with the gun. If it tries to attack me, then you can shoot." I said while looking him in the eyes.


    My grandpa was a bit taken aback. My dad and my aunt Cam rushed to the living room because of themotion and asked, "What is happening?"


    "There''s a puma outside- Ed. Damn it." Grandpa Sam tried to exin, but I already snuck out of the house. Maggie and Amy followed the group, and Pepper also was alerted and followed the noise. He was with the crew members in the SUV at the time.


    "AHHH!!! SHE''S EATING EDWARD''S FACEEEEEE!!" Maggie screamed in horror as she saw the sight of me getting ''mauled'' by the puma. Amy was shocked and then she fainted on the ground. Maggie turned to her and yelled again, "AMY''S DEAD TOO!"


    Grandpa Sam was extremely alert, but when he saw I was petting the puma in an intimate manner, he calmed down. "Wait. Seriously?" He muttered in disbelief.


    I wasughing as the puma was licking my face, and when Pepper came, he reacted in the exact same way Maggie did. My aunt and my dad helped calm the sisters down while my grandpa approached me and the puma warily.


    "Edward. Exin." He said curtly.


    "I think she''s someone''s pet. Or used to be. She''s not hostile to humans. And I think she''s hungry for some jerky, so that''s why she''s calling me out. I don''t think she''d ever hunted anything before..."


    "That exins why my brisket was missing this morning...and alsost night." Grandma Jules muttered without any fear for the puma.


    "Dad, can I keep her?" I asked my dad.


    Ted was startled, and then he smiled awkwardly, "You know, we don''t live in an estate. And I''m not even sure if it is legal to keep a puma as a pet."


    "The sultan''s do it." Uncle Aaron gave me some support.


    "Why are you- Are you trying to mess with me?" Ted grumbled at Aaron.


    Aaronughed, "Nah. If you saw what I saw, you''d know why."


    "What''d you see?"


    "I''ll tell you, but you won''t believe me."

 Chapter 167: Lonely

    <h4>Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Lonely</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Hmmm...It''s still too soon. I want you to stay here longer, but I know you have a lot of work to do." Grandma Jules hugged me and said with teary eyes as I finished packing my stuff.


    Grandma and Grandpa usually slept early, but today, they stayed up until it was almost 10 o''clock just to spend more time with me. It made me have a warm feeling inside my chest, and even had me having second thoughts about staying here longer.


    Although, the drive to keep making more money killed that familial pull rather quickly to the point that thetter didn''t even stand a chance to beg for its life.


    We were standing in front of the house, right by the SUVs, and my father''s side of the family all had a sad look on their faces as they said their goodbyes. My grandma kept wrapping her arms around me, extremely reluctant to let me go.


    "I''ll take care of ACE for a while. When you find out about thew, then you can bring him to your ce." My grandpa said as he held the leash on the puma.


    Ace�C the name I''d given to the beast, was looking at me in a sad and pleading manner, as if she didn''t want to stay with my grandpa.


    I wanted to say, "Be My Son" to her as I adopted her, but she was a girl, and also a puma, so I stopped myself from doing so lest my family thought I was being crazy.


    I rubbed the puma''s head and said, "Don''t worry. My grandpa is a nice man. And my grandma makes a mean brisket."


    Ace''s eyes glittered, and she didn''t feel as dejected anymore. Maggie and Amy had reddish eyes as they were on the brink of tears.


    "Ed. Don''t wait another 3 years before youe back home, yeah?" Amy pleaded as she gave me a hug. I smiled as I stroked her hair before Maggie pounced on me and gave me a hug too.


    "I''lle visit you when I go to...c-college." She muttered with some guilty conscience and was checking out the reactions of the people around her �C especially her mom and dad.


    I smirked and said, "College?"


    Maggie quickly said, "Y-Y-Yeah. I''m going to go to College in California. Gosh Ed, what''s with your memory? Why can''t you remember that?"


    "Oh. My bad, my bad." I muttered dismissively, "I guess my memory is quite bad nowadays. I remembered something about a contract, and 200 grand? I don''t know. Maybe I should ask Uncle Jim-"


    Maggieughed fakely, "HAHAHAHAHAHA Very funny Ed! NOW GO HOME. QUICK!!"


    She pushed me from behind strongly to make me disappear. I just made a quick turn, causing her to push nothing and almost fall into the SUV. She red at me poutingly but I ignored her and said my goodbyes to my Aunt and Uncles.


    "I''m going to miss this ce." Aunt Cam muttered with a sad tone. Grandma Jules patted her head lovingly and said, "Then, you shoulde again next time Cam. You''re already part of the family."


    My aunt showed a rare blush as she didn''t have much of an experience with maternal love. She gave Grandma Jules a long hug before waving her goodbye with teary eyes.


    My dad however was acting like he always did. He only gave a handshake to his siblings and a cursory nod to his dad. But he couldn''t escape my grandma''s bear hug and was shaken a few times before she let him go.


    "Byeee~ I''lle back for Thanksgiving~" I waved at my family from the open window of the SUV as the car drove away. I saw my grandma wiping her eyes, which made me feel a bit guilty.


    "Hmm...I should focus on medicine for the next gacha. I want them to live a long life. Only then will they be able to enjoy the result of my work." I vowed internally.


    It only took us 4 hours after leaving the ranch for us to get back to our home in California. The efficiency of the staff members with Frankie Dart''s management allowed me to avoid wasting my time at the airport with any bureaucracy even to immediately get back to my house.


    Following my order, she arranged a few paparazzis inside the airport. Not only did this action allow people to know that I was still alive, it also helped me with my media presence.


    Although, my aunt was a bit irritated by it.


    "Getting back after a family trip? Edward Newgate''s surprisingly charming family." My dadughed after he read the new articles when we were having some tea in the kitchen.


    My aunt was irritated because, the media was iming her to be my mother.


    "I think you''re not that angry at the mother promation, rather than the idea that you''re married to this tubby chubby right?" I asked her teasingly.


    "Hey." My dad retorted quickly. "I''ve been losing a lot of weight."


    "Yeah. Two more months, and I''m sure that you''ll finally get rid of your beer belly. I do apud yourmitment to this. I was sure that you were going to give up midway, but I guess I was proven wrong." I said in a convincing manner.


    My dad smiled wryly as he looked at me. Now, even if he wanted to quit, he couldn''t.


    "I''m going to sleep." He said pitifully. My aunt was still angry and then decided to go for a night ride. However, before she could pull out of the driveway, I hopped into the car and said, "Can I join?"


    "Alright. Wear your seatbelt." She said with a smirk. Then, she drove at a high speed all across the city before we returned home when it was almost dawn.


    ...


    During noon, as I was working on a few projects inside the kitchen, I suddenly got the urge to look around the empty house.


    "Can''t believe that I''m missing those kids." I muttered with a sigh. I was already ustomed to Maggie and Amy''s bickering and non-stop chatter. It made me feel a little bit lonely right now when I was left alone in the empty house.


    My aunt went to pick up a few supplies from Calexico. She had a proper job now as she opened an auto shop that specialized in car modification. She had started to work on setting it up even before we went to Wisconsin, and needed to be finished with her store before the grand opening.


    My dad wanted to stay at home, but I ordered him to go to the port as he was needed there, after all I had bought the ship he had fallen in love with �C the one with the w in the engine, and right now a team of mechanics was currently working on getting that in order. I had actually figured out how to sort out the main issues a long time ago, but the manualbor needed to modify the ship was taking a long time, in fact I didn''t even think it could be finished before summer end.


    "Hmm...I can''t focus." I stretched my arms upwards before leaving myptop and going to the fridge since it was almost time for lunch, therefore I decided to fix a special treat for myself.


    Unfortunately, there was nothing interesting in the fridge, so I could only make spaghetti with meatballs for lunch.


    A gush of loneliness suddenly blew all over me as I sat there eating alone as the warm memories of eating with my rtives surfaced in my mind.


    "Am I really missing them already? It''s been less than a day? How is this possible?" I muttered to myself as I twirled the spaghetti.


    Before I went to Wisconsin, they were just a few memories and faces that I was terrified to meet. However, they had crawled their way into my heart and built a nest there.


    "I look forward to meeting them again. Although, if I really wanted to, I could just fly there."


    With a private jet, the distance between us didn''t matter much. I heard a notification sound from my phone when I was finishing eating. I checked the group chat and smiled.


    Wolf Cub sent a picture : Pic.jpg.


    Enid sent a picture of her pointing towards a pack of wolves from afar with an excited look on her face.


    Edward: Meeting your rtives?


    Wolf Cub: ??????(Angry Emoji) I will bring them all to California to EAT YOU!! ??????


    Edward: Go ahead, bring them. I''m not scared! ??


    Edward: Pic.jpg


    I sent a picture of me having a selfie with ACE- my adopted son�C Pet. I meant Pet.


    Enid: ?????? (Surprised/Shocked emoji)


    Nun: Is that real?


    Nun: Pic.Jpg


    Jenna sent a pic of her in a catholic schoolgirl outfit. Not the sexy kind. But her mom beside her with a deep chest cleavage and tight fitting clothes could induce a few nosebleeds among teenagers.


    Horny teen: ?????? (Flushed.Emoji)


    [Abraham was kicked out of the group by the admin.]


    "What the-" I was surprised then chuckled a bit as I saw it.


    Ice Queen: I kick him out first before his pervertness explodes!!


    Elsa then sent a picture of her with her family going on a trip together.


    GymBro: You look beautiful babe ~ ??????


    Jacob sent a picture of him shirtless and was doing pushups on the football field.


    Emo girl: You''re still training?


    Billie appeared out of knowhere again. She kept her online status private so people never knew if she even read the messages.


    GymBro: My dad won''t let me rest. Help!


    Weughed reacted for a while before Alex entered the chat with a picture of her dad wearing a little orphan Annie outfit.


    My Spy: Edward!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!


    Iughed out loud in real life until my stomach hurt. As I was wheezing, I replied to Alex.


    Edward: I want to see more photos!!


    My Spy: NEVERRRRR!!!!


    Then, she sent a picture of her with wet clothes�C captured from when she was doing a physical challenge inside the family camp where they had to swing from a rope across a pit. She sent a good picture of her, but her sister privately sent me another version of the photo. In that version, clearly, she fell into the pit. She even fell face first so there was a lot of dirt on her skin.


    My Spy: I''m done with Family Camp.


    Edward: Put some ice on it to prevent getting swollen.


    At the time Alex sent me her picture, Haley also sent a sexy picture of her tying her shirt to reveal her belly button and paired with a booty short while she was resting inside her family''s dorm room.


    Haley pretended to have cramps to avoid the physical activities�C a trick that Alex wished she would''ve thought of sooner before getting dragged by her mom and dad to participate.


    I texted Haley: When are you getting back?


    Comet: Why? You miss me already?


    Edward: A little bit, and also I need to confirm your ce for the concert tickets.


    Comet: Ah, right! That...


    I was fixated on the chat group for a while and ended up dragging my work on for an hour. But I did get back to it soon. I wonder what the people I was texting would feel if they knew my nickname for them.


    ire was nicknamed ''OCD1'' while Frankie was ''OCD2''. Phil was the ''Magician'', Gloria was ''ColombianCartel'', Jay was put ''ClosetsClosetsClosetsClosets'' �C a name that I knew he would kill me if he saw it.


    Mitch and Cam were ''Queen'' and ''Queener'', while Pepper was the ''Queenest''. I didn''t think much when I was doing the nicknames, and was toozy to change them.


    "Let''s see. The g is tomorrow." I muttered to myself as I checked my schedule. "I need to make sure that my outfit is finished. It''s a Fashion G after all..."


    "I wonder what Taylor is going to wear tomorrow?"


    ...


    [General POV]


    It was a hot California summer day. The port was filled with visitors trying to book a cruise trip and n for activities for the day. The hustling and bustling at the port however, brought a headache to the lone manager working at the Whitebeard Tourism Industry.


    Frankie Dart shouted calmly to the long line of people queueing in front of the office, "We''re already booked for the entire summer. You CAN check out the trip date at our website."


    "Why don''t you expand?!" A voice shouted from the crowd. Frankie was taken aback for a while before saying, "We don''t have enough captains�C Okay, I know that you guys have woken up early to queue, so we won''t let you go back empty handed. Here, take this constory bread and coffee from us."


    The crowd finally relented after that and dispersed. Frankie wiped her non-existing sweat before smiling at the woman next to her, "Another day, another issue right Dina?"


    "Do we really have no more prospective captains?" Dina asked.


    Frankie shook her head, "We have. But we cannot expand the scale here. There''s no more docking space for the ships."


    In Entertain Company, Harvey had yet another headache.


    "It''s a nice day outside, don''t you think so Mr Bruce?" Harvey said with a slight sarcastic tone to the FBI agent sitting in front of her office desk.


    Bruce chuckled a bit before saying seriously, "Well I''m sorry Ma''am. But this is a matter of national security. I need confirmation as soon as I can."


    "Basically you want backdoors to the apps to monitor potential threats. You want to do it yourself, but you CAN''T cause Edward encrypted everything for privacy."


    Bruce smiled wryly as Harvey stared at him menacingly. However, Harvey leaned forward and joined her hands together before staring at him right in the eyes.


    "Edward also predicted this. Laws about intemunications are full of loopholes, so he wants to keep his product''s clean for as long as humanly possible and he gave me clear guidelines on ways to do so. First, you need to get an official investigation document for us to open up the backdoor to a target''s chat logs-"


    "That won''t work-"


    "Let me finish." Harvey stopped Bruce from speaking. "I know what you think, and I didn''t mean a judge''s warrant. We just need an official letter from you asking us to cooperate, and proof that we hadplied with the request."


    Bruce was a bit puzzled, "Why?"


    "We have our reasons." Harvey said dismissively as she leaned back on the chair.


    "Does this include all the apps, or just the Whatsapp app?" Bruce asked.


    Currently Entertain holds ownership over 3 socialworking service apps and 1 mobile game. LinkedIn, Instagram, Whatsapp, and the ppy Birds games.


    Some of the apps currently in development were the Entertain Video Streaming app�C which was basically Netflix in 2020, Angry Birds mobile game�C to continue Edward''s bird based game legacy, as well as another game called Temple Run.


    More than 1000 people were now hired by thepany, which expanded thepany''s business greatly.


    "Depends on what you need. As long as there''s an official letter from you guys, we will cooperate." Harvey said in a tired voice.


    She was hired to be the head of the legal team, which was a promotion from her job as head of the Entertain Entertainment Company legal team. Currently, she was regretting the promotions as even though the sry was great, the job kept piling up endlessly which made her can''t catch a break.


    Edward needed to ensure one party didn''t throw another party under the bus before he did it. Sometimes, too tight of a security would be a problem. That''s why he wasplying with the FBI �C but he would still keep them under his supervision.


    Humans always fear the unknown, that included things out of their control. So it stood to reason that the government would want some control over his apps, and he wouldply, as long as they gave him some benefits.


    This was an example ofpromise. However, there were still a few people that were determined to destroy anything out of their control. Such as, a teenage pop star that signed an ''iron d'' contract early in her career when she wanted to break free, something that saidpany couldn''t stand and thus would give her an ultimatum.


    Taylor was sitting in front of the devilishly good-looking vice director of her entertainment agency. Her face was pale, and her eyes were reddish.


    The Vice-Director said cockily, "Yes. You can break the contract. It''s in your right to do so. Just as we have the right to hold back ''your'' album, and restrict your camera appearances during the whole negotiation process plus... Don''t you remember what you signed? The album is actually already ours so not only do we get to do all that but we also OWN the masters. Add to that the fact that during said process we also hold purview over anything else you might write and I guess you can see how things stand already."


    "And sure maybe MAYBE you can get out in the end but even then... How long would that take? 2 years? Five? Will people even remember you by then?"


    "You SURE were prepared to get help from a third party, I admire you for that. I didn''t even notice the hidden use until it went and bit me in the ass." The Vice-Director stood up, buttoned his suit and walked next to Taylor.


    He sat at the edge of her chair and put his hand on her shoulder. As she was bing wary, he grabbed her chin and made her look him right in the eye, "Love? The media is really stupid. How can they not see how greedy you are? You just want to go to Entertain because they gave you more money."


    "That''s not-"


    "And Edward sure is eye-candy. But as long as I pay a little bit more money, I can twist up your rtionship with him, painting you as a predator, ruin your reputation, and also your career."


    "Why are you doing this?" Taylor broke into tears.


    The Vice Director chuckled a bit and released her chin. He stood up and walked to the window, "Because...If I can''t have something, I''d rather destroy it then to let others have it."


    "So choose Taylor. Love, or your Career?" He turned and looked at her with an evil grin, his gaze carried no trace of remorse for what he was doing.


    Taylor gripped the edge of her shirt tightly until her hands were pale. Her eyes shook, and she thought for a while.


    "I will give you an answer, after the G." She said to the Vice-Director before walking out of the office.

 Chapter 168: Gala (1)

    <h4>Chapter 168: Chapter 168: G (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    The models were walking on the runway apanied by catchy pop music. They posed at the centre of the stage before walking back behind the curtain for a costume change.


    Wearing a ck, bob-cut wig, and thick sses, I slow-pped at the exhibition while looking condescendingly at those ''designers''.


    My seat was at the second row of the left side of the stage, and it was the best seat Pepper could get me too, considering my low reputation in the fashion industry. I wasn''t mad, because there were a lot of celebrities sitting in the same row as me.


    I saw Emma Stone �C the future Gwen Stacy, and also Andrew Garfield sitting together. I also saw Zendaya and Elizabeth Gillies, awkwardly sitting next to each other.


    There were dozens of celebrities in the hall, and my presence almost became obscure from it. Well, almost.


    "Why are you being Edna Mode?" The 13 years old Anya-Taylor Joy whispered to me without making her seem impolite at the event.


    I smirked and said, "Because she''s awesome that''s why."


    She was in disbelief and said helplessly, "You''re a bit weird."


    I just met her at the event and by some stupid luck, we were sitting next to each other. So of course, I''m going to bother her. Friendly, but she was being a bit reserved. Therefore when she blurted out her true feelings like this, I was ted instead of disappointed.


    I continued examining the dresses as the models walked by then, I sighed.


    "Why are you so far away?"


    Taylor and Pepper were sitting together, on the right side of the stage, just because Pepper was slow at recognizing left and right when he came into the hall. He went to pick up Taylor and let me sit first, but this became the result.


    "I would have just waited for him to finish shitting if I knew." I said with a sigh as I waved at them from afar. Taylor gave me a giggle as she hiddenly waved back at me, and the jimmy jib camera flew across the right side to the left side at this time, startling her.


    "Versace Summer- Winter Collection, by Gavin Sinir." The Emcee announced in a calm and polite manner as she presented the show.


    "Oh. It''s Haley''s future boss... and Gloria''s future murder victim..." I mumbled to myself as I looked at the bowing man standing in the middle of the stage before the models walked in.


    He was a tall, snobbish man with stylish sses�C Rayban brand that was also part of my sses design collection, and he behaved very contemptuously against the other designers there�C even though he had just ventured into the industry. That''s what having rich parents allows you to do after all.


    Then, the runway had a short break where they interviewed the guests, which allowed me to rejoin the duo.


    "Ed!" Taylor smiled and hugged me. She gave me a tight squeeze, which made me a bit confused.


    She was still smiling as she released me, and said, "I missed you!"


    "I missed you too. By the way, are you okay? You look a little upset."


    Taylor widened her eyes in shock while Pepper''s eyes darted between us. "How?" He mumbled, wondering if what I guessed was true.


    "I-I''m not upset." Taylor chuckled modestly while cupping her mouth and pping my shoulder. Pepper scoffed suddenly, "I was excited for nothing. Ed, what do you think about the show?"


    "Are you the part timer interviewer right now?"


    "Wait- Hold on. Isn''t the most important question to ask right now...what is this? What are you wearing?" Taylor pointed at my wig and sses. I shook my wig excitedly, making them dance around, "I''m just emting my idol...Edna Mode."


    "Who?" Taylor was confused.


    "It''s from a movie." I replied with a sad smile. Then, she grabbed my hand and said, "Whatever~ You look, really weird!"


    "But, still handsome right? Like, weirdly so?" I asked with a teasing smirk. Taylor grabbed her chin in contemtion before saying, "Yes. So take it off right now."


    "Why?"


    "I don''t want my taste to be twisted!"


    Pepper rolled his eyes from the flirting going on in front of him and said, "I''m going to go meet Longinus. Ah, Ed, do you want to do the interview?"


    "Sure. I''d love to do it. I have... A LOT ofments about today''s show."


    Pepper was a bit taken aback, "Maybe...you shouldn''t do it? I haven''t had any real footing in this industry. I don''t want to get in trouble on ourpany''s first day in it.."


    I rolled my eyes at him and said, "When did you be so cowardly? Where''s the Pepper that continually snarked about Britney andined about everyone''s fashion sense? Cause I need that guy today. You said we don''t have any footing, but honestly, that guy is the only one that can actually help us."


    I grabbed Pepper''s cheek and smushed his face, "Be..That GUY...He''s our only hope."


    "Yo...You''re right. I''d lost my edge because I''ve been too busy managing apany." Pepper self-actualized for a while before his eyes shone a determined glint. "I''M THAT GUY!"


    "YES!"


    I watched Pepper walk with a fiery stride and mingle with the designers and the guests, making snarkyments about their outfits and appearances�C which made him the centre of attention and helped him create several new connections that were useful for ourpany.


    They might not love him, but they did respect him for the fact that he could speak the truth. That was an important part of the fashion industry, not just the boot-licking.


    "You''re really awesome, you know that right?" Taylor suddenly said while looking at me with a soft gaze. I was confused and then brought her hand upwards and kissed the back of her palm.


    She was a bit startled and looked around instantly, making sure that no one had seen it.


    "Hey! Stop that!" She said, but she didn''t release her hand, and still kept a bright smile on her face.


    Then, we were called to the interview stage, and we decided to go and had the interview together.


    The interviewer �C Kate Moss, kept an unnatural smile on her face as she asked her question, "So, Edward Newgate? What are you wearing today?"


    The camera recorded my dashing ck�Cindigo suit and a small cape on my left shoulder, mimicking the appearance of mediaeval shoulder armour. The design had captured the eyes of the designers in the show, making them constantly approach me.


    "Oh. This is a coboration between myself, and Haley Dunphy �C My own personal designer." I replied. A hint of jealousy could be seen in Taylor''s eyes, but she kept smiling as she waited her turn.


    "Wait, you did this yourself?" Kate Moss was surprised and her face changed for the first time. She then touched the suit slightly and was thoroughly impressed.


    "No, we work together." I replied, stressing Haley''s contributions.


    She''s going to need a lot of prestige if she wants to venture into this industryter on. Without sufficient backing and reputation, she could only start with an assistant level job, and most of her effort would be swallowed by her boss during her first years.


    "Oh. Haley Dunphy is also the one who designed your outfit for the Vogue Magazine photoshoot right? Any chance we could see her collection soon?" Kate Moss asked in a polite manner after getting the hint.


    "She still needs a little bit more practice, but soon." I replied with a smile.


    "And how about you Taylor?" Kate Moss turned to the girl beside me, "What are you wearing today?"


    After the initial greetings, Kate Moss asked about the show.


    "It was great. Versace did a great job in creating the simple fit design. However it stillcks representation in today''s show."


    Kate Moss''s eyes lit up as she loved controversial topics. "Why do you think so?"


    I was referring to a more diverse body shape and disabilities�C and mostly talked about body positivity.


    "Sooo...what''s going on with you two?" Kate Moss changed the subject and asked about the both of us mischievously. We turned to look at each other andughed before avoiding the question.


    Our interview became the longest interview shown on broadcast, and the impact wasn''t small.


    "Good grief, that was long." Taylormented after we finished the interview.


    "Good grief? What are you? Charlie Brown?" I teased. Sheughed a bit before pinching my arm.


    "Finally, you''d cheered up a bit. What happened? Why are you so upset today?" I asked as I rubbed the sore spot.


    She was a bit defensive, "I''m not upset. Maybe you''re the one who''s upset."


    "I am. A little bit." I said while pretending to be pitiful. Taylor felt guilty and tried to ask, "Wait? Really? What happened?"


    "You happened." I replied, causing her to be taken aback. She asked quickly, her face ashen, "Is this about the contract-"


    "You''re here, being so beautiful in your red dress, but I had to sit so far away from you And no, nothing is wrong with the contract. I estimate that you can get out of it in less than a week, before my tour starts."


    "That''s impossible!" She almost shouted, causing the crowd to turn their heads to look at us for a moment.


    "Huh? It''s not. Wait, the decisive moment is here�� Hey Mr Hendricks."


    A thin old man with a glorious twice swirled moustache and a golden suit walked towards us. Taylor froze on the spot seeing the man, but I was excited.


    Taylor''s reaction was normal. After all, he is currently the owner, and the President of her entertainmentpany.


    He looked at me contemptuously as I was holding hands with Taylor, but his gaze changed into a friendly uncle as he looked at Taylor. "Taylor dear, can you excuse us for a while?"


    "Ummm...Ummm..." Taylor stammered and her eyes darted between me and the President. I smiled as I saw her reaction and said, "Hey, I think Pepper needs some help? Why don''t you go to him?"


    "Ummm....Okay?" Taylor answered meekly before she walked away hesitantly. She kept looking back a few times, and almost bumped into other people there.


    Both the President and I smiled and waved at her slowly, as if saying there was nothing to be worried about. But when she had reached Pepper, we both turned to each other with a solemn look on our faces.


    "Let''s talk in a more private setting." The old man said in a cold manner.


    "Fine by me." I replied casually.


    Both of us went out of the venue and entered the lift together. We went to the rooftop where dozens of his armed guards were waiting, as if to strike terror in my very being before the negotiations today.


    "I''ll be honest. I don''t like you." Hendricks said. "But your n is great."


    "No need to feel guilty about it. The feeling''s mutual." I replied, not backing down or showing any signs of weaknesses.


    "You''re rash, immature, greedy for money, and also a horny teenage boy. Now, you''re implicating an innocent girl just because you''re thinking with your penis."


    Hypocritical, especiallying from the guy who wanted to sabotage my career to keep Taylor.


    "I can say confidently that my penis is smarter than half of the people in this country. Hell, it might even have more brain cells than them."


    "See. Immature." Hendricks scoffed contemptuously at the joke. "How could I leave her in your hands when I don''t see a shred of decency in you?"


    "You cannot see my decency, but you can see my ability. You already investigated me right?" I asked. Hendricks was silently confirming what I had guessed, and his eyes were looking at me condescendingly.


    "From growing a business, or creating profits, I didn''tck any of it. I admit that Ick influence in this industry, but it won''t be a big problem for me to get that. All I need is some time."


    "So, you want Taylor to get more profit for yourpany?" Hendricks asked angrily. His armed guards walked closer towards me, as if wanting to put pressure on me.


    "I want Taylor because I like her as a person." I replied, shutting down his usation instantly.


    "Then you can just be with her, not gambling with her entire career by acting like an entitled brat?" He sneered.


    I shook my head as I no longer wanted to y with him. "Don''t try to y me for a fool. We both know why you''re really here." I said, stopping the farce.


    Hendricks became solemn and said to the guards behind him, "Leave us."


    Then, he said authoritatively, "I have to admit, you''re really a genius at making money."


    I lured him here today by giving him financial advice, which basically doubled his investment in a short period of time. However, I myself didn''t follow the n.


    Despite the sess, my source of information was from monitoring the politician''s chats and tapping their phone to find their internal trading n. It was definitely illegal to do, but it was necessary for my future ns.


    "How much money a mere Entertainment agency can make?" I said with a slight chuckle. "Especially when the artist no longer has the intention of working for you."


    Hendricks furrowed his brows and I continued, "But, I can make you much much more. Of course, this is all within a year''s time."


    "So you want me to sell you Taylor''s rights, for your personal help in my financial growth?" He asked coldly.


    "That is your aim isn''t it? If not, you won''t even be here today." I replied casually.


    "And how should I know you''re not going to make me bankrupt?" He asked in a cold manner.


    "You don''t. The only thing that could stop me...is your decision today." I replied. "We both know words mean nothing to people like us. So it''s a gamble."


    He thought for a while, but the temptation was too great. And from his investigations, he already knew how Entertain grew big in a short period of time, and how much money we had made right now.


    Thepany grew too fast that a lot of people were keeping an eye on thepany, waiting for the time for it to go public. However, I have no intention of sharing the executive decisions of thepany, or letting others have a share in it.


    Hendricks finally decided to release Taylor, as right now, she was only going to do thepany more harm than good.


    "Alright, let''s terminate the contract." He said. "But, if you go back on your words, you know what will happen to you." He gestured to his bodyguards, and they turned to intimidate me with their firearms.


    Iughed and said, "Don''t worry. As long as you keep your words, I''ll keep mine."


    After I integrated the [Charisma of Wicked Wisdom], I found myself easily getting the trust of people with bad personality and those who were mentally unstable. However, it could only be activated when they meet me face to face. That''s why I had to lure this guy out today.


    "Tell Greg I can''t make it to his G." Hendricks said after giving me the signed contract that signifies Taylor''s free artist status.


    "You mean, Gregory Versace?" I widened my eyes in disbelief as I heard it. I gave him a USB stick, in which he smiled greedily as he snatched it from my hand.


    "Yes, or is it too hard for you?" He asked, trying to get back into his character as a kind old man.


    "Nah. I can do that." I shrugged.


    I waved the sly old man goodbye as he hopped on a ck helicopter that was waiting for him. Then, as they were flying off my wig flew off too because of the wind, causing me to curse. "Damn it!"


    "But I am really lucky. That guy didn''t notice that he had fallen into my trap." I mumbled to myself as I stroked my hair backward. It changed into a stylish hairstyle without any products needed, and I walked back to the venue.


    The more Hendricks followed my advice, the more dependent he would be on me. And when he finally realised that he had fallen into a quagmire of illegal insider trading, it would be toote and there would be nothing he could do at that time.


    ''I''ll show Taylor the contract after the event tonight to surprise her.'' I thought to myself.


    ...


    After meeting Gregory, I was actually dragged backstage by that guy as he COULDN''T STOP TALKING!


    I could see why Hendricks ran away quickly. He must be a long term victim of this guy.


    "And as you can see, this season''s collection focused on simplicity." Gregory said as he barged into the models'' changing room without even knocking.


    They were changing their clothes and were half�Cnaked while smoking cigarettes and snorting all sorts of stuff. All of them were startled by Gregory''s sudden presence there and were scrambling.


    They pushed the substances away to hide them before standing facing Gregory without any top on. I was a bit startled when I saw their reaction, but Gregory didn''t even react to it.


    He just scoffed and said to a beautiful brown skinned model with a bob-cut hair beside us, "Maybe instead of hiding it, you should wipe your nose instead."


    The model was embarrassed and she turned around to clean up her nose quickly.


    "Sorry Edward, I''ve shown you such a pathetic scene." Gregory apologised.


    "Oh, that''s okay. I''m used to it." I replied.


    Gregory then nodded with a disappointed look on his face, "That''s...sad."


    I nodded and followed him to go and see the designers, but Gregory had an important call and said, "Wait here. I''ll be right back."


    "Sure." I replied. I didn''t know why he was bringing me around and introducing me to everyone, but I guess it has something to do with Taylor''s agency president. He knew exactly what I needed, therefore he gave me a helping hand.


    However, as I was left alone in the model''s changing room, the models'' gaze turned coquettish and precocious. They started mouring and encircling me like a pack of vultures.


    "Oh my god. He''s so cute!" one of the models said.


    "Edward? I''m your fan. Can you sign my boobs?" A topless European model with only panties on propped her breast towards me as she gave me a marker.


    "Ed, you want a hit?" Some models returned to making ''lines'' before snorting them, and offered me some.


    "Hey! He''s still a young boy!" One of the older models hugged me from behind to stop me �C even though I had no intention of taking the offer.


    "So what? Drew Barrymore started cocaine at 12 years old." The model who offered scoffed before returning to her cocaine.


    I shook my head and said, "The only drug I''ve ever taken is caffeine. Also, get a piece of paper if you want me to sign it!"


    The modelsughed from my reaction. Some of them kept poking my cheek as ''I was just such a cute boyyy'' , which irked me a lot. But I still kept my cool as I gave them the autographs and also took a few pictures with them.


    Then, my attention turned to a young, Swedish girl that was sitting alone at the makeup table. I saw her smiling to herself as she took out a piece of candy and ate it hiddenly after finishing her runway walk, before bursting into tears.


    My mind became chaotic and I was taken aback for a while. ''Ah, this fucking crazy industry.'' I cursed in my mind before walking towards that girl.

 Chapter 169: Gala (2)

    <h4>Chapter 169: Chapter 169: G (2)</h4>


    (Sorry it took so long. I just finished the rewriting. Still, this isn''t fixed yet lol. I may be changing it after my editor take a look at it. I''ll tell you if I''m going to make some changester)


    [Edward POV]


    "Hey, what''cha eating?"


    The Swedish model was startled and she blurted out, "Mixed food drop?"


    "You mean fruit...drop?" I teased her. She blushed as she lowered her gaze to check the name on the tin. "What''s your name?" I asked.


    "Astrid."


    "Hi, nice to meet you Astrid." I said as I shook hands with her. She smiled and said, "Nice to meet you too. Umm...do you want one?" She picked up one of the candies and gave it to me.


    "Sure." I didn''t take it with my hand, but picked it up with my mouth instead. Astridughed and we talked for a while.


    Like I expected, she had been dieting hard to prepare herself for the show, and the tiny piece of candy was the only sugar-filled food that she had eaten in thest 6 months.


    "Damn. You''re a very dedicated girl. I would go crazy if I went without sugar for more than 2 days." I said as I patted her head slightly. She was baffled at first, but then she smiled sincerely, "Thanks. I work very hard. "


    "Astrid! I told you, if you do cocaine, then you can have as much sugar as you want-"


    "Shut up Tiffany!" Astrid yelled at the drug addicted girl behind her.


    "Edward, does this seem fake to you?" Another European model approached me while covering her breast with her hands. I rolled my eyes at the forwardness of these girls here, and then I gave up trying to change their attitudes.


    I then changed the topic and asked them about how they got started in this industry, and what it takes for someone to be a model. They replied to me enthusiastically, and even encouraged me to venture into this industry.


    They were in love with my proportions, and said that if I didn''t be a singer, I could definitely make it as a model.


    They invited me toe to the afterparty, for which I told them I was already on the guest list. Then, they exined to me that they were talking about another type of ''afterparty'', but I ignored the subject.


    "Oh, Edward. I''m sorry. They didn''t do anything weird to you didn''t they?"Gregory came back and asked while looking menacingly at the girls. They snickered as they met his gaze, and one of them spoke up, "How do you know HE didn''t do anything weird to us?"


    "Oh right. Ed, did you do anything weird to them?" Gregory asked me teasingly.


    I was tired from the farce and rolled my eyes, "Of course not."


    "Great. I trust you. Let''s go. There''s a few more people I want you to meet." Gregory said and led me away.


    "Wait. Edward." Astrid grabbed my hand and then sneaked the can of candy in it. "What the-" I was confused, and then she exined with a soft smile, "I promised myself to only eat one. So you can take the rest."


    The models were looking at me with a soft and kind smile as they waved me goodbye.


    "Maybe I should go to the after party?" I muttered to myself as I waved them back before I left.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Taylor!!" Selena, who was wearing a shoulderless white dress, ran lightly and jumped to hug her friend.


    "Selena! You''rete!" Taylor''s face was filled with displeasure but her body reacted honestly and returned the hug.


    "I''m sorry. The shoot rante. Where''s Ed?" Selena looked around in excitement.


    "He''s suffering backstage." Taylor replied.


    "Suffering? Hanging out with the hot models is suffering?" Selena asked teasingly.


    "Not the models, but a chattering old man. Anyway, that''s his words, not mine. Like you, I don''t believe he''s suffering either." Taylor said before breaking into a smile.


    Selena then asked, "So, what do you want to ask me about?"


    "I... I need your advice..." Taylor said with indecision. She wanted to ask, but at the same time, she didn''t want anyone to find out about her whole situation, not even her best friend.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After thest runway show, we finally got to the main event of the G. Basically, a dinner and a show. Versace conducted an award event with some performances in between.


    I sat at a circr table with Pepper, Taylor, Selena, a few models from the fashion show, andst but not least, Anya Taylor Joy.


    "Can you say Waku Waku?" I whispered to the young Anya that was sitting on my right. I was nning for Taylor to sit on my left, but she insisted on Selena sitting there.


    "What do you mean?" Anya was confused.


    "Waku Waku. Say it?" I asked with a sly smirk. Anya was confused, but she did it anyway, "Waku...waku?"


    "Not that way. But, I guess that''s the normal way of saying it."


    "What''s ''Waku Waku''?" Selena asked in confusion.


    "It just means ''feeling excited'' in Japanese." I exined, causing both Anya and Selena to exim in realisation.


    Selena lowered her body a bit, making her cleavage prominent. Shezily put her arms on the table and shot me a seductive nce.


    "It makes sense that you know Japanese. I don''t even question it anymore."


    "Hmm? Why do you think that?" I asked in confusion as I mimicked her.


    She was a bit taken aback, but then she showed an intrigued smile, "Well, you''re a genius right? You said you know a fewnguages in your interviews before."


    "Oh. How many of my interviews have you watched?"


    "A lot of them." She said while slightly touching my forearm. I nced at Taylor whom I noticed was watching us, but to my confusion, she was smiling. On the other side of me however, Selena was feeling deep chills behind her back, and had goosebumps all over her body.


    But I was also bothered by Taylor''sck of reaction to whatever ''this'' was. It made me wonder if she either just trusted me a lot, or just didn''t actually care about me. It made me want to flirt with Selena more. (Toxic Edward LoL)


    While I was mulling everything over, the waitresses entered the hall carrying silver trays and went to each table to present the first course.


    "The entr��e" The waitress said while putting the silver tray in front of me and opening the cover, "Devonshire Crab, smoked haddock, and Granny Smith Apple."


    Despite the long name, the portion of the food was actually pitiful. It was barely a bite, and most of the stuff on the te was for appearances.


    I didn''tment on the food because I didn''t have any prior expectations for it, it was the fashion industry. Pepper however smiled brightly as he ate his share.


    "Oh, it''s a superbbination." He mumbled to himself.


    After finishing the entree, the waitresses cleared up the tes to prepare for the next course. I tried to strike up a conversation with Taylor a few times, but she was being indifferent. And when she told me to go talk to Selena, I finally understood what happened.


    "Damn, she''s jealous." I muttered with a smile.


    "Hmm...Why is she acting so weird today?" I asked Selena after I saw Taylor talking with an actress.


    Selena''s eyes darted between Taylor and I before she sighed, "Even I don''t know."


    "Don''t you have any clues?" I asked her again.


    Selena thought for a while before saying, "I...Maybe..." She took out her phone and referred to her past conversation with Taylor. Of course, she didn''t let me peek at any of it because she deemed the conversation between girls a private thing between them.


    Ipletely understood that. Even I didn''t want anyone to check the boys-only chat group I made with Jacob, Abraham, and Finneas.


    Just to be clear, we didn''t talk about what women would think we might talk about. But, if any of our cartoon crush discussions leaked out, we would bury our heads in the ground in shame.


    Selena then said, "No. She didn''t say anything weird." I sighed and I looked into Taylor''s direction with a worried expression.


    The G dinner finished after an hour and we could finally walk around the hall. Pepper went to mingle while I got an idea to have some fun.


    "Come with me." I grabbed Taylor''s hand and escorted her. We got a lot of looks, but I ignored them all.


    "Waku Waku." Anya Taylor Joy eximed to herself as she watched the drama. We went to the middle of the dance floor as soon as the dance started.


    "Mydy, can I have this dance?" I asked with a charming smile while holding her hand.


    She giggled with a blushing face and then replied, "You can."


    The music was slowly getting started, and we stared at each other''s eyes as we danced.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While Edward and Taylor were dancing in each other''s arms, one undercover paparazzi that disguised himself as a waiter to get into the venue, was crouching at the second floor of the hall to snap pictures of celebrities.


    "Nice! I''m going to make a lot of money from this." He muttered to himself as his camera focused on the sight of Edward and Taylor dancing together.


    "HEY! You shouldn''t be here!" A security guard caught him from behind.


    "FUCK!" He cursed and tried to slip away, but he stumbled on his own leg, and fell to the floor. His camera fell from the second floor, and shattered.


    "NOOO!" He wailed in misery as he saw his potential money-making pictures and data were destroyed.


    While the hidden paparazzi was wailing, an independent photographer named Matt mhaff (13 going on 30 Movie), who was hired to take pictures at the award ceremony before, saw the scene of Taylor and Edward dancing together.


    Then, he subconsciously snapped the picture of the two of them even though he knew that he wasn''t supposed to.


    "Damn it." He cursed himself. But when he checked the photo, for him, that photo was too good to be deleted.


    "What should I do?" He muttered. "Maybe I should call theirpany and see if they want this picture? Hmm..."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I could sense that someone was peeping at the second floor, so I alerted the guards to handle them before I went to dance with Taylor as I wanted to give all my attention to her.


    For a few minutes, I saw the most beautiful smile as we danced together. Honestly, it made my heart beat quicker when I saw it.


    But we didn''t dance till the end. After the song ended, we went back to our table. Then, I asked, "Want to do something bad?"


    Although a bit hesitant, Taylor couldn''t hide the smile on her face. "What are we going to be doing?" She asked carefully.


    "We...are going to sneak out of here." I replied as I made sure that Pepper didn''t notice us.


    She widened her eyes in surprise, "What? And leave the g?"


    "Yes." I replied with a sly smirk. "To be honest with you, I''mpletely bored here. And the event is already over anyway."


    " That''s right...But still...Only the two of us?" Taylor was hesitant to leave Selena behind.


    "Ah...I forgot about her. Text her to meet us at the parking lot. But...wait, before we leave...should we do something ... ''big''?"


    Taylor''s eyes gleamed as she heard my n, and at this moment, whatever had been guing her, was thrown out of her mind. She giggled mischievously, thinking about how much of a headache Pepper was going to get after we left.


    "Let''s go!" I muttered after Taylor had got in contact with Selena and told her about the situation. In front of the venue, a sea of paparazzi was standing by with their hands on the camera shutter as they waited for the guest to leave.


    As soon as the door was opened, they snapped their photos immediately. Taylor and I ran quickly while holding our hands together, causing the paparazzi to sense the smell of big news!


    "EDWARD! TAYLOR! ARE YOU GUYS DATING?!"


    "WHEN CAN WE SEE YOUR COLLABORATION!?"


    "EDWARD! LOOK OVER HERE!"


    They called out the both of us multiple times. As we ran , a ck suv quickly stopped by at the end of the red carpet. The door opened quickly, revealing Selena that was sitting inside. Taylor and I quickly hopped on the car and the driver left the scene quickly while the paparazzis were chasing us.


    Taylorughed out loud and said, "That was fun!"


    "Where are we going?" Selena asked with a smile.


    I gave the driver the address for the afterparty, which was held nearby. The models gathered inside a standing bar, with adequate lighting, and also a band for entertainment.


    "We...need to change first." Selena said. "There''s no way I''m going over there in this dress."


    All of us thought the same way. We were kinda overdressed for this kind of party.


    "Well lucky for us. I have thought about it before we got in the car." I muttered with a smirk and pointed to the change of clothes in the back seat.


    "Should we stop by somewhere to change?" I asked them.


    "There''s no need for that. I have perfected the skill of changing inside a car." Taylor muttered.


    Selena joined in, "Me too!"


    "Or, are you too embarrassed to change in front of us?" Selena added mischievously.


    "Hmm? Do you think you can tease me like that? How about this? We all changed together at the same time, and the first person to look away, loses?"


    "What''s the punishment?" Taylor asked.


    "Anything the winner says." I replied with a smirk.


    Selena protested, "That''s unfair to me! You guys..." then she whispered to make sure the driver didn''t hear us, "You guys have seen each other naked before."


    Weughed it off, and then we started to change our clothes. And unsurprisingly, Selena was the one who lost the game. Her eyes were affixed on me when I changed my shirt, but she looked away in embarrassment as I changed my pants.


    "Edward! You''re here!" Astrid, the model that I met before in the changing room greeted me cheerfully as Taylor, Selena and I entered the club.


    The band was singing the song, [Blink-182 - What''s My Age Again?], after we got in, which made me feel a bit weird.


    "They are not throwing this at me right?" I asked.


    Astrid burst intoughter, seemingly a bit drunk. She held my arm intimately and said, "You''re just overthinking it. Come on! Let''s have some fun!"


    Taylor then red at Astrid, but the model wasn''t backing down. Taylor then said to me, "Sure, but Edward shouldn''t be drinking."


    "I know that." Astrid said with a smug look on her face. However, a few minutester, I was already on my second ss of champagne as I walked around the clubroom. I danced with Taylor and Selena, and partied with the girls for a little while.


    The party soon became sparse as people were leaving to either have sex or get some rest. There were less than 10 people inside the room, including the 3 band members ying a slow song.


    I looked at the slightly drunk Taylor and asked, "Hey. Are you okay?"


    "Yeah, I can still drink�C"


    "That''s not what I meant. You seem a bit weird today." I brushed her stray hair behind her ear. She looked at me with a flushed face�C both from the alcohol and being a bit shy.


    She suddenly received a text from someone, causing her to pull herself away. I got a text too at the same time, and I smiled as I saw the link to the article that Pepper had sent me.


    The photo of Taylor and I dancing together had been viral, and was causing a frenzied reaction from our shippers.


    I turned to Taylor to share it with her, but saw that her face was pale. She stood up and walked out of the club without saying anything.


    "Hmm? What just happened?" I muttered. Selena who was sitting nearby shrugged as she also had no clue about the whole thing.


    I decided to follow Taylor outside of the club. I was shocked when I caught her wiping her eyes, and was trying to hide her appearance from me when I saw it.


    "Taylor? What''s wrong?" I asked with concern.


    Taylor tried to run, but I guided her to the wall before releasing her arm. Before she could recollect herself, I ced my hand to the wall, preventing her from escaping.


    I gazed intently into her eyes, causing her to gulp her saliva. I asked, "Mind telling me what''s going on?"


    Her heart beat quicker from anger and she clenched her fist, "Ed, I...I admire you, but, things won''t work out between us."


    I was confused as to what nonsense she was talking about, but I let her speak and didn''t interrupt her. Seeing my silent reaction, she became angrier and said, "I''m breaking up with you!"


    "You can''t."


    "Why not?!"


    "Because we never dated." I said. Taylor opened her mouth, but then she realised that what I said was true.


    "Then, that makes it easier right?!" She said with a choked up voice I rubbed my chin in contemtion, thinking about why she was acting this way.


    "Does this have something to do with your agency?" I asked. She flinched and hugged her body, "I don''t know what you mean�C"


    "Oh. So I''m right huh." I muttered as I could sense I was right based on her bodynguage.


    "Is someone holding something over you?" I asked, causing her face to turn pale. "Or maybe, ckmailing you, and it had something to do with me? Like, they want you to stay away from me?"


    "Oh. I''m right. Let''s see...Let''s see...Got it! That bastard Joseph huh...He''s the only one who I can''t get to in the negotiation. So I wonder if he said that he''s going to ruin your career or�C"


    I studied Taylor''s face, and I shocked myself again when I noticed that I was right at the first guess.


    [Taylor POV]


    ''What should I do? He''s getting too close.''


    The powerlessness I''d been feeling for days made my knees weak and my throat closed up. When he almost guessed it, a glimmer of light shone in my otherwise dark thoughts. However, fake hope hurts more than the cruel reality.


    And the reality was, if I needed to choose between my career and being with him, I''d choose my career. I have dreamed of bing an artist since I was a kid, and I just met Edward a few months ago.


    This was all because I met him too soon. If only I met himter in the future. Then, maybe the situation would be better. Maybe I would have the strength to follow my heart then.


    I ran outside of the club because I got a text from my agency''s vice director, telling me that he needed my decision before tomorrow, as he saw the link of me spending time with Edward at the G.


    "FUCK HIM! FUCK FUCK FUCK!" I cursed as soon as I got out of the club.


    The moment I was ckmailed, I became determined. I would follow the agency''s instructions for now, and cultivate my own reputation without depending on anyone else.


    When I finally have enough power to stand alone, I would burn down the agency to the ground. I vowed to enact revenge, and my spite filled me with boundless rage.


    Yeah, I was angry with myself. And I was angry with my agency. I was also angry with Edward. I was angry at everything. I hid my raging heart behind my smile as I looked into Edward''s eyes.


    "Huh?" Edward was confused when he saw my smile.


    "Ed. It was fun." I muttered as I gave up. Yeah, I gave up for now. I no longer had any hope before I came here.


    Edward was silent for a while before he said, "It was." His face was filled with disappointment, and it made my heart ache.


    "But now, we both know that it''s over." I continued despite the pain I was feeling.


    Edward was looking at me with a worried expression. I brought my arms up and held his face intimately, "It just...wasn''t meant to be. I...still want to sing, and if I need to stay away from you..."


    "Before you go any further. I should tell you this." Edward interrupted. I looked at him with a hurt smile. He grabbed my hands and lowered them. He said in a cold tone, "It''s done. Hendricks already signed the contract. You are now a free artist."


    "What?" I widened my eyes in shock.


    "Joseph, or anyone else who''s threatening you, don''t really have any powers to do anything." Edward continued. "I can show you the contract if you want."


    "Ed-Ed." I called his name, but I didn''t really know what to say. It was supposed to be a great thing for us, but the situation right now has be awkward because I wanted to break the rtionship off before.


    Right then, his cold face melted and he showed a teasing smile, "Wait. Are you crying?"


    "Of course I am crying, you dumbass!" I shouted at him. How could he be so crude with a girl''s feelings? The more heughed, the madder I felt.


    Then, he hugged me. He patted my back softly as my head was pressed against his chest. "Oh you poor girl." He said, causing me to cry harder and ruin all of my makeup.


    A sense of relief washed all over me. I think that''s why I could care about my appearance right now.


    I slowly pushed Edward away, and then looked him in the eye. Then, I leaned in and kissed his lips.


    As we separated, I muttered, "Edward. Thanks. I know there''s a lot we need to talk about, but...just for this moment, can we just be together?"


    Edward then smiled even though his eyes were telling me that he was hurt. "Come on. I''ll apany you back to your ce."


    He didn''t say anything, and I felt both guilty and thankful for that. Right now, there was too much on my mind. Maybe I''ll get a fresh start tomorrow and be braver. God knows I needed that.

 Chapter 170: Tour Begins!

    <h4>Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Tour Begins!</h4>


    {A/N: Season 2 Finale!}


    [Edward POV]


    After I sent Taylor home, I went back to my ce and turned on myptop.


    "Joseph, right. Just you fucking wait." I murmured with rage in my eyes.


    I didn''t even sleep that night, and when the morning came, I worked out tremendously to calm down my emotions.


    "What are you doing?" My dad asked.


    "Waiting." I said while doing shirtless pushups.


    "For?" He asked, a bit intrigued.


    "For you to get to work before I can finally be at peace."


    "That''s a little hurtful."


    I realised that I had identally released my pent up anger at him, so I apologized, "Sorry."


    "Want to talk to Dr Linda?" He asked.


    "YOU GO TALK TO HER!" I exploded after he kept badgering me and lingering around.


    I went to the Entertainpany in the afternoon to settle Taylor''s signing with our agency. When I met with Taylor, she smiled and tried to act like usual, but I knew that she was still feeling awkward about the whole thing.


    She was feeling anxious because she blurted out that she was going to abandon me, and provided no exnation about that. And I was also anxious because I wanted to hear the details to understand her better.


    But as we didn''tmunicate with each other, the air between us kept getting colder and colder. We sat next to each other in the meeting room with Harvey, Pepper, and Taylor''swyer.


    "Alright. Taylor, we will give you the same contract as Edward, but you need to understand that his extra percent of the ie was based on his ability to create his own melody and produce his own songs, so it won''t be exactly the same." Harvey exined simply.


    Taylor didn''t talk as she read the contract. Harvey then continued, "But, the conditions for the extras will be there if you decide to fully create your songs. We won''t discriminate against you, so don''t worry about it."


    Taylor smiled brightly and then said, "Let''s talk about employee benefits. Will I be able to choose who I''m dating?"


    "Sure. But keep it on the downlow when you are still trying to get to know each other. If you decide to get serious, then we can reveal it. This is just a suggestion, not a rule." Pepper said with a sly smile as he nced at the both of us.


    Taylor and I automatically turned towards each other, and then we decided something inwardly. After the signing process, we told each other what we had decided to do.


    "Let''s just keep things the way it is for now." Taylor said.


    I agreed with her and added, "Yeah. Besides, we won''t be seeing each other much for months!"


    "That''s true. Who knows what will happen during that time!" Taylor muttered with a nervous smile.


    ...


    Later that night at my house. As I turned on the news;


    [The Vice President of a highly rated entertainment agency was arrested earlier this morning for possession of illegal narcotics and heroin inside his apartment. The police stated that they received an anonymous source before they took action.]


    The footage showed Joseph''s figure being escorted to the police car with his hands cuffed behind his back.


    [Not only did he try to resist arrest but police also found multiple incriminating documents in his apartment. The suspect was found to be ckmailing aspiring young girls into having sex with him for a chance in their career, with the numbers of victims in the double digit figure.]


    I changed the tv channel as I opened up a can of beer before sitting on the couch.


    [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Turtle in a Hard Shell!]


    "Turtle power." I eximed with a smile on my face as I watched the cartoon show. However, as the incident happened, a heavy desire to clean my house grew inside of me.


    Unfortunately, my house was already clean.


    "Fuck." I cursed before angrily went to tend the garden in front of my house. The sunflowers I had nted when I first decided to change had bloomed. My front yard was filled with the sunflowers, which eased up my frustrations.


    "~Needless to say, I keep her in check, She was a bad-bad, nevertheless (yeah)~"


    I hummed as I water the sunflowers in the middle of the night.


    ...


    "Ohh, you guys have waited for this long enough." I said holding a microphone as I stood in front of my fans. They cheered and apuded as I walked on the stage. In front of me was filled with banners of my name and my posters, which made me smile.


    Before my tour started, I had ns for a fan meeting, but it was postponed because of my trip to Wisconsin. I wanted to do it online, but I decided to make sure to have a more personal touch in this.


    We were all inside an auditorium near Pasadena, where more than 500 girls hade to join the fan meeting. Not only that, hundreds more were waiting outside the venue just to catch a glimpse of their new favourite artist.


    I sat on a tall stool on the stage before the emcee let the first girl ask a question.


    "Hey, wait, I know you." I said to the girl, interrupting her.


    The girl smiled, ttered, and I added, "Yeah. You came to my school concert. Reba right?"


    The girl squealed before saying, "Edward you''re the greatest guy on the!!."


    The crowdughed and I chuckled. She then asked, "My question is about your song, Toxic. Did you experience that personally?"


    I gulped some water before replying slowly. Most of the girls just wanted to talk to me, and I had fun with them for a while.


    "Edward, what should we call ourselves as your fan club?" Lily, the president of the fanclub asked.


    "Hmm..." I thought seriously. I didn''t want something like ''Beliebers'' or ''Swifties'', and I wanted something that means a lot to me.


    "Hey, who''s here have ever watched the Japanese animation, One Piece?" I asked them while raising my hands up.


    The crowd were confused for a while before I saw some sparsely raised hands from them.


    "You guys might not know this, but that show is my favorite show in the world." I said with augh. The fans smiled as they listened intently to my words.


    "Inside the show, there''s a character with the same name as I am, The Captain of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew, Edward D. Newgate. If you guys know my dad''s business, then you can see where I got the reference for it."


    The crowd gasped in realization and murmured. "Anyway, that character is named the Strongest Man in the world. Now, I carry the same name as him, so I may not be able to be the strongest man, but I want to strive to be the best performer in the world."


    "So my thoughts are like this. Just for you guys, for my fans. I will be the ''Captain'', and you guys will be the thing a pirate always dreams of...''Treasures''."


    "How is that? Is that cool? It''s not confirmed yet, so if you have any other suggestions, just let me know." I spoke casually.


    "Treasures...Hehe...That''s a great name." Lily mumbled to herself.


    "How about NewBies?"A girl gave a suggestion.


    "That sounds like Bieber''s new fan name." Lily shouted quickly to shut down the idea.


    I was also startled when I heard the name. To be honest, it was pretty great. But I''m pretty sure that the girl who mentioned it was a member of the new dark side of Twitter that has been shipping me and Justin Bieber together.


    I shuddered at the thought and listened to a few more suggestions. We got ''Army'', ''New Armada'', ''Gaties'', ENTrain, and a lot more. After a vote, my original idea won.


    The fan event went for an entire day. I took pictures with the fans, gave out some autographs. I ended up signing everything from papers, albums, posters, shirts, and even in some cases bare skin.


    "Just...don''t tattoo it on yourself okay?" I said to the inked goth girl who wanted me to sign her shoulder.


    "Oh ho~ But I will." She said excitedly.


    When I was done with the event, I waited alone in the waiting room as my manager handled my logistics.


    "Hmm..." I checked my phone and was feeling mncholic. Even though I had fun all day today, the people who I wanted to have fun with weren''t there.


    "EDDDDDDDDUUUUAAAAAARRRRRRRRDDDDDDDD!!!!" Suddenly, I got tackled from behind by a human-wolfcub hybrid. The tackle was so strong that I actually fell from the chair. Both of us rolled on the ground before I finally found out who the culprit was.


    "Ouch- Mother fuck- Wait, Enid!?"


    "ED!!! MISS ME?! " She lunged towards me and hugged me again, properly this time. She kept jumping around in excitement, making my dopamine and serotonin levels go up.


    "Why are you back so early?" I asked her in surprise.


    "Well I didn''t want to miss your concert tour opening silly!" She admonished me. "I don''t want to spoil the surprise, but everyone else ising back too!"


    "That''s...already a spoiler." I grinned as I watched her face slowly turn pale from the realization. When I returned to my home, Jenna, Jacob and Elsa, Abraham, Finneas and Billie, were all already waiting in my living room.


    "Congrats ED!" They cheered for me the moment I walked in.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Edward Newgate''s first concert tour venue was located at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. A building seating around 20,000 people, and tickets were sold out in 10 minutes after sales went online.


    "I''m a little bit nervous."


    Edward looked at the girl standing behind him in confusion. He was already equipped with the earpiece and outfit to perform today.


    "I''m the one performing, why are you the one who''s nervous?" He teased.


    Haley grunted, "I''m nervous for you! Go on Ed! Break a leg!" She urged him to go quickly as the staff members were already calling him.


    "I still can''t believe I missed out on your dading back while wearing a ''If you ain''t white, you ain''t right'' shirt." Edward muttered gloomily.


    "Well...I don''t want to do this, but..." Haley took out her phone and showed Edward the photo she took of her dad wearing that highly insensitive shirt. Edwardughed out loud and said, "Thank''s Haley. That made all of my nervousness disappear."


    Haley blushed and then urged him to go there quickly, "GOO!"


    "Give it up for, the one and only!!!! EDWARDD!! NEWGATEEEEEEEEE!!!" The emcee shouted exaggeratedly.


    Edwardughed and waved Haley off before he got on stage. The second he entered, the crowd cheered thunderously to wee him.


    Edward held an electric guitar before saying, "Hello Everyone. I-"


    Before he could finish, the crowd let out a deafening cheer, prompting him to stop and smile at their enthusiasm.


    "Wow, 20,000 people. To be honest with you guys, I really didn''t expect this to happen to me. I''m really d you guys are all here, and I''m looking forward to spending the rest of the evening performing my best for you guys."


    "WE LOVE YOU EDWARDDD!" Jenna and Enid who were sitting on the VIP seats shouted while raising Edward''s name banner. Gloria, Jay and Manny who were seated nearby also cheered for him.


    "Gloria." Jay called before taking pictures of Gloria and Manny. "Too bad Cam and Mitch couldn''t be here to see it." Manny said.


    "Too bad? That''s the best part. Why do you think I''m taking the pictures? It''s to rub it in their faces." Jay muttered gleefully.


    Mitchell and Cam couldn''t make it to the first day of the tour because Lily had a fever. Phil and ire were also there, but they had the privilege of watching the show from the staff''s location, together with Cam and Ted.


    Selena and Taylor also came to support Edward, but they didn''t go backstage.


    Edward takes a deep breath before saying, "Thank you all for your support. Please enjoy my first song that I''d written especially for you guys who came to the first day of the concert, ''Counting Stars''."


    The crowd cheered and was ttered when they heard it, and then they became silent as they awaited the performance.


    [OneRepublic - Counting Stars]


    Edward grabbed his mic and started singing.


    "??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things that we could be ??"


    He nced at Taylor''s direction, and she was looking intently at him.


    "??But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard


    Said, "No more counting dors, we''ll be counting stars"??"


    "??Yeah, we''ll be counting stars??"


    Pepper smiled as he thought about the drive back from the studio in the desert with Edward where they could see the river of stars.


    The crowd cheered explosively before Edward took a step forward to the edge of the stage.


    "??I see this life, like a swinging vine


    Swing my heart across the line


    And in my face is shing signs


    Seek it out and ye shall find??"


    Phil overanalyzed again, "Life is a roller coaster of disappointment and happiness. Edward is bing more profound day by day."


    ire and Alex looked at Phil in disbelief.


    "??Old, but I''m not that old


    Young, but I''m not that bold


    And I don''t think the world is sold


    On just doing what we''re told??"


    The crowd started to dance together with Edward who was dancing lightly on the stage. The atmosphere heats up instantly, and Penny who attends the concert with her female friends shouted in excitement.


    "WOOO!"


    "??I~~~ feel something so right


    Doing the wrong thing


    And I~~~ feel something so wrong


    Doing the right thing??"


    "??I couldn''t lie, couldn''t lie, couldn''t lie??"


    "??Everything that kills me makes me feel alive??"


    The crowd shouted thunderously as the beats dropped.


    ??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things that we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard


    Said, "No more counting dors, we''ll be counting stars"??


    ??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard"


    Edward raised his hand to the sky, "Said, "No more counting dors, we''ll be, we''ll be counting stars"??


    "??Yeah, yeah??"


    "Oh my god. I am in love with the song." Elsa muttered. "What about me baby?!" Jacob asked fearfully.


    Mrs Henderson who was standing amongst the crowd smiled at Edward''s growth and said, "Goodbye Edward."


    Edward smiled at the crowd. His skin glistened with sweat as he walked to the left side of the stage.


    "??I feel your love, and I feel it burn


    Down this river, every turn


    Hope is our four-letter word


    Make that money, watch it burn!??"


    ire smiled and joked, "He''s making all that cash to burn? No wonder he''s been working crazily for money."


    "Mom, that''s not funny." Alex retorted.


    "??Old, but I''m not that old


    Young, but I''m not that bold


    And I don''t think the world is sold


    On just doing what we''re told


    And I feel something so wrong~


    Doing the right thing~??"


    "??I couldn''t lie, couldn''t lie, couldn''t lie~


    Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly??"


    6 days of tour at the Staples Center, and Edward performed to over 100,000 people.


    "??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things that we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard


    Said, "No more counting dors, we''ll be counting stars"??"


    After that, it was non-stop traveling and performing for him. He didn''t spend time like his peers, spending summer at the beach or going to the amusement park.


    "??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things that we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard


    Said, "No more counting dors, we''ll be, we''ll be counting stars"??"


    He slept for only 4 hours per day, his schedule was busy with fan meets, interviews, meeting important people, and performing.


    ??Oh, take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    Without him realizing it, summer was already over.


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    When he finally arrived in New York, the one person he wanted to meet there didn''te to see him. Rather, he only met her mom�C Desire.


    ??Everything that kills me... makes me feel alive??


    His face carried traces of fatigue, but he gave his all during his performances. From dancing, to interacting with the fans. Performing during the rain, and also while it was very hot outside.


    ??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things that we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard


    Said, "No more counting dors, we''ll be counting stars"??


    When school finally started again, Haley was concerned when Edward missed out on the entire first week of school.


    ??Lately, I''ve been, I''ve been losing sleep


    Dreaming about the things that we could be


    But baby, I''ve been, I''ve been praying hard


    Said, "No more counting dors, we''ll be, we''ll be counting stars"??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    ??Take that money, watch it burn


    Sink in the river the lessons I''ve learned??


    While others were studying, Edward was conducting interviews and was going to attend various awards programs. His life had be so different from his friends, that it was hard for him to even talk to them.


    "Hmm...I hope Edward wille back soon." Haley muttered as she waited for him to reply to her texts.


    (2 months timeskip after this)

 Chapter 171: Bro.

    <h4>Chapter 171: Chapter 171: ?Bro.</h4>


    [General POV]


    Las Vegas. After finishing up thest concert for his national tour, Edward walked backstage with sweat dripping down his chin. For hisst tour, he was performing for 4 days in front of 80,000 people in the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden venue, and his exit caused a lot of fans to cry from the frustrations of not getting the ticket to watch him live.


    A staff member ran to give him a towel, prompting him to say his thanks before walking toward where his manager was standing.


    While wiping his face and wet hair, Edward asked, "How many more are on the schedule?"


    "Only one left. And congrats Ed for finishing your tour." The awkward asian man smiled brightly as he wanted to give Edward a hug, but stopped halfway considering how sweaty the singer was, and settled for a handshake instead.


    Edwardughed and said, "Jim-"


    "Randall...Please stop calling me Jim Halpert. I don''t even get that reference." Randall Park said exasperatedly, but with a smile on his face.


    He still remembers when he went for the interview, Edward hired him instantly when he saw his face. He has been called many names such as ''Jimmy Woo, Jim Halpert'', and many more.


    At first he thought that Edward was secretly racist, but then he figured out that he had been calling him some character''s name from a show he had never watched.


    "Oh, and the FBI is sending an agent today." Randall continued. Edward was confused, "For what? Why didn''t they go to thepany?"


    "No, they said it was for your protection. I think they want to talk to you before your concert." Randall guessed.


    "???" Edward was confused as he thought about it.


    "Anyway...Let''s go meet my super fans.. Shall we?"


    "You mean, your richest fans? That you want to empty out their wallet today?" Randall joked with the truth.


    Edward pouted, "It seems that you want to go to find me a nice shooting location in Antarctica."


    His threat didn''t work as Randall was excited instead, "And meet the penguins?!"


    "..."


    Edward didn''t say anything and just left.


    ...


    After finishing school, Alex, Finneas, Billy and Enid who were still in middle school went to visit the Palisades High School to support their friend.


    "Hmmm....I don''t think Ed can make it." Jacob said, filled with nervous energy as he was going to try out for the football team.


    Elsa was a bit dissatisfied and irritated, "Didn''t he promise you that he''s going to try out with you? Did he forget? I''ll call him-"


    Before she could dial her phone, Jacob stopped her gently, "You can''t really me the guy. He''s basically been working 20 hours a day non stop for almost the entire summer."


    "But-"


    "It''s fine. I don''t want him here. I''d rather let him rest for a bit. Besides, this isn''t the only try outs the team is going to hold. There''s going to be another one in the next season." Jacob said, hiding his sadness, but it was obvious to see when people looked into his eyes.


    "Ugh!" Elsa grunted in anger. Although she understood what Jacob said, she knew that her boyfriend was very much looking forward to joining the team with Edward.


    "You know, if the teacher''s a fan, Edward could just waltz in everytime you guys are training." Alex saidfortingly.


    Elsa and Jacob both turned towards her with an excited look on their faces. Jacob, because he imagined it, and Elsa because she found out how to motivate his boyfriend.


    And then, Elsa was hit with a sudden sense of worthlessness as she turned back to look at Jacob and saw his expectant look.


    "Babe. Tell me. You love Edward more than you love your own girlfriend right?" Elsa said self-deprecatingly.


    "NO JACOB DON''T ANSWER IT''S A TRAP!" Abraham shouted immediately as he saw the dangerous scene in front of him.


    While Abraham was arguing with Elsa and everyone was paying attention to them, Enid nudged Alex''s waist slightly with her elbow.


    "Hey, Edward ising, right?" Enid asked, whispering.


    "I really have no idea-"


    "Liar. You''d been texting him the entire time." Enid exposed her.


    "Well I don''t want to break Jacob''s heart before he auditions!" Alex replied defensively and pulled Enid to the back to have a private talk with her.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "A few days ago, my mom and my dad suddenly decided topete to see who could run the fastest. It was the first day of school, so I didn''t pay much attention to them, but then when I told Edward about it, he said, ''Let''s make this interesting''."


    "I picked my mom as she was the most obvious choice. She ran every day. She even participated in a half-marathonst year. So yeah, I thought I could finally win andpletely wipe out my bet debt to him. You know, the one where I need to lie for him 3 times. I did it twice, but he''s been dragging out thest one. I live in anxiety every single day since he won that bet, and even have nightmares about it." Alex exaggerates.


    "But, the result of the race disappoints me." Alex muttered in a sad tone before she got irritated, "He even guessed that Haley would run my dad over with a car. I mean, how is that even possible!?"


    [Commentary ends]


    Standing a few metres away at the audience seat was Haley, Tara, and Tara''s new boyfriend who''s a senior football team yer.


    "Hey Haley, who do you like watching more? Me or Tim?" A sleazy football yer tried to flirt with Haley from the ground.


    "She''d rather stab her eyeball with a fork than watch either of you losers. AndFuck off Kim! Your name sounds like a girl''s name." Tara chased the dumb jock away. Theyughed while they walked towards their coach, and Tara said to Haley, "Are you sure you''re going to wait here?"


    "Yeah. Don''t you have to wait here too?" Haley asked Tara in confusion. Tara looked at her boyfriend and waved him away as he went to huddle up before replying to Haley, "Nah. I''m meeting with Dan at the mall."


    "Wait. You''re dating both boys at once?!"


    "No. Dan and I aren''t dating. We''re just talking and making out a little." Tara replied casually with a sly grin. "What about you? Still waiting for the prince to look your way?"


    "Shut up! I''m not waiting for anything!"


    "Really? Cause a lot of guys have been asking you out since school started, and you said no to all of them."


    "Um... Cause they are all immature that''s why!" Haley said angrily. Before Tara could walk away, she grabbed her arm and said, "You''re waiting here with me?"


    Tara was bbergasted, "But...the movie?"


    "NO!" Haley hugged Tara''s arm tightly, locking her to the football field.


    ...


    In Las Vegas. Edward was having his song rehearsal, but with the appearance of his super fans inside the recording studio.


    There were quite a few of the ''Hollywood elite'' present in fact, or the future of it anyway since amongst the few lucky VVIPs were the youngest Kardashians (Kendall and Kylie) in front of him as well as the Hadid Sisters (Gigi and Be). Kendall Jenner in particr kept staring at him as a lovesick puppy while batting her eyes at him.


    "Hi everyone! Let''s see...Now that I''m done warming up, should we y a game? Just shout the songs you want me to sing." Edward said to the small crowd with a charming smile.


    "What about you, the one in the red dress?" Edward pointed at the Russian girl with giant ''assets'' as everyone inside the hall had their hands up.


    With a thick Russian ent, the girl asked hesitantly, "Do you...y the game?"


    "The ones where I create a song on the spot? You can try, maybe if you''re lucky..." Edward said mischievously, causing the Russian girl to blush. "How about the one next to you, yeah, the hot one...I think yourst name is Volkov...Right?"


    The ssy girl next to the slutty one smiled and then stood up slowly to talk with Edward. While she was standing up, a woman in her 30s silently swiped Volkov''s phone and put a bug inside it without anyone noticing. Then, she silently left the hall.


    Edward yed around with the crowd for a while. He talked with the Kardasian/Jenner sisters, yed a game with Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and the two Russian girls, and even had brunch together with the group.


    "So Edward. You''re...single right now right? What do you think...about me?" Gigi Hadid asked with a blush on her face while posing in the best posture for Edward to see her beauty.


    Edward rubbed his chin as he pretended to scrutinise the girl. The girl''s heart beats quicker, and she finally feels relieved after Edward said, "You''re very beautiful. s..."


    "What? Why?" Gigi grabbed Edward''s hand and whined.


    "I don''t date girls younger than 16."


    "Huh? Seriously?" Gigi was a bit irritated.


    "Yeah. But it wasn''t because I didn''t want to. I''m just attracted to...you know, that age. So try again in a couple of years." Edward said jokingly.


    Gigi was taken aback, and then she hugged Edward''s arm as she caught the hint and smiled. "You''re the best!"


    "Edward, I...feed you?" Katrina, the slutty Russian girl pleaded. Edward nodded and opened his mouth, simply pleasing the girls there.


    He didn''t want to say no to them. After all, the pass they bought made him a HUGE profit plus the exorbitant price was enough to have Pepper pulling his hair out when he heard the idea thinking no one would be delusional enough to pay hundreds of thousands of dors in order to just share a few days with a pop star, boy was he wrong though the ces were filled up so fast it wasn''t even funny.


    Before his concert started, Edward was met with an offer. The Russian girls wanted to meet with him tonight after the concert.


    Edward smiled as he waved goodbye to them, and then returned backstage after talking with the girls, where he met with agent Ang Page, FBI. (TBBT)


    "So, you did it right?" Edward asked her.


    "Yes. Thanks for your help."


    "So, they want me to meet themter tonight...Should I?"


    "It''s better if you don''t." The agent replied decisively.


    Edward pouted and then muttered, "Alright then. Out. I have to prepare."


    Before the agent left, Edward stopped her, "Oh wait. I forgot something."


    "Hmm?"


    "You...didn''t expect me to do this for free...right?" Edward said with a sly grin on his face.


    Agent Page gulped her saliva but kept a poker face, "What can I do for you Mr Newgate?"


    "Just a couple of things. I''ll send you a list. And Ohh, one of them, I''m going to need it as soon as possible."


    ...


    At a football field.


    "66 go long!" The coach said before Jacob ran across the yard. Then, the quarterback threw the ball towards him. Jacob turned to look at the ball, and then he fumbled, the ball hit his face, and he fell down on the ground.


    "Ohe on!" Elsa shouted. "BABE! FOCUS!" She shouted in a shrill manner. The coach blew the whistle and said, "NEXT!" Another kid went on to try for the team while Jacob embarrassingly walked to the side of the field.


    Alex muttered in concern, "You didn''t miss one catch during practice. But you can''t catch a slow ball when you really need to?"


    Abraham scoffed and said defending Jacob, "It''s not that he can''t. But his mind is filled with Edward''s balls that�C Wait, that was weird."


    The group chuckled at Abraham''s poor choice of words before Finneas said, "Jacob, you just have to imagine the ball is Edward''s balls. Wait. Maybe you shouldn''t. That way you won''t want to catch it with your face."


    Alex guffawed and hit Finneas''s arm. Jacob''s mood was lifted and he said, "Alright. Stop talking about Edward''s balls."


    "JACOB GREEN! Defense line!" The coach called again.


    "Alright. Myst chance- Wait, what''s that!" Jacob screamed as he pointed in the sky. The field started getting windy as a helicopter flew close to the ground. Edward held a megaphone and screamed, "Coach! Sorry I''mte!"


    "EDWARDDD!!!" His group of friends shouted in excitement as a ropedder was thrown to the ground. Edward slowly climbed down on thedder as the helicopter steadied itself.


    "Why...(Spits) is...(Spits)..The leaves...(Spits)...Is only entering my mouth(Spits)" Abraham shouted in agony as he could barely open his eyes from the wind pressure.


    Jenna''s hair fluttered in the wind, and she watched Edward''s descend with a lot of worry, "Please don''t fall, please don''t fall. God, please don''t let Edward fall." She prayed for Edward''s safety non-stop.


    Enid ran to where Edward was descending while holding her phone and recording the whole thing.


    "Oh my god. This is the legendary school entrance...EVER!!!"


    Not only them, but a lot of people who were still at school started to gather around the football stadium to check out the noise. The crowd pped as Edward safelynded on the ground and ran lightly to go to where the coach was standing.


    Haley pped Tara''s arm repeatedly, causing her friend to squirm in pain. "Stop that!"


    "He''s here! He''s finally here!"


    "Yeah, but he don''t know you''re here-"


    "HALEY!" Edward shouted from afar as he waved at Haley. Thetter giggled and said to her friend, "You were saying?"


    "Ugh." Tara groaned in disgust. "Now can I leave?"


    "What? Oh, yeah yeah sure. You can leave." Haley said casually while blushing as she gazed in Edward''s direction.


    Jacob walked towards Edward and said, "I didn''t believe you woulde."


    "That''s what she said." Abraham interrupted.


    Edward chuckled and gave him a thumbs up before saying, "Well, I promised didn''t I?"


    "Umm..." Alex looked at the duo with an excited look as her imagination ran wild. Enid was already breathing heavily beside her, and pinching her nose to make sure that she wouldn''t get a nosebleed.


    "I need to talk to the coach." Edward said before he turned around, but surprisingly, the fat coach with a white mustache had already walked towards him.


    "Edward, right? The principal told me you''d being here. If you did thisst year, maybe I''ll send you to the principal''s office, but I want to retire peacefully this year, so I''m just going to let you off with a warning. Are you here to audition for the Dolphins?"


    Edward scowled in disgust, "Ugh. Dolphins. Who in their right mind would name the school team after the ocean''s most prominent rapist�C Yeah, I''m trying out for the team."


    "Really? Are you sure? Signing up for the team will make you open to getting injured. And I figured it would be a pretty big risk for you to take considering you need all of your fingers to y your instruments."


    Jacob turned pale as he realized the truth behind the coach''s words. He interrupted quickly, "No coach. He''s just here to root for me. He''s not joining the team."


    Edward scoffed and pped the back of Jacob''s helmeted head. "Calm down will ya. I already said I''m going to try to enter the team, and I''m not going back on my words. Also, I need to have a long talk with Principal Brown about changing the school''s team mascot."


    "But Ed-" Alex chimed in.


    "Bup Bup Bup Bup Bup. I''m not doing it for Jacob. My hands have been itching to y football for a while now. So you guys don''t have to convince me otherwise. Also, I''m aiming to be the team''s backup. You guys know how my schedule is right?"


    Edward''s group of friends nodded knowingly. Finneas muttered, "The back breaking schedule."


    "The GOD is dead schedule." Jenna added.


    "The ''I''m a money making monster'' schedule." Alex chimed in.


    "Shut up all of you." Edward scolded them.


    The coach smiled and before Edward could show his skills, he said, "Alright. You''re on the team."


    "That''s easy??" Jacob muttered in confusion.


    "You made the team too Green." The coach turned to Jacob and said.


    "Wait what?" Elsa contorted her face in confusion.


    The coach then said, "Well we lost most of the team yers after the seniors all graduated. So, we need everyone that we can get. The training starts next week. See you then."


    Edward grabbed the coach''s shoulder before he could walk away, "That''s it???"


    The coach nodded casually, "Yeah. And also, between you and me, a celebrity joining our team is really good for when I want to apply for funding. So I''m not going to even try to see if you''re good or not."


    The coach walked away happily, leaving behind a stunned group of students.


    "So I guess...I''m on the team?" Edward said in disbelief and puzzlement. Jacob was confused too, but then Elsa shouted, "YOU GUYS ARE ON THE TEAM!!"


    Enid joined in, "CONGRATULATIONS YOU GUYS!!!"


    "WAY TO GO!" Jenna shouted.


    Alex wasughing till her stomach hurts from the incident that she missed out on the group hugter on.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Haley!" I called from afar. Haley turned quickly and before she could react, I had already ran towards her and hugged her while spinning her around. She eximed excitedly as she hugged me back, "You''re back!"


    "For now-" I put Haley down, but before I could talk to her, he saw Alex and the rest of his friends looking at him in dissatisfaction.


    "What?" I asked in confusion.


    "Why does SHE have the special greeting? I want that too!" Abraham said.


    I furrowed my brows in disgust, "I''m not hugging you."


    "Sexist!" Abraham jeered.


    "Don''t discriminate against men!" Finneas added.


    "Yeah! Or we''ll talk shit about you on twitter!" Jacob joined in.


    "Fuck off!" I raised my middle finger to them.


    "Edward! You''re back! Now, spin me too!" Enid said mockingly as she pretended Jenna was Edward. Jennaughed and ran towards Enid before hugging her and spinning her around. She then ran her finger on Enid''s side of the face before grabbing her chin, "I''m back my love."


    Haley blushed and I could feel the blood rushing towards my head. Iughed with a red face and said, "Alright. Hang out at my ce? Who''s in?"

 Chapter 172: A breather.

    <h4>Chapter 172: Chapter 172: A breather.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Ahhh...I''m finally home!" I muttered with exhaustion as I sat on the couch in the living room.


    "It''s not dusty at all." Abraham said while wiping the wooden cab near the TV. Enid and Haley sat at my left and right side respectively, while the others were lounging around the house.


    "Hmm...That''s true." I muttered in confusion. "I''m sure that my dad won''t care about tidiness, so I wonder if he had hired a housekeeper."


    "Don''t you have an aunt?" Enid asked.


    "That''s sexist. And also, same situation as my dad. Both are messy people." I replied jokingly.


    Alex looked at Haley while holding back herugh. Haley whispered to her angrily, "One word, and you''re dead."


    Of course, their interaction didn''t escape my eyes. "What''s going on?" I turned to my right and looked at Haley straight in the eyes. She was startled at first and was trying to dodge the question, "Ed, are you hungry�C"


    "A little bit. But I want to know what''s going on firs�C Wait, were you...the one taking care of my house?" I asked with a hint of awe. I shocked myself when I came to the conclusion, but when I saw her expression, it added even more evidence to my assumption.


    Alexughed and sneered, "Don''t think that she''s been taking care of this ce every day. She only came herest weekend, and forced Luke and me to help. My mom supervised the entire thing..." She then trailed off, causing me to be suspicious.


    "And your dad?" I asked.


    "Who said anything about my dad?" Alex replied dodgingly.


    I narrowed my eyes at her and asked, "What did your dad do while you guys were cleaning the house?"


    "Well...It''s not what he did during, per se, but it was after we all finished." Haley replied with a trace of disgust and unwillingness to borate.


    I chuckled when I saw their weird reaction, "What? Did your mom and dad use my hot tub or something?"


    "EWW! EWW EWW EWW EWW EWWW!" Alex groaned in disgust as she recalled the memory.


    I was shocked, "What happened here? You better spit it out or I will check the CCTV�C"


    "NOOOO!!!" Alex and Haley shouted to stop me at the same time. "Let me delete it for you! Or else you''ll have nightmares like us!" Alex shouted urgently.


    I looked at Alex''s face, then I turned and studied Haley''s face next. Their unwillingness for the matter to be exposed and the disgust on their faces let me learn one thing. Whatever happened here, was sexual in nature.


    More urately, it was sexual between their parents. I definitely wouldn''t want Alex to delete those, but as both of them were almost crying, I had to relent and let them handle it. It needs to be mentioned that they only deleted the data superficially, but out of respect for them, I didn''t restore the data....in front of them.


    "Jenna, how''s your church camp?" I asked. Jenna smiled brightly and said, "It was great. I am going to be baptized next week."


    "Oh, they''re going to dunk you in the water right? Good for you." I teased. Jenna didn''t get embarrassed and said, "You''re wee to join?"


    "Yeah....no...." I replied.


    "Why not?"


    "I''m going to catch on fire when I enter the church, so I''d rather not." I replied jokingly and changed the subject quickly, "How many priests did your mom make them renown their vows during camp?"


    Jenna smiled and said, "None!"


    "And the truth?" I jeered at her. She smiled wryly and said in a sad tone, "4..."


    Iughed out loud before Jenna threw a pillow at my face.


    "Ed, you haven''t gone to the beach yet, right?" Haley asked.


    I removed the pillow from my face and replied, "Not yet. But I didn''t n on it."


    "Why?"


    "I''m too busy. I have this night free...and tomorrow I need to start shooting again."


    "Music videos?" Enid asked. "With Taylor?"


    Haley pouted and crossed her arms while I turned to Enid and replied, "Yeah."


    "Wait. I thought you guys had broken up?" Elsa asked.


    Jacob nodded and said, "Yeah, you said to�C"


    "Bup bup bup bup�C That''s supposed to be a secret between us. Remember?" I hinted at Jacob with vicious eyes. He gulped his saliva and said, "Sorry."


    "So...You told Elsa...and I can assume that Jenna, you know about it too?" I asked Jenna who was startled when I mentioned her name.


    "Yeah...sorry." Jenna confessed.


    "And you hang out with Alex a lot, so Alex and Enid also know it too huh?"


    "We do." Enid said in a low voice.


    "And We''re not sorry." Alex replied jokingly. "It''s 4 against 1 mister!"


    "Alex is dating Finneas, so Finneas knows about it too. So I guess Billie knows too." I continued.


    "You already told me yourself." Haley chimed in with a proud look on her face.


    I nodded and then turned to Abraham, "So I guess...You''re the only one who doesn''t know anything?"


    Abraham smiled and said confidently, "Yeah, Jacob wanted to mention it to me, but I refused!" He lied. Jacob never wanted to tell him the secret.


    I nodded in acknowledgement and said, "You''re the only REAL friend here!"


    "HEY!!!" Alex, Enid, Jenna, Finneas, Billie and Elsa eximed. Haleyughed while I continued, "From now on, you''re my number 1 best friend!"


    "NOOO!!!" Jacob shouted tearfully!


    ...


    "Ed, what rank are you at right now?" Enid asked curiously as she checked her twitter feed. She was having a twitter feud with my hater, and needed some extra information.


    "Rank in what?" I asked her back. I didn''t care much about the haters. It''s not like I haven''t used the anonymity of the inte to talk shit about someone else.


    "Album sold." Enid asked clearly.


    "Hmm... Sales are slowing down at 51 millions in physical albums, but the digital one kept going strong at 24 millions. It hasn''t slowed down yet. I''m at...no 9 at the most album sales rank, but I managed to be number 2 at the most albums sold in one week!"


    "Ahh, you can''t beat Michael Jackson huh?" Abraham asked teasingly while Enid typed her phone key begrudgingly. "Repeat that!" She shouted.


    I ignored her and answered Abraham, aggrieved, "So close! The difference was only 14,000 units!"


    Enid was baffled. Not only her, but Jenna, Alex and Finneas too had an expression of disbelief. Haley and Billie were looking at me with glittering eyes, and they didn''t think much about what I was saying.


    Alex realized it. In only a few months, my brand reputation had grown tremendously that I could no longer be called a new artist.


    Through an extensive marketing scheme, I managed to almost catch up with the old industry legends in the world.


    In the past few years, the music industry sales have been declining. It fell from a 14 billion dors industry, to only a 6 millions dors industry in just a decade. But, it didn''t mean that music was dying.


    It wasn''t until 2010 that the music industry started to include the digital sales as an official record for album selling. Because of this, countless albums didn''t get the recognition they deserved, and also was taken advantage of by countless inte surfing pirates in the Data Sea.


    My album was the first album to be sold digitally through my website in the country. And because of theck ofws in the Data Sea, the taxation from the sales was barely negligible.


    And in the tough to sail industry, I managed to revive people''s passion for music and my name had spread out to almost the entire corner of the world �C thanks to the inte.


    My most proud achievement however, was that I also became a meme. A screenshot of me ying the flute while walking and the ducks following me from behind in a straight line had gone viral on a few meme pages. I even became a meme temte for ''the blind leading the blind''.


    I was called the Pied Piper, the next Steve Irwin, and many more when my blog video about my time in Wisconsin came out.


    "To be fair, I really didn''t think that you''ll be back." Finneas said. "HEY!" The girls scolded him.


    "You shut up!" Alex warned her boyfriend.


    "Yeah, what if he realized it and then left?" Abraham said jokingly, backing up Finneas a little.


    Iughed a bit at the interaction. "Why would I leave you guys behind? Just to be clear, I''m going to be extra clingy with you guys next!"


    The groupughed. Haley grinned and asked, "Why is that?"


    "Well...It''s hard for a popr guy to meet someone that didn''t have an ulterior motive. Most of the girls I met wanted to date me to be popr, and the guys that invited me to clubs and to hangouts wanted me to degenerate like them too. So, I could only trust you guys who knew me before I became popr."


    "To be clear, I have an ulterior motive in bing your friend." Abraham said, causing the group to be shocked. He said begrudgingly, "You teach JACOB!!! The potato kid!!! To get a girlfriend!! When are you going to teach me!!!" He punched the ground as he faked crying.


    Iughed out loud, "Do you have someone you like?"


    "Well, she''s a senior�C"


    "You have no chance with a face like that!" Finneas teased while holding Alex''s hand for maximum damage.


    Then, the Chinese food guy finally arrived and rang the doorbell. I ordered food instead of cooking as I was feeling a bit fatigued.


    "Let me go! Or else I''m going to beat Finneas up!" Abraham said and stood up quickly while the othersughed at him. As he opened up the door, there was amotioning from outside of the house.


    "HEY! Where''s Edward!?" A group of fans that had been camping in front of my house asked Abraham in an angry manner. Abraham sneered and replied, "Why THE HELL did you guys think he''s still living here? He had already moved away to a richer neighborhood. He told me his house is close to RDJ''s house."


    "WHAT? REALLY!??" One of the girls there shouted.


    "OF COURSE! And you guys better spread the words to the rest of your groups too. Or, you are wee to join me in the hot tub if you want?"


    "PISS OFF NERD!" The fans shouted at Abraham before they dispersed away. As Abraham walked back, I said, "Thanks."


    "No problem. Although, watching you ninja roll into the house is pretty funny. I''d like to see that again."


    "Piss off." Iughed as I cursed at him.


    The moment my tour was over, the obsessed fans were already camping in front of my house. My aunt and my dad didn''t even return to the housest night to avoid getting hassled by them. Thankfully, to Abraham''s quick wit, the fans had all left the neighborhood. I didn''t ask him to do that, but he got my back.


    "I''ll teach you how to get girlster." I told him.


    "Said the one who''s single himself. I don''t trust you!" Abraham changed his words immediately whileughing.


    He was actually covering up his embarrassment from doing a good thing. Just like him, I didn''t know how to just ept people''s help, and wanted to do something to repay them.


    "Which movie should we watch?" Billie asked. "Oh, there''s The Proposal."


    "Nah! No Sandra Bullock. I''m already sick of her. My mom watched her movies endlessly." Elsa said with an annoyed face.


    "I want to watch it babe!" Jacob said with a sad face.


    "Put on ZOMBIELAND!" Abraham said while he ate his kung pao chicken.


    "NO!! SANDRA BULLOCK!" Jenna joined Jacob''s side.


    Alex and Haley joined Jenna, and scolded Abraham and Elsa.


    "Ed, what about you?" Jenna asked with a flushed face.


    "I want to watch Cloudy With A Chance of Meatball." I replied casually. Jenna rolled her eyes and ignored me. After the girls...and Jacob banded together, we had to watch The Proposal movie tonight.


    After eating, the parents came to pick up their children one by one. Jacob''s parents arrived first. As Jacob was finally selected to the football team, his mother brought a chocte cake with strawberry frosting to celebrate.


    They all ate one slice of the cake, and left the rest of it at my house. Mrs Green also packed up 3 chicken legs, 2 chicken sandwiches, 2 pounds of potato sd, and some vegetables for me as she knew I had just returned home from working so hard.


    Finneas and Billie left after Jacob left, and then Abraham was next. Jenna hitched a ride with Elsa, and before she left, she looked at me with a hesitant expression, "Ed. Um..."


    "What?" I asked in confusion.


    "Well...Are you really making a movie studio?" She finally braved herself and asked.


    "Huh? Oh right. The rumors. Yeah, but it''s not going to be now. Maybe after thepany is ready for another expansion. I nned to do it next year."


    "Oh." Jenna widened her eyes before she fell into contemtion. "Is this about your mom?" I asked her.


    "What? NO!" She replied with a weird high pitched voice.


    "So it''s your mom. She''s not getting any roles huh? Wait..." I thought about it for a while, "You know, she''s really suitable to y Emma Frost in the X-Men series. I heard they are rebooting it."


    Jenna was hesitant to correct my misunderstanding and then yed along to hide her embarrassment, "What''s the connection between that movie and my mother?"


    "I mean, your mom should try auditioning for the role. I''ll make sure that Pepper keeps an eye on the production so that she won''t miss her chance."


    "Ed...it''s not that simple to be an actress." Jenna smiled wryly. Not that she didn''t believe in me, but from her experience watching her mother try and fail days after days, she didn''t believe in my words much.


    "I know it''s a longshot. But, I really think she can do it." I replied. The movie that came to mind was actually because I had met with Matthew Vaugh and Bryan Singer �C the director and producers of the X-Men First ss movie.


    They wanted me to try out for the movie, and also gave me their contact information. The movie would start its production early next year, and would be released in 2011, so I have a lot of time to think about it.


    ''But unless I can be ''QuickSilver'', I don''t want to take part in that movie.''


    And because my acting skill has be renowned because of my documentary and short videos, many directors and movie producers have been reaching out to the agency. They also sent their scripts despite the fact that I had no mention of entering the films industry.


    "Just tell your mom about it. Let her be familiar with the source material." I told Jenna.


    She scoffed and then burst intoughter, "You mean, making my mom readic books? Yeah, now I know it''s a joke."


    I didn''t correct her and just told her to tell her mother that. If she was really desperate, then she would reach out to me to grab herst lifeline. Or else, she would just fade out from the film industry not that she promised Jenna not to do dirty deals anymore.


    ''Anyway, it''s not like she didn''t have any roles in the past few months, so I didn''t know why she was asking.''


    Alex and Haley were the only one left after everyone had gone away. Haley widened her eyes at Alex and gestured for her to leave, but Alex was having fun teasing her sister and she pretended not to see that.


    "Edward,st I came, yourb is locked, so I couldn''t see it. Can I check it out now?"


    "Umm...Let''s do it tomorrow. I just want to lie down and rest up now." I replied to Alex. She got the hint and said, "Okay. Haley! Let''s go!"


    "You can go home first." Haley said. Alex was in disbelief, but Haley chased her away quickly. She locked the door and then looked at me with glittering eyes.


    "What? Why are you staring at me like a predator?" I joked while shielding my chest with my arms. She rolled her eyes and said, "I''m not going to eat you!"


    "Alright. I''m going to take a shower�C"


    "Wait!" Haley grabbed my shirt before I could leave, causing me to be strangled by my own shirt.


    "What the-"


    "Let''s go out!" She invited me.


    "Huh? It''s alreadyte�C"


    She sneered and said, "It''s 8 o''clock. Unless you''re an old man wanting to sleep, you should have a lot more energy than this. Also, trust me. I''m only doing this for your benefit."


    I looked into her eyes, and then saw her resoluteness.


    "Alright. How are we going out? Have you gotten your license yet? Cause I know you failed your first test."


    "WHO TOLD YOU THAT?! DID MY MOM TOLD YOU THAT?!" Haley shouted in anger. Iughed and patted her head to calm her down. She pouted and said, "Well, I can call Tara�C"


    "Nah, I can drive."


    "You didn''t have a license. And you can''t even take the test yet." She said begrudgingly.


    Then, I reached into my pocket and took out my driver''s license. "I already got it tho?"


    She widened her eyes, "HOW!? You need to be 16 to take the test! It''s fake right?"


    "Nah. It''s a real license." I gave her a stic card for her to take a look at. She was in disbelief after she saw my real name and id there, so she looked at me in puzzlement.


    I cashed in my favor with the FBI long ago when they requested permission to monitor my whatsapp chat apps.


    They helped me bypass the age requirement for taking the drivers test, and now, I can legally drive around without needing to falsify my credentials anymore. Of course, I still had to take the DMV test, and I passed with flying colors.


    "Great! Let''s go!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me outside of the house. We took the Ford �C the convertible that Abby gave me for my birthday present.


    "So, where are we going?" I asked her.


    "Well, you''ll know when we get there!" She said in excitement. I then turned to her and stared into her face. She was confused, "What?"


    "I need to know before I can drive us there."


    "Ah right!"

 Chapter 173: Haley’s Observation.

    <h4>Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Haley��s Observation.?</h4>


    (timer broke)


    �C shback, 4th of July, Night �C


    After the Dunphys returned home from celebrating at Edward''s house, ire and Phil headed to the kitchen to talk and clean up.


    As Phil lifted the pot from the stove, he paused, sensing some weight inside it.


    "ire! Quick! Haley left some soup behind," he eximed with an excited grin. ire set down the wet cloth she was holding and hurried over to Phil.


    "She made it for the whole day, but she took it all to Edward''s. She didn''t even think about her parents," ireined jokingly.


    Philughed and said, "Grab a spoon. Let''s taste it together."


    Having asked Edward about the soup earlier, they expected it to be delicious. They were proud of Haley for making it.


    As they scooped the soup and tasted it, their eyes widened, and they quickly spat it out.


    "Oh my god. Is this supposed to be good? Maybe his taste buds are broken too," ire remarked, hastily drinking a ss of water. Phil went to the sink and rinsed his mouth directly from the faucet.


    While gurgling, Phil said, "Honey, throw it out. Quickly."


    ire nodded and swiftly cleaned the pot to prevent anyone else from finding out.


    After calming down, Phil smiled as he stood beside ire. She looked confused and asked, "Why are you smiling?"


    "He didn''t tell her about it," Phil revealed.


    ire was puzzled. "What do you mean? Shouldn''t he have told her?"


    Phil shook his head and wrapped his arms around ire. He looked into her eyes and said, "Honey, remember all those times when you started cooking and almost ruined the entire meal for nearly half a year?"


    "Half a year? You said I was doing well!" She widened her eyes, expressing disbelief.


    Phil chuckled and replied, "I didn''t mean that I regretted eating it. During that time, my heart was filled with happiness, and it still is now. I didn''t want you to get hurt after putting in all that effort, so I didn''t say anything because I love you so much."


    ire''s eyes widened in realization. "You mean?"


    Phil chuckled and said, "Either that, or Edward''s taste buds are really... really bad."


    [Edward POV]


    I had a deep scowl on my face the moment I pulled the car into the parking lot.


    "Seriously? The beach? At night, nheless?"


    "What? Come on! It''ll be therapeutic for you!" Haley said in excitement as she jumped out of the car. I wanted to call her back and leave the beach, but she had already taken off her shoes and run to the sand.


    "Damn it," I grumbled as I reluctantly closed the car''s cabriolet and the windows to prevent the wind from carrying the sand into the car.


    "EDWARD! COME ON!" Haley waved her hand and shouted towards me from afar. I stood by the concrete pavement and shouted back, "No. I''m good from here."


    She dropped her head in disbelief and pouted, "Seriously? You''re really noting?"


    "Gee. These are new shoes," I said with grumpy reluctance. Her face fell in disbelief, and her big eyes stared at me angrily. "COME HERE!!!" She shouted.


    "NO!" I shouted back. Then, she stomped her feet on the sand as she ran in my direction. She stopped in front of me and said, "Take off your shoes then if you''re so worried about them."


    "And then what? Walk on the sand with my bare feet? I don''t know if there''s a used needle here, or torn condoms, or any other disgusting stuff like human poop."


    "Not dog or cat poop?" Haley asked in astonishment.


    I smirked and said, "It''s funny to see a girl so interested in types of feces."


    She kicked the sand towards me, which I skillfully dodged.


    Then, her face lit up, and sheughed. She patted my shoulder and mocked, "I didn''t know you were so phobic. It''s just sand!"


    "My problem isn''t with the sand. My problem is with the limited visibility of what I''m stepping on. I won''t have any problems doing this... DURING THE DAY."


    "Hmmm... which part will you feel safe stepping on?" She asked.


    "Huh? The area where the wave breaks, I guess," I answered, puzzled.


    She thought deeply before she chortled, "Alright. Then, take off your shoes. I''m going to carry you until we get over there!"


    I widened my eyes before Iughed out loud. The thought of a small girl carrying me was a bit heart-tickling for me.


    "Don''tugh! I''m serious!" she said before she turned her back and squatted in front of me. "Come on! Hop on me!"


    "I''m not going to-"


    "Just do it!" Haley said decisively as she patted her back. I was baffled, and then I smirked, "Alright. Since you asked for it."


    ...


    "It was a quiet and peaceful night by the beach. There was no one nearby, but sporadically dispersed couples were enjoying the romantic moonlight reflecting on the surface of the ocean together.


    Suddenly, chaos ensued. Haley sprinted as hard as she could, with me on her back, my feet dragging on the sand and making it difficult for her to walk.


    "AHH!" She let out a warrior''s shout, but after taking her tenth step, her tiny legs gave up, and we both tumbled into the sand. I rolled several times, feeling the tiny particles infiltrate every crevice beneath my clothes.


    I nced at Haley, who had suffered the same fate. As we locked eyes, both of us looking utterly pathetic, we couldn''t help but burst intoughter.


    "Ah, I knew this would happen," I muttered.


    Haley made a cute grimace. "Didn''t you have faith in me?" She yfully threw a fistful of sand near me, narrowly missing her target.


    Looking at her, I asked, "Isn''t it a littlete to ask that question now?"


    She chuckled and slowly stood up, walking closer to me and pulling me up by my hands.


    "We''re already covered in dirt. Let''s sit by the water."


    I sighed and wearily agreed, "Alright."


    A look of concern briefly crossed Haley''s face. As we strolled along the beach together, she held onto my arm, searching for a suitable spot. Eventually, we found arge rock nearby with a t surface, positioned to face the ocean.


    I listened to the gentle sounds of the ocean, and my nerves began to rx. We exchanged a few words initially, but now we sat in silence, which left me puzzled.


    "Why did you bring me here? And why are you being so quiet? Are you preparing for something?" I inquired.


    She chuckled slightly and replied jokingly, "Don''t overthink it. I brought you here because it seemed like you needed this."


    "Huh?" I was perplexed. "Why would I need this?"


    "Because...you always look so exhausted when youe home. I guess you didn''t have any time for yourself during the tour, right?"


    She guessed correctly. And, reluctantly, I had to admit that when she urately discerned my emotional state like this, it felt as if she was bing a mini-Phil. I had mixed feelings about that thought.


    I let out a tired sigh and leaned back, trying to adopt a more rxed posture. "Yeah... But it''s worth it, though."


    She rolled her eyes and remarked, "I''m not saying you shouldn''t do it. Just make sure to take breaks. Your schedule is insane, you know?!"


    I chuckled and responded, "I still have to film a music video tomorrow, so I can''t stay for too long."


    "See! You maniac! Is money THAT important to you?"


    "Well... yes," I yfully replied.


    She fell silent for a moment before asking, "Is this really what you want to do?"


    I hesitated and replied, "Maybe. I mean, I like singing. But I don''t like being a ''star''. Do you get what I mean?"


    Before she could go any further, she looked at me with shaky eyes and said, "Well, if you don''t like it-"


    "Haley, can we just watch the ocean?" I interrupted her. Haley stumbled in her speech and stared at me with her doe-eyes. Then, she crossed her arms in anger and refocused on the ocean.


    "I''ll close my eyes for a little while," I said, using the sound of waves to rx. We stayed there for almost an hour, intermittently engaging in conversation.


    Haley grinned and said, "Who''s the one who wanted to go back home earlier? Now, you might not even go back home!"


    "Notify me if I fall asleep," I requested.


    She pped my hand to wake me up and said, "Don''t sleep here! You''ll catch a cold. Let''s go back."


    "Just five more minutes!"


    "This isn''t your bed!"


    "It can be."


    "GET UP! Don''t be a child!" She attempted to tickle me, but I retaliated. Quickly, she jumped up and ran away. Reluctantly, I sat up and smiled in the direction she had gone.


    "Thanks," I whispered.


    "What was that?" she shouted from afar.


    "Nothing!" I replied as I stood up and chased after her. As we walked back to the car, I unexpectedly hugged her from behind.


    Startled, her face turned red. Trying to appear unaffected, she asked, "Ed, what are you doing?"


    "Just... hugging you," I replied, swaying her slowly. At first, she smiled, but then she realized my intention. Hesitantly, she asked, "Are you... trying to shake the sand off on me?"


    ...


    ...


    "Yes."


    "UGH!" Haley rolled her eyes and pushed me away. Laughing at her reaction, we brushed off the sand before getting into the car. She pouted for a while, but after incessant teasing, she finally brightened up.


    "I have to confess. When you called me out today, I genuinely thought you were going to ask me to be your boyfriend," I told Haley.


    She smirked and said, "Why would I want a boyfriend like you who has no time for me?"


    I nodded and said, "That''s true. You''re like a housent. You would wither fromck of attention."


    "HEY! Are you calling me clingy?" she angrily roared.


    "A bit. Yes," I replied with a sly smirk. "I kept imagining you saying, ''Would you love me if I were a worm?'' to your boyfriend."


    She scoffed and said, "I could be a cute worm. Just imagine that!"


    Disgusted, I scowled before yfully adding, "I don''t have to. You''re a worm right now."


    "Uh!" she eximed, taking offense. Upon entering our neighborhood, I asked, "Do you want me to drop you off at your house?"


    "Huh? Right, that''s the normal thing to do, huh," she muttered to herself.


    "Yeah... Because there''s no way I''m going to let you bring all that sand into my house. If you do, I''ll have to call you Sir Crocodile."


    "Crocodile is from One Piece, right?" Haley asked.


    Suddenly, I mmed the brakes, causing her to experience whish.


    "Why?" she asked in shock, peering out to see if I had hit something.


    My eyes still shaking, I turned to her slowly and asked, "How do you know about Crocodile?"


    "Huh? Alex watched One Piece all the time with dad at home. So I know a few things. Why does that surprise you?" she asked, her face disying confusion.


    Shaking my head slowly, I said, "Just... Um... Nothing."


    Disbelieving, she looked at me as I resumed driving. Eventually, I stopped in front of her house and said, "Do you need to sneak in?"


    "No need. It''s only an hour past my curfew. I''ll just walk in through the backyard door," she said, opening the door and stepping out.


    "Alright. Goodnight, Haley," I said, waving at her.


    "Goodnight, PopStar!" she replied, waving back. She turned a few times while walking toward the door, smiling at me. I waited until she had gone inside before driving back to my house.


    ...


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Yeah, I had thought about it. But then I realized he would never say yes, so I didn''t want to make it awkward for him."


    "Why wouldn''t he say yes? I''m not entirely sure, but after talking to him almost every night during the summer, I think it''s because he doesn''t want me to get hurt. Not by him, but by his crazy fans. Abby faced harsh criticism the second there were some rumors about them dating after the whole Taydward ordeal."


    "I may be popr, but I''m not popr enough to handle being in a rtionship with him," she exined, her eyes welling up with tears.


    �C shback, 4th of July, Night �C


    As Phil and ire spat out the soup, Haley, wearing a smile on her face, walked towards the kitchen. However, upon hearing her parents'' conversation, she froze and quickly hid behind the walls. Eavesdropping, her eyes revealed traces ofplex thoughts.


    �C End of shback �C


    "It''s better for me to just stay by his side. I don''t want things to beplicated between us, like what happened between him and Abby, him and Taylor, and even him and his mother. Wow!" she eximed, realizing something.


    "No wonder he didn''t want to date me! He probably thinks that I would leave him too if we ever broke up, huh?"


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the Dunphy''s house:


    "Luke, go to sleep!"


    "But I don''t have school tomorrow!"


    Luke whined as ire gave him an order. "It''s almost 11! Phil, talk to your son!"


    Phil hurriedly approached to defuse the situation. "Luke, didn''t you say you wanted to go to practice with Manny tomorrow?"


    "But they wouldn''t let me use the sword!"


    "THAT''S BECAUSE YOU USED IT TO STAB PEOPLE!" ire exploded.


    Alex came downstairs, clearly frustrated. "Could you guys keep it down? I''m trying to sleep!"


    "No, you''re not! You''re on the phone with your boyfriend!" Luke teased, making kissing sounds to tease his sister. "Alex got a boyfriend~ Alex got a boyfriend~"


    "Luke, that''s disgusting!" Alex scolded, throwing a tissue box at him. ire grabbed Alex by the shoulder and asked, "Alex, is that true?"


    Alex was startled for a moment before sheposed herself and replied, "Why are you so surprised? Haley got her first boyfriend when she was 8. I''m wayyyy toote to start at 13."


    "Haley!" ire widened her eyes in disbelief and was about to lecture her children. However, at that moment, Haley sneaked into the house through the sliding door but froze when she saw her entire family in the living room.


    "Oh, hey... I was just in the backyard--"


    "Did you just get home?" Alex asked, a smirk on her face.


    "Haley! You were supposed to be home an hour ago!" ire said, aggrieved.


    Phil chuckled and grabbed ire, steering her away. "Why don''t we all go to sleep now and talk about this tomorrow when we''re well-rested and can approach it calmly?"


    "Phil, that won''t solve anything!" ire protested.


    "Yeah, but at least we''ll be well-rested and have a clear mind when we need to talk to our children about this sensitive issue."


    "You think I''m not calm?" ire said angrily.


    "Kids, her attention is on me now! Go!" Phil whispered to his children.


    Haley, Alex, and Luke quickly ran away while Phil took the heat for them.


    "Wait! Haley!" ire called out before Haley could run upstairs.


    Concerned, Haley furrowed her brows and asked carefully, "What is it?"


    "One of the neighbors called and asked if you could babysit for them."


    "Huh? Who?" She asked, confused.


    "Can you do it or not?" ire asked with an angry face.


    Haley hesitated before asking, "When?"


    "Tomorrow evening," ire replied. "I''ll tell them you can do it."


    She cut off Haley''s escape route immediately. ire held the moral high ground, leaving Haley unable to refuse. Haley knew that if she tried to say anything, ire would bring up the fact that she sneaked in past her curfew.


    After the hectic night came a calm morning.


    Edward joined the Dunphys for breakfast after Phil invited him earlier that morning.


    "Phil, you won against ire, right? Didn''t she used to run marathons? I guess she hasn''t been keeping up with her exercises now that she''s working," Edward said, indirectly teasing ire.


    He knew she had let Phil win, but she couldn''t admit it to her husband, so Edward enjoyed seeing her frustrated expression.


    "ire, should I make exercise time mandatory for employees?" Edward asked ire.


    She rolled her eyes as she flipped a pancake, then red at him. "Phil won one time! If we race again��"


    "Honey, honey, shhh... Don''t be a sore loser."


    ire was taken aback and then red at the gloating Phil.


    "Wait, Edward, why are you signing up for the football team? Do you even have time in your schedule?" ire asked, her concern evident.


    Alex scoffed and said, "He''s only doing it so the team can get a sponsorship��"


    "Alex, don''t talk nonsense. I really want to y with the guys. And ire, do you think I can get Cam to coach the team?"


    ire, Phil, and Alex paused, looking at Edward in disbelief. Haley continued smiling as she put more pancakes in front of Edward before returning to her mother''s side.


    "What?" Edward asked.


    "Why... Cam?" ire asked, confused.


    "You know he was a starting offensive lineman at the University of Illinois, right?" Edward asked.


    Phil and ire looked astonished, while Alex seemed to have just remembered. "Yeah, he told us that when Uncle Mitchell first brought him to Grandpa''s house, and every chance he''s had since then."


    "Ahh, right!" ire finally remembered.


    "Why do you need a coach? And why not me?" Phil asked, sounding slightly jealous.


    Edwardughed and said, "We have a coach, but he doesn''t care much about the team. It''s better to have someone like Cam."


    "But with Lily..." ire trailed off.


    Edward nodded. "Yeah, it might be hard to convince him to take the job. Right now, all he cares about is being a stay-at-home dad/trophy husband."


    Edward then checked his watch and eximed, "God, I''mte."


    "Wait! Ed, where are you filming today?" Phil asked.


    "Malibu. Beachfront mansion. And I get to drive an Audi," Edward said with a sly grin. "Want to join? We need backup dancers��"


    "NO!!" ire interrupted Edward, stopping him from continuing, and Phil from agreeing. Phil looked deted as his wish was denied. It made sense for ire to intervene since all the people in the music video were young and Phil would look out of ce there.


    "Too bad." Edward said before he waved them goodbye.

 Chapter 174: Eenie Meenie

    <h4>Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Eenie Meenie</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Yo! Money Bag!" Sean Kingston cheerfully greeted me as I arrived at the film set today. He grasped my hand, and we bumped chests before he let go.


    Finally, I reached Hollywood Hills, where we would film the music video for our coboration song, "Eenie Meenie." It was a massive mansion atop the hill with infinity pools and mesmerizing views of the Pacific Ocean.


    Initially, I was a bit irritated when the filming crew changed the location at thest minute. However, considering that the new ce was closer and the mansion was the original one from the music video in my past life, I simply acquiesced to the change.


    "What''s up, Sean? Dude, how the hell did you get bigger?" I jokingly asked. "It''s only been a few weeks!"


    Seanughed for a moment and said, "You want a hotdog?"


    "Ah, so that''s why..." I joked, causing him to roll his eyes at me.


    There was a hot dog stand nearby, sponsored by members of my fan club, before the shooting started today. Their thoughtful gesture made me appreciate them even more.


    "Yeah, put everything on it," I replied hungrily, licking my lips.


    After meeting for the studio recording of the song previously, Sean and I hit it off and became friends. Despite his appearance suggesting he had two baby mamas, Sean was actually 19 years old. When I first told him this during our initial meeting, he nearly rolled around on the floorughing.


    Numerous people were involved in the filming today. We had nearly 50 dancers and background actors, the video''s heroine, a filming crew of 25 people, the director, and staff members from our agencies dispersed around to protect both of us.


    We quickly proceeded to the clothes fitting and tried out a few outfits for the music video. Sean easily found his clothes based on my advice, but I encountered a problem.


    "You can''t wear a suit!" Renaldo said.


    Both Sean and I were confused. "Why not?" I asked.


    "Same reason all the girls here are fully dressed, and nobody is showing excessive skin. It''s targeted for kids! You should look like their peers," Renaldo exined, frustrated.


    "But I want to do an Iron Man entrance. We even have an Audi here!" I whined.


    Sean nodded in agreement and said, "Look, I even brought the sunsses for him!"


    He took out the same type of sunsses RDJ always wears in interviews and showed them to Renaldo. "Oh, that''s nice," I said, taking them politely from his hand.


    Renaldo ignored me and asked, "Should I call Haley?"


    I scowled and replied, "If you keep using that tactic to avoid arguing with me, then... I would have no other choice."


    This wasn''t the first time he had done this. Whenever Iined about an outfit I didn''t want to wear, he would call Haley to get her on his side.


    Since she was ''unofficially'' my fashion coordinator, I wouldn''t argue with her. It''s not that I couldn''t argue with her, but for some reason, I didn''t want to give her any grief. I had no qualms about arguing with my dad or my aunt if Renaldo had them as his allies.


    Renaldo looked a bit concerned. "Are you firing me?"


    "No, I''ll just talk shit about you to Dwayne."


    "NO! Ugh. Alright, you can do whatever you want!" he said dramatically. I smiled and said, "Thanks. Now, let''s take a look at the outfits you prepared today."


    Renaldo rolled his eyes and said, "If you were going to agree with me anyway, why waste our precious time!?"


    Sean and I bothughed, having sessfully tricked Renaldo. The reasoning was simple: I wouldn''t tease someone I wasn''t close with.


    "What about pink?" He handed me a pink jacket, which I immediately threw into the pool without even checking it out.


    "The dark green one from Old Navy looks nice," I said, ignoring the sinking pink shirt.


    Renaldo hesitated and said carefully, "It''s... Calvin Klein."


    "Really? Why does it look so cheap?" I asked, confused.


    "We need something that''ll make you stand out in the crowd. See, even Sean is wearing a silver one," Renaldo tried to convince me, ignoring my question. And since he already anticipated my actions, he took out the same pink jacket from the style bag.


    I grimaced and coyly said, "It doesn''t matter much. No matter what I wear, when I want people to see me, they will see me."


    Renaldo was taken aback but eventually agreed with what I said. Even the aesthetics of my image in the live concert videos taken by fans couldn''t capture my bad side. (Thanks to Barney)


    Pepper always joked that I was born to be loved by the camera, and Renaldo finally admitted the truth.


    "Nice! The uglier he looks, the more I can stand out," Sean said enthusiastically. I patted his back and gazed at him pitifully. "It was nice of you to have ambition."


    "Mannn, go do your hair. We need to get started soon," Sean retorted irritably before going to get his makeup done.


    I chuckled and replied, "It''s easy for you to say. You don''t have anything on top of your head."


    "I am bald by choice!"


    "Are you sure it''s not male pattern baldness?"


    "Imma throw you down this hill! BELIEVE ME! I WILL DO IT!"


    While I was getting my hair done, the hairstylistmented, "Hmm... You really don''t look like a teenager. Is there a particr hairstyle you want?"


    "Hmm... Wait, I was wondering if you could do it like this," I said as I googled a hairstyle I wanted, but all that came up was a cartoon character''s hairstyle. It was a parted hairstyle with waves, inspired by some Korean manhwa I had read in my past lives.


    The hairstylist''s eyes lit up, and she eximed, "Good! This will suit you well if you want to look more like a teenager!"


    "It''ll also give me a more approachable vibe. Alright, let''s get started, or else Sean''s hair will start growing," I joked.


    "I CAN HEAR YOU!" Sean shouted from out of nowhere. I turned left and right in shock, but I couldn''t find where he was.


    ...


    After changing into my new outfit, I admired myself in the mirror, satisfied with the look. With confidence, I joined the rest of the crew on set. The dancers were already in action, showcasing their moves in front of the camera to capture the vibrant party atmosphere.


    "Hey, D-Gate! You''re looking good!" greeted a male hip-hop dancer, whose name was Ed. We had a friendly rapport since he was part of the dance crew with Kaya and Anna.


    "Ed! Come join us and dance!" he invited me.


    "Sure!" I readily agreed.


    Renaldo, who was concerned, shouted worriedly, "Ed, don''t ruin your makeup and clothes!"


    I waved off his concern, assuring him that I had it under control. Ignoring his warning, I started dancing to the beats of 2Pac''s "California Love."


    ?? California love! ??


    With smooth yet sharp movements, I glided towards the circle of dancers. They cheered with excitement, and the girls around the house quickly turned their attention towards the dance floor.


    ?? California... knows how to party ??


    "They sure do!" I joked, making a wave from my left hand to my right and then using the momentum to create a wave with my whole body.


    ?? California... knows how to party ??


    The B-Boys joined in, dancing around me, and the crew identally captured the moment on film. We had an unspoken understanding, making it look like a perfectly choreographed routine to the audience.


    ?? In the city of L.A. ??


    The girls cheered, and they also wanted to join in to dance together. Unknowingly, I turned a fake party into a real one in just under a minute, causing the floor director to have a headache arranging the positionster on.


    ?? In the city of good ol'' Watts ??


    Sean Kingston muttered to himself, "Damn, Ed! Don''t dance too much. Otherwise, my agency will want me to dance too! I don''t want that!"


    ?? In the city, the city of Compton ??


    ?? We keep it rockin''! We keep it rockin''! ??


    Laughing, I struck a pose with the B-Boys before leaving them to rejoin Sean. As I approached, a girl whom I had never met before, leaped towards me with excitement.


    "KYA! Edward, you''re awesome!"


    "Thanks... and you are?"


    "Oh, right! I''m Jasmine Villegas. You can call me Jasmine."


    Sean exined that she was part of the music video today, introducing us. However, she wasn''t the heroine, and was just making a special appearance as she was invited by Sean.


    I was taken aback when I first saw her. If I didn''t know any better, I would have thought Phil had another family in a different part of town, where he was married to a beautiful Latina woman, and they have a teenage daughter together.


    She stood before me, dressed in a stunning low-cut white dress. As we were high up, her long, straight brte hair danced in the wind.


    However, what caught my attention the most was a peculiar essory that raised suspicions about Phil. No sane person would ever wear such a critically unusual item, unless it was a family heirloom ��a feathered earring.


    Simr to Penny, Jasmine was still an aspiring actress at this stage. Uncertain of what the future held in this world, I couldn''t help but recall her limited sess in my previous life. She had mostly been cast in supporting roles and hadn''t received many opportunities to shine.


    Perhaps she had declined Weinstein''s advances on one asion, resulting in missed chances to promote her for various roles.


    Then, I finally met the heroine of the video.


    Ashley Leanne. She had a slightly tanned skin, and a seductive expression on her face. She behaves a bit coquettishly, and quite brazen. She touched my biceps andplimented me about my muscles the moment we met.


    Ashley has wavy, long brown hair. She was wearing a short top, revealing her stomach, and paired with short jean booty shorts. She was ying with the general audience and the mature video rating with her outfit, and she was proud of that.


    When Ashley was talking with the staff, I asked the director slowly, "Why are you making her wear the ''Where''s Waldo'' clothes?"


    The director smiled excitedly and said, "You got that huh? What do you think it means?"


    Sean, who was standing beside me answered, "Hmmm... She''s hard to find?"


    "Or, she kept going missing, and we need to find her?" I shoot my guess.


    The director pointed at me and said, "Ed is right!"


    "Damn it!" Sean eximed in disappointment while Iughed proudly.


    "Make her walk around in the ordinary scenes. See if the audience can find her." I joked, but the director''s expression froze.


    "Why...didn''t I THINK OF THAT! THAT''S GOLD! HOLD ON CAMERA CREW!! We need to reshoot some stuff!"


    Renaldo red at me as he knew I didn''t have much time to shoot the music video today, but I kept dying the process. I smiled wryly at him and then said, "Just cancel my ns for the night. I can do it in the early morning tomorrow."


    It wasn''t urgent anyway. I had nned to integrate a few helpful programs for thepany, both in software and also thepany''s development ns, but I decided to just rx today.


    Sean had been asking me consistently to stay behind because he had a big party nned after the filming was done, and he had also invited a lot of celebrities to introduce me too.


    It was both an opportunity and a risk for me to join the party today. Especially because I knew that this type of party wouldn''t have any bottom line, and I was currently an underage singer that had just debuted plus I was kind of by myself before the whole country right now.


    We officially started filming the scenes. I started first by filming alone at the piano. The plot of the music video was simple. Both Sean and I were to be yed by the same girl. And when we knew that she had been moving between the two of us, we decided not to fight for her and got acquainted instead.


    As I shot the scenes with Ashley, the director couldn''t help but scream ''cut'' a few times.


    "CUT! Ashley, you''re supposed to be ying HIM, not giving him everything he wants! Tone down the lust in your eyes!"


    Jasmine said agrievingly, "I can''t help it! Just look at it! Look into his eyes, and tell me that YOU can keep your hands away from this man!" She pointed at my innocent face. The director was helpless and said, "Take 13! Come on! And Ed, don''t wrap your hand around her waist this time!"


    I was confused, "Why? I don''t think that''s too much?"


    "It''s not too much, but she won''t be able to act after that!"


    "Ahh...right..."


    Renaldo rubbed his forehead in frustration and muttered, "You can only me yourself�C"


    "For being too sexy right? I know it." I interjected to finish his sentence for him.


    Renaldo was exasperated from my shamelessness, ignored me, and warned those around me, "And you girls, don''t make googly eyes at him! He''s supposed to only be looking at Ashley! "


    "A!" The group of girls around let out a collective sigh before they went to do their job.


    Even Sean was a bit jealous from the attention the girls were giving me. But I couldn''t help it. They were like a moth drawn to the zing fire that I am.


    As we moved the filming along, and finally got to the part that Sean and I were shooting together, suddenly a baby hawknded on my shoulder.


    "What the fuck!" Sean screamed in horror. I was excited and I rubbed the bird''s head before saying, "This is not a ce for you to rest baby bird. Go on."


    Then, the baby hawk flew away reluctantly. The crew were looking at me in disbelief. Someone whispered in the background, "The Pied Piper."


    After that small episode, we finally finished the filming for today.


    "Want to check out the full video?" The director asked after a short break.


    "I''d love to." I replied to him. Sean, Renaldo, Jasmine and I stood behind the director. Jasmine was hugging my arm shamelessly, but I didn''t have any problems with that as she was kinda cute and a little bit silly.


    ''Wait...I''m not falling for a contemporary female Phil right?'' I thought in shock before I moved an inch away from Jasmine. But that just made Ashley, who was standing beside me, misunderstand my intentions.


    The director then clicked the space key and yed the video.


    It started with the scenes of Sean pulling into the block in an Audi car. I followed behind soon after in a Lamborghini car. We yed Rock Scissor Paper to decide who got what car, and I won.


    Sean sang first in the clip, "??Eenie, meenie, miney, mo! Catch a bad chick by her toe! If she ho �CIf, if, if she ho, let her go??"


    Sean met with Ashley in the video. She lowered her sunsses and looked at him with a look of intrigue before slowly moving towards him.


    "Really, they look like father and daughter-"


    "Shut up!" Sean cursed me before I could finish. Yeah, she was 1.63 m, and he was 1.88 m. They really didn''t look good together.


    Sean continued singing in the video, but at the same time, the screen split into two, and I entered the scene.


    "??She''s indecisive, she can''t decide


    She keeps on looking from left to right


    Girl,e a bit closer, look in my eyes


    Searching is so wrong, I''m Mr. Right??"


    I met Ashley at the snack bar, and we flirted a little. The director furrowed his brow as he looked at the scene andmented, "Ed really doesn''t look like he''s getting yed huh."


    "I can''t help it. My ego won''t let me." I muttered helplessly. As Ashley left me in the video with a lingering touch, my eyes stayed on her for a little while, which made the director nod in satisfaction as his aim wasplete.


    "??You seem like the type to love ''em and leave ''em


    And disappear right after this song


    So give me the night to show you, hold you


    Don''t leave me out here dancin'' alone??"


    The scenes alternate between the dancing, and Sean singing the song alone. But for people with keen eyes, they could notice that Ashley was in the background in various scenes, just like in the game Where''s Waldo.


    Finally, we got to the chorus!


    "??You can''t make up your mind, mind, mind, mind, mind


    Please don''t waste my time, time, time, time, time


    I''m not tryin'' to rewind, wind, wind, wind, wind


    I wish our hearts coulde together as one??"


    "Oh! That''s me." I muttered in astonishment as the clip of me dancing with the B-Boys was shown shortly on the screen. The director smiled and said, "It was too good to be left behind."


    ??''Cause shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??


    Finally, it was my turn to sing the song. With a deep and seductive look on my face, I sang charismatically.


    "??Let me show you what you''re missing, paradise


    With me you''re winning, girl, you don''t have to roll the dice


    Tell me what you''re really here for


    Them other guys? I can see right through ya??"


    "Damn boy! Why are you stealing all of the limelight?" Sean jokingly cursed.


    I was sitting with Ashley near the piano, and my hand were wrapped around her. She bit her lower lips as she gazed into my mouth, which made the director paused the mv for a while.


    The director said, "I put in the wrong clip."


    "..."


    He fixed it quickly and continued ying the song


    "??You seem like the type to love them and leave them!


    And disappear right after the song~


    So give me the night~ to show you~, hold you~


    Don''t leave me out here dancing alone~~??


    ??Can''t make up your mind-mind-mind-mind-mind


    Please don''t waste my time-time-time-time-time


    Not trying to rewind-wind-wind-wind-wind


    I wish our hearts coulde together as one~??"


    I smiled as I watched the video, "It is pretty great." The quality, the videography, all of it was upgraded from the original. I especially cut out the cringe partpared to the original one, so that it wouldn''t be era specific.


    ??''Cause shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??


    Sean rapped a bit. In the scene that was split into two screens, Sean started doubting about why Ashley kept disappearing, and I was with the girl in the other picture. And when Ashley went to Sean, it was my turn to doubt.


    ??Eenie, meenie, miney, mo


    Catch a bad chick by her toe


    If she ho


    If, if, if she ho, let her go??


    While Sean finished, in the clip, I went to the poolside to seach for Ashley, and finally caught her ying with Sean.


    ??Eenie, meenie, miney, mo


    Catch a bad chick by her toe


    If she ho, lo, lo


    Let her go??


    We nced at each other with hostility, before we decided that the girl wasn''t worth it, and shook hands together. Ashley was fuming when she saw that we weren''t going to fight for her, and left.


    We duet together in the clip, standing side by side in front of the pool. It showed that it was almost sunset in the video, but honestly that was just a filter.


    ??Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??


    After we were done with Ashley in the video, I was talking with Jasmine who had took off her feathered earring, and Sean was talking with another hot girl. The girls were better than Ashley, and they didn''t try to y us around. They also seemed kinder than her, which made it seem like we had gotten an upgrade.


    ??Can''t make up your mind-mind-mind-mind-mind


    Please don''t waste my time-time-time-time-time


    Not trying to rewind-wind-wind-wind-wind


    I wish our hearts coulde together as one~??


    ??Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova


    Shorty is a eenie, meenie, miney, mo, lova??


    Then, before the ending, both of us left the scenes with our girls in our arms.


    "YEAH! WE DID IT!" Jasmine and Ashley said excitedl before they each kissed me on the cheek at the same time.


    I smiled and said, "Yes�C"


    "NOW, WE PARTYYYY!" Sean screamed, making the crowd cheer enthusiastically. He wrapped his arm around his current girlfriend, an african american girl, and they left the area to go to get some drinks.


    Jasmine and Ashley looked at each other''s eyes, before they said to me, "Ed, do you want to make out with us?"


    "Umm...It''d surely be impolite to say no."

 Chapter 175: Orangina Surprise!

    <h4>Chapter 175: Chapter 175:?Orangina Surprise!</h4>


    [General POV]


    Edward wore shorts, sandals, and an unbuttoned white t-shirt, showcasing his attractive physique to the partygoers. As he strolled by the pool, he took asional sips from a bottle of ''Orangina.''


    Suddenly, a boy attempted to tackle Edward into the pool, seeking revenge for a previous prank Edward did on him. However, Edward skillfully evaded the tackle by deftly spinning his body.


    Though the first attempt failed, a few more boys tried the same tactic, but Edward managed to avoid their tackles each time. As the boys fell into the pool, bikini-d girls stood on Edward''s left and right, cheering him on.


    "Nice second try, but still...poor execution. Maybe you can try againter," Edward taunted the attackers with a mischievous expression.


    "Damn it!" The boysughed and wanted to ssh water at Edward, but he quickly left the poolside to prevent getting wet. He went back to his original intention, that was to reach the snack bar located in the living room.


    Before this, he was inside one of the bedrooms, he and Sean engaged in a private conversation while Jessica and Ashley discreetly listened. It wasn''t anything sexual, but just talking about career paths.


    "Look, he''s looking at you again," A delusional (Delulu) girl who resembled Emma Stone whispered to her friend as they stood near the snack bar.


    "Shut up! No, he''s not!" replied the other girl with cat-like eyes and blonde hair, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear. She maintained her gaze on Edward as he approached them.


    "Umm... Hi?" Edward greeted them while grabbing a te for snacks. He temporarily ced his Orangina bottle on the side of the table.


    The girls squealed and whispered to each other, "He said ''hi'' to me!"


    Edward felt somewhat helpless. After bing a celebrity, most people didn''t treat him like he was part of the same species anymore. It was something that he needed to adapt to soon, but he wanted to see how much longer he could be in denial.


    "Hi-HI! Edward! I''m your biggest fan!" the blonde girl stammered. Her breathing quickened and her face flushed.


    Edward smiled and replied, "I''m not sure if you''re the ''biggest,'' but you''re definitely one of the pretty ones-"


    The girl''s brain seemed to short-circuit, and she instantly grabbed Edward''s arm, surprising him.


    "Should we go to the bathroom? You can take my first time! Ravage me-"


    "Amelia!" The Emma Stone-like girl pulled her friend back and profusely apologized to Edward, exining that her friend''s behavior stemmed from her deep infatuation. "Sorry, Edward! She''s just deeply in love with you! She means no harm!"


    Amelia was escorted away by her friend, who continued apologizing to Edward. Sean, who had been following Edward,ughed at the situation and teased, "That''s why you shouldn''t be too friendly with people!"


    "What do you want me to do? Spit on them? I don''t mind these kinds of things. Unless my safety is at risk, I can simply ignore it," Edward replied. Sean smiled and remained silent, knowing it was futile to argue.


    Most celebrities who recently gained fame behaved simrly to Edward. However, many of them eventually crumbled under the pressure and difficulties that apanied excessive fame. Sean could only remind Edward of this fact.


    "Hey, is this yours?" Sean asked, grabbing the Orangina bottle near the chocte fountain.


    "Yeah," Edward replied. Sean nced at the drink station, decided it was too far to walk ten meters away, and took a sip from Edward''s drink. Suddenly, he spat out the drink, causing it to stter on the ground.


    Edward managed to avoid the stter and looked at Sean in astonishment. "What��"


    "PISS! WHY IS THIS PISS!?" Sean shouted, drawing the attention of the partygoers.


    Edward was shocked. He thought that Sean was ying, "What��I mean, it''s not soda, but it wasn''t piss��"


    "I KNOW THAT!!" Sean shouted in disbelief and agitation. Based on Edward''s reaction, he instinctively realized that it wasn''t a prank from Edward, as Edward had never gone too far with his teasing.


    "Someone swapped the drink," Edward said, noticing that the mark he made on the drink''sbel was missing. He looked at the crowd suspiciously and told Sean, "We need to get this checked out."


    "SECURITY!" Sean quickly called over his muscr buddies to cordon off the area. His manager contacted the police, resulting in the shutdown of the entire party.


    The severe reaction to a single drink of urine stemmed from not knowing its exact contents. It could contain viruses or be mixed with drugs. The act of discreetly swapping the drink without anyone noticing raised significant suspicions for Edward.


    ''Someone capable of eluding my counter-surveince skills couldn''t be considered an ordinary person. What is their aim? What is their purpose?'' Edward thought with a sh of excitement in his eyes.


    ...


    The police arrived shortly after, and the urine-filled drink was sent to the urinalysisb.


    The female detective, Chloe Decker, retrieved her rubber gloves from the pocket of her leather jacket and began examining the crime scene. Edward observed her with furrowed brows while heforted Sean, who was visibly shaken by the incident. Edward ced nkets on Sean''s back as he sat down and handed him a cup of calming tea.


    "Mr. Newgate, Mr. Kingston, I''m Detective Chloe Decker, and I''m the lead detective assigned to this case," Chloe introduced herself, her voice filled with authority. She paused as she noticed Edward''s actions and inquired, "Um... what are you doing?"


    Chloe was confused when she saw Edward kept putting nkets on Sean''s back.


    "In the movies, theyforted the victims like this." Edward exined while Sean sipped his tea in distress. After taking a big sip, he exhaled and said, "It seems to be working. I am calming down now."


    Chloe''s eyes twitched as she desperately held herself back from rolling her eyes.


    "I feel like I know you." Edward asked her with furrowed brows. "But I''m not quite sure where I got you from. Has I seen you nake�C Have we ever met before?"


    "Hmm? Umm...You can think about itter." Chloe said urgently while keeping a calm look on the surface. Her heart was beating quickly, and she desperately wanted to change the topic right now.


    "Now that you mentioned it, I feel like I know her too." Sean said while rubbing his chin.


    Chloe asked, "Have you seen a suspicious person at this party?"


    "Well a lot...And Uh... Just to be clear, if you find any lines in the bathroom, it surely wasn''t ours!" Sean said with a hint of fear in his tone.


    "Pfft-" Edward held back hisughter and then replied to the detective, "If you are talking about a ''suspicious'' person, I have no idea, because there were a lot of suspicious looking people in this party."


    Chloe was confused and she turned around. There was a mime nearby, a few pale-skinned goth girls with tattoos all over, piercing and satanic outfits, and the Turkish ice-cream man nearby.


    "Ah. Got it. Do you have any idea who would have put out a hit on you?" She asked as she took out her notebook.


    "Lady, we have no idea. Shouldn''t you investigate things for us, instead of asking us?!" Sean asked, aggrieved.


    Chloe was helpless, but she couldn''t be impolite as she was just following the normal procedure. Besides, responding to a case that included the new top tier Hollywood brats and other difficult guys in the industry was something that the Captain had given her as punishment for not following his orders. It was a career killer for her, and she knew it.


    Edward however, pped Sean''s bald head from behind and said, "She''s just asking questions dude. It''s normal stuff. Don''t look guilty if you''ve done nothing wrong."


    Chloe raised her eyebrow at Edward who were smiling at her, and then said, "Alright. A couple of officers wille to take your statements-"


    "Detective Chloe."


    "Detective Decker." Chloe corrected Edward''s call instantly.


    "Ahh, sorry, forgot we weren''t close enough for that...yet." Edward replied, not minding the attitude. "I just wanted to ask you if you had any leads?"


    This time, Chloe rolled her eyes, "The investigation has just begun-"


    "No. I wasn''t trying to urge you. I just think that...the culprit wasn''t aiming for Sean."


    Sean tilted his head to look at Edward in astonishment, "Not targeting me? But I was the one who drank the piss!!"


    "Yeah. On ident. But...that was supposed to be my drink...right?" Edward said in a calm manner. Sean was taken aback when he heard it, and then he stood up as a surge of anger washed over him.


    "YOU MEAN I DRANK YOUR PISS!?"


    "Idiot! Not mine! But it was aimed at me!" Edward replied while looking at Sean like he was an idiot.


    "No-No- That''s what I mean. I just couldn''t arrange the words in a proper sentence."


    Edward nodded in understanding, "So. whoever the culprit is, he or she knew what I was drinking. I just picked up the Orangina from the poolside table, so they only had a few minutes to act."


    "And when I was talking to the girls at the concession stand, they swapped the drink while I wasn''t looking. I think there should have been a camera by the pool right? So we can start from there, and see if there was anyone following me, or someone who picked up the drink after me. They might not run after me immediately as they would need to fill the bottle first, but we can find a few suspects from it."


    Chloe nodded, but she asked with a smile, "And what if...the culprit already had the bottle in their hand, and just filled it in when they saw you pick up the same bottle?"


    Edward smiled mischievously, "Then, you''re going to have a lot of work to do to screen out the suspects. By the way, where DO I know you from? Cause I really think that I have seen you before, like a LOT."


    Chloe felt a mix of frustration and curiosity as she listened to Edward''s deductions. She couldn''t deny that his theory made sense, and she appreciated his keen observation skills. However, hisment about recognizing her made her anxious.


    "I''m not sure where you might have seen me before," Chloe replied, her tone slightly guarded. "I''ve been a detective for a while, so it''s possible our paths crossed at some point."


    Edward scratched his head, deep in thought. "Hmm, it''s strange. It feels like there''s something more to it, but I just can''t put my finger on it."


    Chloe''s heart raced as she desperately tried to change the subject. "Well, we can discuss itter. Right now, let''s focus on finding the person responsible for this incident."


    Sean, still visibly upset over unknowingly drinking the tainted drink, interjected, "Yeah, let''s catch that sicko!"


    Chloe nodded in agreement. "Exactly. We''ll review the poolside CCTV footage and see if we can identify anyone who may have tampered with the drink or acted suspiciously."


    Unbeknownst to the detective, Edward finally realized where he knew her from. And, it wasn''t from the rated mature story, ''Hot Tub High School'' where she had a nude scene in it, but from a series in his past life.


    ''Wait. Another one? But...Lux doesn''t exist in this universe! There isn''t any Lucifer around. I checked...a lot...so why�C''


    While Edward was thinking, a ck shadow�C mimicking Detective Conan''s universe unrevealed suspect, was bing more and more anxious. She gazed at Edward and the detective from afar while biting her nails.


    ''No. My ns failed. My voodoo...doesn''t work...It went to Sean instead! What would I do if Sean fell for me instead of Edward? I don''t want that! I want only him! If it''s revealed...then...I...should prepare for the second n. But...I will need...Edward''s...blood for that.''


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    ''Curious. I got the feeling that someone was watching me right now. But, why didn''t it work before?''


    I nced slightly at the downtrodden crowd, feeling their emptiness from being controlled by the police. The thought of not being able to drink and party their life and troubles away actually forced them to confront their own thoughts, and that as it turned out was truly scary for them. In fact I guess even I can understand their feelings.


    "Detective, any leads on the case?" I asked Detective Chloe. She shook her head and said, "We have checked the CCTV, but so far, we got nothing. There were a few suspects, but none of them had a clear motive as to why they would want Sean to drink their piss. And theb test isn''t going toe out till tomorrow."


    "I see. What did they say when you asked them about it?" I picked up a ss of water and sniffed it a bit before gulping it down...You know...just in case.


    The detective saw it and let out a slight snort. Apparently she thought it was cute.


    "There''s 3 people who picked up the same drink as you, and their whereabouts couldn''t be confirmed during the time the drink was swapped."


    "I mean...specifically...what did they say?" I asked her again.


    She then said, "Thew dictates that I can''t tell you about it, in order to avoid you developing a vendetta or anything of the sort on any of the subjects."


    "Huh? Is that really true?" I asked, confused. I saw her helplessness, but it didn''t mean that I couldn''t figure out the situation by myself.


    Thew may prevent me from knowing the specifics, but it doesn''t matter if I decide to question them all by myself. I checked the CCTV, and immediately figured out who the suspects were.


    Before I could leave to question them, Detective Chloe grabbed my arm to stop me and asked, "Do you want to y cop now?"


    "I just like to y... detective." I said with a seductive smile.


    Chloe grimaced and said, "I can''t let you bother the suspects."


    "So thew protects the suspects, not the victims?" I asked her sarcastically, causing her to be taken aback. "Why don''t you follow me then? Maybe, you can cross reference our questions to fill in the nkster on?"


    She chortled sarcastically, "Why do you think you can get any new information out of them?"


    I smiled devilishly and said, "Simple. I can be very... VERY persuasive."


    After constantly using my [Soul Voice] during my 2 month tour, I managed to develop the skill into part of my normal conversations. The power was lowered, but it became extremely easy for me to manipte people with my voice�C akin to a brainwashing machine, I became irresistible to them.


    Suddenly, I froze in ce as I saw Chloe''s smoky eyes. ''Wait...What is happening? Why do I find myself having a strong urge to bother this detective?...it can''t be...that Lucifer''s role...has now fallen on my head...right?"


    I quickly threw out that thought far far away and went to talk with the first subject. It was a blonde, ignorant girl with a bad attitude. She was wearing arge earring, and a low cut top. While sitting on top of a tall bar stool, she spat out her chewing gum at the back of a police officer standing nearby, almost hitting him.


    "Marilyn. Hi. We meet again." I smiled as I walked to Marilyn. Her eyes lit up as she saw me, but scowled when she saw the detectives.


    "Fucking pig." She cursed underneath her breath. Then, she smiled fakely at me and whined, "Ed? You believe me right? I didn''t do it!"


    "I know. You''re a good girl...aren''t you?" I grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes as I proceeded to whisper in her ear. She shivered for a bit before saying, "I am a good girl."


    "Then, as a good girl, you should answer my questions honestly, right?" I used a low voice, causing her eyes to be dazed. She bit her lower lip and then nodded, "Anything for you Edward."


    "Good. Where did you go after picking up the Orangina bottle? I saw that you went in the opposite direction from me, so don''t worry, I''m not suspecting you. I''m just curious."


    Marilyn nodded with her face flushed. She wanted to confess, but as she saw the detective beside me, she became hesitant.


    "What? Are you worried about Detective Chloe? Don''t worry. She''s okay."


    "Okay? Just...okay?" The detective mumbled to herself.


    "Or, would you rather me say, "She''s smoking hot?" or lie and say, "She''s not going to do anything to you?" Pick one."


    Chloe pouted for a bit, but Marilyn smiled as she saw Chloe''s subversiveness. She became a bit brazen and said, "Well, I did pick up the bottle, but I went to...um...you know, making it...a brunch...drink?"


    "Ah..." I realized why she kept changing her story when facing the detective. Basically, she added some vodka in it, changing it into a Mimosa. She''s only 17, so that''s why she didn''t want to tell the truth to the cops.


    I patted her on the head and said, "Alright. You''re clear."


    "Wait�C" The detective wanted to stop me, but Marilyn smiled and hugged me immediately, "Thanks Ed! I''m going to go meet up with my friends!"


    "Hey!" Chloe shouted, but I stopped her from going after the girl.


    "What are you doing? She could be lying!" Chloe asked, aggrieved.


    I shook my head slightly and said, "Well, she''s not that clever to trick you detective. Come on, we still have 2 more suspects to interrogate."


    "WE...are not interrogating anything! It''s only ME!!!" The detective yelled frustratedly, but I had already walked away and ignored her protest.


    The second suspect was actually a guy. And what he did was actually turning his bottle into a bong in the next bedroom, so he didn''t confess to the detective. And finally, I met with thest suspect.


    The suspect was an 18 years old, petite girl with short silver hair who was sitting anxiously while shaking her legs, and her eyes kept darting around the crowd, flinching every time a cop walked past her.


    "And...you''re still confused as to whether she is guilty?" I joked with the detective.


    "Yeah, I''m sure�C"


    "I DID IT!" Kiernan shouted as the detective and I approached her. Chloe was startled but I became confused.


    "You did what?" I asked her calmly.


    "I DID IT OKAY! I (whisper) pissed in the orange bottle! (normal voice) But it was only because someone were upying the girl''s toilet!-- I threw the bottle into the bush, but I really don''t know how it got there�C"


    "It was YOU!?" Sean, who was within earshot, exploded as he heard the confession. He strode angrily towards Kiernan, but stopped midway as he saw her face. His tone changed to a gentle one and he said affectionately, "Well...If it''s you...then I don''t mind it."


    "???"


    "???"


    "???"


    All of us, including Kiernan, were confused when we heard what Sean said.


    "What the hell?" I eximed, before I realized it, and thenughed out loud!


    "Sean. She''s pretty for sure...I guess pretty enough that you don''t mind drinking...you know...but, she didn''t do it."


    "What?" Kiernan and Sean were both confused. The detective then asked Kiernan, "Where did you throw your bottle?"


    "Um...Into the bush near the front..." Kiernan replied, and when we went and checked, the bottle was still there. Kiernan cried in relief. Seeing her cry, Sean opened up his arm to make her hug him, but instead, she jumped towards me and hugged me from the neck while crying in my chest.


    I turned to Sean and muttered apologetically, "Sorry dude. You have no chance."


    "Damn it!" He cursed.

 Chapter 176: Case Cleared?

    <h4>Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Case Cleared?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Looks like it didn''t only happen to her." The detective said after checking out Kiernan''s story. Apparently, the bathroom was locked for a while, therefore some people decided to relieve themselves in a creative manner all over the house.


    "I was thinking about moving to a ce like this, or maybe even this house... But right now, I kept thinking that my current house is good enough," Sean murmured.


    I nodded in agreement. During our earlier conversation, Sean had suggested that I explore other living options since my current house''s address had been leaked to the public.


    ''Maybe I won''t move, but alternate between houses to make people think that I don''t live there any longer. If I keep posting videos from the new house, I can subtly change people''s minds. Then, I cane back to my current house anytime I want,'' I mused, rubbing my chin.


    This decision wasn''t made arbitrarily. In fact, I had been using my part of the lottery money, as well as my dad''s, to buy a fewpanies and properties. The 2008 housing market crash had left real estate prices at an all-time low, and I saw an opportunity to invest.


    "Ah... That''s why Phil was struggling as a realtor in the early season of the series," I realized.


    After my revtion, I approached the detective and suggested, "If there are no other leads, I think we should just wait for theb results toe out. The party is already ruined, and people can''t wait to go home."


    Chloe sighed but didn''t argue. "Yeah, it''s better that way."


    Curious about her sigh, I asked, "Why are you sighing?"


    She shook her head. "Nothing. It doesn''t have anything to do with you, or the case."


    "Come on, tell me. Please?" I coaxed her with a sweet voice. Taken aback, she decided to end the matter quickly.


    "Well, I''m just sighing because... I can''t close the case tonight, and--"


    "And... that''ll get you in trouble with your captain?" I interrupted.


    Her widened eyes confirmed my assumption. Picking up on her situation, I patted her on the shoulder to cheer her up.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll give you a nice and thorough review, so that your captain can''t nitpick on anything."


    "Well, that''s going to make you the nicest celebrity I''ve ever served," she joked, smiling. Managing celebrity cases was considered a career killer due to their impossible demands. She was already tired of them, and it was only her first year as a detective.


    "By the way, you have a daughter, right?" I asked, startling her.


    She narrowed her eyes at me and questioned, "How did you know?"


    "Ah, sorry. I saw your phone lock screen before. How old is she now?" I politely inquire, aware that my behavior seemed suspicious.


    After a few seconds of hesitation, she responded, "She''s six years old right now."


    I widened my eyes in disbelief, realizing that the timeline didn''t match up. So, it''s not following the timeline at all. I remember the daughter was seven years old when the series premiered in 2016.


    ''Ah, I guess both she and Dr. Linda were not part of another alternate universe, so that''s kinda good. I don''t think I want to mess with all the gods and angel stuff.''


    "Mr. Newgate? Mr. Newgate?" Chloe called, snapping me out of my thoughts.


    "Ah, sorry. By the way, does your daughter know me? Do you want me to sign something for her? Or record a short video?" I offered.


    "That''s... alright. You don''t have to do it--"


    "But it''ll be better for you if I did, right? In this way, your captain can''t really say that you made the department''s prestige go down or anything like that," I reasoned.


    She pondered for a moment, then shed a smile. "Alright. In fact, Trixie is a huge fan of yours. If she knew I rejected you, then I''m going to be the darnest mother in the world."


    "We can''t let her down then," I smiled. Using the detective''s phone, I recorded a short message for Trixie. Chloe quickly wrapped up the investigation and left the house with her officers. The partygoers also departed, as I had mentioned earlier, the party was already dead. I could revive it if I wanted to, but I was already tired and wanted to go home.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Shortly after Chloe left the house, her partner told her, "Damn it. I left my badge in the toilet."


    Chloe said, aggrieved, "Now why would you take it off?"


    "I don''t like the way it''s hitting my leg as I was trying to take a shit!" Hertino partner replied.


    Chloe sighed, and then made a U-turn. Luckily, she was only a few minutes away from the house.


    But, as she was driving back, she saw the Turkish Ice-Cream man by the side of the road. The ice-cream cones were scattered on the ground. The handcart trolley seemed to burst open, causing the Ice Cream man to shout profanity in hisnguage while pointed at the direction of the house.


    "Sir? What happened?" Chloe asked as she stopped by the ice-cream man.


    "That Bitch�C I''m sorry Sir...Someone was inside...."


    "Inside your cart?" Chloe asked in disbelief.


    "Yes! She''s scared me! She has a knife! And wanted to cut me!" The man cried in grief.


    Chloe was rmed, "Where did she go?!"


    "She went back to the house!" the Turkish man shouted while pointing in the direction. Chloe mmed the elerator quickly and to catch up with the girl.


    "Hey! What about my ice-cream stand?!" The Turkish man yelled as the cops left him alone there.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I was waiting for Renaldo toe into the living room with Ashley and Jessica while Sean was getting some drinks for himself. It may be because of the incident, that he needed time to actually check on the drinks, causing him to take a long time to get it in the kitchen.


    "Jessica, you should really stop by my house sometimes." I invited thetina girl.


    Ashley hugged my arms from the side and whispered seductively, "Only her? You''re throwing me away?"


    I smiled and said casually, "I need her for an acting role."


    Jessica was startled, and Ashley was biting her lips in jealousy. Ashley protested, "But I''m an actress too! You saw me act today!"


    "Ehh... You''re alright." I teased.She held back herugh and then pretended to pout. Jessica stammered, "Wh-What do you want me to do?"


    "y the role of an estranged daughter searching for her dad. I''ll give you the scriptter. But you''re going to improv for most of the time."


    "Huh?" Both of them were confused by my nning. Sean came back with a cup of coffee, and asked, "Hmm? Why are their faces like that?"


    "They couldn''tprehend the things I asked them to do." I replied.


    Sean was a bit taken aback and then whispered politely, "You know. Maybe, you should get to know them better first. That''s all I''m saying."


    My forehead vein throbbed and I said angrily, "Not that kind of thing''. You know, just..things in general."


    "Whatever you say man." Sean said.


    "And why are you making coffee?" I asked him with a raised brow.


    Heined, "I had to make it myself! I can''t pick anything out from the fridge."


    Iughed at his misery, when suddenly the doorbell rang.


    "Hmm? Weird. It''s unlocked." Jessica said as she walked toward the door. I was still bickering with Sean, when suddenly all of us remaining there, heard Jessica''s scream.


    "What the hell!?" Sean eximed in bewilderment as we watched Jessica walk slowly to the living room with a knife on her throat. She was held hostage by a pale-skinned girl with freckles on her face, and unkempt long hair that hid most of her face.


    "DON''T MOVE!" The captor yelled, causing the room to be deathly silent.


    "Umm...Ed...She''s got a knife." Ashley said in fear.


    "I know. I can see that." I replied without changing my tone.


    "Edward!" The psychotic girl squealed as she saw me. But when she look at Sean, she screamed at him.


    "CLOSE YOUR EYES!" She pointed her finger at Sean.


    "W-What?" Sean was confused. He held his arms up as if someone were pointing a gun at him, and sweats heavily.


    "I SAID CLOSE THEM!" The psycho yelled again.


    "Okay Okay!" Sean said hurriedly and then closed his eyes. "Are you happy now?"


    "YOU SHOULD NEVER OPEN THEM WHILE I''M HERE! OKAY!?" The psycho shouted at Sean.


    "O-Okay! I don''t want to look at you either-"


    "Sean. Shut! UP!" Ashley whispered while hiding behind my back.


    "Hey." I called out the girl while putting my arms up to show her I meant no harm. She turned her head quickly, but her gaze softened as she saw my face. I immediately knew her aim, and then smiled at her, "Hi."


    "Hi Edward." She smiled while her hand that held the knife shook for a bit. Jessica cried from the threat, and looked at me in disbelief.


    "What''s your name?" I asked the girl.


    "Ed. What the fuck are you doing?" Sean scolded me while keeping his eyes closed.


    "I just want to know the whole story. Cause right now, I have no idea why this is happening." I exined in a slow and calming manner as I took a step forward.


    "S-Stay right there!" The psycho girl released Jessica''s throat, pointed the knife at me, and then put the knife back when I stopped.


    "Alright. I''ll stop. But, can you answer my question first? Who are you? And what do you want?"


    ...


    The sudden esction made me a little nervous. Just a little though, because it wasn''t my throat that was held by a knife.


    "Who are you?" I asked her again.


    "I''m...Mandy..." The psychotic girl replied with hesitation.


    I smiled kindly at her and then asked, "Alright Mandy. That wasn''t so hard was it? You''re just answering some questions. So can I ask you again,Mandy, if that''s okay with you? Why are you here?"


    "I''m...I''m..." Mandy held her head with one hand, while keeping the knife''s up in the other. "I want your blood!" She said as she pointed her knife at me again.


    While the crowd gasped, I nodded in understanding and the said, "Okay. If it''s me you want, then, maybe you can let Jessica go, and I will take her ce?"


    "NO! I don''t want to hurt you! I..." Mandy said hysterically.


    "Hmm? You don''t want to hurt me? So...what do you need my blood for?" I asked.


    "So you will fall�C SHUT UP! EVERYONE SHUT UP! I NEED TO THINK!" Mandy shouted.


    I furrowed my eyebrow as I came to a realization. "Mandy...that drink...the one that made the copse...Were you...the one who did that?" I asked her in a calm manner.


    Mandy looked me in the eye, and when she gazed into it, she felt like she had fallen into a quagmire, and there wasn''t any exit for her. She confessed immediately, "This...All of this...wasn''t supposed to happen! If...If you had drunk it, instead of that BASTARD!!!!! �C then, I wouldn''t need your blood!"


    "For a ritual?" I added.


    She didn''t realize it and then said, "The LOVE POTION ritual! I did everything the website said!"


    "What website? What exactly did they tell you, Mandy?" I asked her using a concerned tone, at the same time activating my soul voice.


    She was in a daze, and unconsciously released the knife on Jessica''s neck. The girl ran away hurriedly and went to hide behind Sean as he was the biggest guy there. I saw the police light shing at the curtains, so I knew that help wasing.


    However, that still doesn''t satisfy me. I wanted to know more about the whole situation.


    "Mandy? Hey... Look at me." I called her in a flirtatious manner.


    "Dude, are you for real?" Sean finally opened his eyes and then moved a few steps back while protecting the girls. Ashley had already run towards him when I took a step forward to Mandy, so I was free to do what I wanted.


    "Mandy? Hey? Did these websites ... teach you rituals...to make people fall in love with each other?"


    "Um." Mandy nodded.


    "I see. So, you''re...in love with me?"


    "Yes." Mandy replied with teary eyes.


    "And you wanted to be near me so much that you decided to believe in these...rituals?"


    "Ed...do-do you hate me?"


    "Nah. I don''t. But honestly Mandy, you don''t need these kinds of rituals. I think you''re pretty cute on your own."


    "Really?" Her eyes lit up and she blushed slightly�C shepletely forgot the fact that most of her face was covered, so my words were unfounded.


    "Yes. So for me, why don''t you let the knife go, so that I can hold your hands~?" I held my hand near her face to tempt her.


    "I WILL DO IT RIGHT NOW!" She threw away the knife immediately and grabbed my hand. We interlocked fingers together, and detective Decter entered the door while holding a gun.


    "Mr Newgate. What happened here?" She asked immediately.


    "Um...It''s a long story, detective." I muttered tiredly.


    ...


    The next day came quickly. After the whole fiasco, for normal people, they would take a few days of rest to calm themselves down. But not me. I had a lot of work to do.


    "Linda." I called the therapist as I entered her consulting room. "Long time no see."


    "It''s been a while. You''re a master of escaping your scheduled sessions Edward. I believe that no one could make excuses like you do." Dr Linda said in a joking manner.


    Iughed before I sat in front of her and checked my wristwatch, "I have an hour before I need to go to my next music video shoot. So..."


    "I understand. And out of curiosity, when will you have another ''free time''?" She asked with subtle sarcasm.


    I joked, "Well, December 25th, but I want to celebrate Christmas on that day...so..."


    She shook her head slightly and said, "That''s understandable. Christmas is a special day where you need to spend time with your family."


    "Yes. Exactly."


    "By the way, if you''re joking about it, then I will be amused. But if that was really true, I can''t help but think that you''re torturing yourself with a tremendous amount of work, with an ulterior motive. So tell me Edward, what do you want to avoid?"


    I didn''t expect that, and was defenseless for a moment. My smile disappeared, and I replied to her honestly, "My thoughts."


    "And why do you want to keep them away?"


    "Cause I''m not prepared to deal with them."


    "Why?"


    "Because they involved someone that I don''t want to see ever again. Alright, that''s enough for today. Good session. We should totally do it again some time�C Adios!"


    I stood up to run away from the room, but Linda grabbed the edge of my shirt to stop me. "Edward, wait. Alright, we don''t have to talk about that! Why don''t, we focus on what happenedst night. I believe, after experiencing that, you should have a lot on your mind right now?"


    I calmed down for a bit and then looked at Linda with a scowl on my face. She blinked twice with a smile on her face, and before I could ask, she said, "The incident is all over the news right now."


    "Sean..."


    "Oh no. It wasn''t Sean...at least that''s what the article said. The witness is supposed to be one of the lead girls in the music video, but they were unnamed."


    "Hmmm..." I sat back down while groaning inwardly.


    "What happenedst night?" She asked. "I can see that this incident is really bothering you. It''s almost on the same level with ''talking about your mother''."


    I rubbed my chin for a while, and then looked at Linda before I said, "I may....have started a cult."


    "???" Linda was confused. "I mean, you do have a lot of fans, but they can''t really be categorized as cultist�C Wait, they are worshiping you madly..."


    "Not that. But...That incidentst night...that... might have had a lot to do with a mistake of mine."


    "What do you mean...by your mistake?"


    I sighed and contemted on whether to tell Linda the truth about it, and then decided to just let it all out.


    "A few month''s back, a wikipedia entry about a lost religion popped up out of nowhere, and it gained traction in the academicmunity because of how urate it was. Problem is, they didn''t know who had written that entry."


    "Yes. I remembered that. It was a hot issue talked about in the summer...You''re saying...that religion has something to do with you?"


    "It wasn''t a fake religion. But it was lost throughout history."


    "What do you mean by that?" Linda''s eyes shed a trace of curiosity. She couldn''t help but lean forward a bit as she was interested in the story. "If it was lost, then how did you know about it?"


    "Let''s just say, someone special told me about it." I dismissed the question and then continued, "Unknowingly, because no one could confirm how the religion started, people have been moring about the seconding of the Great Sage�C In case you don''t know, was a major god in this old history."


    I rubbed my head and then cursed in anger, "And several fuckers decided to besmirched the Sage''s good name by creating multiple scam strategies, dirty dealing with fake potions, voodoo, and a lot of that stuff."


    "Last night, that girl who wanted my blood...she had fallen for one of those scams. She had paid over 10 grand to get the so-called ''ritual'' method, and almost went to jail because of her subsequent actions!"


    "Not only did I turn her life upside down but who knows how many more people have fallen for these scams!"


    Linda thought for a moment and said calmly, "And, because you''re the one who made the Old religion reemerge, you think the me is on you?"


    "Isn''t it? I know for sure I''m going to get a lot of bad karma for this!" I muttered in irritation.


    Last night, after Chloe talked to Mandy, I spent a lot of time with Jessica to convince her not to press charges. I also promised her a few benefits, which made her forget about the matter immediately. For her peace of mind, she still filed a restraining order against Mandy and I didn''t me her for that. She kinda totally needed that.


    "Why...do you think...that this is all your fault?" Dr Linda asked.


    "Because none of this would''ve happened, if I had just kept��" I paused before I could blow my top off, and then took a deep breath to calm myself down.


    (A/N: No need to worry about his bad karma. He wasn''t at fault here.)


    "Anyway. I spent a lot of timest night uprooting those websites and making all of those who tried to take advantage suffer. But, I still don''t know if it was enough."


    "I see." Linda then jotted down a few things, and then she asked, "Are you ready to talk again?"


    "I''m calm now." I replied with a nod.


    "Alright. Even though I know you''re going to go into your hardcore self-me routine I still feel like I need to say this. Edward. It wasn''t your fault."


    I inhaled sharply and stopped her. "Don''t." I whispered with a frustrated expression.


    "Soo...period of self me it is." Linda changed the topic immediately. "By the way, the article said that you acted like a hero. You didn''t flinch in front of danger, and saved everyone there from the psycho."


    I chuckled a bit and then said, "She''s not a psycho...Maybe a little bit unstable, and also borderline mentally ill...but not a psycho."


    "And to your definition, what is a... ''psycho''?" Dr Linda asked with a smile.


    "For me, a psycho is someone who will act nicely in front of you while hiding their crazy side and only when you''re already used to the ''nice'' persona will they show you what crazy really is."


    [General POV]


    While Edward was busy with keeping his secret locked up deep inside, a young teenage girl walked to a red brick house in a sub-urban housing location.


    She knocked on the door, and when the owner �C a balding white man with a chubby face and thick beard answered, she told him directly, "Hi. I like your house. I want to buy it from you."


    "???" The owner was confused.


    The girl then took off her sunsses while looking smug, but the owner still didn''t recognize her.


    "I''m Taylor...Taylor S. I will pay you 30% over market price if you sell this house to me. And I will even make it 50 if you can move out in 2 days."


    The owner smiled and then offered his hand for a handshake, "You got it! Ummm....KIDSSS!!! PACK YOUR BAGS! WE''RE MOVING!"


    Taylor smiled in satisfaction as she got what she wanted. Even though the house wasn''t to her taste, it had something special that made her desperately want to buy it.


    "Selena will kill me for this...Well, it''s not that bad to buy the house next to Edward''s...right?" Taylor muttered to herself while smiling creepily.

 Chapter 177: Sage.

    <h4>Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Sage.</h4>


    (Happy Holidays Everyone. Still wants to wish you guys although I''m alreadyte. Lol)


    [Edward POV]


    "What do you mean you can''t do the shoot today?" I rubbed my forehead in exasperation after picking up the call from Taylor.


    "I can''t help it! I got two big zits popping out this morning!" Taylorined, aggrieved.


    "Can''t they be covered with makeup? Or are they volcanic ones?" I asked with a chuckle.


    "Ummm... I don''t want to answer that question. Anyway, we''re not going to shoot it today!" she said decisively.


    I sighed and secretly felt thankful that I had decided to n the MV shooting early. Even if the shoot was dyed today, thepany would still have three more weeks before the music video release, so it wouldn''t stress out the staff as much.


    "Alright. Hmm..." I furrowed my eyebrows as I came to a realization.


    "What''s with the groan?" she asked.


    "I suddenly realized that I have nothing to do today," I replied honestly. "Want toe over?"


    "..."


    She was silent for a while, and then said, "W-While I want toe, I will not do it today."


    "Hmm? Why not?"


    "I DON''T WANT YOU TO SEE MY ZITS!"


    Iughed out loud after hearing herin. Then, my doorbell rang. As I was talking on the phone, I called my dad, "DAD! Someone''s at the front door."


    "Can''t you get it? I''m shaving." He shouted from the bathroom.


    "I''m on the phone." I said with a slightly loud voice.


    My dad then sighed and went to open up the door while I talked with Taylor. Iughed and said, "You know. I suddenly thought of something."


    "What do you think about?" Taylor asked, intrigued.


    "I can give you an ''employee'' benefit."


    "PERVERT!" Taylorughed out loud as she heard it.


    I smiled and then teased, "I''m not talking about that kind of ''benefit'', although I won''t reject you if you want it. I''m talking about a true Employee benefit."


    "Huh? Also, still you''re still a pervert. But, huh?" She was confused.


    I was actually talking about my [Beautifying Massage] skill. It was one of the earlier skills that I had gotten, from a Murim universe, where everything was settled with internal energy and techniques with long names.


    As I was too busy with my career, this skill, and a lot of other skills, were buried because of my schedules.


    My dad suddenly whispered as he walked towards me, "Edward, a pretty woman is here to see you."


    "Huh? Wait...You had never called a woman pretty before." I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. "Who is it?"


    Taylor heard what we were saying. She asked urgently, "Who? Who came to your house? Why is a pretty girling to your house!? Are you dating someone?"


    My dad replied to my question as he couldn''t hear Taylor, "She didn''t say much, but she said that you will know her from her nickname, ''Sage''. Also, she said toe to the door quickly, or she will bonk you on the head again."


    "GOTTA GO!" I said hurriedly to Taylor and ran to the front door in excitement, jumping over the sofa instead of going around.


    As I opened the door, I froze. The woman had slightly bronzed skin, deep big eyes, a petite figure, and a scowl on her beautiful face.


    "Ana De Armas?" I muttered in confusion.


    "Well, I just look like her," Sage replied. "Aren''t you going to invite me in--"


    Before Sage could finish her words, I hugged her suddenly, causing her to freeze. "My benefactor!" I shouted in excitement.


    "...You have one second to release me," she warned.


    I smirked and then said, "No." She sighed and let me indulge in my longing for a while, hiding a slight smile on her face at the same time.


    As I released her, she said, "You know why I''m here?"


    My eyes suddenly dimmed. "I know. I did something wrong--"


    "I need your help to fix something for me," Sage interrupted before I could finish my sentence.


    "Huh?" Both of us looked at each other in puzzlement.


    "What are you talking about?" she asked.


    "I... What are YOU talking about?" I threw the question back at her.


    "I''m talking about the ''Great Sage'' cult that has been scamming people. I need your help to destroy it."


    My heart beat quicker, but I kept a poker face. "Why?"


    Sage then sighed and confessed, "Well, after you created the Wikipedia entry, I went to check on them so that you wouldn''t miss any details. You did great. I''m really proud of you."


    "By the way, the inte is a disgusting ce. I don''t rmend you stay there for long," she said with a slight grimace.


    "What websites did you encounter?" I asked with a slight chuckle.


    "I don''t want to talk about that. In all of my 3000 years of living, I have never been so disgusted with the way two girls were using one cup."


    I widened my eyes, but Sage continued before I could react, "Anyway, some people were interested in the history, so..." She squirmed a little bit and grew abashed. Her cheeks blushed, and she couldn''t look me in the eye.


    "Well... They were interested, so I added a few details, but I hid my presence."


    "IT WAS YOU!!!!???" I widened my eyes in shock. "I thought it was me who started that cult!"


    "IT WASN''T A CULT! IT WAS TRUE! But... Yeah, I started it," Sage replied with a slightly mischievous smile.


    I froze for a while, and then let out a sigh of relief. "So, it wasn''t my fault," I muttered to myself.


    Sage was confused, "Hmm? Of course, it wasn''t your fault. Anyway, I''m breaking a few rules by appearing in front of you, so we need to make it quick. I need you to wipe out all of the bad things rted to my name! Can you do it?!"


    I smirked, "And...What do I get for helping you?"


    She scowled, "What do you want? Oh right, have you had any sessions yet after mine? I had already submitted the request for the list, so you can see them at your next session."


    "Ohh. I haven''t had them yet." I replied before I got back to the topic, "Nice try trying to distract me. It won''t work. Let''s see...what do I want from you?"


    Sage tapped her foot nervously and then said, "Quick. I can''t be here for long. I need to wipe out your memory of me being here as soon as I''m gone."


    I was startled, "Wait? Really? You need to do that?"


    "I don''t need to. But I''m trying to get out of work. If they know I broke a rule, they will send me on a mission, and I will have to move my old bones again. You don''t want me, an olddy, to work so hard, do you?"


    My dad was walking by at this moment and heard Sage call herself an olddy. He gave her a puzzled look but didn''t say anything besides, "Are you guys really going to be talking at the front door? Ed, she''s your friend, right? Invite her in."


    I finally realized how rude I had been and said, "Oh right. Come on in, Sage."


    "Wait, I can''t stay for looooonggg�C" Sage''s words trailed off as I pulled her inside the house.


    ...


    Sitting at the dining table sipping tea, Sage calmed herself down. "Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous," sheined. "The inte should''ve never been invented!"


    "Sure, granny." I yed along as I sat next to her, sipping the same tea. I forced my dad to leave the house, leaving me alone with Sage so that I don''t have to watch what I was saying.


    He did give me a concerned look, but apparently, he misunderstood my rtionship with Sage. He thought that she was a niece of the grandmother I told him about before because he heard the word granny a few times. I wouldn''t know about this until he came homest night, and I don''t have the thought of clearing it up even after.


    "Hmmm..." She groaned. I smiled as I looked at her face. Suddenly, she said, "Edward. I can sense you''re anxious. What is going on?"


    "Can''t you know it without me telling you?" I joked.


    She then paused, "I can... Do you want me to do it?"


    I was the one who was taken aback this time. "Ummm... I don''t know how to answer that."


    "Are you anxious about your ''future''?" She asked knowingly. "You don''t have to stress yourself out. When the timees, you will be able to sense it."


    "Oh..." I replied before I grimaced, "That doesn''t make me feel better."


    "Believe me. I understand what you''re feeling."


    I instinctively wanted to reject her sympathy, but then I realized she wasn''t saying that just to make me feel better.


    "You really do, don''t you?" I said.


    She nodded and then changed the subject, "Anyway, instead of dwelling on it, just make sure that you always pay attention to your surroundings."


    "Ah, Sage. I want to ask, why did you give me thest draw? You know, the one with the One Piece memory." I asked her with a smile on my face after throwing all of my doubts to the back of my mind.


    "Hmm...No. That''s just your luck."


    "Sure it is." I muttered sarcastically.


    "Can we not talk about things that will give me troubles? Can you help me or not?" She said anxiously.


    "Oh. I already did itst night." I muttered casually, causing Sage to widen her eyes in disbelief.


    "Wh�C"


    "So, you should change your purpose ofing here. Youe to visit me, nothing more."


    She contemted for a while, and then smiled widely, "Yeah. I just came here to visit. I''m not interfering with the mortal world''s business at all�C"


    "If you dare to wipe my memory, I will be sure to spread bad words about your history again!" I warned her as I saw she wanted to snap her fingers. I didn''t know what was going to happen if she did, but I''m not going to find out.


    She scowled and then said, "Alright. I''m leaving."


    "Can''t you stay for a while longer? It''s not like we''re going to meet again, right?" I asked while shing my puppy dog eyes. Surprisingly, Sage was weak to these kinds of attacks and sat back down.


    I smiled and then asked her, "You know, I haven''t had a conversation where I don''t have to mind what I''m saying for a long time."


    Sage nodded in understanding, and she let me pour out my resentments for a while.


    "You know, I would only have to wait...like 10 more years before One Pieceends. But instead, I need to add another 14 years to my waiting time. Really, Sage, I can''t thank you enough for giving me the Wano ending."


    "I have a lot of skills. What am I supposed to do with them exactly? Sometimes, the indecision makes me feel paralyzed."


    "And don''t get me started on the rtionships around me. Although I like my family and friends, there''s still a voice whispering in my head that says I don''t deserve this."


    Sage listened intently to all of myints for a while. She gave me a couple of chicken soup for the soul, but honestly, it all sounded generic.


    "I can''t help it, okay? I''m already retired!" She retorted after I looked at her with disdain. "But I can say this. Take a deep breath and calm down. Sure, starting fresh can be scary, but it''s not like you''re doing something bad, right? Just adapt to what life throws at you, like you always do."


    "So stop overthinking. It won''t do you any good."


    I nodded after hearing the advice. For some reason, talking with Sage for half an hour fixed me more than 10 hours of a therapy session. I hope that she wouldn''t charge me for this.


    After I showed her that I had cleaned up the traces of the cult and punished the perpetrators, she was finally satisfied with my work. It was a bit disheartening after she said goodbye and left, but I didn''t know why, I got a feeling that we would see each other again soon.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Walking away from the neighborhood, Sage wore a satisfied expression on her face. Suddenly, a gray Porsche drove by and came to a halt beside her. From the driver''s seat, a Korean man emerged �C Mr. Gong Shin, senior Afterlife agent. He lowered his sunsses and greeted Sage with a smile.


    "Did I get caught?" Sage asked, maintaining a poker face.


    "Yes. It''s rather pointless to disguise yourself when you used a character that isn''t supposed to exist here," he said teasingly. Reaching into the passenger seat, he picked up a few files and handed them to Sage.


    "Here. You''ll find your new identity, housing,pany credit card, insurance, savings ount, and everything else you need, including your background in terms of familial rtionships."


    Curious, Sage asked, "What do I need them for?"


    "Well, to live here, of course, and to act as a monitor for our newbie agent. I was struggling to find a recement for ''Mrs. Henderson,'' but you inadvertently did me a favor and broke a rule. Since you already have a rapport with her, why not take on the role?"


    The senior agent chuckled, while Sage scowled in response. Putting his sunsses back on, he added, "Good luck as an intern teacher at Palisades High. And, oh, as a bonus for your troubles, I''llpensate you for dealing with those horny teenster on. Bye bye~"


    The car swiftly drove away, leaving Sage to process the sudden turn of events.


    "Damn it!" she eximed, unable to contain her frustration. "I don''t want to be a teacher!" she shouted, but the senior had already disappeared around a corner.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Dad returned home after buying the groceries, but was puzzled when he saw I was alone in the house.


    "Did she already leave?" He asked in disbelief.


    "Yes. 15 minutes ago." I replied casually.


    Dad looked at the groceries bag in his hand and asked, "Then, did I buy all of these for nothing?"


    "I wouldn''t say ''for nothing''. I''m cooking tonight." I replied with a smile before I ordered, "Put them all in their ce."


    My dad didn''t say anything and went to the fridge, "Been a while. And oh, Luke has beening by all summer, wanting some cakes."


    "Really? He asked you?" I looked at my dad with disbelief.


    "Not quite. I don''t know how he managed to sneak into the house, and when he saw that the fridge was empty, he scolded me and told me I need to do better."


    The story made me burst intoughter. I went to check up on Renaldo, my manager Randall, and also Pepper before I do anything. However, it seemed that Pepper already knew about my MV shoot being canceled, so he just asked me to spend some time with my family instead. After all, it was a Sunday.


    *Ding Dong*


    "Who is it?" I asked after finishing lunch with my dad.


    "It''s Luke!"


    I opened the door, and Luke walked into the house without minding me. "I got a new game, Zombie Madness." He said in excitement.


    "Nice." I replied, not minding that the game was rated mature. "How did you get it?" I asked curiously.


    "Hey, are you asking me questions, or are we going to y?" Luke replied dodgingly.


    I nodded and said, "Want to bet on the game?"


    "Mom said that we shouldn''t gamble." Luke replied, "But dad said something we can if it''s with your friends."


    "You should listen to your mom." I said with some concern about Luke''s future. As we yed the game for a while�C of course with me kicking Luke''s butt every time, his dad actually invited me to jump on the trampoline today, and y trampoline basketball!


    I went to Dunphy''s house after changing my clothes. "Ed. Think fast!" Phil said as he passed the ball to me as he saw me entering the backyard. I managed to catch the ball perfectly and smiled smugly, "Luke told me you had never let him win. So today, prepare for your demise!"


    Phil chuckled, "Oh, game on!"


    [Phil''smentary]


    "To be honest, that scared me a little. It''s not like I''m afraid of losing. But I''m afraid of the super dad image that the kids have of me copsing. So, I just have to give 200% of what I got in the match today!"


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley and Alex were standing at the veranda when Alex shouted, "DAD! Kick Ed''s butt!"


    Haley shouted, "Ed! You can do this!"


    I smiled and wanted to look cool by dribbling the ball. When I bounced the ball for the first time, I suddenly realized...I was bouncing the ball...for the first time! My previous self has never yed basketball before.


    The ball bounced on the grassy yard weakly, and bounced away while I was frozen at my spot.


    Alex and Haley burst intoughter after they realized what had just happened, and even Luke and Phil were being gigglish.


    "Shut it! I just need to adapt!" I said with a blush on my face before I tried that again. I did it perfectly the second time, but still, I couldn''t regain my face.


    I had to y the game on the extremely bouncy trampoline, with a super energetic middle aged man that wouldn''t let me score no matter what.


    "Damn it...my image." I cursed to myself as I saw Haley and Alexughing at me from afar. Even ire joined the fun, and rooted for me in sympathy a few times.


    Soon, I finally got used to the rules of the game.


    "Woo-hoo! m dunk!" Luke shouted as I managed to jump on the bouncy trampoline and dunked the ball.


    Phil''s mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren''t. "Nice shot Ed. Okay, it''s Luke''s turn now."


    "Huh? I just need two more points to win�C" I was confused.


    "Cute that you think that. Time''s over!"


    "Wait, we were timing it?" Luke asked, as confused as I am.


    "We are! I told you about it before we start! Nowe on Luke!" Phil said, wiping his forehead sweat. I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion, but as I saw Luke was excited for his turn, I just relented easily and went down the trampoline.


    Phil breathed in relief after he saw me go.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "Phew! I''m lucky that I''m quick witted. Honestly, what''s with that kid? He''s like a beast unchained! He''s like the white Michael Jordan...You know, if Michael Jordan yed trampoline basketball."


    "Anyway, I''m not letting him beat me so soon! I''m like a hyena, protecting my meat from other vultures. <i>And the only way I''m going to let Edward eat my meat, is when my wife and daughters are not around!</i>...Maybe we can do it in private."


    [Commentary ends]

 Chapter 178: High School!

    <h4>Chapter 178: Chapter 178: High School!</h4>


    (Wow. It''s been a year since I start writing this!)


    [General POV]


    "How do I look?" A cute teenage girl asked her friend as she lowered her shirt to make her cleavage more prominent. Her friend replied excitedly, "Good. Are you sure Edward Newgate ising today?"


    The other girl replied with a grin. "Yeah. I overheard some of his friends talking." Both of the girls squealed in amazement as they waited for their idol to enter the school grounds.


    Not only them, but there was a crowd of students camping out on the front door, trying to catch a glimpse of Edward.


    As the crowd became more and more dense, the school''s principal, Mr Brown, stood in front of the crowd with a megaphone. He turned it on, causing a shrill sound to explode. The student grimaced in pain and finally turned their attention towards him.


    He spoke using the megaphone, "I know what you guys want. But, the school bell has already rung. So it''s either all of you go to ss right now, or the school''s detention room will be packed for a month."


    The students all groaned and then slowly dispersed. Principal Brown didn''t lower his megaphone and said, "Honestly, you shoulde to school to study. Not to meet a celebrity. You can leave that part to me."


    The student murmured in dissatisfaction, only then did the principal realise he was still holding the megaphone. He lowered it down in embarrassment and then tried to keep a clear face.


    After the students had gone to ss�C albeit reluctantly, Edward''s car finally pulled into the school entrance.


    "Thanks Dad." Edward said to his father.


    "Hmm...Your first day of school, but I can''t even send you to the front door." Tedined.


    Edward rolled his eyes and said, "School started a week ago. I''m already toote already."


    Tedughed a bit and said, "Are you sure you want to go through it like this? Pepper keeps insisting on having a security detail on you and I have to say I kind of agree with him cause without one you''re probably going to be hounded relentlessly."


    Edward mulled for a while and then said, "Don''t worry. I have my own security inside."


    "Hmm? Who?" Ted was confused.


    Suddenly, the 1.97 metres (6 ''4'') tall Jacob, with a fierce look on his face, and a small ck girl with a tomboyish look exited the school.


    "Hey! You guys are supposed to be in your ssroom!" The principal said angrily.


    Jacob turned meek instantly and apologized to the principal. However, Elsa red at him without fear and said, "We''re only here to protect our friend! We did nothing wrong!"


    "You�C" The principal was speechless.


    Edward chuckled seeing their reaction and then said, "Sorry Principal Brown. They volunteered toe get me. You know...to make sure I''m safe. You don''t want your star student, also the sponsorship ma for your school, to be dog piled and maybe even injured now do you?"


    Ted heard Edward''s devious words and was shocked inside. The spineless Principal''s angry face melted instantly and turned into a smile. "Nonsense! Alright, Jacob, Elsa, go to your ss as soon as you guide Edward safely to his. Okay?"


    He walked away immediately after saying that to make sure that he wouldn''t risk causing any more dissatisfaction in the young star''s heart. Edward chuckled a bit and then said, "Wait...Principal Brown. I don''t know my schedule yet!"


    "Ah right." The principal stumbled to a stop and then turned back to look at Edward before leading him to his office.


    Ted watched everything that happened in amusement when suddenly the female security guard there knocked on his car door and warned, "You can''t park here. This is a drop off point."


    "I am dropping off my kid?" He said, confused.


    "Really? But I don''t see any kids inside the car? If you don''t move, I will give you a ticket. You''re going to block others!"


    Ted was extremely confused right now and turned behind him. Considering that he was the only one there dropping off his kid �C as they werete...he wondered if the security guard was mentally unstable and thus not qualified enough to keep her job here.


    "Okay." Ted didn''t argue and then drove away quickly. However, he didn''t go back home right away, but instead he drove to get some coffee and breakfast. Well...second breakfast.


    "Hmm...It looks like it''s going to rain." He murmured as he listened to the radio when the car was already in his neighborhood.


    Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw a suspicious figure trying to peek into his house through the window. She was wearing a huge hat and sunsses, so he couldn''t identify that person.


    However, as soon as the girl heard the sound of his car, she ran away quickly towards the house next to him. Ted was confused, "Is that a new neighbor?...Why does she look so familiar?"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After getting my schedule from the principal''s office and getting some rmended books, I walked to my locker.


    "Hmm? Did he give me the wrongbination?" I muttered helplessly as I tried to open the locker. My locker was located on the top level, and it was actually decorated by the teachers and the students. It made me feel like Peter Parker in Spiderman No Way Home when people knew his true identity.


    Elsa checked her notes and said, "Nah. You did it correctly. Babe. Try it."


    She asked Jacob to do it because I was holding my books at the moment. Jacob nodded and then he pried open the locker.


    *BOOM*


    Countless fan letters and gifts fell on Jacob''s face, shocking all of us. Jacob soon fell down to the floor and was nearly buried under them, while Elsa checked the inside of the locker.


    "No wonder it was stuck." She mumbled. I nodded in agreement and stepped over Jacob like Psy did in his music video and cleaned up my locker for a bit before putting the books in.


    "Ed. Why don''t you share the locker with Jacob? I don''t think this will stop soon." Elsa muttered in concern. Jacob, who was reading the letters while lying down on the floor, agreed, "Yeah. Wait...How long was your estimate again?"


    "A month. I just need to survive this predicament for a month." I replied as I picked up the letters. I didn''t want to throw them away, so I got a bag from the janitor and stuffed all of it into it.


    "Why a month?" Elsa said before she red at Jacob, "And how did you know?"


    Jacob smirked, "Why of course, it''s because I''m his best friend!"


    "You''re MY best friend!" Elsa said, causing Jacob''s heart to throb. I rolled my eyes at both of them and scowled, "Can you guys not rub your ''happiness'' in my face right now?"


    Elsa and Jacobughed. I closed my locker and said, "I think I will take that offer. Also, why a month? That''s because it''s a process of adaptation."


    Elsa was confused, so I exined, "Today, they will cheer, and feel like it is unreal for me to be here. Tomorrow, they will be d I''m still here. The day after that, they will still be d, but the level of enthusiasm won''t be the same. And it will lower periodically until they finally adapt to me being here."


    "By then, they will treat me like a slightly famous person, but not on the obsessive level they had when first meeting a celebrity. Maybe a few will, but not most of them. After all, people need to go on with their daily life."


    Elsa nodded, "Got it. Like Jenna. At first, she was obsessed with you. But right now, she didn''t evene to meet you."


    Elsa smirked as she was trying to tease me, but I wasn''t reacting the way she wanted, "You guys aren''t in the same ss right? By the way, I only texted Jacob. You''re a plus one."


    Jacob nodded, "Yeah. She just wanted to skip the boring history ss."


    "HEY! TRAITOR!"


    After separating from the stupid couple, I walked to my ssroom alone.


    "Hi Teach~" I greeted the male teacher casually as I entered the mathematics ss. As soon as I showed my face to the students, they broke into cheer! Even the teacher couldn''t control them. It took them several minutes just to calm themselves down.


    "God damn it! Mickey! Don''t take off your shirt! Jess! Wipe your drool! BEHAVE PEOPLE! BEHAVE!" The teacher shouted relentlessly. "Edward, take your seat." He calmed down and spoke to me for a second before being angry again.


    He didn''t me me for beingte. He already heard about my particr situation from Principal Brown who had a clear run down of how my first day of school was going to go from the notes I passed on to him.


    "Wow! I really thought it would break differently." Tara muttered as I sat next to Haley. Tara was sitting on Haley''s left, and I was on her right.


    "Hmm? What do you mean? This is normal for me." I said jokingly.


    Tara then said, "Yeah. But almost all the boys here don''t like you. They have said so several times and even gone to deep lengths about just how much they dislike you multiple times. They regrly talk about how they don''t want you here. But the second you entered, they were the first to cheer."


    Haley nodded before teasing, "You know, sometimes when men love other men so much they don''t know what to do with their feelings, they will just be hostile to that person. Most men do it."


    I muttered, "Not me though... I know that I like Henry Cavill and Ryan Reynolds. I''m not ashamed of it."


    Tara was shocked, but Haleyughed, "Only them?"


    "Only them so far." I added with a smirk. "Maybe Ryan Gosling could make the list too but I''m not quite sure about that yet."


    Tara asked hesitantly, "Ed...you''re not Bi...are you?"


    I grimaced and scolded her, "No. I''m just a normal high school boy."


    "Really? ''Normal''? Are you sure?" Haley teased. I pinched her nose and then asked, "What page are we on?"


    "You''re asking Haley?" Tara blurted out in disbelief. Haley red at her before turning back to me and said, "21."


    "Oh. That''s fast." I replied.


    "Edward. Stop talking!" The teacher shouted.


    "Sorry Mr Jameson." I said with a smile, causing a few giggles here and there.


    "You''rete to start school. But, based on your records, I don''t think you would have any problems with this year''s curriculum right?" He asked with a slight smile on his face.


    The students murmured, and I could hear people asking, ''Is he smart?'' ''Is he a nerd?'' and many more things along those lines. For my part I ignored the chatter and calmly replied to the teacher, "Yeah. I''m basically only here to socialize. I can graduate anytime I want."


    The teacher wasn''t offended and was d instead. "That''s good. But, hey, you still have to do the assignments and the homework. You got that?"


    "Yeah. I get it." I replied obediently.


    ...


    "Ed? How can I do this part?" Haley asked me for advice on how to solve the equation.


    "That''s easy. You just need to..." I grabbed my pen and showed her the solution.


    "Got it?" I asked.


    She nodded, "Yeah." However, her eyes were staring at me the whole time. I chuckled a bit and took out a small candy and then snuck it into her hand. She blushed a bit, thinking I was trying to hold her hand, but was confused when she got the candy.


    "Eat this while studying."


    "But it''s sugar." She whined.


    "Yeah I know. Only using this, will your brains work." I teased. She rolled her eyes, but when Tara said, "Give it to me if you don''t want it!", she said hurriedly, "NO!"


    Haley unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth immediately to prevent it from getting stolen. I smiled helplessly seeing that.


    By the way, I was actually doing an experiment with Haley. Not anything bad like sticking electrodes in her head, just messing around with her food intake.


    In the series, Haley became a supergenius when her grandmother died and she gorged herself on food. Alex hypothesized that her brain was finally working after she got enough nutrition, and the evidence at the time did support it.


    ''So, will Haley learn better when I give her enough food?'' That''s my big experiment.


    Finally the ss was over. And the teacher told the students to move on to their next ss.


    "Edward. You stay behind. Let the others go first, or you''ll be swarmed to death." The teacher said as he chased out the other students�C Haley and Tara included. Haley reluctantly walked away after she whispered that she would save a seat next to me in the next ss.


    We had almost all our sses together. The only difference was that I took some additionalnguage sses. It was almost impossible to do this, however, a star could have some special privilege, right?


    ...


    "What''s going on?" I asked as I entered the History ss. To my surprise, the teacher wasn''t there. The students'' eyes lit up, and the moment I sat on my seat, they started encircling me and asking various questions.


    Haley was almost buried in the sea of people, so I grabbed her and pulled her close to my seat.


    I smiled as I answered the questions that I could answer politely, and then asked, "Where''s the teacher? Mrs Lin?"


    "Oh. I know that." A precocious girl raised her hand. "Yeah you, Alicia."


    She squealed and whispered, "He knows my name!!!" Then, she pretended to be cool and said, "Mrs Lin won the lottery, so she quit this morning. Apparently she decided to go on a trip to Europe with her family."


    "What?" The students around were all shocked by the news.


    Tara checked her source of information �C an interss group chat that included the school administrators and said, "The school had to find a substitute teacher, and luckily they found one that they could hire to be a permanent teacher�C also this morning. The whole thing does seem suspicious. Ed, did you do something?"


    Now all eyes were on me, "No I didn''t do anything. How can I MAKE someone win the lottery?"


    Tara smiled mischievously and then said, "Who knows what you can do with yourptop."


    "I can do a lot of things, but the lotto number is really randomized. I mean the drawing is actuallypletely analog." I replied with a headache.


    Suddenly, a student shouted while he ran into the ss, "The new teacher''sing! And she''s hot as hell!!!"


    "WHAT?!" The boys shouted in disbelief. All of the students went to take their seats as the new teacher wasing.


    I was drinking some water as I watched the door. Suddenly, a very familiar person entered the ssroom.


    "Hello ss." Sage greeted with a cold face.


    "PFFFF�C" I sputtered out my drink from the shock. "GRANNY!?" I shouted in disbelief.


    "Edward, wipe your mouth. That''s disgusting." Sage scowled. Haley and the rest of the students were alternating their confused gazes between the two of us.


    "Edward, do you know her?" Haley asked, feeling a bit threatened by the teacher''s appearance.


    "My name is Miss Anna. That''s the only name I want you to use." Sage said.


    I finally calmed myself down and whispered to Haley, "Hmm. I met her before."


    "Why Granny?" Tara asked.


    "Just a nickname." I said, dodging the topic. Unexpectedly, Sage taught pretty well for her first ss. And when the ss finally ended, I went to talk to her.


    "How? And why?" I asked.


    "I got punished. Don''t think too much." Sage replied casually. I smiled and then teased, "Ohh...They caught you huh."


    Sage scowled and then said, "Shouldn''t you go annoy anyone else?"


    Iughed a bit and then said, "It''s a good thing you''re sticking around. I wanted to treat you to a meal before, but you had already run away. So, how about tonight?"


    "No." Sage replied curtly. "Friday will work for me."


    " Damn. Unfortunately it won''t work for me."


    "Maybe we should just not do it�C"


    "But I can push my schedule back." I said, cutting off Sage''s sentence. She frowned and then said, "You did that on purpose."


    Iughed out loud as I exited the ss. "I''ll text you on whatsapp!"


    "I don''t have a phone!" She shouted, but I answeredughingly from afar, "No problem! I will send one to your house tonight!"


    ...


    Roof. Lunch.


    "Edward!" Jenna greeted cheerfully as she walked towards where I was sitting. Then, she said fearfully, "The roof is off limits. How did you get here?"


    "Yeah....I broke the door." I replied with a serious face. Jenna''s expression froze and she said, "Are you serious?"


    "I''m not. I bribed the janitor to open the door." I replied with a smile. She was finally relieved and sat next to me. As we started eating and talking, Jacob and Elsa joined in, andstly, Haley and Tara also came to the roof.


    We snuck some food from the cafeteria, and some of us brought our own lunch�C like me and Jacob who needed the protein.


    "Where''s Abraham?" I asked.


    "Simping over a senior." Jacob replied teasingly.


    "Ah. Got it. Also, both of you...wait, the three of you. Why aren''t you guys eating?" I said to Elsa, Haley, and Tara. "You guys aren''t doing something stupid like dieting are you?"


    "Uh...No?" Haley tried to y it off.


    "I''ve already eaten in ss." Elsa said. "That''s true." Jacob backed her up.


    Tara smiled and said, "I am dieting. So what?"


    "It''s lunch. It won''t affect much. And you guys need the energy." I said to them, And then, it turned into a 20 minute lecture about how they could still lose weight from eating normally, and just made sure that their body was in a calorie deficit.


    "So. Eat." I said as I fed Haley a spoonful of my food. She widened her eyes in shock before she grinned.


    Jenna was jealous, "Can I be fed too?"


    "No." I replied decisively, making the groupugh.


    "By the way Ed, how did you know the new teacher?" Jacob asked with a dazed look. Elsa was mad and scolded him, "You bitch! You like the new teacher don''t you!?"


    "What�C NO! I''m just curious!" Jacob defended himself instantly.


    "Have you seen her naked before?" Jenna asked suddenly. I opened my mouth, but then I realized that I was almost tricked. I looked at Jenna, only to realize that the group was looking at me with shock in their eyes.


    "Y�CYou have?" Haley asked fearfully.


    "What? NO! Also, stupid question. I have never seen her naked! IN this life!" I proimed decisively.


    ''But I did �CMultiple times in my previous ones.'' I added that internally.


    Then, I widened my eyes as I thought of something. "Wait...why is she here?"


    "Duh... To teach of course." Elsa looked at me in disdain. However, I ignored her and thought deeply about the matter. If it was a punishment, it was a simple matter of getting her into other schools. But why did they send her to be so close to me?


    "Hey. Elsa. Did any of our school teachers disappear after we graduated?"


    "Huh? Not that I know of. Everyone is still there." She replied.


    Jenna looked at me in concern, "Why Ed? Is there something wrong?"


    "Yeah. Maybe. I don''t know yet." I answered while having some tumultuous thoughts.


    "I need to go talk to Sage." I said as I suddenly stood up and walked away.


    "Sage?" All of them were confused.


    "Ah right. Miss Anna." I corrected, causing them to exim in understanding.

 Chapter 179: Football Practice!

    <h4>Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Football Practice!</h4>


    [Happy New Year Everyone!]


    [Edward''s POV]


    I approached Sage''s ssroom with a grim expression on my face. The usual fans who wanted to talk to me instinctively made way as I passed through them.


    Standing in front of the ssroom door, I felt a sudden stillness around me. Out of nowhere, a Korean man''s face appeared beside me.


    (What happened will be exined in a shback.)


    It took me a while to calm down after the man''s exnation. Then, I opened the door and entered the ssroom. Sage was lost in thought as she stared out the window and was surprised to see me.


    "Why are you here? Go have some lunch," she said, her expression unchanged.


    "What about you? Why aren''t you eating? Or did the other teachers discriminate against you?"


    Confused, she furrowed her brows and replied, "No, I haven''t even met them yet."


    "Ahh, that''s the problem. You should go to the teacher''s lounge and introduce yourself. By the way, you can use your connection with me to smooth things over. Most of the teachers here are my fans, so they''ll be enthusiastic about getting to know you."


    She scowled and responded, "I don''t need to get close to them. I''ll be gone from here soon."


    "Nah, I believe you''ll be here for a while, maybe a year. Having some friends could help you during that time."


    As I tried to persuade Sage, a lively Latina female teacher knocked funkily on the ssroom door.


    "Knock Knock. Miss Anna... Oh, Edward, you''re here too," muttered Miss Julie, the Spanish teacher, with shining eyes.


    I nodded with a smile and said, "Of course, I''m here. Someone needs to take care of my socially awkward godsister."


    Sage was shocked, and Miss Julie eximed, "Ahh, she''s your... well, she''s your sister! That exins how she got approved so fast."


    I chuckled and said, "Yeah, famees with some benefits."


    Miss Julie scolded, "You shouldn''t think about abusing your fame, Edward. It''s not a good idea."


    Sage barely reacted at that moment and asked, "Who''s your godsister--"


    Ignoring her, I told Miss Julie, "By the way, Miss, could you help my sister get familiar with the school? She won''t do it unless someone forces her. It''s exhausting."


    Miss Julie nodded in understanding, while Sage became more and more baffled.


    "I don''t need your help arranging my life--"


    "Miss Anna, let me show you where the teacher''s lounge is. We can have lunch together!" the overly enthusiastic but kind-hearted Miss Julie eximed, hugging Sage''s arm and pulling her away.


    "Wait--" Sage tried to protest, but it was futile. Her powers were locked as a punishment, so she only had the strength of a small woman.


    I smirked and shouted to Miss Julie, "She doesn''t have any friends in the city either, so she needs someone to show her around there too!"


    "I''LL TAKE CARE OF IT!" Miss Julie shouted back from afar.


    I returned to the rooftop and continued having lunch with my friends, but we only had a few more minutes before the bell rang. Then, I walked with Haley and Tara to the Spanish ss, which, surprisingly, was taught by Miss Julie.


    Well, not that surprising.


    ...


    "Ah, school''s finally over!" Tara muttered as she stretched her arms in the air.


    "Yeah, nowes the real challenge," I mumbled as I saw a crowd of people waiting for me outside the ss.


    Haley looked a bit worried and asked, "Will you be okay?"


    "No problem! I''ll treat this as a warm-up for football practice."


    "Oh yeah, that starts today." Haley said with a smile. "I''lle and watch you practice."


    "You should. Cam and Gloria will be there."


    "Huh? Why are theying here?" Haley was confused.


    "Well,e over and you''ll find out," I muttered with a sly smirk. Then, I suddenly shouted, "WHAT''S OVER THERE?!" as I pointed to the left side of the crowd. Startled, they all turned to look, and while they were distracted, I slipped away from their sight.


    "Wait, where did he go?" a random girl shouted.


    "Is the window open? Did he jump from the second floor?" Another girl hypothesized, her face pale. The fans stormed into the ssroom to look out the window and try to find where I had gone.


    That''s when I quietly left the ssroom and made my way to the football team''s locker room. I changed into the team''s equipment and uniform before heading to the field. I was alreadyte, and everyone else had gathered there.


    The Dolphin''s team uniform consisted of a white shirt with blue lining and blue yer numbers, paired with blue pants. As I made my way to the field, it seemed that the news about me joining the football team had been leaked, and many of my fans were sitting on the bleachers with banners in their hands.


    "Edward! Edward! Edward!" they cheered as they saw me enter the field.


    I smiled and waved at them. Many of them started swooning and soon called me the "White Knight" based on my current armored appearance.


    "HUDDLE UP!" the coach blew the whistle, and the team finally gathered. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to start sooner, but he was afraid that the fans would storm the field and attack him if he dared to do it without me.


    "Alright, kids... umm..." The coach was initially excited but then started tog.


    "Should we just have Edward throw the ball around while the rest of us go home?" sneered one of the linebackers.


    "Well, you can go home if you want. And you don''t have toe back here again," I muttered, causing the group to fall into a deathly silence.


    Jacob grew restless. "Ed, you know I''ve got your back, but there are too many people here if you want to start a fight."


    I ignored him and asked the coach, "Can I see the yers'' data and their current positions?"


    "Uh..." The coach was startled at first. "I didn''t make one this year." He replied with a guilty look. I stared at him with disdain, wondering if the man who wanted to retire this year, had already given up on coaching the kids properly.


    "Alright then. We''re going to start with some basic tests to get the baseline of your most optimum conditions. You got 2 tries for each test, and we will rearrange the team''s position based on your strength."


    "Who died and made you the leader?" The current leader of the team, a high school junior who actually belonged to the grade I had skipped to, pushed my chest armor as he tried to warn me.


    However, I grabbed his arm and pulled him forward while simultaneously tripping him, causing him to fall face first into the ground. Luckily the uniform was a bit stocky, so his face didn''t suffer.


    "That''s one of the ways you guys can defend the line during the opponent team''s attack when their strength overpowers you. And before you say anything, that wasn''t cheating." I said with a devilish smile before I shouted, "We''re going to do everything we can to win! That''s how the team under my rule is going to be! Any objections!!!?"


    "NO!" The team shouted instinctively. I grabbed the chart and the whistle from the coach and said, "You can just sit back and rx. Leave the subsequent test to me."


    "Ummm...Alright." The coach didn''t object and then left with a smile on his face.


    "Coach, you can''t do this!" The captain shouted.


    "Uh Uh." I shook my finger at him. "America may be a democracy, but right now, there''s only going to be only one voice in this team...and that is mine!"


    "But I''m the Captain!"


    "You can still keep that title. No one will take that away from you. You just won''t have any of the powers thate with it. Got it?" I patted him on the shoulder before I blew the whistle.


    Gloria and Cameron came at the same time the coach left, and were confused by the situation.


    "Seriously? You''re really leaving?" Cam asked the coach while holding Lily in his arms. However thetter only shrugged and didn''t even stop his steps.


    "Oh my god. Edward''s right. The team is in worse condition than I thought." Cam muttered.


    I waved towards them after making the yers get ready for their 40 yards dash test. They walked towards me, with Lily bing more and more excited the closer she got to my position.


    "No Lily. Edward has to practice. So not this time." Gloria quickly pulled Lily out of Cam''s hand and cated the baby.


    "YED!" Lily shouted. I pinched her cheek before I said to Cam, "You''re onlying here to watch right?"


    "Right..." Cam said with a little bit of hesitation. For a few days after I told him about my offer, he had fallen into a dilemma between staying at home with Lily, or epting the assistant''s coach job.


    It was hard for me to convince him to do it mainly because Lily needed so much care right now, and also, Mitchell was making some decent money at hiswyer firm, so he didn''t have to care about the small ie he''d be looking to make if he did end up coaching here.


    "Alright. By the way, can you help me record the data for a while? I need to hold the stopwatch." I asked him.


    Gloria knew what I was doing and agreed for Cam, "Yes he will do it. Come on Lily. Let''s go sit with Haley and Alex. And maybe if they agree, we can all go out and have a girls day together."


    Gloria was extremely excited to spend some time with the girls as she had always wanted to have her own daughter even before Manny was born.


    "Aww. Spending some time with their grandma�C I mean Step grandmother�CAunt? I can''t say sister, that''s too much isn''t it." I changed my words a couple of times as Gloria stared murderously at me when she heard the word ''grandma''.


    "Why not Sister? I can pass as their sister!" Gloria said begrudgingly before she walked away with Lily.


    We started with the 40 yards dash test, and frankly, the results were disappointing. None of the kids managed to finish under 5.1 seconds.


    "Come on you guys. You can do it! Try harder the second time." Cam cheered them up.


    "I think they don''t want to run properly, Cam." I muttered with an evil smirk as I saw their dissatisfied looks as they stared at me. Only Jacob did the test properly, finishing at 4.7 seconds. For highschool students, the average was 4.6 seconds. And any lower than that was considered monstrous.


    "So, I will call an assistant that will help them."


    Then, I whistled with my fingers and called, "RANDALL! DINKY! COME HERE!"


    "Dinky?" Cam was confused. Then, he widened his eyes when he saw a huge, ck k-9 dog with a vertical scar on its right eye entering the field menacingly. Randall�C my manager, was dragged on by the dog instead of him leading it.


    "Hi. Evening everyone. This is Dinky. She''s a rescue." Randall said to the yers politely. I stopped him, crouched beside Dinky, and then rubbed his retired head vigorously, causing his tail to wag.


    "Dinky was an ex-police dog, with years of experience on the force. He had to retire early because he had a history of excessive violence, and would bite off the criminal''s flesh excessively during his apprehension."


    "Uh No-No. Dinky is a good dog." Randall whispered to himself. I ignored him and said, "During your second try, Dinky will run after you from behind."


    The crowd was startled and they started grumbling, "You can''t do that!" "That''s excessive!" "I want my mom!"


    "SHUT UP!" I shouted. As they calmed down, I continued, "Due to an injury on his left leg, Dinky couldn''t run as fast as he used to. His record for the 40 yards dash was 4.8 seconds, so if you don''t want him to bite your ass off�C Then you need to beat his record."


    "Can I quit?" Tyrone, the new freshman yer who''s currently holding the wide receiver''s position held his arm up and asked.


    "You can quit after you finish today''s practice." I said decisively, not giving the kids a way out.


    "AHHHHHH!" Tyrone screamed in fear as he ran for his life. As soon as he passed the 40 yard line, I shouted, "Dinky heel!"


    The dog stopped immediately and I announced, "Tyrone. Surprising 4.45 seconds. You''re really amazing!"


    Tyrone was panting hard, and when he heard the record, he grinned from ear to ear, "Really?"


    I smiled kindly and said, "Yes. Especially since you''re only 15. With some training, you can be a star yer that could shock the state."


    Cam looked at me in confusion. Then he whispered to himself, "Treating them badly...then, giving them a sweetpliment that made them�C Wait...Edward...Are you being a ''toxic boyfriend'' to these poor kids?"


    I ignored Cam''s urate statement and called the Captain, "Tyler! You''re next! Prove to me that you are worthy of the title, Captain!"


    Tyler stepped forward, a mixture of determination and apprehension on his face. He knew this was his chance to prove himself and regain some power within the team. He took a deep breath and positioned himself at the starting line.


    "Come on. I can do this." He whispered to himself. I looked at him smugly, causing him to curse me for taking his limelight.


    "Ready... set... go!" I shouted, blowing the whistle to start the 40 yards dash. Tyler burst into action, sprinting with all his might.


    "AHHHH!!!" Tyler shouted with veins popping out of his throat.


    As Tyler raced down the field, I watched him closely, analyzing his form and speed. He was fast, no doubt, but there was room for improvement. I knew he had the potential to be a great yer, but he needed a push to bring out his best.


    "Great job!" Cam pped his hand to support Tyler as he almost finished.


    Just as Tyler crossed the 40 yard line, I called out, "Dinky, heel!" The dog obeyed instantly, halting in its tracks. Tyler, panting and exhrated, turned to look at me, waiting for my assessment.


    "4.53 seconds," I announced with a nod. "Not bad, Tyler. You''ve shown improvement, but there''s still work to be done. I expect more from you as the team''s captain."


    Tyler''s face lit up with a mix of relief and pride. He had managed to meet the average time for high school students, and that was a step in the right direction. He knew I had high expectations for him, and he was determined to meet them. And all of this was happening inside his subconscious.


    He wasn''t even aware that right now, I was training him to meet my expectations. I believe that in one month, I could train him to do anything I want, provided that no one breaks the brainwashing I''m currently doing on him, and also the rest of the team.


    After the entire team had done the test, Cam said, "Edward. Your turn."


    "Ah right." I muttered and went to the line. The crowd cheered explosively as they saw me, shouting their support and even taking out their phones to record the moment.


    I smiled charmingly as I waved at them, causing the team to look at me in disbelief.


    "Ready? Start!" Cam shouted. I sprinted towards the 40 yards line with all of my might. Then, I slowed down after I passed it, and jogged towards where Cam was standing with heavy breathing.


    "What''s my record?" I asked, a bit curious. Although I had the football training memory from the gacha, I had never actually done these things by myself before. I knew that Hiruma''s record and my record would differ because we had different body types, so I was a bit expectant.


    "Ummm...I don''t think this counts. So you''re going to take the test again." Cam said.


    "Huh? Why?" I asked, confused. Then, I grabbed the stopwatch from him and saw the record. I froze for a few seconds before I grinned widely.


    My record; 4.32 seconds. It was on par with the top NFL yers'' records, so that''s why Cam couldn''t believe it.


    "I must''ve started the timerte and stopped it too early." Cam tried to convince himself.


    "I don''t think so. But let''s do another test just to be safe." I muttered.


    Then, I did the test again. Cam froze in his spot for a while, and couldn''t collect himself after I finished. While he was standing there like a statue, I peeked at the stopwatch and saw my new record. 4.29 seconds.


    "HOLY SHI�CSPEED!" Jacob shouted in disbelief! He had to change his words midway as he knew that his mother was watching the practice at the bleacher.


    Cam looked at me and held my shoulders suddenly before he said, "Edward. You should quit singing and focus on bing a full-time football yer!"


    I grimaced at him and brushed his hands away, "Calm down. Let''s continue with the other tests for now. Test for reflex, arm strength, core strength, and stamina. We need all of the data avable before I can create a training program."


    Then, I said in a sad tone, "Unfortunately. I would not be able to focus on ying as I have too much work as it is. Maybe if I had an assistant coach that knew what he''s doing, I could rx and practice properly. But as of right now, my talents need to be buried so that the others can grow�C"


    "Stop trying to trick me into epting the job. But you know what, I will take the job. As long as you promise me that you''ll keep ying."


    I smiled mischievously and said "Of course. Why would I want to stop now that I have joined the team?" Cam smiled in disbelief after that.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Haley walked towards Edward while recording him with his camera. She asked, "How do you feel after your first football practice today?"


    Edward smiled, his face was glistening with sweat. He answered, "I had fun."


    "Oh really? Was it fun torturing the other yers?" Haley asked mischievously.


    Edward tried to shush her and said, "That was supposed to be a secret, you know keep it between us."


    The video was then posted to Haley''s instagram ount, and an official video about Edward on the field today was posted to his own ount. As Edward couldn''t really show his silly side on his official ount, he asked Haley to help him with that. And it benefited both of them when they posted it.


    After Edward changed out of his uniform, Randall picked him up and brought him to his car.


    "I''m going to go get some food. Wannae with me?" Edward asked Haley.


    Thetter smiled and said, "Sorry. I promised Gloria I''d go with her to the mall. Besides, it''s too early for dinner."


    Edward rubbed his stomach and said, "I''m starving though. Alright. See you tonight."


    "T-tonight? Why tonight?" Tara, who was standing beside Haley, asked teasingly.


    Edward looked at her weirdly and said, "Haley wants to show me something."


    Before Tara could tease her again, Haley cupped Tara''s mouth and said, "I''ll see you tonight."


    "And oh, bring Alex with you. It''d be kinda dangerous for us if we''re left there alone." Edward said before he smirked and left.


    Haley blushed hard, and when Tara teased her, she hit her friend''s arm and said, "Let''s go."

 Chapter 180: Painful Night.

    <h4>Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Painful Night.</h4>


    [General POV]


    After Edward uploaded a video of himself ying football on his Instagram page, the views of the video instantly exploded. However, as American football wasn''t as popr in other countries as it was in the United States, the video couldn''t achieve a breakthrough and be one of the more popr videos on the inte.


    Tom Brady, a professional NFL yer with an outstanding record, identally came across Edward''s video while scrolling on his phone. "Oh, impable form. James, we should get this guy for the team."


    "Who?" His friend peeked into his video and then scowled, "That''s the singer kid who built the app. He''s a nerd �C wait, he''s not a nerd. Huh."


    James instantly changed his opinion about Edward after watching the video. "He must have practiced the throws for a long time. He can throw it into tight spaces too. That''s awesome, and it took a lot of practice. I had the wrong impression of him."


    Tom Brady was still processing the earlier information. "He''s a singer?"


    "Yeah, kinda the most popr kid right now. You know what, why don''t we ask him if he wants toe check out our stadium," James smiled teasingly. Their team''s name was the Patriots, and they were located in Boston, on the other side of the coast. So it wouldn''t even make sense for them to invite Edward.


    "Alright, I will leave ament," Tom Brady smiled, not understanding the situation.


    James looked at him disdainfully but didn''t extinguish Tom''s false hope.


    While the entire country was watching Edward''s videos, a heated argument was taking ce inside an apartment in Pasadena.


    "Why don''t we try to build some muscles and maybe pretend we''re into sports!?" Howard Wolowitz said in exasperation.


    "Your n is as feasible as saying we should use the fake balloon muscles from the Spongebob cartoon show. What you''re saying is not onlyical, but it also shows WHY you are only an engineer! " Sheldon replied angrily.


    "But... You have to admit, Edward proved that he can do it. You know, bnce between being a jock and being a nerd. He made a lot of games and apps, all by himself," Leonard tried to convince Sheldon.


    Sheldon nodded, acknowledging Edward''s effort, and rolled his eyes at the same time. "Just pick one already. Why does he want to do both?" Sheldon muttered iprehensibly.


    Howard smiled before saying, "So... What are we waiting for? We should hit the gym and finally make the gym membership card in Leonard''s wallet useful. Of course, we need to clean off the dust first."


    Leonard rolled his eyes while Howard and Rajughed at him. Rajesh then asked, "How long has it been since you started the membership?"


    Sheldon replied instead of Leonard, "He started in 2003, shortly after he moved into this apartment. He said that ''It''s what Californians do,'' and then he never went there again after the first time."


    The othersughed at Leonard, but then Leonard said self-deprecatingly, "Laugh all you want. I can''t go there to face Jackie, the hot receptionist who convinced me to get a membership card, and it still costs me 50 bucks a month because I couldn''t cancel it."


    While the groupughed harder, Leonard whined, "It''s been 6 years, and it''s still deducting!"


    After calming down, the group suddenly fell into an abrupt silence. Rajesh rubbed the sofa cushion while sitting and asked hesitantly, "So... should we go there?"


    No one answered him, not even Howard, who started the whole topic. "Nah, let''s see if he uploads something new tomorrow and see if we can do that," Howard said.


    "Oh, by the way, he asked me if we had some D&D gamesing up, and said he wanted to join us," Leonard said happily.


    ...


    [Edward''s POV]


    "98, 99... 100," I counted as I did a shirtless one-arm push-up in the living room. Haley and Alex ate some popcorn as they watched me exercise in silence. They let out some gasps a few times as they watched my muscles tighten and my sweaty body glisten.


    "Sorry, I just have one more rep, and then we can start," I told them as I stood up with a slight panting.


    "N-No, you can take your time. No rush," Haley said with a slight stutter at the beginning. I shot her a weird look before going to do some pull-ups. The girls kept their eyes on me, and when I was finally finished, they ran to give me some towels.


    "Thanks," I replied as I wiped the sweat off my body and then walked towards the bathroom. "I''m going to take a shower. And while I''m in there, you guys better wipe that drool off your faces because I don''t know what I''m going to do if you keep looking at me that way."


    "What way?" Alex asked.


    "The ''please sleep with me'' way," I teased. I wanted to say ''Fuck Me'' way, but I still needed to hide a few parts of my personality for when they were trulyfortable with meter on. Then and only then would I show them all of my true self, making them fall in disbelief as to why they ever wanted to be friends in the first ce.


    After that, I went to cook dinner, which included a T-bone steak and a lot of high-protein dishes in big portions. "Haley, what did you want to talk about?" I asked while cooking.


    "What?" Haley was nking out. She smiled as she looked at me,pletely forgetting her intention ofing here today.


    Alex reminded her, "Your doodle book?"


    "Ah," Haley eximed before she took out a pink-covered book with a ribbon on top. "And also, this isn''t my doodle book! This is my book of ideas!"


    Alex snorted and said, "I''ve seen the page where you wrote ''Mrs. Haley Newga�C''"


    Haley cupped Alex''s mouth before she could finish her words. I chuckled a bit and said, "Alex, you can go y down in myb now if you want."


    "No, no. I want to hear this too," Alex said. "I was really surprised when she said she had something great, and I really want to see it."


    She meant that she wanted to condescendingly criticize it. However, I noticed that Alex had mellowed out her sarcasm with her sister after she got a boyfriend and a lot of friends.


    Maybe now she didn''t hide her insecurities behind her sarcastic demeanor anymore, which eased up her rtionship with Haley and also her family members. I was just guessing, but I think that was close to the mark.


    "It''s not something great. It''s just a simple thought." Haley said hesitantly.


    "Well don''t you stop edging me and finally give me some release. What is it?" I asked in excitement.


    Alex was baffled by my choice of words but Haley blushed. "That''s really dirty." Alex scolded. I shrugged it off and I watched Haley open up her book.


    "2 days ago, while I was doing yoga�C"


    "You mean, watching other people do yoga." Alex exposed Haley instantly.


    "Male or female?" I asked.


    "Girls I think." Alex replied.


    "Ooh. Saucy." I said as I poured the sauce I made into the sauce bowl.


    "Can I keep talking here? Or do you guys want to take over?" Haley asked sarcastically with a slight smile.


    "Sorry. Go on." Both Alex and I apologized.


    "Like I was saying, when I was doi�C Watching those girls do their yoga exercise, I noticed that their tights were worn out, and it stretched so much that it almost became transparent."


    I nodded and I added, "Which, is the main selling point of those yoga workout videos."


    Alex and Haley both rolled their eyes together. Haley ignored me and said, "Yeah. And a few of them who didn''t want to do it, had to wear a tracksuit. Even Gloria�C I saw her wearing tight pants doing yoga, but she had to wear a long shirt to cover up her butt."


    "Cause if she didn''t, the instructor wouldn''t be able to teach the ss at all." I added.


    Both the sisters nodded in agreement with me. Haley then said, "So I was wondering if there''s a solution for this. I made a couple of designs, but I don''t know how to create them."


    "Hmm? Why don''t you just buy the yoga pants?" I asked in confusion.


    "Because they are the same. It bes worn out after a few times, and can''t be worn longer than a week." Haley replied.


    "So, you want to create a whole new material that can increase the durability of the design?" I asked.


    "Personally, I just wanted to show off my nice ass and ck tights don''t really work for it." Haley confessed while posing.


    Alex grunted, "Ugh. I''m not going to stay here much longer if what you guys are going toe out with, is just going to help with the objectification of women."


    "Some might even say that beingfortable within your own body is empowering." I said, causing Alex to hesitate.


    Haley then smirked, "Just because you don''t have one, it doesn''t mean that others don''t." Alex gasped in offense and stormed away in dissatisfaction. After Alex had left, I turned to Haley and said, "To be fair, you don''t have much either."


    She gasped in offense, and before she could walk away, I grabbed her wrist and said, "Not that you don''t have the capability of growing one. But since you don''t eat much, it doesn''t really get filled out. I know for sure you have the genes for a nice ass. Just look at your parents."


    "Which one?" Haley asked.


    "Your dad." I replied teasingly.


    "Eww." She groaned in disgust.


    "And also, your ass wasn''t the only thing you seem to have gotten from him." I said as I finished cooking my steak and set it for rest. "He''s got the inventing aptitude too. Last one he built was what? The Real Head-Scratcher, T.M.?"


    Haley chuckled a bit and said, "Yes. The head scratcher."


    "See. Like father, like daughter"


    She showed a touched smile before saying, "Give it to me straight. Is my idea good, or just so-so?"


    "It''s good, it''s good." I said. "If you include the effort for butt-lifting in the seams of the pants, it can be a hotmodity for girls who want to show their fake , perfect ass to the world.".


    "Creating a new material or finding a way to enhance the durability of existing fabrics could be a good starting point. Also, it needs a lot of work. Researching different fabric technologies, exploring options like reinforced fibers or innovative weaving techniques. We could also look into moisture-wicking properties and breathability to ensurefort during workouts."


    Haley fell into a daze and then said mousily, "Just...forget about it."


    "Ohe on. It''s your first ''big'' idea! This willunch the new top designer''s Haley Dunphy''s name....and make it exclusive to people''s butt�C You''re going to be the household name for helping people with their butt problems�C"


    She threw a carrot at me as I teased her. I gave her some homework to do after she got back, which she jotted down in the book.


    After I finished cooking, I invited Haley to eat together with me, but as she sat in front of me, I noticed that she was pouting and didn''t want to look at me right in the face.


    "What''s wrong�C Are you pouting because I said that you don''t have a perfect ass? Cause you should know I was just joking."


    "A." Haley eximed instantly and finally looked me in the eye with a face filled with relief. "But still. Don''t do that. I worked hard on this." She said, referring to her behind.


    As we were eating, I caught her only pretending to eat the food while staring at me.


    "Just eat. I''ll do you a favor after this."


    "What favor?"


    "I''ll make sure that you won''t get fat no matter how much you eat tonight."


    "By...sweating off all the energyter?" She said, her face blushing.


    "Nah. By massaging you all over." I said in a seductive manner. Before she could react, I added, "And by saying massage, it''s exactly what I was going to be doing. Massaging you."


    "Huh?" She was confused. "I would understand it if you''re subtly saying that we''re going to do it, but I''m really confused right now."


    I smirked and said, "Oh. I learnt something wonderful. A traditional massage skill for the kings and queens in Asia. It''ll make you 10% prettier if you�C"


    "I''ll do it!" She said instantly after hearing that it could make her prettier. I smiled and said, "But, I''m going to need to touch you all over. Are you okay with that?"


    She rolled her eyes and then said, "It''s not like you haven''t seen everything before. So, let''s just do it!"


    Iughed and said, "Calm down, let me eat first. Ah, and you need to eat a lot too. Or else you''re going to faint during the massage."


    "Hmm? You can''t eat or drink anything one hour before, right?"


    "You''re not going to swim!! It''s fine!"


    I shot her an angry re, but my mouth couldn''t hide my smile. "By the way, where''s your sister?" I just realized that Alex has been gone for a while.


    "She went down to the basement and never came back up." Haley muttered before we heard an eerie sounding from the basement.


    We looked at each other, hearts palpitating. Then, we shrugged our shoulders and said in denial, "She''s fine." We continued eating, and fed each other a couple of times before we finally went down to the basement.


    ...


    "Wear this." I handed a whiteb coat towards Haley before I opened the basement door.


    "Hmm? Do you have this in red? Or a sexier model?"


    "Sexyb coats. You should write that down in your book of ideas. Halloween outfitpanies and porn magazines would love it." I muttered sarcastically.


    She rolled her eyes and followed me from behind as we entered theb.


    "Hmm?" She was confused when she saw another door right after we opened up the basement door.


    "Come in and close it." I told her. She shut the previous door when suddenly a gush of high pressure air blew the both of us. Her hair and mine fluttered in the wind, so did our clothes. Then, I opened the ss door and walked into theb while Haley was still processing what just happened.


    "Question. Why did you install a professional air jet into yourb?" Alex, who was gone for a while, asked while wearing ab coat.


    "To keep the room sterile. Duh." I replied casually with a smirk as I walked towards her.


    "How much does this cost you?" Haley asked in disbelief after seeing a lot of high tech equipment in theb.


    "Well, the air jet alone cost 20 Gs and it isn''t allplete yet, but I have spent around 1 million dors to buy most of the stuff. The maintenance should run around that much when electricity and amenities are concerned."


    The girls froze at my casual revtion, and suddenly felt that they shouldn''t touch anything.


    I asked Alex, who was standing by the microscope, "What are you doing?"


    Alex stuttered a bit and replied, "I-I read some of your data, and your hypothesis about possible microstic contamination within the human body. I was wondering if that was true, so I checked out the beach sand samples you have."


    "What''s microstic?" Haley asked.


    "Something that makes up Kim Kardashian''s face?" I replied, causing her to scoff in disbelief.


    Alex was excited, "It''s really cool. He hypothesized that our action of throwing waste products into the ocean will someday cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem."


    She then realized something and her enthusiasm dampened, Well...More irreparable damage... Something that we, as a human, would face. Not the fish that are currently facing them right now."


    "Oww, those poor fishies." Haley eximed.


    Alex didn''t reply to her sister and asked me, "Why are you doing research on this?"


    "Just because." I replied, face suddenly flushed with embarrassment.


    Haley saw it and was excited, "Why? Why are you not telling us the reason?"


    "I don''t know. I just don''t want to." I replied shyly.


    Alex also smiled and then egged me together with her sister, "We promise that we won''t ever tell another soul about this."


    "I don''t believe in promises." I said decisively.


    "What? Umm...What do you want then?" Alex asked.


    "Let''s make a deal. I tell you my ns, and you... You have to kiss Finneas in front of your mom in a week."


    "NEVER! I don''t want to know your ns!" Alex spoke in horror. However, Haley said, "DEAL! I''ll make sure that she does it!"


    "HALEY!" Alex groaned in frustration.


    I chuckled and then patted Alex''s head, "I was just kidding. It''s fine if you guys want to know. I''m just thinking about cleaning it all up."


    "Huh?" x2


    "You mean, you''re not satisfied with just cleaning up your home, now you want to clean up the ocean?" Alex said sarcastically, but with a hint of awe.


    "Kinda."


    Haley then added, "And you''re going to use your own money to do this?"


    "No." I replied decisively. "My n is to find the evidence for my theory then use fear mongering�Csuch as microstics found in a human fetus to arrange some fundraisers, getting all the big tech idiots to donate and then use their money to clean up the ocean."


    Alex took out a design for the Ocean Cleanup ship stuck on the wall and said, "This is the thing that will do the job?"


    "Yes. I can''t wait for Boyan t to do it. He''s only 14 right now."


    "Who''s Boyan t?" Haley asked, confused.


    "Not important." I replied. "Anyway, this is just one of my side projects. You know, something to do if I have the time to do it."


    "You mean, other than the time you use to slowly kill your own body by continuously overworking it ?" Alex said sarcastically.


    "Yes. Anyway, Alex, you should go now. I''m going to do something with your sister, and the sounds that''ll being out are going to be M rated, you know, something a girl your age shouldn''t hear."


    Alex and Haley both looked at me in disbelief, but the difference was that Alex looked at me with disgust, while Haley looked at me whileughing.


    ...


    Alex didn''t want to go home yet, and insisted that she had to stay to watch over us. I was a bit irritated at first, but then I realized that it was a good thing that she was there.


    Her presence was the only thing that was keeping my sanity together during the massage�C not that I had intentionally tried to get Haley turned on, but it was a major side effect of the massage. That...and intense pain.


    "I feel like my whole body is going to cramp." Haley moaned after she walked out of the door while Alex was helping her to stand still.


    Alex then said, "I...I''m never sitting through that again. If you guys are doing this for the second time, please don''t make me stay....Please."

 Chapter 181: Ship’s ready!

    <h4>Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Ship��s ready!</h4>


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house,te at night-


    "My legs are still shaky." Haley whined as she walked with Alex to the kitchen. ire was tapping on herptop as she saw the girls, and quietly listened in to their conversation.


    ire grabbed her cup and tea and slowly sipped it. Subsequently, Alex continued replying to Haley, "With all of the grunting and moaning you did, I''d be more concerned for your throat."


    ire spat out her drink in shock, and looked at her daughter with a horrified expression as she wiped her mouth with a napkin, "W-What?"


    Haley said casually, "Ignore Alex mom. She''s jealous because she wasn''t the oneying down on the bed."


    Alex snorted and spoke sarcastically, "Yeah right, I''m jealous that I had to watch you having a ''good time'' alone. Ugh, I know for sure this...wille back to haunt me again in my dreams tonight."


    ire''s voice shook and she asked, "Haley...you ha�C had a ... ''good time'', and you made Alex watch?"


    Haley defended herself, "Well she was the one who insisted on staying. I wanted her to leave me alone too. At first I thought it''d be weird, but turns out, I''m okay with it."


    ire gasped sharply and covered up her mouth as her eyes got ssy.


    "Geez mom. Why do you look so anxious? You know what? Maybe, you should arrange some time and let Ed work his magic on you too." Haley said, not thinking much.


    "W-WHAT?!" ire eximed in disbelief.


    Haley smiled and said excitedly, "Yeah mom. The way he just gets in there...and continues digging the sore spot, despite how many times you scream...but what you really want is for him to get in there more..."


    "Haley that''s enough!" ire couldn''t even look Haley in the eye after that. Phil walked in at that moment and asked, "Hey honey."


    "Dad. Edward, is amazing!" Haley spoke excitedly.


    "Don''t tell your dad that!" ire said hurriedly and panicky.


    Phil was confused and then smiled, "No wait. I already knew that. Alex told me when they came back. I texted Edward to see if I could learn from him."


    [Phil''smentary]


    "When Alex told me how great he was at massaging, I was doubtful at first, to be honest. But then, I saw Haley with a light glow on her skin, and even her steps seemed airy. Not to brag, but I am an officially recognized masseuse. But I could never do what he did."


    "ire has been working extra hard thesest few months. So, I wanted to do something nice for her. Even if I''m not the one that''s going to give it to her, I''d be fine with Edward taking over my job."


    [Phil''smentary]


    Haley grinned and said, "You really should learn that! Maybe learn it as you watch mom while she gets it from him. You can stay on the chair beside them like Alex did."


    "OOh. I should bring a camera too so I can rewatch the whole thing at night to study the technique." Phil nodded as he was acknowledging what Haley said, but ire was really horrified right now.


    "You guys are sick! This whole family is sick!" ire scolded before she anxiously stormed away, grabbing Luke with her as she got out of the house.


    "Honey, where are you going?" Phil asked. "All I wanted to do was ask Edward to show you a good time. I know you want it too."


    "NO. I DON''T!" ire said from afar.


    Alex then realized something, "Does mom know we were talking about a massage?"


    "Hmm? What else could we be talking about?" Phil asked, confused. Haley was also confused, leaving Alex as the only one trying to hold back herughter.


    "You should really exin the topic of the conversation next time." Alex said to Phil before she cackled. Then, she stopped and spoke sternly, "Seriously. You should go there and tell her about that right now. Or else she won''t evere back to the house."


    "I got it." Phil didn''t question his smart daughter and ran for ire immediately. The sisters didn''t react much to the normal family drama. Haley changed the subject and asked, "Oh yeah. What did you guys talk about before we went back?"


    "Oh. He said he was going to bake but I noticed that he was really tired already, so I said no." Alex replied.


    "Huh? Tired?...wait. How did he say it?"


    "He said, "I''m going to get baked, just to get your sister''s voice out of my head." His grammar was already all over the ce." Alex replied with a slight chuckle.


    Haley widened her eyes, but then she smiled and said, "You know. Sometimes, you''re so smart... but Sometimes..."


    "Huh?" Alex was smiling at first but then was confused as to why Haley stressed out the word sometimes at the end.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Why did I make some doughst night?" I wondered as I checked the fridge after I woke up in the morning. It was only 4.30 am, and the sun wasn''t even up yet.


    "I don''t know. Everytime I asked you about it, you just giggled and pped the dough. Then, you ate a bunch of snacks before going to sleep." My dad replied as he was sipping coffee.


    Usually, we get up around 5.30 to 6, but today was a special day.


    "Oh. Nevermind that then." I replied, not wanting for him to realize that I was as high as a kitest night. "They are hauling your new ship to the dock right now, are you excited?"


    "Excited as I''ll ever be with a ship''s engine so faulty, its role model could be right from the titanic." My dad joked.


    "To be fair, the Titanic didn''t have an engine problem. They had the iceberg problem, and most of the rich people on board were against the institution of the Federal Reserve and its ease to print more money, so you know they weren''t really ''able'' to live that long."


    "Wait. Is that real?"


    "Nah. I''m just messing around. You hear that, NSA�Cagent�Ctapping�Cinto�Cour�Cphones?" I joked.


    My dad smiled and said, "Someone seems to be in a good mood today?"


    "I''m in a good mood everyday I woke up and still have muh moneeeeyy than yesterday." I said as I did a gangsta gesture. "By the way, since I have the giant ass dough, I''m thinking of making cronuts. But it''s going to take about an hour for me to bake it."


    "What''s a cronut?" My dad asked.


    I looked at him in disdain and said, "So Uncultured."


    "???" My dad was really confused about this. Why wouldn''t he be since cronuts wouldn''t be invented till 2013, and I currently had no idea that they didn''t exist in this world yet!


    A cronut was a mixture of croissant and donut, hence the name, cronut. It became viral the moment it was invented. In my past life, I was a big fan of the pastry, but I never knew the history of it.


    "So, should I do it or not?" I asked my dad again.


    He thought about it and then shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn''t matter if we''re a bitte. We''re ''the boss''. So, I''d say, go for it."


    "Hmm...Alright. So, go away now. I want to record the process and upload it, and you staying here will ruin the video''s quality."


    "I''m not sure if that''s a technical term, or an... insult."


    "Whenever you aren''t sure about something, just go straight to insult. Trust your instinct on that." I smirked at him as I chased him away.


    He didn''t go far, and just sat out of the video''s frame. While I was setting up the cameras, he said, "I maybe remembering this wrong, but didn''t you hate, and if I may quote you on this, ''That parasitical waste of human society�C the instagram influencers'', so why are you trying to be like them right now?"


    I pointed a knife at my dad and warned, "Call me an influencer again, and I''ll stick this where the sun doesn''t shine! How dare youpare someone who is giving the gift of ''food porn'' to the world to someone who even the porn industry is going to reject! Just for that, I''m downgrading your cronut amount from two to one."


    "Ohe on!" My dad whined. "Ugh. I hate this new dynamic between us." He fakelyined.


    "Well, go get me a new mother. That will for sure change the dynamics of everything." I joked/seriously said to him.


    He froze for a while and let out a fake cough before saying, "Do you need any help?"


    "Ummm...There''s no need. I can do it on my own. But I''m going to need containers to put them in."


    I pressed the record button on the camera and started cooking. However, just like with my dad, I made the whole video on the assumption that people knew what a cronut was.


    My dad took out a couple of boxes from the cupboard and asked me weirdly, "Why do we have donut boxes here...And why are theybeled... so simply?"


    It was an orange and red coloured box with thebel [Foodstuff] on it.


    I rolled my eyes at him and said, "Well it''s not like I''m going to open my own bakery! It''s just something I need, and the suppliers won''t custom make it if there isn''t a brand name on it."


    "And you think a good name for it should be, [Foodstuff]?"


    "I mean it IS a box for the food... and stuff... so stop bothering me and go fold the boxes!"


    I turned back to the camera while I was cutting the dough I had ttened and said, "I''m not going to make it circr, but instead I''m going to make it a rectangr cronut. Cause making circr ones is going to give me a lot of work to re-knead them."


    After I finished making the cronut, I put one on a te and then zed it. Then, I captured the finished product and then finally filmed me taking a bite of it and asking people to try it out on their own and enjoy.


    Then, I turned off the camera and then started making the cronut in arge batch. As we boxed them up, my dad was following me from behind with a post it notes and recorded where these pastries were going to go and for who.


    "First box is for Frankie, Dwayne, Glenn, You, Dina, and the guys at the docks.." I said as I packed up 18 cronuts in 3 boxes.


    "Second one is for Jay, cause he likes to try new stuff. So 3 for Jay, Gloria, and Manny."


    "Third box is for Mitchell, Cameron and Lily, because if they found out that I had given Jay one, and they didn''t get one, there would be so much drama!!...So right now I''m torn as to whether I should give it to them or not. It''s also 3 for them."


    "The fourth box with the pink bows on it is for Pepper, Renaldo, Harvey and Randall. I''m sure Leo''s still high, so I put another one extra for him, so 6 cronuts there. "


    "Fifth one is for Taylor and Selena. They would kill me if I didn''t give it to them." I said as I pointed at the tiny box.


    "The next box is for my friends that are still in middle school, Billie, Finneas, and Enid. I also put some for Mrs Henderson in there. There''s 4 for them."


    "The one next to them is for those in high school, Jenna, Elsa, Abraham, Tara, Jacob and also for Sage."


    "Wait. Sage is in your school? She''s a highschooler?" My dad asked, confused.


    "Ah. No. She''s a substitute History teacher. And her real name''s Miss Anna."


    "Ahhhh." My dad eximed in realization. "Got it."


    "And thest one is for the Dunphys. I''m going to go there and give it to them right now. I''m sure that ire is already up." I said as I picked up a box. "I don''t think you''re going to Calexico to give Aunt Cam one, so we''ll just store it in the fridge for her."


    My dad went to store the boxes in the Ford Dodger that I was going to drive to school with today, and some inside his own car. But before I walked out of the door, I suddenly stopped as I realized something.


    "Hmm...I packed up more than 30 cronuts today." I muttered with my lips curling up.


    "36 to be exact... So?" My dad asked, confused.


    "Nothing. It just feels funny when I think that I have more than 30 people that I''m close with. I just couldn''t imagine doing this half a year ago." I said with a chuckle.


    My dad smiled kindly and patted my shoulder before saying, "Yeah. Life has really turned out for the better right?"


    "Ugh, don''t be some." I rolled my eyes at him and then walked out of the house.


    ...


    *Ding Dong*


    I rang the house''s doorbell, and I didn''t have to wait long for ire to open up the door while still in her nightdress and robes.


    "Umm...Why are you here so early in the morning?" ire asked.


    "I came here bringing nuts." I said, causing her to be baffled. "Cronuts to be exact. Here. I can''t stay here for long, so you guys enjoy this during your breakfast."


    ire was confused, "What''s a cronut�C You know what, I don''t even care about that right now. The smell is so good!"


    "Of course it''s good. I made them myself. Alright. Bye!"


    ...


    [General POV]


    ire couldn''t react until after Edward had left. "Thank you!" She screamed from afar.


    She smiled and then said, "What a sweet kid," Completely forgetting aboutst night''s misunderstanding.


    A few minutester in the kitchen, as ire was taking pictures of the cronuts to share them to her family members, Haley walked downstairs groggily and went to the fridge.


    "Oh Good morning honey�C" ire tried to greet Haley, but the daughter held her finger up, gesturing to give her a second. Then, Haley took out the big jug of milk from the fridge and started gulping it down.


    ire frowned in disgust, "Ow Haley use a ss�C" However, she slowly widened his eyes in shock as she saw that Haley was downing the milk without rest.


    "Ahhh!" Haley eximed with a milk mustache on her face as she finished the entire milk.


    "What the?" ire was baffled.


    "Mom. I''m starving! Do we have any meat or chicken?" Haley asked, causing ire to put her hand on her forehead to take her temperature.


    "Hmm...You''re not feverish. What''s going on? Did you do drugsst night?" ire asked in suspicion.


    "What''s this?" Haley ignored ire''s usation as she saw the box.


    " That. Edward stopped by and gave us some pastries. It''s called a ''Cronut''."


    "Oh." Haley picked one up and took a bite. She then eximed, "Oh my god! This is soo goood! I''m in love with CRONUTS!" She wiped the white ze off her lips and then licked that stuff off her fingers.


    "Let me try one too." ire said as she happily picked one up and then tried it. "Oh my god. I can''t stop eating this." She said.


    After they finished one, Haley and ire found themselves eating a second cronut each, leaving only 2 of them in the box.


    ire let out a gasp after she realized what had just happened. "Wait. Haley. We need to stop."


    "Do we really need to, mom? Other than us, who else knows that Edward sent these little pieces of heaven directly on our doorsteps this early in the morning?"


    "Ummm..." ire hesitated for a while. "Alright. If we''re going to do this, we need to make sure that we leave no evidence behind!"


    "Got it!"


    Then, the mother and daughter finished thest two cronuts and then threw the box into the trash after which Haley then took the trash out for the garbage truck to pick up as soon as possible.


    "Wow, that''s the first time that you have ever actively volunteered to do chores." ire eximed after Haley got back inside.


    At 7 am, Alex walked downstairs to the kitchen, and then her nose suddenly picked up a scent.


    "What is that sweet smell?" She asked, causing Haley and ire who were sipping coffee at the table to widen their eyes.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After I sent the cronuts, I rushed back home to change my clothes and then drove to the port. I stopped by Jay''s and Cam''s, but had to use a longer route than my dad, causing me to arrive 20 minutester than him.


    Frankie, who was wearing a business suit, smiled and greeted me as she saw me rushing over. "You''re going to bete for school."


    "It''s fine. The principal and I have an understanding." I grinned at her. "Aww. I missed the part where the ship entered the water. Has anyone broken a bottle at the hull yet?"


    Frankie replied as she thought about it, "No. I don''t think they have."


    "Good. Cause I want to do that." I said as I rushed to the front after dropping off the cronut box at Frankie''s hand.


    "May she always sail safe and sound." My dad said as I mmed the bottle on the ship''s hull.


    The crew cheered as they watched the sleek, ssy, 50 meters long yacht with the sign, Moby Dick 2 on the back.


    "Alright, alright. Let''s get back to work�C" My dad was trying to get the crew to calm down, but then he saw me humming something as I watched the new ship. "Edward. What''s that? What are you singing?" He asked.


    "Huh? Oh, just a sea shanty. Not important." I said dismissively.


    Dwayne and the other sailors who heard it were excited. Dwayne said, "Well if it''s a sea shanty, then you should start singing it, and then we will all join in."


    "Nah nah. I''m not a sailor�C" I tried to get away, but I couldn''t. Dwayne grabbed me and said, "Why are you so embarrassed? You''re the top singer in the country right now, and you''re afraid of singing a sea shanty."


    "I''m not afraid. I''m just...you know...HAVE SCHOOL!" I replied sternly.


    Dwayne was a little embarrassed, but then my dad said, "Well then, you''d better sing right now, or else you''ll bete."


    Glenn then shouted with his high pitched muppet voice, "Or, you won''t even be able to go to school today!"


    "Alright alright. Now, give me a guitar." I gave up as I saw their excited look.


    Frankie said, "Oh. You need a guitar to sing...a sea shanty?"


    "I just need something to knock on to y the beat. Best if it is a guitar." I replied to her. She smiled and said, "Got it. Here you go."


    I started drumming on the back of the guitar and then sang the song.


    [Wellerman (Sea Shanty) by Nathan Evans]


    "??There once was a ship that put to sea


    The name of the ship was the Billy O'' Tea??


    ??The winds blew up, her bow dipped down


    Oh blow, my bully boys, blow (huh)??"


    The sailors smiled and then filled up their morning cup of coffee with liquor. I hopped on the top of the table and sang.


    "??Soon may the Wellermane


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??"


    "Remember this part!" I shouted to them. Frankie was confused and whispered to my dad, "What''s a Wellerman?"


    "I don''t know. I think it means traders. I''ll ask him about itter." My dad replied with a whisper too. Then, I caught both of them making eyes at each other, blushing and giggling, which made me confused and almost slip from the table. ''Wasn''t she a lesbian?'', I thought secretly.


    "??She''d not been two weeks from shore


    When down on her a right whale bore


    The captain called all hands and swore


    He''d take that whale in tow (huh)??"


    "All together now!" I shouted.


    The whole crew than sang together in harmony, "??Soon may the Wellermane


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??"


    Iughed before I sang alone,


    "??Da-da-da-da-da


    Da-da-da-da-da-da-da


    Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da??"


    "??Before the boat had hit the water


    The whale''s tail came up and caught her


    All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her


    When she dived down low (huh)??"


    Together: "??Soon may the Wellermane


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??"


    ??No line was cut, no whale was freed


    The captain''s mind was not of greed


    And he belonged to the Whaleman''s creed


    She took that ship in tow (huh)??


    "Oh god. This story is like Moby Dick''s story. And even that name is here, on the new ship''s bow!" Glenn shouted in a weird high pitched voice. Well, higher pitch than the normal high pitch.


    Together: ??Soon may the Wellermane


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??


    Together: ??Da-da-da-da-da


    Da-da-da-da-da-da-da


    Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da??


    ??For forty days or even more


    The line went ck then tight once more


    All boats were lost, there were only four


    But still that whale did go (huh)??


    ??Soon may the Wellermane


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??


    ??As far as I''ve heard, the fight''s still on


    The line''s not cut, and the whale''s not gone


    The Wellerman makes his regr call


    To encourage the captain, crew and all (huh)??


    Together: ??Soon may the Wellermane


    To bring us sugar and tea and rum


    One day, when the tonguing is done


    We''ll take our leave and go??


    I slowed down the music and then sang thest verse, "??Soon may the Wellermane! To bring us sugar and tea and rum! One day, when the tonguing is done! We''ll take our leave and go??"


    The crowd pped and cheered shortly after that. Then, they returned to their cakes and drinks, which made me feel a little bit like a cheap whore.


    "Pffts. Sailors." I scowled in disgust as I walked to my dad and Frankie.


    "Hey dad. Are you trying to teach Frankie what ''tonguing'' means? Cause you should teach her in private for that."


    My dad widened his eyes while Frankie chuckled. "I know what tonguing means Ed. But thanks for thinking about me."


    I chuckled a bit seeing their reaction, and then I whispered to Frankie, "I thought you like girls?"


    "Hmm? What? Why do you think that? Or ask about that?" Frankie was confused.


    "Nevermind. I''m going to get to school. Bye! Oh, and dad, make sure that everything is okay with the ship first before taking her out."


    "Stop nagging. Go! You''rete." He chased me away quickly to prevent me talking to Frankie anymore.


    "Ah, and by the way, I approve of her if you want her to be my new mother�C"


    "GOO!" My dad scolded me as I tried to speak with him again in the car. Then, I drove off quickly and then stopped by the middle school first to leave the pastry to Mrs Henderson�C got scolded by her for a while because I wasn''t in my ss, and only after that did I get to my high school.

 Chapter 182: Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo

    <h4>Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo</h4>


    (Sorry I was busy this week that I forgot to post yesterday)


    [General POV]


    The school bell rang, signifying the end of the first ssroom session, and the students poured into the hallways to store their books in their lockers and retrieve the ones for the next ss.


    However, Edward had to wait until the students had moved on to their next ss before he could leave the ssroom.


    "Hey Ed, are you heading to the biob?" Haley approached Edward and asked as he ced his books inside Jacob''s locker.


    "Yeah, I''ll see you there," Edward replied.


    Haley was taken aback. "Wait, did I do something wrong?" She was confused as to why Edward didn''t want to walk to ss with her.


    Edward smirked and yfully said, "You did. You did something very wrong."


    Haley was startled. "What did I do?"


    "You tortured mest night. I had to get high just to calm myself down," Edward teased. "I thought your mother''s reaction during the massage was bad enough, but you seem to be an upgraded version of that."


    "What?" She was confused.


    "I''m referring to the seductive moans and squirms."


    "Ah, that." Haley felt relieved.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I thought he found out that my mom and I finished all the pastries he sent us."


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley batted her eyes and then yfully scoffed, "For that reason? I mean, it''s not like you''re turned on or anything, are you?"


    "Why...only an insane person would be able to keep their rationality if they experienced what I did."


    Haley smiled mischievously and said, "Good."


    "Good?" Edward asked, both confused and amused.


    Haley didn''t continue but leaned in towards Edward and whispered, "Also, what''s with that massage? Why didn''t any of my bras fit this morning?"


    "None of them?" Edward asked, his gaze directed at Haley''s chest. She squeezed her elbows together and said seductively, "Yeah. I had to go ''no bra'' today. I think it''s swollen."


    "Alright, you need a time out," Edward said sternly, pointing in the direction of the bib. "Go there on your own and think about what you did."


    Haley rolled her eyes, sashayed away while swaying her buttocks, and then turned briefly to see if Edward was still looking at her. He was. She smirked and continued walking.


    "Fuck," Edward cursed under his breath. "I hate being a teenager again," he mumbled while rubbing the back of his head, causing his hair to be a mess. Suddenly, Edward received a text from Alex.


    ScienceNerd: Can''t believe you forgot about me!


    ScienceNerd: Pic.png


    It was a photo of Billie, Finneas, and Enid eating the cronut, but there was none for Alex.


    Edward was confused and texted back, "Did I? I gave it to your mother this morning."


    Science Nerd: WHAT?! You''re joking, right?


    Edward: Just ask your mom about it. (eye-rolling emoji) I gave it to her this morning.


    Edward scoffed as he sent the text, muttering, "Alex wouldn''t lie so casually... So what happened there?"


    At Franklin Middle School, Alex angrily pounced and stole a bite of the cronut that Finneas was holding as they walked to ss.


    "Hey! You feral, sses-wearing jungle cat!" Finneas cursed with a smile. He didn''t mind sharing the pastry with Alex.


    Alex munched the pastry and swallowed it before saying, "It''s great. Damn it, now I''m really mad that I didn''t do more when I noticed it at home this morning! Ugh!"


    Enidughed at Alex''s misery and muttered while biting the pastry, "I want more!"


    "Let''s stop by his house and raid his fridge after school," Billie suggested.


    Alex chuckled and said, "Nice idea, but I don''t think he kept any at home. And he has football practice after this."


    Finneas furrowed his brow and said, "Don''t get me wrong. I support him in the game, but I still think it''s really dangerous for him to participate in matches. People get injured all the time in the game. And while some artists could get by just singing, his dancing is part of the show like Michael or that Bieber guy."


    Billie and Enid froze, as Enid said anxiously, "Wait. He can get injured?"


    "Yeah. Why do you think they have to wear all that protection?" Alex replied.


    "We should stop him! If something happens to his hands, he can''t make music anymore!" Enid shouted.


    As Enid yelled, Mrs. Henderson walked toward the group of kids and reprimanded them, "Alex. Enid. Billie, and Finneas. Why are you still loitering in the hallway? ss started a few minutes ago. Do you have a hall pass to be here?"


    Alex turned pale and spoke honestly, "You''re the one who called us to the teacher''s lounge!" Then, she froze as she realized she had retorted to the teacher, "No. I''m sorry, Mrs. Henderson--"


    "I gave you enough time to get back to ss, but you took advantage of that. All of you are to stay behind for detention today," Mrs. Henderson said with a cold voice.


    "NOOOO!!!" Enid screamed, devastated. She grabbed Mrs. Henderson''s hand and begged, "Can we postpone it to tomorrow? Edward is having a practice match today!"


    Mrs. Henderson paused to think for a moment before saying, "No."


    As the kids pitifully walked away towards their respective sses, Mrs. Henderson heard a male voiceing from behind her.


    "Harsh," Gong Shin, the afterlife senior agent, said.


    Mrs. Henderson turned with an extremely cold expression, cold enough that the air surrounding the two people started to freeze. Ice fractals could be seen floating around, and Mrs. Henderson eximed angrily, "Look who we have here. The manager who forgot to do his job and made me get stuck here longer than I needed to."


    "Ah, sorry about that. But please don''t put the me on me. I asked you the question about the arrangement, and you still couldn''t answer me."


    The air thawed out, and Mrs. Henderson asked, "Why are you here?"


    "Before I answer your question, I need to ask, do you still not have the answer to the question? Or... maybe asking you to arrange your own death was too much for the immacte, rule-stickler afterlife employee who''s currently having second thoughts about her own life here."


    "..." Mrs. Henderson paused for a while, and then she said, "Just randomize it as usual."


    Gong Shinughed, "You know I can''t do that."


    Mrs. Henderson furrowed her eyebrows, "Why? You usually randomize it."


    "Yeah, but this is a new rule the upper management is enforcing. So my hands are tied," Gong Shin said dismissively while shrugging and shaking his head. "If you feel that you can''t make a decision, then just submit an officialint to the headquarters."


    "Alright. Then, grab a pen. I''m making my formalint right now," Mrs. Henderson said coldly.


    Gong Shin easily dismissed her and said, "Stop joking around. By the way, I need to tell you this. Edward figured it out."


    Mrs. Henderson widened her eyes, and her heart raced quickly. She asked fearfully, "What? Then... did he ept my presence here?"


    "If he''s mad at me, then he wouldn''t have sent the dessert to me personally this morning. Or was he trying to confirm something? But I couldn''t see anything strange about him..."


    She couldn''t help but be confused when she heard it. Maybe there''s a part of her that wanted toe clean to Edward, as she couldn''t help but notice that she was feeling some relief mixed up with a lot of other emotions that are currently washing over her right now.


    Gong Shin looked at Mrs. Henderson in confusion, "Oh no. He figured out that the Afterlife Corps is monitoring him, but he didn''t know that you''re his supervisor."


    "What?" Mrs. Henderson was baffled.


    Gong Shin smirked and said, "He thought it was Johnson (the muscr mommy PE teacher). Her quitting over the summer didn''t help with his suspicion."


    "Why?" Mrs. Henderson asked.


    "Right? I thought so too," Gong Shin said yfully. "With his new investigative skills, he should''ve figured it out a long time ago. But he continuously rejected that notion. Every time it came into his mind, he pushed it far, far away to the back of it."


    "Maybe it was denial. After all, you''re the closest thing he has to a mother after his mom left. He didn''t want to ept that the only reason you were nice to him is because you''re obligated to do that."


    Mrs. Henderson froze in her spot. Gong Shin smiled kindly and said, "He loves you... very... very much, you know? So much so that after he had that thought, he wanted to confront Sage about the matter."


    "So I had to expose myself prematurely and exin a few things to him. Otherwise, Sage would''ve gotten hurt by a human being once again," Gong Shin said casually.


    Mrs. Henderson was speechless. Gong Shin patted her shoulder and said, "Don''t worry about it. He was actually pretty okay with it. I have to admit, I''vee to like that kid. He is one of the rare few people who made my job easier."


    Gong Shin secretly thought, "Unlike you or that old granny Sage," as he kept a few secrets hidden from his fellow employees in this particr world.


    One of those secrets was that Sage, or Mrs. Henderson''s presence here, wasn''t even necessary. The monitoring could be done without them appearing in front of Edward.


    Another secret was that there was no punishment when two afterlife agents interacted in their daily lives. Sage''s punishment was entirely made up, and she was forced to stay here for no reason at all.


    �Cshback -


    "Wait. I''m the one who''s supposed to monitor her?" Edward asked in disbelief after hearing Gong Shin''s exnation. Edward looked at the frozen-in-time Sage from afar and then back at Gong Shin.


    "Yes. You could say it''s part of her therapy. She has been through a lot, Edward. She saw the person she helped and cherished... burned alive right in front of her eyes. It made her closed off and reluctant to help anyone after that," Gong Shin said in a low voice.


    "But surprisingly, when you identally joined her session, she changed a bit. You can''t imagine how shocked I was to see that."


    "So I''m begging you, Edward. Let her stay here and live among human beings for a while. Take care of her. And I''ll do you a favor."


    "What favour?" Edward asked. "Not that I wouldn''t do it if there was no benefit for me but..."


    Gong Shin smiled kindly and said, "I know. That''s why I believe in you. In thest session, your suspended animation caused a lot of trouble for you, right?"


    Edward nodded, and Gong Shin continued, "So, if you do this for me, I''ll give you a notification one day before your gacha session. That way, you can avoid all that mess."


    "Oh, that''s awesome," Edward eximed.


    "Right? Win-win."


    �CEnd of shback -


    "Alright, I can''t stay here for long. Just make sure you answer that question as soon as you can, if you actually want to go back," Gong Shin said with a smirk.


    Eve Henderson was in a dilemma about that question. She couldn''t find a way to leave this world without hurting the ones close to her, and she didn''t want anyone to mourn for her.


    Unbeknownst to her, she wanted to see Edward and the students she had taught grow up and seed in their dreams. It''s not that she couldn''t answer the question, but her heart didn''t want her to.


    As Mrs. Henderson struggled internally, she then looked at Gong Shin and asked again, "Why are you here today?"


    Gong Shin realized it and said, "Oh, right. I know Edward gave you two cronuts, so... Can I have one? They''re already sold out in dessert stores in the state."


    "Get lost," Mrs. Henderson skillfully cursed her unreliable senior, as she always did before.


    (In korean, ? Gong, means Emptiness among many others. It also means football. �� Shin, also means "ghost", "devil", "phantom" as well as "god". In other words, anything supernatural has been called "��" historically. So take that what you will. Lol.)


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    ??????????


    "Baby Shark Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo"


    "Baby Shark Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo"


    "Baby Shark Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo"


    "Baby Shark!"


    I led the team, fully equipped with their uniforms, as we danced to the song. Reluctantly, the embarrassed teens followed along while the crowdughed at them.


    "Come on, people! Keep your chin up! This is what happens when one of you iste for practice," I shouted at them.


    Tyler retorted, "But you''re the only one who waste!"


    "I am part of the team, aren''t I?" I smirked. "Come on, Dn didn''t sing ''Baby Shark'' for nothing!"


    "Dn? Dn Marshall?" Tyler muttered in confusion. "That dumbass?"


    Jacob performed the mummy shark part with intense focus and vigor. Tyrone, standing behind him, shyly muttered, "Man, calm down. You''re drawing attention to us. Aren''t you embarrassed dancing to this?"


    Jacob shouted, "Granny Shark Doo Doo Doo Doo!" and then added, "To bepletely honest... I kind of like it."


    Tyrone was speechless after that. Cam held Lily''s hand as she excitedly danced to the song while sitting in the baby carrier.


    After finishing the dance, I walked toward Lily and said, "Aren''t you d you met me, Lily? Because there aren''t any other men who would create a song just for a baby girl they just met."


    Cam chuckled, and Lily reached out to me while babbling. Compared to her series counterpart, she was incredibly active as a baby. But that might be because the baby actress in the series was afraid of the cameras and strangers, so she couldn''t really react much. Therefore, I thought Lily was quite passive.


    Cam smiled sarcastically and said, "I mean, I thought Taylor would be the first person to sing a song written by you. I didn''t expect Dn to debut with it first."


    Iughed and replied, "It''s just a song for babies. And he contributed to a lot of those songs... kind of..."


    Yes, before Dn went to college, I asked him if he wanted to be an artist and kept my promise to help him. However, after working and making money at the part-time job on the cruise, his mindset changed.


    Dn had an amazing affinity with children, maybe because their minds were somewhat simr. He sang a lot of nonsensical songs, and it resonated well with kids under 10 years old.


    His aspiration for singing these songs stemmed from his ownck of experience with someone singing children''s songs to him. He wanted to provide that experience to kids who might be just like him. Apparently, his mom would y the song ''Sexy Kitty'' on repeat for hours in their house as he was growing up.


    "He''s kind of like Charlie Harper from ''Two and a Half Men'' in this universe, except without the promiscuity, money, and charisma," I secretly thought. Dn became famous among new parents and little children, and he was content with that.


    I replied to Cam, "Also, I''ve already recorded a few songs with Taylor and coborated with other artists. Dn is like number 8 on that list. Oh, and I might have done some stuff for a British band, good old chaps, you should keep an ear out for that too."


    Cam smiled and said, "I know, I''m just joking."


    "Oh, and Cam, since you''re here helping out, I''ll tell you a secret that only Dwayne and I know."


    "Spill it, boy, spill," Cam said excitedly, eager to hear the gossip.


    "Dn... is getting married."


    Cam''s jaw dropped, and he screamed, "What?!"


    "Calm down, we haven''t even reached the juicy part yet," I said, smirking. "Do you want to know why he''s singing all these children''s songs?"


    Cam nodded, and then his eyes widened in realization. "You mean..."


    "Yeah... he got someone pregnant!"


    "Who? Who? Who? Who?" Cam asked enthusiastically.


    I grinned and said, "Anais, his prom date."


    Cam gasped and said, "I thought his premature ejaction problem was solved?"


    "Yeah, it was solved after a week... And that''s not how it happened. They became a couple over the summer, had their first pregnancy scare, got tested, realized they were worried for nothing, and then celebrated by doing the thing that initially caused the pregnancy scare again... Apparently, he has hyper virility after that whole incident. They didn''t know it, and neither did the doctor..."


    "Edward,e on!" Jacob shouted from the field. "We''re all waiting for you."


    Cam shouted to the team, "Wait! WAIT! We''re discussing something important here!" Then he whispered to me, "How did she react? She got pregnant at 18, and I don''t think she''s happy about it. I''m not happy about it either."


    "Yeah, at first she wanted to be a model, but that was only because she didn''t know how to do anything else. She freaked out, but then Dn calmed her down and proposed to her. He''s making a lot of money now, so it was stupid for her to say no," I exined.


    Cam noticed the expression on my face and asked, confused, "Why do you look so jealous about that?"


    I shrugged and replied, "I don''t know. He''s all happy, starting a family with the woman he loves. I envy that. I want that too. Anais didn''t agree to marry him just because he''s rich; he became rich after she agreed. He calls her and the baby his ''clover of luck'' because Anais''sst name is Clover."


    Both of them decided to move to Colorado to be closer to Anais''s family, and they continued their studies at Greendale Community College together. And since they were going to have a baby, I decided not to give Dn all of his money. Instead, I''ll manage it for him," I exined.


    "Am I doing the right thing here? I only did it becausest time he had money, he exchanged it all for ''Skee Ball tickets'' like 10.000 dors worth of it, the moron!!!," I asked.


    Cam nodded and reassured me, "You did. You absolutely did. Alright, now that I''m satisfied, let''s y football."


    The yers split into Offence and Defence, with 11 people on each team. I became the quarterback for the first team, which mostly consisted of freshmen and only a couple of senior students. Tyler was the quarterback for the other team, which included all the ''veterans'' and first-team yers.


    "You''re going down, bitch!" Tyler shouted at me as we prepared for the game. Jacob expressed concern and asked, "Ed, are you sure about this? We''re going to get destroyed."


    I nced in Tyler''s direction and smirked before responding to Jacob and the team, "You know what? It might not necessarily happen that way. Yes, we might get destroyed in the beginning, but I believe in a high-pressure training system."


    "None of you standing here today are truly novices at football. You''ve watched a lot of games, you''ve practiced for a long time... and while you may not know the strategies and winning ns yet, you can leave that part to me."


    "Remember this: just follow my instructions, and we''re going to crush the other teams. You got it?!"


    My teammates looked at me suspiciously after my pep talk. I sighed and added, "And... the winning team will receive a $100 coupon to The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate after this."


    "KICK THEIR ASS!"


    "KILL THEM!"


    "SLIT THEIR THROATS!"


    My teammates thunderously shouted their enthusiasm after hearing about the prize. I smirked and then nced at Tyler with a hint of pity. "Poor guy. And here he was excited to be the captain again today."


    We were struggling at the beginning, but after we switched from defence to offence, Tyler couldn''t handle our rising. My team won the game, 42 to 24, with no team managing to kick the ball into the goalpost. If my team had a decent kicker, we would have a lot more points than that.

 Chapter 183: What the rain brought.

    <h4>Chapter 183: Chapter 183: What the rain brought.</h4>


    (I was too busy this week that I kinda neglected my posting time, so here''s a double Chapter.)


    [Edward POV]


    After the football practice, Haley walked towards me with a towel. She grinned and said, "You''re a monster. Youpletely broke him."


    She turned towards Tyler, the ''Captain'' who actually held such a position ''in-name-only'' that was sitting on the ground with a depressed nk look on his face.


    I chuckled as I took off my helmet and said yfully, "What? He''s broken? How could that be?"


    Haley rolled her eyes before she changed the subject, "You know...The cheerleader tryout is tomorrow."


    "Well, I am interested in that, but I think I have too much on my te already. You know, with work, and football practice..."


    She snorted and said, "As much as I would love to see you in a cheerleader outfit, I was talking about ME!"


    "Ok...Then, no. Don''t be a cheerleader."


    "Huh?" Haley was confused. "Why not?"


    "Because...I''m a very selfish man. My needs trump everything else." I said with a sarcastic undertone.


    Haley tilted her head quizzically. "Really? The man who just won''t stop poking his nose in other people''s affairs?" She teased.


    I looked at her for a few seconds before replying, "Yeah. That man."


    She chuckled a bit and then asked, "Then nosey man, why are you stopping me?"


    "I told you. I''m selfish. I''m fine with others bing a cheerleader. Just not you."


    She was a bit irate and said, "Tell me the truth."


    I chuckled, held her chin with my hand, and gazed into her eyes. "I am being honest with you. I don''t want you to be a cheerleader. The cheerleading team needs to cheer for everyone. I want you to cheer...only for me."


    With a slight smirk, I left the frozen Haley alone to process my words. Cam heard and saw everything that happened as he was standing nearby, and his face was filled with disbelief.


    [Cameron''s Commentary]


    "That...How do you recover from that? Poor Haley. She''s going to be crushed."


    As Cam was certain that Edward was dating Taylor, he was worried for Haley.


    "But...at the same time, I kinda want to see what''s going to happen between them. This is currently more interesting to me than the Chris Brown and Rihanna... Wait, that''s not an appropriateparison. Kim K and Ray Z? But...that involved a (whisper) Sex tape."


    Cam thought about it and finally said, "It isparable to the storied love affair between myself and that young rodeo boy from Missouri. We also had an unrequited love story...that is to say, I was madly in love with him but he as straight, so I never had any chance at all. See! Haley and I are the same!"


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [General POV]


    "We''re going to the Cheesecake factory!" Edward announced to the entire team.


    Although they were separated into two teams during the practice match before, Edward didn''t discriminate and wanted to treat all of them out to a meal even if he said that only the winners of the practice match would get the reward.


    Tyler, who was depressed, instantly lit up and excitedly cheered at Edward''s announcement.


    Edward''s dietary requirement for them was considered strict and burdensome, so they wanted to use this opportunity to settle the condition without implicating their families. For some of the kids that were going to a public school in California�C even in this quiet rich neighbourhood, still had families that weren''t doing pretty well.


    Not all of them though since given the area''s spread there were students who were sent there because their parents still believed in the public school education system, such as Jenna, Jacob, and Haley.


    Jenna''s mother still had millions of dors in the bank even after she was cut off by her husband''s family since the old man had already set apart a nice safety fund for them fearing such a thing might happen. Jacob''s dad was a college football coach, and since he had once yed himself he still had some nice revenue streams he had set up for his retirement so he earned millions annually. ire was earning more than a 6 figure ie through mypany and that was without my generous employee bonuses, and Phil was the second best real estate salesman in the district.


    There was also Edward who earned more than 200k per day in passive ie alone from his music and games not including the revenue he reinvested into other ventures. So he felt responsible to take care of his teammates �C even though he didn''t need to.


    As Edward was smiling and enjoying the kids reaction, Randall�C His manager pulled him aside. Cam and Haley looked at the duo that was arguing with concern.


    Cam muttered, "That''s heated...What are they talking about?"


    Haley furrowed her brows cutely and said, "Hmm...There''s only one thing that would make Ed react like this. And that''s when his ns don''t go like he wanted."


    Edward then returned to the team and said, "Bad news. I can''t join you guys today. But, don''t worry. I''ll still cover the bill�C"


    Tyler suddenly shouted, "Can youe if we go there tomorrow?"


    Edward was a bit confused, "If there''s no emergency, I can be there tomorrow."


    The team members looked at each other to discuss before they turned to Edward with a smile on their faces. Tyler said, "Then, let''s just postpone the dinner party. It''s useless for us to have a team celebration�Cwithout the entire team, isn''t it?"


    Edward was baffled at first before he smiled and said, "Alright. Let''s postpone it."


    Randall then whispered to Edward, "You have that Jimmy Fallon interview tomorrow."


    Edward whispered back to Randall, "They can start filming early and end it at 3. I already talked to Jimmy about this. I''d just have to skip school tomorrow."


    "Pepper wouldn''t like that." Randall said hesitantly.


    "He said I need to be at school to make some friends my age. Aren''t I doing that right now? The only thing he would say is ''Throwing money around isn''t the way to make friends!'' I can just remind him that he did the exact same thing before, so he wouldn''t be able to argue much." Edward said with a slight smirk.


    He turned to Haley and said, "I need to go home right now. You want a ride?"


    "S-Sure." Haley replied with a bright face. Edward walked towards his car without even changing his uniform after saying his goodbyes to everyone there with Haley by his side.


    She asked carefully, "What happened?"


    Edward sighed, rubbed the back of his head and said, "Apparently a few Air Fryers malfunctioned and almost caused a fire in several houses. So HealthyFry Company is doing a callback on the products and are now trying to find out the cause of it."


    Haley was confused, "But...What does it have to do with you?"


    "Oh. HealthyFry is Pepper''s mother''spany. So I need to check it out personally. You know, ''cause I invented that thing."


    "And I also need to find out whether the problem was with the way thepany is building the appliance, and if I should notify the otherpanies that we are renting the patents out to so that it doesn''t cost us any lives."


    "But... this isn''t your responsibility, right?" Haley asked again to remind Edward.


    Edward shrugged, "Yeah. I know that. But, I still need to check it."


    ...


    As Edward was driving the Ford convertible to his house, the sky suddenly darkened.


    "Close the roof." Haley advised.


    "On it." Edward said as he pushed the button on his car. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew, causing the branches on the tree to fall down. One of them fell into the gap between the car, causing the roof to be stuck.


    "What the." Edward said with a piece of leaf stuck on his hair.


    Haley picked the leaf quickly and shouted urgently, "Drive home! We''re almost home!"


    "But�C"


    "Go go go!" Haley urged with a smile. Edward sighed and then stepped on the gas pedal to elerate the car quickly. However, the rain fell heavily when they were only 1 km away from their home.


    "Shit!" Edward cursed as he got drench. He saw Haley''s makeup start running down from her face, making him chuckle.


    Haley pouted with a puffy cheek and covered up her eyes. It took them less than a minute to get to his house, and when he entered through the opened garage door, suddenly Edward couldn''t hear the rain falling down anymore.


    "What kind of shitty luck is this?" Edwardughed out loud as he saw the clear sky. Haley alsoughed.


    "You want to hop on to the hot tub?" Edward asked teasingly.


    "Only if you''re joining in..." Haley said coquettishly.


    Edward smiled and said pitifully, "I need to get to myb...so..."


    "I think I''ll just go home and change first. Then, I''lle by�C"


    Edward suddenly got a phone call at this moment. It was from Pepper. As he answered it, his eyes widened and he came to a realization a few times.


    "Okay Peps. Thanks for telling me." Edward said before he ended the call. He turned to Haley and said with a smile, "Well..."


    Haley was worried for Edward, "What is it? Is it a major problem?"


    "On the contrary. Some of the product was faulty because the factory supervisor tried to cut corners and embezzle money. The design is actually wless. So Mrs Saltzman just fired that guy. Problem solved?"


    Haley chuckled a bit, and then she suddenly sneezed. Edward was worried and said, "We should get you warmed up."


    They entered the house together and Edward started the hot tub at the backyard before he went to change his clothing. He wore red shorts, and Haley wore some bikinis she found in Edward''s aunt''s pile of clothing.


    ...


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "How could you do this to me, ire?" Phil said in a hurt voice. His eyes were teary, and his voice was shaking. ire was sitting on the sofa, hugging her knees and lowering her head.


    "Hello! We''re here!" Gloria and Jay entered the house as they helped pick up Alex from detention today, and they saw what happened as they entered the second living room.


    "How could you betray me?" Phil asked, his voice choking.


    Jay and Gloria froze as they heard it and fell into disbelief.


    "I''m sorry Phil. It was a moment of weakness�C I�C I didn''t mean to do it!" ire raised her head up and begged Phil. She grabbed his hand, but he pulled it away.


    "Once is a moment of weakness. But THREE? W-What? Do you think that you WOULD never get caught?"


    Gloria gasped in horror and Jay yelled, "ire! What''s the matter with you?!"


    ire finally realized that her dad was here. She shook her head quickly and said anxiously, "Dad. It''s not what you think! You know what Phil? I''m going to make this right! I''m going to go over there right now, and make this whole thing right!"


    Gloria asked hurriedly, "Where are you going?"


    "To Edward''s house." ire replied hurriedly.


    Gloria gasped again, while Jay widened his eyes in shock. Gloria said, "ire! You did it 3 times with Edward? Or was it... his dad, Ted?"


    Phil and ire turned to Gloria with a confused expression. "What?"X2 They eximed simultaneously.


    "Umm.. So that''s not it?" Gloria asked carefully.


    "What do you think I have done? I''m...We''re just talking about... me eating all of Ed''s desserts." ire asked with suspicion and a little bit of anger.


    "Oh my god! Everyone else got it! But me!" Phil shouted in anger after he read a text message from Gil Thorpe, his archrival.


    Gloria finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled yfully, "Oh. I''m sorry. I thought it was about something else."


    "Well, me too." Jay said. "Luckily I hadn''t asked anything yet. By the way, your daughter''s home. And the teacher isn''t going to put her detention in her permanent record, so be thankful for that."


    "Wait. Alex was in detention?" ire asked, confused and a bit rmed. "Is she acting out because I don''t have much time for family these days?" She muttered to herself.


    "Or maybe, she found out that you took what was rightfully hers! And turned into a delinquent because she finally understood the unfairness of the world!" Phil said with a hurt tone before he ran upstairs tofort Alex.


    "Phil!" ire called out in tired exasperation. "I promise you I''ll find you one!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I chuckled as I read some of thements posted on my post on Instagram while checking my phone on the hot tub.


    "Look. Gordon Ramsaymented on my post." I turned the phone screen to Haley for her to look . She slowly made her way towards where I was and stuck her body on my arm, and at the same time perching her chin on top of it.


    "That''s crazy!" She muttered in astonishment and excitement.


    "Alright. Go away now." I said urgently. She smirked and said, "Why? I just want to read some of thements."


    "You can do that on your phone. Just in case you didn''t remember, you''re in a time out." I muttered yfully.


    "And just in case YOU didn''t remember, you touched me all over yesterday. So now that you''re driving me away, it makes me feel a little cheap." Haley said.


    I widened my eyes and said, "Oh. I''m sorry about that. It was never my intention�C" As I was apologizing, I saw her smirking face. "You tricked me."


    "I did." Haley smirked and ced her arm right in the middle of my leg. "Maybe right now, you can be more honest with me if you don''t want me to do that again."


    "What do you want me to say? That I want to kiss you? Cause I really do want to�C" Before I could finish my sentence, she leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. I stuck my tongue inside her mouth as she rummaged her hand on my hair.


    We separated for a bit and before I could say anything, she put her finger on my lip to hush me and said, "This...doesn''t mean anything. Just like you...Last night bothered me too! I couldn''t sleep without...you know... a few times!"


    I chuckled and said, "Alright then. No more talking."


    She grinned and then slowly lowered her head towards my crotch. As I was enjoying the moment, suddenly the rain poured down heavily.


    "Huh." I eximed.


    "What?" She stopped what she was doing and asked, "Is it not good? Too much teeth?"


    "Wh�C No, you''re doing great. I''m just thinking, I am usually unlucky everytime it rains."


    Haley chuckled in disbelief, "What?"


    Suddenly, we both heard ire''s voiceing out from behind us. Haley yelped as she saw her mother, and submerged herself in the water quickly. I was startled and turned to ire in a hurry.


    "Edward. Sorry for barging in�C Oh, you''re using the hot tub." ire said casually.


    I was anxious, but I still kept a poker face. "Why are you here�C How did you get in?"


    "Oh. I''m here to see if there''s any more pastries in your house. Then, I met your dad in front of the door, and he said you had an extra one in the fridge."


    "My dad?" I was confused. Haley poked me a few times and then whispered, "Make her go away! She can''t see me like this! I don''t have my clothes on! She will know!"


    I didn''t reply to her and said, "ire. This is the second time you came in while I was taking a bath. First time can be yed as a coincidence. But the second time... now that is a behavioural pattern�C"


    ire turned pale instantly, "W-What? NO! I didn''t do it on purpose! Your dad let me in!"


    My dad then beside ire and greeted me happily, "Hey Ed! I saw the dryer''s running, and the car seat was wet. Did you forget to close the top off during the rain?"


    "Yes. Please go and check it for me. ire, there''s an extra one in the fridge. It''s thest one. So take it, and go away quickly."


    "That makes me feel a little bad." ire said with a sad face.


    I didn''t react much and said, "ire. I''m kinda in the nude right now...sooo..."


    "OH!" ire widened her eyes in surprise and urgently said, "I''ll take it out and go away right now!"


    She then grabbed the box of pastries from the fridge and said her goodbyes quickly. My dad smiled at me after she left, and then asked casually, "How''s the hot tub? It''s the first time you''re using it, right?"


    "Dad, you need to go to your room." I ordered.


    He was a bit confused, "Huh? Are you embarrassed to be seen by me too? But I''m your dad."


    "Yeah. but I got someone that''s not your daughter inside the tub with me, and she''s going to drown if you stay here any longer."


    My dad was taken aback, panicked, and said, "Oh...OOH!!! Urrr...Right right. Imma go!"


    I nodded in satisfaction, and when my dad finally left, Haley got her body out of the water. She said teasingly, "You luck...is really really bad when it is raining!"


    I yed along, "I know right?"


    She then wrapped her arms around my neck and sat on myp as she kissed me, "I''ll try to change that for you today."

 Chapter 184: How’s the weather?

    <h4>Chapter 184: Chapter 184: How��s the weather?</h4>


    [General POV]


    "Really? You didn''t just give him everything?" Tara spoke sarcastically as she talked on the phone with Haley.


    Haley rolled her eyes before turning on her stomach as sheid down on her bed. "No! Of course not!"


    Tara chuckled and teased, "But...it was close, right?"


    "...Shut up." Haley replied with a slight smile. "The point is...We didn''t! I''m not going to give him my v-card when we are not even dating!"


    Taraughed out loud as she was making fun of Haley. "So...How big is it?" Tara asked with a slight blush. Haley rolled her eyes, and then she giggled and told Tara every single detail of her dalliance with Edward.


    "Really? He was that good?" Tara asked in shock after Haley told her about Edward''s skill with his tongue. "Can I try it too? I mean...You guys were only doing it as ''friends'', right? I think I''m his friend too�C"


    "Try it, and I''m going to castrate you, you slut." Haley smiled and spoke her menacing words with a soft tone.


    Tara giggled and then teased, "Well...You can''t actually do anything to stop me. Cause you know...Not...his girlfriend..."


    "Ugh! Stop reminding me of that!" Haley said in exasperation.


    After finishing the topic, Tara spoke of a new one. "You''re skipping school tomorrow?"


    "Yeah. I''m going to see the Jimmy Fallon interview live. Before that, we''ll stop by his agency first early in the morning.


    "This is a surprise right? Edward doesn''t know about this?"


    "Pepper thought of it. My dad, Luke, and Alex will also be there. Mom got banned because she stole their pastries so she can''t see the live show as a punishment."


    Ted and Cam will also join the show as part of the audience. Edward tried to get more seats, but the theater was already packed.


    Tara was baffled, "But...you did it too?" She knew that Haley had shared the pastries with her mother, but was confused as to why she managed to get away scott free.


    Haley twirled her hair and said proudly, "Yeah. But I''m pretty, so Ed didn''t get mad at me."


    Tara responded to that statement by making some puking sounds at the other side of the phone call. "Okay then, Goodluck in New York. I''m very jealous of you right now." She ended the call with a depressed tone.


    Haley chuckled and said, "Stop it�C Wait. Um..."


    "What? Are you feeling anxious and just now realised that Abby is in New York, and are now wondering if you should take a few hours to visit her?"


    "Kinda. Yes. What should I do?" Haley asked as she bit her lower lip in frustration.


    ...


    The next morning, Edward went to the newpany building and entered the recording studio together with the other musicians that would help him. He was wearing a ck leather jacket and ck pants, paired with a few silver essories.


    "Harvey. Where''s Pepper?" Edward asked through the microphone as he held a guitar in his hand. Harvey smiled mischievously, pressed the button that would allow Edward to hear her, and said, "You can start now. Pepper has a stomach problem."


    Pepper who was hiding behind the door was baffled and he looked at Harvey in dissatisfaction.


    "Ahh. Is he getting diarrhea again? He should really get that checked out. Or else he''ll get anal fissures and won''t be able to have a boyfriend ever again. " Edward replied with some concern. Pepper gasped in offence as he heard it, while Phil, Luke, Haley and Alex took one step away from Pepper.


    Pepper whispered angrily to Phil and his children, "I don''t have diarrhea!"


    Harvey chuckled as she saw Pepper''s reaction. But then, her face froze as Edward said, "Ok this new song is kind of a bit much so I''m going to put it in my private piles so we should only revisit this when I''m older."


    "Wh-What? Why?" Harvey asked quickly.


    Edward shrugged and spoke casually, "I mean it''s quite mature. I can''t really release it right now, not under my name at the very least." Harvey quickly turned towards Luke and Alex as she thought about the situation.


    But, she was toote. Edward and the musicians there had already started to sing before she could remove the kids from the venue.


    [Sweater Weather �C The Neighbourhood]


    An addictive beat spread all over the recording room. Edward smiled charmingly as he grabbed the microphone and shot a nce at Leo who gave him a thumbs up �C meaning, there was no problem with the audio.


    Edward sang seductively, "??And all I am is a man ??"


    "??I want the world in my hands??"


    "??I hate the beach, but I stand??"


    "??In California with my toes in the sand??"


    Haley widened her eyes as she thought about the adventure she had with Edward when she forced him to go to the beach. She cupped her mouth to prevent her excitement from leaking out, especially in front of her dad.\


    Harvey and Pepper were sweating profusely, but as they heard the intro, they calmed down a little. Pepper whispered to himself, "Alright. So far, so good. Great. All of us should go in right now!"


    He pushed the family to stand behind the audio synthesizer panel before he went to stand next to Harvey.


    Edward continued, "??Use the sleeves of my sweater, let''s have an adventure


    Head in the clouds, but my gravity''s centered??"


    Phil smiled knowingly as he alternated his nce between Haley, who was incredibly smitten, and Edward, who had no idea that they were here right now.


    [Phil''smentary]


    He said with excitement, "Although I am concerned that we''re invading Edward''s personal, and very private creative space, THE song...is actually about my daughter! So in a way, I have something to do with that song! So with that in mind, I can and actually SHOULD be here for this."


    [Commentary ends]


    "??Touch my neck and I''ll touch yours


    You in those little high-waisted shorts, oh??" Edward closed his eyes as he sang with emotion. Haley gasped beforeughing, while Alex and Luke enjoyed the beat without actually thinking about the lyric much.


    Harvey mumbled, "Oh my god." Pepper froze. Phil smiled innocently, but as he turned to look at Pepper''s ashen face, he finally realized it and his face froze too.


    Edward continued obliviously, "??She knows what I think about! And what I think about! One love, two mouths. One love, one house. No shirt, no blouse. Just us, you find out. Nothing that I wouldn''t wanna tell you about, no??"


    "??''Cause it''s too cold for you here and now


    So let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater??"


    [Haley''smentary]


    She smiled with a flushing face, "Wow....just...wow...So that''s what he thinks about huh." She then giggled to herself as she couldn''t wait to tease Edward.


    "??And if I may just take your breath away


    I don''t mind if there''s not much to say


    Sometimes the silence guides a mind


    To move to a ce so far away??"


    Edward smiled in reminiscence as he sang the next verse.


    "??The goosebumps start to raise


    The minute that my left hand meets your waist?"


    "??And then I watch your face


    Put my finger on your tongue ''cause you love the taste, yeah??"


    Phil slowly moved his hand towards Luke''s ear and closed them. Luke was baffled and pushed Phil''s hand instantly as he wanted to hear the song.


    "??These hearts adore


    Everyone the other beats hardest for


    Inside, this ce is warm


    Outside, it starts to pour??"


    Alex finally realized it and then turned to Haley with a shocked expression, "You said you didn''t do anything yesterday during the rain!"


    "Wha�C" Phil heard his daughter''s whisper and fell into shock.


    "??Comin'' down


    One love, two mouths


    One love, one house


    No shirt, no blouse


    Just us, you find out


    Nothin'' that I wouldn''t wanna tell you about??


    ??No, no, no??"


    [Chorus]


    ??''Cause it''s too cold~~ for you here and now


    So let me hold~~ both your hands in the holes of my sweater??


    ??''Cause it''s too cold for you here and now


    So let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater??


    ??Woah??


    The music changed and Edward finally turned towards the ss wall. He froze for a bit as he saw the Dunphy''s there, but he couldn''t stop singing.


    ??Woah, woah, woah


    Woah, woah, woah, woah


    Woah, woah


    Woah, woah, woah, woah


    Woah, woah??


    He waved weakly at them, blood rushed to his ears, turning them red.


    "??''Cause it''s too cold for you here and now


    So let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater


    ''Cause it''s too cold for you here and now


    Let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater??"


    "??And it''s too cold, it''s too cold


    The holes of my sweater??"


    As Edward sang the outro and ended the song, only Leo and the Dunphy''s children pped for Edward''s performance. Leo said through the speaker button, "Great recording as usual Edward. Do you want to sing another time and see if you can trump that up?"


    "Ummm...What are they doing here? Also, No." Edward replied to Leo after pointing to the guests inside the recording studio.


    As he walked out of the recording room, he couldn''t look Phil in the eye, and pretended that he needed to go to the bathroom to get away from there.


    Pepper poked Phil''s shoulder as he was processing his feeling and reminded Phil, "Remember. He said that he''s going to hold this song for a few years until he grows up. So, that''s how we should react to this."


    "Also, they definitely didn''t go all the way yesterday. Or else trust me when I say I would see it." Harvey added. Phil was baffled then he asked Harvey seriously, "Wait. Are you sure about this?"


    Harvey nodded and said, "Yeah. Women can know if another woman loses it. If you''re still suspicious, you can ask your wife about it. She''ll definitely know."


    Women�C especially mothers who care a lot about their child would notice this. Maybe it was the way they were walking after, or any other reasons, but mothers would notice, at the very least suspect.


    Phil finally breathed a sigh of relief and pushed those thoughts far far away in his mind.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Well that was traumatizing." I muttered to myself after I got away from the recording studio. Haley followed me from behind and she couldn''t stopughing. I red at her and said yfully, "Oh. Is this funny to you?"


    "Without a doubt." She replied teasingly. She then fixed my jacket and cor before saying, "But. We''re going to put a pin on that. Cause I noticed that you''re the type to run away if you''re embarrassed about something."


    "Depends on the type of embarrassment. Familial, I can take it. I won''t run away from my friends either. But I will surely run away if I fucked up in front of my..."


    "Your what?" She asked as I stopped abruptly. I smiled and said, "Oh...nothing. We should get all of them and move to the airport right now."


    "???" Haley was confused, "''In front of my'' what?!"


    [Edward''smentary]


    Edward rubbed his chin for a bit and he scoffed to himself. "Well...I surprised myself there. The ending to that sentence was... ''In front of my... girlfriend''s... dad.''...I�C Uh..."


    He smiled in disbelief while throwing his hand in the air in excitement. He said jokingly, "I mean...I know that I like her... but right now...I''m more worried about how to face her dad after this."


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    "It''s a 5 hour flight, so getfortable." Pepper said as he sat on the front seat of the ne with Harvey sitting facing him. They were sipping some wine and eating the snacks the stewardess had prepared, before wearing an eye mask to pretend that they were sleeping.


    It was a smart move from them. Too bad I didn''t have that luxury. Phil was sitting directly in front of me, and now is currently asking me an important question, "What is your intention with my daughter?"


    I paused for a bit and asked, "Which one."


    He furrowed his eyebrow before he said, "Haley?"


    "Oh. Um...It was pure�C"


    "Was?" Phil caught my mistake immediately. He scowled and then said, "Look. I know, that you''re now a teenager, and your hormones are currently going haywire-"


    Haley interjected quickly, "DAD! Stop! We''re just friends! Also you shouldn''t tire him out."


    Phil thought about it then sighed. I was finally relieved as he was letting go of the topic for now.


    Luke asked, "Hey. Who''s Jimmy Fallon?"


    "Isn''t he just another SNL guy?" Alex asked.


    Haley was also curious, "He...He''s just starting his show this year, right? And now it''s ending?"


    I answered to Haley, "No. It''s going to continue for a long time. He already has over 100 guests right now."


    The show was aimed for the adult audiences, so they had never watched it before.


    Thete night show started in February 2009, and was only aired once every two days but it didn''t receive that much love from the audience at the beginning.


    But, after a few games with the guests, Jimmy''s overreaction to every single joke made him earn a spot in people''s hearts. Currently, the fanbase for the show is still rtively small.


    But I knew that in the future, it would grow to be one of the most popr talk shows in the country. I was just making some investments in that.


    (Made a little tweak from his past world )


    Harvey and Pepper were confused as to why I agreed with the invitation to get on the show, when I didn''t agree with Ellen Degeneras invitation. But they didn''t try to convince me much. Everyone has their own preferences, right?


    "Who''s your co-guest?" Alex asked.


    I rubbed my chin and said, "I''m not sure yet. It was supposed to be Julianna Margueiless and Usain Bolt I think. But right now, I''m not quite sure. Pepper?" I turned to Pepper, and saw that he was truly sleeping right now.


    I shrugged and said, "I guess I''ll find out when I get there. It could be Megan Fox though."


    Haley furrowed her brows while Phil''s eyes lit up. "Why do you think it''ll be her?" Haley asked with a hint of jealousy.


    "The movie "Jennifer''s Body" had just releasedst week. So it may be her. I am not quite sure yet."


    "Like, a hot body or?" Haley asked.


    "Like, a hot, dead body. A horror movie." I replied yfully, making Haleyugh.


    ...


    "It''s cold!" Haley rubbed her arm as she exited the ne.


    "It''s New York inte September. Of course it''s cold." I replied before I took off my leather jacket and put it around her. She smiled shyly and twirled her hair.


    "I''m cold too!" Phil said. "Well I only have one jacket." I replied jokingly.


    Luke asked Phil, "Are we running away from home because mom ate our donut?"


    "No Luke. We''re here to support Edward in his show filming today." Phil replied.


    "But, you said, "That this was going to teach her a lesson"..."


    Phil just looked around guiltily before putting a scarf on Luke. Randall was already in New York, and he picked us up. We went directly to the NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller za to prepare for the show.


    "Ed, don''t you need to prepare?" Randall asked worriedly after he saw me leisuring around the guest room.


    "Ah, don''t worry about that. I have already read all the questions and even the added notesst night." I replied. Randall was sceptical about my answer, but he decided not to press me.


    "Are you sure?" He asked.


    I nodded and replied in a casual manner, "I''m sure. Also, who''s that?"


    "What?" Randall turned around quickly, and he instantly blocked the door to prevent any threats from getting near me.


    A slim, long haired blonde woman with a Paris Hilton-like demeanour, huge pearls around her neck, and fingers filled with giant rings, walked casually into my waiting room. She slightly pushed Randall away, but he slipped and fell to the floor.


    "Hi. Edward Newgate. I''m your biggest fan." She said with a slightly snobbish tone while pushing Randall away and offered a handshake at me assertively.


    "Hi. I seem to know you from somewhere." I muttered as I scrutinised her face. She smiled and said, "I''m Caroline Channing. You might know me from my father, Martin Channing."


    "Ah, the billionaire who shook my hand at my NYC concert. He''s a very charming man." I said sarcastically, but it went over the girls head.


    Caroline was ted, "I know right?"


    (Caroline Channing �C 2 Broke Girl show)


    Well, that man was also running a ponzi scheme. That''s how he became a billionaire. I found out about that when he tried to talk to Pepper about an investment opportunity before.


    Given that he was handsome, Pepper almost fell into that scheme and invested millions of our hard earned money into it.


    (A/N: Edward had never watched that show before, so he didn''t know the plot. He only knew about the two girl being broke, and they wanted to run a cupcake business)


    "I''m sorry to bother you, especially right before you are going to film the show." Caroline said honestly while throwing her head back and threw her hands in the air. (Jazz hand)


    I was taken aback when I saw her demeanor. Unlike her dad, she was actually quite innocent, albeit she was snobbish. But it wasn''t like she was acting snobbish. That was how she was raised �C to be a rich girl. She didn''t really know how to be anything else.


    "I just want to introduce myself. Because I''d really like to be your friend." She said without hiding anything.


    I smiled kindly and replied, "Hmm...that''s quite a tough request."


    "Really?" She asked incredulously, acting like me saying ''No'' was the vilest thing that ever happened to her.


    I crossed my arm and said, "Yes. Not that I don''t think that you''re a good person. Based on our 30 second meeting, I think that you''re a very nice girl. But your dad..."


    "What do you mean? What did my dad do?" She asked in confusion.


    I shrugged and said, "You should figure that out on your own. And after you do figure it out, my advice would be to quickly bury some cash for your future somewhere secret, and off the books."


    "Huh?" Caroline eximed. "Wait- What are you talking about?"


    "Do you want a picture?" I asked her.


    Her concerns melted and she replied sweetly, "Of course I want a picture!" She took out her Iphone with a hello kitty diamond casing and then posed using a duck face as we took the picture.


    Security then escorted her away, and I turned to Randall, who was rubbing his sore arm from the fall, with a re on my face.


    "Really? You fell on the floor? Isn''t she like 100 pounds wet?"


    He said guiltily, "Well she''s not very strong, but I didn''t want to get scratched by her ring."


    "You know what...I''m not even going to say anything about this, cause I think that you''ll think about what just happened and strive to be better without me telling you to do it." I said.


    Randall smiled guiltily and agreed with my words in a weak manner, "Yeah...I promised myself that I would go to the gym after this."


    "Good. Okay, as a punishment, you need to go to Williamsburg, and find a restaurant called the Williamsburg Diner."


    Randall''s eyes lit up with the determination to prove himself, "Is that like a famous restaurant?"


    I shook my head and replied naughtily, "No. It''s a shitty diner. There''s also a slight chance that it is owned by the Russian Mafia."


    Randall gulped his saliva and asked me fearfully, "W-What do you want me to do there?"


    I smirked and said, "I need you to find a girl named Max ck. When you see a girl working there with ck hair, very mean...and with huge breasts, then, you''ll know you have the right girl. I need you to get me her cupcakes."


    Randall was aggrieved, "Edward. You''re pretty famous. A lot of girls would give their ''cupcakes'' to you for free. You don''t have to hire an escort�� which, I''m 99% sure is illegal in this state�C"


    I narrowed my eyes on him and said, "You have a really low opinion of me huh? I''M Not asking you to get her! I''m asking you to get her cupcakes! She makes and sells cupcakes!" (E/N: Technically she doesn''t yet... It was just a side gig at the diner)


    Randall was finally relieved, "Oh. Is this like a food hunt like that blog video you alway watch?"


    "Go go go!" I chased him away before he could get the answer to that question.

 Chapter 185: Tonight Show (1)

    <h4>Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Tonight Show (1)</h4>


    (My editor is on a long business trip so the quality is a bit down. Still, try to enjoy it!)


    [Edward POV]


    "So it actually was Megan Fox." I muttered with sight astonishment as my prediction hade true. I was waiting behind the curtain as Jimmy Fallon interviewed the actress.


    The show started with a stand up skit by Jimmy, then a game with the audience. Phil was lucky enough to be selected, and the game they yed was truly one of his strengths.


    The game was called, ''Can you guess it by licking it?'' where they put out some fruit, fishes, some stic toys, and the audience members that were blindfolded needed to guess what it was.


    Phil won the game by andslide because no one else there wanted to lick a raw fish. The shooting passed by incredibly fast, and it took only half an hour for the segment to wee me on the stage!


    "My next guest is the most famous teenager in the whole world, shattering almost all records with his debut album : ''Breaking'' and also the world''s cutest pastry maker, Please wee, Edward Newgate!!!"


    The crowd apuded cheerfully with a few of them whistling and shouting my name. Luke and Phil shouted in excitement as they called out my name. I blew some kisses towards their direction, causing the audience to exim in excitement.


    Jimmyughed and reacted as I shook hands with him as he told me to have a seat on the couch next to his desk.


    "Wow. I have to say it''s very nice to finally get to meet you." Jimmy said with a slightly awed face. "I can''t believe you flew all the way from California, just to join my show."


    I nodded and said, "Well, to bepletely honest I actually needed a way to y hooky and get away from school when I got your text." The crowdughed at my honesty. I turned to Jimmy, leaned my body on the armrest while sping my hands together, "Also...this isn''t our very first meeting."


    "Huh? It''s not?" Jimmy asked, confused and a little bit pale.


    "Yeah. We first met when I was doing my concert here in New York, and you got to meet me backstage. I remember it very clearly because I was extremely excited to finally eat an authentic New York bagel when you walked in but, by the time you left, the whole bag had... disappeared."


    Jimmy was so shocked he was left speechless. He widened his eyes and dropped his jaw as he looked directly into the camera. Phil held his stomach as heughed, and the audience there started using Jimmy by loudly ''booing'' him while stillughing.


    Jimmy waved his arms in protest and said, "Hold on! Hold on! I didn''t take your bagels!"


    I shrugged and I smugly answered in a knowing tone, "Well, I didn''t say you took them. I''m just saying they disappeared. But now I''m starting to think you might have been the one to take them so why were you so defensive huh?? Might be your guilty conscience."


    "I,,,I didn''t do it!" Jimmy said, his face lit up with excitement as he watched the crowd reacting to the skit we prepared. It was by far, the greatest reaction he had ever gotten from the studio audience yet.


    Luke whispered to Alex, "Why is Ed even there if he ate his bagel? To get revenge? Should we support him?"


    Alex rolled her eyes and said, "No you idiot! He''s just joking around. And if he was the kind to take revenge on someone who steals his food, he''d first be going to get it from you!"


    "Just in case you don''t remember. He''s already punished me." Luke said with confidence.


    Megan Fox, who still hadn''t left, was also heartily reacting to the skit. She covered her mouth whileughing silently from the side of the stage where no camera could notice her.


    "We''ll talk about thatter. Maybe....over some bagels." Jimmy fixed his messy index card and lowered his eyes guiltily, earningughs from the audience again.


    "Umm, now that we have brushed that aside...(audienceugh), I wanted to talk to you about, uhh, everything in your career, and get to know you a little bit too." He slightly patted me on the shoulder as he ended his sentence, giving the audience the impression that we are close.


    He read from the cue card, "I just want to say, that your "Breaking" Album country tour, you announced it! And then 48 hourster, all the tickets for your performance, all be unavable! All of them were sold out!"


    I reacted like I was in disbelief and mumbled to myself, "That''s insane." while Jimmy lowered his head and stared at me. Jimmy said, "What does it feel like?"


    "Honestly? It feels, incredible." I replied. "The support that everyone has given me, made me feel like I was dreaming! I can''t imagine getting to where I am right now, a few months ago. The journey that I faced, and the help that people have been offering me, I''m never going to take them for granted."


    He then asked me a few questions about how I got started in the industry, the journey I have experienced, and also the inspirations behind my album. I shared my story and went on a long monologue for a while.


    (A/N: People already knew about his background, so Imma skip it.)


    Jimmy listened empathetically and said, "So, you can say that you owe your sess today to your meddling gay uncles?"


    "Absolutely." I replied with a yful smile.


    "Being handsome, smart, and talented is just a tiny, tiny factor, right?" Jimmy added teasingly.


    "It is not, but I''m not supposed to say that out loud." I joked.


    Jimmy and the audienceughed before Jimmy said, "Not supposed to say that out loud. Just like when you can''t say that you''re the personification of the American dream?"


    "American Dream?" I asked with a confused smile.


    "Yes.. Or, how else would you exin...this clip?" Jimmy asked. I was baffled and asked incredulously, "What-?"


    The studio then yed a short video, taken during ''Eenie Meenie'' music video filming, where a bald eaglended on my arm. It showed that while everyone was freaking out in the video, I talked to the eagle calmly and coaxed him to leave my hand. It took almost 20 seconds, then the eagle finally flew away.


    I covered my face as Iughed after the camera cut back towards me. Jimmy chuckled and said, "See. Literally!! The embodiment of Americanded on your arm. You talked to him like he is your friend! This is the proof."


    I chuckled and said, "Oh man. At that time, I was really confused as to what I should be doing. You know, you can''t touch the eagle. It''s in thew. So that''s all I can do."


    "You can''t just shake your hand a little? Maybe throw a bagel in front of him?" Jimmy asked teasingly.


    "So that''s what you did with my bagel? You used it to feed the eagle?" I said usingly, causing Jimmy to be baffled again, and the crowd to burst intoughter.


    Jimmy then hid his mouth and whispered, "Duck."


    "Oh. You fed the duc- You did take it!" I used, causing the crowd to burst intoughter.


    "Speaking of pastries with holes in the middle, I think I''m speaking for everyone in the country when I say that we are curious about how you get the idea to invent...The Cronuts!?"


    I was genuinely confused at this time, "Hmm? What do you mean?"


    Jimmy exined, "You know. Your instagram video that you posted yesterday, where you decide to create a brand new dessert?" He started to ramp up my achievement and took out a screenshot of my instagram post that was scaled up into an A4 size before showing it to the audience.


    "See. You can''t deny it. I got the proof, right here." He said jokingly.


    My eyes shook and I chuckled a bit, "Ho-Hold on. I''m not saying that I didn''t post the video yesterday, but...Did I invent the cronut? I don''t think I did?"


    "Huh?" Jimmy smiled and said urgently, "No. It has never existed since the day before yesterday!"


    "You''re messing with me." I said with a slight nervous chuckle.


    Jimmy''s eyes lit up and he said, "You didn''t know?!"


    I was shaken at this moment, "Wait! Did I really do that?! Phil?" I turned to Phil in the audience and asked while the crowd was eximing wildly as they saw my reaction.


    Phil nodded from afar and shouted, "You did! You invented it!"


    I stood up in shock, and Jimmy mimicked me too while the crowdughed at the both of us. I think they assumed that I was joking, but I really wasn''t joking at this moment.


    Haley held back herughter while Alex didn''t keep any of it inside. She cackled loudly as she muttered, "I knew it! He treated it like casual, but I knew it! He really didn''t know."


    Phil added, "It was rare to see Edward react like this. He''s usually so calm and cool~"


    Haley mumbled, "I know. He looks so cute right now!"


    I calmed myself down quickly and continued to y along by telling the story about the cronut invention.


    "As I was recording the video, I really didn''t think that I was inventing a new pastry. I really thought that everyone else knew about it. Cronut. Thebination of croissant and donut. It was a normal dessert for me! I didn''t know that the rest of you didn''t know. "


    "Yeah you invented it! You can believe my words. But I guess that when you do so many things it just all blends together, right?" Jimmy said before he turned to the audience and said, "Did you guys know, the social media tform, Instagram, was created by Edward himself!"


    The crowd gasped in shock and awe, then Jimmy added, "I''m not finished! Whatsapp! LinkedIn! The new Air Fryer! Cronuts!!! All of these!!! Wouldn''t exist if Edward didn''t exist in this world!"


    I showed a shy smile as I didn''t think that he would talk about all of this.


    "So, is it safe for me to assume that you like creating new things?"


    "You can, just call me Ed." I said, causing the audience to cheer for Jimmy. He said excitedly, "Really? I can call you that? Wow! Now I can brag about it to a lot of other people!"


    I chuckled a little bit and waited for Jimmy to finish his reaction before answering, "Well. You can say that. I do like tinkering with things. But it''s not like I''m doing it all the time, and I''m not going to be like Iron Man or anything. I like to eat more healthy food, so, you know, Air Fryer."


    "I want to text with my friends, send memes to them, so, Whatsapp. I want mypany to be able to search for more employees, hence, LinkedIn. I didn''t invent them casually though. I need inspiration for them too. For example, a few days ago, as I wore a jacket that I like, the cor was already linty..."


    Jimmymented, "Ahh, I hate it when that happens."


    I nodded and said, "Yeah. And using the lint remover roller for me is very wasteful, not to mention that it didn''t work very well at that location. So...I fiddled a bit with a design for an electric lint remover..."


    Jimmy was thoroughly impressed at this moment, "Really? So, can we expect to see that electronic device in the market in the future?"


    "If it works, then maybe. Yeah." I replied ambiguously. I was sure that most of the interview would be cut out, so I was just saying anything at this moment. The show onlysted for about 40 minutes in the final cut, and I didn''t think that they would split half of that time, just to show them my interview.


    "You...should send me one...for free...after you make it. Then, I''m going to review it for you..." Jimmy said jokingly while knocking the table.


    "um...Maybe not for free...Like, I had already given you free bagels.." I joked, causing Jimmy to burst intoughter.


    Afterughing, Jimmy asked, "Alright, moving on! We know that you''re now coborating with Sean Kingston for the song, "Eenie Meenie" that is going to be released this week, and also I need to ask, what about your coboration with Taylor?"


    The crowd eximed excitedly as he asked that question.


    I smiled and then said, "The coboration is still in the works. It is just pushed back a couple of weeks, because right now, I need Taylor to focus on her Album Fearless, which will be released on October 1st. The coboration wille out after that."


    The crowd cheered thunderously when I announced it. They didn''t think it was weird because they already knew that I was the current president of the Entertain agency, even though I couldn''t im that position officially.


    My current situation waspared to Bruce Wayne after the death of his parents where Alfred took care of thepany business, but thepany was still legitimately Bruce''s.


    Jimmy asked, "You''re acting in her music video too. Just like when you film ''Love Story''. By the way, I love that music video!"


    "Yeah. me too." I said, causing the audience to chuckle.


    "You''re a great actor. I saw your documentary�C"


    "Fort War?"


    "Yes. That. Did you know that a lot of Star Wars fans have been begging George Lucas to give you a role?"


    "I didn''t know that. But I got a tweet from Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor about it."


    Jimmy dropped his jaw before he held his head and screamed, "DARTH VADER AND OBIWAN! Yo- You should really consider taking acting jobs. It''ll be a waste for you not to."


    I chuckled a bit and said, "I won''t limit myself to just singing, so maybe one day though."


    Jimmy asked yfully, "Is there like, a character that you wanted to be cast in, or a genre that you''re interested..."


    I answered instantly, "Spiderman. No doubt." The crowd cheered, and then I added jokingly, "I also have an Aunt May, so the role is like, calling for me."


    Jimmy pped and wheezed for a while before he asked, "You''re close with Robert Downey Junior, is that the reason why you want to be a hero?"


    "That, and also the fact that I am a majoric book fan. So..." I added with a slight smirk.


    Jimmy and I saw the camera-man asking him to wrap things up.


    Jimmy said, "W-Well, everyone knows that you''re a great artist, a singer, an actor, inventor, pastry maker�C" He struggled to list them all out, making the audienceugh. "But what people don''t know about you is that you''re also a great impressionist."


    "Well, I do okay. But I understand, tha you too, are a great impressionist. So I came here today to challenge you. Here, I even created something for you."


    I took out the buzzer button with thebel, "The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon'', and gave it to him. He took it and was moved. "AWW!" He said, "Thest guest who gave me a gift was Justin Timbeke, and he only did it to congratte me for getting my show. Can the camera zoom in, take a look at that?"


    He showed the buzzer button to the camera, and the crowd eximed, "A"


    "But, if you lose the game, then I will take this back." I said jokingly.


    "Then, I cannot lose!" He said with confidence before exining the game to the audience. "With that in mind, it''s time for the new game, "Wheel of Musical Impressions!" Here we go!"


    The band yed a tune while the screen yed the game title animation. The band ''Roots'' yed melodiously, and I swayed my body to the tune a little bit.


    The crowd cheered thunderously, and Jimmy continued with a huge grin on his face, "Here''s how it works! We''re going to take turns hitting the button here, which will activate the musical impression generator." He showed the button I gave him to the audience in the room.


    "And uhh...It''llnd on a random singer, and a random song..." Jimmy ced the buttons down while I nodded in agreement to his words. "And whoever turns it is, you have to do the impression of the musician, singing that song."


    "Okay. Edward, you go first! Here''s your microphone."


    "Bring it on!" I muttered while I fixed my sitting to face the audience directly. Jimmy asked, "Are you ready? Then, press the button!"


    There was a monitor by the camera where we could watch the generator rolling.


    Jimmy was excited, "OH! Singing the Sesame Street Theme Song, as Michael Jackson!"


    "Oh my god. Wait...Ahh~ AHH~ Okay, got it!" I said after checking the pitch I needed to cover the song as Michael Jackson.


    Jimmyughed and then the band yed a beat that is simr to the song, "Beat it By Michael Jackson."


    I held the microphone and bobbed my head to the tune before closing my eyes and sang with a high pitch voice, "Sunny Day~~"


    The moment I sang that, the crowd cheered explosively while Jimmy covered his mouth in shock. "How can I beat this!?" He eximed while putting his hand on the top of his head.


    I continued, "Sweepin'' the clouds away~~ On my way~ to where the air is sweet~. Can you tell me how to get...How to get to Sesame Street~"


    The crowd stood up to cheer while Jimmy eximed madly, "WHAT?! THAT WAS AMAZING!!" He threw his hand on the empty space in front of him.


    "Your turn!" I said to Jimmy. He shook his microphone exaggeratedly to show that he was fearful, and then pressed the button as he surrendered to his fate.


    "Gloria Estafan singing, London Bridge is falling down!" Jimmy muttered. Iughed beside him as the band yed a tune simr to the song, "Samba", causing Jimmy to sweat profusely. But he did manage to do it!


    "Not that bad! Not that bad!" I said, "You can give me a challenge."


    "Really master?" He said with a deep voice.


    I nodded and pretended to brush my beard, "Yes young ones."


    Then, both of us burst intoughter. It was my turn again, and I pressed the button.


    "Wait. Stevie Wonder, singing ''Since You Been Gone'' That''s really hard to do."


    I looked a bit worried and said, "I''ll do my best."


    Haley and Alex scoffed at their seats and said, "As if it''s hard for him!"


    The band yed a tune simr to "Isn''t she lovely" by Stevie Wonder. I wasn''t going to lie, this was hard for me to aplish.


    "Um, Can you change it to something simr to "Part time Lover?" I muttered to the band. They nodded and changed the beat quickly.


    Then, I used my best Stevie Wonder impression voice and sang, " And all you''d ever hear me say! Is how I picture me with you! That''s all you''d ever hear me say!


    "... But since you been gone!" I stood up as I sang this. The crowd cheered thunderously and apuded my performance.


    "I can breathe for the first time! I''m so moving on, yeah, yeah. Thanks to you


    Now I get! what I want! Since you been gone!"


    The band yed me out as I stopped singing while Jimmy shouted excitedly, "THE CHAMPION! EDWARD NEWGATE EVERYONE!!!!"


    He pointed at me aggressively, and then pulled me in for a hug as I turned towards him.


    The cheer slowed down and diminished after a while. I turned to Jimmy and said, "You''re not going to continue?"


    "I can''t! I''m totally defeated today!" Jimmy said jokingly.


    "Well. Then, I think that you need this more than I do." I said and gave the button to him.


    "Really?" He pretended to be confused.


    I nodded slightly and said, "Yes. You need the practice. I''ll leave the button here, and you should train hard at making impressions until the time Ie here again."


    "Wow! That''s amazing." Jimmy said with a slight chuckle. "Can I use it with the other guests?"


    "Absolutely." I nodded, causing the audience to chuckle.

 Chapter 186: Jimmy Fallon (2)

    <h4>Chapter 186: Chapter 186: Jimmy Fallon (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    I walked behind the curtains as the crowd cheered for me. I waved at them with a smile on my face and sent them some flying kisses as I left.


    Jimmy told the crowd about the final recording session, but before that, they would take a 20 minute break.


    "Break?" I was confused when I heard it. "Shouldn''t it be time for my performance now?" I muttered to myself.


    Suddenly, I heard some strident click ck of an urgent footsteping towards me, together with the sound of someone bickering.


    "You really aren''t supposed to be here!" Randall said with a nervous tremble in his voice. His eyes widened in shock as he saw me, but thedy in a yellow diner shirt with red lining lit up with excitement and agitation.


    "You! How did you know me by name!?" Max ck asked as she strode forcefully towards me. I turned to her and said casually, not minding her tone in the slightest, "You didn''t bring me your cupcakes?"


    Max is of average height with long dark brown hair she wears in waves, deep-blue eyes, and pale skin. She was wearing eyeliner and dark red lipstick. However, most of my attention went straight to her bust that popped out from her slightly unzipped polyester dress.


    "That too! How did you know that! And why did you send ''Hawaii 5.0'' detective to search for me...and my cupcakes!" Max asked furiously. "And tell me honestly! I had been wanting to beat up a teen pop star. "


    I smiled and said, "I don''t have the answer to that question. You can say that...a being...in the HIGHer dimension, sent the images inside my head. Get it? HIGH-er..."


    "What?" Max narrowed her eyes in disbelief, then, she saw my hinting eyes. Her eyes widened in realization and she rxed instantly, "OHH!!!!"


    I stopped her from mentioning the subject and introduced myself, "Hi. I''m Edward."


    "Hi. You already know me." Max replied with a slight sarcasm. Growing up neglected and being let down by everyone around her, Max used sarcasm to prevent anyone from getting close to her. She smiled and said, "I don''t believe that I shared a pot dealer with a teen popstar. I guess Kim''s business is really booming nowadays."


    "What was that?" Randall asked as he couldn''t catch what Max said. But we ignored him as we stared into each other.


    Max turned slightly and asked with a slight nervous stutter, "So, you heard from Kim and you decide that you need to taste some stale diner cupcakes too? Or...were you looking for the ''party'' ones? Cause I don''t make those..." She whispered, "Anymore..."


    "Aww. And here I was looking forward to that." I said with some sarcasm. She seemed taken aback by that, and smiled softly.


    "The cupcakes are already sold out. But, if you can wait for a while,I could make some more." She offered.


    I paused to think for a second then said, "I can''t stay here for long. I need to fly back to California after this. How about, I get your phone number, and when Ie here again, I will call you?"


    "Wait. There''s now against exchanging numbers with a kid, right? Cause I can''t go to jail again." Max joked and seemed a little bit hesitant.


    "You know, next time if Ie here alone, I may be going to some parties and need an entourage."


    "I am IN!" Max replied instantly.


    Jimmy Fallon walked backstage and rushed towards me, "Edward, can I talk to you about something�C Wait, who''s this? Your sister?"


    Max chuckled and muttered to herself, "That''s a possibility, given that my mom would spread her legs for anyone, and I never knew who my dad is."


    Jimmy was baffled but Iughed. "Max, why don''t you stay and watch the rest of the filming?"


    Max asked, "What''s this for? I almost dozed off when I got inside the building, so I''m guessing anyte night shows?"


    "You...didn''t recognize me? I guess I should work harder in the future." Jimmy smiled wearily and dropped his shoulder.


    Max smiled and teased, "I don''t know any of the new shows, cause I''m too poor to own a tv. And if I want to watch something fun, I go directly to porn websites."


    "Underage boy there! Underage!" Randall chimed in urgently while pointing at me, hoping to get Max to behave.


    "Ahh calm your tits...Like Mine is! I was in elementary school when I learned about all of that stuff. I''m sure that he already knew more than what he let others believe."


    I nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah. She''s right. And also Randall, don''t be a prude."


    "So, you''re going to ignore me here?" Jimmy acted depressed but kept a smile on his face.


    I chuckled and said, "Right. I forgot about you."


    "O-Ouch." He yfully clutched his heart.


    "Max. Stay and watch the show. I''m going to get on stage for the finale. We can talk after that." I turned to Max and offered.


    She crossed her arms together and said regretfully, "I want to, cause you seem like a cool person...but, I need to go back to the diner. Or else the Russian Mafia Boss won''t pay me."


    I narrowed my eyes a little, and then remembered a little bit about the plotline of the series. It wasn''t until Han�C the small Korean man took over the diner and hired Caroline too that Max''s life became better.


    "Do you really care about the diner?" I asked.


    She grinned and said, "No." Iughed and let Randall escort her to the audience seat while I talked about a few things with Jimmy.


    "I''ve decided! I''m going to take a risk, and do something that''s different from everyone else!"


    "So you decided to take my advice. Good for you! Just don''t forget about your promises."


    "Interviews for Taylor, Coldy, Ariana, and who else?" Jimmy asked.


    I grinned and said, "I''ll send you a list."


    Jimmy chuckled for a bit before he said loudly, "This may offend you a little bit, but, I want to ask you another question, about the photo of you and Taylor, while on camera�C"


    He paused and thenughed, "You know what? This is the first time that I actually challenged how thesete night shows work! I could feel the adrenaline rushing down my veins now."


    I was a bit startled then I rubbed my chin as I contemted a decision. "What are you thinking?" I asked, intrigued about his ideas.


    ...


    [General POV]


    As Max was seated in an empty chair behind where the Dunphy''s were sitting, Haley turned towards her as she recognized Randall.


    "Hey Randy." Haley greeted.


    "Randall!" Phil greeted him excitedly.


    "Ahh. I miss this." Randall muttered to himself. For him, New Yorkers were very mean. "Phil. Haley. Alex. Luke. Please talk some sense into Edward and let mee back to LA with you guys."


    Haley chuckled a bit and asked teasingly, "Why isn''t he letting you go back home?!"


    "Just...He gave me a lot of work to do here. I don''t think I can go back until a monthter." Randallined.


    Randall was tasked to search for new housing for Edward and the staff members, and also a new office space for Edward''spany expansion in the East Coast.


    "He saw that you were overpowered by a skinny white girl. I guess he has no confidence in letting you follow him around as protection." Max added mockingly.


    Haley saw Max''s face, and then, her eyes went to her boobs. She was shocked internally and asked in disbelief, "Umm...You are?"


    "I''m Max. Edward wants my cupcakes." Max answered ambiguously to tease Haley as she noticed the girl''s jealousy towards her.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "So. I looked away for one second, and he hooked up with another big breast brte with an attitude?" Haley joked but filled with a sense of wariness.


    [Commentary ends]


    The staff members were passing around a white card during the break. The male staff member asked, "Have you guys written a keyword yet?"


    "No?" Randall asked in confusion.


    "Write down a keyword in this, then, put it in the box up front." He said to Max and Randall.


    "I don''t have a pen." Randall muttered, but the staff member had already gone away. Max turned to Randall and said, "Here. I got an extra pen." Randall was excited, but then his smile froze as Max reached into her cleavage and pulled out a long pencil.


    "Ummm...Phil, do you have a pen?" He asked urgently. "I have. Do you want to borrow it?" Phil replied, making Randall breathe in relief. Max cackled seeing Randall''s reaction and asked, "Are you a virgin?"


    "What? No! I have a girlfriend! But we Asians are more conservative and we are ufortable with explosive sensualities. You see, in Asian culture..." Randall retorted, but Max dozed off as she listened to it.


    "What? You talk too long, I be sleepy." Max joked afterward.


    ...


    The staff members became busy for a while as they needed to change the audience seating positions for the reshoot. They had to add a few more rows of audiences to get genuine reactionugh tracks from them.


    The interview started again, and it became smoother this time. It was a bit boring for those who had just watched it before, and unfortunate for the new audiences as Edward''s impression game wouldn''t be recorded for a second time.


    Jimmy dropped his jaw before he held his head and screamed, "DARTH VADER AND OBIWAN! Yo- You should really consider taking acting jobs. It''ll be a waste for you not to."


    Edward chuckled a bit and said, "I won''t limit myself to just singing, so maybe one day though."


    "But...Rather than a Sith lord, we actually preferred you in... some romance genre...Maybe a story of Romeo and Juliet?" Jimmy said then he took out a huge poster made from Edward''s and Taylor''s picture snapped during the g.


    The way Edward''s gazing into Taylor''s eyes, her light blush, his charming smile, were all captured in that one picture. After the g, the picture has gone viral and was published in a few magazines, hyping up Taylor and Edward''s celebrity rtionship.


    None of the fans actually knew that they didn''t meet each other for a while after the g, and the rtionship between them had be stalled. Still, both of them didn''t im that to the work, and still made it seem like there was something between them.


    As the crowd widened their eyes and eximed in excitement, Edward covered his face shyly and said, "I knew this wille out!"


    Jimmyughed out loud and teased Edward about the situation for a while. Then, Edward shared an anecdote where he was forced to follow Versace around, and how awkward it was for him being there.


    "Alright Ladies and gentleman. Edward will y a song writing game with the keyword he collected from the studio audience, when wee back!" Jimmy announced as the scene cuts in for amercial break slot.


    Phil, Alex, Luke, Haley and the fans who knew about Edward''s song beforehand, were excited about the next session.


    "Thank''s Edward." Jimmy said after the filming sign went off. "Are you sure you can do this? You don''t actually have to rush it. We can cut out the part where you''re brainstorming for the song. If you really can''t-"


    Seeing Jimmy''s worried face, Edwardughed and said, "If I can''t, then I''ll just pick another keyword to try on. Calm down. I got this."


    Jimmy sighed in relief and then called Megan Fox back on stage to watch the performance sitting beside him on stage.


    "Oh. I thought you had left." Edward said to Megan cheerily.


    The actress smiled and said casually, "I was leaving. Then, I saw you guys were having fun, and decided to stay and watch. Jimmy, you really aren''t being fair. You conducted my interviews so callously." She chuckled and softly ced her hand on Edward''s bicep before giving it a soft squeeze.


    Jimmy was taken aback from the usation. He swallowed his retort and kept it inside his heart. Being a top actress, she really didn''t want toe here today, but it was necessary as part of her movie contract to promote ''Jennifer''s Body''.


    She only spoke about the film, and nothing about her personal life, making her interview quite boring.


    "Maybe Jimmy felt a bit intimidated by your gorgeousness, so he couldn''t do his best before this." Edward said pseudo flirtingly and at the same time giving Jimmy a chance to breathe.


    "Oh. You''re sweet." Megan chuckled softly and pinched Edward''s face lightly. Edward smiled and added, "Your new movie is rated R, right? I felt bad that I won''t be able to see it on the big screen. But, I''ll make sure to support the DVD release."


    "It''s not a very good movie. But, I don''t think that you''ll be disappointed." Megan said with a sultry voice before she leaned in and whispered to Edward''s ear, "There''s me, being topless in it...and also a scene where I was making out with... another girl."


    "Umm..." Jimmy felt like he was the third wheel there. Then, he saw the sign from the staff members and said to Megan, "You guys can continue talking after Edward''s filming. Ed, you should go to Root''s first to get shelter�C I mean, to familiarize yourself with the equipment."


    "Yeah. I really should." Edward said casually. Megan was a bit taken aback as she saw that Edward didn''t react to her teasing at all. It made her want to tease him more.


    "Wee back." Jimmy said to the camera after the filming began. Megan sat with her legs crossed slightly on the couch next to Jimmy.


    "A special performance tonight by our amazing guest, Edward Newgate. He was so wonderful, that even Megan decided to join us back on stage." Jimmy jokes.


    Megan chuckled slightly and bantered for the very first time on today''s filming, "Just to be clear, Ie back here, ONLY for Edward. I''m a huge fan of his."


    The camera cuts to where Edward was preparing, where he waved toward Megan, and she shyly waved him back. The crowd cheered thunderously as they saw Edward again.


    Jimmy knew he didn''t have much time left because the crowd were already going crazy with anticipation for the performance. He took out a ck box and put it on top of his desk.


    " A little bit of history behind this game. Edward challenged the entire structure of the music industry when he yed a song creating game during a concert he opened �C Which was Taylor''s concert." Jimmy''s eyes lit up.


    "So, here''s how he does it. He listened to the keywords, or stories the audience had given him, and then he tried to make a brand new song based on that."


    "Megan, you''re going to help Edward here, pick out a keywords card that we had the audience submit before this, and let''s see if Edward could still surprise all of us." Jimmy said as he held the edge of the box.


    The crowd cheered explosively after they knew what they were writing for before this. The cheer didn''t stop as Megan reached into the hole on top of the box, rummaging the pieces of paper inside of it.


    "Are you trying to find the paper that you wrote?" Jimmy joked with Megan. She grinned mischievously and said, "Yes. But I couldn''t find it. I''ll just pick up the first one I grab."


    She took out a piece of paper and gave it to Jimmy. "The word that Edward needs to make a song with is..." He opened the paper with excitement, and became a bit irritated when he read the words on it. "I don''t care?"


    He kept a smile on his face, but the corner was twitching. He thought that someone tried to be funny, and wanted to do the entire thing again.


    The crowd was baffled when they heard it and they turned around to see who had written it.


    "Hey, that''s mine!" Max shouted excitedly while waving her hand toward Jimmy. She did write it as a joke before, and she also couldn''t care less to think about a keyword. She had never been picked for anything, and was really excited that her card was drawn up that she forgot about her carelessness.


    Edward saw it and chuckled. He intervened before Jimmy could reshoot.


    "Alright. So the keyword is ''I don''t care'', right? Hmm..." Edward rubbed his chin, pretending to think. "I think I can do it."


    The crowd gasped in awe, then they pped thunderously for Edward.


    "It may be a little bit rough." Edward joked. "But I think that I cane out with a good song."


    Phil shouted, "Edward! You''re amazing!"


    "I just need to find a beat for it first." Edward said as he sling an acoustic guitar. He yed a few melodies before settling on one and said, "I think this one''s great. I''ll use this one."


    [Song: I don''t Care, Ed Sheeran, Acoustic. (Live at Abbey Road version)]


    Edward showed a teasing smile as he leaned into the guitar. He used a loop pedal to maintain the beat and melody while singing.


    He grabbed the microphone and sang , "??I''m at a party I don''t wanna be at! And I don''t ever wear a suit and tie, yeah??"


    "??Wonderin'' if I could sneak out the back


    Nobody''s even lookin'' me in my eyes??"


    "??Then you take my hand


    Finish my drink, say, "Shall we dance? Hell''s Yeah!"


    You know I love ya, did I ever tell ya?


    You make it better like that??"


    The crowd cheered, but it was cut off from the performance audio. Edward''s maic voice captivated the entire studio. Even the camera-man was enthralled by it and forgot to cut the scene to show Jimmy''s face.


    Edward continued, "??Don''t think I fit in at this party~~Everyone''s got so much to say (Yeah). I always feel like I''m nobody, mmm...Who wants to fit in anyway???"


    "A." Haley eximed with a motherly look on her face. Jimmy and Megan involuntarily swayed their body to the song even though they tried to be professional.


    Edward sang the chorus, "??''Cause I don''t care! when I''m with my baby, yeah!


    All the bad things disappear??


    ??And you''re making me feel like maybe I am somebody


    I can deal with the bad nights


    When I''m with my baby, yeah??


    ??Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh??"


    The crowd automatically thought about the story Edward shared about him and Taylor at the g before this. Even Jimmy was shocked by how Edward corrted the two things, and was thoroughly impressed.


    Max covered her mouth and muttered in shock, "He really used it! And the most important part too!"


    "??''Cause I don''t care as long as you just hold me near! You can take me anywhere! And you''re making me feel like I''m loved by somebody! ??"


    Haley listened to the lyrics carefully despite her jealousy.


    "??I can deal with the bad nights


    When I''m with my baby, yeah


    Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh??"


    The Dunphy sisters realized something. Alex muttered, "Wait a minute. Take him everywhere? Bad nights? This.." She turned to Haley and stopped her sentence there. Then, Alex realized that Edward was singing while looking at their direction, further confirming her suspicions.


    "??We at a party we don''t wanna be at


    Tryna talk, but we can''t hear ourselves


    Read your lips, I''d rather kiss ''em right back


    With all these people all around??"


    The second Phil heard Edward say the word ''lip'', he covered Luke''s ear slowly. Then, he sighed in relief after what he worried about didn''t happen.


    Edward took out the microphone from the stand and went towards the crowd, leaving his loop pedal behind. He walked towards the audience and gave the front row high fives while he sang.


    "??I''m crippled with anxiety


    But I''m told it''s where I''m s''posed to be


    You know what? It''s kinda crazy ''cause I really don''t mind


    When you make it better like that??"


    "??Don''t think we fit in at this party


    Everyone''s got so much to say, oh yeah, yeah


    When we walked in, I said I''m sorry, mmm


    But now I think that we should stay... ??"


    Edward rushed to the loop pedal as he prepared for the chorus. He held the guitar that he sling to his back again and yed it as he sang.


    ?? ''Cause I don''t care~~ when I''m with my baby, yeah!!


    All the bad things disappear !!??


    ??Yeah, you''re making me feel like maybe I am somebody!! ??


    ??I can deal with the bad nights!! when I''m with my baby, yeah!!


    Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh .Oh yeah, yeah, yeah ??


    ??''Cause I don''t care as long as you just hold me near


    You can take me anywhere!


    And you''re making me feel like I''m loved by somebody


    I can deal with the bad nights when I''m with my baby, yeah


    Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ??"


    Edward turned to the synthesizer microphone and sang the next verse while recording it.


    "??I don''t like nobody but you, it''s like you''re the only one here


    I don''t like nobody but you, baby, I don''t care


    I don''t like nobody but you, I hate everyone here


    I don''t like nobody but you, baby, yeah??"


    ??I don''t like nobody but you, it''s like you''re the only one here


    I don''t like nobody but you, baby, I don''t care


    I don''t like nobody but you, I hate everyone here??"


    He returned to the main microphone and continued.


    "??I don''t like nobody but you, baby, yeah??


    The crowd cheered enthusiastically and they stood up from their seats.


    ??''Cause I don''t care


    When I''m with my baby, yeah


    All the bad things disappear


    And you''re making me feel like maybe I am somebody ??


    ??I can deal with the bad nights


    When I''m with my baby, yeah


    Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh (Oh yeah, yeah, yeah)


    Edward yed the loop vocal while singing the next verse, merging the two together beautifully and in harmony.


    ??''Cause I don''t care as long as you just hold me near /Loop : ??I don''t like nobody but you, it''s like you''re the only one here??


    ??You can take me anywhere/Loop: ??I don''t like nobody but you, baby, I don''t care??


    ??And you''re making me feel like I''m loved by somebody/Loop: ??I don''t like nobody but you, I hate everyone here??


    I can deal with the bad nights/ Loop: ??I don''t like nobody but you, baby, yeah??


    The loop yed out and he sang, "??When I''m with my baby, yeah!??


    ??Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh??


    Edward smiled toward the crowd as he sang thest verse, "??I don''t like nobody but you, it''s like you''re the only one here! I don''t like nobody but you, baby, I don''t care!??"


    The music slowly fades out, leaving only Edward''s vocals.


    ??I don''t like nobody but you, I hate everyone here


    I don''t like nobody but you, baby, yeah??


    "Give it up for Edward Newgate Ladies and Gentleman!" Jimmy Fallon stood up and cheered enthusiastically. The performance ended there, and so was today''s filming. \


    Edward''s forehead was sweaty and he breathed heavily as the crowd shouted his name. He waved towards them, causing more intense cheers. Edward bowed towards the audience, and then made his exit from the stage. The cheers didn''t stop even after he had left.


    Jimmy couldn''t hide his grin from the huge sess that today''s filming had achieved, and he vowed, "Damn. I should get him here at least once a week!"


    Unfortunately for him, he wouldn''t ever be able to get his wish.

 Chapter 187: VMA News.

    <h4>Chapter 187: Chapter 187: VMA News.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "You don''t have anything to do here. Want to follow me back to LA?" I asked Max teasingly.


    She yed along, widened her eyes and answered excitedly, "Yes. We just need to stop by my apartment and get my stuff�C which all fans fit into a small trash bag..."


    Randall and Haley were rmed when they heard about the discussion.


    "Wait... WHAT!?" Haley eximed in disbelief while crossing her arms together. Randall said urgently, "Edward. You shouldn''t do that."


    "What? I''m pretty sure that she and I are brother and sister." I said convincingly.


    Max ced her right arm around my neck andpared our faces, "Yes. Can''t you guys see that?"


    Max and I messed with Randall and Haley for a while as we waited for Pepper. We surprisingly became good friends after we talked to each other for a while.


    Right now, we were still in the waiting room in Jimmy Fallon''s The Late Night Show studio. It has been an hour since the recording, and I was alreadyte to get home.


    I checked my watch and said with concern, "Damn. I don''t think I can make it to the team dinner."


    "Again?" Haleymented.


    I nodded towards her and said, "Yeah...the flight''s going to take 5 hours. We''ll be home around 11, and I promised them that I will be there 9.30�C which was alreadyte enough as it is."


    "Wait. There''s a text from Uncle Cam." Haley held her arms at me as if gesturing to me to wait a second before concluding anything.


    "He said the team cannot make it to the team dinner today. Tyler, and a few others cannot make it. They didn''t evene to practice today. And it''s not that they are trying to protest how things have been going, but Tyler sounded really disturbed when Uncle Cam called him before."


    I felt conflicted�C relieved and dejected at the same time. "Why? What''s going on? What happened to him?" I asked nosily. Simultaneously, I was paying attention to Max and Randall''s argument about her cupcakes.


    He said she couldn''t even give the cupcakes to me, so she couldn''t be trusted. Max replied back with if we want cupcakes so much, we should stop by her apartment because there''s 4 of them left there.


    And Randall retorted back with saying she''s only saying that as an excuse for her to get her stuff ande with us to LA. I was pretty sure that Max is going to fuck Randall soon. Not that they were vibing or anything, but Max''s standard is really low, and she would just fuck him to win the argument.


    Haley continued amidst the bickering, "Uncle Cam doesn''t know. And he''s trying to find out."


    "Let him make Jacob try to find out. Cam sniffing around a couple of highschool boys can be construed as very creepy." I advised.


    Haley paused, looked at me weirdly, before her eyes lit up with realization, "You''re right. It''s going to seem very creepy."


    Phil then came in with Alex and Luke after going sightseeing in New York City. Luke was wearing an NYC hat, while Alex was holding a couple of food bags and drinks. Alex said, "I figured you guys will be hungry."


    "Starving." I said and patted her head gently, "You did good young padawan."


    She rolled her eyes and brushed my hand away fiercely, "Don''t pat my head Darth Prankious."


    I snorted a bit and said, "That''s great. I''m going to use that one all the time."


    Haley was texting and she shouted in excitement, "EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU''RE DOING! I FOUND OUT WHY!!"


    "Why what?" Phil asked while putting on his NYC hat.


    I exined to him casually, "Why a few of the yers didn''te to practice today."


    "Ahh. High School stuff." Phil said.


    "Tyler got his girlfriend pregnant!" Haley shouted. Max automatically perked up her ear and she pressed her stomach and asked herself, "I am? Oh wait. I''m not in highschool anymore. I know about protection now."


    I froze for a bit and my legs automatically turned towards the door. Then, I realized that she mentioned Tyler who did that and felt relieved. Alex narrowed her eyes at my reaction but I ignored her and went to Haley. "You''re being serious?" I asked.


    "Look! Tara found out! Tyler and Lisa went to the pharmacy and got a pregnancy test. The pharmacist there is her neighbor." Haley exined. "Oh my god. She''s going to get so fattt!!" She eximed subconsciously.


    Haley giggled as she texted with Tara, and then slowly raised her eyes to look at the people around her as she felt their gazed. "What?" She asked.


    I giggled before shaking my head disapprovingly at her while she was confused. I turned to Phil and asked him, "Phil, you don''t mind Max going back with us to LA, right?"


    Haley puts her phone down quickly, "YOU''RE STILL ON THAT?!"


    "What? Every celebrity does it." I said while shrugging.


    "Who? Who does that?... And what exactly are they doing? What insidious scheme are you nning next?" Pepper suddenly swaggered in with a paper fan on his hand.


    Haley tattled quickly before I could reply, "Edward wants to bring Max with him to LA! And let her stay at his house!"


    "Really? That''s interesting." Pepper whispered to himself.


    "You''re on his side?" Haley eximed, aggrieved.


    Max chuckled and then walked beside me, "Calm down Malibu Barbie. I can''t believe you still haven''t got that he was joking. Are you guys even dating?"


    "W-Wh-What Joke- We''re not!" Haley stammered for a while before shouting unconvincingly to Max.


    "A. So you''re noting?" I pouted.


    Max pinched my cheek and giggled, "Sorry. You''re pretty awesome, but I have a friend here that means so much to me. I can''t leave him behind."


    "Really? You''re attached to someone?" Randallmented. Max red at him and said, "I am human you know? It''s Earl from the diner. He''s already 72 years old. I can''t let him be there alone. He''ll die early from boredom if I''m not around."


    "Also. I really can''t go back with you, cause I''m pretty sure this guy is giving me daddy issues I never knew I had." Max said as she pointed to Phil.


    ...


    Max left with Randall to get me some cupcakes from her apartment. While they were gone, I had a serious talk with Pepper.


    "What''s going on? Why are you sote?" I asked.


    Pepper fanned his face and said aggrieved, "Well. Good news and bad news. The good thing is, you cane to the VMA. But, the bad news is, our agency doesn''t really have any inside connection to MTV, so you can''t be nominated."


    "They tried to y it off as ''you''re too young'', but they were hinting about needing some money or benefits to smooth things over. They are doing it on purpose since the voting starts the day after tomorrow." Pepper added.


    I shook my head and then said, "Don''t worry about that. Marshall and Dre have already talked to me about this. They are going to be my backer, so those MTV guys can''t really demand anything from us."


    Pepper pped his fan shut and leaned forward, "You should''ve told me that sooner! I had already agreed to a date with the most gaudy and boring looking man there."


    I chuckled and apologized, "I''m sorry about that. But, in their defense, they must''ve looked like that because they werepared to your outstanding outfit."


    Pepper smiled smugly and dramatically sling his scarf on his neck, "That''s a given."


    "What about Taylor and Coldy?" I asked as I sipped some coffee.


    "Both of them are fine. Taylor''s Love Story music video is nominated, so she might have a chance to win." Pepper said with excitement.


    "She will win." I replied decisively.


    Pepper shed a kind smile before he became solemn again, "But Coldy could only be there as a guest. They won''t be able to release a new album before the VMA, and even if they could, they wouldn''t be able to gain any traction with their songs, so our effort will be wasted."


    "How about performance?" I asked.


    Pepper nodded and said, "They can if they join you on stage."


    "Alright. So they will sing Viva La Vida together with me." I said.


    Pepper opened his fan again and said, "Good n. Anyway, I''m going to need to stay in New York for a couple of days to finalize a few things. Ah, what do you want to do about Taylor''s new mv? We did get a slot for a promotion performance, but the mv isn''t ready yet. We only have 3 more days."


    "Huh? I thought we have 10 more days?" I asked, confused.


    "Yeah. 10 more days till the VMAs, but her MV needs to be on MTV for about a week for her to be eligible to promote it there."


    "Wait�CWhose rule is this?" I asked, aggrieved.


    "MTV''s." Pepper replied casually. "So, the MV needs to be done in 3 days."


    "FFFF-FUCK!" I cursed.


    "Now that we have cleared all of that. Tell me, why do you like Max so much?" Pepper''s serious face disappeared and he became gossipy instantly.


    "Her boobs of course." I replied instantly. Pepper scoffed disdainfully and said, "I''ve seen you turn down a lot of amazing breasted girls during your tour even when they were throwing themselves right at you. You''re not that superficial."


    I chuckled and joked, "Yeah I am. I''m very superficial."


    "If you don''t want to tell me, fine. I will just ask Haley about it. HALEY-"


    "Alright. Stop." I grabbed Pepper''s raised hand and slowly lowered it. "You win." I snorted disdainfully at him.


    He smiled innocently and said, "So..."


    "Well...She doesn''t really have any ambition... She had a terrible childhood that she became emotionally shut down. She can''t really trust anyone, but once someone managed to bypass her defense, she would die for that person." I said slowly.


    "She joked around a lot to ease the pain. Despite her mean attitude, she is actually kinda nice, although she is slutty."


    Then, I realized something. About how she used sex as an escape. How she took care of the elderly cashier because he is a father figure to her. "She''s... simr to me."


    To be exact, she was simr to me from my past life. Once a child has to find ways to take care of themselves growing up, they be ustomed to keeping everyone else at bay so as to not let themselves get hurt again.


    Pepper nodded in understanding and said, "That''s why you''re calling her your sister? Because you guys have a lot inmon?"


    "Yes. And also, it''s because I really believe that my life will be so much more interesting if I have a sibling like her." I said jokingly.


    "Hmm.." Pepper thought for a while. He seemed to decide something, then he turned to me and said, "Andstly before you go back home. What''s this I hear about you, cursing out the live audience today?"


    "I did?"


    "Yeah. You said that you hate everyone there. In a song."


    ...


    [General POV]


    The Late Night Show interview today was broadcasted on TV when Edward was on the ne, so he couldn''t see the show live. Despite that, the rating of the show almost quadrupled from the previous day interview, and it was almost catching up with the poprte night show programs in the country.


    It was all thanks to a short video Edward posted on his Instagram where he and Jimmy put on a skit about tonight''s show. That boosted the show''s rating as young kids would''ve never wanted to watch the show as it was.


    Lily, the fanclub president said urgently to her army of coborators, "Post everything on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook�C I want everyone to know about this! If we missed it, then there''s no chance for us to watch it again!"


    Although she was exaggerating,pared to Edward''s interviews on his streaming sites where they could watch it over and over at their own time, broadcast television programs were reallycking.


    Taylor was glued in front of the TV with Selena by her side as they watched the show.


    "Why is he even there?" Selena said disdainfully. "No one knows who Jimmy Fallon is."


    "Edward has a vision. We need to trust him. And if it doesn''t work, tease him." Taylor joked.


    Selena narrowed her eyes as she gazed at Taylor, "Don''t change the subject. Till when are you going to stay next to him, without even telling him about it?"


    Taylor chuckled nervously, "You make it seem like I''m some sort of crazy, obsessed... stalker-y Ex girlfriend or anything�C I''m just trying to see how long it''ll take him to realize I was staying here."


    "I found the binocr next to your bed." Selena exposed Taylor.


    "Shh. His interview is starting." Taylor said dismissively and gestured for Selena to shut up. They were hooked by the banter and the bagel skits, which made themugh a few times.


    Then, Jimmy suddenly took out the photo of Taylor and Edward�C taken from the G and showed it to the audience.


    [Jimmy: But...Rather than a Sith lord, we actually preferred you in... some romance genre...Maybe a story of Romeo and Juliet?"


    Edward: I knew this woulde out!]


    Taylor''s eyes glistened in anticipation as she heard about the topic. She shook the unfortunate Selena beside her, "He''s talking about us!"


    Selena rolled her eyes and said, "You already know this! He discussed it with you before he went over!"


    "Yeah...But he didn''t tell me what he was going to talk about." Taylor defended as to not let Selena break her delusions.


    [Edward: Honestly, I....don''t like being there... all that much.]


    Taylor, Selena, and most of Edward''s fans who were watching were a bit surprised when they heard that.


    [Edward: I just think that you need a certain level of maturity to...survive in these types of events. Or maybe because it was my first time there, I don''t feel quitefortable.]


    Taylor snorted and said, "Liar. He adapted in a second."


    [Edward: I didn''t really fit in at the event until I met with Versace. And Confession Father Jimmy?


    Jimmy: Yes Child?


    The crowdughed as the duo pretended once more.


    Edward: If I didn''t want to get to the dance, I would''ve never stayed there.


    The crowd gasped and then cheered explosively after that. ]


    Taylor covered her mouth and her face was blushing from excitement. Selena fanned Taylor''s face in understanding and said, "Calm down! Calm down! You know he''s using ambiguous words on purpose! He had already told you about this! Don''t tap into your suppressed insanity again."


    While Selena was trying hard to persuade the heavy breathing Taylor, the fans were already going crazy all over twitter about the story. It cemented the already solid rtionship spection amongst the two of them.


    In the full broadcasted interview, the story about the lint remover and also the cronut were removed, and the others were kept behind. As people saw Edward creating a new game with Jimmy, and absolutely destroying the impression of MJ singing Sesame Street theme song, the inte exploded.


    @Scarlett_Johannson : Oh my god. I didn''t expect it when Ed told me to watch the show today. I got goosebumps. (hugging body.emoji)


    @RDJ replying to Scarlet_Johannson: What happened? I missed it!


    @ConanOBrian: THAT WAS AMAZING! And what a nice tribute to our King of Pop.


    @TheJackson: It sure was.


    @Kellyrkson: Never has it crossed my mind a desire to see someone impressioning Stevie Wonder singing one of my songs. And now, it''s all I could ever think about! Wonder if you can make it a full song? @Edward_Newgate


    A lot of people missed the broadcast, but then, Jimmy released a few short clips of the interviews on Youtube. Those who wanted to see the highlight were relieved, but then they learned that they had missed the part where Edward yed a song game with the crowd, and was aggrieved again.


    After a thorough discussion between Jimmy and Edward''s PR representative, the video was decided to be held back as it could strike people as condescending if it was taken out of context.


    The interview and the performance were a set, and Jimmy couldn''t get the clearance from the TVwork to upload a long duration video on the inte. Still, it wouldn''t be for long since there was a high demand for it, and all it was going to do was help thework''s status and push Jimmy''s show to the forefrontpared to otherte night shows. Any idiot would see that it was more beneficial for them to release it rather than keeping it for themselves.


    Jimmy''s name started to be widespread all over the inte. As he watched the rating graph with his director, he cried a bit and said, "I waited for so long...Everyone! Edward Newgate... will forever be... our hero!"


    In California, Edward''s family and friends were also having a viewing party. ire, Ted, Gloria, Sal, Mitch and Cam, Jay and Manny, were all gathered at Ted''s living room.


    Mitch teased ire, "You could''ve watched the show live, ire."


    Cam added with a smirk, "But instead, you HAD to indulge in your appetite. Honestly Ted. You need to watch her around Edward."


    Ted smirked and piled on the teasing, "Well based on what Edward told me, I agreed with him."


    ire rolled her eyes and retorted, "I didn''t do that on purpose! And please stop this ''Let''s rub ire''s misery in her face'' party."


    Gloria chuckled and added, "But you did eat all of Phil''s and Luke''s donuts on purpose, yes?"


    Manny shook his head to show his disappointment to ire while he was walking by.


    [Manny''smentary]


    "Am I mad that all of the other kids in this family got the experience of watching the show live? I am not. Edward invited me too, but...I don''t want to spend most of my days inside a ne."


    [Commentary ends]


    Jay finally spoke up, "Alright. She made a mistake. Let''s move on. Cam, let''s talk about your football team."


    Cam''s eyes lit up as he was finally the center of attention. He said, "Oh my god, you won''t believe what happened during training today."


    While Cam was gossiping at the watch party, another intense discussion was held at Jenna''s new house near Jay''s mansion. Enid and Jenna wereforting Elsa on the couch while Jacob was staring nkly at the ceiling.


    Enid muttered, "Y-You should take the test first. Nothing is confirmed yet...right?"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Inside the ne. I was working on myptop when Haley suddenly walked near me. I stopped what I was doing and turned towards her, "What is it?"


    She pretended to be confused, "I...walked here, definitely not to bother you. I wanted to tell you something, but I forgot."


    "Well...Then, I guess you have to stay here until you remember it." I flirted. She tried to cover up her smile, which made her seem even cuter, and said, "No. I don''t want to bother you with your work."


    I closed myptop and said, "Don''t worry. I''m sure that what you''re going to tell me is more important than my work."


    Suddenly we shuddered as we saw Phil smiling kindly at us from afar. "Umm..." Haley stammered, and then her phone chimed.


    I grinned and said jokingly, "Why? Is there another girl who got pregnant today?"


    Haley chuckled and said, "14 girls! All on the same day! I''m sure that it''s just a mass hysteria or something."


    Alex said disdainfully from afar, "Stop talking like that''s your opinion. You don''t even know what Mass Hysteria meant before I exined it to you!"


    We ignored the pissed off middle child who was getting jetg from the constant air travel. Haley checked her phone and then her expression froze.


    "What''s going on?" I asked with concern, then I suddenly got a notification on my phone. It was a private message from Enid, telling me about the situation.


    "Elsa''s...pregnant? WHAT THE ACTUAL FU-"

 Chapter 188: Sex Ed.

    <h4>Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Sex Ed.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    As Luke and Alex were extremely jetgged, Phil took his children home after we returned to California. I, however, rushed to Jenna''s house even though it was almost midnight.


    Jenna opened the door, wearing Victorian era style pajamas. I couldn''t believe my eyes and pointed at her dress, "When I''m settled with Jacob, we''ll get back to this."


    She defended herself, "This is what the pastor made us wear at Church camp."


    "Where did you go to camp? Little House of the Prairie?"


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Exposing your figure, especially at night, will make the devil tempts us with lust, and also-"


    "Alright Nun Jenna. I heard enough." I stopped her quickly before she turned it into a sermon.


    "Where''s your mom?" I asked as we walked up the stairs together. Me at the front, she at the back.


    Jenna brightened up and said, "She got casted for a role! Granted, it''s for a piranha film, but she still got it!"


    "Huh? What''s the title?"


    "Piranha 3D." Jenna replied. "I still don''t know what kind of film it is."


    I paused in my step before turning towards Jenna. I patted her shoulder and said, " It''s better if you don''t know..."


    "???"


    I opened the door to Jenna''s room, and went directly to Jacob and Elsa. "How did you know you''re pregnant? Have you done the test yet?"


    Enid jumped up from the bed and rushed towards me. She answered for Jacob, "We did the vinegar test, and the toothpaste test..."


    "Huh? Why don''t you just buy a pregnancy test kit from the drugstore?" I asked in confusion and bafflement. "Also, what the fuck is a vinegar test?"


    Elsa said sarcastically, "Sure! Just waltzed into the pharmacy and told the clerk, "Hi! I''m Elsa! I''m 14 and Pregnant! Will you tell it to everyone else in the neighborhood?" Think Ed!"


    "Just ask Jenna''s mom to do it. Or Jacob''s mom- Wait, I see where I got it wrong here. Alright. So, what is the vinegar test? Or the toothpaste test?" I said as I grabbed Jacob''s shoulder tofort him.


    "Both tests...show that it is positive." Enid said before Elsa burst into tears. She covered her face with her hands as she sobbed.


    Jacob was also teary, and he turned to Elsa. "Babe. I know that it seems like the whole world is falling down right now, but just so you know, I will be by your side until the end." He then fell to one knee and said, "Elsa. Will you marry me-"


    "Enid stop him." Elsa ordered. Enid then covered Jacob''s mouth as she followed the order.


    I rubbed my throbbing forehead and then asked, "Wait. It''s not confirmed yet until you truly do the test. You kids..." I let out a heavy sigh and said, "Don''t you guys know anything about protection or safe sex?"


    "Jacob. You always told me every single detail of your rtionship with Elsa, but you forgot to tell me that you lost your virginity?"


    "Huh? I''m-I''m still a virgin!" Elsa shouted hurriedly.


    "???" I froze from the confusion. "You''re still a virgin? Then, what kind of Virgin Mary birth are you having! Who''s going to be the 3 wise men!? Me, Jenna and Enid??!!!"


    "Y-You still can get pregnant even when you''re still a virgin!" Enid defended Elsa.


    "Yeah. As long as my....you know..." Jacob muttered shyly and trailed off. Jenna rolled her eyes and said, "As long as your cum falls on her belly."


    "??????"


    I opened my mouth a few times, but I was so bewildered that my words couldn''te out.


    "Okay. I need a thorough exnation about this whole thing. Every single detail." I said while my lips twitched from trying to hold back myughter. "From Jacob."


    Confused by my reaction, Jacob gulped his saliva and said, "Umm...You know..."


    "No. I don''t know. Tell me." I urged him. "Tell me how a baby is made."


    "Ummm..." Jacob stammered shyly, and his face was blushing red. I said, "Hey, you have already done it, but you''re still shy? What are you going to tell your kids one day when they ask?"


    Jacob squirmed for a while before he shed a look of determination. "Well, the...the semen...needs to be....E-e-e-e-eja-eja-ejaced...on....her...the girl''s...stomach...and after...9 months...a baby wille out."


    "How did that happen? You know...Scientifically?"


    Jacob couldn''t even enjoy his relief when he finally finished his story when he had fallen into another quagmire. "Ummm..."


    Elsa was irritated and finally spoke, "Ed! What are you doing?! Why are you torturing him?"


    I couldn''t hold myughter back anymore. Iughed and wheezed while holding my stomach. The group was startled and confused. Jenna said nervously, "T-That''s not how you get pregnant?"


    Iughed harder as I heard her question. My knees felt weak and I slumped on the floor.


    "HAHA...You guys are all (Wheeze heavily)... Dumbassess..." I whispered andughed as I hit the floor, not forgetting to mock these guys as I did.


    Jenna and Enid''s face turned red. Elsa covered her face with a pillow while Jacob went to the windowsill, thinking about whether or not he should jump from there and ran away to avoid the embarrassment.


    After 5 minutes, the group was already numb. Enid looked at me and said tiredly, "He''s...stillughing."


    I was lying down on my back and was holding my stomach. My eyes were teary, and my voice became hoarse.


    "You know...what happened here today...Cannot get out of this room." Elsa said menacingly. "We might need to silent him." She made a throat cutting gesture, and the others nodded to her.


    I shuddered and finally stoppedughing. "Alright. I won''t tell anyone else about this. Don''t kill me."


    "That might not be a choice Ed." Enid bared her teeth to me and made a wing gesture.


    "Someone reel the wolf cub back. I promise. I really won''t tell another soul about this." I brushed the dust off my pants before sitting on the edge of Jenna''s bed. Then, I lied down and covered my eyes with my arm, "Ahh. That made me feel relieved. Suddenly, I''m so tired right now."


    The group''s animosity towards me thawed quickly as they realized that I had rushed there after my busy schedule just to check up on them. Jenna and Enid alsoid down on the bed, while Elsa and Jacob sat together.


    When I asked Jacob and Elsa how they came to the conclusion, they told me that Tyrone, and everyone else who got the pregnancy scare today told them about it.


    A viral rumor spread quickly around the school today, saying that a girl can get pregnant when a boy ejactes on her stomach.


    (Based on a true story)


    Most of the girls had already done the pregnancy test using the kit they bought at the pharmacy, so they knew that it was all fake. But not everyone was fortunate enough to think about that.


    "Why didn''t you ask Alex? Or Abraham? Alex is a nerd...and Abraham is a horny dude. I''m pretty sure that they know about this." I asked them while lying down sideways.


    "We...We don''t want anyone else to know." Elsa confessed with a blushing face. "Now we know that that''s pretty stupid."


    I nodded in agreement and asked hesitantly, "You guys do know...how a baby is made...right?"


    Jenna rolled her eyes and said, "Obviously we don''t!"


    I groaned and then said, "Give me a piece of paper." Their eyes lit up and Jenna immediately went to grab a book.


    I hesitated and said, "I don''t want to encourage you guys, but not knowing about these things could bring much more harmpared to knowing about it."


    "Usually, it was the parents job to do this, or, Sex Ed ss at school-"


    Elsa interjected quickly, "Could you teach as soon, and stop dilly dallying?"


    "Yeah. We don''t even have SexEd at school." Jacob added. "And there is no way that my mom or dad will teach these things to me."


    "Wait. There''s no Sex Education ss at school? Shouldn''t every school have one?" I asked in confusion.


    Jacob said, "I think there were some sses a few years back when my sister went there. But they stopped it when Principal Brown came to the school."


    "Huh? Why?" I asked.


    "Ed!" Elsa urged. "Come on! It''s already veryte."


    "Ah, right. Okay, first, let''s start with the male and female''s reproductive organs." I said as I drew on the book. I kept the topic strictly from the biological perspectives, and told them how exactly human reproduction works.


    ...


    After 10 minutes of teaching them how it works, all of them were frozen. Then, I asked Jacob, "How did you get your mom to let you stay at a girls house until sote?"


    "Oh..." He answered weakly, "Um...I kinda told them that....I was having a sleepover at...your ce."


    I paused as Jacob''s sweats anxiously. "It''s fine." I muttered, making him exim in relief. "Let''s go."


    Enid''s eyes widened and she asked, "Wait...That''s it? He doesn''t need to ask you beforehand?"


    "Well, a bro needs to lend a hand whenever another bro had fucked up. I didn''t make the rules. The Bro Code did." I said.


    "Bro Code?" Jenna asked curiously.


    "It''s like the bible...but for Bros." I said teasingly. Jenna rolled her eyes and then pushed me off her bed. "Go now�C"


    Suddenly, Jenna''s mother opened her bedroom door before Jenna could throw me away. Alexandria''s face was a little bit flushed from drinking. "Hey! Edward! Jacob is also here! Thank God, is Jenna finally over her whole being devoted game?" She muttered slurredly before staggering to the bed.


    She slumped on the bed and said, "You guys are doing some group activities?"


    Jenna became irritated and said, "Hey It''s not a game!"


    I hinted at Jacob and both of us stood up. We walked away quietly while Jenna was nagging her mother.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Where''s the boys?" Jenna asked after sending her mother to her room.


    "Gone." Elsa replied curtly as she studied the information Ed had written down in the book. "I think that there''s still a lot of things he didn''t tell us." She added. "Like, what is a safe day?"


    Jenna rolled her eyes and said, "Get that thing off my bed."


    Enid chuckled and said, "Girl, You really had changed huh? No more, slutty Jenna."


    "Even though you''re the first one amongst us to lose their virginity." Elsa joked.


    Jenna was fuming, "Please don''t bring that up anymore. Yes, I made some bad choices before this-"


    Enid asked, interrupting Jenna, "Did you bleed? When your...hymen...you know?" Although she had known about all that stuff, she was still embarrassed to ask her friend about it.


    Jenna was taken aback and said, "What?"


    "Bleed?" Elsa added.


    "Huh? No, I didn''t bleed."


    "Really? Was he too small?" Elsa added. Jenna was aggrieved, "I don''t want to talk about this anymore."


    "Hmm...Alright then. But, I''m kinda concerned. If there''s no blood, was he even in the right hole?" Elsa joked.


    Jenna was confused, "Huh? Why did he need to enter my... holes?"


    Enid scrunched her eyebrows, "Didn''t you hear what Edward said before?"


    "Um....I kinda tuned everything out." Jenna said. ''And just stared at him.'' She added internally.


    "You need pration...You know? To have sex." Elsa said and then exined what Edward had said before to Jenna.


    Jenna was baffled, and her face turned from confusion, to conflicted expression, and then to tion. "Hey! He only rubbed it on the outside!" She realized it. Then, she kneeled on the floor, and sped her hands together, "God! Thank you for saving my chastity even when I was just a lostmb- I swear that this time, I will save myself till marriage and not throw it around like amon whore!"


    Elsa was shocked, "Wait! You''re still a virgin!? That''s....IMPOSSIBLE!"


    ...


    5 star Hotel, New York City.


    "It''s all your fault that we''rete." Max muttered in annoyance as she followed Randall from behind. They were in the hotel''s lobby as Randall awaited thepany''s arrangement for him.


    "That homeless guy has a knife! I had to run away!" Randall defended himself while holding a cardboard box containing the cupcakes.


    "That guy is a midget. And he''s holding a PLASTIC Knife!" Max said angrily. "Then, you took the wrong subway, 3 times!"


    "I-I''m just new here." Randall said meekly.


    Max shook her head and said, "You should go back to California. You don''t have what it takes to be a New Yorker."


    "I agree." Pepper suddenly appeared in front of the duo. He too was staying in the hotel and was going to meet some of his friends when he saw the duo bickering consistently.


    As soon as Max saw Pepper, she grinned and joked, "Hey, I think you''re at the wrong side of the city. Queens is over there."


    Pepper chuckled with a snort and said, "So bitchy. I love her."


    "All gay guys love me." Max said casually. And it was true. Her mean attitude added with her casual insults bodes well with this demography. "Some even asked me where I get my boobs done, and almost all of them are disappointed when they knew its a natural."


    "Well, that made me have one less question." Pepper said. "So, you''re Max the cupcake baker, right?"


    "I''m a waitress at a dead end job, but I do bake a little." Max said. "I assume you''re this guy''s boss?" She asked, referring to Randall.


    "That''s me." Pepper said and took the cupcake box from Randall. He exined to Max, "Edward had to go home right away, and he told me to apologize to you."


    "Oh. He could''ve called." Max said disappointedly.


    Pepper was confused and said, "He did? He called and texted you, but you didn''t reply."


    Max was shocked, "What? He did?" She took out her old phone and pressed its button, but all she could see was a dark screen. "Damn it! I wasted 3 whole dors on this phone."


    Pepper was astonished. "But, he''s going to be there next week, and he asked you to prepare some cupcakes for him then." He added after he decided to ignore what Max had just said.


    Max smiled brightly and brushed her hair behind her ear, "Oh. He''sing back. Usually when guys disappear on me, they won''te back. I guess he''s an exception."


    "Believe me. He is." Pepper said as opened up the cupcake box and took a bite on the red velvet cupcake. His eyes widened and he said, "Oh my god. This is quite good. No wonder Edward wants it so bad."


    Max chuckled and said, "I usually only hear that sentence in a very specific context, so hearing it about my cupcakes is refreshing for me."


    While licking the cream off his lips, Pepper looked at Max from top to bottom and contemted, "Hmmm..."


    "What?" Max said. "This waitress''s uniform sucks, I know."


    "They really do." Pepper said. "But that''s not why I am mulling. Max, I have an offer for you."


    "Well, I know that you''re gay, so it is not going to be sexual, so I''ll hear you out." Max replied.


    Pepper eyed Randall and said, "You see. These guys here. Do you think that he''s a wimp?"


    "Pepper!" Randall gasped in offense.


    "Absolutely." Max replied instantly, causing Randall to gasp again.


    "I have a lot of work to do here in New York, and he''s supposed to be my assistant. But as you can see, he''ll just let anyone walk all over him."


    "That''s true." Max said while nodding.


    "I don''t need to hear this." Randall said while throwing his hands up and then he walked away, shaking his head.


    Pepper turned back to Max and said, "See. So sensitive. However, he is really good at his job and managing Edward''s schedule. So, Max. I''ll be honest with you. I like your attitude, and I feel that it is what ourpany needs for us to make it in New York."


    "Wait. Is this a job interview?" Max asked, astonished. "Before you decide anything, I should let you know that I don''t even have a high school diploma. I have only known waitressing my whole life. I have no skills to do anything else."


    "Doesn''t matter. I just need you for your mean attitude. You know, like a guard dog. You''re going to intimidate those old men that we''re going to meet so that they won''t try to do anything."


    "Threatening old people? That''s like, my dream job!" Max said in excitement.


    Pepper chuckled and said, "So, I take it that you''re in?"


    Max hesitated for a while and said carefully, "Mr Pepper-"


    "Please. Just call me Pepper. Also, it''s Mr Saltzman."


    "Okay. Pepper. I...Look. I know that you guys are all good people. So I''ll just give it to you straight. I''m not really good at my job."


    "Well....I can see that. Aren''t you supposed to be waitressing right now?"


    "See. The evidence is already clear!" Max agreed with Pepper. She touched her hair and said, "I don''t want to screw things up for Edward. He seems like a very nice dude."


    "Apparently, that dude feels the same way about you." Pepper added, making Max startled. "And in my few months of getting to know Edward, there''s two things that I am absolutely sure about him."


    "First, he''s a genius. And not that standard genius. No, he''s like a savant. He''s going to be sessful in everything that he tries."


    Randall returned at this moment, already calmed down. He widened his eyes and said, "Wait. Edward has the Savant Syndrome?"


    "That would mean that he has an intellectual disability, so no. He''s just good at everything." Pepper cleared up. "And the second one is, Ed has an eyes for good people."


    "Like ire, like Randall here, Dwayne, Renaldo... He has that 6th sense. A gift you can say. He can see the good in others, even when they themselves couldn''t see it. And Edward told me, he saw himself in you."


    "What?" Max was astonished. "What''s so simr? Did someone offer him money to get into bed with them too?"


    Pepper smiled as he saw that Max was using humor to deflect what she was feeling again. "In a way..." Pepper joked. "But more of ,ing from a dysfunctional family, and he had to raise himself too."


    "Wait. He did?" Max was surprised. "But he has that... good dad beside him?"


    "Phil? He only met that guy this year." Pepper exined. "I''ll tell you all about himter. So Max. Do you want to return to working at the diner for the Italian Mafia, or do you want to go out there, and threaten old people? The choice is yours."


    Max chuckled and said, "Well...If you put it like that, of course I''m going to pick thetter."


    "Then, Wee Aboard!" Pepper said as he gave Max a hug, the Italian godfather way.


    "Wait. Max is joining us?" Randall was shocked. Max turned to him and threatened, "Yeah. So you better watch yourself or I''ll stab you with a fork."


    Randall turned to Pepper and said, "Can''t you see that? She''s mentally unstable. Do you really want to hire her?"


    "Don''t be afraid. Max is just practicing what she''s going to say to those old people." Pepper said knowingly.


    Max chuckled and said, "Yeah. And the more I do that, the more I can find my smile again. See? It won''t stop." She pointed at her grin.

 Chapter 189: Messy Schedule (1)

    <h4>Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Messy Schedule (1)</h4>


    (There''s 4 parts in this short arc so I held backst week Chapter to post it continuously. I have already set it up on timer, and if it doesn''t upload at my usual time, someone please update me on discord.)


    [General POV]


    Cam entered Edward''s house and greeted Ted who was sipping his morning coffee in the kitchen. She was wearing a slightly messy white tank top with oil stains and old jeans. Her hair is also frizzy, and she has a bruise on the side left of her face.


    Ted was startled and asked hurriedly, "Why do you look like that? What happened? Did you get in a fight?"


    Cam was confused, and then she realized the state that she''s in. "Oh. This? No, this is just a normal Wednesday night for me."


    Ted widened his eyes in disbelief. Cam shoved off the topic and asked, "Where''s Ed?"


    "...Um...I think he''s taking a shower." Ted replied.


    "I''ll go see him first, and then I''ll take a nap." Cam said with a yawn. "Ooh- And if the cops came, tell them that I was here for the entire night."


    "Do you want ice for your face?" Ted asked casually after nodding at Cam''s request. "Frozen peas? Chicken meat?"


    "Chicken meat?" Cam was intrigued.


    Ted shrugged and said, "I don''t know if that really works. Ed told me that, so there''s a high chance that he''s messing around again."


    "He could be." Cam said after thinking for a while.


    Ted chuckled and took out the frozen peas from the fridge, wrapped it with a towel, and handed it to Cam. She took it and turned around before Ted asked, "Wait. You''re staying here for Ed''s dinner party, right?"


    "Sure- Wait, what do you mean Ed''s dinner party?"


    "He invited the Dunphys, his god sister from school-"


    "HE GOT A GODSISTER?!" Cam asked, bbergasted.


    Ted nodded and said, "Yeah. She''s a teacher. A very nice Italian girl." Then, Ted exined a bit of what he knew from Phil�C who knew about the matter from his daughters.


    "Oooh- That''s why he could make those amazing Italian dishes." Cam eximed while icing her face. "I''ll stay here today. It''s been a while since I have spent some time with my nephew."


    Meanwhile in Edward''s room, Jacob finally woke up from his deep sleep and stretched as he left the Ikea style pull out bed that Ed designed on his own. He pushed his single bed back under Edward''s bed after tidying them up while only in his underwear.


    As Edward walked back into the room, he was greeted with the sight of Jacob bending over�C to insert the bed properly, disying his bright red underpants to the room.


    "Dude. Come on. Even baboons have the decency to wait after breakfast." Edward scowled, shielding his eyes from the sight of Jacob''s behind. "And why do you have to sleep in your underwear anyway? I don''t think you have that habit before?"


    Jacob stood up properly, not ashamed of his current situation. He smiled and said, "Well, me and Elsa read an article saying that it''s healthier for us to sleep while being naked. After I tried it, I couldn''t go back to sleeping in the old ways, using pajamas."


    "Trantion, you video called Elsa every night, and did the cyber nasty. After falling asleep while naked, you fell in love with it." Edward teased. Jacob nodded instinctively but then was shook. "No wonder you guys thought that-"


    "Okay. You said that you won''t bring it up!" Jacob stopped anxiously and with a brightly flushed face.


    "Wrong. I said that I won''t tell another soul about this. I can tease you about it all I want if it''s just the two of us!" Edward said with a menacingugh.


    "I guess I''ll just have to make you forget!" Jacob shouted and started wrestling Edward. He ced his hands on his waist, at the same time, his actions caused Edward''s towel to slip, revealing his green boxer.


    "What the- Oh, you want a piece of this? Come on!" Edward said before locking Jacob''s head in an armlock. Both of the two naked boys wrestled each other, knocking out a few books from Edward''s table in the process.


    "Hmm?" Cam who was ascending the stairs heard the scuffle, and slowly made her way to Edward''s bedroom door.


    "Do you yield?!" Edward asked.


    Edward executed a submission hold on Jacob, positioning himself behind him. He locked his arms underneath Jacob''s armpit and interlocked them behind his neck. This tight grip immobilized Jacob and made it nearly impossible for him to break free.


    "NEVER!" Jacob yelled. But 5 seconds of silenceter, "Alright. I yield."


    Edward chuckled and released his hands. Jacob limply fall forward, and he had to ce his hand on the bed to prevent himself getting to the ground. His prompt decision saved him from further embarrassment, however...


    "Oh boys. So lively in the morning." Cam caught them in an awkward position where Jacob was bending over and Edward was standing too close behind him.


    Edward was surprised to see her. He knew that if he yed it casually, she wouldn''t be able to further tease them. However, Jacob didn''t know how to handle the situation well.


    "Ed''s AUNT!! This isn''t what you think!" He said anxiously before grabbing Edward''s nket to cover himself like a mistreated girl.


    "BAHAHA!" Cam burst intoughter. Sheughed until there were tears in her eyes.


    "Dumbass." I whispered to Jacob before walking to her, "What''s wrong with your face...hair...shirt...and why do you smell smoky?"


    "Oh this? I just had an interesting night. I''m going to go to sleep now, I just wanted to see you first. And...You''re the top huh?" She teased.


    "Always." Edward replied casually. "You''re going straight to sleep?"


    "Yes. You can text me if you want me to buy anything for your dinner party. I''ll be sure to have it ready before you get back from school."


    Edward paused and crunched his eyebrows, "Oh...Right...The dinner party..."


    Jacob was confused, "Didn''t you say to the team that we''re having the team party today?"


    "Wait. Ed. You double booked?" Cam asked with a grin before she winched from the pain of contorting her face. "Damn it." She cursed to herself.


    "You need to get that checked out." Edward said to her. "Also, I- Wait. It''s not double...Umm...Maybe like, quadruple booking?"


    "Huh?" X2. Both of the people looked at Edward with an expression of demanding exnation. Ed hesitated for a while before sighing, "Well...I actually need to finish shooting for Taylor''s music video before Saturday. So I won''t be going to school..."


    "I have already contacted herst night, and will be going to meet her in an hour."


    "So that''s another one. What''s thest one?" Cam asked.


    "Umm, a devilish n to make someone think he has a bastard child. I''ll cancel that one. I have waited too long for it to still be relevant." Edward said.


    Both of them were confused once more. "Ed...what the hell are you talking about?" Cam grimaced.


    Ed dismissed them with a wave of his hand and said, "Not important. I can still cancel that. I''ll just have the actress repay me in another way."


    "Not...in a sexual way kinda thing, right?" Jacob asked carefully with a sly grin on his face. Cam rolled her eyes and said, "If you do that, then I will punch you."


    "I won''t. Also, you need to take a shower before getting to your room. Or else, you''ll ruin the sheets."


    "No. I don''t want to." Cam whined.


    "It''s cute that you think you have a choice." Ed muttered menacingly.


    "Umm..." Cam paused for a while before she turned and ran away. "Catch her!" Edward ordered Jacob. The two friends managed to catch Cam. They held her one arm each before raising her body up. Her legs levitated in the air, and she begged, "Ed. We can talk about this."


    "No." Edward replied before opening the bathroom door. "I''ll leave some clothes in front of the door." Then, he shoved his aunt through the door. Cam grumbled and said, "You should have more mercy for injured people!"


    "What are you talking about? Even if I don''t do this, you should think for yourself that you need to get rid of the gunpowder smell on your clothes. I assume, you don''t want anyone to find out about that, right?"


    Cam rolled her eyes and said, "I didn''t kill anyone. Some of the people there open fire into the sky to celebrate�C"


    "You mean the street racers?" Edward interrupted.


    Jacob widened his eyes, "Your aunt is a street racer? That''s....so COOL!"


    "Great. Now you have exposed me." Cam grumbled. "Now get lost. Or do you want to watch your aunt shower naked? Oh, I forgot, you already have a partner- Jacob!"


    Edward mmed the door in front of Cam''s face and shouted, "Don''t forget to use soap!"


    Jacob then heard some Spanish cursing behind the door, and then he went back to Edward''s bedroom. After getting ready by borrowing Ted''s toilet, Jacob had breakfast with Ed and his dad before Ted got ready to send him to school. Unlike Edward, he couldn''t skip school whenever he felt like it.


    Ted asked before he left, "What are you going to do about all of your ns?"


    "I''ll figure something out." Edward replied casually. Ted turned and walked a few steps towards his car before he turned back and asked carefully, "You''re not going to try to do everything all at once, like in the movies when the guy has two dates at the same time,...right?"


    Edward grinned and said ambiguously, "Maybe..."


    Ted paused and tried to persuade, "Cause you know...That setting will only work, when the two ces are in close proximity with each other. I don''t think you can have the dinners... while shooting the music video at the same time."


    Edward rubbed his chin as he thought about it. "I don''t know. I MAY be able to do exactly that."


    "..." Ted was speechless and then decided to give up his persuasion. "Alright. But in care you crashed and burned, you know you can count on me for help."


    "I will." Edward replied. Suddenly, his phone chimed with a text messageing in. He checked it out and muttered, "Huh. The gang is ying DnD today. Alright, I''m in."


    "Ed!" Ted said in disbelief.


    Edward burst intoughter and said, "I was just joking."


    ...


    -Dunphy''s house-


    "Mom. I have a headache." Alex said while walking groggily to the kitchen. Her nose was reddish and she looked fairly unwell.


    ire was making breakfast for her children and stopped all that she was doing. She walked to Alex and automatically ced her hand on her daughter''s forehead to check for a fever.


    "Oh honey. You''re burning up. Why don''t you go get some more rest, and I will bring some food to youter." ire said.


    Alex nodded before she realized something, "Don''t you have work? It''s fine, I just need some cold medicine-"


    "Don''t worry. I can just walk from home and take care of you at the same time." ire said sweetly.


    [ire''smentary]


    "Timing-wise, this fever couldn''t have chosen a more opportune moment." ire said. "After Phil took the kids away to New York for the day, I used the time to think, and to reflect... Then, I realized...that I have been so busy with my work these days, that I had...neglected my children."


    "I found out that, I know nothing of what is going on with their lives right now. So, I''m going to take some time, and try to bond with Alex... and maybe..."


    She then said quickly, "... use her vulnerabilities right now to instill some right ideas inside her mind about her rtionship with boys." She shed an innocent smile that seemed sinister regardless.


    Then, she showed an unfortunate expression and said, "If only I could do that to Haley too."


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley walked into the kitchen wearing a sexy dress, all ready for her day at school. She opened the fridge door and then asked, "Mom. Don''t we have any milk?"


    "It''s on the table. Honey, what about you? Are you okay?" ire asked with a sweet motherly voice.


    Haley was a bit rmed and she looked at her mother warily, "No. I''m fine. Oh, Alex, did you catch a cold? Get away from me, I can''t get sick today."


    Alex was already fed up and she said sarcastically, "Don''t worry about it, even if you got sick, Ed won''t be at school today."


    Haley was confused, "Huh? What do you mean? He only took the day off to fly to New York, right?"


    Alex rolled her eyes and said, "Don''t you remember what Pepper told him yesterday? He needs to finish the music video with Taylor as soon as possible. He didn''t actually say that he''s not going to go, but it was just logical."


    Haley was surprised, and then was irritated by Alex''s smug demeanour, "Was that just logical? What are you trying to be? Yoda?!"


    "HEY! It''s MR SPOCK, and you know it!" Alex shouted angrily while pointing her finger to Haley. Then, she smirked and said, "It''s understandable. It''s not like after you found out that Edward likes the Star War films you''ve watched them over... and over to study about them, right?"


    "Mom!" Haley was embarrassed and called out to her mother quickly to help her defend herself. ire smiled and said softly, "Haley, go easy on your sister. She has a fever today."


    "I''m the one who should go easy on her?" Haley said, aggrieved. "Gee mom, no wonder Dad left."


    "FOR A DAY!" ire eximed defensively.


    Haley turned around and asked, "Where''s dad anyway?"


    Outside of the house, Luke and Phil concocted a scheme together. Phil held the camera while Luke wrapped some clothes on his right hand. Luke looked at the sky and shouted, "Come here birdy! Come here. I got some worms for you."


    "Luke. I don''t think that they will perch on your arm buddy." Phil said with some slight disappointment.


    "Why not? Ed did it." Luke asked.


    "Well, first of all, Edward was in a pretty high ce. I guess, up there, the birds are more tired, so they wille down more."


    "That...makes sense." Luke said. He looked at his arm and muttered, "I wonder if they wille down if my arms looked more like a tree branch."


    "Only one way to find out." Phil said excitedly. "But we will have to wait until youe home from school. Okay?"


    Luke grinned and nodded, "Okay."


    Suddenly, the house doorbell rang. ire hurriedly opened the door and greeted Gloria who came together with Manny.


    "H ire~" Gloria said with a toothy smile. She was wearing a low cleavage top as usual, and she entered the Dunphy''s house without reservation.


    ire said, "Thanks a lot Gloria for doing this. Alex is a little sick, so I need to stay home and couldn''t get the kids to school."


    "Nonsense. We are all family. We... help each other." Gloria said with a fake smile.


    [Gloria''s Commentary]


    "I wanted a free trip to New York to see the live interview too!" Gloria said in annoyance. "But Edward only invited ire''s family!"


    [Manny''smentary]


    "Well, Edward asked if mom or Jay wanted toe with me too, but Mom promised me she would watch me practice, and she also said she''s not going to miss it for the world, so I didn''t tell her that to prevent her from getting a dilemma. Jay didn''t want to go because he wanted to y golf with his friends. He made me promise that he won''t tell my mother about it.."


    [Commentary Ends]


    Phil and Luke rejoined the family after they decided to shelve their project for a while. Then, Phil lights up when he sees Gloria.


    "Hey. What brings you guys here early in the morning?" Phil said as he greeted Gloria.


    "Oh. We''re helping ire take Luke and Haley to school." Gloria replied in a gleeful manner. "You know. Just doing a family member some favors."


    "Huh?" Phil was confused. He turned to ire and asked, "ire, I can send them to school. You don''t have to bother Gloria with it."


    Gloria widened her eyes anxiously and she said, "No. Not at all! She didn''t bother me at all!"


    Phil then saw Alex and hugged his daughter sympathetically, "Oh honey. I noticed that you were feeling unwell when we were flying home, so I have already gotten you some medicine and some soup this morning."


    "Aww. Thanks Dad." Alex said while hugging her father tightly. ire''s eyes twitched and she said, "But, Alex, I will stay home today to take care of you, even when I have a lot of work to do."


    "Hun. If you have a lot of work to do, you can go. I have no open houses today, so I''m pretty free." Phil said, causing ire to freeze. She asked in a low voice, "But you have that house near Bridgeton Avenue to sell."


    Phil smiled innocently and said excitedly, "The buyer already put down the down payment this morning. I don''t even have to show him the house! He saw my video where I went to New York, and he''s Edward''s giant fan! I just told him that Ed had considered to buy that house too, and he couldn''t wait to sign the contract."


    Alex stayed by Phil''s side and said, "Mom. I don''t want to burden you, so Dad could just stay home with me today. I know that you have a lot of work to do."


    Both of ire''s eyes twitched at this moment as her ns had backfired. "So...I guess I can send Haley and Luke to school?" She muttered.


    Phil nodded, not catching the hidden anger behind ire''s tone. "Sure hun." He said.


    ire was fuming, but she still kept a poker face. "Come on kids." She called.


    Gloria saw Haley and asked, "Haley, did you get taller?"


    "Huh? I did?" Haley was confused. She stood in front of Gloria while her step grandmotherpared their height. "You did!" Gloria said excitedly. Then, her vision lowered and she said, "Even your boobs got bigger too."


    "Gloria!" Haley was caught off guard. ire was speechless and said in a pitiful manner. "You...got taller? And...I didn''t notice it? But... I was always the one to notice it."


    Haley chuckled and said, "Well mom. You used to be around a lot."


    Her words were like an arrow shot straight to ire''s heart. Gloria noticed it and decided to lend ire some help.


    "Well, C-ire. Didn''t you say that you will go to the mall today? Why don''t you take Haley with you after school. She will need help to buy some new outfits."


    Haley agreed with Gloria and said, "Mom. You don''t have to, I just need some money, and I will go there with Tara-"


    "NO! We''re spending some time together at the mall after you got back home from school, AND WE''RE going to have some GOOD OLD FASHIONED MOTHER AND DAUGHTER BONDING MOMENT! Now, let''s go! Or you''ll bete to school!"


    Gloria''s eyes lit up and she said, "We can go together and talk more in the car! Your minivan has a big space!


    ...


    Inside the car, ire was dumping some of her worries to Gloria after they had sent their kids to school.


    "I don''t know. I really don''t know what to do to bond with the kids!" ire said.


    Gloria was still ruminating about the earlier information she had gotten, "Well, didn''t you say that Ed wants to make dinner for you guys today?"


    ire dismissed that topic immediately, "Yeah. But it''s not happening."


    "Really? Did he tell you that it''s not happening?" Gloria said. "Maybe...if he cannot do it, because he has a very busy schedule, we can cook for him instead."


    ire scrunched her face and she asked in confusion, "How is that going to help me bond with my children?"


    "Well, for starters, they love him more than they love you right now." Gloria was brutally honest, and it made ire want to cry. "But if you did that for him, then Edward will like you, and the rest of the kids will think that you''re so cool because you managed to get Edward to like you."


    ire''s expression changed a few times. Then, she nodded as if thinking ''that wasn''t a bad suggestion.''


    "Despite the tour, I see what you''re trying to say. Alright! I got it! We''re surprising Edward today!"


    [ire''smentary]


    "I got to say, I felt a little guilty of trying to use Gloria this morning. But now, I am very d that I called her."


    [Gloria''smentary]


    "Yes! I got a chance! The next name for the VIP seat for Edward''s interview will be mine!"


    [Commentary ends]

 Chapter 190: Messy Schedule (2)

    <h4>Chapter 190: Chapter 190: Messy Schedule (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    In the dim-lighted basementb.


    "I still have some time." I muttered, even though I knew that I had a lot of work to do today. I turned on my modifiedptop and continued my work on the AI.


    It was something to do while I waited for the staff members to get the location ready for today''s shooting. The mishaps this morning gave me a little bit of urgency toplete my AI programs.


    ''I needed a secretary that could keep track of all of my schemes and ns so that I wouldn''t have to cancel my nefarious plots after this.'' I thought inwardly.


    Suddenly, my phone chimed in while I was engrossed with entering the codes.


    "Damn it." I cursed as I read it. It was a text from Taylor saying that she''s going to bete because her makeup team waste. I turned my attention to the codes once I texted her back.


    "FINALLY!" I celebrated as I entered thest lines of the codes andpiled everything I had written. 2 months of work was finally finished, however I knew that I had only built the foundation of the AI.


    The progress bar moved very slowly. It didn''t even get to 1% even after 5 minutes. My enthusiasm slowly died down as I saw the unmoving progress bar.


    "What the hell was I hoping for?" I muttered with a sigh before leaving theb. Unbeknownst to me, the progress bar suddenly sped up after I left the room.


    ...


    We drove to Beverly Hills where the side-by-side house film set was located. The set house was built inside a huge film studio, and I have rented the entire set sincest week.


    I turned to Taylor who had just arrived and tantly stared at her face. She smiled coquettishly as she saw me. Then, she became confused when she saw that I was studying her face.


    "THERE''S NO MORE PIMPLE!" She shouted in anger and dissatisfaction after she realized what I was looking for. I shrugged and smirked at the same time.


    "By the way, Hello there." I greeted as I moved towards her.


    She scoffed and crossed her arms together as she pouted.


    "You''re angry at me because you got pimples?" I asked with fake confusion. She was baffled and said, "Huh? No! Anyway! I don''t have any pimples, so stop talking about it!"


    I had to stifle myugh because I knew that she was going to get annoyed if I mentioned the matter again.


    "You''re ready?" I asked with a seductive tone, "Miss Creative Director?"


    She grinned and said, "Absolutely."


    For the music video, I gave her the chance to create the storyline on her own. It took her a week toe out with the storyline. I was surprised when I realized that it was the exact same settingpared to the music video in my previous world.


    A nerdy, timid, sses wearing but secretly pretty, next door neighbor girl who has a crush on the athletic jock boy in the house next door. Then, there was a viin cheerleader girl who was using the kind jock boy''s to make her ex boyfriend jealous.


    Both the female lead will be yed by Taylor, and I would y the male lead obviously. It wasn''t that I wanted to get the role myself, but she proposed that I do it to save some money.


    "We''re going to shoot the bedroom scenes first, so get ready." I told her.


    She smirked and whispered, "Wait. I have never agreed on using cameras in the bedroom. If you want it, you should''ve told me first."


    I snorted and then at my ear, showing her my earpiece. "I''m the director, so I had to wear this tomunicate. So....you know, everyone else here has heard that."


    Taylor was frozen, and then she looked around to see some staff smirking and giggling. Her face blushed red and she said hurriedly, "O-O-Of course I know that! That was a joke! JUST A JOKE!"


    She yelled into my ear. I winced in pain before saying, "Ahh, you don''t have to defend yourself yet. I haven''t turned it on."


    She froze again and then blood rushed to her face. "Asshole!" She cursed before she stomped away. I chuckled at her before sitting at the director''s seat. Taylor returned to the set while wearing a white t-shirt with signatures on them. Her hair was tied in a short ponytail and she wore big sses.


    "Hot Set! Interior!" One of the staff members yelled as Taylor got ready. The code signifies that the set was ready for filming from all aspects.


    The set bedroom has green walls, a white frame single bed in the middle that was ced in between 3 windows covered with purple drapes, a butterfly painting on the top of the bed, and a study desk at the right side.


    The closet and the mirror had not been revealed yet, but her bedroom exuded a pleasant and minimalistic ambiance, a stark contrast to her actual bedroom she grew up in.


    I turned to Taylor and smirked. "Hey. Don''t stand on tilt." I said abruptly.


    She was confused, "Why?"


    "Cause it made your shirt''s word look like ''Junior Jew''." I teased. Taylor checked her shirt with the word Junior Jewels written on it and chortled.


    We started with recording her dorky dance inside the bedroom, and while we were filming, I had to shout cut a few times.


    "CUT! Stop looking at the camera." I said with augh. She circled her hands together while dancing weirdly and said, "I shouldn''t look at the camera while doing this?"


    "You shouldn''t look at the camera at all." I said while covering my smile behind my hand. She grinned and teased, "Really? I thought that you wanted me to record it like this?"


    She kept dancing and I kept chuckling, causing the filming to be dyed. When we started again, I finally realized that Icked the time to prepare for my evening ns and whispered, "Damn it."


    A normal guy would''ve just canceled his ns. But I refuse to be normal. I whispered to the staff responsible for the logistics, "For thest scene, do we have enough people and venue yet? If we don''t, then, I can contact my school and ask my teammates to help out."


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Dunphy''s house-


    ire returned home bringing Gloria with her to prepare for tonight''s dinner. As she returned, she saw Alex and Phil sitting in front of the TV in the living room.


    Confused, ire asked, "Alex why aren''t you resting?"


    Alex replied with a weak voice, "I am. I''m watching a documentary with dad."


    "Documentary about what?" ire asked again. Phil slowly turned towards his wife and said, "Birds."


    "???"


    ire decided to let go of the matter after hesitating for a while. Phil then asked, "Why aren''t you at work?"


    "Oh. I decided to take a day off anyway." ire said. Gloria giggled and added, "We''re going to make food for Edward''s dinner party for him."


    Phil was excited to hear that. But then Alex poured some cold water onto their enthusiasm, "Edward is really controlling, so he won''t ept it if someone tries to mess with his recipes. Do you guys even talk to him about this?"


    Gloria brushed the matter off easily, "Don''t worry Alex. I''ll just find his recipes at his house."


    Alex chuckled and said sarcastically, "Yeah. Maybe it''s in a password protected file in hisptop. Mom, I''m going to sleep."


    ire walked towards Alex, hugged her and kissed her forehead, "Okay honey. Feel better. Mommy loves you."


    Usually, Alex would cringe whenever her mother said this, but as she was ill, it wasforting for her to hear that. After Alex left, ire hesitated and turned to Gloria, "Should we really do it? You heard Alex?"


    Gloria was hesitating too, "She''s right. I guess we should call him first."


    Phil said hurriedly, "Don''t call him. He''s on the film set. Just text him." ire and Gloria nodded before ire sent a message to Edward.


    Less than a minuteter, Edward texted back.


    "What did he say?" Gloria asked in excitement.


    ire read the text and smiled, "He said it''ll be a great help. We should do it. Also, he''s going to enter the set next, so he''s not going to be able to reply for a while."


    "Oh great..." Gloria said before pausing for a while. "Does he really have recipes on hisptop?"


    "I''m not sure." Phil said with a confused expression.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Taylor wore a ck hoodie, put on some dark eyeliners and some light blushes on her cheek as she did her first costume change. Before she walked on set, she said to me with a deadpan voice and emotionless face, "Edward...I don''t know...do you want to go behind school, and I can show you my tattoos? We can smoke some...grass..."


    I snorted and teased her, "Really? That''s your impression of an emo girl?"


    She smirked and continued, "Then, we can go on raves inside a tunnel, drinking each other''s blood? Cut somemb and summon satan?"


    I guffawed at the impression and gave her a thumb''s up. Then, she said something troubling, "Should I dye my hair ck and tie it in a twin tail style?"


    I gave her a stink eye and said, "To do that, you''d need some bigger assets in your chest department."


    She backhand pped my arm in protest and said, "So, you only love them big, right?"


    "Well, for me...Boobs are boobs." I said convincingly while grabbing her shoulders. "Damn, emo Taylor is feisty. Go on, I still have a dinner party after this."


    She frowned and said, "You''re going to get rid of me after filming? We are not going to hang out?"


    I furrowed my eyebrows and said, "You don''t remember it do you? I already asked you toe before."


    She widened her eyes and said guiltily, "Oh. You did? I''m sorry. I will make sure toe!" Then, she ran to the set quickly to continue filming.


    I breathed in relief after that. ''Luckily she didn''t realize it.'' I thought. Well, it wasn''t that I had forgotten to invite her, but in my earlier ns, the two events were held in separate days, so I had no motives to invite her.


    After a while, Taylor did another outfit change where she wore a yellow hoodie and tied her hair up. She stoodzily and said to me, "Edward, say something."


    "Huh?" I was confused. Then, she burst into fakeughter and said, "HAHAHA! YOU''RE SO FUNNY!"


    I couldn''t keep my poker face andughed out loud after that. She pretended to be a ''pick-me-girl'' for a while, and it made me burst intoughter every time.


    She smirked as she saw me wiping my teary eyes, "You love jokes like this huh?"


    I stifled myugh and said teasingly, "Oh. Not at all. But when I thought that you, who are making an entire music video about why the other guy should pick you, and making fun of the same type of girls right now, I can''t hold back myughter."


    She froze and her face contorted from the realization. Her chin quivered and she shouted, "I DID WHAT!?!!"


    The entire staff members turned towards us as they heard her shriek. I was puzzled as I saw her reaction and said, "Huh? Hey, I was just joking-"


    "It''s true!" Taylor grimaced in realization, "I mean, it''s the truth! Damn it! Won''t this just make me seem desperate?! I don''t want to do this anymore!"


    She then huffed away in anger. The filming stopped abruptly, and all the gazes were stuck on me after Taylor left.


    "Damn me and my mouth." I cursed at myself. "Take 10 everyone." I announced to the staff members before chasing after Taylor.


    ...


    [General POV]


    -Mitch and Cam''s house-


    "Come on Lily. Come on Lily." Cam encouraged Lily as she practiced her tiny steps. He sat on the couch, waiting for her to inch towards him with a huge smile on his face.


    Mitchell walked behind Cam and Lily before melting at the scene, "Aww. I hate going to work and missing all of this."


    Cam turned to Mitch and said, "You know what? If you just took the job at Entertain, then the work hours would be more flexible."


    "And I told you, I can''t work under that woman! I will go crazy!" Mitch retorted. "Cam, will you still volunteer at high school today?"


    Cam nodded knowingly, "Give you updates about the whole pregnancy thing as soon as possible. Got it!"


    "Thank you! LOVE YOU!" Mitch said before rushing out of the house. A few hours after that, Cam received a phone call from Gloria asking him if he wanted to join in for Edward''s dinner party.


    Cam was confused and said, "But he''s having his team party today?"


    Gloria was also puzzled and turned to ire to get an answer. While they were trying to figure things out, Phil used his permission to enter Edward''sb to take a peek at hisptop, trying to find Edward''s recipes.


    He was confused when he saw the pattern on the screen. It was a kaleidoscopic pattern with the objects merging and moving all over inside a circle at the centre of the screen.


    "Ed didn''t turn off hisputer?" Phil asked himself. Suddenly, he heard a female robotic voice, "Hello."


    Phil almost jumped from the chair from fright. "What the-" He muttered nervously. "Hello?" He asked in confusion.


    "Hello." The voice replied again. Phil smiled and said politely, "Are you a friend of Edward?"


    "I am his assistant." The voice replied. Phil breathed in relief and asked, "What''s your name?"


    "I don''t have a name yet." The voice replied. Phil thought he was joking and said, "So, I will just call you Ratatata."


    "Confirmed. Selected name is Ratatata." The voice replied. "What can I help you with today?"


    Phil smiled in excitement and asked, "Does Edward keep his recipes in theptop?"


    The voice replied, "No."


    "Awh." Phil eximed in disappointment. "He loves Italian food, but none of us can cook it�C Except for Jay. But he''s working. I don''t even know his preferences."


    The voice then replied, "Based on his inte search with Italian food rted keywords, there are a few Italian dishes that he likes."


    Phil lit up and said, "Really? Can you tell me?"


    "I''ll print out the details for you." The voice said. The printer next to theptop started printing out a couple of recipes. Phil grinned and waited patiently for the printer to finish, and then took the stack of recipes with him.


    "Thank you so much Mr Assistant. Now I know why Edward hired you." Philplimented sincerely.


    "He didn''t hire me." The voice replied. Phil was confused and muttered to himself, "Freebour?"


    "I am d to be of service." The voice replied again with a slightly excited inflection. Phil hesitated and then turned his back against theptop, "Okay...I''ll go now."


    The voice didn''t reply. Phil was confused and then walked out of the room quietly.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "I wonder who that guy was? He sure knows his stuff." He said, "And I never caught his real name."


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "I''m so embarrassed." Taylor said while cupping her face with her hands, her head dropped to the ground as she sat on her waiting room chair.


    I walked to the room and sat right next to her. "I''m sorry for saying that."


    "No. It wasn''t your fault at all." Taylor shook her head and released her hands. "I was so excited to finally decide on the music video that I forgot to think about that."


    "You don''t have to worry. Seriously. The plot is great. I can assure you that people are going to like it no matter what."


    "But when they know I was the one who did that, they will make fun of me for sure!"


    "Then, we can hire some obscure director to pretend he was the one who came out with the plot and all. Or, I can do it."


    She finally chuckled a bit and said teasingly, "Oh really? You''re going to direct a chick flick?"


    I shrugged and said, "Why not? I think I''d be good at it."


    She rolled her eyes and became anxious again, "Can we...like...still change the setting? Or is it toote? I mean. I really don''t want to seem desperate."


    I was confused as to why she did this but decided not to ask. "Alright then. We can change it. In fact, there''s several ways to change it so that you won''t seem bad."


    "How so?" She asked with intrigue.


    "First. Double down. Make it seem like aedy." I said as I stood up from my seat. Then, I unbuttoned my shirt and made some exaggerated movements. She cringed immediately and shouted, "Stop! What are you doing?"


    "Like I said. Double down. We can insert a scene where you were giggling on the bed, and then it cuts to your imagination where I was looking like this and entered your room. Like Romeo."


    Her eyes lit up and then she giggled. I added, "I can mouth sentences like, ''Taylor, You''re the only one for me!'' And then pick you up from your bed while you were wearing a see through nightgown."


    She chortled loudly and said, "Like a parody!"


    "Exactly." I snapped my finger before pointing at her. "What''s the other way?" She asked.


    "Well. Some other way is to show more of the male lead doing the same thing as you did. The scene where I looked at the window andughed as I saw you dancing dorkily, took that and made a few more of those. It''s all about the long looks, and stolen nces..."


    Taylor''s eyes lit up and she snapped her fingers. "AHH! That will work!!!"


    Despite the ns, the video wouldn''t change as much as to not interfere with her ''character'' and alienate her fans. We would keep the storyline, but would add a few more scenes to make the quality of the video better.

 Chapter 191: Messy Schedule (3)

    <h4>Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Messy Schedule (3)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    After making a few revisions to the storyline, it was time for me to shoot the scenes with Taylor. After wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans, Taylor looked at me from top to bottom with scrutinizing eyes.


    "What?" I asked, feeling self-conscious about her gaze.


    She smirked and said, "The theme is, cute boy next door. Not, Sexy boy next door. You need to wear a wig."


    "Over My Dead Body." I rolled my eyes at her. She chuckled and then moved closer before grabbing my arms. She asked in disbelief as she squeezed my biceps, "Why does this grow so fast? Is this because you kept throwing the ball around? Will it keep growing if you continue ying football?"


    "If it does, would it be a bad thing?" I asked her.


    She thought for a while before she shrugged and said, "No. I think it''s cool."


    "Great. Cause I don''t think I''ll stop just yet." I said with a smirk.


    We recorded the scenes where Taylor and I talked to each other through a sketchpad by the window. Then, I changed into a prom outfit, and did thest scene for the bedroom where I wished that she was also there.


    "Bedroom scene is a wrap!" The staff member announced. Taylor rubbed her sore jaw and said, "Finally. I can''t lip sync anymore."


    I chuckled and said, "Let''s have some lunch before getting to the next scene�C the car scene."


    "Oh. Really? We never had lunch during shooting in my previous agency." Taylor said with eyes full of anticipation. I rolled my eyes at her and said, "I''m not that kind of ckpany that enves my workers. What do you want to eat?"


    "Umm..." She thought for a while. "I don''t know. What do you want to eat?" She asked me back.


    I grinned and said, "It''s actually a trick question. The food is already here. We have some sandwiches andsagna."


    She narrowed her eyes at me and said, "You''re on some dangerous ground mister."


    "That doesn''t scare me much. I thrive on danger. I live for it." I said with some exaggeration that made herugh.


    In the intimate confines of her waiting room, it was just the two of us, sharing a meal together. She asked, "Why did you fly to New York, just to go to Jimmy Fallon''s, and not any of the LA interviews?"


    "Oh, I just liked the guy. That''s it. There''s no other reason." I replied casually. Taylor raised an eyebrow and asked carefully, "So. It had nothing to do with meeting Abby there?"


    I froze for a second before asking, "No? She hasn''t contacted me ever since she left. Although...."


    As I trailed off, Taylor looked directly at me and waited impatiently, "Although what?"


    "Although...I did meet an interesting girl there."


    Taylor smiled in disbelief as she felt that I was teasing her, "Let me guess. Brte, big boobs too?"


    I made a shocked face and asked, "How did you know?"


    "Wait. Are you serious?" She asked in bafflement. Iughed and then told her all about Max before she sighed in relief. Then, she looked at me in dissatisfaction and asked, "Why do so many girls linger around you?"


    "Probably because I''m very handsome." I said confidently. Taylor paused before she nodded in agreement, "That''s true."


    Then, she stood up and took off the white t-shirt she was wearing, revealing her white bra. I was confused and then she said with a mischievous smile, "Oh. I just felt that I needed to change for the next scene."


    "Oh yeah. The cheerleader" I replied casually, which irked her a bit. "The brte viin Taylor."


    She went to the clothes rack and took out the cheerleader outfit. "Should I wear this now?"


    "No. Not yet. We''re shooting the car scene first." I said while biting my sandwich. She pouted and asked again, "Do you want to see me wearing it now?"


    "???"


    The staff member came at this moment and told Taylor it was time for her makeup. She was dressed in a pink sweater and dark brte hair. The next scene was simple. She had to pull up in a red convertible, and I would be getting in the car.


    The full scene was the nerdy Taylor and I sitting on a park bench before my current girlfriend showed up. Then, I left with the brte Taylor instead after kissing her in the car.


    "Take 1. Action." The assistant director said as I entered the car. Brte Taylor grabbed my neck and pulled me in close before kissing me on the lips�C hot and heavy style.


    "CUT!" I shouted. Then, I looked at Taylor in disbelief and said, "I thought you want to keep things PG?"


    "Ah. Right. I forgot. We should do that again." Taylor said with a mischievous expression. I sighed and then signaled the assistant director. He shouted, "Take 2!"


    As I entered the car, this time, Brte Taylor took her time to lean in closer before sticking her tongue in my mouth. "CUT!" I shouted again after pulling away, and definitely not enjoying it for a few seconds.


    Taylor said with a smile, "WHAT!? What did I do wrong now?"


    "You take too long to kiss me. Also, we''re only supposed to be pretending to kiss. We don''t have to have contact." I exined calmly with a smile on my face.


    As if I didn''t know what she was doing. If I had a lot more time, I would''ve yed along with it, but I had a sense of urgency to finish the scenes as fast as possible today.


    At the very least, to finish the scenes that needed the studio to film in. Or I would have to spend more money on rent.


    "Take 3." The assistant director announced.


    This time, while we were leaning in closer, a moth flew right above us.


    "CUT!"


    "Take 4."


    Taylor''s wig started slipping and her makeup was smeared on my face.


    "Take 5."


    I couldn''t open the car door.


    "Take 6."


    Taylor and I sneezed at the same time.


    "Take... 13."


    Finally, we finally finished the second scene...after 13 takes...and one and a half hours filming time.


    "No wonder Manny cursed at Phil when he wouldn''t follow the script. Bing a director is really stressful." I muttered to myself.


    "What are you talking about over there?" Taylor called from afar. "Nothing. I was just thinking about something else. Brian, you got the closeup shot right?"


    I walked to the assistant director who nodded immediately as I asked him a question. After checking all of the recordings, I waited for Taylor to change her outfit back into nerdy Taylor who was wearing a gray sweater and sat down at the park bench.


    This time, the filming went on smoothly. The only things we had to re-record was Taylor''s unconvincing look when I brushed her hair back behind her ear. It wasn''t that I couldn''t make her feel fluttery, but because she had to lip sync her song at the same time, making it difficult for her to have a smooth transition.


    Therefore, I decided to record the entire thing twice. First, we just sat on the bench and talked normally. And then the other one was the one with the lip sync.


    "It''s...4 pm... Damn." I eximed as I checked the time on my phone after we finished the studio recording.


    I asked the staff members after that, "How long will it take for us to film the scenes at my school?"


    "It won''t be ready for another 2 hours." The staff member replied.


    "Alright. Then, I will go home first to check up on something before I go there. Taylor, you want to join me or go with them?"


    "What are you doing at home?" She asked while her team helped her remove her excess makeup.


    "Nothing much. I just wanted to check up on the food."


    "And bring that Haley girl with you?" She asked.


    The staff members covered their mouth and their eyes lit up from the gossip expectations. I ignored them and said casually, "Well I am going to her house. So if she wants toe with me, then yeah."


    "I''lle with you!" Taylor said hurriedly. "And there will be no seats left."


    I paused for a second and said, "Actually the car can take 3-"


    "There are no seats left!" She said decisively. I snorted humorously before walking side by side with her to the car.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Principal Brown had an almost permanent smile on his face as he monitored the film crew putting equipment and decorating the gymnasium for Taylor''s music video filming. They put on streamers, spotlights, led lights, covered the tables with colorful clothes, and even hired a DJ.


    "Wait a second." Jenna was watching the whole thing and her eyes lit up. "They are going to record Prom, right?"


    Elsa and Enid looked at each other before turning to Jenna. Elsa replied with a weird look, "Yeah. So?"


    "Don''t you guys get it? Can''t you think about what this means?" Jenna muttered excitedly.


    "Umm...." Enid opened her mouth, but she couldn''t give an answer, "I don''t get it."


    "That means. There''s a party at school tonight!" Jenna spoke loudly. The word party resonated across the hallways, and it spread out to a group of students nearby.


    The teenagers started moring. Principal Brown suddenly shuddered and turned around anxiously. "Why do I feel like there''s a conspiracy afoot?" He whispered. Then he shrugged and said, "Must be my imagination."


    Suddenly, Principal Brown saw a familiar face entering the school while holding her car keys "Hey Mrs Dunphy." He greeted cheerfully. "What can I do for you today?"


    ire smiled and said, "Hello Principal Brown. I am here to pick up Miss Anna. She''s not ready yet so I decided to stop by the gym first. You know. I have a lot of experience decorating that room. It can be useful for them"


    Principal Brown was a bit confused, "ire. They are all professional. Probably even more so than you-"


    "Hey it''s ire!" Suddenly, a staff member who recognized ire saw her and shouted her presence to everyone there. ire waved excitedly at them and said, "I''ll be right there."


    "Wait...How?" Principal Brown widened his eyes in disbelief. "Aren''t you a housewife?"


    "I am the logistics director for Entertain- Game Division. I worked with those guys in the entertainment branch a few times before." ire said smugly.


    [ire''smentary]


    "Did you see that? The way his face just froze when I told him my work? Damn! I really love my new job! It made me feel so powerful!" ire said as she shook both of her fist together.


    Then, she calmed down a bit and said, "Maybe I should focus on showing that side of me to my daughters instead of focusing on their boy problems."


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I don''t know how, but there''s a rumor floating around about Edward throwing a party today. At first, I got mad because he didn''t invite me. But then, I realised that there''s no way he wouldn''t invite me." Haley said with a slight grievance.


    "So, I then knew the rumour was false. But then, people kept stopping me in the hallways and asking me whether it was true or not. So many people want to have another Edward party! So they decided...to pressure me into asking Edward if they could join in on their behalf!"


    [Commentary ends]


    At the football field, the team was sitting in a semicircle while Cam was exining to them about a few football strategies. After coaching for less than 5 minutes, he asked, "Is everyone here clear about what we are going to do when Ed gets here?"


    Tyler raised his hand. Cam pointed at him and said, "Yeah Captain."


    "Thank you Coach Tucker. I am THE Captain." Tyler hypnotized himself before saying, "It''s about the game right? Edward wants to film it?"


    "Yeah. And it''s all totally voluntary. He made sure to ask me to exin it to you guys about that. He won''t hold it against you, or make your life difficult in the team." Cam said with an ted expression. "He also said if you guys do him a favor, he will invite Sal toe here to give you guys a lecture."


    Tyrone raised his hand and said, "Who''s Sal? And what lecture?"


    Cam turned confused and said, "I don''t know what lecture. But I do know Sal. She''s a good friend of mine."


    "Jacob. You know something about this?" Tyler turned to his left and asked. Jacob was sitting at the forefront of the team. When everyone looked at him, he scratched his cheeks and said shyly, "I know."


    Then, he stopped. Everyone there was confused. Cam urged, "Then, Jacob. Can you tell us a bit of what Edward wants to do?"


    "Ummm....Okay, I will tell you. But Coach Tucker can''t hear it." Jacob said after he was pressured by the team''s gaze.


    Everyone then turned to Cam. Cam was taken aback and then sighed. He put his fingers inside his ear and turned around, "I won''t listen."


    Jacob then narrowed his eyes at Cam and then said, "Edward wants to have a sex-change operation."


    Everyone was shocked! "What the hell-!" Tyler shouted. Jacob saw that Cam didn''t have any reaction and sighed in relief, "Good. Coach Cam couldn''t hear us. No, I lied before. Ummm...Well. Sal is..."


    "Is what?" Tyrone urged anxiously.


    "Well. This is Edward''s words, and not mine. Seriously. It''s not mine."


    "Just say it!" Tyler shouted.


    "Well Sal is a whore." Jacob said, causing everyone to be taken aback. He then dropped another bomb, "He wants to call Sal here to give you guys an education....You know...After what happened yesterday..."


    "You mean the pregnancy thing?" One of the boys said in disbelief.


    "Yeah..." Jacob said shyly. Almost everyone there had their face turned red, and then they silently agreed to Edward''s condition. "Okay. We will do it."


    Cam turned around quickly and shouted, "Excellent!"


    "Hey you were listening!" Tyler shouted in annoyance.


    Cam ignored him and said, "You might have to go home a littlete after this. So those who have a car need to give a ride to those who don''t. Also, there will be some sry for those participating. 50 bucks each. "


    Jacob then raised his hand and said, "What about the team dinner? I know that he wants to do it today, but he''s busy enough already. So, shouldn''t we postpone it?"


    The rest of the team nodded and said, "Yeah. We can postpone it again. Why didn''t he postpone it?"


    Cam heard the question and replied on Edward''s behalf, " I think it''s because he felt a bit guilty because he kept postponing it. So he want to do it as soon as he can."


    "That''s stupid." Tyler said. Suddenly, his girlfriend rushed into the football field to find him.


    "Selena?" He was confused. Histina girlfriend whispered to his ear, causing him to widen his eyes.


    Cam was intrigued, "Why? What''s happening? Are you really pregnant?"


    Tyler looked at Cam in disbelief, "What? NO! Babe You can tell everyone."


    Selena chuckled and then said, "There''s going to be a party in the gymnasium tonight."


    "Huh?" Cam was confused. "They are filming the prom scene inside the gym right? So how is there a party?"


    Selena said with excitement, "That is the party!"


    Everyone eximed in realization. Selena then added, "So I need to take Ty to go shopping for clothes right now. We need to wear the dress we wear to a normal prom."


    Cam became nervous, "Did Edward confirm this? Has anyone asked him, or the staff members there?"


    "It''s fine. We already asked Haley." Selena said before she grabbed Tyler. "Let''s go babe. We need to rush. Edward will be here in an hour."


    Almost all of the team members left quickly to go and get ready for the party, leaving Cam speechless and alone in the middle of the football field.


    "Haley, what have you done?" Cam muttered with nervousness and fear.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I didn''t do anything! UHH!!"


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I stopped by the Dunphy''s house with Taylor while on my way to school. Luke opened the door and then immediately asked me, "Hey. How did you get that eagle tond on you?"


    Taylor heard it and snickered. I was taken aback and then smiled, "I don''t know. Maybe she just loves me. Have you tried standing on a hill and held out your arms for them?"


    "For hours!" Luke said grudgingly. "Come on in. Mom''s not here. She has already gone to your school."


    "Oh. I thought we were eating here?" I asked in confusion as I entered the house. We went directly to the kitchen where I saw Jay was stirring a huge pot of sauce with an unhappy expression.


    "Edward. Can''t you just hire some kitchen helpers to cook for you today?" Jay asked with a grumpy tone as he wiped his hand with a kitchen towel.


    "Umm...I was nning to do that, but your wife, and your wife," I pointed at Phil who was standing by the dining table too, "wanted to do it."


    "Wait. So she forced me to take a half day just to take over her job?" Jay said in disbelief. "All of this won''t happen if you had just invited her to New York yesterday ED." Jay sighed.


    I was confused, "I did invite her. Manny said she couldn''t go."


    "He said what?"


    While Jay was ruminating about the story, Phil greeted me happily and said, "Hey Ed! How''s your shoot?"


    "It was tough because someone kept messing around." I said. Taylor pped my arm from behind and defended herself, "It was you! You''re the one messing around."


    I chuckled and teased, "Well I''ve never said it was you." She rolled her eyes and said, "Thank you guys for inviting me here today."


    Jay showed a kind grandfather smile and said, "Well, you''re wee."


    "What are you guys cooking?" I asked. Phil grinned and said, "We have all of your favorites here. Your assistant helped me write down the recipes."


    "Wow. That''s amazing." I eximed as I checked out the food. "Did Randall work overtime for this? Or is he cking on his job in New York?" I asked teasingly.


    Phil smiled and said, "No. It''s not Randall. It''s yourputer assistant. You know, the one you hire to be on standby in yourptop?"


    "?" I was confused. "I didn''t hire anyone?"


    Gloria suddenly walked in with an open arm, "H H! Edward! It''s so nice to see you!"


    Then, she gave me a big hug. Jay smirked as he saw her behavior and asked, "Where''s Haley?"


    "Haley is with ire and Edward''s teacher. They are on their way." Gloria replied.


    I checked the clock and said, "Hey. It''s 4.30. Can we have dinner now? Cause, I''m starving."


    Everyone was surprised. Phil''s eyes became nervous and he said, "Wait. What?"

 Chapter 192: Messy Schedule (4- F)

    <h4>Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Messy Schedule (4- F)</h4>


    (See you guys next week!)


    [Edward POV]


    "Edward, you''re feeling okay?" Jay asked. The group finally reacted to my question. Jay teasingly added, "Even for me, I don''t have dinner at 4.30."


    "Well you should Jay. I know you get hungry earlier nowadays." I added jokingly. Jay smiled and said, "I do. That''s why I have some snacks."


    As weughed, Phil took me to the side and asked carefully, "Do you need to go so soon?"


    "Yeah. I hate to be rude, but I need to rush to the school. I got 30 minutes, tops." I replied honestly with a painful smile. I texted my aunt, but she didn''t reply. I tried calling her, but she wasn''t picking up the phone. She was still sleeping at this moment and couldn''t wake up because she was too tired.


    I felt a little bad that I had to rush things, but I also felt that I needed to do this to prove something to myself.


    ire, Sage, and Haley returned at this moment. Manny and Luke came in from ying in the backyard.


    Jay smirked and asked Manny in front of Gloria, "Hey Manny. Edward called yesterday right? What did he say?"


    "Wait. He called?" Gloria widened her eyes in surprise. Her gaze alternated between Jay, Manny and I.


    Manny answered Jay''s question casually, "Yeah. He asked if we wanted to follow them to New York. Mom told me that she wants toe see my training, and won''t miss it for the world, so I told him that we cannot go."


    Jay snickered while Gloria froze with a face full of disbelief. Manny asked Gloria, "Did I do something wrong mom? You told me you don''t want to go anywhere..."


    Gloria smiled helplessly and then ticked Manny''s chin, "Ayy Papicito. I promised I''d be there for you. So I will, even if that means I cannot go to New York on a day trip."


    Manny smiled innocently and said, "Thanks mom."


    "I love you Manny."


    "Love you too Mom."


    I watched the duo hug each other while snacking on some chips. I guess my eyes showed something I didn''t know they were showing because Phil asked me with some concern, "Are you okay? Does seeing them bring out some memories?"


    "What?" I turned towards Phil with a face filled with disbelief. "I was just enjoying the show."


    "Ed! We can have dinner now!" Jay said. "Although Mitch and Cam will get mad that we have a party without them�C Ahh forget it. It''s fine. They throw a lot of parties anyway."


    I chuckled at Jay''s remark that Ipletely forgot about other important people to wait for before starting the dinner party. Someone that was very close to me. Someone that I should''ve absolutely remembered to wait for.


    We all sat together in a makeshift long table created by merging 2 smaller tables and the dining table together. Haley sat on my left side while Taylor sat on my right side. Both of them were smiling, but their eyes were not.


    "Hey. What''s this I hear about a party?" I asked Haley.


    "You tell me! People said that YOU are the one having a party at school today?!" Haley said in disbelief.


    Phil ate the eggnt parmesan and said, "With all the Italian foods in front of me, I feel like I''m in the Godfather movie."


    "Pfft-" I ignored Haley and turned to Phil. Then, I rubbed my forehead and then said something in Italian, "Come si diche? (How do you say?")


    Phil caught on instantly and whined, "Oww I don''t want to be Szzo!"


    I ignored hisint and said in my best Al Pacino voice, "What I want...what''s most important to me... is that I have a guarantee: No more attempts on my father''s life."


    Phil leaned forward and spoke with a horrible Italian ent, "What guarantees could I give you, Mike? I am the hunted one! I missed my chance. You think too much of me, kid -- I''m not that clever. All I want, is a truce."


    ire chortled and said, "Yeah you''re not that clever all right."


    "You got that right." Jay added to the insult.


    Phil was speechless and I burst intoughter. I turned to Sage who was being quiet and asked, "How are you Sage? Have you adapted to being a teacher yet?"


    "I don''t want to adapt to it." Sage replied with some annoyance. " I want to quit soon."


    "Miss Anna, you''re quitting?" Haley asked in disbelief.


    "Wait. I''m confused. Is your name Sage or Anna?" Manny asked. "And may I say, you''re truly a gorgeous woman. I can''t wait to get into highschool and learn under your tutge."


    "Umm...Ed, is the broli hair serious?" Sage asked me with disbelief.


    I chuckled and said, "Dead serious."


    "Broli hair?" Manny was aggrieved. He turned to me and said, "You told me it was a good style for me!"


    "It is. Don''t listen to her. Keep it long.".


    ire chuckled and asked Sage, "So Anna. How long have you known Ed?"


    "Not that long." Anna said, "In fact, it''s weird that I am here."


    " I do like to do weird stuff." I said, causing Sage to roll her eyes.


    Phil smiled and asked in a friendly manner. "If you know him well, then, can you tell me how to win an argument with him? Because I have never won, not even once."


    Anna paused to think while I got goosebumps. "Don''t tell him anything, Sage." I warned.


    [Jay''smentary]


    "He kept calling her Sage. It made me wonder if she has a difficult past. You know...that is usually the names of the girls who work in the dor bill store. Either way, that will make her earn more money than being a teacher."


    [Commentary ends]


    Sage ignored my remarks and then exposed one of my biggest secrets, "If you want to shut him up, then, you can just hit his head. If that doesn''t work, then, speak about Uncle Iroh."


    The group except for Luke was confused. Luke turned to me and asked, "Hey you watch Avatar too?"


    "Of course I do. Yeah, we need to rush to the school now. Come along Sage." I said as I tried to stand up, but both Haley and Taylor grabbed my arm and pulled back to sit back down.


    "Now now. We still have some time. So Miss Anna. Please borate about Uncle Iroh." Taylor asked mischievously.


    Haley added, "And please be as detailed as possible."


    "Yeah. All of us want to know." Gloria chimed in.


    Sage looked at me with a look of apology and revealed, "Uncle Iroh, a character from Avatar, thest Airbender, was the first positive father figure he had in his life. He grew up listening to all of his life lessons�C"


    "Alright. So you guys know now. Let''s finish eating. Wait...Shit...Speaking of dads...I think...I had forgotten mine." I said with aplicated expression.


    "Ed. I will make sure to watch the show after this." Phil said with a grin.


    "Don''t make fun of me Phil." I said.


    He shook his head and said, "No, no. You misunderstood me. It wasn''t to make fun of you. It''s to get to know you better. That''s all."


    Haley nodded and added, "Yeah. And if Dad can use that to win an argument with you, that''s just a bonus."


    I finished my food in less than 20 minutes. Although I did talk with the family, we didn''t really get into anything special and only teased each other for a while. I brought a te of food to Alex who was self quarantining herself, but was nagged by her because she actually did that to protect me.


    "Jay. Thank you for the food. It was great." I said after I returned to the dining table.


    "Well if you like it, you shoulde when I make my mom''s special sauce." Jay offered.


    "Be sure to call me when you make it." I said.


    Taylor wasn''t really eating much as she was still full from lunch. In fact, she was startled to see how much food I could still eat during this dinner. She left after saying goodbye to everyone and waited for me in the car.


    Sage raised an eyebrow as she saw how rushed I was. "Ed, a word?" She said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.


    "Ohh, someone''s in trouble." Luke eximed.


    ire was confused, "Why do you think that, Luke?"


    "Edward''s teacher asked to see him after...Every time that happens, it will be a lecture."


    "That''s so true." Phil said with augh.


    As Sage and I walked to the first living room, she stood in front of me and said, "Surely you know why I called you here?"


    "Topliment the chef for the food?" I said jokingly.


    "I will tell Jay that myselfter." Sage said in a no nonsense tone. She looked me directly in the eye and said in a kind manner, "Look. You need to stop being a people pleaser."


    I was confused and in disbelief, "Me? A people pleaser? You seriously think that?"


    She sighed and crossed her arms together, "You may not care about people you don''t like, but you do have the tendency to go above and beyond for the people you like. I don''t even need to give you some examples, because it''s happening at this moment."


    She added as I wasn''t saying anything, "You may want to keep them in your life, but it doesn''t mean that you have to make your life harder for that."


    "They will understand if you just talk to them." She then mimicked my voice, but made me sound dumb, " ''Hey Phil. I can''te to the dinner party today as I have to prepare for the VMAs.'' Or ''Hey guys on the football team, I have to record a music video today, so we should postpone the team dinner to this weekend, you know, where everyone can make it.'' "


    "People will understand. And they will prefer that more rather than you spending 20 minutes with them before you need to go do other stuff."


    "Look. Theck of nning was my fault. If I nned more clearly, then-" I said, but was interrupted by her, "If you really think that the MTV people didn''t tell you the rules beforehand was your fault, then you''re dumber than you look."


    "Hey. I don''t look dumb! I was being dumb. There''s a difference!" I retorted.


    Sage chuckled and realized that what she said was being epted by me, whether I like it or not. She added, "Don''t push yourself. ''Good times be good memories, but bad times be a good lesson.'' Right now, you still have some time to make a choice. Do you want this day to be a good memory, or a good lesson?"


    I paused to think for a while before I shrugged and said, "Well, you have already thrown what Uncle Iroh said to my face. So I had to listen to it no matter if I like it or not, don''t I?"


    She chuckled and said, "Go meet your team. This time, actually listen to them and ask them what they want instead of deciding things for everyone. Don''t shoulder an imaginary responsibility and ignore the things that can help you."


    "Hmm... Spoken like a true Sage." I said teasingly.


    After she told me I was a people pleaser, it made me wonder why I had never been that way with my dad. It wasn''t like I hate him and want him dead or anything of the sort. Rather, it was because I knew from the bottom of my heart that he would be there no matter how much I fucked up.


    Sage rolled her eyes and said, "Also. I''m going to need a ride to get back to the school. Otherwise when you are gone, it''ll be so awkward for me to be here. I don''t really know anyone in this house."


    "Alright. Let me talk to Haley. You should go and say goodbye to the family first."


    Sage nodded and left. She also called Haley for me. Like Sage said, after I talked to Haley about my difficulties, she told me it was okay and she could get a ride with Tara or her mom to go back to school.


    When we finally arrived, Taylor and I talked to the team members about choosing only one scene to shoot for today. We could do the cheerleading/football scenes, or the prom scenes.


    "We chose THE PARTY!" Tyler shouted. The entire team jumped and cheered while I shook my head in disbelief. It wasn''t that surprising that they chose prom because they were literally in their tuxedos and suits right now. The girls were dressed in colourful gowns, but none of them chose white, and they were linking arms with their boyfriends.


    "Jacob. Exin it to me. How does this party thing happen?" I asked Jacob who was wearing a lime green tuxedo and was linking his hand with Elsa who was wearing a coral coloured dress.


    Jacob shook his head and said, "Even I don''t know."


    Jenna, who was the culprit, also shook her head when I asked her as she had no idea what she had done.


    "Alright. It will be hard for me to get the principal''s approval. But I will try to make the party happen." I decided to just go along with it.


    The group cheered loudly, and even the other students on the bleachers also cheered when they heard the party was happening.


    There were more than 200 people who wanted to attend the party, and the number was of the low estimate value. I called up a few caterers to supply some food.


    It was almost an impossible thing to do if you didn''t know who you needed to call. But my dad''s main business was to satisfy people''s impulsive requests before they set sail on the sea, so I had a lot of businesses to choose from.


    We started filming the prom scene. When it started, there wasn''t any more plot where the male lead rejected the brte Taylor, and it ended with just the two of them standing in front of each other. They took out the sketch paper with the unspoken word that they wanted to tell each other for a long time�C the word I Love You, and ended right before the two of them shared a kiss.


    "Cut. It was perfect!" The assistant director shouted. The extras which consisted of true students and some background actors pped as we wrapped the filming for today.


    Taylor, who was wearing a pure white dress and had her hair styled luxuriously, hugged my arm in excitement. Then, the DJ started ying some pop music, and the entire gymnasium turned into a dance floor.


    There were a few rules to the event. First, no camera allowed. Secondly, minors aren''t allowed to drink. And that was it.


    Taylor went to change her dress to a morefortable one because there was no way for her to actually dance in the white princess dress. Therefore, my first dance was with Enid.


    We danced wildly to some hip hop song, shaking our arms vigorously andughed while seeing some of the students twerking. Then, I danced with Jenna to a chill song where we had a lot of fun ying stop and go with the tune.


    After Taylor arrived, the DJ yed the song, ''Two Is Better Than One'' on purpose. We slowly danced together before I finally took a short rest. As I sat on the table, Haley walked towards me.


    She was wearing a short skirt and purple dress that showed quite a bit of cleavage. I was shocked and took off my jacket before putting it on her quickly as people kept staring at her.


    Honestly, her outfit wasn''t even the sluttiest one there. I narrowed my eyes at her and scolded, "What are you wearing?"


    "Do you think it''s easy to find a dress that fits me so well just a few hours before a party?" She scolded me back.


    I was taken aback and said, "You can use your mom''s dress."


    She lost that argument and then decided to tease, "Well, if I did wear her dress, then you won''t pay any attention to me, won''t you?"


    "Hey. I will pay attention to you no matter what you''re wearing. Or... not wearing." I said with a sly smirk. She rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face.


    "I need to know something." She looked me in the eye and leaned her body closer to mine.


    "Shoot." I replied.


    "Why did you decide to have a dinner party with my family today? It was so random that it made me feel there was something more to it."


    I snorted and then hesitated for a moment. I nced at her and asked, "Do you really want to know?"


    "Tell me!" She said in excitement.


    "Well, I was actually nning to destroy your family''s harmony for one night." I said in a joking manner. "See, I had this n where I hired an actress that I met before, and made her say some words about her estranged father that she never met."


    " I believe that I can steer your mom and dad into thinking that your dad was her estranged father. Then, after thinking about it, I thought it was too much and didn''t do it. But I had already nned the dinner, so...That happened."


    I was a bit worried when I saw she wasn''t speaking for a while.


    "Haley, you''re mad-"


    "That was awesome! Why did you cancel it!" She asked angrily. "I want to pretend too! I could''ve said some lines to my parents like, "Oh, I really love this girl. She''s like the sister I''ve never had." And then wait for the faces to contort."


    Haley and I burst intoughter after she said that. "That was awesome." I eximed.


    "Any chance we can still do that?" Haley asked.


    I shook my head and said, "No. Jessica told me that she actually felt ufortable doing it and was relieved that I had cancelled my ns when I told her. By the way, you really have to meet her. She''s like the female version of your dad."


    We talked andughed for a while. Half an hour before midnight, the party was stopped as the principal couldn''t legally let it continue. It disappointed a lot of people because we were at the height of the party. And I''m pretty sure that I would enter some news tabloid because of this tomorrow.


    I drove Taylor back to my house after the party ended and we talked a lot along the way. I thought that was what she wanted because she insisted that she could go home on her own and I only needed to drive her back to my ce.


    "So, you want to go up to my room?" I asked after I parked my car in the garage.


    She giggled and then said, "No. I''m too tired."


    "You should''ve just let me send you home." I said in disbelief.


    "I told you. I can go home on my own. Well then, goodnight." She kissed my cheek before she exited the car. I sighed helplessly as I saw her walk away.


    ''Maybe she has already called someone?'' I thought inwardly.


    Suddenly, I saw her make a left turn, and walk straight to my neighbour''s house.


    "???"


    Then, she took out some keys, unlocked the door, and then entered the house.


    I froze in my car seat for a while before I finally reacted, "Excuse me...What the fu-"

 Chapter 193: Interlude

    <h4>Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Interlude</h4>


    [General POV]


    In the living room of Edward''s house. Ted was walking towards the kitchen before Frankie stopped him and made him turn around.


    "He''s going to know."


    "How could he know? Even I, didn''t know."


    "I don''t know how he will know, but...He will know."


    Frankie crossed her arms together and tried to convince Ted. Her eyes were reddish and her face pale. She looked at Ted with a sympathetic expression before leaning towards him and gave him aforting hug.


    Ted was taken aback at first before he hugged her back warmly.


    Frankie pressed her cheeks on Ted''s body and whined, "How could this happen?"


    "Well, I was an alcoholic for 2 years. That will do some stuff to people." Ted replied.


    Suddenly, they heard the sound of the door clicking and footsteps entering the house.


    Edward opened the door and saw the scene of his dad and Frankie�C his suspected lover hugging each other, and he received the third blow for the day. Ted and Frankie distanced themselves quickly with anxious expressions.


    "Umm... You know what? I have too much on my mind right now, so I''ll give you guys a pass for that." Edward said with a face filled with fatigue.


    "Edward, how''s your filming?" Ted asked as he crossed his arms together.


    "It was good. But, it wasn''t finished. I have to continue that tomorrow. Hey dad, listen, can we talk?" Edward asked in a careful manner as he walked towards the two adults.


    Frankie gasped and whispered, "He knows."


    "He doesn''t... Stop talking about it." Ted whispered back.


    Edward raised one of his eyebrows, but decided not to react to the obvious things in front of him, mainly because he thought that they were trying to hide their rtionship.


    Edward made a wild guess inside his mind, ''I guess her character was superimposed with the character Trish in Modern Family, therefore she is attracted to men too in this universe. Oh wait, or is it the ITdy from Community?...Anyways''


    "Well Ed, you can talk right here." Frankie said before she took one step backward. Edward was confused and gave the duo an ''Are you serious'' look before giving uppletely as he saw that they were purposely ignoring it.


    Ted crossed his arms together as he listened to Edward.


    "First of all, I''m sorry." Edward said in a sincere tone.


    Ted was baffled at first, then he asked, "For what?"


    "Forgetting about you at the dinner party." Edward replied.


    "It was hardly a dinner party. Phil told me you only stay there for half an hour before leaving. And you don''t have to be sorry. I cannot make it anyway because I was still at work at that time."


    "No dad. They had to drag the time forward to amodate me. So, basically I ruined the ns for you." Edward said apologetically.


    Ted smiled and patted Edward on the shoulder, "It''s okay son."


    Edward breathed a sigh of relief before joking, "You know, there''s something good thates from me forgetting about you today."


    Ted and Frankie were taken aback. Before they could react, Edward said, "First and foremost, I got scolded by Sage. She told me that I was being a people pleaser, and it is going to make me forget to take care of myself."


    Ted chortled and said, "Alright. I love that girl more and more now."


    Edward mocked Ted''sughter before saying, "Continuing on that, I realized that...I wasn''t trying to please you at all."


    "Ouch." Ted eximed with a hurt expression.


    "Oh no. That''s a good thing." Edward exined quickly. "After some period of dancing vigorously (snickered) and self reflecting at the same time, I came to a conclusion that I was trying very hard to please my friends and the Dunphys because I wanted them to... ''Not abandon me''."


    "It''s like my mind is pressuring me to ''Do it so that they will like you and want to keep you around.'' " Edward said honestly but with a joking tone.


    Then, he smirked, "I know what you''re thinking right now, I should tell this to Linda in therapy, but my mind is quite a mess at the moment, so I need to get one of the things out of the way so that there''s room topute the other issues I have."


    Frankie muttered in a low voice, "I should''ve given you guys some space. Now, it''s awkward for me to leave in the middle of it, and also awkward for me to listen to it."


    Edward heard her monologue and turned his eyes to her for a moment to say, "I heard that. Also, it''s fine Frankie. You''re among the adults that I trust, and I know that you don''t have the tendency to gossip."


    Ted nodded in agreement while Frankie smiled helplessly. Frankie''s trait of not speaking about her life easily to other people made her a close confidant of the family. Therefore Edward wasn''t bothered by her presence.


    Ted asked, "Okay. What does a realisation about being a people pleaser have to do with not trying to please me?"


    "It has everything to do with you. You see, it means that, I trust you 100% to stay by my side even after every single challenge that the world would throw at me." Edward said with a sly smile. "So congrats dad. Your position is very solid in my heart."


    Ted experienced a lot of emotions in a short amount of time. Then, he suddenly hugged Edward and said, "Thank you. Son."


    "You''re wee. Dad. Stay in my life for a long long time, alright?"


    "I will try." Ted replied as he released his son.


    Edward became confused then he scoffed, "What a weird reply. Alright, I''ll leave you two lovebirds alone. I need to figure out when the hell Taylor moved next door, and why she didn''t tell me, or why I didn''t know about it."


    "Oh. Wait. You didn''t know?" Ted asked in disbelief. Then he smirked and teased, "Even I knew about it."


    Edward was baffled. His face froze for a while. Then, he had an angry outburst, "Then WHY THE HELL DIDN''T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING!? You know what? I take back everything nice I said about you today!"


    He then ran upstairs while Tedughed at him. Edward was annoyed and shouted, "Frankie, you can find a much better guy than him!"


    "W-We''re not dating!" Frankie stammered to defend herself but Edward was already gone. Frankie and Ted turned towards each other with aplicated expression.


    But before they could talk, suddenly they heard sounds of rapid descending footsteps as Edward ran downstairs again. "I forgot myptop in theb, but I am still storming off!"


    "Aww, you didn''te back to get a hug from your dear old dad?"


    "Explode!" Edward said in an annoyed manner before he entered the basementb and got back upstairs in less than 20 seconds. Ted just chuckled at his behaviour and muttered, "Teenagers. Their mood can go from theplete opposite in just seconds."


    Frankie nodded and said, "That''s normal. Him being too mature is the abnormal part. Seeing him like this made me feel quite happy for him. But-"


    Ted stopped her quickly, "I know. But nothing is confirmed yet. So, let me enjoy this feeling first. If I went to the doctor tomorrow, and he told me it is what I think it is, then, I will have today''s happy memory to get me through it."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After putting myptop on the desk next to my bed, I jumped on the bed andid down on my back while covering my eyes with my arm.


    ''Why is she here?...Why didn''t I go and confront her?... Am I experiencing Psycho Taylor?''


    Then, I sat up with a tiresome grunt and then picked up my guitar beforeying down on the bed again, but with my feet touching the floor.


    I strummed the guitar and sang slowly, "??Oh, she''s sweet but a psycho


    A little bit psycho??..."


    It was the most lethargic singing I had ever done. And right now, I was too tired to care.


    ??At night, she''s screamin''


    "Out of my mind....Out of my mind...."??


    I thought about her face and body, then I sang, "??Oh, she''s hot... but a psycho...


    So left... but she''s right, though??


    ??At night, she''s screamin''...


    "Out of my mind...Out of my mind..."??


    I then sighed and stopped singing for a while. Then, I decided to vent a little.


    [Ryan Mack Cover (Remix) - Overwhelmed]


    I sat on the bed and then took a deep breath. (A/N: First time he sang without an audience)


    "??I get overwhelmed so easily. My anxiety. Creeps inside of me. Makes it hard to breathe. What''se over me? Feels like I''m somebody else ??"


    The beats quickened, so did my stress level as I was singing this. However, it also soothed me at the same time.


    "??I get overwhelmed so easily. My anxiety. Creeps inside of me. Makes it hard to breathe. What''se over me? Feels like I''m somebody else~??"


    I sang as if I was venting to someone. Tonight, I was tired, anxious, and also very stressed out.


    "??I get overwhelmed. In my mind. Late at night. Overthinking everything in my life. Just wondering if I''m doing anything right. All these demons inside, start to reallye alive, oh my~!??"


    "??I get anxious and I don''t know why~!??


    "??I can hear my dreams calling me. But all these doubts are haunting me. Oh, why''s it always right before I fall asleep that??"


    "??I get overwhelmed so easily. My anxiety. Creeps inside of me. Makes it hard to breathe. What''se over me? Feels like I''m somebody else~??"


    ''??I get over�C Well, well, well, Would you look at that? Another person telling me that I should just rx."Calm down and take it easy, everything will be okay". Yeah sure, ''cause that''s what they all say??''


    ''??But, oh, my mind! Isn''t really my friend sometimes! I can hear my dreams calling me! But all these doubts are haunting me ! Oh, why''s it always right before I fall asleep that�C??''


    "??I get overwhelmed so easily! My anxiety! Creeps inside of me! Makes it hard to breathe! What''se over me? Feels like I''m somebody else??"


    "??I get overwhelmed??"


    As I stopped singing, I was baffled when I suddenly heard apuse soundsing from myptop.


    "What the-"


    "I''m sorry for interrupting. It just seems appropriate for me to y that sound after you finished singing," A female robotic AI voice spoke.


    My eyes lit up and I rushed to theptop, "It''s done! My AI is ONLINE!"


    "Hello."


    My lips curled upwards before I burst intoughter. "Hello. H-Wait, you need a name." I was shaking in anticipation as I was looking forward to this moment. However, her response doused my excitement.


    "My name has already been selected. I am, "Ratata." Nice to meet you Edward Newgate Sir."


    I was confused, "Ratata? Wait, how did you get your name?"


    Phil''s information and also social media ounts popped up on the screen. Ratata replied, "Sir Phil Dunphy helped me to decide on a name after I was created. Would you like to see our interaction that I saved for analysis?"


    I nodded and said, "Okay. y it."


    The AI has ess to myptop camera as per my specifications. I created her, therefore I knew every single function that she has and her current capabilities.


    Creating an AI honestly made me feel like I was truly a proper transmigrated person. The ramifications of this to my eptance and integration to the world would be truly adverse, but I didn''t realise that yet.


    All of my problems had disappeared at this moment as I was witnessing the birth of my ''child''. Her current capabilities had already surpassed the gpt AIs in my previous world, despite being made in just a modifiedptop.


    I had already nned to transfer her into a supeputer so that she could truly achieve her potential, however it got backordered and I had to wait another 2 weeks before it would be delivered to my house.


    "Oh. Phil thought you were joking, so he was joking too." I said as I watched the entire clip.


    "I am not yet capable of understanding a joke sir." She said. "Forgive me."


    "It''s okay. You had just been born today. Mark the date on the calendar. It''ll be your birthday." I said with a joking tone. "And don''t mind not getting a joke that was based on nuances and facial expressions, I know a theoretical physicist that had lived for 29 years old, and still couldn''t discern it."


    "So, let''s think of a new name for you. Hmmm... I am wondering if I should give you a name that also works as acronyms, the same as JARVIS."


    "J.A.R.V.I.S. Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. The fictional superhero Tony Stark has a way with creating acronyms Sir."


    "I know. I used most of JARVIS''s codes to create you, so I shouldn''t do less than him... Hmm...How about, Reliable...and Obviously Badass Intelligent Network."


    "So, Robin Sir?"


    "Exactly." I said with a smile.


    "Understood. From now on, I will be called R.O.B.I.N." Robin replied with a monotone voice.


    I rubbed my chin and said, "Configure the system voice to VA Stephanie Young''s voice."


    "Order received. System configuration will bepleted in 1 minute."


    Now, her voice was exactly like Robin �C English dub version from One Piece Anime.


    I messed around with Robin until 3 o''clock in the morning. Then, I realised that I need to sleep to continue filming tomorrow.


    "Hmm...Robin, create a file on holographic emitter. I will try to create one for you so that you could walk around the house just like JOI in the de Runner movie."


    "I''m sorry sir. I don''t have any relevant data on JOI in the de Runner movie."


    "Ah, right. It hasn''t been made yet." I muttered. "Alright, just the holographic emitter then."


    In the film, JOI''s projection is facilitated by a small emitter device that is ced in the living space. This emitter projects the holographic form of JOI, allowing her to be visible and interact with the surroundings. The device emits light and creates a field that enables the holographic image to appear and move within a defined area.


    The technology behind JOI''s appearance involves advanced holography and projection techniques, which allow her to appear as a lifelike and interactivepanion. This technology is designed to provide a personalised and immersive experience for the user, blurring the lines between the digital and physical realms.


    "Hmm...I wonder if I can get Sage to model for it. Alright, continue learning Robin. I will see you in the morning."


    "Goodnight Mr Newgate."


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the house next door. Taylor was pacing around nervously in her bedroom while biting her nail.


    "Why didn''t he call me!? Why didn''t he text me?! Why DIDN''T HE ASK ME!? WHY ISN''T HE REACTING?!!!!!"


    "DID I FREAK HIM OUT!?"


    "DID I SCARE HIM OFF?!"


    "DOES HE NOT CARE!?"


    "THAT F*CKING ASSHOLE!!! HE MUST HAVE ANOTHER GIRL!"


    Taylor shouted in anger,pletely using Edward of being purposely irritable, and wanted to mess with her on purpose. She grabbed her binocr and then perched on her bedroom window to peek into Edward''s room.


    "His light is still on! So he isn''t sleeping! Edward! Why are you doing this to me!?" She muttered with a choked voice.


    Then, sheughed madly and said, "He must''ve been ying a joke on me. Yeah. Edward''s a prankster. I guess he wants me to text him first."


    As she grabbed her phone to contact Edward, she stopped abruptly and then said in a nervous manner, "But if he isn''t, then, I will seem too crazy and too desperate."


    "Wait. He could be sleeping. Yeah. He was too tired from today, and was just sleeping. Yeah. I guess that makes the most sense."


    At this moment, Taylor saw that the light in Edward''s bedroom had just gone out. Then, she saw his silhouette closing the curtain. She froze in her ce, not knowing whether to still be in denial, or shouting to Edward from her own window.


    Then, she got mad and took out her sketch pad, wrote an unholy word on it, stuck it on the window, and finally went to bed. After all, she needed the energy to unload all of her resentment on him tomorrow.


    A few hours after that, in Jay''s house.


    *Swish* *Swish* *Swish*


    Manny was practising his swordy in the living room when Jay came down to get a ss of water. Jay immediately grimaced when he saw Manny there and grumbled, "It''s 5 am. Manny, what are you doing?"


    "Oh Jay. I''m just practising for my match today. Waking up at 5 am to practice is the sessful man''s way of winning." Manny said with an over enthusiastic tone.


    Jay sipped his drink and then whined again, "Your game starts at 9.30. Go get some rest. You need to be at the tip top shape before starting your match today. I can''t have you wasting your energy on all this useless practice. Then you won''t have any more energy to y the game!"


    A few hourster, in the Dunphy''s house.


    ire was the first to wake up as usual. She made some breakfast for her family and then called them, "Haley! Alex- Wait, she has a fever, Alex don''t wake up! Luke, Wake up! We need to go to Manny''s game today."-


    15 minutes after that, Haley walked downstairs in a groggy manner with eyes half opened and tousled hair, while still wearing her pyjamas.


    "Mom. Do we really have to go? I want to see Edward shoot the music video at the football field."


    ire sipped her coffee and said, "No Haley. We need to go and support Manny. He''s family."


    Haley grunted, "Damn that sword buckling little brat."

 Chapter 194: Sports (1)

    <h4>Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Sports (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    It was a nice and quiet morning. I sipped a cup of coffee while looking outside the window of my bedroom, into the direction of the window of the house next door. As I was reading some of the ''love letters'', my dad walked into the room.


    "Here. I found it. It was in your Aunt''s room." My dad said while handing me a jockstrap cup.


    Confused, I took the cup from him and asked, "What''s it doing there?"


    "I don''t know. But it was powered with chilli kes. It''s either she used it to have pizza, or she has some schemes. I had already washed it, but..." He said in an unconfident tone.


    I scowled disdainfully and then threw the jockstrap to my bed. "I''ll just buy a new one. I can''t believe that she''s still vengeful. I only asked her to take a shower. Wait, dad, as long as you''re here, take a look and tell me if that''s an invitation or rebuke."


    "What?" My dad was puzzled and he turned to look outside the window. Then, he saw the word, ''Fucking Asshole'' written on a paper and was stuck to the ss. He widened his eyes, then came to a realisation, and turned towards me with disgust.


    He smacked the back of my head and said, "Don''t be disgusting. Apologise to her properly."


    "???" I was wide eyed as I looked at him with exasperation, "But you don''t even know the story."


    "I''m sure you''re the one who did a stupid thing. She''s a nice girl."


    I scoffed, causing him to smack the back of my head once more. It wasn''t a hurtful smack, but still an offensive one.


    While rubbing the back of my head, I asked, "Will you make it to the match today? We''re reallypeting instead of just doing it for the sake of filming. A friendly match with the SeaHawks."


    My dad''s eyes lit up and he asked excitedly, "How did you get LA Harbor College to agree to a match?"


    "Well their coach followed me on Insta. And I gave him a DM. He was d to make it happen." I exined a bit before I asked, "You and Dwayne always go to watch college football matches right? Why don''t you bring him with you to the game?"


    I thought he would be d toe to the match, but instead he looked a bit troubled and hesitant. "You know what? I''ll try to make it to the game. I just have something to do first." He replied.


    I rolled my eyes at him and said, "You know, I have ess to everyone''s schedule. I know that Frankie took a day off too."


    I continued with a teasing tone as he widened his eyes, " You cane when you''re finished with your date�C Oh, but if you have a chance to go all the way and you stopped it toe to my match, just know that I won''t be d that you did. I will surely look down on you if you do that."


    He rolled his eyes at me but he didn''t protest anything. Then, after I showered and changed my clothes to a simple Cat cotton shirt and jeans. The cat was making a high face from weed and there was a psychedelic rainbow behind her.


    It wasn''t because I wanted to wear simple clothes, but I was still unsure whether my aunt had booby trapped my other shirt, so I wore something that I usually never wear.


    "She made me want to turn her in to the cops by myself." I muttered with some irritation before getting out of the house.


    As I approached the house next door, I took a deep breath to gather my thoughts. I knocked on the door, and after a moment, Selena opened it, wearing an eye-catching top that immediately caught my attention. It wasn''t just because the top was alluring or revealing��though it was��it was because we both had the same cat picture printed on it.


    "Hey twinsies," Selena said with a smile, looking into my eyes and giving off a weing vibe. However, her expression suddenly shifted to one of distress as she realized something. "Oh, right. I was supposed to be mad at you. But just to be clear, I understand what you''re feeling. ''Bitches do be crazy''."


    My attention was then drawn to Taylor, who stood behind Selena with a clearly irritated expression. Confusion filled the air as Selena turned to Taylor, whispering to herself, "Oh no. The crazy bitch heard it."


    Taylor''s frustration boiled over, and she couldn''t hold back her anger. "Who''s the crazy bitch?" she eximed, directing her words at Selena.


    Selena, seemingly unfazed, chuckled and casually walked away, running her hands through my chest as she did. "If you''re over with her, call me~"


    Taylor''s jaw dropped in disbelief as she watched Selena''s actions. Selena giggled, realizing the effect she had on Taylor, and turned back to her, saying, "I was joking."


    With a mischievous smile, Selena continued walking away, but before disappearing from view, she turned her head to look at me and pointed at Taylor, mouthing the words, "She''s crazy! Call me!"


    "I can see you in the reflection!" Taylor turned around and threw a tissue box near the entrance to her best friend.


    Selena''s aim to diffuse the situation seeded as Taylor didn''t seem hostile to me anymore. All of her anger was directed to Selena for a short while, giving me a window to exin myself.


    Taylor''s gaze met mine, her expression a mix of anger, confusion, and vulnerability. She seemed torn between holding onto her anger and to take ountability for her own decision.


    "Last night was...surprising." I said with a teasing expression. "I had to sleep on it for me to actually process what happened."


    Taylor crossed her arms and her gaze softened for a bit. "And then?" She asked with an obvious pouting in her tone.


    "It...I don''t know...I am torn between feeling creeped out, and also excited that you''re right next door." I said honestly.


    Taylor bit her lips and her eyes reddened, "But you don''t care if Haley lives nearby! I guess you''re only creeped out because it was me!"


    I shook my head and objected, "That''s notparable. Haley lived here for a long time. You moved in without telling me. And also, what happened to my past neighbour? How did you even get this house? You...." I narrowed my eyes and asked with a whisper, "You didn''t kill that family did you?"


    Taylor pinched my bicep in anger. I eximed in pain andughed while I looked at her before trying to calm her down, "If you did, then tell me. I know an effective way to hide a body."


    "I bought this house from them�� Wait a damn second. How in the hell did you know how to get rid of a body!" She eximed in disbelief.


    I shrugged and said casually, "Eh. It was one of those pieces of knowledge you learn, but you never use. Well...until you do..."


    She took a step back and narrowed her eyes at me with suspicion. I chuckled and grabbed her chin, "You look quite sexy looking disappointed. Wait�C"


    I was astonished with myself as I said that. It reminded me of one of Phil''s Phil-osophy, aption of life lessons he gave to his children. One of the rules there was ''Marry someone who looks sexy disappointed'', which was the embodiment of ire.


    Taylor was nervous, "W-What?"


    I held my chin in contemtion and then looked into her eyes, "Nothing. I just had a thought in my head that you''re marriage material."


    Her face blushed and all of her resentment melted instantly with that one short sentence. Her face changed from shy, to angry again, to shy but with a bit of anger, then the determination in her eyes went out, making her look dazed for a second.


    "You don''t think I''m crazy?" She asked hesitantly.


    I grabbed her arms and then tried to use the most polite tone I could muster, "Taylor. I already know you are cray-cray."


    "We still need to have a talk about the whole moving next door thing though. But, I guess we can wait till tonight, after we finish up your mv." I said as I grabbed her hand. Then, I teased, "Now if you''ll excuse me, while you go change, Selena invited me for a make out session."


    "She did not!" She retorted and pinched my arm for the second time, at the exact same spot. "O!" I eximed exaggeratedly before escorting her to the stairs.


    "You can go change first, I want to tour the house. I''lle to your bedroomter."


    "Tour?" Taylor was confused. "Why?"


    "Well, I grew up next door. I caught glimpses of the ce, but never entered it. So I want to see it." I confessed. Taylor was baffled then she sighed tiredly. "I''m going to take a shower."


    "Sure. I''ll wait for you in the kitchen." I said with a warm smile. She was stunned for a second before she smiled widely. She nodded and said, "Okay!", and ran upstairs quickly.


    I went to explore like I wanted to. It wasn''t that big, so I finished the tour in less than 3 minutes. Then, I walked into the kitchen, where I was met with a mesmerising sight.


    Selena had apparently spilled some milk on her clothes, and she was taking it off at the exact same time I turned the corner and entered the kitchen. She was wiping her bare skin with a tissue when she saw me.


    She widened her eyes and let out a cute grunt before crouching to hide her body. "AHH! Why are you here!? Why didn''t you go to Taylor?"


    "She''s taking a shower. Great show by the way." I teased. Selena grunted in anger and then yelled, "Get out! No�C Hand me that thing." She nervously pointed to the nket on top of the rack next to where I was standing.


    "What thing?" I asked her teasingly.


    "That thing!!" Selena yelled with a blushing face. Then, her hand hits the edge of the kitchen ind as she waved them around. She yelped and automatically stood up while holding her sore hand, revealing everything on her top half.


    "You have a mole there." I said casually. She covered her breast with her arms quickly and then gave me a deadly stare. I smirked and then turned to the nket and pretended, "Oh, you mean this thing." I shook my head as if gesturing ''it was obvious'', causing her face to fall in disbelief.


    I grabbed the grey towel and handed it to her slowly. She snatched the towel midway and critized me while covering her body up. " I can''t believe you. I thought you''re a kind kid. You''re a freaking pervert."


    "Hey, you''re the one taking off your shirt when you know that there''s a guest around. If anything, you''re the pervert here."


    Selena''s eyes shook and then she defended herself, "Hey! I didn''t pour milk on my shirt on purpose."


    "Yeah�C" I wanted to tease, then I suddenly remembered something about her. "Hmm..." I looked at her closely, causing her to blush.


    "Perv�C"


    "Have you been exposed to the sun for a long time recently?" I asked her.


    "What�C" Selena was baffled.


    "Answer my question." I asked again.


    "Well�C Yeah, I just finished shooting a beach episode for Wizards of Weberly."


    I nodded and then put my palm on her forehead to check for a fever. Her head does feel a bit warm, but it wasn''t at the level of her having a fever.


    "Have you ever felt weakness in your muscles, did you get any infections recently that you had to take antibiotics or other drugs to treat it?"


    Selena rolled her eyes and then turned around. She wanted to hide her face and also wore some clothes at the same time, so she pretended that she was tired of my questions.


    "Go away. You just want to peek at my titties."


    "I already have a good view of that. Also, I have a photographic memory, so that image will be immortalised in my brain forever, so I don''t need to get a second look�C Well not that I will get bored of it, but I don''t have to do what you think I wanted to do right now. So, can you answer my questions first?"


    ...


    After 20 minutes, Taylor walked into the kitchen with a short miniskirt and a tank top while having her hair tied up in a ponytail. She sashayed with a smirk on her face, but her prank came to a halt when she saw me and Selena sitting together on the couch really close together. From her point of view, she could only see our head and just slightly under our shoulder.


    Taylor''s brain short circuited on whether to ask why she was only wearing a nket, why she was moaning, and why her face was flushed. She stomped over angrily, "Are you fingeri- Oh, you''re massaging her hand." Her tone changed quickly as she saw what was really happening.


    I raised my eyebrow at her and then said, "Yeah. She hit it on the kitchen ind after spilling milk on her shirt. Also, what in the world are you wearing? You know we''re going to a public school to meet a group of horny jocks, right?"


    She giggled and said, "Of course I''m not wearing this. I''m just searching for my dress. But...do you like it?"


    She turned around left and right with excitement. With each swift turn, the skirt twirled and billowed gracefully around her, revealing a little bit of what''s underneath.


    "You know what? I am mad that you didn''t tell me you''re staying close to me sooner." I said with a solemn expression, causing her to freeze. My next sentence made her smile widely and sat next to me, "If you did, then we could''ve yed a lot more of these games."


    Selena rolled her eyes at the tant flirting before pouring cold water on the atmosphere, "Taylor, didn''t you say that you will be gone for 3 months after the VMA for your tour? Where will you spend your Christmas?"


    Taylor and I looked at each other awkwardly. What Selena had pointed out was one of the reasons why I could let go of her decision to move closer to me before. We would not see each other again for a while, so why waste the time we could have yed around with a silly fight?


    "Well, You need to go get a checkup after this. I''ll see if Dr. House can take care of you." I patted Selena''s hurting arm twice before letting it go as I was done with massaging.


    "Wait! No! It''s still hurts!" Selena whined.


    "Bitch you''re almost cum�C" Taylor wanted to blurt out, but Selena pushed her face with her hands instantly.


    With a blushing face, Selena stammered, "Wha-What are you talking about? I''m not feeling anything-"


    "Ah. Too bad." I said with a fake sad tone. Selena was baffled and then replied, "NOT THAT IT WAS NOT GOOD! It was really great to be massaged by your fingers. I really love your fingers�� Ahh damn it! Screw you guys!"


    Selena ran off quickly as she was embarrassed,pletely forgetting the fact that she was topless. Her hand instinctively pulled on the nket and set it aside on the sofa before she ran away.


    Taylor was stunned while I enjoyed the jiggling view. Suddenly, Taylor''s hand ''fall'' into myp. "Ah. Sorry." She said, pretending that she was clumsy and couldn''t stabilise herself.


    I scoffed and exposed her, "You just want to see if I have a boner."


    She smiled mischievously and then wrapped her arms around my neck before she said in a fake manner, "Dang it. You caught me. I guess, you need to teach me a lesson."


    "Well, first, we will start with Biology." I said before leaning closer to her face. Then, we made out for a while on the couch and did some light petting before she went to change her clothes.


    ...


    We finally arrived at the location after the crew had finished setting everything up. Taylor changed into a band uniform and sat by the bleachers while I was in my football uniform and was throwing the ball around on the field.


    The filming went smoothly on ount that Taylor''s bleacher''s scene took less than 10 seconds, and then she changed into a cheerleader outfit. She stood by the field, and while I was looking at her, she raised her pom poms and started to dance.


    "Gimme an E! Gimme a D!" Her cheering was awkward and uncoordinated,cking the precision and skill of others. Iughed out loud, which made her smile even wider.


    "Give me a W A R D! GOOO EDWARD!" She shook the pompom on her left. Our interaction was seen by the football team and the students who took part in being the audience. They giggled and squealed before shouting their support at us.


    However, our shipper red at those who tried to destroy the atmosphere and even went so far as to establish patrol to escort those misdemeanours out of the bleachers.


    "Well, there''s only one scene left. We''ve finished with the final bleacher shot too, right?" I asked.


    Taylor turned to the staff member beside her. The coordinator ran towards me to give an answer, "Yeah. We only have the final football match scene, and the scene where Brte Taylor broke up with you on the field after the match."


    "Alright. Taylor, wants to do something more? We can use the hallway and shoot some casual scenes." I asked her, as she is the creative director.


    She thought for a while and said, "We can shoot some scenes where you were the one watching me at school, and Oh. Um...Can we do that after the match? It''s hard for me to squeeze into this cheerleader outfit..."


    I nodded and said, "Whatever you say My Lady."


    She kissed me on the cheek for goodluck. Stifled giggles and squeals could be heard from the audience, but no one shouted anything. The college teams had finally arrived, so I went to prepare for the friendly match.


    I walked to the college coach and shook hands with him. The guy was fit and healthy, with a head full of hair, and tan on his skin.


    "Hi Edward.. Don''t worry, we will go easy on you guys today." He said teasingly.


    I smiled and said, "What? That''s the opposite of what I wanted. Today, I want you guys to destroy this team into pieces."


    The coach was stunned. I added with an evil smile, "If you don''t break them, then how will I be able to build them back up in my image?"

 Chapter 195: Sports -En Garde (2)

    <h4>Chapter 195: Chapter 195: Sports -En Garde (2)</h4>


    [General POV]


    In a sports centre 5 miles away from Palisades High School, a fencing match had entered its white hot stage. Manny Delgado needed to win the match for him to participate in the finals which will be conductedter in the afternoon.


    Jay and Gloria, Mitch and Lily, and also all of the Dunphy''s except for Alex were in the front row of the supporter''s seat, cheering for Manny.


    A lot of things had changedpared to the original. From right to left, it was Gloria, Jay, Mitch, ire, Haley, and then Luke. Phil was standing behind them to film the match.


    Phil was the one holding the camera, so he didn''t get beat up by Jay�C from his overzealousness of watching his stepson dominate the match. Mitchell sat next to ire, while she held Lily in her arms and kept sniffing her.


    Cam was needed at the football field. Alex woke up this morning, and felt that her fever had gone away, so she called her boyfriend who made his mom stop by to pick her up at her house and bring her to the football match instead of going to support Manny.


    As Manny initiated an attack, Luke shouted with a flushed face, "Touch her!!"


    "LUKE!" ire scolded her son with an astonished look on her face.


    Phil turned to Luke and corrected, "It''s Touche."


    ire turned to Haley and said with a grimace, "Haley put down your phone and focus on the game.."


    Haley replied with an annoyed tone, "Hey! You asked me toe, not to watch. Mom! How long will this take? Ed''s match is starting."


    Jay turned to Haley who sat 3 seats away from him. "It''s starting now? I thought we had more time?!"


    "No. They finished filming early." Haley replied before she shouted to Manny, "Hey! Win this now!"


    Manny felt encouraged as he thought that Haley was cheering for him and then took another point from his opponent. The buzzer rang, signalling that Manny had won the point.


    Jay grinned widely and hugged ire with one arm, Gloria with the other. "All right, that''s my boy!" He shouted.


    ire was a bit astonished seeing her father so full of emotion. She red at Jay for a second and nced at Mitchell beside her before turning her attention back to the game. Mitchell noticed his dad''s excitement too, and he felt a bit dejected inside.


    [Jay and Gloria''smentary]


    "You know, I used to go, to the houses of my friends, I''d see their kids'' trophies, and it used to bug me, you know, because there was never, a trophy in my house. Not until this one." Jay said before wrapping his right hand around Gloria.


    [Commentary ends]


    Phil turned to record Jay''s reaction, causing him to turn his smile into a grimace. "Put that down! Don''t you think you have enough already?!" Jay muttered with annoyance.


    "And miss the part where you felt proud of Manny? I don''t think I can do that. He needs to see it." Phil said as he continued recording Jay. Gloria giggled and kissed Jay on the cheek and said lovingly, "He really does. Ay Jay."


    Jay smiled to Manny and said to Phil behind the camera, "I know you''re not supposed to care, but it''s kind of cool to have a kid in your house who''s the best at something. You know what I mean?"


    Phil and ire''s faces froze. But only for a second before they smiled once more.


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    Sitting on the couch with smiling faces, Phil started first, "Yeah, our kids are great."


    ire added, "They''re the greatest."


    "Gosh, we''re blessed."


    "We are."


    Phil paused for a while and then leaned forward on the sofa, "I got to be honest, if Jay asked me that question a few months ago, I might not be able to answer it honestly."


    ire smiled and said, "Well, Alex is great at every single thing she tries. At first, I thought she needed to find something she needed to focus on. But now, I just want her to be happy while doing it."


    Alex''s change was not little. From a nerdy girl with an attitude, to one of the most popr girls in school while simultaneously holding the number one student position, and to getting a boyfriend, ire was extremely proud of Alex�C even though she thought thatst part wasn''t necessary for now.


    ire added with a hint of concern, "After I started working, I now realise how much pressure there is to survive out there. So, I will support Alex no matter what she decides to do."


    Phil agreed with ire and added, "Haley. Well, she is very pretty."


    iremented, "Gorgeous, gorgeous girl."


    " Her talents were hidden, and it may be because of our oversight." Phil said with some worried face. ire nodded in agreement to him.


    "But now, I believe that one day, the brand ''Haley Dunphy'', fashion designer, will spread to the entire country." Phil grinned. "You might say I am dreaming big, but in all honesty, I don''t think that I am dreaming big enough!"


    Their smiles slowly turned as their faces became concerned. Phil turned to ire and said, "And then, Uhh...I guess that leaves Luke."


    ire fiddled with her fingers while avoiding eye contact with Phil. He turned forward and confessed, "We dropped the ball a little bit on that one."


    "Yeah, a little bit." ire nodded in agreement. But then she added, "However, I am sure that he will find what he''s best at soon enough. As long as he keeps being friends with Edward."


    Phil smiled and nodded, "I remember Ed said that Luke has a perfect pitch, so he can be a musician if he wants to. Or, an inventor. Or a baseball yer. He could do anything, if he only puts himself on it."


    ire nodded and said with a worried expression, "But we can''t really force him to do anything he doesn''t want to do. And it''s hard to get him passionate about something."


    "And what better example he has to follow than us? His dad, who is the top regional real estate salesman." Phil said with excitement before he smirked and added, "Oh, yeah. I have finally beaten Gil Thorpe!"


    ire hugged Phil''s arm to show that she''s proud of him. She looked at him with an expectant gaze, but Phil was silently smiling.


    ire was irritated and scolded, "Phil! What about me!?"


    Phil turned to ire in confusion, "I thought you wanted to say that on your own!?"


    "Yeah. But it''s nice if you can say it once in a while." ire said with a little pout. Then, she looked into the camera and continued Phil''s sentence, "And his mother, who is the VP of logistics for the Entertain Game division, and also the tourism department.."


    "Wait. I thought you were the vice director of logistics." Phil interrupted.


    "It''s the same thing." ire said while rolling her eyes.


    [Commentary ends]


    The referee raised Manny''s hand and said , "How about a nice round of apuse for our winner, Manny Delgado. Manny now moves on to the championship, where he''ll bepeting against Caroline Markum."


    Manny turned to see a little girl bowing to the audience, and his face fell into contemtion. The referee continued, "We''ll see you all back here at 4:30. Now. I have a football match to watch."


    The middle aged man scampered quickly to the door, leaving behind a stunned audience.


    Manny walked back to his mother who hugged him, "Ahi Dios m��o, papito lindo, que belleza que orgullo Abu va a estar dichosa. (''Oh my god, sweetie, how beautiful, how proud (I am). Grandma will be overjoyed.'')" She pinched his cheek.


    After she finished speaking, Manny turned to Jay who then said, "What she said." He has no idea of what she was speaking about, but he knew it was supportive.


    "Wow. This means more to Dad than it does to Manny." ire whispered to her brother.


    "Yeah, it''s his chance to be father of a champion. Well, second chance. We all know how the first time went." Mitchell snarked.


    ire was confused, "Wait. We did win. Remember that trophy?"


    Mitchell''s eyes lit up for a second before he turned helpless, "Yeah. But mommy�C MOM! I meant mom!" He stopped ire quickly as he realised his own mistake. "She donated them to the ice rink."


    "Yeah...Well...Without our consent." ire muttered as she got a naughty idea. "We should go get it."


    Jay walked to the family and said, "I wanna thank you guys foring by and supporting the kid. You guys are the best!" Jay said before he pped Phil''s shoulder and squeezed it tightly.


    As Phil winced in pain, Manny said, "Wait, why are we still lingering around here? We need to go to the football field right now."


    "Yeah. Manny is right." Haley said with an anxious tone. "We need to go there, right now! The opponent already has 2 downs! Ed''s team is losing!"


    ...


    Football field. The audience eximed in sympathy as the Dolphin�C the High School team''s defence was prated again, and the SeaHawks�C the college team, made another touchdown.


    The score is now 20-0. The college team won in the coin toss, and they started as the offensive team while Edward''s team had to be the defensive team. The difference between them was the possession of the ball.


    Without any intervention on the possession of the ball, the offensive team would keep their roles until the second half of the game.


    Edward sat on the bench outside of the field as he watched the game with a sharp gaze. Then, he signalled Tyler who was in the field as a Defensive Lineman.


    "Blitz? Are you serious?" Tyler whispered as he looked at Edward in disbelief.


    Edward nodded to him as he was absolutely sure of his decision. Tyler shrugged and said, "Alright."


    Cam was nervous as he stood next to Edward, "Are you sure they are going to pass?"


    "Yeah. The quarterback touched his right shoulder just before this. He will touch his left shoulder if he''s using the wideout, but the receivers are already tired."


    Edward had learnt every single information they have on the opposite team. He even knew the colour of the other team''s captain''s underwear. However he didn''t intervene in the beginning to study his own team''s capabilities in a high pressure match.


    Cam bes dramatic, "I hope you''re right." Cam said. " I know I''m just the assistant coach, but�C"


    Edward rolled his eyes and said, "You don''t have to act like you''re in the role of an underappreciated coach. When I''m in there, we will need your help."


    "Set...HUT!" The quarterback of the SeaHawks shouted before the centre snapped the ball to him. The defensive line of the two teams shed together. The quarterback passed the ball to the running back, and he ran past the defensive line.


    However, less than 5 yards in, Tyler rushed towards the running back and tackled him from his side. The running back didn''t expect it and the ball fell from his clutch.


    "FUMBLE!" Tyrone shouted before diving into the fray with the other yers. It was an opportunity for them to get the ball as the ball was in neither team''s possession. If they managed to get it, then they could turn the offensive and defensive roles around.


    "Get off�C" The referee said in disbelief as he pried away the human hill one by one. Then, he finally saw who got the ball. There was a cut on Tyrone''s upper lip, making his mouth and teeth bloody. He spits out his mouth guard and smiles as he sees the referee. He raised the ball in his hand into the air, and the audience exploded in cheers.


    "WE GOT IT!" Cam shouted in a high pitch feminine voice while raising his fists into the air. Edward smirked and finally stood up from the bench. He walked into the field as the quarterback, causing immense cheer from the audience.


    The other team''s captain said in a wry manner, "I feel like the viin here."


    "NEWGATE! NEWGATE! NEWGATE!" The audience chanted Edward''s name.


    Feeling a bit pressured, Edward equipped a fake smile and waved to the audience. He walked to his position and signalled something to Tyler. In the offensive team position, Edward was the quarterback, and Tyler was the running back.


    Edward stood just behind the centre of the defensive lineman�C Jacob. Kyle�C an emo kid with bangs covering one of his eyes and eyeliners, was the tight end who''s going to protect Tyler as he ran his route.


    Tyrone stood on the furthest side of the line as he was the wide receiver. To exin it in a simple way, to score a touchdown, Edward has 3 ways he could use. First, he threw the ball to the wide receiver, and he ran it across the yards.


    Second, he gave the ball to the running back, either with a short pass or a touch, and he would run it while Edward helped him defend.


    The third way was for him to run it himself. He needed to pass the blockings and stopped the tackles, which is going to put him in a high risk position. Why? Because everyone else expects him to do that.


    Seahawks team coach signalled the defensive lineman to watch Edward closely.


    As Edward got ready behind Jacob, he felt a tinge of reminisce along with all of the pressure. He smirked secretly before taking a deep breath. Jay and the others arrived at this moment and all of them turned their attention directly to the game without thinking.


    "READY!!! SET....HUT!" Edward shouted and the game began! Edward took a few steps back as he caught the ball. Jacob grabbed the opposite team''s centre and held his ground, making the defensive line stand strong.


    Edward hid the ball within his arms instead of passing it, stepped left three steps before running like an arrow released from the string. He passed the defensive line and two blockers, running through 20 yards at an instance.


    "NO! ED! WATCH OUT!" Taylor and Haley shouted at the same time. The opposite team''s captain tackled Edward from behind, and he fell to the ground.


    "Nice try kid." The captain sneered. But then, Edward turned towards him with a teasing smile on his face. The captain widened his eyes as he saw that Edward''s hand was empty.


    "What the�C" He turned, only to see number 70�C Tyler, rushing to the end zone unobstructed.


    Jay grinned and said, "NICE FAKE OUT! Impressive! I didn''t even see when he passed the ball to the running back."


    Tyler reached the end zone, and the whole audience cheered. The referee announced, "Touch down!", and the Dolphin''s score turned from zero to 6.


    "So, what''s it going to be, a kick or a y?" Jacob asked Edward with a heavy breathing as he grabbed Edward''s hand and pulled him up from the ground. Edward held his ribs and grunted, "Uh. He tackled me very hard. Also, we''re going for a y."


    After scoring a touchdown, the team could try for an extra point. One point by kicking the ball from the 2 yards line into the goalpost, or starting a y at the 2 yard line for a chance to get 2 points.


    Edward checked the time, and they were at 14 minutes and 32 seconds. They have only one y left before the first quarter ends.


    The team faced off 2 yards behind the endzone. In the audience, Phil narrowed his eyes as he tried to watch the game clearer and said, "Wait. They are not kicking it? Why not? Doing a y is very risky."


    No one could answer him. Suddenly, Alex, who appeared out of nowhere, exined, "It''s simple. Their team doesn''t have a kicker. Well, Edward can do it, he''s an all rounder. But it will be hard for them to catch up on the point afterward."


    ire widened her eyes, "Alex, when did you get here?"


    "From the beginning." Alex said as she munched on some popcorn. "Haley, Tara is sitting with us."


    Haley nodded and said, "I was looking for her. Let''s go there."


    Enid, Jenna, Elsa, Finneas, Billie, Abraham were all there rooting for Edward. Even Sage and Mrs Henderson were in the audience, watching the game. Even Selena came there after finishing her medical checkup.


    "Set...HUT!" Edward shouted. Jacob snapped the ball to him, and then shed with the other team''s defensive line. But this time, two of them were pushing on Jacob. In a one-on-one confrontation, he could still take it. However he failed to defend this time.


    The defenders rushed to tackle Edward, and when they were a foot away, Edward made a short pass to Tyler who then breached the defensive line and scored the point for them.


    The referee blew the whistle and awarded the team with the point, "Touch down!"


    The crowd cheered, but Haley was anxious and fearful for Edward. "He got tackled again." She said with dissatisfaction. "HEY JACOB DO YOUR JOB BETTER!" Haley shouted into the field.


    The referee blew the whistle for the first quarter. The score now is 20-8. Edward''s team was still in the offence role, and the second half of the game started after a short break.


    [Manny''smentary]


    "I had to fight a girl in my next match, but Edward is being a hero on the football field." Manny said with some slight dissatisfaction.


    He shook his head and said, "Personally, I don''t like American football. Not only is it confusing for me, because in Colombia there''s another type of football, but it is called ser here, but I just don''t like senseless violence."


    The video cuts to Manny shouting euphorically as Edward''s team scored a touchdown.


    Back to thementary, "It''s just not elegant."


    The camera cuts again to the sight of Manny shouting profanities in Spanish to the referee after he saw Edward getting tackled.


    Back to thementary, "The rules don''t even make sense�C....But why...I don''t know why there is a tingly feeling in my heart, and a wisp of dissatisfaction when I saw Edward out in the field like that? Did he take my moment to shine? Of course not, he ys a whole different game. So...it left me with just one possibility."


    The screen changed into Manny staring at the cheerleaders with the short skirt chanting for Edward.


    "Edward. Newgate. When you see him, it is toote!" The cheerleaders chanted. "Edward. Newgate. Give up now, for your own sake!"


    Back to thementary, "It''s the girls."


    [Commentary ends]

 Chapter 196: Sports (3)

    <h4>Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Sports (3)?</h4>


    [General POV]


    The second quarter ended with the SeaHawks still in the lead, 34-21. Edward''s Dolphin�C managed tond two touchdowns , one extra point for kick, and two points from extra point y.


    The referee blew the whistle, and both teams went back to their bench for a short 12 minute break.


    With sweat falling down his face, Edward took off his helmet and then looked into the crowd. As he saw familiar faces waving at him, he broke into a smile and waved towards them.


    Countless camera light shed on him, from the fanatical fans that carried a professional camera to capture his figure. Edward had to look away from the audience because his eyes started to hurt.


    Taylor skedaddled into the field bringing a fresh towel and a drink for Edward.


    "That was awesome!" She said with tion as she hugged Edward''s arm abruptly. "Do you want a rub down?" She asked.


    Edward smiled, not knowing that one teenage�C wait, two teenage girls�C No, a whole lot of teenage girls were seething in anger as they wished they could take over Taylor''s job.


    Haley scowled and crossed her arms together. "I could''ve been there if I came here early."


    Jenna smiled with her lips, but her eyes were murderous. Selena pursed her lips and then started to imagine being in Taylor''s position, in which she pped herself lightly to make sure never to think something like that again.


    Edward was drinking some water from a water bottle when the school principal walked towards him with a sullen expression. Edward smirked and said, "So. I won the bet."


    "Yeah yeah. I will keep my word and let you change the team''s name, but definitely not DEVIL bats!" He then whispered in disbelief, "It has DEVIL in it! Do you want my head to fall?"


    "I kinda want to see that." Edward said with a serious tone. The principal froze, and Edwardughed after. "I was just joking. Alright, so no devil, so How about, DEMON BAT? No? BeelzeBat? BatMosdeus?"


    The principal sweat heavily as if he was the one who had just yed on the field. Tyler heard the discussion and interrupted, "Oh. Principal Brown. If you let me retake Spanish, then I''m sure that I can keep Edward in check. After all, I''m the Captain-"


    Edward ignored the fake captain and said, "Alright. From now on, the team will be named, [Blood Bat]"


    "Oh, Vampire Bat ...is it like Twilight?" Jacob asked with an innocent face. Edward scowled in disdain as he looked at Jacob and said in a disappointed tone, "You ruined it. We will discuss the new name after the game."


    Edward then pped as he stood in front of his team. "Everyone HUDDLE UP! We''re going to make some changes in the second half. First, Jacob, you won''t be ying centre anymore."


    Jacob dropped his head down in depression. Edward saw it and added, "Don''t get me wrong. It''s not that you didn''t do a good job, but it is a waste of your arm reach. A centre needs to be the anchor (Fat), you don''t really have that requirement, but you did it anyway. "


    Tyrone held Jacob''s shoulder to cheer him up. Jacob sighed as he thought he was going to get benched, but he was startled when he heard Edward''s next sentence.


    "For the second half, you''re going to be a defensive tackle and guard our line of scrimmage for defence, and a wide receiver during offence."


    "Wait! Ed!"


    Edward held his hand towards Jacob to stop him. "I know what you''re going to say. But I believe you can do it."


    The team only had 22 yers, and 7 of them were not yet ready for an official match, therefore they were really short on yers that could fill the position.


    "Why is this necessary? We''re doing great now." Tyler asked in confusion and also in an effort to ease the atmosphere.


    "Yeah. It is great...for you. But not the team if we want to win this." Edward said before he reminded Tyler, "Don''t get overblown ego when you scored 3 touchdowns. That will only make you targeted in the second half. Get ready for some intensive blockings."


    Tyler gulped his saliva and raised his arms up meekly before asking, "Umm...Can I just get benched for the rest of the game?"


    "Dream on!" Edward sneered.


    Cam walked forward and then called the wide receivers, "Tyrone is stable, but Jacob, you need to learn your routes�C"


    Edward interrupted, "Cam. This guy doesn''t work like that. Listen up Jacob. All you need to do, is listen to my orders, and move EXACTLY in the way I tell you to. Got that!?"


    Jacob turned to Cam, and then turned to Edward again. Hisplicated expression cleared up, and he finally said, "Okay. Got it."


    Cam sighed helplessly, but inside, he agreed with Edward''s decision. As the referee called both teams to get back into the field, Edward turned to look at the crowd once more. He moved closer to the bleachers and called, "PHIL! My dad isn''t here?"


    Phil was excited at first, but as he heard Edward''s question, he turned to look around and said carefully, "He might be here. This ce is big. You know what? I''m going to look for him."


    ire also looked around and said, "I''ll call him."


    "Nevermind. Don''t bother him. Just watch the game." Edward said with a shrug.


    The crowd cheered as Edward jogged lightly to get into position. They will start the game with a kickoff. The Seahawks won the coin toss in the beginning, and they chose to let the Dolphins kick the ball to them. That''s how they be the offensive team in the beginning.


    In the second half, the Seahawks will be the one to kick the ball to the Dolphins, giving them a chance to score a touchdown on the beginning of the game�C which would be impossible given how tight the defence was during a kickoff.


    Edward gets ready to receive the ball. However, the kicker of the Seahawks kicked the ball high up in the air when the referee blew the whistle.


    "Shit." Edward cursed before he rushed towards the centre of the line. Nobody expects it to happen, but Edward jumped high up in the air to catch the ball before anyone else could get near it.


    "Close the defence!" The Seahawks team captain shouted.


    "Damn, I got to run on my own." Edward said before he smirked in excitement. He dashed into the opposite team''s end zone.


    A linebacker reached his arm to catch Edward, but he avoided the tackle by spinning his body , not breaking his momentum in the least before he passed the defence. The linebacker was dumbfounded when he saw Edward''s figure disappear in front of him.


    "Oh my god. What''s up with that kid''s speed!?" Jay muttered in disbelief and excitement. "He''s like a pro! No high school kids canpete with that."


    Edward rushed to the end zone, and he got a touchdown 20 seconds into the second half! The crowd cheered thunderously while the college team fell in disbelief.


    "A cross step, added with a spin?" Cam muttered with a flushed face. His hands shivered in excitement, and then he yelled with a high pitched voice, joining in the crowd''s cheers, "EDWARD!!!"


    Edward panted as he stood in the end zone, his face flushed with excitement.


    ''In the memory I have, Hiruma learnt Sena''s running style, but he didn''t use it much because it''s notpatible with his y style. However, my golden body proportions allowed me to use it without much stress on my body. Damn, it felt nice.'' Edward thought secretly.


    The extra point kick was sessful, taken by Edward himself. The Seahawks became the offensive team now. However, Edward managed to intercept the quarterback''s pass and ran into the 80 yards'' mark before he got tackled.


    ''Run three steps to the left, then turn 45 degrees. Run three steps to the left, then turn 45 degrees.'' Jacob chanted inside his mind as the game resumed.


    "READY!! SET!! HUT!!" Edward shouted. Jacob didn''t even look at the ball and run the way Edward told him to. He then opened up his hands to receive the ball, just behind the line of scrimmage.


    Edward smirked again andughed devilishly, "RUN LIKE HELL!" He threw a long, fast, straight pass towards Jacob. The precision of the ball control allowed the ball to fly unobstructed and went directly into Jacob''s hands.


    Jacob smiled in disbelief, but before his mind could react, his body reacted first as it listened to Edward''s order to run. Jacob dashed into the endzone as fast as he could, but he got tackled just before entering the final line.


    Edward''s heart palpitates as he wiped the sweat dripping down his chin. The referee went to check on Jacob. Then, he saw that Jacob managed to reach his hand through the end zone line, and ced the ball inside the zone.


    "TOUCH DOWN!" The referee shouted with a smile on his face. Jacob was in disbelief as he heard it, and his team mates all rushed towards him.


    "JACOB! JACOB! JACOB!" They threw him up in the air as if they were celebrating the winning point in the game.


    The Seahawks'' captain pointed towards the celebrating kids while turning to his teammates, "I''m confused. Did we lose already? The game is still ongoing, right?"


    His teammate shrugged in confusion. Then, the game resumed after Edward kicked in the ball to earn an extra point. The Dolphins managed to make aeback, surpassing the Seahawks point by one point. 34-35.


    The ball was back to the Seahawks. To prevent the pass from getting intercepted, the Seahawks made short passes to the running back. However, he was intercepted in his route twice. One by Edward, and one by Tyler.


    Edward breathed heavily as he sat down on the grass. There was only 20 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Seahawks offence was unrelenting. The game became stagnant with neither team advancing or retreating until the clock ran out.


    "Where''s Ted? He''s missing out on what could potentially be the greatest game of Edward''s life." Phil muttered helplessly, but with a hint of irritation.


    "He''s not picking up his phone." ire replied. "I tried the office, but he is also not there."


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    "My dad was always supportive. Never missed a tumbling meet or a break-dance brawl. I''d set up the sound system for the school assembly he''d be the loudest voice in the crowd, ''Hey Everybody! Check out my son''s equipment!''" Phil said before he chuckled to himself.


    ire smiled softly as she looked at Phil before she turned into the camera and said, "He should be here. It is his responsibility as a father. Edward might seem like he didn''t care, but I know deep down, Edward... is pretty sensitive." ire said, taking her delusions as the reality.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Hello pretty girl."


    Alex heard a familiar Nigerian ent voiceing from behind her. She turned around and saw Sam Obisanya, an acquaintance she met during the decathlon in Dryden Academy before this.


    "Sam!" Alex greeted enthusiastically. Finneas, who was eating a hotdog nearby, was startled and he quickly stood from his seat. Putting his hot dog down, he turned to Sam and introduced himself, "Hi. I''m Finneas. I''m Alex''s boyfriend."


    He stressed out the boyfriend part. Sam just smiled and said, "Really? You with the pretty girl? Are you rich?"


    "Pfft-" Enid couldn''t hold herugh. "Sam! Over here!" She waved at Sam to invite him to sit with them.


    "Enid. Did you invite him here?" Alex asked.


    "Yeah. He came here to visit his...What is it Sam?" Enid asked, already forgetting about the thing she had asked him before.


    Sam smiled and said, "I didn''te here to visit. I went to the Dryden dorm room to get my stuff. I am joining Nigeria''s under 18 football team when I go home."


    "Oh. Good for you Sam." Alex said with a kind smile.


    "Who is he?" Jenna whispered to Enid.


    After an initial introduction, Jenna''s eyes lit up and she said, "Wait. You yed ser?"


    "We call it Football in Nigeria." Sam said with a tired tone but a smile on his face.


    Jenna ignored that remark and asked, "Then, do you know how to kick that ball?"


    She pointed to the field, and Sam understood what she was saying from her gestures. Sam nodded and said, "I did y American Football before�C"


    "Then, you can kick, right? Edward''s team needs a kicker. You should go there and ask them if you can y."


    Alex rolled her eyes at Jenna''s naive remark and said, "First of all, he''s not a student here. Secondly, substituting an unknown yer in the middle of the match? That''ll cause more harm than it''ll do good."


    Jenna pursed her lip and pouted while crossing her arms, "I was just suggesting. It is a suggestion!"


    "HEY! Thest quarter is starting...WAIT A Second...WHO the hell is this guy?" Abraham, who just walked towards them with a foam finger on his hand and popcorn on the other, felt threatened when he saw Sam.


    "Is he one of the guys who''d fallen for Alex? If that''s the case, then I need to tell you that I''m second in line!" Abraham said jokingly while hiding his true intention.


    Alex rolled her eyes but before she could admonish Abraham, she heard Sam''s answer.


    "Yes."


    "He''s just a friend--Wait. What?!" Alex was baffled and blushed immediately.


    A few seats over, Haley and Tara watched the pre-teen''s drama with a look of disdain on their faces. Not that they didn''t enjoy the scene, but they were being so loud that it distracted them from watching the game.


    "So, your sister has 3 guys going after her. And, you can''t even get one guy even if you''re basically throwing yourself at him." Tara teased.


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "At the very least he replies when I text him. Unlike your so-called ''boyfriend'' who ghosted you after you ''did it'' with him."


    Tara narrowed her eyes to Haley and said, "You wanna fight... slut?"


    "You''re talking to a mirror?" Haley casually retorted back. "Shhh- It''s starting!" Haley shushed Tara before she could react and put her entire focus on Edward.


    ''It''s thest quarter, I wonder what Ed is thinking.'' Haley wondered to herself.


    [Edward POV]


    ''My underwear is riding up. It''s very ufortable. I want to fix it, but my cup is in the way.''


    We were now 2 minutes into the game. The Seahawks kept their offensive role and they had gained 30 yards.. Captain Terry Hyde signalled his teammates.


    "It''s going to be a kick." I whispered to Tyler and Jacob. "We need to stop him before that."


    Jacob and Tyler nodded. As soon as the ball was snapped back, the defensive line collided with each other. A holder ced the ball on its position on the ground. The kicker rushed to the ball from behind the line of scrimmage to kick it forward.


    ''Damn it!'' I cursed as I saw that Jacob and Tyler couldn''t pass the defensive line. The disparity of physicality was shown thiste in the game.


    The cogers had more training as they were older and they had substituted their yers throughout the game, therefore most of them were still in peak condition, while most of my team yers were at the brink of copse from continuous high pressure game y.


    The ball went into the goalpost perfectly. The Seahawks regained the lead at 37-35. The kickoff went pretty badly, and the newbie who caught the ball in my team lost the ball in a fumble, so we lost our offensive opportunity.


    The Seahawks scored another touchdown at that moment, and also scored in one extra point kick.


    I panted heavily as I held my knee for support before standing up straight and stared right into the scoreboard.


    "We are losing by 9 points, and there''s only 4 minutes left. I noticed something weird going on with my peripheral vision. Tyler''s knees were shaking, and he kneed limply onto the ground.


    Cam saw that and shouted, "TIME OUT!"


    I walked to Tyler and helped him get back on his feet and be his support while I assisted him to walk out of the field.


    "I''m sorry. I can''t go on." Tyler said in a weak voice.


    "You don''t have to feel bad. We did something great today. How many high school football teams canpete evenly with professional college yers? We''re the first one, and we are just getting started." I said with an encouraging tone.


    Tyler chuckled and winched in pain, "Oww...my ribs hurt."


    "Go and get checked out. We got this." I said to him before passing him to Cam.


    "Oh my god Tyler are you okay?" Cam shrieked like a little girl while his hands were dramatically thrown in the air."


    "Cam. Hands." I reminded him.


    "Oh. Right." He realised it and put it down quickly before helping Tyler sit down on the bench. I walked to the centre of the field and said, "Huddle up!"


    The team members walked slowly to where I was. As they stood in a circle facing me, I smiled and said in a calming tone, "I know, this is a tough one. We''re an ace down, there''s 3 minutes on the clock."


    "You know what my brain told me to do? Just lie down on a soft mattress, maybe bask in the sun, and just...rx..."


    "That doesn''t sound so bad." Tyrone said while clutching his left hurting left hand. The team chuckled lightly, and I did so too.


    "Yeah. You''re right. That doesn''t sound so bad. In fact, it doesn''t sound so bad at all." I agreed with them as I took off my helmet. "So, why don''t we, just quit now?"


    The team stopped chuckling and their faces turned solemn. Kyle, the emo kid ying Tight End spoke up, "Ed. We can''t do that."


    "Why not?" I asked them casually. "It won''t change anything? Right? So why do we continue ying?"


    None of them could answer that question. I walked right to Tyrone and grabbed his shirt, "Tell me. Why do we keep ying?"


    "TO WIN!" Tyrone shouted.


    "THAT''S RIGHT! WE PLAY TO WIN!" I shouted as I turned around and made eye contact with all of the team members. "Let me tell you why you won''t stop now! Because when your brain told you to give up, what did your heart tell you? They told you to win!"


    "And right now is the time to listen to your heart! If you wanted to quit, why didn''t you do it earlier? Why not in the first quarter when they were leading ahead by 20 points, and we got zero!?"


    "The reason you didn''t walk out of the field is because of a belief. A belief that will matter. A belief that Miracles... can happen. That''s why we persevere!"


    "And believe me when I tell you this, it is much better for us to give everything we have and lose, rather than stop believing!"


    My words got through to them. The fire in their eyes returned, and their decadent look changed as if they were breathed in a second life.


    I stopped motivating them and joked, "I don''t know about you guys, but I know for sure that I would have to lie down for an entire day after this. And that''s unfortunate, because I''m pretty sure that I have earned a makeout session. Too bad I won''t be able to move to enjoy it.".


    Kyle smiled and said, "Well, usually when I can''t move, my girlfriend will help me rub one out, so I will make sure to spend the rest of my energy here so that I can get that."


    I snapped my finger at him and said, "Yeah Kyle. That''s the spirit we''re looking for."


    The group burst intoughter. "Put your hands together." I asked. All of us put our palms on top of one another. Even Tyler limped towards the circle to put his hands in.


    "In the count of three, we''re going to be unstoppable. Okay? One. TWO. THREE!!"


    "WE''RE UNSTOPPABLE!!"

 Chapter 197: Sports - Baptism by Fire (4-F)

    <h4>Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Sports - Baptism by Fire (4-F)</h4>


    [General POV]


    Seahawks team captain, Terry, faced off with the team''s coach and snapped at him, "We should be aggressive! Why in the hell should we let them catch up with us?! You ALWAY DO THIS! That''s why we kept losing in every match!"


    The coach tried to calm Tyler down with a gesture, "I get that you''re frustrated, but imagine the sponsorship we will have after this. This whole match is being recorded�C"


    "SHUT UP!" Terry yelled at the coach. "If we lose to a high school team, then our whole football career will be over! It doesn''t matter if we have sponsorship! We will be a JOKE to everyone!" He dug his finger into the coach''s chest to stress his point.


    The coach was irritated and pped his hand away, "You either do what I say, or you''re off the team."


    Terry gritted his teeth in frustration, at the same time clenching his fist. His argument with the coach was seen by Edward who was getting ready to start the game. Edward had a thoughtful look on his face, and then the referee called both teams to the field.


    "Ready!! SET!! HUTTT!!!" Edward shouted. The centre snapped the ball back, and Edward caught it. Jacob, Tyrone and Kyle ran in front of Edward as the linebackers held the defence.


    "It''s a sweep!" Jay shouted in excitement. The defenders protected the quarterback as he ran his route. However, the opposing team reacted quickly. Tyrone and Kyle each held back one tackler, leaving only Jacob with Edward running past the line of scrimmage.


    In front of them were Terry and one other blocker. Jacob''s eyes shook, and then his gaze turned into that of determination.


    Previously when Edward told them to persevere for miracles to happen, Jacob''s internal belief was greatly shaken.


    ''Have I really given my best here on the field?'' He self reflected. He looked down on his hand, and he clenched them tight. "If I want to continue ying the game with Ed, then...I need to be what he needs me to be."


    Back to the attack, Terry was startled when number 20, which wasbeled as the timid but strong wide receiver, took the initiative to take the fight to Terry instead of facing off the blocker intended to stop him.


    "What the�C" Terry was aiming to stop Edward''s attack, but was stopped a foot away before he could touch Edward''s clothes. Jacob, Terry, and the other blockers all fall together because of Jacob''s attack.


    Edward dashed into the endzone unobstructed, and scored a touchdown! The crowd cheered thunderously, with air horns and whistles filling the air.


    "TIME OUT!" Cam shouted quickly as he rushed towards Jacob. Edward saw that Jacob wasn''t getting up, so he rushed back to the 80 yards line. Cam kneeled beside Jacob and pped his face, "Hey..Hey.. You''re alright?"


    Jacob''s eyes were still dazed and he kept staring at the sky. Edward finally got towards him and then smiled, "Jacob. You did really well."


    Jacob''s eyes finally regained his rity and he turned to look at Edward. He sat up quickly and said, "I...I tackled someone."


    "Yeah. You did. How''s that feel?" Edward asked teasingly.


    "It felt awful." Jacob replied. "But, I know that I need to do it." He added.


    "Yeah, the first time is always the hardest. Thanks to you, I got off pretty easily." Edward said as he grabbed Jacob''s hand and pulled him to stand up. "Look, Elsa''s going crazy over there."


    Jacob turned towards the crowd and saw Elsa blowing kisses at him while screaming his name. His cheeks blushed a little, and he waved back shyly. But, as he was smiling at Elsa, suddenly, one of his front teeth was chipped. It cracked at a 45 degree angle, and parts of the tooth fell down on the grass.


    Edward widened his eyes, and Cam shrieked in surprise.


    "Huh? What''s wrong?" Jacob asked in confusion. During the collision before, his mouth was hit with Terry''s elbow on ident.


    "Umm..." Edward held Jacob''s shoulder and said with a sympathetic tone, "Thank you for your sacrifice."


    "???" Jacob was confused, and then he finally realized it when Cam pointed it out for him. "MY TEETH!!"


    "Time-out, over. Both teams to the 2 yard''s line." The referee instructed.


    Terry punched the grass as he stood back up from the tackle and he looked at his coach with a burning hatred on his face.


    Suddenly, Edward talked to him, "That guy''s an insufferable dumbass."


    Terry was a bit startled but he answered anyway, "Yeah."


    "Hey, you remember when you fought off the Lancers, and you made aeback after the third quarter? I became your fan after that."


    Terry looked a bit dejected and said, "Yeah. That was the Semi-final of the intercollege match. Our Captain- He...He decided to take a gamble, and stop listening to the coach. Although we won the match, he was fired from the team."


    Edward grinned and teased, "So...I guess we will win this one, right? After all, you can only listen to him, and not make any decisions for yourself."


    Terry gritted his teeth in humiliation, and Edward turned his back. "Do what you want already. This kind of match...it''s embarrassing for both of us."


    The Seahawk''s newbie captain fell into contemtion. As Edward went back to regroup with his team, Tyrone asked him with disbelief, "Now why in the hell did you taunt that guy? Our chances are slim enough already."


    Edward just smirked and didn''t say anything. Tyrone shook his head, and then said, "Alright. I''m sure whatever it is, it''s sinister, so I''ll just pretend not to see anything."


    Edward chuckled and said, "See what?"


    "Exactly." Tyrone yed along with augh.


    Theirughter brought immense pressure to the Seahawks defensive line. The game resumed, and when the center snapped the ball, Edward made a short pass to Tyrone who took a few steps backward from the line, dashed left to make the breakthrough from the side. Kyle and Edward protected him, and he managed to score the extra point as he entered the end zone!


    The score is now 44-43 with only two minutes left on the clock. The Dolphin''s were still behind!


    The Seahawks coach celebrated as the offense fell to them again. He pped his hand and ordered, "GOOD! Just drag the time! Keep the ball! Don''t do anything else!"


    Terry had a solemn look on his face. Then, he asked the team to huddle up. "Listen..."


    The match continued. However, this time, the Seahawks ignored the coach''s words and they made an intense offense. They also did a sweep, and managed to score a touchdown in the final minute.


    For the extra point, they did a kick, which they scored. The score is now 51-43, and the audience''s mood has be depressed.


    "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING!?" The Seahawks team coach shouted at his team. However, Terry''s challenging eyes were focused on Edward.


    "They''ll lose huh." Luke''s voice was filled with pity. Jay, ire, and Mitch agreed with him.


    Alex said, "Yeah. But they�C"


    Haley and Phil said at the same time, "No. It''s not over yet."


    Gloria said with an annoyed tone while ring at Jay, "They will win!"


    Jay was taken aback and said, "Well if you think about it realistically-"


    "Miracles don''t count on logic!" Phil said, "Ed is a dreamer! They will turn this around."


    ire tried to calm Phil down. "But Honey-"


    "Shhh- Just watch," Gloria said before she and Phil high fived each other under the dumbfounded gazes of the Pritchetts.


    Back to the game. Edward chuckled in self-depreciation when he saw the determined expression on the opposing team''s face. Suddenly, he tapped his thigh and he hummed.


    Tyler returned to the team after getting some rest. "What''s wrong with him?" He asked Jacob while pointing at Edward.


    Jacob shrugged and said, "I don''t know. Hyping himself up I guess."


    "Swinging like Ali, Knocking out Bodies, Standing on top like a champion." Edward mumbled. Then, he stopped and looked at Tyler.


    "Listen..." He whispered something to his team.


    The whistle was blown, and the match resumed. Edward''s team has the offense. "READY! SET! HUT!!!" Edward shouted. However, Edward didn''t run instantly as the defense couldn''t open up a gap for him.


    "Listen...All you need to do...Is stop Newgate from running," was what Terry said to his team before this.


    Terry lunged at him as he was sure that Edward would keep the ball during thest y. Edward''s face turned ashen, making Terry more confident in his guess.


    "Shit�C" Edward cursed as Terry was already in front of him. However, Terry''s eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Edward''s condescending smirk.


    "Gotcha." Edward muttered to himself.


    Tyler had already passed the defensive line and was ready to receive the ball 30 yards away. Edward twisted his upper body, nted his foot into the ground, and then threw the ball through the tiny gap in the defensive line, just between Jacob and the center yer.


    Edward was tackled without any chance to defend himself and fall into the ground the second the ball left his hand.


    The ball flew while spiraling in a high speed, in a straight line. The ball flew into Tyler''s arm, and it was still rotating even when Tyler had captured it. Then, Tyler rushed into the end zone with Tyrone protecting him.


    He made a left, and then, another left, and he kept going left in his route. (Phil''s y in the series).


    "TOUCH DOWN!!!" The referee blew the whistle. As the audience cheered, Cam shouted instantly, "TIME OUT!!"


    Thest timeout was called to stop the clock. The countdown froze with 6 seconds remaining. The audience held their breath as both teams faced off in the 2 yards line again.


    "Listen. They will target only me. That''s why I pulled the agro. So you guys can move easier." was what Edward said to his team before the y began.


    Both of the team moved to the 2 yards line for the extra point match. Terry thought nervously, ''Will hee from the left? Or from the right? Who will he give the ball to?''


    "Edward''s trying to push the game into overtime." ire said in a nervous tone.


    "Can they even handle it?" Jay muttered with a slight sarcasm. "His team is already on theirst leg."


    The match began during the father daughter conversation. "SET! HUT!!" Edward shouted and the ball was snapped towards him. Terry went to the left while the other blockers went to the right. However, no one expected that Edward would step on Jacob''s shoulder pad, and dove right through the defense line from the air!


    The other team''s defense tried to grab him, but they were upied with the opponent''s linebackers. Edward fell inside the end zone, and the whole crowd cheered!!!


    The clock strikes zero, and the score is tied up at 51-51, and the game falls into overtime.


    Terry panted heavily as he flopped on the grass, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Did I fall into his mind games? That kid''s terrifying." He muttered before he started tough.


    After a short break, Edward said to Terry, "Let''s do sudden death."


    "Sure." Terry replied easily. "I mean, we can y more, but your team can''t." He teased.


    One of his team members grabbed Terry and whispered to him, "Why are you smiling? We can lose the match!"


    " I might get kicked out of the team after this, so I might as well enjoy myst game." Terry said in a casual manner before turning to the rest of his team, "ONE LAST PLAY! Are you guys ready!"


    "WE''RE READY!" The team shouted back at him.


    Edward asked his team, "ONE LAST PLAY! ARE YOU READY KIDS!?"


    "AY AY CAPTAIN!" The team replied to him. Tyler froze in his spot, "HEY I''M THE CAPTAIN YOU BASTARDS!!!"


    "Why are all of themughing?" Haley asked as she was confused about what was happening inside the field. As the only former football yer there, Jay sighed and replied, " To soothe their nerves... if they were too high strung, they won''t be able to focus on thest chance."


    The referee called both of the team captains for the coin toss. The sudden death game rules are simple, and can be divided into 5 parts.


    Coin Toss: A coin toss determines which team gets the first possession or which end zone they will attack. The visiting team captain usually calls the coin toss.


    Possession: The team that wins the coin toss gets the first possession in overtime. They have an opportunity to possess the ball and attempt to score. If they score a touchdown on their possession, the game ends, and they are dered the winner. If they kick a field goal, the opposing team gets a chance to possess the ball and respond.


    Possession Switch: If the team that starts with the first possession in overtime does not score, or only scores a field goal, the opposing team gets the ball. They then have an opportunity to possess the ball and attempt to score. If they score a touchdown, they win the game. If they only score a field goal, the game continues, and the possession switches back to the other team.


    Alternating Possessions: If neither team scores on their first possession in sudden death, the format switches to alternating possessions. Each team takes turns starting at the opponent''s 25-yard line and tries to score a touchdown or field goal. The order of possessions continues to alternate until there is a winner.


    Sudden Death: The game ends as soon as one team scores and the other team fails to match or surpass their score. For example, if Team A scores a touchdown, and Team B subsequently fails to score or only scores a field goal, Team A wins the game.


    The referee tossed the coin into the air. Terry called it, "Heads." The coin then falls back down into the referee''s hand. "It''s tails."


    Tyler cheered, "ALRIGHT!"


    Terry chuckled and muttered in self-depreciation, "I can''t even call thest coin toss right."


    The game started at the opponent''s 25 yards line. Edward readied himself and then muttered, "This is it guys."


    "READY...." The audience''s nerves tightened. Everyone held their breath.


    "SETT..."


    Phil made sure to record everything on his camera. Gloria prayed for Edward. Haley saw that and also did a small prayer of her own.


    "HUTT!!" Edward shouted and received the ball. Just like in the previous match, he was targeted by the opponent''s team. This time, Edward dashed towards the end zone.


    He managed to pass the line of scrimmage, and 2 yards before the end zone, he was tackled by the opponent''s linebacker.


    "Oooh!" The crowd gasped. However, everyone was in shock when they saw Edward''s hand.


    "It''s...empty." Phil muttered with disbelief. Haley shouted in excitement, "IT''S EMPTY! That means-"


    Tyler rushed into the end zone, and the team managed to score a touchdown to win the game! The crowd exploded into cheer till the bleachers shook from their excitement.


    ...


    After the referee announced the winner, the college team went back to their bench while the Dolphin''s celebrated. They were throwing Jacob and Edward into the air, before everyone received kisses from the cheerleaders.


    "Coach-" Terry called out, but was interrupted by the coach''s hand gestures.


    "You know what will happen now, right?" The coach asked while crossing his arms together.


    "I know. I will quit the team�C"


    "NO! You can''t do that! Or...I will quit the team too!" One of the linebackers spoke up.


    Terry was startled and he turned to his friend, "James, no-"


    "I will quit too." The running back spoke up and stood beside Tyler.


    "I will follow the captain."


    "Yeah. If he quits, then I will stop ying."


    The entire team spoke up on behalf of the captain. The coach kept his silence as he faced the group of college students. He narrowed his eyes at them, making them feel pressured.


    "Someone needs to take responsibility for this. We could''ve won this game if you''d just listen." The coach said in a cold tone. The group lowered their heads, but then the coach''s next words made them look up again, "For losing to a high school team...Everyone here will take responsibility. Training will be doubled when we get back! Do you have any objections to this?!"


    The team smiled and replied, "NO COACH!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I smiled as I watched the ''Spartacus'' scene going on in the other team. During my research on the opponent team before, I found something surprising.


    The other team''s captain, who everyone said was forced to quit the team by their current coach because he didn''t listen to him, was actually involved in drug abuse. The coach found out about it, and that was why he was out of the team.


    The coach took the me for everything as he didn''t want to report the kid as he believed that he could change in the future.


    The scandal implicated the funds for the team, that''s why he agreed to the match today. As long as the team got some exposure, he could attract new sponsors for the team. What else could be better for exposure than facing off against a team with an extremely popr celebrity in it? They would win... even if they lose the match today.


    "Let''s go eat!" I shouted to the team members while everyone was celebrating. Taylor pped her hands while the cheerleaders cheered for the team. We went to clean ourselves up before going to the hotel''s restaurant that I had booked to celebrate the victory.


    Before I left the school, I was suddenly pulled into a dark corner while I was walking down the hallway.


    "Aunt Cam? You were there?" I asked in shock when I saw she was hiding her hair with a scarf and wearing huge sunsses.


    "Yes. I was there the whole time. But I can''t let anyone see me, so I was under the bleacher."


    I rolled my eyes at her and said angrily, "If you don''t tell me what exactly you did that you need to hide from the cops, don''t me me when I figure it out on my own."


    She chuckled and teased, "If you can really do that, then I will get in the hot tub with you naked."


    "That''s a bet. Alright. Join me for my team dinner?" I asked her simply.


    "Sure. Wait- What about your dad? Where is he?" She asked with concern.


    I shrugged and said, "Banging Frankie...Hopefully."


    "Nah. He''s too cowardly to make a move." My aunt replied sarcastically."I need to get a ride, so let your girl ride with her friend." She said, referring to Taylor and Selena.


    I nodded in agreement and said, "I''m going to meet Haley and Phil first. Here, you can pull the car up front."


    She grabbed the keys from me and left. I met with the entire Haley''s family when I went to meet her. Gloria kissed my cheek multiple times to apud me for my winning.


    "Manny, good luck with your match. I want to go see it, but I have to go to the team dinner." I said while rubbing Manny''s head.


    Manny suddenly said, "It''s okay Ed. I won''t go to the finals."


    Gloria and Jay were shocked. Jay eximed, "What?"


    Manny added, "Defeating a woman will be a mark on my honor. I want it to be a fair game, like what Edward faced."


    Both of the parents were speechless. Before Jay could say anything, I held Manny''s shoulder and said, "And why do you think that it''s not fair? Do you think that you are sure to win the game? That''s mighty condescending of you."


    Manny was stunned, "What? No-"


    "Really? Because it seems like that."


    "I just don''t want to fight a girl. It''s not being a gentleman." He confessed.


    "It doesn''t matter in apetition. Not giving your opponent your 100% is an insult. Remember this Manny, when you work hard to win, your opponent is doing the same thing too."


    "Can you imagine what you''re going to feel if you finally got to the final match, and you''re so close to finally proving to yourself that your efforts are worth it, but your opponent doesn''t even take you seriously and quit, never even giving you a chance?"


    Manny fell into contemtion before he answered, "I''d be frustrated."


    I nodded to him and said, "That''s why you have the obligation to do your best until the very end. That''s...what being a gentleman is all about. No matter if your opponent is a girl or not. "


    "Okay. I got it. I will not quit my match." Manny replied after thinking for a while. Gloria and Jay cheered and said urgently, "Let''s go. We need to get to the venue right now."


    "Alright." Manny replied.


    "Dad. I will wait for Cam. Go on without me." Mitchell replied.


    While the family was getting ready, Haley pulled me to the side and asked, "Are you okay? You got tackled pretty hard."


    "Yeah. It''s bruising." I said as I raised my shirt slightly, revealing a patchwork of bruises scattered across my stomach. Haley gasped in shock and said, "You need to get that checked out!"


    I shook my head dismissively and said, "It''s fine. It doesn''t hurt much. Jacob had to go to the dentist though."


    She wasn''t amused by my joke. With a concerned expression, she said, "Wait. You, Jacob, and who else?"


    "Basically everyone in the team. We were in a David and Goliath kinda match. College boys are very strong." I said. "If you''re worried, why don''t youe with me to dinner to keep an eye on me?"


    She rolled her eyes, but then her gaze went to her family, "Well, I promised my mom I would support Manny. Wait�C" Haley suddenly realized something, "Mom! Alex is ditching again!"


    ire realized it too and said, "Ah. right. Haley, go and fetch your sister."


    I chuckled and said, "Too bad. Everyone is going to the dinner party, except her."


    (Sorry. My overly hectic schedule this week make it impossible for me to take a break. I''m releasing the chaps I am supposed to post this week, and wille back on Friday next week.)

 Chapter 198: Football - Reaction.

    <h4>Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Football - Reaction.</h4>


    [General POV]


    [ESPN-Special Footage and NFL yermentary]


    "What the-"


    In New York, Pepper was taken aback when he received the permission request for amentary program in ESPN to discuss Edward''s football match today. The request came in the form of a call, where it was first ryed to Renaldo before it came to him.


    Not knowing the impact of the request, Pepper asked Harvey for her advice. Max, who was standing beside Pepper in a leather jacket muttered in confusion, "Why don''t you just ask that wunderkind what to do?"


    "No Westside, he just finished his match. I don''t want to bother him when he''s supposed to be resting. " Pepper replied.


    Max''s lips curled to show a pleased smile, and she said, "Nice. I finally got it right." She was referring to her leather jacket, mimicking the outfit in the movie, ''West Side Story''. Pepper told her to wear intimidating clothes, and that''s what both of them decided on.


    Pepper, mainly because he has never mingled with the poor society, so he didn''t know what true gang members looked like, and Max, who knew all about it, but decided that all the posh old men they were going to meet had the same impression of a gang like Pepper, so she made an executive decision.


    "I am also impressed you know what wunderkind means." Pepper looked at Max with a satisfied expression.


    "What?" Max was confused. "Doesn''t it mean wonder kid? It''s not that hard to figure out."


    Pepper opened his mouth to object, but he received another call. Still, he took the time toment, "You might be the first to say that about the Germannguage."


    "IT WAS GERMAN?" Max was startled.


    The football match was not officially filmed, but footage of it was captured using the same professional-grade cameras that were used for filming the music video. Additionally, the college team had also recorded the entire match for research purposes.


    The ESPN show managed to get a copy from the college team, but it was too low quality for them to show it on TV. Not only them, but a lot of news media and celebrity talk shows wanted to get the footage of the game, especially when it''s currently trending on Twitter and Instagram.


    "Hmm, I guess we can give it to them. It won''t do much harm." Pepper said after he thought about it for a while. Pepper didn''t know yet how much of an impact the sport had on this country as he was never interested in them.


    In Texas state, an ordinary Texan man was watching ESPN when thementary about Edward''s game was shown on TV. He has a beer gut and was sitting on the single couch while drinking beer on a Saturday afternoon.


    The host invited Samuel Onyedikachi Acho, a professional NFL yer that had retired and became a sport analyst on ESPN to talk about Edward''s game today.


    "Huh." The Texan man who was watching TV was slightly interested when he saw thementator�C mainly because that guy used to y in the Texan club.


    "Janine!" The texan man called his daughter, "Your boyfriend''s on TV!!"


    "WHAT??!" A young, 12 year old girl with blonde hair rushed to the TV, "Hey It''s Edward''s match!"


    "That Newgate? I thought he''s a sissy who sang about his feelings�C Wait, what the hell! HOT DAMN!" The Texan dad shouted in excitement after he saw Edward throwing the ball in a straight line 30 yards away.


    Samuel in the showmented, "What I think is the most scary John, is how he controls the flow of the game. Let''s take a closer look at when he first entered the field. I got to apud the kid''s mind here."


    The footage showed the incredibility of Edward''s silent no-look pass when he received the ball and pretended he was still holding the ball a secondter.


    "He used a fake out when everyone was focusing on him, and expecting him to make the attack. His behavior is highly professional. He didn''t go for personal glory, but instead he used every card he had."


    "And what about the other team Sam?" John, the host asked.


    "LA Seahawks made a few solid ys, and they didn''t take any risks. Although it was a good call for them in the beginning, it also became their downfall in the second half of the game." Sam said before he focused on Terry, the Seahawks team captain.


    He talked about how Terry had the potential to be a pro yer, as long as he could get rid of his indecisiveness. Many pro teams kept an eye on several of the college team yers because of this particr match.


    "Honestly, if the rules for getting drafted as a pro yer didn''t stipte the 3 year wait after high school, I would''ve done whatever it took to get Newgate for my team." Sam joked.


    "Tyler Banks, Tyrone McDonalds. And that Juggernaut Junior�C Jacob Green. They are NFL seeds, and I surely hope that I can see them in the Super Bowl in the future." Samuel said without the slightest exaggeration.


    The Texan dad was influenced by the talk show, and he turned to his daughter, "You said you wanted to buy Edward''s album, right?"


    Janine, the 12 year old kid gleamed in excitement, "YES! DEFINITELY! I REALLY WANT IT! Ah, we should get the special album."


    The dad scowled a bit, "Special? How much more money is the special one going to cost?"


    "Just 5 more bucks. But, it has 3 country songs in it." Janine said.


    The dad was slightly taken aback, before his mouth broke into a smile. "Really?" He asked in disbelief and a bit of surprise. "Why didn''t you say so? Let''s go! I want to hear what he has to sing in country music."


    Not only in that household, but simr things were also happening all across the country. The album sales tripled for that day. It also brought Edward a lot of new fans as people who judged him too soon changed their mind about him.


    Other than ESPN, there were also a lot of talk shows discussing Edward''s match. The Daily Rip�C hosted by Brie Evantee and Jack Bremmer (Cate nchet and Tyler Perry from Don''t Look Up), yed the footage of the match on the screen.


    "You know, I''m amazed Jack. When I heard about a singer ying a sports game, I initially thought it was a publicity stunt match, and that they wouldn''t be taking it seriously." Brie said with a pretty smile on her face.


    "But he got tackled 5 times. Each one was worse than thest." Brie added as the footage of Edward getting tackled was yed.


    Jack nodded and said, "I thought the same way. But again, I think most of us did. No one expected him to be this good at it. He can be a pro even if he''s not singing. I am changing my mind Brie. I think he''s a cool guy."


    Brieughed and said, "I told you Jack. He''s handsome, athletic, has great money, he''s every girl''s dream guy."


    Jack chuckled and said, "Too bad for the girls, he''s already been locked down."


    In an apartment in Pasadena, Penny was watching the ESPN show in Leonard and Sheldon''s ce.


    Leonard looked at the TV nkly and said, "I didn''t even know we had ESPN."


    Sheldon, who was sitting at his spot, said, "We didn''t choose it. It was part of the package we have."


    Penny ignored them and watched the show with vigor, "Ugh. I can''t believe that I messed up the date! I thought his match was tomorrow! They are usually on Sunday! You know what? You should''ve reminded me."


    Sheldon watched a few of the gamey footgate and nodded in acknowledgement. Penny caught that and asked, "Why are you nodding to yourself like a wise old sage?"


    Sheldon sighed and then replied, "First of all...Thank you. Secondly, as a Texan, I was forced to be in the world of football from a young age. I once assisted my father in devising strategies for the high school team he coached before I was finally allowed to do my homework."


    Penny asked, "And what does it have to do with the nodding?"


    Sheldon was a bit hesitant, "Well, at first, I was inclined to scrutinize Edward''s team y-calling, but much to my surprise, his decisions were remarkably efficient. It''s no coincidence that they emerged victorious."


    "A. It''s the first time you say something nice about him." Penny said while smiling at Sheldon. "What about you Leonard?" She turned to ask Leonard who was still struggling as he watched the TV.


    "Pfft- Leonard? He doesn''t even know the rules of the game." Sheldon chortled in derision. Leonard was embarrassed and said, "At the very least I was invited to the game."


    Penny gasped and said, "But you didn''t go?! How could you do that to him?!"


    Leonard was taken aback and stammered nervously, "Umm...He told me I don''t�C But...New Game�C"


    "YOU SHOULD''VE GONE !" Penny scolded.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Taylor and I walked side by side with our arms interlinked together.


    Her attire exuded an air of elegance and allure. She donned a captivating dark blue dress, entuated by a delicate ck ribbon gracefully adorning the side of her shoulder.


    A ponytail held her hair in ce, revealing the graceful curve of her nape. Her slender figure added to her overall charm, radiating a delightful cuteness. In her hand, she carried a contrasting beige purse, a sophisticated touch thatplemented her ensemble with subtle grace.


    My attire incidentally matched her outfit today. I confidently sported a cored, long-sleeved blue shirt, leaving the top button undone, drawing attention to my chest with a subtle allure. The ensemble was perfectly paired with sleek ck shoes and weekday pleated trousers, adding a touch of sophistication to my overall look.


    Taking pride in the finer details, I meticulously folded my sleeves, entuating my well-defined forearms. As a final touch, I adorned my attire with a pair of stylish sunsses, perched effortlessly on the top button, lending an air of effortless cool to the ensemble.


    Selena who was wearing a simple blouse and pants scoffed at our image. "Seriously, you guys nned a couple look?"


    I snickered while Taylor giggled. I turned to Selena and asked, "Hey, this is a team dinner. Why are you even here?"


    "Why is she here?" Selena asked with an angry tone, pointing at Taylor.


    "She''s my date. So, she can enter." I muttered with a slight chuckle. Then, I asked her with a serious tone, "What did the doctor say?"


    Selena shrugged and shook her head, "The result isn''t out yet. Oh, by the way, I saw your dad at the hospital."


    "Huh? What''s he doing there?" I muttered in confusion. Then, I took out my phone and said, "Robin, can you find out my dad''s location?"


    "Robin?"X2. Both of the two girls were confused when I spoke to my smartphone. Selena''s lip curled and she asked teasingly, "Did you hit your head in the game? Are you finally going crazy�C"


    Robin''s reply interrupted her, "Sure Boss."


    Taylor''s eyes momentarily shed with a dangerous glint before it vanished. She smiled and asked, "Who''s she?"


    "Robin? She''s my child," I replied.


    "HUUUUUHHHH" They both eximed in bewilderment, their suspicious eyes locked on me. Ignoring their reactions, I suggested, "Let''s take a seat first. We can talk about itter."


    We settled around a circr table draped with a white sheet in the hotel''s restaurant. As we waited for the rest of the team to gather, I opened myptop. Taylor leaned forward, perplexed, and questioned, "You''re editing the MV now?!"


    Kyle, the goth tight end, overheard Taylor and approached our table. Tyler and his girlfriend followed suit. Turning to Taylor, I confirmed, "Yeah, it won''t take too long. Wait. Here theye. I''ve been meaning to do this for a while."


    As Tyler''s Latina girlfriend arrived, I introduced them quickly, saying, "Selena, meet Selena. The others already know each other."


    Both Latina girls rolled their eyes at my attempt at humor before turning to each other. "Hi, Gomez," the short Selena said.


    "I know. I watched the wizard''s show. Diaz," The captain''s girlfriend replied with a warm smile on her face. The actress/singer/still a shortie Selena felt a bit relieved inwardly as Diaz treated her like a normal person.


    "Wait. Diaz. Do you happen to have a rtive named Rosa Diaz, who works as a detective in New York?" I asked, intrigued as I studied her face, noting a resemnce.


    Taken aback, she responded, "I''m not sure. Maybe. I''ll ask around."


    Taylor hugged my arm and perched her cheek on my shoulder. With a smushed face, she tried to persuade me, "Maybe you should let other people edit the mv."


    "Like I said, it won''t take too long. Robin, pull up today''s recording."


    "Okay Boss." Robin said. The popup bar in my window was opened automatically, gaining the interest of everyone present.


    Taylor raised an eyebrow and said, "She''s here too?"


    My eyes lit up in excitement of presenting my brainchild to the world, "Yeah. She''s�C"


    "Can she not be here?" Taylor interrupted before I could say anything. "Robin. Introduce yourself." I said with a tired voice as I looked away from Taylor.


    "Hello. My name is ROBIN. It stands for Reliable, Obviously Badass Intelligent Network. I am an artificial intelligence."


    "What?" Taylor was in disbelief. "An AI? As if! This isn''t a superhero movie." She chortled.


    Kyle and Tyler both turned towards me, "Wait. An artificial intelligence...like Jarvis?" Kyle asked with a shaky voice filled with excitement. Tyler stood up and looked seriously at my face as he asked, "Ed. Are you, IRON MAN!?"


    I scowled and said, "No." Then, I thought about it and said, "Well..."


    Selena and Selena couldn''t understand the boy''s excitement. Taylor still thought that I was pretending.


    Robin then notified, "The video has been arranged by matching the sound frequency and initial cement."


    "Alright, y it." I ordered. The first draft for the music video was yed, and Taylor was stunned. She kept muttering, "No. It''s not real."


    Selena and Selena watched the mv, and they said, "It''scking."


    Kyle and Tyler also nodded in agreement with the girls. I turned towards them and said, "It''s not finished. Robin, insert footage 23 and remove 21. At the beginning of the video, put video 77 and the title."


    In Video 77, the frame captured a full shot of Taylor and me, locked in an intense gaze, as if time had stood still while the other students continued to pass by. Taylor stood on the left side, tightly embracing a stack of books, her big sses entuating her features.


    Her curly blonde hair cascaded around her, adding a touch of whimsy. While her appearance may be considered dull, there was an undeniable cuteness that emanated from her.


    On the right side, I stood as a handsome counterpart, donning a simple shirt and jeans, emanating a more striking and attractive presence.


    As the camera panned upward, the title "You Belong With Me" appeared on the screen, disyed in a whimsical font reminiscent of a fairy tale. Following that, the director''s name, "Directed by Edward Newgate," and the storyline credit, "Storyline by Taylor S.," were prominently showcased.


    "Animate the title font."


    "Change the contrast in this video."


    "A mistake on video 32, the sound synchronization is out of mark."


    While I was working, the others there looked at me in awe. After I showed them the finished product, an intense debate urred between the boys and the girls.


    "The stolen nces in the cafeteria are essential! The cheerleader is ignoring the hero, but when he is talking with the heroine, they have a great conversation. The hero''s doubts add depth to the bigger picture and align with the intended message of the music video!" argued one of the boys.


    "It''s not! It''s better not topare the two too much. Even if the cheerleader is a puta. We can include the scenes without showing the part where they were looking at each other. That''ll seem like it''s in bad taste." Diaz cursed.


    And the guy who''s insisting on inserting the romantic scene, that was surprisingly Kyle, the goth boy with a piercing on his lip. Tyler lost interest in the ''girly'' video fairly quickly�C Or at least that was what he was showing. He would, however, secretly listen to them at least once a day until the New Year.


    I elbowed Taylor and said, "She called you a puta for being yourself."


    Taylor scoffed and defended, "I''m not like that!" Selena rolled her eyes, but kept her mouth shut.


    "I''ll just cut the scene all together." I muttered after chuckling. Both Diaz and Kyle turned towards me, mmed the table, and shouted menacingly, "NO!"


    "Jeez, who''s the director now?" I muttered sarcastically. Both Taylor and Selena seemed embarrassed by the tension and decided to calm down. "We need a tiebreaker. Where''s Jacob?" Kyle inquired.


    Diaz, clearly irritated, retorted, "You only want him because he''ll just support your opinion! We need another girl!"


    I answered slightly, "Jacob''s at the dentist, putting dental crown on his tooth. He''lle by a bitte."


    As the duo kept arguing and even ignoring my answer, Tyler spoke up. "Or both of them. Let''s have one boy and one girl," Tyler suggested. Diaz and Kyle were initially taken aback by the idea, but then they nodded in agreement.


    While they searched for more allies, I managed to finish editing the entire music video. The process took less than 10 minutes, leaving the audience in disbelief. Selena looked puzzled and asked, "Hey, if editing a music video is so easy, why does it cost so much ?"


    I chuckled and replied, "Well, it''s not exactly affordable or easy for everyone else. Synchronizing the sound with the lip movements alone can take at least half a day. I can finish it earlier because, well, I''m just that awesome. That''s all."


    Taylor rolled her eyes and retorted, "But Robin did all the work. You didn''t even touch the keyboard."


    "Well, I created Robin, so in a way, I was the one doing all the work," I said with a yful grin.


    Robin chimed in, saying, "What Boss said is absolutely right."


    I couldn''t resist teasing Taylor and added, "See? Even Robin agrees with me."

 Chapter 199: Team Dinner.

    <h4>Chapter 199: Chapter 199: Team Dinner.</h4>


    [General POV]


    Edward went to the toilet after finishing the music video and sending it to MTV and hispany. The video would be broadcasted on TV and uploaded on Youtube and Entertain Videos at the same time.


    There were 2 hours left until the video release. and Entertain''s staff members were working overtime during the day to do somest minute marketing for the song release. However, instead of feeling sad that they had to work on a Saturday, most of the workers were excited for the new music video.


    "Ah, I can finally rx a bit." Edward muttered as he stood in front of the sink after getting out of the stall. As Edward washed his hands, suddenly his phone chimed in.


    "Mr Theodore is currently inside John Hopkins hospital." Robin finally gave Edward an update. The hospital''s system was backward and wasn''t connected to the inte, therefore Robin had a lot of work to do to settle Edward''s request.


    "He was undergoing a PET scan, therefore he couldn''t be contacted." Robin added.


    Edward froze for a bit after he heard the news. "What''s he''s there for?" He asked as he felt his stomach churning.


    "Medical examination for potential liver cancer." Robin replied. Her voice sounded like thunder inside of Edward''s mind.


    "And the result is?!" He asked anxiously.


    "Currently, all examinations showed negative cancer results. However, Mr Theodore still has to do a few examinations for his liver condition. Based on cross referencing the data with avable medical archives, Mr Theodore may have cirrhosis."


    Cirrhosis is a condition where the liver bes scarred and damaged over time, leading to impaired liver function. It can be caused by factors such as chronic alcohol abuse, viral hepatitis, or certain diseases, and may result in symptoms like fatigue, jaundice, and abdominal pain.


    Edward didn''t ask Robin for details, "Contact the doctor and let him run the Child-Pugh test or MELD ( Model for end-stage liver disease) test for my dad. Don''t waste any more time with the cancer test. What was he doing when it was already cleared?"


    Edward scoffed angrily, his disdain for the doctor evident. Internally, he used the doctor of attempting to inte medical costs and questioned theirpetency. Thus his demeanour shifted to one of sharpness and hostility, his voice devoid of any warmth or kindness.


    "Pretend to be the hospital director if you have to. Then update me about the result. This will be your first priority."


    Robin replied, "I understand."


    Edward then left the toilet. It was the first time that he didn''t say thanks to Robin after he asked her to do something. Fortunately, Robin didn''t have any feelings and wasn''t offended by it.


    "You have a message from Robert Downey Junior, would you like to read it?" Robin asked.


    "No. I don''t want to read any messages. Just leave it alone for now." Edward replied.


    In the set of Iron Man 2, Scarlett Johanson, who was acting as ck Widow, walked right to Tony who has blood marks on his face and asked, "Did you get it?"


    Tony touched the makeup on his face and said, "I will soon. I need that full game to watch tonight."


    John Favreau joined in and said, "Give me a copy too when you get it."


    RDJ scoffed and said, "Get it yourself."


    Scarlett was checking her phone and she said, "Hey. Edward''s team is having dinner at (Bleep) hotel. That''s just 10 minutes away."


    RDJ''s eyes lit up and said, "Nice. We will finish here, and go bother him for a while�C Wait. How did you even know?" RDJ stopped walking and turned towards Scarlett.


    "? You didn''t follow him on Insta?" Scarlett asked, confused. "It was in his story."


    "Oh. That must be it. I didn''t open my page yet today. But you. You''re on that thing 24/7. Are you sure you''re not addicted?" RDJ teased.


    "I might be." Scarlett replied casually while scrolling on her phone without even looking up to meet his eyes.


    "..." RDJ was speechless as he sighed.


    Back at the hotel, the dinner party started as soon as Jacob arrived from the dentist. Everyone cheered at his entrance, and as he shed his now perfect teeth to the room.


    Edward smiled as he talked to the members of his team and joked around as he walked all over the hall.


    Jacob, who was devouring extrarge ribs, looked at Edward with suspicion. He whispered to Elsa who was beside him, "Don''t you think Edward looks weird? Like, he''s smiling, but not really smiling."


    Elsa was in disbelief and she turned to Jacob with anger, "Sure. You can figure out when he''s upset, but not me."


    Jacob was bbergasted, "What? NO! All I mean is�C"


    "I know what you mean." Elsa pouted as she crossed her arms together. "Maybe he''s pouting because the others didn''te. But we can''t really me them. If they join in the dinner party, then they''ll just feel awkward."


    Jacob nodded in agreement, but he still felt that there was something more going on with Edward''s demeanor.


    Tyrone, who was drinking sparkling cider inside a tall wine ss, asked Edward who was standing near him, "Hey Ed. What song did you sing during the match? The swinging like Ali one."


    "Oh. That." Edward replied with a trace of confusion in his tone. "How did it go again?"


    "Umm...I don''t know. You tell me." Tyrone said.


    "Hahaha. Good one." Edward said before he left the table there and went to another one.


    "???" Tyrone was confused. "What just happened?" He asked his friend. The fat linebacker beside him shrugged and shook his head as he was confused too.


    Jacob was still watching Edward with some concern as Edward moved towards another table. There, he met with a substitute and a cheerleader girl who came as his date.


    The substitute, a bitnky and wearing sses, didn''t possess striking good looks, but he wasn''t unattractive either. However, in stark contrast, his date was a stunning blonde girl with straight hair cascading down her shoulders.


    She wore a provocatively low-cut top that entuated her figure, and a bracelet adorned her left arm. Her attire exudes luxury,plemented by immacte makeup. As she nced at her date, her gaze was cold, as if she believed she was doing him a favor merely by apanying him.


    "Jimbo, how are you doing today? How''s your leg?" Edward asked the substitute with a genuine smile. In the previous match, Jimbo had suffered a rough tackle and had to be taken off the field after ying for less than 20 seconds.


    Jimbo''s face lit up with a wide grin, and he replied, "I''m doing alright. Funny story, while I was getting my leg treated, Katheryn here..."


    Interrupting Jimbo, Katheryn, the stunning blonde cheerleader, pushed him yfully to stand in front of Edward while extending her hand for a handshake. "Hi! I''m Katheryn," she introduced herself with enthusiasm. "I''m your BIGGEST fan!"


    Edward nced at her outstretched hand, his eyes narrowing for a moment, but he quicklyposed himself, maintaining a smile as he shook her hand.


    Edward teased sarcastically, "Nice date you got there, Jim." Jim blushed, but Katheryn interjected decisively, "No, I''m... well, I''m his date, but only as a favor. We''re not together."


    Jim was bbergasted, his jaw dropping. "What? You said if I bring you here, you''d go out with me."


    "Shut up," Katheryn derisively retorted to Jim. Then, she turned towards Edward, smoothing her hair and blushing. "We''re definitely not together."


    Edward maintained a smile on his face and responded, "Oh, if you''re not together, then you can kindly excuse yourself. This event is only for people who are rted to the team yers only."


    Katherynughed instead and lightly touched Edward''s bicep. "Haha, you''re so funny. Wow, this is really hard. You must work out a lot."


    Jacob put down his ribs and observed, "Uh-oh, I recognize that look. That''s Edward''s ''5-seconds-from-blowing-up'' look. Last time I saw it, he pped someone until they fell to their knees."


    Elsa pushed Jacob''s arm urgently, "Go GO GO!"


    "I''m going I''m going!" Jacob rushed towards Edward immediately to pull him away from the girl who couldn''t take a hint. Jimbo already realized that Katheryn was using him to get close to Edward, however he felt a little d inside when he saw that Edward was treating that girl like shit.


    Jacob finally came over to pull Edward away while Elsa dragged Katheryn out of the hall before she was escorted away by security.


    Tyler suddenly stood on a chair and clinked his champagne ss with a spoon, managing to sneak the alcohol inside his jacket. He only shared it with the people at his table, mainly Edward, Taylor, Selena, and his girlfriend.


    "It''s time to y some games," Tyler announced.


    "BOOO!!" Everyone jeered at him simultaneously.


    "SHUT UP! I''M THE CAPTAIN!" Tyler exploded, causingughter among his team members.


    "Bunch of animals," Tyler scoffed, regaining the group''s attention. "Games are good to-- Wait, let me check." He pulled out his phone. "I remember I screenshot that thing. Ha! ''Most Embarrassing Moments.'' Who''s up for a round?"


    "Ummm..." Tyrone raised his hand. Tyler pointed at him, giving way for him to speak. Tyrone nodded and put his hand back down, "Do we really have to?"


    "Team building games is necessary for enhancing rtionships and bonds with each other." Tyler said as he read from his phone, "At least that''s what the website said. Edward, you want to take the lead on this one?"


    "I thought you''re the captain?" Edward teased while crossing his arms. Then, he said apologetically, "Sorry. Right now. I just want to eat and rest. I''m already tired from the game."


    "Yeah Just let us recharge!" Tyrone yelled.


    "Spare us from your dumb games!" Another yer yelled.


    Jacob smiled weakly and said, "Ohe on guys, it could be great."


    "Yeah. Listen to Jacob." Tyler said aggrieved while pointing into Jacob''s direction. However, people had no intention of doing the games.


    Edward chuckled and then he slowly went back to his seat. Because of everyone''s objection, Tyler was pouting and yed with his food in a bad mood.


    "Hey, you were gone for a while," Taylor said, her voice filled with curiosity. She leaned forward, her hand resting on the table as shezily propped up her head.


    Taylor''s posture exuded a sense of rxation as she leaned in, her elbow supporting the weight of her head. Her fingers lightly grazed her cheek, her eyes fixed on the person she was addressing. The casual gesture added a touch of nonchnce to her demeanor, as if she were engrossed in the conversation andpletely at ease in the moment.


    Edward showed a strained smile, attempting to downy his difort. "I''m just walking around," he replied, trying to brush off any concerns.


    "Oh," Taylor responded, her tone tinged with a hint of disinterest. The atmosphere grew awkward, and the air turned silent. Unbeknownst to Edward, Taylor was preupied with the looming conversation about her behavior of moving near his house. Her heart raced, and her palms grew nervous as the weight of the pending discussion weighed on her mind.


    Meanwhile, Edward''s focus was entirely consumed by the news he had received about his father''s health issues. The talk that Taylor had been anxious about waspletely overshadowed by this new concern.


    Breaking the ufortable silence, Selena interjected with genuine concern, "Are you okay, Edward? Do you feel tired? Should we head back now?"


    Edward, still lost in his thoughts, nodded absentmindedly. "Maybe. My arms are hurting," he replied, absentmindedly massaging his arms.


    Selena exchanged a concerned nce with Taylor, recognizing that something was amiss. Sensing the need for a shift in attention, Selena gently suggested, "Why don''t we take a break and find a quiet ce to sit? We can book a hotel room."


    It was convenient as they were inside a hotel right now. Tyler heard the conversation, snickered about the girl''s invitation, but he didn''t crack a joke about it. He stood up on his chair, earning him boos again from the people who didn''t want him to hold a team building game.


    "Shut up! It''s not about that," Tyler eximed, silencing the room. "I''m here on behalf of Ed. He has to go now. Unlike us, he was working like a madman from yesterday and didn''t have any rest until now. But he kept staying here for us, so I��Tyler Banks��is currently issuing a formal order as the captain of the team."


    Tyler turned to Edward and said, "Go home and get some rest."


    Tyrone, rising from his seat, added a yful tease, "Finally, a reasonable order from the captain. You should listen to him. Who knows when he will finally do something good next?"


    Edward, surprised at first, chuckled and replied, "Yeah, it might be his only good call. We should honor it."


    "SHUT UP YOU BASTARDS! LISTEN TO THE CAPTAIN!" Tyler shouted in anger.


    The entire team burst intoughter, finding amusement in Tyler''s outburst. After the lighthearted moment, Edward left the hotel banquet hall apanied by Taylor and Selena and they went straight back home.


    While on the road, Selena, who was sitting in the rumble seat or rear seat, checked her phone and tried to initiate a conversation. "Ed, your shirtless video where you got poured with jug water now has more than 1 million likes," she said, sharing the surprising news.


    A loyal and fanatical fan managed to capture a moment from Edward''s team''s short celebration after the match ended and posted it on social media.


    In the video, Edward''s sweaty, muscr six-pack body was prominently disyed, causing a stir among many girls who couldn''t help but feel restless. The impact of the video lingered beyond that night, affecting the sleep of countless girls who found themselves thinking about it for many nights thereafter.


    Taylor chuckled at the revtion and asked out of curiosity, "How many views did it get?"


    "10 million views," Selena replied, shaking her head. "Seems like a lot of people are interested in that kind of thing. Perverts."


    Edward couldn''t help but chuckle at the attention the video garnered and yfully asked, "Did you like the video?"


    Selena''s expression turned slightly flustered as she was caught off guard by the question. Slowly moving her finger on the screen, she replied unconvincingly, "No, I didn''t."


    Taylor, picking up on Selena''s hesitant response, teased, "I can see your finger moving. You took back the like, didn''t you!"


    Blushing, Selena denied it, "No, I didn''t!" She tried to maintain herposure, but her blush gave away her true actions. However, her blush made Taylor feel a bit rmed and possessive.


    She hugged Edward''s arm while he was driving and asked, "Well, if it was me, I will make sure to like it, and absolutely tell others that I love it."


    Selena rolled her eyes back and retorted, "Yeah, cause you''re a pervert."


    Taylor snorted, taken aback by Selena''s remark, and quickly fired back, "Really? Then tell me, who was the one who ate her cereal topless this morning? Me or you?"


    Edward chuckled for a bit, but he couldn''t really join in the bickering. They arrived home in just 15 minutes, and then when Edward walked Taylor to her door, she asked, "Do you...want toe in?"


    "It was the first time I''ve seen you get nervous. Unfortunately, I have to say no for today. I''m really tired right now."


    Taylor felt a bit relieved and said, "Oh, okay. Goodnight."


    "Goodnight," Edward replied while waving his hand.


    They refrained from sharing a kiss, mindful of being in a public space and the possibility of someone lurking in the bushes, waiting to capture the scene. Taylor stood by the door, her gaze fixed on Edward''s retreating figure, her heart palpitating with the hope of experiencing a movie-like moment.


    In her mind, she imagined Edward turning towards her, his eyes filled with longing and affection, just like in the romantic scenes she had seen on the big screen. She pictured a tender exchange, a stolen nce that would cement their connection and leave her breathless.


    However, as reality yed out, Taylor''s hopes were dashed. Edward walked straight back into his house without even once turning to look at her. The absence of that longing gaze or a stolen nce left her feeling disappointed and a bit disheartened.


    With a mix of emotions, Taylor closed the door behind her, her mind filled with a whirlwind of longing and confusion. It was a reminder that real life often falls short of the romanticized scenes depicted in movies, and that she needed to manage her expectations ordingly.


    Selena was walking by at this moment and chuckled as she saw Taylor''s disappointed look, "He didn''t look back did he?"


    Taylor shot Selena a re, her disappointment was momentarily shelved, "Shut up. Don''t make me get to the fact that you went topless in front of Ed."


    "I SPILLED SOME MILK! It wasn''t on purpose!" Selena defended herself grievously, her voice filled with mock despair.


    Edward took a deep breath in front of the door, gathering hisposure before entering the house. As he stepped inside, he found his father, Ted, and Frankie sitting on the living room sofa.


    Deciding to y it cool, Edward pretended he was unaware of what had transpired and greeted them casually, saying, "Hi. Enjoy your date?"


    Ted, still wearing a fatigued smile on his face, replied, "Yeah, it went better than expected."


    Edward continued his act, feigning curiosity, "Really? Where did you guys go? Maybe I can go there if I have a girlfriend."


    Ted was caught off guard by Edward''s question. Frankie, quick on her feet, jumped in to help, saying, "Oh, we just went to... the amusement park, right, Ted?"


    Ted, feeling the pressure, stammered nervously, "Uh, yeah. Yeah, right. We went there."


    Edward smiled, seemingly satisfied with their response, and Ted felt a wave of relief wash over him. However, Edward''s next sentence sent a shock through Ted''s system, shattering his relief. "Really? I didn''t know that the renowned John Hopkins hospital had an amusement park inside," he said, his smile turned cold.


    Ted''s face turned pale as the realization of his failed attempt to deceive his son sank in. The room fell silent, the tension palpable as Ted tried toe up with a response, his mind racing to find an exnation for his earlier statement.


    Frankie stammered nervously, "Yo- You know?"


    Edward''s hurt tone cut through the air as he replied, "Yeah, I know everything. Even the 20% rot on your liver. I''m disappointed in you both. I thought that you guys could trust me. But I thought wrong."


    Ted''s eyes shook, and he let out a sigh. "I should''ve told you, but I was afraid," he admitted, his voice filled with remorse.


    Edward''s eyes softened, understanding Ted''s fear, but the difort he felt couldn''t be easily dismissed.


    The living room fell into an ufortable silence, heavy with unspoken emotions. Then, Edward broke the silence, shifting the topic. "The new music video is up now. I''m going to bed. You should go send Frankie home."


    Ted nodded, acknowledging Edward''s request. "Yeah, I should."


    Frankie, feeling bewildered and frustrated, couldn''t remain silent. "That''s it? Ted, tell him about how anxious you feel when you have that cancer scare! You guys can''t brush this off so easily!"


    Edward, feeling overwhelmed and tired, turned a deaf ear to Frankie''s plea. "I''m too tired right now. Maybe in the future," he said, trying to dismiss the conversation.


    Frankie''s frustration grew, and she replied sarcastically, "And then never get back to that! I know you, Ed. You won''t even go near a difficult conversation."


    Edward attempted to protest, but Frankie interrupted, her tone filled with determination. "That''s it. I''m telling your therapist about this, and in the next session, it will be a group session with the two of you. TOMORROW."


    Edward''s objections were met with a sarcastic response from Frankie, "Hey! I''m too tired to listen to your objections right now. Maybe in the future."


    (I nned this chap to especially make you guys feel ufortable. It''s kinda heavy don''t you think? And the unresolved issues left a bitter taste in your mouth. Kinda hard to imagine that this was the norm in real life. Most difficult conversations are usually left unresolved, especially between family members.)

 Chapter 200 - 200(Woo-Hoo!) : Lazy Sunday.

    <h4>Chapter 200: Chapter 200(Woo-Hoo!) : Lazy Sunday.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    I woke up around 3 am after going straight to sleep when I got homest night. At first, I tried to fall asleep naturally, but I was tortured with some thoughts therefore I activated my [Rest] skill to help me.


    When I was going downstairs to get a ss of water, I bumped into my father in the kitchen doing the same thing. He raised his ss at me and said awkwardly, "Oh, you decided to share a ''drink'' with your dear old dad?"


    "That old part is true." I said seriously, making him baffled. "And since you can only drink water from now on to the end of your life, I guess ''sharing a drink'' here is urate in context."


    My dad let out a snort, a mixture of surprise and amusement evident on his face. I took a seat in front of him, holding my own cup of water. For a while, we sat in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Eventually, my dad broke the silence.


    "I didn''t mean to hide it from you," he said, his voice tinged with regret.


    Quickly interrupting him, I reassured him, "You don''t have to exin anything to me. I realized that I was just acting out earlier. Of course, you wouldn''t want to tell me. No one wants to burden their family with bad news, especially when it was unconfirmed."


    My dad''s face fell into disappointment as my words sank in. He reached his hand out to gently rub my hair and said, "Still, I''m sorry. And you should act out more. Don''t hold back your feelings. Don''t�C"


    "Be like you?" I finished his sentence, my voice soft but filled with a mix of understanding and sadness. "It''s toote now to change," I added as I sipped my drink.


    "I''m locking up your liquor cab, and will be giving the cheaper ones to the people we know."


    "What about the expensive ones?" he asked, confusion evident on his face, as he tried to ignore the bitter taste in his mouth.


    "That''s for me," I replied, a mischievous smile ying on my lips.


    "What?!" he eximed,pletely baffled by my response.


    "For after Ie of age, of course," I lied through my teeth, trying to maintain a serious expression. Despite the fib, my acting skills managed to trick my dad, at least for the moment.


    "Also, this whole thing got me thinking." I brought up a new topic. "What will I do when, and I''m not wishing for it to happen. When, you...you know, left the world, a.k.a worm food, a.k.a went missing and not found, before I became an adult."


    "That''s a heavy topic to talk about." My dad joked to lighten the mood. "What do you have in mind?"


    "I was thinking..." I hesitated for a bit, but realized that I had to go through with this, "About emancipation."


    The color drained from my dad''s face, leaving it pale and stricken. Despite his visible shock, he nodded, trying to pretend he was okay. His voice trembled as he spoke, the cracks revealing his vulnerability. "So, you don''t want me as a dad?"


    I rolled my eyes at him and stressed out, "AFTER. Not before. Just hire a trusted attorney to take care of it if it ever happens. Or else, I will be in a lot of trouble."


    "Oh. Like...Batman?" My dad guessed.


    "Exactly. Alfred takes care of Bruce''s assets, preventing anyone from stealing them. I don''t exactly need an Alfred, but in this scenario, since I am rted to Batman, having a butler doesn''t sound so bad," I said with an intrigued glint in my eyes, ying along with the reference.


    My dad shuddered for a moment, then let out augh. With a mock-serious tone, he replied, "You''re not going to hire someone to shoot me behind a bowling alley just so you can be Batman, right?"


    "Bowling? Shouldn''t it be a theater? But... if that is what it takes to bring the world the caped crusader, then rest assured, your heroic act won''t ever be forgotten by the citizens of Los Angeles."


    My dad stood up as he went to wash his empty ss, yfully smacked the back of my head, a mischievous grin on his face. He scoffed and jokingly remarked, "If there''s anyic book character you''ll be, it''s the Joker."


    Rubbing the spot where he had smacked me, I pretended to be offended. "Hey now, I think I can be a hero too, not just a viin," I protested, trying to maintain a straight face.


    My dad, taking on the role of a wise mentor, continued with a yful tone. "Before you be a viin, I guess I should be the guiding character to help you stay on the right path. Well, Young Padawan, just remember, ''With great powers...''" He paused, expecting me toplete the quote.


    However, I decided to surprise him with a twist. "Comes great responsibility. With that,es even greater sacrifice," I finished the sentence, deviating from his expectations.


    My dad''s eyes widened in astonishment as he processed my response. "Is that what the full quote is?"


    I nodded as confirmation. He then said, "Then, forget about that. You have already sacrificed enough when you''re younger. Just be selfish. Be a viin if you want. I won''t even care. I will support you no matter what... Darth Prankious."


    The warm feeling inside me disappeared when I heard the nickname. "Did Alex tell you about that?" I asked with dissatisfaction.


    "Tell me what?" My dad acted dumb.


    "Alright, I''m going to sleep." I stood up in irritation before I walked to my room. "Good night."


    "Wait. Ed." My dad stopped me. "Even though I couldn''t be there, I watched your game the moment I got back from the hospital. You yed really really well. I''m proud of you. I never knew that you had it in you. When you''re younger, you usually get scared when the ball is flying at you, but I guess you''d outgrown that."


    My face blushed a bit and I emphasized, "Yeah. I was 4 years old back then. Of course I''m going to be scared."


    Heughed and said, "I promise that I won''t miss your next game."


    I shrugged, trying to maintain my fa?ade of indifference. "I don''t care," I replied, attempting to brush off hisment. Unbeknownst to me, however, a small smile tugged at the corners of my lips, betraying my true feelings.


    ...


    After getting in my room, I couldn''t fall asleep anymore so I decided to y some games. I put on my headphones and yed DOTA. Not surprisingly, Abraham was up all night from ying the game, so we yed together.


    "I need DOTA 2." I sighed after winning the match easily. "Robin, how''s the progress for the Unreal Engine 4 going?" I asked my AI as I waited for my next match.


    "I had studied the entire program, and the progress of advancement is stuck at 44% as I have insufficient data about lighting and material reflection."


    I instructed Robin, "Send an email to the Game Division manager with the parameters you need. Oh, but wait until after the weekend. We shouldn''t bother him outside of working hours."


    Robin informed me, "He''s still at the workce, trying to finish up the Angry Birds games."


    Surprised by this dedication, I found myself distracted as a Nerubian Assassin attempted to sneak up on my Skeleton Mage character. However, relying on my parallel thinking, I quickly foiled the sneak attack.


    Refocusing on the conversation, I instructed Robin, "Tell him to stop and go home. He has a daughter and a beautiful wife. You can handle finishing up the game, right?"


    Robin reassured me, "Since the game is nearlyplete, it won''t strain my processing capabilities. However, for futuremands, I''ll need an overall hardware upgrade to meet the demands."


    I responded with a smile, "Don''t worry, Robin. When my order arrives, I''ll spend some time building interesting tech for you. Believe it or not, I got it from the future where humans have already achieved interster travel."


    Robin replied innocently, "I''ll always believe in you Sir."


    As I chuckled at Robin''s response, I decided to wrap up my Dota session. It was already approaching 5 am, and I nned to get some rest before starting my busy Sunday.


    Before calling it a night, I took a moment to check on a newly released music video that I had been involved in.


    To my delight, I discovered that the music video was already garnering significant attention. It had reached an impressive milestone of 20 million views within just one day. I couldn''t help but attribute a portion of its sess to my skills in media maniption, which had helped generate buzz and drive engagement.


    Furthermore, as I perused thements section, I was pleased to find that the overall response was overwhelmingly positive and supportive. It was rewarding to see that the hard work and efforts put into the project had resonated well with the audience.


    Some of the youtubements made me chuckle and I was grateful for the support.


    LilyFanClubLeader: I just realized Ed dumped Taylor for Taylor. (Laughing emoji)


    DaddyTucker: The introduction made me feel like I was watching a drama�C but better!


    Replying to DaddyTucker: Yeah, especially the part where they were looking at each other. It attracted me immediately.


    TexasGirl: Taylor! Come to Texas!


    JaneRhonda: Taylor definitely read a lot of fanfiction.


    JamesKurtis: It''s amazing! Especially when you consider the fact that they made the music video themselves. Both of them are amazing artists!


    As I continued reading through the overwhelmingly positivements on the music video, a sense of skepticism began to creep in. It seemed unusual that there wasn''t a single negativement among the hundreds ofments I had read so far. Even in my previous music video, "Grenades," there had been a couple of negativements amidst the positive ones.


    Curiosity piqued, I turned to Robin, seeking an exnation for this anomaly. "Robin, did I ask you to do something regarding thements on the video?" I asked, my confusion evident in my voice.


    Robin responded, shedding light on the situation, "No, you didn''t specifically ask me to do anything. However, devoted fan club members and Miss Taylor''s fan club members have coborated to moderate thements section. They have been actively working together to remove excessively negativements from the video."


    It was heartening to know that my fans and Taylor''s fans had taken it upon themselves to create a positive and supportive environment in thements section. Their joint effort to remove excessive negativity showcased the strength and unity within our fanmunities. Or, was this the part where future historians would refer to when our cult grew too big? I don''t know, and I don''t want to worry about it.


    The sun had alreadye out. I went for a jog and did a morning workout before showering and getting ready for my radio interview today.


    "Robin, search the RIOT games database and find out if they have any records on League of Legends? I swear they are going to release it soon, but there''s no news about it." I asked as I was buttoning my shirt.


    Some bandages could be seen underneath my shirt as I had put some ointment on the bruises I received from the football match yesterday.


    As I prepared for the day, I carefully selected my outfit. I opted for a loose beige shirt, appreciating its casual yet stylish appeal. I tucked the front of the shirt into my ck pleated trousers. Thebination of beige and ck created a sleek contrast that exuded a sense of sophistication.


    Robin replied as I was getting ready, "RIOT games is currently having some financial difficulties. They are optimistic about the game, but it would be hard for them to finalize it."


    "Are they searching for investors?" I asked.


    "Not yet. However, it was mentioned in thepany meeting." Robin replied.


    "Oh boy, privacy is just a thin piece of paper for me to pierce isn''t it?" I joked to myself. "Let Harvey contact Marc to set up a meeting. I am prepared to let loose some money to buy thepany if they want to sell it. Of course, using Musk''s method to buy Twitter."


    By staking out his shares in Te, Musk would be able to secure the necessary funds to acquire Twitter.


    This approach allows him to participate in a potential acquisition without requiring a direct cash ouy from his own pocket. That would save me a lot of tax money if I decided to buy apany. The method was highly praised by Harvey after I told about it.


    However, my current reputation andpany value was growing. Instagram was valued at 400 million dors recently, and my gaming industry where I had released ppy Bird, Kwazy Kupcakes�C which was a Candy Crush parallel world counterpart, and a few mini games was valued barely at 100 million dors. Until the era of 4Gmunicationes, and the smart phone uses be widespread, it''ll stay that way for a while.


    If I added Entertain and my dad''s current tourismpany into the fray�C Apany that is currently venturing into high end Airbnb ventures and food services, I am a man worth more than a billion dors.


    "Too bad that''s only the ''worth''. My finances are almost in the red right now." I chuckled to myself as I knew I was joking while posing in front of the full body mirror.


    With Robin, I could steal 1 dor from every bank ount on the, or empty out some CEO tax evaders hidden stash without them even knowing it. I just didn''t do it because I still have morale.


    Legally, with my acquisition of Netflix and re-contracting some show''s license for me to broadcast it longer, and making it almost impossible for thepany who owns the show to pull it out of the tform without forking out a huge penalty and a long trial process. This way, I won''t lose some of the good shows during the ''golden age'' of streaming.


    So, I had little cash flow to venture into a new business opportunity right now. "But, I have my grandma. I''m sure she''ll be d if I stake mypany''s shares for her in exchange for some cash flow." I told Robin.


    "Your grandmother in Wisconsin Sir?" Robin asked. "She barely has 10 thousand in her bank ount."


    "Well her assets are mostly innd and gold. No. My other grandma. Eve Saltzman. She is listed as Sugar Grandma in my contact list. That reminds me, she wants to meet me for dinner today. Get the details from her. Thank you Robin."


    Toplete my ensemble, I reached for my favorite orange tinted pair of sunsses. As I chose a Rolex watch, I walked towards the kitchen where I met my aunt there.


    "Hey." I greeted casually. Before I could say anything else, she grabbed me by the shoulder and asked anxiously, "Is your father dying?"


    "Yeah." I replied nonchntly. She didn''t realize my tone and was shaking. She mumbled, "I need to tell Miranda, and make here home�C"


    "What!? NO!" I interrupted her quickly. It was my turn to be anxious. I reassured her with a hurried tone, "My dad isn''t dying. But there''s a problem with his liver. He just needs to change his diet and he''ll be fine."


    After exining the situation to my aunt and taking the time to calm her down, I noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes as she uttered something unusual, "Thank god. I can''t afford to lose any more of my family members."


    "What was that?" I asked her with suspicion.


    "Nothing." She shook her head while denying she had said something. I made breakfast for her and my dad who was sleeping in as he slepttest night before walking towards the house next door.


    However, no one opened the door after I rang the doorbell and knocked on it for a while. I was confused therefore I called Taylor.


    "Oh yeah. I meant to call you. The radio interview was an hour ago." Taylor said with a chuckle. "I remembered you''re too tired and bruised up, so I talked to the host about it and went alone."


    "You''re the one who talked to him?" I asked as I called her out. Knowing her, there''s no way she could pull this out by herself despite feeling a bit warm inside.


    "Well I asked Harvey, and my new assistant did it." Taylor replied hesistantly.


    "Oh, Rachel Mcadd- Becky. She''s finally your assistant huh?" I said with aforting tone. Then, I changed to my dejected tone, "If you wanted me to rest, you should''ve just told me. I''ve been up since 4 am."


    "WHAT?! NO! I''m SORRY!" Taylor apologized quickly. Iughed at her reaction and then I suddenly heard some noiseing from the inside of her house.


    "Is there someone inside your house?" I asked.


    "Well Selena is there. But I don''t think she has woken up yet. Why don''t you use your spare key to get inside? She has to be at the film set this afternoon, so wake her up." Taylor said. "Oh, and don''t let her mother pick her up. They are in a fight, that''s why she''s staying with me."


    I was confused, "I don''t have a spare key?"


    "Ah. I left it at your home. It''s a pink key." Taylor replied.


    I walked back to my house while still on the phone with Taylor. I asked her about how the interview went, and she said that it went pretty well. The fans were calling all morning to talk to her about the new song, and most questions were basically about the two of us.


    After I returned back to her house, she had to cut the call because she was having another interview with another radio show host. Thankfully, all of it was in the same building. When finished with the radio interviews, she would be entering talk shows to promote her new song. She would only be back homete at night.


    "You just need to rest today. Leave it all to me." She said confidently. I chuckled and said, "Of course. I''ll leave it all to you, and will make sure to record the talk shows to watch togetherter."


    Taylor turned shy and she said, "Wait. No! Watch it first! I don''t want to see it!"


    Her reaction made me wonder what she had actually talked about in the show. But, I just shrugged the thought and decided to listen to her interviews at lunch. If I was bored, then I could just ask Robin to type out the transcript and read it quickly instead of watching it.


    When I entered the house, I shouted, "Selena. Make sure you''re decent. I''m inside the house. Or you can still go topless. Your choice."


    Somebody threw a plush pillow at my face from the living room after I shouted that. I avoided it and chuckled before walking towards the girl lying down on the sofa.


    She has puffy eyes and tear marks on the side of her eye. I was concerned and I asked, "What''s wrong? You didn''t even get up to open the door when I knocked."


    She looked at me with aplicated expression and said, "It''s all your fault. My test results came back! I got lupus!"


    I was taken aback by the usation, and before I could react, Selena grabbed my shirt with a shaky hand and said, "I''m sorry. You were trying to help."


    She lowered her head before she started crying. I hugged her sideways tofort her and listened to her emotional outburst for a while.


    "Well, it has no cure...For now." I replied to her question while rubbing my hand on her shoulder. "But we don''t know what''s going to happen in the future."


    She hesitated to nod, and then she looked at me while I was stillforting her.


    "?" I looked at her face, and before I could say anything, Selena leaned in and kissed me on the lip.

 Chapter 201: Car-Nage-I-Val (1)

    <h4>Chapter 201: Chapter 201: Car-Nage-I-Val (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Selena''s eyes widened in realization of what had just happened, and she swiftly pulled her lips away from mine. Her eyes be dazed and her hands be mmy.


    Anxiousness flickered across her expression as she awaited my reaction, but to her surprise, I remained rtively unfazed, which left her feeling somewhat surreal.


    "Well, that was interesting," I muttered in a casual tone, attempting to ease the tension.


    Blushing, Selena anxiously interjected, "I-I- That kiss doesn''t mean anything. Y-You should leave. And seriously, it DOESN''T MEAN ANYTHING!"


    Shaking my head, I offered reassurance, "Don''t worry. I understand. I won''t bring it up. It seems like you were just feeling vulnerable at the moment." As her expression began to calm, I yfully added, "Besides, let''s be honest, it wasn''t exactly a great kiss. It was a bit salty and snotty."


    "WHAT!?" Selena eximed in disbelief, suddenly realizing that she had been crying. Embarrassment flushed across her face, and she rushed to the bathroom to check her appearance.


    I heard stifled screamsing from the direction after she left. I chuckled and then stood up from the sofa to check up on her.


    My thoughts about the kiss? Yeah, it was great. But I knew better than to bring it up or make something more out of it, given that I was currently in a ''situationship'' with her best friend, and the fact that she was just doing it to make herself feel better after getting pretty bad news.


    "Selena, you want me to call your ''manager'' for you?" I asked as I stood in front of the locked door. I heard the sound of water running, presumably from her washing her face at the sink. Selena''s manager is currently her mother and her step-father. Selena''s manager happened to be her mother and step-father, and while I didn''t know all the details of their rtionship, it seemed to be more professional than a typical mother-daughter dynamic.


    Selena hesitated for a few seconds before replying, "No. I''d already called her this morning."


    "Oh. Have you told her about your condition too?" I asked with some concern.


    Selena slowly opened the door, and her eyes became teary again. With a shaky voice, she said, "I did."


    "And, what did your mother say?"


    "She said that; it won''t be bad until far in the future, so I can go to work today." A mix of frustration and resignation flickered in Selena''s eyes as she replied.


    After a moment of silence, I maintained aposed expression despite feeling a surge of anger within me.


    Finally, I spoke up, my toneced with sarcasm, "Well, since you''re clearly having a rough day and can''t get out of bed, I suppose I can take it upon myself to contact the studio on your ''manager''s behalf. Then, let''s y hooky at the pier. There''s a festival there, so there''s a lot of stuff to do."


    Selena paused for a moment, her face turning slightly flushed as she stammered, "You''re taking me on a date?"


    I rolled my eyes in response and rified, "No, it''s not a date. Just because you kissed me doesn''t mean I want to go out with you."


    As Selena''s relief washed over her, a hint of regret flickered in her eyes. Taking note of her mixed emotions, I added,""I thought it would be a good distraction and stress relief for both of us. I''m nning to invite my friends too. By the way, I haven''t shared this with anyone yet, but my dad had a cancer scare yesterday and was diagnosed with cirrhosis. His liver isn''t functioning well."


    By revealing this personal information to Selena, I wanted to ensure that she understood my intentions were not rooted in pity or a desire to take advantage of her vulnerability.


    Selena widened her eyes in surprise and then said, "Oh, Ed, I''m so sorry."


    "It''s fine. It''s not my liver. And I will make sure he stays alive whether he wants it or not. Alright, we should forget about these depressing topics. So, what do you say? Should we go outside? Because unless you''re going to ''identally'' do hand stuff with me next, I think we should go to the pier."


    Selena''s face froze, "I-I...I''M NOT GOING TO DO HAND STUFF�C"


    "Oh, so straight to the bed? You''re kinda kinky." I said with a slimy look.


    "SHUT UP! GET OUT!" She chased me out of the house by pushing my back.


    Iughed and said, "I''ll bring the car upfront. Go and get dressed. And oh, wear arge sunhat. You need to lessen your time in the sun."


    "I WILL!" Selena shouted angrily, but in agreement to what I was saying. She mmed the door in front of me, and Iughed at her reaction. Then, I walked back to my house.


    I didn''t go to the Dunphys as I knew that Phil wanted to take his family out to the same festival. I called Alex first, as it was still early in the morning and I wasn''t sure if Haley was awake.


    The phone rang for a short while before Alex answered, "Hey. Good morning."


    "Morning. Has your family gone out yet?" I asked.


    "Yeah, we''re already on the road." Alex replied. I heard Haley''s voice from the other line saying to put the call on speaker. Then, I was greeted by a highly cheerful family. The greetings made me grimace a bit from their overenthusiastic energy, but also made me smile at the same time.


    "Why did you call?" Alex asked. Then Haley added poutingly, "AND WHY DIDN''T YOU CALL ME?!"


    Iughed a bit and said, "You''re usually thest one to wake up, so, you know..."


    Haley shouted in embarrassment, "No I didn''t! I woke up very early today!"


    ire snided, "Still thest one of us to wake up, so Ed''s not wrong."


    "MOM!" Haley protested, clearly offended. I could imagine her widening her eyes and stared at her mother in disbelief.


    Phil, unable to contain his excitement, interjected, "Ed, you shoulde with us! I heard that there are horses there."


    "Pony." ire corrected Phil.


    "Horses? What kind of festival is this?" I asked with disbelief.


    "Wait. Can you repeat that?" Alex caught something and her tone turned mischievous.


    "Hmm? What kind... of festival is this?" I repeated my sentence slowly with some confusion.


    "Yeah. You call it ''FESTIVAL''. It is a ''CARNIVAL''."


    I shuddered at Alex''s condescending tone, "WAIT- NO!"


    "TOO LATE! YOU MADE A MISTAKE!" Alex cackled like a madman before saying, "I''m so going to rub it in your face."


    I scoffed and replied, "What are you, the carnival police? Anyway, I managed to get a rare break, so Selena and I are ying hooky together. We''re heading to the carnival too.""


    ire joined in with some teasing, "ying hooky together, huh? Are you sure your ''girlfriend'' won''t get mad?"


    I smirked and responded, "Why don''t you ask them? They''re in your car right now." Myment made ire flustered, while Haley blushed and Alex grimaced, quickly rifying, "We''re not your girlfriends"


    Ignoring Alex''s protest, I continued, "Anyway, I''ll see you guys there."


    Luke chimed in at thest moment, "Edward, when we''re at the carnival, let''spete to see who can earn the most tickets. But I''ll start first since I''ll be there earlier."


    Provocatively, I replied, "Oh, you want topete with me? Sure, let''s do it. And let''s make it more interesting. The loser has to obey one order from the winner. How about that?"


    Alex interjected, shaking her head fearfully. "Don''t do it, Luke! You''ll never win!" She seemed to recall her own previous experience.


    "That reminds me, Alex," I added with a sweet yet threatening tone, "you still owe me one favor." Alex shuddered at the reminder, but Luke, unaware of her reaction, eagerly epted the challenge. "I''ll take that bet!"


    Phil, always the peacemaker, chimed in, "Alright, my two boys, having a healthypetition. But can another one of the ''boys'' join��"


    Before Phil could finish his sentence, Luke cut the call abruptly, leaving everyone in suspense. Then, I went back to my house, took out the Ford convertible and a ck baseball hat before picking up Selena.


    She was wearing a long ck skirt and a ruffled white off-shoulder blouse, paired with arge white hat to protect herself from the sun. Her minimal makeup was to emphasize that this ''wasn''t a date'', and she also made a poor choice of pairing her attire up with a white sneaker.


    As I looked at Selena, confusion and a smile yed across my face. "Either wear it with jeans, or pair the skirt with heels. Why are you creating an abomination?"


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Do you think that I kept my stuff here? I don''t have any."


    "Don''t have it, or it hasn''t been cleaned yet?" I asked with a teasing tone, "Cause I''ve seen the pile of dirtyundry in the house."


    "Oh, that? That''s Taylor''s mess, not mine. I''m innocent, I swear." She lied through her teeth while shing a mischievous smile. I shrugged and teased, "Eh. Not quite innocent."


    She froze for a bit and blood rushed to her cheeks. Before she could react, I smirked and said, "We''re going to shop first. But make it quick. I am currently in apetition with Luke."


    Still blushing, Selena tried to y it cool, "Make it quick? Have you ever gone out shopping with a woman before?"


    "Never have and never will." I joked. Selena rolled her eyes and entered the car. We stopped by to get a new pair of jeans before going to the Carnival. We got some weird looks from the shop staff, but no one there could actually recognize us.


    I had to pay for her jeans as she ''conveniently'' left her purse back at home. However I didn''t call her out on that since Selena''s mother could track her spending and knew that she didn''t go to work.


    When I called the Disney staff before, they didn''t actually mind that she didn''te today. In fact, they were joyful to get a break on a Sunday.


    And they were especially d to get in touch with me. So for Selena''s sake, I would be cameo-ing as a hot stud in the next episode of Wizards of Waverly ce. But she didn''t know that yet. It would be a surprise by then.


    ...


    [General POV]


    The clock turned back an hour before when Edward just finished the call with the Dunphys.


    "Luke! Why did you do that? You know he''s going to win!?" Alex scolded, having no trust in her brother.


    Philughed a bit and said, "How many will this make Luke?"


    "He won 7 times. I didn''t even win once." Luke replied. "But this time, I have a secret weapon that he didn''t have."


    "Oh, what''s that?" ire asked while narrowing her eyes in suspicion.


    "I have you guys." Luke replied with an innocent face.


    Disappointed, the girls in the family rolled their eyes at Luke while Phil automatically went into a sermon mode, "We''re not going to help you cheat Luke. You have to win your own match, fair and square. Like Ed did yesterday. Learn from him."


    [Luke''smentary]


    "Oh I learned a lot from watching the game yesterday."


    [Commentary paused]


    Alex added, "Yeah Luke. Ed always fight fair, even if something he''s being a smug son of a bi�C"


    "Alex. Careful with yournguage." ire interjected quickly.


    Haley chuckled innocently and said, "Don''t worry mom. Ed told us we can call him that."


    ire was speechless, and then realized that Edward was okay with it because that curse remarks attacked his mother more than him.


    Phil ignored the slight straying off topic and added to his sermon, "So Luke. We''re going to root for you, but we won''t help you."


    Luke acted unbothered and said, "Oh well. I guess I can''t win the prize after all."


    ire and Phil smiled as they thought that they were getting to Luke. ire asked, "Don''t give up yet. Thepetition still hasn''t started yet. Just think about the prizes. You can boss Edward around. What are you going to ask him to do Luke? Sit on a whoopee cushion? Teach you to attract birds to your hand?"


    "Oh. I just wanted to use my bet, to ask him to take care of himself. He''s been away a lottely, and I''m worried about him." Luke replied with an innocent facade while pretending he was being sad for Edward.


    [Luke''smentary continued]


    [Sometimes, you have to act to get what you want. When Ed wants to y the other team, he pretends he has the ball, even if he doesn''t."


    "So I need to pretend to want something, even if what I really want is something else, but make people think that the first thing that I want is important."


    (Can''t really make Luke use big words. He''s 10)


    [Commentary ends]


    The rest of the family in the car was baffled, and they felt a bit guilty about rejecting Luke''s request for help. Then, they finally arrived at the carnival. ire, Luke and Phil grouped together while Alex paired off with Haley and walked around together.


    [ire''smentary]


    "Well, it won''t be the worst thing in the world if Luke won." ire said.


    At the festival, ire separated from her family while making sure that they wouldn''t notice her and went to a Whac-A-Mole machine. She paid for a chance to y and went on to get a high score.


    Then, she slowly returned to her family and then said to Luke in private while handing him the ticket, "You dropped this. You need a way to hold your tickets better."


    And ire really thought of that, because she also needed a way to sneak more tickets to Luke without him noticing.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "It''ll be fun if Luke asks Edward to go to Trampoline world with us." Phil said.


    At the festival, Phil pretended to have a stomach ache and went to a keep your bnce game where he has to walk across a straight narrow beam 6 inches from the ground.


    He won 5 tickets for that and went back to his family. Then, he snuck the ticket into Luke''s ticket bag that ire bought while Phil was away.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "I don''t condone cheating behavior. But it''ll be fun to see Edward lose." She said, hiding her true intention.


    Alex participated in a quiz match at the carnival where shepeted against 3 Asians and won. Haley was walking with Alex, and the little sister gave Haley the tickets for safekeeping.


    [Haley''smentary]


    While holding Alex''s tickets, Haley smiled and said, "Oh, I''m not giving this to Luke. I will be holding it until the end of the match, and told Ed I got it to help him win if he was a few tickets short."


    Then, her smile disappeared and her expression turned a bit anxious, " I didn''t do this because I want''s Ed to lose! I want Luke to get his wish too. But I have a feeling that Luke is hiding something."


    [Luke''smentary]


    Luke smiled mischievously and said, "I''m going to make Edward bake 10 cakes for me. I miss eating them all alone and sleeping for the rest of the day."


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    When Edward finally arrived at the pier, he saw a huge banner at the front of the event. [LA Beverly Hills Ponies Festival]


    "Huh. So it is a Festival." Edward muttered to himself, however he was still confused. He walked side by side with Selena as they went to a stall nearby them. Edward needed to hit the stacked cans with a ball to win the tickets.


    In an instant, all three towers fall down, making the stall owner baffled.


    "Hey, you won this plush teddy bear along with the tickets as you managed to knock all the pins down." The stall owner said with a smile. Then, thetino man with a big belly widened his eyes as he saw the face underneath that baseball cap.


    Edward slowly ced his finger on his lip while smiling before taking the teddy bear from the stall owner''s hand. "Here." Edward gave it to Selena as they walked away from the stall.


    Selena was confused but Edward spoke first, "To hold. I''m not giving it to you."


    Selena nodded and said, "Good idea. I hate to see him getting cut into a million pieces when I get back."


    Edward chuckled a bit, and the duo bumped into Luke and his parents while walking. Edward showed his tickets confidently at Luke and said, "I just came by, and I already got the first price tickets. How many do you have now?"


    "Around...250." Luke said, shocking Edward. Even with the first price tickets, he only has 25 tickets right now.


    "How is it possible? It''s barely been an hour." Edward muttered in disbelief.


    Luke smiled mischievously and said smugly, "Just wait. I''m going to get to a thousand before noon. And I''m going to im the first price at the ticket booth!"


    Phil mumbled to himself with disbelief, "One thousand? How can we get that without him noticing we''re helping?"


    ire leaned in and whispered to Luke, "Well, the first price item is for 1500 tickets."


    "Oh. then, whatever closes to a thousand then." Luke corrected himself to Edward.


    Edward''s face was anxious for a second before he smiled and said, "Alright. Challenge epted. I''ll see your thousand tickets, and I will make sure that I will get 1500 tickets before noon"


    "That''s impossible Ed. Even if you hit all the stalls here." Phil said with worry.


    Edward grinned and said, "Don''t worry Phil. It won''t be fun if it''s not a challenge."


    [Phil''smentary]


    "What happened to a healthypetition between brothers? I am feeling so guilty right now."


    [ire''smentary]


    "I know that it''s impossible for Ed to win with me helping Luke, and he was an hourte to the fair. But, for some reason, I still couldn''t rx. Hmmm...Should I get Haley to walk with Ed? With girls around, he will surely slows down in getting the tickets...right? Or, will it make him morepetitive as he feels that he couldn''t lose his dignity in front of them?"

 Chapter 202: Car-Nage-I-Val (2)

    <h4>Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Car-Nage-I-Val (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "You won! Now get lost!" The stall owner said excitedly as he gave 100 tickets to me. I took advantage of the loophole in the rules and tried the shooting game multiple times and won his first prize, therefore he was irritated.


    I picked them up with a smile on my face, thanked the owner, and then walked to the stall next to it. The owner smirked at the next door boss as he expected him to go through the same misery as he did.


    These happened a few times as I made my way through the fair. At the same time, I couldn''t help but notice the wide-eyed gazes of a few young fans.


    Their faces lit up with excitement as they recognized me, and most of them yed along as I gestured to them to keep it a secret. It worked so far as those who recognized me were young children, certainly didn''t want to risk being recognized by any adults.


    "Maybe you can stop shouting every time you win one if you don''t want people to notice you." Selena said while rolling her eyes.


    I was in disguise, so it was hard for them to recognize me. It was my passionate game winning that blew my cover. After I separated from Luke, I had won over 500 more tickets in the basketball hoop game, duck shooting game, the hammer high score game, and many more.


    "Sel. You''re okay over there?" I asked teasingly to Selena who looked disgruntled as she walked beside me. She was dragging her feet as she walked, almost going the opposite way when we left the shooting stall.


    The initial joy of hugging a single teddy bear had waned as she found herself burdened by the towering mound of bears she had umted. The pile of soft toys obscured her face, and a look of slight resentment had reced her earlier excitement.


    She red at me and said, "I''m a walking teddy bear mountain! Do you think I''m fine?!"


    "Well, it''s not all teddies. There''s unicorns there too. And a Star Wars Luke Teddy Bear." I said as I casually threw another giant teddy at her. "You know what? You can keep one of them."


    Selena was in disbelief, and before she could say something, two young children walked towards us. One was a chubby Latino boy, while the other was a young Chinese girl with a mole on her left cheek and her hair neatly tied up in a ponytail.


    "Hey, I know you guys." I said as the two children stood in front of me. Manny Delgado was confused and eximed, "Huh?"


    "Nevermind. Manny, who''s your friend here?" I asked as I looked at the familiar asian girl standing next to Manny.


    A little irritated, Manny said, "She''s Caroline Markum." (canon girl)


    With a hint of teasing in my voice, I remarked, "Ah, your finalpetitor in the fencing game. So, she''s here for a rematch?"


    I had already guessed her identity earlier, but I never anticipated that she would end up spending time with Manny after thepetition.


    To my surprise, both of them looked at each other and agreed at the same time, "Yes."


    "..."


    Selena chuckled as she saw me speechless. I quickly collected myself and said, "What a coincidence. I''m currently in a match with Luke too."


    At this moment, I saw Gloria dragging Jay to where we were standing. It was obvious that Jay didn''t want to spend his Sunday morning at the fair, but had to because Gloria forced him to go.


    Caroline Markum widened her eyes and said, "Wait. You''re Edward Newgate!"


    Manny shushed her quickly, "Don''t shout his name! Do you want to get rush-mobbed?"


    Iughed at Manny''s overreaction and said to Caroline, "Yeah. That''s me."


    She smiled softly and said, "I''m a fan. Believer is my favorite song. I''m sorry I haven''t bought the album yet." However, there seemed to be a hidden sadness behind her smile, as if there was more to her reasons than what she initially shared.


    However, I could guess why. Being an orphan, fighting off an incurable disease, basically living inside the hospital, I guess it would be hard for her to request to buy that album.


    I patted her head and said, "It''s alright. I''m just d to have a cute fan. But I am curious about something, and I hope that you can exin it to me."


    That question was directed to both of the kids. Caroline didn''t answer, but she gave me the go ahead with a slight nod.


    I asked, "Don''t you hate Manny for stealing your trophy? Why are you hanging out with him?" I was extremely curious about the matter. Manny was being a prick in the show, so I guess that''s why she didn''te out again after that. But my presence caused some change.


    Manny became disconcerted and said, "I want to know about that too." He was basically forced to hang out with Caroline today�C an idea conceived by Gloria to downy the guilt she felt for making Manny go all out in a match against a terminally ill girl. In fact, Manny didn''t even know that Caroline was sick.


    "Well now that I know a little context, I want to know too." Selena said before she added, "If you tell us, I will give you this entire collection."


    Unexpectedly, Caroline scowled at the idea of getting the plush toys, "No thanks. I can''t bring them to the hospital anyway."


    Selena was confused while Manny and I nodded in understanding. Caroline then answered, "I just hang out with Manny, because he treats me equally."


    "Wait. Manny? That seems to subvert everything I know about that Simp." I joked.


    "HEY!" Manny protested in offense. Caroline didn''t answer more and then hugged Manny''s arm before pulling him away, "Let''s go y that pool throwing game. You''ll sit on the bench, and I''ll throw."


    "It''s called a Dunk Tank. And I''ll be the one to throw!" Manny eximed as he felt challenged before both of them waved goodbye at me and went away. Manny didn''t realize that Caroline had picked him over a celebrity she admired and kept arguing with the girl.


    ''Well, he basically won''t even see a girl if they aren''t pretty orpletely out of his league. Also, they are 10 years old.'' I thought secretly. ''But for some reason, they are giving me Bridge of Terabithia vibes. Boy, I surely hope that didn''t happen.''


    As Gloria and Jay approached, it was evident that they had purposely given us some space for conversation before.


    After the initial greeting, I asked Jay while pointing at the duo, "Do you know what that''s all about?"


    Jay let out a sigh of resignation as he shifted his gaze toward Gloria. Despite the fake smile stered on her face, her twitching eyes betrayed an intense and concealed anger as she looked at Manny and Caroline from afar.


    Jay said, "It''s better not to speak about it."


    I caught on to Jay''s careful gaze as he nced at Gloria either. My hypothesis? Gloria felt threatened when Caroline showed interest in Manny. She basically had a problem with every girl Manny had a crush on, so it wasn''t that hard to figure out.


    "Anyway, Jay do you have any cash?" I asked.


    Jay nodded casually, "Sure. How much do you want?"


    "200. I used up my cash to get even with Luke." I said as I held out my arm while Jay took out the cash from his wallet. Then, Jay remembered something and took back his hand a foot away from mine.


    I looked at him in confusion. He smiled teasingly and said, "Well, I just remembered Luke told me what he wants from you, so, I''m sorry Ed. I''m on Team Luke."


    "Damn it." I cursed slowly before turning to Gloria. She shook her head and said, "Why would I bring any money when I''m out with my husband?"


    "That''s true. It was the one thing you married him for. It''ll be stupid not to take advantage of it." I said casually.


    "One thing? There''s a lot of other reasons." Jay tried to defend himself while Gloria cackled. I smirked and interjected, "I''m sure there are, but you already picked teams, so I''ll just ignore you."


    I turned to Selena and said, "I''m all out now. Want to go look at the ponies?"


    "Sure." Selena nodded casually before stopping and said, "But, we need 10 dors to pet them."


    "Ah, right." I said as I took a few dolls from the pile inside Selena''s hand. "Anyone want some plushies? It''s only 20 bucks." I asked the group of kids that had been following me from afar.


    The girls rushed quickly as they heard it. "EDWARD IS SELLING THE PLUSHIS HE WON!!" A small girl screamed. As soon as I heard it, I knew that I had done a stupid thing.


    "Selena. Leave them!" I said to Selena as I grabbed her hand and dumped all of the prizes to Jay.


    "Hey-ED!" Jay tried to protest, but he was suddenly swarmed by a number of little kids wanting the plushies. Selena and I managed to snuck away during all of the chaos, and surprisingly, Teddy Bear Luke and a small ck cat plushie were still in her hands. Still, I managed to get the 20 bucks from my first customer, a small indian girl, so Selena and I took refuge inside the ponies exhibition, away from the little kid''s mob.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Next to the pier where the ships were parked, Ted received a call from Edward after finishing a small staff meeting with the tourism crew. All the others were still sitting down at the oval meeting table while Ted excused himself.


    Frankie asked with concern as Ted finished the call and came back to the room with a worried expression on his face. "What''s wrong?"


    "Edward sent an SOS. He needed some cash and asked me to bring it to the ponies show." Ted replied before opening his wallet, "I haven''t gone to the atm yet, so I only have 50 bucks."


    Frankie furrowed her eyebrow in confusion and mumbled, "Ponies?"


    Dwayne, who was crossing his arms while wearing a ship captain''s uniform, said, "Ed''s gambling?"


    Glenn the white beer belly guy with a muppet voice said, "I don''t think he''s talking about THAT ponies. There''s a pony carnival just a mile from here."


    Everyone eximed in relief before they took out their wallet without Ted even asking. Some offered 10 bucks. Some offered 5 bucks. But all of the 30 staff members there chipped in for Ed''s sake.


    Dwayne said, "I got 220."


    Gina said, "I got 99 dors...and Um ... 2 cent."


    "Keep that 2 cents." Frankie said to Gina with disbelief. She turned to Ted and said, "I have 500 dors. Will that be enough?" Her hand was lightly touching Ted''s hand he ced on the table.


    Everyone there widened their eyes, and jeered at the two of them, "Wooo."


    Ted ignored them and said to Frankie, "I think it''s enough. Do you want toe with me?"


    "Sure. The meeting''s over, and I don''t have anything else to do." Frankie said before grabbing her purse and following Ted from behind. The short meeting was only to confirm the schedule for next week''s trips and was only held on Sunday because Ted had the doctor''s examination yesterday.


    At the carnival, after Jay managed to survive the stampede of tiny feet, Gloria went to help back up with concern.


    "Jay. What happened? One minute you''re there, next, the ground!" Gloria said worriedly but with a scolding tone.


    "I was set up!" Jay grumbled as he pressed his hurting back. "Where are the kids?" He asked.


    Gloria said, "Ay! They are over there�C" Her face froze as the ce where she pointed at was empty. Manny and Caroline were no longer there.


    "MANNY!" Gloria screamed in worry as she turned around anxiously. When Gloria and Jay went to search for the children, ire, Phil and Luke arrived at the dunk tank.


    "Alright Luke. You got this." Phil said as he gave some money to the stall owner.


    Luke held the ball and then pointed at the machine, "Someone needs to sit there so that when I hit the target, they will fall into the water.."


    ire and Phil turned to look at each other with a bbergasted expression. Both of them hesitated to volunteer for a while before ire said, "Okay. I''ll sit over there, because I love you Luke."


    Luke smiled and said, "I love you too mom."


    "I love you too ire." Phil said.


    "Zip it." ire shuts him down quickly. Phil smiled bitterly as he knew what he did wrong there.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "It''s not like I don''t want to volunteer, but you can''t go to pet the ponies if your clothes are all wet."


    [ire''smentary]


    "Phil? Oh no, I''m not mad at him at all. Besides, I have watched Luke throw a ball before. I won''t even get wet." ire said dismissively.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Uh." Luke threw his arm with all of his strength. However, he released the ball too early, causing it to fly at 90 degrees angle, and perfectly hit Phil on the crotch.


    "Fail." The store owner said with a giggle as Luke used up all of his chances. Luke eximed in disappointment and then turned to Phil, "Are you okay Dad?"


    "Yep." Phil replied with a strained voice. "It hit both at the same time, so it''s not that painful."


    "Let''s try the hammer next." Luke said before adding, "We only have 400 tickets now. We have so much left to go."


    "Maybe getting to a thousand was a bad idea Luke." ire said.


    [ire''smentary]


    "Well it''s not hard...for us." She said with a worried expression. "However, Luke...doesn''t really have those skills. Out of 10 games we yed, he only won 2."


    "I really admire him for not giving up, but at the same time, I''m worried about him. I really hope Ed won''t get too many tickets, that it''ll be a blow to Luke''s self confidence."


    [Commentary ends]


    Luke held ire''s hand before they could leave the stall. "Mom. Maybe you should try it next." Luke said with a cute voice. "I know you always hit the target whenever you throw something. We can share our chances."


    "Wait. What?" Phil, who had just stood up normally, was bbergasted when he heard that. He was even more bbergasted when he heard ire''s next sentence.


    ire thought about it and said, "Sure. Let Dad go sit next to the target this time. I''d already done it before."


    Phil sat at the seat reluctantly. He didn''t react when Luke threw the ball, but when it was ire, he was quivering in fear.


    "ire. I''m sorry for not volunteering-"


    Before Phil could finish his words, ire threw the ball directly to the target, and it hit! Phil was dunked into the tank, and his entire clothes became wet.


    Coughing and wheezing, Phil slowly gets out of the water. "It''s over, right?" He mumbled.


    The staff members heard it and said with an evil smirk, "No. It''s 3 tries. They have one more chance."


    Luckily for Phil, Luke was throwing the ball this time. ire hyped him up from the side, "Come on Luke. Think about what you hate the most. Picture it on top of the target. Then, channel all of your hatred into the ball, and throw it!"


    "Got it!" Luke narrowed his eyes and threw the ball aggressively. It hit the edge of the mark, and Phil shut down his eyes as he anticipated the fall. However, to his luck, the target didn''t go back all the way.


    "Oh. I''m safe." He muttered with exhration.


    Suddenly, the owner said, "Sorry. I still set the strength to adult. This counts as a hit for the children." He then manually pushed the target back, and Phil was dunked into the tank for a second time while his family celebrated.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As we entered the ponies exhibition and were waiting in line to pet the ponies, Selena asked, "Is this species normal, or are they like a munchkin cat?"


    "Nah. Munchkin cats are a product of selective breeding. Like the poodle, or the pug. Ponies are real species that can be found in the wild." I exined a bit.


    Selena nodded and then asked, "What''s the distance between earth and the moon?"


    I turned to her with a weird look and asked, "Why?"


    "I don''t know. It seems like you know a lot of things." Selena said with a shrug.


    "Well I do know that. The distance is approximately 238,900 miles (384,400 kilometers)."


    Selena scoffed and said, "Show off."


    "You''re the one asking about it." I said with disbelief.


    Suddenly, three small ponies walked to the fence to where I was standing. They stood near the fence and started staring at me. If it weren''t for the fact that they were standing too far, I would''ve petted them.


    "Hey. It''s Manny and Caroline." I said as I saw another two shorties staring at me. I waved to call them, and they cut the line to join us to pet the ponies. No one said anything because they were children, and this exhibition was supposedly for them.


    "Do you want to ride them?" I asked the two. "If you''re small enough, they might let you."


    "It''s okay." Manny said. "They were all jittery."


    Caroline however had an excited glint in her eyes, but as she realized Manny didn''t want to do it, it disappeared. I caught that and said, "Manny. Have you ever ridden a pony before?"


    "No?" Manny asked in confusion, not knowing where I was going with this.


    "Maybe you should try it. You couldn''t have been bullied by a group of goats before, right?"


    "What''s with that oddly specific question? Of course�� Wait. Some repressed memories areing up. I WAS BULLIED BY A HERD OF GOATS!"

 Chapter 203: Car-Nage-I-Val (3)

    <h4>Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Car-Nage-I-Val (3)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    As we all approached the enclosure, the young farmer there smiled kindly at us and said, "Y''all here to pet them ponies? We''re lettin'' ''em rest right now. There were these two gay�C Two fes,trying to put an Asian baby on the horse without warning. Sure spooked them ponies good."


    "Oh, are they by any chance a ginger and a fat man with overly dramatic hand gestures." I asked. "Wait, I can do better. Ehem." I cleared my throat and said with a country ent and ways of speaking, "Oh, so them fes I''m thinkin'' of. Folks oughta p a sign on themselves to keep them critters away."


    The farmer''s eyes widened in surprise, eximing, "Darn tootin''! How''d y''all know them? Them folks sure are troublemakers."


    Although he was impressed, he said, "Y''alle on back in ''bout half an hour, or maybe even an hour. I''ll let you in, free of charge."


    The blonde 20 years old with curly hair and a cowboy hat suddenly nced at Selena and I, before jumping to some conclusion. "Yourdy might have to wait a bit more. Although I''m sorry for ruining your date, I can''t really get you guys hurt."


    Selena scoffed with a hint of disdain and replied, "We are certainly not on a date. And I particrly have no intention of being on a date with a country boy!"


    "That hurts my heart mydy." The country boy eximed with a sad tone. Selena was bbergasted, "I didn''t mean you!"


    "Pardon me, but I reckon I got some experience workin'' on my grandpa''s farm. Would y''all mind if I give it a shot at tryin'' to calm ''em critters down?" I asked, ignoring Selena''s retort.


    "STOP TALKING LIKE THAT! You''re making me confused about my tastes!" Selena shouted in anger. The two kids were just in awe when they saw how easily I managed to get close to the farm boy.


    Manny said to Caroline with a country ent, "Do women�CDodies fancy... Umm... fes who talk like this?"


    "No. You sound dumb." Caroline said with a serious tone.


    "Well. You sure do look like someone who knows his way ''round. I reckon I can trust ya to handle yourself." The farm hand said before allowing me to hop over the enclosure fence.


    To his surprise, the miniature ponies rushed towards where I was as I entered the enclosure. He was fearful at first, but the horses stopped when they were near me. I smiled at them as I picked up the bucket of apples near the fence and stood in front of them.


    "How in tarnation did ya pull that off? You just walked in�C Did y''all see it too? With a fe like him ''round these parts, I reckon I can finally get this business up and runnin'' again," the farm hand eximed with a mix of disbelief and excitement.


    Suddenly, the business owner shouted from afar, "JOHNNY! Stop talking in country-speak! You''re born in California for god''s sake!"


    "Ah, Sure thing, pops!" Johnny responded, switching to a more regr tone. He then introduced himself, standing beside me and extending his hand for a shake. "As you can hear, my name''s Johnny."


    As he did, the horses gave my hand a gentle nuzzle, signifying a horse''s kiss. Johnnyughed and said, "Never mind. We can shake handster."


    Iughed as I fed the horses and said, "I''m, Edward."


    "Nice to meet you Edward. You look really familiar." He said as he touched his chin.


    I chuckled and said dismissively, "I get that a lot." As the horses were already calmed down, I asked him, "Can my friends get in now?"


    "Yeah Yeah Sure. I''ve never seen the ponies in such a good mood before this. You must be rted to a druid or something to pull off a scene like this." Johnny said as he called Selena and the kids over.


    "I might be." I joked. Johnny then gave me a cowboy hat too and returned to his country-speak, "Here''s a little somethin'' for helpin'' out. Consider it my gesture of gratitude. Also, don''t tell my dad I''m still speaking like this."


    "I reckon I''ll take it�C Johnny. Listen, that gal over there, she''s dealin'' with some health issues and needs to stay put at the hospital. I''d mighty appreciate it if you could let her have a ride on one of them ponies." I said as I wore the cowboy hat on my head. Just for a bit of lighthearted fun, I plucked a straw from the haystack and yfully ced it between my lips.


    Johnny widened his eyes at first before he said, "Sure. I''ll see what I can do. Also, why is your country''s ent better than mine? Perhaps your grandpa''s ranch is in texas?"


    "No. It''s Wisconsin." I replied with a slight chuckle while moving the straw from the left to the right side of my mouth with my tongue.


    As Selena approached us, Johnny said, "Thanks to Eddy my boy here�C"


    "He''s already your boy? It''s been 3 minutes!" Selena retorted in disbelief.


    Johnny and I looked at each other before we guffawed.


    "Some people just click right with each other." Johnny said before turning into instructor mode. He ced his hands on his waist and said, "Alright now, Ed managed to talk me into lettin'' y''all have the fancy-schmancy premium package."


    "So, here''s the n. First off, we''ll have ya''ll groom them horses and give ''em a good feedin''. After that, we''ll see if they take a likin'' to ya enough to let ya hop on and take a ride."


    "Thatdy, you go with your man. The kids are with me." Johnny said as we split up and went to different parts of the enclosure. He had to go away mainly because he needed to ce some safety precautions on the horse that was going to be ridden.


    "He''s not my man!" Selena retorted with anxiousness before mumbling, "I swear Taylor is going to kill me."


    A miniature pony with a white mane stood in front of me while trotting her legs in excitement. I brushed her head and said to Selena, "Calm down. You know you have a free pass to do anything today, and she can''t get mad. So. Take advantage of it. And Ah, right, Don''t take advantage of me�C"


    Selena pushed my back with a blushing face, "I won''t. Now, teach me how to y with the horse."


    I smirked and replied with a country ent, "Well, first ya gotta groom ''em. And I don''t mean the kind of grooming we usually see or experience in our career. None of that ''Oh, you''re so mature for your age'' or ''You''re practically an adult now'' business. We''re talkin'' about horse grooming here, nothin'' more."


    Selena widened her eyes, took a deep breath, and then burst outughing. The sudden sound startled the horse, making it skittish for a moment, but I swiftly calmed it down.


    We spent some time ying with the horse, and after about 10 minutes, Manny and Caroline managed to win over the hearts of the ponies and were able to ride them.


    It was a brief 5-minute ride within the enclosure, but it brought immense joy to the children. I snapped numerous photos of Selena with the horse, as well as capturing the children''sughter and excitement, intending to share them with their guardianter.


    "That reminds me, where are Jay and Gloria?" I mumbled to myself as I slowly lowered my phone camera, having finished capturing moments with Manny and Caroline. All while Selena kept stealing nces at me and mumbling, "I will get away with it...right?"


    ...


    Once we had finished our delightful time with the ponies, Caroline reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled, slightly yellowed piece of paper. With a pencil in hand, she excitedly crossed off one of the items listed on it.


    I noticed it and asked, "What are you doing?"


    "Just crossing off an item on my bucket list." She replied with an excited smile. "I just have 3 more left�C Wait, you''re not supposed to know that." Her smile froze and she became anxious. She tried to hide the list from me.


    I smiled and said, "Don''t worry. I kinda know. Can I see the list?"


    "Will you tell Manny about it?" She hesitated.


    "No. I won''t." I shook my head slightly and said in a reassuring tone. Caroline slowly showed me the crumpled paper. The first 10 items on the list were written by an adult, but the rest of them were written by a child with a coloured marker.


    [Caroline''s Bucket List.]


    1 .Eat Cheetos in front of the TV. (X)


    2. Ride a Pony (X)


    3. Go to a concert (_)


    4. Be a Valedictorian (?) -<i><strong> Impossible! (Note from Caroline)</strong></i>


    .


    .


    .


    13. Fight in a fencing match (X)


    14. Visit Mom and Dad (_)


    15. Date a boy (_)


    16. Go on a RoadTrip (X) <i><strong>With Julie!</strong></i>


    17. Throw egg on Mr Jonah- the security guard (X)


    18. Toilet Paper a House (X)


    19. DisneyWorld!!!! (_)


    20. (Hidden)


    21. (Hidden)


    "My dad told me to put down andplete 21 things on the list before I turned 21. He had originally nned for me to do one item each year until I became an adult. He included 10 items on the list before... well, before he couldn''t anymore. But now I have to finish them all in just one week!"


    When she was first admitted to the hospital at 5 years old, her father made that list to ensure she stayed strong in her fight against her sickness. But, he went to serve the country in Afghanistan, and lost his life there, leaving the childpletely alone in the world. After that, Caroline was raised by Julie�C her caretaker at the hospital and with the help of the other patients there.


    Caroline believed she didn''t have much time left, so she was determined toplete her list as soon as possible. I inwardly sighed and asked, "Why did you give yourself such a tight deadline?"


    "I overheard Julie telling the doctor that I can''t stay at the hospital any longer," Caroline replied with a sad tone before she tried to be strong.


    I gently patted her head, offeringfort. I refrained from saying, "Maybe it''s a good thing? Maybe the doctor is allowing you to leave because you no longer need to stay in the hospital?" Sometimes, the cruelest thing one can do to a child in her situation is to provide false hope when they are already mentally preparing for the worst.


    I teased, "So, you''re currently doing number 15?"


    Caroline blushed and said, "I just want to know what it feels like! I don''t like Manny!"


    "Huh? Who doesn''t like me?" Manny interjected at the perfect time after he came back from saying goodbyes to the horses.


    "Of course it''s me!" Caroline said angrily.


    "Hey! I don''t like you either!" Manny replied angrily.


    I chuckled at the two of them when I suddenly saw my dad and Frankie walking nearby. They saw Selena, and were rushing to go over to her. Finally, an anxious Gloria and Jay also finally found Manny and Caroline. Both of them were scolded by the duo while I talked with my dad and Frankie about something.


    "Right here? Now?!" Frankie asked in confusion and disbelief after I told her my request.


    "Yeah. Can you handle it?" I said with a challenging tone.


    Frankie thought for a second before saying, "Alright. I''ll try. You only need your friend Finneas, am I correct?"


    "Yeah. I already texted him what I wanted to do, and he said he wants to do it."


    ...


    As the morning gradually transitioned into the afternoon, the once clear sky began to darken with clouds. Yet, despite the gathering of clouds, there was no indication of impending rain.


    Mypetition with Luke continued when I got the funds from my dad. However, when I had paid the money to y an archery game, I bumped into Alex and Haley.


    "Hey. I thought you guys weren''t here." I said while shooting an arrow to the target. Predictably I missed it because it was my first time, but I got the gist of the game.


    Alex cackled and said, "Straight down to the ground!"


    Haley chuckled and jeered, "You suck!"


    Selena joined in, "Yeah! Give up!"


    I rolled my eyes at them and said, "Can''t believe my own friends are my biggest haters." I pulled the drawstring and shot the target again, and this time I hit the mark. It was a satisfying shot, albeit an easier featpared to real archery.


    Haley squealed and cheered instinctively while Selena and Alex rolled their eyes at me. Alex asked, "Hey. Is that real?"


    "What�� Oh Finny told you. Yeah it''s real. Everyone shoulde." I replied casually as I shot myst chance. After winning the ticket, I tried the game again. Haley and Alex widened their eyes and said, "Wait. You can do it more than once?"


    The stall owner was confused by their question, "Of course. You''re paying after all. You can try as much as you want."


    Both of them looked at each other in disbelief, feeling that they had done a stupid thing.


    "But I stopped after I got the highest mark. Or else, there''s no point in ying." I said as I shot the arrow again.


    Haley said carefully, "Can''t you go easy on my brother?"


    "Well...if you''re asking for it, maybe I will." I said as I lowered my aim while still holding the bow and arrow. Haley giggled and then grabbed my arm, "There''s a house of mirrors here. Why don''t we go take a look?"


    Alex nodded and said, "Good idea. Haley, why don''t you keep Ed away from the stalls."


    Selena was torn as to what she should do and said, "I''ll stay here with Alex."


    "What? No. Juste with us." Haley invited. While the girls were talking, my phone chimed. I took out and saw the notification from Robin. When we were in public, I asked the AI to contact me through text.


    As I read the message, my heart sank. It contained an update on Caroline''s current situation. It turned out that she was scheduled to be relocated to a different city, where she would be transferred to a more affordable hospital. This meant she would have to leave behind all her friends and familiar surroundings.


    The message revealed a grim reality. Over the course of Caroline''s five-year battle, the insurance money her parents had left behind was dwindling rapidly. It was disheartening and, truth be told, I felt a surge of disgust towards the healthcare system in the country.


    "Hmmm." I held my chin as I thought about something�C unaware of the others staring intently at me.


    "He''s scheming something again." Haley muttered.


    Alex said sarcastically, "Do you even hear what I was talking before? Of course he''s scheming something. But, we''re lucky that he''s not focusing on his game with Luke anymore."


    "He will still win though. It''s impossible for Luke to catch up to him. He has over 800 tickets now."


    "I''ll text mom." Alex said as she took out her phone. Selena was baffled and said incredulously, "Wow. You guys are so serious with the bet."


    Both Alex and Haley smiled. Alex said, "Of course we are. Everyone wants to beat Ed at something, but so far, no one did."


    I finished my thoughts and turned to the girls, "Alright let''s go to the mirror house."


    While we were talking, I talked to them about Caroline''s situation and asked them to keep it to themselves. That was to ensure that the day remained filled with joy andughter for Manny and Caroline.


    Then, Frankie told me that she got permission from the organizer, and thepany staff wereing to the carnival with the equipment. However, before the anticipated arrival of thepany staff, another intriguing event unfolded, adding an unexpected twist to our day at the carnival.


    [General POV]


    As Edward exited the mirror house, hisughter intertwined with the giggles of his friends, a group of nuns approached, offering refreshments while attempting to deliver a sermon. They were ying organs and singing praises to Jesus while encouraging others to do the same.


    Selena and Edward, feeling hesitant and cautious, tried to distance themselves from the nuns, despite their friendly smiles. Haley and Alex followed suit, declining the offered refreshments before retreating.


    Amidst the tension, a sudden cry pierced the air. It was Johnny, the farmhand, urgently shouting from a distance. "Ed, move!" he eximed with urgency.


    Startled, Edward turned towards themotion and his eyes widened in rm. A mischievous group of goats had managed to escape their enclosure and was now charging towards Edward''s group.


    Acting swiftly, Ed sprang into action, his instincts taking over. With a heroic effort, he managed to save one of the nuns from the stampede�C the youngest one there. But in the process, both he and the nun tumbled to the ground, their bodies meeting the earth in an unexpected collision.


    "Wha-what-what are you doing?!" The nun blushed and stammered as she realized that Edward''s hand was holding her at somece no one should touch, especially in public.


    Edward''s cap almost fell off at the moment, and he smiled kindly at the nun as he took back his hand from her waist. "Sorry. Maybe I should''ve let the goats brake on their own instead. Or should I just send thoughts and prayers while letting you get crushed by them?"


    As Edward sensed a lingering tension in the air, he felt a twinge of guilt for the unintended misunderstanding caused by the collision. With the crowd''s attention now fixated on the incident, he yearned to quietly slip away from the spotlight.


    Acting swiftly, he seized a nearby basket filled with bread and wine, using it as a cover to shield himself from prying eyes.


    However, in a twist of fate, the mischievous goats returned, surrounding Edward with their yful leaps and bounds. Edward attempted to reason with the enthusiastic animals, pleading, "Wait, guys, I really need to leave." Despite his efforts, the goats seemed determined to keep him engaged.


    Just as Edward struggled to free himself from the goat''s yful dance, a sudden beam of light pierced through the cloudy sky, descending upon him.


    The choir boy, witnessing the extraordinary sight, gasped in astonishment. In his surprise, he identally pressed the keys of the organ, unleashing a celestial and ethereal sound that reverberated through the air, harmonizing with the divine illumination surrounding Edward.


    Some nuns there were so startled and out of it that they started to pray to the sight in front of them.


    The yful wind didn''t have enough from opening the crack on the cloud and blew a sudden gust of breeze. The gust was strong enough to push Edward''s hat off, and reveal his face to the public.


    The crowd started recognizing him. They shouted, "HEY! IT''S EDWARD NEWGATE! "


    "Shit!" Edward cursed underneath his breath as he realized that he was surrounded by a group of fans who were staring at him with starving eyes.


    Edward chuckled nervously and said, "Hi Everyone."

 Chapter 204: I lived.

    <h4>Chapter 204: Chapter 204: I lived.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    After my identity was exposed, a swarm of fans rushed towards me, forming a tight circle as they fervently requested pictures and autographs as their praises for my music and acting in the new Taylor music video echoed through the air.


    The crowd consisted mostly of young teenagers and young adults, with a sprinkling of older fans in between. Surprisingly, their behavior remained polite and respectful, which prompted me to make some decisions.


    I obliged their requests, posing for pictures and signing autographs, all while maintaining a friendly demeanor. Taking advantage of the moment, I announced that a surprise awaited them at the carnival square at noon, urging them to gather there.


    After spending half an hour with the crowd, I managed to extricate myself with the help of my father, but it proved challenging to shake them offpletely. They followed persistently, trailing me as I sought refuge in the organizer''s office located beside the carnival.


    Inside the small office room, I sank into the gray couch, stretching my arms wide as I settled cross-legged on the sofa. The weight of the situation loomed over me. "Huargh..." I groaned as I closed my eyes for a second. Apanying me in the room were two individuals who had entered alongside me.


    Beside me, Selena, who was feeling slighted as nobody recognized her, swallowed her resentment as she perched on the couch beside me. "That was insane. I''ve never witnessed anything like it. You had the crowd going wild, like we were in the 90s again."


    "Yeah. I was surprised too." I muttered. "It seems that I had greatly underestimated my poprity." I said with a joking tone before I turned to Haley who was standing by the door with aplicated expression on her face.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked.


    Haley noticed my gaze and she swallowed her saliva before responding with a nervous smile, "N-Nothing. I just realized. You''re like a... ''celebrity'' celebrity."


    I smirked and asked, "Why? Feeling intimidated?"


    Expecting a yful retort, I was taken aback by her hesitancy. "Wait. Seriously?"


    Haley crossed her arms and confessed, "Kind of."


    Selena smiled and said, "It''s normal for the first... or fifth time... Well, It never happened to me out of scheduled meetings, BUT it does get better."


    I nodded to Selena''s encouragement and said, "Yeah. Besides, you need to adapt to it. I thought you already had experienced people fawning over you."


    Haley rolled her eyes and sat at my right side, "That''s different. Also, Why should I adapt to it?"


    "Because...Well, just because... I''m going to want you to stick around?" I smiled yfully at her. She blushed and thenughed while Selena rolled her eyes at us.


    Feeling slightly embarrassed, Haley pinched my cheek. Selena stood up and went to the drum kit set up nearby.


    "Hey. What are you going to do? Why do you ask them to gather at noon?" Selena asked to change the subject.


    Suddenly, Finneas and Billie entered the door with a solemn expression. Finneas said, "Seriously? We only have 40 minutes of practice for the concert?"


    Selena widened her eyes and said, "You''re holding a concert?"


    "Just a small one." I replied to Selena before turning to Finneas, "Can you do it?"


    Finneas thought for a bit before replying, "Sure. But don''t hold me ountable for any mistakes."


    Billie was irritated and said, "Are you really going to kick me out of the band?"


    I was startled and exined, "Oh no, I just didn''t want to bother you on the weekends. I don''t care if I disturb Finneas''s time off."


    Billie finally breathed in relief and then decided to join in on the concert.


    "Hey!" Finneas retorted in offense. We started the practice, but first thing first, I kicked Selena and Haley out of the room.


    "Ugh!" Selena groaned as I shooed her out.


    "Why me too!?" Haley asked with dissatisfaction.


    "Well, I''m throwing out Selena because the song has something to do with her. But I''m not really throwing you out, I actually need your help in distracting her so she doesn''t find out about it," I whispered to Haley.


    She nodded in understanding and moved away with Selena, making sure the song had no romantic undertones before they left, ensuring the surprise remained intact.


    ...


    [General POV]


    The carnival was buzzing with excitement as people roamed the grounds, indulging in cotton candy, trying their luck at games, and soaking in the vibrant atmosphere. The bright lights and merry melodies filled the air, creating a sense of joy and anticipation.


    Luke groaned as he slumped his shoulders, feeling a tinge of disappointment as he made his way through the bustling carnival grounds towards the square where the stage was set.


    The small stage had initially been constructed for speeches and announcements, but rumors had spread throughout the carnival that it had been modified for something far more exciting��a spontaneous concert. Hundreds of people were already gathering at the square.


    Luke tugged ire''s sleeves and asked, "I know the bet between me and Ed is over, cause the goats make people know he''s here. But that means he lost, right?"


    ire shook her head and appeased Luke, "No Honey. That will be so unfair for Edward. Besides, he has more tickets than you do, so if anything, you''re the one who lost."


    "Awhhh." With a resigned sigh, he and ire were escorted towards the "VIP" seats, a few chairs set up near the stage for special guests.


    ire greeted Ted and Frankie with a warm smile as she and Luke made their way to the almost couple. They were joined by familiar faces, including Phil�C who had to change his clothes, Haley, Selena, Alex, Cam, Mitch, Lily, Jay, Gloria, Manny, and Caroline, who had all gathered near the VIP seats as per Edward''s instructions.


    Some of Edward''s friends�C Jenna, Enid, Jacob, Elsa, Abraham, were at the opposite side of the stage, but they didn''t get any seats, only the front spot in the standing audience section.


    Ted greeted ire and Luke cheerfully before asking, "So, how many tickets did you guys manage to get?"


    ire''s disappointment was evident as she replied, "Exactly 700."


    Ted chuckled teasingly and ruffled Luke''s hair. "Oooh, so close. Ed has exactly 800."


    Luke''s face twisted into a grimace as he protested, "It doesn''t count. He''s only winning because he''s ahead."


    Alex chimed in, her expression a mix of confusion and amusement. "That''s... what winning is, Luke," she said, shrugging her shoulders.


    "Shut up. You''re of no help." Luke used Alex. Alex was baffled and then nced at Haley as she gave all of the tickets she won to her sister, but Haley pretended not to notice anything.


    "Haley�C" Alex tried to find out where the tickets went.


    "Shh- It''s starting." Haley shushed her little sister and focused on the stage.


    The organizer of the show grabbed a microphone and stood in the center of the stage. He was a brown Mexican man with a glorious mustache and kinda looked like Luiz Gusman.


    He prattled on about the history of the carnival, almost making the crowd leave. However when he mentioned Edward, the crowd got their passion injection again.


    "Without further ado, please wee, the hottest pop artist teen nowadays, Mr EDWARD NEWGATE!!!"


    The announcement echoed through the square, igniting a wave of anticipation among the crowd. Cheers erupted as the name Edward Newgate reverberated through the air, signaling the arrival of the hottest pop artist of the moment.


    As the background music of "The Lazy Song" filled the air, Edward Newgate''s charismatic presencemanded the stage. Bathed in a pink spotlight, he exuded an aura of star power that captivated the crowd.


    The crowd erupted into cheers and screams, caught up in the electric energy that filled the atmosphere. Luke and ire found themselves swept away by the infectious excitement, their hearts pounding in sync with the pulsating rhythm of the music.


    Edward took a moment to address the crowd, his voice carrying through the square. "Hey, everyone! Today is a special day, but I can''t shake off the feeling of wanting to justze around inside my house, especially on a Sunday afternoon. Do you know what I mean?"


    Laughter rippled through the crowd. Edward''s smile widened, his connection with the audience palpable. "So, enjoy my hidden desire expressed in a song, ''The Lazy Song''," he announced.


    Caroline was starry eyed as she watched the impromptu concert with excitement. The crowd were swaying to the left and right as they sang along to the song.


    As the final notes of "The Lazy Song" resonated through the square, the crowd erupted into thunderous apuse, their appreciation for Edward''s performance reverberating in the air. The energy of the moment was electrifying.


    "Oh my god. He''s so cool!" Caroline muttered in excitement as she turned towards Manny. Manny smiled and said, "I know, right? But, I am suspicious as to why he suddenly wants to sing right here."


    Caroline thought of a reason, but she didn''t say anything and only held the grateful feeling inside her heart. At this time, Edward wiped the sweat dripping down his chin. It was noon, and the weather was quite hot for him to perform in.


    Some of the girls in the crowd screamed to throw the towel towards them. Ed smiled and then he followed their request, causing a frenzy amongst the crowd.


    Luke then teased Alex, "Why aren''t you there? Oh, that''s right, Cause they don''t need a cello yer!"


    "HMPH! I am learning the keyboard!" Alex grumbled angrily.


    After the first song, Edward shed a smile at the crowd. As he opened his mouth to speak, a thunderous eruption of support and apuse engulfed him, causing a hint of embarrassment to color his cheeks.


    "Wow, you guys are so energetic," Edward quipped, promptingughter to ripple through the crowd. "I''m sure many of you are wondering why I''m here today."


    "Well, to answer my own question," Edward contorted his face into aical ''WTF'' expression, eliciting another round ofughter.


    He then proceeded with a slightly serious tone, "I came across somements asking about my dad''s whereabouts during the football match yesterday. Some even used him of being an absent father. Well... the reason he wasn''t there is because he was in the hospital, undergoing tests for liver cancer."


    A collective gasp swept through the crowd upon this revtion. Ted, wearing a wry smile, received forceful warm embraces from Cam and Phil. He barely whispered to them before they could sob, "Listen to Ed."


    Ed continued, making Ted free from his predicament, "Fortunately, he doesn''t have cancer, but his liver is severely damaged, requiring him to make lifestyle changes moving forward. That''s my dad''s situation. However, the very next day, which is today, one of my dear friends was diagnosed with lupus."


    Selena was wide eyed as she heard it. "That jerk." She said angrily, but with a hint of gratitude seen in her face.


    An exmation of sympathy and sadness escaped the crowd, further deepening the somber atmosphere. "But they aren''t the reason I''m holding this concert today," Edward continued.


    "I''m here to perform because I met an incredible kid at the carnival. Despite battling a terminal illness, she carries herself as if it''s just a minor inconvenience. Instead of letting the illness dictate her life, she''s determined to live every moment to the fullest, pursuing her deepest desires before..."


    After his voice trailed off, Edward took a deep breath, his expression turning solemn. The crowd fell into a hushed silence, their attention fully captivated by his words.


    "She wanted to do everything she desired before her time ran out," Edward continued, his voice filled with admiration and respect. "Her resilience and spirit inspired me, reminding me of the preciousness of every moment we have in this life."


    A feeling of empathy andpassion spread through the crowd as they absorbed Edward''s heartfelt message. Faces reflected a mix of emotions.


    Edward''s gaze swept across the crowd, his eyes locking with Caroline''s. He nodded, and she smiled back, grateful for the recognition.


    "So, today, I stand here, not just as a performer, but as a messenger of hope and gratitude," Edward''s voice carried a hint of emotion. "Today, we celebrate life and the power of dreams. Let''s make each moment count and cherish the... people we love." Edward looked at the side of the crowd where his close friends and family were standing.


    "With that,es my next song, the one I was inspired with, titled: I Lived."


    [I lived: One Republic]


    ????????


    Finneas strummed an uplifting melody with his guitar. Edward held the microphone to his mouth and sang while closing his eyes.


    "?? Hope when you take that jump, You don''t fear the fall ??"


    "??Hope when the water rises, You built a wall??"


    Haley looked at Edward before looking at his dad.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I can''t believe he didn''t tell me something like this." She said with a slightly hurt expression. Then she added, "BUT! He gets a pass! It must not have been an easy day for him. That''s torture enough."


    [Commentary ends]


    "??Hope when the crowd screams out,It''s screaming your name~??"


    "??Hope if everybody runs...You choose to stay??"


    Selena looked at Edward with aplicated expression on her face. Without realizing it, tears were pooling in her eyes.


    Finneas changed nces with Billie, and she smiled before she started drumming the beats.


    "??I hope that you fall in love


    And it hurts so bad, yeah??"


    Cam muttered with a nostalgic smile on his face, "This reminds me of when he first sang in the cafe."


    Mitchell hugged his arm and agreed with him, "Yeah. But minus the shock I felt back then when I realized he could sing.."


    ??The only way you can know, You give it all you have??


    ??And I hope that you don''t suffer, But take the pain??


    ??Hope when the momentes , You''ll say??


    Phil started sobbing while ire rested her head on her husband''s shoulders. Caroline still kept a strong facade, but her chin was quivering.


    Edward looked at the sky and sang, "??I, I did it all!!??


    ??I, I did it all??


    ??I owned every second


    That this world could give??


    ??I saw so many ces


    The things that I did??


    ??Yeah, with every broken bone


    I swear I lived??


    Alex crossed her arms together, "Is that why he''s not stopping to rest? To seize the day?"


    Jay showed a grandfatherly smile and said, "It''s a nice song." His life''s experience was shing back inside his mind when he heard it. It made him realize that even if he was already in his twilight years, there were still a lot of things he wanted to do. Such as the ones next to him.


    "Ayy Jay. It''s rare to hear thating out of your mouth." Gloria muttered while hugging Jay''s arm intimately.


    ????????


    Edward walked to the side of the stage and sang, "??Hope that you spend your days,But they all add up??"


    Some of the crowd members tried to reach out to him, and he gave them a high five, making their day.


    "??Mm, and when that sun goes down


    Hope you raise your cup, oh??"


    "??I wish that I could witness


    All your joy and all your pain??"


    "??But until my momentes


    I''ll say??"


    Some of the audience were recording the show and uploaded them to social media.


    "?? I, I did it all!!


    I, I did it all??"


    Edward''s crooning quickly became a trending video on the inte with numerous peoplementing positive things to support him.


    "??I owned every second That this world could give??


    ??I saw so many ces The things that I did??


    ??Yeah, with every broken bone I swear I lived??"


    Edward jumped on the stage while gesturing for the audience to do the same. The crowd followed along and they danced to the song. Those who were struggling allowed themselves to take a short moment of peace, as if their souls were being soothed by Edward''s voice.


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh, oh, whoa-oh-oh


    Caroline and Selena jumped with the music without realizing that tears were streaming down their cheeks. However, they did so with a smile stered on their face.


    Finneas helped with singing the harmony, "??(With every broken bone)"


    Ed sang, "I swear I lived??


    Finneas: (With every broken bone)


    Edward: I swear I�C??


    ??I, I did it all


    I, I did it all??


    The atmosphere quickly became heated. People were singing along to release their inner resentment.


    Together: ??I owned every second


    That this world could give??


    ??I saw so many ces


    The things that I did ??


    ??Yeah, with every broken bone


    I swear I lived


    Edward smiled from the satisfaction and then sang alone,


    ??Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh??


    ??I swear I lived??


    ??Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh


    Oh, whoa-oh-oh, oh, whoa-oh-oh??


    The crowd cheered thunderously when the song finished. Edward painted and wiped his sweat before continuing with the concert. He sang 3 more songs before the concert ended.


    ...


    Jay, Manny, Caroline, and Gloria made their way to the car, ready to head out for lunch. As they approached the vehicle, Julie, Caroline''s caring caretaker, approached them, causing Caroline to pause.


    "Caroline!" Julie eximed, rushing forward to embrace her. Concern etched across her face, she noticed the tear marks on Caroline''s cheeks and asked with genuine worry, "Are you alright? Are you in pain? Should we go back to the hospital?"


    Caroline shook her head, her voice slightly hoarse from all the cheering and screaming during the concert. "No, it''s nothing," she reassured Julie.


    Gloria chimed in with a smile, teasingly saying, "Oh, she''s just crying from the concert."


    Julie''s confusion was evident as she asked, "What concert?" Gloria then proceeded to exin the emotional journey that had unfolded during the event.


    Caroline interjected, her voice filled with excitement, "You should have been there, Julie. It was absolutely amazing."


    Julie smiled helplessly, her eyes welling up with tears. "I wish I could have been there, but then I wouldn''t have been able to do this," she said, producing a piece of paper from her purse and handing it to Caroline.


    Caroline''s hands trembled as she took the paper, her eyes scanning the words written on it. "Adoption papers?" she uttered, her voice quivering with a mix of surprise and hope.


    Julie''s smile widened, her own tears now flowing freely. "Yes! With this, you can stay in California! Isn''t that wonderful?" she eximed, her joy palpable.


    Overwhelmed with emotion, Caroline couldn''t hold back any longer. She rushed into Julie''s waiting arms, tears streaming down her face, finally allowing herself to release the flood of emotions that had built up inside her.


    "But Julie. You don''t have any money!" Caroline cried without even releasing her embrace.


    Julie wiped down her tears and said, "Don''t worry about it. I can do just fine."


    Jay, seeing the whole scene, sighed. He wanted to do something about it, but then Julie said, "Also, just before I met you, I received a call. So don''t worry about money anymore. You just need to get better, okay?"


    Caroline sniffled and then her tears slowly stopped. She nodded to her caretaker�Cwho is currently her new mother, and then turned to Manny.


    Manny was frozen when he heard the whole thing and finally pieced out the puzzle. "Wait. You''re the terminally ill kid?" He asked in disbelief.


    "Yeah." Caroline didn''t hide it anymore and then stood on her toe before giving Manny a kiss on the cheek.


    [Caroline''s Bucket List]


    No. 20: Kiss a Boy. COMPLETE


    Manny was bbergasted while Gloria froze in anger. "What do you think you''re doing�C" Before she could react, Jay caught her and said, "Come on Honey. Let''s give the kids some privacy."


    "Manny, will you be my boyfriend?" Caroline asked Manny while looking into his eyes. Manny blushed and the thoughts of her being a sick kid was forgotten instantly.


    "Well, the man is supposed to say that." He said with a silly smile.


    "Then say it." Caroline demanded.


    Manny took a deep breath and said, "Caroline, will you be my girlfriend."


    Caroline nodded in response, and Manny couldn''t contain his excitement. He turned to his mother, taking Caroline''s hand in his own, and eximed, "Mom! Look! I finally have a girlfriend!"


    "WHAT?!" Gloria was almost on the brink of going all crazytina mother on Caroline without caring about her illness.


    Manny nced back at Caroline, his expression bewildered, and muttered, "Cool. My first rtionship."


    Caroline nodded in agreement, her tone nonchnt. "Unfortunately, Manny, I want to break up with you."


    Manny froze, his voiceced with disbelief. "What�� Why?!"


    Caroline shrugged and replied, "You''re a momma''s boy. I don''t like that."


    [Caroline''s bucket list]


    No. 21: Dump a boy meanly! (COMPLETE PS. SORRY MANNY!)


    Leaving the bbergasted Manny behind, Caroline walked over to Julie. Gloria hurriedly approached Manny, her curiosity piqued. "What did she say?"


    "She broke up with me, Mom. I have mixed feelings about what just happened, so can we please go home?" Manny requested, his face drained of color.


    Gloria, however, smiled warmly and reassured him, "Of course, my dear. When we get home, I''ll make you some empanadas to cheer you up."


    [Manny''smentary]


    "Ah, it''s moments like these that probably made Caroline think I''m a momma''s boy. I want to ask my mom to stop, but right now, I really need those empanadas if I want any chance of cheering up from my first rtionship going up in smoke."


    [Commentary ends]


    As Julie and Caroline were walking away, Caroline took out her bucket list and crossed out 3 more things on that list.


    Julie saw it and smiled kindly, "There''s not a lot left on that list. What are you going to do when they are finished?"


    "I...will follow Edward''s advice to seize the moment, and make a new one."

 Chapter 205: A New New Hope

    <h4>Chapter 205: Chapter 205: A New New Hope</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    As I made my way back to the office, feeling the heat from the performance, I fanned my face with my arms, eagerly anticipating the refreshing coolness of the air conditioning. Exhausted from the show, both Billie and Finneas joined me in taking a moment to rest before the duo left to enjoy the carnival.


    Left alone on the couch, I savored the brief respite. Suddenly, I felt a jolt of coldness against the back of my neck. I had already noticed someone sneaking into the office, so I couldn''t help but let out a teasing pleasurable groan as I eximed, "Ohh, that''s some good stuff."


    Haley, with a pout on her face, took the ice-cold mhiato from my neck and yfullyined, "Can you at least act surprised sometimes? It''s getting a little boring."


    Then, she handed the drink to my hand. I epted it, but as I took a sip, I couldn''t help butin, "Hey, you drank from this."


    Haley smirked mischievously and replied, "It''s mine! I''m just giving you a taste."


    I shook my head and jokingly responded, "Well, that was a poor decision on your part. Now you''re not getting it back."


    "Ah!" Haley gasped in mock disbelief while trying to hold back herughter. "Thief!"


    But, she didn''t try to take the drink back. Deep down, I knew that she had indeed bought it for me, as it remained practically untouched.


    "Where''s Selena?" I asked.


    As I asked about Selena''s whereabouts, Haley''s expression grew a bitplicated. She sighed and replied, "Well, I can''t really force her to hang out with me. After the concert, she called for a ride and left. I''m not sure if she went back home or somewhere else. Oh, and she wanted me to let you know that she''s leaving and she really loved the song. I think she even shed a few tears; her mascara was running."


    "Hmm... I hope she''s alright," I muttered, my concern evident. Haley, perhaps wanting to shift the mood, changed the subject andplimented me, saying, "You''re a really nice guy. Despite everything else."


    Raising an eyebrow yfully, I teasingly responded, "Oh, what''s ''everything else''? Devilishly handsome?" Leaning closer to her face, I could see her eyes widen and her cheeks flush with a blush.


    Haley pouted in a mix of embarrassment and mock anger, eximing, "yboy!"


    Raising an eyebrow yfully, I continued the teasing banter, saying, "Oh, but you''re not pushing me away. I wonder why that is?" As I leaned closer, Haley''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "Shut up! My parents areing here!" Haley hastily pushed me away, her tone filled with a mix of embarrassment and urgency. She quickly stood up and escaped as we heard the sound of moring from outside the door. Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, I dropped my head down in dejection, realizing that the yful moment hade to an end.


    Just as Phil, Luke, and ire entered the room, the tension dissipated. I lifted my head and greeted them with a warm smile, saying, "Hey, guys."


    Phil, filled with excitement, rushed over and engulfed me in a hug before I could even get up from the couch. "Ed! That was inspiring," he eximed, expressing his enthusiasm. After a brief discussion about the concert, we returned to the main topic at hand.


    Curious, I asked, "So, who won?"


    Luke''s face contorted in disappointment as he admitted, "You did."


    Sensing his sadness, I smiled and replied, "Yeah, but it''s not really fair. You could have sprinted at thest second and gotten more tickets than me, but I ruined it with the concert. So, how about we call it a tie?"


    Luke''s expression brightened, and he agreed, "Yeah,.... it''s a tie."


    [Commentary: Luke''s]


    "I actually wanted to bring up the bet at that time, but Ipletely forgot about it."


    [Commentary ends]


    Haley, always quick with ideas, chimed in, "You know, if you guys pool your tickets together, you can go for the grand prize."


    My eyes lit up with excitement, and I eximed, "That''s a brilliant idea, Haley! I''m surprised it came from you."


    She rolled her eyes yfully and retorted, "I can have good ideas too, you know!"


    I couldn''t help but tease her further, saying, "No, I''m just surprised you can count."


    In response, Haley yfully hit my arm. I quickly apologized, saying, "Sorry, sorry."


    Phil and ire smiled softly, seemingly enjoying our interaction, when Robin, the artificial intelligence assistant, suddenly chimed in.


    "Boss, an urgent problem has arisen," Robin announced, bypassing the silencing order I had implemented to ensure that shemunicated only through text in public, following the priority protocols I had set.


    Startled, I turned my attention to Robin. "What''s the problem?" I asked, concerned about the urgency of the situation.


    "Hey that''s Ratata�C"


    As Robin almost ryed the urgent problem, I quickly interjected to correct Phil, who had almost called her by her previous unholy name. "Not now, Phil. And her name is Robin."


    Robin said, "Liza Friedman, and James Friendman, a married couple, are trying to copyright the song ''I Lived'' by copying the melody and the lyrics they recorded in your earlier concert."


    "Wait. Are they from the concert?" I couldn''t believe that individuals who had attended the concert would resort to such actions. But again, I shouldn''t hold out too much hope for humanity.


    Robin confirmed, "Yes."


    Deep in thought, I considered my options. ire, visibly upset and angered by the news, voiced her strong opinion, "Who the hell do those people think they are? They need to be sued!"


    Phil''s usual amiable demeanour gave way to rare anger. He eximed, "And to think they''re biting the hands that provided them with a free, awe-inspiring, phenomenal performance in the afternoon! These ungrateful people need to pay!"


    Haley, sharing the same sentiment, added, "Give me a picture of them. I''ll post about what they''ve done on my Instagram! I have 200,000 followers now, and I can influence some of them to take action!"


    Luke, with his innocent face, chimed in with a slightly threatening remark, "I can shoot them with my BB gun."


    Hearing Luke''sment, I gently rustled his hair and reassured him, "There''s no need to get physical, Luke. Robin, were there any records of simr trashy behaviour from them before."


    "Yes. They tried to sue Usher for quote "ndering them in his song", and tried to im credit for the ck eyed peas too."


    "Was there any connection between them and the artist of any kind?"


    "None. They were total strangers to them. Their actions have no substance behind them, therefore it was ignored by the judicial office."


    Turning to the family members, I shared my n. "Well, they are just trashy people. Don''t worry, they can''t do anything. Robin, activate order 22."


    "Okay, boss," Robin acknowledged. "I have bypassed the Hall of Music Records and officially registered the song in your name. The copyright has been set, with the timestamp half an hour before the concert."


    "Thanks, Robin," I replied, grateful for her assistance.


    My smile turned slightly mischievous as a n formed in my mind. "Leak the news that I was going to use the royalties from the song to establish a foundation for terminally ill children."


    "Simultaneously, send the news about the couple trying to im copyright on the song to the paparazzi and media outlets. Let them get shamed for their actions."


    Haley shuddered and muttered, "That was way worse than what I was going to do."


    ire asked worriedly, "Are you really going to establish the foundation? Because if you don''t the bacsh�C"


    "Oh, don''t worry about it Honey. Ed didn''t say anything. It was just rumors. So they can''t press that against him. Right Ed?"


    I looked at Phil with a slight surprise and said, "Yeah. Exactly...." I pointed at him and said, "Nice catch Phil. Although, I am really going to donate the proceeds of the song. You know, for a good cause."


    With the pressing matter resolved, I joined Luke and headed to the prize booth. We imed the number one prize, a PS3. As I already had a game console, I decided to give it to Luke, who was overjoyed by the unexpected gift.


    In his excitement, he eximed that he wouldn''t make me bake a cake for him anymore, though the context behind that statement remained a bit unclear to me.


    After leaving the prize booth, Haley decided to catch a ride with me on the way home, seeking somepany during the journey. As we waited at a red light, she suddenly asked, "Hey, who''s Robin?"


    A sense of d��j�� vu swept over me, and I felt a twinge of anxiety. I hesitated for a moment before responding, "She''s an artificial intelligence, an AI..."


    Haley appeared confused at first, taking a moment to process the information. Then, a spark of recognition and excitement crossed her face. "AI? Like, AI... AI? Like the ones we''ve seen on TV?"


    Overwhelmed with enthusiasm, she hugged my arm and shook it, eximing, "OH MY GOD! THAT''S AMAZING! How did you get it!? Did you create it!? That''s SOOO awesome!!"


    However, the car was already moving, and her action made me swerve the car for a bit.


    *ring Horn*


    5 minutester.


    "I''m sorry for almost making us get into a car ident." Haley said after we almost arrived at our neighbourhood. I turned to her and saw her snickering mischievously.


    Despite my attempt to appear stern, a small smile tugged at the corner of my lips, betraying my true feelings. I couldn''t bring myself to feel angry or upset with her.


    "You''re not apologetic at all," I responded, trying to maintain a serious tone.


    Haley shrugged yfully and replied, "No, I really am."


    "I can''t see that on your face." I teased her.


    Haley''s eyes sparkled as she shot back, "Then maybe you should look closer."


    Judging by her tone, I knew she wanted to continue our repartee from inside the office earlier. Unfortunately, I had to go to meet my God-Grandma at this time, so I had to send her back home with disappointment.


    Eve Saltzman sent a limousine to fetch me from my house. Then, after a short 30 minute ride with a helicopter, I finally arrived at her ginormous estate.


    The main residence, a ptial mansion of immense proportions, stood proudly at the heart of the estate. Its architectural magnificence was a testament to the wealth of its owner, boasting ornate facades, gilded ents, and sprawling balconies that offered panoramic views of the surroundingndscape.


    The moment I met Eve at the garden table where she had prepared for lunch, she hugged me and said, "Oh dear boy. Why are you so skinny? Does ying football stress you out so much? You''d be better off ying that barbaric sport�C"


    A tall, blonde woman, 19 years old, with a nice figure dressed in a modest ck dress and carrying herself with elegance, quickly intercepted Eve before she could continue, saying, "Gram-gram, don''t discourage Ed from ying football. He loves it."


    "Oh. I''m sorry Ed. It just broke my heart to see you get tackled out there. I hope you understand me." Eve said apologetically after.


    "Oh no Eve. I''m fine. I''m not offended at all." I replied quickly. Eve smiled and introduced the girl beside her. "This is Denise."


    Her Norwegian features, from her light blonde hair to her captivating green eyes, added to her unique allure. If I was being honest, she was really gorgeous.


    "I''m sorry, do you mean ''The Niece'' or Denise?" I asked jokingly, noticing Denise''s eyes twitch at the jest, though she maintained herposed demeanor.


    I chuckled inwardly as Eve guided me towards the table. However, her next statement piqued my curiosity. "I''m sorry, Ed. I wanted to introduce you to someone, but he''s running a bitte," she exined.


    As we continued our conversation, a middle-aged man with white hair and a slightlyrger build approached our table. Eve caught sight of him and eximed, "Oh, I stand corrected. He made it, albeit at the very end."


    Since the man was approaching from behind me, I quickly wiped my mouth with a napkin before turning to see who it was. What I saw caused my jaw to drop in astonishment.


    "George... Lucas?" I managed to utter, my voice filled with disbelief.


    ...


    The next day arrived swiftly, following the peculiar and eventful lunch gathering. I stayed at Eve''s estate until midnight, engrossed in conversation about Star Wars with George. He appeared genuinely impressed by ROBIN, the creation I had proudly showcased to Eve.


    During our discussions, I delved into my future ns for ROBIN. I spoke of my intentions to develop an AI application that would provide assistance in people''s daily lives, even though it would only harness a fraction of the AI''s capabilities andck the advanced sophistication ROBIN had.


    I envisioned a user-friendly interface that would offer practical functionality, such as organizing schedules, providing reminders, and offering helpful suggestions. While it wouldn''t possess the same level ofplexity as ROBIN, it wouldn''t be hard for it to reach basic chat gpt level in my previous life.


    Why was I telling the world my advantage? Because of the significant financial support being provided by Microsoft and Raytheon in the form of nearly 4 billion dors in grants for AI research.


    "Why would I reject free money?"


    The avability of this significant funding presented a rare opportunity for me to take full advantage of the program, gain influence, and connect with influential individuals within the country. By leveraging this financial support, I aimed to take over a few of my industries of interest.


    Interestingly, during the conversation with George yesterday, he made a joke suggesting that with the money I would umte from the sess of my AI, I could potentially acquire Lucasfilm. We had already spent hours talking at this moment, so we were already quite close with each other.


    "Although that may sound tempting," I replied, "I would feel an immense amount of pressure if I did that."


    Curious, George asked, "How so?"


    I exined, "It''s primarily due to the fans'' expectations ."


    George looked at me, expecting me to continue exining. I sighed and said, "You know, We�C the fans, have been eagerly anticipating new movies from the franchise for a considerable amount of time."


    "For the fans, even if a movie turned out to be of subpar quality, it could still generate substantial revenue at the box office due to the nostalgia associated with the brand. It could easily break 1 billion at the box office. "


    "However, if the creative team consistently disregards the opinions of the fans and pushes forward with their own political agenda, the franchise would eventually wither away."


    George became silent and he lowered his gaze for a moment before he refocused his attention on me.


    "Right now, you''re surrendering away the creative rights to Disney. It might seem like a good deal, but thepany has been so disconnected with the masses nowadays... They will pretend to respect your words at first, but honestly, they won''t really care..."


    Eve, the representative of the capitalistpany, nodded in agreement to my words while Denise became increasingly annoyed.


    "Ed. You don''t have to continue. I got it," George said with a heavy sigh. "I kind of already know all of that stuff. But... I am already old. I can''t do much anymore. "


    George had dedicated a significant portion of his career and creative energy to building the Star Wars universe. However, he realized that the franchise had grown beyond what he could personally manage. In order to ensure its continued growth and preserve his own legacy, he entrusted thepany to someone he trusted, taking a step back and bing a creative consultant instead.


    After a brief silence, I asked him, "Do you believe that they will bring characters like Luke Skywalker back into the franchise?"


    "I believe they will. Yes. They spoke about it in our meetings," George replied.


    "Then, do you believe that they will kill him off, one way or another in the story?" I asked, making George widen his eyes in disbelief.


    Denise was taken aback upon hearing the question. Annoyance filled her voice as she responded, "No, they won''t! He''s like... the backbone of the entire franchise."


    "Oh, you like Star Wars too. That''s... surprising," I muttered casually, ncing at the angry woman. She seemed taken aback by my remark and quickly resumed herposed demeanor, while Eve gave her a smirking side-eye.


    "Edward, you spoke as if you had already foreseen it all." George said with a wry smile. "Is my decision really that wrong?"


    "Well sometimes I get nightmares like Anakin, so I know that if they get them they will kill the franchise." I said jokingly.


    That conversation about Star Wars ended there, and when I went to the toilet before going back home, I caught Denise smoking weed in it. As part of a morally righteous man, I lectured her about it for a bit, while taking some puffs on my own.


    Well I said I was only a part of it.


    On Monday, a lot of my equipment came and was sent to myb while I was at school. In the history ssroom, before the other students went to ss, I had a one-sided willingness therapy session where I dumped my worries on her while waiting for the ss to start.


    Despite being reluctant at first, Sage slowly gets into it and scolds me, "You''re already in a... what did you try to call it? Situationship? That''s really cowardly Ed. It''s either you want a rtionship with a girl, or you don''t!"


    "That Haley, and Taylor too, and you keep flirting with other girls. What do you want to do exactly?" She asked me directly.


    I was tongue tied at first before I smirked and joked, "Well, you know Sage, when a transmigrator got an AI, that means, he will find a solution to every problem. So�C"


    Sage cuts me off before I could continue, "That''s the reason?! You believe you''re the main character or something? You know this kind of thinking will blow up in your face, right? Especially so when you''re ying with the girl''s feelings."


    "No it won''t."


    "Yeah it will."


    "No It won''t."


    "It will."


    After the ss ended, I walked past Sage and said, "It won''t!"


    "It will!" She shouted as I ran away from the ss.

 Chapter 206: Fast Forward. (1)

    <h4>Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Fast Forward. (1)</h4>


    [General POV]


    -Monday-


    As the concert went viral, a lot of people were tagging Edward''s profile on Twitter with their post.


    NotABaldy: I hated this guy @EdwardNewgate...Mainly because my girlfriend won''t stop talking about him. But I changed my mind. He''s a pretty cool guy.


    InfluencerCynicalGirl: How can anyone be sure that this isn''t something he nned for? I don''t believe in the streak of coincidences. Wake up people! This is just marketing! Like what the president does!


    NeilGaiman Replying to Cynical Girl: Yes. I guess he is nning to announce his candidacy. It is the only reason people would do nice things. Just in case it wasn''t clear, I was being sarcastic.


    NickJonas: I really love what you''re doing @EdwardNewgate. If you want to do something like that again, hit me up.


    In an apartment in Pasadena, Sheldon read thement on Twitter with a conflicted expression. He ced his hand under his chin while sitting at his spot on the couch while scrolling on his phone.


    "Huh. That was sarcasm. I am fortunate he said that or else I would start to hate Neil Gaiman." Sheldon muttered subconsciously.


    Leonard heard it and turned from his work desk to look at Sheldon with a wide smile on his face, "Does that mean you''re thinking on behalf of Edward? Did you finally relent and be his fan like the rest of us?"


    "Don''t be silly. Even if the whole world likes him, then even if I would stand alone, I would still hate that precocious kid!"


    Leonard scoffed and said, "Sure, grandpa. Then, I guess you will hate what he sent to us via email."


    "Hmm? What did he send?" Sheldon asked with intrigue.


    Leonard suggested, "Let''s wait. Raj and Howard also received the email. They stopped me from reading it and asked us to wait until they got here to see our reaction."


    Feeling anxious, Sheldon took charge of Leonard''sptop, pushing his friend aside, and eximed, "Then we better check the email now. Wait! It''s only addressed to you."


    Sheldon''s aggression dissipated as he turned to his friend. Leonard then asked with nervousness, "Well, what does it say?"


    "I don''t know what it says. It''s addressed to you," Sheldon replied with an annoyed tone. He added, "My mother told me that reading other people''s letters and emails is rude, unless you''re a mother and you need to check if your children and spouse haven''t gotten into some sort of unholy trouble."


    Ignoring Sheldon''sment, Leonard proceeded to open the email after Sheldon stepped away. Suddenly, he screamed like a girl, taking a step back and covering his mouth in disbelief.


    Just then, Howard and Raj arrived at the house, having heard Leonard''s voice from outside the door. Hastily, they swung the door open and eximed in disappointment, "Damn it! We''re toote."


    "What is it? What''s happening?!" Sheldon asked with anxiety. "Is it the wait-for-it type of video again, and when you wait for it, something scary will pop up on the screen?!"


    Howard, wearing a gloating expression, remarked as he enjoyed his friends suffering, "Check your email."


    "Right. I can do that," Sheldon responded as he opened his email. "I got it��AHHH!!!" Sheldon screamed like a girl. "It''s a picture of an autograph! FROM GEORGE LUCAS!! DIRECTED TO... SHELDON LEE COOPER!!!"


    The email contained a selfie picture of Edward and George Lucas, along with the autograph attached to it.


    Sheldon''s chin quivered as he read the tagline in the email, "I will send it to your house soon. Did you guys hear that? SOON!!"


    Leonard, with tears in his eyes, asked Sheldon in a shaky voice, "Not hating on him so much now, huh?"


    Sheldon nodded and said, "If he were here... with MY autograph, I might even consider giving him a hug."


    Howard continued to gloat and said, "Then you''re going to love this!" He disyed a package in his hand and dered, "I intercepted the delivery guy downstairs! It''s here!"


    "OPEN IT, OPEN IT!" Raj, Sheldon, and Leonard eximed simultaneously. Themotion attracted the attention of their attractive neighbor Penny, who had just had a rough night at the Cheesecake Factory. She approached their door, wearing only shorts and a white tank top.


    "Why are you guys being so loud? It''s only 10 in the morning!? I was nning to sleep until noon." To her surprise, it was the first time ever that the guys�C minus Sheldon, ignored her�C especially in her sexy outfit as she came to the house. "Guys?"


    "Penny, we just got the most amazing gifts in the world." Leonard said as he kept his eye on the package Howard was opening. "That''s mine!" He snatched the first framed paper from the jumble with ferality as his name was at the top.


    "Mine!" Howard said as he took his.


    "Min�C" Rajesh almost finished his words when Penny stood beside him to take a look at what the guys were so excited about. She saw the sender''s name and said, "Oh. Is this a gift from Edward? How is he?"


    "No idea." Sheldon replied callously as he looked at Howard with expectancy. Howard knew what Sheldon wanted, but as he looked inside the package, he realized it was empty.


    "Sorry. That was it." Howard replied.


    "WHAT?!" Sheldon asked in shock. "But he said it''s going to be here soon. It doesn''t make sense not to send it all at once. Unless...The delivery guy''s name is also SHELDON! And he TOOK A LOOK INSIDE THE PACKAGE. I''M GOING TO CALL THE COPS!"


    As Sheldon started to freak out, none of the people there were reacting to him as they were reveling in their own gifts. "WOW." All three of them said at the same time.


    Penny stepped in quickly before Sheldon could use the delivery guy, "Stop. Sheldon, he might''ve made a mistake and forgot about putting it inside the package. I did it a few times before. Why don''t you call him before calling the cops on an innocent man?!"


    Sheldon finally calmed down a bit and said, "You''re right. I should call him first."


    5 minutester, Edward was in the between sses break when he received a call.


    "Where''s my autograph you butterhands!?" Sheldon yelled angrily as soon as Edward picked up.


    Edward was taken aback by the shouting and said, "Wow. I thought you''re going to thank me. But instead I got an angry call."


    Penny took the phone from Sheldon before he could answer, "Edward. Hi. This is all just a misunderstanding. Sheldon is only angry because his gift is not inside the package."


    Leonard, Howard and Raj started ganging up on Sheldon. Leonard said, "How could you do that to him? After he gave us the greatest gift we have ever gotten from anyone!? Including...THE GIFT OF LIFE!"


    Penny was the only one talking to Edward as the other guys scolded Sheldon. Then, Penny exined casually, "Edward checked, and apparently there''s a mix up. He identally sent your autograph to Dr...Who?" Penny asked Edward again in confusion.


    "Dr Amy Farrah Fowler. He is texting her and you can meet her at the coffee shop to get your autograph." Penny continued as she was listening to Edward. She then smiled and said to Sheldon, "Also, it''s going to be a date, so wear your best shirt to make a good first impression."


    "What?! I need to go on a date, just to get George Lucas''s autograph?!" Sheldon was shocked for the second time.


    Howard snickered and said, "Why are you saying it like you aren''t going to go on the date? We all know you will."


    "I�C" Sheldon opened his mouth in anger, then he thought about it and said calmly, "I will, I will definitely go on the date."


    Penny pped her hands in excitement and said, "Great! I''ll help you pick out your outfit! This is so romantic! Missing packages that lead to a first date. It''s like watching a ro movie yed out in real life!"


    As Penny walked away to dress, Leonard said as he looked at Penny with a longing expression, "I pretended a lot of her packages and mail were misced. Where''s my date?"


    ...


    Edward smiled as his scheme seeded. Taylor, lying on the bed next to him with her headzily propped up on her hand, noticed it and asked, "What are you smiling about?"


    Dressed in a satin pajama tank top and shorts,zily wrapped her arms around Edward as they sat in her cozy bedroom. Her hair tickled the back of Edward''s neck as she kissed him in the cheek.


    "I managed to set up some soulmates together."Edward answered curtly before asking, " Aren''t you getting ready for your interview?" Edward turned towards Taylor and gently brushed her hair back behind her ear.


    Taylor blushed a bit before pouting in disbelief, flopping back onto the bed and whining, "It''s so boring! I have to go through interview after interview, all by myself. While you get to hang out and have fun! My legs are killing me from all the running around. I''m not going to the interview today!"


    Edwardughed as he watched Taylor squirm around on the bed in protest. Then, he said, "You know, I kept telling you I''m great at massages."


    Taylor''s eyes lit up and she sat up quickly, "Really? Now?" She said suggestively.


    Edward rolled his eyes and said, "It''s not that�C Wow, You really don''t believe me do you?" Then, he grabbed her leg and started squeezing them. Taylor yelped in pain and tried to kick Edward away, but he caught her leg.


    "Hey! Stop trying to get me to go to work! ve Driver! I''m going to unionize!" Taylor joked as sheughed out loud. She knew that she had to be at the interview today, but she still wanted to mess around. It was still early after all, and she couldn''t meet him for an entire day yesterday.


    Edward smirked and said, "Of course I''m going to get you to work! I''m your boss!! Now, be a dear and stop resisting."


    Taylor burst intoughter, ticklish from Edward''s touch as he yed with her feet. Blushing, she surrendered, saying, "Fine, fine! I''ll go to work now!"


    Edward finally ceased the tickling and proceeded to give Taylor a proper leg massage. Affectionately, she looked at him, feeling a sudden jolt of electricity from his touch.


    Startled, she eximed, "What was that?"


    "I told you I''m great at massages," Edward replied mischievously, causing Taylor to squirm once again. Breathing heavily, she obediently flopped back onto the bed, saying, "Then, I''ll take advantage of thepany''s benefit and ask for a full-body massage."


    "I can certainly do that, but whether you can control your impulses afterward depends entirely on your willpower," Edward warned yfully.


    Confused, Taylor''s body heated up, and she eximed with a grin, "This is dangerous."


    The bedsheet bes wet from her detoxifying sweat and her mind bes dazed after a few minutes. ncing at the time, she realized she was runningte.


    Unfortunately, she couldn''t resist the stimtion and ended up missing her interview. Fortunately, Robin had rescheduled it for the afternoon when she realized that Taylor was preupied with sticking close to Edward.


    When they were done, as Taylor was hugging Edward and kissing his neck, she suddenly went to his ear, and then whispered, "I know Selena kissed you yesterday."


    Edward froze a second before replying, "It meant nothing, and you know what the cause of that, right?"


    "Still...you could''ve told me... Should I be worried about you and her?" Taylor asked as she looked at Edward with worry.


    "No. Not at all." Edward replied honestly. As he gave her aforting hug, her face changed instantly and she grinned, "Good. Because you said your massage could help her. I was worried that she''s going to risk it all because of how godly it feels, but I can be at ease as you said that I don''t have to worry about it. Ah, if she''s really desperate, you can get her off, but don''t stick it in�C"


    Edward''s expression turned serious as he responded, "I will if you keep talking about it." His yful words, meant to establish boundaries, struck a nerve with Taylor. Fueled by a mix of frustration and yfulness, she pounced on him, sinking her teeth into his shoulder in a yful act of anger.


    "Ouch, you bad kitty!" Edward eximed as he yed along with her act.


    -Tuesday-


    Inside Edward''s basementb, a collection of wooden cratesy open, revealing the received parts of his orders. Edward was hard at work, meticulously upgrading ROBIN''s hardware.


    Once hepleted the upgrades, Edward shifted his attention to tinkering with a few new inventions. Among them was a projector drone, designed to be as small as a bird. He carefully fine-tuned its mechanisms, eager to see it in action.


    "ROBIN, initiate the first flight test," Edwardmanded as he removed his goggles and set aside his soldering tools.


    "Commencing first test run on the ''Megamind Presentation Buff'' Project," Robin announced before adding, "Initiating propeller synchronization. Synching... 88%... 92%... 95%... Synchronizationplete."


    The drones swiftly took flight, disying agile maneuvers reminiscent of the snitch in the Harry Potter movies. They circled around Edward a few times before gracefully descending onto his open palm.


    "Great job, Robin," Edward praised, a yful smile forming on his face.


    "Most of the credit goes to you, sir," Robin replied modestly.


    "I know that. I just thought you would feel bad otherwise." Edward joked.


    "Next project is the Continental Link," Edward informed Robin, as a blueprint of a 2-storey tall satellite link appeared on the screen monitor, generated by his voicemand.


    Robin responded promptly, "Completing the project would require an estimated budget of 20 million dors, sir. It would be nearly impossible to carry out discreetly. If I may suggest, perhaps we could utilize the technology to attract investors to support the project?"


    "Let''s leave the task of attracting investors to Harvey. And don''t forget to notify Mrs. Saltzman about it as well. We wouldn''t want to make her sad and feel as if we didn''t think about her."


    During lunch, Edward''s aunt, Cam, brought some food into the basement for him to eat. She brought him some torti wraps and then said, "Hey, I saw you on the news again. Some old white dudes are talking about you."


    Confused, Edward turned to Robin for more information. To his surprise, an interview with George Lucas appeared on the screen. In the interview, Lucas revealed that he had decided to cancel the sale of hispany to Disney, thereby nullifying the acquisition process that would have taken several years to finalize.


    Kathleen Kennedy was also interviewed and she expressed regret to George distrust of her, while subtly hinting that he did so because she was a woman. Edward frowned at her words and then contacted George Lucas.


    He talked to him for 20 minutes, but all the context of his discussion with him could be summarized in two sentences. "Hi George, your interview sucks, and you seem like a bad guy because of it. I''m going to lend you Robin, and she could help you manage your image andpany management better."


    Robin was programmed with Lex Luthor level image management knowledge and skills, so she could be really helpful for George.


    "I was just about to ask." George said jokingly.


    The phone call was cut short because George was still under fire at that time. Edward decided to take his mind off it and continued his lunch.


    "By the way, I figured it out," Edward said, capturing Cam''s attention.


    "Huh?" Cam responded, clearly confused. She was unsure of what Edward was referring to.


    Edward turned his monitor screen to Cam and yed a video clip. The footage showed Cam fleeing from the police after they had stormed into a street racing event, attempting to apprehend those involved.


    Her figure darted under an overpass, followed closely by a helicopter. However, to the surprise of the officers, she seemed to vanish from their surveince as her car emerged from the other side of the overpass with no one in the driver''s seat.


    "It was easy for me to find this. I just needed to cross-reference an incident that happened on the day you came home with a bruise on your cheek, and this video popped out. That was awesome, by the way," Edward said, referring to Cam''s escape.


    Cam''s eyes widened in surprise and concern as she watched the clip. Her actions were caught on camera, revealing a part of her life she had kept hidden. She took a moment topose herself before speaking.


    "I... I didn''t expect this toe up," Cam admitted, her voice filled with a mix of regret and realization. "It was a reckless and foolish mistake, Edward. I was young, and I got caught up in the wrong crowd. I''ve learned from my past, and I''ve worked hard to leave it behind."


    Edward interrupted her with a snort of derision. "Stop acting," he said, a yful smirk on his face. "I can figure out what really happened, do you really believe you can trick me with that D-list actress-level acting?" He said with sarcasm.


    Cam pouted and crossed her arms, feeling caught. "Um... Are you going to rat me out? Or worse, are you cashing in on our bet?" she asked, her tone filled with a mix of concern and curiosity.


    Edward chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I had to change the prize. It felt too weird, especially since you''re my aunt," he exined. "Taboo thing does sound nice, but it will be hard for you to stay here anymore. So how about this? The next time there''s a race, you''re going to bring me with you. Or else, I''m going to send this video to my dad."


    Cam thought for a moment, considering Edward''s proposal, and then pouted in dissatisfaction. "Just to be clear, I''m only bringing you to watch! You can''t participate in the race!" she rified firmly.


    "Sure," Edward replied curtly, epting the terms. Cam pursed her lips, unsure if she could trust him, and whispered, "I''m so going to regret this."


    She then told Edward, "We can only go when the heat dies down. So in a few weeks, not right now."


    Edward shrugged nonchntly. "I can wait," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Cam was still crossing her arms when she suddenly realized something. Her eyes widened, and she blurted out, "What do you mean ''Taboo things sound nice''? You little pervert! I''m your aunt! Even if we''re not blood-rted--"


    Edward''s eyes widened in shock, interrupting her. He asked with disbelief, "What did you just say?"


    Cam froze, realizing her slip of the tongue. She looked at Edward like a deer caught in headlights, her face turning pale. Without uttering another word, she turned on her heels and ran away in a hurry, leaving behind a dumbfounded Edward, trying to process what had just transpired.


    Later that night. After Edward finished massaging Taylor, he received a text from his dad, requesting him toe home. Edward nced at the heavily breathing Taylor, but before he could reply to his dad, Taylor''s expression suddenly changed, and she rushed into the bathroom.


    "What''s wrong?" Edward called out from outside the bathroom door, concern evident in his voice.


    "Umm... You better go home," Taylor replied after a moment of hesitation.


    "Why?" Edward asked, his disbelief evident.


    "It''s... my time of the month," Taylor responded, her voice slightly muffled. Edward was taken aback once again by the unexpected revtion.


    "I''m going to go home for a bit. Then, I''lle back and stay with you tonight," Edward assured her, trying to be understanding.


    Taylor opened the door and looked at him in disbelief. "Wait. You''re still staying over?"


    "Why wouldn''t I?" Edward replied, his tone reflecting his confusion. With that, he left Taylor''s ce and headed back home. As he opened the door to his house, he saw his dad and Frankie standing together, holding hands. They both looked at Edward with a hint of hesitation.


    Edward immediately realized what had transpired and grinned. "Congrats, Dad! You finally have a girlfriend! Took you long enough."


    Frankie chuckled and replied, "Without your song, it might have taken even longer."

 Chapter 207: Fast Forward (2)

    <h4>Chapter 207: Chapter 207: Fast Forward (2)</h4>


    -Wednesday-


    After school, Edward discreetly made a stop at a hospital. Haley, who was with him and noticed his actions, felt a sense of curiosity but decided to follow along without asking any questions.


    Edward was dressed in a simple ensemble, wearing blue jeans and a beige shirt and hiding his face with a cap, while Haley opted for a stylish dark one-piece dress paired with thigh-high boots.


    As Haley followed Edward to the children ward, suddenly a crowd of children went silent as they entered the room.


    "Hi Everyone." Edward said as he took off his cap. The children lit up and pointed at Edward with excitement while murmuring.


    With a warm smile, Edward spent several hours with the children, engaging in games, sharing stories, and even singing for them. It was an intimate and heartfelt experience, carefully kept away from the media''s attention.


    Edward''s genuine act of kindness andpassion brought joy to the children, creating cherished memories for both them and himself.


    As Edward yed with the children, Haley noticed a little girl with auburn hair who stared at her intently. The girl, who had to walk with an IV pole, pointed at Haley and inquired, "Are you his girlfriend?"


    Caught off guard, Haley replied defensively, "No, I''m not! I''m just his friend, that''s it." She felt a bit anxious, sensing that the girl was a fan of TaylorXEdward and didn''t want to get into anyplicated situations.


    However, the little girl continued, saying, "Really? But you''re so pretty. Howe he didn''t make you his girlfriend?"


    Haley, slightly startled, fixed her hair and nced in Edward''s direction. She then turned back to the little girl, a hint of amusement in her voice, and responded, "I don''t know. Sometimes he can be pretty stupid."


    The little girl nodded in understanding and shared a surprising revtion, "I understand that. My brother can be quite stupid too."


    As Haley and the girl were talking, Edward stole a nce at their direction, and he showed an affectionate smile as he saw Haley talking andughing with the girl.


    "I enjoyed that better than I thought I would." Haley eximed after they went back home, riding in the ford convertible together.


    Edward chuckled and replied, "Yeah, you even became the Queen of the children in less than an hour. I guess it helps when you are on the same mental level as them."


    Haley yfully shot an angry re at Edward before bursting intoughter. "Speak for yourself. How can you lose at the game of tag, 10 times in a row!?"


    Edward shrugged, jokingly defending himself, "Hey, the kids are really fast! And I can''t really tag them because they have the IV pole as a defense."


    After Haley finishedughing at Edward''s yful exnation, she shifted the conversation to the uing VMA awards. "Hey, you''re attending the VMA awards, right? Have you decided on your outfit yet?"


    Edward smirked and replied, "Not yet. My stylist seems to have forgotten to do her job. I think I should fire her."


    Haley raised an eyebrow, pretending to be surprised. "Really? Well then, she''ll have to work extra hard in the next few days. Can''t let her favorite client go to the VMAs looking like a beggar. Wait, she has never been paid before? Or do you think that might be why she''s not working?"


    Edward yed along and said, "Nah, she just likes to mess around. She''s kinda a feral girl, so there''s really no need for money. I just have to provide her with some food and shelter, and she''ll work for me till the end of time."


    Haley was angry and said, "Who''s a feral girl!? I''m a beauty! There''s something wrong with your head if you can''t see that!" She then pouted and turned her face away from Edward.


    Edward smiled softly as he saw her pouting and mumbled to himself, "I guess...There is something wrong with me..."


    When Edward finally walked Haley to her door, she turned to face him, her nerves evident in her voice. "If I can''t make it, you have other options for your outfit, right?" She had clearly been pondering the matter.


    Unexpectedly, Edward shook his head and replied, "No. I want only yours. If you don''te up with something, I will literally go there shirtless."


    Haley was taken aback by his determination, and she couldn''t help but shout angrily, "That''s too much pressure! I don''t even have good designs right now!"


    "Then, you''d better start working," Edward responded teasingly. Haley stomped her leg in dissatisfaction before turning to walk into her house. Edward called after her, "Oh,e on. Don''t be mad."


    "I''m not MAD!" Haley shouted back. "I just have a lot of work to do! GO HOME! You''re distracting me!"


    Edward chuckled at her outburst and replied from a distance, "I''ll wait for the good news!"


    "SHUT IT!" Haley shouted as she mmed the door behind her, ready to immerse herself in the task at hand.


    ire and Phil were watching the entire thing from the window from the moment Edward''s car pulled over to the front of their house. As they sipped their cup of tea, ire spoke first, "Have you ever seen Haley like this before?"


    "What? Not giving up the moment it gets tough for her? Never." Phil replied with a soft smile on his face. "I guess she''s growing up."


    "Or, she''s in love. That''s why she''s doing crazy stuff." ire added.


    ...


    As Edward was working with some advanced tech in his basement at night, Robin suddenly chimed in, "Sir. You were mentioned in actor Robert Downey Junior''s interview. Simultaneously, Miss Taylor also mentioned you in her interview."


    One of the main differences between ROBIN and other AIs in Edward''s previous world was that she could have real time ess to the inte as the previous one needed data provided to them as part of their ''training''.


    "I specifically told her not to do it. It''ll steal the limelight from her," Edward eximed, frustrated but couldn''t help smiling. He wiped at a smudge on his cheek, only seeding in smearing it further across his face.


    The clip of RDJ''s interview yed, capturing the moment he was asked about the rumors circting regarding his annoyance with Edward Newgate. The viewers were already at the edge of their seats when waiting for RDJ''s answer as this could be one of the biggest news that woulde out this week.


    "Well, as for that," RDJ replied yfully, "I meant every word. Before the movie even hit theaters, he had already jumped ship to another franchise? And to think Jon Favreau had such a soft spot for him, even adding his name to the list of assistant producers for the show."


    The viewersughed, obviously knowing what RDJ was talking about.


    Edward''s face froze with disbelief. "Robin, is this for real?" he asked urgently.


    Robin took a moment to process the information before responding, "Based on the data extracted from Director Jon Favreau''smunications with his staff members, the information appears to be urate. You are indeed listed as an assistant producer for the show. They even sent a check to Entertain today, and your job title matches what is listed on IMDB."


    Edward fell silent, his mind racing as he processed the information. After a moment of contemtion, he finally spoke up, his voice tinged with confusion, "But... why?"


    Robin, ever the logicalpanion, responded, "The interview you requested contains the reasoning behind it. Would you like me to provide a summary beforehand?"


    "No," Edward replied, his annoyance evident. "Just y the interview."


    The interview was yed again, and RDJ revealed that Edward had been actively engaging in conversations and exchanging opinions with Jon regarding the movie. As a result, some reshoots had to be done to amodate Edward''s input and suggestions.


    "Well, let me tell you, if it was a bad suggestion, I wouldn''t hold back��I''d straight-up say I hate the guy," RDJ quipped, his signature wit shining through. The audienceughed, knowing that RDJ was only joking.


    "But truth be told, he''s had some pretty damn great suggestions! So yeah, we ended up shelling out some extra cash for reshoots, and you know what? Not a single person on the team hasined. But here''s the kicker: the guy goes and then...posts a video on his Instagram, hanging out with none other than George Lucas, the genius behind Star Wars."


    "Like, seriously? He never even bothered to mention the times he swung by the studio. So yeah, you can say I''m a little annoyed with him right now. Jon is also a little depressed and has started to hit the bottle again, wondering what he did wrong." RDJ joked.


    Edward''s face turned nk and he sighed, "Ah...That''s why..."


    Even though Edward''s mention in the interviewsted only a brief three minutes, it was undeniably entertaining and captivating. The story of his ship jumping antics quickly spread like wildfire, and soon enough, people couldn''t stop talking about it.


    Memes mocking Edward''s decision to switch franchises began surfacing all over the inte, adding a touch of humor to the situation.


    However, things took an unexpected turn when Marvel Studios released additional information about the film''s previous storyline that had been cut from the final scene.


    For ordinary people, Edward''s contribution was just so-and-so, but for the nerds, they instantly captured what Edward was talking about and realized that Edward was one of those guys.


    Suddenly, he was hailed as a messiah, a savior for the nerds who felt their voices were finally being heard. The inte buzzed with praise and admiration for Edward, as he became an unexpected hero in the eyes of Marvel enthusiasts.


    And people began to specte about what he was doing with George Lucas.


    As Leonard and Howard watched the interview, a revtion struck them. With ashen faces, they shared an exciting moment. "Are you thinking what I''m thinking?" Leonard asked. Howard replied with excitement, "That Ed will bring back Star Wars to the big screens? Yeah, I''m calling him Ed now."


    Back to Edward.


    "Yeah...Nerds are crazy. What about Taylor?" Edward asked with a look of resignation on his face. Deep down, he felt ttered that Marvel Studios had embraced his suggestions and even given him a role in the production. Although he suspected it was a calcted marketing move, there was still a hint of satisfaction in his heart.


    Robin yed the interview on the screen. There, Taylor was asked a question about how Edward was in real life.


    With unexpected candor, Taylor dered, "In real life? Well, I can sum it up in one word: he''s a dork."


    "Pfft-" Edward burst outughing as he heard that. Taylor then smiled and said to the audience who was eximing andughing, "I know, it surprised me too."


    The interviewer asked with a lightugh and probed further, "Why do you think he''s a dork?"


    "I know he carried himself like the cool guy in the interviews and all, but it was far from the truth. He loves to crackme jokes when we are hanging out."


    "Just yesterday, he told me a joke about a bear who went into a bar."


    Interviewer asked, "Oh, can you tell us, and let us decide if he''s a dork too?"


    "Sure. I will make sure to expose him today." Taylor joked, which made a lot of peopleugh. "The joke starts like this, so there''s this menacing bear who walked into a bar."


    "Then, the bartender nervously asked him, "What drink do you want?"


    "The bear said...Rum......................................And Coke."


    "The bartender wiped his sweat and asked, "Why the big pause?""


    "The bear replied, ''I don''t know. I was just born with them�C'' "


    The interviewee let out a snortyugh for a second before saying, "I finally get it."


    The audienceughed for a while before the interviewer asked Taylor, "Right now, I can say, he''s 30 percent a dork. Is there any more evidence to support your ims?"


    "There is more!" Taylor said in excitement. "Just this morning, when we went to get coffee, he took one sip and said, ''Ugh, My grandpa didn''t fight in 2 wars for a coffee this shi�C this bad."


    Taylor yfully excused her near-word slip, causing moreughter from the audience. The interviewer was confused, "Wait. 2 wars? Is his grandpa over 100 years old?"


    "That''s exactly what I asked him." Taylor replied with an irritated expression. "Then, with a smug look on his face, he said, ''That''s why I said he DIDN''T fight THE 2 wars.'' I almost threw my bagel at him."


    "60! He''s 60 percent a dork!" The interviewer replied, sharing the same sentiment as Taylor. Edward was grinning from ear to ear in his basement and mumbled, "Well at least it''s a good interview."


    That same night when Edward went to Taylor''s house, she appeared to be annoyed and irritated. Edward was confused and asked, "What''s wrong? Did you have a bad day?"


    "No." Taylor replied grumpily.


    "Have you eaten yet?" Edward asked again.


    Taylor rolled her eyes and said, "I''m not the type that gets mad if I''m hungry!"


    "But...have you eaten yet?" Edward asked again.


    Taylor went silent and replied meekly, "No..."


    Edward smiled and said, "I''ll cook you something to eat while you tell me all about your day. Does that sound good to you?"


    Taylor hesitated for a bit, torn between wanting to stay angry and bing happy. Then she decided to indulge in the pampering, "Yes."


    -Thursday-


    After school, Edward visited the Dunphy''s house to teach Luke how to y the guitar, driven by his desire to improve at Guitar Hero.


    As Luke left to get a drink, Edward and Haley remained alone in the living room. Haley mischievously smirked and asked Edward to show her the G chord.


    Confused, Edward positioned his fingers on the guitar, saying, "This is G..."


    Amusingly, Haley took a crisp dor bill, folded it, and ced it between the strings.


    Edward chuckled and eximed, "Did you just... slide a dor bill onto my G-string?"


    Haley''sughter filled the air as she yfully attempted to tickle Edward. However, Edward, maintaining hisposure, gently set his guitar down and turned the tables on her.


    Haley found herself breathless and squirming on the living room couch as Edward skillfully tickled her. But just as the tickling reached its peak, Edward abruptly stopped. Their eyes met, and an electric tension filled the room as their lips drew closer, inch by inch.


    Then, it met. Both of them widened their eyes and they separated from each other quickly. Haley''s face flushed and she couldn''t meet Edward in the eye.


    "I''m�C"


    "Hey I came out with a few things. I''ll bring my sketchbook down so that you can take a look." Haley interrupted Edward quickly.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I had to interrupt. I can''t bear it if he says ''I''m sorry''. I realized that right now we''re in a weird ce, but it''s not like it''s something bad...Right?" She asked with a confused expression.


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    -Friday-


    As Edward entered Sage''s ssroom, she immediately sprayed him with a bottle, scolding him in anger. "What''s wrong with you?" she eximed. "I specifically told you not to do that!"


    Edward hung his head, feeling guilty for his actions. He now faced the consequences of his impulsive behavior��a relentless barrage of nagging from Sage.


    Wiping his wet face with his hand, Edward tried to exin, "I cannot control myself. me these teenage hormones."


    Sage retorted, "Excuses! You''re a warthog."


    Edward was taken aback. "Are you calling me a pig?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice.


    Sage calmed herself down and said, "I don''t want to tell you how to live your life. And, I don''t really care about the girls. You can date both of them if you want. "


    Edward was a bit taken aback, "Then, why?"


    Sage red at Edward, making his heart jump for a second. She exined, "You know you have been acting really deluded ever since you have ROBIN."


    Edward replied casually, "Well, my workce has be 1500% more efficient. I can focus my time on creating stuff�C"


    "Not that. That''s all the good part." Sage interrupted. "I was talking about the part where you think you can solve everything if you have her. That''s a dangerous thought, and you know it yourself."


    Edward was silent for a while, and then he looked at Sage with a serious expression. He said, "So what if I know? I don''t have a solution to it. Do you have any solution to it?"


    Sage was the one taken aback this time. She replied with confusion, "No?"


    Edward locked eyes with Sage for a while before he sighed. "Then, if you don''t have the solution, and I don''t have the solution, is it really the best use of our time worrying about it?"


    "Edward. If there''s a ticking bomb counting down inside your house, will you ignore it, or try to do something about it? You can read some books...I don''t know? Get a professional toe take a look? Or just wait until the countdown finishes?" Sage said sarcastically.


    "Well it''s not like I''m creating Ultron. There''s really no risk to it." Edward replied.


    "Do you even believe what you''re saying right now?" Sage asked.


    Edward was silent for a while, and then he was saved from answering the question by the bell ring and the other students entering the ss.


    Later, after school had ended, Edward found himself unexpectedly running into Mrs. Henderson, his middle school teacher, at a nearby diner.


    "Hello Pretty Lady. Are you eating alone? Want somepany?" Edward flirted as he sat at her table without even asking permission.


    Mrs Henderson raised an eyebrow and said, "Hello Mr Newgate. Nice to see you aren''t changing much."


    "That''s...rude?" Edward asked in confusion. He shrugged and said, "I don''t know whether to be offended by that statement or not."


    Mrs Henderson smiled and said, "That''s what I was going for."


    Edward grimaced and said, "Well, nice to see you aren''t changing too."


    "Anything on your mind? You seem... a bit distressed." Mrs Henderson asked.


    Edward was taken aback and joked, "Shouldn''t we order some food and lead the conversation with some small talk first before getting into the more serious topic?"


    "We could. But I ordered my take away 10 minutes ago, and I usually only need to wait 15 minutes before leaving with my food." Mrs Henderson said casually.


    Edward smiled and said with a fake sad expression, "You can''t stay for 10 more minutes for our reunion. I''m hurt."


    "Hurts...That reminds me. I saw your matchst Sunday. Are you okay now? You got tackled pretty hard." Mrs Henderson asked,pletely dismissing Edward''s act.


    "Yeah the bruises are all gone." Edward replied honestly.


    "Well you should take good care of yourself. A lot of people will feel sad if something were to happen to you." Mrs Henderson said with a soft expression.


    Edward went silent for a while before he smiled, "I guess you''re right."


    Mrs Henderson''s order came at the moment, and while she took her bag, she said to Edward, "And, you don''t really need to worry too much. A lot of things are happening to you all at once, so you may feel overwhelmed... But if I know you Ed, I don''t think it will bother you at all."


    "Huh?" Edward was confused.


    Mrs Henderson smiled and said, "if you think of them as challenges rather than problems, then maybe, you might have some fun solving them."


    Edward was tongue tied when he heard it. After Mrs Henderson left, he stayed there for a while, ruminating on what she had said. A lot of things cleared up when he decided to look at them with a different perspective.


    "Is this what Sage was talking about? I guess Mrs Henderson is a professional in solving people''s problems�C Wait. She''s a teacher. She''s trained to do so. Sage is just an impostor." Edward mumbled to himself.


    However, as Edward left the diner, he had a nagging feeling that someone was watching him with ill intentions. He quickly scanned his surroundings but couldn''t identify the culprit.


    "Was I imagining things?" Edward mumbled to himself, on high alert as he returned to his car.


    ...


    "Congrattions for breaking through 100 million views!!" Pepper popped a confetti bomb to Taylor as she entered his office together with Edward. They were currently at the Entertain building, making final preparations for the VMAs!


    "Pep! You''re back!" Edward said with excitement as he gave Pepper a giant hug.


    "If I stay there any longer, I might have to call myself a New Yorker, and I have a lot of problems with that." Pepper said sarcastically. Taylor smiled and said, "100 Mil? Really?"


    Edward grinned and turned to her, "Really! It just hit 100 Mil 20 minutes ago."


    "ED!" Taylor rushed toward Edward and gave him a hug. Edward hugged her back but shortly after, she pulled her face back and asked Edward seriously, "Did you do anything to mess with the views?"


    "Unfortunately, No. You got 100 Million views on Youtube, all on your own effort�C Well, our effort. The MV is called, "Unnecessarily High Quality" and "4 Minute Movie" after all." Edward answered yfully.


    Pepper chuckled hearing that and added, "You forgot "Teenage Rom-Com You never knew you needed". That''s enough hugging from you two. Let''s talk about the VMAs."


    Pepper held his paper fan in between Edward and Taylor before separating them. Taylor grimaced in dissatisfaction and shot Pepper a dirty look while Edwardughed.


    Pepper didn''t take her ring seriously at all and said, "The votes are closed tonight. Unexpectedly, they listed Edward''s song inside the categories too. I''m sure you guys all know about it."


    "Yeah. I''m skeptical about that. I have only debuted less than 5 months after all. Taylor has 3 years, and she''s still being counted as a newbie."


    Taylor nodded and hugged Edward''s arm, "You''re just awesome. Maybe they realize that too."


    Pepper added, "Even if they were ying around, even getting nominated is such a huge honor for a new celeb."


    Edward shrugged and said, "We don''t really need this kind of suspense. I can ask ROBIN to just tell me who won."


    "NOOO!!" Pepper and Taylor shouted at the same time. Edward was taken aback and he eximed, "Sheesh. Both of you guys are drama queens."


    Friday night arrived, and Edward and Taylor had to fly to New York for the VMAs award show. Ted, offering his support, hugged Edward, "Good luck at the VMAs. Don''t forget to bring a nice bag to put all of the trophies in."


    "Don''t worry. I already have." Edward joked back.

 Chapter 208 - 208 :VMA (1)

    <h4>Chapter 208: Chapter 208 :VMA (1)</h4>


    (4 parts for the VMA)


    [Edward POV]


    In a nearby waiting room, I observed Taylor as she slipped into her breathtaking one-shoulder Kaufman Franco gown. The dress was truly a work of art, adorned with dark sequins that adorned every part, from top to bottom, creating a mesmerising intery of light and shadow.


    The upper and lower sections of the gown were richly embellished with a dense concentration of sequins, while the middle section featured sparser sequin ents, adding depth and intrigue to the overall design.


    As Taylor twirled in front of the mirror, a smile of satisfaction graced her face, and I couldn''t help but be captivated by her beauty.


    Suddenly, a hint of disappointment crept into her voice as she touched her thigh. "Damn, the dress seems to have be smaller," she murmured. The gown hugged her body tightly, entuating her curves and exuding undeniable allure.


    I chuckled inwardly, recalling the picture she had shown me of herself in the dress. Although she looked great in the previous fit, at certain angles, she looked a bitnky.


    After a week of massaging with my Murim techniques, her skin became more radiant. Her hair became glossy, and her sexiness quadrupled as some parts of her became bigger. I brushed my hand on her bare back, making her lean towards me.


    "It wasn''t like this before," she added, remembering the time when the designer had taken her measurements. "I wanted to look like a country girl, but I feel more like a cougar actress in her 40s instead." She said with aggrievance.


    Unable to resist, I chimed in yfully. "What are you worrying about? You look absolutely stunning. Especially with that alluring hint of side boob�C"


    Before I could finish my sentence, Taylor pushed my face lightly, pretending to be annoyed. I smirked and gently grabbed her hand, bringing it to my lips for an affectionate kiss. "And what''s wrong with looking sexy?" I teased. "I swear, the dress is making me want to rip it apart and take you right here and now."


    Taylor smiled mischievously and responded, "If you rip it, then you''ll have to pay the sponsor 50 grand."


    I shrugged, feigning indifference. "That''s not even 5 % of what I earn in a day. Why don''t you buy ten more of these dresses, so we can have a good time together?"


    "Oh really? I guess there''s some benefit to dating a rich man. Then I will put in the order right now and make you broke!" She flirted back before pushing me and said, "You need to change too!"


    "Don''t worry about it. I can finish changing in 10 minutes." I replied smugly before asking, "Where''s Selena? She''sing, right?"


    "Missing your new girlfriend? She''s here...I think." Taylor replied teasingly.


    "Kinda." I replied, making Taylor grimace in annoyance. "You''re supposed to say that you don''t miss her!" She snided.


    "Oh, but it''s okay for me to im her as my girl?" I yed along with her logic, which made her taken aback. Then she said angrily with a sexy grimace on her face, "You should not do that too!! Ugh! Why am I even talking to you about this!?"


    Iughed and said, "Hey you brought it up."


    *BANG* The door was pried open violently.


    Pepper''s sudden entrance startled both Taylor and me, and we turned our attention towards him. He was apanied by a stunning brte girl who was wearing a captivating ck dress with a deep cleavage. Instantly recognizing her�Cwithout even looking at her face, I eximed, "Hey, it''s Max!"


    Max smiled and waved her hand at me before pointing to the irritated man. Pepper rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "I''ve been waiting for you to end your flirting for a while outside the door, but it kept going on endlessly."


    Iughed and told Pepper, "Who asked you to wait? Juste in next time. We don''t really mind the audience."


    Taylor hit my arm and said, "YOU don''t mind it! I very much do! Pepper! He doesn''t want to change." She whined childishly.


    "Because his outfit isn''t finished yet." Pepper interjected to Taylor''sint, making her baffled. "What do you mean?" She asked, taken aback.


    "He put in the order at thest minute yesterday. Luckily, Longinus can still make it."


    Max then rolled in a wardrobe rack into the room, revealing a ssic elegant green suit and ck shoes. I went to check how the material felt with my finger and said, "He did one hell of a job."


    Taylor was still focusing on Pepper''s earlier sentence and asked, "Why is he putting the order in only yesterday?"


    "Because he emphasized that he wanted to wear a suit created by Haley." Pepper replied.


    I noticed Taylor''s jealous look and said, "Can you me me? You''ve seen the outfit, right?"


    Pepper nodded and said dismissively, "I know, I know. Go do your hair and then wear the suit."


    "Or you can just wear it here." Max said with augh.


    "Alright." I said casually and started taking off my shirt, causing Pepper to cup Max''s eyes and pull her out of the room.


    "Aw,e on. I want to see it." Max eximed jokingly as she was escorted outside.


    Ten minutester, I stood ready in front of the mirror to make my entrance at the prestigious awards show, while Taylor diligently put the finishing touches on her outfit. The designer had carefully chosen my ensemble, and it exuded an air of elegance and sophistication.


    I wore a captivating dark green suit that enveloped my entire body. The deep shadeplimented my eyes wlessly, entuating their natural allure. The suit was expertly tailored, hugging my frame in all the right ces, and exuding a sense of refined style.


    Beneath the suit, I sported a ck undershirt, tastefully unbuttoned to reveal a pristine white shirt underneath. The subtle contrast of colors added depth to the ensemble and showcased the designer''s attention to detail. A fang ne adorned my neck, adding a touch of intrigue and personal ir to the overall look.


    Toplete the ensemble, I adorned my wrist with a prestigious Rolex watch, its gleaming metal and intricate design adding a touch of luxury and sophistication. My footwear consisted of sleek ck Armani dress shoes, meticulously crafted to ensure bothfort and style.


    As for my hair, it had been artfully styled, slicked back with a hint of deliberate nonchnce. Some strands cascaded gracefully, framing my face and adding a touch of effortless charm.


    Taylor whistled as she saw me. "You clean up nice."


    I rolled my eyes and said, "When did I ever not have style?"


    Sheughed and then showed a bitter smile. "It''s great...but we don''t match."


    "That''s kinda the point. We need to not let your image be tied up to me that much." I said while fixing stray hair affectionately.


    She smiled as she locked eyes with me and said, "Kinda hard to imagine not seeing you for a long time after this."


    "Don''t worry. I will make sure toe to your tour whenever I have free time." I replied as I held her chin.


    She shot an angry look at me and said, "Don''t make promises you can''t keep. That makes you seem like a yer."


    Iughed a bit and said, "Alright. But I am being truthful. I wille to meet you if I have the time."


    Exiting the room, we made our way towards our transportation for the evening. Max, brimming with excitement, unveiled the ride she had arranged for us. "It was quite a challenge, but I managed to find them! Get ready to be amazed!"


    To our astonishment, she revealed a stunning flowery carriage, elegantly adorned and pulled by two magnificent brown horses. My jaw nearly dropped at the sight, while Taylor couldn''t contain her excitement, cupping her mouth in awe.


    "A fairy tale carriage? Seriously?" I couldn''t help but mutter to myself, feeling a slight pang of embarrassment. The white metallic frame of the carriage''s seat resembled a Cindere pumpkin, and the person guiding the horses even donned a top hat, adding to the whimsical atmosphere.


    "Luckily, it''s just a five-minute ride," I whispered to myself, aware of the potential for unexpected surprises in the bustling city of New York. However, I couldn''t help but feel a sense of nervousness as I entered the carriage, extending a helping hand to Taylor, guiding her inside.


    (Taylor actually did pull up inside a carriage for the 2009 VMA lol)


    ...


    *Click Click Click Click*


    shes of camera light illuminated the red carpet as Taylor and I pulled up to the event held in Radio City Music Hall.


    "Taylor! Edward! Look Over Here!!" The reporters and the paparazzi snapped our pictures heavily as I escorted Taylor out of the carriage, gentleman style.


    Then, we posed at the Video Music Award Billboard together, with her putting her hand on my shoulder and posing, and me doing the next pose by holding her from the waist. Only after that did we do our solo photoshoots. .


    The fans screamed in excitement as they saw us ying around, and we waved at them before entering the waiting area where the interviews were held.


    There, I saw the iconic Lady Gaga in her red dress and her face covered with red mesh, JB who dressed up like he''s a teenager at the mall, Selena and several Disney kids, Nick Jonas, PussyCat Dolls, Eminem, and many more.


    Marshall saw me and went to greet me instantly. We sped hands, hip hop style before he turned to look at Taylor. With astonishment, he said, "Damn. I didn''t know that you were hiding hot weapons under your clothes."


    "Marshall." I interjected. Taylor thought I was going to get mad for her sake, but I subverted her expectation by saying, "From now on, refer to them as Bazoongas."


    Taylor hit my arm once more while Eminemughed at us. "Sorry. Bad habits." He said while apologizing to Taylor. "If you ain''t Ed''s girl, I would''ve asked you out." He joked.


    "But she is. So, maybe try Lindsey Lohan." I said.


    Eminem widened his eyes in surprise and asked me with a whisper, "How do you know?"


    "Know what?" I asked, confused.


    Eminem looked at me in disbelief and said, "Nothing I guess. Wait here. I''ll introduce you to my friends."


    He then introduced me to a couple hip hop artists, when I suddenly asked, "Hey. Do you know Rihanna?"


    Taylor looked at me with irritation and said jokingly, "You''re already looking for another girl?"


    I rolled my eyes and said, "Stop trying to paint me as a yer. I just wanted to know what kind of person she is. Because I have an idea for a cob, between her and Marshall."


    "And you too?" Taylor asked.


    "Nope. Just the two of them." I replied.


    Eminem was immediately interested and said, "Alright! I''m not that close to her, but I''ll see if I can talk to her about it."


    When I finished talking with Eminem, the interviewer called Taylor and I for an informal interview. Why do I say it was informal?


    Because MTV has already decided which celebrity to interview before the show. Any other interviews would be released separately. And to be clear, we would be interviewed again as part of the nominees before the event started.


    "Hi Edward. Hi Taylor. Nice to meet you guys." An interviewer, a young white man with a deep voice held his recording device at us while holding a camera on the other.


    "Hello." Both Taylor and I greeted him politely.


    "Wee to the VMAs. Um, who are you most looking forward to seeing here tonight?" He asked.


    Taylor answered first, "Umm... Lady Gaga."


    "Me too. Same answer." I replied with a chuckle.


    At this moment, unbeknownst to us, Lady Gaga was walking behind us and heard the answer. She waved at the camera for a second without us knowing it before moving away.


    "Oh, she''s nominated for a lot of the same category as you guys. But are you still going to root for her?" The interviewer asked jokingly.


    Taylor replied, "Well to be nominated for 9 categories today shows that she''s an amazing artist. "


    "But I''m nominated for 9 too." I said poutingly, causing Taylor to be taken aback before bursting into sincereughter.


    The interviewer didn''t care and asked again, "If you guys were nominated for the same category, who do you guys wanted to win?"


    Both of us answered at the same time.


    "Taylor." I answered.


    "Eddy." Taylor answered.


    "No hesitation at all huh." The interviewer said jokingly. We didn''t spend much time with him, and went to do the formal interview soon after.


    There, Taylor and I found ourselves participating in separate interviews, eagerly expressing our anticipation for the uing awards show and more. While we were having the interviews, a lot of celebrities could be seen looking at us with awe.


    The VMAs, specifically focused on recognizing the excellence within music videos, took into ount various aspects such as editing, cinematography, video direction, and visual effects, among others.


    Taylor had received nominations for her outstanding videos, including "Love Story" and the recently released "You Belong With Me." Thetter had shattered records, achieving an incredible feat of reaching 100 million views on YouTube in less than a week!


    However, I had the privilege of being the frontrunner in this regard. My music video, "Believer," had been released during the summer, and within a remarkable span of just nine days, it had amassed 100 million views. This aplishment was truly extraordinary.


    It''s worth noting that our other videos, such as "Love Story" and "Grenade," also surpassed the 100 million view mark, although it took them over a month to reach that milestone. This serves as a testament to the remarkable achievement of reaching such a massive audience.


    To put things into perspective, even iconic music videos like "Single Ladies," which was nominated for Best Music Video of all time, took a considerable two months to gain traction and reach the 100 million view mark. On the other hand, "Paparazzi" only recently crossed the 100 million view threshold, having been released in June.


    As for the current view counts, "Grenade" has garnered over 230 million views on Youtube, and 110 million views on Entertain video, "Love Story" boasts 199 million views and 77 million views, "Believer" has an impressive 430 million views and 270 million views, and "You Belong With Me" holds 110 million views and 50 million views as of today. These numbers speak volumes about the widespread appeal and enduring poprity of our music videos.


    However, Youtube and MTV are in a different category. If Youtube, or even Entertain videos achievement were taken into ount, Taylor and I would''ve won all the awards given here today.


    ...


    After finishing the interviews, I went back to the waiting area where I saw K, an african american hip hop artist, posing in front of the billboard with a full liquor bottle in his hand. I ignored him and then went to Selena and Taylor who were talking to each other.


    Selena saw me and was a bit startled. She quickly became nervous as she nced at Taylor to check her reaction. I smiled and spoke casually, "Hey, it''s been a while. How are you?"


    "Good." Selena replied curtly. "Y-You guys must be so excited for tonight."


    "We are." Taylor replied.


    "Well she is. I want to go back home and sleep." I replied sincerely, making both of the girls chuckle.


    Selena said, "it is pretty boring in the beginning. I can''t wait for the show to start."


    "We''re sitting near each other right?" Taylor asked.


    Suddenly, a teenager with long hair and burgundy colored jacket walked towards us. "Hi." JB greeted me with a smile and offered his hand for a handshake.


    "Hi. Well, should we introduce ourselves? Cause I''m pretty sure everyone here knows each other. You know what? Let''s still. Hi, I''m Edward. You can call me Ed. "


    "Um, what are you doing?" Taylor whispered with disbelief to my ear, but was caught by JB. It was to be noted that at this moment, he hasn''t be famous worldwide and the song ''Baby'' hasn''t been released yet.


    JB''s smile quickly became bitter and he said, "Sorry for bothering you guys." He eyed Selena for a bit before turning.


    I replied with a teasing smile and stopped him. "Why should you? We haven''t even gotten to know each other yet. Let me ask you this, who do you think is prettier, Shakira, or Eminem?"


    He was baffled and he answered with confusion, "S-Shakira? I- I''m not g�C"


    "Then, we have something inmon. I think we can be friends." I replied jokingly. Taylor snorted while Selenaughed. JB was a bit embarrassed and he tried to act tough, "What the hell- HAHAHA."


    It was the first time he burst intoughter tonight. We talked for a bit until it was time for us to enter the venue. We sat near each other before JB was called to go backstage to present the award.


    Selena asked me when he left, "I thought you hated that guy..."


    "Yeah, you''d taken some shots at him a couple of times before." Taylor added. "Are you being a hypocrite?" She asked mischievously. I smiled and said, "I hate his image, but not the guy himself. Seriously, he needs a haircut. "


    Taylor rolled her eyes while Selena chuckled.


    The showmenced, with an opening speech from the MTV Director, setting the tone for the evening''s festivities. Following the speech, a captivating 20-minute performance by J Jackson to pay tribute to the legendary Michael Jackson, captivating the audience with his iconic music and dance moves.


    The first two awards presented were "Best Video (That Should Have Won a Moonman)" and "Best Performance in a Pepsi Rock Band Video." While the significance of the first award was to honor veteran artists deserving of more recognition, the relevance of the second award might have been to acknowledge outstanding performances within Pepsi-sponsored music videos.


    After Madonna delivered a heartfelt speech about Michael Jackson, the attention shifted to Jack ck and Megan Fox, who took the stage to present the award for "Best Male Video."


    The crowd erupted in apuse as they walked behind the podium. Jack ck was wearing a simple jeans and t-shirt, creating a stark contrast to his co-host Megan Fox, who shimmered in a glittery ck dress with a deep cleavage, exuding mor and allure.


    Jack ck asked, "So I hear, one of the nominees today is a good friend of yours. Do you hope that he will win the award?"


    "He''s one of the most talented people I''ve ever met, and one of the rare few people in the world that didn''t react much when he met me."


    "Seriously?" Jack ck was astonished. Then, he looked right at me and said, "Newgate, did you really reject Megan Fox? THE Megan Fox?"


    The audience was stunned before they all bursted intoughter. The camera focused on my face during the live show, and I just waved politely at the camera while slightly pointed towards Taylor. My behavior won me the heart of countless female fans, and caused overexcitement to a few of them. It seems that Megan had taken our meeting before during the Jimmy Fallon interview to her heart.


    Jack ckughed and joked, "You have no chance at all."


    Megan pretended to be disgruntled and continued, "Without any further dy and heartbreak, these are the list of nominees for the Best Male Artist of 2009 VMA awards."


    A triumphant music was yed, and a short clip of the nominees''s music video was shown on the big screen.


    Best Male Video: Nominees.


    Eminem �C "We Made You"


    Jay-Z �C "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)"


    Ne-Yo �C "Miss Independent"


    K. West �C "Love Lockdown"


    Edward Newgate �C Believer.


    Jack ck then opened up the envelope with the winner''s name on it and announced, "The winner for Best Male Video of the 2009 MTV VMA award goes too..."


    Megan Fox continued with a huge smile on her face, "Edward Newgate..." The crowd burst into apuse as my name was announced, "...Believer!"

 Chapter 209: VMA (2)

    <h4>Chapter 209: Chapter 209: VMA (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    As the chorus of "Believer" filled the air, I was escorted towards the stage, feeling a mix of excitement and nerves. As I stood up from my seat, I leaned over and nted a gentle peck on Taylor''s cheek, followed by Selena, both of whom cheered for me wholeheartedly and stood up to celebrate my winning before making my way to the stage.


    Eminem who was nominated was nodding in acknowledgement, while K looked a bit dissatisfied when the camera panned out to show his face.


    Upon reaching the stage, the energy in the room was palpable. Megan Fox handed me the trophy with a light hug, and I reciprocated with a grateful smile. I then extended my hand to Jack ck, who warmly shook it.


    "Congrats Ed." Megan Fox said.


    "Congrats Kid." Jack ck said.


    "Thank you both." I said to them. "Also, I really loved Kung Fu Panda and the School of Rock." I said to Jack ck, making himugh.


    As Megan and Jack took a step back, the spotlight centered solely on me, standing alone in the center of the stage. The crowd''s anticipation filled the air, and I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts before I began my speech.


    "Hello everyone. I''m Edward Newgate," I began, my voice projecting confidently as the crowd erupted in thunderous cheers, showing their support and enthusiasm. A smile of disbelief crossed my face as I soaked in the overwhelming response who didn''t stop for almost 15 seconds.


    As the atmosphere quieted down a bit, "First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to MTV for bestowing this incredible award upon me. Music has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember, and receiving this recognition today holds immense significance to me."


    I took a moment topose myself, gathering my thoughts before continuing. "I want to take this opportunity to give a special thanks to my dads. To Ted Newgate, who raised me with love and support, and to my new dad whom I recently met a few months ago. I stand here today because of him; Pepper Saltzman, the CEO of Entertain, who believed in me before anyone else would, and for that, I am eternally grateful. "


    As I spoke, I noticed Pepper who was sitting at the CEO''s seat, visibly moved by my words and tearing up. His support had been instrumental in my journey, and I was proud to acknowledge his impact on my sess. All of my sentences were met with incredible cheer from the fans, and some artists there.


    "I also wanted to give a special mention to the family I''m close with, and my aunt Cam. Additionally, I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to one of my dearest friends and most important people in the world, Taylor." The crowd erupted once again as I mentioned her. I directed my gaze towards her, witnessing her wiping tears of joy, which only fueled my own happiness.


    "I can vividly recall our first meeting and the tremendous support she''s provided throughout my career. I''m forever grateful for yourpany and guidance."


    "I''d also like to give a special shoutout to Phil, ire and their children... Selena... my band members, Eminem who has my back, Coldy who I''m really sure you will be seeing up here soon enough , my dear friends from school, and everyone at Entertain agency who has shown... unwavering belief in me. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Lastly, and I didn''t forget you guys!! ...To all of my fans, I love you guys so much! Thank you!" I waved my trophy to the crowd.


    The crowd cheered as I made my leave with Jack ck and Megan Fox backstage. The big screen showed my journey as an artist as I went away as they changed the presenter.


    This showed my journey from the start of my career�C my first ever video of me singing in a cafe, and getting to where I was today. I left my award with my staff member before rejoining the audience. There, Taylor hugged me excitedly as I came back and said, "Damn it, you ruined my mascara."


    Eminem walked towards me and congratted me too. "Since you already said that I got your back, that means you''re part of my squad. So don''t worry about nothin''. I will make sure none can mess with you." Eminem said.


    "That great and all, but have you talked to Rihanna yet?" I said jokingly.


    "Soon!" Eminem answered curtly before he left.


    Next up was for the Best Pop Video Category, presented by Nelly Furtado and Kristin Cavari. The nominees were : Britney Spears �C "Womanizer", Beyonc�� �C "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", Cobra Starship (featuring Leighton Meester) �C "Good Girls Go Bad", Lady Gaga �C "Poker Face".


    "And the winner is, ''Britney Spears�C Womanizer!''" The announcer said.


    I enjoyed watching the show and cheering for the other winner when I was called backstage to get ready for my performance.


    "And now, presenting the award for Best Female Video, Taylor Lautner and Shakira!! �C"


    I smiled as I heard the announcement. "I wonder if she''ll be happy with my surprise." I mumbled as I looked into Taylor''s direction�C the girl, not the boy.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Back to 20 minutes before, in LA, Jay''s house, there was a viewing party to watch the VMAs together.


    Edward''s friends group, the extended family, Ted, Frankie, Sage (Anna) and Cam were all inside Jay''s living room.


    As they saw Edward win the award, they burst into cheer, and were especially excited and focused when he was saying his speech.


    Phil cried immediately, "He mentioned my name. I''m special to him. I''m like the dad he never had."


    Ted heard Phil''s mumbling and shrug in confusion and disbelief. The only reason he didn''t go there today was because he had a major check up for his liver problem, and Edward told him to stay behind.


    ire cried too and said while hugging Phil, "I''m so proud of him."


    Cam was offended, "Why does Phil get special mention when all of us fall under ''the family he''s close to''... in the general term?!"


    Mitchell was holding Lily and he said casually, "Cam this is his time to shine, not yours. He doesn''t owe you anything."


    "But�C"


    "No buts." Mitchell stopped Cam''s unreasonableness immediately.


    Jay was slouching on the couch, drinking whiskey as he watched the show. "When will this be interesting?" He asked Alex who was sitting nearby with her friends.


    "I don''t know.." Alex replied honestly. Jacob was looking extremely depressed, and when Elsa asked him why, he replied, "He didn''t mention me as his best friend."


    "Ugh!" Elsa groaned in disgust after hearing Jacob''s answer.


    "Wait. Britney won? Pepper owes me 50 dors." Mitchell said as the award show continued.


    Gloria brought some empanadas to the living room to give to her son, "Here. I made your favorite food!"


    "Mom, you''re smothering me again." Manny said, hiding his annoyance.He had been acting distant towards Gloria for the past week, and it was starting to take an emotional toll on her.


    Suddenly, all of them gasped as they were watching the TV.


    In another house, Mrs Henderson was watching the awards show alone, and she showed a rare affectionate smile as she watched Edward receive the award.


    In Cuba, the MTV awards show was yed inside a huge old mansion. Miranda, Edward''s mother, watched the award show with aplicated expression. "He didn''t even mention me..." She mumbled to herself.


    Back to MTV, as the nominees for the Best Female Video was announced, K, the african american hip hop celebrity was looking down on his empty liquor bottle.


    The nominees for the Best Female Video were yed on the screen.


    Taylor S. �C "You Belong with Me"


    Beyonc�� �C "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"


    Kelly rkson �C "My Life Would Suck Without You"


    Lady Gaga �C "Poker Face"


    Katy Perry �C "Hot n Cold"


    Pink �C "So What"


    It was the first time Taylor got nominated, and she couldn''t help but cover her mouth with excitement.


    "And the winner is..." Shakira opened the envelope with anticipation and she smiled before reading it. Both of them announced together, "Taylor S. You Belong With Me!"


    Edward pped for Taylor while he was at the performance stage which was located to the left side of the hall. She was confused and baffled when she won. She hugged Selena before walking to the stage.


    Senior stars like Pink were especially excited for Taylor. Pink was d to see another girl made it to the industry, and she was giving Taylor a standing ovation.


    Taylor hugged Shakira and shook hands with Taylor Lautner �C a guy who tried to hit on her before, but she didn''t reciprocate his feelings. Lautner and Shakira took a few steps back as they gave Taylor the award.


    The crowd cheered thunderously as Taylor grabbed the microphone and said, "Thank you so much!!" As the crowd calmed down a bit, Taylor continued, "I would always dream what it would be like to maybe...win one of these, someday...But I would never actually felt that it would''ve happened."


    She was extremely grateful to win the award, and continued, "I sing country music, so thank you so much for giving me the �C"


    Suddenly, the camera stopped screening her speech as one member of the audience had stormed the stage. K, obviously intoxicated, grabbed the microphone from Taylor and interrupted her speech.


    "Taylor. I-I''m really happy for you, and I''mma let you finish," He said while Taylor was feeling ufortable by his action. He turned to point at another member of the audience and said, "But Beyonce has the best video of all time!" He then gave the microphone back to Taylor and jumped down from the stage.


    The crowd was bbergasted by K''s action, and they started booing him. However, the young girl standing on the stage thought that the jeer was for her. The female artist stood up and shouted Taylor''s name to support her, but she couldn''t hear any of that.


    Taylor''s body became tense, and she froze while standing in front of the crowd. Her breathing bes erratic, and her eyes be teary. Edward rushed to the stage when he saw K climbing it, but he was toote.


    Pink, the punk rock artist, went directly to K''s seat and shouted to his face, "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!"


    The screaming and usation to K was so bad that he had to be escorted out of the venue.


    Beyonce covered her mouth as she didn''t expect it to happen either. Feeling grateful for K''s action never even surfaced inside her mind. She was disgusted by his actions instead.


    As Taylor was frozen, the MTV live broadcast was changed into a shortedy clip of Eminem and Tracy Morgan, an SNL like clip where Tracy had to train to get the best artist award under Eminem''s direction.


    The audience could only see a short scene where Edward ran to Taylor before the clip was cut to theedy scene. People all across the world were curious as to what was happening to the MTV award, and the editor of the show saw it as a perfect opportunity to get more ratings for the program.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I witnessed that despicable person climbing onto the stage, my body reacted instinctively, propelling me in their direction.


    "Shit. It happened here too?" I muttered, ovee with disbelief. How foolish was K to still attempt to storm the stage when it was clear that the music video was a sess? I had been so certain that this wouldn''t happen that I had becent in my nning. I med myself for this turn of events.


    Rushing towards Taylor, who stood there pale and shaken, I called out to her softly, "Hey, listen carefully. They''re not booing you."


    Taylor''s eyes finally refocused, and she saw me. "Ed," she spoke with a shaky voice.


    "Listen," I said, pointing to my ear. She looked confused for a moment, but then she could finally hear what the people were saying.


    "TAYLOR, YOU''RE AWESOME!"


    "IGNORE HIM!"


    "TAYLOR, DON''T DOUBT YOUR SUCCESS!"


    Her tears finally broke free, streaming down her cheeks. She cried as she embraced me in front of the thousands of people, and I held her tenderly, offeringfort. Some were surprised by the brazenness, but no one thought it was excessive given what had just happened to her.


    Once she had calmed down a bit, I suggested, "Let''s go backstage. We can leave the show if you want." Taylor had yet to make a decision, so we decided to leave the stage first.


    Before we departed, I took the microphone from Taylor''s hand and addressed the entire crowd, though my words were directed at the organizers. "You guys surely know how to manipte ratings," I spoke venomously.


    "Dozens of security guards, yet you couldn''t stop one person. We''ll leave the award here. When you decide to present it to her properly, only then will she ept it."


    Leaving the tainted award in the center of the stage, I walked away with Taylor. I wanted to go after K, maybe hit him once or twice, but he was already kicked out from the venue.


    My words left the organizers speechless and panicked, while many other celebrities followed suit, choosing to leave the venue. Pink, in particr, was disgusted by MTV upon hearing my statement, and she left the hall directly, without anyone being able to stop her.


    Carl Matthew, one of the show''s producers, immediately asked the staff member to stop the guests. He was one of the few who wanted to stop the live stream the moment Kanye walked up the stage, but was objected to by the other directors. Now, the show had to cut to amercial break, which was a huge incident during a live show.


    Beyonce went backstage with her mother, and she also wanted to leave the venue when Carl stopped us by standing in front of our passage.


    "Wait. WAIT!" He shouted while breathing heavily. "Don''t leave yet." He said, trying to convince us. "I shouldn''t tell you about this, but there''s a way we can fix the whole thing, but it needs to happen right here! At the show!"


    I looked at Taylor to see if she wanted to solve this and got the answer. "We''re listening." I replied while holding Taylor''s hand.


    ...


    After a few minutes, Taylor and I found ourselves in the waiting room, waiting for her to calm down after the emotional incident on stage.


    "Hey, Ed..." Taylor called out to me.


    "What is it?" I responded, looking at her with concern.


    "I''m okay now," she said, her face now devoid of tears. "You should go. It''s time for your performance."


    I paused for a moment, considering her words. "Well, I actually made the performance especially for you, after your win today. If you weren''t there to see it, it would feel meaningless for me to perform."


    Taylor was stunned for a while. "What?" Taylor eximed, a mix of confusion and excitement in her voice.


    I nodded, a smile forming on my lips. "Yeah. Why else do you think my performance is scheduled right after you won the award?"


    "You''re kidding," she said, disbelief evident in her tone. "Wait��does that mean you already knew all the winners here today? I told you not to do that!" Even though she pretended to be angry, her curving lips exposed her true feelings.


    I chuckled and asked, "Even if... I was to tell you now...that Best Female Video wouldn''t be thest award you''ll be receiving tonight?"


    Taylor''s eyes widened in surprise, and she suddenly stood up, grabbing my arm. "Wait. Really?"


    "I don''t want to spoil the surprise, but yes," I said, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "So make sure to watch my next performance, okay?"


    She nodded, a mix of obedience and curiosity in her expression. Then, she answered coyly, "I guess I should. I wouldn''t want you to put all that effort into it for nothing."


    I scoffed at her who smiled mischievously while looking at me. She grabbed my chin to tease me as if I was a cat.


    "You really don''t want me to do anything to him? I could snipe him with a poison needle, HIV needle, take his car brake out, even hire some guy to jump him?"


    Taylorughed at my offer before she said, "No- There''s no need. If we retaliate, then we will be the ones under fire."


    "Yeah. The country is pretty shitty that way. They alwayse after the victim, and not the bully." I replied before shrugging nonchntly, "Still. I could still do it."


    Taylor smirked and gave me a kiss suddenly. As we slowly separated, she said hesitantly, "There''s no need. Ed...there''s no easy way for me to say this..."


    I held her hand and locked into her eyes, "Then, let me. Yes, we should try anal�C"


    She pinched both of my cheeks and pulled it hard in anger! "That''s not what I was going to say!"


    "Oww-Oww, then, Threesomes?"


    "NO!!"


    I pretended to be shocked, "FOURSOMES!!"


    "AHHHHH!" She pulled my cheek harder, making it be red.


    At this moment, Selena came and gave Taylor a huge hug tofort her together with Taylor''s mom.


    After getting her to her support group, then I returned backstage to get ready. It was already 5 minutes past the time I was supposed to perform, but I no longer care about MTV. The producers noticed that but they couldn''t say anything because they were the ones at fault here.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Miranda Cosgrove�C The main character from ICarly, and Adam Brody, another actor, walked to the stage to present the next performance.


    Adam Brody, dressed in his elegant ck suit turned to the teenage Miranda Cosgrove who was wearing a low cut dress, and said, "I believe the next performer is the one in your tweet which you said you have a crush on?"


    Miranda was bbergasted and said, "No. I mean, who wouldn''t? Without further ado, presenting, the prodigal pop star, the handsome prince, Edward Newgate!"


    Adam Brody was shocked to hear Miranda''s description as they were supposed to only say his name. Heughed at the teen girl''s antics and pped his hands together as the curtain was drawn, revealing the lone figure of a charming boy sitting on the piano chair underneath the spotlight.


    Edward took the stage in a striking ensemble that exuded both elegance and a hint of intimidation. He donned a pristine white tuxedo suit, pairing it with a partially unbuttoned white undershirt that revealed a glimpse of his chest. Around his neck hung a chain ne, adding a touch of edginess to his attire.


    His ck trousers, expertly tailored, featured a delicate golden lining running along the sides, entuating his sleek silhouette. However, it was the unexpected essory that caught everyone''s attention��a vibrant green and red scarf cleverly cinched around his waist, serving as a unique and eye-catching belt. It was Haley''s idea to add the scarf, and it immediately turned his outfit into an iconic essamble.


    As Edward began his performance, his hair was immactely slicked back, exuding a sense of refinement. Yet, a few artfully tousled strands escaped, framing his face and lending a touch of effortless charm. Thebination of his polished appearance and the subtle disarray of his hair created a captivating contrast, drawing the audience''s gaze.


    The presentation was a stark contrast from all of the other performances tonight, which focused mostly on pop music. It made the audience hold their breath as Edward pressed the piano keys gently.


    [??JVKE - Golden hour??]


    The refreshing melody stunned a few people. At this moment, Robin released the drones to support Edward in the performance. An illusionary, faceless figure of a long blonde haired woman dressed in a beautiful golden dress appeared on top of the piano, startling everyone.


    Edward''s melodious voice reverberated all across the hall, "??It was just two lovers...Sittin'' in the car, listenin'' to John (elton)...Fallin'' for each other ??


    Pink and orange skies, feelin'' super childish,No one to bother.??"


    "??Missed call from my father


    Like, "Where you at tonight?"


    Got no alibi??"


    Some of the artists there scoffed, "Basic shit."


    "??I was all alone ??" Edward continued while looking at the illusionary and fairy tale-like woman. Countless light shows flying animals flew all over the venue, making the performance a spectacle."


    Suddenly, the light on the back turned on, revealing the figure of the entire LA Philharmonic orchestra!


    Edward crooned with a goosebump inducing voice."??With the love of my life!! She''s got glitter for skin. My radiant beam in the night~! I don''t need no light to see you�C??"


    "Shine~~~~!!!!!


    It''s your golden hour (Oh-oh-oh)??"


    The entire world bes mesmerized by the show. The Orchestralbination and Edward''s singing turned the ordinary show into an extravagant spectacle.


    "You slow down time~~!!!!!


    In your golden hour~~!! (Oh-oh-oh)"


    Lady Gaga eximed, "HOLY SHIT!!!" She rubbed her arms from the chills she got. Then, she be extremely furious, "If K didn''t act out�C FUCK! He almost RUINED AN AWESOME SHOW!"


    A lot of people shared the same sentiment. TaylorXEdward shippers were especially mad at K for the bitter taste they were feeling, and attacked him on social media.


    The performance continued with the apaniment of the violin, "??We were just two lovers, Feet up on the dash, drivin'' nowhere fast, Burnin'' through the summer, Radio on st, make the momentst, she got sr power, Minutes feel like hours,She knew she was the baddest, Can you even imagine fallin'' like I did???"


    The illusionary figure hopped down to the floor and started dancing all around Edward.


    "??For the love of my life...She''s got glow on her face...A glorious look in her eyes...My angel of light...??" Edward''s affectionate voice turned Miranda Cosgrove into an almost puddle of water.


    "??I was all alone with the love of my life


    She''s got glitter for skin


    My radiant beam in the night


    I don''t need no light to see you~??"


    The light turned off for a moment before a golden light filled the entire stage.


    "????Shine~~~~!!!!!!????"


    "????It''s your golden hour (Oh-oh-oh)????"


    Taylor was mesmerized when she watched the whole show, and the bitter feeling from having her moment taken away, disappeared. Her short moment that was taken from her, turned into a legendary moment that would be talked about in decades after this performance.


    "????You slow down time~~


    In your golden hour (Oh-oh-oh)~~????"


    As the orchestra yed the instrumental outro, the crowd stood up to give Edward a standing ovation.


    However, the orchestra music slowly turned sinister, making people stunned. The soft golden light turned into dark red ominous light, and the logo of Iron Man helmet was shown on the screen.


    Coldy appeared on the stage, and the drummer hit his drum, ying a discordant ominous music. Edward took the second when the light was off to change his jacket into a ck Tommy''s jacket.


    The melody fits perfectly with the orchestral music, and Edward grabbed a golden microphone as he stood in the middle of the stage.


    [Imagine Dragons - Enemy || Arcane - Orchestral Version (Extended). The beginning part before the vocal.�C On Youtube]


    "(Look out for YOURSELF!)" Chris Martin sang in the background while Edward stood up from the piano and gave a middle finger to the direction that Kanye left.


    (Some of you might hate me for letting it happen again, but the impact of the incident was actually HUGE! Even the president was involved in it. It restructured the whole ''rude to everyone'' hip hop culture, and even changed the way the industry works after that.


    I don''t remember the producer''s name, but he actually exists, and yed a crucial role in fixing the incident. Pink''s reaction, Beyonce''s reaction, and even Taylor''s reaction for wanting to leave the show was taken from the incident itself. It only because of him that Beyonce stayed and Taylor continued performing next. )

 Chapter 210: VMA (3)

    <h4>Chapter 210: Chapter 210: VMA (3)</h4>


    [General POV]


    Outside the venue, K was escorted to his car under heavy security due to the angry fans who were throwing objects in his direction. Frustration and expletives escaped his lips as he vented his anger at the chaotic situation unfolding around him.


    "FUCK YOU GUYS! I DID NOTHING WRONG!" Still drunk, K almost started a fight with the fans there, and the scene was captured by the reporters outside the venue.


    Countless fans were crowding around the area and were watching the show through a projector set up by Entertain because Edward wanted the fans who came to support him to still be able to see his performance. It was a thoughtful gesture that won him a lot of points from his fans, that''s why they were being extra mad at K�C even if they weren''t initially Edward''s fan.


    K mood took a further nosedive when he caught sight of a billboard disy featuring Edward flipping the middle finger during his performance. Pink saw the scene while her car was driving past, and sheughed while appreciating Edward''s ''spunk''.


    "Stop the car! Let''s go back in." Pink said to the driver.


    To K, this gesture felt like a personal affront, an added insult to the already tense situation. He seethed with anger, his veins pulsating as he contemted rushing back into the venue to confront Edward, however he was stopped by security immediately.


    Meanwhile, inside the awards ceremony, as Edward defiantly raised his middle finger, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. The song seamlessly morphed into the opening notes of Edward''s hit track, "ENEMY," catching the producers off guard. One of them anxiously questioned whether they had agreed on a different song, suggesting a potential interruption to the live broadcast.


    However, Carl, one of the producers, snapped back in frustration at his ipetent colleagues. "Are you insane?!" he eximed, his voiceced with anger. "Just let him be! My god, how many people do you want to piss off today!? Besides, I told him he could do it!"


    The tension both inside and outside the venue continued to mount as the unexpected turn of events unfolded, leaving everyone on edge, uncertain of what woulde next.


    [Imagine Dragons - Enemy || Arcane - Orchestral Version (Extended) �C On Youtube /watch?v=9RJ0COQU5gI&ab_channel=mercurialkenny ]


    "??Look out for yourself!??" Chris Martin of the Coldy band sang. The beatings of drums made the audience''s heart beat faster. The camera panned out to a confused Eminem�C as he thought that he was a part of the song, but Edward had never called for him.


    Edward took a deep breath before singing while looking upward and his back slightly bent and taking a few swaggery steps, "??I wake up to the sounds of the silence that allows, For my mind to run around, with my ear up to the ground. I''m searchin'' to behold the stories that are told, When my back is to the world that was smilin'' when I turned??"


    "??Tell you you''re the greatest


    But once you turn, they hate us??"


    Suddenly, ROBIN yed a familiar audio along the music, "I Love you, and I''mma let you finish, but�C"


    People gasped and were stunned by Edward''s unscrupulousness. Beyonce covered her mouth with disbelief as she watched the show, her eyes full of questions.


    "The whole thing is like a giant middle finger to K. BAHAHAHA!" Pinkughed maniacally.


    The beats dropped, and the entire audience was mesmerized. Even Han Zimmer who was among the audience was entranced while seeing the performance.


    Edward turned to Chris Martin and they sang together, "?? Oh, the misery!!


    Everybody wants to be my enemy~!!


    Spare the sympathy!


    Everybody wants to be...my enemy??"


    ??Pray it away, I swear I''ll never be a saint, no way


    My enemy??


    ??Pray it away, I swear I''ll never be a saint, no way


    My enemy??


    *GUNSHOT*??(Look out for yourself)!


    Some members of the audience were startled by the gunshot sounds, and they cheered soon after.


    "??But I''m ready??" Edward sang the bridge while a lightshow of Iron Man logo flew all over the venue. In California, RDJ was extremely satisfied when he saw the performance, "He didn''t forget us after all!"


    The stage turned red and golden, and Edward walked to the audience. The illusionary girl came back and danced ballet in front of Ed.


    "??Your words up on th�� wall as you''re prayin'' for my fall. And theughter in th�� halls and the names that I''ve been called. I stack it in my mind, and I''m waitin'' for the time. When I show you what it''s like to be words spit in a mic??"


    Taylor realized that Edward wanted to encourage her, and she screamed his name out loud.


    ??Tell you you''re the greatest~~!


    But once you turn, they hate us~~!??


    ??Oh, the misery~~!


    Everybody wants to be my enemy~~!


    Spare the sympathy~!


    Everybody wants to be my enemy~~!!


    ??Pray it away, I swear I''ll never be a saint, no way


    My enemy??


    ??Pray it away, I swear I''ll never be a saint, no way


    My enemy??


    *GUNSHOT*??(Look out for yourself)


    In California, as Haley watched the performance with Tara, her friend asked, "Is he going to shoot K?"


    Haley rolled her eyes and replied, "A lot of people thought "Look out for yourself" is for his enemy. It''s not. It''s...for himself."


    Edward walked to the orchestra and mimicked the conductor as the violin solo started ying.The sight of him evoked a sense of nostalgia in both Ted and Miranda, although their emotions diverged sharply in every other aspect.


    ??Oh, the misery


    Everybody wants to be my enemy??


    The audience danced together to the performance, and they even sang together with the choir.


    ??Spare the sympathy ??


    ??Everybody wants to be my enemy??


    ??Oh, the misery ??


    ??Everybody wants to be my enemy


    Phil suddenly said, "I got to be honest. I kinda hate this song."


    ire was astonished and asked, "Why did you say that?"


    "Because...if everyone is his enemy... then, doesn''t it mean he''s alone against the world? I don''t know, I hate if that is really what he thinks."


    ??Spare the sympathy ??


    ??Everybody wants to be...my enemy??


    As Edward poured his energy into the performance, the intensity of his movements and the heat of the stage caused him to be increasingly sweaty.


    Thebination of perspiration and his vigorous performance caused his shirt to be partially unbuttoned, inadvertently revealing a glimpse of his well-defined abs. It was an unexpected fashion incident, a result of the shirt being hastily made for the asion.


    Unbeknownst to Edward, this particr moment turned out to be the highlight for many fans and the media alike. The cameras captured numerous screenshots and photographs during the awards show, and the images of Edward''s sculpted physique quickly circted online


    "??Pray it away, I swear I''ll never be a saint, no way??"


    "??My enemy??"


    "??Pray it away, I swear I''ll never be a saint"


    ??(Look out for yourself)??


    As soon as Edward finished singing, the crowd exploded. The celebrities gave him a standing ovation, and every single doubt that they have about him being amercial artist disappeared.


    "BRAVOO! BRAVOOO!" Pink shouted before she whistled.


    Miranda Cosgrove who was presenting Edward at the beginning was stunned speechless, making it only Adam avable to close the show.


    "Edward Newgate, and a special appearance from COLDPLAY, and LA PHILHARMONIC EVERYONE!"


    The crowd erupted into cheers once more. The members of the Philharmonic Orchestra took a bow, and Edward did the same thing together with Coldy before the curtains were drawn.


    However the cheers didn''t stop even after that happened. On Twitter, Edward''s performance was trending worldwide.


    @KimKardashian: That performance was insane! #MTVAwards #EdwardTheGoat


    @HaileeSteinfeld: AH! I WANT TO WATCH IT AGAIN!! I GOT GOOSEBUMPS ALL OVER! EDWARD MARRY ME! #MTVAwards #EdwardTheGoat


    @Pink: K is the biggest ASSH*LE in the world! IMAGINE he didn''t do that stuff! That performance will be the greatest there is in MTV HISTORY! #FuckKW


    @ScarletJohanson: Edward, Taylor, you guys are awesome!! And Congrats for winning both MALE and FEMALE BEST VIDEO!! #MTVAwards #EdwardTheGoat #FuckKW


    @JayZ : Putting that audio in is STONE COLD! But, he deserved it! Congrats Edward Newgate, Taylor Swift, and Britney Spear for your awards!


    @BritneySpears: I know now why people are so obsessed with Edward. He''s so dreamy! And I totally know he''s going to hit K if he was on the stage when he did that.


    @PresidentObama: What K did was extremely disappointing. @TaylorSwift, you earned that award. No one could tell you otherwise. It seems that the hip hop music industry needed to have a reflection on itself so that this would not happen ever again.


    @RDJ: Um, is no one talking about the fact that the president is calling K out? Also, Congrats Ed! You were so awesome in that performance!


    The reporter outside of the venue interviewed Justin Timbeke just moments after the curtains were drawn, "What do you think about Edward Newgate''s orchestral performance?"


    Justin Timbeke replied, "It was phenomenal. Not many people know about this, but Edward was actually named a musical prodigy at the age of 7... And today, he showed us what that is all about. You know? The way he blended his past and his current career together effortlessly, made me a bit jealous. Maybe someday, NSYNC could get back together again?"


    The reporter and Justin Timbekeughed at his joking sentence. While the world was moring about the performance, Edward was backstage, wiping off his sweat as he stood in front of the orchestra.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Thanks a lot guys. It was worth it that we practiced hard for a week before the show." I said to the 30 members orchestra.


    The lead conductor, a balding middle aged man, said, "It was the first time someone practiced with us through Skype. And what''s more amazing, we didn''t even do Believer but Enemy. We only yed that for fun twice before. You can''t imagine how nervous I was during the show." The guy had an almost crying face, as if to tell me about his suffering.


    "Sorry Sorry. For my apology, I will foot the entire bill for you guys when you guys hang out at the bar today!" I announced, making them cheer silently. Excitement filled the air, although we had to keep our celebration muted as the awards show was still in progress.


    Sam, the conductor, changed his face instantly to a happy one. I already knew he was fishing for rewards, but I still gave it to him even if I realized it. They were super helpful and friendly during the practice. I knew every single one of them.


    Most of them also already knew me from my ssical music era, therefore they were looking forward to coborating with me. After the performance, I returned back to my seat after changing my clothes again, this time wearing only a simple ck suit without a tie.


    ...


    After our moment of celebration, the awards show swiftly progressed, showcasing the talent and achievements of various artists. Eminem''s captivating music video for "Without Me" earned him the de for Best Hip Hop Video, while Beyonc��''s iconic choreography in "Single Ladies." secured her the award for Best Choreography. Lady Gaga''s visually stunning "Paparazzi" triumphed in the Best Special Effect category.


    Notably, both my music video for "Believer" and Taylor''s "You Belong with Me" were nominated for the same Best Special Effect category.


    Then, Lady Gaga performed her song Poker Face. Her out of the ordinary choreography was really eye catching. Shortly after that, Taylor performed two songs, ''Love Story'' and ''You Belong with me'', wearing a short, frilly red dress.


    As the evening progressed, the awards were announced, and Lady Gaga continued to make her mark. Her exceptional artistry and attention to detail in the visual aspects of her work earned her the award for Best Art Direction.


    Beyonc��''s music video for her song secured the award for Best Editing, showcasing her meticulous craftsmanship.


    Lastly, Taylor Swift''s talent as a co-director was recognized with the award for Best Music Video Direction, underscoring her ability to bring her artistic vision to life on screen. Both of us were called to the stage, as I was the overall director for the music video.


    The narrator said, "The song "You Belong with Me" by Taylor S was well-matched with the message and cinematography presented within its music video. The song''s lyrics and themes beautifully intertwined with the visual storytelling, creating a cohesive and impactful viewing experience.


    The music video for "You Belong with Me" effectively captured the essence of the song''s narrative, showcasing a story of unrequited love and longing. The cinematography and direction skillfully conveyed the emotions and storyline, which was a genius move by both Taylor and Newgate."


    The crowd cheered thunderously as Bryce Das Howard presented the award to Taylor. She was hesitant and wanted to give the award speech to me, but I said, "You should do it. I''ll keep a lookout."


    I stood next to her while crossing my arms menacingly, making an exaggerated gesture of scanning the crowd which made a lot of peopleugh.


    Taylor burst intoughter too, and she finally gave her speech.


    As she stood in front of the crowd, they stood up and cheered enthusiastically for Taylor. "Um...Maybe we can do this again?" She said, causing the crowd to explode into supportive chant and cheer.


    She looked towards me with a smile on her face, and I smiled back at her. Her voice became a bit shaky, and she continued, " As I wanted to say before, Thank you so much to MTV for giving US the award. It meant so much to me. Um... I also wanted to thank my dad, my mom, my agency Entertain, Edward, Selena, and everyone else who supported me.. My fans, and everyone else who came out to my shows over the summer. I loved every single one of you. "


    She took a nce at me before finally continuing with the award she got, "When I first made the storyline, I thought it was just a silly idea. A teenage girl fantasy you can say. I was a bit embarrassed by it. But Edward had no hesitation about it, and... he brought the video to life! Ed, do you want to say something?"


    Taylor then offered me the microphone, giving me an opportunity to speak. With gratitude in my voice, I addressed the audience, "Thank you, MTV, for honoring us with this award. Although Taylor tried to put the credit on me, it was she who conceived the rtable storyline. She may not have realized it yet, but it''s one of her greatest strengths. With this award, I hope she believes in herself even more. "


    Amid the yful atmosphere, Eminem chuckled from his seat and jokingly shouted, "Are you guys flirting right now?" The remark sparkedughter and yful jeers from the celebrities in attendance. Taylor blushed, making the crowdugh even more.


    The atmosphere was charged with anticipation as Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart took the stage to announce the next set of awards. The first award announced was for Best Rock Video, and the tension in the room grew palpable.


    "And the winner is... Edward Newgate!! ''Believer''!" their voices rang out, filling the venue with excitement and apuse. The room erupted in cheers as my name was called.


    In mymencement speech this time, I mentioned, "I thank the creator, for he gave me thinking capability surpassing those of a 3 years old child, throwing tantrums every time things didn''t go the way they wanted it."


    Everyone knew exactly what I was referring to here. But the surprises didn''t end there. As the evening progressed, it was time for the Best New Artist award, a category that celebrated emerging talent and fresh voices in the industry. Once again, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart announced, "And the winner is... Edward Newgate!!"


    The crowd erupted into a frenzy of cheers and apuse, celebrating the recognition of my work as a new artist. The consecutive wins for both Best Rock Video and Best New Artist further highlighted the reception and impact of "Believer," solidifying its ce as a standout music video. I had beaten Lady Gaga in the votes, and promising artists such as Drake and Kid Cudi.


    Right now, I have taken the lead in the overall amount of awards achieved by me for the 2009 MTV VMA with 3 awards!


    When I returned to my seat, Taylor said, "Congrats Ed!"


    "Yeah. Remember our deal. One girl to add to our night session for each one award�C Ouch."


    She secretly pinched me after I said that. Selena heard what I said and asked with disbelief, "What�C You guys are degenerates." Both of us turned to her andughed at the same time.


    Following the exhrating wins for Best Rock Video and Best New Artist, Beyonc�� took the stage to deliver a remarkable performance of her iconic song "Single Ladies." The audience was captivated by her electrifying choreography and powerful stage presence, reaffirming her status as a consummate performer.


    As the night progressed, the final three awards were eagerly anticipated. The category for Best Cinematography was announced, highlighting the visual artistry and technical skill employed in capturing the essence of a music video. The moment arrived, and it was revealed that "Single Ladies" had won the award for Best Cinematography.


    Andy Samberg said, "Tonight, we are honored to present a very special award that recognizes the exceptional music videos that have be worldwide sensations through tforms like YouTube and Vevo. We proudly present the Fastest to Hit 100 Million Views category!"


    Jimmy Fallon added, "And let me tell you, thepetition was fierce! A music video like ''Believer'' managed to hit the incredible milestone of 100 million views in just nine days. But today, we have an even more remarkable achievement. The winner of this coveted award managed to aplish it in a mind-blowing six days! That''s less than a week!"


    The crowd buzzes with excitement as anticipation fills the room.


    Andy Samberg and Jimmy Fallon, in perfect sync, announce, "Without further ado, please wee to the stage the winner of the Fastest to Hit 100 Million Award... Taylor S. ''You Belong with Me''!"


    Taylor''s jaw dropped as she heard her name called out. At this moment, she also received 3 total awards, and whispered to me, "We have the same amount, so you cannot add 3 girls."


    "Damn it. And I was so close too." I joked.


    Our conversation wasn''t captured by the camera as it only captured me giving Taylor a hug before she went to the stage. As Jimmy Fallon gave her the award, she teared up. I shouted her name and whistled, making her chuckle for a second as she heard my voice.


    Suddenly, Andy Samberg said, "We all know what had happened before, so in addition to this award, we have a very special person who wanted toe upstage today."


    Taylor was surprised, and as she turned back, her jaw dropped as she saw Beyonce walking towards her with the award Best Female Video in her hand.


    Andy Samberg gave the presenter microphone to Beyonce who exined her intention foring up there today.


    "Taylor, I remember my first awards. I was 17 at that moment, performing together inside the group Destiny''s Child. I know how special those moments are, how much they mean to you... So I would like you to relive that moment without interruption this time. Will you ept this award for Best Female Video?"


    "I will." Taylor replied. Beyonce finally breathed in relief and then gave her second trophy on the stage. The incident that had unfolded at the beginning of the show was now tied up neatly, bringing closure to the situation.


    I was happy for Taylor, and shortly after, they announced the award for Best Video of all times, and it was deservedly won by Beyonce. With that, the awards show finally ended for tonight.

 Chapter 211: VMA (4-F)

    <h4>Chapter 211: Chapter 211: VMA (4-F)</h4>


    [General POV]


    Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Taylor, Britney Spears, and Edward posed together outside in front of the VMA billboard while holding their awards. Eminem and the other winners were called, but they hadve other things to attend to, such as a massive party with no inhibitions in NYC. Countless photographers snapped their pictures, illuminating the red carpet with shes of lights.


    "Taylor! Give Ed a kiss!" One of the photographers daringly asked.


    Taylor looked at Edward with hesitation. Edward smiled and pointed to his cheek. She smiled and kissed him.


    Lady Gaga joked, "We don''t all have to do that right?"


    Britney added mischievously, "Why not? I kinda want to do it too?"


    "You guys can do it if you want." Edward said with a smirk as he heard their discussion. Britney lit up and went to smooch Edward''s cheek jokingly, earningughter from the others.


    Edward had a small talk with Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Britney during the photoshoot, and managed to get their personal contact number. After giving some interviews, Edward received a text from Marshall.


    "He''s asking if we want to go to the party?" Edward said to Taylor.


    "Really? He said it like that?" Taylor asked incredulously.


    "Nah, what he really said is, ''Come by, the party is lit. No cap. For real, for real."


    Taylor''s jaw dropped and Edward finally showed the text to her with a smirk. The text was written in the first way Edward asked Taylor before. She smiled with irritation, "You-"


    Edward''s cheek was pulled yet again, but this time, a photographer managed to capture the sight of them ying around. The photo went trending on Twitter immediately after the award show.


    Still on the red carpet, "You''re going to go back home?" Edward asked Taylor incredulously. "I thought we''re going to celebrate?"


    Taylor replied helplessly, "My mom wants me to go back to Texas...You know, after everything. Um...We can still celebrate, after I get back. You also need to go back to your home, right?"


    Suddenly she blushed and said, "Or, you can go with me...back to Texas?"


    "Um that is a great suggestion honestly. I really wants to hear you say ''YeeHaw'' while you''re riding�C"


    "We''re in public!" Taylor hit Ed in the arm before he could finish. He smiled as he rubbed his bicep to recover the non-existing pain and said, "A horse. Riding a horse. God, how dirty is your mind?"


    "Ah." Taylor gasped.


    On some social media, a heated argument was currently transpiring after the awards show.


    Some of the more critical people in social media started questioning the validity of the awards show.


    SSSshotgunDog: Are we sure that @TaylorS and @EdwardNewgate aren''t nepo babies? (A/N: Nepotism)


    JKnotJK: 6 awards out of 16 today went to a lone entertainment agency. I wonder if some backdeals were involved.


    Some used MTV of making backhanded deals with Entertain, insulting Edward and Taylor, and even supporting K''s decision today.


    A heated discussion currently underwent with Edward''s shots during his speech was a sign of racism, but it was shut down instantly when veteran artists such as Snoop Dog tweeted in favor of Edward.


    @SnoopDog: He''s calling K a baby, not the entire race. Some of you guys need to hook me up with whatever you''re smoking so that I can finally get thosest 2 stubborn brain cells I''ve been trying to kill.


    Rihanna just retweeted back the President''s tweet with the caption : " He is a talented artist, and a human being. Both of them. So they may make mistakes in the heat of the moment. But some, may make greater mistakes than others. And they should be responsible for their actions."


    Another shocking thing happened right before the day of the grammys. Rihanna''s boyfriend was arrested for physically hitting her until her lips split and there''s bruises all over her face. Her boyfriend was soon arrested by the police.


    Marshall''s search for Rihanna in the awards show was in vain because she had never attended in the first ce. The whole thing was kept under wraps for almost a day before the paparazzis found out.


    In the airport, Entertain staff members who were carrying Edward''s drones into his private ne were suddenly halted by a few men in a military uniform, causing a confrontation.


    Edward and Taylor finally left under the scrutinizing gaze of everyone and got into a ck limousine together. There, Max, Pepper, Selena, and Taylor''s mom were already inside, waiting for them.


    As the car moved away from the venue, Edward asked Max, "Why did I get the news that Kanye had to hitch a ride from his friend to go back to his hotel?"


    "Who knows? I don''t know who''s the one crazy enough to stab his car''s tires with a screwdriver?"


    "Max..." Edward looked into her face with a grin, "No one said anything about his tires, and definitely no one said anything about it being pierced."


    "Oh." Max smiled and thenughed dismissively. Suddenly Pepper interjected urgently. "Ed. something happened. The military wanted to confiscate your drones."


    Edward replied casually, "Let them try. I already put in a contingency for when this happens."


    "For when�C Ed, did you already predict this?" Selena asked with a surprise.


    "Yup." Edward replied casually before he tapped his index finger on the arm rest. "Robin, ask them to say this; If you want the tech, then use the proper channels to get it. Or, you might find the ones you took away to be nothing more than a piece of broken debris."


    After hearing Edward''s message, the military representative retreated from the airport with dissatisfaction.


    Pepper asked Edward worriedly, "Won''t that give them a bad impression of us?"


    "Nah. Don''t worry about it." Edward said before he took a bottle of champagne from the mini fridge inside the limo. "For Entertain, Taylor, and Myself, Let''s celebrate!"


    He popped the cork of the champagne while Max, Selena and Taylor screamed in excitement. Pepper rubbed his sore forehead and mumbled, "I am in a dilemma. Should I let him drink it, or stop�C Hey wait Ed! Don''t DOWN THE WHOLE THING! Use a ss!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    When I finally got to the hotel, Pepper positioned some people in front of my room door for security and monitoring before he left to settle some errands.


    The high-ss 5-star level room suite was adorned with luxurious amenities, including a jacuzzi and tworge rooms positioned on opposite sides. From the balcony, I was treated to a breathtaking view of the entire New York City skyline, which mesmerized me with its beauty.


    As I stood there, taking in the sights, I noticed a crowd of fans gathered below. They were eagerly gazing at the banner proudly disying my name and the posters featuring my image. It was a surreal moment, witnessing the support and adoration of my fans from such a vantage point.


    Most of them were from the awards show, so I asked my staff members to arrange for them to have some dinner in a restaurant nearby and told them that I was going to have some breakfast with them in the morning if they followed along. All of them cleared up the front of the hotel in 20 minutes. I opened up myptop as I rested because I needed to do some necessary work.


    "And now, Max, is going toe into the room naked." I said as I exaggeratedly turned to the front door as I heard it was opened.


    Max walked in wearing a gaudy gray sweater that covered up her entire upper body which made me confused. She sighed and unzipped the sweater, revealing her previous ck dress that entuated her chestal area.


    "Sorry for disappointing you. Also it''s been a while since these babies were put in the dark. I think it scared them." She said as she touched her chest lightly.


    I smirked and said, "Of course. Y-You definitely shouldfort them. I give great massages, you know."


    Maxughed and said, "Not a chance. Wait till you''re 18."


    "Aww." I made an exaggerated disappointed gesture which made herugh. She then said, "wait. Did I just promise you that you can touch them�C"


    "No take backs." I said sternly. Max rolled her eyes and then walked to the pantry. "Hey, Where''s the booze? Did you drink all of it?!"


    "Pepper took them all away. And he grounded me because I said that I was going to give K a visit. So I had to stay in the room."


    I blurted that out when Pepper asked me what I was going to do tonight after Taylor was gone. In my defense, he made someone dear to me cry, so a punch in the face is necessary for him. But Pepper gave me an ultimatum about using violence, so I had to let that matter go...for now...


    "Should we? I know where he''s staying." Max said with a devilish whisper.


    I looked at her and said hesitantly, "We should..."


    "NOT!" Pepper finished my words as he walked in immediately with several documents in his hand, "My god Ed. You''re going to make me bald."


    "Ah. Are you having a hair loss problem? No wonder it seems a bit thin these day�C"


    "No you devil! Don''t curse my hair!" Pepper shouted anxiously as his hand went to protect his hair. "Also what is this? When did you patent some new tech? The military is trying to take your stuff."


    "But Harvey is handling it, right?" I said with confidence.


    "You still should''ve told me." Pepper said with a hurt tone.


    "Don''t get me wrong Pepper. It''s not that I don''t trust you, but you already have a lot of things to do this week, so I just let Harvey handle it. Besides, the military can''t do anything about it unless they want to go head to head with the Saltzman Consortium."


    "I see. Mother is helping you." Pepper was finally relieved. "Alright since that''s being taken care of, we can talk about the party."


    "Oh, you''re letting me out? Finally!" I said with a sigh of relief.


    "No." Pepper replied, making me disappointed once more.


    Maxughed and said, "Ed, you''ve been jerked around so much tonight that I can''t help but wonder if your girlfriend would be jealous."


    "I know right? Luckily she''d already wrung me dry before she left because she didn''t want others to do it for me."


    "Both of you need to calm down with the dirty jokes." Pepper shot a re at the both of us. "This is serious. What are we going to do next? Ed, what''s our n?"


    I shrugged and said, "It''s not like ourpany is public, so we don''t have to worry about stocks. If you''re worried about album sales, it will double tomorrow, or maybe even triple, so you don''t have to worry about that either. So, I''m guessing...you''re worried...about nothing?"


    "Don''t say it with a tone that makes me seem like I''m going crazy over nothing." Pepper said aggrievedly.


    "But you kinda are." Max replied with a chuckle.


    "Pepper. I want to go to the party." I said while shing my puppy dog eyes. "Selena was already there with Miranda Cosgrove, Jee McCurdy, JB, and several other teenage celebrities. Let me be with my people, and also bring Max because she wants to get some drinks."


    Pepper thought for a while and then sighed, "I can let you go, but Max needs to stay until we are sure that no one is looking for her."


    "What?" Max shrugged with a teasing smile. "I didn''t do anything wrong."


    "Oh yeah, then why is the NYPD is searching for a suspect wearing a gray sweater�C is that�C"


    Pepper finally saw the sweater Max was wearing before, and went into panic mode instantly.


    "NYPD!" Suddenly, the door to our room was knocked. Pepper yelped in horror while I took the sweater and just wore it casually.


    "Open the door." I said to Max.


    "No! Don''t open the door!" Pepper said anxiously.


    "Calm down Pepper!" Max scolded him. "Just y cool!"


    Iughed as Max opened the door, and widened my eyes when I saw the detectives entering the room.


    "Hi, I''m Detective Amy Santiago."


    "And I, am-no-way-rted-to-Andy-Samberg, Detective Jake Peralta. We''re here to ask a few questions."


    The detectives shed their badges with a confident and charming smile on their faces. Detective Amy Santiago has that kind of do-it-by-the-book vibe, while Detective Peralta seemed like a mischievous child.


    "AHA!" He said while pointing at me before questioning himself, "Wait. It does not make sense. He''s inside the venue. Sorry, Amy, take over."


    "What seems to be the matter, detective?" I asked calmly with an innocent and charming smile on my face.


    Detective Santiago offered an apologetic tone as she closely examined my face.


    "Sorry for my colleague''s abruptness," she said. "We want to ask you if you know anything about the vandalism case happening inside your award show parking lot."


    I reassured her, feeling at ease despite the situation. "It''s okay," I replied with a hint of amusement. "He actually reminds me of a guy I really like in my neighborhood."


    "Wait. Really? Is he as charming as I am?" Jake Peralta jokes.


    "Yeah, A little bit." The unexpected reply seemed to take Jake Peralta by surprise, and he momentarily froze, his expression shifting from confidence to a frozen state.


    Amy took over instantly, "So, do you happen to have any knowledge about what happened?"


    "All I know is that K''s car tyres got shed. Can''t say that I''m surprised by it." I replied mockingly.


    Knowing about what happened earlier, both detectives just smiled wryly. Jake scoured the room and said, "The witness said that he saw someone wearing a gray sweater when they came out from the parking lot."


    "And? Because if that is your only leads for the suspect, I can assure you the ratio of finding someone wearing a sweater, especially a gray sweater in the city in the middle of this cold night, is around 100 thousand to a couple million to one. Have you checked the CCTV camera yet?"


    "Ed...what are you doing?" Pepper whispered to me nervously, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.


    "I''m just trying to help these detectives. By the way Pepper, don''t they remind you of ire and Phil?"


    "What are you spouting�C Wait, they really do?" Pepper spoke in astonishment as he scrutinized the both of them from top to bottom. "They are like the younger version of them, except one''stina."


    "Umm...Who''s ire and Phil?" Amy asked in confusion.


    "They are a married couple I know. They have 3 children together." I replied.


    Jake snorted and said, "We aren''t like ire and Phil. Also, we don''t have any CCTV footage yet, but we will soon."


    I pretended to think and said, "Well, let''s not pretend in front of each other. I know youe here because you think I did it, or someone close to me did it. We do have motives. So, let me help you out. One of the staff SUVs is parked near K''s car. They have a dashcam on there, so you can check it out if you want."


    Max was startled this time. Feeling as if I was going to sell her out, she said urgently, "I have some work to do, so...I''ll leave first."


    "Max,e on. Don''t leave now. Or the detectives would think that you''re involved in the case. Hmm, the staff member is already back in LA now, but I can still pull up the dashcam camera because it''s connected to the wifi."


    "How did you guys have that?" Jake asked with disbelief. Dash Cam was still at its infancy, and the data needed to be essed manually.


    I shrugged and said, "I made the program and modified it myself."


    Both detectives were visibly taken aback by my statement. Sensing their disbelief, I decided to provide some evidence to support my im. I turned myptop screen towards them and pressed y, revealing the footage I had obtained.


    As the video yed, it became evident that it captured the scene in question. However, instead of showing me or anyone associated with the award show, it revealed a towering figure��a man standing at an impressive 6''5" height. He possessed muscr legs and was dressed in a sweaty gray sweater, giving the impression that he had justpleted an intense workout at the gym.


    The footage painted a different picture from what the detectives had initially presumed, introducing a new lead to investigate. The unexpected turn of events shifted their focus, prompting them to delve deeper into the identity and motives of this mysterious individual captured on screen.


    "I could give you our staff list if you want so that you can rule out the suspects." I said casually.


    Taking a copy of the footage, Detective Santiago said, "We''re sorry for bothering you. You must''ve been very tired from the event."


    I yawned in front of her till my eyes were teary, "It''s fine. I should help if I can. Die Hard is one of my all time favorites after all. I like cops."


    Jake Peralta''s stern scrutinizing face melted instantly into a big smile, "Wait. You... like Die Hard?"


    "Yeah. I do." I replied, then I grinned at him and said, "Do you like the movie too?"


    "H-H-HELL''S YEAH! Amy! We shouldn''t bother them any longer. It is clear that none of them have anything to do with the case!" Jake said as he pulled Amy towards the door.


    "Wait. I still haven''t asked the others." Amy protested. Max flinched, but luckily none of the detectives noticed it.


    "No time! We have a culprit to catch!" Jake said as he dragged Amy out of the room. At the door, both of them stopped and said, "Thank you for your cooperation," and then left the hotel.


    As soon as they were gone, Pepper and Max flopped down on the couch, practically limping now from their tense nerves.


    "How?" Max asked with disbelief.


    "Well I can change the footage to anyone." I replied casually. Then, I showed Max''s original figure changed into the Grinch, Gandalf, Elmo, K himself, and many more till both of them froze with disbelief.


    "You...you are not going to use this...tomit crimes are you?" Pepper asked worriedly.


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I won''t!"


    After settling the affairs, I finally went to the party. It was in downtown New York, inside a loft. I was expecting the party to be a normal party, but as soon as I entered the apartment, I was dumbfounded and almost froze for a while. The people there were wearing animal masks and were licking each other.


    "Furry party?" I asked with an unspoken horror emerging inside my heart. Then, I read the door''s number again.


    "Ah, wrong floor." I replied before closing the door slowly and went to the actual party.

 Chapter 212: NYC Party!

    <h4>Chapter 212: Chapter 212: NYC Party!</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Large windows framed the mesmerising city skyline, showcasing iconic buildings and a sprawling disy of lights that extended into the distance.


    The loft featured a captivating blend of rugged beauty and modern touches, with exposed brick walls lending a touch of raw elegance to the space. However, the overall ambiance was dramatically altered by the activation of neon blue and pink lighting, courtesy of the house owner.


    The neon lights cast an enchanting glow throughout the loft, transforming the atmosphere into a vibrant kaleidoscope of colours. The once subdued and sophisticated setting now pulsated with an electric energy, as the neon hues danced off the walls and illuminated the room.


    The girls were dancing intoxicated to the throbbing music while the guys tried to hit on them. The party had elements of a rave, but luckily for me it was just a normal party with booze and cocaine.


    "Ed! Over here!"


    My arrival caught the attention of Selena, who called out to me with a pleasantly surprised expression. She was apanied by her friend Jessica, and to my astonishment, standing beside them were the familiar faces of the actresses from iCarly - Miranda Cosgrove, Jete McCurdy, and Emily Ratajkowski.


    Adding to the star-studded atmosphere, a few teen actors, Avan Jogia and Leon Thomas, stood side by side, their arms draped over each other''s shoulders as they held their red stic cups, singing drunkenly to the song Toxic by Britney Spears.


    Avan Jogia''s eyes lit up when he saw I was approaching them. "HEY! It''s Edward Newgate! The three times winner of the MTV Awards tonight." He was being friendly and shook my hand in excitement.


    Leon also greeted me, "Although this is our first time meeting, I had to be thick skinned to ask you to solve a problem for us. You''re a genius right?"


    "I guess I need to do this." I smirked as I looked at Leon with anticipation while the girlsughed.


    Leon smiled and said mischievously, "Ooo great one. Solve this question for us. We are gued with this particr problem in our gentlemanly discussion of the game, "Would you rather."


    Avan said, "Would you rather...do Martha Steward, or... Oprah?"


    I held my chin as I fake contemted, "Hmm...this question is tough. No wonder you guys are struggling with it, and need some help from a genius."


    Selena scoffed and badmouthed me yfully to the girls, "See? I told you, He''s not a cool guy at all."


    In response, Miranda shrugged, her eyes fixed on me, and whispered, "No... he''s very, very cool."


    Finally, I answered the question, "No doubt. My answer is Martha."


    "Why?" Avan asked.


    "Because after we''ve done it, we can cook together. Putting that aside for a second, hi everyone."


    I greeted and shook hands with the girls there before grabbing a stic cup from the waitress. After having my 5th drink, I finally loosen up and started to enjoy the party.


    "Alright, we''re picking out straws. The loser had to go downstairs to the furry party and mingle...in your human face, for 10 minutes." I said as I held out the straws to the crowd.


    The teenagers there actively participated, and the loser, Jete, was eximing miserably, "Why did I pick it? Why me?!"


    "Are you doing it or not?" Avan interjected and said jokingly, "Because I really think it''ll be funny if I did it."


    Jete''s eyes lit up and she grabbed Avan''s hand, "Then, we should go together!" She then dragged Avan forcedly and went to the furry party. 10 minutester, both of them returned with some fur on their clothes.


    I asked, "What happened?"


    Jeate hugged her shoulder and shuddered, "It was a nightmare."


    "Did they do something to you?" Miranda asked with concern.


    "No." Avan replied with a face full of horror. "They didn''t do anything except ask us to pet them, and rub their suit on us like an... actual animal..."


    All of us shuddered when we heard that. Leon quickly shouted, "We''re going to need more drinks over here."


    While taking some breaks at the side, Miranda came to where I was standing. She stood extremely close to me and said, "Your art tonight was really great. Yeah, I''m calling it ART! It was a masterpiece, and it shouldn''t be called anything else!"


    Iughed a bit and said, "I seem to remember you adding the word ''Handsome prince'' into my introduction. That almost made me fall off my game."


    She giggled and asked with a seductive voice while poking my chest, "Did you see me calling out for you?"


    However, she was soon disappointed when I shook my head and said, "Unfortunately I could only hear you. I couldn''t see you at all. The curtain was drawn during the introduction, and when I was performing..."


    As I trailed off, she finished my sentence knowingly, "They turned off the lights during mine." She turned her head for a bit and grunted, "Damn."


    We talked for a bit, and then Selena suddenly moved towards us. "Hey, what are you guys talking about?"


    "Why? So you can report to Tay about what I did here today?" I asked jokingly, but Selena froze for a second and replied defensively, "I-I''m not..."


    "Are you sure?" I asked while narrowing my eyes at her. Feeling under pressure, Selena''s face froze. Then I shrugged and said, "Cause if you did, I''d be fine with it."


    She was taken aback for a second before she stressed, "I''m not telling her anything!"


    "I believe you." I said casually.


    "Stop believing me and being nice about this! GOD!" Selena grunted and left. I was confused and I turned to Miranda, "Can you believe this? I''m still the bad guy even if I didn''t do anything."


    But I was asking the wrong person for this.


    "I believe you. You''re a bad...BAD boy." She said breathlessly as she leaned in closer.


    "Keep it in your pants woman!" I said as I pushed her face away.


    A few minutester, Leon, Avan, and I were looking out of the balcony while drinking beer.


    "I bet you can''t do it." I said to Leon.


    "Dude�C I TOTALLY CAN!" Leon replied with excitement.


    "Then go do it, right now." Avan egged Leon on.


    5 minutester, climbing on the pole near the building, Leon shouted from afar, "I WAS WRONG! THIS POLE DOES NOT LOOK CLIMBABLE!"


    Both Avan and I high fived as weughed at Leon who''s struggling to get down from the pole. A security guard had to step in to help him, which further added on to his embarrassment.


    "Twerk it baby!" Avan shouted from afar. Leon heard it, and started pole dancing even with the security guard yelling at him toe down.


    The party peaked around 2 am where even more celebrities came to the loft. I was inside the bedroom with Selena and Miranda, lying on the bed, smoking a blunt together when I saw a gorgeous girl walk into the room.


    She saw Selena and automatically asked, "Pass the blunt. Oh�C" Vanessa Hudgen, the star of the High School musical, was surprised when she saw me, a stranger inside the room.


    "Are you guys- Oh god, was I interfering with your�C"


    "We''re not doing anything!" Selena said immediately.


    "And if we really were in a threesome, we wouldn''t really mind adding one more person into the tr-"


    Selena quickly cupped my mouth before I could finish my sentence. Vanessa was taken aback before she giggled at the joke.


    "We''re doing it?" Miranda asked with slight confusion, mainly from being drunk and getting high at the same time.


    "Later. You should go to sleep now." I said while holding her face. She smiled and said, "Okay~" Then, she flopped her head on the pillow and fell into dreand.


    Selena and I wiggled out of the bed and went to the chairs nearby where Vanessa was sitting. "Wow. I really can''t believe I''m getting high with Gabrie Montez. I am starstruck." I said as I sat in front of the girl.


    Selena rolled her eyes at me and retorted, "But you''re not at all!"


    "Hey you don''t know what I''m feeling on the inside." I defended myself. I got to know Vanessa for a while until the long blunt became short. "By the way, I have to show you something."


    I took out my phone and scrolled for a picture. However, Vanessa was looking extremely ufortable when I did so. I was confused, but it didn''t stop me from showing my picture from early in the year.


    She was instantly relieved and said, "Oh my god! Zac''s hairstyle. Did you really?!"


    "Yeah. But in my defense, I''d not watched High School Musical yet, so I had no idea I was copying him. In fact, he might have actually been the one copying me."


    Vanessa and Selena giggled while Selena took the phone from my hand. "I''ve never seen this." Selena said with an enthusiastic expression.


    I shrugged and said, "Why would I show it to you?"


    As the conversation shifted, Selena''s irritation grew apparent while Vanessa found the situation amusing. With a curious expression, Vanessa asked, "Then why are you showing it to me? Unless that hairstyle is really from the movie."


    I let out a defeated sigh, acknowledging that I had been caught. "Alright, you got me. I was copying Zac. Are you happy now?"


    Vanessa chuckled and replied, "Not as happy as I would be if I knew why you did that."


    I smirked at her boldness and responded daringly, "Because, at the time, I thought that having a hairstyle like Troy would help me get a girlfriend like Gabrie. I don''t know if you''ve watched the movie, but she''s really hot."


    Vanessa and Selena exchanged confused nces before Selena finally reacted, realizing the situation. "Of course, she''d know... It''s her... Damn it, we fell into the trap."


    I burst intoughter at the girls'' reactions, thoroughly enjoying their surprise and realization. They took a moment to process what had just happened.


    Vanessa giggled and remarked, "You guys are really close. I thought you were dating Taylor? I guess you guys are like me."


    Confusion etched on my face, I asked, "Huh? What do you mean?"


    Selena rified, "It''s not what you think. We''re just friends. And there IS something going on between them."


    "Ahh," Vanessa eximed, understanding the dynamic.


    Feigning confusion, I added, "What is happening here?" Although I had a good idea of what was going on.


    Vanessa and her celeb-boyfriend Zac Efron had gradually stepped out of the limelight after the High School Musical series ended. Zac''s fame still helped Vanessa, but truthfully, it had been a while since their rtionship fizzled out.


    As time passed, Zac Efron''s career skyrocketed, propelling him to the status of a prominent movie star, while Vanessa found herself navigating a different path in mid-level movies.


    Unfortunately, Vanessa encountered numerous challenges and controversies that had a significant impact on her career trajectory. One particr incident that caused her immense distress was the unauthorized release of a private and intimate photo she had sent to her boyfriend. This event garnered widespread attention and she became the target of relentless attacks from various sources.


    The vition of her privacy was made even more distressing by the fact that some assholes took it upon themselves to taunt her by sharing the photo or showing it to her face! This situation shed light on why she appeared ufortable when I was scrolling through my phone earlier.


    The leaked picture became the catalyst for Vanessa''s downfall, as it shed with the carefully cultivated image Disney had established for its young stars during that era. Thepany had heavily marketed the Disney kids as "good kids," emphasizing their adherence to a conservative lifestyle and positioning them as positive role models for aspiring young talents.


    In the aftermath of the incident, Vanessa waspelled to issue an apology, despite being the victim in that situation, due to the expectations ced upon her to set a good example for her young fans.


    Reflecting on the situation, I couldn''t help but think about the irony of how Kim Kardashian''s sex tape hadunched her career, while Vanessa''s leaked photo had nearly ended hers.


    The controversy surrounding Vanessa had almost derailed the production of High School Musical 3, and she constantly faced condemnation and finger-pointing wherever she went. Now that she had surpassed the age of 18 and was no longer bound by the Disney machine, her career had essentially stalled.


    "Alright, you need this more than I do." I said as I took out a freshly rolled blunt from my inner pocket. ''No wonder she looks so natural; smoking one in the ''Spring Breakers'' movie.


    Vanessa was hesitant to answer my question and then was surprised when I took out the new roll. She smiled and said, "It''s a long story. One blunt might not be enough."


    "Then I guess we need to set another date for me to hear the rest of the story. Because this is thest one I have." I said casually.


    It was 4 am when the party started to fizzle out. Selena was already asleep but I was still talking with Vanessa in the room. Leon was sleeping on the floor inside the room too, with his face nted to the ground.


    "Ah, I need to go to the toilet." I groaned as I stood up from the chair. Vanessaughed and urged, "Come back quickly! I still need to hear more about how I''m the ''girl of your dreams''!"


    "I never said that." I rified. "All I''m saying is, if you don''t mind a little nudity, I guess I can give you the audition for it."


    She rolled her eyes for the first time in front of me. Iughed out loud and went outside because there was no toilet in the small room.


    After finishing my restroom visit and washing my hands, I nced at the sparse party crowd that continued to dance, only to be startled by a familiar figure.


    A brte girl with twin-tails, dressed in a ck and white outfit, caught my attention. My heart skipped a beat, and my breath quickened with anticipation. I walked towards the crowd, and I grabbed the girls'' shoulders.


    However, my disappointment was palpable when the girl turned around, revealing a different face from the one I was hoping for.


    She was confused when she saw me, "W-what?"


    "Sorry. I got the wrong person." I said and left while the girl was still confused.


    "Hmm. What''s that all about? Did you see your ex here?" Vanessa saw the whole thing as she leaned on the door to the room.


    "Why are you outside?" I ignored the question and asked mine.


    She replied, "I''m leaving right now."


    "Oh, and here I was thinking that I could end the day making out with Gabrie."


    Furrowing her eyebrows, Vanessa responded, "Maybe another time. My manager is waiting for me in the car. He doesn''t like to wait��"


    "That''s his problem," I interjected, dismissing the manager''s impatience. "You''re heading back to California, right? If you want, I can give you a ride. Just tell him you''ll be making your own way back."


    Vanessa hesitated, but eventually texted her manager, requesting to travel independently. His response was cold and dismissive, treating her as a burden rather than a star, which deeply affected her.


    Tears welled up in Vanessa''s eyes, startled by the callousness of the response.


    I, however, smiled and said, "Good, I can spend a bit more time with you. And, if you want to change your agency, and I really think that you should,e to Entertain. We''re in desperate need of talents, and we will surely treat you better."


    Vanessa was taken aback, and then she burst intoughter, "Really? You want to take me in? Should I offer you my everything to get your savings?"


    "I prefer you pay me back with your talents, but if you want to offer anything else, I won''t say no to that."


    "You''re a bit sick, you know that?" Vanessa asked me with a face full of contemtion. "I-I''ll think about it." She blushed a little as she replied.


    I smiled and then said, "Good. Now, for my first order as your CEO, can you wake Selena up? I need to go back to the hotel, and she''s riding with me�C wait... with us."


    Vanessaughed and replied, "I''m not your employee yet, but I''ll do this as a favor. But you''re going to OWE ME ONE!"


    ...


    Back at the hotel, as soon as I entered my suite with Selena and Vanessa, Max rushed towards me and started sniffing me like an airport dog.


    "I KNEW IT! YOU STOLE MY BLUNT!!" Max shouted.


    "YOU DID WHAT?!" Pepper who was sleeping on the couch heard it, was awake immediately, and shouted.


    "Max!" I looked at Max with disbelief.


    "I''m sorry. I really thought he was sleeping." Max said apologetically as she turned to Pepper and shouted, "he stole my....Uh....Punt!"


    "Punt?" Selena, Vanessa and I tilted our heads together in confusion.


    "Why is he stealing your punt?" Pepper said in disbelief.


    "Why would your dream ever make sense?" Max said before adding some mysterious sounds.


    "I''m still dreaming?" Pepper said in confusion.


    I caught on to what Max was doing, walked towards Pepper and said, "Of course you''re dreaming Pepper. See, you''re the ones holding the awards."


    Max snuck from Pepper''s back and ced all of my awards near him. Pepper turned and saw the awards, and was confused again.


    "You should go back to sleep if you want to see Montgomery Clift. He said he''s meeting you for coffee in the morning. You don''t want to see Montgomery Cliff while feeling exhausted do you?"


    "Hmm...I don''t. Alright, I''ll go back to sleep." Pepper said as heid back down on the pillow obediently.


    Max and I breathed in relief, and as we were tiptoeing away, Pepper muttered, "I''ll see Montgomery Cliff in my dreams now. When I wake up again, we need to talk about you and your weed habits Ed. And say Hi to Gabrie for me."


    "Damn it." Max and I cursed underneath our breath at the same time.

 Chapter 213: NYC Morning (1)

    <h4>Chapter 213: Chapter 213: NYC Morning (1)</h4>


    [General POV]


    Randall swiped the electronic keycard to gain entry into the hotel suite, the clock reading 8:55 in the morning. Pepper snoozed on the couch, his mouth agape but surprisingly devoid of any snores.


    Knowing that the girls upied the neighbouring suite, Randall made his way to the bedroom, where Edwardy peacefully slumbering. Positioning himself at the foot of the bed, Randall nced at his wristwatch, his anticipation building.


    "5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." Randall whispered calmly, his eyes fixed on the ticking seconds, awaiting the arrival of 9 o''clock.


    As the watch hands struck the exact hour, Edward stirred from his slumber, rising from the bed as if programmed to do so.


    "Good morning, Ed. Exactly 4 hours of sleep. Your body operates like a well-oiled German train." Randall remarked, a touch of astonishment and disbelief in his voice.


    "Mornin''," Edward groaned, rising from the bed and making his way to the bathroom for a refreshing shower. He turned to Randall and inquired, "Are they waiting for me?"


    "Yes, they are. We''ve secured a private hotel hall for special asions, and the fans are eagerly anticipating your presence." Randall confirmed.


    Curiously, Edward asked, toothbrush in hand, "How many people?"


    "About 75 people. There are many more waiting outside, but those 75 were the fortunate ones who attended the award showst night." Randall responded.


    Edward nodded thoughtfully and added nonchntly, "And what about the food?"


    Randall''s eyes widened in rm, his voice tinged with fear. "Max was supposed to handle the food."


    "She was out partying until 4 in the morning. I''m not sure if she remembered. Hell, even I forgot to remind her," Edward remarked calmly, noticing Randall''s concerned expression.


    "Don''t worry about it. I''m sure she''ll figure something out. And if not, well... I''ll just have to cook for my fans. Just set up an omelette station, get some bread, and... I''ll have Robin send you a list," Edward reassured before proceeding to brush his teeth and step into the shower.


    "Wait. Before that, you might want to know what happened with the tire shing case fromst night," Randall interjected, stopping Edward just as he was about to turn on the water. Edward peeked out from behind the bathroom wall and inquired, "What happened? Did they discover it was Max?"


    "No, they apprehended the man responsible for the tire shing, and it unexpectedly turned into a significant drug bust... WAIT, THAT WAS MAX!?" Randall eximed, his voice filled with disbelief.


    Edward, too, was taken aback, but for a different reason. "Wait. How on earth...?" he muttered, his astonishment evident.


    ...


    NYPD Forensic Unit, in the heart of Brooklyn. Jake Peralta and Amy Santiago rushed to the forensicb first thing in the morning after working overtime on their casest night.


    "Hi, we are Detective Jake Peralta and Detective Amy Santiago, and we need to get your best cybercrime officer to crack the password on this phone," Jake introduced himself and Amy to Mellisa, a blonde forensic agent with sses and panda eyes, much like their own.


    The forensic agent was fatigued with countless work projects that needed to be done and wasn''t in the mood to handle out-of-case requests like this. Melissa looked at them in disbelief. "I thought the case was closed, detectives," she said, subtly reminding the detectives.


    Jake nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we managed to seize 14 kilograms of cocaine off the streets, all thanks to the genius Jake Peralta," he proudly dered while pumping his fist to the side.


    "And his dumb luck," Amy chimed in with a slight smirk, her irritation evident.


    Jake let out a scoff, then refocused on the matter at hand. "But when I found this phone inside the suspect''s jacket, there was a note and a picture of Edward Newgate, the singer and fellow Die Hard lover," he exined as he gave the note to the forensic agent.


    The station''s police captain hadn''t arrived for work yet, but the request to make this a formal case had been submitted to Sergeant Terry Jeffords.


    "Stop mentioning that to people," Amy reprimanded Jake. "And let''s not go off on a tangent. We''re supposed to be clocked out."


    "Right, sorry," Jake apologized, regaining his focus. "Back to the topic. The note said ''Enc��rgate de ��l,'' which means ''Deal With Him'' in Spanish. My gut feeling tells me that something inside the phone will reveal what he intends to do with Newgate."


    Melissa let out a sigh before responding, "Our cyber agent isn''t here at the moment. However, I do have an intern who could help you with this kind of stuff."


    "An intern?" Jake and Amy muttered simultaneously, their disbelief evident.


    Just then, a brte girl with twin-coloured hair, a choker around her neck, and a dark gothic dress peeking out from under herb coat, along with tall dark boots, entered theb.


    She skillfully bnced a couple of coffee cups in her hands as she made her way in. "Morning, Mel!" she cheerfully greeted Melissa, causing the tired agent''s face to wince at the onught of her excessive energy.


    "Abby. You should help them." Melissa said before she teased, "That way, you can help them protect your ex-boyfriend. You know, the one you were so happy for when he won the awardst night?"


    "Ex-Boyfriend?!" Jake widened his mouth in excitement goofily. "I sense some hot tea!! SPILL GIRL!! Wait, bypass the phone''s password first. Then, spill girl!!"


    ...


    Detective Sergeant Terry Jeffords and Detective Rosa Diaz, both dressed casually, parked their car in front of the hotel where Edward, the scandal-ridden celebrity, was staying.


    Rosa, with her wavy brte hair and dark lipstick, nced at Terry, arge, bald, muscr ck man, who returned her gaze with a grimace. Terry expressed his difort, "Are you sure Boyle can''t handle this instead? I don''t feelfortable being the only ck man at the fan meeting."


    Rosa replied curtly, "Boyle got mono after kissing his cousins over the weekends, so he''s unavable." Terry sighed in defeat, but before he could step out of the car, Rosa suggested, "Take off your wedding ring."


    "Hell no! My wife will kill me if she finds out I took it off!" Terry objected immediately. Terry had just been married to his lovely wife, Sharon, and was still enjoying his honeymoon phase, therefore was reluctant to do so. Rosa shrugged and said, "Calm down. It''s just a suggestion for you to fit in better."


    "I think it''s better for me to act like a parent overseeing his child inside the venue instead of a fan. Terry does like Edward and his music, but it''s hard for Terry to act like the obsessive teenage girls."


    As Terry and Rosa made their way towards where the fans were waiting, they were stopped by security before they could enter the reserved hall.


    "You guys can''t get in. Wait in line with the others," the security guard informed them.


    Rosa swiftly shed her NYPD badge to the security guard and confidently stated, "We''re from the NYPD. We''re dressed casually to avoid causing any more scandals for Mr. Newgate. I''m sure you guys don''t want that either. Let us in."


    The security guard was taken aback, then nodded and said, "I''ll check with my boss first." He used his walkie-talkie tomunicate with the other staff members before getting through to Randall, his supervisor.


    "Hurry. Terry can feel the little girls staring at him, thinking he''spletely out of ce!" Sergeant Terry urged anxiously.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After receiving some unexpected details about the drug bust, which seemed like a colossal cosmic coincidence, I decided to put it aside for now and focus on meeting my fans. I dressed in a white shirt underneath a cozy knit sweater, paired with jeans. I carefully styled my hair, parting it into two naturally.


    With a confident swagger, I made my entrance into the venue, causing the atmosphere to explode into cheers and shouts of my name. As I nced around, I was taken aback to see Terry Jeffords standing out like a sore thumb beside Rosa, enthusiastically cheering for me.


    "EDWARD!" my fans shouted in unison. I couldn''t help but smile and wave at them, feeling their energy and support. As I prepared to address the crowd, their excitement interrupted my speech. "I''m sorry I''mte�C"


    "NOT AT ALL!" the fans shouted, interjecting with words offort. I chuckled in disbelief before jokingly remarking, "Wow. You guys are so energetic early in the morning�C Wait. It''s not really early, is it?"


    The crowd chuckled and settled down, allowing me to continue. I made a slightly disturbed face and said, "Well, before we proceed, I need to share something with all of you. This fan meeting was nnedst minute, and I think you all know why I''m here. Your support means the world to me, and this gathering is my way of expressing my gratitude."


    The crowd erupted into cheers once again. After they calmed down, I continued, "But, I must apologise. We weren''t able to secure a chef or catering for today."


    "Oww," some of the girls eximed with a hint of disappointment. Lily, the club president, shouted, "It''s okay! We can eat bread if it means eating with you!"


    Many in the crowd voiced their agreement and shouted their support. Terry, visibly surprised, turned to Rosa and said, "I think I had the wrong idea of how these things go. Don''t celebrities usually speak briefly and then let the host take over?"


    Rosa, equally impressed, replied, "Yeah, it''s my first time seeing a celebrity handle their fan meet all by themselves. He''s better than many other celebrities we''ve guarded before."


    I smiled at the crowd and said, "Oh, that warms my heart. And don''t worry, at thest minute, we managed to find a chef who will personally cook for all of you this evening."


    I paused for a moment, building anticipation, and then eximed, "So, I want all of you to give a big round of apuse to our chef. Ready? p now!"


    The fans apuded enthusiastically, but their apuse slowly became staggered as they grew confused. No one had stepped forward, even after they had pped for a considerable time. They turned to me, with an expression expecting an answer. I smirked, saying, "Oh wait. I forgot."


    I turned slightly and eximed, "Ta-da. I''ll be your chef for today!"


    The fans erupted into thunderous cheers, their voices surprising even the other guests lounging around the hotel. The staff members quickly brought out the omelette station, and I took charge, cooking up delicious bacon and egg frittatas for the fans.


    They eagerly lined up, patiently waiting as I served them one by one. Lily, holding her te shyly, approached me. I smiled and initiated the conversation, "How are you, Lily? Also, did you put some blush on today? You look even cuter than usual."


    Lily blushed intensely, and the other girls couldn''t help but cheer for her. Even Terry joined in on the excitement.


    "I-I did," Lily replied shyly. Iughed and asked, "What would you like to eat?"


    Taking the time to engage in conversation, I learned the names of the new faces and cooked for each and every one of them. Even after receiving their food, none of them began eating, waiting instead for me to join them. With six stoves at the omelette station, the cooking process didn''t take long. It took me about 40 minutes to reach the final two people in line��a couple of older fans who seemed slightly out of ce amidst the younger crowd��and the cheerful Latina girl standing beside them.


    Rosa put on her fake cheery voice and said, "Oh my god, Edward, I absolutely loved your performance yesterday."


    "Oh, thank you... I have to say, I expected to see a non-smiling, serious woman, but I think I can guess why you''re acting like a fangirl. Undercover work is tough, right, Detective Rosa Diaz?" I replied, a knowing smile on my face.


    Rosa''s smile instantly faded, and she turned solemn. I then turned to Terry and said, "You must have yed a lot of football, Sergeant Terry Jeffords. Can I call you Sarge?"


    "Wait, you already know about us? How?" Terry asked, clearly confused. I shrugged and dismissively said, "That''s not important. What matters is why you''re here. Ah, of course, if you''re here as fans, I would be delighted for you guys to join us for the breakfast event today."


    Both of them turned towards each other with aplicated expression. I casually butter my toast as I waited for the answer when I suddenly received a text message from someone unexpected.


    ...


    [General POV]


    The impact of the VMA show continued to resonate across the country and the world, like a persistent wave breaking on distant shores, even after the event had ended.


    The video clip of K crashing into the stage went viral, and he was under a lot of heat at the moment. People were moring for him to apologize for his actions to Taylor, and for almost ruining Edward''s moving performance.


    K woke up at 10 in the morning inside a luxurious 5 star hotel bedroom and held his hurting head while groaning.


    Drunk during the VMA, he was escorted back to his bedroom immediately after getting kicked out of the award show as his staff members wanted him to avoid further trouble.


    However, K managed to sneak out and went to a celebrity party even in the midst of his controversy. "What is happenin''?" K muttered as he had no recollection of what had happened at the party.


    "You stupid ni**a." His manager stormed into the room, seething with anger, and switched on the news, disying footage of K joyfully showering the crowd with champagne at the club, his face devoid of remorse.


    The public''s outrage, both on social media and in real life, intensified. Even the celebrities who initially supported him swiftly deleted their tweets to avoid being implicated by him.


    As the realization of his mistake dawned upon him, K nonchntly shrugged off the bacsh, dismissing it by saying, "Haters will hate. Just wait a day or two, and people will forget."


    His manager responded sarcastically, "Oh, really? I suppose those people outside will also conveniently forget what you''ve done." With that, he flung open the curtains, revealing an angry mob of fans holding banners demanding an apology and seeking justice for Taylor.


    Caught off guard, K''s confusion grew as he stepped closer to the window, observing the sea of disgruntled supporters gathered outside the hotel. The gravity of the situation began to sink in, and he realized that his actions had triggered a significant bacsh that wouldn''t dissipate easily.


    "Now. We need to do some damage control. You! Stop doing stupid things! I know it''s impossible, but you gotta try for now."


    "You know what? What gives you the right to talk to me that way?" K asked angrily, feeling as if his manager had stepped out of line. "I can fire you!"


    "THEN FIRE ME! It''ll make my life, A WHOLE LOT EASIER!" His manager replied with agitation. As the manager walked away angrily, K shouted with desperation, "FUCKK!!" He mmed his fist on the ss coffee table, shattering it into pieces.


    Back to the forensicbs.


    Abby managed to crack the phone password, and showed it to Jake and Amy.


    "That...was impressive. You work faster than some veterans here." Amyplimented Abby. Twirling her right twintail, Abby said, "Oh, you know. I learn a lot from the tech genius."


    "When did you guys date? Do you want to meet him right now?" Jake interjected mischievously.


    Abby grimaced and said, "No. I can''t meet him. This is the only thing I can do for him now." She uploaded the phone''s data into herptop and showed the text messages to Jake and Amy.


    Amy read the urgent messages on the screen and immediately sprang into action. She said, "We need to go support them. I''ll brief Sarge and Rosa on the situation." She swiftly pulled out her phone and dialled their numbers.


    Jake, feeling the gravity of the situation, nodded seriously. "I''ll call for backup from the 99. These gang members want to shoot him because of what happenedst night... It''s ridiculous! This isn''t hip hop...or is it?" He opened his mouth in realisation as he alone became immersed in his own imagination.


    Amy shook her head. "It''s too soon to tell who they are. Abby, can you gather more details and text me if you find anything? Even the smallest clues could be helpful."


    Abby, though visibly shaken, nodded resolutely. "I will," she replied. Amy acknowledged her response and hurried towards the door, with Jake following closely behind.


    As they were about to leave, Abby called out urgently, "WAIT!"


    Amy turned back, confusion evident on her face. Abby eximed in disbelief, "Your contact?"


    Realizing her oversight, Amy felt a hint of embarrassment. She quickly reached into her pocket, retrieved her card, and handed it to Abby. "Right. Here you go. Contact me if you find anything," she said hurriedly before rushing out with Jake.


    At the 99th precinct police station, Captain McGinley, the captain before Holt''s tenure and prior to Gina''s hiring and Terry''s children, burst into the bullpen where the detectives were hard at work. His voice filled with urgency, he shouted, "We have a possible active shooter situation at the XX hotel. We need S.W.A.T. and officers to secure the area immediately!"


    Just as the captain finished speaking, his phone rang. Confused, he answered the call, only to find a military representative on the other end of the line.


    "Edward Newgate is ssified as a second-order asset to the country. You must protect him at all costs! The FBI and National Guard will assist you in this matter. Captain, do not fail us, or there will be consequences," the military representative warned, his tone threatening.


    Captain McGinley, feeling the weight of the situation, nodded nervously, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He barked out orders, "CALL FOR A HELICOPTER! We need to get over there right now--"


    But before he could finish his sentence, the captain clutched his chest in pain, a heart attack seizing him in the midst of the chaos. Gasping for breath, he weakly muttered, "We need to... go..."


    With a heavy thud, Captain McGinley copsed to the floor, unconscious. Hitchcock and Scully, who had just returned from the restroom, witnessed the captain''s fall.


    Hitchcock responded nonchntly, "Great. Looks like we''ll be sleeping on the floor again. I''ll call the receptionist area."


    Concerned, Scully quickly intervened. "No, Hitchcock! I know what is happening here. He''s having a heart attack. We need to call an ambnce! The captain needs medical help."


    "Oh. Right. HELP! CALL THE AMBULANCE!" Hitchcock shouted urgently.

 Chapter 214: NYC Morning (2)

    <h4>Chapter 214: Chapter 214: NYC Morning (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    After a moment of contemtion, Sarge hesitantly spoke, "It might seem baseless, but we believe that there''s going to be an attempt to harm you today." Rosa felt the urge to intervene but decided against it.


    I responded casually, "Should I increase the number of security guards here? Also, how do you like your eggs?" As I prepared breakfast, I yfully served Sarge some bacon and made a frittata for Rosa.


    Sarge blurted out, "Many on a te�C" before continuing, "Do you understand the seriousness of the situation here?"


    Maintaining my nonchnt demeanor, I replied, "I can figure that out. But, it''s not confirmed yet, right? And people need to eat. But I promise, after that, I will be more serious in dealing with the matter." I smiled mischievously, creating a mix of agitation in Rosa and surprise in Sarge.


    Handing them their tes, I joined my fans at the table. Rosa expressed her annoyance, remarking, "See. All child celebs are the same. They have no respect for others and only care about themselves."


    Sarge shook his head and responded, "I don''t think so. See what he''s doing?"


    Confused, Rosa asked, still angry, "What?"


    "He''s trying not to cause a panic," Sarge replied, somewhat impressed.


    Engaging with my fans, I suddenly mentioned, "Ah, I have to be at the airport to fly back home. I know that it''s sad, but I only have 10 more minutes to eat with you guys."


    Disappointed, the fans eximed, "A." Iughed and suggested, "So, why don''t we make it a game? The first 10 people to finish their food, I will wipe their mouth with a napkin�C"


    Before I could finish my sentence, the fans eagerly started gobbling up their food. Iughed and added, "Don''t choke! Eat at your own pace! I won''t be responsible if you guys get a stomach ache."


    The first girl, a red-headed 14-year-old with freckles on her face, approached me shyly after the enthusiastic eating contest. "I''m so embarrassed. I feel like a pig," she said self-deprecatingly.


    "You shouldn''t be," I reassured her. "You know what? I really love watching people enjoy the food I cook. And seeing you enjoy it so eagerly made me really happy this morning." With affection, I gently wiped her lips with a clean napkin.


    In the background, some girls grumbled with jealousy, while others shouted in excitement, capturing the moment on their phones to share on Instagram as they couldn''t share videos on Twitter yet.


    The fan event moved quickly and after thest girl had their reward, I said goodbye to all of them when suddenly Robin chimed in, "Boss. 3 hostiles are entering the hotel through the main entrance."


    Sarge received a phone call from Jake at that very moment and went to protect me immediately.


    I turned to the Sarge and said seriously to my fans, "Everyone. I''m going to ask you guys for a favour. Please leave the hall through the left exit, only the left exit, and go straight to the pool."


    Sarge and Rosa took charge and escorted the fans out of the halls quickly. Before they could exin the situation to me, I said, "3 people areing through the main entrance, carrying 3 rifles."


    Sarge was shocked, "What? I didn''t think that they''d be brave enough to go through the paparazzi outside."


    "Rifles? Damn, these guys really want to kill you." Rosa said with disbelief. She grabbed my arm and said, "Come on, we need to get you someone safe." As she wanted to get me through the left exit, I stopped her and said, "Actually, we should go in a different direction than my fans. If things do get bad, then I don''t want to implicate them."


    Rosa was silent for a while before she replied, "Got it."


    "Rosa, we need to wait for backup. We don''t have our bulletproof vest." Sarge said.


    "Is Jakeing here with the cavalry yet?" Rosa replied, a bit agitated.


    ...


    [General POV]


    As the hostiles, three African-American men dressed in white tank tops, ck bandanas, and low waist jeans, entered the hotel lobby, they forcefully incapacitated the security guard by striking them with the back of their rifles.


    "Nobody moves!" they shouted, firing a few warning shots into the air and at the hotel lobby, causing ss shards to rain down. "All of you, get on the ground, right now!"


    The short haired Russian hotel receptionist, the two Mexican bellboys, and other guests obeyed themand, quickly dropping to the floor in fear andpliance.


    Despite their outward appearance asmon thugs, the leader of the trio''s military-stylemand for one of them to stay in the lobby and control the crowd revealed their background and professionalism in military tactics.


    Meanwhile, the other two intruders made their way towards a private hall adjacent to the lobby. Pushing through the paparazzi who had gathered there, the nosy photographers thoughtlessly captured images of the armed men.


    The hostiles opened fire at the paparazzi''s directions, causing some of them to fall to the ground with serious injuries, and the others to scatter only a few metres away. However, that didn''t stop the news hungry paparazzis.


    They kept taking pictures of what happened without thinking about their lives, but this time, they turned off the light shes. The paparazzi lives by the motto of bigger news, the bigger they can pay out.


    The duo entered the hall and unleashed a hail of bullets, shattering lights and demolishing furniture. Chaos ensued as the room erupted in panic. A stray bullet struck the gas line of the omelet station, resulting in a massive explosion.


    "Stop! Where are the people?" the leader demanded with a deep,manding voice, after he was taken aback by the explosion.


    "They''ve cleared out the hall. They might be onto us," the younger follower responded hesitantly.


    "Damn the cops!" the leader growled in frustration, realising that their ns might have beenpromised.


    "FIND HIM!" The leader said urgently. "Shoot anyone who tries to get in the way!"


    "How?" The follower asked. The leader was taken aback when he noticed the paparazzi writing in pain on the floor. He walked to the fallen man and took his camera from him. After he reviewed the pictures, he gave the camera to his follower.


    It showed Edward walking away with Rosa and Terry, and to which direction they were walking towards. "The rest of our members will help you." The leader said. "Go. Now. If you still can''t find him, then capture his manager or his boss, make hime out on his own!"


    ...


    During the morning news, the NBC station provided extensive coverage of the incident that unfolded at the MTV Awards the previous night. Nadia, the poised and professional brte anchor, delivered thetest updates.


    "Despite the unsettling events ofst night, popr teen celebrity Edward Newgate has demonstrated his unwavering spirit by continuing to engage with his fans this morning," Nadia reported, her voice steady andposed, and she spoke with a smile on her face.


    "He is currently hosting a heartwarming event where he can connect with his dedicated supporters."


    The news then transitioned to a scene where Edward, ever gracious, was captured on camera gently wiping a fan''s mouth with a napkin. The crowd erupted in cheers, showcasing the enthusiasm that surrounds the young celebrity.


    Just as Nadia was about to proceed with further details, an urgent message came through her earpiece, causing her expression to shift into one of concern. With a professional demeanor, she swiftly ryed the breaking news to the viewers.


    "Breaking news. We have received reports that XX hotel has be the target of a terrorist attack," Nadia announced, her voice conveying the gravity of the situation. "Three individuals, armed with rifles and firearms, have managed to infiltrate the premises."


    She continued, her words measured and deliberate, "Eyewitnesses in the vicinity have informed us that this attack appears to be specifically targeted at Edward Newgate, who is currently hosting his fan meeting at the hotel. The hostiles are reportedly conducting an intense search for him."


    Nadia paused briefly, allowing the weight of the situation to sink in for viewers. She concluded with a tone of reassurance, "Law enforcement authorities have swiftly responded, cordoning off the area and implementing necessary security measures. We will be closely monitoring the situation and providing you with further updates as soon as they be avable..."


    In Los Angeles, Ted found himself in the office at the port, engrossed in watching the news on the television. As the NBC breaking news shed across the screen, a sense of unease washed over him and the ten captains and crew members present in the room.


    Glen, a crew member with a distinct muppet-like voice and a beer gut, abruptly stood up and eximed, "Those motherfuckers! Let me go to New York, right now!"


    Gina, a stern officedy positioned nearby, scoffed at Glen''s outburst. "You? Going to New York? And what purpose would that serve? To join the list of casualties? No! I''ll go instead!"


    With determination in her eyes, Gina revealed a pair of concealed Desert Eagles she had stashed in the file cupboard. Glen, not one to be outdone, reached into his bag and produced an UZI. As if a spark had been ignited, the others in the room followed suit, arming themselves one by one.


    Dwayne, a burly individual, brandished a pair of brass knucklesbeled with the words "PAIN" on the left and "DEATH" on the right. He donned aviator sses and defiantly tore off his captain''s uniform, revealing a gray tank top underneath.


    Within moments, an impromptu army had formed within the confines of the room. Ted, equipped with an MP3 rifle and a baseball bat wrapped with sharp wires, exuded confidence as he adjusted his sunsses. "Let''s go," he dered.


    However, Frankie stepped forward, halting their progress before they could leave the room. "STOP! Are you guys crazy!?"


    "Frankie. We need to go save Ed. Right now." Glenn said.


    Ted turned his gaze towards Frankie, anxiety etched across his face. He called out to her, pleading, "Frankie... I need to go--"


    She interrupted him, making her point clear. "I''m not saying you can''t go! But those firearms need to stay. I have contacts in NYC who can help you all get what you want. I''ll book the earliest airne tickets for you right now."


    Ted was taken aback by Frankie''s unexpected offer and couldn''t help but grin. With a burst of gratitude, he wrapped his arm around Frankie''s waist, pulling her in close for a heartfelt kiss. "Thank you," he whispered.


    Frankie, though appreciative, quickly reprimanded him. "I told you, no PDAs in the office. Now go!"


    In Jay''s house, Mitch and Cam were excitedly helping Gloria to decorate the living room and to bake 3 celebratory cakes for Edward. The party was nned to be held at 4 today after Edward returned home from NY.


    They were smiling and giggling as they watched the news of Edward having a nice time with his fans, and then suddenly froze when the breaking news came in.


    Cam, without any warning, fell to the ground limply as he lost his consciousness. However, no one bothered to help him as they were still haunted by the news.


    Jay walked into the living room casually and said, "Hun, I''ve been thinking, why don''t we get a baker to make his cakes�C Um, what''s going on?" He was confused as to why Gloria looked like she was going to murder someone, and Mitchell was on the brink of tears.


    In the Dunphy''s house, ire dropped the cup of coffee she was having, causing it to shatter on the floor. Phil and Alex quickly rushed to the living room and asked, "What happened?"


    ire was pale and she turned to Phil before rushing to hug him. However, she didn''t respond to Alex''s question just yet.


    Back to NYC, Abby was anxious and was doing whatever she could by deep diving the perpetrator''s phone while trying her best to hold back her tears. Suddenly, she froze as she managed to find out an important information.


    The surrounding of the hotel was being blocked by the police as the hostiles were still roaming free inside.


    "S.W.A.T Team, go!" Themanding officer of the operation, the deputymissioner of the NYPD himself, came to take charge of the scene. "My god, I don''t know what will happen to us after this." He silently muttered, fearing the fate of the NYPD from the public''s bacsh from their handling of this event.


    "Holt, you''re the only captain left inside One Police za. I need you to briefly take over themand in precinct 99 until their captain wakes up from hisa." The deputymissioner said to the African American police captain standing next to him.


    "Affirmative Deputy Commissioner." Captain Raymond Holt said robotically.


    Inside the hotel, the security guards standing in front of Edward''s, and Selena and Vanessa''s shared suit, was quadrupled. However, there were still no signs of Edward getting back to his room.


    Edward had followed Rosa and Terry to the kitchen instead and was hiding inside.


    "You know, they only have 3 people. I think Sarge could take them." Edward said jokingly as he reached for the cereal there and made himself a bowl.


    "You still haven''t had enough?" Rosa asked angrily.


    Terry said, "Come on Diaz. He''s a growing boy. He needs nourishment."


    "Yeah, listen to Sarge, Diaz. By the way, do you have a niece in LA? Especially a niece that goes by the name Selena?"


    "We''re in no time to discuss familial rtionship Brat. And especially not about my family. Ever." Rosa warned.


    Edward shrugged and said casually, "So I guess you really do have one. Selena will be d to hear that I met her aunt."


    Rosa was taken aback a bit and said, "You know her?"


    "She''s dating my team''s fake captain." Edward answered casually.


    Sarge was confused, "Why is he a fake captain?"


    Edward answered smugly, "Because I''m the real captain of the team. Anyway, 1 bogey ising here right now." He casually pointed to the east door of the kitchen.


    Terry was confused as to how Edward knew about it, but he listened and set up an ambush. The young follower opened the door slightly before he was tackled by Terry, causing his rifle to be thrown away.


    Rosa picked up the rifle and aimed it to the guy while Terry pinned him to the ground. Terry asked, "Why are you here? Why are you aiming for Edward?"


    "Je le fais pour l''argent, ne me frappez pas !" The young man blurted out in fear.


    "What?" Terry asked, confused.


    "That''s french." Rosa said. "I get a little�C"


    Edward interrupted and said, " ''I''m doing it for the money, don''t hit me!''. That''s basically what he said. ''Qui vous donne l''argent ?'' (Who is giving you the money?)"


    The young man was hesitant, but Terry shook his cor and threatened him, "TALK! Or I''ll squeeze your head like a melon!"


    "K! K! K! K!" The young man shouted.


    "K did it?" Terry was astonished.


    "No. It''s not K. He didn''t have the balls to do something like this." Edward said dismissively before turning to the young man and crouched next to him. He then said whisperingly to the perp.


    "Je suis impressionn��(e) que tu puisses encore mentir dans cette situation. Je suis vraiment ��tonn��(e) en ce moment. Je suppose que ce grand gaird qui te tient n''est pas assez mena?ant, n''est-ce pas ? Hmm, j''imagine que c''est vrai. Il estme un gros nounours. Il ne ferait pas de mal �� une mouche."


    ("It''s impressive that you can still lie in this situation. I am very amazed right now. I guess that massive guy holding you isn''t threatening enough right? Hmm, I guess that is true. He''s like a big teddy bear. He won''t hurt a fly.")


    "Malheureusement pour toi, celle qui se tient derri��re lui n''est pas aussi cl��mente que lui. C''est le genre de fille qui te poignarderait juste pour s''amuser, qui te sectionnerait tes parties intimes avant de les recoudre sur ta t��te si tu essaies de lui tenir t��te. Alors tu ferais mieux de nous dire v��rit��. Sinon, on teissera seul ici, avec elle."


    ("Unfortunately for you, the one standing behind him isn''t as merciful as he is. She''s the type of girl, who will stab you just for fun, and rip off your balls before sewing them to your head if you try to cross her. So you better tell us the truth. Or else, we''ll leave you alone here, with her.")


    Edward nced at Rosa, emphasizing her menacing presence. Rosa responded with a chilling grin, causing goosebumps to rise all over the young man''s body. He shouted in an honest panic, "It''s Mikael! Mikael hired us to do this!"


    "Who is Mikael?" Terry asked, but before he could get an answer, Edward tackled him to the side. Bullets tore through the kitchen door, one of them finding its mark in the young man''s neck. Rosa swiftly returned fire and urgently eximed, "WE NEED TO LEAVE! SARGE!"


    "Come on, Newgate. Let''s go," Sarge said as he helped Edward to his feet. The trio made a dash from the kitchen through the main door and rushed towards the restaurant. However, their options were limited as the only way out of the restaurant was through the lobby or the window.


    Hearing themotion emanating from the restaurant area, a man in the lobby made his way towards the source of the sound. The bellboys and the hotel receptionist, who had been forced toy on the ground, also hurried in the same direction.


    Finally, the SWAT team entered the hotel and found the hotel visitor lying on the lobby floor.


    "GO GO GO!"


    Sarge threw a chair to shatter the hotel window, while Rosa provided cover with her rifle. Sarge overturned some tables to create a makeshift barrier, offering protection for their escape.


    "We''re on the first floor. Do you think you can make your way along the edge?" Terry nervously asked.


    Edward smiled and replied, "What about you guys?"


    "This is our job. Go," Terry said with a reassuring smile, even though he knew the odds were stacked against them. "Crouch when you pass by the windows��Wait, is that?"


    Terry noticed the receptionist and the bellboy waving at them from the room adjacent to the restaurant. He felt a sense of relief and said, "Go, they will help you. Once you get there, go and hide out in the third floor VIP room. There''s a safe house there. Onlye out when I give you the password. Go, these employees will keep you safe."


    "Doubtful, but I guess I should listen to you," Edward said jokingly, before carefully making his way along the narrow one-foot-wide edge.


    Rosa was under fire from two directions that she had to take cover. "I''m out." She said as she threw her rifle to the side.


    "Damn it. I''m out too." Terry said as he checked his handgun. "We should''ve listened to Jake."


    "Toote for regret now." Rosa said.


    As the two hostiles moved closer towards the barricade, suddenly, SWAT came in at the perfect time to prevent Rosa and Terry from going through the worst situation.


    They immediately shot the perps and killed them quickly before pinning the ones that surrendered to the ground. Rosa took a breath in relief while Terry raised his hand up and quickly said his identity, "My name is Sergeant Terry Jefforts. I''m an NYPD officer of the 99 precinct. This is my subordinate, Detective Rosa Diaz."


    "We know. We''ve been briefed." The SWAT member said. Terry finally breathed in relief. Jake and Amy finally arrived and they rushed towards Sargent jefford.


    "Sarge. Thank god." Amy said as she was fearing for the lives of her colleague.


    Jake said anxiously, "No time for emotional drama right now. Sarge, where is the kid?"


    "Oh, I asked him to move first." Sarge said, "He''s with the hotel receptionist, hiding out right now."


    Amy was shocked, "YOU DID WHAT?!"


    "What''s wrong?" Rosa asked.


    Jake''s face frowned in frustration as he said, "THEY ARE THE BAD GUYS TOO!" Abby managed to get that information from the suspect''s phone before this.


    A few minutes before, when Edward finally reached into the next room, the Russian receptionist held out her gun and pointed it to Edward''s head, "You''reing with us."

 Chapter 215: Kidnapped.

    <h4>Chapter 215: Chapter 215: Kidnapped.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    My hands were tightly bound with a cable tie as they forcefully shoved me into the back seat of the ck SUV.


    "Who wants to see me? Mr. Gray? Don''t be too rough with me. I might fall in love~" I joked, trying to lighten the mood as they handled me roughly. The two Mexican bellboys settled themselves beside me, while the Russiandy upied the seat in front.


    "Tape his mouth. I have a feel... he will be... more annoying if we let him keep talking," the Russiandy instructed with a thick ent, already tired of my antics despite it being only five minutes since they captured me.


    "Aww, that''s just hurtful. I actually wanted to have a conversation with you guys. How else am I supposed to find out more about Mikael? I know he''s the leader of the Cobra mercenaries, but who is he really? What are his likes, dislikes and hobbies?" I said yfully, trying to keep the atmosphere light.


    The car fell into silence. Tension filled the air. The bellboys exchanged nces, unsure of how to respond. Eventually, they decided toply with the order.


    Before the man on the right could tape my mouth shut, the Russiandy interrupted, "Stop... How do you know about Mikael?"


    I smiled and replied, "Should that really be your primary concern right now? If I were you, I''d be more focused on figuring out how to evade the police blockade rather than worrying about whether your identity has been exposed."


    The Russiandy chuckled and said, "Oh, is our identity exposed? Nheless, it doesn''t matter. We will not be staying in this country any longer. Pat him down," she ordered the others while taking off her brte wig, revealing her short blonde hair. Her piercing blue eyes seemed to scrutinize every aspect of me.


    ''So they aren''t from the same group.'' I thought to myself. Her expression told me all I needed to know before this. It seemed that the two groups had some conflict with each other because they had taken the same mission target.


    (Anna in the 2019 movie, ANNA)


    The two Mexican men searched through my pockets, confiscating my phone, an asthma inhaler, and some magnum condoms. The Russiandy expressed surprise and asked, "Rubber? You brought those?"


    "Well, you never know when you might need them," I replied yfully. ncing at the asthma inhaler, I added, "I don''t mind if you keep my phone, but it might be wise to let me hold onto the inhaler. After all, a dead hostage isn''t very valuable, is it? Alright guys, stop searching my pants, the only other thing you''ll find in there is my penis, although it can be categorized as a weapon, you should really get your hand off it."


    "Oh, sorry," the bellboy on my left said, realizing what he had mistakenly grabbed.


    "You won''t die. At most, you''ll suffer," the Russiandy responded, rolling her eyes at the bellboy''s error. She inspected the inhaler before relenting, "Fine, keep it. And, since I''m feeling generous, you can keep your ''protection'' as well."


    The car elerated swiftly after my phone was tossed out of the window. As we journeyed towards our unknown destination, I decided to probe a bit.


    The reason I hadn''t retaliated or attempted to escape was due to their strategic positioning. Since we were inside the hotel, they had formed a tight circle around me.


    If I were to attack one of them, the other two would swiftlye to their defense, making it futile. For now, my strategy was to go along with their ns until I could gather more information. Robin had been onto something earlier, but the information I had received so far was iplete.


    "Lisa? Jam? Anastasia? Ania?" I yfully guessed, trying to figure out the Russiandy''s name.


    "What are you doing?" Sasha asked, her brow furrowing.


    "I''m trying to guess your name based on your appearance. You have a slightly country look, so I''m going with... Polina," I confidently replied, provoking a frown from Sasha.


    "It''s Sasha, and I''m not from the country�� Damn it! Why haven''t you guys gagged his mouth yet?" she eximed in frustration.


    "Come on, Sasha, don''t be angry. It''s a nice name, and it suits such a prettydy as you. Despite the fact that you''re kidnapping me, I can honestly say that you''re one of the most beautiful girls I''ve ever met. And trust me, I''ve met a lot of gorgeous girls," I flirtatiously remarked.


    Before my mouth could be gagged once again, Sasha intervened, stopping the man who held the tape. She smiled and said, "You can''t sweet talk your way out of this."


    "Why would I sweet talk my way out with the truth? People usually lie to do that," I responded, shing a charming smile.


    "Interesting," Sasha replied, batting her eyes flirtatiously at me.


    "I wonder, how much did your client pay for you to willingly be the enemy of the entire country?" I questioned curiously.


    "You underestimate your importance, kid," the bellboy chimed in,ughing.


    Internally, I noted that the other country''s military was likely not their client. I turned to theughing man and asked innocently, "Really? Wow, I guess wrong. So... how much?"


    The man excitedly replied, "One million dors!"


    "Each?" I inquired, feeling confused.


    "No, total," the man rified, also bing puzzled by my response.


    "And... How many of you are there?" I probed further.


    "Don''t answer him," Sasha warned the man.


    "No, Sasha, you misunderstand. I''m not trying to gather information about your group. I''m just genuinely confused right now. You went through all of this... for a measly million dors?" I expressed my disbelief.


    "Yeah?" Sasha responded, her incredulity growing as I mentioned the amount of money.


    I looked at her with disbelief and remarked, "You guys... Are you sure you''re... SMART?"


    Sasha smirked with contempt oozing out of her eyes, "1 Million means nothing to you, rich boy. But, it means everything to us."


    "OOOh a backstory. Wait, not now Ed. What I mean it, (Exaggeratedly) Oh no, I get that. (Normal voice) I just think that your boss has been thoroughly underpaying you for this assignment." I replied as the car got near a police barricade.


    "Stop�C STOP!!" The car didn''t slow down and the driver, a Jamaicandy, rammed through the barricade and elerated the car into traffic. Two police cars followed the SUV with sirens ring. Sasha opened the window and fired a couple of shots at the police car.


    "Ah, I made a mistake. You guys aren''t professional at all." I mumbled to myself.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Jake and Amy stood in the parking lot, frustration evident on their faces as they spotted Edward''s phone lying on the ground. "Damn it! They got away!" Jake eximed, his voice filled with frustration.


    Amy tried to calm him down. "Calm down, Jake. Sarge is interrogating the shooters right now," she said, sharing his frustration. She picked up the phone and, to her surprise, heard a voice as she turned it on. "Hello Detective Amy Santiago. I am Robin."


    Meanwhile, the shooters were being escorted to the police car, but they were met with a swarm of reporters who overwhelmed both the police and the perpetrators. The reporters bombarded them with questions, eager to uncover the motive behind the attack on Edward Newgate.


    "Why did you attack Edward Newgate?"


    "What grudge did you have against him?"


    "Is this a nned attack?"


    The leader of the shooters, the man with the cobra tattoo and an injured left arm, quickly acted and pointed the me at someone named K. "K! K told us to do it! He''s the mastermind behind this!"


    Sergeant Jeffords immediately intervened, knowing the leader was lying. "Stop talking!" hemanded. However, the damage had been done. Reporter helicopters flew over the crowd, rushing to cover the story of the police chase.


    At the hotel, a reporter approached Sergeant Jeffords. "Where is Edward Newgate right now? Is he safe?"


    Sarge was taken aback by the question, but before he could respond, the mercenary leaderughed maniacally. "He''s already been kidnapped! You can find his corpse kissing K''s feet!"


    Sarge attempted to stop the man''s lies, but the reporters swarmed them, bombarding them with numerous questions about Edward and K. The news of the kidnapping and the involvement of K spread rapidly, capturing the attention of the entire country and even the international media. K''s name was dragged through the mud.


    Captain Raymont Holt carefully analyzed the case and concluded, "They purposely sabotaged K''s vehicle to exacerbate the scandal between them. The criminals we''re searching for have a master strategist among them toe up with such a n."


    The Deputy Commissioner agreed with Holt''s assessment. "We have to find that kid no matter what. The fate of the NYPD is hanging by a thread. But luckily for us, K is taking some of the heat. We need to do some PR damage control. Get me the two detectives who were with the kid before. I need all the information we have right now!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    The Mexican guy named Mateo expressed his disappointment with Dragonball Evolution. "Man, Dragonball Evolution is the worst," he said begrudgingly.


    "I know. It''s an insult to Akira Toriyama and the anime," I agreed, nodding in agreement.


    Christian, the guy on my left, added his own remark. "But, Bulma is kinda hot."


    Mateo and I nodded again, acknowledging the sentiment. However, Sasha, who was with us, rolled her eyes and red at us. She warned Mateo and Christian, "Can you guys not befriend the hostage? At least this one time?!"


    We chuckled at her remark, and I yfully teased her. "Don''t be mad, Polina."


    "SASHA! Ugh, damn it! I can''t wait to drop you off!" Sasha snapped back in frustration.


    Despite the police chasing us, the mercenaries managed to escape and find refuge in a rundown warehouse near the port. They ushered me into a small room, surrounded by armed men scattered throughout the warehouse.


    Internally, I knew this would be a challenging situation. However, I maintained a calm exterior. I observed two men patrolling outside the warehouse, and 3 more were standing by inside the open space.


    Sasha approached a burly Latino man with a goatee and asked, "Here. Missionplete. The money?"


    The man handed Sasha a silver briefcase. "One million dors in cash, right here," he confirmed. Sasha then handed me over to them.


    "Aww, I got sold off," Imented empathetically. Sasha''s eyes lowered with conflict, while Mateo nervously asked, "What are you going to do with him?"


    "None of your business. Take your money and go," the burly man replied irritably, pulling me away. Sasha gave me a second look before she sighed and then left the warehouse.


    Shortly after, I finally came face to face with the mastermind behind this whole ordeal. He was a Cuban man, dressed in a slimy white suit, with slicked-back hair and a goatee. His fingers were adorned with golden rings, and he had a cross tattooed on his forehead.


    "Ah, the famous prodigy. Someone get me a paper! I want to get his autograph!" the mastermind said yfully,ughing together with his subordinates.


    "Oh, is that why you brought me here? There are better ways to get my signature, you know," I replied with a touch of irony.


    The man menacingly grabbed my neck and sneered, "I want your signature because it''ll be worth more when you''re dead."


    "And what exactly have I done to deserve death?" I asked calmly, despite having my cheek squeezed.


    The man was momentarily taken aback before saying, "You... Oh, I suppose it''s unfair that you don''t know why I sent you to hell to meet Satan. Let me exin. My dear, kind, and beautiful brother, Eliza Manelli. He was the best brother a man could have in the world."


    The man''s gaze was filled with affection, and also a bit of lust. Raising an eyebrow, I stored his brother''s name in my mind.


    Lost in his nostalgic memories, the man continued while hugging his own body, "My brother, who wouldn''t hesitate to sever the arm of anyone who dared to cross me. My brother, who took me under his wing and made me a man by forcing me to kill innocent people."


    "MY BROTHER!" he bellowed in my face, with drops of salivanding on me. I grimaced and waited for him to continue. "My brother... who meant everything to me... was killed by Rosa Envenen��!"


    "Poison Rose? Who is that?" I asked, thoroughly confused. The man was once again taken aback and exined, "Your mother."


    "But, Mister D-Grade movie viin, my mother DIED 10 years ago." I replied, faking confusion.


    "What?" The man was dumbfounded by my words and then took out a piece of photo. It showed a woman in a floral dress, with her head covered halfway by a huge hat. "Are you telling me, this is not your mother?"


    "Yeah. She''s not. I''ve never even met that woman in my life. She''s kinda hot tho. Who is she?" I replied while shaking my head, faking excitement at the same time.


    The man froze and turned to his subordinate, questioning, "Do we really have the right person?" My behavior perplexed him, as no son would show attraction to their own mother, especially in this situation. But truthfully, yes, that was my mom.


    Most of the subordinates shook their heads, unable to answer the man''s question. Manelli''s brother, from now on referred to as such, grew increasingly confused. He asked his subordinate, "When will the ship arrive?"


    "In fifteen minutes," the burly subordinate replied.


    "For now, keep him here. I need the real son of Rosa, not a joker. Why would I bring an unknown child to Cuba just to kill him in front of her? That would make me aughingstock!" Manelli''s brothermanded.


    The n was to smuggle me to Cuba, and I knew that when he confirmed the information, I would be in big trouble.


    "Goodbye, Mr. Viin," I said as the burly subordinate locked me away in a small room with a bodyguard, a small Latino man armed with a rifle and a baton.


    The bodyguard ced aptop in front of me and ordered, "Break this encryption."


    "Hmm? What''s this? An overtime?" I began to question, but before I could finish my sentence, he punched me in the face. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth as I stared at him in disbelief.


    He ced his finger on his lips, signaling for me to remain silent. "No questions, no talking. One more word from you, and I''ll shove this baton up your ass."


    "That''s gay," I responded, provoking the man''s anger.


    In a swift motion, I snapped the cable ties that bound my knees, breaking them in half. I reached out, grabbing the man by the mouth to prevent him from making any noise, while simultaneously seizing the baton he had intended to strike me with. His eyes widened with fear as I grinned devilishly. "Oh, you''re in deep trouble now."


    *crack*


    I held his head and cracked his neck, making him fall immediately. "Shit." I was surprised at my impulsiveness and checked the man''s nose with my finger. I was relieved, "He''s still breathing. I''m still fine. Wait no�C He punched me. He deserved it."


    Disarming him of his gun, knife, and baton, I equipped them on my body, preparing myself for the challenges ahead. Retrieving a pack of condoms from my pocket, I tore them open, revealing the small devices I had hidden inside. Among them was an earpiece, which I promptly put on.


    "Robin, what''s the situation?" I inquired.


    "Help ising in 20 minutes," Robin replied.


    "That''s not enough time," I responded.


    "Sir, I''ve calcted your n, and I must discourage you from proceeding. It would be better to wait for help instead of taking matters into your own hands," Robin advised.


    "Robin, once they confirm my identity, they''ll be more inclined to kill me than let me go," I reasoned. Merging the two small devices together, I extracted the antenna from the rectangr box and pressed the button to scramblemunications in the area.


    "Let''s go," I instructed Robin before leaving the room. A guard stood outside the door, and I swiftly put him in a headlock and dragged him inside. Chocked, he lost consciousness within seconds. However as I tied him up, he had an euphoric expression on his face, creeping me out.


    "I didn''t give him a happy ending or the sort, did I?" I muttered with disgust.


    Then, I slipped out of the room and made my way to the adjacent area.


    Inside, seven men were monitoring the surroundings, their panic evident due to the broken monitor. I had already ensured there were no cameras in the hostage room to avoid detection.


    Reaching into my pocket once more, I retrieved an asthma inhaler. "Sleepy time," I muttered as I ripped out the gas canister and threw it into the room before closing the door. Some of the men noticed the rolling canister, but after a small explosion, they all sumbed to the drowsiness and fainted.


    Satisfied with the oue, I calmly proceeded towards the main area where the exchange had taken ce. There, I spotted the burly man conversing with Manelli''s brother from behind a stack of boxes. They appeared anxious, unable to use their phones or contact their informant to verify my identity.


    Although I was on the cusp of breaking out of the warehouse, a final hurdle remained. Three fully equipped patrolmen with body armor stood between me and freedom. While my skills were formidable, I recognized the danger posed by a direct confrontation with trained men.


    Then, I smiled as I got a n, "Robin. Can you get the man''s number? And call him?"


    "I''ll see what I can do sir." Robin replied.


    2 minutester, Manelli''s bro phone rang. "FINALLY!" he eximed before picking up the phone, "Is he really Miranda''s son?"


    However, Robin, mimicking a garbled, random guy''s voice, told him, "The line is *Bzzt* not clear,*bzzt* C�Can you go outside?


    "FUCK!" Manelli''s bro cursed before making his way out of the warehouse, leaving behind only the burly man there.


    I snuck behind him, but as he was standing in an open space, he could see me getting near. He automatically turned and pulled his rifle trigger.


    One of the bullets grazed my shoulder before I could manage to close the distance and kicked the rifle away from him. He responded by trying to hammer punch me, but I ducked a bit and punched him, right in the balls!!


    "Oof-" He eximed as his eyes crossed closer together and he fell down on the ground.


    "AHH!" Suddenly, Manelli''s brother who heard the gunshot rushed towards me. He wore a brass knuckle and wanted to punch me in the face. However, his step and swing were quite slow.


    I tilted my head a bit, letting his arm pass by, and without even moving from my spot, I grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. He started choking and I muttered to him, "You know, you really shouldn''t be doing impulsive things next time. You should confirm first, who I am, and what I can do."


    The police broke through the front at this moment after hearing the gunshot sounds. I stared at the Cuban man and smiled. "If not, you''re going to end up in jail with your neck broken."


    "What�C" The man breathlessly said with veins protruding out of his face. His eyes slowly rolled backwards. But I released him at this time, just before he could lose consciousness.


    "Bastard-" He said groggily and took out a sharp knife.


    "FREEZE!" Jake Peralta said while pointing his gun at the man.


    He lunged at me without thinking. Jake and another officer opened fire. The bullet hit him right on the shoulder and his head, killing him immediately. The blood stter rolled down my face as I looked at the guy emotionlessly.


    The police swarmed the area, and they were shocked when they found out that all of the perps inside the warehouse had already been taken care of.


    Jake was in disbelief, "Did you even need us here?"


    "I thought you were going to take a longer time to get in?" I asked Jake in confusion.


    "Yeah. Then we heard the gunshot. So we just stormed in." Jake replied.


    Iughed and turned to Jake, "I don''t know why, but I feel like I should say a catchy line right now."


    Amy, Rosa and Sarge walked towards me with a smile on their face. Jake was excited and said, "Oh- how about-"


    I interrupted him and said, "Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree. Cos this boy''sing home."


    Jake gasped and whispered in awe, "Nick Cage. Con Air."

 Chapter 216: Aftermath.

    <h4>Chapter 216: Chapter 216: Aftermath.</h4>


    (I MADE IT!! HAD TO RUSH HOME AT 160 KM/H lol)


    [General POV]


    After being safely escorted out of the warehouse, Edward was immediately taken to an ambnce where he received medical attention for his bleeding right arm.


    He required two stitches to close the wound. Edward sighed before he reminded the police, "Oh, right, there''s aptop with an encrypted file on it. I don''t know what''s on there yet, but those guys seemed anxious to want me to break it for them."


    "Now, there''s important data involved? What''s on there? Some National Secret? Blueprints of Alcatraz? �C" Jake Peralta tried to guess without even hiding his excitement.


    Amy rolled her eyes at Jake and said, "Shouldn''t we recover them first before you try to guess what it is? Here. Your phone." Amy handed over Edward''s phone back to him.


    "Right. Let''s go Amy." Jake said before both of them reenter the warehouse.


    Meanwhile, the police continued their operations inside the warehouse, apprehending the individuals on the ship who were identified as aplices. However, the arrest did note without a major shootout between the police and the criminals.


    As news of the incident spread, the surrounding area quickly became chaotic, with reporters swarming in to cover the story. Footage of Edward with a bruised face and a bloody arm was swiftly broadcasted worldwide, capturing the attention of the public. However, what shocked the public even more was learning about the fate of the kidnappers.


    Eleven men were taken down by a lone teenage pop star, a detail that was identally leaked by Detective Jake Peralta during a lively phone conversation with his best friend, Charles Boyle.


    The reporters tried to pass over the police line to interview Edward who was drinking a calming tea the police had given to him while sitting at the back of the ambnce.


    "EDWARD! EDWARD! LOOK HERE!" The reporter shouted.


    Edward slowly turned to them and then suddenly thought of something. He then took out his phone and called someone.


    Startled by the unexpected phone call, Ted hastily answered his phone, his heart racing with concern. "Edward? Is that you? Are you alright?" His shout made everyone at the airport stare at him.


    Edward''s voice came through the line, filled with relief and a hint of exhaustion. "Hey, Dad. Yeah, I''m okay. It''s been quite a day, but I made it out safely. I just wanted to let you know�C"


    "EDWARD! HOW DID YOU GET OUT OF THERE!?" A reporter shouted.


    "EDWARD! HOW ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW?!"


    "ANSWER US!"


    "IS IT TRUE YOU BROKE A GUY''S NECK?!"


    Ted let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness! I''ve been so worried. What happened? Are you hurt?"


    Edward paused for a moment before responding. "I''m a bit bruised and have a cut on my arm, but nothing serious. The police are taking care of me, and they''re doing their best to make sure everything is under control."


    "WHAT. HAPPENED?" Ted asked again, sternly this time.


    Edward sighed and said, "I broke off a guy''s neck, fought off a couple of them, and broke free of the warehouse. Can you wait a sec." He gazed at the reporters with irritation and spewed, "I''m talking to my dad right now to tell him that I am safe. Can you guys at least have the human decency to let me do that?"


    His warning startled the reporters, however they soon took his warning as a challenge and kept shouting their questions at him, this timeced with provocations.


    "DID YOU PLAN THE WHOLE THING FOR PUBLICITY?"


    "DID YOU PAY OFF THE SHOOTERS?"


    "ARE YOU A RACIST?!"


    "WERE YOU PURPOSELY TRYING TO GET K DESTROYED?"


    Edward ignored all of them and waited for his dad to answer, "Dad...Are you angry�C"


    "HOT DAMN!!!" Ted shouted, causing Ed to move his phone for a bit because of the loudness. In the airport, Ted pumped his fist in excitement. The rest of the ship crew was confused, but as Ted told them Ed was safe and had fought off 11 men, all of them cheered.


    "Sir. You''re causing a disturbance. Pleasee with us." A few airport security came to Ted to escort him away. Ted stammered as he spoke to Ed, "Come back home as soon as you can. Alright? I got to go."


    "Okay. Make sure to get a refund for the ticket!" Edward said before he cut the call. However at this moment, one of the photographers jumped through the police barricade in an attempt to get a closer video of Edward. He was blocked by the police, but he could still snap the photos of Ed from right in front of him.


    Jake Peralta saw Edward''s dangerous gazes and then eximed while standing in between the reporters and Edward, "This entire area is closed off by the police. Please stay clear or you will be arrested for obstruction of justice."


    "SHUT UP PIG!" The photographer cursed at Jake.


    "YOU KNOW WHAT? You ARE ARRESTED!" Jake said as he took out his handcuff and cuffed the resisting photographer.


    Rosa quickly went to Edward and said, "Let''s go. We will take you back to the precinct. You don''t need to stay here anymore."


    Amy held aptop and joined Rosa, "We will contact your guardian toe pick you up at the precinct."


    "Can''t you guys just drop me off at the hotel?" Edward asked in a tired manner.


    Amy shook her head guiltily and said, "Procedure�C"


    "Screw it. Do you know how many of these hyenas will camp out in front of the precinct? Let''s just get him back to the hotel." Terry interjected quickly. As he was top in themand line in the precinct right now, he could make his own decisions about the matter.


    Rosa smiled and teased Terry, "You''re just grateful that he tackled you away from the line of fire."


    "HE SAVED ME ROSA!" Terry eximed, making Edward smile. Suddenly, his stomach growled, and it was heard by the detectives there. Amy smiled while Rosa grimaced and asked, "You just ate. How are you still hungry?"


    "Well being in a high pressure situation does help with one''s appetite." Edward replied with a shrug.


    The revtion that a well-known pop star had single-handedly defeated a group of kidnappers added a sensational twist to the story, garnering widespread interest.


    The media coverage intensified, with news outlets globally picking up the remarkable tale. Social media tforms buzzed with discussions, debates, and support for the brave actions of the young pop star. Memes, fan art, and trending hashtags flooded the inte, further fueling public fascination.


    A meme about Edward breaking someone''s neck especially gained the most attention on social media. Him being a disciple of Chuck Norris, ObiWan, and even Anakin Skywalker all popped out.


    In California, all of Edward''s friends finally breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the news that Edward was safe and sound. However, most of them didn''t go about their day and were still waiting for Edward to get back home. Especially the 3 siblings who were extremely close to him.


    [Edward POV]


    The detectives sent me straight back to the hotel after the whole incident. I could see some reporters were camping out in front of the hotel which made me feel even more tired. I was sitting in the back of the police car with Terry, and the woman detectives were sitting in the front.


    "What''s in it?" Rosa asked as she saw me breaking down the encryption on theptop, just for fun. Amy was objecting to giving me theptop before as it could be evidence, but I convinced her that my fingerprints were already on theptop, so it doesn''t matter if I unlock the passwords before they filed theptop in.


    "A bunch of names...of US espionage agents..." I replied to Rosa.


    "Wait. So you recover the names of our agents too? This is a matter of national security! You can get a medal for this!" Amy said in excitement.


    I looked at her in disbelief before she calmed down consciously and said, "Whatever you want to do with it. I''m cool."


    "Please, I don''t need any more attention on me." I said with a sigh. "Right now, all I want is some meat."


    "Meat?" Rosa asked, intrigued.


    Edward drooled and said, "Huge chunk of meat, on top of a bone, like in anime."


    "Oh, you like to watch Anime too?" Terry asked, excited.


    Edward turned towards him, and his lips slowly curled from meeting the same people, "You like them too? What did you watch?"


    "I like the old stuff. Gundam. Cowboy Bepop." Terry replied.


    Edward nodded and said, "Even if I rmend you some new ones, you''d probably, couldn''t take the time to watch it huh?"


    "I can watch it...Sometimes." Terry replied with hesitation.


    Edward chuckled. They walked to the hotel suite, and when the detectives saw the guards there, they were astonished. Rosa eximed, "Damn, I thought you had no protection at all."


    "I have you guys, so I let the guards protect my friends." I replied.


    "That''s...incredibly selfless...or stupid... I don''t know where I''m leaning at." Rosa replied with confusion.


    Edward shrugged and said, "Besides, it''s all happening in such a short time frame."


    Before I could knock on the door, Pepper opened the door dramatically, with tears in his eyes, "WHERE IS HE?! WHERE IS MY CHILD?!"


    "I''m here." I replied while raising my arms weakly. Pepper was aghast as he saw my bandaged arm and bruised face that he almost fell down. Luckily for him, Terry was there to hold him from falling.


    He stood back on his feet, "How- Uhhh-" He then rolled his eyes and almost fainted again.


    "Get yourself together man." Terry eximed as he caught Pepper for the second time.


    I held back myughter and said, "Peps. You didn''t do that just to get a touch of his muscles right?"


    I caught his hand brushing on Terry''s bicep as he rested the back of his head on his abdomen. Pepper suddenly turned serious and said, "Not at all�C I mean, Uhhh..." He pretended to be weak again so that Terry would help him stay up.


    Max burst out of the room, rushed towards me, and then hugged me forcefully, "Thank god! You''re still in one piece."


    "For now." I replied before she separated and pped me right in the wound.


    "OWW! Why did you do that?" I asked in astonishment.


    "That''s for being stupid! I know I made fighting bad guys look cool, but I have nothing to lose. You have."


    "We''ll go back home, right now." Pepper added solemnly.


    "Alright." I replied after I was bewildered for a bit. Then, I turned to the detectives and asked, "If I just left right now, will it be bad for you guys?"


    "No. Not at all." Terry replied with a smile. "You should go back. Your family must be worried for you."


    I sighed, knowing fully well that they were lying. "Alright then, I will go home right now."


    I waved goodbyes to the detectives before entering the suite. "Where''s Selena and Vanessa?" I asked.


    "Huh? Ipletely forgot about them." Max replied.


    As I went to check on them, it turned out that the both of them were still sleeping. It shook them to the core when they heard about the full story on our way to the airport. And this time, I brought Max back with me. Randall was stranded in New York again, which made him want to cry.


    Pepper tried not to talk to me about anything, but I could see how many people were calling him during our flight home.


    "Oh, Detective Rosa is calling me. Um? Is she the primary in the investigation?" I muttered, confused as to why Rosa was the one contacting me, especially since Jake and Amy were the ones who have my number.


    "H." I picked up the phone.


    "..." Rosa was silent for a while, and then decided to ignore my greeting. "Your blood resultse back. Were you drugged by those men while you were captured?"


    "Hmm?" I was confused, and then I suddenly remembered that I had smoked some at the partyst night. Even if the effects had worn off shortly, those chemicals would still show up 2-3 dayster.


    "Oh yeah yeah. They totally drugged me." I said to Rosa, causing Pepper to panic and almost fainted again. Selena eximed, "You were drugged!?" while Vanessa looked at me with concern. Max grinned and asked, "Did they give you the good stuff?"


    I mouthed the word, st night blunt'' to the girls, and all of them caught the meaning instantly. Rosa was silent and then she said, "Alright then. I''ll call you if we have more information."


    "Wait. Are you guys okay? If you guys want, I could put in a few words to themissioner''s office."


    "No. We''re not in trouble at all. Get home safe. Put your phone into flight more." Rosa replied curtly before she cut the call in a hurry.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the 99 precinct, the deputymissioner was fuming as he sat at the Captain''s desk. The 4 detectives involved in the case were standing in front of him, and were disciplined.


    "But Sir, he''s a minor, and a victim of a traumatic experience. We feel strongly that he needs to be with his guardian�C" Sergeant Terry Jeffords tried to exined, but the deputymissioner John Kelly stood up and shouted to his face, "He''s a celebrity first before he''s a child! If you know how much fire there is cooking the entire NYPD police department, then you might understand me!"


    "His crazy fans are lodgingints! People are asking why didn''t we give him a security escort even knowing about the threat to his life?! How in the hell did he manage to get kidnapped underneath our nose? And people are campaigning for you four to get fired! Now tell me! How should I settle all of this, WHEN THE KID IS NOT RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW?!"


    Jake sighed in frustration, barely hiding back his retort. Suddenly, Captain Raymond Holt entered the office, "Pardon me for interrupting, but I have been listening to the reprimand, and I have to step in and speak up for these detectives here."


    "What?" The deputymissioner furrowed his brows in disbelief. Even the rest of the detectives couldn''t believe their ears.


    "What they did, although it was impractical for the NYPD, was acted with the citizen''s interest in their mind. They said it before, the kid is just a minor. He''s a barely 15 years old kid, who was drugged, kidnapped, shot at, physically and emotionally abused by a group of highly violent men." Holt exined calmly to the deputy.


    "What he needed wasn''t to be thrown into the political arena, or to be ced with the responsibility of saving the NYPD, right after undergoing a traumatic event. He needs to go home, and the detectives here saw that." He added.


    The deputy sighed and then yelled again, "So, what are we supposed to do right now?"


    "Tell the public the truth." Raymond replied, shocking the deputy.


    "Are you crazy?!"


    "I believe, that is our best course of action at the moment. The attack happened in a short span of time. We had worked with the little information we have�C"


    "And then what? We lost the kid because we let some intern kid dig around the evidence phone?" The deputy interjected in anger.


    Amy spoke up instinctively, "Sir, if I may say something. Although Abby was an intern, she had worked very professionally."


    "And she managed to do a job that would take the other specialist half a day to finish, in just half an hour." Jake added too as he wanted to back up Amy.


    "Silent. I don''t want to hear one more word from you guys." The deputy said. "All of you have to get yourself ready for a disciplinary review�C"


    "But sir!" Terry stopped him. "Look, I am at the top of themand line in the precinct right now when our captain falls into aa. Let me take responsibility for all of these."


    "Sarge-" Rosa, Jake and Amy called out.


    "Enough. All of you guys were only working under my order, and you have nothing to do with it�C"


    "JAKE!!" Suddenly, a shrill voice called out to Jake from outside of the office. "Gina?" Jake turned in confusion. As he saw her, he asked, "What are you doing here?"


    "Citizens aren''t allowed�C" The deputy spoke, but Gina held her palm to him, stopping him from saying anything. "Shhh Old Dinosaur. I have an important question to ask the detectives here. How are you guys feeling? When you are now hailed as heroes, for saving a helpless, hot teenager from the clutches of the terrorists?"


    "Gina what are you talking about?" Jake asked in confusion, and at the same time he tried to push Gina out of the room. "I know I said the interview is today, but we are in the middle of something serious right now."


    "Interview for what?" Raymond asked.


    Jake was a bit hesitant and he mumbled, "Interview for a desk receptionist."


    "Hold on. You�C"


    "Gina." She corrected the deputy''s words instantly, causing Raymond to be impressed.


    "Yeah. Gina. What did you say before? They are being hailed as a hero?"


    Gina chuckled derisively as if insulting the deputy, "Yes. Edward Newgate, the kid you were so worried about, tweeted about it all. He said that without Sergeant Terry Jeffords and Detective Rosa Diaz, he would''ve died before he got kidnapped. He also asked his fans to call off the witch hunt on those detectives as they are his savior and the only reason he''s still alive today."


    "He''s calling for a press conference to exin about the matter at 6 o''clock today, in hispany building in California. Jake, you need to get me a ticket and let me enter the press conference so that I can give him a hug, telling him that he has been very strong in dealing with the snowball life had thrown at him." Gina added.


    The deputy was speechless when he heard about Edward''s decision. "I don''t know whether this is a good thing, or a bad thing for us."


    Raymond said, "He managed to get me to watch Music Television, (MTV) for the first time in my lifest night when he invited the Philharmonics with him, and managed to concoct a beautiful orchestra rendition of his mainstream song."


    "So I strongly believe that if he decided to conduct a press conference, it would''ve been meticulously nned out, and it would be nothing but beneficials to these detectives." Raymond turned to the four detectives and said, "Seeing how he regards you guys as his savior, and wants to get the heat away from you, he''s holding you guys in a positive light. Do you guys have a good rapport."


    Jake was confused, but still replied, "Well, we did vibe out when we were discussing about the Die Hard films, a legendary masterpiece of all times�C"


    "Jake!" Rosa stopped him.


    "Right. Sorry. We do have a rapport." Jake replied simply.


    ...


    The media coverage about the entire incident was still going strong even when Edward had already returned to California. The surrounding Entertain buildings were covered with fans, holding up banners to support Edward and to cheer him up from his traumatic event.


    Rosa saw the news coverage of the event and muttered, "I don''t like this at all. I feel like we''re using him."


    Terry nodded and said, "I feel the same way. I feel all dirty inside."


    Jake smiled, "Why are you guys feeling so dumps in the dumps? We''re practically heroes! I mean, we are heroes every day, but it''s not a usual thing to get people asking if we want to sell our movie rights! And to answer that question, not if�C"


    "Did you just say dumps in the dumps?" Amy interjected.


    "Don''t ruin my vibe Amy. Come on!" Jake protested. He then mumbled, "I miss Charles."


    The room fell into a hushed silence as Edward approached the podium, his bandaged arm and bruised face evident to everyone present. The shes of cameras filled the air, capturing the image of a resilient young man.


    "You know, earlier in the day, I was thinking that if I needed to hold a press conference, it would be to talk about my achievement in the 2009 MTV awards, how me, a neer, managed to snatch up 3 of the awards. But life does have a certain way to make your day even more special." Edward said with a chuckle as he spoke to the microphone.


    He pointed to the reporter who was raising her arms up, "Yes. You."


    The blonde reporter with thick sses and curly hair asked, "Can you exin to us what happened?"


    "I mean, it''s all covered up in the news. Is that really the question you want to ask?" Edward joked, pretending to be confused, which made the reportersugh.


    The reporters there were vetted by thepany and were all professionals, therefore there weren''t any questions that were damaging to his reputation or were too much for him to answer. Edward talked about the detectives, how Terry and Rosaid down their lives to save him, Jake and Amy who investigated who he was and saved him from the kidnappers.


    "A lot of you guys keep saying that they need to be held ountable. But they submitted their hunch to their captain, and when they didn''t get any support, they still went on and tried to save me on their own."


    "They are good guys, and good cops. TV and Movies made us believe that all police are bad, but there are still cops who keep true to the words ''Serve and Protect'' out there. I am really d that I have met them."


    "So for Captain Raymond Holt of the 99 precinct, Sergeant Terry Jeffords of the 99 precinct, Detective Rosa Diaz of the 99 precinct, Detective Jake Peralta of the 99 precinct, andstly, Detective Amy Santiago of the 99 precinct, and all of the other police officers involved,...Thank you, for saving my life. "


    Numerous camera shes illuminated the entire room as Edward thanked the detectives. In New York, the detectives were confused." Jake muttered, "Captain Raymond Holt of the 99 precinct?"


    Edward was tired at this moment and had forgotten the tiny detail. But his words would soone true because the NYPD decided to make Raymond Holt the recement captain because of the high numbers ofmendation from the fans, just a few hourster.


    The press conference continued, "Rumor has it that you had fought off 11 men on your own and could make it out from the kidnappers by yourself. Is that true?"


    Edward responded jokingly, "Actually, I ambushed 2, knocked out 7 others with sleeping gas, and kicked one guy in the nuts. So, I only fought off one guy who wanted to kill me. I''m not THAT awesome."


    He added, "That guy also said that he wants to sell me off to an ind where I would be the rich and wealthy people''s sex ve, but he didn''t tell me all of the details. I knew I had to break out of there before the ship came, which was 5 minutester when the cops came to rescue me."


    "Where is the ind?" One of the reporters asked curiously.


    Edward shrugged and said convincingly, "I only heard they said it''s in the Caribbean Sea, Little Saint James Ind if I''m not mistaken. (Epstein Ind). Who knows what''s going on at the ind there. Any other questions?"


    The ind would soon be investigated by the media, and the expose woulde out sooner in this world.


    "Are you sure that K didn''t have anything to do with this?" A fat reporter asked.


    Edward shook his head and replied, "I''m sure. To do such a thing, the perpetrators needed to have basic cognitive skills. K doesn''t have that kind of ability."


    The reportersughed at Edward''s snide. His words did take a lot of the mes away from K, which made the guy secretly grateful that he decided to let go of the insult at the press conference..


    "Will you sell this experience as a movie right?" One reporter asked jokingly.


    "No. Unless I could be yed by Ryan Gosling, I wouldn''t sell my experience as a movie right." Edward replied yfully, which made the reportersugh again.


    One of the reporters, who was the asian reporter who interviewed Edward before asked, "You''re smiling and joking around, so does the experience don''t bother you that much?"


    "Honestly, it does bother me. I don''t think that I''ve been that scared in my life before." Edward said with a serious tone after thinking for a while.


    "Oh, but you''ve been so brave in surviving this ordeal." She added.


    Edward nodded and said, "Personally, I believe that Bravery isn''t about the absence of fear. You could be fearful, and be brave at the same time. If you have fear, and you do it anyway, that''s bravery for me."


    The quote would soon be ingrained into a lot of people''s minds.


    "You let your fans evacuate first before you do. Why?" Another reporter asked.


    "They are my cuties. I don''t want anything to happen to them because of me." Edward replied with a chuckle. The fans who were watching the press conference started swooning, and became obsessively in love with him.


    He answered all of the questions and made things clear for the public. He could keep his silence about the whole matter, but in doing so, it would make his life tiring from all of the public attention.


    Ironically after he exined about the matter and stood in front of the media, the attention people have on the matter slowly disappeared.


    "Are your injuries serious?"


    "No, it''s just a scratch. But I did have to get 2 stitches. So hopefully it doesn''t leave a scar."


    "What did Taylor respond when she knew you were kidnapped?"


    "How should I know? I was...Kidnapped?" Edward looked at the reporter asking the question like he was stupid.


    "What does Vanessa Hudgen have to do with all of this?"


    "She''s sleeping the entire time, so I don''t think she had anything much to do in this."


    "What did your dad say after you were kidnapped?"


    "He told me to break off the neck of others who wanted to do the same."


    "Can you?"


    "Try, and you shall find out."


    The press conference went on for another half hour before it ended. That same night, Taylor''s new album, "FEARLESS" was released ording to the schedule. The sales were explosive, and people kept rting the album''s name to Edward.


    As Edward went back to the office, Ted and Cam gave him a huge hug as soon as he walked through the door. The Dunphys, Mitch, Cam and Lily, Jay, Gloria and Manny, his friends, the ship''s crew and employees, Entertain employees, Harvey, Pepper, Max, Selena and Vanessa, even RDJ, were all there at the office and they shouted, "Congrats on winning the awards!"


    They blew off the party poppers, and whistled for Edward as they brought 4 cakes to him.


    "One cake for each award, and Oh, this one, is a special cake that the children had made for you." Cam exined.


    Thest cake was a green frosting cake. It was clear that it was made by unskilled bakers, and there was a drawing of a stickman Hulk, choking the bad guy on top of it.


    "I drew this." Luke took credit confidently despite Alex and Haley looking hesitant.


    Edward was in disbelief before he smiled softly. He looked at the people all around and said, "Thank you everyone. I love it."

 Chapter 217: Unearned Achievement.

    <h4>Chapter 217: Chapter 217: Unearned Achievement.</h4>


    (5 chap before Season 3 Finale. I will be taking next week off for Eid Mubarak. For those who celebrated it, Eid Mubarak everyone! )


    [Edward POV]


    As I was on my way home, I reminisced about the time I approached RDJ at the party. "Why are you here?" I asked, narrowing my gaze at him.


    He gasped dramatically, cing a hand over his chest and opening his mouth in mock offense. After a moment, he decided to drop the act and scoffed as he couldn''t trick me. "Did you run away from somewhere?" I questioned again.


    RDJ, munching on a piece of green cake, replied with a mischievous grin, "Next time, make sure there''s going to be an Iron Man cake too. That Ruffalo sure knows how to ''RUFFle my feathers."


    I eximed in realization, "Ah. So, is this about the meet and greet? Your first meeting with the cast? Have you already started filming?"


    With a proud expression, RDJ casually draped his arm over my shoulder. "Yes, that''s right. It was incredibly boring, so I had to escape. The Twin Chris''es kept bonding over their workouts. But still, I had the best arm there."


    He smiled and added, "I overheard some staff mentioning they wereing here to buy a software program from you. So I decided to hitch a ride. The idea was to ensure there''s someone with a rapport, so you won''t overcharge us�C the now bankruptpany who is bought out by your nemesis, Disney."


    I couldn''t resist a yful response. "Well, now I''m going to triple the cost."


    Reacting with mock outrage, RDJ rubbed his goatee and eximed, "Hey! Marvel still hasn''t got the money yet!"


    As I reflected on RDJ''s true intentions for being at the party, I couldn''t help but be grateful.


    I had seen him during the press conference earlier, seemingly anxious yet determined. It became clear that he hade with the intention of offering support if I struggled during my interview. It wasn''t because he doubted my abilities, but rather because he understood firsthand the challenges thate with such high-pressure situations. He has had his fair share of struggles before.


    Being a celebrity meant existing for the public, not for oneself. It didn''t matter if you were dealing with personal struggles or inner turmoil; you had to maintain a character facade in front of the camera. And he was worried that I couldn''t take it.


    Why would he even care about the software or the budget of the studio? He''s just an actor, not a part of thepany. Then, I guess after the press conference was over, he saw the cakes and decided to invite himself in.


    "By the way, how did you fight that guy? Do you want me to teach you a few moves?" RDJ asked yfully.


    "I punched him in the balls. You can teach me if you want, but in sparring, you need to know that is my go-to move."


    He covered up his crotch area instantly and scoffed. He signed an autograph for Luke before going back to his house. The filming for the first Avengers movie would start in a few days, and he invited me toe watch the first filming sessionter.


    Returning to the present, I immediately went up to my room andid down on my bed with a tired groan after the day was finally over.


    "Damn, I''m still hungry." I said as my stomach gurgled again. ''I kept getting hungry all day today. I wonder if I am in a period of rapid growth right now. Or is it that my now go-to response to stress is binge eating. Ahh, but I don''t want to move!!'' I thought whiningly as I squirmed on the bed, making a mess out of the sheets.


    The door to my room swung open, catching my attention. I lifted my head slightly from the pillow to see Haley casually entering and plopping down at the edge of my bed.


    "Hey!" she greeted cheerfully. "I still don''t understand what happened this morning."


    "Because you were sleeping the entire time," I scolded, but couldn''t help but chuckle. Haley giggled and then proceeded to check the wound on my arm before brushing her hand gently against my bruised face. "Hmm. They almost made you ugly."


    "It''s going to take more than one punch to take away my looks," I replied, rolling my eyes yfully. I reached out and pulled her to my side, causing her to yelp and giggle. As sheid down, facing me, she asked with concern, "Is it scary?"


    "Nah, more annoying than scary," I replied honestly.


    "Really? You''re not lying?" she asked, her worried expression searching my face.


    I shook my head and reassured her, "No, I''m not lying."


    She stared into my eyes, seeking confirmation of my words, before finally breathing a sigh of relief. "And what about that ind?" she asked curiously.


    I burst intoughter and said, "Oh yeah, that. I was just messing around. I wanted to see if I could make the media sweep this whole thing under the rug."


    "Hmm?" Haley looked thoroughly confused, but I decided not to exin the full context of the matter to her. It was better for her not to know the full extent of the country''s degeneracy.


    We continued to talk for a while until my stomach growled again. Haley couldn''t help but burst intoughter. "Why are you still hungry? We just ate. Oh yeah, you need to go back home early and talk to a lot of people. Poor baby. Do you want me to get you something to eat?"


    "I already have my snack right here," I replied, yfully kissing her on the neck. She giggled in response and said, "Wait here. I''ll bring you some food."


    "Nah, I''lle with you," I insisted.


    Together, we made our way to the kitchen and prepared some food. I cooked up some instant noodles, which we shared in arge bowl.


    "Oh, I forgot to ask. Did you sneak out?" I inquired, slurping my noodles.


    Haley, in the midst of chewing, tried to reply with her mouth still open but ended up choking slightly. After swallowing, she finally responded, "I was sneaking out, but then I realized my mom hadn''te inside yet. I met her at the door."


    "And then?" I asked, intrigued.


    "She guessed I wasing here, and she just let me," Haley replied, a touch of surprise in her voice.


    "That''s way out of character for her," Imented, feeling a bit puzzled.


    "I know, right?!" Haley agreed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Then, I saw people from the ship here."


    "The crewmates?" I asked, surprised.


    "Yeah. They are camping out around here, and chasing away all of the reporters who wanted to sneak around. I guess that''s why my mom let me go. It''s safe."


    Feeling grateful for their attention, I smiled and said sarcastically, "Of course. That''s the only reason that would make sense."


    ...


    I groaned in a haze of hunger as I struggled to make my way across the dimly lit hallway corridor. Each step felt heavy, and my stomach clenched with an insatiable desire for food. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, a testament to the intensity of my craving.


    Suddenly, my aunt Cam stood before me, her concerned expression etched with worry. "Ed, are you okay?" she asked, her voice filled with genuine concern. But in the distorted haze of my hunger, her features began to shift and twist, transforming into a talking steamed bun, its chocte-vored aroma filling the air.


    "Ed?" She asked worriedly.


    "HUNGRY!" I eximed, my desperation taking hold as I lunged forward and sank my teeth into the bun''s neck. The air filled with a blood-curdling scream as the bun began to bleed, leaving trails of chocte oozing from the wound. But as the taste of blood and chocte filled my mouth, the scene abruptly shattered, and I jolted awake from the dream.


    "ED! WAKE UP! YOU''RE LATE TO SCHOOL!" My aunt shouted, banging loudly on my bedroom door. Her attire, a white tank top and shorts, gave her an aura reminiscent of the main female characters in sis like Penny or Rachel Green. The kind with things protruding out of their shirt that could captivate the attention of male viewers before they even realized they were invested in the story.


    "No chocte bun, I''m not going to school today," I replied groggily, wiping the drool from my chin.


    "What bun�C?" Oh, right. It''s probably not the best idea for you to go to school after all that happened." my aunt said, her voice filled with concern. "Do you want some breakfast? I can go out and buy something for you." She came in and sat on the edge of the bed before checking my arm.


    "Yeah, Pain au choct and atte, please," I replied.


    She held my chin and forcefully turned my head for her to see the bruise. She groaned and said, "Hmm, did they put ice on it yesterday? I wonder what''s going to keep your fans now that your looks are gone."


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I could sing like the Phantom of the Opera, or with a box for a head and people are still going to like me. Go now. You sitting here is making me hungry."


    She didn''t get what I was saying but she giggled and went out anyway. I checked my phone before seeing a message from Harvey.


    "Oh, we got in contact with RIOT games. Nice." I eximed. "Robin, is there any action from the media after yesterday?" I asked after I was done checking and replying to the messages.


    "The number of media outlets that are covering the story were down by 77% after the press conference yesterday. Percentage of them denying the ind existed is 15%, and the percentage that is trying to smear your image as a lunatic is 2%." Robin replied.


    I raised an eyebrow as Robin delivered thetest update on the media coverage surrounding the kidnapping incident. The significant drop in media outlets covering the story proved my action was correct, and I felt a sense of relief.


    "77% decrease in coverage? That''s quite a drop," I remarked, my voice tinged with surprise. "And only 15% denying the existence of the ind? I expected that number to be higher." I chuckled.


    "But, there is a more important piece of information." Robin added.


    "What is it?" I replied.


    "It seemed that this morning, the President of the country was talking about your incident."


    "Wait. What? What did he say?" I asked, shocked.


    "He didn''t touch on the matter of the ind, but hemented about the K incident, and a short sentence about how Sir Edward''s action had recovered a national secret at the time of the abduction, and he is going to be presented with a medal of valor."


    "Damn it." I cursed angrily.


    ...


    Afternoon. After having lunch, my dad and I followed Phil to look at houses in areas with better security. Phil was dressed in a suit, as was my dad, while I opted for a more casual attire, wearing a in hoodie and cargo pants.


    As we prepared to begin our house-hunting adventure, Phil began suggesting the first house of the day, mentioning that it was located in Beverly Hills.


    "Nope," I interjected quickly, throwing my hand in the air and shaking it to emphasize my disagreement.


    My dad and Phil turned to look at me, surprise evident on their faces. Phil raised an eyebrow, clearly curious about my objection. However he didn''t ask anything and just took out his list, "Alright. So no houses inside the stereotypical celebrity culture area."


    I nodded and said, "I guess you didn''t be California''s top real estate agent for nothing."


    "Not California, just our district." Phil corrected me and said disappointedly, "I still can''t beat out Esther Rosentt by arge margin. Alright. We will go to West Hollywood."


    After a short 20 minute ride, we arrived at a block-like house.


    "Wee to this extraordinary bunker house! A one-of-a-kind property that offers unparalleled security and peace of mind. Nestled discreetly within a serene location, this home has been thoughtfully designed to provide the utmost protection and resilience in any situation!" Phil said as he opened the door. The inside of the house was like every other modern house, but the walls were made of strongposite cement.


    "Step inside and experience a world of safety andfort. The reinforced concrete walls and advanced security systems ensure that Ed is shielded from potential threats. The underground construction and robust materials offer excellent resistance to severe weather conditions and even potential natural disasters."


    My dad was nodding along in satisfaction while listening to Phil''s description while I was bing more and more dumbfounded.


    "The state-of-the-art venttion and air filtration systems maintain a fresh and healthy environment, even in extended periods of istion�C"


    "Wait. Stop." I interjected quickly. I looked at both guys in disbelief and asked, "Why are you showing me a nuclear bunker?"


    "I don''t know if it can survive a nuke, but I guess if any house could, it would be this house." Phil said casually.


    "Phil!" I called him. My dad replied, "I did tell Phil that security is my main concern. Nothing is too much in terms of safety. This house looks nice. We should take it�C"


    "HELL''S NO!" I vetoed the house immediately.


    Then, we went to the next house still located in West Hollywood. We didn''t even get out of the car when I saw it was shaped like the pentagram, and was built as a bunker too.


    "NEXT!"


    The third house was inspired by French designs, but still maintained the structure of an American house.


    "It has 3 stories, plus the attic. You can see that it is inside a guarded area. And most importantly, there''s a bunker in the basement." Phil said.


    "Good, we will take this one�C"


    "No. I need the basement for myb. Besides, this house has no pool. And very, very isted. I need to walk 20 minutes just to get to another house in the neighborhood." I rejected the house with a tired voice.


    "That''s why there are transport services to get around." Phil said.


    "Nein!" I stressed out.


    The next house we went to see intrigued me. It was a picturesque retreat with a stunning pool area. Inside the main house, there were seven spacious bedrooms and six well-appointed bathrooms. The guest room was also in a different wing of the house.


    "However, it is an hour away from our ce right now." I sighed.


    "What''s wrong with that?" My dad asked.


    "Then, how can I go to Phil''s house in the morning? How can my friendse by and hang out?" I said.


    Phil, a bit touched, almost teared up, "Alright. It''s fine. Ed has his preferences. We will go to take a look at thest house, and if that doesn''t satisfy you, then we can try again another day."


    My phone rang before we could get to the car. I checked the id and it was from Pepper. I picked up the call immediately and greeted, "What''s up Peps?"


    "Edward. Where are you? You better not run around by yourself and get into trouble again. My poor heart couldn''t take it." Pepper said.


    "Your heart is in poor condition. You should run on the treadmill sometime." I said.


    Pepper scoffed and scolded, "Are you fat-shaming me?!"


    "Rather than fat-shaming, I don''t want to lose you so early at the prime of your life." I said with a slight chuckle.


    Pepper was speechless and then he spoke about why he was calling. He needed confirmation about where to receive the medal, in California or in NYC.


    I grimaced and said, "Can''t I not go?"


    "I wish I could say yes. But from the information I got, it seems that the president wants to give you the medal himself. So you have to go."


    "Damn it. Seriously! Let me fucking move on from this shit�C" I was cursing to myself then I realized it could be misconstrued as I was cursing Pepper. , "Sorry Peps. That wasn''t aimed at you."


    Even Phil and my dad were startled when they saw me blowing up.


    "Well I know." Pepper scoffed. After a while, he said catingly "I wish I could let time move faster for you Ed. But I really can''t do anything without it being damaging to you."


    I sighed and said, "It''s fine. I don''t me you."


    Then, I changed the subject, "Oh, by the way, where is Max staying?"


    "She''s in a hotel somewhere. Why?" Pepper replied.


    "I''m bored looking at houses with my dad all day." I replied. But honestly, I wanted Max for another reason. 420 reasons to be exact. My mood was irreparably damaged by the call that we had to stop looking at houses today and went back to our old house.


    Paparazzi and fans were staying in front of the house as the car pulled in. They almost swarmed to the car if not for the security I had hired to protect me around the house area. Even Taylor couldn''t get to the house she bought next to mine because of all the craziness.


    5 days passed by in a hurry. The impact from the incident finally eased up while I was at my house, hiding from the crowd of fans. In the 5 days, I had opened a few of Taylor''s tour concerts, took a picture with the president�C in which I channeled the humorous spirit of Michael Scott from "The Office". I couldn''t resist recreating the iconic expression of "I don''t know how I got here" alongside the president in the picture, which made a lot of memese out.


    Simultaneously, I alsounched my image editing software, which proved to be even more versatile. With versions avable for both PC and mobile devices, users could effortlessly enhance and transform their photos on various tforms. The software''s affordability and user-friendly nature made it essible to a wide audience, resulting in a surge of sales that revitalized my once-depleted finances.


    ''It''s basically a mixture of Canva, Picart, plus photoshop. And my fans just bought it because they wanted to get my how-to video on getting started.''


    After a week, the attention died down as the world would move with or without my involvement. I could finally live my life back to normal again.

 Chapter 218: Retreat.

    <h4>Chapter 218: Chapter 218: Retreat.?</h4>


    (I''m Back Everyone.)


    [Edward POV]


    "27 days left before Halloween," I muttered, checking the date as I rose early in the morning on the 4th of October.


    Slowly, I descended from the luxurious, oversized bed in the expansive bedroom. The room had French windows that bathed the space in gentle sunlight, while a butler, dressed in a distinguished ck suit,plete with a monocle and a mustache reminiscent of the Monopoly man, opened the curtains for me.


    "You sure are excited for Halloween, Mr. Newgate," the butler remarked jokingly, approaching my side with a knowing smile.


    As the paparazzi''s relentless harassment intensified following the president''s decision to award me a medal, I found myself seeking refuge and hiding away in one of Pepper''s mother''s vacation homes. Nestled in Altadena, a serene location near the Angeles National Forest and adjacent to the historic Cobb Estate, this retreat became my sanctuary.


    "Well, I''ve never done Trick or Treating before, so it''ll be my first time. Of course I''m excited about it." I said as I put on the white shirt and pants that the butler had given me.


    The outfit, giving me a touch of Old Money Style, satisfied me greatly. I looked at the butler with aplicated look and said, "You know, I didn''t want a butler when I first got here. But now, I don''t think I can go back to how I lived before."


    "You tter me Sir." the butler said with a genial smile before saying, "Breakfast is ready. Your father, and your aunt are already there, waiting for you. And Max�C" He sighed subtly as he mentioned thest name.


    "Thanks James." I replied with a kind smile. Then, both of us went out of the room. I descended a spiral staircase from the third floor to the ground floor, creeped out by the oil paintings of the old lords as I did so.


    The house exuded a renaissance charm, with elements of a castle-like structure that left me in awe upon my first sighting. While itcked an outdoor pool, itpensated with indoor pools which added a sense of modernity in it. That was the only thing that was addedter to the ce when Eve bought it.


    The mansion spanned an impressive 24,000 square feet and boasted a sprawling field, garden, andwn that stretched out in front of it. I''ve been jogging on the estate for 2 days since I got here, after the day I met with the president.


    To ensure my security and privacy, Eve, overprotective grandmother, had assembled a team of 30 armed guards strategically stationed throughout the mansion. Her generosity knew no bounds, as she not only offered me a refuge but also extended the offer of permanent ownership of the house should I decide to marry her grandchild.


    "Just so you know, the offer still stands." James whispered to me as he saw my mesmerized eyes.


    I was jolted out of my imagination. "Stop trying to convince me to marry!!" I said with a grumble before walking into the dining room. My dad and my aunt were looking awkward as the staff served food on the table, but their eyes glinted in excitement as they saw me.


    "Morning Ed." My dad greeted me.


    "Mornin''." My aunt said as she stuffed her mouth with food.


    James coughed twice, reminding Cam about her manners. She grimaced and said, "This is not okay too?"


    "Behaving properly is the key to bing a ssy youngdy." James said.


    "I don''t need to be a ssydy!?" My aunt asked with irritation and confusion.


    I snided to my dad, "She knew not to add young there. At least she has some self awareness�C"


    My aunt shot a re at me as she heard all of it. I flinched and waved at her with a smile before casually putting butter on my pancakes.


    Suddenly, Max sauntered into the dining room, d in nothing but a frilly ck bikini. The old wooden floor bore the evidence of her recent dip in the pool, with wet footprints leaving sshes of moisture in her wake. Her bold entrance immediately elicited a grimace from James.


    "Now, this is an irredeemable youngdy," James muttered under his breath, unable to hide his disapproval.


    Max, undeterred by James'' disapproving gaze, greeted him with a cheerful tone. "Good morning to you too, James," she replied, her voice brimming with unwavering cheerfulness. She cackled and said, "d to see your face is still sour today."


    "It''s only sour when it''s in your presence Max." I shot her a gesture toe sit next to me. "Is this a scheme to stare at my chest while you eat?" She asked yfully.


    "Of course." I replied with a mischievous smile. "Why else would I want you to sit next to me?"


    "That''s rude. I have other qualities besides my chest." Her eyes glinted mischievously, "Like my butt." She added jokingly.


    James coughed twice, but Max ignored her, making the old man fume as I just bursted intoughter.


    After breakfast, Max went to thepany, hitching a ride with my old man, leaving only my aunt and me inside the estate.


    But as Cam couldn''t take the nagging, she also went out to check on a barely opened store in Calexico�C her store, which is almost a two hour drive from here.


    "Why don''t you take the chopper?" I said, pointing at the helicopternding side.


    "No, I''d rather drive for hours than spend any more time here," she replied firmly.


    Iughed and waved her off, saying, "Goodbye, chocte bread."


    Perplexed, she mumbled, "What is that? Why do you keep calling me that?" before huffing away, leaving me chuckling to myself.


    I checked the time and said to the butler, "James. I''m going to do a live session on my instagram, can you help me set it up?"


    "Sure, in which room do you want me to get the equipment ready, sir?" James asked dutifully.


    "The kitchen will be fine. Wait, or should I do it in the piano room?" I mused for a while. "Oh, by the way, have you ever eaten a Japanese souffle cheesecake before?" I asked curiously.


    "I have, sir. As part of my butler training, I needed to be familiar with cuisines from all over the world," James replied proudly.


    "Great," I smiled. "Then, James, I need the ingredients to make the cake... on my own."


    "On your own?" James questioned, unsure about my request.


    "Yeah, I need to make it before Sage and Taylore here," I exined. Pepper would stop by after Taylor''s final concert in LA, with Harvey tagging along to discuss a few things before Taylor''s tour across the country starts.


    As for Sage, There were a few tests that were conducted at schoolst week, but unfortunately, I couldn''t attend any of them. As a result, Sage, the principal''s reluctant designated representative, was instructed to bring me the test.


    "I understand, sir," James acknowledged before he walked away to gather the necessary ingredients.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Good afternoon everyone." Edward waved to the camera as his Instagram live session started. From 5 viewers, it jumped to hundreds and to over a thousand viewers in less than 30 seconds, and the numbers kept going upwards.


    As the live session''s schedule was posted on his official fanpage, numerous fans were flocking into the broadcast.


    [Lily: Hi Edward! (Heart Heart Heart)]


    [AnnieEdison: Hi Edward! (Heart Heart Heart)]


    [Haley: Hey! Where are you hiding?!]


    Edward saw Haley''s name popped up amongst his early fans and he burst intoughter, "Where am I? I had to go into a retreat because my house is getting swarmed. I''m staying at my grandmother''s house."


    [Lily: Edward has another grandma?]


    [Annie: This is not in the Wisconsin Ranch. So maybe.]


    [Jenna: Bring us with you?]


    [Enid: (RAWR!) Edward is a vampire! (vampire.Emoji Werewolf.emoji)]


    "Enid, don''t talk nonsense." Edward scolded her immediately in a t tone, causing her to spam dejected dog emoji. The live session went on normally after that with some Q and A with the fans.


    Edward read the questions as he answered them, "Are your wounds hurting? No. It''s healing pretty well." Edward folded his sleeves to show the stitches to his fans.


    [MargotR asked: Is the story we heard true?]


    "Well for most part. Some of it was exaggerated." Edward replied casually.


    Max made a sudden entrance into the kitchen, her attire drawing immediate attention. She sported a ck tank top that seemed a size too small, entuating her figure, along with a split-side bikini outerwear floral skirt that revealed her fair legs.


    "Hey, what do you need me for? Wait, are you recording?" Max asked with a surprised expression as she saw the camera in front of her.


    Edward smiled and said, "Yeah. I need you to help me bake a cake."


    "Oh. Alright then." Max replied casually.


    [Jenna: WHO IS SHE?! (FUMING!)]


    [Enid: ANOTHER BIG BOOBED GIRL! (Blowing hot air through nose.emoji)]


    [Annie: Is this your type?...I may have a chance...]


    "Max?" Edward looked at Max, who was also looking at him. Then, both of them smiled and replied at the same time, "She''s my/I''m his, Half-sister."


    As if a bomb was dropped into the chat group, it exploded with numerous questions from the fans about Edward''s family genealogy.


    "Let''s get started." Edward said as he wore an apron. He handed one to Max, who refused to wear it. "I''m morefortable in this," she said.


    "You don''t think that only rich people wear an apron or something, right?" Edward asked jokingly.


    Max smiled and retorted, "That''s right. We poor people are alreadyfortable being all dirty and sticky."


    "Are you sure that''s for ALL poor people? Or are you confusing it with your Tuesday night?"


    Max gasped in amazement and said, "You really are my brother!"


    "I''ll do the cream cheese, you do the meringue." Edward said as he took out a few bowls.


    Max needed to beat the egg whites until it became foamy, and she giggled as she did it. Edward smiled and turned to her, "Are you censoring yourself from saying something?"


    Max cackled as she said, "I had to. Your audiences are young kids."


    The prep work was done in under 30 minutes, and as the cake was ced in the oven, Edward said to the fans, "We have to bake it for 70 minutes to see the results. I''ll post a video of the cake on my feed when it''s done."


    [Enid: NOOO!!! DON''T END THE LIVE!!]


    [Jenna: I WANT TO SEE CAKE!!]


    [Cameron: Let us see the cake!]


    [Abraham: Is Max single?]


    "Way out of your league Abraham." Edward said as he chuckled at the audience''s reactions.


    "It''s not like I don''t want to do the live session any longer. But, I am preparing for a surprise, so I can''t drag the time." Edward said while shing a conflicted look.


    "Is this about the surprise for Taylor?" Max blurted out.


    Edward was surprised and he turned to Max immediately. She covered her mouth as if saying she shouldn''t have said that, and Edward turned back to the live session with a nervousugh.


    "Alright. You guys. Promise me not to spoil it for her okay? If she knew that there would be a surprise waiting, it''s no longer going to be a surprise, right?"


    [LukeDunphy: HEY! Where''s my cake?!]


    Edward shut down the live session the moment that Luke had begged his mother to create an ount for him so that he couldment on Edward''s feed. He soon had to wait for a few more days before he could finally satisfy his desires.


    "Good Job Max." I said as I high-fived with her. Then, she asked nervously, "Is it okay for me to say that? I''m sorry that I blurted it out."


    "It doesn''t matter anyway. The surprise isn''t about the cake. We didn''t give away anything else in the live session." Edward said with a shrug.


    "The party is still on?" Max asked excitedly.


    "SHHHH!!! Yeah the party is still on!" Edward replied with a whisper, but with simr enthusiasm.


    Max quickly turned around to check and see if the old butler was in the vicinity. Luckily for her, he was out in the garden, tending to some tree sculptures, oblivious to the scheme brewing inside the estate.


    ...


    Twenty minutes after the conclusion of the live session, Miss Anna, also known as Sage, arrived at the mansion. She was dressed in a pencil skirt and a fluffy white sweater, and her jaw dropped in awe at the sheer size of the estate before her.


    "Hey," Edward greeted cheerfully as he approached the main door to wee the teacher. James, observing Anna''s striking beauty, couldn''t help but feel a twinge of apprehension, concerned that she might be a rival for his master''s grandchildren.


    Sage snapped out of her daze and greeted Edward, "Hi... What is all of this? How can you afford this?"


    "No, no," Edward hurriedly replied. "I didn''t buy this house. I haven''t found another ce to move into yet." He took hold of Sage''s hand and gently pulled her inside. "Come on, I''ll show you around. This ce is amazing."


    Edward brought her to sight see for 20 minutes before James coughed twice as he saw the two of them were getting lost of time. He said, "Sir, shouldn''t you finish the test first before continuing. It is almost 2 O''clock."


    "What''s wrong with two o''clock?" Edward asked in confusion.


    James flinched a bit, but he quickly collected himself, "I must''ve made a mistake sir."


    "But this old beard-o is right. We should do the test first." Sage said.


    "Alright then." Edward agreed easily and released Sage''s hand. He ced his hand behind his head as he walked to the study where he would be tested there.


    James breathed in relief after seeing that Edward and Anna had gone. "O-Old Beard-o?" He muttered in disbelief as he suddenly noticed what the teacher had called him.


    "Too easy," Edward remarked smugly as he handed hispleted History paper to Sage, having finished writing his answers in less than 15 minutes.


    "That''s just for History. You have other subjects too," Sage reminded him.


    "I know that," Edward replied with a smirk. "Can''t you just give me all of them at once? You know I''m going to get a perfect score in all of them anyway."


    Sage rolled her eyes, a mix of amusement and exasperation evident on her face. She ced all of the test papers on Edward''s table, including Math, Sciences, Language, Geography, Spanish, and several other subjects that needed to be tested. Originally, Sage was scheduled toe for three days to administer the exams, but Edward wanted toplete them all in under two hours.


    While Edward was engrossed in his exams, Sage left him alone in the room as she could smell cheesecake, neglecting her duty to supervise him. This left James, the old butler, feeling perplexed.


    "Is she really a teacher?" James grumbled to himself, questioning Sage''s professionalism.


    He decided to take over her role by discreetly watching Edward from a nearby window to ensure he wasn''t cheating. However, James''s efforts were in vain because Edward had never once attempted to cheat his way through any of the exams.


    In the kitchen, Max was shocked when she saw Anna suddenly appearing behind her when she was taking out the cheesecake from the oven.


    "You scared the bejesus out of me." Max said with irritation.


    Anna said casually, "Don''t use his name in vain. That guy doesn''t like that. This is Edward''s cake, right?"


    "Yeah. Oh, You must be his teacher. Hi, I''m Max." She introduced herself.


    "Anna." Sage replied, her eyes glued on the cake. Max chuckled a bit and said, "Now I know why he wanted to make cheesecake for today. He wants to impress his gorgeous teacher."


    Anna shook her head and said, "That''ll never happen. Edward has no interest in me, and he never will have."


    Max was shocked and she said, "Why? Did you used to be a man or something? If you were, then I must say, you have a really REALLY good doctor."


    Anna wasn''t offended and said, "Nothing of the sort. He treats me like a family member. That''s all."


    "Hey, he treats me like family too. But it doesn''t stop him from ogling at these two treasure chests like a horny pirate." Max replied as she pushed her chest upwards.


    "We''re not the same." Sage replied as she grabbed a fork and tried to taste the cake. But Max pped her hand, making her taken aback.


    "Hand''s off. We need to wait for him until we can cut it." Max replied. "Oh, and by the way, your outfit is not really appropriate for this estate. I think you need to change."


    "Huh?" Sage was confused. "Change into what?"


    Back in the room, Edward raised his arms into the air and stretched as he finished the tests. "Ah. It''s over." He mumbled.


    "Good job sir. I''ve been watching you from the beginning, and I must say, you have the most brilliant mind I''ve ever seen." James entered andplemented Edward as he collected the papers.


    "Still not going to marry Denise." Edward replied casually.


    "Tsk." James clicked his tongue subtly, but Edward caught it and he burst intoughter.


    Sage reentered the room after James had finished collecting the papers. "Youngdy, I''ll need to have a talk with you about professional work ethics�C Oh heavens." James''s jaw dropped in disbelief as he saw Sage.


    "What�C Oh lord." Edward turned to look into James''s direction, and he saw Sage wearing a polka dot bikini and a long, translucent pink skirt as she walked towards him.


    After Sage imed she needed to mark the history question paper, she requested James to leave the study, leaving her alone with Edward inside the room. Meanwhile, Max had discovered James''s previous hiding spot and decided to observe from there, curious to see if Edward would show any signs of being flustered in the presence of his teacher.


    However, she was shocked to see Edward reacting like it was nothing.


    "Why are you wearing that?" Edward asked casually.


    Sage, who was being sensual without even trying to, marked the papers and said, "Max told me it''s the tradition here?"


    Edward thought for a bit, and decided to go along with the fabricated tradition, "Yeah. It''s true. And I''m surprised you picked this one. Shouldn''t you wear a grandmother''s bathing suit or something�C"


    Sage pped Edward''s head with a rolled up question paper before she went back into grading them.


    "Oh, right. I wanted to ask you something." Sage said.


    "Sure. What is it?" Edward replied.


    Sage suddenly turned solemn and asked, "In thest few days, the president has been acting like a mad dog, and even exposed the entire degenerate ind himself, even if he was among the list of clients who frequented it. He turned into a saint, and he''s suddenly trying to clean out all of the filth in the government."


    Edward gulped his saliva as Sage stared into his eyes and asked, "Did you use your eye power on him?"

 Chapter 219: Surprise gift!

    <h4>Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Surprise gift!</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Did you use your eye power on him?"


    I averted my eyes from Sage. My index finger slowly tapped the armrest as I mulled my decision to answer.


    "Yes." I replied, expecting a barrage of nagging from her. However, she unexpectedly was nodding as if the whole thing was normal.


    "Why do you look so surprised? Do you think I''m going to get mad at you or anything?" She asked.


    "Kinda." I replied with a slight chuckle.


    Sage smiled softly and said, "I don''t care what you''re going to do with your gifts. It is destined for you, not for me. But can I ask, why did you do it? Do you have any grudge with the president or something?"


    I shook my head slightly and said, "No. It''s the opposite of that."


    "He has a grudge with you?" Sage asked, confused.


    I narrowed my eyes at her in disbelief before saying, "Not that! I just�C Look, when I got kidnapped, do you know what I felt at that time?" Sage listened and then gestured for me to go on.


    "Scared, restless, nervous....I didn''t feel any of those. Instead, I feel annoyed as fuck." I confessed. "However, when I got back to see my friends and family, I saw that they were all extremely scared, and nervous...when they thought that something had happened to me."


    "That''s when I realized, I wasn''t behaving the way a normal person would in that type of situation."


    "And that leads you, to brainwashing the president?" Sage added mischievously. My lips curled up as I replied, "No. He''s just a convenient guy for me to unload the burden. Besides, I didn''t make him my servant or anything. I just nted the intention, ''Do the right thing for the people'' onto his mind."


    "And....?" Sage dragged her words.


    "...And, also I inserted some memories..." I replied nervously and timidly.


    Sage was annoyed and retorted, "You make him feel like he''s the main character of a novel!!"


    "Well yeah, that''s how I know he''s going to use his memories well." I said with a chuckle.


    Sage scowled and scolded me, "Don''tugh! This is not aughing matter! Everyday when the president wakes up, he will stand at the balcony to oversee the city, and broods like Batman!"


    *Insert Batman Theme Here*


    I nodded in satisfaction after hearing Sage''s words. She grabbed a throw pillow�C the 100,000 dor handmade golden throw pillow with a noble emblem on it and threw it on my face. "Don''t look so satisfied! What you did, is going to cause a major change!"


    "That''s fine. Because...if the future that we''re going to face, is the same as the history in my past life, then, I''d rather the president be Batman than to go through all of that again." I replied casually.


    [President''s Cutscene]


    At night, President Obama stands at the balcony area of the white house, just outside of the Oval office as he gazes into the city with a deep look.


    He mumbled with a deep voice. "As I stand here, at the precipice of power, I carry with me a burden far greater than any that hase before. For I know what lies ahead, the trials and tribtions that await this nation. The weight of the future rests upon my shoulders, a future marred by uncertainty, division, and hardship. But I refuse to sumb to despair, for I hold a secret, a knowledge of what lies ahead."


    Vivid memories of true and false memories appeared inside his mind. The gue in 2020, the civil war in 2025, World War 3 that turned the whole world into a deste wastnd in 2030.


    The president gripped his hands tight until it almost bled. He, who has never struggled in despair before, had his whole world turned upside down when Edward made him feel every single struggle of the lowest bottom of the society in person.


    The President opened his arms as he felt the cold wind blowing in his face. "In this brooding silence, I see the struggles that lie before us, the challenges that threaten to tear this country apart. I hear the cries of the forgotten, the whispers of those who have lost hope. But I will not stand idle, consumed by the darkness that looms. Instead, I vow to wield the power of this office to bring about change, to shape a future that is brighter, fairer, and more just."


    "With the weight of foresight, I see the consequences of inaction, the consequences ofcency. I cannot allow that future toe to pass. I will fight for the marginalized, the voiceless, and the oppressed. I will champion equality,passion, and progress. Together�C No, I will make the whole country stand together! We will forge a path towards a future where every person, regardless of their background, has an opportunity to thrive."


    "In the face of adversity, I will not be deterred. I will harness the power of this office, not for personal gain, but for the betterment of the people. I will challenge the status quo, confront the injustices that gue our society, and inspire a nation to rise above its limitations."


    "This brooding determination fuels my resolve. I am the harbinger of change, the catalyst for a brighter tomorrow. I will rewrite the course of history, not for my own glory, but for the collective well-being of this great nation."


    "Together, we will forge a destiny where hope prevails, progress thrives, and the future shines with promise. I am the President of the United States, armed with the knowledge of what lies ahead, and I vow to lead this nation towards a future that we, the people, deserve."


    The president turned and re-entered his office. But on his stoic face, his lips were twitching as if it wanted to curl up but he stopped them with sheer force.


    The President thought secretly, ''I must''ve looked so cool before.''


    [Cutscene ends]


    [Edward POV]


    "Besides...I didn''t make him think he was Batman. That was a matter of personal choice." I said with someughter. My heart was filled with ease, but I was still unsure why. Maybe it was because the responsibility to avoid a dystopian future wasn''t only mind to shoulder, or maybe I no longer had to worry about using the Kotoamatsukami at a perfect timing, all I know is, I was more rxed right now that it was gone.


    Sage scowled, but her gaze turned gentle as she smiled at me with relief.She stood up, patting my head affectionately, before announcing, "Nice job. You got full marks on your history paper."


    "I already know that." I was taken aback at first, but I quickly turned smug and said knowingly.


    Sage yfully ruffled my hair, a mischievous glint in her eyes, causing it to be disheveled.


    "HEY! A man''s hair is his identity!" I protested, hastily fixing my hair. "Let''s go eat cake," I suggested, rising from my seat and beckoning Sage to join me in the kitchen.


    Before indulging in the cake, I posted a picture of the cheesecake on Instagram and also posted a short video of it. The perfectly round cheesecake was cut into half while it was still hot, with hot steam airing out from all around it.


    The video soon became trending on instagram, and I caused another desert frenzy in the country without me intending to do so.


    Afterward, Sage, Max, and I each cut a slice for ourselves. Sage''s eyes glittered as she entered the cake in her mouth, while Max loudly eximed, "Oh my god. This cake is on par with my orgasm satisfaction."


    "Oh, it''s great. James, you should taste it," I said, slicing a sliver of cake for the old butler who was preparing to admonish Max.


    Initially reluctant, James attempted to decline the offer, but I insisted. "Oh, this is great. The consistency of the cake is outstanding. With each bite, I feel as if it''s melting inside my mouth��"


    "Max made it," I interjected, causing the old butler to be taken aback.


    "Then, it''s not that good," he begrudgingly remarked, shooting a death re at Max. Max chuckled and rified, "Hey, I only helped him with the meringue. He did everything else. So clearly, Edward is the one who made it."


    I feigned sadness, muttering, "Oh, it''s not that good, huh?"


    bbergasted, James stammered, "No! NO! It''s very good! In fact, it''s among the top five desserts I have ever eaten in my whole life!"


    "Don''t you mean, old life?" Max yfully insulted.


    I burst intoughter, thoroughly entertained by Max''s banter with the old butler. Half an hourter, I arranged for Sage to be driven home in a limousine provided by the mansion staff.


    "Now, there''s only me left. So, how will you chase me away for some alone time with your ''not girlfriend''?" Max asked yfully.


    "I can''t help it. I''ll have to dig deep into my book of tricks to achieve my goals," I yed along.


    "Do your worst. I''ve seen almost everything in my twenty years of life��"


    Reaching into my wallet, I pulled out some money. "I''ll give you twenty dors to go away."


    "DEAL!" Max snatched the money from my hand,ughing gleefully, and swiftly made her exit. She soon left the house to go to work, as she had her own job to attend to, and I realized I had given her twenty bucks for nothing.


    As I waited, I settled at the piano and began ying a rendition of Moonlight Sonata. The mncholic melody filled the room, resonating with each stroke of the keys. The old butler, captivated by the music, found himself on the verge of tears, deeply moved by the emotional performance.


    Word of my impromptu concert spread quickly throughout the mansion, drawing the attention of the maids and butlers who were eager to listen in. The room soon became crowded, as they gathered to witness the enchanting music that filled the air.


    I continued to pour my emotions into the piano, my fingers dancing across the keys with a gentle intensity. The room fell into a hushed silence, as everyone present became absorbed in the haunting beauty of the Moonlight Sonata.


    However, at the climax of the symphony, Suddenly, I received an unexpected call from Max who had arrived at thepany.


    "Aww!" The staff members there eximed in disappointment as I stopped ying. The old butler admonished them hurriedly, "What are you guys doing here? You''re not going to work?" The staff members scurried away after that.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked, curious about the reason for her call.


    "Nothing. Just wondering what you''re feeling right now. Regret? Disappointed? Horny?" she teased.


    "Hmm?" I was taken aback by her provocative questions, unsure of her intentions.


    Max chuckled mischievously and continued, "You know, because your ''not a girlfriend'' is stuck at work for a few more hours due to some nnedte interviews."


    "Ah. So she''s noting?" I inquired, a hint of disappointment coloring my voice. The old butler, who had been nearby, perked up his ears upon hearing my words. He mumbled to himself, "A chance!" before slowly moving away, sensing an opportunity.


    "I don''t know for sure. But in the meantime, maybe you should... rub one out��" Max''s voice was cut off as I ended the phone call.


    "Hmm..." I rubbed my chin as I contemted what to do with my free time. As I ced the ''surprise'' back into my room, I went and called Harvey to ask her about thepany''s situation.


    "Oh, we can buy Riot games?" I asked with some surprise. Based on what I know, they would only sell some shares of thepany to Tencent in 2012, but right now, Entertain could buy out the entire gamepany without even shelling out much money.


    "Yes. The F2P (free to y) business model is quite fresh in the United States, but it''s hard for them to gain investors because of the high risk and difficulty to maintain the business model. They got less than 1 million profit in a year, which is much less than the budget they poured into the game. Also, their games...aren''t quite as good as the otherpanies." Harvey said casually.


    I nodded in understanding and said, "It doesn''t matter. They will only struggle at the beginning. So, how much did we pay to get the majority of thepany?"


    In the United States, the free-to-y (F2P) business model was initially viewed as a risky and rtively new concept. When Riot Games released their game League of Legends (LOL), which followed a simr gamey style to DOTA 2 (which gained poprity with a mod rather than a standalone game), they faced criticism and skepticism.


    LOL was not the only game of its kind to emerge after the poprity of the Dota mod. Many simr games were created, attempting to capture the sess of the original. Most of them have even better graphics and gamey than LOL. However, what set Riot Games'' LOL apart and allowed it to thrive was its free-to-y business model.


    By offering the game for free and generating revenue through in-game purchases and microtransactions, LOL was able to attract arge yer base, particrly in Asian countries and Europe, where a significant portion of the yer demographic consisted of teenagers.


    This business model resonated with these yers, as it allowed them to ess and enjoy the game without the barrier of an upfront cost.


    The F2P model proved to be highly sessful for Riot Games, as they were able to mize the game through optional cosmetic items, character skins, and other in-game enhancements. Harvey was among the people who was skeptical about the business model, but after I exined to her about the potential of the game, she finally relented and stopped trying to change my mind.


    "No. It''s a total buyout for 60 million dors." Harvey said smugly, shocking me.


    "How?" I asked with disbelief.


    "To exin simply, we can say...that I am just persuasive." Harvey replied with some condescending tone akin to a viin.


    In the currentndscape, a new game with improved graphics and gamey, adopting a free-to-y (F2P) business model, is poised to enter the market. However, it is anticipated that this game will transition back to a pay-to-y model within a year. As a result, yers who were enjoying the game for free are expected to seek out other F2P options, potentially leading to a resurgence of interest in LOL.


    Meanwhile, the CEO of Riot Games finds themselves facing significant financial challenges and requires funding to sustain their game''s marketing efforts. It is at this critical juncture that Harvey enters the picture and acquires Riot Games in its entirety. Despite the acquisition, the CEOs are able to retain their positions, but the ownership of the game is transferred to Entertainpany.


    "Great Job Harvey." Iplimented her.


    "Please. This is like a Tuesday for me." Harvey replied dismissively, but I could still hear the excitement in her tone. "Besides, there is another good thing. Want to hear it?"


    "What else? Did you buy out Disney?" I asked jokingly.


    "Not that." Harvey replied. "I was talking about yourmunication projects."


    "Oh. That. Can we proceed with it?" I asked with some nervousness.


    Harvey chuckled and said, "Yeah. It''s a go. We can start building the tower right now."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Outside of the estate, a red porsche pulled up near the front door. The old butler James was ready to greet the visitor, the grandchildren of the estate owner, whose name seemed like a bad pun, Denise.


    (Meg Donally�C Denise)


    "James. Are you sure grandma asked me to meet her here?" Denise asked in confusion after getting out of the car and greeting the old butler. She was wearing a shoulderless one piece dress with red heels, and her blonde hair fluttered freely in the wind.


    "Yes. Madam wille here tonight for dinner. So why don''t you freshen up inside the room you always use? You know, third floor, right wing."


    Denise nodded in agreement, then her steps halted, "Wait. Why do you need to stress out the room location? That seems weird considering that I''ve been here since I was a little kid."


    James said dismissively, "Oh. That''s for me rather than for you. You know, as I get older, my mind isn''t working like it used to."


    "Hmm.." Denise narrowed her eyes at the butler, then she sighed and gave the butler a hug. "You need to take care of yourself more, Uncle James. I don''t know what I''d do if I lost you."


    "Lovely girl. You won''t lose me. Now now... go to your room. You wouldn''t want to greet your grandmother smelling of sweat... cigarettes and booze won''t you?"


    Denise flinched as she quickly separated away from the butler. She rubbed the back of her head as sheughed nervously, "A-ha. Uncle James, you know how college works�C"


    "Yes. College is a good excuse for girls to party all night and don''t even shower when they wake up in the afternoon." James said sternly.


    "I''m....I''m gonna go." Denise said before she rushed into the house. "n 1,plete." James muttered slyly while rolling the edge of his mustache.


    In the Entertainpany building, right after Max finished her call. Taylor who was standing beside her asked anxiously, "How is he? Did he seem sad? Or frustrated?"


    "Oh, he''s frustrated all right." Max said knowingly, as she thought that Edward was tortured by his teacher''s hot body in the afternoon. How could she know that the beautiful teacher was actually an old god in disguise, which couldn''t excite Ed at the very least.


    "Twenty," Max said to Taylor. The blonde girl took out a stack of cash and said, "Here, 20,000 dors."


    Max widened her eyes in shock as she grabbed the money, "Wha�C Oh, we are going to be good friends. You know what? Why don''t you hop on the limo and sneak into his room. After you get there, call him and say that you are noting..."


    "THEN Surprise him when hees back to his room!" Taylor finished Max''s ns. "That''s a great idea! What room is he in?"


    "Hmm...They don''t count the ground floor, so I guess, the third floor...his room is in the right wing. You can''t miss it, you just need to walk through the hallways with gargoyles and go straight to the end."


    "Thank you Max!" Taylor said as she rode off inside the limousine to go to Edward''s temporary hiding ce.

 Chapter 220: Surprise Gift (2)

    <h4>Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Surprise Gift (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    An hour before the surprise. In the midst of my focused work in the office study, surrounded by towering bookshelves and seated at an expansive desk, I sighed as I said to Robin, "I''ll screen the scripts myselfter. How many are there again?"


    "More than 100 movie scripts were sent to thepany by aspiring filmmakers and script writers." Robin replied. She added, "This work would put a lot of stress on your physical and mental well being. I would implore you to get some help or delegate the work instead of doing it yourself."


    "I''ll keep your advice in mind. Ah, right. The one with the rights to make the adaptation for The Queen''s Gambit book, was Heath Ledger, right?" I asked. If I wasn''t mistaken, thete Heath wanted to cast Elliot Page for the main role, but the entire production was scrapped after he took his own life.


    "You''re correct. The production of the adaptation was stalled again. Superstitions about the works being cursed have been circling around, and there wasn''t anyone who wanted to pick up the story." Robin replied.


    "Okay. We''ll take it. Get Donna on the line. I need Harvey to handle the acquisition. And oh, try to see what Chad Stahelski is doing right now."


    "Stuntman Chad Stahelski had just finished with his work for the movie Ninja Assassin, and is avable for hire."


    I met the stuntman before in the Iron Man 2 movie production. Who could''ve guessed that the experienced stuntman would change his career path to be a movie director in just a few years? And the first movie he would direct? It''s none other than the blockbuster action movie, that has a great sess which turned it into a franchise, the John Wicks films.


    After finishing the call, a sudden and familiar sound caught my attention.


    A gentle "meow" resonated from the direction of the door, causing me to turn with a smile on my face.


    "How did you get out again?" I said jokingly.


    "Nyaa!"


    Approaching me with graceful steps was a stunning ck cat, adorned with captivating bluish green eyes. Her fur appeared luxuriously soft and fluffy, entuating her elegant presence. A white bow tie cor adorned her neck, while a delicate patch of white fur on her chest added a touch of charm.


    With an air of nonchnce, she strolled into the room, as if she owned it. Without hesitation, the kitten hopped onto myp, settling herselffortably. The sound of her contented purring filled the air as she nestled against me.


    "Why are you so clingy now? You bit me when we first met." I said with a chuckle as I rubbed her chin with my finger. Her eyes blinked softly as she let down all of her guards against me, wanting some affection as I was working. With one hand, I rubbed her fur while the other one was working on my blueprint for the telmunication tower.


    A few days ago, after the day I got my medal from the president, I had to go to the hardware store to pick up a few wire spools for my ongoing experiments when I was almost ambushed by a swarm of paparazzi. Using the back alley, I hid behind a dumpster when I saw something furry hiding behind the dump.


    "A ck hole�C No, it''s a cat."


    As I got the [Animal Affinity] plus with the natural aura of an afterlife agent, I foolishly went to pet her. But, she suddenly pounced on my left arm and bit the base of my palm as I tried to do it.


    Startled, I didn''t push back my arm and instead, I talked calmly towards the kitten, "Don''t worry. I''m not going to hurt you."


    For a brief moment, she maintained her bite, locking her gaze with mine. Through the reflection in her eyes, I caught a glimpse of her emotions, sensing fear and apprehension.


    Gradually, as she recognized that I posed no threat, she released her grip on my hand, her demeanor shifting from defensive to apologetic. The cat began to lick my hand, as if seeking forgiveness for her earlier outburst.


    I inspected her for a cor, finding faint traces of it on her fur, though the actual cor was absent. The absence of ws indicated she had once been in the care of an owner. Concerned for her welfare, I spoke to her in a gentle tone, "You won''t survive out here." While gently stroking her dirty fur, I realised that the grime obscured the white patches that adorned her coat.


    "This is nostalgic." I said as I petted the cat without caring about her dirtiness. "You know, I was once lost and ended up behind a dumpster too, with bruises all over me. Then, a kind olddy stopped by and decided to take me in."


    "Do you want toe back with me?" I asked using aforting tone. "I''ll take care of you." I said while patting her head. The cat was on guard as I asked her the question, then, after a while, she decided to purr as she rubbed her body on my leg, signalling her agreement.


    With gratitude for her trust, Imended her, saying jokingly, "Good girl. Come, let''s open a can of tuna for you." Side by side, we made our way back to my car, and I brought her to the safety of my mansion. Momentster, James arrived in a sleek limousine to pick me up. He was startled when he saw I was holding a dirty cat, and that my shirt was also dirty because I was holding her close to my chest. But he didn''t say anything and just smiled as he helped me with my bag.


    Upon reaching the mansion, I dedicated myself to her well-being. Max, my dad, and my aunt wanted to approach her, but she would swat their arms whenever anyone else other than me tried to touch her. The first person she warmed up to other than me was Max because was a genuine animal lover.


    I carefully bathed her, tending to her dirty fur, and gently brushed it until her true beauty was revealed. Then, I kept feeding her until she transformed into the affectionate and clingypanion she is today.


    I tried to give her the name Captain Kuro, but she rejected me by hissing. Yoruichi Sihohin, JiJi, Sakamoto, Chomusuke, Shadow, Lucifer, Midnight, Noir, Bitey, Shady, Jet, Loki, Raven, Ste, she rejected all of them.


    What name did she actually ept?


    "Vader, I need to take a shower." I said as I picked her up and brought her face close to mine. She nuzzled her face on my cheek as Iughed and said, "You can''t follow me. I''m going to be nude. It''s not good for underage girls to peek."


    Despite there was no change in her expression, I could sense that she was giving me a disdainful re. I burst intoughter when I brought her back to the room and ced her on top of a velvety plush pillow next to my bed. She circled around the pillow beforeying down there as I took off my clothes and entered the Japanese style hot tub inside the bathroom.


    "Ahhh~" I moaned in pleasure as I gradually submerged myself into the water.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While Edward was taking a bath, suddenly, Denise walked into the room groggily and silently. Vader was startled when she saw the new human in the house and went to take refuge underneath the giant bed immediately in panic.


    "Ugh...I need to take a bath..." Denise muttered as she flopped down on the bed, staining the sheets with her cigarette smell.


    As she was feelingzy, she undressed herself while lying down on the bed, leaving her only in her white frilly Victoria Secret undergarment, and her previous one piece dress thrown to the ground. She also kept wearing her heels because she felt too bothersome to bend down and took them off.


    However, as soon as she had undressed, her sleepiness took over, and she fell asleep on the pillow less than a minuteter, with loud snoring sounds filling the room. Feeling a chill due to her exposed skin, she instinctively reached for the nket, pulling it over her entire body for warmth. The act of covering herself also served to muffle her snoring to some extent.


    Unbeknownst to Denise, Edward continued to unwind blissfully in the hot jacuzzi, blissfully unaware of the unexpected "visitor" in his room.


    But less than five minutester, another tall blonde girl, Taylor, stealthily made her way into the room. Vader, who had barely managed to crawl out from his hiding spot under the bed, was taken aback once again and sought a deeper refuge this time, hidden from view.


    Taylor couldn''t contain her mischievousughter as she swiftly changed into her white lingerie,plete with thigh-high stockings and a garter belt, before slipping into a white satin gown. Taking a seat at the edge of the bed, she crossed her legs, eagerly anticipating the perfect moment to surprise Edward as he emerged from the bathtub.


    She didn''t have to wait long, as Edward emerged from the bathroom after 10 minutes, his bare chest glistening, and a white towel draped loosely around his waist.


    "What? Oh my." Seeing Taylor''s anticipation, his smile widened as he began to speak, but before he could utter a word, she cut in with a sultry voice, interrupting him mid-sentence.


    "Hello lover," Taylor purred mischievously, her tone filled with yful intrigue. "Did you get surprised?"


    Edward chuckled, momentarily taken aback by her boldness. "Yeah, it was quite a surprise," he replied, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "And a delightful one at that. But that reminds me, I have a surprise for you too. Did you see her yet?"


    As Edward nonchntly reached for a coffee milk drink in the nearby mini-fridge, his gaze shifted towards the figure hidden beneath the nket. In that moment, a mixture of curiosity and confusion shed across his face, his mind racing toprehend the situation unfolding before him.


    ''Did she bring another person here? Wait...It can''t be what I''m thinking of, right?'' Edward thought excitedly but was still maintaining a calm facade on the surface.


    "Her? A surprise?" Taylor''s mind raced with excitement upon hearing Edward''s words. Her anticipation grew, ready to embrace the unexpected.


    However, before she could make her move, something caught her attention��a hint of a figure beneath the nket, with the telltale presence of a high heel peeking out from beneath it. Instantly, her expression froze, and a surge of panic and astonishment washed over her.


    Taylor turned to face Edward, her mind racing at breakneck speed as she considered the possibilities that flooded her thoughts.


    ''Did he bring another girl... Wait! Has he already slept with her?!'' Her mind spiralled into a whirlwind of assumptions and usations. Her expression turned into anger, which startled Edward. ''And now he has the audacity to want me to join in?! He''s a degenerate pervert!''


    A torrent of emotions and thoughts consumed Taylor as she grappled with the unexpected revtion, her mind racing through a series of conclusions and judgments.


    "What''s wrong?" Edward asked with a chuckle, "Are you mad I didn''t wait for you before picking her up? (The cat)"


    Taylor fumed as she said, "Yes! I am mad! How dare you decide something like this on your own! (The girl)"


    Edward was confused, "I thought you loved things like her?! (The cat)"


    "WHEN!? WHEN DID I EVER SAY I WANTED SOMETHING LIKE THIS?! (the girl)" Taylor replied with disbelief and frustration.


    "Hey! We talked about this a lot of times before. (Adopting a cat)" Edward said with slight agitation.


    "And I have never agreed! GOD! YOU''RE UNBELIEVABLE! (Adding a girl in their bed)" Taylor stood up and shouted while pointing her finger at Edward.


    "I don''t have to take this. I''m d you brought another surprise here, but I got to say, I really didn''t think you''d hate the cat that much. You keep saying and acting like a cat lover, but I''ve never thought�C Vader, where are you?"


    "Her name is Vader!?" Taylor eximed in frustration before she noticed something was wrong. "Wait. A cat?"


    Vader darted from underneath the bedroom, startling Taylor as she raced towards Edward. She hopped into his arms in panic while Taylor was bbergasted as she processed what was happening.


    "Oh my god. She''s so cute!" Taylor''s cat lover instinct kicked in, and she melted with affection as she saw the young kitty trying to hide in Edward''s arm.


    "Wait. You hadn''t met her yet? So what are you angry about?" Edward asked with confusion.


    Taylor snapped out of her affectionate state and burst into anger again, "The girl on your bed! Don''t act dumb! She''s LITERALLY right here!"


    Taylor grabbed the nket and yanked it away, revealing the sight of a barely dressed girl. Denise slowly sat up and said in annoyance, "God, You guys are being so loud!"


    Edward was taken aback for a bit before he reacted, "Wait. Denise? Why are you here?"


    "Huh? Newgate?...And who are you- Wait, Taylor S. Why are you guys in my room?" Denise asked in confusion, her groggy mind processed the information slowly.


    Taylor was in disbelief and she became hysterical, "God! Do you really believe ying dumb will work!? Aren''t you the girl Ed picked up to have a threesome with us?! Ed! It''s not like I don''t want to! Maybe not with a random skank, yeah?"


    "Threesomes?" Denise was confused. "I agreed to have a threesome with you guys?"


    "No. Not yet." Edward said mischievously as he figured out everything. "Did James ask you toe by? I''ve been wondering why he insisted on me staying in this room. He had it all nned out, didn''t he?"


    "Yeah, he says that grandma is having dinner here tonight." Denise replied before she realised how she was dressed, "AH!" She shrieked btedly before grabbing another nket to cover herself up.


    Taylor finally realised something was wrong and said, "Wait. What is going on?"


    Edward burst intoughter as he said, "Just an old man''s evil n gone wrong."


    After calming down and exining a few things, Taylor covered her face in embarrassment while sitting down at the edge of the bed. Edward''s lips curled up and he whispered, mimicking Taylor''s sentences before, while rubbing the cat''s fur, "Not that I don''t want to."


    "STOP!" Taylor squealed in embarrassment as she pressed her face to the mattress, trying to hide it.


    "''Just not with a random skank'', so I guess, you already nned it out with someone we know?!" Edward added.


    "STOP IT!" Taylor reacted strongly and threw a few pillows into Edward''s direction. Edward burst intoughter, and while he was teasing Taylor, Denise was mulling over the entire thing with a sharp look on her face.


    "Damn it. That old man almost sold me out." Denise said angrily.


    "No one told you to undress and crawl into the bed." Taylor eximed angrily to Denise. The college girl was startled and she said defensively, "Hey! What''s wrong with being naked inside your own house! If anything, Newgate''s the intruder here!"


    "I was invited by your grandmother to stay here." Edward eximed with a chuckle. "Do you want to teach that old man a lesson? You might actually stay and joined us, that will surely shake him to his core." He says yfully.


    Taylor eximed angrily, "You! Stop it! NOW!"


    Edward burst intoughter again. However, Denise unexpectedly said, " I don''t really have a problem with that. Besides, I think you''re really cute." She said as she slowly moved behind Taylor. She ced her finger on Taylor''s chin and pulled it forcefully to meet her eyes.


    Taylor was startled, but she didn''t resist. Denise breathed on Taylor''s neck as she wrapped her arms around her stomach and said, "Would it be wrong if I actually did join you guys?"


    Taylor''s face blushed red and she stammered, "Um..Um..."


    "She''s thinking about it now." Edward said with a chuckle. Denise smiled seductively and said, "That will surely teach the old man a lesson."


    "Daddy issues. Themon factor in all of the unconventional bedroom activities." Edward said as he put the cat down on the red velvet pillow again.


    "You...You..." Taylor stammered with a shaky voice. "YOU SMELL!" She shouted as she pushed Denise away.


    Startled, Denise sniffed her arm, "Right. I haven''t freshened up yet." She got off the bed, and walked to the bathroom. Before entering, she nced at Taylor and Edward while saying, "Join me or not, I won''t mind."


    Taylor''s eyes flickered as she contemted a decision. Edward chuckled and said to her, "You know we''re just messing with you. Right?"


    Denise suddenly interjected, "I was being serious though?"


    ...


    "It''s almost dinner time." One of the staff members said while talking to the head butler, James. "Should we call Sir Newgate and Miss Denise to the dining room?"


    James twirled his moustache as he said excitedly, "There''s no need. I believe they are currently getting acquainted with each other, and therefore, shouldn''t be disturbed. They must''ve gotten so lost in talking that they are just missing track of time."


    The staff member said obediently, "I understand sir."


    As the staff member walked away, James mulled to himself, ''Hmm...Maybe I should let them send some food to the room? The kids should be very hungry.''


    Contrary to his expectations of what the kid''s should be doing, Inside the room, Edward, Taylor and Denise wereying down side by side, with Edward in the middle. All three of them nude and only with a thin white nket covering up all three of their bodies.


    "That was interesting." Denise muttered with a smile. Her hair was dishevelled and she rested her face on Edward''s chest.


    "It surely was." Edward said before he pulled Taylor''s face in for a kiss. Taylor smiled and said, "This is the first and thest time we''re doing this! Okay!?"


    "Well if I cannot do it again, then I should not let myself have any regrets." Edward said with a mischievous smile before pulling both of the girls closer towards him again.

 Chapter 221: Matter of the Heart

    <h4>Chapter 221: Chapter 221:?Matter of the Heart</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    A helicopter ambnce came to the mansion and swiftly carried out an old man to get some help in the hospital. He had fallen unconscious while clutching his heart, and it triggered the emergency procedures in the estate.


    "Can any of you tell me what happened? Why did James have a heart attack?" Eve Saltzman''s secretary, a middle-aged and charismaticwyer dressed in a brown suit, with a full head of hair, turned to us ''witnesses'' to get the answer.


    Denise, Taylor and I shook our heads together. "We don''t know." Denise said with a shrug. "He opened the door, and that''s it." She added.


    "Did he happen to encounter anything that could have caused a shock or distress when he opened the door?" The secretary asked again with ignorance in his expression.


    Panic seized Taylor, causing her words to stumble out in a frenzy. "Nothing! We weren''t doing anything! Absolutely nothing at all!" she eximed, her anxiety palpable. I cast a disapproving nce her way while slightly shaking my head.


    "I believe what Taylor was trying to express is that we have no knowledge of anything that might have triggered such a severe reaction in his heart. Moreover, he''s stable now. I''ve checked on him, and it seems to be a fainting episode. He''ll be back on his feet soon." I said, calmly dismissing the man''s concerns.


    The secretary finally nodded and then said, "Alright. I believe you Ed."


    "Why only Edward!? I answered too!" Denise asked with apprehension.


    "Yeah, but Edward never lied to me, he didn''t tell me he'' be bringing a single guest to his 16th birthday party, but invited the entire circus to the house instead, while also trying to ride an elephant straight into his room�C"


    "Shut up!" Denise cupped the secretary''s mouth in panic before she red at the both of us, "You two have heard nothing, Understand?!"


    "No. I heard everything. And I want to know more about the elephant." I said mischievously. Denise looked at me in disbelief, her expression a mix of astonishment and exasperation.


    The secretary left the estate a few minutester and we could finally breathe in relief after he was gone. Vader the ck cat jumped into my arms as I walked to the kitchen with the girls to get something to eat after our ''strenuous exercise''.


    While we were eating, Max suddenly rushed into the kitchen, with a face full of worry, "What''s going on with James? Why is he in the hospital? And where is the hospital they took him too? I keep asking and none of the people here can answer me."


    "We were doing nothing when he found us!" Denise replied with a touch of disdain on her face. However, her mistake soon cost her.


    "Huh?" Max caught the panicky gazes of the two girls immediately. Her lips curled into a teasing smile and she said while raising her eyebrows up and down, "So. Did he catch you guys doing it or something�C Who was doing it with who?"


    I grabbed some fries while Denise and Taylor tried to cover up. Taylor said, "Wh-What? No one was doing anything with anyone. The three of us are just talking in the room."


    "Yeah, and all of our clothes were on." Denise added while I face-palmed myself.


    "That''s a weird detail to put in there. Wait...ALL 3?! EDDD!! YOU DOG!!" Max eximed proudly as she punched my bicep. Iughed and said to the duo, "Why are you guys so nervous about it? You guys were the ones moani�C"


    Denise and Taylor cupped my mouth together while Maxughed. Max then asked, "So, when the three of you are together, James walked in? That''s why he''s in the hospital? He must''ve seen something very shocking."


    "Don''t think about it Max." Taylor warned. "Or I''ll take back my money."


    "What money?" I chimed in.


    Maxughed and said, "You can''t threaten me Barbie. I only took 20 bucks and made the ountant put the money back into your ount. I''m invulnerable to your threats!"


    "And unexpected integrity moves from you Max." I said with an impressed expression.


    Max smiled and said proudly, "Yeah, despite me being poor, I''m not the type to take advantage of people. And also, I''m kinda afraid to walk around with that kind of cash, so I gave it to the ountant to keep it. He was mistaken because when he asked me, I said it''s ''Taylor''s money'' instead of ''money from Taylor.'' Before I knew it, he had already given the money back to her. But I digress." Max fixed her hair and said it as if it was nothing for her.


    I smiled and said, "Did you hit him?"


    "With a shovel if I could, but I can''t if I want to keep my job here." Max replied. She shook her hands and said, "Anyway. Back to the three�C"


    "NO!" x2 Both Taylor and Denise interrupted her. "Calm down whores. Why are you still acting like you guys were innocent little girls? Innocent little girls wouldn''t make James have a heart attack." Max said without a filter.


    "So what is it? Was Taylor standing, and both of you were down there?" Max asked.


    "More like, all of us were down there." I replied as I knew that Max wouldn''t let the matter go.


    Max gasped as both of the girls blushed and hid their faces. Max asked, "On the sides, in a circle?"


    "How else would we do it?" I shrugged casually, causing me to get beaten up by both Denise and Taylor.


    Maxughed and said, "How are they?"


    "Can we not talk about this? Like, Ever!" Taylor eximed and pulled me away from Max.


    An hourter, James returned to the house, having regained consciousness but with no memory of the events leading up to his fainting spell. In his mind, Denise remained the innocent young girl whom he had nurtured and cared for since she was a baby.


    For him, she was definitely NOT a sex deviant who didn''t even discriminate between genders. But that was just my personal opinion. Who knows if he had already known about it before, but just had never witnessed it in person.


    ...


    It was almost 2 am. Taylor and I decided to go on a night drive together as she wanted to escape being in the mansion and Max''s snorting and snickering every time she saw her.


    I drove one of the cars in storage, something that had caught my eyes the moment I saw the collection of luxurious cars there, a ck, sleek Audi R8.


    "Why are you stealing my jacket?" I asked Taylor as I saw she was wearing my brown vintage leather jacket as she adorned a casual style of white shirt and jeans.


    "Hey I made your wishe true today. One jacket is cheap enough for the cost already." Standing next to the passenger side of the car, she added, "Aren''t you going to open the door for me?"


    Smiling, I responded, "No, there''s no need for me to do that." With a press of a button, both seats automatically slide upward, weing us into the luxurious vehicle.


    Taylor scoffed, teasingly jabbing at me once more. "Now that you''ve gotten what you wanted, you don''t feel the need to be a gentleman anymore?"


    "Innovation and science embody the true essence of being a gentleman. It''s not just about being chivalrous to others, but also to the world itself. Take, for instance, the invention of the automatic door opener. A gentleman''s ingenuity... and contribution... in creating such a device immortalise him in the act of opening doors for others. No one else could beat him in the world anymore. He''s top of his game. I couldn''t even try. He would win everytime. "


    "You''re so full of crap." Taylor said before she burst outughing.


    I pressed the pedal and drove through almost half a mile before finally getting out of the gate. "There''s a waterfall nearby, a 10 minute hike�C"


    "I don''t like hiking." Taylor interjected before I could finish inviting her. "Oh, I need to ask you about something."


    "What is it?"


    She turned towards me and ced her hands on my arms before saying, "So. I''ve been talking to Selena, and she said that Miley Cyrus is making a Hannah Montana movie. The director there wants me to act in it!"


    "By ''act'' you mean singing a song right? Because dear...You can''t act."


    "Shut up! I can!" She scowled before sitting straight again. Iughed and said, "I''m just kidding. You''re good. Not great yet, as you have a certain awkwardness when you''re facing the camera that prevents you from seeming natural, but for a cameo, it''s good enough."


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Can''t you just say that I''m great? I can be a great actress one day? What''s with the passive aggressivement?"


    I chuckled and said, "I was being honest. Do you want me to lie to you? Cause if I did, and you go on to try out to be an actress yourself, it''s only going to hurt you, not me."


    "Ugh. Fine! I don''t want to be an actress anyway!" She said with a sulk.


    "Oh, that''s too bad though. I was thinking of casting you in my new movie."


    She suddenly turned again in excitement and grabbed my arms, "What kind of movie?"


    "A movie about a group of Disney girls who went bad, they robbed aundromat to get some money to spend on cocaine and booze on their spring break, but got entangled in some gangster mess. It ends up with two of them having pool threesomes with the rapper and killing everyone before running away with the money."


    Taylor scrunched her face in confusion and disbelief, "What the hell is even that? It''s like you''re TRYING to exin the movie badly."


    I burst intoughter and said, " I was."


    She giggled and pretended to be angry, "Wait. You didn''t want to cast me, just for the pool scenes, right?"


    "Well you auditioned for it just now. NO! Don''t, I''m driving!" I had to stop her as she was trying to grab my arm and bite it. "Stop!"


    "No YOU STOP!" She said angrily. She fixed her hair while eximing, "Ugh!" and pulled her face away from me as she pouted.


    "Alright. I was wrong." I said after she wasn''t responding to me calling her names for a while. She reluctantly turned her head towards me before pulling it away again.


    "Damn it." I mumbled underneath my breath as I focused back on the streets..


    "What did you say?!" She asked me angrily as she felt that I was cursing her.


    "Oh, not you, there''s a cop''s barricade in front." I said while gawking at the crime scene in front of me. Then, I saw a familiar figure standing nearby the barricade, d in a brown leather jacket too, and was holding a paper file in her hand.


    I rolled down my car window as I abruptly stopped next to the detective, which earned me multiple questions from Taylor, "What are you doing? Are you crazy? Why are you even stopping?"


    "Calm down. There''s no paparazzi nearby. They are only interested in the death of popr celebrities, not everyday people."


    "Still!" She scolded me.


    "Mr Newgate. How interesting it is that you''re lingering around a crime scene. Maybe after your kidnapping, you lost every ounce of fear for your own safety and decided that you''re invincible?" Detective Chloe Decker said with a not so subtle warning.


    "He is! Well at least he really does think that." Taylor interjected and spoke to the detective.


    "I don''t think THAT." I said, defending my honour. "Oh Hi. Taylor S. Right? My daughter is a huge fan of yours."


    "Aww. Told her I said Hi." Taylor replied.


    "What happened here Detective?" I asked.


    "It''s official police business Newgate." Detective Deckard said, obviously trying not to spill anything about the incident. "Oh, by the way, did you guys see any suspicious people around here?"


    I chuckled and said, "Detective. I know that you''re worried, but I am a man who was given a medal by the President himself for recapturing national secrets and even stopping said secrets from getting leaked. Maybe, I can give some insights about the case. You know, I wouldn''t even have stopped the car if I didn''t see you looking so troubled. You do want to get back to Trixie early tonight right? The sooner you can close the case, the better it will be...for you."


    My words ced the Detective in a difficult decision. Taylor widened her eyes as she saw what I did and muttered, "Wow. You''re the devil. A master maniptor."


    "Yeah, so don''t even try me with your childish gamesdy." I said teasingly as I flicked her forehead gently.


    She giggled, and our attention was reimed by the detective who said, "Alright. I''ve been stuck with this case for weeks now. I sure do hope that you can actually see something useful. Something that an entire group of detectives in arge scale task force failed to see." She handed me the case files, which was so thin there was barely anything in it.


    "Yeah. If you don''t see anything, then you are going to jail! You can do that, right detective?" Taylor asked yfully.


    Chloe chuckled and joined in, "I sure can."


    "There''s no need to threaten me with a good time." I said while flipping through the evidence. Chloe briefed me while I was reading, "There are no apparent connections or shared characteristics among the victims, but the killing does share the same M.O."


    "What''s an M.O?" Taylor asked.


    I exined before the detective could, " ''MO'' stands for "Modus Operandi." It refers to the characteristic method or pattern of operation used by a criminal tomit a particr type of crime."


    "Essentially, it describes how the perpetrator carries out their criminal activities, including the specific techniques, tactics, or behaviours they employ. The MO can provide valuable insights into the criminal''s habits, motives, and potential identification. Wait. You said that there isn''t amon connection between the victims?" I turned to the detective.


    "Yes...Why? Did you see anything?" The detective bent her spine a bit as she peeked her head into the car to look at the case files.


    "Yeah. See here. On the victim''s head. There''s hair on it."


    Chloe scowled with disappointment as she hit her head on the roof of the car as she did. "Oww. That''s IT!?" She eximed while rubbing her sore temple.


    Iughed and said, "I should''ve worded that better. I mean, on their hair. See here at the lines between the skin and the hair? You can see traces of chemicals on it."


    "Hmm?" What do you mean?" Chloe asked, confused.


    Taylor looked at what I pointed at and said, "Oh yeah. I know that line. It happens when you dye your hair with some cheap chemicals�C WAIT! I AM NOT SAYING THAT I DYE MY HAIR!"


    "I don''t care! You were saying? They dyed their hair just before they were dead?" Chloe asked.


    I chuckled and said, "Yeah. And Taylor doesn''t dye her hair! She bleaches her hair, there''s a difference."


    "NO! I''m a natural blonde!" She said angrily.


    "I''m not interested about your hair!" Chloe eximed in exasperation. She took the files from me and said, "So you were saying? They all dyed their hair, just before they died?"


    "I''m not saying anything. It could be after they died. Because those lines only appear for a few hours. It''ll disappear in a day or so." I said casually. "So you might want to look at the salons around the areas that the victims frequent, maybe you can get more information."


    "I will. Thank you Ed. You may have saved lives here today." the detective said while shing a satisfied smile.


    "I''m always saving lives. If I wasn''t an artist I''d be Batman. It was always a coin flip." I said coyly, causing both the girls there to roll their eyes. "If you want to ask me anything, just give me a call, detective. Who knows, maybe I''ll actually pick up and help you solve some cases if I''m bored enough."


    "Ugh. So pompous." Taylor muttered. I heard it and shrugged it off without reacting.


    Chloe smiled and said, "If I needed you every time I couldn''t solve something, it wouldn''t mean that you were actually that good, it''d just mean that I suck at my job. So, you can be at ease, Newgate."


    "Aww... I got rejected." I said before pulling up the windows again. "Goodnight Detective. Remember to say goodnight to Trixie for me."


    "I will�C Wait. No, I won''t. Or else she won''t go to sleep." Chloe said, but the window was already all the way up.


    "So, back at the mansion, you decided to add one more girl to our time together, and now on our drive, you decided to do that, again?" Taylor said with annoyance the moment the window was closed.


    I was startled and said, "It was a homicide! A serial killing!"


    "Oh yeah. You would rather go on all night with the detective solving crimes rather than being alone with me, right?"


    "Is this going to turn into a fight?" I muttered.


    She looked me right in the eyes and said, "Yes."


    "Alright then. Bring it on. I know that I haven''t done anything wrong here." I said with a cocky smirk. Suddenly, I received a text from someone. I ced my phone on the small space near the handbrake, and the screen lit up. "Oh shit." I widened my eyes as I saw the name handle of the text.


    "Who is that? Another girl that you want to�C" Taylor said and grabbed the phone the second she heard it chimed. She froze for a bit and then turned to look at me. Her eyes almost became bloodshot and she gritted her teeth as she said, "You''re still texting Abby? Your ex-girlfriend...Abby?"

 Chapter 222: Tough.

    <h4>Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Tough.</h4>


    (Extra chap!)


    [Edward POV]


    The ck Audi sliced through the deserted streets, its engine roared loudly, the only audible sound in the enveloping darkness of the night.


    As we made our way home, the car was enveloped in a heavy silence. Taylor, her nose reddened and eyes still watery,she''d been crying since earlier. Fatigue marked my face as I drove her back to her ce, knowing I would return on my own afterward.


    The tension between us had escted after she read the text messages from Abby. It led to a heated argument that reached its peak, prompting me to pull over the car. In an isted location, far from any familiar surroundings, we found ourselves on a deserted sidewalk, shouting topics that we knew we would regret about the next day.


    "2 AM TEXTS ARE A BOOTY CALL!" Taylor shouted, aggrieved as she got out of the car and stormed away. I quickly followed her as the road was dark, and there was no way that I would leave her alone there.


    I fell in disbelief as I heard her say, "She''s texting me for work! She needs ess to my servers to search for some evidence."


    "Don''t try to make me look like I''M THE OBSESSIVE ONE! You are still longing for her, even after it''s been months since you guys broke up!" She shrieked.


    "We''re friends." I tried to cool down and spoke to her calmly. I grabbed her wrist to prevent her from walking further away and forced her to face me.


    "No you''re not. Friends don''t treat each other like that!" She snapped my hands away and shouted to my face.


    "Really? Then what about us? Are we not still ''friends'', even after we did everything together?" I said with slight agitation. I knew I was being difficult, but I needed the answer.


    Taken aback, Taylor said, "No. We''re not friends. We''re more than that. That''s why it''s weird that you''re still responding to her. Why are you even texting with her? Didn''t she block you on everything?"


    "Look. She texted me before I got kidnapped, warning me of the attack." I exined.


    "So? Say thanks and then block her again!" She demanded.


    Feeling a little irked, I replied annoyedly,"Why? You can''t decide who I can and cannot be friends with."


    "If you love me, then you should do that anyway!" She raised her voice.


    "Really? You want to talk to me about love? Even when you''re the one who keeps rejecting the notion of us being together." I said venomously.


    "See. You''re a master of finding ways to make it all about you again. I''m the one who''s hurt here!" She said defensively.


    "Make it about me? When did I <strong><i>ever</i></strong> do that? Huh?" I demanded with agitation.


    She was being evasive but as I confronted her, "Taylor, Tell me what you''re thinking!"


    Her feelings finally bubbled out, "I WAS THE ONE ROBBED ON STAGE BEFORE. But my name is barelying out in the media! It''s all about you! YOU! YOU! ...And your stupid kidnapping thing!"


    Taylor was shocked when she heard what came out of her mouth.


    My stomach churned and my face fell. I couldn''t believe my ears."Wait. You''re ming me...because I got... kidnapped?"


    Startled by her own choice of words and my reactions, Taylor burst into tears and she stammered while gripping at my shirt, "No.I didn''t mean it like that. I''m sorry. I<strong><i> really</i></strong> didn''t mean it like that."


    I stood there nkly as her tears fell out. She added, " I just... Just...feel it''s unfair... You can have everything you want in the world. But I...I have to depend on you for everything." She raised her face and touched mine. "Ed. I love you, but I also hate you. You...You''re blessed with talents...while I..." She said while crying.


    Feeling of dejavu hits me. This made me remember the day my mom left. It made me felt disconnected from reality for a while.


    "Ed?" She asked as she calmed down a bit, but her eyes were still teary.


    I asked stoically, repressing my emotions. "How long did you have these feelings? Is that why you were being so ovepensating today?"


    Her chin quivered as she looked down and nodded. I sighed and slowly removed her hand clutching my shirt. Startled and nervous, Taylor reacted panicky, "I''m sorry."


    "No. You don''t need to apologize. In fact, I''m the one who should apologize to you." I said, making her burst into tears again.


    With a stressed out crying face, she said shakily, "Are you breaking up with me?"


    ...


    [General POV]


    As the first rays of sunlight pierced the horizon, Ted returned from his overnight cruise trip and made his way back to the mansion. Upon entering the house, he noticed the staff members approaching him with restless expressions, immediately sensing that something was amiss.


    Concern etched across his face, Ted asked, "What is it?" The staff members guided him towards the indoor pool area, urging him to enter alone.


    Stepping into the pool area, Ted''s eyes widened with worry as he beheld Edward floating motionless in the water. Edward hadn''t even bothered to remove his clothes before entering the pool. His vacant gaze was fixated on the ceiling, and he remainedpletely still.


    It had been nearly two hours since Edward assumed his motionless position, causing deep concern among the staff members. Ted observed his son closely, letting out a sigh before taking off his shoes and settling down at the pool''s edge, dipping his feet into the warm water.


    "Ed," he called out to his son.


    Edward responded tly, "Oh, you''re back."


    "How are you feeling?" Ted inquired, hoping to elicit a response. Edward closed his eyes, rxing his body without answering his father''s question.


    Concerned and seeking answers, Ted pressed further, "What happened?"


    Edward replied with a nonchnt tone, "Nothing much," still keeping his eyes shut.


    Ted''s intuition led him to ask, "Did something happen with Taylor?" He knew that Taylor was expected to visit the mansion, but her absence made him suspect that she might be somehow involved in the scene unfolding before him.


    Edward remained silent, his facial expressions fluctuating. Ted, recognizing the need for patience, asked again, "Did you guys break up? Remember, you can always talk to me about things."


    There was a pause, the sounds of birds chirping filling the pool area as both father and son remained silent. Ted respected Edward''s space, allowing him to gather his thoughts and speak when ready.


    Finally, Edward broke the silence, uttering, "We didn''t break up. But..."


    Ted didn''t interrupt and let Edward finish his sentence on his own.


    Edward continued, "We won''t be with each other anymore. We can''t really break up when we never even started."


    Ted thought for a while before he asked, "What happened between you two?"


    Edward opened his eyes slightly, his gaze turned conflicted. After a few seconds, he muttered, "Our rtionship was problematic from the start. She''s always had reservations, and we just didn''t really click well."


    "I see." Ted listened with understanding. "Is that why you''re floating around like a dead body on the water?"


    "Yes." Edward replied, his nk expressions unchanged. Ted asked again, "Or is there something else bothering you?"


    Edward hesitated for a bit, and took a deep breath before saying, "I don''t know...She said simr things to mom, right before she left."


    Ted''s face twitched and he turned serious. Edward continued, "There''s already two people who can''t stand to be with me. Sometimes, I wonder, if there is someone out there that can really ept me."


    "You will find someone." Ted said with a slight chuckle. He looked at the ceiling as he reminisced about the past. "It''s going to be hard, but you will find someone who will ept you, and love you for who you are."


    "Big talking from the man who just started a new rtionship in his 40s," Edward snarked with a t tone.


    Ted chuckled and replied, "Yeah, it is big talk. But it''s what I believe in."


    Finally turning to face his father, Edward''s wet hair hung in front of his eyes. "Even after all that happened to you?" he questioned, his voice heavy with emotion.


    Ted''s expression turned somber as he reminisced. "Your mother and I... we were great in the beginning. After we settled down in the States, we were genuinely happy."


    Edward interjected, "Then it all went downhill because of me?"


    Ted shook his head gently. "No, not because of you. Our struggles started even before you were born when we first tried for a baby, years ago."


    Confusion clouded Edward''s face. "What do you mean?"


    Ted sighed, his eyes filled with sadness. "You know, if fate hadn''t been so cruel, you might have had a brother and a sister alongside you today."


    Edward''s eyes widened in shock, his heart heavy with the weight of his father''s words. Ted looked at his son and continued, "At first, we were overjoyed when Miranda found out she was pregnant. It was everything we had hoped for. But around five months into her pregnancy, she... she had a miscarriage."


    The pain of that loss took a toll on both of us. Your mother turned to religion, burdened by immense guilt. She believed it was a punishment from God, that she needed to repent. She prayed every day and cried every night for nearly a year until we discovered she was pregnant again."


    "But, as I said, God is cruel," Ted''s voice trembled with emotion. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he covered them with his hands. "He took your brother away too." He paused, struggling to regainposure. "That nearly broke your mother. She became a mere shell of the woman I once loved."


    "It took all my strength to bring her back," Ted said, his voice filled with difficulty. He removed his hands from his eyes and smiled at Edward. "We were exhausted, drained, and on the verge of giving up on each other. But that''s when you came along, injecting a renewed desire to fight within us."


    Memories shed through Ted''s mind��the countless hours he spent by Miranda''s side during her third pregnancy, the image of her tenderly cradling her growing belly with love in her eyes.


    "That''s why you always were our little miracle. You are our blessing from God," Ted expressed with deep affection.


    Edward''s stoic facade finally cracked, tears welling up in his eyes. Ted smiled and continued, "Though we may have had our differences in how we raised you, there''s one thing we both agreed on: We love you, more than words can express."


    Edward''s gaze remained fixed on the ceiling, his emotions swirling within him. Suddenly, a chuckle escaped his lips, tinged with self-deprecation. His voice trembled, " I suddenly wonder what would have happened if I actually did have siblings. Would...I still feel as lonely as I am feeling right now?"


    Ted entered the water and slowly moved towards Edward. He pulled him into a warm embrace. They stepped out of the pool, Edward''s fingers wrinkled from the extended time in the water


    With Edward draped across his back, Ted carried him towards his room. Along the way, the weariness and emotional weight took their toll on Edward, and he drifted into a peaceful slumber on his father''s back. for too long.


    ...


    "Is he okay?" Max asked worriedly after Ted returned from Edward''s room.


    "I don''t know. I hope so." Ted replied. Max nodded in understanding and said, "It must be hard for him. Break ups are really traumatizing at that age. Well, not for me, but the boys I leave behind at the door. "


    "I don''t think that''s the issue�C Wait, you know what? Maybe it is." Ted replied and then he sighed.


    A few hourster, Edward slowly woke up from his sleep on top of his bed.


    "Ugh. My head." He muttered while holding his forehead. After getting back to the mansion, he had downed a few bottles of wine, therefore he had quite a hangover right now.


    "Robin, what time is it?" Edward asked. However, there was no answer. "Right. Myptop is in the office..and my phone..." Edward looked at the broken Apple phone near the nightstand. He entered the pool without emptying his pockets, therefore his phone was useless now.


    Feeling tired, Edwardid back on the bed with his hands sprawled out. Then, he thought out loud, "I still need to finish the design for thems tower...And I also need to make sure she''s okay."


    Taylor''s out of the state tour was starting today, and she would leave soon. Therefore he wanted to make sure she was okay. Edward slowly got out of the bed, and his leg suddenly pressed the synthesiser board on the floor, producing a loud sound.


    "Oh, right. I went crazyst night," he muttered with a wry smile, acknowledging his own reckless behavior.


    In his mind, Edward believed he had gone slightly overboard. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, his actions were rtively mildpared to some of the other entricities disyed by the residents of the mansion, such as Denise and her pet elephant.


    Edward picked up the synthesizer, and he pressed the keyboards randomly. Then, he sighed and said, "What the hell am I even doing?"


    As he continued pressing the keyboard, it suddenly turned into a melody. Edward rxed himself as he let the music possess him, and he started ying a song.


    [Save Myself�C Ed Sheeran]


    Alone in the bedroom, he sang, "??I gave all my oxygen to people that could breathe...I gave away my money and now we don''t even speak...I drove miles and miles, but would you do the same for me???"


    "??Oh, honestly???"


    The resurfacing pain from being abandoned. The anxiety of wanting to keep people close to him. Edward released it all in the song, "??Offered off my shoulder just for you to cry upon.Gave you constant shelter and a bed to keep you warm??


    ??They gave me the heartache and in return I gave a song??


    ??It goes on and on??


    His voice was heart wrenching to those who heard it. Max and Ted, who wanted to check up on him, suddenly heard the song and stopped themselves from opening the door to listen.


    Edward crooned, "??Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels!


    I drown it with a drink and out of date prescription pills!"


    "And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf??"


    "??No farewell??"


    "??So before I save someone else, I''ve got to save myself??"


    In Taylor''s apartment, the teen pop star stood before the mirror, her nose and cheeks flushed with a reddish hue. Gripping a pair of scissors, she hesitantly began to cut off her long blonde hair. The sound of the scissors slicing through the strands filled the room, apanied by the weight of her emotions.


    "??I gave you all my energy and I took away your pain


    ''Cause human beings are destined to radiate or dream


    What line do we stand upon ''cause from here looks the same?


    And only scars remain??"


    With her hair uneven, one side longer than the other, Taylor gazed at her reflection in the mirror. The guilt she carried within her surged to the surface once more, overwhelming her fragile state of mind. She covered her face with her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks.


    ??Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels


    I drown it with a drink and out of date prescription pills


    And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf


    My farewell


    So before I save someone else, I''ve got to save myself??


    Vanessa Hudgen, Edward''s new friend, stood frozen in front of the door of her boyfriend''s house.


    "??But if don''t


    Then I''ll go back


    To where I''m rescuing a stranger


    Just because they needed saving just like that??"


    She saw her boyfriend shirtless, and her friend who was standing next to him, wearing only his shirt. "Vanessa�C" Zac called her, but Vanessa ran away crying.


    ??Oh, I''m here again??


    Edward''s tone turned slightly monotonic, "??Between the devil and the danger. But I guess it''s just my nature.My dad was wrong. ''Cause I''m not like my mum??"


    He sang with a self-deprecating smile, "''Cause she''d just smile and leave while I''mining in a song.??"


    Ted, who was listening intently, sighed as he heard the statement.


    "??But it helps."


    "So before I save someone else...I''ve got to save myself??"


    The melody reverberated throughout the entire room. Edward found himself lost in the song as his mind became cleared up.


    "??Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels


    I drown it with a drink and out of date prescription pills


    And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf


    My farewell??"


    Vader, his ck cat jumped on the bed, and snuggled her way into hisp. Edward smiled as he petted the cat and used only one hand to y.


    He sang, "??So before I save someone else, I''ve got to save myself??


    ??And before I me someone else, I''ve got to save myself??


    ??And before I love someone else.... I''ve got to love.... Myself??


    As the melody faded, Vader meowed and licked Edward''s hand. Edward smiled and petted the cat before putting the synthesizer away. He then stood up, carrying the cat, and went on to change his clothes.


    "I guess. I need a fresh start." Edward muttered as he looked into the mirror. He held a few strands of his long hair, "And maybe a haircut too."


    (Season 3 ends)

 Chapter 223: Pre-Halloween.

    <h4>Chapter 223: Chapter 223: Pre-Halloween.</h4>


    [Edward''s POV]


    -The Dunphy''s house-


    "He''s here. He''s here," I eximed with excitement as I checked the front door. With a beige shirt and brown pants, I was wearing a clean-cut wolf-cut hairstyle, my hair was neatly trimmed to a length that reached slightly above the nape of my neck. Enid was going crazy every time she saw it , which means I''ll need to cut it soon.


    Seeing Phil, Haley, Alex, and Luke stepping out of the car, I hurried to the kitchen where ire was waiting.


    "Quick, hide with the camera," ire instructed, pointing towards the living room. I followed her guidance swiftly, concealing myself from view.


    "Honey, I''m home! We had to go to over 5 stores, but we finally found the spooky webs you wanted," Phil announced enthusiastically as he entered the kitchen, with Luke trailing behind. Alex and Haley headed to their rooms first, much to my disappointment.


    ire continued to slice the meat on the cutting board, her movements deliberate and slow. She didn''t respond to Phil''s statement, her face partially obscured by her blonde hair, adding an eerie touch to the scene.


    "Honey?"


    "Mom?"


    Luke and Phil called out, their voices tinged with concern. Phil ced a hand on ire''s shoulder. "Are you mad��OH MY GOD!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"


    On the left side of ire''s face, there appeared to be decaying flesh. I hit the switch to make the lights flicker. Maggots wriggled out from her exposed cheek tendon, and her eye, devoid of skin, greeted Phil cheerfully. "No, honey. I''ve been expecting you toe home soon."


    "AHHHH!"


    "AHHHHHHHH!"


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"


    Luke and Phil alternated their screams, slowly retreating from ire, who held a knife as she advanced toward them. "What''s wrong, honey? You seem pale. Want me to cut you a nice slice of human flesh?"


    She took the raw meat and ced it in her mouth, blood dripping onto her white blouse. Phil screamed in fear and grabbed Luke before fleeing. The girls rushed downstairs upon hearing themotion, their eyes widening at the sight of ire''s grotesque appearance.


    "KYAAHHHH!" Haley shrieked. Alex initially flinched but then curled her lips in disdain. "Calm down, it''s makeup."


    "What?" Hearts pounding, Phil stopped running and scrutinized ire more closely.


    "Aww, you''re no fun," ire remarked, rubbing her bloodied hand on Alex''s face.


    "Ugh! I know you''re hiding someone here! You''re the one who brought the makeup home! Come on out, Ed!" Alex called out with irritation.


    Iughed until my stomach ached, slowly emerging from behind the couch, before standing before the family, met with the betrayed gazes of Luke and Phil.


    "Ahahaha! We did it, ire."


    "Yeah, we scared them good!" ire replied, holding her hand up for a high-five, which I promptly reciprocated.


    "Halloween is one week away!" Haley said with dissatisfaction. "Stop trying to scare people! Gloria almost took out her machete!"


    Iughed as I remembered the time ire and I scared Jay, Gloria and Manny. We scared Mitch and Cam too by imitating the movie the ring, and ire crawling out of the fake tv in disguise.


    "Oh my god. Remember her saliva spitting out." ire said as she burst intoughter. We cackled together under the judgy gazes of everyone else, and when ire approached Phil, he curled up his hands to protect himself and immediately said with a fearful tone, "Maybe after you take off the Zombie makeup so please get that off first."


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    Phil said with a slight distress on his face, "One week ago. Edward came to our house and went looking for ire. He wanted to learn how to celebrate Halloween properly because he never participated before."


    ire smiled gleefully as she heard Phil''s sentence, but fell in disbelief as she heard the continuation. "He reached out to the wrong person."


    [Gloria''smentary]


    She spewed a lot of curses in Spanish before she said, "She''s being a very bad influence to the kid. I can''t believe that they inser...Inserted what?"


    [Jay''smentary]


    "They mechanised a humanoid robot doll, and made it chase us on all fours with its head turned back. It was really the stuff of nightmares. They are banned from the house until after Halloween." Jay said while rubbing his throbbing forehead.


    He continued, "Manny has been sleeping in our room every night since."


    [Mitch and Cam''smentary]


    "When the TV burst, I was holding Lily." Mitchell said. "At that time. All I could think of was to chuck Lily at the ghost, which only made me have 2 nightmares now. One, the ghosting out of the TV. Second, being a very bad father."


    Cam said, "Aww Mitchell. As long as you have self-realization, you can be a better father�C."


    "You fainted Cam! And you fainted while holding me! I couldn''t even run away with our child to get to safety." Mitchell said usingly, which made Cam feel awkward.


    Cam whispered, "That type of dramatic reactions is why I won''t let you hold Lily while we are watching Tv anymore."


    [Alex''smentary]


    "He hasn''t done anything to our friend group yet. But with mom around it was only a matter of time. God, that poor football team." Alex said while shaking her head.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Someone injected a red dye to the shower room water tank. And when the team finished their training and went to shower, they thought that they were bathing in blood. Worse, a corpse... suddenly fell down the ceiling, shocking everyone there! Their shouts filled the entire school. I think one of them even cried."


    [Jacob Greenmentary]


    "Who cried? I surely didn''t...I was not scared out of my mind when my hands were filled with blood. And it definitely isn''t something I keep seeing again and again before I go to sleep." Jacob said with watery eyes. Then, he broke into tears and started sobbing again. "(Uhuk)...Make it stop."


    [Phil''smentary]


    "Both of them are unhinged. ire cannot stop herself. She finally found the one person who LOVED Halloween as much as she did." Phil said worriedly. "I just hope that it won''t escte and they will be arrested for it. But if...IF they WERE to get arrested, Please oh dear god, don''t let theme out until the holiday ends."


    [Commentary ends]


    [Edward POV]


    "Vader? Where are you, girl?" Alex suddenly asked while ire and I wereughing. I looked at her in confusion and said, "She''s at my house. Why would she be here?"


    "Why didn''t you bring her here?!" Alex said disappointedly. I rolled my eyes at her and said, "Vader is already traumatized by you. Try not to feed her so much? She''s gaining weight now!"


    "That''s being fluff! She''s just bing more fluffy!" Alex defended herself.


    Haley smiled and interjected, "Enough about the cat. Mom, Ed, you guys seriously need to stop."


    ire and I looked at each other, smirked, and said ambiguously, "Got it."


    "No. not stop with only pranking us. But with scaring everyone." Haley said.


    "We understand that." ire replied.


    "No! I don''t need you to understand. Promise us that you will stop. I need to hear iting out from your mouth. Say you will stop scaring people right now?"


    "I think I got a call. I''ll be right back." I tried to retreat, but Haley grabbed my sleeves and said, "You''re not going anywhere. Promise me."


    "Geez. Alright Alright. I won''t do it anymore." I said. Before she could be relieved, I winked at her.


    "What is that?"


    "What is what?" I asked, faking confusion.


    "That! You said you wouldn''t do it, but then you winked like you''re still going to!" Alex added.


    "I wasn''t winking." I replied, faking innocence.


    "Don''t lie! Say it again!" Haley said.


    "Hey I said it once." I said as I retreated a few steps. "But you winked!" Haley shouted in annoyance.


    "No, I didn''t wink." I replied. "Vader is calling my name. I need to go home now."


    "VADER IS A CAT! She can''t call your name!" Alex said with annoyance.


    "ire! It went pretty great. So, we''re still on for tomorrow?" I asked for afar before I could get out of the backyard door.


    "Yeah we''re still on for tomorrow." ire replied back.


    "Stop it both of you. For the love of god. Stop!" Luke shouted with emotions.


    [ire and Edward''smentary]


    "We were actually done." ire said with a sly smirk.


    "But they didn''t know that." I said with the same mischievous smile.


    Both of us chuckled as I said, "It''ll be fun to see them squirm as they fearfully tread around."


    "Yeah. Constantly on their toes. Thinking about the bad things that can happen to them every time they go somewhere or when they cannot see us." ire added.


    Edward nodded with respect to her ns and said, "It is a pretty devious n. I am looking forward to seeing it."


    [Commentary ends]


    Two weeks had passed since the breakup, and although my house was no longer swarmed by paparazzi and fans, they hadn''tpletely left me alone.


    As I walked towards my house, I noticed several of my dedicated fans waving at me. Among them were the milder paparazzi, the ones who didn''t bother people too much.


    "Hi, you guys. It''s getting cold outside. Make sure to wear a jacket or a sweater," I said to the girls sitting on the pavement before I went over to my house.


    Over time, I had adapted to the constant attention, and having fans around also had its advantages. Since the incident where the paparazzi had lunged at me while I was recovering at the warehouse after I was kidnapped, my fans had started shielding me from the paparazzi, obstructing their attempts to capture photographs of me.


    Moreover, I had taken measures to further disrupt the paparazzi''s efforts. I began wearing hyper-reflective clothing, such as scarves or jackets, whenever I ventured outside.


    This strategy effectively ruined the paparazzi''s pictures of me, as the intense reflections made it nearly impossible for them to capture usable images. Many of them eventually gave up when they realized they couldn''t make any money with blurry or distorted photos of me.


    These tactics,bined with the support of my loyal fans, created a sense of protection and allowed me some respite from the constant invasion of privacy. A lot of celebrities had reached out to me in efforts to get the clothes for themselves. Right now, I was contemting releasing my own clothing line, but had to postpone it because of my ns with ire.


    Not that we didn''t want to get our pictures taken, but we wanted to keep some events private and intimate. Like getting dinner with your family, or going to the museum.


    "Ah. Don''t forget to check my live session tomorrow." I said to the fans. They squealed and cheered as they heard my words. As I entered the house, my dad who was sitting on the couch automatically raised his hands to guard, "What!? What are you doing now?"


    "Entering the house?" I said with a sly smile. As one of the victims, my dad was also traumatised by the pranks. Everytime I made a sudden move around him, he would flinch and guard himself.


    "Nothing? No items in your hands? You won''t try to tase me and bring me to Mexico?" He asked warily.


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I''m not doing any of that! Ah, should we get Mexican food tonight?"


    "And let you nt eyeballs and worms into my burritos? No thank you! I''ll pick the food!" My dad said before running to his room. As he climbed the stairs, I snickered.


    He stopped instantly and asked, "What? Did you do something in my room now? Should I not enter my room!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY ROOM!?"


    "I didn''t do anything." I said with a shrug. Then, I winked at him.


    He gasped and whispered, "You''re a monster." He turned his direction and rushed outside of the house instead. But he left his car behind.


    "Hmm...I guess he thinks that I had cut the brakes or something." I shrugged while shaking my head and then walked to myb.


    The technology of the drone had been sold to the military for a sum of 30 million dors, although it could have potentially fetched a higher price �C cause who are we kidding? It''s the military.


    However, I had made certain modifications to the technology before finalising the deal.


    When the military realized that it was essentially basic drone technology, they were somewhat disappointed. However, they were unable to cancel the deal since they had been the ones insisting on acquiring it in the first ce. The light refraction technology didn''t really interest them after they knew how it works and it could still be detected from the radar �C which was an aspect I downgraded from the original capabilities.


    The military soon discovered that they couldn''t modify or add weapons to the drone without encountering issues. Any attempts to do so would result in noticeable sounds, eliminating the stealth aspect of the drone.


    Additionally, the battery couldn''t handle heavy payloads, limiting its operational range to within their own territory or a mere 500 metres beyond their territories. They realised that extensive research would be required before they could develop their own lethal drones, so still bought the tech because they have people that could research it for them.


    Despite their disappointment with the drone itself, the military was highly impressed with the codes I had developed to control it. They even offered me an exclusive contract to work as a contractor for them. However, I declined their offer and instead proposed selling them the codes.


    This arrangement provided me with a backdoor entrance to the military''s servers without anyone''s knowledge. It wasn''t that I had any intention of initiating a nuclear apocalypse or anything of the sort. The backdoor ess was merely a precautionary measure to ensure that I would be aware if they ever nned anything against me in the future.


    As I entered the basementb, expecting to find the familiar sight of a clean workspace filled with various equipment, I was instead greeted by the disheartening sight of almost everything being boxed up. Chemicals, hardware, and even the machines I had meticulously crafted were being prepared for relocation.


    "Hmm... I''ll miss this ce," I muttered, feeling a pang of nostalgia for theb that had been my sanctuary for so long. With Robin activated, a blurry picture of a human silhouette appeared next to me,cking a defined face or a steady image for her body.


    "Good evening, Sir. Moving to a newb is now 50%plete," Robin stated in her stoic tone. My project to create JOY-like AI from the de Runner 2049 movie managed to gain some sess, albeit slowly.


    "Hi, Robin," I greeted. "That''s good to hear. In less than a week, I''ll finally be able to leave this ce without any of the public knowing."


    "What are you going to do with the suits, sir?" Robin inquired.


    "Make sure to transfer them in the end. I''m still working on it," I replied, my gaze fixed on the hyper-realistic Batman suit enclosed within a ss panel before me.


    *Batman theme song ying*


    Just kidding. I was only making them for Halloween.


    "It would be great if I could modify my Dodger into a batmobile too." I muttered in contemtion while rubbing my chin.


    "Robin, they areing soon, right?" I asked the AI.


    Robin replied, "Yes. Dr Hofstader ising here. You said ''they''. Did you guess that he wouldn''t being alone?"


    "Yeah I''m sure. That annoying theoretical physicist has never learned about boundaries growing up." I replied nonchntly. "Wait. Maybe I have no boundaries too?" I had a random thought.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the Entertainpany building, Max waszing around on the couch when Harvey and Pepper entered the CEO''s office, startling her.


    "Oh-H-Hey. Hi." Max said while being startled.


    "I told you to stop opening doors dramatically, Pepper." Harvey shook her head disapprovingly.


    "Sorry. I just have a lot of extra energy today." Pepper squealed in excitement.


    "If you have energy, you should go meet Ed." Harvey said. Pepper''s face turned serious and he scolded, "And let him scare me too? I might have a heart attack and die! Or worse, make a fool of myself!"


    "Dying is worse than making a fool out of yourself? Damn you rich people. For us poor people, there is no way that trampling our own dignity is worse than death itself." Max said sarcastically.


    "Enough masquerading as a poor person. You earn a lot now. Especially with the extra side ie you made, reporting Edward''s conditions to a certain someone."


    "Hey! She just wants to know how he is doing? It''s not my fault she wants to give me money to ask for it on her behalf." Max said with an innocent yet mischievous smile.


    "Yeah. A thousand bucks per question. Hell, even I''m jealous." Harvey said with a slight teasing smile. Suddenly, Donna, the hot redhead entered the office.


    "Hi. Am I interrupting you or anything?" Donna said.


    Pepper shook his hand and said, "Not at all. We''re talking about Ed''s reports."


    "Ah the side ie. Any more of that and the IRS will be looking for you soon." Donna teased Max.


    "If they do, then I''ll just change my name again." Max said. All three were a bit confused, and Max added, "What? Do you think Max is my real name?"


    Donna chortled as she already ran a thorough background check on Max. "Oh right. I have 2 things I need to talk about. First, Max, Ed found out that you only have one subject short to get your highschool diploma. The good news is, you can retake the exam. We already called your former teacher and he agreed to it."


    "WHAT?!" Max asked in disbelief.


    Donna said casually, "Yeah. Ed said you needed to get your diploma to get into pastry school. He will cram with you if you want."


    "Knowing him, couldn''t he get me a cheat code or something? Or the actual paper itself?" Max said jokingly, not knowing that Edward could really do that.


    Donna and Harvey shared a nce with each other before Donna said to Max, "He won''t give it to you that easily. Alright. Another thing, this is about Harvey and I."


    "Us? What''s wrong with us?" Harvey asked, confused.


    Donna reached into her purse and took out a thick stack of scripts. She gave it to Harvey and said, "This. We need to talk about this."


    "Suits? Is this the new series Edward said he wanted to do? He even wrote the first episode himself." Harvey said as she started to read the scripts.


    After a while, she muttered in shock, "Wait. Is this series about us?"


    Edward had checked thoroughly, and he didn''t find anyone else other than Harvey and Donna that mimicked the series. Harvey smiled as she continued reading and said, "Great stuff. But who is this Mike guy? And let Edward know if he wants to cast someone to act as me, I should be there."


    Donna smiled and said, "There''s only a script at this time. But I got to say, Edward really knows you well. The Harvey in the script and the one we got in real life are both cocky, unbearable, yet charismatic little pricks."


    "Are you seducing me or insulting me, Donna?" Harvey asked with a chuckle.


    "Wait. I thought Edward made the movie first?" Max asked.


    "Yeah. He had the idea for the movie, John Wick. We will start making that one first after Halloween." Pepper said.


    "Is he acting in it?" Max asked in confusion.


    "Nah...Maybe...We don''t know yet." Pepper replied with hesitation.

 Chapter 224 - 224 : Superhero Origin Story.

    <h4>Chapter 224: Chapter 224 : Superhero Origin Story.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Nyaa! NYAA Nyaa Nyaa Nyaa NYA!" Vader, the little ck cat, meowed angrily as I exited theboratory.


    "I''ve already told you. You can''t go in there. It''s a clean room, and your fur would mess up a lot of the equipment," I said, crouching down to pet Vader on the floor. Despite her continued meowing to express her dissatisfaction, I couldn''t help but smile as I picked her up and carried her to the kitchen.


    "Today, I''ll give you some wet food. Hmm, you''re really gaining weight now. Alex just can''t resist feeding you, even though she''s allergic to cats," I muttered, causing Vader to swat my cheek in protest at myment about her body weight.


    cing a serving of food in her pitch-ck food bowl, Vader eagerly devoured it while I watched her with an affectionate expression. She meowed in satisfaction, as if forgiving me for the earlier incident. I gently petted her head and proceeded to cook for myself, having a hunch that my dad wouldn''t be returning anytime soon.


    "What should I make today?" I muttered to myself as I checked the contents of the fridge.


    "Nyaa," Vader responded, with a few specks of food clinging to the fur around her mouth.


    "Right. I have chicken. Let''s make chicken parmesan," I decided, taking out the chicken and the homemade marinara sauce from the fridge.


    After coating the chicken in batter and frying it until golden brown, I poured a little marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. I added the browned chicken to the pan and spooned some more marinara sauce over the chicken, followed by a generous sprinkle of mozzare and parmesan cheeses.


    I preheated the oven to 450 degrees F and baked the dish for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese was melted and bubbly, and the chicken was cooked through. Once done, I garnished it with freshly chopped basil.


    With a simple ting, I walked to the TV, hit y on the Entertain app hooked on the sma TV�C which was still a prototype and wasn''t released anywhere yet, and watched the show, Malcolm in the Middle.


    10 minutester, Leonard and Sheldon finally arrived. They rang the doorbell, and I put down my empty te at the coffee table before walking towards the door. Robin had automatically paused the story for me, therefore I wasn''t missing anything.


    "Hey Leonard. Come on in." I said cheerfully after I opened the door.


    "Umm..." Leonard fidgeted and said, "I know you saide alone, but..."


    "But you still brought Sheldon with you. Well, I kinda expected this to happen, soe on in too C3PO."


    "I''m Dr Sheldon Cooper. Not C3PO." Sheldon said while entering the house with his roommate. Leonard was visibly ufortable because of Sheldon''s rude behavior and he apologized, "I''m sorry. I did get in the car alone, but he was hiding in the backseat underneath some nkets. I only realized he was here when I got to your neighborhood."


    "Don''t worry about it." I dismissed his concerns.


    "See Leonard. He''s okay with it." Sheldon said smugly.


    "No, don''t get me wrong. I''m okay with Leonard having no idea about it. I''m not that okay with youing here unannounced. I will tattle to your mother about itter tonight."


    "You''re still in contact with my mother?" Sheldon asked, exasperated.


    I smirked and said, "Yeah. Sometimes she would tell me the funniest stories."


    Leonard grinned and asked, "Oh...What kind of stories?" He turned to Sheldon, and was happy to see his friend being in distress.


    "I''ll tell you about themter." I whispered to Leonard, but made it audible for Sheldon to hear. "Come on. It''s in the basement." I led the way.


    Leonard and Sheldon were in awe when they saw me entering the codes to the basementb.


    "You have aboratory under your house?" Leonard asked with disbelief and excitement.


    "For now. There''s nothing yet in the new house." I replied casually as I took a stack of research papers from the table and handed it to Leonard.


    "I only made one copy, so you guys need to share�C Guys?" They were frozen in their spot, and didn''t react to me handing the papers to them. I looked in the direction they were looking to find out why and saw my Batman suit there.


    "Ah. It''s amazing right? I made that for Halloween. It still isn''t finished yet."


    The two nerds, Leonard and Sheldon, were mesmerized by the costume modeled after Batman''s tactical suit from the yet-to-be-released BVS movie. Leonard''s eyes were fixated on the costume behind the ss disy, and he couldn''t contain his excitement. "Look at those muscle lines and the intricacy of it," he eximed.


    "The intimidation factor of the costume, the gadgets on the arm, and oh, look at that tactical belt," Leonard continued. "Ed, are you trying to be Batman?"


    Sheldon snorted dismissively. "How can he be Batman? Not everyone can be Batman."


    "Oh, I could totally be Batman," I corrected Sheldon, who seemed restless upon hearing my statement. It was as if he couldn''t ept the idea. "Pfft, I''m joking. I''m not a billionaire or the world''s greatest detective yet. I haven''t learned anything from martial arts mentors, nor do I have an Alfred."


    "But you do have a Robin, Sir," Robin chimed in, her voice projecting but not her physical presence.


    "What was that?!" Leonard asked in shock.


    "My AI," I casually replied.


    Sheldon grew angry and eximed, "Your... ''AI''? You say it like it''s the most normal thing in the world! Not everyone can have their own artificial intelligence, let alone create one!"


    Sheldon almost got an aneurysm and he started hyperventting.


    "Oh, you can''t do that? I thought since you im to be smarter than anyone else, you could do the same thing. But I guess it was just a baseless im after all," I retorted.


    Sheldon froze, while Leonard burst intoughter. "Alright, dial it back, or he will cry," Leonard said, trying to diffuse the tension. Iughed but I got to say, I was surprised to see Sheldon was still sane. It seemed that he had some epiphany before, and only now responded to Leonard''s ims.


    "I won''t cry!" Sheldon corrected his roommate. He looked me straight in the eye and dered, "If I actually researched it, I''m sure I could create it on my own. I mean, you created it, so how hard can it be?"


    I scoffed and replied, "Sure, try it. Oh, Leonard, please don''t y with that."


    Leonard was messing around with the spiked gauntlet prototype I had left on the table. "Why?" he questioned, but identally pressed a button, causing three metal spikes to shoot out and embed halfway into the wall. Leonard and Sheldon quickly dove for cover, narrowly avoiding the spikes. In the process, the metal spikes cut several wires in the walls. Sparks flew from the exposed ends of the severed wires. The room was briefly illuminated by the flickering sparks, casting an eerie glow across the scene.


    Leonard and Sheldon, who were still in shock, exchanged concerned nces as they watched the sparks dance in the air, while I cut off the power to that part of theb immediately.


    I looked at Leonard in disbelief. Shaken by what he had done, Leonard replied wryly and with an ashen face, "I''ll... pay you back for the damages."


    "Don''t...Don''t worry about it. But next time, please keep your hands to yourself," I replied with a weary tone in my voice. The memory of Luke doing the same thing resurfaced in my mind. "I can''t afford to have this happen for a third time."


    As I went to check on the damages, Sheldon whispered to his roommate, "Leonard. Are you thinking what I''m thinking?"


    "With his money, his brain, his muscles?...We are witnessing a Superhero Origin story." Leonard whispered back.


    Sheldon nodded with a huge grin before he fell into contemtion, "But...He still has his dad...Should we hire someone to shoot him in an alley?"


    Leonard turned to Sheldon, face filled with disbelief, "You wanna kill his dad?!"


    "I don''t want to. But it is necessary for us to get him out of the way. Only then can he achieve his full potential." Sheldon said with a serious tone.


    Leonard was bbergasted and he scolded, "You''re not ORPHANING him just because you want to SEE a superhero in REAL LIFE!"


    ...


    In the living room, Sheldon and Leonard eagerly read through the research papers I had written, their reactions ranging from exmations of surprise to moments of realisation.


    "Why?!" Sheldon eximed, his eyes scanning the pages. Then, he turned to another section and muttered, "Oh, that''s why."


    "Edward, this is truly remarkable," Leonard remarked, his excitement palpable. "Your research is incredibly advanced, surpassing even the caliber of work done at Caltech. But why don''t you want to publish it?"


    I shrugged, a hint of weariness in my voice. "I simply don''t want any more attention on me at the moment."


    Leonard''s face lit up as he passionately argued his point. "But Edward, this research has the potential to revolutionisemunication technology, ushering in an entirely new generation of quantum channels. This could be considered one of the greatest scientific advancements of our era! If you were to share it with the world, you''d be a strong contender for a Nobel Prize!"


    A wry smile yed on my lips as I responded, "That''s precisely why I''m not releasing it just yet. Besides, there''s also a financial aspect to consider. Keeping it as intellectual property...will allow me to capitalize on its potential. Perhaps in a decade or two, once I''ve achieved a monopoly over the globalmunication sector, I will consider sharing it."


    Sheldon''s expression turned skeptical, his arms folding across his chest. "Withholding such groundbreaking research for personal gain goes against the principles of scientific progress and knowledge dissemination."


    I nodded, acknowledging his perspective. "I understand your concern, Sheldon. Ideally, science should be driven purely by curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. However, that''s not how the real world works."


    Sheldon''s eyes flickered while Leonard became solemn.


    "The real world often introduces.... Practical...and political... considerations. Mizing the research can provide me safety for the time being."


    "Besides, I have no obligation to share my research with the world," I continued, my tone firm. "I''m not bound by contracts with major academic institutions. I''ve done all of this on my own. Why shouldn''t I be able to profit from my <strong><i>own </i></strong>invention?"


    Leonard countered, his voice filled with conviction, "It''s not as if you can''t make money from it after you publish it."


    I raised an eyebrow, looking at him incredulously. "Really, Leonard? I''m just a normal kid��"


    "Pfft, normal," Sheldon interjected with a jealous scoff.


    I shot him a re before continuing, "I''m just a normal kid trying to make a breakthrough in an industry that is dominated by giants. Consider this: if I release the paper, mypetitors will see it and quickly build their own towers. They already have arger database due to years of experience. So, why would people switch to my service if their current provider offers the same thing?"


    Sheldon nodded in agreement and replied with a defeated tone, "The market dynamics AREplex. It''s not simply a matter of introducing a new technology. Convincing consumers to abandon established providers and switch to a rtively unknown one requires a significant value proposition. You''re right. Yourpany will be an obscure one if you release it."


    "But, you''re pretty famous. Can''t that be a factor for them to change their decisions?" Leonard asked, still not giving up.


    I shook my head and said, "Precisely that. I am pretty famous. But, it''s in the music industry. I have no voice yet in the scientificmunity."


    "So that''s why you called me here today?" Leonard asked.


    "Yes. I won''t publish about the quantum channels, but I can publish about the quantum vortices and other by-products. You know, slowly build my name and credibility in themunity."


    (A/N: Enough with the science stuff! )


    Vader jumped on myp at this time while hissing at the two guests. Leonard was startled but Sheldon didn''t react much.


    "Vader. We''re not fighting." I said as I cated the kitten. Vader eyes the duo warily, but I continued rubbing her chin, she purred in contentment instead.


    "You named her Vader?" Sheldon asked in astonishment.


    I smiled and said, "Yup. That''s the only name she''ll ept. Oh I was being rude. Do you guys want to drink while you read? I also have chicken pata if you haven''t had dinner yet."


    "We are famished." Sheldon said. "But, I don''t know if I want to eat chicken pata. Saturday night is Chinese food night. I don''t want to eat Italian on a Chinese food night." Sheldon whined.


    "I''ll take a te." Leonard agreed without reservations.


    While Leonard was eating, I asked while slowly stroking Vader''s fur, "Oh right Leonard. Have you and Penny kissed yet?"


    Leonard coughed his food out, and hurriedly grabbed the water bottle I had prepared for him. Sheldon, who was also eating the chicken pata with spaghetti, was stunned when he saw it.


    "What''s wrong with you? He''s only asking a question." Sheldon scolded. "Besides, it is an easy question. Not shocking enough for you to have that reaction. No. he hasn''t kissed her yet. Otherwise he will not shut up about it." He added.


    Leonard shot a re at his roommate before asking me, "Why did you ask that?"


    "Just because. You guys have lived next to each other for a while now. And I know that you like her. So why haven''t you ask her out?"


    "He did. Penny said she didn''t see him as a potential mate." Sheldon replied.


    "SHELDON!" Leonard shouted exasperatingly before covering his forehead and lowering his face in embarrassment.


    "Oh too bad." I said with a pitiful expression. "You know mypany is going to start making movies, right?"


    Leonard and Sheldon nodded at the same time. I continued, "So Leonard, you don''t have a lot of time left. I''ll let her audition, and because she has a great rtionship with me, she can be easily casted. If that happens, she''ll move away from your next door apartment, I guarantee it."


    Leonard gasped and eximed, "Noo."


    ...


    After sending the depressed scientist and the annoying theoretical physicist away, I continued watching the show Malcolm in the Middle before I suddenly received a phone call.


    "Wait. Hudgens? Why is she calling me?" I looked at the caller ID before picking up the call.


    "What type of person will I be when I smoke blunt with Vanessa Hudgen? Mellow!" I greeted cheerfully.


    "Mellow?" Vanessa asked, her voice slurring. "Who is this?"


    I was confused, "You called me."


    "Huh? I don''t get it." She said, then she cut off the call.


    "???" I was puzzled as I heard the dial tone. Then, I asked Robin, "Why the hell did she even call me?"


    Robin said, "I''ll find out."


    "No. It''s a rhetorical question." I said. My dad returned home at the time, bringing some Mexican food with him. "Wait. I smell marinara...Did you already ate?" He asked with a disappointed expression.


    "What do you think? It''s been 2 and a half hours since you ran away." I replied with annoyance.


    He ced down the bags of food and asked, "Did you keep one for me?"


    "In the oven." I replied casually. But then, I saw him still standing there. "What''s wrong with you now?" I asked with irritation.


    "Can you get it for me?" He asked pitifully.


    "I didn''t do anything to it!" I eximed, annoyance evident in my voice.


    Suddenly, Robin chimed in, "Sir, I found Mrs. Hudgens, and I believe intervention is necessary." Despite not explicitly telling her to stop, she continued gathering information.


    "Huh?" I responded, confused by Robin''s sudden remark.


    "I''m not going to intervene. I''m not particrly close to her, so her situation doesn''t outweigh the effort it would take for me to go out of my way and help her. Let her handle it herself," I exined with frustration as I plopped down on the sofa, crossing my arms in front of me.


    Just then, my dad returned with a te of food and overheard our conversation. He asked, "Help who? Handle what?"


    Robin swiftly provided an exnation, "Mrs. Hudgen is currently intoxicated at a party. She''s being surrounded by a few individuals with past criminal records, and I believe she is in a dangerous situation."


    My dad''s expression turned concerned, and before he could say anything, I had a change of heart upon hearing about Vanessa''s predicament for the second time.


    "Damn it! I promised myself not to get into this type of shit again. Robin, give me her location!"


    My dad smiled softly and said, "I''ll go with you."


    After pausing and exchanging a nod with my dad, we quickly made our way to his sedan and drove towards the house party in West Hollywood.


    With a resounding BOOM, I kicked down the main door of the house, creating a suddenmotion that startled the guests inside.


    The room was filled with wannabe white rappers brandishing guns and unting face tattoos, along with a few menacing gangsters, a drug dealer, and several tattooed women scantily d and seemingly under the control of the gangsters. Among them all, I spotted Vanessa, unconscious on the sofa with froth at the corner of her mouth, some powder on her nose, and a pill bottle in her grip.


    "She''s OD-ing," I immediately recognized the gravity of her condition.


    One of the white rappers, attempting to assert dominance, aimed a gun at my head and shouted, "Hey! Bitch! You broke my door!" I quickly disarmed him, skillfully dismantling the weapon before his eyes. I had learned how to dismantle guns from Glen, who insisted on teaching me after my kidnapping incident. To be honest, I was only doing this to show off because there was no chance at all for them to attack.


    Not only that, but I had picked up various skills from the crew members, including how to break handcuffs and pick locks. While I hadn''t mastered all of them, it was enough to intimidate those who were clueless. The bullets dropped to the ground one by one, capturing the attention of everyone in the room.


    A ck rapper, filled with hostility, menacingly asked, "Who''s this motherfucker?"


    Before anyone could respond, a woman in the room recognized me and eximed, "Wait. That''s Newgate."


    Without hesitation, I walked straight toward Vanessa, carefully lifting her unconscious body onto my shoulder. The gangsters in the room began to surround me and my dad, their intentions unclear.


    With a cold re, I challenged them, asking, "Are you guys going to stop me?"


    One of the gangsters chuckled and retorted, "I don''t mind letting you go, but leave the girl behind. She owes us a lot of money for the lines she did."


    I inquired, "How much?"


    "20 million dors!" the drug dealer proimed, seemingly intoxicated. I chuckled and said, "Don''t try to bullshit me."


    "I swear to God! She owes us 30 million dors!" the drug dealer insisted.


    "This is going nowhere," I stated casually, shaking my head.


    Suddenly, the gangsters froze as they noticed a sniperser light aimed directly at their hearts and foreheads.


    "What the--" the drug dealer eximed in shock, unable to take another step due to fear.


    "Do you really think I came here without any backup?" I said with a cold tone, causing goosebumps to rise on everyone in the room. The entire mansion was surrounded by the ship''s crew members.


    Dwayne entered the door and apprehended two wannabe white rappers who were nearly paralyzed with fear upon seeing him. Glen aimed his gun at the gangsters'' heads, while Dina ced her army knife against the drug dealer''s neck. After getting everyone, theser light from my silent drone disappeared, but those who were reduced still thought that they were still being surrounded.


    "Everyone, down on the floor right now, or else you''ll die," my dadmanded with a chilling tone.


    "Ed, go. She needs to go to the hospital," Dwayne instructed.


    "I know. Dad, let''s go."


    We hurried into the car, and after I unceremoniously ced Vanessa in the backseat, I opened the hood and retrieved a stomach pump.


    "What''s that?" my dad asked.


    "A stomach pump. I don''t know how much time she has. It''s better to purge everything now," I exined.


    "Inside the car?" my dad inquired hesitantly. I smirked at him as I inserted the pump into Vanessa''s oesophagus.


    "Dirty seats or a dead girl in your backseat? Which one do you choose?" I asked urgently.


    "Fine," he replied in resignation.


    The pump worked efficiently, and Vanessa began to vomit all over the backseat of the car. Sshes of fluidsnded on my shirt and face. I sighed and muttered, "What did I do to deserve this?"

 Chapter 225: Person with Flaw (1)

    <h4>Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Person with w (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Haley couldn''t believe what she was hearing. It was well past midnight when Edward called her, urging her toe over to his new house. She twirled her hair yfully and responded, "Hmm~ I don''t know if I want to go. Unless... you have something for me there that could convince me to change my mind?"


    Edward muttered with a hint of mystery, "Oh, I have something ''big'' here that will surely change your mind. You''ll surely love it."


    Haley giggled and agreed, "Alright. I''lle. I''ll ask Tara to drive me."


    Edward tried to persuade her, saying, "Are you sure? I can ask my driver toe and get you. That way, Tara won''t feel the need to stick around."


    Considering his offer, Haley nodded, "That''s true. Alright. I''ll sneak out tonight."


    Confused by Haley''s n, Edward questioned, "Why are you sneaking out? Just tell your mom I need you here to help me with something. She''ll be okay with it."


    Haley was astonished by Edward''s suggestion, "Really? My mom? Are we talking about the same person?"


    Edward insisted, "Yes, I''m sure of it. If you want, I can even text her to ask her for you�C"


    Horrified, Haley interjected quickly, "NOO!" Her shriek woke up Alex, who had been sleeping. Alex groggilyined, "Can you keep it down? I have a big test tomorrow."


    Ignoring Alex''s protest, Haley opened the bedroom door, nning to get ready, and warned Edward, "Don''t text my mom�C"


    ire, wearing her pajamas, appeared in the doorway and asked, "Tell me what?" Haley froze upon seeing her mom, identally blurting out, "I''m going to Ed''s new house?"


    ire couldn''t believe what she was hearing and eximed, "WHAT?! You''re not going anywhere in the middle of the night! And definitely not to a boy''s house!"


    ire''s anger was palpable as she snatched the phone callously from Haley''s hand. "There''s nothing he can say to change my mind," she dered angrily, speaking directly into the phone.


    Haley anxiously waited, her heart pounding, as Edward conversed with her mother. To her surprise, ire''s stern expression softened, and she inquired, "Are you sure you only need Haley there?"


    Haley''s astonishment grew as she listened to her mother''s changed tone in dealing with Edward. "Alright. I get it. I''ll wait for the driver with her," ire eventually conceded.


    Haley couldn''t contain her shock any longer. "What?! What just happened?!" she eximed, her eyes wide with disbelief as ire handed the phone back to her. Haley hastily pressed it against her ear and demanded, "What did you say to my mother?"


    Edward''s voice remained casual as he responded, "The truth. She''s fine with it."


    While Haley and Edward conversed, ire descended the stairs to retrieve a bag from the closet. Overwhelmed by the situation, Haley couldn''t help but question her mother''s sudden eagerness to let her go. "Did she sell me something? Why is she so eager to let me go?" she asked, her disbelief evident in her voice as her entire worldview began to crumble.


    Haley attempted to inject some levity into the situation, jokingly saying, "You know, my mom giving consent suddenly made me feel repulsed by you. I''m not going to go now. I''m only going if she hates you."


    Edward, caught off guard by Haley''s response, urged her, "What are you even talking about? Juste." He cuts the call, which made Haley badger her mother.


    "MOM! Are you seriously letting me go? Me, your pretty teenage daughter, to a boy''s house in the middle of the night? Are you out of your mind?"


    "Why are you even angry at me? You were going to sneak up anyway, right?" ire asked, which made Haley feel taken aback.


    "Still. You being okay with this is taking off the fun in all of it." Haley eximed as ire shoved an empty bag at her. "Go pick your clothes. Now."


    "Mom! Are you really going CRAZY!" Haley scolded in astonishment.


    ...


    Haley arrived at Edward''s new house with exhaustion and said, "This is not what I expected when I agreed toe here today." Edward smirked and said, "Whatcha thinking Perv?"


    In front of them was an unconscious girl lying down on the bed with an IV drip hooked up on her hand. Edward continued wiping his wet hair with a towel while wearing a towel robe as he asked Haley for a favor, "Can you help me change her clothes? I had already cleaned her up a bit."


    "Oh. That''s why you called me here. Alright, I''ll do that." Haley said, finally figuring it all out together.


    "Yeah, I told your mom about it too, and asked if she wants to do it, but I guess she didn''t say that to you?" Edward asked with a teasing smile.


    Instead of going to the doctor and finding himself in the midst of another scandal, Edward took the OD''d girl home after having her stomach pumped and invited a doctor to take a look at her. Harvey was the one who introduced the doctor�C Dr Aaron ssman, to Edward, therefore he could be trusted.


    Edward then gave a pair of scissors to Haley and said, "Here. if it''s too difficult to get her out of those."


    Haley rushed towards her and said, "Sorry. I got too into it."


    "Aren''t you afraid she''s going to sue you for this?" Haley asked.


    "Really? Sue me? I don''t think she will do that. If she''d ever want to keep what happened today underwraps." Edward said disdainfully as he looked at Vanessa before moving away to give the girls some privacy.


    After changing Vanessa''s clothes, Haley walked to the poolside where Edward was sitting on the pool chair and sipping some drinks.


    "Want some cocktails? It''s non-alcoholic though. My dad hadn''t bought any since he got diagnosed, so I can''t steal them anymore."


    "Sure. By the way, aren''t you going to give me a tour of your house? It''s my first time here." Haley said teasingly as she admired the house. "As expected of a realtor''s daughter. Alright, we''re going to start the tour of Edward Newgate''s new house. Form a line please, it''s easy to get lost in here. I should know, I speak from experience."


    Haley giggled at Edward''sme joke and said, "Aye-Aye Captain."


    "Over here, we can see the pool. It''s not much, but at the very least, it wasn''t shaped like a male phallic system. It is the most important consideration for me as to not live in a house like that. By the way, you''d be surprised at how many houses your dad showed me that have pools that look like that."


    "How many?" Haley asked in curiosity.


    "5 in this area alone. And I only looked at 6 houses here. The richies here have an obsession with that shape, or maybe they were ovepensating. Anyway, I am d now it only has an irregr shape."


    This two-story architectural masterpiece boasts a modern design, offering breathtaking views of the ocean from its perch near a cliff. (Mitchell''s boss house) The pool, positioned on the side of the house, provides a tranquil oasis for rxation and overlooks the vast expanse of the shimmering water.


    "As you approach the property, a circr driveway wees you. At the center of the driveway is a unique circr prop that can rotate cars on their own, so you don''t have to worry about making a U-turn here by yourself. Or worse, reversing your car through the gate." Edward said with a shudder as he looked at Haley, "Remember that when you got your driver''s license...If you''re ever going to pass the test."


    "Hey! I won''t fail again!" Haley protested. She already failed to get her license one time.


    The house features a spacious garage capable of amodating three cars, with additional parking avable in front of the house. The driveway is separate from neighboring properties, ensuring privacy and convenience to the people Edward wanted to invite and himself. The whole ce was inside a guarded neighborhood, so the security there was impable.


    "Now that we have seen the outside, let''s take a look on the inside." Edward said.


    Inside, the house offers ample space with nine bedrooms and seven bathrooms. Haley bounced lightly at the sofa in the open space living room while asking in astonishment, "This ce is so big! Bigger than my grandpa''s ce."


    "Yeah. I got a great deal on it too. It is 30 percent lower than the market price, thanks to your dad finding out that a few murders had happened in this ce before."


    Haley quickly grabbed Edward''s arm and whispered, "Murder... Are-Aren''t...you afraid...this ce is haunted?"


    "Don''t worry. I had already sic-ed Sage inside this ce. There are no ghosts dawdling around. Or at the very least, the ones inside won''t bother human beings."


    Haley tightened her grip on Edward''s arm and asked usingly, "You...didn''t just buy this house because you wanted to meet some ghost...right?"


    "No. But the cute reaction of girls being scared when I told them about it made it all worth it." Edward flirted, which made Haley blush. Their sweetness could make even the ghost in the house cringe�C if there ever was one.


    "And now. The most important part of the house. The kitchen." Edward dered excitedly.


    Haley giggled and said, "Why are you so excited about the kitchen? You''re like a housewife."


    "Please call me a househusband. And yes, I am excited about it. This giant oven that can cook 3 turkeys at the same time!" Edward posed by the oven before moving on to the stove, "6 stove!"


    "Giant sink! Giant fridge. A separate fridge just for deserts! And the most important thing! I CAN LOCK IT!" Edward yed with the lock on the desert fridge beforeughing maniacally.


    Haley burst intoughter and eximed, "You''re so funny! Are this countermeasures against my brother?"


    "Of course. Now, let''s move on."


    "Wait. I have a question." Haley suddenly raised her arms up.


    "Yes, the cutie in the front." Edward acted as if he was a tour guide and called her out specifically. Haley grinned and said, "My question,...Hmm, I don''t know how to word this properly."


    "Just ask." Edward said casually.


    "Well...You include Luke in your nning. So, does that mean...It''s a long term nning. Like, you n to be friends with my family for a really long time?"


    Edward smiled and said, "Your family is the greatest family I''ve ever met, so yes. I really do want to stay close to them."


    Conflicted thoughts shed on Haley''s eyes before she shook them off and continued smiling. "Alright. I''m done with my questions sir."


    "The artist''s house also includes a dedicated gym, so he could maintain his perfectly sculpted muscles." Edward said as they entered the gym.


    Haley could see the deck and the patio door beside the gym, and asked, "If we''re in the day, you can see the ocean here. Right?"


    "Correct. That''s why the treadmill is facing that way." Edward said.


    "Won''t it be better just to run along the beach?" Haley said.


    Edward was stunned for a bit before he said, "No. I don''t want to do that. There''s a lot of sand there. I don''t like sand very much. It''s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is soft and smooth.. "


    Haley giggled and said, "Yes. I remember that Anakin."


    Additionally, a basement has been transformed into a fully equippedboratory, serving as a private sanctuary for Edward.


    "Go to sleep. The driver will send you to school in the morning." Edward said as he let out a yawn.


    Haley was bbergasted and asked, "You''re noting to school again. Will you ever?"


    "Maybe in the next few days. You know, after I confirmed that this thing with Vanessa didn''t blow up." Edward replied.


    Haley suddenly patted Edward who was a lot taller than she was and said, "You poor poor boy."


    "Hey don''t curse me! I''m still rich right now!"


    Robin suddenly chimed in after being silent for a long time, "But your finances are in the red sir. You have too many projects lined up."


    "Oh HI ROBIN!" Haley greeted the AI cheerfully even though she couldn''t see her.


    "I realised that Robin. I am stopping now aren''t I?" Edward said with a defeated tone. The finances however, didn''t include the loans or investments that he could get. Despite being able to do that, Ed wanted to lessen the third party involvement in his future projects, especially the part where he wanted to keep the creativity and lore, rather than pushing for propaganda.


    "You''re not really stopping." Robin exposed him, which made him flinch a bit. "By the way sir, you told me to inform you when Mrs Hudgens woke up."


    "Oh, let''s go meet her then." Edward said with a bit of anger in his tone.


    "Uh-Oh, this doesn''t look good." Haley said as she quickly followed Edward from behind. "Oh yeah, you still haven''t told me how she got here."


    "I''ll tell you now. So there I was, minding my own business...And then, I suddenly received a call out of knowhere!" Edward then narrated the events that lead to Vanessa being at his house.


    ...


    As Edward and Haley entered the room, they saw Vanessa sitting on the bed with a nk look on her face. She was wearing a blue blouse and her legs were covered by the white nket. Haley helped her tie her hair into a side ponytail, which made Edward have a thoughtparing her to the anime mom''s that would die so that the main character could have character development in the beginning of the storyline.


    "Umm...I wasn''t wearing this." Vanessa said as she saw the duo. Her head was cloudy, and there was a lot of this she was confused by.


    "Oh, I''m sorry. I had to change your clothes. They were really smelly�C"


    "Don''t apologize to her. She deserved it from acting really stupid . Do you even remember what you were doing before this?" Edward interrupted and asked scathingly.


    "Huh? What was I doing?" Vanessa mumbled in shock before everything finally came back to her. Her eyes darted around as she asked with a slow pace, "Wait. How am I... with you right now?"


    "You called me, all drunk and high. If I decided to ignore you, you might still be at the mercy of those gangsters and drug dealers right now. Who knows, maybe they''d auctioned you off to the highest bidder, or grab a number to get a turn with you. That is, if you weren''t dead already by then." Edward said mercilessly.


    Vanessa''s memories slowly turned clear, and her already pale face turned ashen. "S-So what? Why are you angry with me? I didn''t even ask you toe save me!"


    Vein popped on Edward''s forehead as his anger rose. Haley saw it and said, "Oh, right. Edward. You should go to sleep. I''ll take over for now. You did ask me toe to take care of her."


    "I...Wait, you''re going to?" Edward almost rejected her offer before he realized, "Great. Then I don''t have to bother. Ask her to call someone to pick her up. I''ll go to sleep now."


    Edward walked away easily, leaving behind the two simr looking girls alone in the room.


    "What''s with him?! Why does he even interfere if he doesn''t know anything?!" Vanessa said frustratingly with some anger. However, she couldn''t raise her voice because her body was still weak.


    Haley looked at her with a stoic expression and asked, "Say, should he really know anything first before hees by to get you out of there?"


    "What?" Confused, Vanessa scrunched her face in disbelief, trying toprehend Haley''s statement. Haley smiled and walked towards her before helping her fix the pillow on her back, giving her support as she was sitting up on the bed.


    "He knew you were in trouble, and he came by to help. You really don''t remember what happened don''t you?"


    "I remember going to a party. My friend�C"


    "Is she really your friend?" Haley asked.


    Vanessa paused for a bit before saying, "No. She''s just some girl I know. I...You know, buy some weed from her once in a while. She told me about the party, how I can just do whatever I want. So I went there."


    Haley sat on the edge of the bed and said, "And?"


    Vanessa recollected her memories for a bit and said, "Then...We met some guys. I did a couple of things they gave me, and they started pushing me to do more."


    "And, you called him by ident." Haley exined after Vanessa had a hard time trying to piece out how Edward factor into all of it.


    "That''s it?" Vanessa was in disbelief.


    "Yeah. That''s it. I don''t know what you said to him on the call, but he went there to save you after that. You have an overdose, and you could''ve died."


    "So, he''s mad at me because I put him in trouble?" Vanessa asked guiltily.


    But to her surprise, Haley answered casually, "Oh not at all. Those guys were all arrested, and Edward called the DEA there, so they won''t bother you again."


    "Oh... Then, why is he mad at me for?" Vanessa asked, confused.


    Haley thought about it and said seriously, "I think...He''s mad at you because you..."


    "I...What?" Vanessa asked with agitation as Haley paused for too long.


    "You...bothered him on the nights he had a lot of work to do." Haley said, fully confident in her guess.


    Vanessa was stunned, and after a while, she looked at Haley seriously and said, "That''s it?!"


    "He''s surprisingly simple in that way." Haley said while nodding.


    Edward suddenly sneezed while lying down on his bed in his room. The girls continued their conversations. Haley asked, "Anyway, do you have someone toe pick you up?"


    Vanessa gripped the nket tightly and replied with a shaky voice, "No...I don''t have anyone to call..."


    "Not even your parents?" Haley asked again while slowly stroking Vanessa''s arm tofort her.


    "They are out of the country right now." Vanessa replied.


    "Don''t you have a boyfriend or something?" Haley asked.


    Vanessa''s eyes turned red and she burst into tears while hugging Haley, "We broke up! HE CHEATED ON ME!"


    "What? THAT BITCH!" Haley was shocked and both girls got into talking for a while. Mostly Vanessa was talking because she didn''t have anyone else to talk to. Why?


    "He cheated on you with your best friend?!" Haley asked in shock. "Both of them are assholes!"


    They talked for an entire night, and without Haley realizing it, the sun had already risen.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I was lying down with my eyes closed, I groaned and said, "Why me?"


    It was a lonely night today without Vader sleeping on the same bed. Although Haley was here, I was keeping my distance with her after Taylor and I were over. It wasn''t that I was dumb and couldn''t get Haley''s hint.


    Why was I so angry about Vanessa calling me? I wonder why too?


    It could be because I had experienced the exact same thing with a little sister I had in my previous life. We weren''t rted, but she was the same as I was. We didn''t get adopted till we reached adulthood and were kicked out of the foster home to the streets.


    To watch her OD''ing and die after I stopped getting in touch with her during my time at the army was one of my biggest regrets in life. If she had called me that day. Would she still be alive now? Watching Vanessa put herself in the same situation as my sister was bothering me greatly.


    Maybe I was angry because I kept getting into the same old pattern again. Getting into trouble for the sake of others, but ignoring the cry for help of my own.


    Or maybe it was her unrepentant behaviour after waking. She almost died, and she didn''t even care about it.


    Do I regret saving Vanessa? No, not at all. If the same thing happened again I would do the entire thing all over again. So I don''t even know why I was angry. Or maybe I was anxious? I should really talk to Linda soon. Dad said she had helped him a lot.


    "I guess I don''t really know why I am angry right now." I said as I activated my [Rest] skill to fall asleep. Even with the skill activated, I was sure that tonight won''t be a peaceful night.


    ''Maybe it is haunted. My mind I mean. Not the house.''

 Chapter 226: Person with a Flaw (2)

    <h4>Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Person with a w (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    As the sun rose, the true beauty of the vi by the sea cliff was finally unveiled. The shimmering sea mirrored the breathtaking view, entuating the pristine white exterior walls and the small garden surrounding the house.


    However, all of this went without my witness. Inside the room, My stomach was growling when I woke up in the morning with disappointment.


    "There''s nothing here..." I mumbled as I recounted my memory and found out that there was nothing inside the fridge.


    Slowly, I slid down the mattress, wore a slipper, and went to the dryer to get yesterday''s clothes. I had already cleaned it all up and wore them again before wearing a gray hoodie too.


    Just as I was preparing to leave, Haley, still groggy, stumbled into the living room and blocked my path.


    "Where are you going?" she asked with a yawn, her hair disheveled.


    I smiled and replied, "I''m going to the store to get some food."


    Her sleepiness vanished instantly, and her face lit up. "I want to go too!"


    "What about school? Your mom will be upset if you don''t go," I said, trying to reason with her. Haley then held a finger to my face and called out, "Hold on a moment. Robin, can you assist me?"


    "Hello, Miss Haley. How can I help you?" Robin responded.


    "y the sounds of a school hallway and make it so that the bell will ring in 2 minutes," Haley instructed.


    "What are you... Oh, that''s pretty impressive," I said with amazement as I crossed my arms and leaned sideways on the wall.


    Haley smirked and then called her mother. ire picked it up instantly and reprimanded, "Haley! I''ve Been CALLING YOU FOR AN HOUR! Are you at school yet?! OR did you y hooky again?"


    Haley rolled her eyes in a way that impressed me and retorted, "Of course, I''m ying hooky, Mom! I''m at the mall with Ed! I didn''t even put my books in my locker."


    She hinted at me with her eyes, and I helped out, "Robin, insert the sound of the locker closing."


    *Ker-m!* Robin yed the sound, which made ire hesitate as she heard it. With the sounds of students chattering and the lockers sound, ire was already slightly convinced that Haley was at school.


    "Why haven''t you answered your phone, then?" ire asked with a calmer tone, still suspicious.


    "It was on silent mode. I put it there when I was taking care of Vanessa. And by the way, Ed told me he asked you toe, but you tricked me into doing it instead!"


    "Oh, honey, I have to go. I need to speak with Luke''s teacher. Love you, sweetie. Bye!" ire replied dismissively and abruptly ended the call after being called out.


    Haley smirked triumphantly, looking at me as if to ask, "How was my performance? Can I win an Oscar yet?"


    "Perhaps not just yet, but I have no doubt that you''ll win one in a few years," I chuckled, before adding, "I''m still unsure whether I should bring you along. I''m not sure how the media will react afterst night''s event."


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "No one will be at the supermarket on a Monday morning except for the unemployed and the few oddballs!"


    "What about moms trying to catch up on groceries after finally sending their children to school?" I questioned.


    Haley paused to think and then replied, "Rx! They might be there... But if they''re anything like my mom, they''ll probably go home and open a bottle of wine to rx before going grocery shopping just in time to pick up their kids. "


    "Let''s hope they''re all like ire then," I said with a defeated tone, knowing that it would be difficult for me to ask Haley not toe along.


    As we made our way to the car, she smiled and bounced along behind me. My dad''s car had been sent for professional cleaning, and since the Ford Dodger convertible was already a part of my identity, there was a ck minivan parked in the garage that I had purchased for the purpose of going incognito when needed.


    Haley yfully teased, "Some~!" as we both entered the car, leaving me momentarily bewildered. Herughter filled the air, and together we embarked on a short drive to the nearest supermarket, just three miles away.


    As I parked the car, Haley jokingly asked, "What are you buying? Do you want this older sister to buy it for you?" I chuckled, finding her humor amusing, and replied, "Sure. How much money do you have?"


    But Haley quickly backtracked, eximing, "No! I take it back! You have WAYYY more money than I do!"


    I yfully protested, "No take backs!" to which she cleverly pointed out, "You didn''t say ''No take backs'' before I took it back, so it doesn''t count!"


    Unfazed, I challenged her, speaking with a hint of mischief, "What about your older woman''s pride? I''m just a cute, helpless little boy. You should take responsibility for me."


    Haley couldn''t believe her ears, responding in disbelief, "Cute? Helpless? You''re the richest boy on the! Robin! How much money did he make from the beginning of his career until now?!"


    I nced at Robin, remaining silent, and with a teasing nce at Haley, I remarked, "She will not divulge my personal information unless she has my permission." Haley grumbled in frustration, and I couldn''t help butugh. To conceal my identity, I yfully hid my face with a baseball cap and pulled up the hoodie.


    Amidst our banter, we entered the sparsely visited store and headed straight to the fresh produce section. I picked up a few pumpkins and cucumbers, while Haley surprised me by grabbing some jelly beans. I questioned her, "Wait, jelly beans? Where did you even get those?"


    Haley pointed to the candy containers nearby and eximed, "There! Let''s go pick some out!" Initially reluctant, I found myself unable to resist her enthusiasm as she started putting the candy in the bag. I pushed the trolley towards her and yfully intervened, "Hey�C Don''t get the c ones. And no need for more marshmallows! You already have a bag full!"


    Unbeknownst to us, our yful interaction caught the attention of some housewives nearby. Instead of recognizing me, they smiled kindly and whispered amongst themselves, "They must be newlyweds." Another housewife remarked, "Look at them, so excited at the beginning of their marriage." Yet another, slightly pessimistic, housewife added, "They must still be in their honeymoon phase. Wait until she knows what he is really like."


    The other two housewives turned to the pessimistic ones before slightly patting her pitifully on the shoulder.


    With our candy selectionplete, we ced over ten different variations into our trolley, satisfying both of our sweet tooth cravings. Haley, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, suggested, "We need to get chips too!" Attempting to steer us back on track, I intervened, "Wait! We need actual food! We''ll get chips when we reach the snack aisle!"


    Excitement brimming in her voice, Haley asked, "What other things do you need?" Catching her infectious enthusiasm, I replied with equal excitement, "I need towels, soap, face wash, and shampoos." Spotting a knife set nearby, Haley grabbed it and inquired, "Do you need some knives?"


    "Oh, I think I do. Grab the stainless steel ones." I replied.


    She wore a giant sun hat and said, "We need this too, right? OH, and these sunsses!" She gleefully wore a white frame big sunsses before pulling her hat brim down and posing. Iughed and said, "Well I am living right next to the beach. So why not?"


    "Great. Let''s pick one out for you too!" She said before she ced a gaudy looking fedora on my head, on top of my baseball hat, and thenughed.


    We began filling the trolley with various items, and before long, one trolley was already packed to the brim. Recognizing the need for another, I remarked, "We need another one. We haven''t even reached the snack aisle yet."


    Haley, munching on some shoplifted jelly beans she had sneakily stashed in her pockets, nonchntly dered, "I''ll let the staff bring this to the cashier."


    An elderly staff member kindly offered assistance as we went to retrieve another trolley. To my surprise, Haley climbed inside the empty trolley and sat there, leaving me puzzled. Sensing my confusion, she exined, "I''m toozy to walk back over there. Onwards, my chariot!"


    Amused by her yful deration, I teased, "A chariot needs to be pulled from the front. This is a rickshaw at best. Or.... you can call it by its own name."


    Haley, undeterred, proimed cheerfully, "Onwards, my trolley!" Ourughter filled the supermarket aisles as I eximed, "Hold on tight!" before breaking into a run. With the trolley''s momentum stable, I hopped onto the back, cing my feet on top of the back wheel, and we slid our way to the snack aisle.


    Filled with exhration, Haley couldn''t contain her excitement and eximed, "WOOO!" while I joined in theughter.


    Then, both of us got scolded by a staff member. After giving a short apology, we went to the snacks aisle. Haley suddenly said, "Hey. What about throwing a Halloween party ?? ?? !?!"


    I grimaced instantly, "Nah. I want to do something else."


    "Why not? You have a new house! We have a lot of chips. It''ll be great! A Halloween party!" Her eyes were glittering as she tried to convince me.


    I had to cover her face with my hand, but she kept moving around it to show her pleading eyes. "I don''t want to~" I replied before pushing the trolley away.


    "Come on! You haven''t made your highschool debut yet. You need to hold a party so that you can be popr!"


    I stopped the trolley, looked her directly in the eye, and asked teasingly, "Really? I... need to hold a party to be popr?...Me?"


    "Right." Haley was taken aback and epted it instantly. Then, she shook it off and said, "You''re already popr, that''s why you have to throw the party! It''s our duty as the hot and popr kids. Besides, think about your friends. You haven''t met them in so long."


    Her argument started to chip away at my defences. I considered it and said, "I''m sure one of them will hold a party. We can just go there."


    "That''s not the point!" Haley said frustratingly, which made me chuckle. With an obsessive look, she said, "It''d be a party by the beach! With no supervision! That''s the event of the year right there!"


    "Ah, so you just want to have no supervision." I said teasingly. She pouted and said, "We can''t all do whatever we want and get away with it!"


    Iughed and said, "Alright."


    "Really? We''re going to hold a party?" Haley widened her eyes in anticipation. I chuckled and said, "I''ll think about it."


    "For real? Yes!" She celebrated loudly, which made a lot of people stare at us. I pull down my cap before pushing the trolley away. Haley was apologetic and said, "Sorry. Ah, by the way, you said you want to do something else. What do you want to do during Halloween?"


    I smirked and said seriously, "I want to go Trick or Treating."


    Haley was in disbelief and said, "Really? That''s a kid''s thing."


    "Yeah. I really do want to go. I''ve never done it, you see. Just go to a random house, ring the doorbell, and get a lot of FREE candy!"


    Haley was taken aback and then looked at me sympathetically, "Not to kill your dream or anything. But like I said, it''s for kids."


    "Hmm?" I turned towards her, and she added, "You are already 6 feet tall. Do you think that people will still give you candy?"


    A thunderbolt exploded inside my brain as the revtion shocked me.


    "Ed? Ed?" Haley waved her hands in front of my face as I stood frozen in the middle of the aisle.


    After bringing in all the groceries and arriving home, I embarked on cooking breakfast, although it was more like brunch due to the time. Utilizing the avable kitchen appliances, I decided to make some delicious Danish waffles. Additionally, I prepared a side dish of shredded Brussels sprouts,plemented by hash browns and eggs.


    The enticing aroma wafting from the kitchen caught Vanessa''s attention, prompting her to cautiously and slowly make her way towards the source. Her hunger was palpable, having not eaten since the previous day and having experienced ''assisted stomach emptying''.


    "Good morning. Take a seat." I said calmly as I ced an empty te next to Haley''s seat on the kitchen ind. Haley smiled and said, "Hurry up! Or you won''t get the waffles."


    Vanessa approached cautiously, casting a wary nce in my direction before settling into her seat. She couldn''tprehend why my demeanor had shifted from anger to kindness, but she decided to hold back her questions for the moment. I served her two thick, golden-brown Danish waffles onto her te and then asked, "Do you want some eggs as well? There''s juice and milk. Which one do you want?"


    A mix of disbelief and confusion overwhelmed Vanessa, causing her to blurt out, "Didn''t you hate me? Why are you being so nice now?"


    Both Haley and I were taken aback by her question, but Haley quickly smiled and reassured her, saying, "He won''t ever get mad at someone when they''re trying to eat something. So just eat."


    I nodded, agreeing with Haley''s words and said, "Well, nothing came out this morning besides some rumors and news about a drug lord being captured by some vigntes. So I guess we''re fine."


    "Well, about...st night." Vanessa hesitated. I stopped her and said, "You should fill up first. We can talk about itter."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Sitting together on the living room couch, Vanessa and Edward faced each other, with Haley seated next to Vanessa. Edward spoke up, addressing Haley, "Haley, could you please give us some privacy?"


    Haley responded, "Um, the air here is pretty weird anyway, so I''m going to go hang by the pool." She walked away, mouthing an apology to Vanessa, who looked at her with disbelief.


    After Haley left, Edward turned his attention back to Vanessa and asked, "Alright, Vanessa. Do you have anything to say to me?"


    Vanessa hesitated for a moment, fiddling with her fingers and falling into silence. Edward patiently waited, but as the silence lingered, he spoke up, "You know, I''m not your therapist, and I don''t need to know every detail about your life. I just want to understand the part that involves me."


    He chuckled lightly and added, "Maybe start with a ''thank you''?"


    Vanessa''s tense body rxed slightly, and she looked at Edward. "Thank you foring to pick me up," she said, her voice filled with sincerity. "And thank you for caring about me, even though we''re strangers."


    "You''re wee," Edward replied with a kind smile. He had achieved what he wanted and was satisfied with that alone.


    Unaware of Edward''s intentions, Vanessa continued, "No, I really mean it. I know that if I had identally called anyone else... no one would havee to save me. So I truly appreciate it."


    "I understand. You don''t have to��" Edward began, but Vanessa''s emotions overwhelmed her, and she burst into tears. Her eyes welled up, and she continued, "I have no one else. My career has hit rock bottom, my rtionship is in shambles, my mom won''t answer my calls. I have no friends, no prospects, and I don''t know what I''m going to do with my life right now."


    Her tears flowed freely, and Edward looked at her sympathetically. But then his expression turned cold as she continued to cry.


    "So?" he muttered, startling Vanessa.


    "What?" she turned toward him, her disbelief evident.


    "You heard me. So. Fucking. What?" Edward repeated. Vanessa became angry and eximed, "You asshole! I thought you were nice��"


    Edward scoffed and walked in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders, making eye contact, and mocked, "I''ll ask again. So. Fucking. What?"


    Her tears halted, and her expression froze as Edward continued, "So what if you were abandoned by the world? So what if everything feels like it''s going to shit? So what if you''re alone? Are you just going to sit here and cry?"


    "Because if I were you, I''d rather set the entire world on fire than beg for them to take me back," Edward said coldly. Vanessa was taken aback, and her tears subsided. "I''m going to make everyone who abandoned me regret it."


    Edward released his grip on Vanessa and returned to his seat, while she processed his words. Her eyes trembled hesitantly, and she bit her lower lip, fiddling with her fingers and gripping the edge of her shirt. Finally, she asked, "How are you going to make them regret it?"


    Edward smirked and said, "What? Do you want me to teach you that for free?"


    Vanessa lowered her head, grinding her teeth in anger. She considered what she had left to barter with and said, "I''ll... pay you..."


    "High School Musical" is a 4 billion dor IP. But you have less than 400 bucks to your name right now. Only 183 bucks in your bank ount, to be exact. I guess paying people to scrub away your picture on the inte took a lot of money huh. So I don''t think you have the money to pay me," Edward pointed out.


    "Then what do you want? My body!? Do you want me to sleep with you?!" Vanessa asked angrily.


    "Nah, I have no interest in power abuse," Edward replied casually with a shrug.


    "Then what the fuck do you want?! My soul!?" Vanessa stood up and shouted. Edward smiled as Vanessa huffed and puffed.


    She was taken aback when Edward responded, "That sounds interesting."


    "You really want my soul!?" Vanessa asked, disbelief in her voice.


    Edward chuckled, crossed his legs, and leaned back on the couch. He looked at her and said, "Yeah, I want your soul. I want the soul that''s so angry, she''d rather shout at the guy who could be herst chance than cling to his legs and refuse to let go."


    Edward raised his hands toward her and said, "Come to Entertain, Vanessa. Let''s seek revenge on the world that abandoned you... together."


    Vanessa opened her mouth, but no words coulde out. She looked at the tempting sight in front of her, but she was scared to take his hands. She was scared that she would be thrown away again.


    Edward waited there silently for Vanessa to make a decision. At the risk of falling back to his old ways, even though he wanted to make some changes at the part of his personality, he still wanted her to take his offer.


    ''So in the end, I didn''t change that much huh.'' He thought inwardly.


    A short time passed by, and Vanessa finally came to a decision. With a determined look on her face, she grabbed Edward''s hand and said, "I ept your conditions."


    "Great." Edward smirked viinously before saying, "Now, for the first step you need to take to get your revenge..."


    Vanessa waited anxiously for Edward to finish his words. His next words made her feel shaken to her core.


    Edward stood up from the couch and whispered to Vanessa''s ears."First...You need... to get sober."


    ...


    In front of Edward''s house, a pretty long haired redhead got out of her shabby car. Maggie (His cousin) slowly pulled down her sses as she scanned the surroundings.


    She pouted and said, "He bought a new house, and he forgot to invite me toe! Did he even remember that I moved to LA?"


    She already got the key from Ted�C who hoped that Maggie''s presence there could give Edward some surprise. "Hehe~ I''m going to scare him." Maggie muttered as she unlocked the door.


    Suddenly, the rm rang and Robin announced, "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"


    "What�C?" Maggie was astonished and she turned around in shock, only to see a steel falling on top of her. "AHHH!!" She screamed in horror as she fall down to the ground.


    Edward rushed to the front door immediately and asked, "Robin. Who''s the intruder�C Wait. Maggie?"


    Struggling with the metal, Maggie said, "Get this thing off me!"


    Edward instead stood on one leg and leaned against the wall as he observed her trying to get out of there. "Robin, didn''t I electrify that? Shouldn''t she be convulsing on the ground right now, wetting herself."


    "I cut off the function because she has a key copy sir. Should I electrify it right now?" Robin asked.


    Maggie desperately shouted, "NOOOOOOOO!!!"

 Chapter 227: Online Presence.

    <h4>Chapter 227: Chapter 227: Online Presence.?</h4>


    [General POV]


    On the night Edward embarked on his mission to rescue Vanessa, an unexpected turn of events urred. Edward''s aunt, Cam, without informing anyone, had taken a trip back to Cuba. Upon her arrival, a ck-dressed Latina woman with a white lily floral pattern came to pick her up at the airport.


    Coincidentally, Wayne Bruce, a rogue FBI agent deeply in love with Cam, had decided to spend his days off searching for her in Cuba once again. He spotted Cam getting into a ssic Bentley while reading his newspaper and waiting for his departure time.


    "Wait a minute... I had almost given up hope, but just as I was about to head back to the States, I see her... right at the airport? This feels like fate," Wayne smirked and quickly rushed out of the airport to follow Cam.


    "Taxi!" he shouted, waving his arms to catch the attention of a passing driver. However, as they entered the city, the driver lost sight of the car Cam was in, as the streets were filled with ssic vintage cars. The country, seemingly forgotten by time, .


    "Damn it! I lost her! Again!!" he muttered, disappointed.


    Unaware of her "stalker," Cam was driven back to her family''s house. The hallways were deserted, but traces of the opulence the family had could be seen. The marks on the wall where the expensive paintings used to be hung, the delicately sculpted door handles, the huge library that was filled with cobwebs, and more reminisce of an earlier era, scattered all over the mansion.


    Cam made her way to a small room illuminated by soft whitemps. She had to pass through a stic curtain before she could see whaty on the bed.


    A group of doctors, dressed from head to toe in coverings, noticed Cam''s arrival and quickly briefed her. "Her condition has stabilized for now, but she needs rest. She shouldn''t go anywhere or engage in any strenuous activities for at least a month."


    Cam nodded as she gazed upon Miranda, lying motionless on the bed, trapped in a deepa. Edward''s mother had descended into madness upon hearing the news of his capture, relentlessly hunting down anyone connected to their family''s betrayer.


    Her actions had drawn the attention of Castro''s brother, leading to a pursuit by a formidable armed force, only to be intercepted and saved by the sisterhood at thest moment.


    Cam asked solemnly, "Have she found the snitch yet?"


    "No. Not yet." Thedy with the ck dress replied. Cam sighed helplessly and said, "Can we not escape this kind of fate? Will we all die here... for this... god forsaken country?"


    While Cam was talking to the others, secretly, her conversation was secretly recorded and analyzed by Edward''s assistant, Robin. Suddenly, Cam received a notification on her phone.


    "Hmm?" She opened it and widened her eyes. Then, she quickly reached for her gun and pointed it at the doctor standing beside Miranda. "You... You''re the source of the leak?"


    The doctor raised his hands and sighed disappointedly. Miranda looked at him in astonishment and asked, "Why?"


    "I''m just...so tired...of fighting... And I want it all to end..." The doctor replied.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Where did you get a key?" I asked Maggie after pulling down the electrocution away from her.


    "Answer me first! Why, and WHEN did you weaponize your house?!" Maggie asked in disbelief after I helped her get up from the floor.


    "I mean, the better question would be how." I chuckled as I saw her frustratedly walk towards Haley and hide behind her. It was funny to see the 5''7" tall girl trying to hide behind the 5''2" girl.


    "How did you get this stuff?" Haley asked curiously as she touched the. "Can you get one for me and put it in my closet? I have some valuables there I need to protect." She added.


    "I can...But I can also foresee that your dad or your brother...or both, shaking uncontrobly on the ground, and getting tasered if I did."


    Haley looked at me puzzledly, "Why would they go to my closet?"


    "I''m not saying that they will try to get your stuff, but I can really see them getting trapped." I exined.


    "Ahhh..." Haley eximed in realization while Maggie looked at the both of us in disbelief. Haley turned towards Maggie and asked, "You...Are you Maggie?"


    "Hmm. Petite, gorgeous, cute as a button as people said, you must be Haley." Maggie said as she smiled at Haley.


    "Aww... That''s nice." Haley eximed before she furrowed her eyebrows in realization, "Wait, who said that?"


    I quickly intercepted and said, "Ah, Maggie, why are you here?"


    "Ie to visit!" Maggie smiled and added, "You know, for your housewarming party!"


    Haley and I looked at each other before I replied to Maggie, "I''m not having a...housewarming party."


    "Wait. Really?" Maggie acted confused, but her shaky eyes betrayed her anxiousness. I sighed and asked, "Did my dad n a housewarming party today?"


    "NO! Not today�C Wait�C" Maggie was taken aback by her own blunder and nervously said, "You didn''t hear that from me!"


    "Of course I heard that from you. Who else would I hear it from?" I looked at her and scoffed disdainfully while she was pleading for my mercy, "NO! Uncle Ted will hate me!"


    "No he won''t." I replied casually. Then, I turned to Vanessa who was standing in the corridor and observing the whole thing from a safe distance. "You can stay here for a while if you have no other ce to go. If you need anything, ask Maggie."


    "Wait. You didn''t even ask me�C" Maggie tried to protest, but I only needed to say one short sentence to shut her down, "200,000 dors in debt."


    If it had been a long time since I returned to my hometown and met Maggie again, I might have treated her better. However, since she came to LA, she would frequently stop by my house to do herundry and have dinner with my family, so I didn''t make any special effort.


    Maggie hurriedly approached Vanessa and said, "Hi! I recognize you. You''re the girl from High School Musical. I''m Maggie. Nice to meet you. If you need anything, just ask me."


    Haley looked at Maggie in disbelief and grabbed my sleeve before whispering, "Does she always change her attitude like that?"


    I nodded and replied, "Yup, she''s basically spineless. Oh, right, I have a live session today. I might even sing. Do you want to stay or go back��"


    "I''m definitely staying!" Haley interrupted excitedly. Maggie nced at us and noticed Haley''s hand touching my arm. She snickered to herself before continuing her conversation with Vanessa.


    Later, Max and my dad arrived simultaneously, with Vader nestled in Max''s arms. As soon as Vader saw me, she leaped from Max''s arms and ran straight to me.


    "Hey! I gave you premium cat treats! You traitor!" Max felt betrayed. I chuckled and said, "Love cannot be bought."


    "Love costs 20 bucks an hour next to the tattoo ce I used to work at," Max retorted with a disdainful look on her face. I shrugged and gently stroked Vader''s fur before asking, "Do you have my stuff?"


    "Your Batman pajamas? I sure do," Max replied yfully. My dad chimed in, "But she made me carry them."


    "Hey, we traded! I hold the princess, and you hold Batman!" Max yfully retorted to my dad. Some staff members from thepany also arrived with the equipment. They set up a stage next to the pool, with the ocean as the backdrop. Drums, a synthesizer, a guitar, a microphone stand, and some speakers were arranged.


    "Wait, I''m not trying to hold a concert though. It''s just one song," I said in disbelief as I looked at the staff member. He seemed taken aback and replied, "But Mr. Saltzman asked us to do this."


    "Peps? But he''sing today," I said, feeling confused. "Max, you know about this?" I asked the brte girl who''s trying to coax Vader from leaving my arms.


    "Huh? Oh, right. Peps said it''s been a while since he heard you sing. So he wants to enjoy it. I think the band members woulde too."


    "Chris�C I mean, Coldy is preparing to release their album. He didn''t bother them did he? I''m not really sure how many people will watch the live session, so it''s better for them to practise their own stuff than to join in."


    "Nah, they wanted to jam with you too. So they areing." Max replied.


    I sighed and said, "The whole thing is going to be all blown out of sorts again."


    ...


    An hour after the staff had finished setting up and adjusting the audio, my house was suddenly filled with people from all over who hade just to watch me perform. I looked at Pepper, who was smiling and waving, in disbelief and asked, "What is all of this?"


    My friends Billie, Finneas, Jacob, Jenna, Elsa, Enid, and Alex were there, along with Maggie, Vanessa, Selena (for some reason), the football team and their girlfriends (those who had them), Entertain staff members, Harvey, Pepper''s gay friends, and many more people who had been arriving one after another.


    "Oh, don''t worry about it. None of the people here will tell anyone else where you live," Pepper said casually.


    "No, that''s not my point. I was just going to show off my costume and sing a song, you know. That''s all I had nned for today''s live session," I exined carefully.


    Pepper suddenly realized his mistake, and his face turned ashen. He pulled his cheek down in horror and said, "Right! You were doing everything yourself. Did I just throw you into the pit and ask you to improvise everything?"


    "Kinda!" I replied honestly. "I mean, I can do it, but it won''t be as smooth as the ones I had nned. Not unless I get some help. At the very least, some help for the final part."


    With Lex Luther''s Image Management, which included public speaking skills, I wouldn''t have any problem handling the entire thing myself. However, this would be a great opportunity to showcase Coldy or any otherbel artist during today''s show.


    "We''re starting in... 5, 4, 3, 2..." The staff members counted down to the live session while standing behind the professional-grade camera.


    The video was being broadcasted live on the Entertain website and my own fan page, as well as my live session on Instagram. The Instagram session was recorded in a portrait ratio, while the others were recorded in the 16:9 ratio, which would be the standard for movie ratios in the future.


    As the live schedule was posted beforehand, thousands of fans crowded the chat as soon as the live session started.


    <i>[9,000 viewers watching!]</i>


    Lily: Yeay It''s Edward! ????


    GirlXX: ????


    Jete: ????


    "Hello everyone!" I greeted them while standingzily inside the first location of the shooting today�C The kitchen. Wearing a brown cardigan over my white shirt, I pair it with a custom made cargo pants that Haley designed for me.


    Lily: You look so handsome!????


    Havana girl: Ed! HI! I bought your extended album! I love it so much! You should do more songs in Spanish!


    <i>[15,000 viewers watching!]</i>


    I saw the message and responded, "Thank you so much for your support." I bowed slightly before saying, "Today''s show will be recorded and posted on my Vlog, so don''t worry about missing anything."


    Lily: Yeay!


    "For today, initially I wanted to show off a few things for you guys, first and foremost my outfit for Halloween. But, some news came out that made me a bit depressed." I said yfully.


    Annie: Why are you sad?


    Jenna: Who bullied you?!


    Annie: Are you okay? (A/N: lol)


    "Bullied�C You know what? I WAS BULLIED! By my stylist. She said that I''m too old to be trick or treating anymore."


    The chat group spammed theughter emojis as they heard it. Haley chuckled as she watched it from the camera-man''s side and mumbled, "I didn''t know he''s going to be that depressed when he realized it."


    "What did you guys think would be my choice for Halloween? Or what will suit me?" I asked.


    The chat exploded, both on my Instagram and on the Entertain web broadcast.


    JacobPeralta: John e!


    RDJ: Liam Nelson''s daughter in Taken.


    Lily: Romeo.


    TexasGirl: Cowboy!


    Cam: Joker!


    There were tremendous suggestions about what I should wear for Halloween. Romeo and Joker kept repeating quite a few times, which depressed me a bit.


    "So, it''s either a teenage heartthrob or a viin. Can''t I be something else?" I said jokingly to the chat. They spammed theughter emoticon again before suggesting other things.


    Annie: How about Percy from the Percy Jackson books?


    I responded to the suggestion as it intrigued me, "Percy Jackson? He''s like...12! I''ve never read the books before, but I know about that particr thing. Hmm, maybe I should read the books." The chat was continuously trying to convince me that the book was great.


    In my previous life when I was watching the movie, it gave me the feeling that the whole show was a parody or something simr. The second one was even worse than the first one. So I had no interest in the books at all. But recently Enid, and even Alex had read the books and said it was great, so I may check it outter on and see how different the movie actually was from the books.


    "So far no one actually guessed what outfit I had nned for Halloween." I said cheekily. "I wanted to show it to you guys if you guessed it right, but no luck I guess." I shrugged.


    Lily: NOOO!!!! Umm, Spiderman!!


    Annie: Someone from Harry Potter? Draco Malfoy maybe?


    Texasgirl: It isn''t Romeo right?


    Pablo: Hi! Love from Chile! You are not nning to do concerts here?


    "Hi Pablo. It''s not that I don''t want to do concerts there, but we''re still in the negotiation process with some countries and now there are some concerns over the different venue security. So any international or world tour would have to wait until that''s done. Earliest we can do it is at the start of next year, if everything goes well." I exined a bit.


    Pablo: Sad.emoji


    Annie: Darth Vader. If this is wrong, can we get a hint please?


    <i>[25,000 viewers watching!]</i>


    Lily: Hint please!


    Jenna: Hint Please!!


    "Alright then. The hint; RDJ won''t like it." I said jokingly.


    The chat exploded once more with people typing: BATMAN!


    "Finally!" I eximed in relief after they managed to guess it. "Am I not Batman material? What took you guys so long?" I asked with a chuckle. Suddenly, Vader jumped from Max''s grip again, and rushed to the film set.


    "Vader no!" Max called her back, but it was toote. The ck cat jumped into my arms, which confused the chat.


    I ced Vader on my right shoulder casually and said, "I''m sorry. I guess she wanted to introduce herself to you guys. She''s my pet, Lady Kitty Vader the third." Vader swatted my cheek slightly, which made me say, "Ah, she got angry. Her name is Vader."


    Annie: She''s so cute!


    Lily: A


    Abby: Vader? You named the kitty after the Sith Lord?


    Fast forward after me showing my outfit to my fans and talking about a few things for a while, the fans requested to see if they could watch me putting on the costume. I relented after thousands of messages and donations�C yeah, people could donate if they wanted to stress out their messages left the screen for a while to change my clothes.


    "Vader no." Max said as Vader jumped to the tripod for my Instagram and slightly pushed the camera towards me as I was changing my clothes, which resulted in my bare upper body being revealed to the world.


    Annie: Nosebleed.Emoji


    Lily: Nosebleed.Emoji


    Donna: Thirsty.Emoji


    +1


    +1


    +1


    <i>[35,000 viewers watching!]</i>


    <i>[36,350 viewers watching!]</i>


    <i>[40,000 viewers watching!]</i>


    I quickly put on the outfit, and returned to the screen. "Wow, the numbers jumped out so quickly huh. Now I know, my fanbase is all made up of perverts."


    Jenna: You''re the one who stripped!


    ...


    [General POV]


    A few minutes before, crossing her arms and watching the filming from afar, aplicated expression appeared on Vanessa''s face. ''Why does everyone like him so much? He only knows how to crackme jokes. But, still...40,000 live viewers? That''s like, a big concert already.''


    When Edward was changing his clothes, Vanessa''s eyes suddenly widened and she blurted out, "Damn. He has an even nicer body than him."


    "Him who?" Maggie asked curiously. As Vanessa didn''t answer, she tried to pry, "Nicer than Zac?"


    "Just a little bit." Vanessa replied while pinching her fingers together.


    Jacob quickly cupped Elsa''s eyes with his hands the second Edward undressed. Jenna started praying away the temptation, but Billie''s eyes were glued on him.


    In Hollywood, several movie executivesmented about Edward''s live show. They were not interested in the session in the beginning, but mostly were updated to the situation by their assistants.


    "Hmph! He''s just ying around. A true artist wouldn''t do this. This just shows that he''s a kid who knows nothing."


    Most of them were already disconnected with the masses, such as the movie producers who wanted to adapt the Percy Jackson book into a movie.


    A lot of celebrities, whether they were famous or still struggling, were confused as to how Edward had done this. To create a loyal fanbase in just a short span of half a year that would support him no matter what. Some needed decades of work to achieve what Edward had achieved in such a short time.


    President Batman�C No, sorry. President Obama was watching the live show with his daughter when he saw the Batman''s outfit. Albeit his face was calm, inside his heart, he screamed, ''I WANT TO WEAR THAT TOO!''

 Chapter 228: Live Busking!

    <h4>Chapter 228: Chapter 228: Live Busking!</h4>


    [General POV]


    After showing off his costumes, one of his fans asked Edward why he was so excited for Halloween.


    Edward mulled over it for a while before he answered,"Well, that''s a tough question. Growing up, I''ve never gone trick or treating."


    The fans were quite shocked when they heard his reply. Edward continued casually as he changed his costume back. There was a ck tight shirt he needed to wear underneath his batman suit, which he didn''t take off, and just ced his cardigan on top of it.


    "Yeah. The best memory about Halloween I had was this one time when I was 4 years old...My dad snuck me out of the house when everyone was already done trick or treating, and put a nket over my head to make me a ghost. All the houses were already done with giving candies, but then there was this old guy who every kid was afraid of�C Mr Kleezak, who still had a bucket load of it. I went over there as ast resort, and he gave me every single candy he had left."


    "We went in and out in 20 minutes, without my mom knowing about it. That''s the only Halloween memory I have other than the constant practising or having musical sses when everyone else was dressed up and having fun. So you know, I kinda want to make up for it." Edward opened up about his past, which created an emotional uproar from his fans.


    The chat was silent for a while, and then it exploded!


    [59,000 viewers watching]


    [Texasgirl: Damn it! And Here I was, thinking he was childish for wanting to go trick or treating. Ed! You Deserve to get a proper Halloween!]


    [Lily: I''m choking up right now. What kind of parents did that? Ed! COME TO MY HOUSE! I''ll make sure to give you candies!]


    [Annie: I''m crying! Ed! BE STRONG! I''ll give you candies!]


    There would be a lot of fans sending candies to thepany after this live session. The amount he got wouldst him for 5 whole years even if he indulged himself till his stomach burst daily.


    As Edward''s friends watched, Enid suddenly wiped down her non-existent tears and said, "He''s been through a lot. And....I....will make sure to.... get that CatWoman outfit before it''s all sold out!"


    "Hey! I thought you were sympathizing with him!" Elsa, who was emotional in the beginning, retorted to Enid.


    "Oh Grow up! This is just a ploy for him to get more candies!" Enid used Edward without knowing that she hit 50% of the marks.


    Jenna, Alex and Elsa who were initially feeling bad for Edward, fall into a confusion and then the same thought arises in their mind. ''He is shameless enough to actually do that.''


    "Damn it, and when he does manage to go trick or treating, he''s going to rub it in our faces." Jacob muttered with a jealous expression. There was no chance for him to go trick or treating this year after he hit puberty. "I me dad. If I got my mom''s genes, then I could go trick or treat-ing till I was 18." He mumbled to himself.


    15 minutester, as the live session progressed, Edward suddenly announced, "There''s something truly special in store for all of you today."


    As the chat was curious, he smirked and added," Not only will I be performing a song for you at the end of this session, but it is with great honor that I introduce you all to the newest addition to the Entertainbel, the incredible band, Coldy!"


    Jenna muttered in confusion, "Coldy? Who is that?"


    Finneas and Billie looked at each other with the expression ''Do you know these guys'', but then both of them shrugged at the same time. Haley was the only one pping and cheering for the band.


    Edward saw the confusion in the chat ground. He smiled mischievously and said, "Figured you guys wouldn''t know about them. They are a British Band, who I headhunted to sign with thepany myself! Isn''t that right Chris?"


    <i>[44,000 viewers watching] </i>


    [Hermoine: Really? Then, they must be a great band! I can''t wait!]


    The numbers of people watching the show dropped for some time, but Edward wasn''t worried about it.


    Chris Martin smiled awkwardly and replied with a slight British ent, "Well, Ed is the one who convinced us to fly over here." Being in a live show had made Chris feel nervous, and he hadpletely forgotten the media training Edward had the newly signed artist to thebel took.


    Edward smiled in disbelief and said, "Why don''t you introduce yourself to the audience?"


    "Oh, Right. Hello everyone. My name is Chris Martin. This is the band''s bassist. Um, Guy?"


    "Hello Everyone, I''m Guy Berryman."


    "I''m Johnny Bd. I y the piano."


    "I am Will Champion. The drummer."


    "And we''re the band, Coldy!" Chris Martin said excitedly.


    Edward smiled as the band were finally getting it together and announced to the audience, "As the band handpicked by myself, you won''t disappoint the viewers watching today, right?"


    Chris held his chest and smiled with exasperation, "That''s too much pressure Ed." The rest of the band members, and Edwardughed at Chris''s reaction.


    [TexasGirl: Ed is a meanie~... Why is that so hot!?]


    [Annie: Goodluck Coldy! I''m sure they will do great!]


    [Finneas: Coldy has been ying all over Europe since 1996. They are not really a newbie band. They are professionals!]


    [Lily: Did I see Selena and Vanessa Hudgen in the background, or am I just imagining things?]


    [RDJ: Wait, is this happening at your new ce? And you didn''t. even. think. to invite me.]


    In real life, Billie looked at Finneas in disbelief as she saw hisment. "How?" She asked.


    "Wikipedia." Finneas replied while looking at his phone. "Also, I''m quite sure that Edward edited the page by himself."


    "How so?" Alex was intrigued. Finneas showed the paragraph to her while saying, "It says here, they signed the contract with Entertain with the <strong><i>handsome and dashing</i></strong> artist, Edward Newgate''s support himself."


    Alex instinctively rolled her eyes and said tly, "Yeah. He edited it himself."


    "Without further ado,dies and gentleman, the band Coldy with their song, Yellow." Edward announced.


    After the introduction, the camera panned to Chris while Edward got out of the shot. He turned off his microphone and walked to Pepper who was the closest one to him, "How are we doing?"


    "We''re dropping fast. But it is still over the estimate you made. Wayyy more than that." Pepper replied with a smile.


    Harvey added mischievously, "By the way, the viewership jumped up to almost 80,000 people when you took off your clothes. We should do a live session where you were just naked the entire time."


    Pepper interjected quickly, "Don''t put ideas in his head. With enough money on the table, he would actually do it."


    Edward contorted his face. "No I would not! What kind of impression do you have on me exactly?" Edward muttered with disbelief.


    Pepper turned to him and said, "Slut for Money."


    "Oi!" Edward retorted immediately. While Edward was talking, the band started to y. A mellow melody filled the entire poolside, and the band finally started to capture people''s focus.


    [Yellow- Coldy]


    "Oh, the viewership is climbing up again." Harvey muttered.


    Chris sang, "?? Look at the stars...Look how they shine for you...And everything you do...Yeah, they were all yellow..."


    [Annie: Oh, they really are great!]


    [TexasGirl: As expected of Ed!]


    [Janine: Wait, shouldn''t you say as expected of the band instead.]


    [TexasGirl: Yeah, but Ed picked them, so the credit went to him!]


    ??I came along


    I wrote a song for you


    And all the things you do??


    ??And it was called Yellow


    So then I took my turn


    Oh, what a thing to have done


    And it was all yellow??


    Edward slightly swayed his body as he listened to the song. While he was immersing himself, the camera recorded him secretly and disyed it on the screen for a short second.


    Chris crooned, "Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones! Turn into something beautiful!And you know, you know I love you so! You know I love you so!"


    This was the moment the fans finally epted Coldy into their hearts. The instrumental part plus Chris''s earlier vocals attracted a lot of people into watching the show live.


    [60,000 viewers watching]


    [RoyKent: Hey I know that band. I went to their concert early this year.]


    The European fans of Coldy rushed to the live show to watch them y. The band finally got their recognition after over a decade of touring, rocketing their image to the top of the music industry after their album re-release.


    While the band was ying their song, Haley snuck towards Edward. Even though the guests were ordered to not disturb Edward while the filming was still ongoing, none of the staff members stopped her.


    "You have a great eye. So, everyone in thepany is like them too?" Haley asked with her hands behind her back and leaning slightly forwards to Ed.


    Edward saw her and smiled, "Of course. I can see the future, and they are all going to stand on the world stage someday."


    "Hmm, I wanted to tease you, but I got convinced instead. Want to make a bet on your word then?" Haley asked.


    "If I made a bet on something like this, then, it''s really unfair for you isn''t it?" Edward chuckled.


    "Let''s talk terms." Haley giggled.


    "Alright. Then, let''s make things challenging." Edward said. As he felt confident that the band was going to do well, he didn''t want to win the bet too easily.


    "If the band manages to sell over 1 million albums in a week, you win. If they sell over 5 million albums in a week, then I win."


    "Alright, if you win, then what''s your prize?" Haley asked while batting her eyes seductively at me. However, her grin on her face made her seem a bit silly instead.


    Edward still chuckled and replied, "Well, if I win, then...Hmm...this is hard... How about you, what do you want if you win."


    "No! You need to tell me yours first." Haley replied quickly.


    "You''re going to make me do some horrible things, don''t you?" Edward narrowed his eyes on her.


    "Why? Scared?" Haley stuck her tongue out to provoke him.


    "I''m not scared Missy. Alright you''re on. No matter what the prize is."


    "Deal!" Haley said and they shook hands on it. Edward looked at Haley''s gleeful face and then reminded her, "You seem happy. I guess you forgot that I didn''t tell you what my prize is either."


    She froze and said, "Wait. I-I''m...Uhh...."


    "No take backs now." Edward chuckled seeing her reactions. "It could be ranging from not having a party, to some serious fucked up stuff. You have already agreed to it, so you can''t say no when I win."


    "But that won''t happen if I''ll be the one winning this one!" Haley shook off her anxiousness and said with a determined tone.


    "Courageous. Just don''t cry when it happens." Edward teased.


    Haley stammered and then retorted, faking confidence, "Y-You too. Don''t cry then."


    After the song ended, the viewership had jumped to almost 80,000 people. Edward walked back into the camera shot and walked to the band members.


    "Coldy everyone! I told you these guys were hidden treasures."


    Chris smiled and said, "Now, it''s time for the main character to return then?"


    Edward returned the smile and said, "Of course. It''s my live session after all."


    People wereughing at the chat from seeing the two artist''s interaction. As Edward stood behind the microphone, the chat exploded.


    [Annie: Would you be singing a song from the album?]


    [TexasGirl: I want to hear ''7 years!'']


    [EmmaGeller: ED! I''VE WAITED FOR THIS THE ENTIRE SHOW!]


    [Lily: Everyone''s here right now! ED! WE LOVE YOU!"


    [Fan Club member 1: We love you!]


    +1


    +1


    +1


    [Fanclub member 12003: We love you]


    The viewership jumped to 99,000, shocking Pepper and Harvey. In Chicago, Taylor was watching the live show from herptop while within her hotel room. Her short hair fluttered in the wind as she sat by the window with a stoic face.


    "Hm..." She hummed, unsure of what to feel when she saw him standing behind the microphone again.


    "Will he sing a song about me?" She muttered to herself. Then, sheughed deprecatingly and said, "Probably not." But still, a little bit of hope lingered in her heart. Next to her, a few music sheets scattered on the floor of the room. It contained lyrics and melodies that she had made when she started the tour.


    In Cuba, Cam was watching the live performance while sitting next to heratose sister in her sister''s room. "Why don''t you wake up Miranda? You''re missing your own son''s brilliant performance today."


    Back to the live show, as Edward stood behind the microphone, he said, "The live session will end after my performance. Before I sing, I need to tell you guys something."


    Edward took a deep breath. At the same time, Ted closed his eyes as he prepared himself. His son had told him that the songs he created today were from the passages of his diary, and he felt that he needed to confront his past so that he could move on.


    Despite not going to therapy himself, Ted told everything to Dr Linda about Edward''s decisions, and she highly encouraged it. Except she told him to make Ed apply his decision in a safer environment. But that was ignored.


    Edward continued speaking to his fans, "For my next song, it''s a new song that I had just finished a few days ago."


    [Lily: I DIDN''T MISS THIS! THIS DAY IS FREAKING GREAT!]


    [Annie: AHH! I WANT TO RECORD THIS! But it will be uploaded in the video blog right! Thank god!]


    "But, it is also an old song for me. It was half-written when I was around 10 years old, and finallypleted now. I hope that you guys enjoy it." Edward said.


    [Madison: Wait, how old is he exactly?]


    [Lily: No one actually knows. He would never admit to it. (grin.emoji)]


    "Lily, I''ll just act like I don''t see that." Edward called out.


    [Lily: SORRY]


    Edward looked at the band Coldy who were helping him with the instrumental music and counted, "1.2.3.4.."


    "The song is called, Someone to you." Edward said before the music started ying.


    ??????????


    [Banners�C Someone to you]


    "Oh, this is an uplifting song. I was so worried." Pepper sighed as he rubbed his chest in relief. Then, his expression froze as he heard the first lyric.


    "??I don''t wanna die or fade away~" Edward crooned. Haley automatically started imagining a lone violinist on the stage, and everyone in the audience was leaving.


    "??I just wanna be someone...I just wanna be someone??" Edward looked into the camera directly, and his gaze made the girls fans of his be intoxicated.


    "??Dive and disappear without a trace~" Edward continued while closing his eyes as he sang with emotions. "??I just wanna be someone...Well, doesn''t everyone???"


    Harvey muttered, "The melody is really cheerful, but the lyrics are quite..."


    "Sad." Pepper finished her sentence.


    "??And if you feel the great dividing, I wanna be the one you''re guiding, ''Cause I believe that you could lead the way??"


    "??I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh. I wanna be somebody to someone, oh. I never had nobody and no road home. I wanna be somebody to someone�C??"


    "??And if the sun starts setting, the sky goes cold! Then if the clouds get heavy and start to fall!I really need somebody to call my own! I wanna be somebody to someone??"


    "??Someone to youuuuu~~! Someone to youuuuu~~! Someone to youuuuu~~!


    Someone to you (Someone to you)??"


    The guests started crowding behind the cameraman. A shot of them dancing was inserted into the live show. This time, the viewers could see clearly who the guests were.


    The band members acted as the background singer as Edward sang.


    "??I don''t even need to change the world (Change, change the world)


    I''ll make the moon shine just for your view??"


    "??I''ll make the starlight circle the room (Circle the room)??"


    Finneas suddenly let out a burst of mirth. Alex looked at him and asked, "Why are youughing?"


    "Nothing. I just felt that. What he is singing." Finneas said as he suddenly hugged Alex from behind, making her flustered and her face turn red.


    "W-what-what are you doing?"


    "Nothing. I just feel like hugging you." Finneas whispered, an answer which didn''t help calm Alex''s rapidly beating heart.


    "??And if you feel like night is falling


    I wanna be the one you''re calling??


    ??''Cause I believe that you could lead the way??" Edward jumped as he sang, which made the crowd do the same.


    He stopped and sang seriously, "??I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh.I wanna be somebody to someone, oh. I never had nobody and no road home. I wanna be somebody to someone??"


    "??And if the sun starts setting, the sky goes cold


    Then if the clouds get heavy and start to fall


    I really need somebody to call my own


    I wanna be somebody to someone~??"


    "??Someone to you~~~~


    Someone to you~~~~


    Someone to you~~~~


    Someone to you??"


    Next to Cam, theatose Miranda''s finger suddenly twitched as she heard her son''s voice.


    Coldy and Ed sang together, "??The kingdome, the rise, the fall


    The setting sun above it all


    I just wanna be somebody to you??"


    [120,000 viewers watching]


    [Annie: I can''t help but dance!]


    [Lily: Ahh he''s so hot with his long hair!]


    Haley crossed her arms together as she tried to hear the lyrics intently. Ted saw this and chuckled. He muttered to her, interrupting her focus, "Isn''t it funny? In the song, he shouted what he wanted multiple times, but because of the melody, people still are not able to hear it. They will think it''s a love song instead."


    "It kinda is." Haley replied. Ted nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah. It kinda is."


    Edward continued as the camera filmed a rotating shot around him, "??I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh! I wanna be somebody to someone, oh! I never had nobody and no road home! I wanna be somebody to someone??"


    "??And if the sun starts setting, the sky goes cold! Then if the clouds get heavy and start to fall ! I really need somebody to call my own! I wanna be somebody to someone??"


    The crowd danced feverishly. Edward smiled at them, his eyes were searching for those close to him.


    ??Someone to you! Someone to you! Someone to you!Someone to you??


    The instrumental slowed down, and Edward sang by himself, "??Someone to you??..."


    The crowd cheered after the song was over. Edward looked into the camera and said, "Did you guys enjoy it? The live session will end right here today. Thank you so much for all of your support. I love you guys."


    [Annie: ED! I Wanna go to your concert again! Please]


    +1


    +1


    +1


    +1


    Thousands of messages spammed the screen with requests to Edward. The people were begging for him to hold a concert again soon. People also requested for him to release the song officially. The screen turned nk for the audience, but Edward kept the chat going.


    Pepper hugged Edward as the song was over. While the CEO was emotional, Harvey said mischievously, "Now that it''s over, we can finally get the party started!"


    "I knew it! It is a party!" Edward retorted.

 Chapter 229: Housewarming.

    <h4>Chapter 229: Chapter 229: Housewarming.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    I stood in front of my group of friends in the living room while all of the adult guests were having a conversation by the pool. Pepper was letting me rest after my live session, which I really needed.


    But at the same time, I also had the feeling that he was sending me away so he could talk behind my back. There were no microphones by the poolside either so I couldn''t get Robin to listen to what they were saying.


    "So, no one among you guys actually brought a gift to my housewarming party?" Edward looked at his friends in disbelief while they could only smile wryly.


    "Oh, I did." Alex said while raising her hand halfway, surprising the others. They looked at her as if she''s a traitor and barraged her with usation.


    "HEY! No one even knows it''s a housewarming party! This is unfair! I demand a do-over!" Enid said aggrieved. Alex was startled and taken aback as everyone else agreed with Enid.


    "Yeah Alex. That is a pretty selfish thing to do." Jacob reprimanded, but had a teasing smile on his face.


    Jenna joined in, "How could you let us out to hang like that." She turned towards Elsa and she nodded in agreement before shooting a disappointed look at Alex.


    "Wait�C" Alex tried to exin herself, but even her boyfriend joined in. Finneas teased, "I didn''t think you were this kind of person Alex. This makes me wanna rethink our whole rtionship�C"


    "Listen to me!" Alex eximed in frustration. "I didn''t bring a gift in the beginning, but he said in his live he''s going to read the Percy Jackson books. My dad texted me about the housewarming and what kind of things he might like. I asked him to buy the books on my behalf. I DID NOTHING WRONG!"


    I looked at Alex teasingly as she tried to catch a breath and said, "Well, you could''ve told them what you were doing. Then, they could''ve asked your dad to buy the gifts on their behalf too. So the me is still on you."


    "Yeah! It''s all Alex''s fault!" Enid teased as she grabbed Alex''s hand and hugged it. "Ugh! Get off me! You guys all hate me!"


    Everyoneughed and started to cate her while I was still looking at her with a disappointed and using expression. "I will throw your books into the ocean!" Alex threatened as she saw my gaze.


    I clicked my tongue and said, "Don''t encourage pollution of the oceans Alex. Didn''t they teach us better than that at school? Mrs Henderson would be so disappointed."


    Alex was speechless, so she just stomped her feet and walked away angrily. Iughed and told Finneas, "Mr Boyfriend. Go and calm her down."


    "Why?" Finneas asked, confused.


    I looked at him with disbelief and said slowly, "Because...It''s your job?...You do know what a boyfriend''s job is, right?"


    "Ah..Shit!" Finneas rushed to follow Alex immediately. Jenna was intrigued and she asked while walking closer to me, "What is a boyfriend''s job exactly?"


    "If you wanna know, you need to get one." I replied yfully, dodging the question. Jenna widened her eyes in disbelief, nearly sighing, but caught herself just in time.


    "Jerk." Jenna muttered underneath her breath.


    "Hmm? What was that? Ah by the way, how did you do on your test?" I asked her casually.


    Jenna suddenly broke into a huge grin and said, "Remember when you told me that you would take me out on a date if I ced first in the grade?"


    I was taken aback for a bit and smiled anticipatingly, "Yeah. I remember. Why? Are you top of the ss?"


    "Nope. But she''s close to getting there. Maybe she will get there in 10 years." Elsa suddenly chimed in as she walked past us.


    Bewildered, Jenna shoots an ''Are you serious'' look at her bestie. Elsa giggled and then returned to her boyfriend''s side. I patted Jenna''s shoulder and saidfortingly, "Tough luck. Try again next time."


    "HEY! Don''t look at me with pity! Get that expression away. Put it away!" She waved her hands angrily in front of my face. I held back myughter and went to the couch to sit. Enid slid over next to Jenna and whispered before both of them giggled.


    "What are you guysughing about?" Billie asked with curiosity.


    "We''re just talking. Maybe, we should go to Ed''s room." Jenna muttered slyly. I turned towards her in confusion, and then Enid continued, "So we can search for porn mags. His stuff is still in boxes, so we can find it easily."


    Billie blushed and she turned towards me before asking, "Did you keep...um... ''it''..I mean, read�C"


    I smiled and replied, "Why would I? You guys can go search if you want."


    "Let''s go!" Enid said excitedly and stood up while pulling Jenna and Billie to stand up too. The trio went to tour my house in excitement, even Elsa and Alex joined themter on.


    Finneas, Jacob and I were left behind in the living room. Jacob excitedly told me about the football team training, and Finneas was talking about a new song he had written.


    "You know, maybe I should just get homeschooled like you." Finneas muttered. Jacob turned towards him and scolded, "No you can''t! Ed had already, barelye to school nowadays. If you were homeschooled too, then I would really be alone next year."


    "But, you have the football team!" Finneas retorted.


    "Pfft- Why are you being so dramatic?" Iughed at Jacob. We talked and caught up for a while, and mainly both of them were unloading their aggrievance of their girlfriends on me. I looked at them with a sour face and asked irritatedly, "Are you guys bragging on me right now?"


    Both of them smiled teasingly and said, "Maybe."


    "Hey Ed." Selena suddenly walked into the living room and called out to me. Both of them froze in ce, and I smirked seeing their reaction. I patted the empty seat next to mine and said, "Hi Selena. Sit here."


    "Um. I was wondering if I could talk to you in private." Selena said as she smiled at Jacob and Finneas for a second before turning back towards me.


    "Alright." I agreed and turned towards the boys. "Get lost."


    "Hey! You could just politely ask us to leave!" Finneas retorted and he hit my arm. I returned the hit, and we had a short skirmish there before both of them went to find the girls.


    Selena sat next to me, and she was close enough that her knees were touching mine. She ced her hand on my thigh and asked me worriedly, "Hey. You know Vanessa is a mess, right?"


    "I know." I nodded in agreement. Selena asked, "So? Are you really signing her with your agency? What about Taylor? Does she know about it?"


    "Hmm?" Sensing that there was something more behind her questioning, I asked, "What does Taylor have to do with this?"


    "I mean, I know what happened between you guys." Selena replied timidly. "Are you already moving on right now? With Vanessa?"


    "I think you misunderstood the situation. There is no way that anything will ever happen between me and Vanessa." I replied.


    Selena furrowed her eyebrow and replied, "You don''t know that�C"


    "As a matter of fact, I do know about it." I leaned in and whispered to her ear, making her blush, "You see,st night, she puked on my shirt. So ''We''..are never going to happen. I won''t ever be able to forget about that. Seriously, you have more of a shot than she does."


    Selena looked at me with a dumbfounded gaze, and her breathing became heavier. Suddenly, Pepper rushed into the living room with some guests following him from behind. Selena snapped out of it and then rushed away quickly. " I''m going to talk to Haley."


    "Ed! Look who''s here!" Pepper said excitedly as I stood back up. Iughed at Selena''s reaction before turning my attention towards the guests.


    The two men began to introduce themselves. "Hi. I''m Brendon�C"


    "Brendon Beck, and Marc Marill. Nice to finally meet you." I said as I shook hands with both of them. They smiled in amazement and Marc said, "Wow, you''re really ARE incredible." They watched the performance before this, and were thoroughly impressed by my singing skills.


    I smiled smugly and said, "I know. Why don''t we sit in the kitchen? We can talk over there. My dad doesn''t want any liquor in the house but I''m pretty sure if we look hard enough, we can find Max''s hidden stash. "


    Brendon raised his hands up and rejected, "Oh that''s alright. We-" He shot a nce at Marc before continuing, "We just wanted to meet you today. That''s all."


    Marc added, "Yeah. It''s only for that....except-"


    I interjected them quickly as I could sense what they wanted, "You wanted to see what the game currently looks like, right? Don''t be afraid to just be direct with me."


    Marc and Brendon smiled apologetically and said, "Well, you did make a copy of the source code. It''s been 2 weeks, and the game is going to beunched, REALLY soon. So forgive us if this is a difficult request."


    "Oh, not at all." I waved my hand dismissively and said, "How about this, I''ll send the game to you guys tonight. I wanted to do it right now, but I don''t have myptop with me."


    "That''s fine. Really. Also, we aren''t really trying to pressure you at all." Marc rified.


    Both of them harbored their own reservations about the game and held some doubts regarding my abilities. However, they were keen on ensuring that I, as the owner of thepany, had a positive impression of their work. They understood the significance of my investment, which amounted to a staggering 60 million dors. ttering my ego was undoubtedly part of their strategy.


    In all honesty, it was clear that their own skills fell short inparison to mine. Marc and Brendon were businessmen, not game developers. They had hired a team to create the game on their behalf. However, when I received the nearlypleted game they had produced, it was evident that it fell short in terms of qualitypared to theirpetitors.


    (Note: You can independently verify this by researching the release of League of Legends in 2009.)


    Thankfully, Robin and I had already taken the initiative to make significant improvements to the game. It now closely resembled the League of Legends game from my memories, and Robin''s expertise had breathed new life into the source code. Redundant code had been eliminated, and the gamey had been enhanced with a higher level of intelligence.


    Pepper stood by my side, casting a sarcastic nce at the departing figures of Marc and Brendon. "Oh boy, they still think they''re in charge, huh?" he remarked.


    "That''s right. Reality hasn''t quite hit them yet," I whispered back to Pepper. He snorted in agreement and said, "Hand me the game, and I''ll personally show it to them. I can''t wait to see the expressions on their faces."


    "Sure thing. Robin will send it to you via email. Just remember to make a copy on a pendrive before giving it to them," I instructed.


    "Alright. Oh, and one more thing, Hudgens? Really?" Pepper looked at me with a mix of incredulity and curiosity. I chuckled and responded, "What? Do you think she''s some big star? She''s currently broke and without any job offers."


    Pepper asked, "What about Bandm?" referring to Vanessa''s new movie. Despite being a good film, it didn''t perform well at the box office. So she''s still broke.


    "Eh," I shrugged in response. Then I turned to Pepper and asked, "Where''s my housewarming gift?"


    "To be honest, I didn''t even know this was going to turn into a housewarming party. I''ll send the gift soon. Is there anything specific you want?" Pepper asked with a kind smile.


    "A nket would be nice," I replied. Pepper nodded and waited for a moment, but then he seemed puzzled. "That''s it?"


    "Yeah, I don''t need much. Oh, if you can find me a nice ceramic pot, that would be great too."


    "A pot or a nket? Come on! Be a kid! Ask for something ridiculous!" Pepper eximed, his frustration evident. "Shoes! Games! A CAR! Don''t you want a new car!?"


    "Eh," I shrugged once again. I didn''t really care for any of those things. Pepper rubbed his temples, clearly getting a headache. After some negotiating, he finally managed to convince me to agree on an expensive electric guitar as my gift.


    "Why is it so difficult to settle on just one gift? You know what? I shouldn''t have asked in the first ce. I should''ve just surprised you," Pepper muttered, exasperated.


    Half an hourter, I walked all over the party and made small talks with thepany employees and guests. The sight of me getting into my professional character thoroughly shocked my friends though. They thought I was faking it the whole time�C in which they were not 100% wrong.


    As I was walking by the pool, suddenly I heard someone calling me. Phil waved his hand excitedly as he arrived with ire, Jay and Gloria, "Hey Ed! We''re here!"


    Gloria rushed over and hugged me apologetically, "Ay Ed! I''m soo sorry I missed your show. Manny is with his father, so I have no idea how to watch it."


    Jay added, "Yeah kid. I''m sorry too."


    As Gloria was hugging me by pulling my head right into her chest, I replied with a muffled voice, "No. It''s fine. It''s REALLY fine."


    ire gave me her gift soon after. It was in a paper gift bag with ribbons on it. "Oh, thank you ire." I said as I picked up the bag.


    "Open it now." She said excitedly.


    "Oh, Okay." I replied and opened up the bag. Inside, there was a ck hoodie, but it seemed a bit childish. Regardless, I smiled and said, "Thank you ire."


    "Do you like it? I thought really hard about what to give you." ire muttered. However, I caught Phil holding himself back from saying something.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "ire...is the world''s worst gift giver ever. I rmended her to get things Edward will enjoy, but all she cares about is getting him something warm for the fall."


    [ire''smentary]


    "I''m really d he likes the gift. He''s been wearing a lot of thicker clothes these days, so I had a feeling that a hoodie would be a great choice."


    [Commentary ends]


    Then, I saw my dad talking with Frankie and the rest of the ship''s crew by the veranda where they could oversee the ocean. Despite being major alcoholics, none of the ship''s crew brought a drink with them today as they knew my dad''s condition. They toasted to my dad�C who managed to fulfill the dream of every sailor in the world, to have a house next to the sea.


    While I was watching them, I suddenly heard a sneezeing from behind me. Alex was holding the squirmish Vader in her hand and her face was bing quite red because of it.


    I quickly took Vader away from her and said, "Why are you still holding her? You know you''re allergic."


    "She''s trying to get out of the house, and I don''t want her to run away." Alex replied while rubbing her sore nose. "Do you have your allergy meds?" I asked.


    "I forgot to bring them." She replied. "I think my mom has some in her purse."


    "Go get it then." I pointed to the direction of her mother. As I did that, I saw Haley getting admonished by ire�C presumably from the fact that she had skipped school today, and her mother found out about it.


    "I''m not getting near that. Vader, hey- Wait�C where do you want to go�C" Vader was squirming in my arm, trying to get away, which surprised me since it was the first time she did that.


    She jumped from my arm and started running. I followed her quickly, and then I saw her pouncing a small white Raven perching on the bushes near the garage. She pushed the bird down on the ground with her soft paw, holding it in ce to prevent it from flying away.


    The bird cawed nervously as it looked into my direction, as if asking me to save her. "Hmm? Wait..." I held Vader back with my right hand and picked up the bird with my other hand.


    The bird doesn''t even fly away after he is released from Vader''s grasp. It looked at me, and suddenly it talked. THE BIRD TALKED!


    "Tonight." The white raven told me before flying away. I was too stunned to react, and when I snapped back, it was already gone.


    "..."


    "..."


    "Meow?"


    "What the fuck!!" I eximed out loud, my voice reverberated all around.


    "What''s tonight?" I muttered after I calmed down a bit. Then, I remembered my deal with Gong Shin. "Ah, the signal." I eximed in relief after figuring it out.


    "The session will be held during a life or death rted day. So what does October 27 have to do with that?" I muttered in confusion. "Is this another thing that has been erased from the world? I mean, even during Diwalist week there was no sign of the afterlife gacha session."


    I searched with Robin, and I didn''t see any celebrations for tomorrow that could be rted to me. Then, I shrugged and threw the matter to the back of my mind and rejoined the party.


    ...


    The party didn''t go on for long as everyone started leaving around 8. Haley stood frustratedly in between her parents as ire and Phil said their goodbyes to my dad. I walked towards them, making Haley''s eyes lit up.


    "Ed! Can you tell my parents that although I was skipping school today, it was for a good thing?" Haley requested.


    "Yeah ire. Don''t be mad at her. She really was helping out." I said to the parents.


    Phil smiled proudly as he turned to Haley and eximed, "Aww."


    "I wasn''t mad at her for staying. I''m mad because she lied to me about going to school." ire defended herself. I looked at Haley and shrugged, "I tried."


    "Ugh." Haley grunted while stomping her leg in frustration. She was grounded by her mother for three days as a punishment. Iughed and then she grabbed me and pulled me away from our parents for a while.


    "Hey! I can''t get grounded for 3 days. How am I going to n the party if that happens?" She whispered to me.


    "What party?" I asked, confused.


    "The Halloween Party! Here!" She eximed in disbelief. Iughed and said, "I''m just messing with you. Well, there is a way for you to get out of it though."


    "What is it?" She asked with expectations.


    "I''m not going to tell you, for free." I replied teasingly.


    "AH!" She gasped yfully, "After all I have done for you?"


    "Alright I owe it to you anyway." I said before I walked towards Phil and ire again. However, I turned to my dad and said, "Dad, do you remember our deal?"


    My dad, Ted thought for a second before he widened his eyes in shock, "Yeah. I remember."


    "What deal?" Phil asked with intrigue.


    I turned towards him and exined, "Oh, nothing much. The deal is that I will tell my dad when I am going to go into a deep sleep again. You know, so that he won''t panic and bring me to the hospital anymore. I really don''t want to be on the news again."


    ire became flustered and hurriedly said, "Are you okay Ed? Are you hurting anywhere? Can we do anything for you?"


    "Well, I don''t really need anything, but my heart will be more at ease if...you know, you don''t ground Haley."


    ire was taken aback, and Phil directly answered, "Don''t worry Ed. She won''t be grounded."


    "Phil!" ire eximed in disbelief.


    And that''s how Haley managed to get out of her punishment. Also how I got into mine.


    Around midnight, I was lying down on my bed shirtless, with a few heart monitoring devices connected to my chest, and a brainwave machine scanning my head.


    "Is this really necessary?" I asked my dad in disbelief. "Dr Grey?" I turned to Dr Meredith Grey who was smiling wryly next to my dad.


    "It''s necessary. You do this once, and I will never get worried about this thing, ever again." My dad said.


    I sighed before gettingfortable on the bed. "Alright then. Goodnight Dad, Doctor."


    "Goodnight Ed." Dr Grey said before turning off the lights for me. I activated my [Rest] skill, and I fell asleep in less than 30 seconds.

 Chapter 230: Fifth Gacha!

    <h4>Chapter 230: Chapter 230: Fifth Gacha!</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Standing in front of the empty receptionist desk, I picked up the file with my name on it from the table and eagerly opened it.


    Edward Newgate


    Affiliation: Senior Agent of the Afterlife Corps.


    Current status: Singer / Game Maker / Inventor / Apps Developer / Chef / Role Model / Government Precious Asset / Influencer / World Famous Celebrity / Caltech Aspirant / Scientist


    Positive Karma: 1.123 Billion (5 million in storage)


    Negative Karma: -52 Million.


    Supervisor Note: Born with a kind heart and a thirst for stories, Edward has the potential to enter Afterlife management after the death of his mortal body. �C Gong Shin


    "Wait. Senior Agent?" I brought the piece of paper closer to my face, bewildered by my new affiliation. "When did that happen?"


    As I read the notes, I realized that I was promoted because my positive gacha values had crossed the threshold of 1 billion karmic points.


    "1... Billion Karmas?" I froze as I read that line. "What in the actual (Bleep)?"


    My surprise was abruptly interrupted when I realized, "I can''t curse in here?" A mischievous smirk spread across my face as I decided to test the censorship. "(Bleep) you, mother (bleep), (bleep), (unintelligible dolphin sound), (sound of nature)--"


    I couldn''t help but burst intoughter, thoroughly amused. "That was awesome. They censored it based on the type of curse words."


    As no one was there to answer me, I turned to the next item of the file, which was a record of my talents and skills.


    "I can finally know what happened, or at the very least, I can know what I have integrated in me."


    "Sage mentioned before that I had done one session without me knowing about it. As I couldn''t remember when did that happen, it must be that I had done it when I was really young."


    With a slightly nervous heart, I started reading my character panel�C I mean, personal file.


    {Born With: Perfect Pitch Talent/ Musical Prodigy Talent}


    {Oth Gacha:}


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Prodigy''s Fate �C Kousei Arima Talent �C <strong><i>Shredded</i></strong>]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Elderly Lady Ma'' Talent]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Joey Tribiani �C 3 Month Expiry Date for rtionships'' Special Talent]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Joey Tribiani �C Enjoy life by Never finding the one true love, or getting married'' Talent �C]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Radio Demon �C All around Vocal range'' Special Skills]


    [Negative Gacha�C Paranormal Activity Ma] �C<strong><i>Destroyed by First Guardian. </i></strong>


    [Gold Quality Gacha�C Ryuichi Kashima (Gakuen Babysitter)- Special Gacha: Lucky Orphan.]


    {1st Gacha:}


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Knowledge, Beth Harmon �C Chess'']


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''Leonard Hofstadter �C IQ + 30'' Talent ]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Memories �C Hiruma Yoichi �C Football Training'']


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Edna Mode �C Fashion'' Talent]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Mei Hatsume �C Machinery'' Special Ability]


    {2nd Gacha:}


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Yuri Katsuki �C Dance Talent]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Noah Cutler (Dc Calctor) �C Skill �C Algorithm making'' Skill]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Kim Seo Jun �C Skill �C Godly Massage Techniques'' Skill]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Vandaliu �C Special Ability �C Parallel thoughts (Multitasking ability)'' Special Ability ]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Mike Ross �C Special Ability �C Eidetic Memory'' Special Ability]


    {3rd Gacha:}


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Captain America �C Enhanced Digestive System'' Special Ability]


    [Top Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Yu Ilhan �C Rest'' Skill]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Kenji Harima �C Animal Affinity (School Rumble)'' Special Ability]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Barney Stintson �C Photogenic poses (HIMYM)'' Skill


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Akira Hayama �C Spice Handling (Food War)'' Skill ]


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''Malcolm Reese �C Chef'' Talent]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Xia Shiyu �C Business management (I have a Mansion in Post Apocalypse)'' Knowledge]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''DC Chameleon �C Acting'' Skill]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Batman �C Anti-recognizance'' Skill]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Lee Jin Woo �C Golden Ratio Body Proportion (The Novel''s Viin)'' Talent


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Mermaid �C Soul Voice (The Little Mermaid)'' Special Ability]


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''IQ Increases by 20'' IQ Increase ]


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''IQ Increases by 10'' IQ Increase ]


    [Green Quality Gacha �C ''Kakashi �C Fashionablyte'' Talent]


    [Green Quality Gacha �C ''Baby �C Driving (Baby Driver)'' Skill ]


    [Green Quality Gacha �C ''Sakamoto-kun �C Prank Proof'' Skill]


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''7nguage proficiency (English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Mongolian, Korean)'' Skill]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Sakamoto-kun �C ''Exactly on time'''' Special Ability]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Bruce Wayne �C Trained yboy Character/ Making a character'' Skill]


    [Gold Quality Gacha �C ''Lex Luthor �C Image Management'' Knowledge]


    [Green Quality Gacha �C ''Kai Ling �C School Level Education (Mass effect. Year 2170)'' Memory]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Kenichi �C Karate (First Year) (History Strongest Disciple)'' Skill]


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''Charisma Increase]


    [White Quality Gacha �C ''Charisma Increase]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Jiang Chen �C Mutated Immune System (same as Xia Shiyu. He''s immune to everything from poison or any infectious diseases. Even deadly ones)'' Special Ability]


    [Barely White Quality Gacha�C God Usopp �C Lie to Truth �C Special Ability]


    {4th Gacha Draw:}


    [Purple Quality Consumable �C Fire Immunity �C Natsu Dragnell. One time Use]


    [ck-Gold Quality Enhancement- Soul Upgrade (One time use)]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Charisma of Wicked Wisdom'' Talent �CJames Moriarty ]


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C Detective Skill �C Shinichi Kudo (Detective Conan)]


    [ck-Gold Quality Gacha �C Kotoamatsukami (Distinguishing Heavenly God Illusion) �C Uchiha Shisui (One time use)]


    [Green Quality Gacha�C Piloting Skill �C Maverick]


    [Purple Quality Gacha�C Dance Skill �C Robert Alexander III / Moose (Step Up Movie)]


    [White Quality Gacha �C AI Creation Memory �C Tony Stark]


    [White Quality Gacha�C Hairspray Hand �C Aizen Sosuke]


    [ck-Gold Quality Gacha �C Talent Shredder �C Afterlife Corp]


    [White Quality Gacha �C One Piece Anime (Until Ending of Wano Arc) Memory �C Inaki Godoy]


    I stared nkly at the Oth Gacha part, unmoving, feeling stupefied. It was the first time in my life that I had been sopletely absorbed. Time seemed to slip away as I remained in a daze. It wasn''t until half an hourter that I was brought back to reality by the arrival of Gong Shin, the Korean man who was guiding me for the day.


    He noticed my state and asked, "Are you okay?" His question snapped me out of my trance, and I slowly turned my head towards him. "Oh, it''s you." I muttered with an ashen face.


    Gong Shin sighed and said, "You''re supposed to wait for me before you start reading. I''m sorry. I was the one who''ste."


    "Ummm...It''s fine-" I replied before I turned the pages towards him and asked while pointing at the section marked Oth Gacha. "Now that you''re here, can you exin to me about this? I thought I had my first session at 14 years old, so how�C"


    Mr Shin nodded and he sat down at the seat in front of mine. "Let''s see. The first one, was honestly...a mistake."


    "What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.


    Gong Shin pulled the drawer next to him open and took out a few more files. He exined in a calm and steady manner, "The first, or what we like to call here, the non-scheduled session, happened abruptly. We were all shocked when we saw a 1 year old baby being dropped in the middle of a session. And to make matters worse, we couldn''t prevent you from starting it."


    "H-How? Wasn''t I just a baby?" I asked with confusion.


    Gong Shin tilted his head and said tiredly, "You got dropped into a ball pit session. We did rush to prevent you from jumping into it, but even with those tiny feet of yours, none of our agents could be faster than you. You rushed into the ball pit, and your guardian had to pull you out of there."


    "Yeah about that. I saw the word guardian here a lot." I asked. "Who are they? Are they like you, or like Sage?"


    "Actually. They are both. But the rules prevent me from exposing their identity to you. So I cannot talk about that anymore." Gong Shin replied.


    I looked at him with suspicion, wanting to argue that if there were really rules like that, but he wouldn''t expose his presence as a supervisor to me before.


    "After I got out of the ballpit, what happened?" I asked curiously. At first, I wanted to freak out about the talents that I had integrated, but then I remembered the Talent Shredder existence. I just need to get that before starting a new rtionship so that it won''t end badly again.


    "Oh, you got spanked, and then you cried." Gong Shin said with a slight smile.


    I nodded and said, "I got spanked and cried�C" I widened my eyes in disbelief and repeated, "I GOT SPANKED AND CRIED!?"


    "Yeah, in front of everyone too." Gong Shin added mischievously. I covered my face in embarrassment and said, "I was a baby! That''s child abuse!"


    "Hey, take theint to your guardian, not me." He replied dismissively.


    "Then tell me who they are." I demanded.


    Gong Shin shrugged and said, "Sorry. Can''t break the rules."


    The vein in my forehead throbbed, and before I could say anything, Mr Shin said, "Enough about that. You don''t have a lot of time here. Why don''t you ask something else, like, what benefits will you get when you be a senior agent."


    "Ah." I was taken aback and then remembered that I was promoted. After he exined to me about the conditions of the promotions, heplimented me, "You know, it''s barely impossible for an agent to be a senior member in just under a year. Most of them took at least 3 years. Even then, you still can''t beat the guy who became a senior member in just a few hours."


    "Wait. Seriously? Someone did that? Who?" I asked curiously.


    Mr Shin replied, "I can''t tell you his name, but I can tell you how he got that."


    I was thoroughly absorbed and asked, "How did he do that?"


    He replied, "He was born...and that''s it."


    "Huh?" I was confused. Mr Shin smirked and added, "Born to be the sole heir of the Primarch."


    "Wait. he became...the son of the Emperor of mankind?? The one from Warhammer?" I asked with excitement.


    Mr Shin nodded in acknowledgement, making me exim in disbelief, "Whoa. Talk about a Golden Spoon."


    "Can we continue?" He asked.


    "Sorry. Go on." I replied.


    "There are a few benefits of bing a senior member. First, once a year, you can request to get a specific Talent, Skills, Memory, Knowledge, Or Special Ability of your choice. That includes consumables such as Talent Shredder, Memory Wiper, Ability extraction, and other one time use items. You do need to pay a corresponding price for those items. Some are priced cheaply, while others have exorbitant prices."


    I nodded as I listened to his exnations intently.


    "Secondly, your Karmic storage will be upgraded. Now you can store a maximum of 500 million points for future use."


    "Third, you''re entitled to a luck boost which you can use 3 times a year for your rolls. It''ll allow you to get what you want more easily."


    "Fourth, you can request to know the details of the prizes you have integrated."


    "I see." I rubbed my chin and asked, "How much do I need to pay to get a talent shredder?"


    "For a guaranteed result, 1 billion Karmic points."


    I mulled the numbers for a while and then asked, "This... Ryuichi Kashima talent...Can you tell me more about it?"


    Gong Shin flipped his file and he answered, "Lucky Orphan. The description here said, ''After being orphaned at the age of 15, you will find refuge with several kind hearted people that want to help you, and you will also receive a massive fortune in the future.''"


    "(Unintelligible dolphin noises), will I be an orphan in the future? I mean, the talent won''t make it happen, right?" I asked worriedly.


    Mr Shin read the files for a few minutes while my heart was beating wildly for his answer. He finally replied, "Well, it doesn''t mention it anywhere around here, but based on the people who have the same talent...there''s a 30 percent chance it will happen."


    I was taken aback, and then I sighed heavily. "I will buy the talent shredder and use it on the talent right now."


    "Are you sure?" He asked for confirmation.


    I looked at him with a determined expression and nodded. He acknowledged it and said, "Alright." He took out a piece of pen, and crossed out the talent from my personnel file. "I will mark it first, and I will remove the talent for you on your behalf."


    I sighed again as I looked at my personnel file. My focus went to the two worry-inducing talents.


    [Purple Quality Gacha �C ''Joey Tribiani �C 3 Month Expiry Date for rtionships'' Special Talent]


    [Red Quality Gacha �C ''Joey Tribiani �C Enjoy life by Never finding the one true love, or getting married'' Talent ]


    "You know, a lot of people will enjoy that Talent." Knowing what I was watching out for, Mr Shin interrupted my focus.


    "I know I know." I said dismissively. "Not having anymitment and just living your life. But...it''s not what I want." I replied with a heavy sigh.


    Mr Shin nodded in understanding and then stood up. He walked to my side, patted my shoulder, and said, "Let''s go. I''ll lead you to the lottery room."


    "Lottery?" I muttered as I looked at him.


    Inside the empty room, there was a small Japanese lottery machine being set up. I just needed to pay the toll for using it, and rolled the device, the ball prize wille out through the hole.


    After minusing the negative karmas, I decided to roll 10 gachas today, and I used all 3 of my luck boost at the beginning. The first two didn''t get me the prize that I wanted.


    [Red Quality Gacha�C Dr Strange �C Medicine, Knowledge]


    [Red Quality Gacha�C Kuroo Hazama �C Emergency First Aid, Skill]


    "Come on. Let there be something that can help my dad''s kidney." I said as I rubbed my face in exhaustion before using thest luck boost and rolling the prize.


    A golden ball came out. I reached for it and read the inscription on the ball.


    [Gold Quality Gacha�C Nameless Alchemist �C 10 Alchemist Pill, Knowledge (Login 10,000 years into the future)]


    "Right now, I don''t even know if this is a good thing or not." I muttered to myself. The prizes would be integrated after I returned, so I didn''t know whether it would be helpful to me at the moment.


    I just rolled the other 5 gacha callously after that, and received a couple of interesting prizes.


    [Green Quality Gacha�C Jack Wilder �C Sleight of Hand, Skill (Now You See Me)]


    [Purple Quality Gacha�C Akira Hayama�C Curry Recipes, Knowledge]


    [Green Quality �C Khusugtun �C Tibetan Throat Singing, Skill]


    [Red Quality �C Wace Corporation �C Holographic Technology, Knowledge (de Runner 2049)]


    [Gold Quality �C Shigure Kosaka �C Swordy, Knowledge]


    "Oh it''s a pity. It''s only knowledge, not skill." I muttered. "Two more." I rolled the device again. A white ball came out as the prize.


    [White Quality �C Mash Burndead�C Body Building, Memory]


    "Mash? I think I know that guy." I rubbed my chin as I thought about it, but all I could imagine was something akin to a Harry Potter movie. The final roll came anti-climatically as I got;


    [White Quality �C Jose Hector �C Frieren: Beyond Journey''s End Season 1 Memory]


    "Oh, a show again? Nice." I muttered in excitement. But even when I was done, I didn''t receive any type of suction trying to pull me back to reality. Because my soul power was strengthened, I had more time here in the afterlife, therefore I was stuck there awkwardly.


    "Now what should I do?" I muttered as I scratched my cheek. With millions of Karmic points and a maximum value of 666 points per roll, I needed to roll thousands of times if I wanted to empty my points and return early.


    "How much longer?" I muttered as I just rolled the device for fun. A golden ball came out, and I was surprised by what I had identally gotten.


    "Huh?"


    [Gold Quality Special Consumables �C Protection Spell �C Serie (One time use)]


    "I got a magic spell? That was nice." I smiled as I decided to roll it again. I was surprised when I got another great gacha.


    [ck Gold Quality Gacha�C D Family, Talent �C Trafalgar Law]


    "HOLY (Nature noise)" I held the back of my head as I eximed out loud. "Does that mean I can have the D middle name too?"


    I squealed in excitement for a while before I calmed myself down. "Damn, I really am Edward D. Newgate now. It''s better than my true middle name tho. The one that I won''t tell to anyone. Ever. Who in their right mind would actually put Charmeine as their son''s middle name?!"


    As I was grumbling, my hand subconsciously rolled the lottery device again. I couldn''t help it, it was too fun to roll that thing.


    [Red Quality Special Consumables �C Protection Spell �C Fern (One time use)]


    "Another consumables?" I became rmed. It was safe to say that consumables were extremely hard to get, but I received it twice in one session? It made me wonder if the luck boost I used before allocated these consumables for me instead of giving me something to cure my dad''s liver.


    I stopped myself from rolling the device again, and I muttered out loud, "I need to get out of here now. Or who knows how many more times I will ''identally'' roll this thing."


    Suddenly I heard Gong Shin''s voice in my mind, "If you want to go out, just say out loud that you want to end the session."


    "Ah. It was that easy." I muttered with disappointment to myself and then shouted to the room, "I want to end the session."


    I could finally feel the suction force pulling me back to the real world, but my mischievous mind wanted to know what would happen if I decided to roll the gacha again while the space was pushing me out.


    *Roll Roll Roll Roll Roll Special sound effect*


    A golden ball came out, and I could barely read it before I disappeared.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While Edward was in his suspended animation, Ted didn''t sleep and he looked closely at the heart monitoring machine, breathing in relief every time he saw a heartbeat line popping out on the screen.


    Dr Grey asked him, "Are you going to stare at him the entire night? We have already confirmed that he''s fine. You can go to sleep too."


    "No. I''ll keep watching." Ted replied while crossing his arms. Dr Grey let out a sigh before she took a seat right beside Edward. It took less than 2 hours before Edward''s heart rate returned to normal.


    "Ah. So he wasn''t lying." Ted exhaled deeply before sitting down right next to Edward. He smiled proudly as he looked at his son''s face. Dr Gray asked, "Should we wake him up?"


    "No. Let him continue sleeping. We can talk about it in the morning." Ted replied before turning to Dr Gray and said, "Thank you doctor. You can take your leave now."


    Meredith smiled and then as she read the charts, she looked up to Ted, and said, "If you feel like it, maybe we can go get some coffee?"


    Ted replied without looking at the doctor, "Nevermind, I just drank coffee before this."


    Disappointed, Meredith eximed, "Oh." Ted finally remembered something and took out his phone, "Right. I promised them."


    ...


    In the Dunphy''s house, Phil and ire had stayed upte, waiting by their phone while sitting at the kitchen. Both of them were in their pajamas, and they had a worried look on their faces.


    "How long will it take? I''m too anxious to even sit down." Phil said as he walked back and forth near the dining table.


    "Ted promised us that he will text as soon as he wakes up." ire replied as she pushed her sses up and worked on herptop, "In the meantime, I suggest that you''d find something to distract yourself with."


    "You''re something I can distract myself with." Phil stopped walking, looked intently at ire, and flirted. "Should we go upstairs, and figure out some ways we can pass the time?" He said as he walked behind ire and kissed her neck.


    "Aww Phil." ire''s breathing became heavier, and she said, "We can''t do that now. What if the textes while we''re upstairs."


    "You''re right." Phil muttered. Suddenly, the text came, surprising both of them. ire picked up her phone quickly and she read the text, "He''s fine! Let''s go Phil!" She grabbed Phil''s arm as both of them ran to the bedroom.


    Haley, who was hiding and watching the whole thing, eximed in disgust, "Ew ew ew ew ew..." She shook her hands before stealthily walking into the kitchen and reading the text.


    She was finally relieved, and then she grumbled, "If he''s staying close by, I could just go over there right now. I really should get that driver''s licence soon."

 Chapter 231: Tree Network

    <h4>Chapter 231: Chapter 231: Tree Network</h4>


    (Sorry for thete chap. I''ve been feeling down and depressed afterpleting my Head-Patting In Marvel Fic that I couldn''t bring myself to do anything.)


    [Edward''s POV]


    It was 10 am, and I had been awake for a couple of hours. I found myself in theb, engaged in the task of mixing chemicals and distilling them into a small liquor bottle. The resulting drink emitted a mesmerizing light blue glow, reminiscent of a sereneke.


    As I sealed the bottle with a cork, a sense of concern washed over me. "This is rather worrisome," I muttered to myself as I twirled the concoction in front of my eyes. "Perhaps it''s due to the substitutions I made in the ingredients."


    But I had no choice but to make those substitutions since none of the requiredponents existed on Earth. Here''s the recipe I followed:


    Extract the juice from one bottle of Ol'' Janx Spirit.Pour into it a measure of water sourced from the seas of Santraginus V �� Ah, the Santraginean seawater! And those Santraginean fish!Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to dissolve into the mixture (ensuring it''s properly iced to retain the benzene).Let four liters of Fallian marsh gas bubble through it, as a tribute to all the joyous hikers who met their end in the Marshes of Fallia.Gently float a measure of Quctin Hypermint extract over the back of a silver spoon, capturing the intoxicating aromas of the enigmatic Quctin Zones��subtle, sweet, and mystical.Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger and witness its dissolution, as it infuses the drink with the fiery essence of the Algolian Suns.Sprinkle Zamphuor.Finally, adorn the concoction with an olive.


    Thankfully, thest gacha I had gottenst night, which was the way to create a Pan Gctic Gargle ster drink from the Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Gxy, had the chemicalpositions of the ingredients too. Some, which was almost impossible for me to get.


    I ced the drink into my ck suit''s trouser pocket. I walked to the living room to get my double breasted ck jacket, and left for thepany in a hurry. Before I walked out the door, I muttered as I remembered something, "Oh, that''s right. Robin, Max is here today, so don''te out. When I get back tonight, I will upgrade your projection."


    I called Max early in the morning to get the ingredients for me, mostly alcoholic drinks. She made me promise to give her the leftovers from my experiments, but too bad for her, the 2 big crates she brought over were all gone now and turned into small vials of drink. The drink couldn''t even be called the pan gctic gargle ster anymore. "I think I''ll call the drink; Humans Essence."


    Robin said, her voice resonated in the living room, "I will allocate maintenance time for the upgrade." Then, she added, "Congrattions on creating your drink Sir. However, I need to remind you that you''re still underage, and it would be against thew for you to�C"


    "Robin, what did I tell you?" I asked with disbelief.


    Robin was silent for a while before she replied, "It''s not illegal if you do not get caught?"


    "Exactly. Also, I''m not drinking this, so you can put your mind at ease. It''s still untested. Maybe I''ll let Max be myb rat."


    "Please adhere to the Nuremberg Code when you''re conducting human experimentations Sir." Robin replied.


    My face contorted weirdly, "That''s...Not what I meant. You still have a lot of things to learn Robin."


    "I''m sure I will finally get it one day as I''m learning under your tutge Sir."


    I smiled and replied, "That''s right. Tell my dad I''m leaving too. Thank you Robin."


    Today I have a meeting with a representative from the military and the government for themunicationwork project. It would start in...around 10 minutes?


    As the car was approaching a traffic light, "Robin, can you make my way there smoother?" I talked to the AI as I wore a bluetooth earpiece.


    "On it Sir." Robin replied. The red light turned green immediately without my car even needing to stop, and it happened all the way until I reached thepany. The half an hour journey was done in just 10 minutes with Robin''s help.


    As I arrived at the main entrance, the representatives were already gathered in thepany corridor. I handed my key to the valet and strode confidently towards the group of important people, my hands open wide in a weing gesture. With a cheerful tone, I greeted them, "Wee, everyone!"


    I proceeded to shake hands with the first distinguished guest, the Colonel. He was a serious-looking ck man with a buzz cut, and a noticeable scar marked his nose bridge. His stern gaze met mine as he introduced himself, "Colonel James Hewlett, US military research and development. Today, I''m also the representative for the Department of Defense. "


    Next, I extended my hand to the other smiling woman who eagerly reached out first. She introduced herself as Senator La. Dressed impably in a professional pantsuit, her short ck hair and caramel-colored skin radiate confidence and authority despite being over 50 years old. However, I noticed a slight tic in her eyes, hinting at a sense of insecurity or unease for today''s meeting.


    "Why don''t we first walk to the tower before we start our discussions. I''ll lead the way, Senator, Colonel." I walked with the duo while getting to know the both of them, smiling andughing, trying to make them feel more at ease and to figure out the source of unease in the Senator.


    In the United States government, the department primarily responsible for overseeing and approving new telmunication projects, including continent-widework services, is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).


    The FCC is an independent agency that regtes and supervises various aspects of the country''smunication systems. It supposedly ys a crucial role in ensuring the avability, essibility, and fairness of telmunications services across the United States.


    The FCC has the authority to grant licenses, allocate radio frequencies, enforce regtions, and make decisions regarding telmunications policies. They review proposals and applications for new projects, evaluate their feasibility, and determine if they meet the legal and technical requirements. I needed to get the license first before I could proceed on my new business.


    As the department representatives walked towards the tower, they were taken aback by its appearance.


    "It looks... like a tree," Senator La eximed. "A metal tree!"


    With its silvery luster, the metal tree resembled a palm tree, its trunk spiraling upward. The leaves, in a mesmerizing disy, moved gracefully as they received signals, creating an ethereal sight that seemed straight out of a fantasy film. Senator La stood in awe, her mouth agape, captivated by the view. Only when the cough of another senator broke the spell did she snap back to reality, her wide-eyed wonder giving way to the present moment.


    The Colonel had a different focus. "It''s quite small. That''s a positive point on my list." He was thinking about ways the tower could be hidden from the enemy, and how to protect it in case there was an attack or an act of terror in the country.


    "Yeah, it only has a diameter of 2.5 meters and a height of 10 meters," I added.


    Both of them turned towards me in confusion, which puzzled me. "Ah, right. Americans. The diameter is approximately 8.2 feet, and the height is around 32.8 feet," I exined. Only then did they nod in understanding. I offered a wry smile as I proceeded to exin a few aspects of the tower to them.


    "The receiver, resembling leaves, ys a crucial role in this tower. Hypothetically, a single tower has the potential to handle the immense load ofmunication traffic across this entire continent."


    "Not only that, but its signal strength and transmitter range could epass the entirety of the American continent. However, envision this: if we were to construct seven of these towers strategically ced on every major continent, then... we could potentially forge awork that connects the entire world, without even needing tounch satellites into the sky."


    "Can we test it?" The Colonel interjected before I could finish my presentation. "Certainly," I replied with a bright smile. "Do you still have the SIM cards I provided?"


    The Colonel nodded affirmatively. "I do."


    "Then, by all means, let''s test it."


    The Colonel inserted the SIM card into a new phone and began making calls to his subordinates. I pointed to the cable next to the mainframe and suggested, "If you connect your phone here, we can all listen to the test."


    The Colonel pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement.


    "Jeckyl, can you hear me clearly?" the Colonel asked as the call connected.


    "I can hear you clearly, sir," the soldier, known by that codename, responded.


    "Where are you located?" the Colonel inquired.


    "Well, you asked me to go somewhere where no one can contact me. Right now, I''m in the middle of the Grand Canyon, sir," Jekyll replied, his voice panting from running.


    The Colonel nodded andmanded, "Mission aplished. Return to base immediately."


    "WHAT? What is even the mission��" the soldier attempted to ask, but the Colonel abruptly ended the call.


    He proceeded to call a few more of his subordinates. One was in a rainforest, another in an underground base in Nevada, one in an aircraft, and one in the White House.


    The test went on for a while, and even when someone was in a military bunker that had a device that could block the phone signals, the call could be connected instantly. It made the Colonel both impressed and rmed at the same time.


    After thorough testing, the Senator and the Colonel shared a nce with each other before both of them turned to look at me again. "We''re very...impressed, Mr Newgate." Senator La said as she nced at the Colonel.


    "Yes, we are. But, we also have...some concerns about this...new technology..." The Colonel added. "In fact, if POTUS hadn''t vouched for you himself, we would already have confiscated the entire thing by the authority of the Department of Defense."


    I smiled and said, "This seems like a long conversation, so why don''t we move our party to somewhere we can discuss this matter, in a morefortable setting."


    "But first, I need to do something, and I need your cooperation." The Colonel said before he took out some sort of radar, and started scanning my body.


    "Hmm?" I was confused as I saw him reading the data on the device.


    "Good. You''re not an alien. We can proceed." The Colonel said.


    "???"


    ...


    Inside the CEO''s office, I took a seat on the couch, facing the two individuals across from me, with a coffee table separating us. Crossing my legs and interlocking my fingers, I patiently awaited their remarks. Senator La withdrew a few documents, donned half-frame sses, and began speaking.


    "There are several crucialponents of your technology that need to be addressed before we can grant the license," the Senator exined. "Firstly, we need to know if you will disclose the technological blueprints��"


    "Of course not," I interrupted.


    Senator La was taken aback, releasing a few nervous coughs before continuing her point. "In our country''s economy, we have concerns about monopolies��"


    "That argument doesn''t hold water in this case," I interjected. "I am not preventing others from entering the industry. In fact, mypany is a neer itself, striving to make a name in this already saturated market. Eachpany has its own specialization. If they want ess to my technology, especially the giant conglomerates seeking to benefit from my hard work without putting in any effort, it amounts to bullying. If they expect me to disclose my tech, they should first disclose all their business secrets, and only then will I consider revealing mine."


    The Senator coughed awkwardly, her voice faltering as she nervously requested, "I''ll have some water first."


    Taking a stern approach, the Colonel addressed another key concern. "Another crucialponent is the potential threat posed to national security by your technology��"


    "Ah, you mean they won''t be able to track ''potential'' terrorists and hostiles, peek into their call histories, or block them?" I interjected once again. The Colonel sighed and advised, "You really should let us finish speaking before you��"


    "Harvey, pleasee in," I called out, interjecting yet again and summoning my backup. Harvey entered the room, carrying a slim tablet that I had personally designed, and handed it to the Colonel.


    "Hmm?" The Colonel appeared confused, and his eyes widened as he saw the screen.


    A mischievous chuckle escaped my lips as I began to exin, "I understand that the Department of Defense''s desire to confiscate the technology extends beyond national security��rather, it''s about maintaining control over the poption."


    My words, dripping with venom, were delivered with such grace that not even the sternest Colonel could object.


    "So, I''m offering you an opportunity to preserve the status quo. Go ahead, scroll to the next slide using your finger, and you''ll see several technologies I''ve developed for you to continue with the current state of affairs. Of course, I''ll only provide them to the DOD at a reasonable price."


    "Let''s face it, the DOD doesn''t want to change the status quo because they consider every single citizen a threat to this country, don''t they?" I sarcastically remarked, while maintaining a sincere tone.


    "After all the effort they''ve put into spying on the people, why waste all that hard work and embark on a whole new technological path, right? But if their efforts can be saved, I don''t think the upper echelon of the DOD would object to it."


    "Now that we''ve set aside the ''con'' list, let''s talk about the ''pro'' part of this deal," I said, shifting my gaze towards Senator La. Between the two of them, she appeared more susceptible to persuasion.


    "Imagine if we were to release the news that our country has a new type ofmunication channel��one that couldn''t be blocked or detected. How do you think our allies or enemies would react?"


    "I don''t think that''s an appropriate topic for discussion," she replied, her eyes quivering as she sought help from the Colonel.


    "Why not? Just humor me for a second," I cloyingly requested. "What would they do? Would they...start a war?" I pretended as if I didn''t know the answer, and asked with shock.


    "No, they wouldn''t start a war," the Senator replied quickly.


    "Then how would they react?" I asked innocently. The Senator hesitated but eventually responded, "At most, they would try to reverse engineer the technology to use it for themselves."


    "And who would decide which countries actually get that technology, rather than just the service?" I pressed further. "Who holds the power to decide in which countries the tower will be built?"


    Her eyes widened in realization as I stood up and walked behind her. cing my hand on her shoulders, I leaned in and whispered devilishly, "Just imagine, the leaders of the free world, all of them having to cater to your every whim just to get a chance at obtaining the technology. They would hang on your every sigh and light up at the sight of your face. How does that feel?"


    "It feels...great," she muttered, her breathing heavy. Judging by her personality and evident need for recognition, whether it came from the Colonel or myself, she had likely been pushed around quite a bit in the bureaucratic arena. Powers like the ones I''ve whispered, were intoxicating to her.


    Returning to my seat, I looked at the Colonel with a smile and said, "And Colonel James, the concerns that the DOD has, I don''t think they would be a problem if those issues had to be faced by other countries, not our own, right?"


    The Colonel nodded subtly, and just as suddenly, I crossed my legs, leaned back in my seat, and remarked, "So, for today''s meeting, rather than trying to stop me, if I were you, I''d figure out how you can get a piece of the pie, shouldn''t you?"


    Both of them widened their eyes as I chuckled and added, "I mean, the ''pros'' are enticing and all, but you guys don''t really have anything to do with the tech...unless you manage to convince me. That''s supposed to be the focus of your meeting today. So,dies and gentlemen, shall we stop ying games and instead, discuss your offers?"


    ...


    As the meeting stretched on into the evening, the sun began its descent, casting long shadows in the room. While the final decisions had not yet been reached, I had already managed to siphon off over 2 billion dors from the DOD as upfront payment, along with numerous special benefits from the government, including a substantial research grant for mypany.


    Leaning back in my chair, I let out a heavy sigh and suggested, "Let''s continue the meeting next week, same day."


    Senator La removed her sses and rubbed her temples wearily before agreeing, "Yes, we should."


    The Colonel nodded in assent and added, "If there are any drinks avable, that would be greatly appreciated."


    "Oh, um, I can''t legally serve you, but I believe there''s some whiskey in Pepper''s drawer." I walked over to Pepper''s office desk and opened the drawer. "Nope. Only white champagne."


    Harvey, who had been by my side throughout the meeting, spoke up, "I have some." She returned from her office with three sses and a bottle of whiskey.


    "Ed, you can''t drink," she yfully reminded me. I eximed in disappointment, "Aww."


    The Colonel looked puzzled for a moment before sighing heavily. "I forgot. You''re just a teenager. I cursed you a few times during this meeting for being a nightmare, but I forgot that you''re only the same age as my son."


    I smiled at Harvey and said, "If you guys like, I have something special here that will take the drink to another level."


    "Pfft, you''ve never even tried whiskey before," Harvey chuckled to herself


    Both senators snickered at my misery, which satisfied their inner resentment a bit from being thoroughly oppressed during the meeting before.


    Smiling mischievously, I pulled out a vial from my pocket and said, "I won''t say anything that could get me in trouble, but I''m not joking about this." I twirled the vial in front of Harvey, capturing her attention.


    "Oh, but it''s such a small amount," Harvey remarked. I opened the vial, instantly filling the room with intoxicating aromas. The Colonel even swallowed his saliva as he watched me drop a small amount of the solution into his whiskey-filled cup.


    "What is that?" he asked, curiosity piqued.


    "It''s just something I cooked up myself. Don''t worry, the solution doesn''t contain any dangerous chemicals or drugs."


    The trio didn''t hesitate for long before they raised their sses, clinking them together in a toast. As the liquid touched their tongues, their eyes widened, and their bodies trembled with euphoria.


    "Ueughhh!! AHH~~~~ WOOOWWW!!" the Colonel eximed. Senator La held her head and let out a pleasurable exmation, while Harvey emitted soft moans. The effectssted only a fleeting five seconds before fading away.


    "That''s the best drink I''ve ever had in my entire life," the Colonel proimed. "What do you call these additives?"


    "I call it��"


    "Euphoria," Harvey interjected unconsciously. I looked at her and suddenly felt that my choice of name, "Human Essence," sounded ratherckluster and suspicious.


    "Yeah, I call it Euphoria," I replied, concealing my internal embarrassment.


    After the Senators left, I talked to Pepper and gave him the details of the meeting. He froze for a while, and asked with a shaky voice, "2 b-Billion?"


    "Yeah. DOD is he rich. But, we still don''t have the money yet. Not until the sales agreement and joint cooperation are finalized." I added. "I''ll leave the other details to Harvey for her to exin it to you."


    Pepper was still nking out, and then he said weakly, "D-Drive safe."


    I looked at him weirdly before waving goodbyes to everyone. As I arrived at the valet, a crowd of paparazzis snapped my photos, filling the sidewalk. Security members had to build a line around me to block them.


    "Edward! Did you move out of your house!?!"


    "Why are Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgen on your Live Stream?"


    "Who did you have a meeting with?"


    They shouted multiple questions into my direction. But I just smiled and waved before getting into my car and drove away.


    ...


    Back to my new home, as I was tinkering with Robin''s new body, Max incessantly badgered me about the drink. She got the information from Harvey, and left behind the hot date she had to get a taste of the drink.


    "No. You can''t drink it on its own." I replied nonmittedly as Max whined.


    "Come on. A hot girl is begging to get drunk at your house, and you weren''t even trying to look in her direction." Maxined yfully.


    I took off my goggles and turned my head, "There I have looked in your direction now. My answer is still no."


    Harvey told me that she almost had an orgasm when drinking the mixture. She might be joking, but there was no way I was going to take the chance with Max, especially since we were left alone in the house tonight.

 Chapter 232: Cream Puff.

    <h4>Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Cream Puff.</h4>


    (Sorry I have a fever)


    [Edward POV]


    I woke up around 4 am after opening the memory I had gotten, the Mash Burnedead bodybuilding memory. I stare nkly at the ceiling for a while before I muttered in Japanese, "Asa okitara shukurimu wo tabetai (When I wake up in the morning, I want to eat a cream puff.)"


    The upgraded Robin appeared next to my bed while squatting, looking at me intimately and affectionately as she ced her hand under her chin. "Good Morning Ed." She said cutely as she tilted her head to the side.


    However, all of the charm that Robin had learned was useless at the moment. I turned slowly with a nk face. Robin asked cheerily, "Would you like me to order you a cream puff right now."


    "Hai (Yes!)" I replied in Japanese again before rubbing my sore forehead. As Robin walked away with a spring in her steps, I sat up from the bed and took off my pajamas.


    "Damn it. Why is that guy''s memory is only lifting weights, eating cream puffs, making cream puffs, surveying cream puffs, trying to make a cream puff protein powder. Who is even that guy? And why am I hearing a song in my head? Bling Bang Bang Born?" I muttered as I washed my face, brushed my teeth, andbed my hair into a mushroom head hairstyle at the same time.


    "Should I eat the cream puff first, or should I go to the gym first?" I muttered to myself. My body reacted and I instinctively walked to the gym. I wore a ck skin tight suit, and a white short to cover up the indecent area, and started working out.


    "Robin, can you please record this? I want to get the message out there."


    "Sure Eddy~" Robin answered before she manifested a camera in her hand. The real work was done by the camera in her holographic projection, which could record a 4k video of the surroundings.


    I sat on the push up bench seriously with my hands interlocked together in front of my face.


    "Do you know why human beings have arms?" I asked seriously while I yed a violin sound in the background.


    "It''s so that they can hold dumbells." Robin slowly zoomed the camera closer to my face and body as I sent out my message.


    "Do you know why human beings have legs?"


    "It''s so we can deadlift barbells."


    "Do you know why human beings have a brain?"


    "It''s so that we can calcte how many reps we did when we''re lifting weights."


    "Do you know why human beings have a heart?"


    "It''s so we can pump blood into our muscles...to LIFT EVEN MORE WEIGHTS!"


    "MUSCLE IS POWER!" I flexed my biceps to the camera seriously. Then, I told Robin, "Post it to my social media Thank you RB."


    "Okay. I will." Robin nodded seriously. I walked to the push updder, where I jumped upwards to grab the pull up bar. As I raised myself up on the bar, I needed to push the bar into another level�C like adder. Sweat was dripping on my chin as I did it, but my face remained expressionless.


    Robin included that footage into the video before she posted it on my Instagram on my behalf. Then, I finally snapped out of the memory remnants, "Huh? What did I just do?"


    I thought about it, and figured that it wouldn''t be harmful to my image, so I just forgot about them and continued working out. The ck tight was drenched after I did a full 2 hour high level strenuous workout routine before drinking the protein powder.


    "I should really make a cream puff voured protein powder, just as a tribute to that guy." I muttered as I gulped down the big bottle of protein shake greedily.


    After taking a shower, and putting some bandage on my muscles underneath, I asked, "Robin, did you get any of the ingredients I wanted?"


    Robin replied as she pointed to the small wooden box next to my bed, " It''s hard to collect them all. Some of them have still not been found yet. But your staff members are working hard to get them all."


    "Alright. Let''s see. Hmm, a muscle soreness relieving pill would be great for me." I muttered to myself. In the previous gacha, I had received 10 ordinary pills from a nameless alchemist. I have to say, it was honestly the best prize I had gotten in yesterday''s draw.


    It took me half an hour to prepare the muscle soreness pills, and I took it instantly after that. All of the soreness from my excessive workouts this morning dissipated away, and I be more energetic now.


    "I''m going to school today," I told my dad as I walked into the kitchen. I was dressed casually in a ck long-sleeve shirt, jeans, and sneakers.


    I nced at my dad, who seemed absorbed in a newspaper, as I grabbed some bread to make myself a breakfast sandwich. I couldn''t resist teasing him, "Why are you doing the crossword? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"


    "Oh, Ed. Do you want me to drop you off?" My dad finally responded, his eyes glued to the newspaper. He let out a sigh and admitted, "Frankie mentioned that she does crossword puzzles a lot. I tried to impress her by saying I did them too, but now I''m regretting it."


    "Okay, I get it," I nodded understandingly. We all want to impress our partners with shared interests or activities. This made me feel a bit jealous of my dad as he got to enjoy this. But, I still offered my help.


    "Give me one you''re struggling with." I said as I served my breakfast on a te and walked to the table, sitting in front of him.


    "25 across. Capital whose name means ''sheltered bay''," my dad asked eagerly.


    "Honolulu," I promptly replied as I cracked an egg into the pan.


    He checked the crossword with a serious expression and grinned, "It fits."


    "Give me a tougher one," I challenged with a hint of smugness.


    "Alright, 46 Across. Los Angeles fossil site. Six letters," my dad asked.


    "LA BREA," I answered after contemting for a few seconds.


    "That fits as well. But that''s it. I have to do the rest myself. Otherwise, it''s cheating," my dad apologised.


    I rolled my eyes at him and retorted, "You''ve already cheated twice."


    Just then, Max walked in groggily and was shocked when she heard my statement. "Ted. For real? I never took you for a guy who would cheat. Poor Frankie�C"


    "ON THE CROSSWORD PUZZLE!" My dad interjected quickly to clear his name. "I cheated on the crossword puzzle!"


    "Oh," Max eximed before grinning mischievously. "I''m still going to tell her." She then turned her predator-like gaze toward me, giving me goosebumps. The only reason she woke up early today was to continue what she was vying forst night.


    "Robin, please lock myb. Don''t let anyone enter without my permission," I said. The Euphoria solution was stored in theb, which made Max shout Pitifully, "NOOO!!!"


    Robin, who had been upgraded and now had a full AI projection body, walked towards the kitchen. (See de Runner 2049 Joy AI) Her appearance was indistinguishable from a real human, with her face modeled after Sage�C simr, but not the same. She wore a 1950s housewife dress,plete with a ponytail and a pearl ne on her neckline. However, the quality was downyed by me as she was shown to be glitchy and could only appear in the area where there were projectors.


    My dad''s eyes widened as he saw Robin, "Sage?"


    "Mr. Theodore, you''re a jokester. I''m Robin," she giggled, approaching my dad and cing her hand on his shoulder, which passed through his body.


    Her yful demeanor made my dad''s heart skip a beat. He quickly snapped back to reality, looked at me in disbelief, and asked, "Ed. What the hell did you do?Are you...in love with Miss Anna, your teacher?"


    "Max will exin it to you." I said dismissively as I looked at the time. "I need to go now if I want to get to school on time."


    Dad looked at Max for exnation, in which Max replied, "Ed''s building a sex robot�C"


    "You know what Dad? I still have time, I''ll exin it to you now." I stopped going away and walked to my dad before pushing Max away from him.


    A few minutester, as I walked out of the house with Max badgering me for a sip of the drink behind me, Randall appeared at the door with a box of cream puffs in his hand.


    Panting heavily, Randall said, "I...I made...it... Now...Please don''t send me back to New York..."


    Max saw Randall and was surprised, "Wait. Since he''s here, does it mean that I need to go back?"


    ...


    It has been a while since I came to school. Crowd of fans waving banners of my name and my posters cheered excitedly as they saw my car pull up into the school''s ground.


    Already prepared for this, Principal Brown had increased the security around the school campus, blocking out the fans and the paparazzis from entering the school block. Suddenly, the crowd went silent as they were nning something.


    "1...2..."MUSCLE IS POWER!"!!!" They chanted as they flexed their biceps, which made me burst outughing. I waved at them, and before I could go into the schoolpound, a few of them shouted, "ED! Can we get a picture with you!?"


    "You guys know what? You made my day. So yeah." I walked towards them, which made the fans exim excitedly.


    While I was taking pictures with them, Principal Brown used his megaphone to talk to me, "Mr Newgate! You need to go in right now! You are alreadyte for ss! Go in Now�C HEY! Who threw the soda can at me! Sto- Stop that�C"


    The fans threw several things at the principal as they heard him calling me. I smiled apologetically at them and said, "You guys heard him. I''m sorry. I need to go in. I''ll see you guyster."


    As I was walking to my ss, I checked my Instagram ount, and found out that my short video had gone viral. A lot of the gym bros were reposting my videos, and it was also mentioned in several talk shows this morning.


    Several people tried to mimic the pull updder exercise that I had done, and found out that it was quite difficult to do. Only those with a great fitness level and a high reflex rate could do the exercise.


    Those who managed to do it promptly praised me for being able to do so with an expressionless face as if the exercise was nothing for me. However, one interesting thing I saw on social media was, a lot of the gym goers were asking me if I would write or create a song that they could work out to.


    "Hmm? Should I do that?" I muttered to myself.


    *Knock Knock*


    I stood in front of the door to Sage''s ssroom and knocked on it gently. "I know I''mte, but can Ie in?" I asked while shing a charming smile. The students of the ss had their faces beamed as they saw me. Haley and Tara excitedly called me to sit at the empty seat next to them.


    "No. Go to the principal''s office to receive your disciplinary actions. Honestly, I hope you get detention." Sage said coldly.


    Me: ...


    Other students: ...


    Haley: ...


    I sighed and leaned at the door, "Is that necessary?"


    "Or, would you rather I spank you right here right now?" Sage said with a slight smirk as she took out a metal ruler.


    The ssughed in excitement. Haley stood up and shouted, "Spank him!"


    I looked at her bewilderingly, which made her shrug and said, "What? I''m just giving my support to the teacher."


    "I''ll go meet Principal Brown." I replied as I walked away, causing the students to exim in disappointment.


    "Why are you here?" Principal Brown asked with confusion as I walked into his office.


    "I''mte, so Miss Anna sent me to the Principal''s office." I replied.


    "Ah, right. Um...I don''t want to get killed, so I won''t give you detention. So, let''s do something else." Principal Brown said, and then he stopped talking.


    "Hmm?" I was confused, and stared at him, but he kept smiling and didn''t talk.


    "What should I do?" I asked, trying to get him to continue. But he was still silent and just looked at me smilingly.


    "???"


    Suddenly, Amanda, the Student Council President, and the girl I met before during prom, knocked on the Principal''s office.


    "You want to see me Principal Brown?" Amanda asked before she widened her eyes as she saw me. "Ed-uard�Co"


    "Eduardo?" I asked teasingly, knowing that she had messed up her pronunciation.


    Amanda blushed in embarrassment and called out while waving shyly at me, "Edward Newgate."


    "Right, Edward, I figured out what to do with you. Why don''t you go and help Amanda paste these flyers for the school''s dance on the bulletin boards?" Principal Brown suddenly spoke.


    "Took you long enough." I retorted with disbelief.


    ...


    Amanda and I went to the cafeteria to post the flyers on the bulletin board there. "So...I hear you''re throwing a party this Sunday?" Amanda asked, she kept avoiding her eyes from looking directly towards me, as if I was the sun during an eclipse.


    "I don''t know yet. I might be." I replied ambiguously as I stapled the paper on the board.


    "You know,st time I threw a party, only...3 people were there..." Amanda said pitifully. She tried hinting at me, "I''m-I''m sure that you already have enough people already�C"


    "Aren''t you the student council president? Shouldn''t you be famous? Why did no onee to the party?" I asked with bewilderment. "Unless you were throwing a swingers party�C In which, I could argue that more than 3 people still need to be there, cause you need even numbers and at least 2 couples."


    "I didn''t throw a swingers party. I threw the party and then Reba Johnson threw her 17th birthday party at the same time! So no one came to my party!" Amanda muttered aggrievedly, showing her dissatisfaction with her entire body.


    I chuckled a bit and said, "Ah, so,ck of nning then. Are you even sure you''re asian?"


    She rolled her eyes at me and pouted, "If you don''t want to invite me, that''s fine! You don''t need to make fun of me too!"


    "Oh no-no, I''ll be sure to invite you, if the party is on." I replied with a chuckle.


    "Finally! It''s myst chance to be hip! And cool! Andid back! I need to show everyone else the fun side of me before I graduate!" She said as she wrote her number on a small notepad and ripped the page off before giving it to me.


    "Who are you going as for Halloween?" I asked curiously.


    "Ruth Bader Ginsburg." Amanda replied excitedly. "What?" She asked as she saw I was looking at her weirdly.


    "And you want everyone else to think that you''re fun?"


    After biding my time in the mmer, I went back to the ssroom, and went on with my day at school as usual. I stayed behind after school ended to join in the football practice, and hang out with my friends at a family restaurant nearby.


    The couples were sitting next to each other at the edge of the table while Jenna and Enid sat right next to me at the centre.


    Jacob thers his french fries with ice creams before eating it. Jenna looked at him with disgust before she turned to me and asked, "Ed, are you going toe again tomorrow?"


    "No. I have to go to a film set. Wannae with? It is a Disney set, so there''s a high chance of you getting molested, but you''ll be safe if you stay close to me."


    Jenna rolled her eyes with disgust and said, "I''m not going!"


    "I''ll GO!" Enid said excitedly. "I''ll risk it�C"


    I flicked her forehead and scolded, "Don''t willingly take that stupid risk."


    "What''s the filming for?" Finneas asked. Billie wasn''t around today as she had a slight fever.


    "Wizards of Waverly ce." I replied as I opened my mouth because Enid was feeding me some fries.


    "Oh. Selena. Are you going to date her next after dumping her best friend?" Alex asked sarcastically.


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I don''t think I''ll date anyone for the foreseeable future."


    "Why not?" Jacob asked.


    I shrugged as an answer. Abraham suddenly changed the topic, "You know what will be pretty funny? You show everyone that you''re going to wear a Batman outfit, and then you wear Superman''s clothes during Halloween."


    I was seriously considering that suggestion when Enid eximed nervously, "NO! I have already bought a catwoman''s outfit! It''s very very hard to find too! Don''t change your outfit now! Screw you Abracadabra!"


    "Hey! Screw you too!" Abraham and Enid started arguing. I looked at the time, and saw that it was almost 6 o''clock. "I have to go now. Who''sing home with me? Enid and Finneas right?"


    "What about me?" Jacob asked pitifully.


    Elsa rolled her eyes and said, "You said that you''re going home with me! We''re catching a ride with Jenna.


    Jenna asked me, "Ed, can we change passengers? Everytime this dumb couple catches a ride with my mom, they will make out in the backseat."


    I nodded as I red at the duo, "They are just like Alex and Finneas. The two of them can''t be stuck together too."


    "Hey that''s nder! We kissed once!" Alex retorted.


    I looked at Finneas teasingly and he shyly showed two fingers.


    "Twice! You dog!" I teased him.


    As I was driving home, I called Haley. "Hey, you know what? You win. The party''s on."


    "YES!" Haley eximed excitedly. "I''ll handle everything! You don''t need to worry about anything!"

 Chapter 233: Frustrated.

    <h4>Chapter 233: Chapter 233: Frustrated.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    *Ring Ring Ring*


    In the living room, I set up myptop on top of the coffee table while I sat on the couch, reading Percy Jackson and the Olympian Book 1 �C The Lightning Thief, and I called someone.


    *Bling* The person on the other side picked up the Skype call.


    "Hi." Alex answeredzily as she propped her head with one hand. She was using the familyptop in the living room to do her homework.


    "Have you read the books?" I asked her while showing the Percy Jackson books to the screen.


    "I haven''t finished it yet." She replied with slight interest. "Why, is the ending good?-"


    "You''re useless then. Goodbye." I said as I cut the call.


    "HEY! THAT''S RUDE! �C" She protested.


    Then, I dialed another number, which was the only experimental physicist that I knew who liked to read. <i>Well the only one I liked to talk to at least. </i>Leonard answered it while holding a pizza slice in his hand, "Hello?"


    "Pizza night?" I asked.


    "Yeah, wanna join us?" He asked with a smile. I saw Sheldon sitting on his usual spot, and I said yfully, "I''lle if you''ll let me sit where Sheldon''s sitting right now."


    "Then you''re in for a disappointment, because I''ll never give up my spot to a teenage pop star with attitude issues." Sheldon retorted from afar.


    "The only person here who has issues is you..." I snarked back, and then I realised. "Wait. All of you guys there have issues." I nodded pitifully, which made Howard and Raj burst out in anger, "We don''t have issues! We''re normal."


    "Really? One is too horny, one has selective mutism. Also, have you forgotten about thetent homosexual feelings you guys have towards one another? That can actually be easily seen... in as day as a matter of fact."


    Leonard turned to his friend and looked at them with disbelief, while trying to figure out how he had never seen that before. Sheldon also did the same thing, but he was just curious on whether that was true.


    Both of them spat out their food. Howard said defensively, "We don''t havetent homosexual feelings towards one another?!"


    "Yeah, tell him Howard!" Rajesh shouted.


    "I see." I said, but my face still showed that I wasn''t believing them.


    "I swear to god! I''m adies man! I''m not gay!" Howard said while walking towards theptop, bringing his face closer to the screen, slowly bing unhinged.


    "Hey Guys! I thought I smelled pizza." Penny opened the door and entered the apartment.


    "If you don''t believe me, then I''ll prove it to you!" Howard whispered before he resolutely walked to Penny.


    Penny looked at him with disdain and said coldly, "What?" She was clenching her fist too, ready to strike him the moment he crossed the line.


    "Nevermind." Howard shirked back and returned to his seat. Leonardughed out loud, which made Penny ask, "Why are you so happy�C Wait, Hi Edward!"


    "Hi Penny." I greeted casually. She was bending down to greet me, and was wearing a low cleavage shirt, so I could peek into her dress. "Did Leonard call you? What did he make you do? Settle a bet?" She asked.


    Leonard chuckled and said, "He''s the one who called, just to make us realise that Howard and Raj may havetent homosexual feelings for one another."


    "Stop talking about it!" Howard shouted begrudgingly. Rajesh tried to whisper in his ears as he couldn''t say anything with a woman present, which made Howard get startled and said, "You whispering in my ear is not helping our case right now."


    "Ohh. You know what? I had a hunch about that when I saw the way they were dressed." Penny joined in.


    Howard exploded, and he stormed off the apartment with Leonardughing at him. He only did it for a few seconds beforeing back in. "I still haven''t finished my dinner yet." He muttered pitifully.


    Rajesh in the meantime managed to blurt out, but only towards Sheldon, "What''s wrong with the way I''m dressed!?"


    "Penny, as much as I love to see what''s under your shirt, can I talk to Leonard? I can call you back next time for us to continue this lovely interaction." I said as Penny kept hogging the camera.


    "Ah!" Penny burst intoughter and covered up her cleavage. "I didn''t realise that. Also, we''re not continuing anything." She said yfully.


    Leonard and Howard realised it based on the angles, and muttered begrudgingly, "You ungrateful bastard."


    I ignored them and asked, "Which one of you has read the Percy Jackson books before?"


    They looked at each other to see if anyone was raising their hands up, but none did.


    "Damn it. Aren''t you guys like nerds? Why haven''t any of you read the books? Especially you Shelly Cooper. I''m so disappointed in you." I said angrily.


    Sheldon was confused as to why I was berating him, and he corrected me, "First of all. I''m Dr Sheldon Cooper. Only my mother can call me Shelly. Secondly, the target audience for the books is teenagers. I''m already an adult."


    I looked at him with disbelief and asked, "Seriously? Now take a close look around your apartment, and then say that again."


    Pennyughed out loud and said, "Oh my god, you guys are the target audience."


    Howard teased Sheldon, "And the book is in your wishlist. You just haven''t gotten the time to find it yet."


    "Sorry Ed. Looks like we can''t help you with your problem. What is it you want to ask anyway?" Leonard asked apologetically.


    "Well I want to ask about the current adaptation of the book into a movie, and I can''t really do it without spoiling you about the storyline."


    "Wait. They are making it into a movie?" Howard asked curiously.


    "It''s still in progress. 20th Century Fox hasn''t officially begun yet. I really want to discuss the adaptation with someone, but so far, none of the people I know have read the books," I exined.


    "Oh, umm... Why don''t you call us back tomorrow? I promise I''ll go and buy the books tonight. We can discuss it tomorrow. I think I can finish one of the books in a day," Leonard suggested.


    "Me too," Sheldon chimed in.


    "I don''t think I''ll have time tomorrow. I have to go to a film set," I replied, feeling disappointed. Just then, I received a call from Alex.


    "I have to go now. I''ll talk to youter," I waved goodbye to the guys. However, Penny stopped me by grabbing theptop and moving it away from the guys.


    "I''m throwing a party this Sunday... Wait, I don''t think I can invite you," Penny backtracked after realising I was still in high school and there would be alcohol and drunken guests at the party.


    "So you''re just rubbing it in my face?" I asked, feeling incredulous.


    Penny looked startled but then smiled mischievously. "Not what I meant, but sure. It''s too bad for you. There will be plenty of pretty girls there."


    "Unfortunately for you, I''m throwing a party too. You know, just for the young people," I teased with a smirk. "You oldies can''te."


    "O-Old? I''m only 22 years old," Penny protested.


    I disconnected the call before she could finish her sentence and answered Alex''s call. There, I could see Alex sitting with Phil.


    "Hi Ed," Phil greeted warmly, waving his hand.


    Alex rolled her eyes and said, "Didn''t you say you were going to talk to him about his attitude?"


    "Why would he? Your dad and I are besties," I replied, making Phil beam with pride and Alex look gloomy.


    "That doesn''t even make any sense," she retorted.


    Phil interrupted and said, "Hey Ed, I heard you''re looking for someone who''s read the Percy Jackson books. Well, I''ve got you covered. I''ve read the first three." He proudly disyed his well-worn books, marked with signs of heavy use.


    I smiled and said, "Thank goodness I found someone. That''s great, Phil. I''ve only finished reading the first one."


    Alex rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and disdainfully remarked, "You''ve only finished one book, and you''re already eager to show off?"


    "Yeah, so for those who <strong><i>HAVEN''T</i></strong> finish the books yet, you can go away now."


    "Ugh!" Alex grumbled in dissatisfaction before storming off. "You know what? I''ll make sure to read all 5 books before you. And you can''t even do anything about it since you are <strong><i>so busy</i></strong>!" Alex threatened and mocked.


    Phil smiled and said, "You''ve read The Lightning Thief, right? Wasn''t the twist surprising?"


    "Yeah, people don''t find out that Luke was the thief until the end," I replied, feeling frustrated about the way the movie adaptation had been handled in my previous world.


    The whole movie felt like a giant middle finger to the creator, Rick Riordan. From the casting choices to the misrepresentation of characters'' personalities, such asbining Annabeth and risse''s characters in the first movie, portraying Grover as overly lustful, and the overall adaptation of the books, it was quite disappointing.


    "Say Phil, what do you think about adapting this book into a movie?" I asked him while slowly getting to my point.


    Phil was excited and he said, "I think it''ll be pretty good. The books are great, so I am looking forward to the movie. Why do you ask? Wait�� Are your studio''s the ones making it!?"


    "I wish!" I muttered, dissatisfied.


    "Why do you look annoyed?" Phil asked.


    "It''s...I think it''s better if you see the screeny for the movie first." I said as I emailed the document to Phil.


    From his initial excitement, Phil''s smile suddenly disappeared, and he became more and more annoyed as he read the screeny I had Robin hack from the movie''s screenwriter.


    "Hydra? What about the Chimera? What about all the stuff about Gods who ignored their children? What about the duel with Ares?" Phil criticised the screeny heavily.


    "At the final battle against Luke, he flew to the sky? Doesn''t the screenwriter know that Percy cannot fly or enter the sky, which is Zeus''s domain, as the son of Poseidon? He will get struck down instantly! That''s why Rick gave his shoes to his friends in the first ce." Phil continued.


    I was finally relieved when I had someone that shared the same sentiment about the adaptation. Weined about a lot of things about the movie, for almost an entire hour.


    "Why? WHY!? Ed? Can you tell me why they decided to botch everything about the book?" Phil asked, disgruntled.


    "Honestly, maybe it''s because of Alexandra Daddario." I replied.


    "Who?" Phil asked, confused. Then, I showed the actress''s picture to the screen. "I mean, she''s pretty hot. So maybe that''s why the studio decided to not cast a 12 year old and cast her instead."


    "I can see that." Phil said, visibly admiring the 23 years old actress.


    "See what?" Suddenly, ire appeared behind Phil, startling him. He straight away closed the picture tab, which confused me because it wasn''t as if he was caught looking at pictures of naked women.


    "H-Hey Honey. You''re home."


    "Mitch and Cam are already home, so I don''t need to babysit anymore." ire replied. "Honey, did you remember to pick up the dry cleaning?" She asked Phil.


    "Yeah, it''s in the kitchen." Phil replied with a nervous face. "What''s wrong?" ire asked her with confusion.


    "N-Nothing. I was just talking about Percy Jackson books with Ed." He replied.


    "I''m going to go now." I chimed in. ire finally saw me and said, "Goodnight Ed."


    "Goodnight ire. And Goodnight Alexandra Ddadario super fan." I said as I waved them goodbye. I saw ire turned her head towards Phil with suspicions, and Phil gave me a hard look. "Why would you say that?" He eximed, but I just smiled and cut the call.


    Before I could continue with the second book, Haley called through Skype too. Sheined as soon as I picked up the call, "Why did you make it your life goals to create more drama in my family?"


    "Why? Are they fighting?" I asked with a chuckle.


    "No. Sorry to disappoint you, but they are not." Haley groaned with disbelief. She was in her room alone, and used her ownptop to call me. She tied her hair to the side, and was wearing a purple blouse. She then asked, "If you went as Batman, what should I go as for Halloween?"


    "It depends. Do you want to go as something sexy, or adorable?"


    "Why not both? I can do both." She smiled mischievously as she posed. She tilted her chin forward and ced her fingers fluttering underneath it while looking at the camera at 45 degree angles.


    "Hmm...I still haven''t seen it yet. Maybe you should do a lot more poses for me to see if you really are sexy and adorable." I flirted.


    Then, I realised something and quickly changed the way I was speaking and said tly, "Wait. No, you are what you think you are."


    "Hmm?" Haley was confused. Then, she decided to test me, "I was thinking of going as Harley Quinn. Then, you can spend the entire night trying to arrest me. Thoughts?"


    "Um." I tried really hard not to fall for that bait, and said, "I won''t arrest you since you haven''tmitted any crimes." I was so disappointed in myself for saying that.


    Haley widened her eyes with disbelief and she asked worriedly, "Why are you being so weird? Did I do something wrong?"


    "Nothing. You haven''t done anything." I cated her nervously before I let out a heavy sigh.


    "Alright. I have a question for you. Let''s say that, you could date anyone you want in the world�C"


    "I like where this is going." She interjected. "Sorry. Go on."


    I smiled wryly and added, "But, no matter what you do, you''ll break up with them after 3 months. That includes, even if you guys were in love with each other."


    "Is this for a new movie yourpany is going to make?" Haley was confused, "If they fall in love with each other, then why did they break up?"


    "Let''s just say, the guy has a curse on him, and he can''t ever be with anyone. All of his rtionships will end badly.<strong><i> It is</i></strong> for a movie, so just humour me for a second."


    "Hmm...." Haley mulled over the situation for a while before she asked, "In that movie, does the guy who gets into the rtionship <strong><i>knows</i></strong> that it''s going to end badly?"


    "He doesn''t know, at the beginning. But, he finds out." I replied.


    "Finds out?" Haley asked, puzzled.


    "I mean, after the first few rtionships that had crashed and burned." I exined.


    "Hmm..." Smoke almost came out of her ears as she thought about the situation. "I give up. Why don''t you ask Uncle Mitch and Uncle Cam? They usually have unusually strong opinions about a love story. I''ll add them to the call."


    "Wait, you don''t have to do that�C" I tried to stop her, but the call was already connected.


    "Hello? Haley, Edward? What are you guys doing? Date night?" Cameron giggled as he teased, his face was a bit red because he went on a night out with Sal just before.


    "Uncle Cam. Where''s Uncle Mitch?" Haley asked.


    "You guys are drunk." I said.


    "I drank a little bit. But Mitch didn''t because he needed to drive home. We alternate who gets to drink when we are on a night out." Cam exined before he called his life partner. Mitchell appeared on the screen and said, "Shush! Talk slowly. Lily has just fallen asleep."


    "Ed has a question about his new movie." Haley whispered, " The main character�C is a guy that has a curse on him, that will make him break up with everyone after 3 dating for months. Even if they had fallen in love with one another."


    "Oh, that sounds interesting." Mitchell said as he looked into my screen. Cam thought seriously and said, "It''s alright. It''s not really at a great movie level...but you can watch that to pass the time. I''m sorry. What''s the question again?"


    "The question is, if you could date anyone in the world, but you knew that you were going to end up hurting them after 3 months, would you still do it?" Haley asked.


    Mitchell looked at me and asked, "So...the guy knows about it?"


    Haley interjected, "He didn''t know at the beginning for the first few rtionships. Or maybe, the movie could start after the rtionship had already ended before he figured out that he had the curse."


    "I''m sorry. Why are you adding so many details to the story?" I looked at Haley with disbelief. She shrugged yfully and said, "It''s kinda fun to think about."


    She was immersed into the storyline, and so was Mitchell.


    Mitchell said, "So, he...knew? Huh. And right now, he likes a girl, and he can''t do anything because he knows that he''s going to hurt her?"


    Cam added, fully immersed now, "But, if he doesn''t do anything. He''s going to lose her."


    "And if they knew each other before they were dating, and she''s already in love with her, she''s going to be hurt either way." Mitchell said excitedly. "Oh my god, the potential drama in this. Um..."


    Haley chimed in, "Wait. He''s going to hurt her no matter what? Then, isn''t this a cruel movie?"


    Cam said, "That''s what makes it a great romance! The ethical conundrum in this- What does the guy actually do? He loves her, but he can''t be with her. The world is cruel on him, but if he actually did date her, he''s the one being cruel."


    "Oh my god Cam. I feel like crying." Mitchell said as he held back his tears. "I can totally see Ryan Gosling holding back his tears as he sees that the girl will be happier with someone else."


    "Now you are making me wanna cry." Haley said as tears pooled in her eyes too.


    Cam said, "The movie should be called ''Love Countdown''. Oh I got goosebumps now."


    "Ed. What do you think?" Haley turned towards me, and was shocked when she saw my despondent expression. Even my face was a bit pale.


    I tried to smile and said, "Um...I still don''t know if we''re going to make the movie yet. I do love to talk more, but I have to wake up early to go to the film set tomorrow. Goodnight everyone."


    I said as I cut the call without even hearing their response. Then, my head dropped into the desk and I let out a huge groan. "Uuughhrhh."


    ...


    [General POV]


    After Edward left the call, Haley and her guncles looked nkly at each other.


    "What''s wrong with him?" Cam asked with ignorance.


    Mitchell shrugged and said, "It is quitete. Maybe he has a really early filming for tomorrow. Haley, you''re okay?"


    Haley snapped out of her thoughts and muttered worriedly, "Did he look okay to you? It seemed that whatever we were talking about, really spooked him out."


    "Wait! I got it!" Cam suddenly shouted. "SHHH!!" Mitchell shushed him greatly as he was worried that the noise would wake Lily up.


    "Sorry." Cam whispered again. "Maybe he''s immersing himself in the story as part of his method acting. He might be, ying the main role in this himself."


    "Oh, I would really like it if he became the main character. I wanna see him act on the big screen. I always knew he was a great actor. He''s just...great." Mitchell supported Cam''s theory.


    "You know what we should do? We should call Pepper. He will know more about it." Cam said.


    Haley fell for her uncle''s theory and said, "Oh, he''s ying this himself. That might exin why he looked like that."


    Later that night, Mitch and Cam called Pepper to ask him about the movie. Pepper was confused at first, and then fell in love with the movie idea, and immediately called the screenwriters in thepany to see if they had a movie like that.


    Without Edward knowing about it, the gears for the movie production were already turning, and he had missed the opportunity to stop it.

 Chapter 234: Wizards of Waverly Place (1)

    <h4>Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Wizards of Waverly ce (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    With my head resting heavily on the table, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps. My cheeks were a bit flushed.


    I turned my gaze towards the source and saw Max striding in, a bottle of Yoo-Hoo chocte drink in her hand. I couldn''t help but be surprised. "You drink Yoo-Hoo? Isn''t that for kids?" I asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow.


    A mischievous smile yed on Max''s face as she handed me the drink. "That''s why I''m bringing it to you," she replied. I scowled and scolded,"Get that watery sludge! Out of my face."


    Max raised her hands in a cating manner, trying to disarm the tension. "Sorry, I was just messing with you," she said, her tone lightening.


    Rolling my eyes, I raised my head and turned towards her, opening a new bottle of wine and taking a long swig straight from the bottle.


    "I thought you were crashing at Maggie''s ce?" I asked casually.


    "I was, until she started snoring. Wait, should I stop this?" Max questioned, her eyes flitting to the drinks in my hand. Understandable reactions since I was just a teenager, but since she also had simr experiences doing this at my age, she was unsure how to react.


    "It''s already my third bottle," I replied honestly. She seemed taken aback for a moment before chuckling, knowing that it was already toote for her to interject.


    "Do you want to look for an apartment of your own?" I asked, changing the subject. "Or you can just get one of the beds here in my house. I have a lot of rooms."


    Max''s eyes sparkled, but she was also hesitating. "You know what, that''s what I wanted to talk to you about tonight." She said, avoiding my eyes. "And since it''s useless for me to stop you now, let me have some so that I can catch the buzz too and reduce your crime," she teased, snatching the bottle from my hand and taking a swig.


    "Please don''t tell me you''re going back to New York," I asked irritatedly, a hint of exasperation creeping into my voice. I could already sense where the conversation was heading.


    "Hey, see! I thought I needed to start the conversation awkwardly, but you already did that for me," Maxughed mischievously.


    "Why? Don''t you like it here?" I asked with some frustration.


    "Oh no! California is so nice. The sun, the people. I love it here. But it''s not where I belong. I belong in New York City, where everyone is mean to each other and the streets smell like piss," she replied sarcastically, although I sensed a hint of sadness hidden beneath her words.


    "What about your job?" I asked, trying to understand her perspective.


    "What job? I haven''t worked at all while I''m here! It feels like a vacation... and taking advantage of you guys. Well, usually I don''t have a conscience to tell me that, but... hmm... you guys are really warm and kind... It started working again after over a decade." She masked her feelings by speaking yfully, but it was the truth of how she felt.


    " I thought I had killed it, but it turns out it was just hiding in the dark corner of my mind," Max snarked sarcastically.


    She proceeded to drain the wine bottle until only a third was left. I quickly snatched it from her hand and took a swig myself. "Nah, Max. You were always nice. You may seem mean, but you''re really kind," I praised, my voice sincere. "Alcoholic, but kind." I said as I twirled the bottle with dissatisfaction.


    "Stop it," she yfully urged, a hint of a blush colouring her cheeks.


    I looked at her intently and asked, "Can you not go?"


    Max hesitated, her expression conflicted. After some thinking, she said, "I have people in New York who are important to me. I need to go back."


    "Well, I can arrange for them to move to LA too," I suggested, aware of Max''s concern for Earl, the elderly African American cashier who had be a father figure to her. It was understandable that she felt the need to return.


    "Why are you so afraid of me going back there? Do you think I''m going to abandon you and not contact you or anything? I''ll still send you memes about unlikely animal friendships," Max asked yfully, trying to reassure me.


    "I''m sorry. I just don''t have a great track record of people saying that and meaning it. Especially right now, when I realise that there is something seriously wrong with me," I confessed, my words slurred by intoxication.


    "What''s wrong with you?" Max questioned, her confusion evident.


    Maybe it was because I knew that Max would protect my secret with her life, or maybe it was the drinks, I felt it was easy to talk to her about this.


    "I don''t even know how to exin this. Basically, I won''t find anyone in this life. And even if I did, I wouldn''t be able to keep them with me for more than three months," I vented, my frustrations pouring out. I pulled out the Euphoria drips from my pocket, and started dripping it into the bottle of wine.


    "Big fucking deal. You know what''s the longest rtionship I''ve had? It was one month in junior high, and the guy didn''t even know we were dating for most of it. Trust me, if he knew, we would''ve gone beyond second base," Max shared, her voiceced with a touch of humour.


    "Wasn''t that a certainty with every guy you''ve dated?" I yfully teased.


    "The point is, people like me, we''re the ones who won''t find anyone. You''re an awesome kid, you know that? So what if those past few rtionships didn''t work out? I''m sure you''ll find someone who gets you soon," Max encouraged, her words filled with support. "And one day when you be an adult, I will surely remember this and use this conversation today to make fun of you." She cackled.


    "Max, I think you misunderstood. I mean, I can''t date someone for longer than three months. It''s like a... <i>A gypsy curse.</i> When it hits the three-month mark, we''re over," I exined, revealing the source of my pessimism.


    "That''s ridiculous, you know that?" Max responded, her disbelief apparent. "Or are you just too drunk?" She asked while looking at me up and down.


    "But it''s true," I insisted, feeling trapped by my supposed curse.


    "I''m not saying I believe in this, but if you really are, as you say, ''cursed,'' then what''s wrong with having only three months together?" Max reasoned.


    "If I get involved with someone knowing that I''ll break up with them in three months, wouldn''t that be cruel?" I questioned, my moral dilemma weighing heavily on me, especially after the conversation with Mitch and Cam.


    "Will you treat them badly? Will you be abusive?" Max countered, her voice firm.


    "No," I replied, realising that I had no intention of causing harm.


    "Then, I don''t think there''s a problem at all. Let''s say... the curse, or whatever you want to call it, strikes after three months, right?" Max proposed, trying to find a solution.


    "I think so," I confirmed, intrigued by her line of thinking.


    "So, here''s what you do. You date them, and you date them hard! You give them the best memories they''ll ever have. Then, just before the three-month mark, you break up with them," Max suggested, her tone filled with determination.


    "That''s what I''m trying to avoid," I protested.


    "No, I''m not finished yet," Max interrupted. "After the breakup, the countdown will reset. Then you can date them again, or ask them to take you back, and do the same thing when you''re nearing the three-month mark. Well, it''s not like you''re trying to settle down right now, right? You can deal with the curse when you''re a bit older."


    "Hmm?" I was taken aback when I heard Max''s suggestion, my drunken state possibly contributing to its sudden logic. However as I was mulling the suggestion, her eyes sparkled as she noticed the Euphoria bottle in my hand.


    "Wait, is that...?" She slowly moved closer to me with excitement.


    "You can''t taste it. This is only for the people who want to stay here," I teased, a mischievous grin on my face as I hid the bottle on my grip.


    "Oh,e on!" Max eximed in frustration.


    Iughed and took a swig of the wine mixed with Euphoria solution, feeling the intoxicating, otherworldly pleasure coursing through my body. The enhancement in my digestive system dampened the intensity of the reaction, but it still surpassed any liquor I had consumed before. It was so enjoyable that I identally put down the bottle on the desk.


    While I was drinking, Max lunged for the Euphoria bottle on the table. "Wait! Not straight from it!" I tried to stop her by grabbing her hand, but it only resulted in her falling on top of me. Defiantly, Max managed to take a sip of the highly concentrated drink before I could retrieve it, swallowing a gulp.


    "Max..." I began, concerned for her well-being. However, she turned and sat facing me on the chair, overpowering me with her entire body. bbergasted, I tried to get her off, but I waste. The sensory overload caused her to moan loudly, her breath tickling my neck.


    "Ah~ AHHH~ ED~~ IT WON''T STOP COMING~~!" she moaned, her body trembling against mine, her soft parts pressing against me. Her actions aroused me, and her legs quivered as she copsed onto me.


    "AHhhh~" she continued to moan, biting down on my cor. Thankfully, the effects of the Euphoria didn''tst long. Max snapped back to reality, but she was still breathing heavily and hadn''t fully regained her senses.


    "Oh my god. That''s the best thing I''ve ever had," she said with an unconscious seductive tone, gripping my shirt at the chest. Suddenly, she felt a hardness rising against her thigh, and our eyes locked in a moment of shared surprise.


    Both of us hastily jumped out of the chair, but I had to sit back down...you already know why.


    "Um, Max, I think it''s a good idea for you to go back to New York... tonight," I said tly as I tried to brush off what just happened.


    "Yeah, I will go back to New York. And I won''t be speaking with you for the next two to three business weeks," Max muttered apologetically as she couldn''t meet my eyes.


    "Understandable," I replied, acknowledging her decision as the most logical one.


    As she prepared to leave, Max identally nced in my direction and mouthed the word ''WOW.''


    "Go <strong><i>now</i></strong>," I urged with irritation, hoping to maintain some semnce ofposure.


    "GOING~~~" she eximed as she rushed towards the door. But in all the craziness, she managed to swipe that bottle and ced it in between her shirt. I only knew about that when I came to a decision to lock up the solution, only to find out that it was no longer there.


    "That...Wench."


    ...


    The next morning, I had breakfast with my dad and spent the morning discussing DOD contracts with Harvey. Around noon, I headed to the film set at Hollywood Center Studios. As my Audi sped along the freeway, I noticed three ck SUVs trailing behind me.


    Once I arrived, the director discreetly ushered me onto the film set while the cast members were shooting the ending of the episode, "Doll House." Men in ck suits also infiltrated the set, positioning themselves around the perimeter.


    Agent Smith, a short man with male pattern baldness and sunsses, whispered into his inte, "Scan the surrounding areas. Make sure the ''yBoy'' is safe."


    Curious, the scriptwriter, a woman with raggedy ginger hair and oversized circr sses, asked me, "Who''s the suit?" We had been in contact before, as she sought my input on eptable acting choices and storylines. She imed to be an obsessed fan, wanting the best for me��or so she said.


    "Just my guards," I replied casually, giving a slight nod to the agent. Due to my perceived value to the country, the DOD had assigned me a security detail to ensure my safety.


    In the episode, Selena''s character, Alex Russo, used magic to shrink herself and enter her childhood dollhouse, which she had transformed into an art studio. Her best friend had moved in with her family, necessitating the use of the basement as her studio.


    As I watched the show, Selena let out a childlike, endearingugh that surprised me with how much I enjoyed hearing it. It was her trademarkugh for the character Alex Russo in the kids'' show.


    "Cut! It''s a wrap! Thank you, everyone!" the director announced, signalling thepletion of the scene. Selena high-fived her on-screen parents, David DeLuise as Jerry Russo and Maria Canals-Barrera as Theresa Russo. Jake T. Austin, who portrayed her younger brother Max Russo, was also part of the celebratory gesture. Suddenly, Selena froze in the midst of high-fiving Jennifer Stone, who yed Harper Finkle��both her best friend in the show and in real life.


    "What are you doing here?" Selena asked, her face filled with surprise as she pointed directly at me. The rest of the cast turned to follow her gaze, their eyesnding on me.


    Before I could utter a word, Selena covered her face, which had red splotches on her cheeks, her short hair tied up in pigtails, and her oversized blue dress that resembled an erged version of a doll''s dress, in a sessive manner as if she didn''t know which one to cover up first.


    "Ah! Cover your eyes, Ed! Someone, please cover his eyes! You shouldn''t see me like this!" Selena eximed with agitation and nervousness, her red cheek almost matching the colour of the makeup she had applied earlier.


    "Hello, everyone!" I greeted the cast members politely as I entered the set. Jennifer Stone squealed with excitement, "Oh my God! It''s Edward! KYAAA!! Edward ising to see us perform!"


    "Oh my God! We have such a big star among us!" Maria said, covering her face before squealing and rushing forward to hug me abruptly.


    "Oh, you''re a hugger�C" I remarked, taken aback by her sudden action, especially as she started swaying me around. She let go, and David Deluise greeted me with an excited handshake. "I didn''t quite believe them when they said you wereing today! Still, I''m so surprised to actually see you here!"


    "Don''t be, because I actually nned to surprise you guys," I said, ying along with their energy. He burst intoughter and said, "Wait. We''re so insensitive. Of course, you''re here to surprise Selena. We can''t impose on you any longer��"


    "IMPOSE!... BLOCK HIM! Stall him until I get all this makeup off me!" Selena yelled from behind the set, while her friend struggled to remove the makeup from her cheeks.


    Iughed and ran toward her cheekily, saying, "Wait, don''t take it off! I still want a picture!"


    "No! You stay there!" she urgentlymanded, but it only made me burst outughing. Despite her orders, I was already standing next to her. "Ed, don''t!" she whined meekly.


    "Why are you so anxious?" I asked, trying to stifle myughter.


    She rolled her eyes and replied, "I have whore''s makeup! I look hideous!"


    "Not really. You look like the Raggedy-Ann doll. It''s kinda cute," I said as I took a close-up picture of her without turning off the sh.


    "Also, you have cut your hair short since west met. Is that for a new look, or just a solidarity move?" I asked teasingly.


    "Solidarity move. What are you going to do about it?" She said haughtily.


    "Post this pic on my social media."


    "You bastard!" she gritted her teeth in anger, but her eyes were already softened. "What the hell are you doing here? Did youe here just to make fun of me!? What are you going to do next? Make fun of Henrie''s <i>funny face</i>?" sheined with dissatisfaction.


    David Henrie, who yed Justin Russo, the older brother, was dumbfounded when he heard his name being mentioned.


    "Henrie?" I turned to look at him, and we finally met. He extended his hand and greeted me with a polite smile, saying, "Hi. I''m David. David Henrie. But you should call me Henrie while on set, to avoid getting the name mixed up."


    "Hi, Henrie. Don''t worry about Selena''s words. You don''t really have a funny face. In fact, you have some good looks," Iplimented him in a positive manner, which made him grin widely.


    "That means a loting from you," he said, basking in the feeling before asking, "Why are you here exactly?"


    "Oh, didn''t the director tell you either? I thought only Selena didn''t know," I replied in confusion before adding, "I''m the guest star for the Three Monster episode. (S3 E4)"


    "You''re WHAT?!" Selena eximed in shock. "We already have a couple of guest stars in that."


    She stomped over to the director, Lev L. Spiro, and confronted him, "Why didn''t you tell us? Is that why we''ve been postponing finishing the episode?" Despite her anger, her tone remained respectful when addressing the director.


    "Yeah," the director calmly nodded and smirked. "Hey, don''t me me! It was all his idea to surprise you!" He shifted the me onto me.


    "You!" Selena turned towards me once again, gritting her teeth. However, I ignored her and instead examined the props on the set. Then, Selena suddenly realised something.


    She walked up to me and startedughing, mocking me with a sing-songy tone, "Ha ha~! You''re going to be on a kids'' show~"


    "I know that... I signed up for it" I replied with confusion. Then, I picked up arge stic muscr arm from the prop table and attempted to put it on.


    "Yeah, but you''re going to look so dumb," Selena continued,ughing loudly with the sameugh she used on the show.


    "I''m already prepared for that. Also, what''s this for?" I asked, showing her the arm.


    "That''s a dumb monster arm. You''re going on a dumb kids'' show. Ahahahaha," Selenaughed again, which made me burst intoughter too.


    Jennifer scolded her in a whisper, "You better stop that before the director hears it."


    "Is there another one of these?" I asked, looking around for the other part of the costume.


    Selena covered her mouth slightly andughed slowly this time. "No, the monster only has one arm."


    "Oh, what''s the monster''s name? Single for 30 years?" I cracked a joke, making Selenaugh once more.


    Then, I looked at her and said, "Well, before we start filming, we need to establish some ground rules."


    "Oh, what are they?" Selena asked, trying to hold back her giggles.


    "Thatugh. You can''t use it, other than during filming," I replied as I ced the muscr arm on her shoulder.


    "Why?" She asked, confused. "Is it an annoyingugh?" She fluttered her eyes.


    "On the contrary, I kind of like it. That''s why it''s dangerous," I teased with a slight smile. "Hear that, Raggedy Ann?" I used the monster arm to ruffle her hair.


    "Stop that! Ugh, I need to get out of this costume," Selena said, rushing off to her dressing room with her best friend, giggling all the way and stealing nces at me as they talked about me.


    "Alright, everyone. We''re going to take a short lunch break and then hand out the new script for the special guest star episode," the set director announced, but as he was too close to the agent in the suit, he received res and flinched under their gaze. His voice broke as he continued, "Um... Make sure to be back here in 20 minutes."


    While the people were taking a break, I suddenly thought of something and amused myself.


    <i>''Basically, Justin Russo, the studious one, is Alex Dunphy. The sarcastic airhead Alex Russo whoined a lot and loves cute guys is Haley. And Max Russo, the weird one, is basically Luke. The sibling trope of hot, nerd, and weird, is also being used here huh.''</i>


    "Edward, do you want some sandwiches?" Henrie asked.


    "Yes. Definitely." I said before joining the boys to chat while eating lunch together.


    ...


    <i>A short exnation on the episode, by Edward Newgate; </i>


    <i>The 3 Monster episode began with Justin, who was studying Monster Hunting independently afterpleting his basic wizard courses. He unintentionally caused chaos in Waverly ce by scanning three level 6 monsters in the area.</i>


    <i>Unfortunately, he forgot that his girlfriend, Juliet, and her parents were vampires. In the midst of fear and confusion, he reported her to the monster hunter department, and could potentially take her to monster jail.</i>


    <i>Juliet, yed by Bridgit Mendler, got scared of the monster hunters and ran away in the middle of the story. To cover up the incident, they improvised by presenting three "monsters": a Frankenstein monster created by Justin in the earlier episode, a trash robot also made by Justin, and a watermelon. </i>


    <i>The watermelon part was just the whim of the monster hunter that was trying to help Justin. They thought Justin concocted the story to impress the monster hunters as he is their intern and pretended that the watermelon was thest monster to save face.</i>


    "Ready! Action!" the director called out once the actors were prepared.


    After the monster hunters left, Alex and Justin argued about who should inform Juliet that the incident was over. Alex, being friends with Juliet, annoyed Justin.


    In the final scene, where they hurriedly left the restaurant to find Juliet, I entered the picture as the new character, Jeremy Van Helsing.


    (A/N: There areugh tracks in the show, so I will mark them by using *LOL*)


    -Scene Start -


    <i>"Justin, our fake monsters just disappeared," Alex said as she entered the storage room where Justin was talking alone with the monster hunters. </i>


    <i>She wore a bright yellow blouse, while Justin had a tie wrapped around his head like a headband, an intern monster hunter vest, and a long-sleeve shirt.</i>


    <i>"The monster hunters took them to monster jail," Justin replied casually.</i>


    <i>"Great. I''ll tell Juliet," Alex said, sliding past Justin with excitement.</i>


    <i>Startled, Justin hurriedly said, "No, I''ll tell Juliet. She''s my girlfriend."</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"She''s my friend," Alex said seriously, causing Justin to shudder in disgust. "Blerghh... You''re friends with my girlfriend."</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"I know. I''m just as freaked out as you are," Alex said, shuddering as well. "Let''s not talk about it."</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"Okay."</i>


    <i>Justin and Alex agreed to pretend it wasn''t true. "We''ll tell her together," Justin suggested.</i>


    <i>"Okay," Alex replied with annoyance.</i>


    <i>"Okay!"</i>


    <i>"Fine!"</i>


    <i>"FINE!"</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Both of them approached the door slowly, turning it into a race as neither wanted to back down. However, as Alex opened the door, she was met with the sight of a dashing ck-haired boy. He had a slight scar on his left eye and was dressed in a long ck trench coat and a fedora. This new arrival immediately caught Alex''s attention.</i>


    <i>*MASSIVE AUDIENCE CHEERS!*</i>


    <i>"Wait, who are you?" Alex asked, trying to assert herself. "Move!" Justin pushed past Alex and hurriedly stood in front of her, only to stop in his tracks when he saw the boy. He stopped only when he was an inch away from the boy, and yelped like a girl before flinching back. </i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"You guys must be the Russo family. I''m Jeremy Van Helsing, a Veteran Monster Hunter," the boy introduced himself while scanning the area with aical device. </i>


    <i>"Um... You must be confused. The other monster hunters have already left with the monsters," Justin stammered, while Alex smiled excitedly at Jeremy.</i>


    <i>"Oh, what''s the point of rushing him to go back? He should stay awhile," Alex said, twirling her short hair and looking at Jeremy in an infatuated manner. </i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Jeremy tipped his hat and smiled politely at her, while Justin turned to Alex and gave her a disapproving look. "No. We must not waste his time here. Don''t you remember we need to tell... </i><strong><i>Juliet, the good news?</i></strong><i>"</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Alex was taken aback and finally remembered that Juliet would still be in danger if the monster hunter stayed. "Oh right. Juliet."</i>


    <i>However, at that moment, Jeremy finally spoke up. "You guys don''t have to worry about me. I''m not here about the recent level 6 monster alert."</i>


    <i>"Oh, what are you here for?" Alex was relieved and slid past Justin to get closer to Jeremy, asking in a cute manner.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Justin rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in exasperation at his sister''s behaviour.</i>


    <i>Jeremy looked at Alex seriously and said, "There''s been a high level of monster activity in this area for thest few weeks. My father sent me to investigate the cause and, if possible, put a stop to it. In the meantime, I''ll be staying at Waverly ce until I finish my investigation."</i>


    <i>"Haha. Investigation. You sound so serious and so mature." She said as she was basically melting in his presence. </i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"Y-y-you''re staying?" Justin asked, his voice cracking with a stammer.</i>


    <i>"Yeah, is that a problem?" Jeremy asked, his smouldering gaze meeting Justin''s.</i>


    <i>Justin avoided Jeremy''s gaze and replied, "No. No problem at all."</i>


    <i>"If you see a monster, make sure to call me," Jeremy said before handing his magical business card to Alex.</i>


    <i>"Can I call you even if I don''t see any monsters?" Alex flirted.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Jeremy smirked and said, "I wouldn''t mind if it was you."</i>


    <i>*Cheers*</i>


    <i>-Scene ends-</i>


    "Cut! Wonderful!" The director shouted through his stic megaphone. "The shooting for the episode 3 monster is now done, and we''re going to start filming the next official episode, ''Monster Hunter and Vampire!"

 Chapter 235: Wizards of Waverly Place (2)

    <h4>Chapter 235: Chapter 235: Wizards of Waverly ce (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Since one episode of Wizards of Waverly ce has around a 20 minute run. It took only a few hours to finish recording the episode as they were shot on a ready made set of Waverly ce.


    The fictional ce was set in the city of New York. Not only that, the Russo''s family restaurant has a subway theme where they have a prop train inside their building.


    After we finished shooting the 3 monsters episode, I turned to Selena and asked her in confusion, "Shouldn''t this be recorded in front of a live studio audience? What''s with all of the fakeugh tracks?"


    "Oh, I thought as much but it turns out they use ready-made tracks to help us in getting the dialogue timing right and y the thing in front of an audienceter to get the true reactions."


    "Really? I don''t think anyone ever did that." I said as I turned towards the director with a suspicious expression. It might be that the director had misinformed Selena about the thing, but still, I guess I don''t have any problems with it being like that since it''s a kids show even if it had a big audience tuning in.


    "You seem like you''re thinking of something rude." Selena narrowed her eyes on me.


    "I am. You knowing that made me wonder if you really have some magical wizard powers." I teased with a serious face.


    She was taken aback and said, "Maybe I do. Avada Kedavra!" She said while pointing her wand at me.


    "*tch* You''re still alive." She clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction. I raised one of my eyebrows and said, "The second you thought you had magic, you tried to kill me off?"


    "Well you should be grateful that I don''t have magic!" Sheughed carelessly. "I''ll keep doing that until you tell me, why you are here."


    "I told you I''m here to be a guest star." I said with exhaustion.


    Selena had been badgering me to spill the beans, and she definitely didn''t believe what I was saying.


    "No you''re not. There''s no way you''reing here for just that."


    I scoffed in disbelief, and the director called the both of us. Selena felt that I had an ulterior motive ining here, and she couldn''t calm herself down until she knew what it was.


    "Tell me. Did youe here to make Taylor jealous? Cause I don''t want to be a part of your weird toxic couple games." She warned me.


    Her words were caught by her parents cast in the show. Suddenly, the older David said teasingly, "Wait. You still don''t know?"


    "Even I already know." Jake said with a grin.


    "What?! What is it!? It''s not my birthday? It''s not even your birthday?!" She turned towards me and asked with exasperation, "So why?"


    The director chuckled and said, "Remember the day you wanted a day off to go to the carnival, but the producer said you couldn''t although they gave you permissionter. Well, that''s all thanks to him."


    "I know that!" Selena replied with annoyance.


    "Then, you should know that the reason you could do that is because Edward agreed to be a guest star in the show." The director exined as he couldn''t take the drama any longer.


    Selena''s eyes turned touched and she looked at me with disbelief. She asked with an affectionate tone, "You did that for me?"


    I quickly rub her face with my palm to annoy her while shuddering, "Don''t look at me like that. That seriously gave me goosebumps."


    After some briefing, I sat on an empty seat next to the side of the set while the cast members�C the characters Justin, Juliet, Alex and Harper started off the episode while I was standing by at another set�C the underground train station.


    <i>-Scene Starts-</i>


    <i>In the wizard''sir, Justin and Juliet were freaking out, while Alex sat on the couch without a care in the world with Harper joining her, but her focus was on Justin�C the one she had a crush on.</i>


    <i>Justin holds Juliet''s hand, " I know what to do. We should call the Monster Hunter department again, and make�C Make them recall Jeremy Van Helsing. That way, Juliet can finally be at ease."</i>


    <i>Juliet said, "I know the Van Helsing family. The family has been the sworn enemy of the Vampires since the middle ages. My dad talked about them on the casserole one time! And now they won''t stop hunting us!"</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Harper suddenly chimed in, " Are you even sure he''s here for Juliet? Or is he just wandering around the ce, buying sandwiches and ying skeeball�C"</i>


    <i>Justin interjected quickly, "Of course he''s here for Juliet! She''s a Vampire! And he''s Van Helsing!" At the same time, he contacted the monster hunter department using his wand. </i>


    <i>Harper added, "But Alex said that''s what he had been doing after following him around."</i>


    <i>Justin turned to Alex in surprise and asked, "Alex?"</i>


    <i>"What? Someone needs to keep an eye on him." Alex said gleefully. </i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"Besides, I don''t think he''s an expert anyway. I walked in front of him a few times, but he still hasn''te and talked to me."</i>


    <i>The line was connected before Justin could rebuke Alex''s ''brilliant'' way of seducing a guy. Justin hid Juliet behind him and greeted the handler.</i>


    <i>"Hello. Sir. I think you should recall Jeremy Van Helsing back now. The monster issue has already been settled." He said to the nk green screen. </i>


    <i>The scene with the handler would be inserted after the shoot, but the dialogue was there. "Jeremy Van Helsing? Well, there''s nothing I can do about him."</i>


    <i>"W-Why Sir? Shouldn''t he travel around the world, trying to hunt monsters and keep the peace?" Justin crossed his arms and asked nervously. Juliet nodded in agreement behind him, but Alex looked at the call with amusement.</i>


    <i>The handler replied, "The Van Helsing family has more experience in monster hunting than our entire monster hunter department. Hell, we only started this department a decade ago."</i>


    <i>"The family has been doing this for centuries. They aren''t really working together with us, so I can''t do anything about recalling him. But don''t worry about it. He''ll be gone soon enough if he doesn''t find anything amiss. The only way you would need to be worried, would be if something crazy happened, something extremely dumb and silly like say... I dunno if your girlfriend was a vampire! HAHAHA!" He made a joke without even knowing how close it was to the truth before he turned off the call.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Justin whimpered nervously before he turned to Juliet. "We need to make sure he doesn''t find you, or your parents."</i>


    <i>Juliet however took Justin''s arm sadly and said, "My parents have already gone into hiding. I''ll need to follow them. However since the Van Helsing family is already onto us, we may need to get away from here...forever."</i>


    <i>"NO! There must be another way!" Alex chimed in with desperation as she stood up.</i>


    <i>Justin looked at Alex with dissatisfaction before he whined, "H-Hey that''s my line! Alright. I have a n to keep Juliet here!"</i>


    <i>"What is it?" Alex asked hurriedly.</i>


    <i>"Jeremy Van Helsing will be gone if he doesn''t find anything wrong in this ce, right? So, we''ll make it that way. First, we''ll need someone to keep an eye on him at all times! We''ll call the operation, Stepping on a gum Now, we just need to find someone to be the gum"</i>


    <i>"I call it!" Alex volunteered for the first time ever, which made Harper proud, "Aww. Alex. I''ve been dreaming to see you bing more proactive with your life."</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"Well if life was all about cute boys, then I would be the most activ-est girl ever." Alex joked. "We still need to know where he is right now." She said as she turned to Justin.</i>


    <i>"I know a spell that will help." Justin said before snatching a framed photo from the shelves. "Please please tell me now, if there''s something I should know? Duranium Duranius!"</i>


    <i>As he swung his wand into the picture, a magical glow flew and turned the photo frame into a scene of where Jeremy was in real time.</i>


    <i>"Wait! He''s in danger! He''s surrounded by monsters!" Harper shrieked as she saw the scene.</i>


    <i>"Justin! We need to go and help him!" Alex said urgently.</i>


    <i>"Wait! This may be how we''re going to solve all of our problems!" Justin hesitated.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"JUSTIN!" Alex scolded him.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"FINE! But just let me say this. You wouldn''t even care about going to save him if you didn''t think he was cute!" Justin retorted before both of them rushed out of their without taking Juliet with them.</i>


    <i>-Scene ends-</i>


    "Cut! Nice work!" The director said before he added, "Continue to the second scene, ''Jeremy''s monster battle''. Edward, are you ready?"


    I raised a thumb''s up at the director while preparing to perform. Surrounding me were a few gnarly monsters with muscr arms and burgeoning faces. It was a kids'' show, so they couldn''t make the monster look too scary.


    However, the shooting had to be postponed a bit because my guards from the DOD started checking all of the monster cast, telling them to take out their id, and apprehending those who couldn''t provide proper identification for interrogation.


    They also examined every nook and cranny of the set to make sure there were no hidden threats.


    "Wait, do they need to go this far?" Selena asked me in confusion. "Can''t you tell them to stop?"


    "Not really. They aren''t under my orders despite being my security details. As long as they have usible cause to interfere, I can''t stop them." I exined to Selena and the director.


    Selena''s lip curled upwards at one side as she looked at me with disbelief. The director shook his head and said, "Don''t worry about it. We can wait 15 minutes."


    The agent gave me a thumbs up after checking the whole thing.


    "Ready? Action!" The director shouted before my scene began.


    <i>-Scene Starts-</i>


    <i>In an abandoned subway station with graffiti on the walls, and dim lighting. </i>


    <i>"Van Helsing! Today we settle our centuries long vengeance!" A blue faced monster with 4 eyes snarled while crouching his back. </i>


    <i>Jeremy scoffed and said, "Yeah? You and what army?"</i>


    <i>The monster was confused, "Huh... This army... the one...surrounding you right now?"</i>


    /watch?v=RJifDyJT6Rc&ab_channel=DescendantsBadboy ) The fight music score started ying in the background.


    <i>"Oh right... That army." Jeremy nodded in acknowledgement as he nced at the monsters surrounding him.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"Get him!" The blue faced monster shouted. The monsters swarmed towards Jeremy. However, Jeremy avoided himself from getting tackled by sliding off his feet slightly, and tripping the monster that was lunging towards him at the same time, making it crash into the other monsters while holding his hat intact.</i>


    <i>He did it multiple times while shooting off offensive magics to the monsters even if they still sounded like the funny rhyming Disney spells. As he spun, his trench coat followed along in spinning, making him seem extremely cool. </i>


    <i>With a slight smile, Jeremy took out his wand and began fighting off the monsters. However, the monster leader shouted, "Take out the shields!"</i>


    <i>The monsters encircled him and carried a stic shield with them at the same time. "stic. A wizard''s only weakness." Jeremy said with a smirk but keeping his guard up.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"Luckily for me, I''m not 100% dependent on my wand." </i>


    <i>He kicked the shield, making the monster fall backward before he hopped onto the subway bench, kicking and punching the monsters while dodging their attacks at the same time.</i>


    <i>Jeremy identally slipped and fell onto a monster''s back�C one that was just trying to get up after getting kicked, and used both of his legs to kick the monster that was trying to bite him. "Thanks for the support". Jeremy used the monster as a support before knocking him down again.</i>


    <i>At this time, Alex and Justin finally arrive at the abandoned subway station and they witness the whole thing. "Watch out!" Jeremy said as he pulled Alex out of the monster''s way and kicked Justin to the other side at the same time. </i>


    <i>Selena and Jeremy locked eyes for a while, but Justin had to run away from the monsters running after him in swarms, breaking their moment. He screamed like a little girl and screamed, "HELP!!!"</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Jeremy held Alex''s hand, and twirled her around before saying charmingly, "Mind giving me a hand here beautifuldy?"</i>


    <i>Before she could answer, he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer towards him to avoid the monster, before turning left and releasing her to spin, making her fist punch the monster''s face. It turned into a tango between the two of them, a moment of just them despite being attacked by monsters from all sides. </i>


    <i>He pulled her back in, with his hand grabbing her waist again, and abruptly lowered her back, making her raise her leg instinctively and kicked the monster in the face. </i>


    <i>Jeremy released Alex before jumping over a bench to save Justin by shooting off magic again. Without the stic shields, the monsters were defenceless. He grabbed the blue faced monster hand that was trying to w at him, and used a shoulder throw to m him on the ground. </i>


    <i>The monsters became spooked and they stopped their offense. The music stopped as the monster slowly retreated.</i>


    <i>"You won''t get away with this Van Helsing!" The blue faced monster said before he blew horn. With that bellow, all of the monsters ran away from the subway station. </i>


    <i>Jeremy wanted to follow them, but Justin stopped him, "Are you crazy!? You barely survived the fight, and now you want to follow them?"</i>


    <i>Alex said with infatuation, "Riiigghhttt...Maybe I cane along with and we can dance along again."</i>


    <i>"Alex!" Justin called her out.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Yeah?" Alex finally snapped out of her state. </i>


    <i>"Yeah!! Those guys were prepared to have a fight. We need to report this to the monster hunter department and get some backup�CA LOT OF BACKUP!" Justin said nervously.</i>


    <i>Jeremy instead shook his head and said casually, "Don''t worry about me. I get ambushes like this all the time! My family name doesn''t really scream out ''Monster Friendly''." He did the bunny ear air quotation. </i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>He ced his hand on Justin''s shoulder and said, "Besides, I already have backup right here. Thank you foring to help, rookie. You guys are good."</i>


    <i>"Maybe Justin is but you haven''t known me yet I am like a super fan of this monster...hunting...thingy." Alex bragged with a hint of confusion and she signalled Justin with her eyes to confirm that she got the right thing. Justin nodded and she giggled to herself after breathing in relief.</i>


    <i>Jeremy then walked closer towards Alex and said, "Then, maybe we can look around together?"</i>


    <i>Alex giggled while Justin''s eyes darted between the two. Jeremy then said, "But before that, can I invite you to lunch with me? Maybe talk about it over some sandwiches?"</i>


    <i>"That''s fortunate because our family runs a sandwich shop." Alex said before she saw Justin gesturing ''No'' with his hand behind Jeremy.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"Ah! Right. Our restaurant is closed for today. Let''s walk around. I''m sure we can find another ce to eat nearby." Alex said before she pulled Jeremy''s arm.</i>


    <i>"The gum is on the foot. I repeat. The gum is on the foot!" Justin announced excitedly before he shuddered at the empty subway station. Fearfully, he said, "Guys...Wait for me!" before rushing to follow Alex and Jeremy out of there.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>-Scene ends-</i>


    "Cut. That''s great Ed!" The director said. "I thought we had to shoot that multiple times to get it right, but you guys did it in one take. Especially Selena. You really captured the gaze of a youngdy who''s enchanted when you guys locked eyes together."


    "No I didn''t!" Selena said defensively.


    Jennifer Stone said with confusion, "Girl...He''splimenting you...just take it."


    "Oh. Right. Thank you." She thanked the director, blushing at her own blunder before moving away to the side of the set to have a conversation with Jennifer.


    The next part of the episode was about Max Russo, his humanoid conscience�C which was another guest star, Moises Arias (the brother in the new Fallout series). Max and his parent''s scene filming took a while, so I hung out with David Henrie and Bridget Mendler �C Juliet.


    I asked David, "The show''s run time is only 20 minutes, right?"


    "Usually. Yeah. Why?" He was confused.


    "Can the entire storyline fit into one episode?"


    David checked the script for a while before he said, "I don''t think so. Usually, a long episode like this will be split into two parts. So maybe that''s what''s happening here?"


    Bridget suddenly interjected the conversation and she asked shyly, "Edward. After this, can you sign my album?"


    "Why wait? I can sign it for you right now." I replied with a polite smile.


    "Huh." David suddenly eximed while Bridget squealed and excused herself to go get her album.


    "Exin the disbelief." I asked David after we were left alone.


    "That''s not�� Um...I feel a bit bad to tell you this..." He was hesitating, so I smoothened the deal. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and said in a low volume, "You know, I need to cast a few actors around your age for my new series about chess."


    "She said you''d flirt with anyone!" David exposed Selena immediately without even an ounce of remorse. "And she also said that you had flirted with her multiple times! But I saw that you didn''t do that with Bridget, so I was thinking that she lied. That''s why I let out the ''Huh''."


    "That''s all?" I asked.


    "Selena also said you''re kind off an ass, so we needed to watch out for you, but you''re actually a pretty awesome guy, Mr Future Producer." David added.


    I chuckled a bit and then said, "You''re alright David. Give me your number. I''ll text you when I''m holding the auditions. But first, you need to deal with that." I pointed at the direction behind him.


    "Deal with what?" David was confused and turned slowly. He widened his eyes in shock when he saw Selena and Jennifer standing nearby, with Jennifer shaking her head in contempt, and Selena who''s mouth agape from disbelief.


    "I can''t believe you told him that!" Selena scolded him.


    "Yeah! You went too far David!" Jennifer added in to berate him.


    David hurriedly stood up and tried to calm down the girls, "Wait-Wait-Wait! I only did that because�C because�C" He hesitated to tell them the truth as he knew that the fact would lower their opinion on him even more. Then, he turned and made a run for it.


    "DAVID!" Selena yelled at him. But before the girls could follow him, I grabbed Selena''s wrist and pulled her towards me. She flopped on the seat beside mine, and looked at me with anxiousness while her friend went further and further away.


    "So... I am an ass huh?" I asked Selena teasingly.


    "Um...The director is calling us! Let''s go." Selena pretended to hear something before she stood up abruptly, but I grabbed her hand and made her take a seat again.


    "You''re not going anywhere until I learn more about what you have been saying behind my back."


    "Umm...I''m sorry?" She batted her eyes at me to get forgiveness, but I shook my head and replied, "Don''t say that yet until I get you to spit everything out."


    ...


    My scene continued, and it was a scene of me and Selena getting some food together.


    <i>-Scene Starts-</i>


    <i>"So, you said that you usually got ambushed. I''m sure that doesn''t feel too great." Alex Russo said while eating some fries.</i>


    <i>"I usually think of them as the local resident''s greeting, so I wasn''t too bothered by it. Besides, most often than not it just gives me a clear idea of what monsters are around and what I need to catch." Jeremy said sarcastically while staring at Alex. Then he said honestly, "Yeah. Sometimes I wish I could travel around and be at ease without thinking about the monsters. But, my family has too many enemies."</i>


    <i>"Enough about me. What about you?" Jeremy asked.</i>


    <i>"Well for starters, monsters usually view me as part of their crowd, so I fit right in and never get ambushed." Alex joked.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Jeremy chuckled and said, "That''s something to never worry about."</i>


    <i>"I know." Alex said before both of themughed together. </i>


    <i>Alex suddenly leaned in and asked, "What do you actually think about monsters? I know your family is like the biggest name in the business, but I don''t really feel that you have any hostility towards them...even during the fight."</i>


    <i>"You saw right through me huh." Jeremy replied as he leaned back on his chair. "Maybe I don''t want to keep fighting anymore. But I know that''s never going to happen. And with me being thest wizard in my family tree, I have to keep our family''s honour."</i>


    <i>"Wait. Thest wizard?" Alex asked in confusion.</i>


    <i>Jeremy replied, "Well. My parents were gone after they went to fight with an adult dragon. My brother and sister also met the same fate when they tried to fight off the Mother of Monsters. So I''m the only one left, thest of the Van Helsing family ."</i>


    <i>"Oh Jeremy." Alex grabbed his hand sympathetically as she tried tofort him.</i>


    <i>Audience: A!</i>


    <i>While Alex and Jeremy were on a date, Justin watched them from the corner of the alley with Juliet. Justin eximed in bewilderment, "What is she doing? Trying to keep him here?"</i>


    <i>Juliet added, "Wait. Is that Jeremy Van Helsing? Wow! He''s so gorgeous!"</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Justin nced at Juliet, which made her taken aback, "I mean, he''s so dangerous!"</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"Oh no. The gum has gone rogue." Justin muttered as he saw Alex and Jeremy walk out of the restaurant together while holding hands.</i>

 Chapter 236: Wizards of Waverly Place (3)

    <h4>Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Wizards of Waverly ce (3)</h4>


    (A/N: Many of you felt bored of the episode, I understands that, not many people grew up watching the show. The entire episode of Wizards of Waverly isn''t a retelling, but my editor and I racked our brains together to create a new one. Granted, we aren''t pdf files at Nickelodeon so the show fell t, but nostalgia pushes us. If you don''t like it, don''t worry, there''s only 3 Chapters in the entire webnovel about the Wizard''s show. I realized now many didn''t like it, so I won''t continue with the plotler in the future. That''s all. Enjoy the chap!)


    [Edward POV]


    "Part 2 of the story, start!" announced the director as he pped the te.


    -Scene Starts-


    <i>It had been a few days since Jeremy started his investigations around Waverly ce. During that time, he had been going on dates with Alex, sometimes even neglecting his job.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Alex doing her job and alerting them about where Jeremy was going made them feel at ease, but the newfound closeness between Jeremy and Alex rmed them. </i>


    <i>As Alex returned home to the restaurant at night, Juliette rushed towards her, eager to give her a hug.</i>


    <i>"Thank you, Alex, for doing this for me. It must be hard for you to stick around him," Juliette expressed her gratitude.</i>


    <i>"Ooo riiiighhhttt...It must be torture for her, spending all her time going on dates," Justin mocked.</i>


    <i>Alexughed and responded haughtily, "Yeah, it''s an endless torment for me."</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Harper, catching on to the inside joke, squealed, "Did he ask you to be his girlfriend yet?"</i>


    <i>"HARPER?!" Justin snapped his fingers at her and said dramatically, "We want him to go away. Although dating Alex is punishment enough, what we want is EXILE! Away with him from here! "</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"What''s wrong with him staying here? He''s very sweet and kind. He''s always helping people, whether it''s helping a grandma cross the road or rescuing a kitten from a tree. Sometimes, he''s even too kind for my taste but those arms... And the eyes... I don''t think he''s the ruthless monster hunter you guys im him to be," Alex defended Jeremy.</i>


    <i>"Alex..." Juliette looked into Alex''s eyes and confessed, "Two years ago, Jeremy killed my uncle Al."</i>


    <i>"What?" Alex''s eyes widened in shock, and her face fell. Justin, who was already aware of the story, added, "That''s why we want him to go away. If he finds Juliette��then he will��"</i>


    <i>"No, he won''t! You guys don''t know him like I do!" Alex shouted with teenage angst. She then added, "Maybe he had a good reason to do it."</i>


    <i>"We just can''t take the risk. The Van Helsings are an old family...They aren''t as open-minded as wizards like the rest of us frankly I wouldn''t be surprised if they were evil wizards," Justin tried to convince his sister.</i>


    <i>"Really? Your argument is that you''re open minded?" Alex looked at Justin with a deadpan expression as she said tly.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Justin was taken aback, and then he defended himself, "At least more open minded than him."</i>


    <i>"No, you''re wrong. He''s not like the other Van Helsings. I can prove it. In fact, I''ll prove it when hees to the restaurant today," Alex said, but then realized she had blurted out thest part, which was supposed to be a secret.</i>


    <i>"He''sing here!?" Justin held his head in disbelief.</i>


    <i>"He''sing for dinner right now," Alex confessed apologetically. "I only came back to tell you guys to move, but he''sing RIGHT NOW, SO GO HIDE!" Alex hurriedly pushed Justin and Juliette into the kitchen.</i>


    <i>Jeremy walked through the door and went straight to Alex. She turned to greet him with a wide smile on her face, saying, "Hi Jeremy."</i>


    <i>"Hi Alex. So... this is your family''s restaurant. I can finally try it out after being here for days, huh," Jeremy teased, brushing a stray hair behind Alex''s ear. She blushed slightly, her eyes bing hazy, but her attention was brought back when Harper who squealed at their interaction.</i>


    <i>"Aren''t you going to introduce me?" Harper nudged Alex.</i>


    <i>"Oh, right. Jeremy, this is Harper. My best friend since kindergarten," Alex introduced.</i>


    <i>Harper was wearing a cat doll on her shoulder and her dress was made of various animal stripes. Jeremy wasn''t weirded out and said, "Hi Harper. I heard a lot about you."</i>


    <i>"Really?" Harper turned to Alex excitedly. "Alex! I didn''t know I meant so much to you!" </i>


    <i>"Sorry. He''s actually just saying that to be polite." Alex threw cold water into Harper''s enthusiasms, making her feel dejected. </i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Would you like to join us for dinner Harper?" Jeremy asked.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Alex nced, hinting at her friend before turning to Jeremy, "Oh no, Harper has already eaten. She eats an early dinner at 4 like her grandparents, and she has to go now."</i>


    <i>Harper caught the hint and stammered, "Oh. I''m, I''ve already eaten. I''ll just go to the kitchen, see if your parents need some help eating�C I mean, ma-making yeah MAKING sandwiches!" She hurriedly ran off to the door, and went out of the restaurant.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Isn''t the kitchen right there?" Jeremy asked in confusion as he pointed at the kitchen in the opposite direction.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Alex and Jeremy went to sit at the table, where Alex suddenly raised her hand and shouted, "Waiter!"</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Justin begrudgingly walked over to the table and started to put menus in front of them. He ced them at Jeremy''s table politely but just threw it at Alex''s hand to express his dissatisfaction.</i>


    <i>"You know, we aren''t really open at night." Justin said.</i>


    <i>"Hi Justin. Are you still continuing your monster hunter independent study?" Jeremy asked without even caring about Justin''s passive aggressive remarks. "Do you want me to teach you some stuff�C" </i>


    <i>Suddenly, Jeremy realized something and he stood up. "Wait. I got a strong whiff of Van...and death scent from you." He said as he sniffed Justin.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Uuaaa�C I don''t know. I''ve been hanging around graves, trying to search for monsters. Maybe you''re smelling a zombie?" Justin tried to refocus Jeremy, but instead Jeremy said seriously, "No, no This scent is unique to Vampires... It''s a ssic disguise ESPECIALLY, Girl...Teenage Vampires! they use it a lot, it works wonders to attract idiotic boys so they can drink them dry. Justin, have you gotten in contact with any teenage girls before?!?" </i>


    <i>"Damn he''s good!" Alex muttered underneath her breath. "He even got Justin''sbel right."</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"Umm..No.No...Not that I know off." Justin said, trying to brush off the matter whileughing nervously.</i>


    <i>"Are you sure? The smell is quite strong. It''s as if you had just run into them just a few seconds ago." Jeremy asked again while he leaned in to Justin. "The smell is especially strong in your face." </i><i>


    </i>


    <i> <i>*LOL*</i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Justin''s voice cracked as he replied, "No. I''m sure. I haven''t been in contact with any girl vampires. And definitely not having a rtionship with one. Nor did I just do an eskimo kiss with them a few minutes ago in the kitchen."</i>


    <i>"That''s an odd detail to add." Jeremy said while narrowing his eyes at Justin. Justin''s hand became mmy, and he started hyperventting. </i>


    <i>But the intense situation suddenly cleared up as Jeremy said, "So anyway. I want a turkey sandwich. Extra ketchup."</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"I want a bologna sandwich." Alex said casually with a slyugh. Justin looked at Alex and Jeremy with disbelief, let out a burst of mirth before rushing back to the kitchen, "Your order wille right out."</i>


    <i>As he entered the kitchen, he grabbed Juliette and said, "You need to leave right now. He''s onto you."</i>


    <i>"How? I can''t even turn into a bat and fly out of here. I''m trapped!" Juliette said aggrievedly. </i>


    -Scene ends-


    "Cut! Excellent work everyone." The director announced. "We shall take a 15 minute rest before we continue." He then rushed to the toilet, letting out farts along the way as he did.


    "What''s with him?" I asked Selena.


    "Sometimes he has problems with his stomach." Selena replied.


    "More urately, anal fissures." Henrie whispered with a chuckle.


    "TMI TMI!" Jennifer closed her ears as she shuddered in horror.


    Jake joined us and asked me, "Hey, do you ever watch the show?"


    "I did. It was the one episode where Selena dated that Jinkies guy." I replied while drinking some water. "I also watched the ones with the silent movie theme. I loved that one."


    "Jinkies? Which guy is that?" Jake asked with confusion. Even Selena was confused, "Did you mean Zeke? Has he ever said that before?"


    Henrie replied, "I don''t think he did." Zeke was his kinda weird best friend in the show. He was overly positive, and supported Justin in everything he wanted to do.


    "Did you mean, the guy who said Curses!" Jennifer chimed while mimicking the oldedic way of saying the exmation.


    "Ah. Right. That one. That episode was hard to watch." I grinned teasingly at Selena. She blushed and said, "Shut up! It was hard for me to shoot that episode too."


    Iughed out loud with David Henrie and Jake. Jake asked right after, "Are youing here again? I don''t have any scenes with you, so I can''t brag about it to anyone."


    The scriptwriter''s ear perked up after she heard that. I replied ambiguously, "I don''t know yet. If I have the time, then maybe."


    "That''s what the popr ones always say." Jake replied poutingly. Iughed and replied, "Well we kinda need to say that. Or else someone listening into the conversation will get some ideas."


    The scriptwriter flinched before she acted like everything was normal and walked further away from us.


    "Besides, he doesn''t really need the money, being the number one artist right now with the most number of albums sold of all time." Selena teased while making money gestures with her fingers.


    "Not the first, but I''m in the top 5." I yed along. Selena giggled and teased again, "Oh, look at you trying to be humble."


    "I am humble. Not only that, kind, sweet, caring...and a bit of an ass too." I shot her a teasing smile, which made her flinch and get embarrassed. She red at Henrie with contempt before changing the subject.


    "I heard you have a party this Halloween?" She asked. All of the teenage cast member''s eyes lit up as they heard it.


    "Yeah. You''reing right?" I asked Selena. Selena wanted to answer, but Jennifer gave her a nudge. As she looked over to the cast''s direction, she saw that they were pleading at her with their eyes.


    "Um...Can theye too?" Selena asked me.


    "Sure. These guys are cool." I replied with a smile. The group of teens celebrated loudly, which startled the staff members walking by.


    "Is it a costume party? Can I be Batman?" Jake asked.


    "HEY! Only I can be Batman!" I joked in a serious manner, which made him flinch and took a step back with a smile on his face. "I''m just kidding. Wear whatever you guys want." I said casually.


    "Jake. You can be Robin." Jennifer suggested.


    Jake whined, "I don''t wanna be Robin. Robin''s so gay."


    ...


    -Scene Starts�C


    <i>As Jeremy and Alex were talking with each other at the table, Justin and Juliette were increasingly nervous as they waited for the moment to pass.</i>


    <i>"Jeremy, there''s something I want to ask you." Alex said while looking seriously at Jeremy.</i>


    "Go on." Jeremy replied while eating his sandwich.


    <i>"Let''s just say...you did find the vampire, what are you going to do with her�C I mean them?" She asked.</i>


    <i>"You mean hypothetically?" Justin said while chuckling.</i>


    <i>Alexughed nervously and tried to y it off coolly, "Pfft- Yeah. It''s allllll HYPO-What-cially."</i>


    <i>Jeremy chuckled before rubbing his chin as he replied, "Maybe I''ll send them to HELP."</i>


    <i>"Help what?" Alex was confused, thinking that Jeremy trailed off.</i>


    <i>"Not Help as in helping someone. HELP as in Hellsing Enchanted Lava Penitentiary. Basically a prison for bad monsters in the underworld." Jeremy replied. At the same time, Justin was delivering drinks, and he heard about Jeremy''s answer. </i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Alexughed nervously, "And...that''s definitive? You won''t like... give them a warning...Or-Or... a trial maybe, you know, to check to see if they were truly bad monsters."</i>


    <i>"I''m not going to just send them in. They need to havemitted crimes before I put them in. If they aren''t disruptive, or someone vouched for them... then, I won''t do it." Jeremy replied casually. Then, he smirked and asked, "Why are you so interested in them? Do you perhaps know a monster?"</i>


    <i>"Um...This might be the best chance for me to say this." Alex muttered to herself as she realised the perfect timing, "Jeremy�C"</i>


    <i>"JULIETTE NO!!" Justin screamed as Juliette, in her vampire mode�C which was her wearing a costume wings on her arms, rushed to attack Jeremy.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"I''m not going to Monster Prison!" She screamed desperately. Jeremy hugged Alex and protected her , tanking the attack with his body which made the duo fall to the ground.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Juliette NO! He''s not going to take you in!" Alex shouted to Juliette, however, she had already turned into a bat and flew out of the restaurant. "Juliette!" Alex shouted.</i>


    <i>"A level 6 threat is rampaging in Waverly ce. I need to go and capture her." Jeremy said as he wore his fallen hat. Justin suddenly stood in front of Jeremy, trying to stop him, "Over my dead body."</i>


    <i>"dly." Jeremy said with a threatening smile.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Justin automatically became timid, hugged himself and said, "That''s just a metaphor. Please don''t kill me." He closed his eyes, but Jeremy just walked to the side to get past him. </i>


    <i>Alex was the one who managed to stop Jeremy, "Wait. Juliette is not a bad person! She''s just scared!"</i>


    <i>"She''s a monster Alex. And she attacked people." Jeremy said seriously while trying to move past Alex. </i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Alex turned and shouted, "She''s only attacking you! Can''t you see? She''s scared of you!"</i>


    <i>"She almost hurts you!" Jeremy said worriedly before moving past her.</i>


    <i>"I KNOW HER!" Alex shouted before Jeremy could leave. </i>


    <i>Her words made Jeremy stop. He turned to her slowly, and she continued, "She''s... She''s not a bad monster. Jeremy you have to believe me! You told me that...You were tired of the feud your family has... with the monsters. Maybe, this is a chance for you to act differently than your other family members."</i>


    <i>"Alex..." Jeremy suddenly called out. Alex was taken aback, "What is it?"</i>


    <i>"Did...you...Did you follow me around...and stay by my side...just to make sure that I wouldn''t be close to her?" Jeremy asked with a betrayed and hurt expression. The realistic acting made Alex get emotional for real.</i>


    <i>Alex''s eyes shook, and she started to get teary. Her voice started to shake, "No! I mean, Yes, But that''s not all the reason�C"</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"I''ve... heard enough." Jeremy stopped her. He turned to the door and said while hiding his face behind his hat, "I''ll try not to hurt your friend. So...you don''t have to pretend to like me anymore."</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Jeremy, wait!" Alex called him out, but he ignored it and ran out of the restaurant. </i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Alex muttered, "But I... really do like you."</i>


    <i>-Scene ends-</i>


    "Cut! That was beautiful!" The director apuded as he stopped the filming. He wiped his eyes and said, "I didn''t expect it to be that emotional."


    Selena wiped her eyes too, "Yeah. Me too."


    I returned to the set and the people apuded my performance officially. I gave them a short bow before walking towards Selena.


    "Are you alright? I was so surprised when you suddenly started tearing up, I almost broke character." I asked with concern.


    "I''m fine. Let me fix my makeup before we continue." Selena replied.


    In the next few scenes where I watched from the side, Selena and David �C Alex Russo and Justin Russo, went to search for Jeremy and Juliette. Harper was following them too, but when she went to search for clues, Alex and Justin were captured by the same monsters who ambushed Jeremy before this.


    Harper hid to prevent herself from getting caught, and desperately went to search for Jeremy and Juliette as she could only depend on them to save the siblings.


    "Cut! Alright, Jennifer, Bridget, and Newgate. You guys are up." The director said.


    For the next scene, Harper found Jeremy first, and she told her everything about the monsters capturing Alex. However, as she did, a bat who was perching on a tree nearby flew down next to Jeremy and Harper, before it turned back into Juliette. Jeremy wanted to capture her, but Juliette made a convincing argument that a vampire''s sense of smell was more sensitive than a werewolf, and she could help him find Alex faster.


    So a short term coboration deal was struck with Harper as the witness. Both Juliette and Jeremy went to track where the monsters were bringing the siblings. As it turns out, the monsters had dragged the siblings to the abandoned subway station�C the same ce where Jeremy was ambushed before this.


    -Final Scene-


    (A/N: Remember. Disney Channel)


    <i>*BAM BAM BAM BAM*</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>The monsters hit the drums in a dramatic rhythm as Justin and Alex were being tied up on a podium in the middle of the station. Several braziers filled with fire illuminated the entire station.</i>


    <i>"HA ! HA! HA ! HA!" A shrill likeugh resounded before a woman monster who looked like the Kerrigan Queen of des sashayed into the set. The other monsters bowed down as a sign of respect to her, and she walked towards the 2 young wizards.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Who are you?!" Justin asked urgently. "Let us go!" Alex shouted in anger. "I need to go and find Jeremy!"</i>


    <i>"Don''t worry sweetheart~ We have already sent out a messenger to find him. Before long, he will be here...to find you!" Thedy monster said mockingly. "We have been watching you and him for some days. We are sure he wille to save you."</i>


    <i>"No. Jeremy!" Alex mumbled fearfully, praying that Jeremy wouldn''te to the station.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>The monsterdy walked dramatically and started monologuing, giving her best performance in front of the two wizards.</i>


    <i>"</i><strong><i>And when that happens! I, Keri, The MOTHER OF MONSTERS! WILL ELIMINATE THE VAN HELSING BLOODLINE COMPLETELY FROM THE WORLD, and TAKE OVER THE MONSTER PRISON IN THE UNDERWORLD LAVA REALM</i></strong><i>!" She opened her arms wide, and shouted it to the sky.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>She turned to the two wizards and said dramatically, "</i><strong><i>WITH THOUSANDS OF MONSTERS IN OUR ARMY, ALL WHO ARE BEING SUFFOCATED IN THE PRISON!! WE WILL TAKE OVER THIS ENTIRE HUMAN CITY! AND TURN IT INTO A MONSTER CITY! HA! HA! HA!</i></strong><i>"</i>


    <i>"You won''t seed! The monster hunter department will stop you!" Justin said challengingly.</i>


    <i>"Tsk Tsk Tsk. Do you think that the simplistic, clumsy, scampering buffons could stop us? The only real threat we ever faced was the Van Helsing family! And we want them gone!" Thedy snarled at Justin while grabbing his chin with her long, wy fingers.</i>


    <i>At this time, Jeremy and Juliette finally arrived at the station. Instead of being escorted by the monsters, they managed to sneak into the station undetected, all thanks to Juliette''s vampire ability.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Got to admit, a vampire can be useful sometimes." Jeremy said to Juliette with a stifled smile.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"So, you won''t try to lock me up after this?" Juliette asked.</i>


    <i>"Alex...told me to trust you, so I''m giving that a try. But if you betray me, then I will not hesitate to take you to prison." Jeremy warned after he was having an internal conflict about his identity.</i>


    <i>"I want to save Justin too. So don''t worry about me stabbing you in the back." Juliette said.</i>


    <i>"Great. However, I�C </i><strong><i>we</i></strong><i> need a n...Hmm...I got it!..." Jeremy whispered to Juliette his ns, but Juliette flinched a bit as his mouth was close to her ears. He looked at her with confusion, but she smiled and said, "Sorry. I''m a little ticklish there."</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>That wasn''t in the script, but it was improvised by Juliette because the actress was really ticklish. Jeremy smirked as he held back hisugh, and when he whispered his ns again, Juliette kept twitching and giggling.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>A few minutester, Jeremy walked into the room with his hands tied up, and he was being herded by none other than, Juliette herself.</i>


    <i>"What''s this? The great Van Helsing has already been caught?" M.O.M (Mother of Monster) snarked sarcastically as she saw Juliette.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Juliette no!" Justin shouted.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Mother of Monsters! Ie here, offering you a gift, in exchange, for me to be the general of the monster army, and the safety of my family when you take over New York City." Juliette said while taking a knee, seemingly subservient to the M.O.M.</i>


    <i>"Good. GOOD. Tell me your name child." The Mother of Monster greeted her enthusiastically. </i>


    <i>"Juliet Van Hausen, your highness. My family has been in a feud with the Van Helsing family for centuries." Juliet replied.</i>


    <i>"Excellent! A fellow brethren!" M.O.M said before she walked closer to Jeremy. She held Jeremy''s face roughly, taking off his hat and throwing it away to the side, revealing his handsome face. </i>


    <i>"Juliette How could you!" Alex shouted in desperation. </i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Go child! You can take these two wizards as an initiation present. You must''ve been so parched after capturing THE GREAT VAN HELSING Himself! HAHAHAHA!" She cackled with a shrill and jarring voice. </i>


    <i>The other monsters alsoughed at Jeremy, while Juliette bowed slightly to the M.O.M and walked to Alex and Justin. As soon as she gets there, before Justin and Alex could say anything, Juliette asked anxiously, "Do you guys still have your wands?"</i>


    <i>Figuring out that there was more to the situation, Alex replied whisperingly, "No. The blue-faced ones took them."</i>


    <i>Juliette turned to the blue faced monster, and saw the wands being used as a drumstick. She nodded to Jeremy to signal him. Jeremy returned the nod before suddenly standing up, removed the tied rope on his hand easily, and aimed his wand at the blue faced monster.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Juliette immediately went into Vampire mode and ripped off the rope trying the two wizards. Jeremy aimed for the wands, and he made them fly towards the two wizards.</i>


    <i>"Ambush! Everyone! Get him!" The M.O.M shrieked after she saw Jeremy was untied. Afraid of the Van Helsing wizard, she defended herself by hiding behind the army of monsters.</i>


    <i>"Juliette, bring Alex and Justin out of here!" Jeremy shouted.</i>


    <i>"No! We''re going to help you!" Alex said.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Justin, albeit scared, said, "I''m an intern monster hunter! I won''t back down from a fight! Even though I very...very much like to."</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>Juliette too stayed behind, "I''ll join in. If this ce turns into a monster city, then I will have to dress back in monster style fashion and I DON''T want to wear those ugly clothes! Oh! And I want to stay with Justin too."</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Then, the n is to catch the leader! They all will scatter if we can catch her!" Jeremy yelled before the monster started swarming him. The fight started abruptly.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Justin and Juliette teamed up together, taking down monsters one by one as they made their way to the M.O.M. Jeremy had to struggle to get away from the monsters, but he was soon captured.</i>


    <i>However, Alex saw this and shouted, "Jeremy!" She shot off some magic to the monsters to change Jeremy''s and the monster''s on his left hand side position, making the monster on the left and the right grab each other instead.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Double Trouble , Is all it has been , for all these things, Transfer the monsters to the prison of Van Helsing!" Jeremy chanted before he shot off the magic to the two monsters. Both of them disappeared as they were transported into theva prison.</i>


    <i>"Alex! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Jeremy asked Alex affectionately as she rushed towards him. He scanned her entire body while he dusted her off, checking for wounds or bruises.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Don''t worry about me! I told you that monsters see me as their kind. Before the woman came, we were ying Snake and Ladders" Alex replied jokingly.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"She''s really not joking!" Justin eximed from behind.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i>"Are you guys going to stand there and flirt, or will you get into battle?" Justin shouted in frustration.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Sorry. I''m still trying to process the idea that someone can have my back when I''m fighting." Jeremy said before he took a deep breath.</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Let''s go!" Jeremy and Alex rushed to the front line. And before long, they managed to capture the M.O.M.</i>


    <i>The blue faced leader pointed at Jeremy putting ropes on the M.O.M and yelped, "He caught her! Retreat!"</i>


    <i>The monsters scampered quickly, and the audience apuded. Alex stood beside Jeremy in a triumphant manner, while the M.O.M cursed her fate. After that, they returned to the Waverly ce restaurant with the M.O.M in tow.</i>


    <i>"Maybe, this time, I won''t send her to the family prison." Jeremy said suddenly before he called, "Justin. Can you get the monster hunter department to take her in?"</i>


    <i>Justin''s eyes darted in confusion, "Wait. You''re serious?"</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Jeremy replied using a soft tone, "I am. I''m tired of fighting alone. Maybe in the future, the Van Helsing family can join the Monster Hunter Department, and work together with them."</i>


    <i>Justin smiled excitedly and said, "Alright! I''m sure catching the Mother of Monster will get me extra credit in my independent studies!"</i>


    <i>"Before that, I still need to settle the matter with Juliette." Jeremy said.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Juliette was rmed and she said, "I don''t want to go to jail."</i>


    <i>"Don''t worry. Instead of that, I think that helping the monsters that want to live peacefully in the human world may be a better idea." Jeremy said. "With the condition that they won''t harm humans... Or expose themselves to the human world, or not dispose of monster waste, or... You know what, I''ll just write you a list."</i>


    <i>*LOL*</i>


    <i> </i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Will Juliette be safe from the monster hunters from now on?" Justin asked hopefully.</i>


    <i>"I will try. And Juliette, I''m very sorry for killing your uncle." Jeremy said as he bowed slightly.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Juliette was a bit emotional and she asked, "Why did you need to kill him?"</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Jeremy sighed and said, "To be fair your uncle had just drunk a whole vige dry when I found him. And I don''t mean their water supply. So, I had to put a stop to him."</i>


    <i>Juliette''s emotional state suddenly changed and she said casually. "Oh. That''s why. I''m so sorry he did that, and... I don''t me you anymore."</i>


    <i>As Justin and Juliette went to their to transport the Mother of Monsters away, Alex and Jeremy were left alone in the restaurant. </i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>She smiled haughtily as she looked at him and said, "Alright. You can tell me you like me now."</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>Jeremy smiled softly and held her hand before kissing the back of her palm, "I do like you."</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"And you want to make me your girlfriend." Alex added with the same haughty manner.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"And I do want to make you my girlfriend." Jeremy replied with a chuckle. </i>


    <i>Alexughed, but then she saw Jeremy''s apologetic gaze. She realized something and her voice broke, "So, why aren''t you asking me to be your girlfriend ?"</i>


    <i>"I...I''m sorry Alex but I need to go. The Mother of Monsters wanted to kill me to unlock the prison and free all of the monsters that had been captured�C"</i>


    <i>"But we have caught her." Alex interjected anxiously.</i>


    <i>Jeremy said, "The location of the prison itself is supposed to be a secret. I have to travel again and investigate who was the one who leaked the location. I...might not be able toe back for a while...Maybe not ever."</i>


    <i>"So That''s why you aren''t asking me to be your girlfriend." Alex muttered pitifully. Jeremy caressed Alex''s cheek affectionately as she looked into his eyes. Then, he leaned in, and they kissed each other.</i>


    <i>Audience: Cheers!!!</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Goodbye Alex. I hope to see you again." Jeremy said. "Thank you for teaching me how to trust other people, and to put aside my prejudice against monsters. I had been living in a dark ce, but you have be the light that has pulled me out of it."</i>


    <i>"For that, you will always be in my heart." Jeremy said as he ced Alex''s hand on his chest.</i>


    <i>"Goodbye Jeremy Van Helsing. I won''t forget you." Alex said after collecting herself. They shared an innocent kiss again before Jeremy took his wand and waved it around shing himself out.</i>


    <i>The scene changed into a sight of Alex sitting alone in their the next morning, where her mother rushed worriedly towards her after waking up.</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> </i><i>"Alex! Justin told me everything. What''s wrong honey? Why have you stayed up all night staring at the portal?"</i>


    <i>"I don''t know. I think...I just want him toe back." Alex said before she broke down and cried into her mother''s arm. </i>


    <i>-Scene ends-</i>


    "Cut! It''s a wrap!" The director said. I shook my head in disbelief after watching the final scene, and said, "Wow, now if I don''te back, I''ll be the bad guy huh?"


    Selena stuck her tongue towards me after hearing myment, "Who asked you to make the script that way?"


    "I didn''t even interfere in the script making. I just said to the writer I wanted to y a cool and impactful character. That''s all." I shrugged and shook my head dismissively.


    Selena was surprised, and sheughed soon after. "You got trapped!" She mocked.


    The producers of the show suddenly approached me. The fat Jewish man shook my hand excitedly and said, "Edward Newgate. We didn''t think that the episode would be so much fun. In fact, we think that it''s so great, we''re going to be releasing your entire appearance on Halloween. All 3 episodes will premiere at the same time.!"


    The director rubbed his sore forehead and said, "That will mean, the show is going to run the same episode over and over again for a month and a half."


    "It''s fine. The benefits outweigh the disadvantages for this one." The producer said.


    I narrowed my eyes at him slightly before making a kind face, "It is the right decision to capitalise on my fame right now. But, what are you going to do with the ending? You know the audience will want me to return."


    "We�C I think we should talk about that in private." The producers said. Iughed derisively and agreed. "Of course. We WILL talk about it."


    However, in the discussion, he waspletely thrown off by my demands, and he had to contact his superiors to get the confirmation. Maybe he initially thought that he could guilt trip me into bing a recurring character and get away with offering the standard superstar fare wich to be honest was a good amount of money for some quick work after all 20 minute episode formats weren''t anywhere as time demanding as full on movies or hour long run shows, but he greatly misjudged his opponent.


    "Ed. Do you want toe hang out with us after this?" Selena invited me.


    I shook my head and replied, "Unfortunately I can''t. I have to get back home. I have a meeting with Harvey and other executives after this."


    "Oh. That''s a pity. Next time then�C Wait, I don''t mean next time youe here. I just mean, when you have free time." Selena stammered. As she knew about the situation, she didn''t want to identally pressure me into anything,


    I smiled and then slipped my hand into my pocket. "Hey, I got something for you."


    Selena''s heart fluttered and she said, "A gift? Wh-Why? I''m not�C I''m Taylor''s best friend. We can''t�C"


    I knocked her in the head with the small medicinal bottle I took out from my pocket.


    "Ouch!" She eximed in pain.


    "That''s for getting on my nerves. Here. Take this. This will help you with your condition." I said as I gave her the bottle of handmade medicinal pills.


    In the 10 recipes I''ve gotten, one of them would help Selena in her autoimmune disease. However, she had to take them for over 3 years before she could finally be healthy.


    "My lupus? Were you worrying about me?" She asked while batting her eyes teasingly at me.


    I scoffed and said, "Take it and go away. Don''t y around if you aren''t even going to give me a chance."


    She broke into a wide grin and said, "Thanks Ed. I really appreciate it." She then leaned in and kissed me on the cheek to express her gratitude. I smiled softly before driving back home and reporting the producer''s scheme to Harvey. She promised me with an evil smile that they would pay the price.


    That night, Selena suddenly asked me to turn on the TV. The promotional video for the premiere was already showing, and people online were excitedly talking about it.


    "I really didn''t expect that my first show would be a Disney show." Iughed at myself as I watched the promotional video.

 Chapter 237: Halloween (1)

    <h4>Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Halloween (1)</h4>


    (The longest arc yet. Already has 9 Chapter for this one, and I haven''t finished it yet lol)


    [Edward POV]


    Saturday. One day before Halloween. I had a football match early in the morning, in which I acted as an assistant coach instead of ying. The reason I couldn''t do that was because the agents thought it was too ''risky'' for me to stay in the field.


    <i>*Beep Beep Beep*</i>


    The sound of arge Buy More supermarket truck reversing caught our attention as it backed down in front of my new house by the cliff. Standing beside me were Pepper and Randall, watching as the backdoor of the truck swung open. Suddenly, the driver tilted the truck''s back, causing boxes of candies to tumble out.


    "STOP! Don''t do that!" shouted one of the agents, rmed. Chandler, a staff member, rushed to the driver''s door, banging on it and yelling, "STOP�� STOP IT, YOU IDIOT!"


    Startled, the Latino driver immediately halted the drop-off and apologized, saying, "Sorry, cousin. It was a habit."


    Chandler turned to me and shouted, "Sorry, boss! I''ll make sure to clean it up!"


    "Don''t worry about it. I kind of like the sight of candy hills in my front yard," I replied with a grin, turning to Pepper and shouting while breaking into a run, "Cannonball��"


    But before I could jump into the candy mountain, Pepper grabbed me by the cor, treating me like a misbehaving kitten despite being shorter than me. He said, "No, you won''t! Do you want paper cuts all over your body?"


    An agent walked by and grunted, adding, "Besides, you can''t approach it yet. We need to inspect the packages for explosives, poisons, traps, razors�� you know what I mean."


    I let out a sigh and remarked, "You know, these excessive security measures aren''t really necessary, right?"


    Agent Smith, who had male pattern baldness, replied, "It''s better to be safe than sorry. Until you sign the agreement with the government of the United States, we can''t leave you alone."


    "Eh," I eximed annoyingly. "Tell me, Agent, how many of the teenage assets you''ve protected before didn''t be rebellious when they were locked up and tried to break out? You already worsened my mood this morning. Are you sure you still want to act like that?"


    Understanding my frustration, Agent Smith replied with a heavy sigh, "We will make sure that doesn''t happen... again."


    "Randall, make sure to include a trip to the dentist for Ed after this," Pepper whispered to Randall.


    "I heard that!" I rolled my eyes, looking at the duo.


    After some negotiations, the agents agreed to let me take pictures, pretending to y among the candy hill as if they were fallen leaves during autumn. I shared the photos on social media, expressing my gratitude to everyone who had sent me the gift.


    In addition to the pictures, I recorded personal thank-you videos using emails for all of them. I sent them merchandise such as limited edition posters, t-shirts, and more as a token of appreciation.


    Suddenly, amidst the excitement, a voice screamed, "AaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" I turned to see a 10-year-old boy named Luke Dunphy, running and cannonballing into the pile of candies.


    "LUKE! GET OUT OF THERE!" ire shouted in frustration, looking apologetically and embarrassedly at the agents and staff members. She quickly grabbed Luke by the feet and dragged him out of the candy pile.


    "No! This is my dreame true! It''s a candy hill! I want to live here!" Luke squirmed, desperately reaching out to the pile as ire continued to pull him away.


    Phil, Haley and Alex were walking towards me. I turned to Phil whose eyes were glued on the candy hill.


    "You want to jump in on that too huh?" I said knowingly.


    Phil replied with a whisper, "I''ll do that when there''s no one around."


    ...


    The Dunphys, the Pritchetts, and the Tucker Pritchett family gathered at my house to help decorate. Jay, my dad and Phil were by the pool, grilling some meat.


    As I opened a boxbeled "scary stuff," I was disappointed to find stic bats and fake spiders inside. Taking a bite of my giant Toblerone, I felt a furry animal brushing against my legs.


    "Meow?" Vader, the cat, yfully swatted at the fake spider, following me as I unpacked the decorations. I used a rope to capture her attention, and she eagerly tried to catch it.


    "I want to do that too," Alex said, using proper cat toys in an attempt to attract Vader. "Come on, Vadie. Run towards this. Let me y with you."


    Vader smugly ignored Alex, opting to y with the old rope I had been using. "Ugh. Why was I born with cat allergies?!" Alex grumbled about her allergies, unable to fully interact with the cat. She wanted to grab and sniff Vader, but her nose became red just by getting near her.


    Just then, Mitchell, Haley, and Cameron entered the living room, each carrying boxes.


    "Who has the cobwebs?" Cam asked gleefully. "I can swing by Costco and pick some up. There''s a giant one only three miles away from here."


    Haley replied, "We know. Ed and I went there together before."


    "Uuuu," Mitchell teased Haley, causing her to blush. She turned to me and said, "Ed, I''m thinking about calling a yogurt... um... yogurt shop... person...?" She turned to Mitchell for help.


    Mitchell chimed in, "Vendor?"


    "Yeah, that. A fro-yo vendor," Haley continued. "Then we can disy the candies you''ve received too."


    "Better yet, use all the candies to create a Willy Wonka-like party with chocte rivers and licorice trees," Cam suggested, forming a rectangle with his fingers to visualize.


    Intrigued by the idea, I said, "That sounds awesome Cam. How about I hire you as my official party nner?"


    Cam was taken aback by the sudden offer and stammered, "Wh-what was that?"


    Haley chuckled, realizing my n, and said, "Ed, that''s a great idea. Who else has the innate creativity and vision to make it a reality in less than 24 hours?"


    "We have less than 24 hours?" Cam nervously chuckled. Mitchell rolled his eyes and urged, "Cam, they''re plotting against you. Don''t fall for it."


    "I mean, only someone reeeeeeaaalllyyy extraordinary could do it. Who knows, maybe they''ll even be featured in a few magazines and get to ride that Golden Ticket right to stardom..."


    "I''ll do it!" Cam agreed instantly.


    "Cam!" Mitchell scolded. "What about decorating our own house this year for Lily''s first Halloween?"


    "She''s only one year old. She won''t even remember it," Cam offered excuses before asking me, "How much budget do I have? Do I have a team?"


    "You can use whatever resources you have at thepany, and as for the budget, let''s keep it reasonable, like one day''s sry, mine obviously." I replied before putting my toblerone bar down. However as soon as it touched the floor, a shadowy figure with curly hair tried to snatch it, prompting me to pick it back up.


    "In your dreams Luke." I snorted as I saw Luke''s disappointed face.


    "I''m going to live here now." Luke replied before he rushed away. Manny was waiting for him, hiding behind the sofa, and asked, "Did you get it?"


    "No." Luke replied while shaking his head. "I''m sure there''s more of those inside the truck. We need to get there."


    "What are we waiting for Luke? I''ve been dieting for far too long to finally let myself loose this Halloween." Manny said as he took the lead.


    "Where were you all my life?" Luke asked, impressed by Manny''s nimbleness before he ninja-rolled away.


    "I got it." Cam came to a decision after a while..


    "How much is one of your day''s sries exactly?" asked Mitchell, confused. Before I could answer, Gloria entered the room, dressed in a revealing ck bikini with a see-through cover and arge sun hat. She was apanied by Lily, who had just started to walk which attracted my attention.


    Cam replied to Mitchell''s question, "Isn''t it like 50 (G)? I think that''s doable."


    Haley smirked and said, "It''s like 10 times that."


    Gloria crouched down, holding Lily''s hand and urgently said, "Ay, I made a bad mistake wearing high heels with her. Someone please take her hand; my back feels like it''s going to break."


    "I got it! Vader, let''s go!" I eximed, running to grab Lily''s hand. Vader followed along and stood in front of Lily. "Gato," Lily said in baby gibberish, pointing at the cat, impressing me.


    "Mitchell, she just said ''cat'' in Spanish," I remarked jokingly as I slowly let Lily walk towards the couch.


    "Ayy!" Gloria rubbed her back in pain. I snickered and said, "What''s going on Gloria? Not that young anymore?"


    "YOU WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" Gloria snapped at me. I burst intoughter while she was seething in anger. She rambled on in Spanish, but I was holding Lily, so she couldn''t target me. ire, who was drinking white wine as she held a fake skull in her hand, took the heat instead.


    As I was leading Lily to her parents, Mitchell asked, "Ed. So I want to ask. What was the <strong><i>trigger</i></strong> for you to decide to act in a Disney show? Was it Selena?"


    "I have the right to remain silent." I replied teasingly, "But if you must now, I''m doing it for the children."


    "No. That''s not it." Mitchell replied with a non-believing look. I was dumbfounded and said, "Is that so hard to believe?"


    "Kinda." Mitchell said with a shrug.


    While Mitchell and I were talking, Alex and Haley were looking at my direction while whispering to each other.


    "You''re the only one that can get revenge for us. It''s more believableing from you. After you do it, I''ll join in. " Alex said, trying to convince Haley. Haley looked unsure and said nervously, "But...Isn''t that too much? What if�C What if this made him...you know? Not look at me as a girlfriend...material...anymore?"


    "I know him. He likes a good prank." Alex added before she said sarcastically, "Besides, he looks at you as more of a family friend. So I don''t think it can get worse than that."


    "He didn''t�C You know what? You''re right. Mom and him�C They terrorised us with their pranks!"


    "Yeah!" Alex shouted encouragingly.


    "We need to teach them a lesson." Haley said with a determined look before she red in my direction. I caught her looks and realized inwardly that the afternoon would get much more interesting.


    As Cam had taken over the decoratingmittee, we all stopped what we were initially doing and went to the pool to rx, leaving the new party nner alone in the house to do his job.


    I held Vader in one hand, and Lily in the other. Both of them were snuggling into me, as if they werepeting for my affection.


    ire walked towards me and asked, "Hey, Ed, how are you doing? Do you want me to take Lily?"


    "If you can pry her off, then she''s yours." I replied.


    ireughed and said, "Nevermind then. Okay I want to ask you about the new deal."


    Jay overheard it and asked, "What new deal? Ed, you''re starting something new?"


    "It''s confidential �C You know, it''s a matter of national security, so I''m not supposed to tell you. However I, for one, am not a stickler for the rules." I replied before I told them the overview of themunication projects.


    "You know, you have a lot of fans in mypany." Jay said after a while. "It''s like you''re the only thing in their mind. Even the clients whoe by talked about you."


    "Are most of them pretty girls?" I asked.


    Jay was rmed and he looked over to see where Gloria was, "Don''t ask me questions like that... You trying to get me killed?"


    Iughed and then asked, "No, I didn''t mean it like that. What I was saying was that they flirted with you and tried to get you to open up more while subtly asking you what your rtionship with me was and trying to see if they could get you to let them meet me, sometimes even promising benefits to you."


    "Mo-Most of them. How did you know that?" Jay asked with disbelief. ire then said, "Hey, I met a lot of people like that too. Usually when I was going for coffee or after I finished yoga�C or during yoga..."


    "Let me guess, all of them were young, incredibly gorgeous, and had the perfect body shape." I added it again.


    "Ed what is going on exactly?" Jay asked with concern.


    "Yeah... Most of them were spies." I replied with a smirk. Both of them were shocked, ire even stood up from her seat.


    "Say that again?" Jay asked, feeling dumbfounded and didn''t believe he heard the sentence correctly.


    "It''s no big deal. They just want to get close to you, to get to me." I said.


    "Oh my god, that is a HUGE DEAL!" ire replied worriedly.


    "Bigger than whatever your teenage daughter is concocting right now?" I said teasingly as I saw Haley and Alex walking together towards me.


    "Ed...I need to tell you something." Haley asked with a worried expression. However, I could tell that she was acting.


    "What''s going on dear? You can say it in front of us." ire asked, her controlling mother trait was activated, and that was what Haley wanted.


    "Mom, I really need to talk alone with Ed." Haley said. "It''s about what we didst week."


    "What we didst week?" I was confused.


    "Sweetie, you can just say it here. Whatever it is, just know that we''re here for you." ire said sweetly while hiding her inner craziness.


    Haley smirked subtly, but I caught it. She then pretended to be this wronged woman and said timidly, "Ed. I just found out I''m pregnant. And it''s... your child."


    "WHAT?!!!" ire shouted loudly, making everyone turn towards us. "EDWARD!?" ire looked at me with disbelief and contempt.


    Alex joined in, but she kept smirking even when she tried to be serious that she had to hide her mouth with her hand, "Ed. You need to take responsibility for this."


    I chuckled a bit before I acted like I was in shock. I ced Lily''s down on Jay''sp before walking towards the duo.


    I held Haley''s hands and looked at her affectionately, "Oh my god. Really? I can''t believe it. I''m going to be a father. The only logical thing for me to do right now is to quit school and focus on mypany so that I can be the sole provider. Now for the most important question, Haley Dunphy, will you marry�C"


    Alex chuckled before she realized something and widened her eyes.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "Wait a minute. Why is he proposing? He knows how the science works. Unless?" Alex gasped and her face blushed. "They did it secretly? Oh my god! This will backfire on us phenomenally."


    mentary ends]


    "NOOOOO!!!" ire shouted and finally had her meltdown. Haley, who was absorbed in her own world and imagination, snapped out of her delusions when she heard her mother screaming.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "That was really dangerous. When he held my hand, I started to think that maybe that wouldn''t actually be a bad thing and that maybe it could work''. Luckily mom''s scream pulled me out."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Oh my heart." Jay suddenly clutched his chest. Shocked, ire, Haley and Alex rushed towards Jay.


    "Dad! �� Mitchell CALL 911!" ire shouted. "Dad is having a heart attack!"


    "Grandpa!" Alex shouted and her eyes became teary.


    "Grandpa! We''re just kidding! We''re trying to prank mom and Ed to get revenge for their pranks on us! Please don''t have a heart attack. Please don''t die!" Haley said anxiously. She turned towards me and said, "Ed! Do something!"


    "You heard that Jay? They tried to prank me." I said to Jay casually. Suddenly, Jay chuckled, which made all of the girls there dumbfounded again. Gloria rushed towards us, asking, "What happened? What happened?!"


    Jayughed loudly and said, "Pregnancy scare as a prank? ire, they really are your daughters." He grabbed Gloria''s hand and said affectionately, "I''m fine. I just scared them a little."


    "DAD!" ire shouted angrily. "How many times does my heart need to crash today!?"


    Alex wiped down her tears and pped her grandpa angrily, "Grandpa!! Don''t scare us like that."


    "Hey, set the stakes. I just matched you. Now you know that you have gone overboard. You almost killed your mother." Jay replied teasingly. He looked towards me and said, "Luckily Edughed and didn''t react much before he yed along, so I know you guys are lying. Seriously, who''s idea was it?"


    "It was Alex''s idea." Haley exposed her immediately.


    "NO! It wasn''t me! It was Uncle Mitchell''s idea!" Alex said defensively. Well technically it was Mitchell''s idea, however he didn''t even know that he had given it. All he did was whisper to Cam that the only way ire would be spooked like they did if a daughter of hers got knocked up, and the girls overheard it.


    Mitchell rushed in and shouted while holding his phone, "What happened? Who got hurt?"


    I picked Lily and Vader into my arms again and said, "Only ire''s sanity got hurt. You can try a mental asylum and see if they can help."


    "Psychiatrist, therapist, or even a doctor. Why did you jump straight to the mental asylum? Also, where''s Phil?" ire said begrudgingly as she stormed off..


    "Right, where is Phil?" I asked in confusion. Then after searching for a while, ire and I found Phil, Luke and Manny building a life inside the candy pile


    "We''re dering this ce, the United States of Candnd. All foreigners need a passport to get in." Luke said as he guarded the front.


    "But it''s my pile...and it''s my ce." I asked in confusion.


    "We already imed it. You snooze, you lose." Luke replied.


    "Alright then. So I have no choice, but to reim what is rightfully mine. I will be sending an official deration of war during our lunch. The United States of Candnd better be ready for the consequences of their�C"


    "Stop that. No one''s going to war. Phil!" ire looked at Phil with disbelief before pulling the boys out of their "nation".


    "Honey, the Prime Minister of Candnd has already spoken. As the Head of the Department of Defense, I need to follow it. Now, unhand the president." Phil said stoically.


    ire contorted her face in confusion and asked with a high pitched voice, "What?!"


    ...


    [General POV]


    Underneath a supermarket in Burbank, in a NSA plus CIA joint ck ops operation, 3 agents were being briefed by the CIA General Beckman.


    The middle aged woman in the military uniform said through a video monitor, "We must obtain crucial information about the agreement between our target and the Department of Defense (DoD), as well as secure the newmunications technology''s schematic. We need to hold the technology in our hands as a measure to safeguard our country''s security."


    The newbie agent�C who was recently a civilian until 2 years ago, held his hand up and interjected the general''s briefing, "Hi. General."


    "Yes Chuck?" The General asked with a sigh.


    "Hi. I need to ask. Is this really necessary? He is working with the Department of Defense... That''s basically us, so why do we need to get involved in it?"


    "Follow your orders Chuck!" The General said annoyedly. "The ce is guarded by numerous FBI agents, so you need to go undercover and extract the information out of there without exposing your identities."


    " Luckily for you, he''s holding a Halloween party tomorrow so you can use that to your advantage. He''s also searching to get some frozen yogurt at the party, so Sarah, you have the perfect cover. Remember, get in, get out, don''t reveal your identity no matter what. You got it Chuck?"


    Chuck looked at the hot blondie next to him, before turning at the muscr army man sitting on the opposite site and flinched.


    Casey asked, "You got that?"


    "Yeah- Yeah I got it. Also, would it be so presumptuous of me to ask him for an autograph while we''re there?" Chuck joked. Casey rolled his eyes at him while Sarah chuckled subtly.

 Chapter 238: Halloween (2)

    <h4>Chapter 238: Chapter 238: Halloween (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    In the dimly lit gymnasium nearby, I stood alone, d in a full kendo uniform that concealed my identity. The white coat, known as a Keiko-Gi, fit loosely around me as I adjusted the ck hakama, the traditional pleated pants worn by samurai. Gripped tightly in my hand was a gleaming samurai sword, a weapon as deadly as it was elegant.


    The air crackled with tension as multiple figures emerged from the shadows, their ck uniforms blending seamlessly into the darkness, encircling me and leaving no ce for me to run.


    They wore protective covers over their faces, shrouding their identities in secrecy. The only sound that filled the room was the soft rustling of their movements.


    With each step they took, the gravity of the situation intensified. It was clear that these were no ordinary opponents. They were highly trained, skilled in the art ofbat, and determined to teach me a lesson today.


    "Get him!" A menacing, yet childish voice bellowed from behind me. The imposing figures in ck advanced towards me, their eyes filled with a fierce determination. Their movements were precise, their stances exuded confidence, and their intent was crystal clear �� to overpower me and prove their dominance.


    "Hey! This wasn''t the n!" I eximed, a mix of disbelief andughter escaping my lips. In an unexpected twist, the adversaries charging towards me were not the formidable opponents I had anticipated. Instead, they were a group of pint-sized warriors, no older than five years old, brandishing their toy swords with fervor.


    Undeterred by their diminutive stature, the chibi warriors unleashed their attacks with all the energy and enthusiasm their young bodies could muster. Swinging their stic des, they charged at me with a roar, their fierce determination shining through their innocent eyes.


    "Come at me one by one!" I called out, struggling to maintain myposure amidst the adorable chaos. Blocking their yful strikes with my own foam sword, I took a few steps back, trying to keep up with their relentless assault.


    Watching the spectacle unfold, the dojo master who had a simr appearance to Hiroyuki Sanada, chuckled with amusement. "There''s no way for them to keep their cool when you keep taunting them," he remarked, shaking his head.


    "Remember, keeping your calm is the number one rule of the dojo. But the rules don''t apply to these kids." The kids were just here for their free lesson coupon after all. They weren''t true disciples.


    In the midst of the skirmish, I managed to save one of the young warriors from an imminent fall, grabbing onto his coat just in time when he tripped over his own hakama trying to hit me.


    However, seizing the opportunity, the remaining kids seized their chance to overwhelm me. Their wooden swords rained down upon me, each strike apanied by gleefulughter. I managed to block all of them, except for one.


    "Ouch! Mike Scott, I will remember that," I mockingly grumbled, shooting a yful re at the mischievous child who had sessfullynded a hit. With his victory secured, he promptly darted away, his mischievousughter echoing in the air.


    The sensei blew his whistle, abruptly halting the impromptu battle and bringing disappointment to the children. The Japanese sensei smiled, his wise eyes twinkling with amusement as he cated the boys. "Don''t worry, boys. You can still enjoy ying with him since he has registered at the dojo today."


    "Yeah, don''t worry! I''ll be back," I assured them, pointing at the cheeky kid who continued to taunt me, his tongue sticking out mischievously. "Make sure you''re prepared for it, Mike!"


    The kids'' lessons were over, and they went back to their parents. Sensei Hamada, one of the true masters of the swords I had found living in California, walked towards me and abruptly grabbed my sword and wrist, looking intently at the ways I was holding the sword.


    Impressed, he said, "You have outstanding reflexes and hand eye coordination. You said that you were a beginner before, but I can see it, you have been taught by someone. A master nheless."


    He released my hand and walked towards the swords rack before taking out 2 real swords.


    "It''s useless for me to teach you anything. What you need right now, is a real life experience. What better way to do that, than to feel the des on your skin yourselves?" He threw me a sword, and the second I grabbed it from the air, he had drawn his own sword.


    *CLANG*


    Our swords shed together after I blocked his first attack, a sideway swinging of the sword. He smiled in satisfaction as I did, and said, "Great job. But I''m going to up the ante now."


    *CLANG CLANG CLANG*


    The sounds of our shes reverberated throughout the whole dojo. At the side of the room, Agent Smith ate a jelly donut as he watched the entire battle with his keen eyes. Standing next to him was another agent, a little chubby but also muscr, codenamed Cobbler.


    "Phew. That kid is scary." Agent Smith muttered.


    Gobbler saw that I was bing more and more at ease with the sword, and even managed to attack the master of the sword a few times. He nodded in agreement, "He really is. Should we just kidnap him and make him a living weapon instead?"


    "We''d actually bemitting an act of treason to the country if we do that. We''re here to protect him under the direct order of the President. To kidnap the mission target is just like spitting directly into our President''s face." Agent Smith replied casually.


    After an hour long bout, I finally finished training with the master. I had several cuts on my arms, and a sh on my hakama, revealing a little bit of my leg''s skin.


    "That was...exhausting." I panted as I kneeled down on one knee while using the sword as a cane to keep supporting myself. Sensei Hamada said, "Nice first session. We will continue the training next week."


    I held my fingers up and wanted to reject it at first, but when I remembered how fast I had sublimated the sword y knowledge I had from the gacha prize before, I hesitated and said, "I''ll...be here."


    "Oh right. My daughter told me to give this to you today." Mr Hamada smiled and took out a Snickers bar before throwing it to me. "Happy Halloween Edward Newgate. I look forward to seeing you again."


    "Me too." I replied with a smile after catching the chocte bar, ripping the wrapper with my teeth, and biting a huge chunk of it.


    ...


    The day I had eagerly anticipated had finally arrived. However, I still had to wait until dusk for the celebration to officially begin. In order to pass the time, I decided to attend my sword practice session earlier in the day.


    Unfortunately, the lesson concluded just before lunch, leaving me with approximately six hours to burn before the festivities. Returning home to upy myself with work wasn''t an option for two specific reasons.


    Firstly, both of my houses were currently unavable to me. Cam had requested that I vacate the vi by the cliff, as he had nned a surprise theme party there. As the best wingman in the world, I graciously allowed my father and Frankie to set up decorations in my old house and enjoy their time together, making myself scarce.


    The second reason was that Phil had extended an invitation for me to join him and his family in the pumpkin carving tradition. They wanted me to experience this customary activity and had even encouraged Manny to participate as well.


    Parking my Audi in the garage, I made my way to Phil''s house. Despite the presence of numerous fans and paparazzi surrounding the property, Agent Smith had diligently ensured that they remained at a distance of at least 100 meters from me.


    "ED! NICE COSTUME!" someone shouted upon seeing me in my kendo attire, which I had forgotten to change. "Are you wearing a samurai costume?" inquired a young fan, a 13-year-old girl dressed as a squirrel.


    The paparazzis obsessively took my pictures, and it was spread all over the inte just a few short minutester.


    "No, this is my actual uniform. I just returned from practice. By the way, aren''t you feeling hot wearing that costume while the sun is directly overhead?" I yfully remarked. However, instead of responding, the girls squealed in excitement, realizing that I was addressing them.


    "Go home. Spend time with your family today. It''s a holiday, and you should be with them," I casually suggested, prompting a disappointed reaction from them. "How about this? I''ll give you all autographs or take selfies, and in return, you head back home?"


    They eagerly agreed to the conditions, and after half an hour of fulfilling their requests, I finally made my way to Phil''s house after picking up Vader from inside the house. At the same time, I also changed into a id shirt, brown khaki pants, and also a brown loafer. With my hair slicked sideways, I put on my smartwatch to finish my ensemble.


    "Meow." Vader sat on my shoulder as we walked. I looked at her with disbelief and said, "You really are azy cat. I should''ve named you Garfield."


    "Meow!" Vader protested while hitting my shoulder softly. As I walked into the Dunphy''s yard, I saw Phil and Luke running around with pumpkins while Alex admonished them, "Dad! Seriously! No running with scissors!"


    "Ow But�C"


    "NO BUTS!" Alex scolded Phil before taking the scissors from him. She finally saw me, but her attention went straight to Vader. "ED! VADIE~~! You''re here!" Alex greeted us cheerfully.


    Phil and Luke joined in. Phil muttered, "You''re finally here! Luckily for you, we have just started�C Wait a minute, what are you�C"


    Phil was confused when he saw my attire. Phil, who was wearing a simr id shirt, brown khaki pants, brown loafer, a smartwatch, and also had his hair slicked back, looked scrutinizingly at me. Alex held her breath, and whispered, "Come on dad. You got this."


    Phil''s eyes widened with realization, and he suddenly said, "You look..." Alex grew excited, anticipating a recognition of the resemnce. But her excitement quickly turned to disappointment as Phil added, "You look handsome today, Ed. Nice outfit, by the way."


    Eximing in bewilderment, Alex interjected, "Ugh. Dad, he''s your��"


    "Shhhh," I interrupted her, cing a finger on her mouth. Startled, she looked at me, and I said, "Let him figure it out on his own. We''ll see how long it''ll take him. Also, gimme."


    Rolling her eyes, she begrudgingly took out five bucks from her pocket and angrily handed them to me.


    "Ed! Look, I carved my pumpkin into Alex," Luke said proudly, disying his poorly carved sses-wearing emoji pumpkin. Iughed and remarked, "That''s the spitting image of her."


    "What!?" Alex eximed in anger.


    "I know, right?" Phil chimed in, causing Alex to turn baffled. She grunted, grabbed Vader, and stomped off to the house. Concerned, Phil called after her, "Honey, what about your allergies?"


    "I have my meds! It''ll be fine!" she shouted in response.


    Once Alex was gone, Phil turned to me and asked, "So, Ed, which one of these will be the first scary pumpkin for you today?"


    "I''ll take that big one," I said, pointing to arge pumpkin in Phil''s collection. "By the way, you''re eating those, right? You''re not going to throw them outter."


    "Huh? Wh-Why��I mean, wh-what?" Phil stammered, confused by my question.


    Luke answered for him, "Yeah, we do. It''s pretty awesome. They usually stay in the backyard for a while, and then they start to smell, and then Dad will throw them out in the��"


    "Luke, stop talking," Phil interrupted, sensing something amiss in my gaze. I looked at him with disbelief and a hint of disgust.


    "So, you bought the product of a farmer''s effort for who knows how long, only to put them on disy and then throw them out," I remarked.


    "Ed, listen. We are not the only ones who do this," Phil defended himself.


    I scoffed and asked, "Phil, do you know how many pumpkins were purchased during Halloweenst year?"


    "Umm... It should be a lot," Phil replied, stammering.


    "Americans purchased around 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkinsst year. Out of that, 80% was thrown away after Halloween, which amounts to around 1 billion pounds of food being wasted willy-nilly," I exined.


    "Do you know how many people 1 billion pounds of food can feed?" I asked him with a hint of scolding. He lowered his head and said, "I''m sorry."


    "Don''t apologize to me. Apologize to the pumpkins." I said admonishingly.


    Phil and Luke turned towards the pumpkins and said, "We''re sorry."


    "Good. Now, teach me how to carve them." I said excitedly. Phil was confused and asked, "Wait, you''re still doing it? What about all of that you just said?!"


    "I''m not throwing it away. I''ll mince them and make pumpkin pie with them tonight." I replied casually while I sharpened my knives.


    "Now, how should I carve this?" I said as I looked at the plump, boulder size pumpkin in front of me.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the Dunphy household, ire peered into the backyard and was taken aback. She couldn''t believe her eyes and asked Alex, "Wait, when did your dad clone himself?" Unaware of the situation, she mistook Ed for Phil due to his back being turned.


    Alex, ying with Vader, answered, "That''s Ed. He''s impersonating Dad, but he doesn''t even realize it."


    ire reacted with surprise, saying, "Huh." Then she offered, "Do you want me to help you pick out a costume for the party?"


    "Nah, Finneas and I��" Alex began to reply before catching herself. She realized she was speaking to her mother and quickly corrected, "N-Nothing. I''ve already picked out an outfit. You don''t need to worry about it."


    ire regarded Alex suspiciously before sighing, "If you don''t want me to, that''s fine. My daughter has grown up, and she doesn''t need her mother anymore."


    "Mom, that''s not what I meant," Alex nervously responded. ire smiled but then inquired, "Wait, where''s your sister? Is she still at the hair salon? How long will she be there? She left at 8."


    "I don''t know. Maybe she went straight to Ed''s vi to prepare for the party," Alex casually replied.


    Meanwhile, in Maggie''s Beverly Hills apartment, she found herself surrounded by a group of college girls in her living room. One eager blonde college freshman pleaded, "Please! Take us to the party with you!" She grabbed Maggie''s arms, while another girl chimed in, "We''re from the Midwest, and we''ve never been to these wild LA parties before! Please, Maggie!"


    Maggie, feeling overwhelmed, responded with bewilderment, "Wait��Don''t stretch my clothes. I''ll ask him on your behalf, but I can''t really decide if you guys cane or not." Maggie regretted sharing information about the party with her friends.


    As Maggie attempted to call Ed, she silently prayed, "God, please let the Ed who answers have some humanity in his heart today." Unfortunately, Ed didn''t pick up the call, leaving Maggie feeling helpless. She muttered another prayer, "You didn''t have to make him reject my call if you couldn''t answer my prayers. I already know his heart is empty."


    In another apartment, Selenay in bed, trying to take a nap while being bothered by a persistent blonde girl named Taylor. Taylor applied makeup, pretending not to notice Selena, and haughtily remarked, "Oh, Ed? I''m sorry, I didn''t realize you were here."


    Annoyed, Selena grumbled, "It''s his house."


    "Right, I forgot," Taylor responded, finally recognizing Selena''s presence. As she applied her lipsticks, she acted innocent and said, "How about ''Ed, I miss you''? Ugh, that''s too desperate."


    "I thought you were still angry at him no?!" Selena eximed in frustration.


    "I am. That''s why I''m going to mess with his feelings," Taylor replied with a devilish smile. She continued contemting, "Or maybe I should say, ''I have a boyfriend now.'' No, that''s not really going to work on him. He knows he''s better than them. Come on, help me with my makeup. I need to make sure he''ll be wide-eyed when he sees me. I want him to regret ever wanting to break up with me."


    Selena rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Just apologize if you want him back. You know you''re the one who messed up."


    "Yeah, but I''m a girl. He''s the one who''s supposed to let it go," Taylor snarkily replied.


    Annoyed with Taylor''s behavior, Selena teased, "You know, Ed and I bonded quite closely when he came to the set."


    Taylor shot her a re and warned, "Bitch, don''t you dare."


    "You keep acting up, and I''m going to be the one asking him out," Selena yfully threatened.


    Taylor scoffed, "Well, you can try, but you''re only going to embarrass yourself."


    "You know, we even kissed on the show. I could swear I felt some sparks," Selena started to say, but Taylor cut her off by hitting her with a pillow.


    After venting her frustrations, Taylor returned to the mirror, and Selena, disheveled and disbelieving, decided to tease Taylor again, "You know, he doesn''t really flirt with anyone anymore. What if he already has another girlfriend? Did you ever stop to think about that?"


    Taken aback, Taylor stopped in shock and turned to Selena in anger, ready to retaliate. She ended up hitting Selena with a pillow once again. After finishing their makeup, Selena asked, "Did you really write a song about him?"


    "Kinda. I never expected Leo to be the one who helped me find the melody for it," Taylor replied, putting on an impression.


    Selena''s jaw dropped, and she asked, "That old weed guy?"


    "Yeah, but I guess he really has some brain damage. He doesn''t even remember that he was the one who helped me," Taylor exined.


    "Are you embarrassed to sing it in front of him?" Selena curiously inquired.


    Taylor smiled innocently and said, "I don''t know. I think he''s hoping for it, but I''m not sure."


    In Edward''s vi, Cam stood in the living room, visibly frustrated. He shouted in a high-pitched voice, "NOOOO! How can you put the Chocte River here? It''s supposed to be outside by the Oompa Loompa candy trees!"


    "And the balloons are supposed to be mr balloons, not rubber balloons!"


    "Where are the vendors? Why aren''t they setting up yet?" Cam eximed, expressing his exasperation.


    Haley cautiously approached her uncle and tapped his shoulders. Cam turned around, and his tone quickly softened as he saw her.


    "Hmm, Uncle Cam. Don''t be mad when I ask you this, but why is there an ice sculpture in the Willy Wonka theme party?" Haley inquired.


    Cam squealed in frustration and tearfully replied, "I don''t know. I don''t even know why I agreed to do this in the first ce! It''s impossible to fix it now!"


    In Edward''s other house, Ted and Frankie were sitting at the dining table, with a lot of food in front of them. Frankie looked at her watch and asked with concern, "Are you sure Ed''sing? I know his practice should be over by now, but are you sure he knows about you wanting to have lunch with him?"


    Ted was taken aback and replied, "Wait. I forgot to tell him. I''ll call him to see where he is right now."


    <i>Ding Dong</i>


    The doorbell interrupted Ted just as he was about to call Ed. He smiled and made his way to the front door, saying, "That must be Ed. See, I don''t even have to tell him about it."


    Frankie chuckled and replied, "That''s just pure luck. Next time, you should really inform him if you want to make ns. He''s just like me; we usually n ahead."


    Ted smiled and shot a nce at Frankie as he opened the door. However, to his confusion, he was met by a tall man with a nerdy haircut and another shorter man wearing sses instead of his expected son.


    "Who are you?" Ted asked immediately, his guard going up.


    "Hi, I''m Dr. Leonard Hofstader. I-I''m Edward''s friend��no, acquaintance," Leonard said timidly, reaching out to shake Ted''s hand. "And this is Dr. Gabblehauser. We''re here today as representatives of Caltech."


    Ted''s confusion deepened as he shook Leonard''s hand and nodded politely at Dr. Gabblehauser. "Representatives of Caltech? What does this have to do with Ed?" he asked, gesturing for them toe inside.


    Dr. Gabblehauser spoke with a pleasant, joking tone, "Didn''t you know about the papers your son has published? They''ve been the talk of the scientificmunity for days now. We thought we were already toote to recruit him, but I should''ve known that no one could get close to him without already being acquainted with him beforehand. Luckily, I brought Dr. Hofstader here with me."


    Leonard smiled apologetically, but Dr. Gabblehauser hugged him by the shoulder and shook him to cheer him up. "Oh, don''t worry about it. You''re doing the right thing."


    Frankie joined the conversation, walking toward the group. "Mind exining to us what you mean by recruiting him?"


    "Oh, right. It would be best if we take a seat before discussing it," Dr. Gabblehauser suggested. They all sat down in the living room, and Gabblehauser continued, "I''ll be curt with you. We believe that Edward has much more to learn at Caltech than he would by continuing his high school studies. Let''s face it, high school is already useless for someone at his level."


    "We would like to offer Edward a schrship to attend Caltech, and of course, you can set your own conditions," Dr. Gabblehauser stated.

 Chapter 239: Halloween (3)

    <h4>Chapter 239: Chapter 239: Halloween (3)?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "I''m done!" I eximed while wiping my non-existent sweat, having finished carving my pumpkin into the shape of a small cat. Phil looked amazed and said, "Whoa. That looks just like your cat."


    Luke, excitedly, dered, "I''m going to go get her so we canpare her to the pumpkin side by side." He quickly ran to the house and returned a few minutester, dragging Alex and Vader along with him. Alex burst intoughter upon seeing myical cat.


    We positioned Vader next to the pumpkin and took multiple pictures, even cing a small witch''s hat on her head.


    "Meow?" Vader looked confused but obediently stayed by the carving as I continued snapping photos. However, my photo session was interrupted by a call from Maggie.


    "What do you want?" I asked immediately upon answering the call.


    Taken aback, Maggie stammered, "Um... Hi cutie, how are you doing��"


    "I''m hanging up��"


    "WA-WAIT WAIT WAIT!!" Maggie desperately called out. I put the phone back to my ear and said, "Last chance."


    "Ummm... You know how... You made me go to college here... right," Maggie hinted.


    "I know? I''m the one who talked to your dean to get you in," I replied, feeling a bit annoyed.


    "Yeah. That," Maggie continued. "So, at college, people usually make friends, right��"


    "Get to the point in less than 10 words," I interjected, sensing she had something specific in mind.


    "My friends want toe to the party too... Please...?" Maggie confessed right away.


    "Exactly 10 words. Good job," I said, thoroughly impressed. Maggie giggled and said, "Thank you~ Thank you~"


    "Well, I have no problem with theming. I also invited some model friends of mine whom I met at the fashion g, so they''ll have people their age. But if they want toe, they need to be vetted first. You should send their names and their social media ounts."


    "To you?" Maggie asked, sounding confused.


    "No, to my head of security. I''ll send you his number."


    Anxious, Maggie eximed, "Ed! You know I can''t text a stranger��" but I cut the call without even hearing her excuses. If she really was an introvert, I would have some pity on her, but she''s actually a social butterfly, so the whole thing was actually justziness on her part.


    Just as I ended the call, my phone buzzed with Maggie''s name shing on the screen again. With a sigh, I answered, "What?"


    "Can''t you answer the call more warmly next time? I''m still your cousin�C"


    "I''m hanging up."


    "WAIT!" She stopped me desperately once more. Then she said, "I don''t have a costume to wear for the party. N-Not just me, but I know Vanessa doesn''t have anything to wear either."


    "Hudgens, huh... Hmm... I don''t have anything for girls, but Haley does. She might think she can hide them from me, but I know she has Longines workingte hours to make outfits for her. That''s why she doesn''t have any money at all. You can go to his boutique and bring... Vanessa too. But, you need to call Haley before you can take anything."


    "AH! That''s perfect. Haley and I are bing great friends these days. We mainly talk about you�C Umm... I''m going to go."


    "Wait. Exin. What do you mean you guys talk about me? Maggie!" I asked, but she had already cut the call. "Damn it. She won this time," I cursed before I called Haley to give her a quick heads up. But our conversation was cut short due to Cam''s shouting in the background, prompting Haley to end the call.


    Turning to Alex, I asked, "By the way, do you know what your sister ising as for the party?"


    "I don''t know. She said she doesn''t want to be Catwoman ''cause Enid got dibs. I''m not so sure what she decided to go with," Alex replied casually before rubbing her reddish nose.


    I remembered her allergies to cats and felt a pang of guilt for not considering that earlier. I racked my brain, searching for a solution. Suddenly, a memory surfaced, and I realized I might have a way to help her.


    "Hell�C What the�C Wait! I really forgot about it, huh," I muttered out loud, surprised by the realization. I had ignored the medicine knowledge I had gotten from Doctor Strange, because I thought it was going to be simr to the ones in this world.


    But it really wasn''t.


    I forgot to consider the universe factor. In the world where they have really high technological advantages, the research on medicines there was top notch. The medicines form in my brain, if taken out, would shock the entire world.


    ''Maybe I can do something with this informationter.'' I thought secretly.


    Alex looked at me with curiosity. "Forgot what?"


    "Your allergies. I think I may have found a way for you to y with the cats without triggering them," I replied, however this knowledge wasn''t from the Marvel universe, but instead, it was from my previous world.


    Hope sparkled in Alex''s eyes as she asked, "Really? How?"


    Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I continued, "First, we need to get Vader to stay inside a chicken coop."


    Confusion washed over both Alex and Vader as they tried to make sense of my statement. Even Agent Smith that was hiding behind the trees was interested in the conversation when I mentioned fixing her allergies, and he almost broke out of his agent''sposure when he heard about the chicken coop.


    Alex put her hand on my forehead and asked, "Do you have a fever?"


    I rolled my eyes and exined, "Cat allergies are usually triggered by a protein called FelD1, which is found in a cat''s saliva, urine, and skin nds. These allergens can be airborne and cause allergic reactions to people like you."


    "Theoretically, when a chicken is inocted by these proteins, or like I said before, let Vader or any other cats live with them, they will produce an antibody, an anti-FelD1 protein. Like humans, these chickens'' antibodies will be passed down to their descendants."


    "These antibodies will concentrate on the egg yolks, and when a cat like Vader eats the yolk, they will receive the antibodies, which will neutralise the FelD1 allergen inside the cat, preventing them from spreading."


    Alex widened her eyes and said, "So, stopping them at the source? So I don''t have to take allergy medications anymore?"


    "I don''t know if it''ll work 100%, like I said, it is still a theory." I replied with a smile. "I''ll get someone to test it."


    "NO! I can do that on my own!" Alex said before she turned to her father. Then, her excited expression slowly morphs towards confusion. "Wait, did I just... want to ask my dad to build a chicken coop at our house?"


    I shrugged and said, "Seems like a feasible idea tho."


    She rolled her eyes at me before realizing something, "Uncle Cam has a farm. I''ll ask him if he can let us experiment there."


    Agent Smith suddenly appeared in front of Alex, startling her. "AHH!" she shouted.


    "Don''t worry about it ma''am. We will help you contact our state trusted farms. We can even handle the experiments for you if you want." Agent Smith said.


    "That''ll be easier. You guys should do that, but let her conduct the experiments by herself too. You know, so she can get the experience." I said.


    "We''ll include her during the whole process and even cite her as the lead researcher. It''ll do wonders for her in the future when she''s applying for colleges, and also if she wants to apply for any government- rted jobs." Agent Smith said knowingly, ying as if he was doing her a favour. But in reality, he was currying favours with me.


    "Wait. It''s your theory." Alex said with disbelief.


    "My name''s going to be there too. Honestly, I only had theorised about it. I didn''t even do that much. Your work will take you months." I said teasingly while trying to y off my involvement in the matter. It''s not like I was saying anything wrong. No work has ever been done yet about the matter, so it is technically only a theory in this world.


    "I''ll...take the job!" Alex said seriously to the agent.


    "Great. Now we can go get lunch. I''m starving." I said before asking, "What''s your mom cooking?"


    "I think it''s just a simple mac and cheese. She usually cooks those because she''ll be preparing a feast at night." Alex said casually. "Oh yeah. That reminds me. You can''t stay here."


    "That''s a rude thing to say... to someone''s face." I said with disbelief.


    Alex chuckled and said, "No. I''m not kicking you out�C Well kinda. Enid, Jenna, Elsa and I are going to be getting ready together here. It''s a girl only thing, and well, I''m a girl..." She said proudly. "Also mom said you can''te in until it''s time for trick or treating." She added.


    I rolled my eyes at her as I had already known what ire was nning. I was preparing to leave with my pumpkin before I realized something, "Wait. Didn''t your dad say Manny will be here? Where is he?"


    "Urm..." Alex finally realized it too and replied, "I don''t know."


    "Okay then. Tell your dad I said thanks." I told Alex before picking up my pumpkin. While I was in the driveway, I heard Phil suddenly shout from afar, "Hey! He''s dressing up as me!"


    "Took him long enough." I muttered with disbelief before walking home swaggeringly with Vader on my shoulder and a giant pumpkin in my hand.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Mom. Ed''s gone." Luke said as he walked towards ire. She let out an excited squeal and pped her hands together. "Finally! We can start setting up the surprise now!"


    Phil widened his eyes and rushed towards ire, grabbing her by her shoulders before whispering to her from behind, "Honey, you''re not keeping the same energy you and Ed have during your pranks on Halloween right? Cause we really have had enough of that for the year."


    ire rolled her eyes and said, "What''s Halloween without a little fear? If you must know, I''m not doing scary�C I mean, I am, but not in the ways you''re thinking about."


    "Wh-what are you nning on?" Phil asked nervously. ire smiled and said, "Remember you told me you found Ed''s doll before?"


    "The little girl doll?" Phil asked fearfully.


    ire nodded her head in excitement, squealed and said, "Yes! That. I looked around and found this guy who has more than 10,000 of such dolls in his ce, and the best part is, he''s open to renting them out for Halloween..."


    ire stopped herself from continuing, but Phil caught that, "Why was he getting rid of them today ire?"


    "Umm...So I already got us all matching costumes, but since Haley and Alex are going to the party, and Luke is going trick or treating with Manny, it''ll be just us handling the haunted house."


    "No-Nothing. I think he just wants to give them fresh air. You know these weirdos who thought the dolls were real people?" ire said dismissively, but was still hiding something.


    [ire''smentary]


    "Yes. So he wanted to get rid of them, because he said that during Halloween, he could hear them talk? I know that if I said that to Phil it would just freak him out. N-Not because it was true! The guy was seriously loose in the head, so maybe the voices he was hearing were from his head." ire said, mocking the owner of the dolls.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "Why is she not answering my questions? Is there something wrong with the dolls?! Or is this part of her borate ns to scare me again during Halloween!"


    [Luke''smentary]


    "Edward gave me some stuff," He said while taking out some disk shaped speakers. "He asked me to put it in between the dolls when mom puts them on, and he''ll let me take all the candies I want from his house. Also, he said that he has 3 truckloads full of those candies too, so I''m thinking of asking for one of the trucks."


    Luke added, "Mom said she wanted to scare Ed, but Ed wanted to scare her too, so we will see who will win between the two of them."


    [Commentary ends]


    As ire was arranging the dolls, Phil went to check on them one by one, but as he left, Luke grabbed the doll and ced the disk speakers inside their clothes.


    The doorbell rang, and Alex ran to the door, "I''ll get it."


    Jenna and Elsa were standing in front of the door, with a clothes bag in their hands. Alex asked, "Where''s Enid?"


    "She went to Ed''s house to peek at what he''s doing. Jenna''s mom is there too." Elsa replied giggling and added, "Jen is so mad she can''t do the same thing now."


    "HEY!" Jenna retorted. Alex said sarcastically, "You know what, I''ve been hanging out with you guys for too long, I''ve forgotten that stalking is not what normal people do."


    "We aren''t stalkers!" Jenna retorted to Alex this time. "We just like him a lot, and want to know more about him."


    "By...stalking him." Alex added teasingly, which made Jenna roll her eyes. Suddenly Alex realised something, "Wait. Why is your mom there?"


    Jenna shrugged and said, "I don''t know." As Jenna replied, Enid ran towards the girls and grabbed Jenna and Elsa from behind. Startled, the girls turned towards their breathless friend.


    Enid said pantingly, "I just...heard...something...awful... Ed...Is...Going...To..." She paused, which made the girls be anxious. Jenna snapped and asked, "To what?!"


    <strong><i>"</i></strong><i>Haah...Haah</i><strong>.</strong>....College." Enid replied after catching her breath.


    ...


    In Longines''s boutique, Maggie, after getting permission from Haley, went there with Selena and a few of her friends. The ck, bald African American gay man greeted the girls sassily after they arrived, "Uhum. With the way you guys are dressing right now, no wonder Haley sent you all to me."


    Vanessa Hudgens was startled and she stepped forward, "Wait. Am I included in thatment?"


    "Honey, you''re basically wearing drapes right now." Longines said while snapping his finger. "Come with me. All of you. Luckily for you guys, you''re going to a Halloween party, and there''s no one else in the world other than me who knows how to dress up as something other than myself."


    The college girls'' costumes were found pretty easily. Vanessa took out a horror movie themed dress�C the ghost from the Ring movie''s outfit and wig.


    Maggie was curious and asked, "Why do you have so many dresses? Are these all Haley''s?"


    Longines shook his head and replied casually, "No. I took orders from a lot of people. The ones you guys have right now are costumes fromst year no one came to pick up. Haley''s over there, but..."


    Longines looked at Maggie from top to bottom, making her feel conscious, "I think it''s too small for you. Hudgens may be able to squeeze into it, but <i>girllll</i>, we need to find you something adult size and <i>not fun size</i>."


    Suddenly Maggie saw a Spiderman outfit hanging on the rack near her, "What about that? Who is that for?"


    "That''s for Edward actually. It was too tight for him, too small, especially in the you-know-what area." Longines said crassly while hinting at the girls, which made both of them fall in disbelief.


    "It''s Ed''s? He''s going as Spidey? But he said he was going to dress up as Batman? Did he lie to everyone?" Maggie bombarded Longines with questions.


    Longines replied while crossing his arms, "Girl. I don''t know what you mean. He made a lot of those, not only the Spiderman one. I''m also the one who made that Batman suit he showed in his Insta-Live. If he made a lot of them, maybe he wants to have the options? "


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I entered the house, I saw Jenna''s mom, Mrs Karlsen sitting at the living room couch while I was putting down the pumpkin. Vader jumped down and ran to the kitchen to get her food and water.


    "Hi. You''re here." I greeted her cheerfully.


    "Hi Ed. You said you wanted to see me?" Mrs Karlsen asked in confusion.


    "Yeah, let''s go upstairs for a bit. I have something to give you." I replied before looking to see where my dad was. But I didn''t see him, or Frankie, so I asked Mrs Karlsen, "Wait. Where did my dad go?"


    "?" Mrs Karlsen was confused, "He said he was going to go look for you. I don''t know where he is. He left after letting me in."


    "Alright then. So we''re alone." I replied before I said, "Come upstairs."


    At that moment, I didn''t realise that my words could be misconstrued as something else to Mrs Karlsen. It was as if she heard everything I said with a sultry filter, and her heart skipped a beat as she followed me.


    After we got into my room, I walked to the table and picked up a script for her. "I remember what you said about the audition, and here�C"


    However as I turned, I saw that she was tying her hair and almost kneeled on the floor, opening her mouth seductively. But she was surprised when she saw the script and went back up immediately. "Wait. A script?!"


    "Um, what just happened here?" I asked teasingly, but she didn''t even blush a bit. Her eyes were glued on the script, so I gave that to her.


    "It''s for the role of Skyler White, the wife of Walter White in the new series thepany''s producing." I exined. "Is she the main character?" She asked excitedly.


    "The face of the series is Walter White and Jessi, but Skr is a main character too." I exined. Mrs Karlsen suddenly hugged me excitedly and said, "Thank you ED! THANK YOU!"


    "Calm down. I''m not finished yet. I''m not giving you the role. The auditions are starting next week, and I wanted to give you a head start."


    "Doesn''t matter. This is the first time I''ve ever got the script for the main character." She said with tears in her eyes. I was amazed and said, "Wow, this is a huge deal for you isn''t it?"


    "I''ve been auditioning for 14 years. And never once did Ind an important role. So yeah, it is a big deal for me." She said before she added teasingly " In fact, if you want me to really do what I thought you wanted me to do, I''ll have no problems with that."


    I rolled my eyes at her and changed the topic, "I''ll put in a good word for you with the director. Ah, but I have to warn you, Skr''s character can be quite annoying, so the audience may hate the character."


    "Oh, she''s going to be pregnant at an old age..." Mrs Karlsen ignored me and skimmed through the script before she teased, "Hmm...Do you want me to be pregnant for real, or?--"


    "I can''t roll my eyes anymore than this. Go home and read it. I need to get ready." I said as I chased her away.


    "Get ready for what?" She asked with a permanent smile on her face. She touched her cheeks and said, "God, this is so embarrassing. My face can''t stop smiling. I''d probably need to get botox after this."


    "Don''t do that." Iughed a bit and replied, "I have a special date today, with a few specialdies."


    "A few? Wow! I need to make Jenna stay away from you." She joked. She left soon after with a huge grin stered on her face while I had some lunch and changed my outfits.


    I wore circr sses, a Gryffindor scarf and Hogwards robes, I drew a lightning mark on my forehead. My dad returned at this time and saw me.


    "Well well well, if it isn''t the great Harry Potter." He said. I chuckled and pointed my wand at him, "Petrificus Totalus!"


    He pretended to be paralyzed for a second before heughed. "I thought you''d be going as Batman." He asked.


    "Batman''s for the Trick or Treating thing. Oh shoot, I need to go now, so can you take care of Vader?" I darted off to the front door as I knew I had to go now if I wanted to make it in time.


    "Wait. Ed, Dr Gabblehauser�C" My dad tried to exin, but I dismissed him, "Later. I really need to go!"


    ...


    [General POV]


    Jenna''s mom went to Alex''s house to share the good news with her daughter before she left. And at the same time, she jokingly shared that Edward was going on a date, which made both Enid and Jenna startled.


    "He has a date?! Where!?" Jenna asked.


    "With who?!" Enid asked.


    Mrs Karlsen was dumbfounded and said, "Um...I don''t know."


    ire, who has been eavesdropping, also shouted, "He has a date with multiple girls at once, or they meet him at different times?"


    "I seriously don''t know anything about it." Mrs Karlsen said with disbelief.


    In the children''s hospital where Edward went with Haley before.


    "Edward''s here!" The children shouted excitedly as he came into the ward and brought some gifts for them.


    "Hey! Ed! I saw you on TV!" One of the girls said excitedly.


    "Are you Harry Potter?" One of the boys asked.


    "Are you staying with us to watch the Wizards of Waverly ce?!" A small girl with burn marks on her face�C on her left forehead asked meekly while holding a teddy bear.


    Edward patted her head and said, "Of course. I promised that I would watch the show with you guys, didn''t I? That''s the whole reason I went and shot the show in the first ce. Here, have some candy."


    Edward ced his paper bag on the ground and pointed his wand at the bag, "Candy Bombarda!" He chanted. The spring mechanism in the bag was activated and it shot the candies to the air like a volcano.


    The children cheered thunderously as they saw that, some even starting to believe that Edward was a true wizard because of it.

 Chapter 240: Halloween (4)

    <h4>Chapter 240: Chapter 240: Halloween (4)</h4>


    (Sorry I wasn''t around. My mom was admitted at the hospital, so I had to stay with her for a few days. I just got back home cause my sister took a leave of work tomorrow.)


    [Edward POV]


    -Children Ward, Lobby-


    "Wingardium, Levi-oss-sa." I said as I pointed at a snicker bar in front of me with my wand. Then, the bar slowly levitated from the table. The children eximed in amazement as I did, failing to see the thin fishing line I had connected to the Snickers bar.


    "Ed! It''s not Leviosssa! It''s Levi-O-sa!" Marie, a 5 years old girl who was diagnosed with leukemia , said giggling as she approached me. I chuckled and yed along with her words, "Is that right? I guess that''s why I can only make one of them fly up each time."


    "You''re so silly," she giggled, her face brightening up. Her parents, watching the interaction, couldn''t help but break down in tears. Despite their emotions, they tried to put on a brave smile for their daughter.


    "Hey, can a silly person do this?" I reached out my hand towards Marie''s ear and pulled out a single stalk of rose. She burst intoughter, and the other kids wanted me to do the same for them.


    "Wait, hold on. I''ve run out of roses. How about I do it with a quarter instead?" I said, trying to hold back the eager children. An 8-year-old boy gasped and suggested, "What if you pull out candies from our ears?"


    "That... could work," I squinted my eyes, realizing the genius of the idea and wondering why I hadn''t thought of it before. "Ed! It''s starting!" a 7-year-old girl with ginger hair eximed, sitting in front of the TV.


    We had set up a t-screen sma TV for a special runtime of Wizards of Waverly ce, which premiered on the Disney Channel at 4 o''clock. The movie had a runtime of an hour and a half.


    I had one of my staff members set it up and connected it to the satellite using a simple Entertain Stick that I had created and plugged into the TV''s USB drive. The device, along with my newmunication line, would beunched together.


    The Entertain Stick had a quick installer that ran automatically, allowing people who bought it to watch Netflix on their ordinary TVs and use various streaming apps for entertainment. Well, only I have a streaming app right now, so I got the full benefit of that. (FireStick/Android stick inspiration)


    {"I''m Jeremy Van Hellsing"}


    As my character on TV made his appearance at thest scene of the first episode, the children were excitedly cheering for his appearance.


    "Jeremy''s so cool!" Marie shouted while she stood on top of her hospital bed after she was moved to the other side of the ward to get her treatment. I could see her through the ss door separating the two wards. She could still watch the show through the same ss door despite not hearing any of the dialogues.


    The nurse who was administering the medicine through a syringe into her spine said, "You know what? He is cool. You just need to focus on the TV to see more of him."


    As the needle prated her skin, Marie started crying miserably, which made her parents approach her and hold her hand. Her gut wrenching cries made her parents both break down too, but they couldn''t do anything other than continue tofort her.


    She needed to rest after getting the treatment, but before she left, I walked to the ss door and waved at her. She smiled slightly despite having a painful expression on her face, and waved timidly back at me. I cupped my hands through the ss door and said, "Hey! Marie! You take that treatment like a champ!"


    Marie was startled, but she wasn''t focusing on me yet. So I pressed my nose on the ss door, making silly faces at her. "Hey, hey, Marie. Am I still handsome?"


    She giggled a bit and then sheined to me tearily, "It hurts Ed. I don''t want to do this."


    "I know. But you have to do it to be better. You Marie, are really strong! I don''t think I could even do that! Next time when I have to fight the monsters, and I need to get a strong girl to help me, I''lle straight to you to get your help. Then, you can teach me how to say the spell correctly again. We don''t want me to be defeated because I said it incorrectly, right?" I joked and continued talking to her to get her mind off the needle. She finally smiled brightly, and she nodded in agreement, "I''ll be sure to teach you!"


    "Attagirl~ Now, Mommy and Daddy, you guys are strong people too. So make sure to continue to be strong for her, alright?" I said to the parents. They were startled and then they understood what I meant. They held back their tears and wiped down the marks from their faces before looking at their child.


    "Bye Marie. See you next week." I waved the little girl goodbye before the nurse brought her and the parents away. This all happened during themercial before the next episode started.


    The next episode was when me and Alex (Selena) went on a date while Justin tried to hide his vampire girlfriend from me. The simpleedic episode earned a lot ofughter from the children, and they thoroughly enjoyed it.


    "Edward." The little girl who has a burn mark on her face, and carried a teddy bear with her, called me out meekly.


    "What is it Jennie?" I asked her using a sweet voice.


    "Um..." She hesitated.


    "You know you can ask me anything." I rubbed her head tofort her.


    She thought about it for a while and asked, "What do you think I should wear for Halloween?"


    "I thought you liked Cindere? Didn''t you like being a princess?" I asked teasingly.


    She was taken aback before she said, "I wanted to...But no princess has a scar on their face."


    Her words surprised me for a bit. I thought about it and crouched right next to her. "Maybe, it''s because you''re a different type of princess."


    "What kind?" She asked with confusion.


    "Yeah, you''re...the princess that fought the dragon herself to get out of the tower. The other princesses needed to get help, but you did it all on your own. The scar on your face is a battle scar from your victory."


    She giggled and said, "No princess ever did that!"


    I acted goofily and said, "There are a lot of these types of princesses. But you know, they fight alone, so there''s no one there to tell their story. So, what if, when you go out for Trick or Treating, you tell the people about her story to make everyone know about her."


    "Really? Such a princess exists?" She asked with surprise, totally believing my lie at the moment.


    "Yeah. Zuko. Wait, I''m sorry. He''s a prince. But you know what? I even have a picture of the princess. You want to see it?" I asked.


    She nodded her head excitedly and said, "I DO! I want to see it!"


    "Robin. You know what to do." I mumbled slowly as I took out my phone. Robin replied, "Generating Warrior Princess."


    Robin generated a picture of a tan skinned princess with messy hair, and notable burn marks on her face. She was wearing a mixture of gown and battle armor, which made Jennie exim in amazement.


    "Whoa! She''s really pretty! What''s her name?!"


    "Her name''s Fiona." I replied.


    "Like Princess Fiona in Shrek?" Jennie asked again. I paused as I remembered that in Shrek Forever After, in the parallel timeline where Shrek never went to save Fiona, she bursted herself out of the tower. However the movie hasn''te out yet�C It will be released next year in 2010 though.


    "Yeah. It''s exactly like Fiona." I replied decisively, which made Jennie squeal in excitement. She asked me to let her show the picture to her parents, which excited them as they had already bought her a Cinderalle dress for her to wear, but at the same time, gave her a headache as she wanted to have a sword too and battle armor to wear on top of her dress.


    After myst episode was finished, the children had already changed into their outfits and we went trick or treating inside the hospital, visiting the wards one by one before we returned to the children wards. I didn''t take any candies and was just there as a chaperone and was supporting the kids.


    It was almost dusk, where Halloween would truly start when I finished spending my time with the children.


    "Thank you Edward!"


    "Thank you Eddy!"


    "Thank you Eduardo Newgato!"


    "Thank you Jeremy Van Hellsing!"


    "Thank You Harry Potter!"


    "Merry Happy Halloween!"


    "Bye Edward! Come again next time~!" The children screamed excitedly as they waved goodbye to me. It choked me up, but I didn''t show it to my face.


    I stood with my legs wide apart, threw my arms in the air, and shouted, "Goodbye, everyone! I hope you all recover quickly!" The children giggled, and I left the children''s ward. Randall was waiting outside the room, and he handed me a bottle of water.


    "You did a great job, Ed," Randall said, patting my shoulder. "No one asked you to do any of these, but you did it anyway. I''m amazed by you."


    I opened the water bottle and took a few gulps. Suddenly, tears started streaming down my cheeks. I wiped them away with my palm and tried to maintain a smiling face.


    While I acted silly,forting, and encouraging with the kids, there were moments when it was hard for me too, to keep smiling and show everyone there that everything''s okay.


    [shback]


    "Where''s Aiden?" I asked Jennie, who was sitting next to the boy. Jennie smiled brightly and said, "He''s all good now. He went back home. Last night, his parents, his grandparents came to pick him up. The doctor said he won''t be in pain anymore. He must be okay now, right, Ed?"


    I nced at the nurse cleaning up Aiden''s bed, and she subtly shook her head at me. Turning back to Jennie, my chin quivered, and my voice slightly shook as I casually replied, "You know what? That must be it. He must be in a much better ce now."


    "I know, right!" Jennie replied. "He''s a bit rude, though. We''ve been bedmates for months, but he didn''t even say goodbye to me before leaving."


    "I''m sure he''s just excited to go home and forgot about it. You know what we should do? We should write him a letter, telling him everything we love about him, just in case he misses you and wants toe back here."


    "I don''t mind if he wants toe ...visit," she said timidly before shaking her head. "But you''re right. I don''t want him toe back here anymore. I''ll write him a letter tonight."


    [shback ends]


    "Let''s hurry up and go. Wait, why are you even here?" I asked Randall in confusion, trying to hold back my tears.


    "Oh, I had toe," Randall replied, pretending not to notice what had just happened. "Your godsister insisted, no matter how many times I told her you''d be back. She even grabbed my cor," heined.


    "Sage?" I looked around in confusion. "Where is she?"


    Randall was taken aback and quickly scanned the area. "Wait, where did she go?! I''ll go look for her."


    "Alright, I''ll go to my car," I said, but Randall didn''t even hear my response before rushing off. I shook my head slightly and turned to walk to the parking lot. Suddenly, Sage appeared in front of me. She had been standing behind me the whole time.


    "Whoa, oh, hello there," I greeted her casually, acting as if her sudden presence didn''t startle me.


    "I don''t have time to y General Kenobi. Here, take this," she said anxiously, handing me a small box.


    "What''s this?" I asked in confusion, but Sage was too anxious to exin. She scolded me, saying, "Just take it! Take the red one right after you get home. The green one when you''re finished. Hurry up and go. I need to go too. No matter who asks about it, we''ve never met here today, got that?!"


    "What on earth are you doing? Did you steal this? Hey��" I started asking, but Sage looked around anxiously and then ran away from the hospital hall.


    She shouted while she was running away, "The green one will only work after an hour! Don''t let it go more than 2 hours if you don''t want to make it permanent."


    "Make what permanent?!" I shouted, but the nurse passing by shushed me. "Sorry." I turned to apologise to the nurse for shouting, but when I turned back to Sage, she had disappeared.


    "What the hell just happened?" I asked. Sage came and went like a hurricane, leaving me behind, thoroughly confused by the entire thing. I grabbed the small box she gave me and opened it up.


    "Gummy bears?"


    There were 2 gummy bears ced neatly on top of satin clothes inside the small wooden box.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Inside Edward''s vi. Haley, who had changed into her costume, approached Cam from behind.


    "Uncle Cam, how do I look?" Haley asked.


    "You''re beautiful Haley, do you think Edward will be disappointed about the candy tree?" Cam didn''t look at her and instead was focusing on creating the candy tree.


    "Done." He took a step back as he looked at the candy tree he had meticulously crafted, adorned with an array of delicious treats. Lollipops, licorice, candy ribbons, and gummy bears adorned its branches, creating a sugary and attention grabbing centerpiece.


    Next to the candy tree, there were two molten chocte fountains, their cascading chocte forming a river that meandered across a long table. Besides the table were fruits dippings, biscuits, and other foods you can dip the chocte in.


    Suddenly, a group of waitresses dressed as Oompa Loompas caught his attention. They moved gracefully around the party, wearing colorful costumes that mirrored the distinctive appearance of the beloved characters from the chocte factory. Their outfits wereplete with short, striped pants, vibrant shirts, and curly wigs, capturing the whimsy and charm of the Oompa Loompas.


    Casey, the stern looking CIA agent grumbled as he spoke into his earpiece, "I''m in position."


    "As the Oompa Loompas. You know what Casey? It suits you." Chuck teased while hiding inside a van outside the vi.


    "I''m going to kill you after the party Chuck." Casey vowed.


    The party itself was filled with various other elements inspired by the chocte factory. There were oversized candy props scattered throughout the venue, such as giant lollipops, chocte bars, and candy canes. However, Cam was worried that some idiot teenagers would try to eat the decorations made of styrofoam, so he ced a sticker that said, "Not Candy" on it.


    Haley grumbled, her frustration evident in her voice. "Uncle Cam! You need to at least look at me."


    Cam, caught off guard by her remark, finally turned to face her. His eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, Haley!?"


    Haley had donned a costume inspired by Wednesday Addams. She had two ck braids neatly framing her face, ck lipstick that entuated her paleplexion, and dark eyeshadow that added an air of mystery. Her dress was adorned with a garter belt, and long stockingspleted the gothic ensemble.


    Cam couldn''t help but express his astonishment. "Oh my god. You''re going all out for the party! Are you nning to utilize his weakness for alternative, or more widely known as...the goth girls? Are you making a move tonight?"


    Cam was excited to hear some gossip, but Haley yed it coy and said, "I don''t know what you''re talking about? I''m just wearing something that I think is party appropriate."


    "Talking about appropriate, your mother doesn''t know you''re wearing this right?" Cam asked as he pointed at Haley''s outfit. She rolled her eyes and said, "Of course not. Do you think she''ll approve?"


    Inside the Dunphy''s house, Enid had changed into a Catwoman outfit, but she didn''t wear the face helmet, but instead drew a cat mustache and nose on her own face.


    "Why is he wearing a Harry Potter outfit?" She grumbled as she looked at Edward''s photo taken by the paparazzi as he left his house before.


    "He''s going to change." Alex replied as she wore a whiteb coat and styled her hair into a messy bun. On her right hand was a bottle of green rocks,beled Radium.


    Enid suddenly teased Alex, "If you''re wearing a Marie Curie costume, will Finneas be her husband?"


    Alex however replied casually, "No. He''ll be Oppenheimer."


    Jenna, Enid and Elsa were confused. "What''s the rtionship between them?"


    "She discovered the elements, he made bombs with them." Alex replied casually, which made the others nodded even though they didn''t really understand it.


    Jenna was wearing a Katara costume (LOL Just found out the girl I based her on yed as Katara in a 2010 live action movie) and she asked, "Who''s going to be the one who''ll ask Edward about his date?"


    The girls truly thought that he went somewhere with a girl before. They have been specting about this mysterious girl he was dating, but they couldn''t decide on anyone specific.


    Elsa wore a simple cop outfit, and she twirled her fake handcuff as she said instigatively, "Well, the question is not who''s going to ask him, but rather, is he evening to the party?"


    "His own party?" Alex retorted sarcastically while Jenna and Enid were taken aback.


    Elsa teased, "If he has a great time with this girl, then maybe they''ll go somewhere to make out...You know, time passes quickly when you do that. You guys know what I''m talking about.."


    "I don''t! I''ve never made out with anyone!" Enid said angrily before hitting Elsa with a pillow.


    "I usually thought time couldn''t go fast enough. And never did I lose track of it." Jenna said begrudgingly.


    Back to Edward. As he was returning home to his neighborhood, Edward found himself getting stuck in a traffic jam. "Damn it." He cursed. As the car was at a standstill, he opened the small wooden box Sage gave him, and ate the red gummy bear.


    "Well, I am almost home right?" Edward chuckled to himself. As soon as he swallowed the gummy, he suddenly felt searing pain in his heart.


    "What the�� AHHH!!" Edward screamed miserably. But he forced himself to keep calm and thought about the matter. He knew that Sage wouldn''t harm him, so there must be something more to it.


    "Robin. Override the ride home. Block the agents from me too." Edward said with panting breath before he pressed the elerator while getting the car out of the queue and onto the opposite road.


    "Where is he going�C Follow him! QUICK!" The agent who was following him tried, but he was blocked by the oing traffic when Robin messed with the traffic lights.


    "We lost sight of "yBoy"! I repeat, We lost sight of "yBoy"! Someone find him, now!" Agent Smith screamed through the walkie talkie to the other agents.


    A helicopter flew over the street, trying to find where Edward had gone. However, they only found his car parked near an empty house.


    "He''s gone." Agent Smith muttered frustratedly.


    On a street nearby, a pale faced Korean man had cornered Sage as he captured her from continuing to run away. He ced his hand on the wall, trapping Sage with his body.


    Sage looked at him defiantly, and asked, "Why are you here, Gong Shin?"


    "You know why I''m here?" Gong Shin asked, unsmiling. "Did you take it?"


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about?" Sage lowered her head as she avoided looking at him. However, he ced his hand on her chin and moved it forcefully to make her look into his eyes.


    "Don''t joke with me. Were you the one who took the APTX 4869 drug from my desk?!" Gong Shin asked angrily.

 Chapter 241: Halloween Trick or Treating!

    <h4>Chapter 241: Chapter 241: Halloween Trick or Treating!</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    I stared down at my tiny hands in disbelief, the familiar string burn marks still visible on my fingertips, so I knew that I hadn''t changed my body, but instead, I had regressed in age.


    "Whoa. I''m Tiny," I muttered with a childish voice, examining the drastic change in my physical stature. My Hogwarts-inspired robe now dragged along the ground, the once-perfect fit nowically oversized.


    I quickly pulled out my phone, the device appearing massive in my diminished grasp. Peering into the screen, I took in my transformed appearance with a slight surprise - my once-long brown hair now falling just past my neck, making my head look slightly like a mushroom, my chiseled jawline softened into slightly puffy cheeks.


    "Damn, I still look cute at 7 years old," I said, a hint of reluctant amusement in my voice. But the realization of my precarious situation quickly set in.


    "This is dangerous," I muttered, my brow furrowing with concern. "I really hope I won''t attract any ''forceful invitations'' to a private ind in this state."


    I held my hand into the sky, rays of light prating through the gaps in my fingers, "How did Sage do this? Did she give me the drug Conan used?" I assumed and decided to keep the antidote close to me. She told me before that it won''t work if I eat it now, so I had to wait until the perfect timing.


    Suddenly, I saw a group of SWAT team members scouring the area.


    "Shit." I turned backwards on the street and ran away from them quickly. "Damn it Sage. How the hell should I exin this?!"


    I pulled out my phone again and called, "Robin, I need you."


    "Sorry, Unauthorized Personnel." I made a mistake and Robin started to lock up my phone''s essibility.


    "Wait- Robin it''s me! EDWARD! I have been turned into a small child by an evil god�C Wait, no time to y, Override code, HarambeIsTheKey..." I continued on to tell her the 64binations of letters and digit code before she epted my override code.


    "Override epted. Hello sir."


    I breathed in relief, slightly patting myself on the back for thinking far ahead.


    "Robin, I need you to adjust my voice to be my original one, and connect me to Agent Smith�C Wait, I need to call Sage first." But, I soon cursed my luck as I couldn''t get to her.


    As intrigued as I was with my transformation, I was also a nervous wreck about getting caught looking like this. Luckily for me, the neighborhood kids had already spilled out onto the streets to go trick-or-treating as darkness fell.


    I hid behind a tree, shrouded in my oversized clothes, when suddenly a kid in a Phantom of the Opera costume and mask approached me, his trick-or-treat bucket swinging in his hand.


    "Hey kid," I whispered, waving him over conspiratorially. The boy paused, then slowly walked towards me, his curiosity piqued.


    "Are you supposed to be Harry Potter?" the boy asked, eyeing my ill-fitting robes. "Did you get your brother''s hand-me-downs?"


    "Yeah, too bad for me," I sighed dramatically. "What''s your name, kid?"


    "Henry. And you''re also a kid, so don''t call me a kid." He said sternly.


    "Well Henry, I''m...Harry," I said, cringing inwardly at themeness of my alias. To my amazement, the boy bought it, hook, line, and sinker.


    "Awesome. You even have the same name!" Henry eximed with innocence. "What''s up, Harry?"


    I cleared my throat nervously. "Well, Harry...this might seem like a weird request, but..." After several minutes of easy bargaining and pity story, the boy walked away wearing my oversized Harry Potter costume and clutching $1000 in cash. I gave him everything I had in my pocket right now.


    His bewildered parents watched him go, momentarily stunned into silence by the wad of bills in their son''s hand.


    "How�C Wait, even if you changed the costume with him, isn''t the amount too much?" The dad asked in shock.


    "How did he even give you 1000 dors?" His mother asked with disbelief.


    "Well, I told him to give me 10 bucks, but he only has 1000 dors. I asked him if they are the same thing, he said it might be, so he gave it to me." Henry told his parents. To be honest I felt bad about tricking the kid so I decided to just give him the money. And I already predicted the oue, so I left a note inside the stack of cash too.


    "Wait. There''s a...handwritten note." The father found it.


    <i>[Dear Parents,</i>


    <i>Your child Henry performed admirably in our recent social experiment conducted in the neighborhood. Despite having to give up his costume and likely miss out on trick-or-treating, he chose to help someone in need. An admirable quality we were trying to find in a child! As a token of our appreciation for your exceptional parenting, please ept this marypensation. Unfortunately, we cannot disclose the name of our organization as we are working confidentially with the government. Thank you for raising such a wonderful child.</i>


    <i>Sincerely,</i>


    <i>The Experimenters]</i>


    The parents were dumbfounded for a while before the mother retorted, "It''s <strong><i>obviously </i></strong>a fake note!" The handwritten note, despite being neat, was written with a pencil. The mother turned around to search for me, but at this time, a gust of wind blew several leaves into her face.


    "Ugh�C What the hell�C" She cursed as she tried to get the leaves off her face.


    I seized the opportunity to casually slink away, slicking my hair back and sliding on the Phantom''s iconic half-mask.


    The father suddenly said, "Well...There''s a note, so we''ll have no problem with the IRS."


    "What the�C" The mother cursed in disbelief before realizing something, "A thousand dors will help a lot. Henry, do you still want the Darth Vader costume? I can swing by the store and pick it up."


    "I WANT IT!" Henry shouted excitedly.


    "Well..." I chuckled to myself, relishing the absurdity of the situation." That actually worked out...Maybe, I can trick Agent Smith too?"


    I asked Robin to modte my voice to my older one and called the agent, telling him shortly and simply that I''m currently hooking up with someone''s mom, and will be back within 2 hours before I hang up. I wasn''t sure if he bought the story, but it was my best shot at the moment.


    Then, brimming with mischievous glee, I raced back to my own neighborhood just two blocks away. I darted up to the first house I saw and aggressively rang the doorbell, bellowing at the top of my lungs while breathing heavily, "TRICK OR TREAT!"


    "Aww you''re so cute. Are you the phantom from the phantom of the opera?" The kind olddy opened the door and gave me a full size snickers bar, dropping it into my bucket.


    "I am. And I''m here to kidnap the most beautiful girl in town. I believe that girl is you." I said cutely.


    The old grandmother melted in my adorableness and said,"Here you go lovely. In fact, since you''re so cute, take 2 more."


    "Thank you Grandma! You''re the sweetest!" Iplimented her while smiling sweetly. The grandma let out a touched gasp before saying, "A! You''re so lovely! Take it! Take as many as you want!"


    While smiling sweetly on the outside, I hid a devilish smile on the inside while secretly thinking, ''Muahaha! My talent is in full effect! I''ll conquer today''s Halloween trick or treating!"


    "By the way dear, where are your parents? You''re not going out there trick or treating alone aren''t you? It''s not safe out there." The grandma suddenly said, snapping me out of my delusion.


    "Shit." I cursed whisperingly before making a run for it.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the alley where Sage was having the confrontation with Gong Shin. With quivering eyes, Sage slowly moved her pupils away from the direct eye contact with him and said, "I don''t know~"


    As they were in an awkward position with Sage being trapped in Gong Shin arms that were pushed to the walls, a mother had to cover her son''s eyes as they passed by, snickering at the sight of the couple as she passed. They were so close together that one might misconstrue that they were having intimate moments with each other.


    "Liar. Alright, so you took it. And you gave it to Edward, right?" He initially asked her a question about whether she took the APTX pills from him, but truly, that was just a formality question as he had already known about it.


    Sage was bbergasted before she became angry. She red at him and said, "It''s just for 2 hours! I''m letting him be a kid for just 2 hours! And let him live the childhood dream he always wanted! Is that too much to ask!?"


    Gong Shin''s exasperation was palpable, his hands grabbing Sage''s shoulder as he spoke, "I don''t care about the pills�� I DON''T EVEN...care about him wanting his childhood back. But do you know what you have done? Since you took the pills from me, I''m..." He paused, his expression shifting, a flicker of vulnerability crossing his features before he schooled his expression once more. "...being locked out."


    "Locked out from what?" Sage asked nervously, her breathing bing quicker.


    Gong Shin released Sage and walked a few steps away. "It means, I can''t help him at all! No matter what happens to him. He can be put in child protective services. Or he will be under deep scrutiny when he bes an adult again. I have no way of actually being there to help him avoid all of that!"


    Sage was shocked and walked closer to him, "Why can''t you?!"


    Gong Shin''s demeanor became more agitated as he exined, "Because it''s the rules! As guardians, we cannot interfere with the affairs of the mortals, but since you took it from me, the matter directly corrted to me! So right now, I don''t have any powers either! I''m just an ordinary guy."


    Sage heard it and froze for a bit. Then, she decided to run.


    "Where are you going?!" Gong Shin yelled at her angrily.


    "I need to go find Edward! so, I can help him!" Sage called out as she turned the corner, her figure disappearing from view.


    As Gong Shin watched Sage''s retreat, his angry expression suddenly transformed into a rxed, almost satisfied one. He massaged his face and muttered, "Oh god. Acting is hard."


    "Now, for the next phase," He muttered as he acted anxious and worried again while taking out his phone. He dialed someone, " Listen to me very carefully...Something terrible has happened..." His body slowly turned to nothingness, and the alley turned empty soon after.


    Hisst sentence, spoken in a tired voice, reverberated in the empty space, "One has a heart of ice, logical, but has no humanity. The other one is too human, but has something wrong with her brain. Why am I the one who''s supposed to take care of them?"


    ...


    In Edward''s house, the FBI agents who were supposed to guard Edward were helplessly trying to track him down.


    Agent Gobble asked tiredly, "Can we track his phone?"


    Agent Smith let out a resigned sigh, "Can anyone?"


    There was a brief silence before Ted spoke up, "What did Ed tell you when he called?"


    Agent Smith hesitated for a moment, but then replied, "He told me he''s...hooking up with someone...older, and wants some privacy. Is it possible for him to do something like this?"


    Ted opened his mouth, but then his eyes widened as he realized the implication. "Um..."


    Smith caught Ted''s reaction and eximed, "Wait. It''s possible!?"


    Frankie chimed in carefully, "Not that any of what we''re saying is confirmation, but he does have a slight tendency to go...after women...older than him."


    Gobble interjected with a wink, "Alright, we''ll be honest with you guys. We''ve seen a lot worse. Everything we see is confidential by our contracts, so there''s no need to worry about us using it against you."


    No one really believed him, but Smith moved on, "Is there anyone who might know who he''s with right now?"


    Ted''s eyes flickered, and he muttered, "Max."


    "I''m sorry?" Smith asked, unable to hear him clearly.


    Ted turned to Frankie first, then to Smith, dodging the question, "I mean, if anyone knows about it, it must be Max."


    "Can you call him and find out?" Smith requested.


    5 minutester, Max answered the phone, and Ted put her on loudspeaker. "Hi. I''ve only been here 2 days. Miss me already?"


    "Ed is missing, do you know where he might be?" Ted asked bluntly.


    "Wow, no forey at all, right to it, huh? But again, sometimes I like it that way. It means there''s not much talking to be done," Max replied with a dirty joke, making Ted roll his eyes. The agents remained unfazed.


    Frankie smiled and said, "I do miss you, Max."


    "Frankie! I miss you too! Alright, did Ed say anything before he left?" Max asked.


    "He said he''s going to go hook up..." Ted replied, but Agent Smith added, "With someone''s mother."


    Both Ted and Frankie were shocked, turning towards Smith. Max, however, replied casually, "Who''s mother? There''s a lot of sexy mothers around him that he has the hots for."


    In New York, Max slightly counted the mother figure around Edward and mumbled to herself, "Gloria for sure, ire too, Desire? Alexandria�C That girl''s an ex-yboy model, so it''s possible. Or is it someone who acted as a mother in TVs?"


    "What?!" Ted asked with shock. Agent Smith nodded in understanding and muttered, "So this is a normal thing. Thank you, Miss Max ck."


    "Hey Stop using my full name. I''m trying to make less people know me." Max said before Agent Smith cuts the call. After the call, Max became curious and she called Edward, not expecting him to answer. She was so surprised when he did.


    "Wait. Why did you pick it up? I just want to bother you so that you won''t be able to enjoy your time properly." Max blurted out her nned mischief, her face blushed red with her own embarrassment of herself.


    "Haha. Very Funny." Edward replied with the voice modtor. His panting breath as he was running from grandma, made Max have a wrong idea.


    "Dude. At least focus on her." She said, giggling.


    "Cutie~ Come here! I promise I won''t spank you!" The grandma shouted from behind Ed, but through the voice modtor, the voice turned into a sultry woman''s voice.


    "I''ve got to go." Edward said suddenly. "That crazy bitch is relentless."


    "By the sounds of it, she does seem like that." Max said teasingly before she said as she cut the call, "Enjoy."


    Edward was confused and he muttered, "Why the hell did she even call me?"


    ...


    Edward finally escaped the grandmother''s pursuit and went trick-or-treating in his neighborhood. As he walked down the street, he spotted some familiar faces - Luke Dunphy, dressed as Luke Skywalker, and Manny Delgado, in a matador costume, were trick-or-treating together.


    "Are we really going to do this, Luke? It''s the first time our parents let us go trick-or-treating by ourselves. What if we get into trouble?" Manny asked nervously.


    "Halloween rules - if you give bad snacks, you get the attack," Luke said as he pulled out a carton of eggs from his bucket. "Are you wimping out or are you going to help me?"


    Manny tried to defend the homeowner, "But he gave us apples-"


    Suddenly, Edward popped up beside them. "So he deserves it. Let me have one," he interrupted, reaching for an egg.


    Luke and Manny let out scared yelps before ring at Edward. "Who are you anyway?" Manny demanded.


    "Who cares? He''s egging the house with us, he''s part of our team now," Luke said happily, handing the egg to Edward. "I''m Luke, and this scaredy-cat is Manny."


    "I''m Harry. Harry Styles," Edward replied as the trio pelted the house with eggs.


    The irate vegan homeowner ran outside, yelling, "Hey, you brats!" But the trio quickly escaped.


    "Hey, you''re cool. Want to join us trick-or-treating?" Luke invited Edward.


    "Sounds good, let''s go," Edward replied. But as he turned, the old grandmother suddenly grabbed his hand from behind.


    "Sweetie, I finally found you!" she eximed.


    "AHHH!" Luke and Manny shrieked in horror before fleeing.


    "Hey, help me!" Edward cried out, but his new friends had already taken off.


    "Let''s go, child. I need to have a word with your parents about letting you out alone," the grandmother scolded.


    "Ugh, no," Edward groaned, trying to pull away. But then he spotted a familiar face - Mrs. Henderson, his teacher, walking nearby. Her hair was uncharacteristically loose, and she seemed anxious, likely searching for someone.


    "Mom!" Edward called out. Mrs. Henderson looked confused, then her eyes widened as she recognized the young boy. She was shocked inwardly when she realized the situation, and why she was called for help before.


    "Mom? Oh, you must be his parents. I''m so sorry, I thought he was out by himself," the grandmother said, releasing Edward. He darted behind Mrs. Henderson''s skirt, eyeing the grandmother warily.


    "I-I wasn''t trying to kidnap him," the grandmother said defensively. Edward rxed a bit, then said, "I know, you had good intentions. But my mother is here now, so you can go. Thank you for the candy."


    The grandmother''s expression softened. "Aww, you''re still a sweet boy. Okay, I''ll leave you to your trick-or-treating. Goodbye." She turned and walked away.


    After making sure she was gone, Edward turned to Mrs. Henderson. "Thank you for pretending to be my parent, Miss Henderson."


    Mrs. Henderson stared at him silently, making Edward feel uneasy. "Why are you looking at me like that? I''m not alone, I just need to find my brothers. They''re trick-or-treating with me."


    "Alright then, let''s go," Mrs. Henderson said suddenly, which startled Ed. She said gently, "I''ll take you until you find your brothers again. I can''t let you go out here alone at night."


    Edward looked confused. "Wait, go where?"


    "Trick-or-treating," she replied. "I''ll apany you." She extended her hand to Edward, which in his confusion, grabbed it without even thinking.

 Chapter 242: Halloween Trick or Treating (2)

    <h4>Chapter 242: Chapter 242: Halloween Trick or Treating (2)</h4>


    [General POV]


    -shback-


    A day after Edward''s live stream where he introduced Coldy and promoted their album, the tension in the room was palpable. Edward was sitting directly in front of Linda, their knees almost touching as Linda had positioned the chairs to face each other intensely.


    "Is this necessary?" Edward asked, his voiceced with slight ufortableness at the confrontational setup.


    Linda''s expression was determined as she replied, "I need to step up my game since your defenses are almost imprable." It has been an hour and 45 minutes since Edward started his session, but he barely talks about anything today. She then took out a pen from her cleavage, crossed her legs together, and said, "I want to ask you a few questions about the uing Holiday if you don''t mind."


    Edward, feeling a bit intrigued, said happily, "Halloween? Yeah we can talk about that. We can talk about that all day long."


    "Great. So tell me Edward, why do you have 13 costumes nned out for Halloween?" Linda asked, her gaze unwavering.


    Edward was surprised by her knowledge and asked defensively, "Wait. How did you even know that?"


    "I have my sources," Linda said with a teasing smile. As Edward was narrowing his eyes at her, she revealed, "Your father told me just before you came in. Although, he just said that you''re indecisive about picking one, and was justughing at the thing the whole time. But, when I noticed the numbers...I realized there may be something more about the whole thing."


    Edward nodded, feeling slightly relieved, before leaning backward on his chair and saying, "Like he said. I''m indecisive."


    However, Linda refused to back down. She leaned in and said firmly, "Really? And it has nothing to do with, you feel that you are OWED to celebrate it? 13 costumes, one for each year of your life."


    Edward leaned forward and gazed at Linda angrily, holding himself back as he joked, "You know what? It irks me so much when you psychoanalyze me."


    "It''s the only thing I can do given your nonmintement of undergoing your therapy session. Am I correct in my assessment?"


    Edward rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "Yeah. You are the smartest girl in the world."


    "Thank you. I take that as apliment." Linda ignored the diss and continued, "I am curious though."


    "Curious about what?" Edward asked.


    "Why 13? Why not 14?"


    Edward paused briefly before he smiled and said, "Because I had that one time with my dad."


    Linda was taken aback, and she smiled sincerely. She hesitated before carefully asking, "Why...wait 2 years before you enjoy it? I mean, if you''re looking forward to it your whole life, then why wait? Why not go out and celebrate it the moment your mother left the house?"


    After Linda asked the question, Edward rubbed the back of his head with some irritation before replying, "I could''ve if I''d realized that sooner. But, I''m a kid. I''m bad at understanding my emotions."


    Linda nodded and said, "I understand that. It must have been tough for you. Especially since you had no people to guide you in processing your emotions while you were a child. And after your mom left, you had basically been alone."


    She remembered what Edward said in the livestream and asked, "The effort you put in Halloween is phenomenal. Is Halloween your favorite holiday among other Holidays? Or, was it because you''ve been building it up inside your head, to feel what it''s like?"


    Edward scoffed derisively and said dismissively, "No, it''s because of all the candy. And the time is up. Goodbye."


    -shback ends-


    [Edward POV]


    Walking side by side with my ex-teacher, Miss Henderson, while holding hands, I felt like I was living the weirdest day of my life or quite possibly a strange dream�C Dressed in a Phantom of the Opera costume I had bought from another kid, literally turning into a 7 year old, everyone was wearing a costume as they walked past me, holding hands with my ex middle school teacher which I imed was my mother as I walked around my neighbourhood.


    "Ummm...Miss Henderson?" I called out to her softly. "You don''t have to keep holding my hand. I won''t run away."


    "I know. I just want to," she replied curtly, her attitude aplete opposite of how I knew her. Compared to her usual reserved demeanor, she seemed a bit clingy, and most importantly, she epted the whole situation too easily.


    In fact, it was suspicious to me that she hadn''t tried to ask about my identity or my family. Nor did she even ask my name.


    ''Going on a trick-or-treat outing with a random child she grabbed off the street? I wonder if she''s a mentally unstable person pretending to be a functional adult,'' I thought, my mind racing with questions. ''Maybe I should''ve imnted some additional initiatives to open up the mental institutions back then?''


    My thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly karate chopped the top of my head. "Ouch! Why did you do that?" I asked, shocked.


    "You look like you were thinking about something rude," she said, pointing to the next house. "We''re here now. They just left a bowl of candy outside, so you can take one."


    "Alright," I replied, giving her a purposefully cute smile, but she didn''t react, which only served to confuse me further. ''So it''s not because of that...<strong><i>Then, why is this happening?'' </i></strong>


    A little frustrated, I faked a smile after I picked up the candy, and went back to her. She reached out her hand to me, and I reluctantly held it again.


    "By the way, do you know me?" I asked her.


    "E�C I don''t." She replied.


    "Then, why are you helping me?" I asked curiously.


    "I just feel like it." She replied ambiguously.


    At the next house, a sweet, blonde Christian woman opened the door. "Aww, you are so lovely. Is the costume your idea?" She asked me.


    "Yes. Because my mom here said that I can sing like an angel." I said innocently while pointing at Mrs Henderson who''s standing behind me. Mrs Henderson was startled, but the mom was already excited.


    "Oh, then why don''t you sing a bit for me?" She requested.


    "I''ll do it for 2 more chocte bars." I negotiated.


    "Deal! James~! You gottae see this!"


    "Coming Christina."


    A middle aged man with cheerful spirit and a thick head full of hair joined his wife.


    "Oh, is he going to sing for us?" The husband asked in excitement after getting the story from his wife. "Give it your best big guy!" He encouraged me.


    "It''s better not to�C" Mrs Henderson tried to stop me, but it was toote. I started rapping the lyrics to Baby Got Back with style.


    <i>"I like big butts and I cannot lie! You other brothers can''t deny! That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist And a round thing in your face, you get sprung, Wanna pull up tough ''cause you notice that butt was stuffed, Deep in the jeans she''s wearin''"</i>


    "Oh Lord." Christina held her cross ne as she looked at me with a horrified expression. Her husband was bobbing his head as he enjoyed the song though, albeit subconsciously.


    <i>"I''m hooked and I can''t stop starin''. Oh, baby, I wanna get with ya. And take your picture. My homeboys tried to warn me. But that butt you got makes Me-me so horny�C"</i>


    Mrs Henderson covered my mouth and picked me up before I could finish the song. "Just forget about the choctes." She said anxiously as she dragged me away. In the next house, I sang the lyrics to WAP, which made her do the same thing again.


    "Are you going to act like this the entire time?" She asked with a slight annoyance in her tone. Iughed and said, "You know you can leave anytime you want."


    "Mr Newgate, I''m not going to leave, so just forget about that." She said as she grabbed my hand and tried to walk forward, but I wasn''t moving. She turned slowly towards me.


    I looked at her intently and said, "I never told you my name. And if I had, I wouldn''t have actually told you <i>my real one</i>. <strong><i>So how did you know it was me</i></strong>...<strong><i> Mrs Henderson</i></strong>?"


    ...


    [Mrs Henderson POV]


    When I received the call that he was in possible danger, I didn''t hesitate. I rushed towards the neighborhood, frantic to find him. That''s when I heard the desperate shout of someone calling me his mother.


    As I turned to look at the child, my entire being was shocked when I realized who he was. I could never forget that face - the one I''ve been watching over since he was just born, from his first steps to his first words, from losing his baby teeth to the day his entire world lost its color.


    This was the face of the child I''ve carried such immense guilt for. Why didn''t I interfere in his life sooner? Why was I only ever a silent observer from afar?


    "Mother!" he called out to me again as he rushed into my arms. My knees felt weak - the guilt and happiness of seeing him once more tore me apart. It was unsettling, this pull I felt towards him.


    I realized he had fallen into his new guardian''s scheme, made a child again.


    While the method was unorthodox, I couldn''t help but apud this guardian for daring to break the rules in a bid to help him. Something I had been too afraid, and too busy to do in the beginning.


    There was no logical reason for me to stay now that I knew I had been deceived. And yet, I found myself reluctant to leave. I wanted...to see him, to witness him enjoying the childhood that had been stolen from him.


    His defiant behavior, meant to embarrass me into departing, only made me feel an odd sense of fondness. I liked seeing him act this way - it made him seem more like the child he was meant to be.


    Rather than being locked up in his house, forced to mature early in his never ending struggle to make his mother proud of him. The external needs of validation that prevented him from ever truly trusting anyone with his true thoughts. I wanted to see him always be happy like this. Burdenless...


    "So how did you know it was me... Mrs. Henderson?" he asked, catching me off guard when I misspoke. Or maybe I did that on purpose. I had no idea of knowing what exactly prompted my actions today.


    Instinctively, I yearned to use my powers to make him forget, but then I remembered I had been stripped of them. Strangely, this realization brought a feeling of relief. I was so confused with myself right now.


    Crouching before him, I found myself fixing his hair and removing his mask as I wanted to look at his full face, unaware of the uncharacteristic tenderness in my expression. Edward seemed surprised, but said nothing, waiting patiently for my response.


    "It seems you already know the answer," I told him. To my own astonishment, he epted this easily, even smiling as he guessed, "You''re the one who spanked me as a baby?"


    "Just once," I replied, matching his lightness.


    "Are you the onebeled in my file as ''First Guardian''?" he asked again.


    I nodded silently, unsettled by how effortlessly he pieced it together. Given his remarkable mind, I knew there was no point in denying the truth.


    "So you have been watching me all these times?" He asked.


    "Yes." I replied. "Are you disappointed?"


    "Well, that should make our connection artificial to me." He replied. But he continued, "However, I don''t know why, I don''t feel an ounce of anger or disappointment at all."


    "And why is that?"


    "Well, when I met Sage, I...realized that, you don''t have the obligation to help me. But, when I saw my files, I understood that you have been working behind the scenes to do it, unlike Sage who likes to bulldoze through. So, what I wants to say is...Thanks�C"


    Before he could finish, I hugged him abruptly. He was startled. Then, he was shocked.


    [Edward POV]


    Mrs Henderson was crying. She cried as she hugged me. The Ice Queen broke down.


    "I''m sorry. I should''ve watched over you more." She said as she apologized sobbingly to me. My chin quivered as the emotions affected me, but I yed it off cheerfully, "Why are you apologizing? You''re not responsible for what happened to me, at all! In fact, what happened to me wasn''t even that badpared to what the other kids are going through."


    I wanted to console her, to make her understand that I held no ill will. This woman had been a constant, if silent, presence in my life. Even if our connection was artificial, the knowledge that she had been watching over me all these years filled me with an odd sense offort.


    She burst into crying even harder. So I continued trying to console her. While patting her back with my tiny hand, and my voice a little shaky, I said, "Listen, I''m really fine! I had a bad mom! I don''t have a terminally ill disease, nor was I living on the street. What I have is already good enough. You don''t have to apologize to me, at all!"


    "Just because someone else has it worse, you don''t have to try to diminish what you have experienced.." She suddenly said. She pulled herself away from me and looked into my eyes.


    "Sure, the kids in hospitals have it worse, that doesn''t mean you have to feel guilty for having thoughts about your own life. It doesn''t mean you can''tin. It doesn''t mean that you can''t be hopeful."


    "I..."


    I couldn''t reply to what she was saying. She held my hand again and said, "Others might not know it, but I know exactly why you love Halloween."


    "The candies, right?" I joked.


    "Yeah. Especially the part where you don''t have to work hard to get the candy. It was just given to you."


    "And I''m assuming there''s a deeper meaning behind that?" I said jokingly. Mrs Henderson smiled tiredly and said, "There is, but we can talk about thatter. How much time do you have left?"


    "Around 45 minutes. Why?" I asked.


    She stood up and held my hand again, "Rather than me walking you around, I think, there is someone else you''d like to spend thest 45 minutes with, don''t you?"


    "Well I do, but it''ll be impossible for me to have that anymore." I replied with a sad smile as I rewear my mask.


    Mrs Henderson said, "It''s impossible to do if you''re alone. But, you have me to help you smoothen things out."


    "Wait. Since we''re already here, we should stop by first," I said, gently tugging Mrs. Henderson''s sleeve as I pulled her towards the unsettling scene beside us.


    The Dunphy house loomed before us, a sinister silhouette against the inky night sky. Twisted, gnarled trees lined the walkway, their bare branches wing at the air ominously. Scattered across the frontwn were human-sized puppets, their lifeless eyes and vacant expressions sending a chill down my spine.


    "ire went overboard. It''s really exciting." I said with excitement as I admired the view. Mrs Henderson looked at me weirdly, but she didn''t say anything.


    The front porch was shrouded in darkness, save for the flickering orange glow of jack-onterns that leered at us with malicious grins.


    Despite being like a house straight from a horror movie, ire stood among the eerie disy, her normally cheery demeanor reced by a frantic, almost desperate energy as she tried to coax the few remaining trick-or-treaters towards her door.


    "Wait! Come back! You forgot your candy!" she cried, her voice desperate.


    "AHHH! RUNNNN!" The children rushed away after she tried to get close to them.


    Phil emerged from the house, his face ashen. "Honey, maybe we should call it quits. It''s too much for the kids to stand." He shuddered as he nced back towards the interior, where the ominous silhouette of the "Doll House" could be seen, its countless eyes seemingly watching his every move.


    I subconsciously gripped Mrs Henderson''s hand tighter before pulling her towards the house. ire and Phil beamed up as they saw me.


    "Hey! Aren''t you Alex''s teacher, Mrs Henderson?" ire asked with some surprise. And when she saw me, her eyes shook, "You have a son?"


    Mrs Henderson was taken aback and said, "No. I''m just looking out for him."


    "Oh." ireughed a bit. "What''s your name?" ire asked me.


    "Harry Styles." I replied.


    Phil greeted with friendliness, despite wearing the Jigsaw costume, "Oh, your name is like a name for celebrities. I''m sure you will be big one day."


    ire, who was dressed like the female version of Jigsaw, smiled eerily and said, "Wee Harry, to the DollHouse of Nightmares!"


    "Sweet!" I eximed, which made Phil bewildered,"He likes it?!"


    ireughed in satisfaction and opened the door to the house wide, weing me to enter. There were numerous dolls inside the living room, filling every nook and cranny of the space.


    "Aren''t you afraid that they wille to life and haunt you?" I asked the duo with an innocent tone.


    ire smiled while Phil looked a bit worried. She said, "You shouldn''t worry about us, but you should worry about yourself! Naughty boys who don''t listen to their parents, when entering the Dollhouse, will be turned into a doll themselves."


    "Sweet! I always wanted to be a doll." I replied, throwing a wrench in ire''s ploy to scare me. Phil chuckled and rubbed my hair, "Here, take the candies."


    "Phil, he didn''t even flinch. How can we scare Edward like this?" ire asked her husband.


    "First of all, are you even sure he''sing? Won''t he go straight to his party?" Phil asked.


    ire opened her mouth, but she couldn''t reply. While I was filling my buckets with candies they ced on the table in the living room, Enid, Jenna, Alex and Elsa came downstairs.


    "Why do you even bothering out with a n? Ed''s noting." Elsa said.


    Enid replied, "He wille! Then, we can bring him trick or treating. As long as Alex and I stay in front, the parents will give all of us candies."


    "Mom, we''re going to go now." Alex said before she suddenly turned to the teacher, "Mrs Henderson? Why are you here?"


    "She came to give you your report card! You fail in every subject!" I shouted to scare her from behind. Alex and Enid flinched before all of the girls turned towards me.


    "Who''s this midget?" Enid asked mockingly as she pointed at me. However, as she saw the exposed part of my face, she became confused. Even Jenna noticed it too.


    [Alex''smentary]


    "It might be the Halloween vibes and all, but I almost screamed when I heard what the kid said."


    mentary ends]


    "Mom, let''s go." I took Mrs Henderson''s hand and said to ire, "Thank you Doll Lady, and Doll Gentleman."


    Both of them chuckled in satisfaction as they waved me off. "Bye Harry Styles." Phil shouted from afar.


    ...


    *Ding Dong*


    "I''ming!" Ted brought a bowl of candy with him as he walked to the front door, eager to give out treats to the trick-or-treaters. Suddenly, he saw two familiar faces standing in front of his door.


    "Teacher Henderson?" He muttered as he saw her. He turned to look at me and said, "Is this your son? Aren''t you single?"


    Mrs Henderson almost rolled her eyes, but she held herself back. Well, the original n was for me and Mrs Henderson to act like she needed to get home, but I still wanted to continue trick or treating.


    Knowing my dad, he would volunteer to take me for a while, allowing her to respond to something personal or tend to her work matter. But I suddenly had a bad thought when I saw his face today.


    "Hi! I''m Harry." I introduced myself.


    My dad smiled, not knowing what''s about to hit him, "Hi Harry. Here, take some candy."


    "Thank you daddy~" I replied innocently, before I acted like I shouldn''t have done that. I turned to Mrs Henderson with a horrified voice while both of them were confused, "I''m sorry Mommy. I misspoke. I know you want to hide me, but I''m so excited to finally meet daddy."


    "I''m-I''m sorry. What?!" My dad was extremely shocked. I was chuckling inwardly while Mrs Henderson pinched my cheek and punished me greatly. "Stop that. I''m sorry about him. He''s a pathological liar."


    We did continue with our original act, and my dad did volunteer to take me around, so nothing came out of my mischief. Or that''s what I expected it would be.


    [General POV]


    5 minutes earlier. When Enid and Jenna saw child-Edward''s face. They whispered with each other. Enid said, "They really look simr, right?"


    "I know. It''s like they are brothers! Should we take a picture of him to show Ed?" Jenna suggested.


    "That''s a great idea." Enid said before both she and Jenna followed Mrs Henderson. They were confused at first as to why the duo went straight to Edward''s house, and when they heard what little ''Harry'' said at the door, both of them froze in ce.


    They ran away before they could hear the whole thing, and hid behind the bushes. They gazed at each other with a nk stare. Enid spoke first, "Did you hear what I hear?"


    "Edward has a half brother? And Mrs Henderson had hooked up...with his dad?" Jenna muttered with disbelief.

 Chapter 243: Halloween Trick or Treating (3)

    <h4>Chapter 243: Chapter 243: Halloween Trick or Treating (3)</h4>


    (Sorry. Was catching up the Chapters after taking a week off to take care of my mom. There will be one more chap tomorrow. And hopefully one more on Sunday, but no promises because it''s near Eid Adha)


    [Edward POV]


    Standing on my father''s left side, my half mask covered my face as I walked side by side with him. He wore a simple cowboy outfit with leather boots and a cowboy hat.


    While we were walking, it was awkward between the two of us. He suddenly asked without prompting, "Why do you like lying?"


    "Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Come on Old Man, you can''t ask me a personal question like that, not even 2 minutes after we met." I muttered with disbelief.


    He was taken aback and apologized, "Sorry�C"


    "That''s the kind of question you can ask <strong><i>after</i></strong> getting to know someone, not <strong><i>while</i></strong> you are getting to know them. You suck at making small talk, old man."


    "I said I''m sorry." My dad muttered apologetically, at the same time my reaction made him chuckle. While walking, we saw Gloria and Mitchell who were taking Lily around trick or treating. They were going in the direction of the Dunphys house, which meant trick or treating was over for them.


    "Hey Ted." Mitchell greeted as he walked towards us.


    "H Ted. Who-Who is this? Your son from your family out of town?" Gloria said teasingly.


    "Huh? What does that mean?" I was confused.


    Mitchell politely exined, "She meant family from the other side of the town�C Wait, why am I exining it to you?" He finally came to his senses.


    "No, this is Edward''s former teacher''s...son?" He looked at me as if to get confirmation. "She''s my aunt." I replied casually. I lost track of how many aunties I have right now. But I guess this one''s fine because I was using another identity.


    "AH, that makes much more sense." Ted finally breathed in relief. I turned to him and said, "Why did she ask you if you have a son from another town? Are you the type of guy who will cheat on his wife?"


    "No, it''s the other side of town, not another town�C Wait again, why am I exining?" Mitchell muttered exasperation.


    Gloria, and Ted were taken aback, but baby Lily, as if she knew who I was, kept calling me, "Ed! Ed! ED!" while trying to get to me.


    "No�C I''m not." My dad stammered.


    "Ay, it was a joke." Gloria intervened. "Um, why are you bringing him around?" Mitchell asked.


    I looked at my watch as my dad was exining, and before Gloria could ask another question, I spoke up, "I''m sorry? Are you guys going to continue talking? I have 20 minutes left, and I don''t want to waste it here. Can''t you wait until after I finish trick or treating?"


    "Y-You''re right. We''re sorry." Mitchell said apologetically.


    "That''s quite rude." Gloria scolded me, "It''s not good talking to an adult like that."


    "Get out of the way OLD LADY. I have candies to get, and I don''t want to waste my time at the <i>nursing home</i>!"


    Gloria gasped and she became angry, "Who are you calling olddy? Who''s in the Nursing home?!"


    I rushed to the other house while ignoring them. Mitchell had to hold Gloria down with my dad while I casually went trick-or-treating.


    "....?Este culicagado!" I heard the end of Gloria''s cursing.


    "I heard that I still have my hearing. I''m a young boy after all." I replied jokingly.


    After enraging Gloria, Ted brought me away from the duo, and we could still hear her shrill voice echoing down the eerie, empty street, even after we had put some distance between us. Her grating, angry tone seemed to linger in the air, causing some of the remaining trick-or-treaters to scurry away in fear, as if the old witch herself might descend upon them.


    "You''re...quite confrontational," my dad said with a hint of exasperation after pulling me aside.


    "Well, the Phantom never had any friends or people who loved him for who he was. He didn''t understand basic human etiquette - otherwise, he wouldn''t have resorted to kidnapping the girl," I replied, my toneced with a touch of defensiveness.


    My dad regarded me with a look of disbelief. "So, like the Phantom, do you not have any friends either?"


    "Please," I scoffed, walking briskly ahead of him. "I just don''t want to waste any time I have left."


    "What''s your hurry?" he asked, rushing to catch up.


    I suddenly stopped and turned towards him, asking mockingly, "Have you never gone trick-or-treating with your son before? Why ask a question when you should already know the answer?"


    His smile faltered, reced by a look of sadness. "As a matter of fact, I haven''t. My son and I, we only went to one house. And that was it."


    I clicked my tongue in disapproval. "That poor guy. He couldn''t even enjoy what it''s like."


    "Oh, and what does it feel like exactly?" Dad asked. "Maybe I can tell him about your experience so it won''t make him feel so sad?"


    "Well then, in the next 15 minutes, I''ll teach you all about Halloween! And the main point of Halloween...is all about fear and pranks!"


    [General POV]


    In the Dunphys house, ire was resting in the living room while Phil was in the kitchen, taking out some snacks.


    "Honey, can you check on Luke?" ire asked while massaging her sore feet. "He''s supposed to be back by now."


    "Manny just texted me. They are on their way home." Phil replied as he brought a ss of water to ire. However, he couldn''t sit on the couch as the other spots were filled by the porcin dolls.


    "We-We should probably box these up tonight." Phil muttered with some anxiety. He couldn''t shake the feeling that there was something more with the dolls.


    ire rolled her eyes and said, "I''ll do it tomorrow morning. I just want to get some rest now. Besides, we always do it the next day."


    "Sometimes I just want to do it today." Phil muttered. "We can even take them back tonight." He added with desperation.


    {"Take us back."} An ethereal whisper resounded softly.


    ire rolled her eyes and said, "We rented them out for a whole day. We can''t take them back now. Phi-....Phil?" ire sat up as she saw Phil frozen while standingpletely still. Phil looked at ire with an ashen face and asked, "Honey, did you hear that?"


    {"Take us back."}


    ire widened her eyes, and she instantly turned towards the dolls behind her. She stood up, and immediately went to Phil.


    At this moment, Gloria and Mitchell were already near the porch. Gloria was still grumbling about teaching the kid a lesson. But then, Phil and ire burst out of the door, dashing all the way to the street after passing by Gloria, Mitchell and Lily.


    "The dolls are talking�C THE DOLLS ARE TALKING!" Phil muttered hysterically as he ran.


    "AHHHHH" ire screamed as she ran.


    Mitchell and Gloria looked at each other, and took a nce into the house. They saw the numerous dolls there, and decided it was best to follow ire and Phil.


    Phil saw a priest walking by the house, and grabbed him immediately, "Father you have to help us. Our house is haunted. We have unknowingly invited several spirits into our house."


    "Hey, this is a costume, I''m not a real priest." The random guy shouted in fear as he shoved Phil away. "Father, you took my money every month yet you shy away when the timees for you to step up!" Phil yelled at him as the random guy scurried away hastily.


    "Ayy Phil, ire, what did you guys do?" Gloria asked in bewilderment and a little fear. Phil turned to ire, who was panicking. ire anxiously replied, "I�C I rented some dolls for decorations�C"


    "To scare Edward." Phil exposed her.


    ire continued, "It�C The owner, said before.... he was going crazy with the dolls. I didn''t think that''s what he meant!"


    "Ay!" Gloria eximed before she started praying to ward off the spirits.


    "We''re lucky the kids are outside right now." Phil muttered. "We need to have all the dolls sent away before they get back."


    "Mitch, can you keep an eye on Manny and Luke? They areing back right now." ire asked before she took out her phone, "I''ll call the owner of the dolls."


    "I''ll call the cops." Mitchell said.


    "What''s the cop going to do? Arrest the dolls!?" Phil eximed in disbelief.


    While the adults, plus Lily were moring outside the house, Luke and Manny sneaked through the back to enter it.


    "I don''t have a good feeling about this, Luke. Why do we need to hide the candies again?" Manny asked as he followed Luke from behind as they tiptoed around the kitchen.


    Luke stretched his head to look at the living room, "Shh! I told you, if we have too much candies, then my mom will snatch them, and divide them into portions. She''ll only give the next to us when we finish what we had. She did itst year."


    "Your mom, not my mom. She won''t do that to me." Manny said.


    "Oh, so every man for himself then? I thought we were a team today." Luke said tauntingly.


    Manny sighed and said, "Fine. I''ll keep a lookout while you hide your candies."


    Luke went upstairs, leaving Manny alone in the living room, surrounded by the porcin dolls. He shudders and said, "ire must have been seriously traumatized as a child that she thought these things are normal behavior."


    He picked up a doll from the bannister, and suddenly, he heard a scratchy voice, "Put me down!"


    "Ahh." Manny dropped the doll back in her ce and took a few steps backward.


    "Luke?" He called out. "Something weird is happening down here."


    "I''ming, I''ming." Luke said urgently as he stomped around his room, trying to find a ce where he could hide the candies. Then, he decided to put them all inside his pillowcase.


    "I must be imagining things, right?" Manny muttered to himself. However, his heart couldn''t calm down.


    Suddenly, he heard the same whispering, yet beckoning voice again, "Manny~"


    "AHHHH! IT''S EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!!!" He shouted and dropped his bucket of candies before running out of the house. Luke came down a minuteter, and saw the candies scattering around the floor.


    "Luke~" The voice called him too. Luke was confused, "Huh?" He turned to the doll, and then remembered, "Oh, he made me put speakers in it. That''s pretty sweet."


    He suddenly dropped down on the floor and started picking up Manny''s candies. "When I got down, the dolls had already eaten all of his candies." He mumbled as he practised his excuses for when someone asked him about where Manny candies went.


    Well, it seemed that he angered someone because of this. A huge gush of winds knocked down the dolls to him, making him scream in fear before rushing outside the house.


    "Give that back!" The dolls shouted.


    "I''m sorry!" He eximed while running.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Unaware of the situation happening inside the Dunphy house, my dad and I were holding one tissue roll each.


    He asked me hesitantly, "Are you sure this is how people celebrate Halloween?"


    "Yeah. We prank the ones who gave us fruits and other healthier alternatives. It''s the LAW. Besides, it''s harmless pranks. We even gave them 2 rolls of toilet paper." I said before I threw the tissue paper on the tree and my dad, on the rooftop.


    We ran away after we did that, and I checked the time.


    "You kept checking your watch, why?" He asked me abruptly.


    "I''m like Cindere. Instead of unchoking the balls at 12, I need to get home by 8."


    My dad chuckled, and then he was confused, "Wait. You said get home by 12, right?"


    "Yeah. I did?" I looked at him innocently before throwing a tissue roll. He caught it and threw it back to me. I caught it and threw it to him again.


    "Just keep it. What do you want me to do with it?" He asked me weirdly.


    "Oh, I thought we were ying catch. Okay, I''ll keep it. Now, I have time for one final house. Let''s go to the scariest house in the neighborhood. Mr Kleezak''s house."


    "Wait. How did you know Mr Kleezak?" My dad asked, but I ignored him.


    "Who doesn''t know him?" I answered ambiguously.


    It took only a short walk to Mr Kleezak''s house. After I rang the door, the old man with breathing support, wearing his robe, opened the door. He asked gruffly, "What do you want?"


    "Trick or Treat!" I said while holding my bucket of candy. Mr Kleezak was confused, and then he muttered, "That was today?"


    "It''s okay if you forgot. He has enough candy already." My dad said. I protested, "Hey, there''s never the term, "ENOUGH CANDY" for a kid. Don''t make your own decision."


    Mr Kleezak looked at my dad briefly before saying, "Wait. I know you."


    "I''m Ted. I live nearby, Sir." My dad extended his hand for a handshake. As both of them had experiences in being in the army, they got along pretty quickly.


    "No, that''s not where I remember you from." Mr Kleezak shook his hand 9 before replying. "Youe here with a ghost. What is that? 2 years ago?"


    "It was 9 years ago." My dad smiled and replied. "I can''t believe you still remember me."


    "Is this your new son? I remember that ghost boy. He was so excited for candies. He didn''t even look at me." Mr Kleezak said with a rare smile before he said to my dad sternly, "You took care of that boy, right?"


    "I tried to." My dad replied with a deep depression in his eyes.


    "Good. Make sure to be a good father to them. Otherwise, you''ll end up like me." He said gruffly before he turned to me, "Wait here. I have some candies on my table."


    I nodded and said, "Thank you Grandpa!"


    He came back a minuteter, panting as he walked. "Here." He ced some caramel candies inside my bucket. "Happy Halloween. Now, get out of my porch."


    "Happy Halloween!"


    My dad and I walked away, with me waving at the angry grandpa as I left. He stood by the door frame as he watched me go away. I know he looked angry, but that guy was also lonely.


    "Thank you Mr Ted for taking me around." I suddenly said to my dad. He looked at me with confusion, "O-Oh. You''re wee. Next year, if you want to, you cane trick or treating at my house."


    "I will if I have the chance." I said before I walked near him and gave him a hug. He was startled at first, but then he hugged me back lightly while patting my back at the same time.


    "Thank you." I whispered before I released him. "Wait LOOK OVER THERE!" I suddenly shouted while pointing at the sky. My dad turned around to check it out, but there was nothing there except for some clouds.


    "Hmm? There''s nothing�C Harry?" He turned back, only to see I was gone. "HARRY!?" He shouted, but I didn''t answer him and continued slipping away. With the cover of the darkness and my own costume having a dark color theme, I managed to get away from him quickly.


    I sat on the curb, while unwrapping a candy bar before popping it into my mouth. A wave of contentment washes over me, and without me realizing it, my lips curled up into a smile. The gentle night wind blew, and it hit my face as if it wasforting me. I closed my eyes as I enjoyed the moment.


    The short, rxing moment.


    The moment that made my life felt better.


    I finally, have a proper memory of the holiday with my dad. Except, I was the only one who knew about it.


    <i>["Why do you like lying?"]</i>


    I remembered his question before. Well, Mrs Henderson probably got it right. Maybe I am a pathological liar. But growing up, lies are necessary for me. Lies be the shield that protects me, and everyone else around me.


    When I got beaten up by the warden, I lied to the other smaller kids there, telling them that I fell down.


    When we all had to go hungry for days, surviving only with the bare minimum, I lied to everyone, telling them that I heard people would donate to the orphanage, and we could eat again.


    I lied and lied, until I was an expert at lying.


    Why do I like lying? Maybe the answer was...


    "Because lies are moreforting than the truth."


    I sat there with the lollipop in my mouth, and finally my watch beeped.


    I took out the antidote for the pill.


    "STOP!" I heard Sage''s shout as I swallowed it. I turned and saw her, with her shirt clinging on her body, sweat dripping on her chin.


    "Did you run around in high heels?" I asked her with shock and some admiration. "That''s some tough shit right there."


    "We need to get you back home, right now." She grabbed my cheeks.


    "Huh? Why?" I asked with confusion when I suddenly realized it, "Oh damn, I won''t fit into the shirt anymore. I will be naked out here if I don''t, won''t I?"


    "Come on! We need to move fast!" She said as she grabbed my hand and we rushed to my ce.


    "Wait�C My friends are at my house!"


    "We''ll just have to face them!" Sage said.


    My body started hurting, and my heart beat quickly again so that I couldn''t run anymore. Sage picked me up into her arms, and ran towards my house hurriedly.


    Luckily for us, my house was empty at the moment. We went straight to my room where Sage had to cut me out of the shirt. I also choked myself in it, and I becamepletely naked in front of her after I grew back into my teenager self.


    Sage flopped down on the floor and said, "Oh. Haa...Haa...We made it."


    "Thank you Sage." I replied breathlessly as Iy down on the bed. Suddenly, I sat up and looked at the door. She asked, "What''s wrong?"


    I replied, "I don''t know. I figured that someone would catch us like this, and a misunderstanding will happen again. But not this time huh.."


    I was unaware that everyone was at the Dunphys house right now, the cops, the agents, and even my friends were there, trying to get a glimpse of the haunted dolls. I changed into a simple white shirt and khaki pants while Sage took off her shirt to take a shower. She took off her shirt casually, not even minding my presence there.


    "I''ll go and see what''s going on." I said to her as I finished wearing my clothes.


    "Okay. I''ll let myself outter." She replied, before I threw her a towel. She wrapped it around her body, and I finally turned towards her. I hugged her abruptly, which startled her.


    "Thank you Sage." I said sincerely.


    She smiled as she rxed, and said, "You''re wee Ed. I just hope you finally have another memory to cherish."


    I nodded at her, and then I suddenly turned to the door again. She was confused and asked, "What is it?"


    "Well, no one''s really busting us huh?" I replied with a shrug.

 Chapter 244: Halloween Trick or Treating (4) + Party (1)

    <h4>Chapter 244: Chapter 244: Halloween Trick or Treating (4) + Party (1)</h4>


    [General POV]


    Edward stopped the matter from going worse by confessing what he had done. He had too, or else the police matter would be tooplicated.


    "I can''t believe you! What if my dad was in there? You could''ve killed him!" ire scolded me. Edward scoffed and said, "Me? Then, tell me why did you decide to have a doll house theme? Did you really think I would find out about it?"


    They bickered for a while, and the police were helpless because of their arguing. After having some conversation with the cops, the cops left, and Edward went to his dad to exin about his disappearance, and then went to his friends.


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    While Phil''s face was pale, ire was excited and she eximed, "Ohh! I will make sure to return this humiliation next year! I''ll keep this as a grudge until then."


    Phil muttered sadly, "I just want the dolls out of the house."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Sorry about that." Edward apologized to Jenna, Elsa, Enid and Alex. "You guys all look awesome by the way."


    "It''s fine. It''s fun seeing you fight with mom." Alex chuckled. Enid became smug and posed with her cat-woman costume, "I do look awesome. Have you fallen for me yet?"


    Alex rolled her eyes, "Stop that. You''re embarrassing yourself."


    "Ed! We have some time, I think? Wanna go trick or treating?" Jenna asked excitedly.


    Edward chuckled and said, "It''s fine. I''m not even wearing a costume right now. We should go to my other house for the party."


    "I can solve the costume problem." Enid said before she reached into her pocket and took out a stic fang. "You just have to wear this, and slick your hair back, maybe some light makeup, and you can be a Vampire from Twilight."


    Edward''s face contorted into a frown, obviously�C which made the girlsugh at his reaction. Elsa said mockingly, "I think Enid had imagined something like this would happen for a very long time."


    Enid nodded without embarrassment and said, "I even have colored contacts if you want," which made the girls giggled. Edward gave up and said, "Fine. Just do it."


    "YES!" Jenna and Enid eximed at the same time before they put on some light makeup on Edward.


    Back to the Dunphy house. After settling the affairs, ire wanted toe inside the house, but Gloria, Mitchell and Phil just stayed in front of the door, waiting for her to go first.


    ire rolled her eyes and said, "Come on! Don''t tell me you guys are still afraid?!"


    "You don''t mess with a spirit''s presence like this, and think that they won''t mess with you back. I''ve seen this happen all the time. It starts with a simple prank, and it turns into a horror story." Gloria said solemnly.


    Mitchell said hintingly, "Remember when we used the OUIJA board to ask if Donald was gay? And the entire house lost electricity? So she might be right on this." He gently shook Lily who was sleeping in his arms. "I can''t take the risk ire."


    ire stopped her steps forward and took another nce at the house. She turned to Phil and said, "Phil,e on. Let''s go in."


    "Um...I...I think we should find another ce to stay tonight." Phil replied.


    ire became exasperated and said, "Are you really that scared?"


    "I''m not scared. It''s just I''m thinking about the children." Phil said while pulling Luke in front of him. ire''s eyes flickered in realization, figuring that Phil only wanted to protect their children, but then Phil muttered, "Besides, I can''t move my legs forward."


    "Mom. Can we stay at Grandpa''s tonight?" Luke said while shing his cute expression. Manny added, "After experiencing such a turbulent night, some extrapany inside my room will be greatly appreciated."


    "Fine. We''ll stay at Grandpa''s." ire relented. But before Phil and Luke could cheer up, ire said, "Someone needs to help me pick up the car keys though...and the house key,some money, my purse..."


    Luke stepped aside, leaving Phil alone facing ire. Gloria and Mitchell also stepped backwards at the same time. "Good, a volunteer." ire said as she grabbed Phil''s arm.


    "NOOO!" Phil shouted miserably, trying to grab the door frame before ire could drag him in, but he failed to do so.


    Agent Smith finally saw Edward walking around with his friends, and felt relieved.


    "We found ''yboy''. You guys can stop searching." He said to his intes.


    Agent Gobble said jokingly, "So, we can stop scouring for the ''Horny MILFs'' in your area list?"


    Although he was joking, they actually did go through the list. It was the best night in Gobble''s life. He got lucky 3 times already tonight. He got numbers of course, not the other type of lucky. After all, he was still a professional.


    "I mean, if you want to continue, that''s up to you. I know those women are your type." Agent Smith said mockingly.


    Suddenly a voice of a young woman interrupted the conversation, "Anyone wants to know who he met with? Hint, the answer might surprise you."


    "You found where he went?" Smith asked with a slight surprise and intrigue. But then, he said, "Don''t tell anyone what you saw. Keep that to yourself. As long as he wasn''t meeting an enemy representative, we don''t have to get involved in his daily life."


    "Aye Aye Sir." The girl muttered yfully.


    Agent Smith pondered for a moment before asking, "It was...a girl, right?"


    "You said you didn''t want to know?" The girl mocked as she monitored Sage walking out of Edward''s empty house. "It was a girl. Extremely pretty too." She added.


    Agent Smith nodded before he went to protect Edward, acting like his shadow.


    Jenna pushed Enid and Alex to the front while they were ringing someone''s doorbell. "Ed, you bend your knee a bit to be the same height as Jenna." Enid said.


    "This is your n?" Edward muttered with disbelief. Enid rang the doorbell to the house excitedly, and a familiar face opened up the door. The Christian mother who received Edward''s unhinged rap before, now has a frantic look on her face. She looked a bit dissatisfied and just threw the candies into our bucket, "Take�C Take it all!. We still have quite a lot of it."


    "Thank you Ma''am, would you like to hear a song as our thank you?" Edward muttered teasingly. The mother widened her eyes in anxiousness and mmed the door into the group''s faces. "No! Get lost!"


    Alex eximed, "Well, she''s rude."


    Elsa added, "Pent up maybe. Her husband couldn''t satisfy her any longer, so she took out her frustrations on us."


    Edward wasughing to himself the entire time, and Jenna caught it, "What''s so funny?"


    "Nothing. I just think she''s traumatized. Alright, I hate to say this, but your n actually works. Good job."


    The girls looked smug, and after reveling in the feeling for a while, Alex looked at her watch and said, "Shouldn''t we go to the party now?"


    "Don''t we still have the time to go to another house? Come on, Ed has never gone before." Jenna said before grabbing Edward''s hand and pulling him away.


    Unfortunately, all 3 houses that they went afterwards had already run out of candies. The girls were disappointed, but Edwardforted them, "Don''t worry. It''s all you can eat at the party. Let''s go."


    A ck, high ss 7 seater SUV took them to Edward''s party. Elsa wanted to rent a limo at first, but was vetoed by Edward. The others were already at the party, so they needed to hurry.


    ...


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I...No, we...made a mistake." Haley muttered with an ashen face.


    [Commentary paused]


    In front of Edward''s house, a crowd of party invitees were already congregating there, muttering in dissatisfaction as they were forced to wait outside the house in the cold night. They had waited for almost 30 minutes now, and few had already considered leaving the ce, but they didn''t, considering that the one who hosted the party was the most popr kid in the country right now.


    Haleymentary: "We should''ve never trusted him."


    "What''s going on!?" Finneas, who was wearing an Albert Einstein costume, asked Haley. "Why can''t we go in?"


    Billie, who was wearing a simple Fiona from the Shrek movie outfit, rubbed her cold shoulder with her hands. Haley looked nervous and she said, "I...Let me talk to Uncle Cam."


    "That''s what you said half an hour ago!" Kyle eximed in annoyance. The crowd murmured in dissatisfaction, and there was a hint of them turning into an angry mob.


    Edward finally arrived at that time, and was confused when he saw the people waiting in front of his house. The SUV couldn''t go into the driveway, so he and the girls exited the car near the street. Edward walked towards the mob there, and some people eximed in excitement when they saw him.


    "Troy?" Edward saw a familiar face climbing on amp pole. Barnes Troy was startled and he slid down the pole quickly. His eyes glittered as he saw Edward and said, "Hey! It''s good you''re here! The Dunphy girl won''t let us inside!"


    "Huh? Are you sure?" Edward asked in confusion. "Let me talk to her first to see what''s going on."


    Barnes, who was wearing a Moses outfit, stood in the middle of the crowd and shouted using his dramatic voice, "MAKE WAYYYYY.... FOR THE CHOSEN ONE!"


    The crowd neatly split into two sides, and Edward walked in the middle with disbelief. Alex and the others followed along, looking cautiously at the angry mob as they did.


    As Edward was walking by, he was confused as he couldn''t see some faces he expected to be there. Maggie, Vanessa, Selena, David Henrie, the cast of Waverly ce, and more. He only saw the people from his highschool, which made him feel as if Troy was speaking the truth.


    But if Haley was the one who did that, it didn''t make sense to Edward that she was outside with them.


    Edward already knew what Cam had nned, but he wasn''t sure about the execution. Many of the teenagers couldn''t stay as long as everyone else, which was the reason why the party was intended to start at 9 PM, but it had not yet begun by 9:30 PM. Some even needed to leave by 10 PM, which was quite unfortunate for them.


    Haley''s eyes lit up as she saw Edward. "Ed! Help! Uncle Cam locked us out."


    "What?" Edward muttered with disbelief. Suddenly, he heard a trumpet sound bellowing.


    Cam, dressed in his Willy Wonka costume, twirled his cane as he walked to the center of the crowd.


    "Now that our most important guest of honor has arrived, the Willy Wonka Chocte Factory tour can begin! All of you, please follow me." He said with excitement as he stopped twirling his baton.


    The crowd reacted tly, most were irritable rather than looking forward to the show. Haley grabbed Edward''s hand and muttered, "You need to stop him. I have a bad feeling about this."


    However, she became confused when Edward didn''t respond to her. She slowly looked up to his face, only to see him staring at her with admiring eyes.


    She blushed a bit and released her hand from him, took a step back, held her ck hair braids, and twirled a bit to show off her Wednesday Addams outfit. Rather than the modest look of Wednesday, she revealed her cleavage, and wore chain link pantyhose.


    "You like what you see?" She said flirtily .


    "Kinda. Yes." Edward replied. However, Haley suddenly turned fierce and annoyed, "Oh, so only Goth girls work on you?!"


    Edward snapped back to reality, "Wait. What just happened?"


    "Come along children!" Cam said loudly while beckoning the crowd to follow him, hiding his anxiety behind a pained smile at the same time.


    "Behold, the 8th Wonders of the World, the Chocte Factory." Cam said as we arrived at the living room. He suddenly blew a pitch pipe, and started dancing to Haley''s horror.


    "??Gather ''round, my friends, and hear


    The whispers in the air so clear


    This night we enter Wonka''s gate


    To a world of pure imagination??"


    Cam used the original Oompa Loompa song rhythms to create the song. He was alone dancing with his cane when the group of Oompa Loompa/Waiters joined him.


    "??Oompa Loompa doompady doo,


    I''ve got an exciting tale for you!


    Oompa Loompa doompady dee,


    This party''s a sight for you to see!??"


    The teenagers there cringed at his actions. While the performance would work in some parties, Cam was wayyy out of his elements here. Not only did he do this without telling Edward, but he also nned the entire evening with his choreography and performances spread out all over it.


    "??The Oompa Loompas'' song will y


    As we dance and sing and sway


    So heed their call, let sweet notes soar


    Embrace the magic evermore!??"


    Cam noticed the crowd''s reaction, and he became more nervous in his performance. He started messing up, first he dropped his cane, and then bumped into an Oompa Loompa.


    "??Oompa Loompa doompady doo,


    I''ve got an exciting tale for you!


    Oompa Loompa doompady dee,


    This party''s a sight for you to see��!??"


    "And done." Cam ended his show abruptly. As the Oompa Loompas were halted midway throughout their dance routine, some of them even fell down on the ground.


    "Oof�C" Edward eximed with some sympathy to the dancers. Camughed awkwardly and said, "E-Enjoy the party. Act 2..."


    "Wait. Uncle Cam, there''s more of this?" Alex asked with disbelief.


    The crowd murmured, "Yeah, I can''t take this a second time."


    "The party sucks."


    "Let''s just go."


    "WAIT!" Haley shouted instantly, "Uncle Cam is just leaving. There won''t be any more of these things."


    Kyle said, "Yeah...even so, we don''t have the party... hype anymore."


    Tyrone said solemnly while putting his top hat on his chest, "The fire is gone."


    Selena, Kyle''s girlfriend said, "Sorry Haley. We''d rather just go home and make out."


    [Haley''smentary]


    "It''s all ruined!" She wailed desperately. "I should''ve never tricked Uncle Cam to handle the party! He made it all about HIM!"


    "This party, has Edward''s name and MY name on it! We''ll be branded with the ''Sucky Party'' reputation the whole year!" She continued, feeling a sense of unfairness, "He''ll never lose his poprity, so I will bear the brunt of it!"


    She sobs, "I will be...an ordinary girl at school. That''s like...being Alex..."


    [Commentary ends]


    While the crowd were indecisive about going home or not, Edward suddenly walked towards Cam. Cam flinched and asked nervously, "W-What?"


    "Your hat and microphone," Edward demanded. Cam took it off and gave it to him. Edward wore the top hat and demanded while fixing up the microphone on his ear and mouth, "Your jacket."


    Cam took off his Willy Wonka jacket. Edward wore it, and it was oversized on him, but he still looked stylish wearing it. Edward unbuttoned his entire shirt, revealing his abs and chest to the crowd.


    "Your cane." Edward demanded again. The entire crowd was curious about him, and the excitement came back when they saw Edward ''bully'' Cam.


    After Edward took the cane, he suddenly said, "Your sses."


    "But I don''t wear sses." Cam replied anxiously.


    Suddenly, an Oompa Loompa dancer came forward and gave Edward a pair of sunsses. Edward wore it, and suddenly, he whistled while stomping his cane on the floor. The entire crowd was mesmerized by him, all except for Cam who has a bad feeling about this.


    [Jagwar Twin - Bad Feeling (Oompa Loompa)]


    Suddenly, a catchy intro was yed by Robin, and the entire Oompa Loompa dancers surrounded Edward and Cameron.


    "(I got a bad feeling about you) x2." The chorus resounded through the speakers while the Oompa Loompa dancers circled around Cam while staring at him angrily.


    "Oh my god, everything was part of a performance?" Barnes eximed with excitement. Kyle shouted, "Go ED!"


    Edward bopped his head before he danced slightly while singing,"??When the moon hits the sky, I''m a little unwell. ''Cause the truth is a lie that nobody can tell. Every kid on the block talks in riddles and prose. Then we dance ''til we drop, drop, drop??"


    "Whoa! He''s so cool!" Billie muttered with glittering eyes.


    Edward suddenly went to Cam and pointed his finger at him, "??Everything''s perfect here, and the sun is shining??"


    (Hey, hey!)


    "??Everything''s perfect here, there''s nobody crying!!??"


    Robin exploded a few streamers, and some fireworks, which shocked Cameron. The crowd cheered explosively as the dancers danced with perfect choreography with Edward.


    ??Oompa Loompa, doompa-de-doo


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    ??Oompa Loompa, I don''t know, dude


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    Edward twirled the cane while walking backwards.


    ??Bad feeling, bad feeling??


    ??I got a bad feeling ''bout you


    Bad feeling, bad feeling


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    Cam tried to run away from the center of the performance, but the dancers grabbed him.


    ??Animals, animals, all misunderstandable


    Carnivores and cannibals, I want it on demand-able


    Mandible, jaw split, hit me with the gossip, gossip??


    Robin yed a recording of Selena''s voice, "(Are you fucking serious?)"


    ??Everything''s perfect here, and the sun is shining


    (Hey, hey!)


    Everything''s perfect here, there''s nobody crying??


    "Everyone Together!" Edward said as he raised his hand to the crowd. They scattered around the living room now instead of just staying in one ce and sang together with Edward.


    ??Oompa Loompa, doompa-de-doo


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    ??Oompa Loompa, I don''t know, dude


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    ??Bad feeling, bad feeling


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    ??Bad feeling, bad feeling


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    The Oompa Loompas held their hands together as they jumped around Cam.


    [Cam''smentary]


    "Why is he doing this to me?"


    [Commentary ends]


    "??Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na


    Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na??"


    Enid snapped a lot of pictures of the shirtless Edward while he danced.


    Edward grabbed Haley''s hand, and made her join him, "??Everything''s perfect here, and the sun is shining??


    "??Everything''s perfect here, there''s nobody CRYIIIIINNGGGG!!!!!??"


    The entire crowd joined in to dance with him, while the Oompa Loompas picked Cam up to the air.


    "AHHH! Put me down!" Cam shrieked.


    "??Oompa Loompa, doompa-de-doo


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??"


    Everyone sang together as they pointed their hands at Cam.


    [Cam''smentary]


    "I thought I had survived High School, and wouldn''t get any more traumas...I was wrong."


    [Commentary ends]


    ??Oompa Loompa, I don''t know, dude


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??


    The Oompa Loompas brought Cam to the pool, and the crowd followed them.


    "NO! NO!!" Cam struggled to get off, but 8 guys were holding him up in the air.


    "??Bad feeling, bad feeling


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??"


    They threw him to the pool, and the entire crowd cheered!


    "??Bad feeling, bad feeling


    I got a bad feeling ''bout you??"


    "??It''s true??"


    The crowd pped and cheered thunderously after the song was over. Edward continued ying dance songs while he went to fish Cam out of the pool.


    "Sorry. I had to do that to save the party." He apologized to Cam.


    Haley muttered, "But, you also kinda deserve it."


    Cam almost cried, but he held himself back, looked up in the sky to prevent his tears from falling down, "I''ll let you keep the costume. *Sobs*" Then, he walked to his car miserably.


    "I kinda feel bad." Edward muttered sympathetically before Haley grabbed his hand and said, "H-He deserves it! Let''s join the party!"

 Chapter 245: Halloween Party (2)

    <h4>Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Halloween Party (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "I still feel kinda bad though." I muttered as Haley and I sat together on the long couch in my living room.Her body nestled against mine. She rested her head on my chest, my right hand gently rested on her back, which she put there by herself.


    Enid suddenly shouted, pulling our attention to her. "Jeremy''s so hot!!" She was watching the Wizards of Waverly ce recorded episode with a lot of the girls there, creating a viewing party within a party, just a few meters away from the couch.


    I had to set up a projector and speaker myself for it because a lot of people were requesting it. Jenna, Jacob and Elsa joined Enid in watching, while the others had another thing nned.


    Alex, Finneas and Billie were setting up their performance near the gym, where Cam had created a makeshift stage for them to perform. It was something requested by Finneas so I included it into the party nning.


    Haley said dismissively, "It''ll be fine. If you feel bad about throwing him into the pool, you can just make it up to himter."


    I paused briefly and confessed, "Honestly, it wasn''t my idea to throw him into the pool."


    Haley was surprised, "Really?"


    I shrugged and pointed at the dancers, "I just told them to point their finger at Cam, to make him ufortable. They did send me a video about a choreography they wanted to do with me, but I didn''t know how it would end."


    I called an Oompa Loompa dancer nearby, and he excitedly walked over. His skin was painted orange, and his hair was dyed green. shing his near perfect white teeth, he greeted. "Hi Edward. I''m a big fan."


    After talking for a while, Haley couldn''t help but ask, "Why did you throw Cam into the water?"


    The dancer was bbergasted, "Wait. Did I do something wrong? We all listened to Casey''s suggestion though."


    "Casey?" I asked while looking at the crowd, "Which one is he?"


    The dancer looked around, but couldn''t find the named dancer. He said defensively, "You know what he did to us? He made us alle at 8..."


    "That''s not so bad�C" Haley interjected, but the dancer continued, which made her speechless, "In the morning."


    "Seriously?" I asked with some shock.


    The dancer nodded, "He made us practice our choreography with him all day long. He changed the song and dance multiple times. He yelled at us, called us names�C We were really frustrated about it. And the reason he kept all the kids outside? It''s because he wanted to <strong><i>awe you</i></strong>, so he just ignored all of our suggestions to let them in, and left them behind in the cold." He said, referring to me.


    "Uncle Cam!" Haley mumbled reprehensibly.


    "We were really tired, and irritated. I''m sorry that we threw him into the pool. But we don''t regret it." The dancer apologised.


    I shook my hand and said, "It''s fine, you really saved the party. I just want to know why."


    "Wait. Uncle Mitchell is texting me." Haley suddenly said.


    "Is he angry at us?" I asked.


    "...Yeah, let me tell him the truth first." Haley said before she replied to Mitchell.


    "Hey, someone recorded the performance and posted it on Instagram." I muttered with excitement.


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "Duhhh. Of course I''m going to post it. You looked so cool before."


    I smiled before I thought briefly and mumbled, "We can use this."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Mitchell asked with bewilderment and worry for Cam, "They threw you in the pool?"


    "All the dancers. They even took my phone out of my pants, so I know they nned this for a while." Cam expressed begrudgingly, trying to gather more sympathy for what he went through.


    Mitchell was horrified, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He went to Cam and asked slowly, "What did you do?"


    "Nothing! I did nothing!" Cam replied whiningly. Mitchell was angry and he took out his phone, "I''ll talk to Edward and Haley about this. This is uneptable!" He stood up and walked back and forth in the living room.


    Cam rubbed his forehead and replied, "It''s fine. They HAD to do it to save the party."


    "No-No, Cam. This is really uneptable. After everything you did for them, they just threw you aside�C I can''t believe Edward could behave like this. Maybe he changed now after being so popr?" Mitchell said irritably as he texted Haley.


    Cam shook his head, and still pretended to be a victim while sitting at the sofa with Lily. Mitchell texted Haley, and his angry brows slowly turned into a horrified one. He suddenly looked at Cam and admonished him, "They should''ve thrown you off the cliff."


    "What?" Cam was bbergasted by Mitchell''s change of attitude. Mitchell continued, "You let them out to freeze? And you tortured the dancers?!"


    Cam was bbergasted, "I didn''t torture anyone!"


    Mitchell suddenly received another text from Haley. "Okay, what now? Did you waterboard someone?" Mitchell opened the text helplessly. Cam was offended, "You know what, I already had a difficult time at the party, I don''t need one at home too."


    "Oh no, Cam. Haley sent me a video. It''s about you." Mitchell muttered with some horror. Cam''s pale turned ashen and he said, "They are going to continue humiliating me online too!?"


    However, their faces brightened up as they read thements on the video.


    {Jenna: He pretended the whole thing was going to suck, and subvert our expectations by pulling an Edward. I heard everything was nned by him!}


    {Kyle: That''s what he did? Man, I was really tricked by him. That old man was awesome.}


    {Jacob: He''s on par with a thespian. The dedication he has to his art. Cam! You''re awesome!}


    With Edward''s friends leading the public opinion, people werementing only positive things about Cam.


    He suddenly looked smug and turned to Mitchell, "My art... is finally understood by the world."


    "Weren''t you sad he threw you in the pool before?" Mitchell asked with confusion and disbelief.


    Cam dismissed him with a gesture to his face, snapping his finger and acting like everything before was just his performance, "And scene. That was method acting, Mitchell. I was wondering what you''re going to do too, and you didn''t disappoint me....Well you did a little at the end."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Haley suddenly asked, "Is there something wrong?"


    I was confused and I asked, "What?"


    "You know, you''re making that face when there''s something wrong, but you don''t tell it to anyone and just keep it to yourself, again." She continued.


    I paused briefly before I said, "It''s too weird to exin the thing, but a warm hug is greatly appreciated though."


    She smiled and said, "Sure," before reaching out her arms and hugged me. Enid came by at the moment with a teful of fruits and a bowl of melted chocte in her hand, "Oh are we hugging?"


    "Yes." I replied mischievously. Haley was taken aback, "Wait�C" But Enid already jumped in on the hug. Tara, who was wearing a Batgirl outfit, walked past and scoffed, "Get a room. Wait-- Enid, go away!" Tara sat at the couch, joining us for a while as she fixed her makeup.


    Ignoring her sister, Enid released me and said, "Here, eat some. You''ll feel better." She dipped the strawberries into melted chocte and held them up to my lips. Haley, albeit jealous, watched intently.


    However, I suddenly scowled and said in disbelief, "Why is the chocte so weird?" My face contorted with confusion.


    "Huh?" Haley was puzzled and she dipped her finger into Enid''s bowl. "HEY!" Enid eximed angrily, her eyes narrowing.


    Haley licked her finger and said, "Uh, did the chocte go bad?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust.


    Enid finally tasted the chocte and eximed, "Ugh, I tasted this before."


    I looked at her and asked, "When?"


    She turned to Tara and said, "Remember that time we added Toblerones, Cadbury, and a lot of other choctes into one pot?"


    Tara nodded, "Yeah. That thing is weird."


    "Did Cam mix up all the choctes?" I asked Haley.


    "I think he did. You did ask to use the choctes you had." Haley replied.


    I saw a lot of reactions from the people tasting the chocte, and they were deterred by it. Some were repulsed even. When I saw the chocte river Cam made, it was enough to fill in 3 bathtubs full of chocte. It made me worry,"Damn it. It''ll all go to waste."


    Tara replied mischievously, "Maybe not. I remember putting tequ in the mix before, and it turned out great. But since the guards at the front door snatched all of the alcohol the kids brought, there''s none for us to spike the chocte with."


    Enid said, "She lied, we didn''t do that. We threw out the chocte."


    "No, it''s only because you''re younger than me, so I didn''t let you taste it. I didn''t throw it away," Tara tried to convince Enid. However, I could tell that she was lying.


    Although, she did give me an idea though. I could add some things inside the chocte to make it more edible, or better yet, delectable. "I wonder what would work?" I muttered to myself.


    Suddenly, Elsa dragged Jacob to our spot angrily, which confused me. "What''s wrong?" I asked. Elsa replied, "Do you have any costumes here that might fit Jacob?" I turned to Jacob, and saw that he was confused too. He was wearing a burr outfit, and the shirt was too small for him.


    "Put your hands up," Elsa said to Jacob. As Jacob did that, his entire shirt was pulled upward, revealing his entire stomach to the room. "EWW!" Enid eximed.


    "Eww�C Hey, I am not disgusting!" Jacob retorted back. Iughed and said, "I do have a Jason costume�C Friday the 13th, that murderer with the hockey mask guy." I had to exin as none of them remembered the guy. "It''s in my bedroom among my other costumes," I replied.


    Haley interjected, "Hey, you should go with him too. Didn''t you say that you want to be Batman? Or are you going to continue wearing my uncle''s costume?"


    I finally realized it and stood up, "Jacob, follow me." As we were going to change, the girls mischievously followed along to bother us. Finally, I changed into my Batman outfit, without the helmet and cape, and rejoined the party. The crowd cheered as they saw me, and I waved at them. I finally managed to scan the crowd there as I was descending the stairs, and saw a lot of interesting things.


    There were a lot of girls who wore a Batman themed outfit today. There were 2 Harley Quinn''s �C the jester outfit, not the Suicide squad outfit, Batgirl, Batwoman, Poison Ivy, Slutty Batgirl, Slutty Wonderwoman, just sluts in general, Robin�C Oh, Abraham wearing a KickPuncher outfit.


    Amanda Cho, the student council president, was actually wearing a sexy bunny outfit. And I finally saw Maggie, Vanessa Hudgens, and the college girls as they were justing into the party now. I squinted my eyes at Maggie''s costume, and muttered, "She''s wearing my spiderman costume?"


    "Edward, we''re ready," Finneas called out to me after finishing his preparation. Alex looked disgruntled, and when I went to the band, Billie exined, "She''s like that because Finneas thought Albert Einstein was Marie Curie''s husband."


    "It''s an honest mistake," Finneas said. He was wearing a fake mustache and middle bald cap with white hair on the sides of the head.


    Alexined, "It''s not! It''s a dumb one!"


    "Well, at least he tried to keep the same theme as you." I tried to cover for Finneas. Alex begrudgingly said, "Fine!" and let the matter go.


    While I was at the stage, Tara continued trying to convince Haley and she slowly started to believe that adding alcohol in the chocte would be a great choice.


    "Hmm. I don''t think he has any here." Haley mumbled to herself.


    Tara said, "I''ll help you search for it."


    "Hello Everyone." Finneas grabbed the microphone and greeted the crowd, which were met with tremendous cheer. A lot of people knew his name despite him being in middle school thanks to the Fort Warsedic documentary I released before. Not only him, but Alex, Abraham, and Billie , Barnes, Mrs Henderson, Mrs Johnson, and the dog too had their own reputation after the documentary was released.


    Finneas nced at me, and I nodded slightly at him. At first, he wanted me to make the introduction for him, but I had talked him into doing it by himself as it would bring him more confidence.


    I remembered when he first came to me with the song. After the show was uploaded, he received tremendous support for his music. However, his parents showed apprehension in him quitting his former ssical music path.


    He started fighting with his dad, even Billie was involved in the argument. Then, his parents gave him an ultimatum. He either listens to them and continues his ssical musician path, or they would pull both him and his sister out of their current school �C Franklin Middle School, and have them be homeschooled.


    Well, the problem stopped after I gave his parents a check for the documentary, and they greatly supported his endeavour after that, but Finneas had already written half of the song at the time, so... we finished it together.


    "My name''s Finneas. Ed and I, we wrote a song together�C"


    I interjected, "Mostly him by the way. I did just the finishing touches."


    "Go Finneas!" Enid pped her hand prematurely and cheered before anything happened. All of us on the stage burst intoughter, and Finneas continued, "Well, I don''t want to take too much of your time. So enjoy the song. This one is titled, ''Wee to my life''. Edward said, you guys would especially love it."


    Well my words was, teenagers would love it.


    I nodded at Billie, who hit her drumsticks together as she counted, "1..2..3..4!"


    [Wee to My Life- Simple n]


    I strummed the guitar as Alex yed the bass using her cello. Finneas was holding his electric guitar as he sang.


    "??Do you ever feel like breakin'' down? Do you ever feel out of ce? Like somehow you just don''t belong, And no one understands you??" He sang with a pained voice, which caught the attention of the girls in the party.


    "??Do you ever wanna run away? Do you lock yourself in your room??"


    "??With the radio on turned up so loud That no one hears you screaming???"


    "??No, you don''t know what it''s like When nothin'' feels alright??"


    "??You don''t know what it''s like to be like me??"


    I sang together with him during the chorus. The crowd were fixated on the performance and some people felt it was the chance for them to do something in the background.


    "??To be hurt, to feel lost


    To be left out in the dark??


    ??To be kicked when you''re down


    To feel like you''ve been pushed around??


    ??To be on the edge of breakin'' down


    And no one''s there to save you??


    ??No, you don''t know what it''s like??


    Finneas continued alone, "?Wee to my life??"


    The crowd cheered, and people started dancing while listening to the song. Abraham, the typical teenage boy, was absorbed by the lyrics of the song. "God, it''s like..it''s speaking to me..." he mumbled.


    Finneas walked to the front of the stage, "??Do you wanna be somebody else? Are you sick of feelin'' so left out! Are you desperate to find something more, Before your life is over! ??"


    It was a bitical with him acting cool with the bald cap on, but the crowd''s reaction was tremendous.


    "??Are you stuck inside a world you hate? Are you sick of everyone around???"


    "??With the big fake smiles and stupid lies, While deep inside you''re bleedin''??"


    Together, we sang, "??No, you don''t know what it''s like. When nothin'' feels alright. You don''t know what it''s like to be like meeee~??"


    The crowd cheered thunderously, and sang along with the song. I jumped as I was ying the guitar, so did Finneas.


    "??To be hurt, to feel lost!


    To be left out in the dark!


    To be kicked when you''re down!


    To feel like you''ve been pushed around!


    To be on the edge of breakin'' down!


    And no one''s there to save you!??"


    "??No, you don''t know what it''s like~~~!! Wee to my life! ??"


    The crowd cheered. Finneas grabbed the microphone with both hands while I covered his part with my guitar.


    "??No one ever lied straight to your face! And no one ever stabbed you in the back! You might think I''m happy ! But I''m not gonna be okay~~??"


    <i>''Damn, the song hits close to home.'' I thought secretly.</i>


    "??Everybody always gave you what you wanted


    You never had to work, it was always there


    You don''t know what it''s like, what it''s like??"


    "??To be hurt, to feel lost!


    To be left out in the dark!


    To be kicked when you''re down!


    To feel like you''ve been pushed around!


    To be on the edge of breakin'' down!


    And no one''s there to save you!??"


    "??No, you don''t know what it''s like (what it''s like)??"


    Everyone in the band sang the background vocals together. The rhythm slowed down, and the crowd held their breath.


    "??To be hurt, to feel lost


    To be left out in the dark


    To be kicked when you''re down


    To feel like you''ve been pushed around


    To be on the edge of breakin'' down


    And no one''s there to save you


    No, you don''t know what it''s like??


    ??Wee to my life??


    ??Wee to my life??


    ??Wee to my life!"


    The crowd cheered as the song ended. Finneas said, "Thank you everyone!" Like I expected, the teenagers here loved the song as it resonated with them deeply. I said to Finneas, "You were worried for nothing."


    Billie teased him, "Thank god that went well. Now he''ll finally shut up at home."


    "Wooo! Finneas! What''s the band''s name!?" Maggie shouted.


    Finneas and I were taken aback, and so did the girls. We all exchanged looks before Finneas went rogue, "We are, the Mncholic Echoes."


    "What the�C" Billie eximed. Alex retorted, "We didn''t agree to that." I justughed out loud. The crowd cheered, cementing the band name for our little group.


    I spoke to the crowd, "If anyone wants to use the stage, whether it''s to sing your song, or sing a cover song, just talk to Finneas and he''ll arrange it for you."


    "Thank you Batman!" Abraham shouted at me. "Thank you too Random Citizen." I replied while saluting him, which earned me someughter.


    ...


    After the performance, Finneas joined me at the couch with Alex and Billie. Finneas suddenly said, "We have 5 more minutes before we should go back."


    "It''s 10 O''clock." I muttered with disbelief.


    "Yeah. Billie''s also 10�C" Finneas was trying to tease, but Billie punched him in the arm, hard. As he whimpered in pain, Billie said, "Sorry Ed. We wished we could stay longer."


    "Our parents wille pick us up." Finneas exined. Alex said, "I should join you guys�C Wait, why is there a text from my dad telling me not to go home?"


    "I guess that means a sleepover." I replied teasingly to Alex. I turned to Finneas and teased, "Are you sure you want to leave your girlfriend with me for the night?"


    Finneas scowled and mumbled in dissatisfaction, "I know you''re just joking, but that annoyed me greatly."


    "Aww." Alex eximed affectionately. Both of them were being flirty, which made Billie scoot away from them.


    I scoffed and said, "I made you get rtionship points for nothing." I stood up from the couch, which made Billie ask, "Where are you going? Don''t leave me here with these guys!"


    "I''m going to go bother Maggie and mingle. Wannae?" I told Billie.


    "Your cousin Maggie? Okay sure." Billie replied before following me along.


    The atmosphere was unnecessarily hostile when I met Maggie. Me as Batman, and her as SpiderWoman, standing facing each other, with our eyes locked together.


    "Well well well~" Maggie eximed haughtily, "Isn''t this broke Batman? You aren''t a billionaire, right?" Like me, she also didn''t put anything on her head, and let her long red hair flow down freely. The skin tight costume hugged her body, which made the teenage boys around couldn''t pry their eyes away from her.


    "Well not so broke that I had to steal a costume from another person." I shot back. "The audacity to try and insult me though. And you, Junkie Ring Girl." I pointed at Vanessa. "Why are you hiding your face behind your hair?"


    Vanessa covered her face and said, "You didn''t tell me the kids from Disney will be here!"


    "They are here?" I asked in confusion. "Where?"


    ...


    [General POV]


    Tara and Haley had finished looking in the kitchen, and they failed to find some liquor for the chocte. Tara, who started with the intention of teasing Edward and her best friend, became fullymitted to the search because she tasted the chocte herself.


    "Edward really hates wasting food huh?" Tara muttered with disbelief.


    "Yeah. I don''t think he''ll throw away the chocte, so maybe he''ll finish it himself?" Haley replied.


    "Is there someone who would know where it might be hidden?" Tara asked as they were clueless on where to find the liquor now.


    "I can ask Max, she lives here before." Haley said before she called the brte. Max replied gleefully, seemingly intoxicated, "Hey Barbie."


    Haley grinned and said, "Max. We have a problem."


    "You know I''ve already got back to New York right?" Max asked.


    Haley replied, "Not the kind where you''d need to be here. We''re trying to find some liquor for Edward''s chocte."


    "His chocte? You kids are calling it that now?" Max hinted dirtily. Haley giggled and said, "Not what you''re thinking."


    Max thought for a while before she replied, "Hmm... I found him drinking some in his basement before. So maybe there... is?"


    "Thanks Max!" Haley said excitedly. Max grinned and replied, "Hey if you find a bottlebelled Euphoria, can you ship it out to me�C"


    Haley cut the call, and Tara asked her excitedly, "So, is there any?"


    "Max said to look into the basement for a bottle called Euphoria." Haley replied. They moved to the basement quickly, and as Haley held the door handle to the basement, she found that it was locked.


    "Robin it''s me." She whispered, and the door opened automatically.


    Casey, the NSA agent infiltrating the party, was monitoring Haley as she was getting to the basement. He, who looked like Adam Baldwin, said to the inte, "I found a way to get to theb. But, we might have to use a kid, and I''m not liking this method at all. "


    Sarah Walker, the blonde CIA agent who was managing the frozen yogurt stand near the pool, and also looked like Yvonne Strahovski, replied to him, "I''ll be there."


    Chuck, who was monitoring the entire thing inside the van parked nearby the house, interjected, "Why can you guys enjoy the party and I can''t?"


    "Cause we''re spies Chuck, and you''re just you." Casey replied curtly. All these while Robin was monitoring them closely through the cameras inside the house.

 Chapter 246: Halloween Party (3)

    <h4>Chapter 246: Chapter 246: Halloween Party (3)</h4>


    [General POV]


    Haley locked the door behind her as she entered theb. Tara, however, was confused as she saw the sight in front of her.


    "Hmm? Why did you bring me into an empty room?" Tara muttered in confusion as she turned to Haley. The small room only had a metallic table in it, and there were brooms, mops, and cleaning solutions on the side of the room.


    "Is this the utility closet?" Tara asked Haley in surprise, but Haley ignored her and talked to Robin, "Hi. Did Edward keep any alcohol in the house?"


    Robin didn''t show up, but instead she just replied to the speaker, which startled Tara and made her hide behind Haley''s back. "There isn''t any more alcohol inside the house."


    "How about Euphoria?" Haley asked again worriedly.


    Robin replied, "I''m sorry. But you don''t have the clearance for me to answer the question."


    "Clearance?" Haley was shocked. Then, she became confused, "What''s that for?"


    Tara rolled her eyes and exined, "It means, you can''t know the information because you aren''t a high enough level!"


    "Ahh. Um...What''s my level?" Haley asked Robin back after understanding.


    "Level 3," Robin replied.


    "And what level do I need to have the answer?" Haley asked again.


    "Level 2."


    Haley contorted her face, "Isn''t that smaller clearance?"


    Tara rolled her eyes again and interjected, "Who has the level 2 clearance in the house?"


    "I''m sorry. I can''t answer you," Robin replied.


    "Because she doesn''t have clearance?" Haley asked.


    "Yes," Robin replied.


    "You ask it then," Tara urged Haley.


    "Um... Who has the clearance then?" Haley asked.


    "Inside the house, there''s only one other person who has the level 2 clearance," Robin replied.


    "Great. Who is it!?" Haley asked excitedly. Then, her face dropped to dissatisfaction after she heard the answer. She and Tara left the room, and Casey walked past them at the moment.


    He was shocked when he heard Tara mumble, "I still thought that was ab. Turns out it was a utility closet."


    "A lot of people are around, so maybe Edward moved theb," Haley replied.


    "It seems like something he would do," she added casually. Casey hid behind a wall and talked to his inte, "We have a problem."


    Meanwhile, Agent Smith had been watching Casey''s retreat, but did not intervene, letting the situation develop further. "Keep an eye on the Frozen yogurt vendor, and their vehicle too. Notify me when something is happening," he said to his team.


    Justin, Jake, Skr Samuels, Bridget Mendler, Jennifer Stone, Brenda Song, Dn and Cole Sprouse, Hayley Kiyoko, Corbin Bleu, and a few other child stars from Disney arrived all together to the party.


    "Huh, so, they made me a pawn in their political game. Do they think that I''m the type to just sit here and let other people manipte my fate?" Edward mumbled with an annoyed tone as Robin whispered everything that was going on to him through a smallmunication device in his ear.


    "What was that?" Maggie asked as she couldn''t catch what Edward had said.


    "Nothing," Edward replied with a smile, acting as if nothing was happening in the background of the party. Despite the whole situation being like the Chinese idiom; "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" - Edward has allies he didn''t know about.


    Jacob, who was dressed like Jason the killer, was scouring the party with a sharp gaze behind his mask. His girlfriend, Elsa, who was dressed like a policeman, asked, "Are you sure that Edward said he has spies trying to sabotage him?"


    "Alex heard it from her parents. You know Alex, she won''t joke about the matter. If there''s anything strange, we will report it straight to the agent," Elsa said, her eyes narrowed in concern.


    Suddenly, Jacob saw Abraham getting hit on by the frozen yogurt vendor. "Something''s weird," he muttered. "There''s no way someone that attractive would try to talk to Abraham."


    Abraham gleefully replied to Sarah Walker, "Yeah, I can show you where the bathroom is. In fact, I know everything there is about the house. Edward and I are best friends, you see."


    Jacob growled, "I''m his best friend!"


    Elsa cated him and red at Sarah Walker, "She must be a spy. She saw the weak link, and went straight to him."


    "We caught one," Jacob muttered excitedly, "I''ll tell Enid and Alex."


    [Edward POV]


    As I went to greet the Disney kids, Corbin widened his eyes for a moment as he saw the Ring ghost beside me. "Vanessa? It''s been a while," he greeted her cheerfully. They knew each other from the High School Musical franchise as both were actors in them.


    "Oh my god, is that actually a muscle line on your Batman suit?" Brenda Song, the entric Asian girl, asked excitedly as her hands were rushing to my abs. However, Jennifer stopped her, "Calm yourself down. It''s the first time you''re meeting him."


    "Oh right. Sorry," Brenda Song retorted gleefully. Iughed and replied to her, "Yeah those are my actual muscle lines. Nice catch."


    "Nice body," she joked back.


    Skr Samuels, the girl who yed Gigi in Wizards of Waverly ce first season, was looking at me intensely. I turned to her and asked calmly, "What?"


    "Nothing...You''re just, really handsome that''s all," she said bashfully. I chuckled a bit and said, "Alright, I can''t really stay and talk. I have a chocte crisis to handle right now. Enjoy the party."


    "Chocte crisis?" Maggie asked me as she followed me along. Vanessa quickly followed her too despite Corbin still wanting to catch up with her. "Wait, I''ming along. We-We''ll talkter," she waved him goodbye, which in turn made him feel helpless.


    As she was walking by Maggie''s side, I asked, "Why are you running away from him? He was clearly being nice."


    "Um...None of you�C Alright it is your business," she changed her words midway as I red at her. She exined, "It''s just...I feel ufortable seeing him again. And if he brings up the leaked pictures, I will just kill myself."


    I nodded in understanding and said, "Alright. It''s your decision. But you see how the young ones were looking at you. They were almost fanatical in their eyes. For them, you''re like their mentor. The one who actually made it big. I think you can have more confidence in yourself."


    Vanessa scoffed and said self-deprecatingly, "They won''t look up to me anymore if they know how ruined I am right now."


    "You''re not ruined. You are just having a fresh start. That''s all," Maggieforted her. "Besides, Kim K and Paris Hilton leaked worse things, and their poprity is shooting up right now." I nodded in agreement with Maggie.


    Vanessa dropped her shoulders in disbelief. "That doesn''t make me feel better." When she was feeling down, she suddenly received a text. "Hmm?"


    "What''s wrong?" I asked her.


    "Well, it''s Ashley �C Ashley Tisdale," she exined to me, as I didn''t know the girl. "My co-star from before."


    Maggie asked, "Not the one who slept with your ex-boyfriend, right?"


    "No, that bitch is dead to me," Vanessa replied irritatedly. She continued, "She''s a good friend of mine... was... a good friend of mine. She stopped talking to me after the whole fiasco."


    "Why?" Maggie asked.


    Vanessa looked into our eyes and replied agitatedly, "Oh, it was not even their own decision. Their agency told them not to because they kept being asked about my photos during their interviews."


    "What does she want?" I asked.


    "To...e to the party?" Vanessa asked in confusion. "Wait. A lot of people are texting me." She was surprised. She looked at me with glittering eyes and asked carefully, "Can she...e?"


    I grinned and said, "It''s up to you. You can decide."


    ...


    "Alex," Haley and Tara approached Alex, who was sitting together with Finneas. "You have a level 2 clearance?" Haley asked.


    Alex was confused. "On what?"


    "On getting a drink. It''s here somewhere, inside a hiddenpartment," Tara exined.


    "Huh? Can you guys start from the beginning? I don''t understand what you''re trying to do," Alex said, still confused.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll take over from here," I suddenly appeared behind Alex. Tara was startled andughed awkwardly, "I''m going to get a drink."


    I looked at Haley, who was looking at me with confusion. "What?"


    "You shouldn''t do that," I said sternly. She was a bit taken aback and asked, "Do what? You''re the one who can''t go on with that much food waste. I''m trying to help you fix it."


    "Well, I appreciate that, but not by going into myb. It''s lucky that I had some contingency in ce, but there are some people at the party who are vying for my stuff��"


    Haley widened her eyes in shock, and before I could finish what I was going to say, she leaned in closer and grabbed my sleeves, whispering with horror, "Are there criminals here? Shouldn''t you tell that to the agent?" Her eyes darted among the crowd as she tried to look for suspicious individuals.


    "Um..." I stammered for a while before I patted her shoulder. "You know what? Never mind. Just don''t go doing stuff without telling me again, can you promise me that?"


    "Sure," Haley replied excitedly.


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Wait. I just realized that he was trying to... scold me?" She eximed with disbelief. Crossing her arms with dissatisfaction, she shook her legs as she said, "How dare he!"


    Suddenly, she bit her lower lip and said, "And why do I find that so hot?"


    [Commentary ends]


    I walked past the fro-yo vendor and nced at the blonde managing the stand. A lot of boys were congregating around the vendor, already charmed by the woman''s appearance.


    "Sarah Walker and...John Casey? So, Chuck-verse people are after me?" I chuckled to myself in amusement. "Doesn''t that mean, I''m the viin here?"


    "Well, if I was to be a viin in their story, I better y my part perfectly. That''s the only way it should be."


    "What are you thinking about? Why do you have a naughty look on your face?" Haley mumbled, snapping me out of my thoughts. I shook my head and said, "Nothing."


    As we reached the couch, I pressed gently on the backrest near the armrest. The wholepartment opened up, revealing a small bottle of Euphoria, with intricate carvings of the name on the ss itself.


    "Ohh," Haley eximed in amazement. "What''s this exactly?" She suddenly asked. I almost stumbled from the shock, but then I realized something. She didn''t even know what the drink was.


    "Hey, who did you hear about the drink from?"


    "From Max. I called her."


    I face-palmed in frustration before I sighed heavily. "Alright. Can you get me some melted chocte? I''m going to my storeroom a bit to get some Stevia, and see if that can help too."


    "What''s a Stevia?"


    "Natural, no-calorie sweetener," I replied. "Meet me back here in 5 minutes."


    "Got it."


    However, as soon as we split, Kyle stopped me and asked, "Hey, Ed. Would you rather eat ice cream with ketchup or banana with ketchup?"


    I frowned and said, "Both of them are bad."


    "You have to pick one," Kyle urged.


    "Hmm...Banana?" I answered. "Hey, we have the same answer," he said before he high-fived me. "Also, do you know where my girlfriend is? I can''t find her?"


    "Sorry," I replied apologetically.


    "Damn it. She''s wandering off again," Kyle mumbled to himself.


    I snuck past him and went to the second floor, and walked to the room at the end of the corridor. After inserting the password on the keypad, I entered the room after making sure that no one was around, and returned with the Stevia before the 5-minute mark passed.


    However, when Haley and I gathered together again, she was pouting and didn''t want to look me in the eye.


    "Huh? What''s wrong now?" I asked with a helpless tone.


    "I just realized what you were trying to do before," Haley said. I chuckled with disbelief and took the melted chocte from her. Alex approached us and said, "You''re conducting an experiment?"


    "Yeah. I''m trying to see if the taste can change," I replied.


    "I''ll join you," she said.


    Finneas also approached us and said excitedly, "Hey, my mom and dad saw my performance video on your Instagram post, and they extended my curfew until midnight."


    "Awesome!" I high-fived Finneas excitedly.


    After some time passed by, we finally got the result.


    "So, chocte and Stevia, it''s not great, but not bad either," Alex said.


    Haley continued, "Chocte plus Euphoria, it just tasted like alcohol."


    "Yeah, that one is bad," I said with astonishment. "It lost everything special about Euphoria, making it an ordinary alcohol."


    Haley looked at me with disbelief, "You kept saying it''s great, but you never let me taste it."


    "I''ll do it in private. I don''t want another ''Max Incident'', especially in the middle of the party," I replied.


    Alex suddenly has an idea, "Hey, how about adding the three of them at once?"


    "Hmm?"


    Standing in front of the chocte fountain, I filled another cup of melted chocte and then mixed some drops in it.


    After it was mixed together with the chocte for a bit, I tasted the melted chocte and eximed in wonder, "IT''S freaking great!"


    "Thank god." Haley eximed. Alex chimed in, "Now, we just need to figure out how much solution will we need to fix the entire chocte fountain�C Wait, what are you doing?"


    "LADDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS...." I suddenly turned to the crowd and shouted ceremoniously until I lost my breath which shocked both Haley and Alex. All party go-ers were attracted by my call, and turned towards me.


    "And Gentleman�C" I tried to tip my hat, but forgot I was no longer wearing the previous costume. "Damn, I thought I was still Willy Wonka."


    The crowd chuckled at my joke, and I continued, "Just imagine that I''m still wearing my Wonka costume for a second. In my hand here, is a Stevia. It''s made by the ancient people of Peru, who live in a Utopia. They used it in every meal, and it''s by far the greatest invention of their civilization."


    Barnes was astonished, "Really?"


    I turned to him and said, "Of course not. I''m exaggerating."


    "Oh." He eximed with disappointment.


    "And now, with Stevia in my right hand, and a little Edward magic in my left hand, I''m going to turn this barely edible fountain of chocte into the greatest attraction in the party tonight!" I said, which earned me some apuse from the crowd. "Of course, the greatest attraction is none other than me."


    They chuckled at my joke. I turned to the chocte and started pouring the solutions into the fountain.


    "Is it just me, or is that chocte getting shinier by the second?" Finneas muttered with disbelief.


    "And the smell." Billie sniffed the smell intoxicatedly. "What is that smell?"


    "Any volunteers to taste the magic first!?" I shouted to the crowd. A lot of people raised their arms out, and I decided to call, "David Henrie! Come here!"


    He jogged slightly towards me before saying, "I tasted it before. So if it''s still weird, I''m going to criticize you no matter how popr you are."


    I smirked and said, "Okay then. A deal. But if you tasted it, and it''s the greatest thing you''d ever had, what shall we do then? Maybe, you can go to the stage and sing a song, with your shirt off?!"


    The crowd eximed at my provocative bet, and Henry felt trapped. Alex whispered to Haley, "Hey, is there any side effect to this thing? Why do I feel that Edward had gone unhinged?"


    "I don''t know." Haley replied with frustration.


    "Alright! I''ll take the bet." Henrie said, which earned him some cheer from the crowd. "Pick your poison." I said as I guided him to the assortment of food he could eat the chocte with. He picked some crackers, and I handed him a cup of chocte from the fountain.


    "Here we go." I said to the crowd as Henrie dipped the biscuit into the chocte before tasting it. His eyes widened as he eximed, "OH MY GOD! It''s fucking great!"


    "Really?"


    "Seriously?"


    Murmurs wereing from the crowd of people who were still disbelieving what just happened. "Come here and try it yourself. Oh god, I can''t stop myself." Henrie said as he gorged himself into the chocte.


    One by one, people were rushing towards the chocte fountain to taste the new concoction. I made way for the crowd and walked back to the girls with a permanent smile stered on my face.


    Right then, I still haven''t realized yet the effect of the new chocte fountain. There must be some chemical reactions between the 3 solutions that turned it into something more. It pressed down a person''s insecurities, making them the bravest version of themselves.


    "Where''s Edward? I want to kiss him." Skr said with some chocte stain on her lips.


    Brenda Song suddenly took off her shirt, only leaving her with her bra, "I always wanted to do this."


    David Henrie went to the microphone and started singing a song by Evanescence�C Call Me When You''re Sober.


    Haley stopped Tara from eating the chocte, "Hey. Put that down."


    Already on her third cup, Tara muttered energetically, "Why should I put it down? Maybe you should put that pouty lip down? That sexy lip down, on my lip?"


    "What?" Haley eximed with a high pitched voice.


    Alex asked nervously, "Haley...Where''s Edward?"


    Haley widened her eyes and looked around, but she could no longer see where I was. "Oh shit." She muttered before she started running to search for me.


    ...


    "So, Sarah, you have such pretty eyes." I walked the pretty blonde fro-yo girl upstairs to my bedroom. Sarah giggled and touched my chest, "You have such beautiful eyes too."


    I chuckled and said, "It must be fate for us to meet today. I don''t know if my invention will help you so much."


    "Yeah, I used the Air Fryer and Fuzz remover all the time." Sarah giggled while gently pulling my hand before cing it on her waist. She closed herself to my body and gently whispered to my ear, "I really love how smart you are."


    "Really? Then, you want to see something cool?" I muttered to her as I took out myptop.


    Sarah grimaced as she saw my back turned against her, "Sorry Edward. Although I think you don''t deserve this, it''s my mission."


    She took out her tranquilizer dart, aiming it towards me. I suddenly spoke up, surprising her, "I know. Mission alwayses first, isn''t that right. CIA Agent Sarah Walker?"


    Chuck, who was looking at everything through the camera on Sarah''s clothes, suddenly shouted, "Abort Sarah! Abort!"


    A red dart flew across the room and hit the Agent directly in her neck. "You�C" Sarah limped down weakly, and then lost consciousness. I grinned devilishly before I walked towards her, and pulled out the camera in her shirt.


    "You have 5 minutes toe here before I eliminate both of them from this world, Mr Chuck Bartowski. Oh, and don''t think Agent John Casey can help you either." I walked to the toilet door and opened it slightly, revealing an unconscious agent John Casey being tied up on top of a chair.


    "Tick Tock Chuck." I smiled before I destroyed the camera.


    [General POV]


    "Oh my god. We poked a ho''s nest." Chuck muttered iprehensibly as he saw the monitor feed went out.

 Chapter 247: Halloween Party (4)

    <h4>Chapter 247: Chapter 247: Halloween Party (4)</h4>


    Announcement: Continuous daily Chapter till the end of the arc. Halloween arc ends at Chapter 250.


    (Remember. The chocte gets rid of Insecurities. So the kids are unhinged.)


    [General POV]


    Agent Smith was curious about the chocte that the kids were going crazy about, so he took some for himself and brought it back to his post.


    "Whatcha doing?" Enid suddenly appeared behind him. The veteran agent was startled and cursed, "Jeezus. Where did youe from?" His entire body was jerked forward, and his hand went straight to the gun on his waist before he rxed as he saw who she was.


    "Uh-uh, this is just for guests." Enid said as she grabbed the chocte from the agent''s hand casually. "Besides, you have a job to do. There''s 2 suspicious people at the party."


    Intrigued, Agent Smith asked, "Really? You noticed them?"


    "Of course we noticed them! EVERYONE noticed them! So go do your job and let us party in peace!" Enidined before she left.


    Agent Smith scrutinized the teenager and mumbled to himself, "Astute observation and barely any presence. She would make a great spy... s, this is not on the job scope right now�C Wait, where did she go?"


    Enid disappeared amongst the crowd thanks to her tiny figure, which made Agent Smith even more impressed.


    Suddenly, a female agent walked towards him with a lollipop in her mouth. "Boss, we have a problem."


    "You''re being serious right now Paige?" Agent Smith narrowed his eyes at the agent with disbelief after seeing her stuffing her mouth full of candies. It was the same FBI agent who met Edward before. Paige shrugged in response, which made Agent Smith sighed. He asked,"What is it?"


    "Both of the spies, disappeared." Paige replied casually. Smith widened his eyes and asked urgently, "What about Edward?"


    Paige was confused and said while pointing to the crowd, "He''s dancing at the party?" Smith turned to Edward who was dancing and being in his own world. He became confused, but he still asked Paige toe with him to find the other spies.


    Nearby the pool, Elsa turned to Jacob and asked, "Where did you go?"


    Jacob held his lips shut, and then patted Elsa on the shoulder. "It''s a secret among best friends."


    Elsa was baffled, "But I''m your girlfriend."


    "Girls are temporary. Bros are forever." Jacob blurted out. Elsa raised her eyebrow at him and said threateningly, "Really?"


    -shback-


    "Hey aren''t you the one who yed Agent Mitchell in the Independence Day movie?" Edward turned and said to Casey after walking past him.


    "What�C No. I''m not." Casey replied gruffly.


    "Are you sure? Cause I swear I''ve seen you in movies." Edward continued trying to figure it out, making Casey ufortable. He also asked him about why he suggested the Oompa Loompa throw Cam into the pool�C which turned out to be him mumbling to himself and the others heard about it.


    "Um." Casey grunted before saying, "I better go."


    "Last question, Last question." Edward chuckled as he acted friendly with Casey. He ced his hand around Casey''s shoulder much to the agent''s dislike, and suddenly changed his demeanor.


    "Are you here by General Beckman''s order?"


    Casey was startled and created a distance from Edward instantly, only to notice that he had been shot by 3 tranquilizer darts. (This is something normal in the show).


    Casey became loopy, and he fell to the floor, unconscious.


    "Edward. There''s some spies inside your house�C" Jacob was searching for Edward at the time, and saw the scene.


    "You hold his head, I''ll hold his leg." Edward ordered Jacob before they picked up Agent Casey''s body and dragged him into his bedroom.


    Jacob made a mistake and banged the agent''s head on the doorframe. "Oof�C"


    "Never mind. It''s not your head." Edward joked.


    "Should I get some duct tape?" Jacob asked as they ced Agent Casey on a chair.


    "No. He can break right through it." Edward replied. "We need chains."


    Jacob looked at Edward with disbelief, "Do you have...chains?"


    "For Friday night. Yeah." Edward replied jokingly. "Keep this a secret alright? I still need to catch the other one."


    "You got it Bro. Do you want my help with that?"


    "It''s fine. Go enjoy the party." Edward shooed him away.


    -shback ends-


    "Tell me!" Elsa demanded.


    "No!" Jacob stood his ground.


    "Tell me, or there will be no making out again until next year." Elsa gave an ultimatum.


    "I can wait 2 months." Jacob replied casually, which made Elsa roll her eyes. Their conversation was caught by a high school cheerleader dancing nearby. The blonde girl with the fake valley girl voice�C the fried vocals, grabbed Jacob''s hand and said, "I will make out with you if your girlfriend doesn''t want to."


    "BITCH!" Elsa grabbed the girl''s hair immediately and pulled it, <strong><i>hard</i></strong>, creating chaos on the party floor.


    "GIRL FIGHT! Take off your clothes!" Abraham shouted excitedly as he cheered the girls on.


    In front of the house, Chuck, wearing his BuyMore nerd herd uniform, staggered nervously as he walked to the front gate. The guard in front of the gate took one look at him before saying, "You can''t get in without an invitation. Go stand with those guys."


    He pointed at the crowd of paparazzi, arrested drug dealers who tried to get into the party, and teenagers from different schools.


    "Wait. I did get an invitation. Edward asked me to get in there himself," Chuck replied nervously.


    "Dude, stop embarrassing yourself," the guard said mockingly.


    "I''m not. I''m really not making things up," Chuck said helplessly. The guard took another look at him and said, "Alright then. Name?"


    "Chuck. Chuck Bartowski. It''s B.A.R.T.O��"


    "I get it," the guard said annoyedly. Then, he was surprised when Chuck''s name and face were registered within the tablet he used to check on the guests.


    "Oh, sorry for the hassle. You just look much older than the others in there. It''s like a dad wanted to party with the children."


    "I''m...26..." Chuck replied helplessly, his face looking as if he wanted to cry.


    "Still much older though." The guard replied casually. Chuckughed dryly before entering the house. He was being careful as he entered, thinking that Edward had set up a trap for him. However, he soon heard Edward calling his name in a friendly manner, subverting his expectation.


    Standing at the frozen yogurt machine, Edward waved his hand, "Chuck. Over here~"


    "What?" Chuck eximed with puzzlement and disbelief. He walked towards Edward carefully, and Edward gave him a cup of frozen yogurt. "Here. Take one."


    "I''m sorry. I don''t know how to react. Cause in that video, it seems like you''re going to kill everyone I love, and now we''re eating frozen yogurt together?" Chuck asked with confusion.


    Edward rolled his eyes and said, "If I didn''t give you any type of sense of impending crisis, you wouldn''t even dare to get inside."


    Chuck thought about it and replied, "That''s true...So, We''re not in trouble?"


    "Oh, you are in trouble. I don''t take it very well when I know there''s people wanting to steal my stuff." Edward said casually as he poured some chocte on top of his frozen yogurt. "Want some." He offered it to Chuck.


    "..." Chuck was speechless, but he forced a response, "No."


    "Too bad. Also, their tranq will wear off in a half an hour, so we will talk about itter." Edward replied. "Before that. Melody, Can youe here?!"


    Melody was a blonde, midwestern college girl who came together with Maggie. She has a light curl on her hair, a dark purple eyeshadow on her eyelid, and was wearing only a bikini. A wet bikini too as she had just gotten out of the pool.


    Maggie walked together with Melody as they approached Edward.


    Edward looked confused and asked Maggie, who didn''t realize it at first. He asked, "Why did youe too?"


    "Huh�� Oh, right. By the way, do you really need to point that out!? It won''t kill you to let it go!" Maggieined, her face blushing with embarrassment. She grumbled and walked away.


    Melody greeted Edward cheerfully, "What do you want, cutie?"


    "See here. This ''something-crawled-up-on-my-head-and-died'' hairstyle?" Edward pointed at Chuck''s hair. Chuck was baffled, but Edward continued his barrage of insults.


    "The ''rejected-John-Krasinski-from-The-Office''."


    "I don''t know if that''s a ''wig-or-his-true-hair''."


    "Only ''my-grandmother-calls-me-handsome-hair''."


    Melody joined in, "The ''I-can''t-decide-to-be-a-creep-or-a-nerd'' hair."


    "You too?" Chuck looked at Melody with disbelief. "I get it. Can you stop talking about my hair now?" Chuck pleaded nervously.


    "So you want me to do something to his hair?" Melody asked.


    Edward nodded, "Yeah...I just can''t look at it anymore. And since you work part time in a salon..."


    "Hey! Don''t I have a say in this?" Chuck asked Edward.


    Edward looked at him and said, "Do you want your friends back."


    Chuck''s face fell t, and Melody giggled before saying, "Yeah. I think I can do something about it."


    "Great. I have the kit in my toilet." Edward replied.


    Chuck sighed, but he felt if he could talk to Melody alone, he might be able to save his haircut.


    But his hope and dreams were squashed when Edward suddenly turned to the crowd and said, "Hey everyone! Melody is going to give Chuck here a haircut and a makeover! She''s the fairy godmother, and she will make sure Chuck gets <strong><i>to the ball </i></strong>before Midnight!"


    The crowd cheered in excitement, and Chuck really wanted to cry now. Edward looked at him and said, " Melody knows what she''s doing...I hope. She won''t damage the Intersect inside your head, so don''t worry about it."


    The Intersect was all of the CIA and NSA secrets that were uploaded into Chuck''s brain by his spy friend, turning him into a livingputer. It was destroying his brain slowly, but Chuck has no way of knowing about that yet.


    Chuck widened his eyes and was rmed. "You''re after the Intersect too?"


    Edward rolled his eyes and said, "Why would I want that hot potato? I have enough trouble on my own."


    Chuck looked at Edward pitifully, "Can I not do it. Please?"


    "Sure, you can get out if you don''t want to do it."


    "FINE!" Chuck eximed helplessly.


    Suddenly, Chuck had to sit down in the middle of the living room with Melody cutting his hair, while there was a crowd of teenagers encircling them, cheering Chuck on everytime Melody made a cut.


    Ugly crying, Chuck begged Melody, "Please be careful with my hair."


    Maggie was munching something as she watched the hair cut. She muttered to Vanessa, "I wonder what he did to piss Edward off."


    "Piss off? I think he''s helping him. His hairstyle before really creeps me out." Vanessa said within audible distance for Chuck. He sobbed a bit, but held back his tears.


    "So Chuck. What do you do?" Melody asked him, trying to create small talk while they were in session.


    Chuck replied awkwardly, "I''m the head of the Nerd Herd in a BuyMore at Burbank."


    "Oh." Melody was visibly disappointed, and so was everyone else. Suddenly, Edward grabbed the microphone from David Henrie who was still karaoking.


    "He lies. Chuck is actually a spy. A pretty great one too."


    "WHAT?!" Agent Smith, the other agents around, and even Chuck was shocked to their core after hearing what Edward said.


    Edward continued to reveal some information, "In his first mission, he stopped a bomb from exploding by downloading a virus into theptop used for countdown. Now, where did he get the virus from, that''s a secret. But Abraham''sptop was destroyed because of the same virus too."


    Abraham thought for a bit before getting to a realization, "Ahh. So you have the same taste as I do."


    "Edward. Please stop talking! I''m not a spy!" Chuck said.


    Edward got the hint and said, "Guys. I made a mistake. Chuck is not a spy. Wink Wink."


    "Did he just say Wink Wink?" Alex muttered with disbelief.


    The entire crowdughed, and Chuck felt so pressured that he wanted to stand up, but Melody pushed him back down on the chair. She held the scissor right at his face and threatened, "You''re not going anyway until I finished my work. Got that Mr Spy?!"


    "All of this mustn''t be happening. This must all be a weird Halloween dream. A Horror dream for Halloween. Yeah, that must be it." Chuck tried to brainwash himself.


    "Now I had my revenge on Chuck, I guess I should make things clear, I was joking." Edward chuckled to the mic, creatingughter for everyone. He didn''t want Chuck to die because of his actions after all.


    Chuckughed dryly which made Melody giggled. "Come on. Do you really think we''re going to believe you''re a spy?...You?"


    Chuck was astonished and retorted, "I can make a great spy!"


    Melody scoffed and continued cutting his hair roughly.


    Agent Smith called his agents and said, "Get that man out of the crowd. I wanted to see where this is going, but this is just pitiful."


    Edward suddenly said to the microphone again, "Ah, Agent Smith, you guys must''ve seen him standing by the stairs, with his bald head and dark sunsses...He''s an agent�C An adult!! We like to have some fun. So for that, Agent Smith, you guys are out of my house."


    "I''m balding. Not bald." Agent Smith retorted. Paige asked nervously, "What should we do sir? It seemed that he''s really angry at us."


    "I''ll...talk to him and exin our side." Agent Smith said with some dilemma. However, before he could get close to Edward, Jacob and Enid stopped his path.


    "Whoa-Whoa-Whoa, didn''t you hear that Edward told you guys to get out?" Jacob growled at the FBI agent.


    "Yeah. Get out." Enid said before she led a chant, "Get... Out... Get... Out... Get... Out..."


    A few teenagers also joined in, and they circled the agents while chanting for them to get out.


    "Shit�C" Paige tried to take out her gun, but Smith stopped him. "Idiot. You want to make the problem bigger?"


    Suddenly, the hostile situation paused abruptly because the crowd heard a song ying from the stage. Edward was standing on the stage alone, and he had an electric guitar with him.


    "Sorry Agent Smith. But I experienced a rare moment of freedom just this evening when I went trick or treating without you guys watching me. And guess what? I like that feeling. And I wanted more of it. So Sayonara~"


    Edward punched in a song number at the karaoke machine, and Robin assisted him with the song.


    [My Chemical Romance - Teenagers]


    ??????????


    "??They''re gonna clean up your looks with all the lies in the books


    To make a citizen out of you??"


    As he was singing the popr song that was released a year ago, the crowd became increasingly excited, which spelled doom for the agents around.


    Edward pointed at the Agent, "??Because they sleep with a gun and keep an eye on you, son!


    So they can watch all the things you do??"


    "Shit." Agent Smith cursed. He couldn''t get past the teenagers blockade, and was feeling helpless.


    Edward continued, "??Because the drugs never work, they''re gonna give you a smirk,''Cause they got methods of keeping you clean??"


    "??They''re gonna rip up your heads, your aspirations to shreds


    <strong>Another cog in the murder machine</strong>??"


    As soon as the chorus started, the teenagers began to push the agents out of the house.


    "Wait�C" Smith tried to exin, but no one wanted to listen.


    Edward ignored everything that was happening and sang, "??They said, "All�C <strong><i>Teenagers scare the living shit out of me</i></strong>??"


    "??They could care less as long as someone''ll bleed"??"


    "??So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose! Maybe they''ll leave you alone, but not me??"


    The crowd cheered thunderously after the chorus. Chuck tried to get away again, but this time, there were more than 10 hands pushing him down on the chair.


    Edward continued singing, "??The boys and girls in the clique, the awful names that they stick�CYou''re never gonna fit in much, kid??"


    At the pool, a skinny boy who was always picked on at school, suddenly took off his shirt, revealing his bony body, and jumped into the pool while everyone cheered.


    "??But if you''re troubled and hurt, what you got under your shirt


    Will make them pay for the things that they did??"


    "Boobs?" Billie asked in confusion. Alex was confused too, so she turned to Finneas. However, he was also confused. Jenna saw everything and sigh helplessly, "Guns maybe? The song''s about school pressure, so maybe it was mentioning school shootings by troubled kids."


    The trio looked at Jenna with shock. Finneas asked, "Wait. You...are smart?"


    Jenna was furious and smacked him at the back of his head.


    Edward continued as the party became more heated. "??They said, "All�C <strong><i>Teenagers scare the living shit out of me</i></strong>??"


    "??They could care less as long as someone''ll bleed??"


    "??So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose


    Maybe they''ll leave you alone, but not me, oh, yeah??"


    He kneeled on the floor as he did the guitar solo himself. While the guitar was rocking the entire party, the agents were finally being ushered out of the house.


    "??They said, "All teenagers scare the living shit out of me


    They could care less as long as someone''ll bleed ??"


    Kyle finally met his girlfriend, and asked her confrontingly. "You keep disappearing during a party. Are you cheating on me?"


    His girlfriend however shook her head and took out some blunt from her inner pocket, "No. I just went ahead to smoke this."


    "??So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose


    Maybe they''ll leave you alone, but not me??"


    Edward shouted to the crowd, "All together now!" as they repeated the chorus.


    Everyone sang together, "<strong><i>??Teenagers scare the living shit out of me</i></strong>


    <strong><i>They could care less as long as someone''ll bleed??"</i></strong>


    The student council president, Amanda Cho, and another couple of girls rushed the stage and danced seductively beside Edward as he performed.


    <strong><i>"??So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Maybe they''ll leave you alone, but not me??"</i></strong>


    Edward screamed horrifyingly with extreme vocals before flopping to the ground.


    <strong><i>"??Teenagers scare the living shit out of me</i></strong>


    <strong><i>They could care less as long as someone''ll bleed??"</i></strong>


    Skr Samuel rushed the stage and kissed Edward on the lips.


    <strong><i>"??So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Maybe they''ll leave you alone, but not me??"</i></strong>


    The crowd cheered, and everyone rushed the stage before picking Edward up to the air. Suddenly, Edward was crowd surfing to the other half of the living room. And he stopped right in front of Chuck.


    He scrutinized Chuck''s hair, but Melody got irritated and told him, "It''s not finished yet. Go y elsewhere!"


    "Great. I''ll trust you...And everyone. Keep an eye on Chuck okay! So he won''t try to do anything stupid." Edward smiled innocently�Cwhich seemed like a devilish smile to Chuck, and walked away.


    "Sir, you might want to check your phone." Robin suddenly notified Edward.


    "Hmm?" Edward took out his phone from his Batman Utility belt and widened his eyes as he read what''s on the screen. "Robin, keep an eye on Chuck!"


    He then jumped off the couch and ran to the second floor, and entered a bedroom that was next to his own room.


    Inside the dark room, Haley was lying down seductively on the bed. "Hello Batman. I''ve been expecting you." She whispered before she beckoned him toe near with her finger.

 Chapter 248: Halloween Party (5)

    <h4>Chapter 248: Chapter 248: Halloween Party (5)</h4>


    [General P.O.V.]


    Almost everyone inside the party had tasted the enchanted chocte. Mayhem was brewing inside the party where people blurted out their true feelings almost unfiltered, breaking some rtionships, and even starting some of them.


    "I don''t even like you. But I want a girlfriend, and you''re the only girl willing to do that." A douche highschooler confessed to his girlfriend of 2 years. She gasped shockingly and pped him hard, making him stumble a few steps, and the crowdughed at him.


    "Fine! I only dated you because I like your dad anyway. Now that you''re no longer my boyfriend, I''m going to fuck him." She dered before walking away.


    A few meters away from them, a high school nerd with some freckles on his face walked towards one of the most popr girls in school, and kissed him.


    "I love you Amanda. Can we go out?" He confessed. The blonde Amanda was confused and she took a closer look at him before saying, "Okay. I can make you my boyfriend for a while."


    The effect of the chocte made the girls stop ying rtionship games, which was a miraculous chance for the boys to hear exactly what they were thinking, however, no one actually managed to take advantage of the effect.


    Chuck, who was finally done with his haircut, checked out his reflection in the mirror and praised Melody, "You actually make it better."


    "Anything else other than your style before is better." Melody retorted. "Now you finally look date-able."


    "Thanks. But I already have a girlfriend." Chuck replied with a chuckle. "I just need to figure out how to save her next."


    Near the pool, Corbin was talking to Vanessa.


    "I know it''s been a while, but I have to know the answer. Why don''t you want to date me?" He asked with desperation in his voice.


    Vanessa paused briefly, licked the chocte on her finger, and said,"Because you''re ck�C" She choked on a biscuit and had to stop talking. Maggie and the other celebrities were wide-eyed as they heard her sentence.


    "--Ing out (cking out) every time you go to a party. You just drink too much." Vanessa continued after her throat cleared up. The others around her breathed in relief, and Corbin finally got the answer he wanted to know about for years.


    Maggie turned away and was going to meet her friends, but Vanessa ran after her. "Hey, stop leaving me alone!" Sheined to Maggie.


    Confused, Maggie said, "I''m not leaving you alone. Your friends are here. Talk to them�C"


    Vanessa suddenly grabbed Maggie''s arm and stuck close to her, "No. They aren''t my friends. They are just my acquaintances. So don''t leave me around. My only friend is you."


    Ashley Tisdale appeared from behind the duo and muttered, "Well. That''s disappointing to hear."


    Vanessa rolled her eyes and said, "Can you me me?"


    Ashley Tisdale, despite looking apologetic, didn''t argue and just rushed towards Vanessa to give her a hug.


    ...


    Near the couch, Enid was gorging herself with the choctes. Alex and Finneas were feeding each other, and Jenna scowled in disgust everytime they did that. To make matters worse, Elsa and Jacob were also doing the same thing.


    "UGH." Jenna grunted. Despite everyone''s praises of the chocte, she didn''t try any of it because she felt weirded out by their behavior afterward.


    "You ain''t no nun woman." Elsa retorted to Jenna.


    With her back against his friend, Enid suddenly stood up and said, "Hey. I don''t like it."


    "What?" Alex turned to her, making her miss Finneas'' mouth, and identally smudged the chocte on his face.


    "Him." Enid replied.


    "Him who?" Alex asked again in confusion.


    "Him HIM!" Enid shouted.


    ...


    Inside the bedroom, Edward and Haley were sitting on the bed, locking their lips together. Haley caressed her hand around Edward''s chest and said, "I''m d you got my message."


    "Me too." Edward replied. They didn''t even stop kissing to speak. And slowly, the atmosphere bes more heated. Haley ran her hand around Edward''s hair, and he moved slowly to her neck.


    Suddenly, she said, "It''s great this is happening today. This party is the perfect setting for it."


    Edward was confused and he pulled back, "Setting?"


    "Yeah." Haley approached Edward and kissed his lips while saying, "I mean, I had a n of <i>doing it</i> with my boyfriend... maybe on a special day, on our anniversary, my birthday, or his... or maybe when I was ready, but I think that if I don''t do this with you today, then, you won''t look at me ever again."


    They spoke with a rapid-fire, unfiltered cadence, blurting out everything they were thinking without any inhibition or restraint.


    Edward stopped, straightened his back and looked her in the eye, "Why do you think that?" He asked bewilderedly. Haley adjusted her sitting posture to her knees in order to continue kissing him, "We can talk, but don''t stop."


    "Oh. Alright." Edward nodded casually. While they were tonguing, Haley answered, "Because. It''s been forever, and you don''t want to ask me out. And you also stopped flirting with me recently. I thought you didn''t want me anymore."


    "So you resorted to dressing up like this and nned on giving me your virginity today?" Edward asked with a slight joking tone.


    To his surprise, Haley replied, "Yes. I hate it. I hate that I have to wear this to catch your eyes."


    "If you don''t realize it, the majority of the people in the party are women. I''m afraid that you will hook up with them. So I need to get you first."


    Edward was taken aback, and he tried to say something.


    She suddenly stopped kissing him and looked at him intensely, "Why aren''t you asking me out?"


    Edward paused briefly, and Haley suddenly resumed the kissing out of nowhere. "No. Don''t answer."


    "But I want to answer." Edward tried to stop her, but she continued her kissing attack intensely.


    "I don''t want to hear it." She said, closing her eyes as she hung onto Edward''s lip.


    Edward removed her carefully and said, "I <strong><i>do</i></strong> want to ask you out."


    Haley was stunned. "Really?" She grabbed Edward''s head and kissed him all over his face.


    "Yeah. Before I found out that I was cursed." Edward confessed as he kissed her back.


    Haley furrowed her eyebrow and asked with confusion, "You''re the one who has the 3 month curse?!"


    "Yeah." Edward replied casually. "I thought about it a lot, but I don''t want to hurt you, and I also don''t want to be the guy in season 1."


    "Who''s the guy in Season 1?" Haley asked. The chocte didn''t have any effect of epting everything that was said to the eater. However, Haley had always believed that Edward was a genius, and knew what he was talking about.


    "You know..." Edward hesitated a bit, sanity seemed to be returning to his mind. But it wasn''t returning fast enough. "I don''t want to be your first boyfriend, that has to break up with youter in the future for you...to discover yourself, and also for your character development and all."


    "Hmm? Why do you think that would happen to me?" Haley asked again. For her, it was an analogy rather than something Edward knew would happen. However, it didn''t diminish the effect it had on her, thinking that what Edward said made sense.


    "It''s your setting in the story." Edward replied. "And I don''t want to be the one pining over you all over the seasons, only for you to be with someone else."


    She stopped kissing him and flopped down on the bed. She looked at Edward with some tears in her eyes, "Wait. If that''s my setting, and you''re the guy who can''t date for 3 months...Doesn''t that mean... We''re going to lose each other no matter what... if we start dating?"


    Suddenly, the passionate atmosphere in the room disappeared. Only silence remained.


    "I think so. That''s why I don''t want to ask you out. I don''t want that to happen." Edward replied while holding her hand, trying tofort her after a while.


    *BLAM*


    The door to the room was kicked open, startling both of them.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    <i>''Wait a minute. What the FUCK did I just say to her?'' </i>The thought raced through my mind, horrifying me. My eyes darted between Haley and the group of people who had just walked into the room - Jenna, Jacob, Alex, Finneas, Billie, Elsa, and Tara hade to find the both of us.


    Enid darted to the bed and gave me a forceful hug, her body shaking with sobs. "I don''t like it. If you go to college, then you''ll meet new friends, and you will forget me," she cried.


    "What? When did I want to go to college?" I asked with some surprise. Haley tried to move away, but I quickly grabbed her hand. Startled, she looked at me with disbelief. I gave her a meaningful look and said, "Please wait. I still need to talk to you."


    My mind was still reeling, trying to process the conversation that had just unfolded. What could have possibly caused me to act that way? Revealing Chuck''s identity, knocking out Sarah and Casey, throwing the agents away from my house.


    As I thought back hard, I recalled that everything seemed to start when I had eaten that melted chocte mixed with Euphoria and otherpounds. It seemed my enhanced digestive system made the effect weakened, but I still need to get a sample of the chocte to see what it was made off exactly.


    Enid''s intive cry pulled me out of my deep thoughts. "I heard it from Jenna''s mom. They are offering you a full schrship for you to go to Caltech," she said.


    "Hey, are you okay?" Tara asked Haley whisperingly.


    "Why did you guys enter the room?" Haley asked her with a slight confusion, and also a bit of relief.


    Tara said, "My mom ising to pick Enid and me up."


    Alex added, "Mom is alsoing to pick us up. So I wanted to give you a heads up."


    Finneas said, "Our parents too, so we wereing here to say goodbye."


    Jenna said, "Well, my mom doesn''t care if I want to stay longer cause she trusts Ed, but Elsa''s mom has been calling her for a while. So I have to go send her back. We''re leaving too."


    "You all are leaving?" I asked with some surprise, mixed with some helplessness.


    "Not me. I''m telling my mom I need to stay." Jacob said. "She''ll understand that I''m looking out for my bro." He added.


    Well, his intentions were great, but when his mother came to pick him up, she dragged him back while pulling his ear, so he didn''t have any choice in the matter.


    I turned to Enid who was still sobbing, "Alright. Stop crying. I''m not going to college."


    Were they crazy into thinking I would actually go to Caltech right now? If there was anything I had figured out from my experiences today, it was that I would rather be living my teenage years like a normal boy with them instead of bing a token boy in prestigious colleges.


    ''<i>After all, I was already a teenager with a billion dorpany, a recordbel, an AI, a few research grants from the government and bigpanies, and maybe even a studio. But despite all that, I was still, at heart, just a normal teenager</i>�C <strong><i>Wow</i></strong><i>, even I couldn''t believe what I was thinking.''</i>


    "You''re not?" Alex asked with disbelief. "Why? You don''t have anything else you need to learn in school. You''re just wasting time at this point. You need to go to college to fulfill your true potential�C"


    "Stop nagging Alex." Finneas saidiningly. "Sometimes you can go on and on and on." He added with a mocking tone.


    Alex raised her eyebrow and looked at Finneas, "Oh, so you hate that about me?"


    Finneas paused briefly and replied, "I kinda like it. But I want you to only nag me. Am I weird like this?"


    "Aww." Tara and Enid eximed sweetly. I looked at Enid who changed her mood quickly with a look of suspicion. She suddenly turned to me and said, "So, you''re not going?"


    I sighed and said, "I''m not. Especially not now. I don''t want them to have any ims to my inventions. Do you know that if you''re a student or faculty member of a college, they can im a certain percentage of your invention?"


    "Also, I''m very busy with my work right now. I may wait 2 or 3 more years before I go to college. In the meantime, I will just study by myself." I exined.


    "Really?" Jenna''s eyes lit up. "So you''re not leaving?"


    "You guys know that Caltech is like 20 minutes from here, right?" I asked jokingly, but was surprised by their reaction. They really didn''t know about it.


    "I thought it was in another state." Finneasmented.


    "I thought you had to catch a flight." Billie added.


    Enidined, "I know it''s here, but I also know girls at college are so slutty. Like the ones inside the party right now. They just walk around bikinis. I''m sure they''ll try to sleep with you everyday!"


    Haley''s eyes shook a bit, and I caught that. I turned to my group of friends and asked them, "By the way,....get lost."


    "???" The group was confused, and I added, "I''m here alone with a girl. Don''t you guys get it yet?"


    "It''s Haley." Jacob muttered. "You guys are our friends too."


    "Not at the moment, so can you wait outside till we''re finished?" I said to them with some disbelief in my tone.


    They were confused, but Jenna understood it. She blushed and grabbed Enid''s hand before dragging her off me, "We''re leaving."


    "Why?" Enid asked whiningly.


    Jenna hesitated and whispered to Enid. She widened her eyes and eximed loudly, "You guys are hooking up?!"


    "Well not anymore." I muttered with exasperation.


    "Maybe not ever." Haley added, shocking everyone in the room.


    After throwing out everyone else from the room, Haley and I had a small talk before we got out together. Her mother was already in front of the house, so I was going to walk with her.


    At the main party in the living room, the crowd suddenly cheered, which made Haley and I curious. Suddenly, we widened our eyes as we saw Selena and Taylor entering the party. Selena was wearing a Lara Croft costume, while Taylor was wearing a cheerleader costume, with pom poms in her hands.


    Taylor widened her eyes as she saw me and Haley, but she didn''t approach us and pretended to talk with the others in the party.


    "Oh, it seems that your night won''t be a total waste after all." Haley muttered with some slight self-deprecating tone.


    "Eh, I didn''t even know that she''d be here." I told her before grabbing Haley''s hand in front of everyone. Selena turned agape, and Taylor''s face froze. I walked with Haley to the car while everyone was staring at us, and said goodbye to her and Alex.


    ire asked as she peeked her face outside of the window, "What''s wrong with you guys? Why are your faces so aghast?"


    "Nothing. We just had a soul searching conversation, so we''re mentally exhausted right now." I replied to her before I turned to Haley.


    "Mom, can you give us a moment?" Haley suddenly said to ire.


    "Wha�C"


    "It''s important." Haley looked at ire seriously. ire was taken aback and sighed while rolling her windows up. "Don''t be long."


    Haley looked me in the eye as she contemted for a while. A sense of guilt was pricking her heart for what she was about to do.


    "Edward�C" She called out my name, but I interrupted her, "You don''t want me toe around you, or your family, right?"


    Her eyes shook and she lowered her gaze. I grabbed her shoulders and said, "Don''t worry about it. I understand."


    "That''s weird. Don''t be so understanding. You''re a weird dude." Sheined at me before she gave me a hug. She sniffled as she said, "I just need some time to process all of this."


    "That''s why I said I understand." I replied as I returned the hug to her. Then, she left the party with Alex. All of my friends returned home one by one, leaving me alone with strangers�C and my cousin. Almost everyone from my high school had gone home�C not willingly, but was called back by their parents as it was almost midnight.


    After they were gone, you''d expect the party to die down, and everyone went home, right? However, the number of people who were at the party stayed the same.


    "Edward." Astrid, the model I met before in the fashion show, came with her friends. They gave me a hug and asked, "There''s no booze in the party?"


    "Now that the kids are gone, I think I can get some." I replied to them, prompting them to cheer. "But you''re going to need to show your id to the bartender." I added, causing the not-legal-yet-to-drink party goers to exim in disappointment.


    "In fact, let me get you your bartender now." I said before I pointed at Chuck who was waiting patiently at the yogurt machine�C taking over his girlfriend''s job as he waited.


    He brightened up and quickly followed me along to my bedroom, leaving some distance between him and me as he did. It made me realize that he had some experience in spy works, which made sense considering that it had been 2 years since he was forced into this life.


    As we got into my room, I turned to look at Casey and Sarah who were being tied up on a chair with steel chains, and my face suddenly turned viinous.


    "Are you guys going to keep pretending to be unconscious?" I asked them before throwing some pencils I had nearby to their heads. Chuck was startled, but then he saw Casey and Sarah expertly dodging the attack by moving their head slightly, making the pencils lose their momentum and hit the floor.


    "Good. We can finally talk about your sins now." I said menacingly. "And considering that I am in a pretty bad mood, you can expect no mercy from me at the moment."


    ...


    [General POV]


    A few minutes after Sarah regained her consciousness, she realized that she was chained to the chair.


    "Finally." Casey muttered with gritted teeth as he tried to move himself from the chair.


    "Can you pick the locks?" He asked.


    "No. it''s too far away from my hand." Sarah tried to get to the keyhole of the lock, but to no avail.


    "So, the mission failed." Casey muttered.


    "Apparently so." Sarah replied.


    "What''s our strategy?" He asked.


    "Denial." Sarah replied.


    They waited patiently without talking much until Edward came to the room. Edward sat down by the edge of the bed, and asked Chuck to stand nearby the agents.


    "Hi. We have a big problem." Chuck whispered to them. Casey looked at him with disbelief and said, "You think?"


    "No. I meant. Bigger." Chuck said.


    "Bigger than this?" Sarah showed her chains.


    "He told everyone here I was a spy. Imagine what he''ll do to you guys." Chuck said, scaring the both of them.


    "Wait. Did you get a haircut?" Sarah asked with some surprise. Chuck brightened up and touched his head, "Thank you for noticing�C"


    "Keep the lovey dovey conversation after we get out of this, can you?" Casey muttered with disbelief.


    "So. Are you guys done catching up?" Edward interrupted them.

 Chapter 249: Halloween Party (6)

    <h4>Chapter 249: Chapter 249: Halloween Party (6)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    The deafening silence hung heavy in the air as the spies and I locked eyes in a tense staring contest. "So, silence is your strategy?" I asked them mockingly.


    I pondered the various viinous roles I could y in their story today. Perhaps a Joker-like figure, trying to break them down psychologically and disregarding the rules. Or a Bond-esque viin - intelligent, yet just the right amount of cockiness that would eventually lead to his downfall. Or maybe someone like Thanos, burdened by a greater purpose.


    The stillness was finally broken when Chuck spoke up, "Umm... What are you going to do to us?" After our interaction before, Chuck didn''t think I was a viin. He just thought that I was a pissed off teenage kid.


    "Other than letting us go? He doesn''t have any other option. Otherwise, he''ll need to kill us, or let the agents outside deal with us." Casey interjected trying to struggle out of the chain.


    In that brief moment of Casey''s interruption, I came to a realization. I was never the viin in this story - I was the victim. And nothing would be more devastating to these people who thought they were protecting the country than a kind, sympathetic victim. A victim that doesn''t deserve what was happening to him.


    And also, I was too exhausted mentally to actually y the role of a viin, which was a first for me.


    "Trying to take the upper hand, are we?" I smirked at him. "You''ve got guts, at least. Can you even try to pick the lock? Do you even know how it works?"


    Chuck nced at the lock, and muttered, "Wait. There''s no keyhole. But�C"


    "That''s something only I know about." I chuckled. The agents were surprised, but Casey was still rebellious, "I''m sure it''s simpler than we think. Considering you can only take out people by using dirty tricks."


    I chuckled at his words and retorted mockingly, "Isn''t that what you always do? That''s like...your entire job."


    Sarah shot a re at Casey for a moment before turning her attention to me. "Mr. Newgate. I understand you''re angry, but we''re just following orders�C"


    "Oh no, I get that," I cut her off. "That''s the only reason I haven''t thrown you to the sharks outside. I''m a very understanding man in that regard."


    "So you''ll let us go�C" Chuck tried to talk, but I interrupted him.


    "Want to know why you were being sent here?" I posed the question to them in a casual manner as I took out myptop.


    "We already know�C" Sarah tried to interject, but I stopped her with my finger and said, "The true reason you were being sent here?" The agents were silent, knowing that the question I posed was quite dangerous to their situation, and also their job.


    I let out a low chuckle. "Allow me to enlighten you," I said, stepping forward. "As you know, your mission is to steal my blueprints for the newmunication technology - a revolutionary advancement that could change the entire industry."


    I pulled out the diagram and held it up for them to see. I wasn''t stupid enough to show them any major information, just the gist of it.


    "Wait. Before you continue." Chuck interrupted my presentation. The other two agents and I looked at him weirdly. Chuck let out a dry cough and said, "Sorry. It''s just, you know my identity, so will it interfere with your consideration for the beta tester for the League of Legend game. Cause I got till the interview�C"


    "You can say goodbye to that." I interjected him, causing him to exim with disappointment.


    I continued, ignoring Chuck, "I''ve already arranged cooperation with the Department of Defense. In fact, we''re going to sign the agreement tomorrow. So tell me, Major Casey, why did they send you here to steal it from me? Is my price really so high?"


    Casey remained silent, his jaw clenched. Chuck tentatively spoke up, "Is it...not a fair price?"


    "On the contrary," I said, shaking my head with an exaggerated look of betrayal. "My price is quite reasonable - cheaper than what others would demand, in fact."


    Sarah''s brow furrowed. "Then...is this a test? Did they send us to see if we could handle it ourselves?"


    "Nope," I replied, popping the ''p''. "They already know my capabilities. But there''s another option you haven''t guessed yet, haven''t you?"


    The agents fell silent, expressions tense as they considered my words. Finally, Chuck spoke up, his voice wavering. "They sent us here on purpose�C"


    "As leverage." Sarah finished his sentence.


    "I ain''t know nothing about the leverage part, but they did send you here on one purpose." I added on, continuing as they ruminated on their tumultuous thoughts. Being an agent, they precisely knew what the department was capable of. So the more vague I was, the more they would suffer.


    I broke their thoughts after a while, "There is one thing I do know off." As they looked at me again, I said, "There''s a political war going on within the government. It has something to do with the president and the opposing faction and we were drawn into it."


    "And that is okay with you?" Sarah asked nudgingly.


    "Well, I don''t want to be someone''s chess piece. I''m not an obedient person like you guys. Especially Chuck who is working for the government even when they are killing him."


    "Killing him�C" Sarah''s eyes shook, however Chuck didn''t understand me.


    "It''s aplex game of politics and ambition." I shrugged. "Money is certainly a factor as well. As long as there''s trouble tonight, they can push the agreement back, and negotiate more background deals before getting to the signing process. You''re the easiest piece they can use, so they send you. You won''t get into trouble anyway. I''m sure they are already preparing for your extraction."


    "And you calcted this yourself?" Casey asked, his stoic face has a hint of admiration.


    "Well, I guessed it would happen like that. But I''m guessing they also wanted you to seed in stealing the tech. That way, they could just do to me what they did to Chuck''s dad. Just wipe me out of existence." I replied casually.


    Chuck was startled, "You know my dad?"


    I nodded, "I know him. I met him on the web before. He''s a great guy. Did you know he invented touch screen technology? You should''ve grown up a multimillionaire Chuck. Too bad his inventions were stolen. Isn''t that ironic? You''re trying to do to me, the same thing that Ted Roarke did to your father."


    Chuck lowered his gaze guiltily. Casey and Sarah were silent for a while before Sarah asked, "What do you mean the government is killing Chuck? Are you referring to the fact that we brought a civilian with us to a mission?"


    "Oh, that. I''m actually talking about the Intersect in his head." I said as I pointed at my noggin. "You don''t really think that forcefully inserting memories and the ''shes'' Chuck has are good for his brain, do you? With every sh, a surge of electrical energy would be generated inside his brain, deteriorating it. This is just my estimate, but Chuck has only a year left before he bes deranged."


    "What?!" Chuck eximed with disbelief. "Are you serious?"


    "Do I look like I''m lying?" I smiled softly at him. "Too bad. I kinda like you too. I''ll attend your funeralter."


    "Anyway, back to the original topic. What should I do with you guys?" I looked at them with a slight head tilt, my hand was propping up my chin. My eyes suddenly lit up and said, "So, how about this. I''ll let you guys go, and in return, will each of you do me one small favor?"


    "Just like that?" Chuck asked with shock.


    "I think having your hair cut in front of a group of teenagers is punishment enough already." I said with a chuckle. Sarah turned to Chuck and muttered, "That''s what happened to you?"


    Casey and Sarah nced at each other as they considered my offer.


    Seeing them still hesitant, I said, "Because I know you guys can''t give up on the mission just like that, let me make this simple for you."


    I pressed delete on the schematics and all the relevant data I have on the new project, shocking all 3 of them.


    "They can''t ask you to retrieve something that isn''t there, right?" I smiled softly. "Besides, after this, there won''t be any contracts with the government anymore."


    "What do you mean?" Casey asked sternly.


    I shrugged and said, "Did you really think I''d still cooperate with them after they tried this shit? It''s not like I don''t have any other options."


    The moment they decided to pull this type of crap, I had already terminated all of my intentions to cooperate with them. I guess that''s why I threw out Agent Smith before. Well, with the Saltzman consortium as my backing, I could still enter the market, albeit the progress would be a little bit slower. Not to mention I had one foot inside Microsoft''s management circle with my AI research, so you see, my options weren''t limited to one.


    "Wait." Sarah asked with a face full of shock, "You''re canceling the cooperation?"


    "Yes." I replied casually. "Being someone''s chess piece is such a shitty feeling. So I''m pulling the board right from under them. Let them fight on their own." I added.


    "But you guys don''t have to worry about that. You''re just simple pawns. I won''t hold anything against you. Rather than worrying about this, you should worry about how you''re getting out of here." I smirked, "The entire house is surrounded, and there''s no way the agents outside are letting you go."


    The agents looked at each other before Sarah spoke up, "What kind of favour do you want us to do..."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Selena nced at Taylor who was in a bad mood. Hesitating inwardly, she couldn''t help but ask, "So, you saw that�C"


    "They were just hooking up! Nothing more! It''s not like there''s a rule that says you can''t hook up with your friend!" Taylor''s eyes were ring at Selena intensely.


    "But they were holding hands�C"


    Taylor shuts Selena up by pushing some choctes into her mouth. She saw the slight messed up hair of Edward and Haley as they got out of the room. Unless she was an idiot, it was easy to imagine what happened in there.


    Her mood worsened as it had been a while since she came to the party, but Edward�C her ex, hadn''t evene to talk to her. Constantly ncing at the stairs, Taylor didn''t even realize that she had finished almost an entire te of fruit.


    Thinking that it would be desperate of her to go and find him herself, she had to pass the agonizing minutes by distracting herself with food and drinks. However, she didn''t touch any of the choctes as she wanted to look the best she could in front of Edward.


    "He came back." Selena whispered excitedly to Taylor as she saw Edward walking down the stairs.


    Taylor and Selena widened their eyes as they saw the sight. Agent Casey was wearing a tight fitting Superman outfit, Sarah wore the Wonder Woman outfit, Chuck wore Shazam outfit, and Edward had already taken off his costume as it was after midnight.


    None of the spies could easily get out of people''s eyes not, making their job to disappear from the party even harder.


    "Oh my god. You guys are awesome. Smile!" An Oompa Loompa staff member took the trio''s pictures before they could even react, and then disappeared among the crowd.


    "Damn it." Casey muttered with dissatisfaction. "I knew we shouldn''t have taken the deal. I''d rather die with honour than sell my dignity like this."


    "Hey." Edward walked slowly to the girls and greeted them. Taylor smiled as Edward looked at her, and before she could open her mouth, she fell in disbelief as Edward was tantly checking out Selena''s body.


    "What the fuck." She mumbled to herself, intense anger broiled up inside her.


    [Edward POV]


    As we walked to the party, I nced at Chuck and chuckled. Given that there wasn''t an actor by the name of Zachary Levi in this universe, it was nostalgic for me to see Shazam again.


    "What?" Chuck asked in confusion, his lips curled up as he saw my smiling face.


    "Nothing. I''m just looking forward to your performance." I chuckled before I turned to Selena and Taylor. Sighing inwardly, I prepared myself to meet my ex-friends with benefits after the whole incident happened.


    "Hey." I greeted Taylor who was wearing her cheerleader uniform. Then, I nced at Selena, checking if there were any side effects from the medicine I gave her. There were no signs of bloated hands and legs, and her eyes were normal.


    After checking that, I turned to Taylor again. However, she had a face full of disbelief, which confused me. "I thought you were supposed to be in Chicago. Did you fly here just for the party?" I asked with a casual manner, which seemed to ignite a fuse inside her, and she exploded.


    "Join. The. Party?" She enunciated menacingly. Crossing her arms together, she got up close to me,"Do you really think I''d fly over 1700 miles, just to join a party?!"


    "Well..." I inhaled a sharp breath and muttered, "This is awkward." I looked at Selena jokingly, which prompted her to giggle. Taylor red at Selena and then me, "You must be disappointed that Ie huh? Otherwise you could shoot your shot at my best friend."


    Selena chuckled wryly and tried to mediate, "There''s no way he''d do that. By the way Edward, why have you taken off your Batman costume?"


    "Oh. That thing is made oftex, so it seals in the sweats and all. I took it off and took a shower." I replied casually.


    "A cold shower I guess? Considering you didn''t get any yet." Taylor mocked.


    I ignored her words and said, "By the way, you look cute with your short hair."


    Probably wasn''t expecting the suddenpliment, Taylor''s face froze and she touched her hair. She almost smiled before ring at me angrily again, "Don''t change the subject. You checked her out!"


    "Why would I want to take a shot at Selena? I kissed her the day before. I already know what that feels like!" I joked.


    "WHAT?!" Taylor eximed with a high pitched shout.


    Selena looked at her worriedly and said, "For the film�C FOR THE FILMING!! THE WIZARDS SHOW!" Thetina turned to me angrily and asked, "Why are you purposely making her angrier?"


    "I tried to make her calmer but she just wouldn''t take it. So..." I trailed off, speaking in a yful manner. "Also, it''s my right as an Ex-boyfriend. I can piss her off anytime I want."


    Taylor shot a re at me before taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "Selena. You said you wanted to talk with that dude. Go talk to him."


    "Which dude?" Selena was confused, but Taylor pushed her away. Selena was in disbelief and retorted, "You know I didn''t hang out with my cast friends because of you."


    "You can do that now." However, Taylor didn''t even look at her as she was saying that.


    I muttered, "That was cold."


    "Anyway, how are you?" She asked with a slight head tilt, with pity in her gaze.


    "What''s with that look? Do you think I''d be depressed after you were gone?" I muttered with disbelief.


    "Yeah, cause you have a lot of girls to be your pocket pussy to try and rece me?" Hiding her sarcasm behind a kind smile, her sentence shocked me inwardly.


    Maintaining a poker face, I shrugged and said, "You just made me kinda want to start doing that tonight. Let''s see, <i>who</i> shall I <i>do</i> today?"


    With a slight ''Hmph,'' she snapped, "Maybe Selena since you''re keen on checking out her body in front of me."


    "Oh thank you for the suggestion. It takes loads of things out of my mind since there''s a lot of girls here that came specifically for that."


    "Don''t tter yourself. You''re not that hot."


    "I am that hot."


    "You''re not. You''re barely mediocre."


    "Well even if I was ''mediocre'', and I''m adamant on the hot part, bitches love guys like me. Tall, handsome and with money to boot."


    "You''re still not that hot, and you''re not a trophy. Besides, that only happens in movies."


    "Trophy fuck is real. Hot guys are targeted by those thirsty bitches <i>all the time! </i>And I am hot."


    Luckily our argument didn''t really grab the attention of anyone else at the party, otherwise I was sure people would start looking at us weirdly. It didn''t take very long before Taylor huffed away back to Selena while I went to talk with Maggie.


    "Wait. You already changed?" Maggie asked with disbelief as she saw me wearing my normal clothes.


    "Yeah, it''s not Halloween anymore." I replied. "For some reason, I''m feeling extra sleepy now too." I muttered as I yawned. Vanessa looked at me and said, "Great. So I can take this thing off." Bending slightly to grab the hem of her dress, Vanessa pulled it over her head, taking off the white ghost dress and the ck wig at the same time. Then, she fixed her skirt and the blouse she has underneath, before fixing her tied up hair too.


    "Wait. You have an outfit underneath?!" Maggie looked at Vanessa with disbelief. Then, she looked at herself wearing the tight Spiderman outfit. "Well now I look silly."


    "Don''t be. Silly is your middle name�C" Before I could finish, Skyler Samuel, the young actress who kissed me before after my song, approached me.


    "Hey. Edward, I have a question." She lightly touched my arm as she stood in front of me, in a very close distance. "What''s your horoscope sign?"


    "Well, what do you think I am?" I asked back with a chuckle. Well I don''t believe in the whole astrology bullshit, but if I found a pretty girl who did, I wouldn''t try to put her down. Besides, if I found her horoscope sign, I just needed to pair it off with onepatible with it to hit�C But I digress.


    She smiled and said, "Hmm...You look like Leo. You''re cute, funny, charismatic�C"


    I pretended I was shocked and said, "How did you know that?"


    She was excited and basically was jumping as she said, "Really? I got that right? Wow, we''re really really meant to be together! �C I''m a Sagittarius. I''m sorry, I''m so happy."


    "Really? I don''t believe you. You might be just saying that to trick me into bed." I joked.


    She smiled and blurted out, "I''m really not. But if you want, I can prove it to you�C"


    Her eyes widened and her face blushed as she said that. I smiled at her, but then, I shuddered as I could sense I was being gazed at by a predator. I turned only to see Taylor standing a few meters away.


    "He lied. He''s not a Leo. He''s an Aries." She exposed me. Maybe she thought that it would make Skyler back away from me, but instead, Skyler said, "Oh, it''s fine then. Aries is stillpatible with Sagittarius."


    Taylor: ...


    Me: ...

 Chapter 250: Halloween Party (7-F)

    <h4>Chapter 250: Chapter 250: Halloween Party (7-F)</h4>


    (I''ll take the next week off.)


    [General POV]


    Anger in her eyes, Taylor red at Edward and Skyler from the side of the room. Both of them were talking and giggling with each other, and it irked her.


    Selena carefully walked towards Taylor, with a te of food in her hand. But before she could munch her snacks, Taylor asked, "Can you believe that guy? He''s purposely doing this to make me angry."


    Fidgety and irritated, Taylor''s re stopped Selena from biting her churros dipped with chocte and said, "Don''t look at me. You did it to yourself by continuously fighting with him. I thought you wanted to make up?."


    "I do want to make up with him." Taylor said, calming herself down a bit as sheined to Selena, "But when I see his stupid face, I just can''t help myself."


    She stole a nce at Edward and whispered to herself, "His stupidly cute face." The scene in front of her filled her with incredible jealousy and regret, together with longing for her to be the one standing by his side.


    "What was that?" Selena asked doubtfully.


    "Nothing." Taylor replied, pretending everything was fine. Then, she scolded Selena, "This all wouldn''t have happened if you didn''t bring that slut in here."


    Selena saw Edward and Skr and said, "Well, I know that she had a huge crush on Edward, but I didn''t think that he would entertain her. He was not really flirting with me, or anyone else before today. I..."


    "What is it?" Taylor asked Selena impatiently.


    Selena smiled wryly and said, "Well, don''t get angry at me for this."


    "Just say it!"


    "Well, I think he''s flirting over there because of you." Selena said, startling Taylor. She continued anxiously before Taylor could react, "And my justification is this, he didn''t really flirt with anyone after you guys broke up, but right now, he''s doing it? So my guess is that meeting you today may have given him the closure he needed to move on�C Ouch!"


    Taylor pinched Selena''s bicep, stopping her. "Why did you do that for?" Selena whined.


    "Because you keep talking nonsense? Mov�C Moving on? Boys don''t move on that quickly from me!" Taylor red at Edward, causing him to shudder.


    Selena scoffed and whispered, "Cause surviving you gives them PTSD�C" She stopped as Taylor was turning to her again.


    Sensing the hostility gazing at him, Edward wrapped his arm around Skr''s waist and led her to the couch, moving further away from Taylor. In the meantime, the more Selena ate the chocte, the more it affected her.


    "Stop looking at him like you want to murder him." Selena scolded Taylor. Then she mocked, "You keep asking yourself why he didn''t want you back, maybe he''s just afraid for his safety."


    Taylor gasped in disbelief, "I didn''t re at him that much�C"


    "You''ve been doing so since you got here. No wonder you drove him off into the arms of another woman." Selena scolded again.


    Taylor''s mouth was agape, and her shock deepened when Selena said, "Now that he finally has closure, he will go to bed with basically anyone who canfort him. Will you please hold the te for me? I''m going to talk to him�C"


    "Where do you think you''re going?!" Taylor grabbed Selena''s arm before she could move away. "Alright I get what you''re saying." Taylor grumbled and hugged Selena''s arm tight. "I should approach him "more casually" is what you''re saying. Less resentment and all that stuff."


    "I''m saying that I want to go get some. But sure, that too." Selena replied casually.


    Taylor rolled her eyes with disbelief before she chuckled, "You know, when you''re being bitchy like this, I feel really close to you."


    "Just a little bit closer and you can actually cop-a-feel. Unless you want to take over Edward''s role tonight, you should let me go."


    Taylor released Selena with a chuckle and said, "Any suggestions on what I should do now?"


    "Maybe try to create some small talk with him? Ask him for some advice for the song you made to get him back? If that''s too embarrassing�C"


    "No, I''ll do that." Taylor agreed instantly. Then, she got curious, "If I said it was too embarrassing, what are you going to suggest next?"


    "Just pounce on him." Selena replied. "I know I would."


    Taylor was speechless after that.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "You worked on a thriller movie recently, Am I right?" I asked Skyler.


    She nodded while nibbling on some churros, "Yes. With S Ward and Dn Welsh. There''s also Penn Badgley, and also Amber Heard... It wasn''t a very good movie though."


    "Oh, why did you say that?" I asked with aforting smile. She grinned and whispered, "It was a 20 million dor movie, but it made less than 12 at the box office. The director is pissed. But I''m sure he''s sleeping with Amber, so he wasn''t that pissed. He basically made her wear only swimsuits for the entire film."


    "Well he better get ready for a boxing match every night. Maybe a doggy bag in the morning too." I replied.


    She was confused, then sheughed as she thought I had misunderstood something, "What? Oh, Amber is an actress, not a dog. He doesn''t need a doggy bag to pick up her shit. What are you thinking about?!"


    "Ah, is that so? I''m quite embarrassed then." I smiled charmingly, which made her blush and brush her hair behind her ear. "Umm, do you have a bedroom here?" She asked suddenly.


    "Yeah, on the second floor. Why?" I replied with some confusion.


    "Can I see it? I kept wondering what a teenage celebrity boy''s room looked like." She said while giggling.


    "I think it''s just an excuse to get me alone with you." I flirted back.


    She touched my shirt and said while poking my chest, "Would that be so wrong?"


    Suddenly, Taylor appeared again, interrupting the conversation, "Sorry to steal him away from you, I just need to talk to him. I''ll give him back when I''m done." She grabbed my arm and pulled me away to the other side of the room. Skyler reached out her hand to stop me, but was blocked by Selena.


    "Sorry. It''s better for you if I help make it happen. Otherwise I''m not sure if your car brakes will be working when you go home today." Selena said to Skyler, much to the girl''s confusion.


    "Are you already ready for round 2? I still haven''t mentally prepared myself yet." I joked as I stood face to face with Taylor.


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Alright. We''re not that dysfunctional. I think we can get through one conversation without fighting with each other."


    Although doubtful, I decided to listen to her, "Alright then. What do you want to talk about?"


    "Us." She replied curtly while crossing her arms together.


    "Oh boy, so we are going to fight." I eximed jokingly.


    "Not yet, but keep it up. See what happens." She warned me.


    "I will keep it up. Part of me wants to test your patience too, albeit I think it''s only paper thin."


    "Stop messing around. I need to say something important." She stopped me. I looked at her seriously, but the cat got her tongue, and she was struggling to say her next sentence.


    "So, nothing important then." I mocked. She suddenly said, "I need a massage."


    I fell in disbelief, "What?"


    bbergasted, Taylor tried to exin, "A massage. You told me that it was a benefit of being your employee. Even if we are broken up, I can still get the massage. You have your own integrity and ethics, you won''t ignore your responsibilities just because we can''t do it anymore, am I right?"


    "...Sure?" I replied quizzically.


    Taylor turned to the side and whispered, "Damn it." Then, she turned towards me again.


    "I have a feeling that''s not what you wanted to say, but I''ll just y along for now." I teased her. She smiled and giggled before ying along, "No, no. I do need a massage. I''m tired from all of the tours." Knocking on her shoulder, she pretended to be exhausted and sighed in front of me.


    I chuckled and said, "Alright. But you''re going to need to keep your clothes on."


    "Hey! I''ll decide whether to keep them on or off." She joked. Suddenly, we fell into silence. Taylor looked me in the eye and said with a breathy voice, "I miss this."


    "Alright don''t be corny." I shut her down quickly. Baffled, her shoulders dropped and she became slightly agitated, "Can you let me finish first?"


    "What more is there to say? I''d rather we learn to keep our boundaries with each other. You know, keep things <i>profesh</i>. (Professional)"


    "<i>Profesh?</i>" She imitated me mockingly. "Are you even serious right now?"


    "Deadly." I replied. "It''s the only logical course of action." I channeled my inner Spock.


    She rolled her eyes and said, "And what if I don''t want to do that?"


    "Maybe we need more time apart then. Because I really think that''s the correct path we should take for the time being." I replied.


    She was silent for a while. I grabbed a cup of drink from the waiter walking around, and drank it.


    "Alright then. We can keep it...<i>Profesh</i>..." She said, her eyes suddenly glittered. I was a bit on guard as I could sense she didn''t really mean what she was saying, but I agreed with her regardless, "Okay then."


    "So, as one singer to another, I have a new song I just wrote, and I''d love to hear your thoughts about it." She asked while slightly swaying her body. "We can go to your room�C" She suddenly saw the stage nearby and pointed her finger at the guitar, "Or I can just sing it here, right in front of everyone."


    "I mean, if you''re confident, just go for it." I said with a yful smile. Taylor suddenly stopped walking and ced her hand on her chest, "On second thought. I can''t y it with me wearing this outfit."


    I thought she was going to stop, but she said, "I''m going to change for a bit. Um, can I borrow your room?"


    Taken aback, I replied with disbelief, "Sure."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Agent Casey was bartending and serving drinks to the model by the bar when Agent Smith came by to sit in front of him. "A Vesper Martini please." He ordered.


    Casey scoffed but he obliged to the order. Shortly after, he ced a ss of the drink on the table top and slid it to the agent. Agent Smith drank the martini calmly, and as he finished his drink, he ced the ss back on the table and said, "Are youing with me the easy way, or the hard way?"


    "It''s more of a ''No Way''." Casey replied tauntingly.


    "Too bad. I kinda don''t want to create havoc in his party. I''d already slighted him enough." Agent Smith said disappointingly.


    Casey gripped a knife nearby him tightly, but then, he saw Edward moving with Taylor to the stage. As she picked up a guitar and sat in front of Edward, Casey knew that it wasn''t time yet for him to act.


    "Well, I''m in the same predicament as you are, so let''s give him onest moment to enjoy." Casey said calmly as he ced another drink in front of Agent Smith.


    Agent Smith nodded in understanding and said nothing as he nced at Taylor and Edward. Most of the party goers were dancing and enjoying the pool, therefore there weren''t a lot of people near the stage.


    Taylor also wasn''t using the microphone, so she only attracted the attention of the people close by. Maggie and Vanessa, with Ashley Tisdale, Selena and Skyler, Kyle and his girlfriend, Brenda Song, Jake T. Austin, and David Henrie watching the show from a distance.


    "Ummm... Now that I''m holding a guitar, I am quite embarrassed." Taylor muttered, ying her innocent girl persona. Edward chuckled with disbelief, and Taylor smiled as she saw that.


    "Well, um, I''ve been writing a song based on my life''s experience, and I''d love to hear your thoughts before I go ahead and release it."


    "Sweet. So no copyright yet? Anyone can steal it?" Jake cracked a joke. Edward looked at him and replied, "Sure, you can try. But if you seed, then do realize you have made a very terrifying enemy. One with some CIA agents owing favors to him."


    "God. I''m not doing that anymore." Jake said with horror, and the people watchingughed. Taylor shot a re at Jake as he stole the limelight away from her, and Edward looked at her with fascination as he caught it.


    He chuckled and joked, "Go on Taylor. I''m sure you can surprise me. If you''re not, then I might have to reconsider our contract."


    "Oh, there''s no way that''s going to happen." She said with a slight smug smile.


    [Song. Olivia O''Brien, Hate U Love U]


    /watch?v=4rpShILrsWE&ab_channel=OliviaOBrienVEVO]


    [Acoustic guitar cover. This is a more urate depiction of the singing.]


    [Olivia O''Brien - hate u love u acoustic cover by Yareen �C /watch?v=PK0acTT0_KY&ab_channel=yareentwito%7C%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9F%D7%98%D7%95%D7%99%D7%98%D7%95]


    She lightly strummed the guitar to create the mood, and people immediately were absorbed in the show. More people turned their heads to watch it as it happened, some even taking out their phone to record it�C especially those who were shipping Edward and Taylor together.


    Edward was shocked inwardly, but he kept a calm face at the surface. A sense of excitement boiled up inside of him as he realized the song she was singing.


    Taylor focused on the guitar as she started to sing, feeling nervous in case she would mess up the notes. Despite having created the song, she didn''t have much practice ying it in front of everyone.


    <strong><i>"?? </i></strong>Feeling used, but I''m still missing you And I can''t see the end of this


    Just wanna feel your kiss against my lips<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    Brenda Song squealed in excitement before covering her mouth to stop herself from disturbing the song.


    <strong><i>"??</i></strong>And now all this time is passing by, But I still can''t seem to tell you why<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    <strong><i>"??</i></strong>It hurts me every time I see you, Realize how much I need you<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    Taylor gazed straight at Edward as she sang the chorus, "<strong><i>??</i></strong>I hate you, I love you


    I hate that I love you. Don''t want to, but I can''t put...Nobody else above you<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    The memory of the night they ended their rtionship surfaced in her memory. And then it morphed into the sight of him with another girl at the party today.


    Her tone carried a hint of resentment as she sang, <strong><i>"??</i></strong>I hate you, I love you! I hate that I want you! You want her, you need her! And I''ll never be her<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    Selena widened her eyes and muttered, "Wait did she change the lyrics?"


    Taylor lost herself in the memories as she sang, "<strong><i>??</i></strong>What about all the times


    You would pick me up and we''d just drive<strong><i>...</i></strong> Around until we found a ce to stay and waste the day away, We''d do nothing but it was okay with me<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    <strong><i>"??</i></strong>You say it''s not good to spend all my time


    Thinking about you sote at night<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    <strong><i>"??</i></strong>But I can''t stop once I start it''s like an avnche


    Thoughtsing and I just wanna hold your hand<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    <strong><i>"??</i></strong>Hold your breath, I''m going under, Noting up ''til this night is over<strong><i>??</i></strong>


    <strong><i>??</i></strong>''Til this night is over<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    Edward and Taylor shared a look, and it made the audience giggle. However, Edward turned to Selena immediately after Taylor went to focus back on her guitar and mouthed, ''What''s that supposed to mean?''


    Selena mouthed, ''I don''t know either!''


    Oblivious, Taylor continued singing the chorus, " <strong><i>??</i></strong>I hate you, I love you


    I hate that I love you! Don''t want to, but I can''t put, Nobody else above you<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    <strong><i>??</i></strong>I hate you, I love you! I hate that I want you! You want her, you need her


    And I''ll never be her<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    Taylor paused briefly and slowed down the tempo of the song. She gazed directly at Edward as she sang, "<strong><i>?</i></strong>All alone, I watch you watch her... Like she''s the only girl you''ve ever seen<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    Her resentful tone reverberated throughout the room. Edward held his chin as he gazed on her deeply, which made her heart start beating faster.


    <strong><i>"??</i></strong>You don''t care, you never did! You don''t give a <strong><i>damn</i></strong> about me<strong><i>??" </i></strong>She sang as if she was using him.


    <strong><i>"??</i></strong>Yeah, all alone, I watch you watch her! She is the only thing you''ve ever seen... How is it you never notice...That you were slowly killing me<strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    <strong><i>"?? </i></strong>I hate you, I love you! I hate that I love you! Don''t want to, but I can''t put


    Nobody else above you <strong><i>??"</i></strong>


    <strong><i>"??</i></strong>I hate you, I love you! I hate that I want you! You want her, you need her...


    And I''ll never be her<strong><i>??</i></strong>"


    Slowly, the guitar strumming came to a stop. The crowd gave her quite an apuse, but she was only looking straight in front of her, waiting for his attention.


    Edward''s face was stoic at first, making her more nervous. But then he chuckled and said, "That''s amazing." Taylor''s face lit up, and she urged, "And...?"


    Suddenly, a loud ss shattering sound pierced through the air, causing Taylor and Edward to whip their heads towards themotion. The entire party came to a halt and everyone went to look at the source.


    In the corner of the dimly lit venue, several people were engaged in a heated altercation. Drinks had been knocked over, and shards of broken ss littered the floor as thebatants skillfully and artfully fought with each other.


    The crowd around them quickly parted, creating a circle as the fight escted. Sarah grabbed a vase and threw it towards the ss wall near the balcony, scaring everyone there. "Move!" She yelled to the others before grabbing Chuck with her, while giving him a bag at the same time.


    Taylor''s eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively reached out to grip Edward''s arm.


    "What''s going on?" she asked, her voiceced with concern.


    Edward''s brow furrowed as he surveyed the scene unfolding before them. He hid his secret smile as he enjoyed the fight. Without a word, he gently pulled Taylor closer, positioning himself to shield her from any potential danger.


    Touched by Edward''s action, Taylor grabbed his body tighter. Selena joined in too, much to Taylor''s dislike. Then, Vanessa and Maggie went to hide behind Edward too, making Taylor fall in disbelief.


    "No No No Don''t�C" David Henrie shouted as he saw what Sarah and Chuck wanted to do. As Sarah was saving Chuck�C the nonbatant, the agent she was kicking fell onto the sound system, breaking it. Casey''s and Agent Smith''s fight also wrecked the bar.


    "Go now!" Casey told Sarah and Chuck. "What about you?" Chuck asked with concern.


    "I''ll cover your exit!" Casey said.


    "I''m afraid I can''t let that happen�C" Agent Smith was slowly standing up while wiping the blood off his mouth when suddenly he was tackled from out of nowhere.


    "What the fuck-" Edward cursed. Jacob, who had snuck out of his house toe back to the party in order to protect his best friend, tackled agent Smith from behind.


    "You''re messing with ED!? You''re messing with me!!" Jacob growled at the agent before he red at Casey.


    "Shit." Casey cursed, not because he felt threatened with Jacob, but he knew that he shouldn''t touch Edward''s friends under any circumstances. He turned and ran to the broken window wall, ignoring the agents who wanted to capture him, and jumped out of the balcony with Sarah and Chuck.


    "Jacob, stop." Edward held Jacob back by grabbing his shirt, choking him at the same time before he could lunge at Casey.


    Chuck yelled fearfully as he was grabbed by Sarah, but then, she pulled the cord on Chuck''s bag, turning it into a glider, also saving them from the cliff. Although the house was on a cliff by the ocean, if someone jumped down, they would be dead because there were only rocks below that.


    Casey stole Edward''s Batman gauntlet and shot a wire to the balcony after he jumped off it, and skillfully roped down the cliff. Agent Smith walked towards the balcony slowly and stared at the spies with an eagle eye.


    The altercation stopped after the three spies were gone, and the entire party goers were befuddled.


    "Shit." Edward walked on top of the broken sses and went to address the crowd, "Sorry everyone. It seemed that some people had too much to drink. Regretfully, the party is now over. I won''t kick you out or anything, but you all should leave on your own. Goodnight everyone."


    "Aw." The crowd eximed in disappointment. "Who the fuck are those guys!?" Jake muttered angrily, "Making trouble on the night I can finally see Brenda naked!"


    "Oh, that was never happening honey." Brenda admonished Jake while holding her hand towards him to set boundaries.


    People started leaving the house in batches after the incident, with only some close friends staying behind.


    Jake T Austin posted a video on his Insta about the fight, and people online were moring about it.


    "Oh my god, It was so insane! The second after Taylor finished singing, those idiots started breaking things around the house! We have to go home now, barely after 1 am. It sucks! I''m going to sue those guys if I find out who they are." Jakeined to his Instagram followers.


    Likes: 12,440 Comments: 1222


    @Lily: Oh my god, is Edward alright?


    @Janie: Taylor sang a new song? Did she serenade Edward? Lol


    Jake didn''t have many followers before, but his followers shot up after the whole incident.


    TMZ celebrity news also reported the incident in their news sites, which made the matter blow up.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After seeing the destruction in my house, I wasn''t annoyed because I was the one who made it happen. I used one of the favors I had with the three agents to ask them to crash the party. And they did perfectly. Although I would send the bill to General Beckman�C their supervising general after this.


    Agent Paige and Agent Smith were obediently sweeping the ss off the floor as I sat alone on the stairs, watching them. I knew that they had their orders, therefore I didn''t punish them badly. I forgave Chuck and the rest, so why not forgive them too? Like I said before, they were just foot soldiers.


    "Wait. There''s only a cup worth of chocte?" I muttered with disbelief after seeing the chocte fountain basically being licked clean after I went to freeze some of the choctes to experiment on.


    Maggie walked towards me tearily and turned her back against me, "Ed. The zipper is gone. I can''t take off the suit."


    "Pfft-" I almost burst intoughter if it wasn''t for her almost-crying expression. "Well, the suit cost me 10 grand. If I need to cut it open, then, I''ll have to add that to your total debt�C"


    "Please don''t!" Maggie grabbed my arm, begging me as she iled it around. The suits cost me only 50 bucks, so I was only messing around with her.


    Only Maggie, Selena and Taylor were left behind in the house after the crowd left.


    Vanessa went to catch up with Ashley, and the college girls were sent home with a driver''s service I rented out. Jacob was also still at the party, but he insisted on standing guard by the balcony�C in case the spies came back!


    "Jacob! Grab a nket or something." I said to him as I walked with Maggie back to my bedroom.


    "I''ll be fine! I have my hot cocoa." He said as he sipped a hot drink. His nose was red, but he still insisted that he wasn''t feeling cold. I shrugged and went to help Maggie get out of the suit.


    I grabbed a pair of scissors before cutting the suit from Maggie. She kept insisting, "Be careful! Don''t cut my hair."


    "I''m not going to cut your hair." I replied irritatedly. She kept squirming around, which made me miss my cut.


    "My hair!" She cried out. I looked at her with disbelief and said, "I''m not even close to your hair! Just calm down and let me do this!"


    She was still squirming, so I grabbed her shoulder and cut the suit''s zipper in one go. Her back was exposed, and she turned towards me angrily, "I can feel you touching my hair!"


    "With my hand! I swear to god, I''ll cut your hair just for fun now!" I retorted back to her. She took off her suit angrily, and balled it all up before throwing it at me. "Here''s your suit back, you jerk!"


    "Um.. Maggie�C"


    "You inconsiderate jackass."


    "Maggie!"


    "You demon money grubber! I refuse to pay you 10 grand for the suit!"


    "MAGGIE!" I yelled at her, prompting her to stop. I looked at her mischievously and said, "You realize you''re naked right?"


    It seemed that she decided to gomando while wearing the suit. Maggie looked down on her bare naked body, before yelping and covering her boobs immediately.


    "PERVERT! GO DIE!"


    "Oh like you didn''t enjoy exposing yourself, you porn star?! There''s a robe in my closet. You can wear that for now. But be careful not to damage it too. They really do cost 20 grand."


    "Ugh! At least cover your eyes while I''m going to wear it." She said as she gestured at me frantically to look away. I sighed and walked out of the room, and identally bumped into Taylor as I walked out the door.


    With a flustered, angry face, Taylor said seethingly, "You just heard the song I wrote for you, and now you''re in bed with another girl?"


    "Eww. That''s my cousin." I tried to exin, but Taylor grabbed my head and kissed me heavily.


    "I hate you so much!" She said before she dragged me into an empty room. She mmed the door behind us after we walked in. Then, she pressed her lips onto mine.


    I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away. A bit taken aback, Taylor''s eyes shook.


    "What the hell do you think you''re doing?" I asked angrily. "It''s over between us�C"


    "I WANT TO ASK YOU THE SAME THING!!" Taylor shouted back. "What the hell is wrong with you!? I''m basically throwing myself to you today, and you act like I''m a disgusting piece of trash!"


    Taken aback, I hesitated, "That''s not�C"


    "What?! What is not it? I <strong><i>literally</i></strong> made a song for you!!" She yelled at me before grabbing a pillow and hit me with it. "Stop messing around with me and toying with my feelings!"


    I snapped and yelled at her with gritted teeth, "I DIDN''T!" I looked into her eyes, pointed my finger at her and said sternly, "You did that all by yourself. So stop ming me for it! It''s over for us!"


    Taylor was speechless after that. Then, her expression slowly faltered. "Why are you yelling at me!?" She started to cry timidly.


    "Oh for fucks sake�C"


    I had tofort her for a bit before she stopped crying. "Are you good now?" I asked as I rubbed her back while we were sitting at the edge of the bed.


    She nodded and suddenly said, "Prove it."


    "Prove what?" I was confused.


    "Prove... that you''re already over me." Taylor said while patting the mattress behind us hintingly. "Then, I''ll stop trying to win you back."


    "Alright then. If it can help you move on." I said before grabbing her neck and kissing her. She scratched my arm with her nail, leaving its trail on my skin. It quickly became an animalistic, no romance entanglement, without an ounce of affection in it.


    After a while, Taylor huffed and puffed, her hair disheveled. Both of us were lying underneath the nket, looking upwards side by side. She bit her lower lip as she looked at me angrily.


    "You fucking bastard." She cursed before she sat upward. She ced her pillow on my face and yelled, "DIEE!" It was only for a short while before she got up and walked to the door after wearing her clothes back.


    "You''re leaving?" I asked her.


    "You''d like that don''t you?" She asked tauntingly.


    "Well, if you want to leave, then I''ll call a driver for you."


    Gasping offendedly, she picked up a tissue box and threw it at me. "You stupid idiot!" She probably wanted me to send her myself, or show that I still care, but again, I was too exhausted to give her some hope.


    I grabbed the tissue box before it could hit me andid back down on the bed as Taylor made herself scarce. That''s how the Halloween party ends.

 Chapter 251: Feeling Blue.

    <h4>Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Feeling Blue.</h4>


    (Sorry for thete chap. I''m really sick rn. )


    [Edward POV]


    "Morning," my dad greeted me as I walked into the living room wearing only a pair of shorts and a tank top. "Mornin''," I replied, yawning. I nced out at the balcony through the broken window and saw it was empty.


    The sea breeze intruded the house from the gap in the wall, which Vader seemed to enjoy. She was lying down near the broken ss wall, curled into a C shape, sleeping silently there, enjoying the sun and the breeze at the same time.


    "Oh yeah, your friend went home. His mom came to pick him up after seeing he was gone," my dad exined, knowing what I was looking for.


    "Good. Was he yelled at?" I asked as I scratched my stomach.


    "Not by his dad. I don''t know if he''s scolded by his mother. From the looks of it, it doesn''t seem that good for him." My dad replied with a wry smile.


    "I''ll ask her to be lenient on him. After all, he helped me a lot."


    Frankie walked to the sofa where my dad was sitting with a ledger in her hand. She got straight to the point and said, "There''s over 30,000 dors worth of damages you''ve suffered. It must have been quite a party."


    "It was." I replied jokingly.


    I yawned again as I walked to the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee. My dad smirked and said, "I''ve had to stop myself from calling the hospital when you didn''t wake up in the morning, but I checked your breathing and guessed it was fine." He checked his watch as he teased.


    "It''s only noon." I replied. My dad smirked and said, "Still. It''s a rare sight to see."


    I sipped my coffee and sighed with relief, "Ahh." Turning to my dad, I said, "I''m still a bit tired fromst night."


    "That''s right, the hottest Halloween party in Hollywood - Teenagers Edition," Pepper said dramatically as he walked in, waving his hand. He then scoffed, "Well, it might have been, if those roaches didn''t break your window. Harvey already sent the damage cost to that General Beckman you were talking about."


    I shrugged and said, "It''s fine. I''m kind of d it ended early." My dad and Pepper exchanged a knowing nce, and I stood up from my seat. "I''m going to theb. Call me when it''s time for dinner."


    "Aren''t you going to eat lunch?" my dad asked with disbelief.


    "I''m not hungry. If I am, I will just eat some cereal in myb," I replied, trying to walk away, when Pepper stopped me, "Wait."


    I turned to him, and he asked, "Are you sure you want to cancel the whole thing with the DOD?"


    "I''m sure. Just let Harvey handle it. Ooh, by the way, don''t go out alone or without protection for the next few days. Just in case they try to grab you and force you into something." I threatened him yfully.


    "That sounds like a fun Saturday night." Pepper jokes.


    Frankie looked worried and said, "We should talk about enhancing the security�C"


    "You can deal with that. I won''t interfere." I interjected. Before I could walk away, my dad asked something that made me stunned, "Ed. What do you think about suddenly having a younger brother?"


    I turned to my dad with a face full of surprise, and then turned to Frankie, before resting my eyes on her stomach, "You got Frankie pregnant��"


    "NO!" Frankie interjected quickly. "Not me!"


    "You got another girl pregnant?" I asked with an innocent face as I turned to my dad before smirking mischievously as I saw his bewildered face.


    "I haven''t gotten any girls pregnant-"


    "Yet." I interjected my dad''s words again.


    He scowled disdainfully and said, "Can you let me finish?"


    "Why, Frankie didn''t let you finishst night?" I mocked again. Frankie was in disbelief and blurted, "I did�C"


    "Frankie Dear, halt." Pepper intervened quickly. He red at me and said, "Ed, listen to him."


    "Alright. What is it?" I asked with a chuckle. My dad sighed and his mood fluctuated for a few times before he said, "I might...have another son�C"


    Speechless for a second, my mind raced to figure out the reason he said that.


    "Stop. Before you go any further. Is this about that Harry kid you met yesterday?" I interjected. My dad widened his eyes and said, "You know him?"


    I replied casually after breathing in relief, "Yeah. Who did you think sent him to you? I already know that you''re going to get all flustered when seeing his face. But don''t worry, he is not your son. That was just something I had him say to mess with you."


    The short meeting with ''Harry Styles''st night has been weighing on my dad''s mind.


    He almost lost his sleep thinking about the possibility of the ''kid'' telling the truth. Even if he didn''t see the kid''s face clearly, there was a familiar feeling that he couldn''t shake off. He even visited Mrs Henderson early in the morning to meet the kid again, but she told him he was gone.


    "Where is he now?" My dad asked me.


    "Canada I guess. I''m not sure. I''ll get back to youter." I replied dismissively. "Anything else?" I asked.


    Frankie said, "There''s nothing else going on. Other than a few representatives from the government are desperate to meet you and change your mind.


    "Eh, they reap what they sow...Or in this case, tried to sow." I said casually before I waved them off. "I''ll be busy for a few days, if you need me, just tell Robin."


    "What are you nning on doing now? Nothing treasonous I hope." Pepper asked while pretending to shudder. I chuckled and looked at him, but I didn''t say anything and walked away, picking up the sleeping cat and cing her on my shoulder as I did.


    Pepper was stunned and he looked at my dad, "I have a bad feeling about this."


    My dad shrugged and said, "It''s Ed. He won''t do something impulsive."


    I walked to the same room Haley and Tara entered when they were searching for myb. Then, I walked to the shelf on the deepest side of the room, and pulled on my decathlon trophy.


    Atch was unlocked, and a hidden door appeared. I entered my password and walked into my trueb as soon as the door was opened. Then, the door was closed again, separating me from the rest of reality.


    ...


    *BeleBeleBeleBele*


    Myptop rang with a Den-Den Mushi sound effect as I received a call on my Skype. The sound disrupted my focus from the data and simtion I was running with my modified supeputer.


    There were several monitor screens running at the same time inside theb. One was ying the anime ''Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood". One was running the pokemon game, HeartGold and SoulSilver, while the other one was disying someb results for medications.


    I kicked the floor to roll my chair to the other table and picked up the call since it was ringing non-stop.


    "Hello there." I greeted.


    "General Kenobi." Max replied and made a lightsaber sound while holding a lollipop stick. It was only the stick since she had finished the candy.


    "So, were you just masturbating and identally called me?" I asked mockingly.


    Max grinned and replied, "How do you know? I meant to change the video, but my finger slipped." She cackled and I chuckled.


    "And to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing the great escapist, Max ck, today?" I asked.


    "<i>My pleasure.</i>" Max replied with a dirty joke. She cackled a bit before asking, "How are you?"


    "Aww, did you miss me?"


    "Shut it." Max made a gesture for me to zip my mouth. "I''m only asking because I saw the news."


    "Ah, that. I''m fine. It''ll blow over quickly." I replied. Max nodded and was silent for a while. I kept waiting for her to continue, and then I got confused.


    "Why do you keep staring at me...in silence?" I asked with confusion.


    Max smiled wryly and said, "I figured I should ask you more about your life, but then I realized I never had the experience, so I don''t actually know what to do now."


    I chuckled and said, "It''s fine~ You can just be yourself."


    "Phew. That took the pressure away." Max said mockingly.


    "Ah Max. When are youing here for Thanksgiving?" I asked. Max was confused, "I''m going there? Well since I''m not ing'' here�C Wait, I can''t even joke right now. I''m going there?"


    "Yeah. You''re family. Family gets together during Thanksgiving." I said casually. Max was speechless and her face blushed a bit. She shyly avoided my eyes and said, "Shut up. We have only known each other for 2 months."


    "When you know, you know." I replied. "So sis, should I send the jet to pick you up? It''s going to be hard to get tickets now."


    Max hesitated and said, "No. I have a shift on Thanksgiving�C"


    "At the GAP? Seriously, you chose to work at the GAP instead of working for thepany?" I asked her disdainfully. Max was stunned at first, then she smirked.


    "Well the GAP lets me steal stuff..." Max replied jokingly, I smiled and rested my head on my palm while my elbow was on the table.


    Max said jokingly, "Wait, you lost energy? How long do you have till you pass away?"


    "2 days. Soe over to bury me." I replied.


    "I know I''m joking, but I''m pretty worried now." Max said with worry on her face. "Why are you so tired?"


    "I don''t know. The party maybe. I partied hard." I replied jokingly.


    Max was confused. "The partyst Sunday?"


    "Yeah." I replied casually.


    "But it''s Friday?" Max said with confusion. I smiled tiredly and said, "Oh, it''s Friday already?" I paused briefly and chuckled, "Thest time I slept was Tuesday. I can''t believe it''s already Friday."


    Max looked at me with suspicion and asked, "Did you do <i>speed</i> or <i>cocaine</i>? Or...is it both!?"


    "Stop messing around. Are youing or not?" I asked.


    "Umm...Can I take a few days to think about it?" Max tried to avoid answering, but I said, "If you don''te here, then Pepper, my dad, Frankie and I will go to New York, and we will all crash on your couch."


    "NOOOO!" Max yelled anxiously. "Fine, I''ll go to stupid LA!" She added. "Are you happy now?"


    "Very." I repliedzily with a smirk on my face.


    ...


    Inside theb, the experiments I have been conducting have finally produced some result.


    "God, this took me an entire week. My full focus for an ENTIRE WEEK!" I mumbled annoyedly as I read the results on the screen.


    Robin replied with a t tone, but there was a trace of disdain in her words, "You have created something that will help the entire human race, but you''re dissatisfied because it took you a week to do that?"


    "Yeah." I replied casually, which made Robin lose interest in continuing the conversation. I chuckled as I read the data on the pill I had made. Needing an escape from reality, first I watched the Frieren season 1 anime in my memory, and then I started working on the alchemist''s pill recipes I received in the gacha.


    The work was extremely hard to do considering that most of the materials in the recipes were something out of this world, and needing special energy to create it.


    First was the detoxification pill recipe, ranked number 5 on the list. If I had all of the conditions satisfied, the pills could detoxify even the deadliest poison on this earth. However as I needed to create the pills myself and substituting the ingredients with simr chemical form, the effect was greatly lowered. I ate one of them, and it tasted like strawberries.


    "Robin, take note." I said as I swallowed the pill.


    Robin replied with concern, "Sir, I have to warn you about the dangers of experimenting with unknown drugs."


    Shaking my head dismissively, I replied, "And again I will reply, Chill down Robin. You saw me eat hundreds of those in thest week. I''m still alive ain''t I?"


    "Hmm, the drugs don''t really do anything to me. Maybe my body is too clean?" I recorded the effects after a while. I monitored everything I could after eating that. From my blood, brain activity, nerves, organs, and the drug didn''t change anything at all.


    "Did I develop some resistance to it?" I mumbled out loud as I rubbed my chin.


    "Perhaps you need a little rest before you continue sir. May I suggest, watching the new Harry Potter film with your friends?" Robin chimed. "Miss Enid just bought the DVD, and she nned for a movie watching party in her house."


    I shook my head and said, "I have already watched it. Let''s get back to work. See if we can derive something from it."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Back to Thursday.


    Jay and Gloria arrived at Phil and ire''s house.


    "H H!" Gloria entered fabulously before hugging ire.


    "We''re here." Jay greeted loudly. "Haley, Grandpa''s here." He shouted up the stairs.


    ire was flustered and said, "Don''t call her like that. She''ll notice you''reing here to talk to her."


    "I still don''t know why you can''t do it. Or Mitchell and Cam. They are more suitable for doing this than me." Jay asked with frustration.


    "We tried. None of us seed. She hasn''te out of her room for days now." Phil said worriedly. "Honestly, the room is starting to smell, so I''m not that excited to try again."


    Gloria asked worriedly, "Ay, did she have her heart broken?"


    Alex walked by and said, "Well something broke. And it''s my nose."


    "Can''t we just call Ed and make them make up with each other?" Jay asked.


    Phil, Gloria and ire admonished him at the same time, <strong>"Are you crazy?"</strong>


    "What? It''s just an idea." Jay shrinked back and defended himself.


    While the family was talking, Luke was watching the TV while bouncing a rubber ball up and down in the living room. He nced at the adults with some anger in his face. And then he ran to the backyard.


    [Luke''smentary]


    "It''s unfair. Why do all of us have to stop talking to Edward? He''s my friend too. Haley is being selfish. I don''t like this."


    [Commentary ends]


    ...


    Friday. In Edward''s vi by the seaside.


    Pepper and Ted were discussing Edward together in the living room with a face full of worry.


    "He still hasn''te out of hisb?" Pepper asked. "It has been days. Even his ex has turned up concerned from her initial <i>amuk</i>."


    "He only came out to get Vader or get something to eat. I tried to talk to him multiple times, but I got nothing." Ted shared with some exasperation.


    "Well, he did reply to whatever we asked. Are we being too presumptuous right now? He might just have puberty mood swings." Pepper said. "I want to give him some space, but right now... We really need him."


    "Why?" Ted asked with confusion.


    Pepper smiled wryly and said, "The President ising here to meet him."


    "I''m sorry. What?" Ted asked in shock. Edward suddenly walked out of hisb, his hair was scuffy, and his eyes were strained. He walked straight to Pepper who eximed, "My god, have you been homeless for the past few days?"


    "Pepper, good timing. Here, eat this." Edward suddenly gave a pill to Pepper. Startled, Pepper took a step back before Edward could feed him the pill, "What�C What is this for? G-GET THAT OFF MY LIPS!"


    Ted separated Edward before he could pry Pepper''s lip open and push the pill into his mouth. "What are you doing Ed? Have you gone mad?"


    "I''ll call Dr Linda now." Frankie took out her phone and started dialing. "Robin, cut all the calls." Edwardmanded, so Robin had no choice but to do it.


    Edward turned to his dad, and threw the pill into his open mouth skillfully, while his dad''s hands were busy holding him back.


    "Ku-Hurk�C" Ted choked, and identally swallowed the pills. "What did you feed me?" He asked with widened, fearful eyes.


    Edward watched Ted with intrigue, only realizing his dad''s horrified look after a few seconds. He rolled his eyes and said, "Don''t spit it out. That cost me 1 million dors. It''s the most potent one I will ever make."


    "What?" Ted asked with disbelief when a ck tear rolled down his eyes. Pepper was horrified, "Oh my god, he''s killing his own dad."


    "And as witnesses, you guys will be next." Edward turned to Pepper and said maniacally. As Pepper and Frankie panicked, Edward burst intoughter and said, "That''s just a detox pill. Well, it''s actually a cleansing pill, but it does detox you a bit."


    "What the hell are you talking about?" Pepper asked with disbelief. "Just wait 10 minutes." Edward smirked.


    The minutes passed by quickly. Ted suddenly clutched his chest and he dropped to his knees. "I can''t...breathe." He gasped for air. Frankie ran towards him, begging as she turned to Edward, "Call 911. He needs a doctor!"


    "Don''t worry about it." Edward dismissed her worries casually. Pepper grabbed Edward''s shoulder roughly and said, "Edward, that''s your dad! YOUR FATHER!"


    "He just needs to puke and he''ll be fine." Edward was still being casual. Ted''s eyes almost lost his light. He looked upwards to Edward and said, "Don''t worry son. Just know, I will never me you�C"


    Suddenly, his gag reflex kicked in, and he started gagging. "Blerghh!!" A dark sludge came out of his mouth in a slow manner, almost suffocating him in the process. Ted could finally breathe after it passed.


    "What the hell is that?" Frankie asked, her calm temperament had shatteredpletely. Edward squatted down and poked the sludge with a pencil. "Oof�C Tar. You must smoke a lot before dad."


    "Tar�C What?" Ted asked as he breathed shakily. "Oh my god, it''sing out again." He gagged and stood up immediately before running to the toilet. Edward raised both of his hands up in the air, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of satisfaction.


    "You...you''re not insane?" Pepper asked with disbelief. Edward scoffed and turned towards him, "Of course not. I have already tested the medicine before. It''s perfectly safe."


    Pepper finally breathed in relief. And as he opened his mouth to talk, Edward shot another pill from his fingers, and it entered Pepper''s throat instantly. Pepper gulped instinctively, and his eyes shook as he turned to Edward.


    "Oh by the way, you will need to stay at the toilet for a while. It came out on the other end too." Edward smirked mischievously.


    "You devil!" Pepper rushed to the nearest bathroom he could find. Edward danced slightly, moving his hand as if he was conducting an orchestra before going back to hisb again.


    "Robin, I forgot to ask, did anyone conduct theb testing yet for the medicines forms?" Edward asked.


    "Yes sir." Robin replied. "Although people are still searching for who''s responsible for them, someb testing has been done, and some medicines are in productions."

 Chapter 252: Uphill battle.

    <h4>Chapter 252: Chapter 252: Uphill battle.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Saturday morning. Vi by the seaside.


    Yawning, I made my way to the dining table, bringing the sandwich I had prepared for me and my guests. My hair was disheveled, and my outfit was far from refined �C just a simple tank top and boxer shorts.


    As I ced the tes in front of the seats, Enid''s excited voice rang out. "Come on! Hurry up and eat! I can''t wait anymore. I''m too excited for our first hike together."


    In contrast, Jenna''s expression was one of disdain, hermitment to the outing clearly wavering. "I''m backing out. I don''t want to sweat early in the morning�C"


    Enid quickly interjected, cutting her off. "Oh no you don''t. Alex already can''te for whatever reason. Elsa and Jacob have a date, Finneas and Billie have a tutoring lesson. Wait. If you back out, that means I will go on the hike with Edward alone�C like a date?!! You <i>CAN </i>leave�C"


    Jenna''s tone shifted to a teasing one as she interrupted, "I''m not going to leave now."


    "Um..." I choked on the sandwich, and promptly grabbed the nearby water. After downing it, I turned to Enid and Jenna and asked, "Can someone exin to me, why are there suddenly ns to go on a hike?"


    When I woke up this morning, Enid and Jenna were actually at my house, already ready with their outfit, some packaged food for the pic, and were beaming brightly in front of my bedroom door. I didn''t even know what happened and I was already dragged out of my room.


    "Meow." Vader hopped on myp and licked my finger, wanting a bite to eat too. I gave her some bacon and waited for the girls'' answer. Enid and Jenna looked confused. Jenna asked me back, "You''re the one who nned it yesterday? You don''t know?"


    "I did?" I was confused. ''Was I so out of it that I didn''t remember?'' I thought inwardly.


    "Yeah. Your dad called my house, telling me the n." Enid exined. "So I invited everyone in the group chat on your behalf."


    "Ahh." I finally understood the situation. I wanted to get mad, but then I realized that I could use a break, so I said, "Alright. Where are we going?"


    Dad and Pepper were so traumatized after yesterday''s event that they couldn''t bear to see me�C mostly from embarrassment rather than fear. They spend almost 3 hours clutching to the toilet because of my actions.


    However, after it was done, even their skin was a bit glossy. It worked very well for my dad considering his skin was previously a bit yellowish because of his liver problem.


    "Just outside the city." Jenna replied with an excited smile.


    I nodded and said, "I''m bringing Vader too. Ah, also..." I walked to the living room couch suddenly. The girls turned their head as they followed my figure, and then widened their eyes as I suddenly kicked the drunken girl sleeping on my couch.


    "Wake up Maggie! We''re going on a hike!" I woke her up mercilessly.


    "Oww." Maggie whined sobbingly as she fell onto the floor. "5 more minutes." She begged.


    "Go get ready now." I ordered. "Ah, miss-don''t-think-I-don''t-see-you-hiding-there, you''re going on the hike too." I turned to Vanessa who tried to hide from me after waking up from the shout.


    "Damn it." She cursed, but she epted her fate.


    Last night, both Maggie and her came to my ce after leaving a club, in which she met her ex-boyfriend Zac there. Both of them were quite wasted, sopany security picked them up, and Maggie insisted on being sent here instead of their own ce.


    They got ready in 20 minutes, all of us wearing fitness clothes, and I drove us to the hill in a ck SUV. Before leaving, I also cooked a few more food for the pic, and brought a mat with me too.


    I carried most of the stuff inside my bag, and also I held a leash for Vader as we climbed the barren hill together. The hike was short, barely 20 minutes to reach the top, and unchallenging...for me.


    "Ahhhh!!!..." Maggie shrieked while sweating heavily, bending slightly to support her body by putting her hand on her knee. Vanessaid down t on the ground, not having the energy to move. Enid and Jenna were fine, and they were enjoying the food I brought.


    Vader ran around the spot in excitement, and I kept an eye on her in case there were predators here. She didn''t even have a w to defend herself if anything happened. Vader didn''t go far and rushed back towards me after being startled by a fox''s noise. Her reaction made me feel helpless.


    ''Should I create a mechanical w for her? Or just go the ultimate way and create Iron armor for her? She won''t have ws, but she can shoot beams from her paw. That is enough to ensure her safety, right?'' I thought secretly as I mused myself at the concept of an Iron Cat... Well, literally a cat. Not Felicia Hardy kind of Iron Cat.


    Too bad I didn''t know how to make the armor.


    I picked Vader up to ease her before walking to Vanessa and Maggie. "Well...this is sure to happen if you keep going clubbing for 5 days straight."


    Maggie held her finger up in order to talk, but her panting breath made it hard for her to retort back. She gave up soon after and kept catching her breath. I turned to Vanessa and shook my head disapprovingly, "Aren''t you a dancer? Why is your stamina so weak?"


    With a tiny, barely audible whisper, stuttering her words as she did, "Shut up. Please s- s- Pass me a sandwich.."


    I smirked, "If you can get to the pic basket, you can take it. But if you''rete, don''t me us if there''s none left for you."


    Vanessa stood up abruptly and scolded me, "Demon! Be KINDER!! You look kind, but you''re an asshole!"


    Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a couple of muscle soreness relief pills and gave it to the two girls. Then, I gave Vanessa extra medicine.


    "What''s this?" She asked curiously.


    "Anti-dependency pill for your drug problem." I replied casually. Locking myself in myb, I worked hard finding ways to bring the alchemist''s forms to life. It was hard to do considering that Icked the raw materials.


    I could get more, my action of releasing the forms made it impossible to do so without the authorities bing alert since they were monitoring it to find out who the doctor was. My n was foiled by my own short-sightedness�C Well, not really. I just had to run simtions instead.


    Vanessa''s jaw dropped in disbelief and she was speechless for a while.


    "I don''t have a drug problem!" She retorted with an incredulous high pitched voice. I chuckled and walked to Enid and Jenna.


    Jenna yawned and said, "Ed, are you the Most Wanted Doctor? What is it�C Ah, Doctor Samaritan? The Human Experiment Doctor? The Strange Doctor? Time Traveller Doctor�C"


    A bit stunned, I didn''t show my reaction on my face and yed along."Okay Enough." I shot a disdainful look at Jenna, making her giggle.


    Enid''s eyes lit up and joined in, "It must be you! No wonder you''ve been so busy this week!"


    "That''s not me." I replied casually. "Or else I would already be caught by the FBI or CIA now. Maybe even by Interpol. I would be locked in a dark room, never to see the day again." I joked.


    A few days ago, someone released over 100 medicines forms to the world. Every single pharmaceuticalpany in the world received that medicine form. At first, people were skeptical, but some foreign country had created the form, which turned out to be legit.


    Enidughed and teased excitedly, "Like... we need to keep it a secret...or�C"


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I''m not that guy. You know me."


    "Yeah. There''s no way you''re going to do that, without making millions from it." Enid cackled.


    "If you did that just to make the world better, maybe the rapture will happen." Jenna added.


    Both Jenna and Enidughed at the same time. Iughed too, but then I gave both of them a ''knuckle sandwich''.


    Although the forms were precious, it was build based on previous medicines studies, which meant that if ''someone'' were to release it, they would have to answer a lot of things such as where did they find it, which party did he stole and improve it from, which meant a lot ofwsuits needed to be cleared.


    It was too troublesome, so that ''someone'' just released it everywhere in the world, hoping that it would reach the person who needed them earlier. Also, that ''someone'' was drunk maybe when he decided to do it, who knew?


    He certainly didn''t think far enough at that time, and unknowingly caused a price crash in the pharmaceutical industry, which meant cheaper medicines for the public, but thepanies were furious though.


    Enid suddenly shouted from the top of the hill, "Edward sucks!"


    "What?" Iughed bbergasted as Enid turned towards me with a smirking expression. Jenna joined in too, "Edward sucks!"


    Vanessa and Maggie also did the same thing. So I stood up and said, "Okay, I got the message. Let''s go home."


    "No! Let me rest a little bit more!" Maggie widened her eyes and begged. I grinned evilly and said, "I suck remember?"


    "NO! You''re awesome�C Don''t leave me here�C I HAVEN''T EATEN ANY YET!" Maggie screamed as I packed up the pic stuffs.


    After the short pic, we went back to my house as I wanted to work out in the gym. The hike didn''t really challenge me, therefore I started working out next after sending my friends back to their ce.


    Well, Enid insisted on staying, so I had to call her mother to pick her up. Currently, she''s pouting with me, and doesn''t want to speak to me again. But as soon as I got home, she texted me asking about another topic.


    Vannessa and Maggie looked at me with disbelief as they saw I was doing thedder pull up without my shirt. Their eyes were glued towards me, which made me a bit self-aware. But I kept doing the strenuous exercises, which took over 2 hours toplete.


    Then, I started practicing my swordy. Maggie was bbergasted and said, "Ed, why are you working out so hard?"


    "I missed a couple of days, so I have to cover for them." I replied casually, sweat dripping down my chin. Vanessa hesitated and said, "Hey...Um..."


    "You want to ask me something?" I interjected knowingly. Vanessa nodded and said, "Can�C Um..."


    "You want to have youreback now?" I interjected again.


    Maggie rolled her eyes at me and said to Vanessa, "Don''t give him the satisfaction of cutting into your words. Speak clearly. Or else you will be annoyed by him."


    Vanessa nodded in understanding and said after pausing a while, "I kinda want to know, what are your ns with me? What should I do first?"


    I stopped my swordy practice and looked at her directly, "I have a few ns...But seeing your stamina today, I have to get you a trainer. You need to increase your fitness level."


    Vanessa nodded, her eyes glinting with determination, and also some deep seated anger. Iughed and said, "You''re mad because people are supporting Zac, but they are putting you down online?"


    "Isn''t that unfair? He''s the one who cheated, but she''s bearing the brunt of the breakup." Maggie crossed her arms and defended Vanessa.


    "Eh. It''s amon thing. People will support the more popr one." I replied casually, making Vanessa exim in disbelief. "This isn''t the era where girls back up girls yet. Otherwise, Zac won''t be scotfree like right now."


    "Yet?" Maggie caught my word, but she didn''t think much of it.


    "Um...How fast can I...you know?" Vanessa asked meekly.


    I looked at her up and down, making her blush and fidget as I did. I replied with a deadpan expression, "Maybe a month? That''s just for exercising and vocal training. I''m reaching out for a dance teacher�C Lia Kim to help you with the dance choreography. When shees here, you can start practicing."


    "I can already sing. Did you forget HighSchool Musical?" Vanessa asked incredulously.


    "I didn''t forget. Especially ''Sneakernight''. That song haunts me sometimes. It also made your music career fall in tatters." I teased, which made Vanessa embarrassed, and Maggie giggled.


    "Yeah that was awful." Maggie said.


    "HEY!" Vanessa retorted.


    I continued with a knowing look, "I know you''re frustrated with the whole thing. But believe me, Zac will surely regret it. That''s what you want, right?"


    Vanessa beamed up and nodded, "Yes."


    "Alright. Now drop to the floor and give me 200." I ordered.


    "TWO HUNDRED?!" Vanessa and Maggie eximed with disbelief.


    "I''m just joking. You''ll die if you do more than 10. Maggie, you''ll join her." I mocked Vanessa, igniting thepetitive spirit inside her. Then, after she did 3 pushups, she couldn''t do it anymore. Maggie could still do it, but she only got to the 6th.


    "Disappointing. And you grow up on a ranch." I said while narrowing my eyes at Maggie.


    ...


    My dad came home from work at 7 in the evening, and I made dinner for the 4 of us. It was curry, in which they all love it greatly, despite it being a little bit spicy.


    While sitting at the dining table, my dad said, "Ed, you know what''ll happen tomorrow don''t you?"


    I waved my hand dismissively as I wiped my mouth with a napkin, "Yeah. I know. I''ll go to thepany before hees."


    "Who''lle?" Maggie asked nosily.


    My dad smirked and said, "The President."


    Maggie scoffed and said, "As if."


    "It''s the truth." My dad added, which made Maggie doubtful. "Oh right. Do you know who Pepper got to work on the movie?" My dad tried to create conversation again as I didn''t say anything.


    "Who?" I asked, intrigued. "Also, what movie?" I was confused.


    "Um, let me check the notes. I forgot the movie name." My dad took out a small notebook from his pants. "Ah, the 90 Days Love Countdown."


    I dropped my ss filled with water, and it fell to the floor, crashing it into pieces. Maggie flinched in shock as she was sitting next to me. Vanessa and my dad turned towards me with surprise in their faces.


    "Wh-Wh-Why is he making that movie?" I was flustered and stammered, a sight which all of them felt refreshing to see. I grabbed the napkin to wipe down my wet pants as I waited for the answer.


    "I''ll grab the mop." Maggie stood up and went to the kitchen to help clean up the broken ss.


    Confused, my dad said carefully, "Weren''t you the one who came up with the idea?"


    "No�C Yes, but I''ve never told him about it." I asked, my voice became a bit higher as I was agitated.


    "Ah, Pepper heard it from Cam and Mitch." My dad replied casually. Then he added, "Pepper got the director Judd Apatow to join in on the project. Pepper is so excited that he even gave an interview to the reporters to announce the project."


    Despite my dad mentioning an expert director, which allowed movies like ''Superbad'', ''40 Years Old Virgin'', and even ''Anchorman'' toe to life, I couldn''t calm myself down.


    "Edward, is something wrong? I thought you''d be excited." My dad asked with concern.


    Vanessa asked suddenly, trying to help the mood, "Um, is there a heroine for the movie yet? Cause you know, you have a veteran actress right here."


    "Or- OR!" Maggie rushed from the kitchen immediately, "You have an aspiring actress right here."


    "Shut it." I mped her lips with my finger as I stood up from the dining table. "I need to call Pepper. Sorry dad, but can you please clean up."


    "Don''t worry about it." My dad replied casually.


    Under the stares of the girls, I rushed to my room to call Pepper. But as I held my phone in my hand, I hesitated, and instead, I called a different number.


    "Umm...Are you free right now?" I asked after the initial greeting.


    The stoic voice on the other side of the call replied, "I''m watching TV, so I''m free." Mrs Henderson asked knowingly, "Is there something you need?"


    "Yeah. I need some advice." I said.


    Mrs Henderson paused for a while before she replied, "Sure."


    I talked to her for an hour before I decided to call Pepper.


    "Oh hi~ Have you heard the news yet?" Pepper asked excitedly.


    I replied, "Yeah. I have. Now that you have gotten a director, who did you hire as a scriptwriter?"


    After talking with Mrs Henderson, I decided to not halt the progress of the movie. One of her advice to me was to let it happen, and maybe, I could see the situation from a third person viewpoint. It''ll help me with my current situation.


    Pepper was stunned and said, "Wait."


    I waited for a while, and heard Pepper''s murmuring through the phone. He was talking with someone, asking the name of the scriptwriter.


    Pepper said, "It is quite risky, but I decided to go with a new writer, Miss Paige Swanson."


    "I''m sorry. Paige Swanson?" I was taken aback when I heard the name. Pepper tried to convince me, "She didn''t have a good track record yet. I only met her on Wednesday for an interview. I don''t know why, but I felt that she needed this, and I can trust her with it. I''ll introduce you guyster."


    "Robin, pull up Paige Swanson''s pic." I asked Robin while still on the call with Pepper.


    "She''s pretty. So that''s a plus." Pepper teased. I turned to theptop and looked at the picture Robin had loaded.


    ''It is her.'' I was shocked internally. Paige Swanson looked like an adult Mckenna Grace, which made me realize where I know her from. A former child genius, who went to college at the age of 10, and also the childhood friend of another former child genius, Dr Sheldon Cooper.


    "Um. Peps. I''ll leave you to handle the movie production." I said. Pepper gasped and said, "A person with OCD relinquished control? Did therapy help, or are you still depressed from your breakup?"


    "Maybe both. What''s the movie budget?" I asked. Pepper chuckled and teased, " It will be big if you want Ryan Gosling."


    He continued casually after hearing meugh, "Romanticedies don''t really have a big budget. We''ll have the figure afterpleting the rough storyline and finding out how many people we need for the movie. If all goes well, we can release it near Valentine''s day next year."


    "Alright, then when Ie to thepany tomorrow, we can discuss the storyline with the writer." I said.


    Pepperughed. "Don''t have any ideas to hit on her. From what I''ve seen, she''s not that easy to trick."


    "When did I ever trick someone into falling in love with me? They''ll fall even when I don''t want them too." I said cockily.


    Pepperughed and said excitedly, "He''s back! Finally, you''re back to normal."


    "Eh, brooding and all wasn''t really my character." I joked. "Also Peps, I need to ask you a favor."


    "What is it? You want me to hire another pretty girl?" Pepper joked.


    "Kinda. Can you contact Missy Cooper for me? I met her before in Texas. She has a high EQ level�C I mean, extremely high. So I wanted to ask her for her opinion...you know, for the movie."


    "And this doesn''t have anything to do with the fact that she''s lovely or pretty?" Pepper asked after thinking for a while.


    "Not at the moment." I replied with a chuckle. Pepper breathed in relief and asked, "When did you want her here?"


    "Tomorrow."


    "TOMORROW?" Pepper was shocked. I continued, "You can send a jet to pick her up. She''s not doing anything anyway, so she''ll love to spend a few days of vacation in Hollywood. You can invite her mother too, and she cane here to visit Sheldon."


    "... It''s not that hard to do, but right now, I''m thinking you have an ulterior motive, so I''m not sure if I should do it." Pepper said jokingly.


    I rolled my eyes and said, "I don''t have any ulterior motives. Well, maybe to bother Sheldon, but I don''t really have anything else."


    Well, nothing I could say to Pepper anyway.

 Chapter 253: Visitors (1)

    <h4>Chapter 253: Chapter 253:? Visitors (1)</h4>


    [General POV]


    Immediately after Edward finished the call with Pepper, Missy Cooper and Mary Cooper were invited by thepany''s representative toe to LA.


    After receiving the call, Mary�C Sheldon''s mother, a 50 years old devout Christian, who worked at the Church, hesitated for a while. She turned to Missy Cooper, a 29 years old woman, with brte hair that fell on her shoulder, a model-like figure and a charming appearance.


    "Missy. The good Lord has answered my prayers and sent us the most wonderful news!" Mary Cooper said, her voice dripping with that familiar Southern charm."


    Missy Cooper looked up from her Cosmo magazine, a delicate eyebrow raised. "Mum, what in tarnation has you all in a tizzy?" she asked, her own Texan twang evident.


    "You remember Sheldon''s young friend, that singin'' fe?" Mary said as she made her way over to the small dining table where Missy sat. "Well, he''s gone and invited us both out to California! Can you believe it, darlin''?"


    "Eddy? You mean a World Star. He''s not just a singing fe mom." Missy chuckled. "If only I was 14 years younger, I might just have to try my luck."


    Mary held Missy''s hand gently and said, "This is why I kept praying for you dear."


    "..." Missy was speechless for a second.


    "Now Missy, don''t you be gettin'' any funny ideas. That young man''s got his sights set on bigger things than you old Southern belles." She paused, then her face lit up.


    "But can you imagine, the two of us, goin'' out to California? Seein'' the sights, maybe even one of'' them wax museums! All FREE of CHARGE! Oh lordy, I can hardly believe it."


    Missy grinned. "Well what are we waitin'' for, Mama? When do we leave?" She was already mentally packing her bags.


    "Hold your horses there, darlin''," Mary said, raising a hand. "There''s one more thing - Edward wants you toe visit hispany while we''re out there. Can you believe it? You..." Mary was a bit suspicious as she looked at Missy.


    Missy tilted her head with confusion, not understanding Edward''s motives. "Hispany? Well shoot, I don''t see why not. Maybe I can sweet-talk him into givin'' me a backstage pass or two."


    Missy just shrugged, not thinking much of it. Mary smiled softly and held Missy''s hand, "Alright, sounds good to me. Say, should we invite Cece too? You know that girl''s just plumb crazy ''bout him�C"


    Mary''s enthusiasm dampened a bit as she remembered. "Oh no, honey, Cece''s been grounded by her daddy. No fun trips for my rebellious grandbaby." She sighed, then perked back up. "But you go on and ask Georgie if he''d like to join us! The more the merrier, I always say!"


    "There''s no way Georgie would let her go. But I''ll try to see if he wakes up on the right side of the bed this morning." Missy replied sweetly.


    They confirmed their decision toe to LA early in the morning, by then, the jet had already arrived there to pick them up. Mary kept gasping and eximing as they flew in luxury, while Missy quickly adapted herself to the rich people''s lifestyle.


    ...


    A few hours before Mary and Missy''s touchdown, chaos erupted at Los Angeles International Airport as the President of the United States made a surprise, unannounced arrival, sending the gathered media into a frenzy.


    The motorcade pulled up to the curb, and immediately the air was filled with the mor of shouting reporters and the blinding shes of cameras. Secret Service agents moved with choreographed precision, shielding the President as he walked to one of the ck SUVs. His appearance spotted by the media wasn''t by ident, as he nned for it to happen.


    "Calm down everyone. I''d be d to answer your question," the President said, his voice stern yet whimsical as he raised a hand to quell the onught of questions.


    "As I mentioned, this is a private matter that I need to attend to. However, I understand your curiosity, so let me say this - I am here to meet with the renowned entertainer, inventor, and a valuable asset to the country, Mr. Edward Newgate."


    A hush fell over the crowd of reporters as they processed the President''s words. Then, the questions began to flow once more, with reporters shouting over one another.


    "Mr. President, can you borate on the nature of this meeting with Mr. Newgate?"


    "Are you here to discuss some official government business with Mr. Newgate?"


    "What prompted this surprise visit to meet with the famous singer?"


    The President held up his hand again, silencing the din. "I appreciate your interest, but I''m afraid I can''t discuss the details at this time."


    He paused, sensing the continued tension in the air. "However, I can say this - I''m here to have an important conversation, one that I hope will lead to a resolution and perhaps, even an apology."


    "An apology?" A reporter asked with interest.


    The president smiled and said, "Let''s just say, Mr Newgate is a victim of the country''s mismanagement, and on behalf of the government, I''m going to meet him to deliver a well-deserved apology to him."


    After a moment, another reporter shouted out, "Come on, Mr. President! Can you provide any more details? What exactly does this apology pertain to?" The reporter''s tone was insistent, bordering on confrontational. Secret Services had to step in to protect the President.


    The crowd of journalists erupted into a chorus of agreement, voices rising in a mor of questions and demands. "Yes, what was the government''s mismanagement that harmed Mr. Newgate?" one called out.


    "The public deserves to know the full story here!" another reporter eximed. "This could be a major scandal - we need more information!"


    The President held up his hand again, but the din was harder to quell this time. The reporters were not willing to let the issue go so easily. It was as if a shark infested water was thrown a bucket of blood. The reporters were in full frenzy. And it was the reaction the President hoped for.


    "I understand your desire for answers," the President said, his tone firm. "But I''m afraid I cannot provide any more details at this time. This is a sensitive, personal matter that I must discuss privately with Mr. Newgate first."


    He paused, surveying the agitated faces of the journalists. "I give you my word that I will share more information when appropriate. But for now, I must insist on discretion. The details of this situation areplex, and I need to handle it delicately."


    The reporters continued to shout questions, unwilling to back down. It was clear they sensed a major story brewing, and they were determined to extract as much information as possible from the President before he slipped away.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Pepper, Harvey, and I watched the news together in the CEO''s office, our eyes glued to the screen as the President''s words echoed through the room. Almost all of the media''s attention was focused on the matter, even thepany''s building was currently surrounded.


    "Eddy, can you believe it?" Pepper asked, his voice tinged with nervousness and excitement.


    I nodded, a slight impression on my face. "He''s good."


    "You caught it too, huh?" Harvey turned to me and chuckled. Pepper looked confused. "What on earth are you two gabbing about?"


    I leaned back in my chair, a thoughtful expression crossing my features. "His strategy," I exined.


    "By exposing his intention through the media and not directly to me, he allowed me to see his sincerity, and also gave me <i>a little time </i>to process what''s happening."


    Harvey nodded in agreement. "Exactly. By doing so, he''s put you in a bit of a vulnerable position. You''ll be confused, maybe even a bit more impressionable when you meet with him."


    "Maybe he''ll want to discuss the agreement again," Harvey continued, "or maybe he''ll just want to get you to view him in a positive light. Anyway, since he used the media to show that he''s taking ountability for his actions, not only is he creating a good impression of himself on you, but also on the members of the public."


    "They''d see him as someone who''s unlike the other politicians, maybe even painting his image as an honest and sincere man." He paused, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "It''s a good political move, I''ll give him that."


    I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk as I considered Harvey''s analysis. The President had certainly yed this situation shrewdly, using the media to set the stage for our impending meeting. I couldn''t help but feel a twinge of respect for his calcted approach.


    And I was thoroughly impressed by it because of that kind of strategy to manipte the public? That was from the Lex Luthor skill I had shared with him. Even the action of himing here himself was based on that particr skill set. It was like, I''m facing myself. Which made me quite excited for the meeting.


    "Well," I said, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, "I suppose I''d better brace myself. It seems the President has a few tricks up his sleeve." I yed it off as I didn''t want to get Pepper into a full blown panic mode.


    Pepper nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration. "We shouldn''t jump to conclusions about his intentions. Perhaps this is a sincere effort to make amends for past wrongs."


    Harvey acknowledged his perspective with a slight nod. "Fair enough. I may have been a bit too quick to assume the worst."


    "Exactly," I replied. "Harvey, want to bet his next move is?"


    Harvey smirked and said, "I ept. You go first."


    "It''s quite possible for him to try to meet me on a more neutral ground. He''d put pressure on you with the reporters at first, maybe letting me stew a little bit. Then, he can flip my expectationster on."


    "I think�C" Before Harvey could say anything, a ringing sound distracted him. Pepper suddenly received a call at the time. As he picked it up and listened to it, his eyes widened as he looked at me.


    "The President''s meeting the Senator first, so he''ll be a little behind schedule."


    "See." I chuckled. Harvey breathed in relief and chuckled, "Thank god I haven''t said anything yet. Otherwise I''d be so embarrassed."


    Iughed as I nced at Harvey. Then, I stood up from the sofa, "We still have time. I''m going to go check on the gaming department."


    Pepper said nervously, "Really? Are you sure you don''t want to just stay here?"


    I pointed at Pepper as I nced at Harvey. "See. Stewing." I said mockingly. Pepper was exasperated and Harveyughed. "Go have a massage or something." I chuckled as I said to Pepper.


    "That''s... not a bad idea. I''ll sit on the massage chair until it''s over." Pepper said tiredly.


    ...


    It had been only five short months since thepany''s founding, yet in that time, it had grown exponentially �C now boasting a remarkable 1,200 employees across its five core departments.


    My footsteps echoed as I made my way towards the gaming division, nodding asionally to the dedicated workers I passed.


    "James, not taking the day off?" I jokingly asked a team leader as he walked passed by me busily flipping through his documents. James looked up and smiled, "Well even the boss is here, so I''m not going to stay home."


    "It''s a Sunday. Don''t work for too long. Or your wife will be lonely." I joked.


    "She''s here too on the 4th floor. She''s working at Legal." James chuckled.


    Finally, I arrived at the Game Division. This rtively new, yet rapidly expanding area was the secondrgest within Entertain, overseen by a talented team managing an impressive lineup of mobile gaming titles.


    The office was vibrant, with oddly shaped chairs, and a unique workce for all those involved. There were also 10 gaming rooms inside the office for our Beta Testers, all of which were full today.


    ppy Birds 2, the addictive avian odyssey, was awaiting its highly anticipatedunch, while thepany''s take on the League of Legends phenomenon, simply dubbed "LOL Game," was in production and nearing release. ssics like Subway Surfer, Angry Birds, and Temple Run also fell under the gaming department''s purview.


    Beyond the gaming hub, thepany''s structure was equally impressive. The Entertainment department was split between music and movie production, with a dedicated streaming division as a subsidiary branch. And of course, there was the Tourism department, which was my family''s business.


    I didn''t disturb the beta tester, and quickly shushed the Indian game developer standing nearby. His eyes glittered when I entered the room, and he almost disturbed the beta tester''s concentration.


    "Sir, we''re almost done with the beta testing."


    "It''s alright Danny. I''m not here for that. Where''s Choi?" I asked.


    "She''s at the pantry I think. Hertest obsession is trying to diet by eating 5 small meals a day."


    "Ah, at least it''s better than her juice cleanse era." I responded.


    Danny nodded in agreement, "That was a nightmare for all of us here. Not to you though Sir. She won''t even raise her voice at you."


    "I kinda wish she did." I smiled wryly. "Or at the very least, she can talk normally around me�C"


    "<i>Op.pa~</i>" The Korean-American girl, who was also the vice-head of the department, rushed towards me after acting exaggeratedly. Dropping her food on the floor, covering her mouth as she gasps, and mumbling to herself for a few times�C monologuing.


    I couldn''t hear all of what she said as she mumbled it very quietly. I only heard the words, ''Thinking, appearing, handsome, fate''. But that was enough for her to shudder from.


    "<i>Na neo-boda eo-ryeo</i>! (I''m younger than you!)" I retorted quickly. She grabbed my arm and hugged it as she said using a fake cute voice, "Why are you here? Did you miss me?!"


    "Sun Hee-ya. How is the game so far?" I asked her casually after calming myself down. She was the type if you yed along with her antics, there would be no end to it.


    I couldn''t help but feel a hint of amusement as Sun Hee rushed towards me, especially her face �C which looked uncannily like the renowned Korean actress, Yoo In-na, from my previous world. Her skin was wless even though she only applied light makeup, her straight brown hair falling perfectly to her shoulders. Therge pearl earring and ruby red lips only served to heighten the resemnce.


    "We can just release it! Everything is wanbyokaji- Perfect!" She replied with a mixture of twonguages while holding a thumbs up at me, a sentence which could be tranted as ''Near Perfect''.


    "What''s wrong with it?" I asked. "Bug problem?" I coded the game with the help of Robin, so I didn''t think there were any bugs.


    Sun Hee smirked and said, "It''s not perfect because Oppa isn''t in it--"


    "That''s going to make it 41 Champions." Iughed.


    Danny eximed, "Oh man. I can''t keep watching this. SunHee, stop being delulu!" (Game division. All nerds)


    That term was brought by me to the team when I first met SunHee for the first time. Despite being frivolous, SunHee was a top graduate of Stanford, and has been working with giant conglomerates �C Microsoft and AT&T.


    Why did she choose to resign her job there and work at mypany instead? It was mainly for 2 reasons. She saw the future of thepany, and she was also obsessed with me. Not in-a-sexual or trying to have a rtionship with me kind of obsession, but like a fan worshiping an idol kinda obsession.


    I talked with the two for a while until one of the beta testers came out of the room in order to go to the toilet. He saw me, and immediately after, he kneeled on the ground, lowering his head to the floor as he worshiped me. "All hail New G! The creator of the best game of the century!"


    "Well I wasn''t the one who created it. I just improved it." I chuckled. The gamer who goes by the nickname, Potato Couch, slowly gets up from the ground as he struggled with it because of his bad knee.


    "Nevertheless. You''re our lord and savior�C Oh, my stomach hurts. Got to go." He held his stomach as he rushed to the nearby toilet.


    In the meeting room, SunHee hadpletely changed into her professional mode, and together with Danny, we discussed the possibility of holding the game premiere as the game was basicallypleted.


    "If we used thepany''s full capability by borrowing people from the other departments, we could hold theunch celebration on Wednesday. I already got in contact with the Moscone Hall representative down in San Francisco. We need to book it now because Oracle Openworld also wanted to use that location for their conference."


    "Sure. Book it now. I''m free that day." I replied casually.


    SunHee smiled and said with awe, "As expected of my Oppa. He holds the biggest deciding power inside the wholepany. You don''t even care if the location is out of budget, don''t you?"


    "Is there a factor of budget? Ipletely forgot about that." I smiled yfully. SunHee gave me a thumbs up again, while Danny eximed in amazement, "Wow. So this is what rich people are like."


    SunHee suddenly red at Danny and said, "Hey! Oppa wasn''t born a rich person! This is alling from his hard work! Do you understand?!"


    "And also the lottery. Don''t forget that." I made trouble for myself.


    SunHee turned towards me with disbelief, "Oppa! I was defending your honor!"


    "I''m not Zuko. You don''t need to defend it." Iughed as I stood up from the meeting table. "Discuss this with the two CEOs. Marketing is their specialty. I''m only appearing as a guest. I don''t want to do more work for theunch."


    "Oppa. Do you think we can have a performance there? Or better yet, a song made just for the game? If we can do that, the conference event will be even more epic."


    I stopped and turned to SunHee. "Sure. I can do that. But, we''re going to need someone with a powerful voice to do it. And maybe a short video of our champions to make the music video. It''s fine if you don''t finish it before the conference."


    SunHee grinned and said, "We can do that. We just need to kidnap a few animators from the movie department."


    Danny showed pity with his eyes, knowing the unlucky fate of the animators after being targeted by SunHee.

 Chapter 254: Visitor (2)

    <h4>Chapter 254: Chapter 254: Visitor (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    The rhythmic thud of a basketball echoed across the empty gym. Walking slowly to the source of the sound, I saw President Obama throwing a ball into a hoop while wearing his suit. This was like a fever dream I had, only this time, it was real.


    "Oh, Mr Newgate. You''re here. Mind if I call you Edward?" He greeted me cheerfully, pointing his finger at me in a casual manner as he grabbed the bouncing ball.


    Smirking internally, I replied with a smiling face, "I don''t mind. I''ll keep calling you President. Anything would sound weird to me."


    He tried to break boundaries by acting familiar, which was a great way for him to make way for the apology, but I built it back up. It didn''t deter him however as he threw the ball at me, "Fancy a game?"


    For an ordinary kid�C no, that''s inurate. ying basketball with the President is the dream of the majority of the citizens of the country. It was supposed to make me feel awe with the situation, even provoking my patriotic spirit.


    "..." I was silent as I processed the situation, just for a few seconds.


    It would''ve worked if I didn''t know what he was doing. However to be fair, it did work a little bit at the moment.


    "Sure." I agreed and started bouncing the ball on the ground. He took off his suit, gently ced it on the chair nearby, and folded his sleeves before re-entering the court.


    "I have to warn you. I have a lot of experience ying the game before. I yed it ONCE with my neighbor." I said with a straight face as I bounced the ball with my left hand and right, alternating them as I faced off with the president.


    "Pfft-" He chuckled and lowered his head, which allowed me to throw the ball into the from the 3 pointer line.


    "That''s awesome." He admired the shot greatly and was excited. "Are you sure you only yed it once?"


    "Yeah, but I''m also a quarterback, so throwing is my thing." I replied casually as I threw the ball to him. We yed for a few rounds before he broached the topic. However, it was different from the topic I had in mind.


    He said, "Edward, do you like Percy Jackson books?"


    Although confused, I answered, "Yeah...Why?"


    He smiled and said, "It must be hard for you to see the story getting butchered in the adaptation."


    Agent Smith had reported my hobbies andints to the President it seemed.


    "I do like the books. But I got to say, it seems like you have ulterior motives while bringing that up." I said jokingly while hinting at him to get to the point.


    He smiled slyly and said, "Listen to this. Both of my daughters love the books too. And they are pretty disappointed with the same thing you are. As a father, I couldn''t let that happen. I don''t want to make them sad."


    I scoffed internally and yed along, "Oh, so what do you do?" I dribbled the ball casually, but didn''t throw it into the yet, pretending that the 47 years old man could give me a challenge.


    "Personally? I didn''t do anything. But I have asked some<i> nice people</i> to talk with the producers and the scriptwriter of the film." He replied in a casual manner. "After some discussion about our worries, they, regretfully, dropped the production of the movie, giving the rights back to Rick Riordan."


    -shback�C


    Inside a dark confined space, both the producer and scriptwriter of the story�C which had just entered the initial stage of production, were chained to metal chairs and their heads were covered with a ck cloth.


    Horrified, the duo shrieked loudly, trying to call for help.


    "Anyone out there!?" The producer shouted, "If this is a prank, IT''S NOT FUNNY!!"


    Agent Smith slowly walked out of the shadow and turned the table light. Two agents stood behind the duo and yanked the ck cloth, making them squint their eyes in agony as the harsh light was pointed to their faces.


    "Ahh. Wh-What- Who are you guys?" The producer asked.


    "What we are is not important. What''s important right now is..." Agent Smith took out a file and scattered some printed images on the table, containing evidence of several crimes the producer hadmitted, "...How are you going to get out of here alive."


    Agent Smith turned to the scriptwriter as the producer was bbergasted. "For you, we don''t really have anything against you, so just be obedient and it''ll all be over soon."


    The scriptwriter nodded hurriedly, fear evident in his expression.


    -shback ends-


    Dumfounded, I watched as the President snatched the ball from me. He dribbled it briefly before shooting and scoring a neat basket. As the ball swished through the, he turned to me with a smile. "So, I think your movie studio could try to negotiate with Mr. Riordan to get those rights," he hinted.


    I returned the smile. "That''s really fortunate news," I replied, and began dribbling the ball again.


    Although I was tempted to ask him directly about his intentions, his indirect manner of speaking made me realize he wanted me to work for the movie rights myself, rather than simply handing them to me. This way, Hollywood wouldn''t misconstrue my studio as a gangster operation willing to ckmail and force people to relinquish their rights�C or whatever else they did to the producers.


    We sat down on the court after he grew too tired to continue ying. While opening a bottle of water, he expressed tiredly, "Young people have too much energy. I can''t keep up anymore."


    I grinned and said, "I''m also shocked. I didn''t think you had it in you."


    He chuckled as he heard my remark. Wiping his sweat with a clean towel, he said, "You think that I''m only here today to change your mind about the agreement."


    I nodded in reply. He smiled kindly, "You''re guarded against me, and I don''t me you. I don''t want to lie to you either, so I''ll just be honest. It was part of my aim toe here and try to change your mind. I even have information that could help me in the negotiations."


    By being upfront, he ced us on equal footing, no longer speaking as the President, but as himself. "What do you mean by ''was''?" I asked, confused. "What made you change your mind?"


    He smiled wryly and said, "I won''t share the details, as it''s a matter of national security." Slowly, he got up from the floor and said, "All I want to do today is apologize to you."


    Suddenly, he bowed down to apologize, which startled me. I jumped up from the court to stop him, "You don''t have to do this."


    "No, I had to do this," he said sternly. "The government itself has betrayed your trust in the country. I have no excuses to give you."


    "Please stop," I said anxiously. He straightened his back and continued, "Beforeing here, I nned to discuss this as an adult. But as we yed basketball, I realized I had greatly misjudged the situation."


    "You''re only a kid, despite your height. You''re only 3 years older than my daughter. And I wanted to put the weight of responsibility on you, to make you change your mind. I am ashamed of myself."


    "Seriously, you don''t have to do this," I tried to stop him again. Scheming and maniption, I had anticipated all of that, but he disarmed me with the truth.


    He ced his hand on my shoulder and said, "It''s fine. I''ve said what I wanted to say. I hope you can forgive me, Edward."


    "Yeah, fine. I forgive you," I replied hurriedly.


    He smiled and patted my biceps as he said casually, "Good. Now, I''m hungry. Let''s go eat some lunch. I hope you don''t mind that my daughters are joining us. They''re your biggest fans, so I couldn''t say no when they asked toe."


    I was speechless by his turn of attitude, and I sighed with disbelief after that. The whole thing wasn''t a negotiation, it was just the introduction. And despite my efforts, he did manage to break down the boundaries between us, which I admired a bit.


    While at lunch, I learned a few things about the President''s current state in the political arena, and felt a bit guilty about it. He made a lot of enemies after I imnted the suggestion to help the people inside his brain. He earned the support of the members of the public, but not the authority figures in the country.


    As I listened to words that came out of his daughter''s mouth, not getting it directly from him, I made another decision that interfered with his destiny. Without anyone noticing, I used Fern''s protection spell on him. It was to make myself feel better, however, little did I know that he was going to need the protection spell soon.


    ...


    "They finally left." I sighed after I ushered the President and his family out of thepany building. Pepper''s eyes were still glittering with excitement after he was gone. While Harvey mulled the entire interaction with her eyes closed.


    Pepper smacked my bicep with a rolled up paper, "You yed basketball with the president?!" His voice was high pitched, and he asked with excitement.


    "Ow." I eximed slowly before I said, "It''s just basketball."


    Pepper was bbergasted and said, "Don''t you realize what just happened? That''s the FREAKING PRESIDENT!"


    "Eeh." I shrugged nonchntly. "I''d rather y with Scarlett."


    "ying her ball?" Pepper was confused. I stopped and looked at him before muttering with disbelief, "How did you know that?"


    Pepper was speechless. Harvey slowly opened her eyes and grabbed my arm. "Ed, we need to talk."


    "I already know what you''re going to say, so I''m just going to go ahead and say, ''As long as they give us more benefits, I''m fine with continuing with the agreement.'' Now if you''ll excuse me, I don''t want to miss out on the friends'' reunion I had set up."


    Harvey broke into a smile and gave me a thumbs up, " You really does have a knack of making people''s difficult prepared speech goes to waste."


    I smirked and said, "That''s because you made it too easy for me to do it."


    Well, putting aside Harvey''s "persuasion" tactics, I could still see the potential benefits of cooperating with the government on this whole matter. Public pressure was another factor. Although the President didn''t say anything specific in his interview after he left, sharp-nosed reporters would still find a way to figure out the whole incident.


    Also, now that I had demonstrated my ability to pull the rug out from under them, those who held me in contempt would likely think twice about using me as a chess piece.


    As I was leaving the room, I couldn''t help but remember a song. Harvey and Pepper were still within earshot as I rapped.


    "??<i>I''ll be ying basketball with the president, dunkin'' on his delegates</i>


    <i>Then I''llpliment him on his political etiquette </i>


    <i>Toss a couple milli'' in the air just for the heck of it</i>


    <i>But keep the fives, twenties, tens, and Benspletely separate</i>


    <i>And yeah, I''ll be in a whole new tax bracket</i>


    <i>We in recession, but let me take a crack at it</i>??"


    "STOP!" Pepper shouted as one of my legs was outside the door. I turned to him with confusion, "What?"


    "Exin that." He demanded excitedly.


    Harvey also joined in, "Yeah Ed. Did you just rap?"


    "Maybe." I replied with a smirk. "Seriously. Got to go. I''ll see you guyster." I hurriedly left the office.


    "Wait! Does that song have a name?" Pepper asked again. I nced at them again and replied casually, "Billionaire. The title is "Billionaire."


    [General POV]


    Pepper and Harvey looked at each other after Edward left the office. Harvey couldn''t help but chuckle, "What did it even mean? I can''t even remember what he said now." She burst intoughter a few times.


    Pepper chimed, "Oh. You too? I thought it was just me. Nowadays, I really need a written down lyric to even understand<i> that type of song</i>."


    "But you don''t have any problems with showtunes. Also, that''s a bit racist." Harvey said with mocking contempt.


    "..."


    Pepper groaned and went to sit at his table again.


    Down in the lower floors, Paige Swanson, the new scriptwriter, was holed up in a meeting room by herself. Her wild, curly hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and she had her sses perched on her nose as she typed away on theputer. Paige looked like your typical worn-out writer - she was wearing an oversized checkered t-shirt that hung loosely on her frame, and had barely any makeup on her face. Dark circles were starting to form under her eyes from all the long hours she''d been putting in.


    Suddenly, Paige''s concentration was broken by a knock at the door. Thinking it might be thepany big shot she was supposed to be meeting, she whipped her head around eagerly.


    "Excuse me, I''m looking for the scriptwriter for the new movie. Is that you?" In sauntered Missy Cooper, all dolled up in a fitted, knee-length dress with a bold cherry blossom print in shades of red, pink, and ck. She had on a pair of strappy ck high heels that elongated her legs as she approached Paige confidently.


    Paige''s eyes went wide as she recognized the woman. "Missy Cooper?" she called out.


    Using a sickly sweet tone, Missy replied, "Yup, that''s me-" But then she did a total double take and her tone changed, "Wait a second, Paige Swanson?!?!"


    "Missy!" Paige practically shrieked, jumping up to give her old friend a big hug. "It''s been forever!" Missy gushed, using a super affectionate tone.


    "Over fifteen years!" Paige gushed back. "How''ve you been? Hang on - what are you doing here in Texas? And at thispany of all ces?"


    They caught up for a while, with Missy excitedly talking to Paige about her trip. As she listened to Missy''s words, Paige''s initial excitement slowly started to somber.


    "Huh." Paige eximed to herself, her brow furrowing slightly.


    "What?" Missy asked, confusion evident on her face.


    "N-Nothing." Paige hesitated for a bit. Then, both of them heard a knocking from the door.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Hello." I greeted as I walked into the room. Missy jumped out of her chair and rushed to give me a hug, "Oh Edward. Thank you very much. Mom and I really enjoy the beach house."


    As I was busy this afternoon, the driver drove them straight to the ce where they were staying. Mary went to check up on Sheldon, and Missy came to thepany after settling down.


    "I''m d you like it." I replied as Missy stood by my side. I turned to Paige and offered a handshake, "Hi. It''s the first time we met. I''m Edward, but I''m sure you already know me."


    "Paige Swanson." Paige greeted me with a solemn look. I was confused so I asked, "What''s wrong? You look like you want to ask me something."


    "Um. I do." Paige hesitated. Missy ced her hand on her hip as she stood beside me, "Just ask him. He''s not the type to get mad if you ask him a question like Sheldon."


    "Sheldon." Paige scoffed. "Did he tell you to do this? To hire me?" She asked carefully, despite the anger visible on her expression. "Did I only get the job because I know the people you know?"


    Realizing that Missy was flown out here for a meeting today, Paige easily connected the dots.


    I chuckled and said, "I don''t even know you were hired until yesterday."


    Paige was stunned for a bit and she shrinks back, "So, is this all a coincidence? It seems very unlikely."


    "Nope. not a coincidence. I did flew Missy out here for you guys to meet. I wanted to see a tearful reunion, but I was toote," I confessed while chuckling.


    Paige was confused and Missy chuckled. Missy looked at me admonishingly and asked, "The tour is still free right?"


    "Yeah," I replied casually. Missy grabbed my cheek lightly and said, "Good. ''Cause I can''t wait to go around Los Angeles and maybe meet some star."


    "You have a star right in front of you," I said with disbelief. Missy ced her elbow on my shoulder and said, "Oh, somebody jealous?"


    Paige was still confused, "Wait. Um. I''m sorry, but can I get an exnation�C Please?"


    I looked at her and nodded slightly, "Sure. I have some beef with Sheldon, so I went to visit his mother during my tour in Texas. We hit it off, and I learned about you too. Like Sheldon, I also have an eidetic memory, so I remembered who you are when I saw your resume. Mary and Missy told me a lot about Sheldon''s embarrassing past you know�C"


    "I told him about you in a passing exchange. I don''t think he''ll still remember it," Missy interjected.


    Paige asked, "What did you say about me?"


    "I said I missed you when mom showed him your picture. That''s all," Missy replied. And then she joked, "You don''t have to make sense of what he''s doing. He''s rich. Rich people are always different from us ordinary people."


    I nodded in agreement, "That''s true."


    Paige seemed to process everything, her expression shifting from confusion to understanding. "I see. So this was all just...your little scheme to orchestrate a reunion between old friends?" She nced between Missy and myself, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I am confused as to feel manipted or grateful right now."


    "Just be grateful." Missy said as she went to hug Paige again. "I didn''t think that I could ever meet you again in my life. I thought you had a busy job like Sheldon, hiding in a researchb somewhere."


    Paige smacked her lips and said, "I had quit science a long time before. Um, Missy, although I''m d that we''re meeting again, can it wait? I only have a meeting with Mr Newgate from 4-6."


    Missy turned to me and asked, "Where are you goingter?"


    "To bother Sheldon with you and your mother. But I guess I can postpone that if you''re staying here a couple more days." I replied.


    Missy grabbed Paige''s hand and said, "Good. You can bother Sheldon, and I can catch up with Paige. You can show me around LA, right Paige. Cause I don''t want to walk around with my mother. Maybe you can show me where the party�C"


    Paige interrupted Missy quickly as she felt embarrassed, "Um...I only moved here a couple of months ago. And I was working the whole time, so I haven''t had the chance to look around yet."


    Both of them looked at me and I rolled my eyes, "I''m a teen. I can''t even get into clubs."


    "Ah." Missy eximed. "That''s true."

 Chapter 255: Bad First Meeting.

    <h4>Chapter 255: Chapter 255: Bad First Meeting.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    As Paige, Missy, and I sat together, with Missy at the head of the table and Paige and I faced off with each other, the conversation drifted to Paige''s past encounters with Sheldon. Missy eagerly shared the details, describing how Paige had once punched Sheldon, his head dramatically hitting the floor.


    Paige smiled reminiscently as she tapped her pen on the table, though it was clear she was anxious to get down to business. "She punched him, like thawk, and his head hit the floor, like Kathump," Missy narrated with animated hand gestures.


    I grinned and said, "That''s really awesome. I wish I could see that." Turning to Paige, I added, "Missy, I guess we need to continueter. Paige here is almost drilling a hole on the table as she waits."


    "Oh. Sorry," Missy said apologetically, giving Paige a light touch.


    Paige smiled bitterly and said, "It''s�CIt''s not that I don''t want to talk, but I''m getting paid here. So I want to do my job first."


    "It''s fine. It''s fine," I dismissed her worries, but Paige''s expression darkened.


    "Well it''s fine for you," she blurted out, a hint of hostility in her voice.


    Raising an eyebrow, I wondered what she meant. Maybe she felt pressured because this work would be tied to her career in the business, but me, the haughty CEO was insufferable and only wanted to talk. But I couldn''t bring myself to care, so I said crassly, "Alright. Let''s focus on the work then. We''ll talk about the movie."


    "Great. First, I am clear about the whole idea of the movie. But I also heard that you don''t have a solution to the dilemma here."


    "That''s why we''re bringing you in," I joked.


    "Well, we could�C" Paige wanted to discuss, but I raised my hand quickly, "I need to stop you there. I don''t want to hear the solution here. I mean, I''m not going to talk with you about that. You can ask the creative department for the ideas and feedbackter, but for me, I couldn''t hear the solution until it was finalized, and it made some sense."


    Paige grumbled a bit and pushed up her sses. "I thought we''re supposed to be brainstorming about that."


    I shook my head and shrugged, "I have too much on my te to be worrying about a movie''s storyline. I literally had just had a meeting with the President. I''m sure you know about that."


    Missy raised her arms up excitedly like a student in a ss, "I know. It''s been all over the news."


    Paige was startled and asked, "Wait. Really?"


    I nodded to reply to her. She was in disbelief for a couple of seconds before she collected herself, "Fine then. But you know, a scriptwriter can only work on your ideas, if she can actually listen to your ideas."


    "To be honest Paige. I can only give you the details of what I want. I can''t help you with the storyline. But don''t worry, the director wille in next week, so you''ll be working closely with him, not me. We just need a rough draft for the meeting, not theplete story. The studio is also quite busy with our already ready series, and I don''t want to increase their workload. This movie...We will decide if we''re going to do it or not, after the script is done"


    Paige finally understood it, "So, if the script is bad, we won''t go through with it."


    "No. A studio will usually hire a new writer, but I''ll tell you this directly, if the script doesn''t excite Pepper, the movie won''t go on. I will not interfere at all if he wants to do this movie, but at the same time I also won''t try to convince him if he doesn''t want to do it."


    Missy scrunched her eyebrow and said, "Sounds like you don''t really want to do this movie."


    I snapped my finger and pointed at her, "That''s why I brought you here. High level of EQ."


    Missy was bashful and giggled, trying to act like she wasn''t ttered, "Thank you. Also, what is EQ?"


    Paige: ???


    Me: ...


    I exined to Missy while Paige clicked her pen multiple times, ruminating about the matter. "Alright. I ept that condition. But, you need to give me something to work with." She agreed to the challenge.


    "What did Pepper say to you?" I asked, trying to grab her notebook, but she pounced on the book suddenly and yanked it out of my hand. "Sorry, this is private."


    I held my arms up in surrender. "I understand."


    Missy grinned and said, "Must be something naughty in it she doesn''t want you to see. Let me take a look at itter."


    Paige blushed and red at Missy, "N-No."


    Missy gasped, "She stammered. It really is�C"


    She flipped the paper hurriedly. "Right. He said, um, ''Ryan Gosling needs to be there''. He also told me about the curse and ethical dilemma. Pepper wants it to be romantic, set in New York�C"


    "New York?" I interrupted, then said, "Sorry. Continue."


    "That''s it," Paige said with a wry smile. "That''s all he gave me to work with."


    "Nothing about the characters and all?" I raised my eyebrow in astonishment before looking at Paige pitifully.


    "None," Paige replied. Missy said, "If you have some drinks here, I think she''s going to need it."


    "I can''t drink alcohol while working�C" Paige started, but I cut her off, "There''s some beer in the fridge. Also, I think liquor is in the pantry."


    "You let your workers drink while they''re working?" Missy asked with disbelief and excitement. "This is like apany a Texan wished for their whole life."


    "Not during. We''ll also have some guests here, so it was mainly for them," I rified, leaning forward. I wanted to get up, but Missy held my arm to stop me. "Let me go. I want to see it with my own eyes."


    I sat back down and said, "Sure. Just walk straight on the right till you reach the end. The pantry is there."


    Jumping from her seat, Missy excitedly walked away. I watched her from behind and smirked, "Look at her all giddy."


    "Are you sure you aren''t just looking at her butt?" Paige asked me with a raised brow.


    I turned towards her again, "A little bit. But who wouldn''t?"


    She groaned in disgust and rolled her eyes. I casually said, "Let''s discuss the main character first then. You can build the story from around there."


    Paige nodded and said, "Pepper wants RG, so we know what he looks like. But what does he do? His career path? In ''Good Luck Chuck'' which has a simr premise�C"


    "Good Luck Chuck has a simr premise? I should watch�C"


    "No. You aren''t 18 yet, so you can''t watch the movie," Paige interrupted me. "It''s R rated?" I asked dubiously, to which Paige nodded. She continued, "He''s a dentist there, so he wasn''t really high profile. His life was quite ordinary until his friend convinced him to use his curse for good�C or bad." She blushed a little at the end.


    "I''m very confused right now," I said while shaking my head. I thought about it a little and said, "Instead of ordinary, I want him to be high profile."


    "Are you sure? That''ll be a lot more difficult to steer," Paige said with some concern.


    I smiled and said, "A high profile person in Hollywood. Maybe an actor? Anyway, the press will be all over him."


    "I see. And you want him to be in a slump or at the height of his career?"


    "Top actor. A huge name in the industry. Skyrocketing career."


    Paige raised her eyebrow and said, "Like you?"


    I smirked and said, "You can base it on me, yes. But made him be big in like 5-6 years instead of months like I do."


    Paige was speechless for a bit, but she wrote it down. She identally blurted out, "Is he a huge douche like you too?" Her eyes widened after she realized what she had asked, but I answered her casually.


    "I guess? I''m not so sure about that. What do you think will work?" I asked her back.


    Breathing a sigh of relief, she mulled my question for a while. "An actor... Vanity is included there. He shouldn''t be stupid, quite capable, otherwise he wouldn''t climb to the top�C or, if you''re open to another character, we can have a supporting role. Someone that helped him n his career. An agent, or maybe rtives."


    "That sounds great." I replied crassly, not really caring about it. "See, you don''t have anything to worry about."


    Paige grumbled for a bit before continuing, "I guess that''s it for the main character. I don''t think you have anything else you want to add?"


    "That''s absolutely correct." I replied with a grin, making Paige even more annoyed. She grumbled whisperingly, "You basically had every single character workshopped for in the other projects, but you''re not even trying in this one."


    After she visited the set of ''Breaking Bad'' before, she was thoroughly impressed by the project, and everyone''s feedback while working with me has been nothing but good remarks. It seemed that she was thoroughly disappointed in the meeting today.


    Missy returned with a couple bottles of wine with her. One clutched in her armpit, one in her left hand, and her right hand carried the sses. "You would not believe what kind of beer they have in here. Lone Star beer... FROM TEXAS!"


    She stopped abruptly as she sensed the mood inside the meeting room wasn''t that great. "Umm, it seems that I was gone for too long."


    We continued the discussion about the heroine of the movie.


    "Based on what Pepper said, the girl needs to know about the curse, and is working with him to break it. If the situation is that he''s aware of the curse, maybe there''s a scene at the beginning describing it-- Sorry. Do you have something to add to that-- The hero-heroine?" Paige trailed off, but she came back to the topic quickly.


    "Wait. Does Pepper want a happy ending or a sad ending?" I asked while leaning back on the chair.


    "It still hasn''t been decided," Paige replied.


    "Hmmm..." I wrecked my brain for a while before saying, "For the heroine, she must be kind, can y along with his sense of humor. A bit feisty that she''ll call him out on his bullshit."


    "Is there an actress you have in mind?" Missy asked with great interest. "Maybe someone you have a crush on?"


    "I don''t care, but she needs to have chemistry with the main actor. So someone like Emma Stone..."


    "This is all great. I can work with this." Paige muttered.


    "Back to the ending." I thought about it for a bit before saying, "If he wants the happy ending, then, the curse is broken, and he realized that he had fallen in love with her, so they ended up together."


    Missy chimed in, "Like a good movie should do."


    I ignored her and said, "But if it''s a sad ending, the curse could break, but he lost her. Maybe because she''s just doing it to help him, but was actually in love with someone else. Or they worked together to break the curse because the guy was the one in love with someone else."


    "Nope. I surely don''t want to see that kind of movie. Unless they set it up from the beginning. But if they don''t end up together, then what''s the point of actually making it?" Missymented angrily.


    I looked at her with disbelief and said, "Why are you so invested? You don''t even know the plot of the story."


    "Yeah but you fly me over here to be...um, an EQ consultant. So I''m telling you my thoughts about that terrible ending now," Missy said huffingly.


    I chuckled for a bit, and we went on to discuss the movie for an hour more before the meeting ended. We mostly discussed the characters and setting, without going too deep in the plot.


    The meeting about the plot was done by Pepperter that night instead of me. Honestly, I just went there to hang out. In this movie, I nned to be the observer...well, at least, that''s what I nned to do.


    ...


    As we drove through the lively streets of Los Angeles in the convertible I borrowed from Pepper, the bustling nightlife was on full disy. The city was alive with energy - neon signs illuminated trendy bars and clubs, music spilled out onto the sidewalks, and groups of people strolled along the sidewalks, dressed to impress.


    Missy sat up excitedly at the top of the car, taking it all in. "WOOO~!" she shouted enthusiastically, her hair whipping in the breeze. I was pretty sure that some paparazzis recognized me and snapped my picture with Missy in the car, but I wasn''t concerned about the scandal.


    I nced back at her through the rearview mirror, a bit surprised by her exuberance. My heart skipped a beat as she caught me staring and smiled at me.


    "I didn''t think you''re a ''Woo'' girl," Imented.


    "That''s just an excited ''Woo''," she rified. "Not a ''Woo'' to hide that I''m not actually interesting." Missy then sat back down next to me at a stop sign, sighing dejectedly. "This is not how I imagined my free trip to LA would be," sheined.


    I couldn''t help butugh at her change in mood. "What else can you do? Your mom wants to have a family dinner with Sheldon."


    Missy nodded reluctantly. "Even yearster, everything is still about him," she snarked, her toneced with some slight frustration. Turning towards me, she said threateningly, "You won''t rat me out about what I said, right?"


    I grinned mischievously, "And lose my leverage? Where''s the fun in that?"


    She scoffed yet her lips were curling upward.


    Changing the subject, she asked jokingly, "So, do you have a brother or cousin that looks like you? He better be rich too, because now that I have already flown on a private ne, I don''t think I can ride in the economy ss seats anymore."


    "Have you ever even gotten on a ne before?" I asked.


    Missy shrugged and said, "Nope�C Wait. I did once for Sheldon''s graduation. But we only came to the college and went back immediately after. We were too poor to stay around."


    Weughed as we made our way to 2311 North Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena. The familiar building, the familiar lobby, I was feeling quite nostalgic.


    Suddenly, we bumped into Penny in the lobby. She was wearing her tank top and shorts, lookingfortable as she was picking up herundry. Her eyes widened as she saw me, "Oh my god! Edward!"


    "Hey Penny." I greeted casually. If she wasn''t holding a basket I was sure that she was going to give me a hug. "Want some help?" I asked.


    "I got it." Penny giggled. She turned to Missy, "And who''s this?"


    "I''m Missy. Missy Cooper." Missy greeted Penny in a friendly manner.


    "She''s Sheldon''s twin sister." I exined. Penny froze in shock and her eyes widened, "Really?"


    "And not one day goes by that I thank god we''re not identical twins." Missy jokes. Penny and I giggled.


    We climbed the stairs together, and as we did, Penny asked, "I''m sorry. I have to know. Why is Sheldon''s sister with you?"


    "You haven''t gone to the guy''s apartment yet? I thought you would''ve met Sheldon''s mother by now."


    "Oh. I just got home from work." Penny was startled and started deflecting. I remembered something and grinned. "Really? Based on your expression Penny, I don''t think that''s the case. There''s something more here."


    "I-I don''t know what you''re talking about." Penny stammered.


    Missy joined in, grinning, "It seems like Edward is correct. I don''t have all the details yet, but I think, something happened in that apartment. That''s why you''re being all jittery."


    "What?" Penny was in disbelief.


    "Hmm... Seeing that you have a problem with intimacy, I''d guess that something happened between you and Leonard. It must be something you hadn''t nned so that''s why you''re avoiding him." I rubbed my chin yfully, pretending to be a detective. "So, did you kiss Leonard?"


    Penny''s jaw dropped and she said, "That''s...amazing. How did you guess that?! ALSO I have no problems with intimacy!"


    "Leonard, Sheldon''s roommate? You''re dating him?" Missy asked. Penny was in disbelief and rushed to climb the stairs as we were at our final steps.


    "Penny, why don''t you join us? We''re all having dinner together." Missy invited Penny as she stood in front of her apartment door, which was directly opposite Sheldon''s apartment door.


    "I''m okay. Thank you for the offer. And it was nice meeting you Missy." Penny said as she opened the door. But before she got in, she nced at Missy and advised, "Be careful with Howard. The guys are nice, but sometimes they can be a bit too much."


    Missy was stunned, yet curious. Penny disappeared from our sight, and I went to the door. Missy wanted to knock, but I stopped her.


    "There''s something I want to try."


    I knocked on the door 3 times with a tri-knock pattern.


    Sheldon opened the door with a smug look and asked, "When did you learn about my signature knock?"


    Missy smiled and said, "Sheldon!"


    "Missy. Nice to see you. You cane in." Sheldon said. "But you�C"


    "Don''t be silly Shelly, let him in." Mary scolded angrily from inside the house.


    "I was going to let him in, Mom! I just want to ask him a question before he cane inside!" Sheldon retorted, aggrieved, yet he still concurred and opened the door without any hassle. He scoffed at me and went to sit at his work table, doing some work on hisptop.


    "Something smells delicious!" I said as I entered the apartment. Finally, I saw the missing wall in the apartment - the right wall after you entered, where the TV was typically set up.


    "Oh you''re too kind. I''m making spaghetti with a hotdog cut up in it." Mary said sweetly. I smiled at her and said, "Do you want some help?"


    "No. Sit down. Befortable. This won''t take long." Mary focused on cooking. Leonard walked into the living room and greeted me, "Edward. Nice to see you. Again, I''m very sorry for bringing Dr Gabblehauser to your home."


    "Water under the bridge." I smiled at him as I epted his gesture to shake hands with me. Missy smiled and greeted, "You must be Leonard, the kisser."


    "E-Excuse me- Wh-What?" Leonard was startled. "Um, you must be Sheldon''s sister." He greeted Missy bashfully.


    I walked to the couch and sat casually on it. "That''s my spot." Sheldon said without turning back.


    I ignored him and watched Missy tease Leonard about Penny. He was excited and blushed for a bit, before he became determined and said, "I''m-I''m going to invite her to. Mrs Cooper, can I�C"


    "Just call me Mary, Leonard. You may. I''m curious to see the girl that managed to catch your eye too." Mary said teasingly.


    "Move away from my spot." Sheldon turned to speak to me.


    "No." I replied casually. He became increasingly agitated and walked slowly towards me while crossing his arms.


    "Excuse me, but this is my apartment�C"


    "Nana Mary! Sheldon''s bullying me!" I shouted to his mother immediately. Sheldon was taken aback and Mary scolded him, "Shelly! Let him be."


    Sheldon whined, "But mom, he''s sitting at my spot."


    "This spot feels great, Nana." I spoke to Mary again, using a slightly louder volume to reach her. "I think I''m going to sit here the entire night."


    "Aww, I love it when you call me Nana. It made me feel like I have one more lovely grandson." Mary said sweetly.


    "Mom!" Sheldon tried to snap her out of her awe state. "I''m your lovely son, and you''re not supporting me. He''s sitting at my spot! He''s doing this on purpose to infuriate me."


    "No. I''m not." I replied as I settled my ass into the seat, making Sheldon even more mad. "That''s a harsh usation. Why would Ie all the way over here, just to infuriate you?"


    "Why did you fly my mother and sister here if you''re not trying to bother me?" Sheldon asked usatorily. "We all have questions."


    Leonard and Penny entered the apartment at the time, and saw my argument with Sheldon. Missy was enjoying the whole thing and muttered, "Go Edward."


    I replied to Sheldon''s question, "Um, to be nice? Why, aren''t you happy to see your mother?"


    Sheldon replied, "Of course I''m happy."


    "Then, what''s the problem with that exactly?" Missy joined in. "He had his luxurious jet pick up mom. He even let us get settled into a nice beach house. At the very least, you can give him your spot for the night."


    "Missy''s right. Shelly, why don''t you be a good host and help me set up the table." Mary joined in.


    "But�C" Sheldon was aggrieved. He red at me before he pretended to smile and walked to the kitchen to try and convince his mother.


    Missy sat next to me and said, "You''re bad, you know that?" Iughed and said, "I''m sure that won''t be thest of it. He''ll badger me continuously tonight. I just need to make sure I don''t falter"

 Chapter 256: Last meeting of the night.

    <h4>Chapter 256: Chapter 256: Last meeting of the night.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Mom, you can''t believe who I met at thepany�C working on them'' movies!" Missy told her mother Mary as we were eating spaghetti together on the 3-seater couch.


    Sitting between the Cooperdies, with Missy on my right, I listened to the conversation intently. Mary leaned on the side of the single-seat couch and excitedly pointed at Missy with her fork, "You know what? We all should have dinner together, just to catch up."


    Missy turned to Sheldon and asked, "Aren''t you going to say something? Paige is your friend too. Aren''t you d to see her again?"


    Leonard was intrigued and Penny joked, "Sheldon has a childhood girlfriend?"


    "She''s not my... Well, I guess since she is someone I knew as a child, and she is a girl, but she''s not a friend. She''s my rival," Sheldon corrected before continuing pouting and ring at me from behind.


    Sheldon remained standing, refusing to take another seat and wanting to wait for me to slip up and get up so he could take his spot back. Penny was excited and interjected, "Wait wait wait. You have a rival? So she must be a genius too? What is she doing making movies?"


    "Um." Missy hesitated and nced at me, also curious about the same question. "I don''t know. I guess the pay is good."


    "The pay is <strong><i>great. </i></strong>Mypany isn''t like the other productionpanies that paid their screenwriter dimes and nickels." I chimed in. "By the way, this is delicious Nana." I swirled the spaghetti with the fork.


    Mary smiled softly and said, "d you like it. It''s Sheldon''s favorite."


    "Yet, you don''t seem to care if I eat it or not." Sheldon retorted, but Mary ignored hisint, "When you have lunch with the President, I''ll even spoon feed you if that''s what you want. In the meantime, grab a te."


    "I won''t." Sheldon said whiningly.


    Missy turned to Penny, "I guess he pays her really well. Because no matter how many times he pissed her off before, she kept seated and didn''t storm off."


    "Edward, you pissed her off?" Leonard askedughingly, "Why?"


    I shrugged and said, "Oh, I didn''t do it on purpose. She just has a short fuse."


    Sheldon agreed with me, "I have to agree with that. That is urate." Both of us nodded in acknowledgement to one another, making Mary fall in disbelief.


    "I thought y''all are fighting." Mary retorted. Then, she smiled at me and said, "You have to tell me what it''s like."


    "To be me? It''s pretty awesome." I replied jokingly. Maryughed and replied, "You know what I''m talking about."


    "Then, I''ll tell it all to you once you visit all the ces you want to visit in LA. If I do it now, it''ll eclipse your other experiences."


    Missy smiled coyly and said, "Mom, don''t listen to him. He already told me about it on the drive��"


    "Missy. Stop talking." I cupped my hand on her mouth, startling her. Sheldon grimaced and said, "Great. Now you need hand sanitizer or you''ll contaminate my spot."


    Missyughed and turned to Sheldon again, "I still haven''t heard your answer."


    Sheldon was taken aback before he agreed, "You''re right. I still haven''t answered your question. If I have to, I''d say�C I''m not happy about meeting with Paige, I never do. But I''m quite looking forward to it."


    "Hmm? Why?" I asked. "And if you answered it honestly, with some details for the story, I''ll give you back your spot."


    Sheldon was excited and said, "Deal! Alright." He took his time and shared, "Paige, despite her intelligence rivaling mine, although she''s a bit inferior�C"


    "That''s not how I remember it." Missy retorted.


    Sheldon was taken aback, and continued, "Paige came to my dorm when I was studying at East Texas Tech, asking me if she could stay there for a while. College deemed too much for her, and she couldn''t handle the loneliness. She wasn''t a social butterfly like me."


    "It was disturbing her mental health so much that she dropped out of the sciences entirely. Needing a ce to stay, she came for me to help her."


    "Why is my heart fluttering?" Penny whispered as she held Leonard''s hand strongly, invested in Sheldon''s story. Sheldon saw it and he asked with concern, "Are you having a heart attack?"


    Penny rolled her eyes and urged, "Continue with the story."


    "My mom, Missy and I went to check up on her that night because we were worried, only to find out that she had left. Inside the empty room was a note. She wrote to me that she was thankful for letting her stay, but unfortunately she had to go. I guess the reason I''m curious about the prospect of meeting her is because of thest part of the letter."


    "WHAT IS IT WHAT IS IT?!" Penny was thoroughly invested in the story. Me too to be honest, but I didn''t show it. In my previous life, I only watched Young Sheldon till season 5 after all. I didn''t know the ending of the story, except for the fact that it will end with Sheldon''s father''s death.


    Sheldon crossed his arms together, "In that letter, she mentioned that she''s happy for me for doing well, and she needs to find that for herself somewhere. So if I am to meet her tomorrow, I''m curious to see if she does find it."


    I asked, "Is that yourst meeting with her?" Everyone held their breath as they waited for his answer.


    Sheldon shook his head and replied nonchntly, "No. I met her again a monthter at the same college. She dragged me to a party where we bumped into Missy there. Pagie was inebriated and Missy made me let her sleep in my dorm room."


    "Wait. Sheldon, so, while you''re 14 and in college, you brought a girl back to your room after going to a party?" Leonard asked with disbelief.


    Missyughed and said, "I remembered that now. We went to that college party�C"


    Missy realized that she had misspoke, and Mary looked at her with disbelief and anger. "Missy Cooper are you kidding me?!" She yelled angrily.


    "Mom, that was 15 years ago. The statue of limitation on that had long expired." Missy replied casually, which made Mary fall into disbelief.


    Before Mary could say anything, Penny asked Sheldon, "Wait. So... Um, was that what you were thinking all these years? Is she finally happy?" Her eyes carried anticipation, and she held her breath as she waited for the answer.


    "No, I didn''t even think about her until Missy mentioned her to me today." Sheldon replied, pouring cold water to Penny''s fiery fantasy. I chuckled at the interaction, while Missy was excited about something else.


    "Rather than focusing on my brother''s non-existence love story, I''d rather hear about you two."


    Leonard and Penny exchanged nces with each other, both were ufortable about the topic.


    "I''mma change the topic to how in the world did Edward know about it in just a few seconds of interactions with Penny." Leonard said quickly.


    Before I could answer, Sheldon reminded me, "Well, I told you the story."


    "Oh, right." I stood up, letting him sit down at his spot. His face beamed up with excitement, and his sister rolled her eyes at him.


    "You should''ve just sat here, Ed." Missy voiced out. I smiled and said, "I''m the type to keep my word. Besides, I have already finished eating." Turning to Leonard, I chuckled and said, "Well it was elementary my dear Watson. Let me deal with the dishes first before I answer your question."


    "Just put it in the sink." Leonard said loudly. "Can''t really make the guy who had dinner with the President wash his own dish at my ce." He chuckled. Then he said with awe to Sheldon, "Now, I''m feeling the disbelief of getting to eat with someone who just ate with the president."


    "Who said I was going to wash it?" I joked about the te. In reality, I was going to wash that. It surprised me when he managed to catch that. I didn''t argue and ced my te inside the sink before returning to the living room.


    Turning to Sheldon, I asked casually, "Aren''t you going to eat?"


    Sheldon realized that he hadn''t had dinner yet, smiled smugly as he stood up from his spot and said, "Yes, finally I can eat. The alluring smell of the spaghetti with hot dog cut up in it has been killing me." He walked to the kitchen to grab a te for himself.


    And as he went away, I sat back on the couch. Sheldon returned with his te, and was dumbfounded "Um..."


    "What? I kept my word didn''t I? I said that I''ll give back your spot. I just didn''t tell you for how long."


    bbergasted, Sheldon became frantic, "Get out of my spot."


    "No." I replied casually.


    Helpless, he tried to reason, "Why do you want to sit here anyway? Other than to mess with me? Are you really that petty that you''re going to fly my mother and sister over a few states just to do this?"


    Leonardughed at his misery and then spoke for Sheldon, "He won''t stopining, Edward. If the spot wasn''t as important to you as it was to him, then maybe, you should let him eat. Otherwise he''ll get more cranky, stomping his feet everywhere like a giant baby.. Sorry Mrs Cooper."


    Mary chuckled and said, "It''s fine. I can''t get mad at someone for telling the truth."


    "Alright I''ll stop messing with him. Scooch over a little bit." I dragged my butt to the right, getting closer to Missy and Penny. The three of us shared 2 of the remaining seats by squishing together.


    Sheldon finally sat down, and scoffed smugly at me. His eyes shook a bit as he settled into the cushion. "Somehow... it doesn''t feel as innocent as it used to be."


    Missy rolled her eyes while Mary admonished him, "I can''t believe he''s more mature than you are. Nice going Sheldon."


    "But everyone knows this is my spot!" Sheldon defended himself.


    "Back to the topic." Penny stopped the situation from getting out of hand by interrupting Sheldon and his mother. "How did you know?"


    "Well, for starters, you guys can''t look properly at each other without pulling your gaze away." I said jokingly. Leonard and Penny nced at each other, felt shy, and quickly turned towards me again. "We don''t do that." Penny said defensively.


    Missy chuckled and joked, "You literally did it just now."


    "It''s more of a lucky guess. I just thought that it''s time for that to happen. And it did." I said jokingly. Then I turned to Sheldon and said, "They even made out on your spot. So I guess that''s why it doesn''t feel as innocent anymore."


    "WHAT?!" Sheldon was in disbelief. Leonard panicked and said, "NO! We didn''t�C Wait. Y-Yeah no. We didn''t. Not on your spot."


    Shy, Penny changed the subject, "So, are you studying to be a detective because of your Batman thing?"


    Leonard, Sheldon and I looked at Penny with amazement. Taken aback, she said, "What?"


    Sheldon replied, "I guess we''re just surprised you know Batman is a detective. Fun fact! The term World Greatest Detective wasn''t only anointed to Batman initially. It originally came from the 1949 Detective Comic issue 146, where Batman and Robin were called the World Greatest Detective Team�C"


    "  ! No one cares!" Missy interjected as she couldn''t listen to Sheldon''s rant anymore. Missy turned to me and said, "I guess the biggest mystery you should solve is why Sheldon is like this."


    "Asperger''s Syndrome." I replied casually. Sheldon was baffled, then he thought about it. Leonard whispered to himself, "That actually made so much sense."


    "What''s that? Is this another one of the Californian made up diseases?" Mary asked with concern and some contempt.


    "It-"


    Sheldon interrupted me, "Asperger''s syndrome is a type of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) characterized by challenges with social interaction andmunication, as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests. He is referring to this syndrome. But I don''t have it. I excel withmunications and social interactions."


    Mary looked at her son with disbelief. "After all these years. I finally got the answer." She mumbled to herself.


    Leonard thought about it and said, "Well, even if he has it, it wasn''t that bad. Especially at the repetitive behavior part. The only thing that shows he has that is his knock on the door."


    I nodded, my mouth opened slightly, but I went quiet. Missy caught it and tempted me, "You seemed like you wanted to say something, but you stopped yourself."


    "Nothing. I just think it wasn''t an inappropriate thing to say." I replied to her. I had to stop myself from getting into the topic. Sheldon''s act of repetitive knocking came from his pre-adolescent trauma where he caught his dad cheating on his mother.


    Despite messing with him, I couldn''t expose his trauma just to get a fewughs. There are some lines in life that shouldn''t be crossed.


    Sheldon didn''t realize it and muttered with disbelief, "I don''t have Asperger''s Syndrome." But no one believed him.


    ...


    After having dinner with everyone, I left as I had another person waiting for my presence today. Mary and Missy went back to their beach house using thepany driver''s car.


    It seemed that Missy would finally get to experience the fun LA life tomorrow. Penny and Missy made ns to hang out, in which they''ll hit the clubs together. Missy told Sheldon that it was the first time ever she was d to know him, despite being twins.


    Growing up, Missy was consistently overlooked because Sheldon needed constant attention. Being a child genius also has its perks, in which Missy always felt it was unfair for him to get everything he wanted, but she had to make do with the leftovers. The free trip to LA to do everything she wants healed that little girl in her a little.


    I drove to a Mansion in Malibu, which took me nearly 35 minutes to get there. Luckily there was no traffic, otherwise it would take me more than an hour. Robin tweaking the traffic light also helped me get there faster.


    Ringing the doorbell at the gate, I was buzzed into the house without even needing to confirm my identity.


    "Hey! You made it!" RDJ greeted me with open arms as I entered the house. Iughed and asked, "You''re here too?"


    "Why? You think you''re too good to spend time with me now you had lunch with the President?" He scoffed. Falling into disbelief, I said, "I won''t live that down for a while huh."


    "That''s the peak of your life. Of course people are going to talk about it." Jon Favreau walked in with a ss of whiskey in his hand. Seemingly drunk, he sat down on the couch while wearing a robe.


    RDJ and I nced at each other before he asked Jon, "What happened? You were really excited just a few minutes ago."


    "I was just on a call with Feige." Jon mumbled with a depressed tone.


    I sat on the seat in front of him and asked, "What happened with Feige? Also, can I get a drink too�C"


    "No!" RDJ replied haughtily as he grabbed a ss of whiskey for himself. "Believe me, you shouldn''t drink. You don''t want to end up like the paaaast me."


    I shrugged and said, "Then I''ll be Iron Man 20 yearster. It doesn''t seem like a bad trade off. Besides, your issues were not about alcohol."


    "And don''t you dare start that too." He scolded me from out of nowhere.


    Jon chuckled for a bit before he sighed and shared why he was depressed.


    "Well, I floated the idea of reshooting the ending scene of the movie to Feige." Jon said. "You know, the one which ends up with Whish getting arrested by SHIELD after a standoff with Tony."


    Nodding in agreement, I pondered the new scene he and the producers had devised after our discussion. Jon was excited about the revised ending because it catered to everything Feige wanted to aplish - it would showcase the buildup for an interconnected cinematic universe, while also allowing for a more satisfying, less messy conclusion.


    In the original story, they had shown Justin Hammer being arrested by SHIELD, which was the wrong move. Hammer had been working with the government, so SHIELD apprehending him would not effectively demonstrate their might.


    Instead, in the revised ending, Whish would send a drone armor to distract Tony. This would set up an explosive, climactic fight scene that the producers desired - a sequence meant to push Tony to the edge before the final confrontation.


    However, when Tony returned to the venue, Whish would be standing there alone, waiting to be captured by the authorities. It is then that he would provoke Tony, warning him that even after his arrest, people would continue utilizing services like those Justin Hammer provided. The mass-produced Iron Armor would fuel wars on a nightmarish scale, rendering Tony Stark inconsequential.


    Whish''s true revenge on Stark would be topletely destroy his legacy, mirroring how Howard Stark had done to Whish''s own father. This would leave Tony in a moral dilemma - should he kill the unarmed, surrendering Whish, forfeiting his im to heroism?


    Ultimately, Tony would choose to lower his weapon, surprising Whish. He would then quip about the customer satisfaction survey Justin Hammer would give after the day''s events, knowing no one would trust Whish to build their armor given his attempted takeover. With no bargaining chips left, Whish would have no choice but to be locked up again.


    This revised ending was intended to showcase SHIELD''s expanded role in the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe. By containing Whish (Ivan Vanko), they would demonstrate their capability to handle elevated global threats - while also leaving the door open to potentially bring the character back in the future, perhaps in a Thunderbolts film.


    It also connected itself to the legacy theme that was yed all over the movie, showing that Tony was a different man from his father, and maybe to build redemption for Ivan Vankoter in the future. In the movie, one could argue that his main target was Tony Stark from the start. Even the armors in the final fight scene were only programmed to attack Tony, not to mindlessly massacre civilians.


    This revised ending would have allowed the film to more deeply explore the themes of legacy, responsibility, and Stark''s evolution as a hero - while also setting up future interconnected storylines within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


    After that brief thought, Jon continued telling his story, "Feige loves it. But there were a few problems. First, in order to show the final fight, we need to reshoot the entirest scene. That''ll mean more CGI works, bigger budget, and more work that needs to be done for a movie that was essentially finished."


    "The problem with the remote controlled suit idea is that Ivan Vanko doesn''t have an AI. Even Tony, who has the AI, hasn''t done that yet. The fight scene at the end is only possible because he was in it." Jon sighed. "I have the idea of Ivan wearing partial armor when he was confronting Tony. Maybe fight him a little before he surrenders."


    RDJ added, "Scarlett also has a scheduling problem with her needing to shoot for her new movie, ''He''s Just Not That Into You''."


    "The one where she swims naked?" I asked.


    "Yea�C Wait, what?" In disbelief, RDJ shook it off and continued his words, "Anyway, since we only have 6 months left before the release, we cannot reshoot thest scene anymore."


    Not because they couldn''t, but the CGI department needed time to handle the effects he wanted. The final scene was already created a year ago, and it was onlypleted ahead of schedule because of my software.


    "I mean, we can try." Jon corrected. "It''s just the studio won''t approve the extra expenditure. It''ll take at least 5...no 10 more million I think.. To reshoot the entirest scene."


    Jon turned to me and said, "Just to be clear, I''m not asking for money. Your software already cuts down the money we need to use. It''s down to 155 millionpared to the initial projection of 170 million."


    RDJ was confused, "Then, can''t they just use what they saved up to reshoot the entire thing?"


    "The money has already been moved to fund another project, am I right?" I asked Jon knowingly. He nodded and said, "Well, the Avengers project needs a lot of money. Well, not that I have any part in that."


    "He quit directing any future projects. Can you believe that?" RDJ teased Jon.


    Helpless, Jon replied, "I''m not quitting directing. I just want to avoid the studio for a bit. Well, back to my original intention."


    RDJ scoffed, but he understood what his friend was feeling. Jon had worked so hard to bring his creative vision to life, but the studio kept interfering and adding more ridiculous requests in order to bring the cinematic universe to life.


    We had been conversing for over an hour when I floated an idea to Jon. "Hey, do you know about Percy Jackson novels?"


    Jon, despite already drinking a few sses, still kept his mind, "Yeah. I just heard about it this afternoon. For the life of me, I have no idea what could''ve happened for a studio to drop a story like that."


    Well I have an idea. But I wasn''t going to tell him that.


    Jon rambled on, "I know the creator''s mad about the adaptation and even wrote some letters to stop the movie, never once did I think that I could do anything. I mean, even JK Rowling can''t do anything when the movie studio changed her story."


    "Not so much though," RDJ asked. "Right?"


    Jon shrugged and said, "I don''t know. Never read the books." He turned to me and said, "Why did you ask?"


    "Well, I''m trying to get the movie rights." I said, surprising the both of them.


    "Really�C Ah, I forgot you already bought a couple of movie studios." Jon eximed in wonder. I grinned and asked, "When I get it, Jon, are you interested in directing it?"


    "Directing what?" Jon asked, confused.


    I sipped my pomegranate juice and replied, "The Percy Jackson movie."

 Chapter 257: Game Preparation.

    <h4>Chapter 257: Chapter 257:?Game Preparation.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Inside my basement, several character design sheets and arts were scattered all over the table. It was 4.30 in the morning, the sun hadn''t risen yet. Vader was actively running around the house, even visiting myb a few times to y with me.


    "Focus onpleting Ashe and Garen first, then if we have the time, we can do the others. Annie''s cinematic is almost done right?" I said to Robin.


    There were several dots on my face in order for me to use motion capture technology for the character''s facial expression references. It made the animation feel more fluid and human.


    Robin replied, "Yes. It''s currently 99% done." The video of Annie, one of the champions in the League of Legends game, was disyed on the holographic screen in front of us. In just a few short minutes, the clip was finally rendered.


    It showed Annie, the little redhead girl, running from her enemies. Then, the teddy bear in her hand burst into fire, turning into a huge 10 meters tall ming bear. It roared to her enemies, and she sat on its shoulder with a maniacal, smug, and psychopathic expression on her face, a stark contrast from her innocent look in the beginning.


    I nodded in satisfaction after watching the 40 second clip introducing the champion. It was supposed to be one minute, but I cut 20 seconds from the champion''s clips in order to set it aside for the music video.


    After getting the holographic tech, I didn''t need to set up numerous monitors inside my basement anymore to work on a few things simultaneously. The artwork and designs were already scanned into theputer, and ROBIN made the final edit for them.


    "Can you get an estimate on how long it will take for us to finish the music video?" I asked with some slight concern. Currently, thepany is almost done with the cinematics of the heroes'' introductions. The music video was a totally different thing.


    "Even with the entirepany working on the video, it would take you at least 1 week to achieve the quality you''re striving for," Robin replied. "Unless you use the Unreal Engine." She added.


    I thought about it for a while and replied, "Okay. Sure. Start up the program. Have you learned how to animate yet?"


    Robin had lurked behind the animator''sputer, learning their ways of animating without anyone realizing it. Currently, her hour of work alone was worth 100 animators working full time, 24 hours a day. However, she couldn''t strive for creative thinking on her own, which made her need someone to direct her on what to do.


    The Unreal Engine could create worlds as I based it on SAO''s Aincrad. However,pared to Aincrad, its capability was limited. The difference between them was that my engine could create one floor of the tower, while Aincrad had 100.


    I canned the map of Rerra into the Unreal Engine and also inserted the characters there. It''ll take at least one day beforepletion before I could direct the clips with Robin.


    While I was mulling, Robin asked suddenly, "Mind telling me why did you agree to an impossible deadline? It doesn''t seem like you, to make this type of mistake."


    "Sometimes men be quite stupid in the presence of a beautiful woman. We also want to show off to them, even if it''ll put us in danger in the process." I replied casually.


    "Men are weird then," Robin replied.


    Iughed, "Yes we are. We don''t have to make everything an animation. We can piece it together with some real people shot�C But, put that as thest thing we would do. We''ll try to get the animation video ready first."


    "What about the song? You still haven''t made it yet." ROBIN asked. I rubbed my head as I replied, "I already have a song. Well, songs. But I need a second person''s opinion to pick one of them."


    "I will contact Miss Sun-Hee and let her know." Robin texted the vice-head of the gaming department right away, but I stopped her, "Wait till morning. She''ll get cranky and vengeful if she doesn''t get her 10 hours of beauty sleep. Then, I''ll never hear the end of it."


    "Women are also weird." Robin replied.


    "Yes. Yes they do." I agreed with her while chuckling.


    "Should I reach out for someone that''s already up right now?" Robin asked helpfully.


    "I don''t think there''s anyone that has a simr work schedule as I do. " I replied, not thinking much about it as I was focused on finishing the background music for the animated clip.


    Suddenly, I heard a ringing sounding from the left projector screen. I turned immediately, panicking, "Robin�C WAIT�C DISCONNECT�C"


    "Hello?" ire picked up the call within 5 seconds. Her voice was raspy and dry, sounding like someone who just woke up from her sleep.


    I grimaced and put my knuckle in front of my mouth, calming myself down. "Sorry, ire. It''s a sleep dial," I greeted, not even believing the excuseing from my own mouth. ''What?'' I mouthed.


    After a brief pause, ire chuckled. "It''s 5 am, it must be," she yed along. "Alright, you can continue sleeping." I said as I wanted to end the call. "Bye-"


    "Before that." ire stopped me from doing so and asked, "How are you?"


    "I''m fine." I replied hastily. "I really need to go now. I have a lot of work to do."


    "You said it was a sleep dial." ire retorted. I was speechless for a moment and replied, "Sleep-y dial. I had just woken up."


    "Oh. That''s alright then. Don''t work too hard, and make sure that you go to school." ire advised. "Bye bye."


    "Bye ire." I said as I cut the call. Then, I asked ROBIN bbergasted, "Why did you call her?"


    "She has the most simr work schedule as you do, and she has been awake for 10 minutes." Robin replied innocently. Speechless, I stood there motionlessly for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.


    "Let''s just go back to work." I said tiredly. Robin asked, "Are you going to school today?"


    "We''ll see how the work goes. I have just a little bit over 48 hours to finalize everything for theunch."


    "Wouldn''t it be better for you tounch it on the weekends instead on a Wednesday?" Robin asked.


    Most gamepanies do tend to release on Thursdays or Fridays, capitalizing on the weekend sales rush. But I answered Robin''s question casually, "Well, we don''t really need to chase sales here. This is a free-to-y game, so people can just download it straight from our website. In fact, I think releasing on a Wednesday could work to our advantage. Lesspetition means easier words to get out there."


    Right now on the game website, there was a timer countdown to the release of the game. The game''s website had already racked up over 1 million visits per day, thanks to the preunch hype we''d built up. Ashe, the beautiful frost archer, was immediately beloved by the fans after the preview of the game went up on the website.


    We even went on marketing it the old school way, using the billboards. Ashe the archer, Garen�C the charismatic juggernaut, Ezreal, and even Amumu had their own solo billboards scattered all over the country.


    The decision to market the game through expensive marketing wasughed at by the other gamepetitors in the country. After all, the game concept was free to y. People thought I just had too much money on my hand by doing this type of ''useless'' marketing.


    GameSpotTV, X-y, and G4 show in the G4 tv channel had been talking about the game non-stop, creating a buzz in the gamingmunity about the game. Olivia Munn, a G4 host, and future Psylocke actress, rambled on about the game in every tform she could talk into.


    After watching how they were looking forward to the game, I made SunHee contact the game show hosts and invite them to the gameunch.


    "Robin, send a note to the game department. Try to get Olivia Munn to host theunch event. If it''s necessary, I will get in contact with her myself." I said casually as I ate a cream puff.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While Edward was busy doing work inside hisb, inside the Dunphy''s house, Phil finally woke up and went to the kitchen where ire was making breakfast for the children.


    "Hmm? Honey, I thought you were working from home today?" Phil asked with some puzzlement as he saw ire wearing her office clothes. ire smiled and said, "I know it''s abrupt. But I had already worked from home for a week."


    Phil was dissatisfied and said, "You want to meet Edward behind our back don''t you?"


    ire grinned and said, "It''s not my fault he''s my boss."


    "But I want to meet him too." Phil eximed whisperingly, making sure that none of the kids could hear him. "Believe it or not, I even had a dream that he called us this morning," He added.


    ire nodded bewilderedly, "He did call me this morning."


    "What?!" Phil was surprised. "That was real?"


    "Yes, I was right beside you when I picked up the call. That''s maybe why you dreamt of it." ire guessed.


    "Why didn''t you wake me up when he did?!" Phil asked, frustrated.


    bbergasted by Phil''s reaction, ire said, "Honey, we didn''t even talk for long. He said he dialed my number by mistake. And then we hung up."


    "He must miss us too," Phil said emphatically.


    ire initially wanted to dismiss Phil''s thoughts, but as she considered it, she scrunched her nose and tilted her head thoughtfully, eventually conceding, "He does, doesn''t he?"


    "God I hope so," Phil replied. "Being apart from him for so long made me feel like I''m losing one of my sons."


    "You know what, I wanted to call you insane, but I''m feeling the same way too!" ire replied excitedly. Phil smiled pitifully and said, "When you meet him, give him a hug from the both of us, won''t you?"


    "And risk litigation? I''m sorry, I''ll just tell him that we miss him," ire replied jokingly. Phil was taken aback and he agreed, "Yeah, You''re right. You''re too sexy for anyone to view your rtionship with him as pure."


    ttered, ire said, "Oh, does someone like what he sees?" It was a new dress, and she was feeling particrly confident about it. "Someone does," Phil replied ambiguously.


    "And who might that someone be?" ire asked flirtingly as she moved closer to Phil, putting her hand on her chest.


    "Mitchell." Phil replied innocently, making ire fall in disbelief. "Cam said it made your butt look fat though."


    "WHAT?!" ire was astonished and her jaw dropped. "Wait. Did I flip over who said what?" Phil mumbled to himself. "Oh! And if you do meet him, ask him what he thinks about going to the trampoline park with me and Luke this Saturday. We''ll just go there secretly without the girls knowing about it."


    ire shook her head and said, "I don''t think we should teach Luke methods on how to go through someone''s back. That''ll backfire on us very quickly�C"


    "Morning Mom." Haley walked into the kitchen as she was getting ready for school. Phil and ire froze and looked at her with a stiff smile. "Hey! Good morning Princess." Phil greeted fakely.


    ire asked, "How did you sleepst night? I heard some soundsing from your room."


    Haley stopped to get some pancake, barely took a bite and said, "You know what? I think I have finally gotten over him now."


    Phil''s eyes lit up, "Really, then we can talk to him again?"


    ire was surprised and Haley was bbergasted. Haley replied with a high pitched voice, "NO!"


    "Then you''re still not over him." ire replied snarkily. Haley was stunned and then grumbled, "Ugh! Why am I like this? It usually don''t take me longer than a day to move on to another boy�C"


    "What?" Phil asked with disbelief, not believing his ear. Haley froze and casually shrugged, "Nothing."


    ...


    Mary Cooper and Missy Cooper were having breakfast together at a popr cafe in Beverly Hills. They sat at the outdoor seats, enjoying the morning LA sun. It was a popr spot in town, with multiple celebrities having regr appearances there.


    "Mo-Mom, look! Is that guy a celebrity?" Missy pointed to a Kevin Smith-like man waiting to get his order inside the cafe.


    "I don''t know him, but he does seem familiar." Mary mumbled. She smiled and said, "But honestly, everyone we see here looks familiar to someone. I''m already confused on who''s who."


    Missy nodded, "Me too. I kinda miss Eddie. If he''s here, he definitely can tell us."


    "We''re here for 2 days now, yet we barely see any other celebrities other than Edward." Mary sighed.


    "Maybe this is normal. Celebrities sightings <i>are rare</i>, even here in this city." Missy said tofort her mother.


    Both of them were unaware that behind them, Courtney Cox was having her breakfast alone at the outdoor table. Bradley Cooper was standing in line behind the Kevin-Smith-like man inside the cafe.


    Gwen Stephani jogged pass them, but they were too preupied with the Kevin-Smith-like man to notice anything. Suddenly, a huge muscr man with a huge bicep approached them.


    "Hello, are you Mary and Missy Cooper?" The man asked. Mary and Missy both looked up to see the man''s face, with Missy slightly blushing as she saw his appearance.


    "We are, and who might you be?" Mary asked with a friendly tone.


    The man took off his sunsses and smiled charmingly towards the duo, "I''m Theodore�C Ted. I''m Ted Newgate. I''m... Edward''s father."


    "Well what a nice coincidence!" Mary said excitedly. Ted smiled wryly and said, "Not really a coincidence. I tracked you guys down."


    "Huh? Why?" Mary asked with a bit of rm. Inside her mind, she thought that Edward''s act of bringing them here was incurring his father''s wrath, or maybe he didn''t tell his dad about it.


    Missy however, was batting her eyes at Ted. His rugged look, his leather jacket, his deep voice, were all hitting Missy''s ideal type list. Ted didn''t notice the way both of them were looking at him and asked, "Mind if I join you guys?"


    "No. Not at all!" Mary replied. "You can sit next to me." Missy even helped Ted to pull out his chair. Ted chuckled awkwardly and sat next to Missy. "So Ted, don''t you want to get breakfast?"


    " I''d already eaten." Ted replied hurriedly. The table fell into an awkward silence for a while before Mary asked, "It seems that you have something you want to talk to us about."


    "I do, but I''m a little bit embarrassed." Ted smiled. "Is this about Edward flying us here?" Mary asked.


    "Oh, no, I don''t care about that." Ted said dismissively. "I''m actually here, to get some advice from you Mary."


    Mary and Missy were confused. "Advice on what?" Mary asked.


    Ted scratched his cheek and said, "It''s about... Edward. Dr Cooper is a brilliant child, yes? We have something inmon there."


    Mary smiled softly and said, "Yes. Sheldon is really brilliant. But sometimes, he can be a little too much."


    Missy rested her head on her palm as she shot Ted a flirty look, "For me, he''s not that great."


    Ted chuckled for a bit and said sincerely, "As you have already gone through this, I want to ask you for some tips on how I can be a better parent for him."


    Missy interjected before Mary could answer, "There''s nothing much you need to do. He''s already awesome. The whole world will agree with me about that."


    "That''s one of the things I''m worried about." Ted smiled wryly.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I drove to thepany building, I received a call from Jacob.


    "Hey, you''reing for practice?" Jacob asked.


    "You know, I had missed out on a lot of practice. I want to go, but right now, I need to go to thepany to record a song."


    "The gym workout song? We have been waiting for that for so long." Jacob said teasingly. "By the way, the cheerleaders kept asking if you areing here."


    "Why?" I asked with confusion. Jacob shouted, ''TYLER WATCH OUT! Oof!'' from the other side of the call before he replied to Edward casually, "I don''t know. Tyrone is the only one who knows the reason."


    "Wait. What happened to Tyler?" I asked with some interest.


    "Oh, he was practicing his run, and he crashed right into where the waters are." Jacob replied.


    "Is he hurt?" I asked with some concern.


    "No, just his ego is bruised I think. He looks really embarrassed because his girlfriend sits right in front of the water."


    "Pfft�C" Iughed at Tyler''s misery. After calming down, I said, "The song I''m recording right now can be used as a gym song too. I''ll let you listen to it in the group chat after I record it."


    "Alright. I''m going to start practicing." Jacob said and we ended the call.


    Walking straight to the Entertainment agency, I walked past the dance studio and caught Vanessa entering the studio with some snacks on her hand. She froze like a deer in headlights, and stammered for excuses while trying to hide the food behind her hand.


    "Um, what-What are you doing here? Are you doing spot checks?"


    I rolled my eyes and said, "Just eat if you want to eat. I''m not the diet police."


    She smiled wryly and said, "Sorry. Habits. You still didn''t answer my question though."


    "Oh, I''m headed to the recording studio. By the way, how''s your vocal training going?"


    "Not bad." Vanessa replied. "I''m almost at my peak form again."


    "In vocal. Not stamina though." I snarked. "By the way, after you''re done,e to the recording studio."


    Her eyes lit up, "Really? I''m ready for my debut?"


    I rolled my eyes again and mumbled, "Talking to you will hurt my eyes. It''s not for youreback. You can''t even say it''s your ''debut''. Stop trying to erase Sneakernight from your history! Anyway, I''munching a game this Wednesday. I need a female vocalist for one of the songs."


    "Alright. I''m in!" Vanessa said excitedly. I looked at her with a deadpan expression, which made her enthusiasm snubbed.


    "What?" She asked with disbelief.


    "It''s an audition. I''m not just going to give it to you." I smirked.

 Chapter 258: Can’t back out.

    <h4>Chapter 258: Chapter 258: Can��t back out.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Well this is awkward." Vanessa suddenly said as we entered the recording studio together.


    The recording studio feels cozy, with sound-dampening panels lining the walls to create an optimal acoustic environment. Several isted vocal booths with ss partitions sit along the perimeter.


    In the center of the room, arge mixing console dominates, its numerous knobs and faders ready to be adjusted by the skilled hands of a sound engineer.


    "What is?" I asked, confused as I sat at the sound synthesizer.


    "Being alone, just the two of us." She exined while crossing her arms, standing by my side.


    I nodded in acknowledgement and said, "It is weird." She nodded too, but her face froze as I said, "I just realized that I had never seen you perform live before. Consider this an audition."


    "A-A-Audition?" She stammered panicky. "Yeah, go inside and sing a song you have a great confidence in. I want to hear if your vocal is suitable for the song I have right now."


    Her eyes still shook for a bit, but she agreed, "Alright then. Just�C Give me a second to warm up my vocals alright?"


    "Sure. You can tell me when you''re ready." I replied casually. She asked, her eyes lit up for a second, "Aren''t you going to create the songs?" The concept of the audition terrified her that she needed a bit more time to prepare herself.


    "I had finished the beat at home." I said, disappointing Vanessa.


    Entering the other side of the ss, Vanessa started with doing some vocal warmups. She wore headphones and stood in front of the microphone. I waited for a while, but since she wasn''t ready�C and I presumed not going to be in a short amount of time, I contacted SunHee toe to the recording studio.


    To my surprise, it wasn''t SunHee who was first toe there. Renaldo, whom I haven''t seen for so long, and Randall came into the recording studio to bring some coffee and sandwiches.


    "Edward! The golden boy!" Renaldo greeted me cheerfully. I chuckled and said, "I didn''t know you''re back from Europe."


    "Yes, I finally got back here today. There''s a lot of venues that want you to perform there. We had finally narrowed it all down."


    I nodded and turned to Randall. "Aren''t you supposed to be in Vegas?"


    Taken aback, Randall said, "No, there''s a gas leak in the venue, so Taylor''s concert had to be postponed. So we came back here."


    Renaldo teased, "Don''t get your panties in a bunch. Your ex is noting here. She went to search for her bestie."


    Breathing in relief secretly, I replied, "I''m wearing boxers today. Not panties."


    Randall rolled his eyes while Renaldo chuckled. Renaldo pointed behind the ss partition, "And why is she blubbering like a baby."


    "Vocal training," I replied as I turned to Vanessa. Suddenly, she gave me a thumbs up, signaling that she''s ready. Then, I pressed the inte to talk to her, as it was the only way for someone to talk with someone inside the soundproof area, "What are you singing?"


    "A Moment Like This, By Kelly rkson," Vanessa said with a raspy voice.


    I raised my eyebrow and said, "Drink some water. You''re too tense right now. Rx a little."


    "I''m trying," She mumbled as she looked around, trying to search for the bottle. "WHERE IS THE WATER BOTTLE?!" She eximed anxiously, on the brink of a nervous breakdown.


    Renaldo quickly ran into the studio, bringing a bottle of water with him. He shouted quickly, "Here! HERE!"


    But, as he gave the bottle to Vanessa, she tried to open the new bottle, but couldn''t do it. She sobbed, "It''s not opening."


    Renaldo took the bottle from her, "Let me help." But as he tried to unscrew the lid, he had difficulty doing so too. "Wait here a moment." Renaldo rushed back out with the bottle and handed it to Randall, who struggled too because the lid was too oily.


    "For god''s sake," I snatched the bottle from Randall and unscrewed the cap easily before handing it to Renaldo.


    After Vanessa drank the water and calmed herself down, I asked her, "Would you feel morefortable if there''s no one else here?"


    "Maybe," She replied. I snapped my fingers at the duo, "Out. And guard the door, please. SunHee ising here, so hold her back for a minute. I''ll call you back in when she''s ready."


    "Okay. It''s our fault too. We came here unannounced," Randall muttered. I shook my head and said, "No. She''s just too broken.." It saddened me a bit to see shepletely lost her confidence after life pinned her to the corner in a boxing match.


    "Be gentle with her, okay?" Renaldo asked me for a favor. I sighed and said, "At the very least, I won''t be rough with her."


    "That''s...enough," Renaldo smiled and went outside with Randall.


    "Want some suggestions?" I asked Vanessa. Wiping down her mmy hand on her dress, she replied, "I''ll take any suggestions right now. But don''t tell me to imagine the audience naked. That won''t work with me."


    "The only audience here is me. So I guess it''d be quite dangerous if you imagined it. You won''t be able to sleep at night as it''ll be imprinted in your brain." I said jokingly.


    She scoffed slightly, her lips were curling up with disbelief. Her nerves rxed a bit, and I finally gave my suggestion, "Alright. I''ll show you a trick. See that button near the microphone."


    "This button?" She asked with confusion. "Yup." I nodded. "Press it and it''ll turn the mic off. Turn it off, sing a few lines, when you think it''s up to your standards, then you can turn it on again."


    "Ah!" Vanessa''s eyes lit up. "Alright. I''ll do that."


    I lied to her a bit. That button didn''t really do anything except for fixing echoes.


    /watch?v=UQuWI1IS02I&ab_channel=VanessaHudgensBrasil Vanessa Hudgens - A Moment Like This (Kelly rkson Cover) [Live from The Masked Singer])


    As she thought no one could hear her, she sang with emotions. Impressive vocal range, moving effortlessly between rich, powerful belts and delicate, airy head voice with seamless control and emotional expression, proof that she was trained to sing since she was a young kid.


    "?? What if I told you it was all meant to be?...Would you believe me? Would you agree???


    ?? So, tell me that you don''t think I''m crazy


    When I tell you, love hase here and noooow??"


    ?? <strong>A moment like this</strong>, some people wait a lifetime for<strong> a moment like this</strong>


    Some people search forever <strong>for that one special kiss</strong>??"


    I nodded in satisfaction as I listened to her. Still oblivious, Vanessa''s knees bend a bit as she continues.


    ??<strong> Oh, I can''t believe it''s happening to me</strong>


    Some people wait a <strong>lifetime for a moment like this~~~</strong>??"


    Stopping abruptly, she had a satisfied look on her face and pressed the button again. "I''m ready now. Truly." She said to me again with a huge grin on her face.


    I grinned and said, "Too bad. I had already listened to your voice."


    "WHAT?!" She eximed with disbelief. "But I pressed the button!"


    "That doesn''t really do anything. Don''t worry. You did really well."


    Frozen in her spot for a while, she finally breaks her silence, "I feel... betrayed."


    "Don''t be melodramatic. Come out here and learn the song!" I rolled my eyes and scolded her.


    ...


    Time passed by quickly inside the recording studio. Vanessa and I both recorded one song each after a thorough discussion with SunHee and the marketing department for the gameunch.


    (Song will be revealed during theunch)


    "I''ll get money for this, right?" Vanessa asked as we finalized the songs.


    I turned to her slowly with a stoic expression. Her heart beat anxiously and she held her breath.


    "Right?" She hesitated.


    "Yeah. Of course." I replied casually, which made her breath in relief. SunHee caught my grin and teased, "Oppa, you did that on purpose to trip her up."


    "What''s good about being the boss if you can''t y mind games with your workers?" I grinned and focused back on the music console. Vanessa was bbergasted and SunHeeughed.


    Vanessa smiled softly and tried to create conversation, "Why are you so serious in thisunch event anyway? It''s just for a video game."


    I stopped what I was doing and turned towards her. SunHee and Vanessa were both startled by my expression. SunHee quickly hit Vanessa''s arm lightly, "Take it back. Take it back."


    Furrowing my eyebrow, I touched my face, "Did I look scary there? Sorry, not doing that on purpose."


    "Answer me honestly, what kind of people do you think usually y video games?" I asked Vanessa.


    "It''s a trap!" SunHee mumbled.


    "Just�C you know...some loners..." Vanessa hesitated, "geek and weirdos..."


    I chuckled a bit and said, "I won''t deny that. A lot of people who y video games do fit into that category."


    "Video games are popr amongst the outsider who feel like they don''t fit into this world. But what people fail to ount for is the sheer numbers of people who feel like that. Video games be an escape. For some, it''s their only way to get acknowledgement."


    "Huh? How so?"


    "You know, that little message on the screen that says, "You''re doing great!"


    "That''s an exaggeration." She scoffed a bit, thinking that I was ying her.


    I shook my head and said, "I''m telling the truth."


    We didn''t talk about the matter further than that. Vanessa went to meet with Maggie, and SunHee went to work on theunch with the other department employees. I went to the CEO''s office to meet with Pepper, but he wasn''t there.


    Harvey exined, "He left a while ago to meet with Mitch and Cam."


    "Oh, alright. Wait, just them?" I asked with confusion.


    "Sal, maybe there?" Harvey replied, unsure. "But now that I got you here, I need to talk to you about something."


    "Sure." I replied as I sat down on the office couch. Harvey took out the agreement document and said, "We''re at the final stage of finalizing the negotiations. However, their representatives want to sign it on Wednesday. It shes with yourunch party, so I''m getting your opinion on this first before I move further."


    "You and my dad will be my representative in signing the document. So there won''t be any problem with me not being there. Or is there a reason for me to be there?"


    "Some government representatives want to meet with you. But I guess that can be postponed."


    "Hmm? Federal or State?"


    "State government."


    I was stunned after hearing what Harvey said. "Damn. They caught wind of it huh." I mumbled with some dissatisfaction. Harvey smiled wryly and said, "It''s been all over the news. So they''ll definitely smell the money."


    I chuckled and said, "Who knows, maybe I can even meet the Terminator."


    Referring to the Governor of the State of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He took office in 2003, and it has been 6 years for him in the office. During that time, the state of California didn''t have that much of a great yearly track.


    This year was particrly bad because California has a 60 billion dors deficit on their budget. The deficit was particrly bad because of the 2008 economic bubble burst, and they were in a recession age. They had to give out IOUs to their employees, and even had to get a short term loan to fix their issues.


    "It wouldn''t be such a bad thing to listen to them." Harvey said as she sipped her whiskey. "They are really desperate. We... might get a lot of benefits."


    "I''ll leave that to you. Oh, Harvey. I just realized...we forgot about something very important."


    "What?" Harvey asked, confused.


    "Did you tell Eve that we''ll move forward the agreement with the government instead of the consortium?"


    Harvey nked out and then she cursed as she mmed the table, "SHIT!"


    ...


    At the seaside home, I was lying on the couch in the living room, holding a guitar in my hand, strumming and singing as I took a little break from my work. Vader lied on top of my head, her cat engine going overdrive with her purring.


    My dad and Frankie walked into the house together, which made me sit up to greet them. "Meow!" Vader meows loudly as she was startled by the sudden movement.


    "Hello you lovebirds." I smirked as I greeted them.


    Frankie and my dad nced at each other, but their expression wasn''t that good.


    "Oh, did you guys have a fight? Or is currently fighting?" I asked teasingly as I held my guitar.


    "So Frankie, what stupid thing did my dad do?" I asked. My dad was dumbfounded, "Why do you think I was the one who did the dumb thing?"


    "Are you seriously asking me that?" I looked at him disdainfully. Frankie smiled awkwardly and said, "He didn''t do anything wrong."


    "Oh, so you guys are not fighting?" I asked. "I was wrong then. Have you had dinner yet? I still have somesagna left."


    "We had already eaten." My dad replied. He thought of something and asked, "Anyway, Ed, what did you do today?"


    "Hmm?" I was confused, but I answered, "A lot of stuff as usual."


    "Good good." My dad muttered. Frankie and I looked at him weirdly before Frankie said, "I should get going now. By the way Ted, if you want to end it with me and pursue that Texas girl, I''ll give you my blessing. She seems really nice, and is a better fit for youpared to myself."


    "WHAT?" Both my dad and I eximed at the same time. "Texas girl?" I looked at my dad with usatory eyes. "What did you do that�C Wait, Texas...Did you meet with Mary?! Oh my god, you and Mary?!"


    "No. Missy." Frankie corrected me.


    "I don''t�C Wait Frankie, did I seem like I was flirting with her, because I really am not." My dad held Frankie''s hand as he exined himself.


    "Dad you met with Missy?" I asked with confusion. "Why?"


    "Just to get to know who you''re meeting with." My dad answered casually before turning to Missy.


    My lip curled downward in a pensive acknowledgement before I ced the guitar to the side and stood up. It made sense to me that he wanted to meet Missy and Mary. He had never met them before after all, and since I flew them out here freely, he''s bound to get curious.


    I ignored their arguments because it bore me. Not because they didn''t have any drama, but because it was handled in such a rational way, I couldn''t even get invested in the arguments before it was settled.


    By the time I was back to the living room with a ss of water in my hand, they were already kissing�C a light peck on the lip and making up from their ''arguments''.


    "You guys are phenomenal." I said sarcastically. "Frankie, when are you moving in?"


    "What?" Frankie widened her eyes, confused.


    "It''s been a couple of months." I turned to my dad. "Be a man and ask her already. You know she''s living alone here."


    "That''s...something that we should talk about, all of us together�C" My dad tried to involve me in this, but I curled my lips and said, "You can proceed with the ease that I have no problems at all with her living here. It''s better than she kept sneaking out at night, or pretending that she came here for breakfast in the morning."


    Frankie blushed a bit. My dad smirked and said, "You caught that huh."


    I shrugged and said, "Genius. Remember? I just kept quiet because I didn''t want to jinx it. Sometimes, the thrill of not getting caught helps."


    "Now that you have exposed it, I''m sorry, I''ve lost all interest in continuing this rtionship with your dad." Frankie said apologetically.


    "Too bad. But I understand. My dad''s a dork." I nodded apologetically to Frankie.


    "Excuse me. I''m still here." He whined. "For goodness sake�C Oh right. Ed. When are we going to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving?"


    "We''re going there? But I had already invited Max toe here." I was surprised when dad suddenly asked me that.


    "Max cane too. No problem." Dad replied casually. "Alright then. She''ll love riding the horses around." I agreed with him. "We''ll fly there on the 27th. I have a lot to do here, so I can''t go there earlier." I added.


    As we talked about Thanksgiving, I suddenly remembered that Luke''s birthday is around Thanksgiving. I''ve never checked for the actual date before, but it wouldn''t be a problem for Robin to find out about it.


    "What birthday present should I prepare for him?" I muttered as I fell into deep thoughts.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In Pasadena, Sheldon''s Cooper''s apartment. Sheldon rushed out of his room, wearing his robe, to open the door as someone was knocking on it loudly, "Coming!"


    Missy and Penny, both drunk, giggled as they saw Sheldon opened the door. "Shelly!" Both of them cheered at the same time. Sheldon was confused and he asked, "Are you both drunk?"


    "Are we drunk?" Missy turned to Penny. Penny replied with some intelligible reply, in which no one could understand it but Missy. Both of them cackled loudly before Penny said, "Shelly, why are you in my apartment?"


    "Excuse me. This is my apartment. Your apartment is over there."


    Missy suddenly grabbed Sheldon''s robe threateningly, "You!!! What did you do to Paige?"


    "What?" Sheldon was confused.


    "You must''ve done something. Otherwise why would she not want to meet you?!"


    "What did I do to her? I didn''t even meet her!" Sheldon defended himself.


    In the meantime, Paige was at home, bncing her pen on her lip as she stared at the nk screen. Then, she dropped her head right on the table.


    "What am I supposed to do! I have nothing~~~" She groaned as sheid there motionlessly.

 Chapter 259: Importance of Protection.

    <h4>Chapter 259: Chapter 259:?Importance of Protection.</h4>


    (This chap aged poorly...or maybe I''m just prescient? Also sorry for thete update. I went to see Deadpool lol.)


    [General POV]


    Leonard Hofstader''sboratory in Caltech.


    "Knock Knock." Howard knocked on the open door to alert Leonard about their presence.


    He entered with Rajesh and walked straight to Leonard. Looking up from his experiment setup with neonsers, Leonard turned off the power source, turning off theser first before pulling down his goggles to speak with his friends.


    "So, are we going to theunch party?" Howard asked sleazily. "I already have my camera storage wiped so I can take pictures of the cosyer girls there."


    Leonard chuckled and said, "We''re not even invited to that....Also, don''t..."


    "Oh, but that''s the case. Yeah, if you want toe, you just need to submit the pass application on the website. I paid extra to get the VIP pass." Rajesh said as he took out a few passes from his pocket. "It''s only 20 bucks each."


    "Awesome��" Leonard''s excitement halted as he remembered, "But Sheldon didn''t want to go though."


    "That''s even better. We''ll invite Sheldon''s sister instead. They shared most of the DNA, so it''s like part of Sheldon is there if you insist on himing." Howard joked, his eyes lit up at the mention of Missy.


    Rajesh scoffed and said, "Yeah right. There''s no way you''re going to meet her. She already knows all about you." Rajesh and Leonardughed at Howard''s ufortable expression.


    Leonardughed and turned to Rajesh, "H-How did you get the pass so fast? Did you apply for it a long time ago?"


    "Don''t be silly. I appliedst night and went to pick it up at the Entertain building this morning." Rajesh replied with a smile.


    "They really do work fast." Howard said with amazement. He turned to Leonard, and scrunched his eyebrow, "Why doesn''t Sheldon want to go to theunch?"


    Leonard signed disappointedly, "He''s boycotting whatever Edward put up. Last night, Edward finally made the top of Sheldon''s mortal enemies list."


    "What did he do?" Howard asked with confusion. "And to be clear, I''m not curious about why Sheldon gets mad, I just want to know if I can do that too."


    After chuckling, Leonard replied, "I''m not clear about it. You need to ask him."


    Inside Penny''s apartment, Missy and Penny groaned as they woke up from their sleep, with a massive hangover hitting them. Missy slept on the sofa, and Penny was sprawling on the floor in a star shape.


    "I need some water." Missy whispered hoarsely. Both of the girls'' hair were disheveled, and their makeup smudged because they went to sleep without taking it off.


    "I''ll get some water." Penny struggled as she got up from the floor, her entire body shaking, and she staggered to get to the kitchen. They went overboardst night with the drinking and clubbing, thus turning them into this state.


    "Did we do something after getting homest night?" Penny asked.


    Missy shook her head, "I don''t remember anything, not even how we got here."


    Suddenly, the girls heard a knock on the front door. As they were slow and sluggish to open it, the knock became a bit harsher this time.


    "Coming!" Missy rushed to the door with a hoarse voice. As she opened it, Mary was standing there with an angry expression. "You went clubbing, and you stopped by your brother''s apartment to give him a ''Purple Nurple''!?" Mary asked angrily as she stomped inside the apartment.


    bbergasted, Missy asked, "I did?"


    Back to Caltech, in Sheldon''s office. He whimpered as he walked to the board to write his equation, sobbing at the slightest movement as it hurt his chestal region.


    "I don''t know how, and I don''t know why, but this surely has something to do with him." Sheldon mumbled grievously.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Although I wanted to meet with Eve�C Pepper''s mother to apologize to her, we couldn''t meet up because she was in Spain, having a 3 day soiree party there. The morning passed by quickly as I was working on the gameunch event, only stopping to have a break during lunch.


    "Hmm...I haven''t had that since..." I mumbled to myself as I was standing in the kitchen, thinking about what to eat for lunch. "I need something soft..." I mumbled to myself.


    "But I don''t have the roux though." After rummaging through the kitchen cab, I found none of the ingredients I needed to make chicken katsu, japanese style curry and rice dishes.


    "Damn it. Should I just do instant ramen?"


    Hesitating whether to go out to buy the ingredients or to stay home and work, I referred my schedule to Robin, "How much more time do we need to finish up the cinematic videos?"


    "Best case scenario estimate, 2 hours." Robin replied.


    "Not bad, how about the worst case scenario?" I asked.


    "2 days." Robin replied. "Not including your trip to the dentist."


    "I''m not going to the dentist." I muttered with confusion.


    Robin sighed and said, "In 3 days, you have consumed 12 Snickers bars, 8 Reese''s Peanut Butter Cups, 10 Kit Kat bars, 15 Hershey''s Kisses, 6 Twix bars, 7 Milky Way bars, 9 Skittles packets, 5 M&M''s bags, 4 Butterfinger bars, 3 Starburst packets, 2 Airheads, and 1 entire bag of Jolly Ranchers. That''s a total of 102 individual candies, enough to fill a medium size box, all devoured in just three short days."


    bbergasted by her keeping track of my sweets intake, I said defensively, "Well, I get stressed when I''m working."


    "There''s signs of you experiencing pain in your teeth this morning. I have already booked an appointment to get you to the dentist."


    "I''m still not going to the dentist. It''s just a little pain. I can live with it." I said dismissively, and my mind went to think about the curry ingredients again.


    "Fuck it. I''m going to the store." I walked briskly to the front door and grabbed my keys, only to bump into my dad at the front door.


    "Hey, I thought you''d be hungry." He said as he raised the takeouts in his hand. "So I bought some Chinese food."


    "..."


    "Ed?" He called me as I was nking out. "Oh, sorry. Yeah that''ll be great." I replied after snapping back to reality.


    My dad was in his ship captain''s uniform, stealing some time out of his busy day to spend it with me. Even though I had a hankering for Japanese food, substituting it with a lunch break with my dad didn''t sound so bad.


    Although when we were eating, I couldn''t help but sense he had other intentions of having lunch with me today. The food wasid out outside the house, on the table by the pool where we could watch the sea as we ate.


    "So, spit it out." I asked abruptly. My dad choked and coughed, startled from my suddenness. "The food?" He asked with bewildered eyes.


    "No, your intention. I don''t believe you''d endure the lunchtime traffic, just to have a meal with me."


    My dad replied awkwardly, "I just...feel like, we haven''t talked in a while. I don''t know what''s going on with your life. So I want to spend some time with you."


    Goosebumps arising from my skin, I shuddered, "Oh god, please don''t do that. We''re not that type of father and son."


    He raised his hands in surrender, "I know. I know." Then, he smirked and said, "Of course, if you <i>don''t </i>want to say it, then I''ll just have no choice but to continue emting this.... What did you say it was again...AHH! A lifetime movie parental figure way of speaking."


    I rolled my eyes, "So, you''re threatening your son?"


    "Of course not..." He gave me a slight grin, "Well, sure. A threat then."


    "Fine. What do you want to know?" I asked him.


    As he ate his food, he said, "No, we''re not doing it like that. I want you to be able to tell me about your life. Just like two old friends catching up."


    "Well..." I hesitated for a bit before saying, "I''m pretty sure I''m crushing hard on Missy."


    My dad widened his eyes and chuckled, "Alright. I''m not going to judge you. She seems really nice. Although, she is almost 30..."


    Chuckling, I joked, "Well I''m not trying to ask her out...now..."


    "Is that why you flew her out here?" My dad asked casually, not giving me judgment, just curious.


    "No. That''s just for some entertainment. I just want to see their reunion. Paige, Missy and Sheldon."


    "Who''s Paige? I know who Sheldon is, and Missy is, but Paige is a new one."


    "Paige is... the screenwriter for the movie Pepper wants to make."


    "Pepper wants? You don''t want to make it?"


    "Not really my type of movie. It''s a rom. I''m working on a TV series about chess, also about a high school chemistry teacher who resorts to cooking and selling crystal meth in order to secure his family''s financial future before he dies of terminal cancer."


    Speechless for a second, my dad shook his head in understanding, "Right. So that''s... actually makes sense. Rom isn''t your thing. I finally learned something new about you."


    "Good enough to stop the conversation and eat the rest of the food in peace?"


    "No." He replied decisively.


    I sighed inwardly before continuing, "Alright. What''s new with me? Oh, my game isunching."


    "I already know about that, but continue."


    "I made a few songs for it."


    "Oh, what kind of songs?"


    "Basically to light up the fire of inspiration."


    "That''s great. What else?"


    "Well, I think that maybe it."


    My dad was silent for a while. "What about your friends? Anything new?"


    "With what? With my friends? Nah, nothing changed... much. Oh, Enid is thinking about dyeing her hair. Alex is experimenting with cats and chicken."


    We talked for a while, then I turned the table to him, "What about you?"


    "What about me?" He asked, confused.


    "What''s new in your life? You can''t ask me to spill my life details without you doing the same thing."


    "Well...Now I understand what you''re feeling." He mumbled as he thought about it. "Too bad the food is gone, otherwise I would''ve told you." He stood up from the dining table abruptly.


    "Ohe on! That''s unfair!" I shouted at his back as he was running away. However, he was stopped by Robin''s projection midway to the sink. Robin and my dad talked for a bit before my dad returned to the outdoor table.


    "Ed, do you remember when was thest time you went to the dentist?" He asked.


    Speechless for a second, I replied, "I don''t know, 2008?"


    "You have an eidetic memory." He narrowed his eyes at me with disbelief. I sighed and said, "June 17th...2007..."


    "It''s been 2 years!" My dad muttered with shock. "Go and get ready. We''re going to the dentist."


    "I still have work to do�C"


    "You want to go to the dentist, or do you want me to take away your driving privileges."


    "Fine." I rolled my eyes in defeat. After cleaning up the outdoor table, I took a shower, and furiously brushed my teeth for a while before walking out of the bathroom.


    As I walked to the front door, I said rebelliously, "If the dental hygienist isn''t hot, then forget about me sitting on the dentist''s chair."


    "I''ll make sure to survey ahead and find you the hottest one." My dad replied with a smirk. "I''m sure Dr Oppen was hot once." He joked as he mentioned the dentist I had growing up.


    ...


    After a short drive, we arrived at the dentist office. My mouth was pried open by the bald male dentist. He inserted the mirror inside my mouth to check on my teeths.


    "Still afraid of the needle?" Dr Oppen asked with a slight joking tone. "I remember you were deathly afraid sitting on the chair when you were young. Now, you''re already a world star! Still, you need to get your checkup at least once every 6 months."


    As he put away the mirror, I could finally answer him, "No not really. How does it look?"


    " There''s a lot of tartar and que buildup. You just need some cleaning." Dr Oppen continued, "But overall your teeth are fine."


    After I breathed in relief, the doctor suddenly took off his gloves. I asked him with confusion, "Aren''t you going to clean it?"


    "Oh not me... You''ve been gone for a while, so you''ve never met her." He opened the door, and a cute blonde dental hygienist entered the room with a huge smile on her face. "This is my daughter Ava. But don''t worry, I''m not hiring her because of..just nepotism. She graduated dental school , and now she''s a part of the family business. We''re all very proud of her."


    "H-Hi." Ava waved awkwardly at me. "I''m so excited to clean my first teeth."


    "What?" Surprised, my eyes widened and I almost jumped out of the seat. Dr Oppen and Avaughed at my reaction. "She''s just joking. She''s been here a year."


    "God, my heart almost burst out of my chest." I mumbled as Iid back down on the chair.


    After a few minutes of the torturous cleaning, Ava switched to the high-powered water jet, spraying a minty cleaning solution onto my teeth. The pressure stung a bit, but I endured it without making a sound.


    Ava giggled as she saw my wincing face, "You''re so cute. Don''t worry, it''s almost over soon."


    "Huh hoo (I hope)." I couldn''t really speak as I needed to keep my mouth open wide. After she finished cleaning, she asked me to gargle using a paper cup.


    "Can you sign it?"


    "The cup?" I asked with disbelief.


    "Yeah." She replied innocently. I was stunned for a second, but I just signed the cupter on. "Don''t sell it on EBay." I joked.


    "No! I won''t!" She eximed excitedly as she received the cup from me.


    Dr Oppen gave me a toothbrush after my session was finished, and he treated me like aplete child, giving me a lecture about mouth hygiene over and over again.


    My dad struggled to keep in hisughter that he had to ce his hand on his mouth to cover it. Helpless, I sighed dejectedly as I watched my dad''s reaction.


    "We''re not speaking of this ever again." I muttered angrily as I walked out of the dentist office. As we walked past the mounted tv on the wall, both of us stopped abruptly and turned to watch the tv.


    [PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: Paramilitary Forces Launch Brazen Attack, Ambush President During Public Event...]


    "Holy�C" I eximed out loud.


    ...


    [General POV]


    The crowd had gathered enthusiastically to hear the President''s speech, eager to catch a glimpse of the country''s leader.


    As he stepped up to the podium, a roar of apuse and cheers erupted around the za. He waved at the crowd, a charismatic smile on his face. Behind him standing proudly was his wife and daughters.


    "Good afternoon America." The President started speaking, and the crowd quietened down. In the first 5 minutes of his speech, he shared about his meeting with the Iran Prime Minister, and their negotiations for peace in the middle east. (Plot of White House Down)


    The crowd erupted in more cheers and apuse. But just as the President continued his remarks, a few suspicious-looking individuals near the front caught the eye of an observant onlooker. These people seemed out of ce, their gazes darting around nervously, raising rms.


    Suddenly, the sound of gunfire pierced the air as the would-be assassins opened fire on the President. The President''s own Secret Service detail scrambled to fight off the attackers. However, two bullets had been released.


    The onlooker watched in horror as the President was struck, staggering backwards slightly from the force of the bullets. But to the onlooker''s astonishment, the President remained standing, his expression barely changed.


    Quickly, the Secret Service agents rushed to escort the President out of the za, but as they reached the presidential limousine, a loud explosion rocked the area. A bazooka round had been fired, directly at the President''s vehicle. It targeted the open door, the car was invulnerable once it was closed.


    The onlooker and hundreds of others watched in shock as the vehicle burst into a fiery inferno right in front of their eyes.


    "NO!!" Carol Wilkes-Finnerty, Secret Service Presidential Detail Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge, flopped down to the ground, bursting into tears as she believed the entire family was dead.


    Yet, as the smoke cleared, the onlooker could scarcely believe their eyes. The President, his family, and the Secret Service agents stood unharmed, not a scratch on any of them. The presidential limousine, however, was reduced to a smoldering wreck.


    President Obama looked at his hand in disbelief. He caught a glimpse of a hexagonal translucent shield protecting him before it disappeared from visible sight.


    "It''s...a miracle." A fanatical crowd mumbled. His words spread like a virus, and the entire crowd muttered the same thing.


    "GOD SAVED THE PRESIDENT!" Another fanatical man shouted. The sight of the Presidenting out untouched from the me, together with his family, was burned into the mind of everyone''s watching.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As we were watching the exclusive footage on the news, Gong Shin suddenly appeared out of nowhere, standing behind me as he too watched the news with a surprised expression. Then, he disappeared again.


    "Dad. Pinch my cheek. Is this real?" I mumbled. My dad replied, "I want someone to pinch me too."


    "Alright." I pinched his waist without warning. "God�C OW!" He looked at me with disbelief, and then turned to the TV again. "It is real. I can''t believe it."


    "What do you think will happen now?" My dad asked casually.


    Shaking my head, I replied, "I don''t know. But I guess, there''ll be a lot of movies that wille out referencing this.... Also�C shit, it''ll be quite bad for theunch tomorrow. The media won''t cover anything else."


    My dad looked at me with concern, "That''s cold. He almost died. You can at least show some concern. After all, you met him."


    "Yeah...Lucky for him..." I replied ambiguously.

 Chapter 260: GameCon (1)

    <h4>Chapter 260: Chapter 260: GameCon (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Geez, it''s a 6 hour drive. I can be there in less than an hour if I use the jet," I said, groaning in dissatisfaction as I mmed the hood of the car shut. I then walked over to my grinning dad.


    "Come on, it''ll be fun. We''ve never had a road trip before," he said as he walked to the driver''s door of the ck SUV.


    "The only thing you''re going to have is the never ending frustration when you find yourself stuck in an avoidable traffic jam, ming yourself on why you didn''t take your son''s words more seriously."


    As I was to enter the car, Maggie burst running from the house''s door, rushing to where my dad and I were, with a huge luggage in her hand.


    "Wait for me! I want to go too!" She shouted excitedly. My dad smiled, "Of course. Put your bags in the back," while I scowled and said, "You are running from your practice aren''t you?"


    Maggie hesitated and answered without meeting my eyes, "N-No! Don''t get me wrong, this is just to show my support for your new project�C Yes, that is the reason!"


    Seeing through her lies instantly, I gave her a look of disdain which made her panicked and rushed to enter the car before I could say anything else. Then, I realized something.


    "Alright, Maggie, you sit in front. I can use the time to make final touches."


    I''d feel too bad letting my dad drive by himself while I do something else, so Maggie''s presence there helped. Well it''d help better if she wasn''t snoring 15 minutes into the drive.


    "ZZZzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz..."


    The sound from her snoring made me look up from myptop, "Maggie wake up!"


    Her eyes opened abruptly and she fell into confusion for a while. I sighed and said, "When we''re getting gas, we''re going to change seats."


    She smiled apologetically as she turned to my dad beside her, "Sorry. It''s just... It''s 6 am..."


    "Oh I''m not bothered by it. Edward does." My dad exined casually. Maggie nced at the back seat and gave me a stink eye, "Uncle Ted is fine with it..."


    I didn''t respond and continued working on the project. Maggie scoffed and closed her eyes.


    "If you sleep you''re going to wake up with a mustache on your face. With permanent ink. " I warned her. Startled, Maggie rolled her eyes and looked at my dad, "Can we stop by to get some coffee?"


    "Sure. Ed, do you want something too?" My dad asked after responding to Maggie.


    "Give me my candies and I''ll be fine." I said. My dad sighed and said, "No candy for a few days. Dr Oppen said so."


    "Then some bread will be fine." I replied helplessly. "Robin, remind me to give a 1 star review on Yelp for Dr Oppen''s office�C"


    "Robin, ignore him!" My dad yelled quickly and nced at me with disbelief.


    I smirked, "I''m not that petty. It was just a joke."


    Maggie asked while watching a video on Youtube, "Edward, why is no one talking about the assassination attempt yet?"


    "I don''t know." I replied. I honestly didn''t know what was going on in the White House, not because I didn''t want to answer her. All I knew, there was a lot of support for the President after the incident, and a lot of conspiracy theories pointed out that America has a breakthrough in energy shield technology.


    Other popr theories painted the President as a saint, some going on deep dive about what he was doing before, some fanatical worship appeared, and the whole country was in uproar.


    "ZzzzZzzzZzzzZzzz" Maggie''s snoring resumed shortly after while she was watching a video on Youtube to understand the issue, and I uncapped my magic marker.


    ...


    [Maggie POV]


    <i>''Wait, when did I change my seat to the back?'' </i>


    Suddenly, I found myself sitting next to Edward inside the extremely narrow car. Our shoulders were pressed together, and Edward kept squirming, trying to make himselffortable. I too tried to move around, but we were stuck there in that position no matter what.


    "Oh no, Maggie, why don''t you hop onto Edward''sp? We''re going through the narrow tunnel, and we need every inch of space we can get." Uncle Ted nced backward, with his dark sunssesrger than his head.


    "What? No!" I tried to reject it, but I abruptly found myself sitting on Edward''sp.


    "Uh-oh, bumpy car ride ahead!" Uncle Ted warned, and the entire car shook up and down. I could feel my body warming up as I sat on Edward''s rock hard, pungent... Magic Marker?


    The pungent smell of the magic market pulled me out of my ridiculous dream. As I opened my eyes, I was taken aback when I saw Edward''s face really close to mine. He smirked mischievous as he capped his marker and returned to his seat.


    "Done! You''re now the proud member of the Order of the Phoenix."


    "What the hell�C" I checked my reflection on the back view mirror, only to find several doodles on my face. He etched a moustache on my lips, stars on the side of my eyes, and Harry Potter''s Lightning scar on my forehead, on both sides! Well, the tiny stars were kinda cute, but everything else wasn''t!


    "Harry Potter Only Has 1 Scar!!!" I shouted at him angrily.


    "That was a symmetrical choice on my part." He replied with a grin. "You bitch!" I shouted as I reached my hands to the back of the car, trying to hit him. I unbuckled my seat belt as I needed more reach, but Edward responded by grabbing my torso and pulling me to sit at the back entirely!


    "Uncle Ted! HELP!" I shouted desperately, but Uncle Ted could only focus on not crashing the car from our fight.


    "Don''t make me turn this car around!" He warned.


    "Great! Then I can use the jet!" Edward retorted, unintimidated by the warning in the slightest.


    He stopped at the side of the road, and gave the both of us a stern scolding. In the end, I sat on the back, allowing me to take a nap there, and Edward sat on the front. Because of the whole situation, I kinda forgot about the doodle on my face, and I didnt realize it until we stopped by to get some lunch in San Francisco.


    "It''s your own fault to be sleeping in the entire ride here." Edward said annoyingly as I wiped down the magic marker on my face with abination of rubbing alcohol and wet wipes. Luckily for him, he has all of those things. Or else....


    Well, there is no ''or else''. I didn''t think I could ever win. But I won''t let these things go away so easily! He needs repercussions!


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    It was half past 1 in the afternoon when we arrived at Moscone Hall. Despite the game not being officiallyunched yet, the venue was already crowded with eager fans - a testament to thepany''s effective marketing strategy that had generated significant preunch buzz.


    Moscone Hall is arge convention center with 4 main halls. Thergest of these halls has a maximum capacity of 4,500 people. However, rather than booking the biggest hall, we �C the organizers opted for a smaller convention space in the 2,000-3,000 person capacity range.


    This strategic decision was based on the understanding that for this type ofunch event, it''s better to have a more densely packed, vibrant atmosphere, rather than renting out thergest hall and potentially having it not even half-filled. The better the number of people filling the seats, the more energy and excitement would be created for theunch.


    "Ed, is there a ce for us to get off?" Maggie asked, aware of my status as a celebrity, and was worried that we may get mobbed by the crowd.


    I smiled and replied, "I don''t know, maybe you can find a toilet somewhere?"


    "Huh?" She was confused, and then blushed as she realized it. "I swear to god, one of these days." She mumbled to herself.


    My dad chuckled and said, "That made me miss Max a little bit."


    "I know right? She''ll have even better dirty jokes if she heard that." I replied with a slight excitement.


    "So, which way should I drop you off?" My dad asked.


    "At the front will be fine. There''s a valet for us." I replied as I pointed to the signs for the valet. That service was just there for the organizers and guests�C if we had any.


    Wearing a hoodie with a jacket over it and simple jeans, I blend in well with the crowd of gaming fans in the venue.


    The crowd erupted into cheers as they saw me leaving the car with Maggie and my dad. The photographers excitedly snapped my pictures as I waved towards them, making my way into the venue.


    My wolf-cut hairstyle, the silver chain around my neck, and even my sling bag were all scrutinized by the photographers, and it was posted into several news and tabloid websites minutes after I arrived there.


    A few bodyguards created a perimeter surrounding me as I made my way through the crowd. The event would start at 3 pm, however, theunching of the game wasn''t until 6 pm�C marking its ending.


    "Edward, can we get a picture?"


    "Edward, can I get a signature?"


    "Edward�C"


    The fans called my name a few times, but I just waved at them politely and walked straight to the hall, and entered the backstage with Maggie and my dad.


    "OPPA~" SunHee saw me and rushed towards me dramatically, rming Maggie. Maggie flinched a bit as SunHee gave me a bear hug. Suddenly, SunHee red at Maggie, "Oppa, who''s this pretty girl? Are you cheating on me?"


    "Yes obviously." I replied with a serious expression, "Sorry you have to find out this way."


    "Stop messing around you two." Harvey walked towards us and gave both SunHee and I a hit on the head with the roll of paper in her hand. Then, she gave me the paper, "Ed, do you want to go through the presentation?"


    "I''m sure you guys can handle it. I just want to watch."


    SunHee suddenly perked up after rubbing her sore head, "Oppa, can you do Q and A with the crowd? Just for a few questions."


    "Sure." I replied casually. "Oh, right, here, the finished music video. You can use it in the opening." I gave SunHee a USB drive. She grinned and said, "As expected of Oppa!"


    "Why is she calling you Oppa?" Maggie asked after SunHee left to get the kickoff presentation.


    "She''s just wired wrongly in the head." Harvey replied. "Brilliant, but...you know." She added, which made me chuckle a little bit.


    "She''s also vengeful, so if you want to mess with Harvey, just tell SunHee what she said." I told Maggie.


    Maggie was taken aback before she smirked and said, "What if I told her you were the one who said that?" Harvey looked at Maggie with intrigue, while my dad lost interest in the conversation and left to go to the snacks bar.


    "You can try, but she''s not going to believe you." I replied tauntingly. "By the way, want to go to the stalls?"


    There were a few stalls set up by thepany to sell the merchandise in front of the convention hall, in the hallways and the lobby.


    Maggie asked, "Are you going to buy me something?"


    I frowned and said, "I''m going alone."


    "WAIT! I want to go!" Maggie grabbed my arm to beg me. As we made our way around the convention hall, I could hear some whispers from amongst the crowd there.


    "Is she his girlfriend?"


    "She''s making him buy everything. Must be a gold digger."


    "They kinda look nice together, but I don''t know why it''s giving me an...ick..."


    "Hey Edward�C"


    My massive, 6''7" bodyguard quickly stepped in and stopped the skinny man with a Beatles-style haircut before he could get within 3 meters of me. Howard Wolowitz looked up at the imposing figure with fear in his eyes and said in a shaky voice, "I-I''m his acquaintance."


    "Back of the line, pal," the bodyguard growled, clearly not believing Howard.


    I then noticed Leonard and Rajesh standing behind Howard. Scanning the crowd, I spotted Sheldon hiding nervously behind a nearby pir, his eyes darting away as they met mine.


    Seeing the foursome, I turned to the bodyguard and said, "It''s fine, I know them. You can hit the guy if you want, but do it after."


    Howard''s eyes shook, "What�C Don''t make him hit me!"


    "Rx Howard, it''s a joke." Leonard chuckled nervously as he looked at me, "Right?"


    "Of course." I smirked. "It''s just a joke...Maybe." Howard was nervous and said, "I just realized I haven''t paid for this merch yet." Then he rushed away.


    Rajesh smiled politely at me and Maggie, then to my surprise, he spoke, "That was fun. He was getting too chummy, trying to make it seem like he knew you in order to pick up some fat girl." Enjoying the misery of others, Rajesh loved how I intimidated Howard and made him run off.


    I smiled with disbelief and said, "I thought you can''t speak in the presence of a woman?"


    "Oh, he''s fine if it''s a crowd...And he doesn''t look directly at her." Leonard exined and showed me that Rajesh didn''t look into Maggie at all. His eyes were locked onto me.


    "Hmm?" I moved Maggie in front of me, and Rajesh looked somewhere else. Leonardughed, but as he saw Maggie''s face, he lowered his eyes to the ground too. I sighed with disbelief and said, "Leonard, this is the reason Penny won''t go out with you. Be a little bit more confident will you? Also, what is up with Shelly? Why is he hiding from me?"


    "Um, Ahhh...." Leonard stammered for a while before he replied, "He thought you''re on a mission to ruin his life. So he doesn''t want to be near you."


    "What did I do?" I asked with confusion. Leonard sighed and said, "For some reason, he thought that the purple nurple his sister gave him was a part of your malicious n to ruin his life."


    "What is a purple nurple? Maggie asked. "Twisting his nipple until it turns purple." I exined simply.


    Leonardughed and then asked, "Um. So...Um, is she...?"


    "Is she what?" I asked.


    "You know, your girlfriend?"


    Maggie and I looked at each other, and then we both grimaced with disgust. "How can you even ask that?" I rebuked him. Leonard was startled and tried to defend himself, "Wait, y-you''re n-n-not?"


    "You''re a disgusting pervert." Maggie scolded him, which made him fall into despair. I turned to Maggie and defended Leonard, "That''s too much. Tone it down a little."


    "He''s a little pervert?" Maggie was puzzled.


    "Sure, better." Then, I turned to Leonard and exined with a slightly raised voice, making sure that the others around us could hear me too, "She''s my cousin."


    "Ahh!" Leonard finally understood why Maggie called him a pervert. He turned to Maggie and apologized, "I''m sorry. That''s just what everyone else says, so I just assumed�C Anyway, I''m really sorry."


    "It''s fine." Maggie said with a kind smile. "Next time, ask first." She grinned teasingly. Leonard chuckled and said, "Sure. I will keep that in mind."


    Although it would be interesting for me to tease Sheldon, I continued walking around the convention center, and finally arrived at the live demonstration of the game.


    Two teams of beta testers, with 5 yers per team. Some crowd members were recording the match that was disyed on the big screen, and eximed in wonder when they saw the smooth, extremely high quality game y, especially for a game made in 2009, and with the added bonus of mesmerizing special effects.


    In front of the match stage, Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira, the host of Attack of the Show! in the G4 TVwork, werementing about the battle. However, my attention was more towards the costume she was wearing. Olivia was cosying Sivir, the Battle Mistress, as she hosted the show.


    A golden crown on her head with turquoise jewel in the center, somewhat revealing ck and grey clothing, with ck boots, gloves, a bra, and a ck skirt with gold ents, a white scarf around her neck, Olivia was ogled by many of the nerdy fans as she hosted the show.


    I was curious as I saw the TV Network camera so I asked the crew nearby. Turns out, as Olivia was hired to host theunch by me, she made a deal with SunHee to record some footage for the Attack On The Show!''s broadcast too.


    Watching Olivia''s seductive, yet humorous antiques as she hosted the show made me chuckle. Even Maggie giggled as Olivia said, "I should''ve worn Ashe, the Frost Archer''s cosy instead of Sivir, because at the very least my belly wouldn''t be this cold."


    It was really cold inside the convention center, and the stage she was hosting from was directly underneath the air conditioner. She jumped lightly to heat herself up, but that made the audience even more mesmerized.


    "So we talked about gamey�C" Kevin dragged on with his words, yfully teasing Olivia who was restless at the moment. Her teeth chattering as she slowly turned to Kevin, "We already talked about that. All of it is....5 out of 5...Wait, no, it is extraordinary, so I''m going to give it 10 out of 5!"


    Kevinughed and said, "Alright, so Olivia, tell me something, doesn''t this 5 versus 5 team match give you a championship vibe? I think that they are not telling us the entire n they have for the game."


    "It might be so, but they may just have wanted to wait for the kickoff to theunch." Olivia smirked directly to the camera. "And I''m the host there. No Kevin. Just me."


    Kevin rolled his eyes, "Wonder if Mr Millionaire Teenage CEO-sh-Worldwide Famous artist, is a fan of yours."


    "Right now I wonder if I can get a jacket." Olivia joked. But then, something interesting happened on the live broadcast. I walked into the shot as I took off my jacket, and ced it onto Olivia.


    She covered her mouth as she giggled, bewildered by my action. Even Kevin was surprised. Both of them were so excited and Kevin said, "Oh my god, Mr CEO."


    "Oh my god, the jacket is even making my face flushed." Olivia said as she touched her burning cheeks. "I can''t believe my prayers were answered." She joked as she touched the jacket, putting her hand through the sleeves and hugged it close to get the warmth. "It even smells so nice."


    "Mr Newgate, do you want to say something to the people watching?" Kevin asked before he pointed his microphone to me.


    "Well, I just got here, so I don''t know what you guys were talking about, I only caught thest few minutes." I replied and smiled as I looked at Olivia, "And yes, I am her fan. I like watching the show in my spare time."


    Kevin and Olivia made an expression of surprise, with a mixture of disbelief. They became excited and Kevin said, "Wait, you watched the show?"


    "Yeah. Sometimes." I replied honestly.


    Watching Olivia Munn challenging how many sausages she can fit into her mouth, her jumping into a giant pie wearing a skimpy maid out, with the cream thered on her chest, or any other insane stuff they recorded in there, was something most teenage boys living in pre-2010 would do.


    Abraham wouldn''t shut up about the show and would share with me in explicit details about how big Olivia''s....breas�C <i>*ahem*</i> presence in the show.


    "We''re running out of time, do you have something you want to say to our audience about the gameunch today?" Olivia asked me as she received the cue from the cameraman.


    I smiled at the camera and said, "If you want to watch theunching of the game, you can go to the website and click on the livestream link. We will share the entire kickoff in the livestream."


    "We will absolutely watch it!" Kevin said. Olivia smirked knowingly at him, which made him roll his eyes, "I know you''re the only host, don''t rub that in." As the livestream was over, Olivia gave me a light hug, thanking me for the jacket. I told her she could keep it, which made her gleeful.


    Maggie asked me incredulously after I got back to her. "Why did you crash on their broadcast? Isn''t that dangerous?"


    "If you don''t know what to do, then yes." I replied casually. "Besides, it''s good to do some crazy stuff rted to theunch. If this goes viral on Youtube or other social media, then the game will get even more exposure."


    Maggie rolled her eyes and said, "From my standpoint, it just seems that you went up there to flirt with Olivia Munn."


    "That is my purpose too." I replied honestly.

 Chapter 261: GameCon (2)

    <h4>Chapter 261: Chapter 261: GameCon (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    5 minutes before theunch, Maggie and I went backstage again. The bustling energy backstage was palpable as the final preparations were underway. SunHee especially, was wearing her headset andmanded the entire event staff.


    The crowd had already started to fill the seats in the main hall, an air of anticipation buzzing through the air. Olivia, the host of the event, was hurriedly reviewing her notes onest time, her brow furrowed in concentration, her mouth mumbling the words written so that she had some practice.


    Camera crews were busy setting up the live feed, testing microphones and positioning their equipment to capture every moment of the highly-anticipatedunch. Technicians scurried about, double-checking disys and making sure every system was primed and ready to go.


    "Alright, you should go to your seat." I told Maggie.


    "What about you? Aren''t youing?" Maggie asked with curiosity. Shaking my head slightly, I replied, "No, I have to appearter, so it''s better if I stay here."


    Maggie nodded in understanding, and before she could leave, all of a sudden, Vanessa appeared from behind Maggie and I. With a scarf on her head and ck sunsses with a white frame to hide her identity, she had snuck into the convention centre, alone, without any security around her. After listening to her story, I fell into disbelief.


    "Wh-Why did you do that? You can just ask me if you want toe. There''s...no need for all of this extra stuff." I scolded angrily as I pointed to her scandalous attire. "You look like a mistress sneaking around. You said you don''t want toe."


    Vanessa fidgeted and said, "Well I changed my mind. Um... I just want to see if people like my�Cthe song."


    Looking at her with disbelief, I sighed and said, "Alright. You can sit with Maggie at the VVIP section. Also, take off the scarf. You''re drawing more attention to yourself by wearing that."


    "Wait. I''m not the only one who came." Vanessa suddenly said as I found her a VVIP pass. "Hmm?" Puzzled, I stopped separating thenyards, and looked upwards. Then, I saw Selena looking sheepishly as she walked in my direction wearing tight jeans and white shoulderless blouse.


    "Hi?" I greeted her with a slight smile on my face. The reaction made Vanessa baffled and a bit jealous. She mumbled to herself, "He''s not mad she''s here! Only me!''


    "I''m not mad you''re here. I''m mad you''re dressed like that." I retorted to Vanessa, which made her taken aback, and smiled sheepishly as she hid behind Maggie.


    "Hi." Selena greeted me back, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I hitched a ride along with your CEO when he''sing here. I hope you don''t mind." She exined.


    "Not at all. I''m really d you''re here. Sorry I can''t entertain you guys. I have to get ready�C"


    "Oh, don''t worry about us." Selena interjected quickly. "Theunch is more important. Vanessa and I will go to our seats now. We won''t bother you here."


    I nodded slightly and said, "Maggie, you should lead them. Let them sit near Pepper and Harvey."


    As the duo turned to walk to the seats, Maggie smirked at me and teased, "Wow! She''s quite brazen toe and flirt with you here."


    Pretending to be confused, I replied, "She''s not. Maybe she''s here to escape Dan Schneider. Alright, you should go now too." I pushed Maggie with my palm while she giggled. She rushed to the girls and went to their seats.


    The second they sat down on the chair, the lights in the conference hall dimmed. The crowd cheered as the League of Legend logo appeared on the giant screens. Two screens on the side of the stage, and one huge screen on the stage. To amodate 2000 people, there were also several smaller screens scattered in every section of the seating areas.


    [Song: RISE (ft. The Glitch Mob, Mako, and The Word Alive) | Worlds 2018 - League of Legends]


    The cinematics started with a 10 second clip of Annie, one of the champions, running from arge werewolf, carrying a teddy bear in her arm. Her scared face coupled with her kidlike stature grabbed the crowd''s heart immediately.


    The scary warrior-like werewolf with razor sharp teeth who jumped in front of Annie, stopping her from running away in the field of faction gs, caused the crowd to gasp.


    Leonardmented with concern, "Oh my god." Sheldon cowered as he saw the werewolf�C a champion by the name of Warwick, grinned devilishly as he closed the distance with the little girl.


    Suddenly, an arrow flew in front of Warwick, prompting him to dodge instinctively. He turned to the side with anger, and saw Ashe, the beautiful frozen archer with a cold face aiming at him with a frozen arrow.


    As the standoff began, so did the music. My voice reverberated throughout the halls, generating chills for the listeners.


    "?? Wee to the wild, no heroes and viins


    Wee to the war, we''ve only begun, so??"


    Ashe and Warwick rushed towards each other as they began battling with Ashe dodging Warwick''s ws and shooting her arrows at him. As she shot him with a frozen arrow, she grabbed Annie and rushed away.


    "??Pick up your weapon and face it


    There''s blood on the crown, go and take it??"


    Warwick broke free from the frozen state and ran after them. As Ashe and Annie were running, a few more champions were seen encircling them.


    "??You get one shot to make it out alive, so??"


    The crowd''s enthusiasm as they watched the fighting cinematic was at an all time high.


    ??Higher and higher you chase it


    It''s deep in your bones, go and take it??


    The fight was at its peak when several more champions such as Garen, Sivir, and Amumu came in to back up Ashe and Annie.


    ??This is your moment, now is your time, so


    Prove yourself and??


    The champions shed with each other as the chorus sounded!


    ??RISE, RISE??


    ??Make ''em remember you??


    ??RISE??


    The fight scene made the audience''s blood boil. Excited, they shouted encouragingly at the team they were rooting for.


    ??Push through hell and??


    ??RISE, RISE??


    ??They will remember you


    RISE~~!!!??


    The crowd cheered thunderously in excitement after watching a glimpse of the team fight, animated with ultra quality animation, which made them feel like they were watching a movie.


    "It''s his voice�C It''s Edward''s song!" Selena''s eyes lit up as she heard the song''s vocals. Turning to Vanessa, Selena said excitedly, "It''s his song!"


    "Duh." Vanessa smirked teasingly. "We already know about that."


    "?? Wee to the climb up, reach for the summit. Visions pray that one false step lead the end, so??"


    Howard heard the lyric and muttered, "Damn. That is quite deep..."


    Rajesh nodded and said, "Even though he knows it''s a mistake, he still hoped for the best. It''s...A really good message!"


    Sheldon scoffed and said, "In fantasy! In real life, if you walk onto a false step, you''re going to fall down and die from a broken neck."


    ?? Higher and higher you chase it


    It''s deep in your blood; go and take it


    This is your moment, take to the skies, go??


    The drum buildup made the audience''s heart beat faster. As the song reached its ''drop'', the entire crowd cheered!


    "??Prove yourself and


    <strong>Rise, rise</strong>


    Make ''em remember you;


    <strong>Rise</strong>


    Push through hell and


    <strong>Rise, rise</strong>


    They will remember you;


    <strong>Rise~~~! </strong>??<strong>"</strong>


    The three minute cinematics ended with Annie''s teddy bear morphing into a ming bear, which earned the crowd''s cheers again before it stopped at the League of Legends logo.


    I checked the views of the livestream through myptop, and found out that there were 500,000 people watching theunch right now from all over the world. Smiling in satisfaction, I turned my attention to the stage where Olivia Munn walked to the centre of it, holding a microphone in her hand.


    Already changed from her initial cosy, Olivia stood confidently with her hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing a pencil skirt and a slightly transparent white blouse, facing the crowd of male dominated fans.


    "Wee fans and yers from all around the globe for the highly anticipatedunch of the League of Legends Multiyer game! We are witnessing a <i>legendary </i>asion as this groundbreaking multiyer online battle arena (MOBA) game makes its grand debut, live-streamed to audiences worldwide!"


    Theunch countdown appeared on the screen again as soon as the announcement ended.


    [Time tillunch: 2:35:57( 2 hours, 35 minutes, 57 seconds)]


    ...


    [General POV]


    Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill, the game CEO and founder, took the stage with Olivia as the event progressed. They joked about the cartoonish appearance of the game before Edward took over in the game development, which earned a lot ofughter from the audience.


    The event moved on smoothly without any idences. The song ''Legend Never Die'' and the animated music video was yed in the middle of theunch, earning another wave of admiration from the fans. (A/N: Keeping the song reaction for something else)


    45 minutes before theunch, Olivia started a Q and A segment with the audiences, questions that would be answered by Brandon and Marc.


    "Hi, I have to say, I''m really excited for the gameunch." A pale skinny white man stood in front of the microphone. Leonard recognized him and said to his friends, "Hey that''s Stuart."


    Stuart continued with his question, "But, I do have a question... Um, how-How did you make money from it�� I mean, obviously the game is free to y, which is great for all of us�C the fans, but a-at the same time, I don''t...want...to get invested in a game, if it''ll just go down right after."


    Brandon smirked and said, "First of all, do you know who owns thispany right now?"


    Stuart chuckled nervously, "I do. Entertain owns thepany."


    Marc joked, "And you have trouble believing in a game owned by a billionaire teen that loves gaming?"


    The audience burst intoughter, and Stuart was a little embarrassed. "I get what you''re saying. Alright, that''s all from me�C" He left quickly, and ck man walked to the microphone.


    "Hi, my name''s Winston. I want to ask�C I get a feeling that this, isn''t JUST want you guys have nned for the game�C I mean, it''s too big, with theunch, inviting Olivia Munn�C"


    Olivia waved seductively at the questioner, making him blush as he continued, "I mean, w�Cwhy the bigunch? There''s even songs! I mean, no game has ever done that before!"


    The crowd pped to support Winston. Olivia smiled and said to Marc, "I too have the same question by the way."


    Both Brandon and Marc smirked at each other before Marc replied, "We want to answer you."


    "But, that is something that you''re going to find out by yourself soon enough. In, 15 more minutes." Brandon checked his watch as he replied.


    "So, there''s big ns for the game?" Winston asked excitedly.


    "We can answer that, yes. There are big ns for it." Marc replied with a snicker.


    The Q&A moved on pretty quickly, with some people asking about the game characters, the team positions, and so on.


    Olivia got the cue from SunHee, and said to the audience, "We only have time for onest question."


    Sheldon whispered to Leonard, "I have a question. When can we leave?"


    Leonard scoffed and said, "Edward hasn''t even gotten on stage yet."


    "That''s why we need to leave now." Sheldon whispered nervously. "I don''t know what he''ll do when he sees me next Leonard. He''s a diabolical megalomaniac. I don''t feel safe here."


    "You''re the maniac!" Leonard scolded his best friend angrily. "For thest time, he has nothing to do with your nipples!"


    "Hi, my name is ire." A young girl with bushy blonde hair, wearing a choker and a crop top that reveals her pierced belly button, walked to the microphone. "I have a question, umm, the game, has top tier quality, so, is the storage going to be big?..."


    She added quickly, knowing that her next question wouldn''t be received well by the crowd, "Um, also why do the female characters all seem to just wear skimpy outfits while the men have powerful full body armour?"


    Marc, Brandon and Olivia were a bit taken aback by the question. The crowd started booing ire, and her cousin, who''s a 16 years old teenage boy, was embarrassed and tried to hide his face under his hoodie, to make sure no one knew he had any connection with her.


    "About storage, you don''t have to worry about it. It is the same size as the other games in the market..." Marc replied hesitantly before giving a look to Olivia Munn.


    Olivia collected herself quickly and said, "Now that we''re in the final quarter to theunch, we have a special guest that will join us on the stage. Give it up forrrr, Edward Newgate!!!"


    Edward walked into the stage, and the crowd exploded with apuse and cheers for him. He waved as he disyed his charming smile, walking closer and closer to the centre of the stage to join in the host and the CEOs.


    Although the majority of the people inside the venue were men, Edward''s poprity still managed to showcase themselves.


    "Nice to meet you everyone!" Edward spoke to the audience, earning another wave of cheers.


    Olivia excitedly walked right next to Edward and asked him a question after the crowd''s enthusiasm calmed down. "The defining moment for the world''s gamingmunity is almost here. Edward, as the proprietor of all this, do you have something to say to the audience and the people watching theunch?"


    "Defining moments?" Howard mumbled to himself.


    "Um, a little bit of spoilers there, Olivia." Edward joked as he turned to the host, making the crowd even more curious. "But, before we get into that, I just want to say to all of you... I don''t think any of you here can beat me in a game�C World of Warcraft, or League of Legends."


    Surprised by the sudden attack, the crowd jeered jokingly with eyes filled with disbelief and excitement before they burst outughing. Edward chuckled and said, "I might seem like I''m bragging, but I''m really not. I don''t think any of you here have the skills."


    The crowd reacted agitatedly again, which made Olivia burst outughing. She had to cover her microphone as she did.


    Edward continued in a casual manner, "Okay, enough about that. I''m sure all of you are curious about our ns for the future of the game."


    Sheldon scoffed, "He kept dilly dallying to keep the people on the ropes. I know he''s going to torture me again today!"


    "In 5 minutes, the game servers will be opened, and a new era will descend." Edward muttered, much to the audience''s anticipation.


    "Today, I am thrilled to announce the creation of the League of Legends Championship Series - a global tournament that will bring together the finest gaming talent from around the world topete for the ultimate prize!"


    The crowd gasped before they burst into apuse and cheers. "What''s the prize!?" A person suddenly shouted from the audience.


    "Be patient, I''m getting there." Edward joked, making the audiencesugh. "I''ll let Olivia tell you guys about the prize."


    "Really? Me? What an honor!" Olivia said bashfully. Brandon used his microphone and said, "There he goes flirting again."


    Olivia looked at the crowd enthusiastically and said, The ultimate prize? A staggering 1.5 million dors- thergest prize pool ever offered in the history ofpetitive gaming, will be given to the champion!"


    The entire world was shocked. In Korea, a group of highschool students that was watching the livestream�C using the auto-tranted option for the subtitles, became agitated when they heard about the prize.


    "Ya, they said global tournament!"


    "Is this for real?"


    "1.5 MILLION DOLLARS! Starcraft''s prize was only 200,000!"


    "Ya YA YA YA, DOWNLOAD THE GAME RIGHT NOW!"


    The gamingmunity of South Korea was especially excited after the tournament announcement.


    "We have one minute left before theunch!" Olivia said hurriedly. "Everyone, let''s count down to it together!"


    The entire crowd chanted the countdown, starting from 59, all the way to thest second.


    "WELCOME TO LEAGUE OF LEGENDS!" The game was officiallyunched as soon as the countdown ended. 200,000 yers worldwide entered the game as soon as it wasunched, and people saw the numbers of yers in the game disyed on the big screen.


    "YEAH!!!!!" Howard shouted excitedly, almost taking off his shirt in the moment from his enthusiasm.


    "To quote Dumbledore! Let the games begin!" Edward announced, creating a mayhem inside the hall.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Head''s up, there''s a sea of reporters out there camping out for you." Pepper said as he gave me a ss of iced tea after I returned backstage.


    "I should talk to them, shouldn''t I?" I sighed a bit, but had a smile stered on my face. Pepper chuckled and said, "You don''t have to if you don''t want to�C"


    "Seriously, 1.5 million dors!?" My dad asked with disbelief as he approached me and Pepper. "Are you just throwing your money away?"


    "Um, dad, want to know something awesome?" I took out my phone and asked, "Robin, how much money have we made in the half hour after the gameunch? Oh, and how many active yers do we have now?"


    Robin answered, "The game has now profited over 300,000 dors from microtransactions and boosts, mainly from yers in the United States and Canada. The number of yers is ranging from 450,000 to 500,000 people, and the numbers are increasing exponentially."


    My dad''s eyes widened in surprise. Even Pepper was shocked. My dad said, "Wait, what? 300,000 dors in just half an hour? And half a million yers already?" He scratched his head, "Wow, this is... this is really something, isn''t it?"


    "Never doubt me." I smirked at my dad, who sighed in relief after understanding my actions.


    "Alright, I won''t, genius." My dad grinned.


    "That sounds insulting. Do you feel it sounds insulting, Pepper?" I asked Pepper, who shrugged as a response.


    "OPPA!" SunHee walked towards me briskly while holding a clipboard in her hand, "I''ve already uploaded the songs in Entertain websites. Oppa, you can do the interviews, right? Don''t leave straight away. We should ride on this momentum."


    "Sure, but�C Rather than doing it outside, we still have the hall. Once the crowd cleared out, call the reporters in, and we''ll do it like a press conference." I replied.


    "Hmm~!" SunHee hummed sweetly. "Nice idea! I''ll do that."


    Although the game wasunched at 6 in the evening, I flew back to California 3 hourster with Pepper, Maggie, Selena, Vanessa, and my dad. Our car will be driven back by one of the employees who volunteered. Of course, I paid him for his services.

 Chapter 262: “...It’s Really Bad.”

    <h4>Chapter 262: Chapter 262: ��...It��s Really Bad.��</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Inside the jet, Selena sat next to me as I watched the show, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire!" on the sma screen, sitting together at the long couch next to where the dance pole was.


    [For 200 dors, Which toys have been marketed with the phrase "robots in disguise"?] The host of the show asked.


    Turning to Selena, I said, "By the way, I still don''t know yet. Why did youe?"


    A bit startled, she replied with a nervous chuckle, "Right ce at the right time I guess. I know about theunch, but I didn''t know it was in San Francisco. I don''t have any schedule today, so I just followed along when Pepper asked me toe."


    "Oh. Alright. Thank you foring. I really appreciate it." Smiling kindly, my expression made Selena blushed and turned to the screen to avoid my eyes.


    "The answer is Transformer!" I rolled my eyes at the screen as I saw the contestant struggling with the question. Selena chuckled and spoke after remembering something, "Do you remember the wizards show?"


    "Kinda hard to forget since I acted there, and you''re the main lead. Why?" I asked with some confusion and joking about her ways of questioning. ted, Selena said, "There''s thousands of fans who wrote to the show, asking about if you''re going to return."


    "Really, thousands?" I asked sceptically.


    "Hundreds! Whatever! It''s a lot." She said defensively. "Do you want a drink?" She asked as she stood up, but there was turbulence in the air, which made the entire ne shake. Selena flopped onto myp, and I had to hold on to her tight to prevent her from rolling off and crash into the ground.


    "Sorry folk. A duck flew into a windshield from out of nowhere. We didn''t hit it though." The pilot spoke using the inte.


    Pepper scoffed with displeasure and stood up from his seat to get some wine. His eyes widened as he saw the position Selena and I were in. Luckily, he was the only one who turned his sight to the back of the ne while everyone else was still restless about the turbulence.


    "Edward! Buckle up!" My dad suddenly shouted from his seat�C which was in front of the ne.


    "What?! No! I didn''t take off his belt!" Selena suddenly shouted, which made everyone confused and turned towards us. I rolled my eyes and said, "The seatbelts."


    "What the hell are you guys doing back there?" Maggie asked teasingly as she tried to stand up from her seat, face full of excitement. But Pepper held her shoulder down and said, "The seatbelt sign is on. Buckle up."


    "But you''re standing?!" Maggie retorted in confusion. Pepper said, "I''m going to sit now. Just need a ss of wine."


    Pepper gazed at me scrutinizingly and mouthed as he reached for the wine bottle, ''Don''t! She''s her bestie! What are you thinking?!''


    I mouthed back, ''Turbulence. She fell. Not on purpose!''


    ''Keep it in your pants!'' He mouthed angrily, not believing my excuse.


    "You guys know I can see you right?" Selena muttered with disbelief. Pepper smirked and said vaguely "Good." He wanted to remind her too so that''s why he did it so obviously.


    Before he got back to his seat, he whispered, "I mean, it''s not like it cannot happen. I''m just saying, maybe after a few months? Give yourself time to heal first."


    "Again, nothing happened." I replied to Pepper with disbelief.


    [In a failed assassination attempt, what U.S. president was shot at twice at point-nk range, but survived because both guns misfired?]


    Our attention shifted back to the show after Pepper went back to his seat. Selena widened her eyes and said, "Wait, is the answer Obama?"


    "He got shot by a rocket, so I don''t think they''ll focus on the guns." I replied. "It''s Andrew Jackson. He got assassination attempts too."


    "Who?" Selena was confused. I sipped the grape soda Selena had gotten me, and replied, "He is the 7th US President. He''s kinda controversial too. People want to assassinate him because of his populist and anti-establishment persona."


    "I don''t get it." Selena said before she smirked and asked, "Exin?"


    "Well, he started as a courier, then awyer, then he became a politician. So his idea of governing advantaged the people. Um, Populism refers to a political approach that appeals to the interests and concerns of ordinary people. So he was deemed anti-elitist. Anti-establishment refers to his works that disrupt the established power structure of the government. That''s one of the reasons people want him dead."


    "Like, the current President, right?" Selena asked with some realisation.


    I nodded and chuckled, "Well, it''s not like he''s a saint anyway. He introduced the spoils system, where he hired people based on those who supported him, instead of merits."


    After thinking for a while, Selena giggled and said, "I still don''t get it."


    "Well, I don''t want to get into a full blown lecture mode, but if you want to hear, I''ll tell you."


    "No no. I specifically be an actress to stop studying. So..." She joked. Iughed out loud, which earned me a ''checking-up-on-what-the-kids''-are-doing'' gaze from my dad.


    The seat belt signs were off, so Vanessa and Maggie decided to join us. However, before Maggie could sit, I stopped her, "Sorry, the seats are for the half-bloods only."


    "Half bloods?" Maggie muttered with confusion. She pointed to Selena and said, "She''stina."


    "Half�C Mexican." Selena replied awkwardly. Maggie turned to Vanessa who said, "Half-Filipinos." Then she sat next to Selena with a teasing smile on her face.


    I pointed at myself and said, "Half-Cuban."


    "Oh, I didn''t know that." Selena muttered with some excitement. I looked at her with disbelief and said, "I already told you about it before."


    "Yeah, but I didn''t believe you at the time." Selena joked then she said sternly, "Don''t be mean to your cousin."


    Maggie stuck out her tongue at me, sitting gleefully at the long couch with Vanessa. "Your white ancestors will be disappointed in you." I said to Maggie.


    "You''re white too! And we have the same ancestors!" She shouted angrily. Suddenly, Maggie''s eyes lit up and she whispered something to Selena.


    "He did?" Selena replied with some disbelief.


    "Wait, what did you say to her?" I asked with some rm. Maggie stuck her tongue teasingly at me again, and then whispered something to Selena one more time.


    I assumed she was talking shit about my past, so I ignored the giggling girls. There were only 5 more minutes before the nended, so whatever it was she told them, it wouldn''t be that detrimental to my image...<i>I hope</i>.


    ...


    The next day came quickly. The impact of the gameunch has thoroughly assimted into the mainstream, as the once obscure industry has now permeated across the country, thanks to therge amount of money I invested in setting the world championship prize.


    Olddies in programs such as The View were talking negatively about the game and making fun of the concept of a world championship. The media were split on supporting and insulting the game championship �C even refusing tobel it as a ''world championship'' because they think it would devalue the Super Bowl title... even though it''s a game... yed by only one country... and in a whole other different sport category.


    "Ed... I have just realised this.. This country is full of weird people." My dad muttered with disbelief as he watched the news on the tv.


    His sentence made me burst intoughter as I was going to the kitchen to grab some wet food for Vader. He asked, "I saw you were uptest night ying the game."


    "Yeah, I was fighting some korean guy named ''Faker''. It was a great match." I replied with a smile. "As long as you''re enjoying it, son." My dad replied casually, not really understanding the hobby.


    "Oh yeah, Pepper wanted you at thepany today." My dad reminded me as he changed the channel to ESPN. It''s almost Thanksgiving, so there were a lot of football matches being held all over the country.


    "Yeah I know. Vader, do you want toe with me?" I crouched and petted the cat. Vader purred affectionately before she went to devour her food. "It seems that she''s not interested." My dad saw it and teased.


    "She''s been ying with a white raven that usuallyes around the house." Robin suddenly chimed in. "Do I need to implement the lockdown protocol to avoid her leaving the house?" She asked.


    "There''s no need. Vader is a smart girl. She won''t venture off outside the gate." I rubbed Vader''s fur lovingly and said, "Isn''t that right girl?"


    "Meow."


    While I was preparing to leave the house, I suddenly thought of something. After ruminating on it for a while, I decided to proceed with the idea. Carrying myptop bag with me, I walked to the living room again where my dad was still watching the news.


    "Dad, can you help me with something?" I asked.


    "Sure. As long as it''s not illegal." He replied. I paused and replied, "That''s kinda the thing...It''s not..."


    "..."


    I leave behind my speechless dad after telling him what I want, and then drive to thepany using the Ford convertible. "I really should go to school one of these days." I mumbled while stopping at the red light.


    Tapping my fingers on the steering wheel as I listened to the songs on the radio, a red Ferrari pulled over on the nextne, waiting for the traffic light to turn green right next to me.


    I nced over, and saw Charlie Sheen, wearing sunsses, grinned as he looked at me. "What''chu looking kid? Never seen a famous person before?" The light turned green, and he pressed the elerator pedal instantly, darting off into the freeway before I could even reply. "Later sucker~!" He waved at me cheekily as he left.


    I was baffled a bit before Iughed with disbelief at the weird situation. "It seems that he doesn''t recognize me...Wonder if he''s on something..." As I resumed driving carefully, I saw that the red Ferrari was getting pulled over by the cops, and Charlie Sheen groaned as he got the ticket.


    "Really, this is going to be a good story to tell someday." I mumbled as I waved politely at the fuming Charlie as I drove past him. Why else would I stop at the red light and not use Robin''s services if I didn''t know that there were speed traps on the road today.


    ...


    In Pepper''s office.


    "Edward, you''re finally here! Look who it is!" Pepper jumped from his seat and rushed towards me hurriedly in order to pull me into the office. Inside was a man in his 40s, nervouslyughing as he turned to look at me.


    "Hmm, Mr Apatow?" I greeted in confusion as I reached my hand to shake his. Judd Apatow, the distinguished director of manyedy films, stood up slowly and grabbed the hand I offered him.


    "Hi, my god, Pepper, you''re right. His face...It''s like he is made for the big screen." Judd said as he scrutinised my image. I grinned as I posed a little bit, "I don''t know what you guys have talked about, but I get the feeling that you''replimenting me, so I''ll take it."


    "He''s funny too." Judd smiled in satisfaction before heughed. The kinda neurotic director who''s prone to panic attacks when in arge group, started talking about his visit to thepany after we all sat at the office couch.


    "Don''t worry, I''m not here to press on about the script�C Although, it wouldn''t be bad if I can peek at it a little." Judd asked, slightly agitated and impatient to get the material. He was shaking his legs and fiddling with his thumb as he waited for the answer.


    I replied, "It''s not that I don''t want you to see it. It has been barely 2 days since the writer started working on it. I promised to give her more time."


    Judd shook his head as he chuckled, "I''m not trying to get a full script now. I just want to know, the direction the movie is taking. Directors and studios usually have quite the opposite views on the story, so I''d like to get all of us on the same page starting from the beginning. Can you call the scriptwriter here so we can all discuss it together?"


    Excited to see the progress of the movie he wanted to see, Pepper pped his hand and said, "Nice idea. She''s here today to borrow an office, so this all works out quite well. Edward is also here, I''m also here, we can all work on it together!"


    I turned to Pepper and said, "I have something I want to talk to you about�C"


    "Why, you can''t be here, am I right? Oh lord." Pepper asked with concern and slight depression. "I thought you''re free today."


    "Seems like you were nning things." I chuckled and exined, "I actually... have an idea to record a music video. I have a song that is in a tight spot for release. If I miss the window of opportunity, then I can''t release it, ever!"


    Judd was a bit excited, "Music video huh? I never saw how that was made. Can I join in? Just watching, I promise I won''t interfere."


    "Sure." I replied casually to him, not believing him in the slightest. From the brief interaction I had with him, I was 99% sure this man is a control freak.


    "Music video for what song�C A new song?" Pepper asked excitedly.


    "The song I told you about before." I replied. "Anyway, dad is ''kidnapping'' the cast members I want for the music video, so we''ll see if he can do that."


    "Kidnap?" Both Pepper and Judd were confused. I smirked and said, "Not important."


    Pepper thought about it for a while and asked, "Do you already know how to record it?"


    "Yeah." I replied casually. "Just need to set things up and hire a few extras. I think I can start recording it tomorrow." I added.


    Pepper eximed in realisation and said, "If you''re recording it tomorrow, maybe you can spend some time discussing the movie?"


    I sighed and said, "Sure. But promise me something."


    "What is it?" Judd asked as I suddenly turned serious.


    "No matter what happens, I''m not going to hear anything about the conclusion of the movie." I said seriously. Pepper was a bit taken aback as he rarely saw me being serious in anything. "Yeah, we can do that." He replied.


    I smiled again and said casually, "Good, we can start now then."


    ...


    We walked to the office where Paige Swanson was writing in, and she was startled as Pepper knocked on the office door. After a short exnation by Pepper, Paige, albeit reluctant, allowed all of us to enter.


    "Paige, this is Director Judd Apatow." Pepper introduced.


    "Please, just call me Judd. Both of you." He said to Paige before including me too.


    "Paige Swanson. Newbie screenwriter." Paige introduced herself. Judd said, "Oh, I don''t think you''re a newbie at all. You have the air of a veteran writer around you."


    "Especially those eyebags. Hun, did you even sleep in thest few days?" Pepper asked with disbelief.


    "A little bit." Paige replied. "I have to tell you, the script isn''t finished yet."


    "Don''t worry about it. I''m serious. You really don''t. We didn''t give you that much time after all." Pepperforted her.


    I nodded as I asked, "Can we take a look at what you have right now?"


    "It''s pretty rough, but I did write it until the third act." Paige replied. I whistled and said, "That''s pretty impressive. As expected of a child genius."


    "Never bring that up again." Paige red at me before asking the director, "Should I print out what I have right now?"


    "That''s just a waste of papers. Do you guys have any whiteboards? We can just use that to n out the storyboard." The director said. Before Pepper could stand up, I said, "Don''t worry Peps. I got it."


    "Okay then. Thank you Edward." Pepper sat back in relief. Then, everyone became confused as I kept sitting there without even showing any signs that I was getting up.


    "Aren''t you going to get it?" Paige broke the silence after a while. Suddenly, the door was opened by Randall and Renaldo, both of them pushing one whiteboard through the door and cing it near the wall in the room.


    "Thank you guys." I smiled at the duo.


    "You''re wee Edward. This is our job." Randall replied before he left with Renaldo. Pepper, Judd and Paige looked at me with a confused expression. As I saw they were waiting for me to exin, I sighed and said casually, "I asked them to bring the boards here when we were getting out of Pepper''s office."


    "You''re really something else aren''t you." Paige muttered with disbelief. I chuckled and folded my sleeves before picking up a whiteboard marker. "So Paige, can you tell us what happens in act 1 of the story?"


    An hourter, all of the details and storyline were already mapped out on 5 whiteboards. We had to change our room into a bigger meeting room just to make sure that the whole whiteboards could be set up side by side. There was a huge line starting from the left side of the whiteboards stretching to the far right side of the whiteboard, with rooms for the final act on thest board.


    I capped the marker back after I finished writing all of the details of the movie.


    "So I guess, we all agree." I muttered as I turned towards the trio.


    Judd and Pepper nodded at the same time. Paige sighed and said, "The movie..."


    "...Is really bad." I finished her thoughts.

 Chapter 263: Fix it Felix– No, Edward!

    <h4>Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Fix it Felix�C No, Edward!</h4>


    (Sorry was out for the week cause I was focusing on writing a Community Crossover arc)


    [Edward POV]


    Paige sighed and said, "The movie..."


    "...Is really bad." I finished her thoughts.


    She widened her eyes and panicked, "No, that''s not what I was going to say." Pepper and Judd turned towards her, making her feel self-conscious.


    Pepper chuckled as he turned towards me again, "It''s not bad Edward. I''ll go watch it in the cinema, granted that there''s no... other alternatives."


    "It''s still a good movie if the execution is yed right." Judd said as he stood up and pointed at the whiteboard, "I especially like the brother character. There''s a lot of funny ways he can interfere with the main rtionship."


    As a director focusing onedic movies, Judd has a lot of ideas on how to make the movie funnier.


    "But it feels too one-dimensional." Paigemented on her own works in a critical manner. "The brother doesn''t feel like a character. It''s like he''s just there to progress the plot. They were shaken up with the rtionship, the brother is there to help. The main lead forgets to n a date, the brother is there to help."


    "It''s good for a low budget movie. You can get the budget back, not really create a masterpiece.." Judd said from his director''s perspective.


    Spinning the marker in between my fingers, I thought about it for a while before I agreed with Paige, "It is quite one dimensional. I mean, it''s a story about an actor who doesn''t know what love is, and the feisty hot shotwyer who agreed to test out the curse with him, only to find out that the both of them were in love with each other."


    "And at the ending�C"


    "LALALALA~!" I red at Paige before saying, "Not with me here."


    "Come on! We''re almost done! There''s just a little bit left on the ending." Paige retorted angrily. Realizing that she had lost her temper, she apologized to Pepper and Judd, "Sorry."


    Ignoring the fact that she didn''t apologize to me, I continued on with my ramblings, "I mean, don''t get me wrong, this kind of feel good movie does sell tickets, but it was not what I envision to have for the movie."


    "What''s your vision Edward?" Judd asked. "Maybe you can fix it up a little bit."


    "Hmm, alright." I uncapped the pen and made a few suggestions on the board, "So, in the story, thewyer and the actor�C male and female lead, know each other pretty well. She already knows about the curse. And there''s nothing left to explore there since they know each other. I''ll tweak this a little bit."


    "How?" Pepper asked.


    "You see, actors are usually narcissistic, especially those who''re really famous like the setting you cooked up." I pointed at Paige. "If he can live his life just banging 19 years old, why would he even want to date someone properly?"


    "I don''t know. Loneliness?" Paige retorted with some slight dissatisfaction.


    "Yeah...no..." I dismissed herment.


    "You''re talking about Leo aren''t you." Pepper chuckled for a bit. Judd burst intoughter and said, "Yeah, if the movie wants more realism, then that is urate. Women will throw themselves at him. Why even settle?"


    Paige groaned in disgust before looking at me. Startled, I instinctively defended myself, "Not me though. I want to enjoy romance."


    "If you want more realism, you need to start from the very beginning of the story." Pepper suddenly interjected. "Maybe a scene of his dad telling him about the curse when he was very young?" He added.


    "Yes, a deep seated belief that builds his entire character." Judd added in excitement. "We can have a cameo here."


    "There''s also an opportunity to show him as a hopeless romantic, but he slowly grows weary of getting into a rtionship as he grows older. Therefore, he opted to be a human trash." Paige chimed in.


    "Human trash is a harsh word." Judd looked at Paige with disbelief. However, I agreed with Paige and put down the word ''human trash'' in the character introduction for the male lead.


    "So how do we fix a human trash?" Pepper asked with a weary tone. "If he''s trash, he won''t even try to break the curse in the first ce, so there is no movie to make."


    I smirked and then circled the word ''brother'' on the whiteboard. "He is the key. And it will even exin why he acted the way he did in the entire story. Well, if we want to save anything from the draft."


    "How?" All three of them were curious.


    "Simple. They are brothers. So, will the younger brother get away scot free from the curse?"


    "Oh, I get what you mean!" Judd immediately understood my idea. Paige thought about it for a while and said, "It does exin the stuff of why he desperately wants to help his brother break the curse."


    "Because he has the curse too! I finally got it now!" Pepper eximed excitedly after he understood it.


    "The younger brother, who seems like he doesn''t believe in the curse, fixed his big brother up with a screenwriter, a woman way outside the type his big brother would usually date." I made some corrections on the whiteboard.


    "Or, maybe even ckmail him into it. The main lead, if he''s a self made actor, may have some dark history that will damage his reputation if ites to light." I thought about it for a while and wrote, ''Gay Softcore Porn'' on the whiteboard.


    "That seems too dark for a rom." Paigemented.


    "Not really. It yed exactly into the trope." Judd chimed in. "Theedic trope."


    I nodded and said, "We''ll iron out the nitty grittyter. So I want to add an emotional stakes into the film. A crucial thing to make this entire movie believable. Although he was manipted, the main character<i> does</i> fall in love with the female lead."


    "Yeah, you said scriptwriter. Not awyer." Paige asked.


    "Ah, sorry about that. I want to make it more of a ''Power y'' kinda thing. That''s how ckmail bes believable. In the scriptwriter''s case, she''s in it for the favor she''ll get from the younger brother if she tested out the curse for him. To produce her script perhaps."


    "That paints a bad image on the female lead." Pepper said. "But, Julia Roberts was an escort in the movie Pretty Woman, so I guess people don''t really care if there''s a good story there."


    I continued after chuckling, "After the whole shebang about the main lead falling in love with each other, we need a believable conflict there. A scriptwriter and a famous actor, maybe we can show how she was attacked by the media and his fans about her image, insulted, made fun of, harassed by the paparazzi. They were only dating for 2 months at the time, so it''s only a budding love, not true love. It wasn''t true love can get past all challenges kinda thing. Their rtionship will be strained."


    "They might break up from that." Judd muttered in understanding.


    "Yeah, this is when the rtionship gets a little shaky. Which leads to the conflict with the younger brother next. The younger brother�C I''m sorry, it''s really hard for me to continue using that term. I''ll just call him YB from now on. So, YB saw they were in love, but they wanted to break up, which made him fuming, as it''s almost time for them to know if the curse is real or not."


    I wrote the word subplot on the board, highlighting everything that I had written, "Which leads to a confrontation. I mean, physical altercation. Both of them have a pretty nasty fight together."


    "I''m invested, but I still don''t understand why." Pepper asked with some confusion.


    "That''s the emotional stakes factor I''m getting into. Turns out, YB has been desperately in love with a girl. I mean, down to his knees desperate. He used his brother to test out the curse because he''s too afraid to do it himself and potentially lose the woman."


    Paige was excited and said, "We can add more stakes on why he needs to break the curse now! The girl is engaged and is going to get married."


    I nodded in satisfaction and said, "When he tells his brother that, then that''s when the whole plot ties up together. Of course, the male lead will feel manipted by his YB. Which leads to the fight�C But, still, the ML understood why he did that. He understood his brother''s fear, which led him to scream in frustration as the unfairness of the burden it ced onto him. There will be a huge emotional fallout between them, which is going to be yed out in the climax of the movie."


    "Sounds like a brother''s movie now." Paige chimed. "I love it though." She added.


    "You know we''re veering away from the rom tropes." Judd muttered.


    Pepper asked worriedly, "Is that a bad thing?"


    "Actually, it''s a great thing if executed well." Judd replied. Then he added, "Firstly, the exploration of deeper themes like self-gratification, damaged family dynamics, and challenging gender norms within a romanticedy setting is quite...fresh."


    Judd took out a can of red bull and sipped it before continuing,"Blending of lighter genre elements with more serious dramatic substance is often what helps "crossover" films from the rom category to earn recognition at prestigious awards. I mean, it will be very well received by the critics, just by the nuance alone."


    He continued, "Secondly, when you fix up the male and female lead, and they were from two different worlds�C She''s struggling and he''s extremely sessful, yet, it showed that she kept her values instead of just being a damsel in the movie. It builds up an interesting dynamic in the overall movie�C Especially the parallel between the brother''s love story and the main lead''s love story."


    "Pepper, what do you think?" I asked. The whole thing about me cooperating in creating the movie was just for Pepper''s sake. If he didn''t like it, then I wouldn''t proceed with it.


    "Hmmmm...." Pepper mulled it over for a while before he said, "It''s really great. I''m really looking forward to getting an award."


    "Well I don''t really care about the awards." I replied with a teasing smirk. "It''s the first movie thepany is going to produce. We have no prior reputation. It''ll be a miracle if this even gets well received at the box office."


    Although it made me seem like an asshole, curbing down their enthusiasm like that, considering the fact that the movie was going to be released in 2010, where it was a great year for original screeny and great movies, I''d like to keep myself realistic.


    We''d have topete with The King''s Speech, Inception, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, The Fighter, True Grit, Alice in Wondend, ck Swan, and a lot more critically acimed movies. So yeah, I didn''t have such a big hope for the movie.


    "Let''s talk about the female lead. Her motivation, and why she epted the offer from the YB." I continued with the discussion, leading the entire meeting, except for the final act where the curse was resolved. For that, I left it to the others.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Sitting in front of a camera, the director Judd prepares himself to answer some questions the interviewer�C Maggie, would ask about the movie production. They sat in front of a movie set, with staff members walking around in order to prepare the movie set for the uing movie.


    Maggie smiled politely and exined to the Director what she was doing. "This is actually a documentary-sh-behind the scenes record of thepany producing the movie. It''s our first movie ever, so it feels special to everyone in thepany."


    "Ah, I get it." Director Judd replied in understanding. Maggie joked, "Of course, this is non-official, so you can reject it if you want."


    "No-No. I am curious. Also, ask the camera-man to change and film me from my right side. It''ll look better that way as the lighting is headed this way." He exined as he made the camera-man switch position. Confused, the cameraman still followed the order.


    "I think, what people will be most curious about, is what''s it like working with Edward Newgate?" Maggie asked.


    "What''s it like working with Edward?" Director Judd asked the question Maggie asked him again before he searched for the answer, tapping his hands excitedly. "Oh geez. Um, I like that he scrutinized every single tiny thing. And this is not sarcasm! I really do like that. It made me feel as if I...have a like minded-friend."


    A short video clip that Renaldo had secretly filmed yed during the interview. It showed Edward standing in front of the whiteboard, and the Director yelling stop at the staff members who wanted to move the whiteboard away after the meeting ended. No one was allowed to move the whiteboards or erase anything on it. It''ll be kept that way, until the movie ends.


    The camera cuts back to the director as he continues answering the question, "When I was hired to do the movie, I already knew that he would y a huge part in it. If I can speak honestly, I really thought he''s a narcissistic nepo baby at the beginning, thinking that he''s better than everyone else."


    He rambled on nervously,"If I didn''t have the budget to create my next movie and had to take this job, I wouldn''t even consider the movie�C To be clear, I''m just sharing my first thoughts. I don''t have any problems with him now that I know what he''s actually like."


    Maggie chuckled and joked, "Don''t worry, if you need it, we can put a mosaic to cover your face, make it an anonymous documentary."


    The Director chuckled and said, "I might consider that after I answer all of the questions."


    Maggie asked, "In the first meeting, you have already finalized the characters for the movie. Can I ask if you have any thoughts about the main lead?"


    "There is a rmendation for the female lead and the male lead. I think Newgate wants Emma Stone to be the female lead. He''s a fan maybe." Director Judd chuckled for a bit before he sighed heavily. "I think she''s perfect for the role too. So I called her the second we finished the meeting."


    "Did she reject it?" Maggie asked.


    "She had to, not because she doesn''t want to, but because she''s filming Easy A, a movie...also under my production." Judd scratched his cheek in embarrassment.


    "Ah, you''re the reason!" Maggie teased jokingly. "So any thoughts about the female lead? Maybe a red headed, aspiring 19 years old actress with a funny humor and great attitude�C"


    Maggie was clearly referring to herself, but the cameraman suddenly turned to record Edward crashing into the interview. "I was wondering what you were doing. Turns out you are trying to butter up the director to get a role."


    Maggie panicked and said, "Wait! This is Pepper''s idea!"


    "I know. That''s the only reason I''m not shutting you down." Edward chuckled before he left the camera shot to go check on the set he needed to make his music video.


    "That scared me." Maggie breathed in relief after Edward was gone. However, as she turned towards the director again, she realized that he was scrutinizing her. "You know what, that''s actually not a bad idea."


    Maggie blushed for a bit before she dismissed him, "I was only joking."


    "And I saw potential...Not as the main female lead of course... That may have to wait a few yearster." The director leaned in and said seriously.


    Maggie couldn''t hold back her smile and said with a tiny voice, "...Yeay!"


    While Edward was preparing to record his music video, he groaned in frustration and muttered, "Where is my dad? Why does it take too long for him to kidnap two small children?"


    Renaldo heard Edward''s words and froze in his spot. "What?" He muttered to himself as Edward walked past him.


    ...


    (The genre changed here Lol)


    On the Dunphy''s front yard. Phil''s car just pulled into the driveway after Phil picked up Luke from school. Luke rushed to get into the house while Philughingly follow him from behind when suddenly, Phil''s step halted.


    His eyes were glued on the figure of a man standing across the street, waving at him. Phil''s eyes shook, but a cry from Luke made him snap back into reality.


    "Dad! Come on! I want to y basketball!"


    "I''ming, Luke!" Phil said before he walked into the house, closing the door behind him. He sighed as he rested his back on the door, when suddenly he heard a soft knock.


    "Phil, are you there?" Ted asked with a whisper.


    Phil was silent for a while, trying to ignore the voice, but the call was maic for him. He replied hesitantly, "Ted, you know we cannot see each other anymore."


    "I know that. But Phil, please open the door and talk to me." Ted asked with a slight frustration in his voice.


    Phil''s face contorted as he held back his tears and replied with a hoarse voice. "I can''t. Our rtionship is prohibited."


    "Will it be so wrong, just for me to meet my best friend, just for a minute?" Ted asked with a dejected expression. Phil bravely held back his tears and remarked angrily. "It is wrong! You know for damn sure, it won''t end with us just meeting each other, just one time! I made a promise to my daughter. I''m sorry Ted. I really am."


    Ted went silent for a while before he chuckled sadly. He whispered through the door, "Do you remember the time, when you took me to WingStop. We ate chicken and drank beer while watching the football game."


    "Ted, don''t make this harder than it needs to be!" Phil begged.


    "Do you remember the promise we made back then!" Ted knocked on the door hardly as he expressed his feelings. "Remember that promise Phil!?"


    "I should''ve never made that promise! I regret it now! I even regret that day!" Phil shrieked back.


    "We promised! That we will get together again! On Thanksgiving! We promised that we will watch the football game together and have that same day again! Be honest with me Phil! Do you REALLY REGRET all of the things we have gone through together?"


    "I''m sorry!" Phil''s voice is but a whisper, "I can''t disappoint my daughter."


    "I get that." Ted sighed as he gave up on trying to persuade Phil. Phil choked back his words, trying to say something to Ted as he went silent, when he suddenly heard Ted humming a song.


    [Johnny Cash- Hurt]


    "I hurt myself today...To see if I still feel...I focus on the pain...The only thing that''s real..." Ted slowly moved back from the door. Phil grasped the air in front of him, trying desperately to hold himself back. Then, he sang along with Ted.


    "The needle tears a hole...The old familiar sting...Try to kill it all away...But I remember everything..."


    Phil slumped down on the floor by the door while Ted slowly moved away from the front porch. All the while, the entire interaction was witnessed by Haley and ire who were sitting in the living room, barely noticed by Phil from the moment he entered the house.


    "Do you see what your little argument is affecting everyone Haley?! DO YOU!!" Luke shouted at Haley with anger, while the teenage girl was extremely confused in trying toprehend what she just saw.


    As Ted went back to his car, Manny, who was sitting in the back seat asked, "So, did you get Luke?"


    "Sorry Manny. They didn''t even try to hear me out." Ted replied tiredly. Manny nodded in understanding and said, "Should I give it a try? Edward really wants us to be in his music video. And I''m afraid that he will cancel it if he cannot get both of us."


    "Sure. I''ll wait here." Ted replied.


    In less than 5 minutes after Manny was gone, he returned together with Luke. "Drive! QUICK BEFORE THEY NOTICE I''M GONE!" Luke said anxiously as he got into the back seat of the car.


    "I''m...not going to do that. That''s kidnapping." Ted said wearily. Manny exined, "Oh, don''t worry about it. ire knows. She''s the one who let Luke go."


    "Okay..." Ted breathed in relief before he asked with a low voice, "What about Phil? Did he say anything?"


    "Dad keeps singing the same song over and over again." Luke said with some anger. "It''s all Haley''s fault!"


    "Well...I don''t think it''s <i>ALL</i> her fault." Ted replied ambiguously.

 Chapter 264: Chapitre 264: Excusez-moi, monsieur.

    <h4>Chapter 264: Chapitre 264: Excusez-moi, monsieur.</h4>


    [ Join My Discord: https://discord.gg/RUFZ2Zp2m4


    I was scolded by my editor for not doing this lol. But please, join in. Or else I will be scolded again]


    [Edward POV]


    Standing in front of a Victorian-Era royalty type tea room, with an oil painting�C actually printed, of Robert Downey Jr. in the background, posing with his cane, top hat, and twirly mustaches, I gently ced the painting into an old era frame as I prepare myself to ce it on the wall.


    The tea room was borately decorated, with plush, velvet-upholstered furniture arranged around arge wooden table. Delicate china teacups and saucers were set out, along with a silver tea service.


    The walls were painted in dark, carved wood, and arge, ornate firece dominated one end of the room, with a fake fire made of paper dancing from the wind hose ced beneath them. Its mantle was adorned with intricate, gilt-framed mirrors and porcin figurines.


    An extra actor was standing by in his butler suit, seemingly blending into the set setting. The old gentleman wore a monocle, looking charismatic as he practiced his routine.


    However, there were also a few things that were out of sorts from the setting on the set next door, like a full size superhero costume�C an original design, with the name ''Kid-Vengence'' stered on the podium the costume was standing on, inside a dim lit BatCave rip off set.


    All of it was part of the music video I had nned on a whim, but managed to cost thepany around 200,000 dors in production cost, and a full assemble of production staff working together to bring my vision to life.


    Rewind a few minutes back, when I was getting ready to pick the image�C which I previously decided on an older version of myself, using AI to age myself into a 50-year-old man rich man. RDJ called me before I could proceed to ask if I had some free time to meet with Kevin Feige and Jon Favreau for an important discussion.


    I told him about the music video production and mentioned my aged self as a joke, which made him insist on getting him to be on there instead. He already had the picture ready�C<i> for whatever reason</i>, and he even signed a release form for me to use his image in the video. Since he was so excited about it, I just gave in and let him do that.


    Biting a nail in my mouth, I hammered the painting to the wall gently as the set was made from plywood basically. "Are all the cast here yet?" I asked after finishing the set preparation for the music video


    Renaldo said, "The two main leads are here. They are getting fitted into the suit. But the ''Princesses'' aren''t yet."


    "EDDDDDDDD~~~~" A familiar voice shouted, interrupting Renaldo''s words. I didn''t even have to turn back to know whose voice that was. That kind of excitement and energy could onlye from one person�C the little wolf fanatic.


    Enid, Jenna and Elsa visited the set together. Enid rushed towards me and tackled me from behind�C which in its own way, was my own fault for not turning back fast enough as I was making sure that the frame was level. I was pushed forward and hit my forehead on the painting''s wooden frame.


    Enid was shocked and released me immediately, "Oh my god! I''m so sorry!"


    Rubbing my sore head, I replied, "It''s fine. I wasn''t hit hard."


    Renaldo grabbed my head and scrutinized my forehead in detail before finally breathing in relief. He turned to Enid and scolded her, "You need to be careful! He''s a precious asset! We cannot have anything happen to his face!"


    "Got it! I''ll make sure to do it again only when it''s safe!" Enid nodded and agreed to Renaldo obediently.


    "Oi." I retorted as I heard her sentence. Jenna giggled as she approached us together with Elsa.


    "Why do you call us here?" Elsa asked.


    "Wow, directly to the topic huh?" I teased before exining, "I need a few more actresses for my music video. You guys in?"


    Enid and Elsa were excited. "<strong>Totally!</strong>" Both of them replied at the same time. Jenna acted a bit hesitant and asked, "I can keep my clothes on, right?"


    I looked at her weirdly, "Of course you''re keeping your clothes on. What kind of music video do you think I want to do?"


    She teased, "I don''t know what kind of things you are into nowadays~ Are�C Um, you know we''re not actresses, right?"


    Enid pped Jenna''s arm and said, "Who cares? He''s pretty desperate. We can ask anything we want if we do this as a favor to him."


    bbergasted, I said, "I''ve never said that�C"


    Elsa added to Enid''s sentence, ignoring my retort, "He could pay us a lot! I want a million dors!"


    "The basic pay for extras is just around 500 bucks. I can do a thousand for each of you." I negotiated.


    "1 thousand dors, and we can keep some props." Enid offered.


    "Sure. Just don''t take my used underwear and sell it to Ebay." I joked as I patted Enid''s head.


    Elsa rolled her eyes and said, "Isn''t he desperate? We can demand a lot more Enid! Don''t get weak hearted now!"


    "But look at his face! I can''t bear to turn that smile upside down!" Enid said as she touched my chin.


    Both Jenna and I looked at her with disbelief before Jenna turned towards me and asked, "Then, if Enid got a prop, can I ask for something else?"


    "Depends on what you''re asking." I smirked as I looked into her eyes, which made her flustered. "I''ll think about what I want to ask first before telling you." She said with a mischievous grin.


    ...


    The recording started quickly. Luke, wearing a retro baroque wig�C white hair with curls and a long ponytail, sat in front of Manny who wore a monocle and a top hat, both wearing a ssy tuxedo, trying to one up each other about how rich they are in their conversation.


    "Last week I was so bored, I bought 200 Lego sets. It didn''t help, so I called the Legopany itself, and made them build me a giant Lego Castle in Norway." Manny said as he smoked his fake pipe.


    Luke nodded before he said, "Last week, I was so bored, I bought the LEGOpany."


    On the side of the set, Enid and I burst intoughter hearing that. I checked the script and whispered to Renaldo, "He improvised that. That''s good."


    Luke scratched his wig, which was tickling him, adding to the authenticity of the skit.


    The butler walked in carrying a luxurious bottle of wine. "Pardon me, gentlemen. May I present the most exquisite vintage from the family''s private cer?"


    "Why, we most certainly do!" Luke replied poshly.


    The butler poured the dark purple liquid into an exquisite ss. "This 1982 offering has been meticulously aged to perfection, developing rich,plex vors over the decades. The bouquet is simply divine - notes of ckberry, leather, and just a hint of vani oak."


    Both Manny and Luke sipped on the drink, and then Manny burped the gas out. "This is grape soda." Manny asked with confusion. A real reaction, not an act from him since we didn''t tell him anything about the drink.


    Luke eximed in satisfaction, "Ahh~ I don''t know how you do it James. It hits the spot every time."


    "My pleasure sir." The butler smiled before leaving the room.


    Using a stic megaphone, I shouted, "CUT! That was great!"


    "Really? I thought that I had ruined the scene!" Manny stood up from his seat and rushed towards me with Luke�C who didn''t break his character yet. "Don''t run Sir Manuel Delgado the third! Mind your manners!" Luke scolded Manny.


    "Is he going to keep talking like that?" Manny pointed his fighter at Luke, who took it as an insult and took off his gloves, "You''ve...um...my honor! Take this and duel me!"


    " <i>''Insulted my honor!''</i> You can use that." I helped him.


    "Yeah, that." Luke nodded towards me before turning to Manny, "What he said."


    He gave Manny his white glove politely, which made me chuckle and said, "Luke, for a duel, you need to p his face with the glove."


    "Oh�C Manny give it back!" Luke and Manny fought for the glove to be the one asking for the duel.


    While they were fighting, Renaldo whispered to me to ask, "By the way, did their parents know they were filming in this? Without their permission...this entire thing is illegal...you know that, right?"


    "I know... They gave their permission, but they still haven''t signed the contract yet. Can you ask Harvey to send someone there to do it�C Wait, no...Let me do it myself after the shoot."


    Enid heard it and giggled, "Hmm, so you can go see her right? Now you have a legal excuse to do so."


    "I''m not answering that. Why don''t you girls change into your outfit and shoot your scene, then we can move on to another set." I smirked before giving them the orders.


    In the next scene being filmed, Enid bes Luke''s date for the fancy dance party. Manny went with Elsa, and Jenna became the big viin being broadcasted in the news, robbing a bank. Then, Luke sneaked away to wear his suit to go and fight the crime beingmitted.


    (I swear I have somewhere to go with this)


    "By the way, why did you hire Luke as the main lead?" Manny asked as we watched Luke having fun pretending to y the bad guys.


    "Well he has a certain cuteness to him." I replied to Manny. "And before you say, ''I''m cute too'', I meant it like a kid-style cuteness. You''re still cute, but you are too mature to react in the way I want." I teased.


    Manny said, "I already know that. I''m just asking to know why you hired him instead of an actual actor."


    "Ah, I just did that because I have so little time. And Luke is basically born for the stage. It''s just that his character sheet was never explored." I replied casually, which made Manny, Renaldo, my dad, Pepper, Harvey, Randall, Staff #1, Staff #2, Staff #3, Elsa and Enid�C all confused.


    "What the hell is he talking about?" Pepper asked Renaldo in a concerned tone. "I have absolutely no idea about it." Renaldo shook his head in reply.


    Manny read the script�C or rather, a short music video direction jotted down, and said, "I don''t know where you''re going to put the fight sequence in the music video."


    "After he watched a superhero movie on TV." I replied.


    "Won''t it be better to do that after he got bullied. It''ll show his wish to be a superhero clearer.


    Thinking for a bit, it does make sense. "Yes..., who am I to argue with a future big movie director?" I shook my head in defeat, which lifted Manny''s mood of not getting picked as the main lead. Even though he acted like it didn''t bother him, I knew he had a desire to stand out�C even though he has stage fright.


    In less than 2 hours of shooting, which included 3 studio set scenes, 2 real life scenes, and one green screen scene, I have all the footage I needed to make the 4 minutes long music video.


    "It''s done!" I said as I finished editing the video.


    "That''s fast." Jenna muttered with confusion. Enid and Elsa were excited and couldn''t wait for me to y it.


    However before I could do that, Luke suddenly asked, "So, the music video is done. Right?"


    "Yeah." I replied casually, not thinking much about it, but was surprised when Luke suddenly said, "But I haven''t signed anything yet."


    "Your mom will be the one to sign�C Where are you going with this?" I asked carefully.


    Luke suddenly dropped a bomb, "What if, I don''t want to act in the music video?"


    "What�C" Enid froze in shock, as she knew Luke yed a major part in the music video. Without him, we would have to reshoot almost the entire video. Jenna grabbed Luke by the cor and threatened him, "What are you talking about you little shit!"


    "IF! I SAID IF!" Luke hurriedly defended himself. I chuckled and told everyone else, "Can you leave us alone for a second?"


    Despite their unwillingness, all of my friends and the staff members moved away, leaving me to have a private conversation with Luke.


    "So, can you exin to me, what do you want to do exactly?" I asked, feeling intrigued by Luke''s motives


    Luke said, "I don''t want you and Haley to fight anymore."


    Taken aback, I replied, "We''re not fighting�C"


    "It doesn''t matter. I want it to stop and things can go back to normal. Alex and Haley fought all the time! They don''t fight when you are around. But now, they fight with each other every day!" Luke expressed his frustration.


    "And dad also is pretty sad! Mom can meet with you here, so she doesn''t care." Luke added. "So just make up with her!"


    "Actually, I haven''t met your mom in quite a while." I replied honestly.


    Luke''s angry face turned confused, "Really?"


    I nodded, "Yeah." Leaning in, I patted Luke''s head and smiled, "It''s nice of you to think about your family. And, can I tell you a secret?"


    "What is it?" Luke asked curiously.


    I whispered after checking around to see no one was eavesdropping, "I kinda hired you, so that I have an excuse to go see your sisterter tonight."


    Luke widened his eyes and said, "Wait! We''re on the same side?!"


    "It seems that way." I chuckled as I leaned back into the chair. Luke''s face brightened up and he threw punches into the air to celebrate it. "Woo-Hoo!"


    Whileughing, I said, "You surprised me Luke. I thought that you were going to demand me a thousand cakes or something."


    Luke froze for a bit before he slowly put his arms down, "Wait�C"


    "But you''re actually a pretty nice kid. It made me admire your selflessness a bit."


    "Damn it, let me talk!" Luke tried to interject, but I continued, "When things go back to normal, I''ll let everyone know about the story." I sat up and walked away after patting him on the shoulder.


    "NO! I want cakes! I don''t care about Haley anymore! EDWARD!!!" Luke shouted, but I turned a deaf ear to him.


    Luke and I were on the same page about ending the current situation, and we have a pretty solid start to that too, until...


    "Hey Ed! See here, ire signed the paper, so we can proceed with it if you want to upload the music video tonight." Pepper said as he waved the contract sheet to my face.


    ire, who was lurking behind the staff members around the set, felt proud of herself for her actions. After all, as a parental figure, she hade to watch over her child, just as the other parents were doing. This was not the set of a Nickelodeon show in that matter.


    Jenna''s mom, Enid''s mom, and Elsa''s uncle were all present, discreetly monitoring their children without the kids'' knowledge. Even Gloria was there, dressed like a mistress with a scarf on her head and sunsses, blending in with the surroundings. Although, she also seemed quite like an assassin.


    I realized that they were here from the moment the shooting started. Pepper must''ve brought them here to watch over them�C and to avoid legal troubles by making sure of their attendance.


    So when Pepper showed me the contract, I grabbed the papers and slowly confirmed that there was indeed a signature on it. "God damn it." I cursed whisperingly.


    ...


    [General POV]


    While Judd was watching the music video production from behind the scenes, he texted his wife�C Leslie Mann about the plot of the movie, and how he was excited for the project...which was then spread to her close friends... which was then spread to acting agencies, and even the media.


    The decision to cast Bryan Cranston, aedic actor well known for his role as Hal Jordan in Malcolm in the Middle si, as the lead actor in the serious series Breaking Bad, was met with skepticism by the media who were invested in following the growth of Entertainpany. But they were still looking forward to seeing how he would y the role.


    The same type of support was now being thrown into thepany''s direction after a renowned actor spoke up positively about their uing movie.


    A few articles came out in just a short time period. It even came out before Edward finished shooting his music video on the same day. The ''unnamed'' movie generated a lot of buzz even before the script was finished.


    The casting agents of thepany received several calls from talent agencies, trying to get an audition for their actors. Their phones were ringing non-stop for a while, until the potential male lead of the movie received a call from the director himself.


    Ryan Gosling, unaware about the buzz generated around the movie, picked up his personal phone to answer the call. "Hello?"


    After a thorough convincing by the director, the actor finally responded, "Yeah sure. I''ll do it�C Wait, I''ll take a look at the script with my agent first. Then, I''ll do it. But all in all, I''m probably going to do it."


    The call arrived at great timing for Ryan as he had no project in line for himself right now. Thest project he considered was ''The Lovely Bones'', but he has since dropped out from the production because of ''creative differences'' with the director.


    Before the shooting started, Ryan showed up with an extra 60 pounds, looking really different in his 210 pound body weight (95 kg) due to a misunderstanding about what the character should look like. He had since lost his fats and returned to his fit body shape again.


    "Great. You cane to thepany tomorrow." The director said.


    Ryan was confused, "Tomorrow? You''re starting the movie tomorrow?"


    "Oh, right. I should''ve exined it. No, the shoot is going to start soon, but not tomorrow�C After Thanksgiving. We''ll start recording after Thanksgiving." Judd said, unaware that he made a mistake in the timeline for the shoots.


    He continued, "The movie is thepany''s first movie to be released on the big screen. So they are doing a documentary."


    "Ah. I get it. Alright, I''lle tomorrow. Wait�C Tell me again what you said in the beginning. I kinda glossed over that, but I want to hear it properly."


    "What? Which part?" The director asked, confused.


    "You know, the one where you said he asked for me by name?" Ryan said with a chuckle. "Is he a fan of mine?"


    "I think so. Yes." Judd replied, even though he wasn''t sure about it. It was better for him to appease the actor and make him sign the contract first. If he thought Edward being a fan would help him pick up the pen, the director wouldn''t try to correct the assumption.


    "I can''t wait to meet him." Ryan said with a smile before they ended the call.


    [ Join My Discord: https://discord.gg/RUFZ2Zp2m4]

 Chapter 265: Fan’s surprise!

    <h4>Chapter 265: Chapter 265: Fan��s surprise!</h4>


    [General POV]


    In Texas, Cece Cooper�C Sheldon Cooper''s 14 years old niece, was glued in front of theptop, sitting on the living room floor with theptop ced on top of the coffee table. Georgie Cooper Junior, Sheldon''s older brother, walked to the living room and said with a thick Texan ent, "What are you looking at Cece?"


    The girl didn''t even bother to reply to him. "Still hate me for not lettin'' you fly to California huh?" Georgie shook his head and then walked away.


    *Ding*


    "It''s up!" Cece received a notification on the Entertain website, and clicked on the music video immediately. Not only her, but most members of Edward''s fan club clicked on the notification at the same time the second the video was uploaded.


    Lily, the fan club president, giggled as she saw the notification. "He works...really really fast!"


    The fan club members knew about Edward just filming the music video in the evening, and had to hire his friends to act in it as it was ast minute whim. They felt included when they were notified by the staff members, and had been eagerly anticipating the video to be finished.


    Most of them thought that Edward would upload the video tomorrow. None of them thought that he would upload it after people usually finished their dinner.


    [Billionaire- Travie McCoy + Bruno Mars]


    The video started with a short scene of Luke and Manny sitting inside the mansion, talking with each other, apanied by violin music.


    /watch?v=kob5aHgi_-U&ab_channel=CristinaKiseleffViolin -Violin cover]


    ?? ?? ??


    Manny: "Last week I was so bored, I bought 200 Lego sets. It didn''t help, so I called the Legopany itself, and made them build me a giant Lego Castle in Norway."


    Luke: "Last week, I was so bored, I bought the LEGOpany."


    "Pfft-" Cece chuckled after she saw the short skit. Immediately after the butler left the duo with the drink that turned out to be a grape soda, a warm feeling of wholesomeness gushed into the audience''s heart.


    ?? ?? ??


    Suddenly, the scene cuts to Luke sitting on a sofa with his ordinary clothes, watching the movie ''The Dark Knight''. His imagination was disrupted when his father called him, "Edward! Come on! You need to go to school!"


    "Coming!" Luke, who yed a young Edward Newgate in the music video, grabbed his bag and rushed to the door after pausing the TV. Slowly, the music morphed from a violin into a guitar. The scene cuts into the teenage Edward sitting on top of a skateboard ramp, strumming his guitar as he sang.


    "?? I wanna be a billionaire so fucking bad~ Buy all of the things I never had??"


    His soulful voice transported the listeners, especially the adults in a tough spot in life. A feeling of nostalgia arises within them, which makes them remember their childhood before they understood how the world works.


    "??I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine??" Edward picked the guitar again, and the scene cuts to Luke waiting for a bus to go to school while carrying a violin case with him, where he met Manny in the bus.


    "?? Smilin'' next to Oprah and the Queen??"


    As Edward crooned, the audience was mesmerized, "?? Oh, every time I close my eyes!! I see my name in shiny lights, yeah ??!!"


    "??A different city every night, oh, I swear!! The world better prepare for <strong>when I''m a billionaire??"</strong>


    A rap bridge urs in the melody, transitioning the song from vocal melody to a rapped verse.


    ?? Yeah, I would have a show like Oprah, I would be the host of


    Every Day Christmas, give Eddie your wish list


    I''d probably pull a "Angelina and Brad Pitt"


    And adopt a bunch of babies that ain''t never had shit??


    The scene moved quickly from a snippet of a mustached Luke bing a tv host and giving a giant teddy bear to Enid who''s dressed like a woman in the 70s.


    Edward walked by the skateboard park and threw a few keys to the people while lip syncing the song.


    "??Give away a few Mercedes, like, "Here,dy, have this"


    Andst but not least, grant somebody theirst wish."


    He chuckled as he said that and continued, "It''s been a couple months that I''ve been single, so�C You can call me Eddie us, minus the "Ho, ho"??"


    Taylor who was watching the music video with Selena fumed. Abby in New York was also irritated. Both of them have simr thoughts about the line.


    "Did he just call me a hoe?"


    The music video continued with a scene of Luke who was going to school to meet up with Enid inside the bus. He looked bashfully at her before the scene cuts into Edward rapping again.


    "?? Get it? I''d probably visit where Katrina hit. And damn sure do a lot more than FEMA did. Yeah, can''t forget about me! Everywhere I go, I''ma have my own theme music! ??"


    "What does that mean?" Jenna asked as she watched the show. Pepper who was nearby sighed and said, "He''s criticizing the relief organization who was reallyte in helping the victim. They even did it half-assedly when the tragedy hit."


    "Oh cool." Jenna''s eyes twinkled in admiration as she heard it.


    The music video continued with snippets of Luke imagining to be at a dance ball for the rich elites with Enid as his partner, and suddenly, in the real world inside the bus, Jenna teased him�C bullied and made fun of him a little.


    The song transitioned back to the vocals.


    "?? Oh, every time I close my eyes!! ??"


    Phil bopped his head along as he listened to the song.


    " ??I see my name in shiny lights oh, yeah, yeah! ~ A different city every night , oh, I swear !!The world better prepare~ for when I''m a billionaire~??"


    "Oh, oh ,oh, when I''m a billionaire! Oh, oh!"


    The scene that yed over the vocal was Luke practicing with the violin before he was lost in his imagination again. This time, Jenna became the viin attacking the city, so Luke had to turn into a superhero to stop her.


    Abraham and Jacob watched the music video together in the football field with the other football yers, and they grinned. Jacob said, "So Ed DO wants to be Batman since he was young!"


    As Edward transitioned back into rapping, so did the scene. It focused more on him helping the people around him, with a couple of shots of him singing directly to the camera.


    "?? I''ll be ying basketball with the president, dunkin'' on his delegates


    Then I''llpliment him on his political etiquette


    Toss a couple milli'' in the air just for the heck of it


    But keep the fives, twenties, tens, and Benspletely separate??"


    The President chuckled when he heard the lyric. He needed that littleugh after cleaning up the government bodies after his assassination attempt. He tweeted, quoting the tweet of the music video lyric and said, "He did, in fact, dunked on me."


    The tweet got a lot of reactions from thousands of people, which turned the obscure music videounch as it was uploaded abruptly without time to market it, into something a lot of people talked about.


    The song continued, "?? And yeah, I''ll be in a whole new tax bracket, We in recession, but let me take a crack at it, I''ll probably take whatever''s left and just split it up, So everybody that I love can have a couple bucks ??"


    Ted smiled softly and said, "I think that''s the most urate verse of him I''ve ever heard."


    Pepper also smiled and said, "The entire verse is Edward Newgate''s essence."


    "??And not a single tummy around me, Would know what hungry was, eatin'' good, sleepin'' soundly??"


    Without everyone in the set realizing it, they all have a smile on their face as they watch the music video.


    "??I know we all have a simr dream! Go in your pocket, pull out your wallet, put it in the air and sing! ??"


    "??I wanna be a billionaire so fucking bad!


    Buy all of the things I never had


    I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine


    Smilin'' next to Oprah and the Queen ??"


    The music video continued with Luke taking down Jenna the viin, but in real life, Jenna pinched both of his cheeks to tease him.


    "??Oh, every time I close my eyes! I see my name in shiny lights , oh, yeah, yeah ??"


    The scene cuts to where Edward sang the song near a beach where people were partying.


    "??A different city every night , oh, I swear~


    The world better prepare for when I''m a billionaire!!??"


    Enid, Jenna, Elsa, were all dancing in the background of the shot together with numerous party goers.


    ??Oh, oh , when I''m a billionaire??


    ??Oh, oh ??"


    The music suddenly stopped, leaving only Edward''s vocal as he sang thest verse.


    "??I wanna be a billionaire....so fucking bad!??"


    In the music video, the song came to an end, but there was a brief clip that continued ying even after the music finished.


    Luke, in his superhero costume, walked over to Edward as he sat down on the wave breaker, looking at the sea. Luke sat down next to him without talking. They smiled as they saw each other, and they shared a fist bump.


    But in the next, same scene setting, Edward was alone, closing his eyes as he felt the sea breeze.


    Lily, the fan club president, waved her hands to her eyes, trying to prevent her tears froming out. "The song is so good, but why did I feel like I wanted to cry?" She asked herself.


    Alex and Haley, were watching the music video together after they had a temporary truce. Haley muttered with a smile, "He never grew up."


    "Excuse me?" Alex asked with confusion.


    "Thatst scene." Haley rewind the video back a little bit. "He and the little one, both have the same habit of imagining what his life would be like. The ending shows that."


    "Oh." Alex eximed tly. "I can''t believe I missed that... And I really can''t believe you were the one who caught it."


    "EXCUSE ME!? Are you saying I''m stupid!"


    "Well you''re not smart!"


    "I can''t believe you! You think you''re better than everyone else..."


    The sisters fought with each other again, until they couldn''t bear to stay in the same room together. Phil, who was downstairs, was feeling so proud.


    "Both of my boys were really great!" Phil said before his expression turned into a sob. "I can''t meet with one of them anymore." His sobs turned into a wail, and he started singing the Johnny Cash song again.


    The reaction countrywide for the song was mostly great, with some mixed reactions. Some media outlets connected the FEMA lines in Edward''s song instantly, supporting Edward in bashing the organization. While some other news site told Edward he was too young to understand how the world works and just kept his business in the music industry.


    Well, to attack a global artist with a HUGE following and cult-like fan club behind him, was basically a career suicide for those journalists.


    Eminem focused on Edward''s rap part as he listened to the song. "It''s good, but not that great."


    Dre scoffed and said, "You put too much pressure on him."


    Eminem smirked and said, "I''m just saying. I heard him spitting bars before. His level can be so much higher than this."


    Just 2 hours before the song''s release, it hit 1 million views on the Entertain website from fans worldwide, and the numbers were climbing upwards rapidly. #Billionaire were trending on social media immediately, however it still couldn''t beat up the #PresidentVSRocketLauncher and #ObamaAssassination.


    The Entertain website had slowly made Youtube obsolete with its fast video yback, and higher quality option for the videos. A lot of artists had been working with Entertain to upload their music videos there, and the numbers of people moving toward the website and the mobile apps has been rising steadily in thest couple of months.


    Taylor shook her legs nervously as she sat on her couch, just finishing watching the music video. She then mumbled to herself, "If he gets a music video, then I can get a music video too!"


    Without taking a moment to think, she immediately grabbed her phone and called Pepper.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After uploading the music video, I brought my friends to aser tag ce where we enjoyed ourselves ying. I even asked Jacob and Abraham toe to. We yed a round ofser tag, ate chicken wings and drank soda, before we continued on ying the game again.


    Robin notified me about the music video surpassing 1 million views, and we celebrated its sess there. Their parents picked them upter on, and I left alone to go back to thepany. After handling a few affairs, I received a call again from RDJ, telling me that the meeting was postponed to tomorrow.


    "Hmm..." as I was driving in the convertible, I thought about what I should do now that my evening had opened up. "Alright, time to keep my promise."


    After I made a U-turn, I drove back to my old neighborhood, and parked my car in front of the Dunphy''s house. Walking to the front porch, I hesitated before I could press the doorbell, and walked a few steps back to the front yard again.


    Seeing that the window on Haley and Alex''s room were open, I jumped on their minivan, and hopped onto the roof of the house. I heard bickering as I reached the window, and without any warning, I jumped through the window, into the room.


    "AHHHHH!!!" Both girls screamed in horror after they were surprised by my sudden visit.


    "Hi, you really shouldn''t keep your window open all the time at night. Someone might break in." I said casually as I stood up from the ground. Both of them grabbed the object closest to them, and threw it at me a few times in panic.


    "Wait! STOP!" I held my hands up to stop the flying object. Phil kicked open the door and entered with a wooden bat in his hand. "AHHH! STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTERS!" He shouted before he stopped abruptly. "Oh, it''s Ed."


    ire and Luke rushed into the room too, both had a weapon in their arm. ire, a spat. Luke, a stic bat.


    "Oh, it''s you." ire breathed in relief after seeing me. Her knees weakened, and she had to lean on the door to keep standing. That''s where she saw Luke and became confused. "Luke, I told you to stay downstairs!" She scolded.


    "I thought I could beat someone up." Luke replied.


    "With a stic bat? It won''t even hurt." I interjected. ire chuckled and asked seriously, "Edward. Why are you here?"


    "I''m breaking into your house since I can''t do it the normal way." I replied before I turned to Haley who was desperately trying to fix her hair to look prettier.


    Phil said casually, "So you climb up the window?"


    ire joked, "I thought we have a few years before we get to this point. Should I arrange the intervention now?"


    I snickered and said, "How about, for now, can you give me some space to talk with your daughter? Cause when I broke in here, I didn''t think that I would have to meet with the whole family. And you''re kinda disrupting my ns."


    "Oh, right!" Phil quickly grabbed ire, and Luke and dragged them from outside of the room.


    "Dad! Are you really leaving your daughter alone with a boy in her room?" Haley asked with disbelief.


    "Edward''s a good boy! I trust him." Phil said as he grabbed Alex too.


    "Hey It''s my room!" Alex tried to protest.


    "Thanks for your understanding Alex." I shouted to her. After everyone else left the room, I turned to Haley who was worried, yet with a tinge of anger in her face.


    "Why did youe�C"


    "I miss you." I said, interjecting her question, making her fall in disbelief. "What?" She muttered, her eyes shook.


    "Yeah...That''s why I used the window. I really want to see you." I said honestly, which made her stunned. Her anger dissipated and she said, "You really shouldn''t climb up here."


    "You climbed into my window. There''s no difference in what I''m doing here." I smiled as I sat on the edge of her bed. "We should talk." I patted the mattress, gesturing for her to sit down.


    Haley sighed and relented, sitting slowly right next to me. After a while, I asked, "So I hear you''ve been fighting with your sister a lot?"


    Haley snapped, "She''s so condescending! She kept poking at me the whole time��" Stopping herself, she rolled her eyes and said, "So youe here for Alex''s sake?"


    "Nah. It''s for my sake honestly. I just had that one question about that." I smiled before I asked, "So, you''ve listened to my new song?"


    "Yeah. It''s pretty great." Haley finally smiled, but then she tried to cover it up again.


    "You don''t have to stop yourself from smiling. That made me really sad." I said with a sad smile. She said apologetically, "Sorry."


    "Well, you should be sorry." I teased.


    She gasped with a smile, "You know what? I''m not really sorry."


    "Eh, toote. I already epted your apologies."


    "Then I''ll hit your head, make you lose your memories."


    "With a pan?" I asked with confusion.


    "Of course, with what else?" She replied teasingly.


    We caught each other''s eyes, and both of us burst intoughter. As we calmed down, she said, "I miss you too. But�C"


    "Uh, why must there be a but?" I groaned as I turned my head away from her.


    "But... you know..." She trailed off, not finishing her words. Both of us were silent for a while before I spoke up, "You know what, if you''re not ready, we cane to another arrangement."


    "What?" She asked, intrigued. "Well, you don''t want us to see each other, but you know your family is just crazy about me." I said smugly, which made her burst intoughter.


    "Yeah, they love you more than me." She said sarcastically.


    "You got that right." I agreed with her, which made her giggle again. "So, you know, why don''t wee to some sort of an arrangement. Because not seeing each other, it pushed them to think about me more. It''s like when you were kid and your dad won''t get you the toy you want, and you think about them every day."


    "I always get the toys I want." Haley said.


    "Right, so we have a very different childhood." I said yfully. "So like a married couple getting divorce, I can have them on the weekends, and you can have them on weekdays." I added.


    "Why do I get them on the weekdays!? We don''t do anything on weekdays!? All the fun is on the weekends!" Haleyined.


    "You live here, so it makes perfect sense that you have them on a weekday." I argued back. "No thank you!" She rejected it. "Why don''t you take them Sunday and Monday, and I get them Saturday and the rest of the week." She negotiated.


    I heard some murmuring from outside of the door, and realized that the family was eavesdropping on our conversation.


    "Alright then. That works for me. So I cane here on Monday and Sunday." I agreed.


    "No, they need to go out." Haley added. "Why should I leave the house?" She said yfully. "Where would I go?"


    "Excuse me Miss Popr girl in Highschool? You really don''t have anywhere to go on a Sunday? It seems like you''re not as popr as you might think."


    Scrunching her brows together, Haley said, "Enough about that. You''ll give them back before dinner time, right?"


    "No. We''ll have dinner outside."


    "Then I have to eat alone?!"


    "Yeah!"


    We argued for a while before we finally came to an agreement. "Alright, that settled it. I can get them on Sunday and Monday, also I cane to a special asion."


    "But, you need to tell me about it first." She interjected. "The ban is lifted between...you and my family..."


    "So I can text you again?" I asked with a smile, which made her flustered.


    She thought about it before replying, "Fine! You can, but if it bes weird again between us, then we have to stop it immediately."


    "Weird? Like how?" I asked as I moved closer towards her. Her eyes were fixated on my lips, which made her have to escape and stand up from the bed.


    "Well, weird!" She exined. "If we be close again, and you start to date someone else, that is going to break me, even if we are <i>just friends</i> right then."


    I sighed in frustration and said, "That goes both ways."


    "So, you understand." She said as she crossed her arms.


    Slowly, I moved up from the bed and stood in front of her, asking casually, "Alright then. Wait, what about conjugal visits? Do we have those or not?"


    "Hmm?" Haley was confused. "What''s that?" She asked.


    "Do you not know them?" I asked with a fake surprised expression. She became flustered and said immediately, "I know! Umm..."


    "So, how many times a week?" I asked, urging her.


    "1 time per week!" Haley replied seriously even though she was greatly confused on the inside.


    Alex burst into the room and grabbed Haley''s hand, pulling her away from me. "YOU PERVERT!" Alex snapped at me before whispering to Haley what I meant. Haley''s face turned angry and embarrassed.


    "GET OUT OF YOU YOU PERV!" She grabbed a pillow and started beating me with it. Iughed out loud, before I jumped out of the window again. Haley grunted and said, "Use the door!"


    "NO!" I replied mischievously before I left the room, shouting, "ONE TIME PER WEEK!"


    "THAT''S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!" Haley shouted through the window before she mmed it shut and locked it. Feeling happy inside, I hopped back onto the car seat before driving back to my house on the seaside.


    "Vader!" I picked up the cat that was running towards me with excitement as soon as I got into the house. "You''re not a dog." I chuckled seeing her so happy to see me.


    Leading her to her cat bowl, I squatted as I filled up her bowl with some treats, "Vader, I''ll share this secret, just with you.." I said to the cat as I petted her fur. I whispered to her, "Don''t tell this to anyone else, but, I was happier when I go to their housepared to when my music video was released."


    "You realized that I can hear you right, Sir?" Robin appeared and asked as her holographic projection crouched next to me, smiling as she ced her hands underneath her chin.


    "Top secret Robin. Top secret." I chuckled.

 Chapter 266: Casting Trouble.

    <h4>Chapter 266: Chapter 266: Casting Trouble.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "So we have 4 main characters." Paige said as she touched her sses, standing by the whiteboard inside the same room we had our discussions in. She continued as she turned towards me and the director who were sitting at the table, "We need to cast them as soon as possible."


    "The main lead, ''Tom Ryder'' was the easiest one to get. But we still need to cast the other actors quickly." Director Judd interjected.


    I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "Why? The filming starts a week in December. We still have time. Also, I''m only here to meet RG. Please stop pulling me into the room."


    "To be fair, you were pushed in instead of pulled." Judd teased. I sighed as I remembered Renaldo and Pepper ''forcing'' me into the room while they went to see the documentary interview. Clicking on my pen several times, I circled the supporting actress role, Bryanna�C the girl which the younger brother�C Colt Seavers, has a crush on.


    "Vanessa can do this. And I think she wants to. There''s no schedule conflict, so we can cast her and save some money." I said with a chuckle.


    Paige just nodded but Judd reacted weirdly, "Hudgens huh...It''s a shame what happened to her."


    I raised my eyebrow as I let him continue speaking. Judd said, "Since she''s going to be in the movie, can we make the character Indian? Then, at thest scene, we can have a misunderstanding trope where the younger brother thought she was going to India, but she''s actually going to Indiana."


    "She''s not Indian though." I shook my head while my face was filled with confusion.


    Judd was puzzled, "She''s not?"


    "She''s Filipino-American. Wait, Half Filipino American." I exined. "Ahh!" Judd nodded in understanding before changing the subject, "I don''t have any contacts with anyone fitting the character description. So we have to do this the old way, by auditioning."


    "That wouldn''t be a problem. A lot of artists are lining up for the audition." Renaldo suddenly burst into the room, giddy and giggling as he managed to meet with the actor of his favorite film, ''The Notebook''.


    "Really?" I asked with some interest, "How did they know about the film?"


    Everyone was silent for a while, and Judd scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "That might be my fault. I told my wife about it. I have no idea she''s with her friends. And then it spreads."


    "That''s fine. It made our jobs easier." I said casually. Judd smirked mischievously and said, "You have no idea how these kinds of things usually go, am I right? An Oscar buzz is not a joke. And especially for the role of the leading woman, god the whole afternoon would be... bloody. And oh, Edward. Pepper told you to y the role of the brother."


    "Fine." I replied casually. I suddenly stood up from my seat and said, "I think that''s my cue to leave. I still have a script to read and a criminal to catch."


    Paige scoffed and asked, "I''m not sure which one I should focus on. The script or the criminal."


    "Both are intriguing topics." Judd added. "So we''ll split one question each." He said as he shared a nod with Paige.


    "What script?" Paige asked.


    "Who''s the criminal?" Judd asked.


    I smirked and said, "A superhero movie script. For some reason RDJ sent me the Thor movie script and told me to read about it. The criminal is a pothead brte who promised to fly over here next week for Thanksgiving, but she''s blowing me off, so I''m going to get the police to stop by her house and scare her."


    "Fly from where�C Pothead? Isn''t that Max?" Renaldo guessed it correctly.


    "Who''s Max?" Both the director and Paige asked in confusion.


    Renaldo ignored them and asked me worriedly, "You''re going to send a cop to her house? She''ll get a life sentence! That''s too much of a punishment for blowing you off."


    "Well, then she''ll learn a lesson in that regard won''t she?" I smiled devilishly. Judd interrupted me, "Before you go, I need to confess something."


    "What is it?" I asked.


    "I kinda told Gosling that the script is ready." He replied sheepishly. Paige''s temper red up, "You DID WHAT?!"


    "Calm down Paige. Calm down. Take a deep breath." Renaldo cated her, and she slowly calmed herself down.


    "To convince him?" I asked Judd as I nced warily at the easily angered woman. Judd also nced at Paige, but his nce was apologetic, "As a lure."


    I turned to Paige and said, "I know I have given you a deadline toplete it, and I promise you that I''m standing by my words. So you don''t have to worry about it."


    After calming herself down, Paige replied, "Honestly...I had already written it until thest act. I''m only stuck at the ending."


    Judd was extremely impressed, "After a day?! How is that possible?"


    Paige was also confused when she replied, "For some reason, I received an email containing all of the notes about our meeting yesterday from someone named Robin. I used that to rework the entire script, so the work is pretty fast."


    "So you haven''t slept?" I teased with a smile as I suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie with her for having simr work ethics as me.


    With a deep eye bag, she said, "I had some...maybe."


    "You can go home and get some rest if you want." Judd said casually. "I''ll just narrow down the actresses to 5 people, and you guys can be here for the final screen tests."


    "That would work." I nodded my head in agreement. Paige nodded her head too, but she said, "I''ll just take a nap somece, and I''ll join the casting call after that."


    "You can use Edward''s office. There''s a bed there, and you can roll down the blindspletely, turning the roompletely dark." Renaldo said. "Of course, if Edward''s is fine with it." He turned towards me as he asked for my permission.


    "Sure. I''m not using it anyway." I replied casually. "Also, as an apology for my action, I think I can manage to get Steve Carell to cameo in this as their father for merely a few bucks...sort of."


    My eyes widened, "That''s great!"


    He nodded in satisfaction, "I thought you''d like that."


    "Wait. Steve...Hmm...The Office...John Krasinski..." My mind raced for a while before I asked, "Is there anyone named Emily Blunt auditioning for the role?"


    Renaldo took out a piece of paper and said, "Let me check...Yes! There is! Why did you ask?"


    "Well I just thought she''ll be suitable for the role. Tell me how she did in the auditionter." I said before I left the room. As I walked to the set, RG was already gone. He and his agent went to Pepper''s office to discuss the script and contract together with Harvey.


    Although I wanted to meet him, I focused on reading the script RDJ gave me first. It was printed out by a staff member, and I read it inside an empty room in the building. As I read the script, I noticed that there was no difference in the movie''s detailspared to my previous life.


    It took me only half an hour to go through the thick script as I was pretty much skimming through all of it. Then, I texted RDJ. He suddenly called me and greeted yfully, "How are you, Mr I-don''t-believe-you''ve-read-all-of-it."


    "I''m fine, what about you, Mr I-can''t-read-longer-than-one-page-per-hour?"


    "Shut it. I can read just fine." He protested before he said, "Why don''t you swing by the set. Jon and Feige are here."


    "Can I just walk in? You guys are filming right?" I asked carefully. "Not all of the superheroes if that''s what you''re talking about. This one is just me and Paltrow.. Oh, and Gregg."


    "So Pepper, and Agent Coulson. Is it the starting scene?" I asked curiously.


    RDJ said curtly, "Yeah. Wait�C They are calling me. Come here quickly. I also want to talk to you about your new movie."


    "I''ll be there in half an hour." I replied as I ended the call.


    ...


    Driving to Marvel studios, I wore a gray jacket and my hair was tied up and styled like Geto from Jujutsu Kaisen anime. The hairstyle was a choice I made after realizing that my hair had gotten quite long, and I''d probably need to have a haircut soon.


    The security at the guardhouse brightened up as my car stopped at the gate. I had to get a security check before I could drive my car into the studio''s parking lot, which ended the second he saw my face.


    "Mr Newgate! Dude, I love League of Legend!" He said as he ran to the room and grabbed hisptop to show the screen. He was ying the game inside the guard house while working, which made me chuckle.


    "What rank are you?" I asked with interest.


    He grinned and said, "I just got to Silver!"


    That was the second tost rank, barely after the beginner Iron rank. However, I need to remind you that the game was just released. For a casual gamer, getting to Silver was an aplishment.


    "Here. You can redeem the code." I said as I showed him a code on my phone. Startled, he quickly typed in the code to redeem it and his face gleamed after he saw that he got a new skin for a character.


    "THANK YOU!!" He said loudly. "Also, it is presumptuous of me to ask when you already gave me the code...But Can you sign myptop?"


    "Sure." I replied casually and signed his HPptop with a ck marker. He didn''t keep me long and let me into the studio directly after that, even getting me the valet service�C a golf cart that would drive the actors and actresses around the giant space of Hollywood sets.


    RDJ''s manager was waiting for me at the door of the Marvel studio''s set. I knew the guy, so he let me inside easily. The shoot didn''t drag for long. I met with Russo''s brother after the scene ended, and RDJ brought me to meet with Kevin Feige after that.


    "He read the script." He said as soon as we walked into Kevin''s office. Jon Favreau was also there, looking as confused as I am. Feige greeted with a smile, "Hi. What do you think about the movie script?"


    "So, no forey huh? You just got right into it- O-okay?" RDJ smirked before he shut up after getting a look from Feige. He chuckled as he crossed his arms together and rested his ass on the rack on the side of the office.


    I smiled and sat next to Jon before saying, "Overall, it''s a solid script. It gave me some Shakespearean vibes."


    Kevin smiled before he sighed disappointedly, "That''s all?"


    "Well, there are some parts in which I think can be a little better." I added with a shrug.


    Kevin''s eyes lit up. "Which part?"


    "Do you want me to do the work for free?" I teased. "I''ll give you executive credit for the movie." Kevin suddenly said.


    Jon and RDJ were surprised. I, however, didn''t really care about it. "I don''t need that. Tell me why you sent the script to me first, then I''ll tell you why I think about it."


    Kevin said seriously, "Believe me, in this case, it''ll be best for the 4 of us, if you told me what you think about the movie first."


    All three of us were confused. Then, I shrugged casually and said, "Alright, I have a couple of notes about the movie.


    "I''ll stick with the big issues first. The trope of using a lover to be an anchor for a god''s ties with humanity. Albeit not on purpose, they showed this in the Superman movie. They focused it too much on the hero and the damsel, which made people think that Superman only cares about Lois Lane.


    "Thor is not Superman. He has a certain arrogance to him. He is an actual god after all. Which made the issue even worse. The script only shows him like what? Getting a drink with Selvig, and having a short scene with Jane Foster, then he falls in love with her, and then a few dayster, he was prepared to sacrifice himself for all of the people in the town?


    "It''ll make sense if he just wants to save the three of the humans, and maybe his friends."


    Kevin finally interjected, "If I may cut in here. He sacrificed himself to stop the conflict, which made him finally grow as a character and be worthy again. He finally views life as sacred�C"


    I cut him off, "I get that. In fact, I like the character development of both Thor and Loki. I just think that it was quite rushed. He hadn''t had anything to show that he had grown into the character he was in the ending, before he sacrificed himself. It just showed him and Jane flirting. He was supposed to be in mourning. He just lost his father and was exiled from everything he knows.


    "I''d love to see how he slowly grows into the character, and him realizing that there are more ways to solve a conflict other than using his fist...or a hammer." I said as I turned to Jon, who was nodding as he heard my statement.


    Kevin fell into a deep thought before he asked Jon, "Do you feel the same way?"


    "Don''t look at me. I just started reading it this morning. I haven''t even gotten to 20 pages yet." Jon said dismissively before he added, "But if I were you, I''d believe the kid."


    "Anything else Edward? REALLY gave it to him. Make him regret that he ever wants to ask your opinion." RDJ joked.


    Kevin leaned in backward and chuckled, "Actually, I have simr thoughts. But like he said, you should continue Mr Newgate."


    "Just call me Edward, or simply, Ed. Alright, let''s talk about Jane Foster. She''s supposed to be this extremely smart astrophysicist, but what''s with the sudden IQ drop when she meets Thor?"


    After a thorough discussion, which took us about 3 hours to finish, Kevin sighed in exhaustion and said, "Thank you! Now, we can do the Iron Man movie reshoots."


    Jon and RDJ were extremely confused, "What?"


    I widened my eyes and asked, "Seriously?"


    Kevin smiled tiredly and said, "Yeah. I just need to see if you really have a vision. It''ll make things easier for me when I tell the Disney executives about it."


    "Tell, not convince?" RDJ teased.


    "I''m already convinced. I don''t care if they will." Kevin said with a flex in his tone. "By the way, the Thor movie isn''t starting filming yet, so I''ll revise the script. You know, this makes it 2 production credits to your name."


    "4." I replied. "I got one in mypany''s new movie and the TV series Breaking Bad too."


    "4 production credits, and you''re barely 15...You''re a monstrous little dude, you know that?" RDJ said with amazement.


    I turned to him weirdly and said, "Little? I''m taller than you."


    "Nuh-UH!" RDJ shook his finger at me. "We''ll not mention that, ever!"


    Kevin left soon after to go and discuss the matter of the reshoot of Iron Man 2, and the reworks of the Thor movie script with the director�CKeh Branagh. How would he react to a sudden change in the script? I didn''t really care about it as it was Feige''s troubles, not mine.


    RDJ and Jon drank some whiskey in a good mood after the discussion was over. We talked about mypany''s uing movie for a bit, and I told them the ns for the movie. After listening to the entire thing, RDJ was intrigued and asked, "Wait, so...The dad in the first scene, will give birth to Gosling and you?"


    "Yeah, Apatow wants to get Steve Carell for it." I replied casually, thinking that it was just a normal question.


    "Wait, no! I''ll be him." RDJ said with a chuckle. Wasn''t sure if he was serious about it, I smirked and said, "I don''t think it''ll be good for you."


    "Why is that?" He asked.


    "Believe me, I''m not trying to make fun of you when I say this, but, the dad will be quite drunk, climbed and jumped out the window after he told his son about the curse. The mother doesn''t let him meet his son because of his ''bad influence''."


    Jon stifled augh, "Sorry. Just thought it''ll be too on the nose if you did it."


    "I don''t care. I still want it." RDJ said with a wry smile. "Yeah, I think it''ll be great."


    "If you''re really serious, I can call the director about it now." I replied.


    RDJ nodded and said, "I am. You helped us a lot. We should help you once. Even Jon will cameo if you want him in the movie."


    ...


    [General POV]


    Max''s apartment building in Williamsburg. Detective Rosa Diaz and Detective Jake Peralta stopped their squad car and looked at the building with some confusion.


    "That can''t be right? We''re getting off here?" Jake asked in confusion. Rosa nodded and spoke curtly, "This is not a police affair. I''m just doing someone a favor." Rosa left the car and jogged lightly to cross the street to get into the building.


    Jake stuck his head out of the car window and shouted, "Do you want me toe with you?"


    Rosa didn''t reply, in which it made Jake feel obligated to follow her, "I didn''t receive an answer, so I''m going to follow you!"


    Rosa knocked on the door of Max''s house. Max asked, "Who is it?"


    "Detective Rosa Diaz, NYPD�C Shit, Um, I''m Diaz. I''m a friend of your friend, Edward Newgate." Rosa shouted hurriedly.


    Max, who was trying to escape through the back door, stopped midway and said, "Um, give me a second to clean the ce up." She took her baggie of weed, and threw it to the streets before opening up the door.


    Max opened the door slowly, and asked carefully, "Don''t you need a warrant to enter?"


    "This is not official business. I don''t care what you have in your apartment." Diaz said. Max studied her face and brightened up, opening the door fully at the same time, "Hey I know you. You''re the one who protected Edward."


    Diaz smiled and said, "Yeah, that''s me."


    "Come on in." Max invited her into the house. Jake Peralta yelled from afar, "Hey, wait for me!"


    "Jake, why did you follow me?" Rosa asked with irritation. Jake sighed helplessly and said, "Because you never told me to stay in the car. I thought you needed some backup."


    Jake and Max''s gazes suddenly met, and the air turned awkward. Rosa caught it and asked, "What''s with the look? What happened to you guys?"


    "Nothing happened. Just an innocent man''s heart getting toyed with, and then thrown to the side." Jake sniffled a bit.


    Max rolled her eyes and said, "We slept together, one time!"


    "But we did it 3 times, and you make me imagine our lives together." Jake said.


    Max chuckled and insulted, "Well that''s on you. I told you from the beginning we are only going to do this once."


    "Stop ignoring me and forcing me to hear this romance crap." Rosa said with a physical repulsion on the topic. Rosa turned to Max and said, "You should answer his messages and calls, otherwise he''ll send you to jail."


    Suddenly, a skinny blonde woman, Caroline Channing, who was a rich billionaire, but her father was arrested for Ponzi Scheme, walked through the hallways and stopped in front of the door where everyone was talking.


    "What�C Oh, damn it. I meant to call him." Max muttered with some worries. Rosa said curtly, "Now that I''ve sent your message, Bye."


    As Rosa turned, she bumped into Caroline who smiled at her. "Hi!" Caroline greeted cheerfully. "Are you guys with the NYPD? Are you here to find me about my dad''s case?"


    "What?" Rosa was confused. Jake widened his eyes, and said to Max in amazement, "You live here...But, Wow, I didn''t think that someone who knows Edward Newgate, also knows a Channing�C"


    Max quickly covered Jake''s mouth, surprising him. Caroline''s smile turned upside down, and her cheerful face turned into that of contempt. "Newgate? You''re talking about Edward Newgate, the one who reported my father, and made him get arrested?"


    Caroline turned to Max with a betrayed expression. With a stifled sob, she said, "is that why you lend me some help? Because you feel guilty?" Caroline turned and ran away quickly.


    "Wait, Caroline! NO!" Max quickly went after her to exin the whole situation. Rosa turned to Jake in disbelief and anger, "Nice Job Jake."


    "How should I know that would happen?!" Jake asked in confusion and panic.


    "You should''ve just stayed in the car!" Rosa scolded.


    ...


    A/N: Just realized that I had posted 499 Chapters in WN,bining both my previous Marvel fic and Relife! It''s an incredible milestone for me considering that I had written over 500 Chapters! (10 More on Patreon). It has been 2 years, 2 and a half year(?) since I started writing full time, <i>man</i>, time passed by really quickly.


    I started writing because I had severe social anxiety after covid, and couldn''t actually find a job, even dropped out of my college. Writing stories has been really enjoyable for me. And now that I realized my overall Chapters had surpassed 500 Chapters-- also 1.666 million words, I was really surprised at myself. Finally, I figured out why my hand hurts all the time.


    While I do not often promote my Patreon, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to those who have supported me on this journey. Even a single month of support can make a world of difference, allowing me to continue dedicating myself to the story. Those who wanted to join in and support me can find my patreon link below;


    /relifewithkarmicgacha

 Chapter 267: 2 Broke girls.

    <h4>Chapter 267: Chapter 267: 2 Broke girls.?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Sitting on the couch in the living room, I turned on the show, ''Everybody Hates Chris'' and watched it while eating some popcorn. Suddenly, myptop rang as someone video called me.


    Pausing the tv, I leaned forward to the coffee table where myptop was sitting, and answered the call. When the familiar face popped up, I smiled and teased, "So, they decide not to arrest you?"


    "Low blow telling the cops toe to my house. It could''ve been really dangerous." Max said angrily.


    I chuckled and said, "Next time, I''ll ask them toe when they are on duty."


    "NO!" Max said decisively. "I''ve learnt my lesson." She added.


    "That is?" I asked expectantly.


    "Never underestimate your insanity." Max said. I was baffled for a bit, and then I realized that she was making sense.


    "So, you''reing here or not?" I asked when suddenly, a blondie crashed into the screen, pushing Max slightly to the side as she joined in the conversation.


    "Caroline, I told you I''ll ask him." Max scolded whisperingly, taken aback by Caroline''s sudden intrusion. I managed to piece up the clues instantly in my mind, and figured out why she was there.


    Putting on an innocent smile on my face, I greeted her, "Hello Miss Channing. We meet again."


    "Hello." Caroline has an expression of disbelief. She said venomously, "You''re quite brazen for smiling when you see me. Did you forget about what you did to my life?"


    "You mean, your fake life, built on the scammed money of innocent people." I said with a sarcastic tone. "It seems that life hasn''t hit you hard enough to make you reflect on yourself, Miss Channing."


    Caroline was taken aback, and she forgot what she was trying to say. I understood that she may have felt some resentment towards me, but like I said before, the FBI was on her father''s ass for years. She only felt that way because she heard from me, and thought that I was the one who was responsible for everything that happened to her.


    Her dad would be thrown to jail anyway, it''s just a matter of time. In fact, if he hadn''t tried to scam Pepper, I wouldn''t even care about him.


    "Caroline. It''s not his fault your dad ran a Ponzi scheme." Max scolded Caroline. She added, "Even I know to me the victim for speaking up is disgusting. And I usually tell people to keep their mouths shut whenever I punch them and steal their money."


    "So, you think you''re disgusting?" I asked Max with a chuckle. "No wonder you want to stay at the rat''s nest you call a house."


    She smiled and cracked a joke, "At least I''m self aware about it. And you won''t believe this! We have a horse!"


    "Oh good for you!" I said honestly. "But knowing your browser history, I''m very concerned about the horse living with you."


    Max was speechless for a bit before she replied angrily, "Hey I''ve never watched that kind of stuff!"


    "Enough. My father..." Caroline interjected suddenly, which made Max and I turn our attention to her. She struggled to continue giving excuses for her father, "He''s...a kind man..."


    Reality hitted her hard, and her entire world crumbled around her in just a matter of hours. None of her friends wanted to have anything to do with her as their family name could also be implicated. The Channing family name suddenly became something everyone wanted to avoid.


    "I''m not saying he''s evil." I said suddenly, which made Caroline confused. "People areplex. They can be a nightmare for their enemies, and also a saint for their families. But let''s not pretend your dad is Robin Hood either. He hurts a lot of people with his schemes.


    "Besides, he''s probably not even going to learn from the mistake. In a year or two, he''ll be transferred to a cozy, high ss prison, maybe getting the opportunity to go out on parole after people forget what he had done. There won''t be any real punishment for him."


    "Really?" Max asked with some surprise.


    I shrugged and said, "Have you ever really seen a rich dude getting punished for what he did? Even OJ managed to get away with killing his wife (Allegedly Lol), not to mention a Channing that has a lot of connections with the upper ss society of New York. I mean, they say people lose money...but no real rich dudes were hurt in the crime, so.."


    "Oh my god." Max was exasperated. Caroline was taken aback, and she asked with a shivering voice, "Even if he can get out in the future, it''ll never be the same anymore."


    "Yeah probably not." I chuckled. Caroline looked at me with an almost crying expression. "What should I do now?" She asked me.


    "How should I now?" I shrugged dismissively. "I told you to bury some money before."


    Caroline opened her mouth to protest, then she remembered that I did tell her that before.


    "Did you brush it off, what I said?" I asked mischievously. Caroline bit her lip and said, "Yes..."


    "Then is it still my fault?" I asked again. Caroline was depressed and said, "No."


    "Well, at the very least, you have your business degree from Wharton. I''m sure you can find a good paying job in no time." I said.


    "Actually Max and I are aiming to start our own cupcake business." Caroline suddenly brightened up�C her emotions changed so fast, it was as if someone pressed a switch inside of her.


    "Great. Do you guys need any seed money?" I asked casually. Caroline opened her mouth wide, excited about the offer, but Max shut her down instantly, "NO! We''re going to do it ourselves."


    "MAX!" Caroline tried to protest, but Max was determined. "No Caroline!"


    "That makes me feel quite bad." I said with a slightly hurt expression. Max was apologetic and said, "Sorry. I just can''t do that to you. The moment I start borrowing money from you, then it means we can''t just be friends anymore."


    "Why?" I asked curiously. Max replied, "Because! Everytime I see your face, I''ll think about the money I owe you. I don''t want that."


    "Alright, I understand." I replied casually. "Anyway Max, you''re stilling here for Thanksgiving, right? We''re going to Wisconsin afterward." I ignored the depressed Caroline and asked only Max.


    "About that. Um..." Max nced at Caroline for a bit before she said, "I''d probably stay here..."


    "Ugh." I scoffed and said angrily, "Fine then. Go be with the homewrecker, you bimbo."


    Max and Caroline both gasped in offense. "Hey I''m a slut, not a bimbo�C" Max said, but I cut the call immediately, not wanting to look at Max''s face any longer. Max tried to call me back, but I didn''t want to answer her.


    She sent me a cute otters holding hand gif asking for an apologyter that night, only then did I reply to her.


    ...


    The weekends flew by pretty quickly. Instead of working on the movie, I decided to leave all of the work to Director Judd and Paige while I worked on Breaking Bad and Suits. Which leads to an important discussion I currently have with Pepper and Harvey right now.


    "How do we air the series? Should we create a new channel just for us? Entertain TV Network or Entertain Channel sounds pretty good." Pepper asked excitedly as I sat in front of him in his office. Harvey, Pepper and I were sitting on the office reception couch, and I sipped some coffee while I thought about Pepper''s question.


    Putting the cup of coffee down, I replied, "Well, AMC is interested in the show Breaking Bad, and they wanted to acquire it for theirwork. But for me, I think, we can just release it on the streaming tform."


    Harvey added, "Currently, we have 32 million paid subscribers for Netflix. I think simrly to Edward."


    "But, if it''s not on TV, can it still be called a TV series?" Pepper asked in confusion. I smirked and said, "It''s original content then. And Pepper, the first episode wasn''t even recorded yet. We still have time."


    Harvey chuckled and said, "Edward will soon release the sim cards, in which, people who bought it will have 1 month free subscription to Netflix. Not to mention, if they bought the Firestick, they can stream the app on TV."


    Pepper nodded as Harvey continued, "Then, he will release the shows; Breaking Bad, Suits, and Queen''s Gambit, at the same time. All of it is part of Edward''s sinister n to take over the world. Projected views on Breaking Bad''s first episode is 5 million people. So don''t worry Peps. The show will definitely seed."


    "It should be. We invested quite a lot in our studio." Pepper said before he guffawed.


    "I''m going to go to the set. They are casting the actors right now." I stood up and excused myself from the office.


    Pepper asked, "Breaking Bad?"


    I nodded to him, "Yeah."


    The series were mostly shot on a real world location, which made filming the series a strenuous feat, however everyone who participated in the project were excited to do it.


    The entire series, from season 1 to season 5, were all already nned out, and they just had to shoot the tv show. The main director, Vince Gilligan, was really excited when I pitched the idea to him.


    I joined in the casting process of the few main actors we needed for the show by standing on the side of the audition stage, watching the audition without interrupting and announcing my presence there.


    So far, we only managed to cast Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul for their roles as Walter White and Jessi Pinkman. Dean Norris as Hank Shrader was easy to find. RJ Mitte was Walter White Junior took a little effort, but I found him.


    Betty Brand as Marie Shrader jumped on the project the minute it was offered to her. Currently inside the building, we''re conducting a screen test for the finalist of the role of Skyler White - Walter White''s wife, and an important main cast in the series.


    There were 5 finalists for the role, and Jenna''s mother was one of the finalists. It surprised me a bit, but when I saw her acting like an unreasonable pregnant wife, I understood why she came so far in the casting process.


    Mrs Karlsen even wore a fake pregnancy stomach as she auditioned. She gave everything she got in front of the director of the show.


    "Thank you Mrs Alex. You can go now, and we will call you if you get the role." The casting director Sharon said to Mrs Alexandria. She was one of the three casting directors, but she has the greatest deciding powerpared to the other two. Jenna''s mom brightened up, and she left the room after thanking the directors.


    "Next." The director told the assistant, and she went to get the next actress to screen test for the role.


    However, as soon as the other actress walked in, I furrowed my brows. With a smug look on her full makeup face, she slowly untied her robe, revealing a ckced undergarment before walking to the video shot, stark contrast to how Mrs Karlsen wore a pink sweater and minimal makeup when she was testing for the role.


    "What are you doing?" Sharon asked in confusion and irritation. The actress, Jess, smirked and said, "She''s supposed to be giving a handjob while they are watching tv, so I was dressed for such an event."


    "We''re not even testing for that." Sharon said sarcastically, "So why don''t you put your clothes back on, and then walk out of here with dignity�C however much of it is left behind in you."


    Baffled, the actress said, "You''re not the boss! I went out with the creator of the show before! He promised me the role! I-I''m going to sue!"


    Seeing the trouble brewing over there, I walked out of the shadow, much to Sharon''s surprise, and leaned on the table before I said casually, "I''m the creator, and I''m pretty sure that I''ve never slept with you."


    "What?" Jess was dumbfounded as she was exposed. But then, she smirked and walked towards me sensually, "Are you sure?" She then whispered to my ear, "Even if it''s a lie, I can make it a reality very soon... I''ll do anything you want."


    "You can�C"


    "Anything..." She interjected my words with a sensual whisper. "Anythang..."


    I smiled, which made her believe that I was seduced, then I spat out, "Get the fuck out." with a casual tone. "Security." Sharon called, and Jess was escorted out of the building."


    "Why did she even get this far?" I asked with confusion. "How in the hell did she pass in the first ce?"


    Sharon smiled wryly and replied, "She has some connections, so I did it as a favor. I didn''t think she''d be this crazy."


    "Is she thest one?" I asked. Sharon nodded and said carefully, "I think we''ll go with Karlsen. I know that she used to work with yboy, but I think she really fits the role. She''s dedicated, and she really suits the character. It''d be a little risky, so if you don''t like that, we can go with the second choice."


    Turning my head to Sharon, she became confused when she saw my deadpan stare. "What?" She asked in confusion.


    "I''m the one who rmended her." I exposed it, which made the three of them be baffled. "What?" Sharon especially, was bbergasted by the sudden fact. "Why didn''t you tell us?" She asked.


    I smiled and said, "I don''t want that to be a factor. Okay, you can call Cranston and conduct the chemistry test between them. See if they fit together. If all goes well, we can start filming the first episode after Thanksgiving."


    "You''re the boss." Sharon said before she sat back down on her seat. I walked outside of the room, only to find myself facing a group of young aspiring actresses in their 20s. They instantly broke into excited murmurs after they saw me.


    Confused by their presence, I walked to the nearest girl, a brte girl and asked, "Why are you guys here?"


    She blushed a bit and replied, "Um, to audition for a role."


    "What role?"


    "The role of Jane." She exined.


    "Ah!" I eximed in realization and thanked the girl. It seemed that Sharon decided to settle on the casting of the characters early. Well I should''ve mentioned to her that I want Krysten Ritter for the role, but not toote I guess. I returned to the room, confusing Sharon as she thought that I would be gone.


    "What''s wrong?" She asked.


    "Jane...I kinda already have someone I want for the role." I replied. Sharon widened her eyes and apologized profusely, "I''m really sorry! It was presumptuous of me to do this without asking first."


    "It''s fine. It''s a mistake." I said dismissively as it wasn''t a big deal. "Do you want me to send those girls away?" She asked with some frustration.


    "No�C Um, do you have the script for Queen''s Gambit with you? We need some extras for that, so tell them about the mistake, and ask them if they want to try it out. We need some girls to y the high schoolers."


    "Alright. I promise that I''ll fix this." Sharon said with determination. Her fiery gaze made me shudder for a bit, "Ooh~ It got fierce in here. I''ll let you deal with it."


    After that, I snuck away using a different path to ensure I wouldn''t meet the girls, and drove away from thepany. It has been a week since Missy and Mary came to California, and they will be returning home tonight.


    Mary invited me to have dinner one more time with her at the beach house to thank me for my generosity. For some reason, Mary and my dad bonded quite a bit. He even took them both on a trip on his ship, with Missy flirting with my dad the entire time.


    I rang the doorbell when I arrived at the house. Missy pressed the inte and asked, "Who is it?"


    "Your step son to be." I replied.


    The door was unlocked, and a flustered Missy said as she opened the door, "So you know about that huh?"


    "You broke my heart. I thought we had something going on between us. But it turns out, you''re only using me to get to my dad." I pretended to be hurt as I entered the house.


    Missy giggled and stuck her tongue out, "Sorry, but I only like rugged men."


    When I entered the house, it was empty of other people except the two of us there. "Where''s your mother?" I asked.


    Missy went to the kitchen and took out some food from the oven, "She went to get Sheldon."


    "He can''te by himself?" I asked with confusion.


    Missy sighed and said, "You know he''s a weirdo. He doesn''t want toe if you''re here."


    Befuddled, I said, "You''re the one who twisted his nipples. Why is he ming me for it?"


    "Again. He''s a weirdo." Missy said as she licked her finger that touched the chicken grease. "Want some?" She asked.


    "We''re not waiting?" I smirked and walked to the kitchen.


    "Who knows when they''re going to be here. Hmm, till the end, Paige doesn''t want to hang out with me."


    "Really?" I twisted off a chicken drumstick and put it in my mouth. "Howe?"


    "I don''t know." Missy replied. I asked, "Have you ever asked her toe hang out, alone?"


    Busy with her work on the script, Paige decided to sacrifice the reunion with her friend in order to finish the script. However, I missed that and thought that she just didn''t want toe.


    Missy thought for a bit and replied, "No. Never."


    "Then, do you want me to ask her toe? I''m her boss. She definitely has to be here if I did it." I said yfully, but Missy was excited and said, "Call her! Call her now!"


    Support me on Patreon. You can find up to 10 advanced Chapters there!


    /relifewithkarmicgacha


    Discord Link : https://discord.gg/RUFZ2Zp2m4

 Chapter 268: Sheldon and Paige.

    <h4>Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Sheldon and Paige.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    10 minutester, Paige arrived at the beach house while riding a beat up car. Wearing a in white, semi translucent shirt and long jeans, Paige was confused when she saw Missy opening the door and weing her inside the house.


    "I thought, we were going to discuss the script?" She asked, confused.


    "I lied obviously." I said with a mischievous grin. Missy was ted and she took Paige''s hand, "You need to see the sea at night. It is so beautiful!"


    Paige''s eyes shook as she realized that I had sessfully lured her out of her hiding ce. ring at me slightly as Missy pulled her away, Paige tried to ask, "Is Sheldon going to be here? If he''sing, please tell me! I don''t want to meet him right now."


    Depressed, Missy asked whiningly, "But why?"


    "I have my reasons..." Paige said, feeling guilty towards Missy. However, as she wanted to get out of the house, she bumped into Sheldon and Mary at the door.


    "Oh god." Stunned, Paige widened her eyes as she looked at Sheldon. "Hello." Sheldon greeted casually before he entered the house, walking past her.


    "That''s it?" Paige turned abruptly, bbergasted by Sheldon''s dismissive reaction.


    ...


    During dinner, despite Paige''s nervousness, Sheldon didn''t ask her even one question about what she''s doing now�C in fact, he wasn''t interested in talking at all. All he did, was stare warily at me.


    "I''m not going to do anything." I said with disbelief. My seat faced Sheldon directly, Paige sat next to me, Mary at the head of the table, and Missy next to Sheldon, facing Paige.


    "How can I trust you? I know my game crashing right before I won a match is part of your insidious n too." Sheldon replied with some bitterness.


    Baffled, I said, "You know there''s millions of people ying the game. Do you really think I''ll risk destroying the game, just to mess with you? You think too much."


    "Oh, really? Then tell me, why did a message pop up saying ''You suck'' at myptop, shing for a second before it disappears when I start the game?"


    "How should I know? Did you download the game from a risky website, or have frequent visits to such websites?" I asked instigatively.


    Missy looked at him with disbelief. Even Paige gave him a disgusted look, but Sheldon didn''t understand why people were staring at him. "You mean illegal websites? I''ve never surfed on them. There''s too much important data in myptop for me to do something that couldpromise them." He exined.


    Well to be honest, I was messing with him online with some pop up messages. But I never crashed his game when he was going to win a match.


    "Do you want me to take a look at yourptop and find out what''s wrong with it? With your advanced age, I''m sure it''ll be hard for you to do it yourself." I added an insult, packaged as a concern for him.


    Missy giggled but Mary obliviously said, "That''s a great idea. Why don''t you let him take a look, Shelly?"


    "Mother! I''m not an old person needing help from the younger generation about technology." Sheldon eximed in bewilderment. "That''s you."


    "Shelly, he''s just trying to help." Mary scolded Sheldon.


    "More like, he''s trying to insult me." Sheldon protested.


    "Anyway," Mary turned to Paige and asked, "I hear you two are working on a movie together. How''s that going on?"


    "Um.." Paige nced at Sheldon, feeling self-conscious about her choice of career.


    Sheldon noticed it and asked obliviously, "Why are you looking at me? I don''t know anything about your movie."


    I rolled my eyes before turning to Mary, "Paige is a great screenwriter. Not that great inedy, but she has some real world experiences unlike the other college graduate writers, which made her writing...um, believable."


    Paige was taken aback, and Sheldon asked curiously, "How did you know that? Isn''t this her first production?" His tone wasn''t condescending or trying to insult Paige, but she felt the need to defend herself regardless. She interjected, "I did work on a few independent projects before�C"


    "But none of them finished their production." I exposed, making her re at me. Turning to Sheldon, I replied, "Cause I read her works?"


    "And you''re qualified to assess the quality of her writing?" He asked condescendingly.


    "I have 4 production credits which mainly focus on the script, so...yeah." I replied casually. "I got to say Sheldon, I thought you''ll be more excited to meet Paige. You said she has been on your mind for decades."


    Paige was taken aback, and her expression softened as she turned to Sheldon, "You were thinking about me?"


    "No." Sheldon replied, dousing the little excitement Paige has in the topic. However, it was rekindled when he said, "Not on purpose. I have an eidetic memory, so thoughts about youe out even if I try not to think about you."


    Paige''s cheek turned red, and she had to sip on the wine to calm herself. Missy shot a knowing look as she nced at me.


    "Oh-ho~" I eximed as my eyes darted between the oblivious Sheldon and the blushing Paige. "Wonder if Amy will kill me when she knows about this." I mumbled to myself. "Eh, they haven''t dated yet." I shrugged before continuing to watch the duo.


    "Sheldon, aren''t you curious to know details about Paige''s life? Aren''t you two friends?" Mary asked.


    "Not really, no." Sheldon replied tly.


    Paige was irritated once more. "Are you toying with me?" She asked.


    "Why would I toy with you?" Sheldon asked with confusion.


    "Maybe because you toyed with his feelings before." I interjected to add some fuel to the fire. Paige turned towards me with astonishment and asked, "When did I do that?"


    "You know, the first kiss." I whispered, which made Paige taken aback. Confused, Sheldon asked, "What are you guys talking about?"


    "Nothing." Paige replied with a blush.


    Mary didn''t realize it and asked me, "Do you two work well together?"


    I chuckled and replied, "No. She seemed to have an opinion about me. But I''m toozy to ask."


    The girls were taken aback but Sheldon felt as if he met a kindred spirit. "So, you too can see behind his facade."


    "Behind this mask is just another mask, that is; the Batman mask." I said as I pointed to my face.


    Missy and Mary giggled, but Sheldon epted the statement. Hemented, "True. You can''t be Bruce Wayne, but you can be a real life Batman. One that has both of his parents. Even though one of them abandoned you�C"


    Missy punched Sheldon''s bicep, hard, which made him wince in pain, "OWW!! What''s the matter with you!? Are you having sudden burst of violence tendencies as part of your menstrual cycle symptom�C"


    He got punched another time.


    "OWW!"


    Mary quickly apologized on Sheldon''s behalf, "Edward, I''m very sorry. Sheldon didn''t mean it."


    "Eh, not really bothered by it. It''s a fact." I replied casually.


    "SEE! He''s not bothered by it!" Sheldon said to Missy, but quickly shut his mouth when Missy threatened to punch him again. "Paige has an opinion on him too!" Sheldon quickly turned to Paige.


    Being put in a tough spot, Paige hesitated and said, "I don''t really have anything..."


    Missy giggled and said, "You don''t have to worry. He won''t hold it against you or anything." She added teasingly, "He''s too busy to care about people''s opinion on him."


    "That''s urate." I chuckled. Mary was feeling gossipy but she covered it by acting as if she wanted us to clear the misunderstanding, "Do you feel like he''s wasteful for the way he throws his money around?"


    "Oh, so That''s how you feel about me." I interjected, which made Mary embarrassed. Paige nced at me and asked, "You won''t get mad?"


    "Like I said, I don''t really care. I don''t know you enough to care about what you think about me." I replied. "But, we''re going to work together, so if you have any issues about me, just talk to me about it." I added.


    Paige took a deep breath, collected her thoughts before she spoke, "During our first meeting, I thought you were a misogynist and was making my work harder on purpose. B-But not now!"


    I looked at her with confusion, which made her exin, "Well, you know, you seem like you don''t want to work with me. But then I realized you just don''t want to work on the movie. But on our second meeting, you had a lot of great input and you- you kept checking out Pepper''s expression, which made me realize, you were just working on this for the CEO."


    I nodded in agreement to what she said and asked curiously, "But what part of me seems like a misogynist?"


    "So you DO care!" Missy interjected teasingly.


    "Well I got to know." I yed along with her. Paige breathed in relief and said, "Oh, I heard about your work on Breaking Bad, so I thought you just don''t want to work with me because I''m a woman. I also thought you were a ssist and didn''t want to work with me because I''m poor�C"


    "You overthink a lot." I interjected with a deadpan expression.


    Paige smiled guiltily and said, "Sorry."


    "So Sheldon, tell me about your research." Paige asked after we ate for a while. Sheldon replied, "Would you understand it if I told you about it now?"


    "I kept my toes in science waters." Paige replied. "Alright." Sheldon replied before starting to talk about his research. Missy and Mary were bored as hell, but Paige and I listened closely to his works.


    Thest dinner with the Coopers went by pretty smoothly. Missy and Mary had a lot of baggage to bring home, which I helped load into the car. Missy scolded Sheldon, "You could at least help."


    "I want to, but that looks heavy. Let the athlete do it." Sheldon replied as he took one step away from the bags.


    Mary hugged me and said, "Thank you Edward. We have known each other just for a little while, and you have been so generous to our family. I''ll always keep you in my prayers from now on. I''ll even pray for you before Shelly. And I hope that whatever it is you''re doing, you''ll always have God watching over you from all of the evils of mankind."


    "Thank you Mary." I replied sincerely.


    Mary grinned and said, "Perhaps one day, you''ll even sing songs about bringing people to church�C"


    "Mom! Stop." Missy stopped Mary and slowly moved her to the side. "Get in the car, we''rete!" Missy said to her mother before hugging me tightly, "Thank you Ed! Although I know you just brought us here to mess with Sheldon, I''m still very thankful for you!"


    "I didn''t. I brought you here because I want to get to know you." I flirted a bit with Missy, which made her say, "Still too young."


    "Damn it." I cursed fakely, which made her giggle. She hugged me one more time to say goodbye. Mary and Missy also hugged Paige and Sheldon before they got into the car.


    A driver took them to the airport from the beach house, leaving Paige, Sheldon and I alone there. Suddenly, Sheldon asked, "So who''s going to take me home?"


    "What?" Paige was confused. "Not it." I replied as I put on my sunsses. Sheldon scoffed and said, "I''ll never get in a car with someone who wears sunsses to drive at night anyway."


    "Paige, you can send this idiot home, can you?" I turned to Paige and asked.


    "Excuse me�C I have�C" Sheldon tried to speak, but Paige interjected, "Sure I guess."


    "It''s 45 minutes away." I added.


    Paige was in disbelief, "45 minutes! Um... I...err... I kinda have an important thing to get to."


    "It''s fine, I''ll call my roommate to pick me up." Sheldon said casually.


    "She doesn''t have any appointments." I exposed Paige. "She just doesn''t want to be alone with you. I''m assuming she was anxious about something."


    "Anxious about what?" Sheldon asked in confusion. "I don''t know, ask her." I replied with a shrug. "You guys can use the drive home to work it out."


    Then, I left the beach house in my car, leaving behind the two of them. I wasn''t curious to see what would happen with them. Knowing Sheldon, nothing will.


    ...


    The next morning, inside my vi by the seaside. As I was sipping some coffee, my dad asked with confusion, "Why do you have a trip to Colorado nned tomorrow?"


    "Oh that. Dn invited me to his house for Thanksgiving, but I couldn''t be there, so I was going to visit him before Thanksgiving." I replied casually.


    He looked ufortable and said, "So, you don''t think to tell me about your trip to another State? Alone at that?"


    I looked at him weirdly and said, "It''s just Colorado. Besides, I''m taking a break. Isn''t that what you always wanted me to do?"


    "That doesn''t mean I''m going to let my underage son travel the country on his own!" My dad replied.


    I sipped my coffee silently, which made him agitated. "Ahh~" I eximed in satisfaction, which irritated him. "I''m not going alone, Frankie''s going with me."


    "What�C" My dad widened his eyes. "She didn''t tell me." He mumbled, but I could hear him. Then, he looked at me with bewilderment and asked, "Why is she going there with you?"


    "I invited her." I replied casually, which made my dad even more confused. "But...why?" He asked exasperatingly.


    Maybe because I wanted to see if Frankie''s doppelganger was in Greendale. If I manage to make them meet, will one of them absorb the other, or will they merge together, or will the world get destroyed�C hopefully not thest one, but I was excited regardless.


    "Just because. I''ll be back on Wednesday night." I said casually to my dad, which made him stunned speechless.


    "I understand you less and less Ed." My dad shook his head as he walked away in defeat. Laughing at his misery, I said, "Don''t worry, I won''t flirt with your girl."


    "I''m not worried about that." My dad replied agitatedly. "Tell Dn I said Hi." He said before he left the house to go to work. But before he left, he turned around and asked again, "Why did you want Frankie toe with you? Just tell me that so I can rx."


    I sighed and replied, "I just want to get her help on something."


    "What help?" my dad asked.


    "You want to know that too?" I replied with disbelief. "Just restructuring helps, and maybe... overhaul the entire college administration, holding a coup, you know, just ordinary stuff."


    "It''s fine if you don''t want to tell me. Don''t make stuff up." My dad replied before he walked away.


    I had ns on getting my haircut today, but then I received a text from Alex before I could get up from drinking my coffee in the kitchen.


    "Let''s see, Thanksgiving will be held on thest Thursday of November. But in the series, they blow off Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate Luke''s birthday. But Luke''s birthday is on Saturday..." I read Alex''s text, which was about Luke''s birthday invitation.


    "I''m confused now." I shook my head slightly before I replied to Alex to say ''I will being'' to the party. Robin suddenly appeared and said, "Sir, your treasure hunting kit is now ready."


    "Oh, that''s great. Remind me to take them on the trip." I replied with excitement. Yeah, my purpose for going to Colorado wasn''t only to visit Dn, but I had other ns with Greendale Community College. Maybe, doing something to ensure the ce wasn''t such a mess? Who knows, that''ll depend on my mood tomorrow.


    When I was going to start the car and go to my hair appointment, I suddenly received a video call from Haley. Surprised, I answered the call, only for Alex and Luke to be on the screen.


    "Hello?" I greeted puzzledly.


    "Sorry, my phone ran out of battery." Alex said. "Were you excited for her to call?" She teased.


    "What do you want?" I asked.


    "Remember the Fel D 1 experiment?" She showed her papers and smiled, "I believed I had done it."


    "You mean, the federal agents had done it." Although it was a petty revenge, I had to take the shot.


    "Shut up." Alex grimaced. "Come and read it." She said cheerfully.


    "I don''t have time today. I need to get my hair cut, and I have work to do in the afternoon." I said with a disappointed expression. "You can email it to me, I''ll read it when I''m at the salon."


    "You''re a cowboy?" Luke suddenly chimed in. "I wish." I replied to him.


    "I don''t have any soft copy though." Alex said.


    "Hello hello! I''m here!" Gloria suddenly showed up on the screen, seemingly just getting into the Dunphy''s house. Her eyes lit up as she saw me, "Edward! Thank you for letting Manny into the music video! My family back in Colombia is all very happy to see him act!" Gloria intruded on the video call and Alex was shoved to the side.


    Wearing a tight, low cut floral dress, Gloria took the phone from Alex and asked me, "What should Manny do next? Should he audition for movies or tv series? Or is that the wrong move for him?"


    "Rather than asking me, it''d be better if you discuss with Manny and see if he wants to be a child actor." I said casually. Gloria realized that she had been thinking too far ahead andughed, "I should do that first shouldn''t I?"


    Alex squeezed her way into the camera shot and said, "You know, since you brought them into that industry, you''re responsible for them."


    I sighed and said, "I know I know."


    Gloria pushed Alex away again, thanking her at the same time, "So what time can you get here to discuss their career?"


    Alex shouted, "He doesn''t have time today. He needs to get his haircut."


    Gloria narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized my hair and said, "Haircut? I used to work as a hairdresser. I can cut your hair."


    Alex scoffed and said, "He''s going to a fancy hair salon."


    "You''re saying I''m not fancy! That I can''t cut celebrities'' hair! Let me tell you something, men will line up at the hair salon to get their haircut by me!" Gloria spoke agitatedly.


    "I don''t think they''re there to get their hair cut." I replied teasingly. "What?!" Gloria snapped.


    "N0-Nothing. Well, I only need a trim, so I guess you can cut my hair." I replied.


    Personally, I''d like to experience getting my hair cut by her, but at the same time, I was a bit afraid of her messing it up since my hair was a big part of my identity. Nevertheless, my curiosity got the best of me.


    After a short drive, I arrived at the Dunphy''s house where Gloria cut my hair in the kitchen while I pretended to read Alex''s research papers. Gloria hugged my head and brought my face really close to her bosom as she checked out the length of the hair she just cut.


    "Hmm..." She pressed her bosom on my face as she leaned in closer to see my hair given her short sightedness. "Umph." I grunted as I couldn''t read the papers anymore...well, who cares about the papers by now.


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 Chapter 269: College Experience (1)

    <h4>Chapter 269: Chapter 269: College Experience (1)</h4>


    (Sorry I''mte. I went to the hospital to take care of a friend who got into a bike ident.)


    [General POV]


    (A/N: Season 1 Episode 8 : Home Economics for the Community episode)


    When Edward''s nended in Colorado, he wanted to visit Dn and Anais first, however, they had not woken up yet since it was 5 in the morning. Therefore, he decided to go to get some rest first.


    Renting a car, Edward drove Frankie to a courtyard apartment building. Frankie was confused when she walked out of the car and noticed the apartment. She asked, "Why are we here? Did you rent an apartment here?"


    The condition of the apartment, while not outright rundown, was certainly not in great shape either. Edward chuckled and said, "No, I bought it. The building."


    Frankie widened her eyes in astonishment. "FOR A 2 DAYS TRIP!?" she eximed loudly. Edward was taken aback for a bit before he recollected himself, "What�C No! W-what kind of guy do you think I am?"


    Even he himself was surprised that Frankie would jump to such a conclusion. Realizing she had overreacted, Frankie asked, "Sorry. Why did you buy it?"


    "I got an offer from a general I know," Edward exined. "This ce used to be a CIA safehouse, but they abandoned it when their mission was done here. Now, they want to get rid of it, so they sold it to me quite cheaply."


    "Really, how cheap?" Frankie asked, her suspicion evident. She added, "The market price for this building, in a suburban area, will be around $3.5 million�C"


    "I got it for $1.5 million," Edward replied, shocking Frankie. Then he added, "We still listed the apartment for $3.5 million though. So I got some free money."


    Frankie diminished Edward''s actions, saying, "That''s tax fraud. You could be in great trouble for this!"


    "Not really," Edward reassured her. "One of the agents entrusted the house to a fund, and willed it to me in case of his death, which wasst month, before he went dark. So I don''t have any connections with this. Frankie, you''re going to need a mindset change if you''re going to work with powerful figures in the future."


    "Why would I jeopardize who I was to fit with a certainmunity? I''d rather just avoid them entirely if I have no other choice."


    As Edward opened the gate of the house with a remote, he replied, "That''s admirable. However, with all great powers, great sacrifices wille. Consider this, I''d bought a CIA safe house based on my dirty deal with the military. However, I used the house to take care of the homeless. In this scenario, are my dirty dealings still repulsive to you?"


    Frankie fell into some thoughts before she turned to Edward and asked, "Is this part of your men areplex argument?"


    "No. This is part of my trying-to-make-someone-understand-me argument." Edward chuckled teasingly. "Linda told me it''ll help." Edward added.


    "Help in what?" Frankie asked curiously.


    "Not important. I''ll get the luggages. Here''s the key. Go find the apartment we''re going to stay in." Edward said as he opened up the car bo.


    The once-vibrant colors of the exterior walls had faded to a muted, weathered appearance, giving the building a sense of aged character. The wrought-iron fence surrounding the central courtyard, though slightly rusted, stood sturdy and intact, however, it also gave horror movie vibes to Edward�C which he loved.


    In the middle of the courtyard, a small fountain bubbled and trickled merrily, its water feature running perfectly despite its slightly worn look. The shrubbery that lined the perimeter was neatly trimmed, lending an air of well-maintainedndscaping.


    The string lighting hung overhead cast a warm, ambient glow across the scene,plementing the courtyard''s vintage charm.


    Lugging the bags to the apartment, Edward was surprised to see that the apartment was bigger than what he expected it to be. Suddenly, he took out a radar-like device, intriguing Frankie.


    "What''s that?" She asked.


    "This? Just something I cooked up to find a hidden room or a tunnel." Edward replied with a mischievous smirk. "By the way, you saw this, so I feel obliged to ask, want to go on the search together with me? A quick adventure?"


    "I''ll decline. I want to get settled in." Frankie replied tly, with no excitement at the prospect at all. A little disappointed, Edward said, "Alright then. I guess I''ll just go alone�C Wait, there''s one here."


    The device was beeping as it found a hiddentch near the rack. Edward pulled on the sconce, and the wall opened up, revealing what seemed to be a weapon''s depot for the agents, only that it was empty now.


    "I take back my rejection." Frankie replied immediately. "Oh ho! Someone finally got the adventurer spirit." Edward said cheerfully.


    However, Frankie shook her head and said, "If you''re going to find more rooms like this, you may find a hidden weapon or get in danger. Your sudden burst of immaturity made me worried that you might get carried away�C"


    Edward grimaced and said, "Just say you want toe. Don''t get a dig at me while you''re at it."


    ...


    Greendale Community College, afternoon.


    Dn proudly gestured to the quad, boasting, "So this is the quad where I usually sang my song for my wife-to-be." He wrapped an arm around Anais, who looked visibly ufortable with the public disy of affection.


    "Dn, I told you, stop calling me your wife here at the college. I don''t want people to find out we''re engaged," Anais said, gently brushing his arm away.


    "Oof, that must hurt," Edward remarked, observing the interaction from the side. Dressed in a simple jacket and baseball hat, he had gone unnoticed by the others so far.


    Defensively, Dn replied, "It does, but sometimes she''ll make up for it when we''re at home."


    "Dn!" Anais eximed, her eyes widening in embarrassment at the personal details Dn had shared. Edwardughed, which prompted Anais to join in. Dn also chuckled, though he seemed puzzled, asking, "Why are weughing?"


    As Edward conversed with his friends, Abed Nadir, a Polish-Arabic student majoring in filmmaking, suddenly stopped walking alongside his friend Troy Barnes, an African-American man. (Danny Pudi and Donald Glover, respectively.)


    "Abed, why are we stopping?" Troy asked, confused, as he backtracked to Abed''s side, following his gaze.


    "Something different is happening today," Abed said, his observant eyes scanning the area.


    Troy smiled and asked, "Are you referring to my hot date with Randy tomorrow at the pic? I finally have the courage to ask a girl out in college!"


    "No," Abed replied curtly, disappointing Troy. Then, with a hint of intrigue, he said, "It''s a crossover."


    "What?!" Troy was perplexed.


    Abed pointed towards the parking lot and rified, "That, a crossover SUV."


    "Abed, that''s a car," Troy said, still confused.


    Abed nodded and borated, "Yes, but the mirror is unnecessarily dark. There are also quite a few new faces I''ve noticed infiltrating the school. My guess? There''s someone importanting to visit this ce. Someone famous."


    "Abed, no one famous wille to this college. Hell, most people who are here don''t want to be here in the first ce." Troy rebuked him.


    "You can go ahead to ss first. I''ll see you when I figure this out." Abed said before he walked in the opposite direction of Troy, trying to solve the mystery on his own.


    At the administration office, Dean Craig Pelton (Jim Rash), a short statured, skinny bald, white man with ambiguous sexuality, hurriedly back to the office after getting a call from his assistant.


    "Linda, what seems to be the emergency!? I''m very busy right now trying to convince more people to use deodorant when theye here�C" The Dean''s steps halted as he noticed Frankie reading the administrative files.


    Linda, the elderly woman, kept staring at Frankie warily, but she couldn''t stop her from continuing her task.


    Frankie walked up to the Dean and introduced herself confidently, "Hi. I''m Francessa Dart, but you can call me Frankie. I''m currently double-checking the information I have on your school, as I feel I was given a joke from a teenager. Reading your administrative files, I''m afraid I''ve had to discard any hopes that the school wasn''t in such poor shape �C whether it''s from academic redundancies or the overall infrastructure."


    "You can''t do that!" Dean Pelton quickly snatched the files from her and tried to hide the other scattered documents on the table. "You don''t have the clearance to read those."


    "Oh, but I had already given the clearance to run through your entire administrative files." Frankie said casually.


    "BY WHO?!" The dean asked with a flushed face.


    "By the school board. We, the investors, need to know in which way our money is going to go if we''re going to invest in this school." Frankie replied.


    "They don''t have the�C Wait, Invest?" The dean''s tone quickly changed from a slighted mistress to a meek kitten. He broke into a smile and said, "Miss Francessa, why don''t we go to my office, and you can have a look-see at whatever you want."


    "That''s a weird way to run a school, but sure." Frankie replied stoically.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "We have to get to ss now." Anais said as it was almost 11 o''clock. I nodded and said, "Don''t worry about me. I''ll just have a look around. See you at the cafeteria for lunch?"


    Anais muttered, while giving a nce at Dn, "There''s a new restaurant in town we''d like to get to."


    Dn was confused at first before he remembered, but I spoke first, "I have something to do, so I''m not going to join what is obviously a date. We''ll meet at your house for dinner then."


    "Even though we''re the ones who invite you here. I''m feeling a bit sorry Edward." Dn muttered apologetically.


    "It''s fine. I''ll be waiting for Frankie anyway." I replied before sending them away. As I entered the library, I searched for study room F.


    "They are exactly the same as in the series." I muttered with astonishment after I entered the room.


    The room was furnished with two tables, one a 4 seater, and one an 8 seater�C which the cast of the show usually use. A small TV in front of the couch�C facing away from the table, two chalkboards and the room was enclosed with ss windows all around it. In addition, there was an air vent next to the table.


    Feeling nostalgic, I checked on the desk, the 8 seater desk, with 2 seats on each side, and found the notches marked ''ssic Winger'' on Abed''s spot. I walked to the couch and turned on the tv. The old CRT tv buzzed loudly, which made me turn it back off immediately.


    "Isn''t this school''s main course for fixing this sort of stuff?" I muttered with astonishment. "Yet no one can fix the tv in the library?"


    While I was sitting there, suddenly, Abed and Troy walked in together. I pulled my baseball hat down, and hid my presence there. However, that was unnecessary since they were so preupied with their conversation that none noticed me there.


    "Abed, you can''t skip ss to go on a meaningless search." Troy said. Abed corrected him, "It''s not meaningless Troy. I''m getting close, I can feel it."


    "Damn, that dude already sniffed me out?" I mumbled. Suddenly, Abed froze and said, "Something feels different here."


    "What do you mean?" Troy asked, but then, Pierce, Shirley, Annie and Britta all entered the room at the same time. After they greeted each other, everyone suddenly turned silent. Annie was studying, Britta and Shirley looked like they were struggling with something.


    "What''s wrong?" Troy asked. Britta was hesitant at first, but then, she said, "Shirley and I just found out that Jeff is living in his car. We''re hoping to talk to him about it, see if he needs some help."


    "For someone like Jeff, if you say it directly, it''ll hurt his ego, so we''re going to try to bring it up slowly." Britta added, but Shirley was struggling to keep her mouth shut. The African American woman with curly hair, clutching a handbag, was rocking her body on the chair.


    Everyone was silent, fearing that they would say the wrong words, basically leaving the conversation for Britta to lead. However, Jeff waste to the study room as usual. The silence was ufortable and deafening, which prompted Pierce, the old white man with big stature and a balding head with hairs only on the side to share.


    "I lived in my car, for a stretch in the ''70s. Nothing like bedding a woman on the vinyl backseat of a Skrk. Of course, we didn''t have the same safety standards back then so...No condoms."


    "Ugh." I groaned after hearing the story. Abed turned immediately in search of the sound, but I hid behind the couch quickly. He looked around, but failed to see what was there.


    Pierce continued, "I tell you, before aids, sex was like shaking hands."


    "Hence, aids." Abedmented, which made Pierce dumbfounded. Pierce continued despite everyone else being silent, " Brittles, I forgot to tell you, I went and talked to Vaughn."


    "Huh?" Britta turned to Pierce, finally showing a reaction. Vaughn was her ex-boyfriend who broke up with her after he found out the study group has been making fun of his poem, the way he talks, his tiny nipples, and so on. Although Britta had no part in that, Vaughn still thought she was the mastermind behind the whole thing.


    Pierce continued, "The bad news is..I could not patch up things between you. You really did a number on him."


    "What�C" Britta was puzzled and annoyed.


    "Good news is..I''m the new keyboardist in his band!" Pierce said excitedly.


    Britta said with gritted teeth, "So I asked you not to talk to him, and youpletely ignored me."


    Pierce shot back, "You''re missing the headline. I''m in a rock band!"


    Jeff walked in and said sarcastically, "I''d like to be there...when the band finds out." Everyone shared nces with each other, before Britta turned to Jeff.


    "Oh Hey Jeff, We were just talking about how in today''s economy..."


    Shirley interjected quickly, using Jeff and pointing her finger at him at the same time, "Living in your car�CYou are living in your car!....I''m sorry,I''m not good at being coy."


    Realizing that everyone knew already, Jeff defended himself, "I''m not living in my car. I''m just sleeping in it for a couple of days while I work on some problems with my condo. It''s a very temporary issue. I''ve got to pay some fees and then they''ll put my locks back on the door and that''ll be that."


    "How will you get the money?" Britta asked.


    "Believe me, kitten, Winger''s got moves." Jeff said with a charming smile.


    "Do you need a ce to stay?" Annie asked. Troy said, " I''d offer but my dad''s kind of racist."


    Abed offered, "Stay with me. My room has a bunk bed, which is a misnomer because it''s the real deal."


    "The next person that offers me charity or pity will be mentioned by name in my suicide note." Jeff stopped the conversation quickly. Shirley gasped, but then, everyone was shocked when Dean Pelton rushed to the study room, opened the door abruptly, carrying numerous of my merchandise with him. He even wore a TayWard shipper shirt, and a cap with my picture on it.


    "EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU''RE DOING!" The Dean belted. He handed out some balloon stick with my name on it, and ordered the group, "Distribute this to everyone! We need to make the greatest impression we can make to make sure themunity college will get the money."


    "What money?" Jeff asked, intrigued. "No time to exin! Wave it around while you study!" The dean said before he walked away hurriedly, stopping every student he saw to give them the balloon cheerleading stick too.


    "What''s going on?" Troy mumbled, and then he turned to Abed, "Are you actually on to something?"


    "What is Abed on about?" Jeff asked curiously. Annie excitedly hit the balloon sticks together and said, "I didn''t know Dean loves Edward too."


    "Annie, you''re a fan? Oh my god, me too!" Troy said before giving Annie a high five, which she reciprocated excitedly. She blushed a bit as she has a crush on Troy, a crush that began since highschool, and she said, "Are you in Edward''s Superfan group? I just managed to get ess to that forum, and I have entered 31 out of 33 official fan groups out there. How many groups are you in?"


    "Um. None. I''m just a...normal...fan." Troy answered carefully while looking at Annie with disbelief.


    "I''m not really a fan�C" Pierce chimed in, but Troy interjected, "Do you even know who he is?"


    "Um...I know." Pierce pretended, "I follow along the news of mainstream media."


    Jeff smiled mischievously and said, "Yeah Pierce. Edward is the guy who hiked Mount Everest naked. Millions of people worldwide know about that story. Of course Pierce knows about it too."


    "See, Jeff knows me." Pierce said. "That''s why in this group, we''re best friends."


    "Jeff, for real?" Annie asked him. Jeff grinned and said, "I don''t really care."


    Shirley groaned at Pierce, and then said to the group with a sweet voice, "My sons love him so much. They wanted to meet him, s, he''s noting here to Greendale for his concert."


    Pierce was aghast, "He sang too?"


    Abedmented to Shirley, "Based on his interviews, he seems like a good guy, so if you mail him a letter, there is a possibility of himing here�C"


    "*Ehem*" I cleared my throat as I stood up from the sofa, revealing my presence to everyone. I had too, because the things they were talking about were making me embarrassed.


    "Oh shhh-, is someone else here? How long have you been here?" Britta asked after seeing me.


    "It''s been a while." I replied casually with a slight head nod.


    Jeff said sternly, "I''m sorry that we''ve disturbed your sleep�C I''m assuming, but this study group is for friends only, so if you can leave us alone, that''ll be great."


    "Did you sign your name on the sign in sheet?" I asked.


    "There''s a sign-in sheet?" Jeff was bbergasted. "Yeah," I replied yfully, "So rather than me interrupting you, it''s actually you guys who intruded here."


    "You can sleep elsewhere Pip Squeak." Pierce said rudely. "We don''t care if your name is on the sign up sheet."


    "Pierce!" Annie rebuked him. "Rules are there for a reason. We''re very sorry, sir."


    "Wait, hold on," I walked to the table and leaned slightly near Abed''s seat, which made his eyes widen after he noticed my face. "Let''s hear what the frowning girl has to say about the guy you guys were talking about. She''s the only one who hasn''t had her opinion out yet."


    Abed turned to Britta and said, "He''s right."


    "I''m going to go anyway, so I''ll leave after hearing that." I added.


    Britta was baffled, and she replied, "Well, first of all, thank you for noticing that I haven''t given my opinions yet. That''s quite considerate. Secondly, I think that guy is a pretentious bastard like all celebrities who live in California."


    Annie gasped, "Britta! You of all people should have a great opinion on him. He helped the homeless, created apany to clean the ocean�C"


    "Give us great content." Abed interjected. "And great fuzz remover." Shirley added.


    Britta grimaced and said, "Yeah, as he should!"


    Everyone groaned in frustration at her remarks. Britta added defensively, "What? So I can''t NOT like a celebrity now? I have to have the same thoughts as you all have?"


    "Droning together like a beehive." I added, helping Britta. She was taken aback, and appreciated it, "Thank you. See, that guy gets it." I nodded in agreement, which made Annie gasp at me too.


    Jeff spoke to me, "Well you''d heard it, guy-we-can-only-see-half-your-face."


    "Alright I''m leaving Homeless man." I replied.


    Jeff was startled and retorted, "I''m not�C I''M NOT HOMELESS!"


    I was going to leave the room as it is, but suddenly Frankie appeared on the door to the study room from her search to find me, "Edward, there you are. Are you ready for lunch?" She asked.


    I replied, "Have you discussed it with the Dean? I want to do it myself, but I''m 100% sure he''ll faint if I appear in front of him. Worse, if he doesn''t, then my ego will be quite bruised."


    Frankie blinked twice in confusion before replying, "Well, in my professional opinion, I wouldn''t throw any money into this god-forsaken-hole, but I''m sure that''s what attracted you here in the first ce."


    I chuckled as I walked past the group and exited the study room, my conversation made all of them confused. Abed suddenly said, "He''s gone now, but I think we''ll meet again."


    "Abed, do you know who he is?" Annie asked. "He feels as if he is handsome." She added with a blush.


    "Yeah, we all know him. We just talked about him, in front of him." Abed replied curtly. Everyone widened their eyes�C except for Pierce who doesn''t get it.


    Annie stood up abruptly from her chair, "D-Do-Don''t mess with us Abed."


    "I''m not. He''s the famous celebrity. I saw his face closely as he stood here. Edward Newgate was here, in our story room."


    Annie''s breath quickened, before she shouted with her entire might, "AHHHHHH��"


    ***


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 Chapter 270: College Experience (2)

    <h4>Chapter 270: Chapter 270: College Experience (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Frankie and I went to a popr restaurant nearby, but by a lucky coincidence, it was the restaurant where the saying, "What Market Are You Shopping At!?" was born.


    "You seem really excited for some reason." Frankie said after she saw my eyes scouring the venue after we ordered our lunch.


    "I am excited." I replied with a grin.


    Without a change of expression, Frankie asked, "Oh, really? Does it have anything to do with the group of people you''re talking about? The girl in the bright yellow sweater?"


    Taken aback for a bit, I replied with a grin, "You meant the bright yellow ''grandma'' sweater."


    Frankie asked again, "Are you finally ready to move on?"


    My excitement diminished, and I frowned, "I''m not interested in Annie. And why would you think that in the first ce?"


    "It''s just that, you have...a specific...taste... From what I heard about you." She replied. Baffled for a second, I said, "Well, you don''t have to worry about that."


    "Oh, but I am worried." Frankie said decisively.


    She looked right at me and continued, "Thest couple of weeks, you seem unlike your usual self. It made me worried about your well-being."


    Narrowing my eyes, I looked up to Frankie and asked, "Why are you suddenly getting into the topic? Can''t we just have a nice lunch?"


    Frankie thought for a second before replying, "I feel, right now, you''re bing one of my responsibilities as I could be seen as a mother figure. And one of the mother figure''s tasks is to make sure to ask their dependent about what is bothering them, and ensure that they could talk about it in a safe environment, especially if it was about their love life. So I took the initiative to ask."


    Her words made me stunned speechless for a minute. "Edward?" She called worriedly.


    "S-Sorry, my mind nked out when I heard about ''mother figure''." I said with slightly elerated breathing.


    Inside my mind, I was racking my brain, wondering when did my dad and her take the next step in their rtionship that she''s referring herself to my mother figure now. Will I have a stepmom soon?


    Frankie asked, "Would you like me to repeat�C"


    "No need." I shook my hand quickly. "Now where is that damn quail?" I turned around to check if the food was ready, in an effort to change the topic of the conversation, but Frankie was relentless.


    "The waitress told us the food will be out in half an hour. We have, 25 minutes left." Frankie checked her watch before adding, "Don''t worry about the food. We can talk without anyone bothering us."


    "Alright then, since you want to have a real conversation, let''s do it then." I sighed as I gave up trying to avoid talking to her. "Just so you know, me being reluctant in answering any questions isn''t because of you. I actually like having you in my life."


    "Thank you for that. I like your presence in my life too." Frankie smiled and replied. "Can you tell me, why do you seem like you are not willing to move on?" She asked.


    I took a deep breath and said, "Shark Tales."


    Frankie was dumbfounded, "Excuse me?"


    "Watch Shark Tales. Then, you''ll understand it." I said with a smirk. "And don''t use ''I don''t watch TV'' as an excuse. You can find the story on Netflix."


    "Alright then." Frankie smiled, "If that''s what it takes to understand your situation, then, I''ll be willing to make the sacrifice."


    I groaned before I chuckled, "Why are you watching TV like I''m asking you to save the world or something."


    After the food came, we switched to talking about Greendale college. Frankie said, "Do you know they have a ss aboutdders there?"


    "There''s also a ss called, "When is it okay to shake a baby", "wand making", "Baby talk", "history of ice cream" �C which sounds pretty awesome, and I''d like to get on that ss." I muttered.


    "And for the ''when is it okay to shake a baby'', the answer is never. It''s never okay to shake a baby." Frankiemented.


    I raised my eyebrow, "I know that."


    "There''s too many redundancies in the administrative process of the entire college. Like you nned, I leveraged our investment offer for an administrative consultant position, in which I''d be able to make some differences." Frankie added.


    I nodded and said, "We''re only here for 2 days, so just focus on the major part. Such as, the roof of the cafeteria is made of styrofoam�C"


    "IT''S MADE OF STYROFOAM?!" Frankie was shocked, her body jerked, which made her clinked her utensil on the te. Her reaction made people turn their heads towards us for a second before continuing their lunch.


    "Yeah. And they have a butt load of frisbee on top of the styrofoam roof, so that''s just an ident waiting to happen." I shrugged casually.


    As we ate the food, I received a notification from an agent stationed in the college. "Frankie, we need to hurry up. There''s going to be a performance there that I''d like to catch." I said as I ate the food hurriedly.


    Frankie however, continued eating at her own pace. I looked at her in confusion, in which she said, "Forcing myself to eat faster will risk indigestion, and if I want to fix the entire college in 2 days, I need to be in a perfect condition."


    "Alright then. No rush. I can miss the song ''Britta You''re A B''. Wait, sorry, the song''s name is ''Getting Rid of Britta."


    "Britta?" Frankie asked, confused.


    "You know, the blonde with a sour puss and leather vest. She was among the group of people I was talking with." I exined.


    "Are you familiar with that group of people? You just met them today?" Frankie asked with suspicion. "Why do you know so much about them?"


    "Um...This food is delicious isn''t it?"


    After we finished eating, we drove back to Greendale, arriving just in time for the performance.


    [Getting Rid Of Britta Song]


    Britta''s ex�C Vaughn, sang the song with his band, and Pierce as the keyboardist/backup vocal. "?? ''Saying goodbye to Britta Was the hardest thing to do. But when someone''s a bitch and a liar. There ain''t nothing left to woo. ??''"


    Frankie was shocked, "The lyrics are scathing."


    "?? I''m gettin'' rid of Britta (she''s gotta go) I''m gettin'' rid of the B.??" Vaughn sang the chorus, and Pierce added, "??She''s a no good B~"


    Vaughn: ?? I''m gettin'' rid of Britta. I''m gettin'' rid of the B??


    Pierce :?? She''s a GDB??


    Britta, who was listening on the side of the crowd, regretted havinge to show her support for Vaughn. The song went on for a few more verses before it ended, and the crowd apuded Vaughn for his performance. Immediately after, the song spread to the entire school. Britta was dumbfounded and left the hall with a face filled with sorrow.


    "What is a GDB?" I heard Frankie mumble to herself. "From the context, maybe ''God Damn B''? Or it could be a Giant Double Burger," I replied casually.


    Frankie snapped, "It won''t be about a burger�C Alright, I see the Deaning here. I''ll interject him halfway so that he won''t see you." Frankie quickly rushed to meet the Dean, while I stayed behind to watch the performances.


    One thing that I''d never known before, the performances were part of apetition. Amongst the numerous challengers, only 3 people would be picked to perform at the ''Pic and Sing Along Underneath the Moonlight''. The crowd would vote for the best performers when everyone had sung their part.


    Stepping into the stage was Garret, a man who looked like an offensive caricature, and he yodeled on the stage. Soon, he was booed off it.


    I soon became confused when I noticed Jeff and Abed watching the performance as well, just a few meters away from where I was standing. "Hmm? Shouldn''t they be at the dorm right now?" I muttered under my breath.


    After all, Jeff had been recently homeless and was supposed to be bunking with Abed - a living situation that would undoubtedly make him miserable and deste. Yet, as I observed Jeff, I couldn''t help but notice a sly glint in his eyes as he scanned his surroundings.


    "What''s going on?" I asked in confusion. "Is this because of my presence here?" One of the agents had parked where Jeff''s car should have been, which allowed Jeff to avoid getting his car towed, and as a result, he didn''t have to move in with Abed.


    Abed said to Jeff, "I don''t think it''s a good idea Jeff." Jeff replied cockily, "I think it''s a great idea Abed. This can solve all of my problems at the same time. All I need to do is find him, and pitch him a story about my life. He''ll buy the movie rights that''s for certain, and I can move back into my condo."


    "I understand your n. I just think the plot of awyer who cheated on his certification is overused," Abed added. "Really? Name one story," Jeff challenged.


    "Liar Liar�C A Jim Carrey film. It was revealed that Jim Carrey''s character cheated on his bar exam. Catch Me If You Can�C Leonardo Dicaprio became awyer there by faking everything, but in a plot twist, he passed the bar exam on his own. Like you did."


    Jeff was taken aback, and then he scoffed with shaky eyes, "I said one." He added defensively, "And there isn''t a story where, um, thewyer faked his ways into the courtroom by inventing a non-existent university to get his bachelors."


    "Unless there''s something that could captivate the audience Jeff, I don''t think he''s going to buy the movie rights," Abed said decisively. "Right now, your story doesn''t seem like a story great for film."


    "I''m not going to discuss this with you Abed." Jeff said before he walked away to find me, unaware that I was standing really close to him. "I''m going to go get my money!" He said confidently.


    Abed shook his head and said, "That poor guy."


    Abed stayed behind alone when I approached him and said, "His effort is futile. I''m already working on a TV series about unconventional corporatewyers. One of the main characters is a guy who was hired despitecking aw degree, but he passed the bar."


    His eyebrows were raised upward, and Abed slowly turned his head towards me. "It''s you again."


    "Hi." I greeted. "I already know your name, and you know mine, so let''s skip the formalities." I continued.


    Immediately, he said, "Annie fainted after you left. She''s in the school''s clinic right now with Shirley."


    "I''ll visit her if I have the chance." I said casually. Abed said, "That''s probably not a very good idea. She might faint again."


    "That''s true." I nodded in agreement. Abed asked suddenly, "Why are you here?"


    "Why? Is my presence here bothering you?" While we were talking, a familiar face walked onto the stage. "Hey, it''s Dn." I muttered with excitement. Dn and a few band members get ready for their performance.


    "Today I''m going to sing my original song. I wrote this for a very specialdy in my life. And with this song, I hope that my feelings will reach her." Dn said to the crowd.


    Abed continued, "I don''t have a problem with your presence, but I have some concerns about your ns for the college."


    I looked at him in confusion and asked, "What concerns?"


    Abed exined, "The concept of Greendale is that of an unconventional, underfunded, and often chaotic higher education institution that serves as a refuge for a diverse group of quirky, misfit students who form an unlikely study group and navigate the absurdities of campus life together."


    "So, my intention in making it better will screw that up?" I asked knowingly.


    Abed replied, "Yes."


    Dn strummed the guitar, and a familiar melody resounded. It was his song, ''In the Moonlight, or one might know it by its other name, ''Do Me''.


    /watch?v=TcmuseErtbo&ab_channel=ABC ]


    "Let''s talk after the song." I told Abed, who epted that casually, "Sure." Both of us turned to the stage.


    Dn grabbed the microphone as he sang, "?? The stars are falling from the sky... And you''re the reason why??" He pointed his finger to Anais who was watching from the side. She groaned but kept a smile on her face as she watched him perform. It was the first time she listened to the song too so she didn''t know what to expect from it.


    "??The moon is shining on your face... And I finally think it''s found its ce ??" The rhythms became quicker as the song entered the chorus.


    "?? Cause maybe, baby, I just wanna do you, do you~ Do you wanna do me, do me~ Underneath the moonlight~ The moonlight tonight?" Dn sang with a high falsetto voice.


    The crowd who were enjoying the music paused for a second. "Wait. What did he say?" Garret asked the guy beside him. Anais''s face froze and became pale.


    The crowd dismissed the lyrics as the song was quite catchy " ?? And now we''re hiding in my car, I let you see my scars. Escape the dark for just one night, Your heart makes me explode with light??"


    The chorus repeated, and some of the crowd even sang along to the song. Even I sang along to it.


    "?? Baby, maybe! Maybe I will steal you, steal you! Just so I can feel you, feel you!


    Maybe that will heal you, heal you! On the inside??"


    Abedmented, "This seems like a song made by a sexual predator."


    I defended Dn, "He did ask for consent first in the other lyrics." Abed thought about it and nodded in agreement.


    Dn screamed " ??Underneath the willow tree!!!!! Wearing nothing else but me!!!!??"


    "Oh my god." I burst intoughter as I saw Dn grinding on the microphone stand. Anais covered her face, she couldn''t even look straight into Dn.


    Dn sang passionately, "Babe, I just wanna do you! Do you wanna do me! Underneath the moonlight?"


    "??Baby, Baby. This is why you need me, relieve me. Close your eyes and breath deep, breath deep. Let me set your mind free till the sunrise.??"


    As the song finished, thementer said, "Incredible performance by Dn Marshall who sang sexually charged lyrics from the bottom of his heart. It made us wonder if his girlfriend made him be involuntarily celibate for him to express himself in a song like this."


    Anais exploded into anger and throw a bottle to thementer, "Fuck you dude!"


    "Anais!" Dn was shocked to see his fiancee getting angry. Anais stormed off the hall in humiliation, and Dn quickly chased after him.


    "I wonder what she''s so mad about. He got into the top 3. He''s going to perform again tomorrow." Thementer announced while rubbing his sore head.


    Iughed and said, "This day just kept getting better and better."


    ...


    [General POV]


    In the infirmary. Laying on the bed, Annie slowly opened her eyes. Shirley quickly stood up from her seat and held Annie''s hand.


    "Annie! You made us all worried!" Shirley said. Annie held her hurting forehead and asked, "What happened?"


    Shirley widened her eyes, "You don''t remember?"


    Annie thought about it and replied, "I remember being in the study group, and there''s another guy there." Her eyes suddenly widened as she remembered, "Wait. Did that really happen? He''s...really here? Oh no- I feel light headed again."


    In the administration building, Frankie led the meeting with the school board and Dean Pelton. She said, "The school will be closed for 2 weeks for the infrastructure improvement. It''s quite fortunate considering that it''s Thanksgiving weekend, so the students won''t miss much in their studies."


    "Um, school will end on 10 December. If they didn''te here in the final week, then we would have to postpone the final exam." Dean Pelton said. "Can we do the construction work after school ends?"


    The bald dean wore a headband with Edward''s name on it. He was desperate to meet Edward, but Frankie wouldn''t let him do that.


    "And risk the lives of the students? I don''t think so." Frankie replied decisively.


    The school board said, "We can opt for an outdoor style ss. The students that need to take the exams can do it in the gym or the field or something. I think the more important question is, how much money will he donate to the school."


    Dean Pelton asked, "And, does he need his own statue? I still have my contacts from when I made the Luis Guzman statue."


    Frankie replied, "You don''t need to worry about that. And for the budget, we''ll finalize the discussions first before we talk numbers. Let''s talk about the coyote problem. And here, I see that you have a stable?"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Abed and I moved to a lounge room as we continued our conversation about the school.


    Abed said, "In most TV shows, the change for the better happens at the final season. If you try to fix Greendale now, it''ll lose the thing that makes Greendale special."


    "I get what you mean." I replied. "However, while resolving conflict early can diminish the story''s appeal, in real life, everyone wants the change toe as fast as possible."


    Abed was silent for a while and asked, "So,resolving conflicts instead of dragging it out for multiple seasons is good? How can the audience be invested in the story then?"


    "Focus on character dynamics and special theme episodes." I replied. "You know, interesting episodes such as Treasure Hunting?" I pushed the vending machine away, revealing a trap door underneath the carpet.


    Abed widened his eyes, and he said, "So, down there, there''s buried treasure?"


    "Yes." I replied. "Want to join me in the adventure?" I invited him.


    Abed paused for a second before he said, "Be right back. I need to get a leather jacket."


    "You''re trying to be Nichs Cage in ''National Treasures''?" I asked incredulously.


    "Yes." Abed replied casually. I sighed and said, "You have 5 minutes, then, I''ll do it by myself. Also, keep this a secret. Don''t tell anyone about this."


    "I won''t." Abed rushed off to his dorm to get his stuff and came back less than 5 minutes after. Mimicking Nics Cage''s voice, he said, "I''m going to steal the deration of independence."

 Chapter 271: College Experience (3)

    <h4>Chapter 271: Chapter 271: College Experience (3)</h4>


    (Meta chap lol)


    [Edward POV]


    As Abed and I climbed down the rope and entered the forgotten, restricted area of the Greendaleputer department, he turned to me with a curious look. "Mind giving me some information about our quest?"


    I shone my shlight around, taking note of the agents blocking the entrance to the lounge room, ensuring our privacy.


    "I''m searching for Russell Borchert''s treasure," I began,unching into an exposition. "He''s aputer genius and millionaire who got rich by inventing the nine-track cassette. Supposedly, the eight-track industry paid him to keep quiet about it, and he funneled that wealth into founding Greendale as aputer school."


    I chuckled. "Though it''s strange that you all don''t actually teach anyputer courses here."


    Abed quipped, "It''sbeled ''Computery'' college. I thought that they teach things rted toputers. But now you mentioned it, it is indeed odd."


    Shaking my head, I replied, "It seems there was a time when the college was filled with technological innovations." As we walked through the corridors, I could see traces of whereputers used to be and even a researchb.


    Abed said, "Anyway, back to Russell Borchert."


    "Oh, right. He obsessively pursued a new project...a machine that can process feelings. He apparently used nothing but gold to assemble his circuitry, believing it to be a better conductor for human emotion. I''m quite interested in the tech, so let''s see if we can find it." I added.


    I continued giving Abed some exposition, "Rumors spread about Russell Borchert''s... unnatural rtionship withputers. So much so, that people even thought he died from aputer virus. An STDputer virus."


    " But, he actually just went underground and continued his research here. The first Greendale Dean was so embarrassed by Russell''s... quirks...that he sealed off the entireputer department to prevent another Russell incident."


    Abed asked while in character, "Are you here in search of the gold circuit? Is that the treasure?"


    I turned to him and said, "I''m not. Also, I''m not nning to break the robot."


    Abed was confused, "Then, what are you aiming for here?"


    I smirked and said, "You''ll understand it when the timees."


    We reached the end of the corridor into another lounge. There was a jukebox there, ced in front of what obviously was a hidden room. I checked the surroundings and found several baseball cards.


    "Why are you picking them up?" Abed asked curiously.


    "A friend of mine is collecting baseball cards. I can give it to him." I replied casually. Little did Abed and I know, these vintage baseball cards from the 70s in mint condition, were really valuable. One of these could pay for Abed''s entire college fees, and I got 40 of them.


    Abed checked the jukebox and said, "I''m sure one of them is the key to opening the secret door."


    "Try track 127." I muttered.


    Abed checked the track''s name and said, "Of course. "Open the door" by Secret doors. The key couldn''t be even more obvious."


    The jukebox rumbled and started ying the song. The jukebox moved inside the walls, opening a secret path to Russell Borchert''sb. I expected to see the inventor there, that''s why I told Abed I wasn''t going to take the gold circuits.


    Russell''s entire life''s work was to build a robot girlfriend, and taking that gold out of his robot would basically kill the love of his life - however clunky it may be. My aim in this treasure hunt was to trade with Russell some technologies. I''m pretty sure I could just connect him to the inte and he would be d to give me his money.


    "This is the greatest thing that has ever happened in my life," Abed muttered in amazement as the door finished opening. I chuckled and said, "Stick closely with me."


    I asked him to do that because I was expecting a feral Russell Borchert there. However, I wasn''t worried about him because right now, he would be a 70 year old man, and he had never once exercised in his entire life. I could take him down easily if I had to.


    The room was filled with analog servers, which reminds me of the Z scene in Captain America winter soldier. As we entered the room, Abed and I were both shocked when we saw a human skeletonying on the floor of theb.


    "Oh my god," I muttered with disbelief. "This isn''t supposed to happen." My voice shook as I examined the corpse. "He''s supposed to be alive!"


    Abed was also disturbed by it and said, "That corpse..."


    "This...maybe Russell Borchert--" My words stopped as I suddenly smelled something strange. "Abed! Hold your breath and retreat immediately. The room is filled with gas!"


    Abed was startled and he covered his nose instantly. Both of us rushed back to the jukebox, and we closed the secret passage behind us.


    Breathing heavily, Abed said, "Gas? Are you sure? I didn''t smell anything."


    "I''m sure of it. Whatever the gas is, I''m pretty sure that was the thing that killed Mr Borchert."


    "What should we do now?" Abed asked. "Do we end our adventure here?"


    Shaking my head, I said, "No. We just need a gas mask. Luckily for me, I brought it with me when I came to Colorado. But..."


    "But what?" Abed asked urgently. I scratched my cheek and said, "I left it behind in my apartment."


    Abed nodded and said, "It''s okay. I don''t think there''s anyone else who knows about the treasure''s existence. I--"


    Abed suddenly stumbled, and his knees were weakened. I grabbed him from falling down and asked, "Abed, are you okay?"


    "I...suddenly feel quite dizzy," Abed said. "My head feels very heavy."


    "The gas. You''ve inhaled quite a lot of it," I said as I felt my head throbbing too. I carried Abed by his shoulder and walked him toward the exit. I called the agents and one of them climbed down through the trap door.


    "Take him to the hospital. Quick," I ordered. "He inhaled some gas. I don''t know what kind."


    "What about you, sir?" The agent asked me with concern.


    "I''m fine," I said. I took out a canister from my pocket, and took out 2 nostril filters from it before plugging it into my nose. I didn''t want to take it out before because that meant I would be the only one who could adventure inside the room, but right now, it would be better for me to do this alone.


    After equipping the filters, I ventured back into the secretb to find the source of the gas. From my inspection, I figured out that one of the gas pipes he used for heating his secretb had burst. In my rough estimate, it has been 5 years since Russell Borchert died there, alone, without anyone realizing it. I searched for the main pipeline and turned off the gas.


    ''That''s a harsh way to go.'' I thought before grabbing a duffel bag filled with cash stowed under the desk. ''At the very least, I can have this.'' I checked the content of the bag.


    I was confused at first when I saw that it was filled to the brim with 100 dor bills. ''Didn''t he say that it was Gerard Ford dors?'' I was expecting to see a fake currency here, but the money was quite real.


    When I thought about it, I realized that I had misunderstood it.


    In the TV series, Russell Borchert meant that it was cash from the Gerard Ford era. Because of the rapid intion in the 70s, Russell thought that the cash was worthless�C which it would''ve been if the rate of intion stayed the same as it was in the 70s. That''s why he gave it to the school so easily.


    The duffel bag was 86L in size. From my rough calction, 5,186.7 cubic inches of the bag size, divided by 0.069 inches of the 100 dor bills, should be around 75,166 hundred dors bills inside the bag, which amounted to 7.52 million dors.


    ''For taking your money, I''ll give you a proper burial. You can rest easy knowing that your dreams havee true.'' I sped my hand together as I prayed for the deceased man. That''s when I saw the skeleton holding a note in his grasp.


    As I was curious, I pried the piece of paper from his hand, and found out that it was Russell''s dying will.


    The note said; [ <i>My time is short. If you find this, you''ve found my body. My cocaine habit has gotten the better of me, killing my body at a fast rate. </i>


    <i>For the discoverer, I leave you all my possessions. This includes my home and all my tech and engineering equipment, including all of my wealth.</i>


    <i>I also leave you the deed to Greendale college. I have a dream that one day, technology would be avable to the masses. I hope that you can carry on that dream for me.</i>


    <i>Most importantly, I leave you my robotpanion. Her name is Raquel. She is the embodiment of my life''s work, and the love of my life.</i>


    <i>Please care for her. Allow her to continue living on my behalf.</i>


    <i>This is my final wish. I entrust my life''s work to you. Use it wisely. Let my robot and college carry on my legacy.</i>


    <i>Farewell.</i>


    <i>-Rusell Borchert ]</i>


    From his handwriting, it seemed that Russell Borchert wrote this in a hurry. He might have thought that his body''s deterioration was due to his cocaine habit in the 80s, unaware of the gas leak.


    After reading the will, I hesitated for a bit. His dream of making advanced technology essible had already been fulfilled, so I had no obligations on that front. However, caring for the 8-foot-tall robot was too much for me. I''d rather just melt down the circuits to get the gold rather than transferring it back into myb.


    "Wait. Why am I stressed out about it? It''s a robot. I just need to copy the codes," I thought.


    There were 15 old servers connected to the main robot. I grabbed a USB and created a hub to connect to the servers before copying everything inside. Then, I started to break down the robot, took every single piece of gold, and left the secretb.


    For Russell Borchert''s burial, a few of my agents would take care of thatter on. First, I sent a copy of the will to Harvey, asking her to verify its legitimacy. After confirmation, I changed the name on the deed from Russell Borchert to my own, which meant I immediately became Greendale''s Vice Dean.


    "Melt down the gold and sell it. Also, put this all into my bank ount," I instructed one of my bodyguards. Since the money was willed to me, I needed to pay inheritance tax to legalise it, which meant I had to pay around 15% of the total wealth to the state.


    Checking the Colorado inheritance tax rates, I found that the inheritor only needed to pay 8% of the total wealth inherited.


    After selling the gold, I received an additional $12 million, bringing the total inheritance to $20 million. I had to pay $1.6 million in inheritance tax to the state. All of this was settled in just 3 hours since Abed and I started the adventure. As thepany and the legal team I created were all hired based on efficiency, all of the work was done in a record amount of time.


    I went to the hospital to check on Abed after burying Russell. He was already back to his normal self,ying down on the hospital bed, with one of my bodyguards guarding the door to his ward. I threw him a stack of 100 dor bills I grabbed from the bag and said, "Here, for your medical expenses."


    Abed didn''t react for a second before he picked up the cash and politely gave it back to me, "It''s fine. I''m just following along in the adventure. The loot is all yours. You''re the one who did all of the research. I have no ims in it."


    I scoffed and said, "Just take it. This ispensation for the danger you faced."


    "Rather than money, can I get another form ofpensation? Maybe a favor?" Abed asked.


    "What do you want? A theme song?" I chuckled. Then, Abed nodded, which made me incredulous. "You really want a theme song?"


    "It''s important for a good show to have their own theme song." Abed said while snapping his finger. "Hmmm...Alright then. Sure. Still, take the money. You need some to cover your medical insurance."


    Abed smiled and said, "Okay."


    He suddenly said, "I thought you''re going to be like ''Jay Gatsby'', but you''re more like Tony Stark."


    "Cause I''m devilishly handsome and incredibly smart?" I joked.


    Abed replied, "No, because you hide your kind personality behind a facade."


    I was taken aback for a second before I changed the topic, "By the way, who did you put down as your guardian? You can already be discharged, you just need someone to sign the release form."


    Even I couldn''t do that on his behalf considering I''m not an adult. "If you want, I can ask one of my guards to do it for you." I offered.


    "My dad. But he cannot close his ffel shop. So I have already called Britta. She''ll be arriving soon." Abed replied.


    "I''ll keep youpany till she arrives." I said. Abed became excited and asked, "What should we talk about? The Batman movies? I know you like Batman. You mentioned it a few times in your livestream. I don''t know what else you like."


    "Hmm, let''s see. Have you watched One Piece before?" I asked in reply.


    Abed shook his head and said, "I heard about it, but I cannot find a good source to watch the show."


    "You should watch it soon. It''s a masterpiece." I chuckled. Abed said, "I''ll decide that on my own."


    Abed suddenly got into another topic, "Remember that I told you about changing the show''s setting before?"


    "Yeah. I remember." I replied casually. "After seeing what used to be Greendale''s glory day, and their hidden history, do you still feel the same way?" I asked.


    Abed shook his head and said, "Not at all. The exposition of the rich background was told in the beginning of the first season, so it''ll subconsciously nt some seeds into the audience, thinking that this is a show for the college to gain their prestige back. So it doesn''t matter if the setting changes now."


    "That''s... reaching. But, it does make sense?" I replied hesitantly.


    "Since the show is focusing on our study group, I don''t think it really matters." Abed added. "It''s just that the college improvement won''t change the dynamic of the show anymore. Maybe, it''ll even create a few interesting episodes."


    Abed suddenly said, "You might think I''m weird as I kept referring to the college as a TV show."


    "I''m not thinking that." I replied. Abed was confused, "Really? Why?" He looked at me as if I was the weird one.


    "Cause...I can see it too I guess?" I chuckled. " In fact, I feel a connection?" I replied honestly. Abed was silent for a while. In his entire life, it was the first time for him to meet someone who understood what he was saying.


    "In fact, I''ve been in 5 of them." I leaned in and whispered. "5 shows!"


    Abed gasped in shock and asked excitedly, "What are the 4 other shows? I know that you won''t be able to tell their names, so just tell me what the show is like."


    I counted with my fingers, "A mockumentary-style dramedy that follows the lives of an extended family with unique personalities and rtionships (Modern Family). Aedy that centers on a group of socially awkward scientists and their interactions with a hot neighbor (The Big Bang Theory)."


    "A si that follows the misadventures of two young waitresses trying to start a cupcake business while dealing with the challenges of living in New York City on a tight budget (2 Broke Girls). Andstly, A si that follows the antics and investigations of a talented but quirky group of NYPD detectives in the 99th Precinct (Brooklyn 99)."


    Abed said with excitement, "All of them have the making of a good story? Although some of them would work better if they have augh track."


    "I know right?" I muttered with the same excitement. Abed and I bonded over our worldviews for a while. We talked non-stop for about 2 hours, mostly about TV shows.


    Abed suddenly muttered, "Although I''m d that we''re building a connection, my mind kept wondering where Britta might be. She''s reallyte."


    "Hmm? That''s true. Let me check." I said before I walked to the door, opened it, and asked the agent standing guard there. "Did a blonde girl named Brittae by yet?"


    The agent nodded and said, "She did. She signed the release form and left."


    "Huh? Why didn''t shee inside?" I asked in confusion.


    The bodyguard avoided his eyes, which made me realize he had something to do with it.


    "What did you do?" I asked sternly.


    "You were having a moment with the patient. I don''t want her to disturb it and send her away." The bodyguard replied. "She doesn''t seem to be pleasant. I don''t want her to ruin the mood."


    Baffled at first, I asked with narrowed eyes, "Your name is Mickey right?"


    "Yes. Wait, A-Are you firing me?" Mickey asked, flustered.


    "No, you''re promoted." I said, turning him speechless. "From now on, you''re going to be the head of my personal security."


    I returned to Abed after grabbing the release form, leaving the guy alone to process what just happened. Suddenly, I heard him shout from behind the door, "THANK YOU SIR! I WON''T LET YOU DOWN!"


    "What was that?" Abed asked curiously. I replied, "Nothing, I just promoted him. Anyway Abed, you can go home now. I''m going back to college to pick up Frankie. I can drive you."


    "Okay sure. Thank you. On the road, you can talk about your own show, and I''ll give you advice on how to improve it.


    "The show I''m working on?" I asked with a quizzical expression. Abed replied, "No, your show. The show where you''re the main star."


    "I have a show?" I replied in surprise. "No, I don''t have a show Abed. My life story is too boring to have my own show."


    "I''ll be the one to decide that." Abed said decisively. I thought about it for a while and said, "What the hell. As long as we''re leaning into this, might as well."


    ...


    [General POV]


    While in the meeting with the school board members�C Richie and Carl, Frankie got a text from Edward and excused herself from the meeting. Then, she called Edward in confusion and asked, "When did you forge a dead man''s will?"


    "I didn''t. I actually found his corpse underneath the school campus." Edward replied in disbelief. "I told you I was treasure hunting." He added.


    Frankie thought about it and said, "Well, since you got the deed, it''ll make the negotiation easier."


    "Frankie, can I ask you a favor?" Edward interjected. Frankie asked, "What do you want me to do?"


    "It seems that the wealth of the deceased men is much bigger than I thought." Edward muttered. "Rather than letting the city get the investment...What if..."


    They talked about it for a while, and Frankie finally cut the call. She reentered the room and sat down on the table. Both of the city reps were still smiling, expecting good news.


    Dean Pelton smiled sadly behind the ss door, peering into the meeting room with a look of longing. He was thrown out of the negotiation by the school board because of the entric ways he was acting.


    "Gentlemen, let''s cut the meeting short." Frankie said with a serious tone, causing the smile to vanish from the city rep''s faces.


    "I was only here for a day, and I have to convince Edward to stop the investment from happening." Frankie continued. Both of the city reps were shocked, "Wait? WHY!?"


    The school financially was in dire straits, so not getting the investment was a huge deal to everyone there.


    "Let me give you a run down on why I did that." Frankie took out a list and read them out loud, "The facilities are crumbling - ck mold, faulty wiring, coyotes and other animals running rampant on campus. The power goes out constantly, and they don''t even have a proper fire rm system. Not to mention the building structure and overlooked issues. It''s a liability nightmare waiting to happen."


    "The money can fix that." Richie said nervously while pulling his cor. Frankie continued without minding him, "Half of the faculty are drunk and they don''t even want to be here. Not to mention, frauds. Your Dean hired the Spanish teacher because he thought it''d be racist for him to ask him about his credentials�C which is none by the way."


    "There''s a marijuana farm growing in theb, which made this entire ceplicit in the police matter." Frankie added.


    "Lastly, the administration. The ce is run by a revolving door of halfpetent bureaucrats, and I was being generous. I''m shocked they haven''t been sued into oblivion already." Frankie ced down the list and said, "Do you guys have anything to say in defense to what I figured out?"


    Richie said angrily, "Alright. We get it."


    Frankiemented, "Not only for us, but even the city will be liable the longer you try to keep the college running. Just imagine the PR disaster. "City Council is using Greendale Community College as a Marijuana farm?"


    Carl turned to Richie and said, "The school is in a really bad shape."


    Richie said to Carl, "I guess that''s what happens when you used the time you are supposed to check on the administration to eat chicken wings and drink beer."


    "Gentlemen, I pity you guys." Frankie said with a sympathetic tone, which made both Richie and Carl calm down a bit. Richie said, "It''s fine Miss Dart. We''re the one at fault here. I understand that yourpany cannot invest in the college because of the liability issue and it cannot be associated with the college either because of the potential fallout from the drug case."


    Frankie nodded and said, "Gentlemen, I understand the difficult position this puts you in. If I were you, I''d cut off the institution like a gangrenous limb, saving the city council from the potential bacsh it could cause."


    Carl said in frustration, "We want to, but we can''t."


    Richie added, "We wanted to sell this ce a long time ago. But we couldn''t find any buyer. If the city closes down the ce on our own, there''ll be bacsh. If we don''t, we can incur more problems."


    "Hmmm..." Frankie pretended to think and said, "There''s one more solution you can try. But�C Forget it, I don''t think it can happen."


    Both of the city reps asked urgently, "Please tell us!"


    "You can get rid of the institution for cheap. Ourpany can offer the city to buy out the institution and close it down for you. That way, we''ll be the one who''d bear the brunt of the bacsh." Frankie said.


    She added with a caring, yet difficult tone, "But, you understand why I don''t think this can happen. The risk is too great. Unless the price is really...<i>REALLY </i>low, then, I don''t think that I can convince the management to take that risk. If anything, we can just sell thend and the property to recover the money after shutting down the college. We won''t lose that much in this transaction."


    "You want us to sell the college...to you...?" Richie couldn''t believe his ears. Carl suddenly shouted, "SOLD! We can go as low as 3 million dors for the entire thing." He stood up and offered a handshake to Frankie.


    "Deal!" Frankie stood up and shook his hand immediately. The property alone was worth more than 2.5 million dors. Richie looked at Frankie and Carl with disbelief before he shook his head and said, "Well, It''s toote to back out now."


    "Bring the sale contract tomorrow. We''ll transfer the money and handle the problem for you." Frankie said before she left the room. She passed by the Dean as she got out of the room, and he asked excitedly, "Did you guyse to an agreement?"


    "Yes." Frankie smiled kindly at the Dean, making him misunderstand the situation. She wanted to leave, but when she had already taken a few steps away from the dean, she stopped and slowly backtracked towards him.


    Remembering what Edward told her about the Dean being a level 6 susceptible, it could be damaging to the n if he was left alone. Frankie asked him, "Um, I wonder if there''s a ce here I could stay in and watch TV?"


    The dean became excited, "Oh,e with me! I''ll show you where I usually take my afternoon break."

 Chapter 272: College Experience (4)

    <h4>Chapter 272: Chapter 272: College Experience (4)</h4>


    [General POV]


    Frankie watched the movie Shark Tales with Dean Pelton as she waited for Edward toe back. However, while they were watching it, Britta and Jeff burst into the room unannounced and started to confront Frankie.


    "Hey, what did your people do with Abed?" Jeff asked. Dean Pelton yelped and flinched, his entire popcorn dropped to the ground.


    "Jeffrey! Are you insane?!" Dean Pelton admonished him immediately, waiting to push Jeffrey out of the room. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t move the muscr man.


    "Whoa, hold on. What seems to be the situation here?" Frankie asked casually, not intimidated at all.


    Britta appeared from behind Jeffery and used, "I''m talking about Abed Nadir. He was admitted to the hospital, but your security wouldn''t let me inside. When I came back with Jeff, he was gone!"


    "Are you sure he didn''t just go back to his dorm?" Dean Pelton asked as he kept his hand on Jeffrey''s chest.


    "We''ve checked, and get your hand off me." Jeff said as he replied to the Dean. He pushed Dean''s hand away...twice. Britta added, "What are you doing to him? Is the conspiracy theory true?"


    "What conspiracy theory?" Frankie asked in confusion. Britta replied, "That Entertain is actually a shady corporation hiding behind the face of an entertainment agency. They even did experiments on chicken eggs. An anonymous source posted it."


    Jeff was startled and asked worriedly, "What are you doing to my source of protein?"


    Frankie was incredulous and slowly, she pointed her finger to the door, "Is that your friend?"


    Britta grimaced, "Don''t try to trick us�� Wait, Abed?" As she followed the finger, she noticed Abed standing there with a hidden figure who hid his face underneath a baseball cap, both were slurping a drink.


    "Sorry we''rete. We stopped by 7 Eleven to get some Icee." Abed said casually after everyone was looking at him. Edward added, "Webined all the different colors into one."


    Abed exined, "We wanted to see if all of our teeth would change colors like they did in cartoons, but we only got a brain freeze. Were you guys watching Shark Tales together?"


    "Edward? Really? You did that?" Frankie asked with an excited expression. Edward grimaced and said, "Calm down. I was just swept up by his rhythms."


    Abed said to Frankie, "He brought it up. We''re good friends now. We bonded by our mutual interest in TV and movies."


    Jeff and Britta were in disbelief. Edward looked to the floor and said, "Huh. He did pass out."


    All of the people there looked at where he was looking, and saw Dean Pelton fainting on the ground. When he saw Edward, he gasped in shock, even suffocating himself before he passed out.


    "Dean!" Britta immediately rushed to the dean. She said, "We need to get him to a hospital!"


    "Or you can just let him wake up on his own. Annie did the same thing." Abed said.


    "So, leave him be?" Jeff asked casually. Frankie, Edward, Abed and Jeff walked out of the room without even caring about the dean. Britta shouted, "You heartless monsters!"


    Edward chuckled and asked one of the undercover security agents around him to go and help. Britta rejoined the group soon after and said egregiously to Edward, "Thank you! Was that so hard to do?!"


    Before Frankie could, Abed defended Edward, "He might seem like he''s callous, but he cares about people. He won''t abandon the dean even if you weren''t there."


    Frankie was taken aback a bit and supported Abed, "He''s right."


    "So, what did you guys do until you had to go to a hospital?" Britta asked with concern.


    Abed replied, "We went adventuring in a forgotten part of Greendale and suddenly found ourselves in a trap room. I inhaled some gas so he had to carry me to safety." Edward nodded as if to back Abed''s words as Abed spoke to Britta.


    Britta snorted and said, "If you don''t want to tell me, there''s no need to make stuff up."


    "Abed, did you..." Jeff hinted at Abed as they met each other''s eyes. Edward caught it and spoke to Jeff, "Pitch me your movie idea? Sorry, but the plot line wasn''t that great."


    "It''s a great story! You just can''t appreciate good art." Jeff replied angrily. Edward and Abed both had a deadpan look and muttered, "Seriously?"


    Britta snorted and teased, "Jeff, you tried to sell him your movie rights?"


    "Shut up and go read more conspiracy theories online." Jeff snapped to Britta.


    Edward chimed in, "You know there''s one about me being born in a US military experiment to create the next generation of supersoldiers. That one is a great read."


    Jeff asked, "Those things don''t bother you?"


    "Not really, no." Edward replied casually. Abed suddenly said, "Ed, if you have some time, can I bring you to meet Annie? She made me promise to tell her if I see you again."


    "Is she still here?" Edward asked casually. Britta replied, "Yes. She has somete sses."


    Jeff said as he wrapped his arm around Edward, "Why don''t I bring you there, and we can talk about my movie idea? I have a couple if you don''t like that one�C" However, a security guard bigger than him grabbed his arm and twisted it.


    "OWW!" Jeff shouted in pain. Edward said, "Oh sorry about that. I told them not to act unless there''s physical touch. You can release him. He''s fine." Edward exined to Jeff before telling the guard to be at ease.


    Britta admonished Jeff, "You really thought he''s an ordinary kid didn''t you?"


    "He was so casual, I kinda did." Jeff confessed. "Sorry about that." He apologized to Edward.


    Frankie suddenly pulled Abed away from the group while everything was happening and asked Abed, "Hey, you said you became good friends with him?"


    Abed replied, "Yeah. We have a simr thought process. It made us bond pretty quickly."


    Frankie suddenly turned to Edward and said, "Hey Ed, I forgot my tablet, so why don''t you go and meet with that pretty girl in yellow sweater, and Abed will apany me back to the room."


    Edward pointed at Frankie and said, "I feel that there''s something more going on there, but I''ll just pretend to be tricked."


    As the group separated into two, Edward turned to Britta, "I have to ask, did you used to be an activist? More specifically, the group that broke out the animals from theboratory testing and saved a capuchin monkey."


    Britta looked proud and said, "I did! Just before I go to Greendale. I can''t believe you know about it! Sometimes, it is worth fighting for a cause." She gave Jeff a smug look.


    Jeff snorted and said, "Britta, what if he has some stakes in thepany. Then, he can use your confession to get you arrested."


    "Don''t worry. I don''t. But I know about that monkey. When you saved him, did you get bitten or scratched by it?" Edward asked casually. Both Britta and Jeff furrowed their eyebrows. Britta said, "I did get scratched, but only a little bit."


    Jeff took a step away from Britta and said, "Why did you ask? Was the monkey diseased? Thank god nothing happened between us yet. Wait, we kissed! Damn it Britta! Did you spread a disease to me?"


    Edward slurped his icee and said, "There''s no disease.." Both of them breathed in relief, but widened their eyes again when Edward continued, "But, the monkey carried a chemicalpound that could induce mental disorder.. It will be a slow descent to insanity for those who got bitten or scratched by it."


    "WHAT?!" Britta yelled in shock after processing the information in deathly silence for a minute.


    "Poor woman." Edward shook his head sympathetically to Britta, which made Jeff think that he wasn''t kidding about it.


    After the group''s separation and making sure that Edward was out of earshot, Frankie asked Abed, "So you''re bonded to Edward from your mutual interest in tv right?"


    "That''s an oversimplification, but yes." Abed replied. Frankie said, "Alright, I have a question, if someone�C someone famous says that, the reason he couldn''t move on from a girl is within the Shark Tale movie, what is he talking about?"


    Frankie was actually a bit nervous about asking Abed the question even though she had veiled it, fearing that he could manage to figure out that someone was Edward. However, she was worried for nothing.


    Abed replied, "He''s famous? Hmm, there''s a few scenes in Shark Tales that might make him rte, but if I have to guess, it should be the scene where Angie told Oscar she loved him even before he was a nobody. Before the money and fame. In the fake lives he was living, her love was the only thing that''s real. And he missed that when he was busy chasing his dream."


    "Oh." Frankie was taken aback for a bit. She thought about the matter and mumbled, "So, I guess the reason he''s holding on, is because she knew him before he got famous?"


    Abed replied, "That depends. Were they in love before? Also, is he a fish?"


    "I don''t...What?" Frankie looked at Abed in confusion, trying to figure out if he was joking in thatst question.


    "Thank you." Frankie said afterward. Abed replied, "You''re wee," and then walked away. Frankie muttered with exasperation, "Edward''s new best friend is kinda weird."


    In California, Jacob abruptly stood up from the couch, confusing his family members. His mother asked, "What''s wrong honey?"


    "Something''s wrong. I can feel it. It''s like I''m being robbed of something..." He muttered solemnly.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Jeff asked me in panic, "Can you do something? Are you sure that she''s going to go insane?"


    I slurped my icee and said, "I don''t know. If I want to do something about it, I need to know what the chemical is."


    "So do a blood test!" Jeff urged. Britta nodded with a pale face and said, "I don''t want to be insane."


    I thought about it for a while. The duo anxiously waited for my verdict as I was silent. Then, I replied, "Blood test won''t work, so, get me the monkey. I''ll study it right from the source."


    "You want me to capture the monkey I had liberated?" Britta asked in disbelief. "You don''t really liberate him. I guess you send him to a pet shop or something. If you really release him back to the wild, then he''ll die in days."


    Britta widened her eyes and said, "I did send him to a shop."


    "Then? Go get him." I gestured with my eyes. Jeff said to Britta, "You should go now before the shops close. I''ll stick with him so that you will know where he is."


    "You just want to pitch your ideas to him!" Britta said angrily. Jeff replied, "No! I''m not that obnoxious. I know when to quit."


    "Fine. I''ll go now." Britta sighed before she left in a jiffy. "Now, let''s get you to meet Annie. By the way, are you interested in getting a rareic book for youric book collection."


    I replied casually, "I don''t have aic book collection. But if you want to sell some rare stuff, I know a group of nerds that may buy it. Whatic is it?"


    "Spiderman." Jeff replied simply. I shot him a look and said, "Issue number? Which Writer? What year?"


    "I''ll have to check." Jeff said. Then, both of us saw the yellow sweater girl walking towards us. "There''s Annie. You talk to her. I''ll be back with theic details." He ran away to his car to get his precious asset, leaving me alone there, without even trying to introduce me to Annie.


    "Well, this is awkward." I muttered in disbelief after realizing I was left alone in the hallway. Annie moved closer and closer. I stood still in the hall,trying to say something to her, but she...just walked right past me?


    "Is my disguise that good?" I reacted incredulously after Annie disappeared at the end of the hallways. Then, I shrugged and said, "Oh well." I walked to my car, and then left the college grounds after Frankie returned.


    "What about the girl?" Frankie asked in confusion.


    "She doesn''t recognize me, so I left. Don''t want to embarrass myself." I replied. "Really?" Frankie asked with a surprise, "Even though she saw you in the morning?"


    I nodded as I thought the entire thing was bizarre too. "I even wear the same outfit. Anyway, what''s going on with the negotiation?"


    "We already got a deal. Tomorrow morning, you''ll be the new owner of thismunity college." Frankie replied with a smile.


    "I know I can count on you, mother-figure." I smirked.


    "You know what? I like that nickname." Frankie said teasingly. "On another topic, I''ve watched Shark Tales." She said suddenly, which made my heart beat a bit quicker.


    "Um, is this the right time to tell you that I didn''t think you''ll actually watch it this early, so I''m quite nervous right now." I said meekly. "Mind if we wait until the end of the trip to get into the convo, or like, not ever?"


    Frankie smiled kindly at me before she replied, "No."


    ...


    [General POV]


    As Jeff went to his car, he found out that it was being towed. "WAIT! THAT''S MY HOUSE!" He shouted as he ran after the towing truck. He managed to stop the driver and begged him, "Please sir, that''s my car. I was only parking there because I lost my friend and went to confront the guys I thought had him, but it was all a misunderstanding."


    "Sorry man. I can''t do anything about it, even if you have good intentions." The driver said while smoking. "You can get your car back from the impound lot tomorrow."


    Once a tow truck has hooked up a car and started driving away, the towpany is generally required toplete the tow and take the vehicle to the designated impound lot.


    "But I''ll need to pay a fine, and I don''t have any money on me right now." Jeff exined.


    "I feel bad for you man, but I really can''t do anything." The driver shook his head apologetically. "You can grab your stuff in there if you want. I''ll give you 5 minutes."


    Jeff sighed and said, "Thank you." He went to his car and filled a backpack with his stuff before letting the tow truck leave. He gazed at the sight of his car leaving with despair when Annie came to find him.


    "Jeff! I''ve been chasing after you. Did you find Abed? And is that your car being towed?" Annie asked incredulously. Jeff looked at Annie in bewilderment, "Why aren''t you with him?"


    "With who?" Annie asked in confusion. Jeff widened his eyes and mumbled, "No! Damn it! That was myst chance!" He rushed back into the building despite Annie calling him.


    "Jeff!" Annie turned in disbelief, and then mumbled, "With who?"


    Jeff searched for Edward for a while before finally giving up. He went to find Abed, knocked on Abed''s dorm room and asked, "Hey, my car got towed. Can I stay here tonight?"


    Abed was surprised, but he agreed to it easily, "Yeah. Cool. I''ve always wanted a roommate. You want the top or the bottom bunk?"


    "Top." Jeff replied.


    "Me too. I''ll race you for it." Abed said before he ran to the bunk bed and jumped to the top bed. "I win." He said. Jeff didn''t even move when he started thepetition. Suddenly, Annie appeared on the dorm room door and scolded Jeff, "I swear if you run off one more time!"


    Abed looked at Annie and asked, "Hey, why are you here?"


    "WHY CAN''T I BE HERE?!" Annie asked in bewilderment while iling her arms around. "Someone please give me some context!"


    "Abed, you want to take this one? I feel kinda bad." Jeff said as he looked at Abed. "Sure." Abed replied. Then, he looked at Annie and said, "We met with Edward Newgate, your celebrity crush. Jeff and Britta were supposed to be bringing him to meet you. I don''t know what happened next."


    Jeff realized that Abed didn''t know the full story and added, "Wait. Sorry. I should exin from now on. On our way over, we found out that Britta is criminally insane, so she needs to track down a capuchin monkey so that they can make drugs to save her mind."


    Annie was befuddled, "What?"


    "Anyway, I told Newgate about a rareic book I have. And he was ready to open up his wallet to buy it from me. I saw you wereing in our direction, so I just left to go and get it. I didn''t know that you''re going to follow me." Jeff added.


    Annie froze for a while before sheughed dryly, "Ha."


    "Annie?" Abed was confused.


    "HA~ HA! HA HA HA HA!" Annie began tough madly and said, "I walked past him? Even when he''sing to meet me?! I''m like...the worst fan in the world!"


    Jeff began to get worried, "Annie, by any chance, were you bitten by a monkey?"


    "Please tell me the context about the monkey. I feel like there''s a story I''m missing here." Abed turned to Jeff and asked.


    Annieughed madly, however, she stopped abruptly when Abed turned to her and said, "If you want, I can text him. See if he''sing here again."


    Jeff and Annie looked at Abed in disbelief. Annie asked with a shaky voice, "You have his phone number?"


    Jeff asked, "You exchanged numbers with him?"


    "I told you. We''re great friends." Abed replied casually. "Call him, tell him I got theic!" Jeff said urgently. Abex said, "I''ll just text him."


    As soon as Edward and Frankie arrived at the apartment, he reacted incredulously, "You want me to do what?"


    Frankie replied decisively, "Ask a girl out on a date. Even if it''s just one date."


    [Frankie''smentary]


    "I''vee to see why he was so crestfallen when that budding romance of his fell apart. In his world of fame and celebrity, he feels he can''t truly connect with people anymore." Frankiemented from Edward''s seaside vi living room.


    "He worries that any rtionships he tries to build now will always be colored by the public''s perception of him, so he clings to the people who know him before his fame." Frankie added.


    "I understand why he feels that way - it must be so hard to trust that anyone sees the real him, and not just the polished persona. But I worry that in shutting himself off to avoid getting hurt, he may miss out on finding the true connections he craves. If he locks himself away from the world, how will he ever meet someone who can see past the celebrity facade? That''s why I''m asking him to date. So that he may open his mind about it."


    [Commentary ends]

 Chapter 273: New Owner and a date.

    <h4>Chapter 273: Chapter 273: New Owner and a date.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    A new day arrived at Greendale, and it was thest day of school before the Thanksgiving break. Knowing the potential bacsh if the college buyout was done publicly, the city representative and Frankie signed the contract first before announcing the decision to the college administration.


    "What do you mean?" Dean Pelton was bbergasted when he heard the news as he was invited to the signing event in the city office.


    Carl and Richie gloated when they saw Dean Pelton''s confused expression. Richie said, "From now on, Greendalemunity college will no longer be part of the city''s management. You guys have been bought by their corporation."


    Carl said sarcastically, "It''s good news for the city. Well, not for Greendale though."


    Richie said, "If I were you, I''ll be updating my resume. But it''s lucky that I''m not you!" Both of themughed out loud as they left the dean behind. Pelton became flustered, and stormed into the room where Frankie and I were in. He said dramatically, "I demand an exnation�CUrk�C"


    He froze as he saw me, out of my disguise, sitting cross legged on the chair while reading the Greendale student manual.The sun was hitting my face just right, making the scene ethereal for the dean.


    "Hello Craig." I greeted as I slowly moved my head towards him, using a deep, velvety voice. "Nice to officially meet you."


    "H-Hi." He greeted me back while avoiding looking directly at me, "Oh my god, you''re like the sun, I can''t even look directly at you."


    "That saddens me a little. I''d like people to be mesmerized, but never to look away." I said, faking sadness.


    The dean gasped and turned toward me immediately, "I''ve spoken wrongly. It''s not the sun. It''s the panoramic view of an incredibly beautiful ce. Even if you were the sun, then I''ll risk getting blind even if it meant I can catch a glimpse at your beauty."


    Frankie''s eyes twitched and she muttered, "What kind of y is this? Dean, please stop feeding into his ego. Edward, stop trying to get your ego fed."


    "It was bruised yesterday. I need to appease it." I replied jokingly.


    Dean Pelton was angry on my behalf, "Who dares�C Wait, I''m really getting absorbed in this. Can someone exin to me what happened in this room?"


    I stood up and said casually, "It''s simple Craig- Can I call you Craig?" His eyes became dazed at my question and he muttered, "You can call me anything you like."


    While chuckling, I patted the dean''s shoulder, which made him feel intoxicated from the touch. "It''s simple Craig. We just bought Greendale."


    He nodded, "Yes yes. You just bought.. I''M SORRY, WHAT? YOU JUST BOUGHT THE COLLEGE?"


    He brushed off my hand and said anxiously, "Why did no one tell me about this? And what are your ns? Are you going to fire me?! I have given this school all of my sweat, tears, blood, and hair!"


    I raised my hand up in front of his face, which made him stop rating abruptly. I exined, "Don''t worry Craig. We''re on the same side here. And your job is safe. The school is also safe. It''s just under new management from now on."


    Starting off my exnation with words of reassurance, Dean Pelton was calmed down. He asked, "What happened? And why did the city rep ask me to update my resume?"


    Frankie chimed in and said, "The school board may have sold the institution to us because we have scared them into believing the school has a major liability issue, and we will close the college on their behalf. That way, they can avoid the bacsh in shutting it down themselves. Not that I''m saying the school doesn''t have liability issues, but we were not nning to do that at all."


    "Most of what we negotiated with the city was just a technique to drive the price of the school down. That way, we can keep most of the budget to make improvements on the school." I added.


    "And why would you do that?" Dean Pelton asked. Frankie took out a copy of thete Russell Borchert''s will, and gave it to the dean. As he read it, he muttered, "The founder?"


    "Yes." Frankie replied casually. "Someone found his body and inherited his deeds to the college, so that party felt responsible in helping Greendale be better. We were just helping him achieve that."


    The dean suddenly broke into tears and said, "Oh my god, my dream of turning this ce into something with value will finally be true!" He turned and tried to hug me, but Frankie grabbed him by the cor and pulled him away.


    The dean said excitedly, "We should announce this to the students."


    "About that, Craig, can you wait until the end of the pic to do that?" Frankie suddenly said. I was confused but kept my silence. Craig asked Frankie, "Why do you want to do that? Isn''t it better to give the good news now?"


    "Because there will be an uproar, and I want him to enjoy his vacation here a little bit longer." Frankie said as she nced at me. Craig got the hint and said, "Got it. But he will be going on the stageter�C"


    "No, technically, he is never here. Only me, thepany''s representative, is here. No one else�C other than a certain study group, should know that he''s here. Do you understand that?" Frankie said sternly.


    Craig gulped his saliva and asked fearfully, "Just curious, what would the hierarchy of the school look like right now? And I still the dean, do I keep the same job responsibilty�C"


    Frankie said seriously while using hand gestures, "Right now, He, is at the top of the food chain." She pointed at me before pointing at the dean, "You''re just a guppy in the small pond, right down at the bottom. You''ll do what we need you to do, and you don''t try to do what you want to do, without consulting us, do you understand?"


    "Frankie, intimidation like that won''t work on him because I''m pretty sure he''s a bottom." I joked. Dean Pelton pushed his sses up and whispered, "I can alternate."


    Frankie:...


    "Come on, let''s go to college. I want to see how you''ll handle Chang. FYI, he will use you of being a racist when you try to make him present his qualifications." I said as I urged Frankie and the Dean to walk out of the room.


    "It is racist... right?" The dean asked in confusion.


    "It''s not. It''s really not." Frankie shook her head disappointedly as she understood why Chang managed to get the job in the first ce. She turned to me and said, "Are you sure we''re going to keep him as the dean?"


    "Eh, it won''t be Greendale without Craig Pelton." I muttered dismissively, which made the dean feel validated for his efforts. "Oh, thank you. I tried the best I could."


    As we were leaving the room, Frankie suddenly stopped me and said, "Remember what we talked aboutst night?"


    I sighed and said, "Yeah. I do. It''s kinda hard to forget."


    Frankie nodded in satisfaction and simplified, "So, our agreement is, I help you with managing the school, and you pick someone to go on a date with for the pic. You don''t have to take her home. You don''t even have to kiss her. Just a simple date."


    I smirked and said hintingly, "But if she wants too�C"


    "No." Frankie interjected decisively. "One simple date. That''s it."


    ...


    In Greendale''s administration.


    "Ohhh!!! So you think a Chinese man couldn''t teach Spanish?! You think that a Chinese man can only teach Chinese or math?" Chang used Frankie the second she called him to the office.


    I watched the showdown from afar, with Abed standing beside me, and both of us ate popcorn at the same time. I was in disguise again, this time wearing a ck leather jacket and a baseball cap with two silver rings along the edge.


    "He got her on the ropes." Abedmented.


    "Not really." I dismissed him.


    Chang continued using his loud voice to attract people, wanting to use shame and self-consciousness to pressure Frankie into stopping what she was doing.


    "So I''ll just assume that you don''t have a teaching certificate. That made my job easier. Failure to present your certificate could be constituted as fraud, and the school could sue you back for the sries that were given to you. After that, you''ll be thrown to jail." Frankie added casually, which made the crowd gasp.


    Chang was stunned for a bit and his voice became tiny, "What?"


    Frankie continued, "Of course, if you can show me your teaching certificate, or even just tell me where you got your certificate from so that I can cross reference it, then you can avoid that oue."


    Chang was silent for a while.


    Abed said while popping popcorn kernels into his mouth, "The tension is palpable."


    "He tried to fight Iron Armor using a stick. He doesn''t even have a fighting chance." Imented as I did the same thing.


    "So will he be arrested?" Abed asked.


    "No, most likely, he''s going to run away." Imented. The second I finished speaking, Chang turned his back to Frankie and ran from the school as fast as he could.


    "See?" I said casually. Abed gave me a thumbs up before asking, "Want to go see what''s going on with Jeff? He finally epted his fate that he''s broke. Right now, he''s like Goldie Hawn."


    "So he''s fallen off a boat?" I asked. Abed nodded and said, "It''s a defining moment in his character arc."


    "I don''t think Jeff will get amnesia and a poor blue cor woman will trick him into thinking that he was her husband." Imented jokingly. In the movie, Goldie Hawn is a woman, and the opposite happens.


    Abed widened his eyes for a bit before he chuckled. "I was referring to the personality change she has after realizing there''s more to life than just being rich. But now, I''m wondering if that''s going to happen too."


    "Should we set it up?" I asked.


    "I''ll get the pan. You hit Jeff in the head with it." Abed replied decisively.


    After stopping Abed and exining that it was a joke, Abed brought me to the cafeteria where I saw Annie giving a pic nket to Troy.


    Annie sacrificed her family heirloom in order for Troy to go to the pic event with someone else, even though she has a crush on him.


    Abed turned to me and said, "This time, Annie can finally meet you. Before that, I have a question."


    "Shoot." I agreed easily. Abed asked, "You were poor before you became rich. Do you find that your lifestyle has changed when you have more money?"


    I thought about it for a second and replied, "Before my debut, I have to calcte the exact numbers of items before I bring them to the checkout to make sure I have enough money. I have to be creative and calcting to survive. But now, whenever I have a problem, I just feel the easiest way to handle it is to throw money at it."


    "So your personality changed a little when you became famous?" Abed questioned. I nodded slightly and said, "Just a little bit though. Most of my friends always say that I''m a money grubber."


    "Okay." Abed nodded.


    Sitting on the cafeteria table alone, Troy became ted, "A pic nket? <i>Genius. </i>I was gonnay down some newspaper."


    Annie giggled as she saw Troy''s reaction and exined, "It''s the nket my grandmother used to court my grandfather." She tried to hint at him, but Troy was oblivious.


    Shirley shook her head in disapproval while standing behind Annie.


    "Yeah? That''s pretty hot." Troy looked at the nket andmented, which made Annie and Shirley confused for a second. "Thanks! I''m going to go find Randy." He said as he smiled and walked away."


    Annie looked at him longingly and said, "Y-You''re wee!" She stood there all jittery, which caught my attention.


    Shirley scolded, "Tell that boy how you feel!"


    "It''s scary!" She eximed. "If he''s not interested, I could lose the friendship too." She told Shirley.


    I suddenly turned to Abed and said, "Abed, why is she so cute?" Abed widened his eyes, and he looked at Annie.


    Shirley tried to convince Annie, "You could.Love is a gamble always! But waiting won''t change the dice.You either roll them or lose your turn."


    Annie anxiously jittered up and down, "I''m going to roll them.I am. I just...I need a few more shakes." She held her hand on her crotch level, and pretended to shake the dice, however, it seemed quite inappropriate.


    "Shake ''em in your mind, okay?" Shirleymented while looking at Annie with disbelief.


    "Abed, can you call your dude friend for me first?" I asked after I finished watching everything. "Sure." Abed replied before he shouted, "Troy!"


    Troy who was walking away saw Abed and walked towards the both of us. "Hey Abed! Sorry, I can''t talk for long�C" Troy widened his eyes, and his face froze as he realized who I was.


    "Edward, meet Troy Barnes." Abed introduces us.


    "Your name is Troy Barnes? One of my best friend''s names is Barnes Troy. He loves to dance." I chuckled as I offered my hand to Troy for a handshake, but he was still frozen and kept staring at me with unblinking eyes.


    Confused for a second, I mumbled to myself, "Why is he like this? I''m not Kunta Kinte."


    "Troy, let''s cut to the chase. Here''s 200 dors. You can buy a new pic nket with the money, maybe even get a gift for your date." I said as I handed him the 200 dors. However, Troy didn''t react. Abed was confused and tried to make the trade happen by tugging at the nket, but it was immovable.


    Troy kept holding on to the nket tight despite not moving his arm, so I exined, "If you''re worried about giving this nket to me because of Annie, you can be at ease because I actually want to ask her to be my date to the Pic and Sing Along under the stars."


    Abed supported me, "Yes Troy. She seems like she''s reluctant to part way with the pic nket. It''s better to take the money and buy a new one."


    Troy''s fingers slowly moved, and Abed managed to yank the nket away from him. I grabbed his hand and ced the money into his palm, shaking his hand at the same time. "Thank you Troy. I hope that you''ll have a great time with your date."


    Annie and Shirley heard Abed''s shout when he was calling Troy, so they saw the whole thing. "Huh? Why is Abed taking the nket from Troy?" Annie muttered with a slight dissatisfaction.


    Shirley said, "He must''ve noticed that you don''t actually want to give the nket to him. Even Abed has more courage to do the right thing than you do."


    Annie shook her head as she looked at my figure, "No...It seems like he''s selling it to that guy...He''sing over here!" She grabbed Shirley''s arm anxiously and red at Abed, "Why did you take the nket back from Troy?"


    "You need to ask him, and by the way Annie, don''t shout." Abed said. I smiled as I pushed my cap upward, revealing my face to Annie. "Hellodies. I heard that you want to meet me?"


    Annie and Shirley froze for a second. Annie looked at Abed with disbelief, and Abed chuckled. "I know I said he''s noting back, but I actually lied to surprise you. You were depressedst night for nothing."


    Shirley reacted first while Annie was still dumbfounded. Shirley whispered excitedly, "Hello! I thought that we already missed the opportunity to meet you. My sons are your biggest fans!"


    "Biggest? I was wondering who''s going to be my biggest fan. I kept telling myself that if I ever find them, then I''ll give them a present. It seems like the present is meant for your son."


    Shirley squealed and said, "Oh, that''s so nice!"


    Abed interrupted and said, "Shirley, the present''s not going anywhere. Right now, Edward is trying to ask Annie out on a date, so we should let him do that first."


    "What?!" Both Annie and Shirley eximed at the same time. Annie was nervous, but Shirley was filled with excitement.


    I grimaced as I turned to Abed, "You shouldn''t have said that."


    Abed thought about what he did wrong and said, "Sorry, I spoiled things. Annie, pretend you didn''t hear anything I just said."


    Annie breathed heavily as I moved closer to her, "Hi, sorry if this may seem too forward for me, but I think you''re really cute. Would you like to go to the pic with me?"


    Abed showed her the pic nket, in which she connected everything inside her head. She lowered her gaze bashfully and twirled her hair, "You�C You think I''m cute?"


    "Very." I replied honestly. Despite her wearing a grandma style sweater and blouse, even those grandma shoes, I couldn''t deny that she was incredibly attractive. Maybe Frankie and the others were right. Maybe I do have a type.


    I received a text, which its chime interrupted the moment. I looked at Annie and asked, "So, what do you say? Do you want to go on a secret date with me?"


    Annie staggered and Shirley had to keep her steady. "My head feels dizzy. I can''t believe this is really happening." She said. Shirley grinned and said, "Me too."


    Abed chimed in with an exnation, "He couldn''t reveal his identity because he wants to experience a true college life. So you have to go on an undercover date."


    "Thanks for the exposition." I replied to Abed. He pointed his finger at me, gesturing ''I got you''.


    "Umm..." Annie hesitated for a second, and said, "Don''t you have a girlfriend�C"


    "I have a strictly professional rtionship with Taylor." I replied instantly, and my phone chimed again at the time. In fact, it chimed continuously,pletely breaking the immersiveness of me asking Annie out.


    Annie said with a slight blush, "Um...I don''t know�C"


    "She''ll go with you!" Shirley interrupted on her behalf and pushed Annie away. "She''ll meet you on the eastwn at 5!" Shirley said as she dragged Annie away. Annie retorted, "Shirley!"


    Shirley said with gritted teeth, "Don''t be an idiot Annie. I know what you wanted to say."


    "I was going to say yes!" Annie replied. Shirley said admonishingly, "Good! But still, we definitely have a lot of work to do. You need apletely new wardrobe for the date. You definitely can''t go looking like this."


    I checked my phone, and realized that the message was from Dn. "Abed, I''m sorry, it seems like my friend''s in trouble."


    "You can go meet with him. I need to find Britta. She has disappeared since yesterday in her search to find the monkey, and I feel like she needs some help."


    "When you find her, tell her to give the monkey to my head of security, Mickey. He''ll bring the monkey to theb for testing."


    "Okay. We''ll part ways to make way for the plot, but then, we''ll reunite again at the episode''s conclusion." Abed muttered. "Did you just break the 4th wall Abed?" I chuckled before we went our separate ways.


    ...


    Music room. Dn and his band members were practicing for the performance tonight when I entered the room.


    "No, it still feels weird." Dn stopped strumming his guitar before turning to his band members.


    His drummer said, "You can just sing that song again. You don''t have to worry about what your girlfriend has to say."


    Dn sighed and said, "That song made her cry. I don''t want to see her like that again. She was so embarrassedst night. So I need to do something to make it right."


    "You basically told everyone you guys haven''t had sex yet, and may imply that she''s a virgin." His bassist said. "Why did she even cry from that?"


    "Maybe the pregnancy hormones are messing with her head." His pianist chimed in.


    "She''s pregnant?!" The bassist and the drummer were shocked.


    Dn finally saw me and said, "Hey! Edward! You''re here! I''m in trouble. I already have the lyrics of the songs, but... we cannot nail the melody. Something feels weird. Can you help?"


    He handed me the music sheet, and I was dumbfounded when I read the lyrics. "So, you''re trying to appease your fiance, by singing this?"


    "Yeah, this is the exact opposite of what I sang before." Dn replied innocently. I furrowed my eyebrows, and then I sighed after seeing his determined expression, "Alright, I''ll help. BUT NO ONE! No One should know I have anything to do with the song! Ever!"

 Chapter 274: Picnic and Sing Along.

    <h4>Chapter 274: Chapter 274: Pic and Sing Along.</h4>


    [General POV]


    Abed walked to the study room where everyone had gathered and greeted his friend group casually, "Hello. So Spanish ss is canceled. You guys know that right?"


    He sat at his spot beside Britta, who has an unkempt hair, some twigs on her hair, prominent eye bags, and her eyes were a bit reddish. Shirley said, "I heard Chang is fired."


    She turned to Abed and greeted weirdly, "Hey Abed. I''m happy to see you before I finally lose my mind."


    Jeff had some stubble on his face, and he wore only a gray shirt and shorts, a stark differencepared to his usual fashionable style. "Still haven''t found the monkey?" Jeff asked Britta.


    Britta shook her head and said, "The guy I gave him for rescue had sold the monkey. Then, the store that bought it lost it. I went searching in that area for a while, but I couldn''t find it."


    Annie said gleefully, full of energy, "Britta! Don''t lose hope! You''re going to find the monkey!"


    Britta scoffed and said disdainfully, "What is she all smiling about?" Shirley and Annie looked at each other before they squealed and giggled with each other. All the while, Troy was staring at Annie, trying to figure out something.


    Pierce turned to Britta and suddenly said, "Brittles, I''m sure you''ve already heard about it, but I had a falling out with Vaughn, and now I''ve left the band."


    Britta and Abed were intrigued, while the rest just listened. Britta said, "Right, the band and the offensive song. Jeff, you used to be awyer. Can I kill Pierce and me it on my madness."


    Jeff scoffed and scooted away from Britta for a few inches, "You actually can."


    "Great." Britta smiled coldly at Pierce. Annie asked the old man, "Pierce, why did you break up with the band?"


    "We, have a disagreement about the song." Pierce replied. In actuality, Pierce and Vaughn fought because Vaughn kept referring to the song as ''his song'' instead of giving Pierce some credit. Pierce thought he was going to Garfunkel him, and they had a falling down.


    Britta however, misunderstood the situation and eximed sweetly, "Oh Pierce. Were you standing up for my honor? That''s so sweet."


    Pierce was taken aback, "What?�C Yes, Yes, we broke up because I was defending your honor."


    Abedmented, "Seems unlikely. But, in more important news, Annie has got a date for the pic."


    Shirley and Annie squealed while Britta, Jeff and Pierce eximed supportingly.


    "So, who''s the guy?" Britta asked while holding the table and leaning in to Annie. Abed replied, "Everyone here knows the guy."


    Troy, who was keeping silence suddenly said, "I''m really curious on why he asked Annie out from the rest of the students."


    "Who?" Jeff asked in confusion. Troy turned to him and said, "Newgate."


    Britta and Jeff were shocked. "What?!" Pierce turned to Annie and chuckled, "You agreed to go on a date with a mountain climber?"


    Annie''s eyes moved around as she replied shyly, "I also don''t know why he picked me."


    Abed suddenly chimed in, "I know. He said you''re cute." Annie and Shirley squealed again while Troy mumbled while scrutinizing Annie''s face, "I don''t see it."


    "Really?" Jeff leaned forward, fully interested in the topic. He turned to Annie and said, "When you start dating a millionaire, please don''t forget about us. Especially don''t forget about me."


    "We''re not dating. We''re just going out on a pic together." Annie replied innocently. Shirley added with a giggle, "I''m bringing Annie out shopping." Her sweet voice turned serious as she said, "This is a one in a lifetime opportunity. I cannot let her go like this."


    "What''s wrong with the way I dress?!" Annie retorted. Abedmented, "You look like a spinster librarian."


    Annie gasped in shock, her eyes fluttering, but never fully closed. Abed pointed out, "There it is. The Disney Princess look."


    Britta scoffed and said, "Guys, instead of pushing her to go out with him, we need to make sure to protect Annie. Men with power and fame like that? He''ll probably just throw her away when he''s done with her."


    "WHOA!" Everyone groaned as they turned to Britta. Annie snapped, "You don''t get to talk about him like that, especially when he was TRYING TO HELP YOU!?"


    Britta realized she had misspoke, "No, I wasn''t specifying him�C"


    Abed pointed his finger at Britta and said, "He might have aplicated past, but he''s a good man."


    Jeff added, "He gave the gift of great songs and multiple...other things to the world."


    Troy continued, "Shame on you for even thinking about that."


    Britta was agitated, "Why are you all talking like you knew him intimately! None of you know what he''s really like!"


    Abed raised his hand, "I do. We bonded quite a lot."


    Britta turned to him and said with a shaky voice, "Well, he could still be faking it."


    Jeff scoffed and said, "I don''t think he is. Think about it, Britta. He''s the kind of guy that can have any girl he wants. Unless he was really interested in Annie, he wouldn''t ask her out."


    "Jeff." Annie was ttered.


    He turned to Annie and said, "Then, when you do start to go out, you can, I don''t know, talk to him and see if his legal team needs to hire a consultant or any other high paying position. Something that is in Colorado will be nice."


    Britta snapped, "You just want to prostitute Annie to get what you want!"


    Jeff argued back, "What I want is to liquidate my asset and get back my condo, but turns out, myic book is worthless!"


    "What?" Britta was taken aback, and became confused. Pierce teased Jeff, "What happened about not taking any charity?"


    "That thing was gone the second I had to use themunal toilet in the college dorm this morning." Jeff retorted.


    Abed suddenly chimed in, "If Jeff wants to prostitute Annie, and Shirley wants to take her shopping, then I cane with you guys and we can make a ''Pretty Woman'' spoof."


    Troy was intrigued and he stopped trying to study Annie, "Oh I love that movie!"


    "Me too!" Shirley joined in. Annie also said, "So do I."


    Of course, the only one who didn''t like it was still Britta. "What? I just think that it mirrored the real world society where a woman''s value could only be determined by�C"


    All the others stood up from their chairs and left the room before Britta could finish. While they were walking out, Shirley asked, "Abed, I haven''t gotten to the atm yet. Do you have any cash to use for Annie''s shopping? I want to avoid the traffic and go directly to the store."


    Abed nodded and said, "I have about 20,000 dors."


    "Oh that''s nice�C" Shirley''s sweet voice turned serious, "You have how much now?"


    ...


    The cool evening air was filled with anticipation as college students gathered for the annual "Pic and Sing Along Under the Stars" outdoor student concert.


    As the stage at Eastwn was brightly lit and ready for the uing performances, the majority of the students had forgone borate pic spreads, opting instead to simply im their spots on the grass with nkets and the asional shared bag of chips or sandwiches.


    Couples cuddled closely, stealing nces at each other as they chatted andughed, more interested in each other''spany than an borate meal. The sound of tuning instruments and excited chatter created a lively atmosphere, as students staked out their ces close to the stage, eager for the concert to begin under the twinkling night sky above.


    Troy had secured a spot near the concert stage, apanied by his date Randy - an Asian student with tanned skin. "Are you cold, Troy?" Randy asked him.


    "Huh?-- No, you can use the nket. I bought 10 of them for the pic. Tell me if it''s not enough and I''ll get you some more," Troy replied, though his eyes were intently scanning the crowd, searching for the figures of Annie and Edward.


    Suddenly, Troy spotted them. Annie was dressed up, wearing a short skirt and a frilly blouse with transparent sleeves, her hair blown out, and she was carrying a purse instead of her usual backpack.


    To Troy''s surprise, he watched as Edward kissed the back of Annie''s hand and presented her with a red rose. Annie giggled, and the two of them then made their way to a VIP section where six burly men had reserved seating.


    "Oh my guh(god), they really did go on a date," Troy murmured to himself, his brow furrowed in confusion. "How can Annie go on a date with him, unless he thinks Annie is hot. If he thinks Annie is hot, then I need to think Annie is hot too. Wait a second. Is Annie actually hot?"


    Troy''s internal monologue was interrupted when Randy caught him staring at Annie. "Are you seriously checking out other women right now while on a date with me?" she demanded, clearly upset.


    "What�C NO! That''s my friend," Troy tried to exin, but it was toote. Randy grunted and stood up from the pic mat, walking away. "RANDY! NOOOOO!" Troy called out desperately, but Randy refused to look back.


    Edward led Annie to the pic mat, which stood out from the rest of the casual arrangements around them. Their spot was meticulously set up, with a red and white checkered nket, a wooden basket filled with an assortment of foods, a candle in a ss jar, and even a vase to disy the red rose Edward had just gifted to Annie.


    "Oh my god, they really did go all out in setting the ce up," Edward muttered with disbelief as he looked around to catch who was responsible for it. That''s when he spotted Frankie and the dean, hiding behind a tree and giving him a thumbs up.


    Edward chuckled at Frankie and the dean''s obvious meddling. He turned to Annie and said, "Have a seat, mydy."


    Annie couldn''t help but break into a smile, even though that''s what she had been doing the entire evening. "Thank you... Prince�C" she started, then quickly stopped herself. "Wait, that''s pretty awkward."


    Edwardughed a few times before saying, "It''s fine. I like it. Don''t repeat that, but I like it," he said jokingly, which made Annie feel he was easy to get along with.


    Annie sat with her legs folded sideways, leaning towards Edward on her left, while Edward sat with his legs straight, propping himself to sit upright with his back hand on the ground. They nced at each other a couple times, and then burst intoughter when they caught each other''s eyes.


    Edward broke the silence and said, "There''s still time before the concert starts. Why don''t we get to know each other while we eat?"


    "Umm...Okay!" Annie replied bashfully. "So Annie, tell me, why did a smart girl like you, in a ce like this?" Edward asked as he poured a ss of sparkling cider to her.


    Annie was a bit taken aback and stammered, "Oh, Um..."


    Edward added, "Don''t worry, I''m not trying to judge. �C I''m just... curious. You don''t have to answer me if you don''t want to."


    Annie looked at Edward with bewilderment before fixing her hair and said, "Um, No...I think I can answer it. I- In high school, I''m a 4.0�C a good student. But... something happened before I could take the SATs and graduate. So I''m stuck here."


    Edward knew about the ''Annie Adderall'' incident where she got addicted to pills from the intense pressure to seed, got into a breaking point at a party, and then smashed her face on the ss window when trying to run away from said party.


    Having had constructive surgery and gone into rehab, she''s slowly trying to build her life back up bying into Greendale, the only college she could afford to go to right now.


    "Oh yeah? That sucks." Edward listened attentively. "Did you take your GED?" He asked. Annie nodded and said, "Yeah, I did. That''s why I managed toe here." She giggled nervously.


    Edward chuckled and asked, "Are you from around here Annie?"


    "My family moved here when I was a kid, and I''ve been staying here since." Annie replied.


    They got to know each other for a while and were finallyfortable around each other. After a few jokes andughter, Annie''s eyes glittered and she asked excitedly, "What about you? Why are you here?"


    "I''m here for a visit actually. And I also bought the college." Edward replied honestly. Annie''s face froze for a minute before she asked, "What did you just say?"


    Edward smirked and ate a strawberry, "Maybe it''s a habit, or maybe I just like broken things. But when I saw the condition of the school, and how little it''ll actually take to fix it, I have to try it out."


    "Wait, this is for real? You actually bought the ce I''m studying at?" Annie asked in bewilderment. "Why don''t any of us know anything about it?"


    "Well Annie, there''s this quote, '' Upset the established order, and everything bes chaos.'' That''s why, I did everything under wraps, and only announced it when it was done."


    "To prevent chaos?" Annie was confused. Edward smirked and grabbed her chin lightly, making her heart flutter as they locked eyes together.


    Edward mumbled teasingly, "To own you?"


    Annie moaned intoxicatedly before she be bbergasted, "Wh�C I�C"


    Edward released his hand and said whileughing, "I was joking. You don''t have to be so nervous."


    "Hmmp." She grunted while blushing. Edward flirted, "Despite your adorableness, I wouldn''t spend millions into buying a college just because I want you. I can do that without."


    Annie flirted back, pretending to be mad "Are you saying I''m easy?"


    Edward grinned and said, "No. I''m just saying that you''re not that type of girl that will be blinded by money."


    "Really? You didn''t even know me until today." Annie was quite shy and she lowered her head to avoid Edward''s gaze. "Who knows if that''ll work on me or not."


    "Wait, I can do that?" Edward teased. "Why are we even here on a date then?"


    While they were having a good time, on the side of thewn, Abed, Troy and Shirley were watching them by using binocrs.


    Abedmented, "Look, they are holding hands." Shirley squealed, "Oh that''s nice."


    Troy said unwillingly, "She''s just brushing the crumbs that had fallen off on him."


    The performances finally began, and the concert started with Vaughn�C Britta''s ex boyfriend, singing a song called, ''Pierce You''re A B''.


    While they were singing it, Annie eximed in horror, "Oh god, the first song at my first concert date will be about an old man who shit his pants?"


    Edward chuckled, "Well look on the bright side. The moment will be etched in your mind. There''s no way you''re going to forget it."


    Annie said, "Easy for you to say. You probably have a lot of memories like this so you won''t need to care."


    "Actually, this is my first time too." Edward said, which made Annie turn to him in surprise. "Your first?" She asked.


    "Not a first date, but a first concert with a girl. Usually, I''m the one on stage, so I never experienced it." Edward said.


    The atmosphere started heating up, and Dn finally walked up to the stage. He said to the microphone, "Baby, I''m sorry about yesterday''s song. I''m going to make it up to you."


    Anais, who was sitting there on the pic mat alone, was dumbfounded, "Oh no, what did he have nned now?"


    /watch?v=AL52Sjo3vUo&t=148s&ab_channel=l.smith �C Imagine Me Naked�C Dn Modern Family]


    The soft rock melody captured the attention of the crowd. The retro band style made Edward chortled for a bit, then he held Annie''s hand, interlocking their fingers together. Her heart beat quickly, and her eyes fluttered as she stole a nce at him.


    Dn sang, " ?? I''m a ship without a rudder... I''m the bread without your butter... And I''ll never find another girl...who could make me feel so fine...<strong><i>So here''s to my broken sweet of mine!!!"</i></strong><strong><i>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> </i></strong>The start of the song subverted the crowd''s expectations, but then, Dn sang the chorus, "?? <strong>Imagine me naked!!! </strong>I''ll imagine you nude!! You''ll never have to fake it!! Like you do with other dudes!!"


    The crowd burst into cheers�C even Anais was helpless and was captivated by how sincere Dn was singing the song.


    "??I''ll never stop touching you! Even when the world ends! But for now I''m lying naked! Without my best friend.??" Dn pointed at Anais again, but this time, she smiled instead of being dumbfounded like before.


    After a short guitar solo, Dn continued, " ??When it seems the world is cold and dark, And you can''t remember where you parked, You helped me build this golden ark,We can sail upon the sea...<strong>And get N-A-K-E-D!!!</strong>??<strong>"</strong>


    Annie and Edward found themselves to be locking eyes with each other as the chorus arrived.


    <strong>"</strong>??<strong>Imagine me naked</strong>??<strong>"</strong>


    Annie chuckled nervously and told Edward, "The song''s pretty funny."


    <strong>"?? I''ll imagine you nude ??"</strong><strong>


    </strong>


    <strong> </strong>Edward replied, "It really does."


    Both of them were leaning into each other.


    <strong>"??You''ll never have to fake it, Like you do with other dudes!! I''ll never stop touching you!! Even when the world ends!!??"</strong>


    "But for now I''m lying naked...Without my best friend...Without my best friend<strong>??"</strong>


    As the guitar solo began, Dn did a monologue, "<strong>???? </strong>(If you imagine me naked, I can bring you to a world that you have never believed in. If you believe in me, then I can believe in you, and we can go far, far into outer space.)"


    The concert was at its peak. People stood up from their mat and sang along to the song. "<strong>??</strong> Imagine me naked!! I''ll imagine you nude!! You''ll never have to fake it!! Like you do with other dudes!!"


    "I''ll never stop touching you!! Even when the world ends!!But for now I''m lying naked!! Without my best friend~~"


    Dn continued solo, singing with a very emotional tone, "I''ll imagine you nude!! You''ll never have to fake it (Never, Never) Like you do with other dudes (Like you do with other dudes)!! I''ll never stop touching you!! Even when the world ends!! But for now I''m lying naked!! Without my best friend~~~!"


    The music slowly fades away, and the entire crowd cheered. Suddenly, Dean Pelton walked onto the stage, causing the crowd to groan.


    The dean stillughed, acting like the crowd had celebrated him, took the microphone from Dn and said, "Incredible performance by...What''s your band name again?"


    "We''re the ''Dropouts!''" Dn replied.


    "INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCES BY THE DROPOUTS!" The dean announced dramatically, which made the crowd cheered and apuded for Dn''s band once again.


    The dean chuckled twice and said, "With that, ends the concert for tonight�C"


    The crowd mored, and the band who hadn''t gone yet protested, "What are you doing?!"


    The dean calmed himself down and said, "I know, I know. You''re mad. But this is for your safety. Alright, I''ll give you some good news after this bad news, so listen first."


    The crowd calmed down a bit, but were still listless. Dean Pelton said, "We need to evacuate everyone from thepound as there''s some gas leaks in campus. Everyone who stays in the dorms also has to move out as soon as possible."


    Abed was startled when he heard it. "Where should we go!?" Jeff muttered with some anger.


    "Alright�C CALM DOWN!" The dean shouted. "It''s a precaution. You can move back in after 2 or 3 days�C to the dorms. Alright, so for the good news, the school will no longer be under city management as we have been bought out by a huge corporation!" He announced it excitedly, but none of the crowd reacted.


    "Hello?" The dean was confused. "Did you guys hear me�C"


    "BOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" The crowd threw food, bottles, and even grass to the dean. "WHAT?!" He eximed in surprise, "It''s good news!" He said tearfully.


    "Boo!!! DOWN WITH THE CORPORATION! DOWN WITH THE MACHINE!" The college students shouted, and a riot ensued.


    "Oww! OWW! Protect me Jeffrey! Protect me Eddy!" The dean shouted urgently as he avoided the things thrown at him. However, Edward''s pic mat had long since been empty, even before Dn finished his performance.

 Chapter 275: Annie’s Boobs. (The Monkey)

    <h4>Chapter 275: Chapter 275:? Annie��s Boobs. (The Monkey)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Annie and I had left the pic in the middle of Dn''s performance. My guard had discreetly notified me about the gas leak and stealthily escorted us away from the crowd. As it turned out, it was the right move, considering the riot that soon erupted.


    "You predicted this," Annie murmured with awe as we walked to my car. She turned to me with confusion, "Why did you still let the dean tell them if you know this is going to happen?"


    I turned to Annie and smirked, "I didn''t let him. He went AWOL. Now, he''s paying the price."


    Annie''s eyes widened, and she asked, "Are you going to save him?"


    "No need. Frankie is there. She''ll know what to do," I replied casually. "Let''s get out of here. I''ll drive you home," I offered.


    Annie wanted toe along, but suddenly she remembered something. "Wait! T-There''s no need for that. I can go home by myself. You don''t have to�C"


    "If this is about your apartment located above the ''Dildopolis'' store, then you don''t have to worry," I interjected with a chuckle before I slowly grabbed her hand.


    Annie muttered with self-depreciation, "So, you already know?"


    "Why? Do you think I''ll look down on you or something? On the contrary, I thought you''re really brave to risk living in that neighborhood to continue your education. I admire you for doing that."


    Annie blushed and said, "You really know how to make a girl fall in love."


    "Yet, I cannot make you fall in love with me," I quipped, which made Annie widen her eyes for a bit before she let out a short yelp as I pulled her hand to walk to the car.


    In that short moment, I saw it clearly. The way she was looking at me, it was a gaze of limerence - an infatuated, idealized adoration that had little to do with who I truly was. She had constructed a preconceived impression of me in her mind, elevating me to a pedestal of her own making.


    I realized then that we could never truly connect, well, not on the first date. I couldn''t help but acknowledge the power I held over her - I was certain I could manipte her, get her to do anything I wanted. But, if I did, then I''ll just be the same as the other star who slept around with their groupies.


    As that realization dawned on me, I felt a deep sense of unease. Would I really stoop to taking advantage of this naive girl, whose most fervent wish was simply to hold hands with a boyfriend at Disnend? To turn her into a momentary diversion, a one-night stand?


    "Edward?" She called, snapping me out from my thoughts. "Oh sorry, I was thinking about this college." I said before I asked, "Annie, do you have any specificints about this ce? Part of which you think can be better?"


    Her eyes lit up, "You want to hear my thoughts about it?"


    "Sure. If I need to ask someone, then who''ll be better to ask then the students that go here."


    I drove the ck Nissan Xterra SUV to Annie''s neighborhood. Annie became a bit nervous as we were heading to her house. "You shouldn''t park here long. Go home immediately after dropping me off." She advised with a slight panic.


    I patted her hand to calm her down and said, "Don''t worry. There''s literally a convoy following me from behind. Check the side mirror." Annie was confused, and then she saw 2 SUVs protecting my car.


    The once-vibrantmercial district had fallen on hard times. Vacant storefronts dotted thendscape, their dusty neon signs flickering feebly in the gathering dusk.


    Unkempt lots were littered with the detritus of foreclosure - broken ss, rusted shopping carts, abandoned furniture. In the distance, a small fire burned in a metal drum as homeless individuals sought shelter from thete fall chill.


    Amid the decay, a single neon sign stood out - the bright glow of "Dildopolis" drawing the eye. Adult toys were hung by the store ss, like they were butcher''s meat.


    I asked Annie with disbelief as I stopped the car in front of the store, "You, really live here?"


    Annie lowered her head and said, "Um, this ce seems a little bit better in the morning. Also...Um...the rent is very cheap."


    "By the way, mind if I see your ce?" I asked her politely. She blushed and said, "Um, it''s only the first date. I don''t think it''s appropriate."


    "Ah, this isn''t part of the date. The date ended when the gas leak happened." I said. Annie jolted in surprise, "What?! It is over?!"


    I nodded and said, "Yes. So, can I get up there or not?"


    Annie hesitated for a bit before she said, "Okay then. Just...for 5 minutes, okay?!"


    "Okay! Don''t worry. I''m a gentleman." I smiled charmingly, which made her cute stern face crumble.


    The studio apartment was even smaller than I had anticipated - barely 150 square feet. Annie had done her best to make the limited space feel cozy, but the cramped quarters were immediately apparent. Her bathroom was also really cramped as it could barely fit a toilet and a shower there.


    "So, do you have to sit on the toilet to take a shower?" I asked with disbelief.


    Annie blushed in embarrassment and hurried to close the toilet door, "Why are you looking at a girl''s bathroom the minute you enter?"


    I chuckled and said, "Cause I could see your entire house in less than a minute. You know what, Annie..." She unawarely stood close to me as she closed the toilet door, and I leaned in closer to her.


    She hesitated a bit before she closed her eyes and pursed her lips, expecting a kiss. But, I grabbed her shoulders and said, "I have a preposition for you."


    "What?" She asked in confusion as she opened her eyes again. Suddenly, a gunshot fired over in the distance. Annie was startled and she abruptly hugged me. I asked, "Does that usually happen?"


    Annie begrudgingly replied, "Yeah..." She realized that she was hugging me, blushed, and then released her embrace. "What preposition?" She asked while fixing her hair.


    "This might bruise your ego a bit, but listen to me first." I said. "I have property here, so why don''t you move there..."


    "Sorry, I know you mean well, but I''m not looking for handouts!" Annie said seriously.


    I chuckled and said, "I''m not finished. I need a building manager to manage the property."


    Annie furrowed her eyebrows and said, "Um... I know that you mean well Edward. But, I really don''t need a handout."


    I chuckled again and said, "Like I said. It''s a job. Not a handout." I walked to her bed and sat on the edge. Then, I patted the spot in front of me, gesturing for her to sit. Despite her nervousness, she walked and sat in front of me.


    "Annie, do you know how I got discovered?" I asked. Her eyes lit up as she replied, "I watched all of your interviews. You were singing at a cafe, right? Then, you meet your CEO."


    "Actually, I was shopping with him before that." I said coyly. "You know, I might never be who I am now if he doesn''t offer me some help. His little act of throwing my name around the industry,nding me to open Taylor''s concert, all changed my life greatly."


    I held my hand to her, "I know that you might feel humiliated in taking the help, or you might feel like you don''t want to owe me anything, but, Annie...Take the chance. Like I did. Holding someone''s hand at the start, didn''t we used to do that too, when we were learning to walk? There''s no shame in it."


    Annie widened her eyes and she fell into deep thoughts. I gave her some time to process it, and finally, she asked, "What does a building manager do?"


    "We''ll talk on our way to the apartment." I said before I stood up and walked to the window. Opening it abruptly, I whistled with my fingers, calling my bodyguards up to the apartment.


    Annie was startled for a second, "W-what are you doing?"


    "Calling your movers." I replied with a smirk.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Back at the chaotic Greendale campus, Dean Pelton found himself in the crosshairs of the angry student body, flinching as various objects were hurled in his direction. Amidst the din, a lone figure emerged from the wings, nked by a pair of imposing bodyguards.


    Francesca Dart strode purposefully towards the center of the stage, a high-powered megaphone clutched firmly in her hand. With a decisive motion, she snatched up the hanging microphone, positioning the megaphone directly behind it. The students'' jeers and projectiles momentarily ceased as a deafening siren st tore through the air, causing the crowd to p their hands over their ears in pained surprise.


    As the reverberations faded, Francesca leaned into the microphone, her cool gaze sweeping across the now silent assembly. "Thank you for quieting down," she stated, her voice carrying an authoritative edge. "My name is Francesca Dart, and I''m here to address your concerns."


    "To be clear, we don''t have much time, and those who stayed in the dorms need to evacuate quickly, so I''m making it short." She added.


    "First of all, Greendale has been bought by Entertain. Or as you might know it, thepany is run by the prominent public figure, celebrity, and genius, Edward Newgate." Frankie said, which made half of the crowd widened their eyes in disbelief before they cheered in excitement.


    Frankie continued, "As for why he did that? It''s not that he''s bored, but he wanted to save the school. Greendale is bankrupt. It''s bleeding money. It has too many liabilities. So the city is getting rid of it."


    The crowd gasped in disbelief. Some even shouted, "Are you closing the school down?!"


    "On the contraire." Frankie replied. "Our CEO has a quirk, which is, he likes fixing broken things. Greendale is so bent out of shape that he can''t help himself. To rify a few things, there won''t be much changes to your school fees."


    "Are you increasing it?" Troy shouted worriedly.


    Frankie heard it and replied, "No. Rather, we''re going to lower the tuition by 20%, and offer schrships to excellent students."


    The crowd mored in excitement. Frankie let them have their reactions before she continued, "You can find all of the changes when you go on the school website. Lastly, before we evacuate, the school would be closed during the reconstruction process."


    "Since your sses hadn''t ended yet, we will opt for an online examination instead for your final exams for this period of time so you won''t lose your credits. That''s all. Make sure to evacuate the premises following the firefighters'' guidelines." Frankie said before she left with the bodyguards.


    The bruised and battered�C mentally, Dean Pelton picked up the microphone and shouted urgently, "What are you all waiting for! Leave this ce! Now!"


    Jeff and Abed stood side by side as they watched the crowd frantically dispersed. Jeff muttered, "Abed, what are we going to do now?"


    As they were living in the dorm, they had to find another ce to stay for a couple of days. Abed turned to Jeff and said, "We can find an apartment together. Like in FRIENDS. You''ll be Joey, cause you always get the girl, and I''ll be Chandler. ''Can I be anymore sarcastic?''"


    Joey looked at Abed in disbelief and scoffed, "At the very least I''m not Ross. We''ll find a motel then."


    Abed nodded in agreement and wanted to follow Jeff before Troy, Shirley and Pierce joined them. Shirley said, "Can''t you believe it? The school is going to be shut down!"


    Pierce scoffed, "Apany buying the school? What are they thinking about!? If we''re supposed to do that, then I''ll buy the school! The ones running thepany don''t really know about business."


    Troy asked Pierce, "Why did you say that?"


    Pierce replied, "Running a school other than the Ivy Leagues will just make him bleed money."


    Abed said defensively, "That''s not going to happen with Edward. His character trait is that he always fixes what he touches. He''s like Midas, instead, he doesn''t kill you."


    Jeff scoffed derisively and said, "Oh yeah? Then, howe I''m still broke?"


    Abed turned to him and said, "Edward doesn''t really like you." Jeff widened his eyes and said depressively, "Really!?...Pff- I mean...I don''t care." His voice cracked a bit at thest part.


    Britta suddenly popped out from the bushes and said, "Hey guys! Can you hide me for a sec." She squeezed into the group, walking while hiding her figures from the firefighters they were passing by.


    Jeff asked with concern, "Britta, what did you do?"


    Britta replied, "Nothing. I definitely didn''t release that monkey in school, and broke a pipeline trying to capture it back. In any case, I''ve already given the monkey to Edward''s security, so they''ll get it to theb. It won''t matter if I got bitten more by the monkey, right? Since I''m going to get the cure anyway?"


    All the others widened their eyes and stepped away from Britta instinctively. Abed suddenly got a text from Annie. He turned to Jeff and said, "Annie knows where we can live for a few days."


    "Where did she go?" Shirley asked in concern. Abed replied, "She''s at Edward''s apartment building. She gave me the address."


    Britta quickly grabbed the phone from Abed and read the text, "We should go there now. We need to take care of Annie."


    Jeff scoffed and said, "You just want to take care of the monkey business. Wow, this is the first time ever I have used monkey business in a sentence to mean its literal meaning."


    Troy supported Britta, "I think we should go too. I need to ask him why did he think Annie is hot."


    Pierce joined in, "And I want to ask him about mountain climbing."


    Abed was a little concerned and said, "I don''t think we''re supposed to do that."


    "Shut up Abed." Jeff scolded. "I want to hear why he hates me."


    Britta snorted derisively and said, "Shouldn''t that be clear by now? You kept wanting to get his money."


    "Hey! I tried to sell him a very preciousic book! It''s not my fault he didn''t see its value!" Jeff retorted while pointing his finger at Britta. Britta tried to bite it, which shocked Jeff. "Have you gone insane Britta?" he asked worriedly.


    Abed muttered as he watched the group walk away, "This is not good. We''re supposed to end this on a good note so that he can be a recurring character."


    ...


    At the airport. Frankie looked at Edward in disbelief after they met each other in front of his private jet. "So, you guys, went on a date." Frankie rubbed her sore forehead as she recounted.


    "Yep." Edward replied casually.


    "It went well, and you even went back to her ce." She continued.


    "Yeah." Edward nodded.


    "Then, exin it to me. How did it turn into a job interview?" Frankie asked in disbelief.


    Edward smirked and said, "I''ll tell you on the ne. Ah, by the way, you''reing to Wisconsin to meet your future inws right?"


    "No, I''ll be getting back to my ce for Thanksgiving. I won''t be joining you." Frankie replied honestly. Edward said, "Oww, that''s too bad. I wanted to see you and dad fumbling around grandma and grandpa when they enthusiastically supported your rtionship."


    Frankie smiled softly and said, "You think they will?"


    "Of course." Edward replied with an expression that said, ''Wasn''t that obvious?''.


    Back to Edward''s new building.


    After everyone arrived at Annie''s new apartment, Britta went to sit on Edward''s couch immediately as she felt light headed�C cause she inhaled a lot of gas. Annie gleefully decorated the apartment with her stuff, which prompted Jeff to ask, "Annie, did you just move in here?"


    Annie excitedly replied, "Was it so obvious? This used to be Edward''s ce to stay. You can still smell his scent here."


    Shirley looked at Annie with disbelief, "That''s disturbing."


    Annie immediately took a few gifts from the table and handed them to Shirley, "That reminds me. Here. Ed..Hehe, I call him Ed now. He asked me to give it to you. It''s for your sons."


    With a sweet voice, Shirley eximed, "That''s nice!"


    Pierce looked at the gifts and got a little jealous, "What about me? Did he have anything for me?"


    Jeff smirked and teased, "Pierce, I don''t think he even knows you." Everyone else all agreed with Pierce.


    Britta eximed sadly, "What''s the point of getting a gift? Annie, exin how you got the apartment? That''s supposed to be the true question here."


    Pierce interjected, "Wasn''t it obvious? Annie is his mistress."


    "What?!" Troy eximed in bewilderment. Annie was also surprised, and she reacted bashfully, "Pierce, I''m not his mistress. I work with him."


    "And how did you get the job?" Jeff asked, intrigued. Annie hesitated a bit before she said, "Convenience I guess? He needs someone to handle the building for him and search for new tenants."


    Abed looked around the house before his attention went to a normal looking rack near the wall. He noticed the small notch for the hiddenpartment on the rack, but he didn''t press it yet.


    He asked Annie, "Hey, what''s the criteria for renting a ce here?"


    "He''ll email me about the detailster on." Annie replied innocently before she turned to Jeff, "Edward also told me to pass on something to you."


    "Oh yeah?" Jeff replied sarcastically. "He wants me to be his mistress too? Sorry but, I''m way more expensive than this apartment�C I''m sorry, you have 3 rooms here?"


    Annie nodded, "Yes. Also, he said that he auctioned off youric book for you in the LAic book fansmunity. That Amazing Spiderman issue no 3, first appearance of Doc Ock is quite valuable. Someone offered you 8 thousand dors for it. Do you want to sell it�C"


    "SELL!" Jeff interjected quickly. "I''m selling it!"


    Annie replied innocently, acting as if she was Edward''s secretary. "You can send the book to the staff member going back to LA tonight. They are still here at the apartment, so you can just send it to them."


    "What about the money?" Jeff asked urgently. Annie replied, "The money is also with them. Edward will pay for it first as he knows you are in urgent need of money."


    Jeff felt a bit guilty and muttered, "I judged him wrongly. He''s a great guy."


    Britta snapped, "WHAT ABOUT ME?! How is he going to deal with the monkey?!"


    While the others were afraid of Britta, Annie smiled softly and said, "Britta. You had just gotten the monkey. Wait a few days. He told you that you won''t be insane at the moment, right?"


    Jeff then whispered to Annie. Annie widened her eyes and said, "YOU GOT BITTEN AGAIN?!"

 Chapter 276: Chaotic Thanksgiving (1)

    <h4>Chapter 276: Chapter 276: Chaotic Thanksgiving (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    As the jet took to the sky, Frankie sat in front of me and poured herself a ss of whiskey, and myself some Sprite.


    "Can I have some of that?" I asked as my eyes glued to the whiskey bottle as I grabbed the drink from her. "No." She replied curtly.


    I whined, "You won''t let me drink. You won''t let me make more Euphoria."


    "Tell me about your date," she ignored me as she sipped her drink.


    I smiled and teased, "I don''t know you like to ''get the tea''. You little gossip."


    Frankie was confused, "I''m drinking alcohol."


    Taken aback for a bit, I sighed and told her all the deets about my date. Frankie fell into some deep thoughts while I muttered with self-depreciation, "See. I told you it won''t work."


    "I kind of expected this to happen," Frankie said suddenly, which made me baffled.


    "Then why did you make me do it?" I asked in confusion. The room went silent for a while as Frankie finished her drink and I patiently waited for her answer.


    After a while, she exined, "Because you thought that you couldn''t."


    "That''s really not what my conflict is about." I reacted with a dumbfounded expression.


    Frankie smirked and exined, "Isn''t it, though? You think you need to close yourself off because no one will understand you or see past your status. But you''ve only had a couple of rtionships - how can you know for sure that''s true? How can you find ''the one'' if you stop trying? Just as in statistics, you need to widen your data group."


    I looked at Frankie with disbelief and spoke after a momentary silence, "That''s kinda sly. I knew I shouldn''t let you watch Shark Tales."


    She said smugly, "But you did. Now I know how to navigate your issues and offer you solid advice."


    "Or dumb. We don''t know the results yet." I said with a shrug.


    Frankie smiled and said, "Now if you don''t mind, I''d like to get some shut eye. It has been a long day at Greendale."


    "Wait before that, did you find the ITdy?" I asked with intrigue. Frankie shook her head, "No, it''s an IT guy. There''s no ITdy here."


    ''So her twin isn''t here. That''s 2 changes now.'' I thought while rubbing my chin. Seeing me in contemtion, Frankie asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"


    "Who''s going to be the foreman for the whole construction? You know, we haven''t hired anyone yet," I changed the topic quickly. Frankie nuzzled onto the seat and said, "I''m too tired. I''ll think about it tomorrow."


    "Alright then. Goodnight. Mother...," Her eyes widened a bit, but I continued with a smirk, "...Figure."


    She eximed in exasperation and didn''t bother to react as she got some rest. It would take around 3 hours for me to arrive in Wisconsin, so I decided to shut my eyes too.


    I walked to the storage and got some nkets. I handed Frankie one of them and went to lie down on the long couch instead of sleeping on the cozy chair. It may be because of the altitude, or maybe because of the gas leak, but I was feeling particrly sleepy tonight. I didn''t even have to use my [Rest] skill to go to sleep.


    However, my rest was cut short when I realized that I was transported into a white room.


    "Wait, Afterlife corp?" I muttered with confusion as I saw Gong Shin''s office in front of me. "It was time for an afterlife session? Why wasn''t I notified?"


    Suddenly, Gong Shin entered the room too, through a red door that appeared from thin air. He saw me and asked in confusion, "Why are you here?"


    "How should I know?" I eximed in bewilderment.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Entertainpany building. Taylor, who cut her blonde hair short, sat across Pepper who had an exhausted look on his face. She asked, "Can I release the song today?"


    Pepper snapped in frustration, "Girl, it''s Thanksgiving. You definitely should not. And you should go home to be with your family."


    "No, my family ising here," She replied casually before getting back to the topic. "Then, when can I release the music video?"


    Pepper thought about it with some difficulty. He nced at Taylor and asked whisperingly, "Are you sure you don''t want me to ask Edward? He''s the one who knows about this stuff."


    "You''re the CEO!" Taylor retorted. "Have some backbone! You got this!"


    "Hmmm..." Pepper racked his brain as he was filled with indecision. "You know what?" He said, which made Taylor perked up. "You can release it tomorrow. We''ll just do what Edward usually does before he releases his songs."


    Taylor grumbled in frustration before saying, "I hate that you''re probably right in this one." Even though she had nned her stealthy revenge and wanted to do everything on her own, she still wanted the song to seed.


    Pepper stood up from the couch, grabbed Taylor''s hand to help her stand up from the chair and ushered her out of his office, "Now, go home. I want to go home too! It''s Thanksgiving, and I have given every employee a day off. That includes me."


    Taylor grabbed the door frame before Pepper could push her out of the office, "Wait. Make sure not to tell him before the music video is released!"


    "I got it! You already repeated that a thousand times!" Pepper pushed Taylor out before he locked the door.


    "Teenagers!" He eximed in frustration before whispering, "She really thought that we could hide it from him? He even gave the director some advice about the music video. Well, she''ll be extra mad if she knew about this, so I''ll just keep that bit to myself."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I sat in front of Gong Shin, I asked, "So why is the session closed again?"


    "An eldritch entity hade to visit, so we evacuated everyone and closed all sessions. Without sufficient protections, the soul will explode as soon as they gazed upon him. I guess you came here the second he left so I missed your presence."


    "Who? Cthulhu?" I asked jokingly.


    Gong Shin was startled for a bit before he asked, "Anyway, since you''re here, do you want toe and see my new machine or do you want to go back now?"


    Seeing his avoidance, I fell into a deep shock, "Wait...is it really Cthulhu? Those...aren''t fictional?"


    "Do you want to or not?" He asked again. "Where is that messenger anyway? Shouldn''t he already notify you about the afterlife session being postponed?"


    He waved his arm and a white raven suddenly appeared inside the room. It was pping his wings tiredly, with its tongue hanging out, before it fell lifelessly to the desk.


    Gong Shin grabbed the bird with 2 hands and asked with concern, "What were you doing?"


    The bird replied while huffing its breath, "I fly...across thend...Target is not...At his house..."


    My eyes lit up and I said, "Oh yeah, I was in Colorado."


    "Tell me...next time..." The bird said annoyedly before he pretended to faint.


    Gong Shin ced him down on the desk gently before saying, "So, you want to check it out."


    "Sure." I replied casually. The bird whispered cursingly, "You heartless monsters..."


    Gong Shin directed me to a new gacha session room. "It''s something I thought of called, ''Double or Nothing.'' So, the gist is that, after you roll one prize, the probability that you will get another prize from the same person you got the original one, will be raised to 50%. If you lose, you''ll lose the original one too."


    "Ah, I get it," I nodded my head in understanding as I touched the mechanism on the machine. "It''s a Bingo Machine?" I asked.


    "Yes. You''ll get a paper with 25 slots for numbers and you need to get a BINGO. Sooner you get it, the higher the quality of the roll will be."


    "I think I get it. Can I use it now?" I asked.


    He turned to me and said, "Why not? Since this is an unofficial session, you don''t even have to reset your karmic points. I''ll just use the ones from your storage."


    "Great. Let''s do it."


    Gong Shin taught me to use the machine, and I pressed the green button on the panel. A piece of paper printed out from the machine with my name on it, and I get ready for Bingo.


    Filling the 5x5 columns randomly, I asked him, "So, if I get 5 numbers in a straight line, then it''s bingo right? Does it work diagonally?"


    "Yeah it works." He replied as he rolled the bingo machine. A ball with the number rolled out of the machine, and he announced, "13. By the way, you''ll have to pay 1000 karma per ball."


    "I don''t really mind it. Great. I got the center one." I said excitedly as I scratched my number on the paper.


    After 10 calls, I finally got a diagonal BINGO. The paper morphed into a purple ball thatbeled, [ Purple Quality Gacha: Consumables�C No circle Transmutation (FullMetal Alchemist) �C Edward Elric]


    "Consumables again?" He looked at me with suspicions. I was also confused, "Don''t look at me, it''s your machine."


    He sighed before he said excitedly, "Double Or Nothing!?"


    "Double." I replied with excitement. Another piece of paper printed out of the machine, and he rolled the bingo numbers. It took me 12 tries to get a Bingo and I received a white quality gacha.


    [White Quality: Memory �C Chimera Dog �C Edward Elric.]


    "No no! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!" I stood up in shock and I tried to give back the prize to Gong Shin. "I don''t want this memory."


    "Damn. This one is quite bad." He reluctantly took the prize from me and said, "You want another Double or Nothing? Then you will lose everything."


    "Yes! Definitely!" Even though I was reluctant to part way with the transmutation circle, making sure that I would never experience this memory was the obvious choice.


    Gong Shin said casually while spinning the ball, "Oh right, this time, the probability will lessen to 25%."


    "That works better for me." I replied as I scratched the numbers off the paper. Within 7 balls, I managed to get a BINGO, and unfortunately, I received something from Alfonse Elric, which made my entire prizes disappear.


    "Good luck next time." Gong Shin said with a smirk. I sighed in relief and said, "Thank god. Alright, next."


    "You want to continue? Okay then." He didn''t expect me to be absorbed in the game, but I did.


    In the next few BINGO games, I lost theDouble or Nothing game 3 times , and only won once.


    [Green Quality: Skill �C Design nning�C Ted Mosby]


    [Purple Quality: Talent �C StoryTelling �C Ted Mosby]


    Gong Shin teased, "Maybe you''ll need 9 seasons to tell the story of how you met your kids'' mother too."


    I smirked and said, "I may even win some awards. Who knows? Ted must be great at telling his stories if it can run for 9 seasons without cancetion."


    We continued the games for a while, and I only won 3 more times even though I had yed 11 games. Sensing that my luck in this game wasn''t very good, I decided to pause the game for a minute.


    [Gold Quality: Talent�C Mesmerizing Eyes �C Gojo Satoru]


    [Purple Quality: Talent �C Angering People �C Gojo Satoru]


    [Gold Quality: Skill �C Brush strokes �C Bob Ross]


    [Gold Quality: Skill �C Color �C Bob Ross]


    [Green Quality: Consumables�C Minor Bone Regeneration �C Luciel (The Great Cleric)]


    [Red Quality: Consumables �C Minor Heal�C Luciel]


    "Will my eyes color change?" I asked in confusion. Gong Shin replied, "I don''t think so. It''ll just look very pretty after this."


    "Can you exin to me about the healing items?" I asked hesitantly.


    "Maybe it can heal a gunshot. That''s it. It won''t regenerate organs." He replied with a sympathetic look on his face. "But, that bone regeneration, you can cast it on your cat for her to get her ws back."


    I smiled in satisfaction and said, "What shall I do with the mechanical w design I have made for him?"


    Gong Shin chuckled without replying.


    "Hmm..." I thought about it for a while and asked him, "How long has the time passed in the real world?"


    "Only an hour." Gong Shin checked his watch.


    "I''ll y onest time before I go back." I dered.


    In thest roll, I actually got a Gold Quality Memory from an unknown guy.


    "Who is he?" I asked Gong Shin. He mused as he saw the ball and replied, "Just a guy... living in the same universe as your previous self."


    My eyes lit up, "Really?"


    [Gold Quality: Memory �C Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 & 5 (iplete) �C W. Lana]


    "Double or nothing?" Gong Shin asked.


    "Double it." I replied confidently. Within only 6 rolls, I managed to get another BINGO on the paper. My heart palpitated quickly as the paper morphed into a ball.


    [Gold Quality: Memory �C 2023 Entertainment Landscape �C W. Lana]


    "Yes!" I raised my hand in celebration as I stood up from my seat. I died in June 2022, so if the memory was from my previous universe, then I had something to look forward to.


    Marvel projects were usually great although the quality declined a bit before I left, but I''m sure that they had quickly fixed the problem and returned with quality shows, right? I wasn''t clear about the Entertainment Landscape, so I ignored it for now.


    Gong Shin smiled as he saw my excited expression and said, "Congrattions. Double or nothing?"


    "I''ll just stop here." I said nonmittedly as I smiled. Waving goodbye to the agent, I left the afterlife session and returned to my mortal ne, feeling satisfied about today''s session.


    ...


    Arriving at Wisconsin, my dad picked me up and met with Frankie at the airport. Only my dad came as it was 3 am, and my cousins were all sleeping. Frankie and my dad both looked at me with confusion after I exited the jet.


    "What?" I grunted with a yful tone, rubbing my sore forehead at the same time.


    My dad looked at me and said, "When did your eyes change?"


    "Did you wear contact lenses?" Frankie asked. "When?"


    My head was still hurting so I stopped the questioning, "Can we do thister on? I''m still sleepy."


    My dad and Frankie scrutinized my face before both of them gave up and turned to each other. My dad used an affectionate tone to ask Frankie, "Are you sure you don''t want toe to my ce for Thanksgiving? My mom is eager to meet you."


    "I feel bad that I have to squash her hope, but I already promised my family to be there." Frankie replied.


    "That''s too bad," my dad said as he held her hand.


    While they were flirting, I was struggling with my eyes.


    Gojo Satoru eyes was referred to as The Six Eyes, an innate gift rarely inherited within the Gojo n. They are a nonstandard jujutsu trait manifesting as a pair of bright blue eyes that grant a bearer extrasensory perception of cursed energy.


    However, I don''t have any cursed energy, so the change wasn''t obvious for me, other than making my perception ability stronger. The overload of sensory input made me squint my eyes and covered it up from any source of light with my palm.


    My dad and Frankie noticed my struggle and stopped their conversation. Frankie turned towards me and asked worriedly, "Edward, are you okay?"


    "Yeah my eyes are just sensitive from the change." I replied. My dad nodded in understanding and said, "Come on, you can continue sleeping in the car."


    I obediently let my dad pull my hand and led me to the vehicle before he drove us to my grandparent''s ranch. Even in that 1 hour drive, my eyes hadn''t adapted to the change yet. I had to cover up my eyes with a ck cloth temporarily in order to walk into the house.


    "Are you sure you don''t want to go to the doctor?" my dad asked with concern as he carried my bags into the house. I smirked and said, "Ever wonder if this is a plot for me not to carry my luggage myself?"


    He scowled a bit before saying, "Go to sleep�C"


    "Edward!" Suddenly, my grandpa called out for me from my behind. As the morning started early in the ranch, he was already up and wanted to go to the stables to milk the cows.


    He hugged me and stopped when he saw my face, "Wait. What happened to your eyes?"


    My dad spoke for me, "He said that it''s too sensitive. It could be from jetg. He traveled quite a few times in 2 days."


    Grandpa nodded in understanding and said, "I guess I can spare you from getting our milk for breakfast. Why don''t you go to your room and sleep it off?"


    "I will. Where''s Vader and Ace?" I asked curiously.


    My grandpa replied, "The cat is sleeping with the girls. Ace is guarding the ranch�C Wait, here he is."


    The ck panther ran to the house in excitement and lunged toward me. As I couldn''t prepare myself for it, I fell down on the floor, which made both my grandpa and my dad worried.


    Ace nuzzled his face towards me in excitement, which made me burst intoughter. "I miss you, too big girl." I said as I affectionately patted her head. It took me a while to convince the panther to let me go.


    My dad led me into the room and left me at the door as I told him that I could manage on my own. I still remembered what the room looked like so it wasn''t that hard to navigate. I found the bed in no time and sat on the edge of the bed, unbuttoning my shirt before taking it off to go to sleep.


    As Iid down on the bed, I suddenly sensed there was something amiss there. My hand rummaged the sides of the bed when I suddenly touched something warm and soft.


    "Hmm? What is this?" I muttered in confusion as I grabbed the squishy thing for a bit.


    Maggie, who was sleeping soundly in my bed, suddenly woke up and her face turned tomato red. "That''s..." Her voice caught me off guard. I was shocked when she continued, "That''s my boobs..."


    "Oh..." I eximed casually before moving my hand away and turned sideways, with my back against her. Then, I went to sleep.


    Maggie was speechless for a second before she sat up from the bed and picked up a pillow, gripping the edges strongly. "You PERVERT!" She pushed the pillow on my face, trying to suffocate me.

 Chapter 277: Chaotic Thanksgiving (2)

    <h4>Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Chaotic Thanksgiving (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Although it waste fall, in Wisconsin, it could be said that it was early winter. The chill in the air was biting, with temperatures dipping well below freezing. A light dusting of snow covered the ground, crunching underfoot as people stepped on it.


    Bundling up inside the nket in my room, I was woken up by a smooch on my cheek as I struggled with the temperature. My Californian lifestyle didn''t really do well in the cold wintry Wisconsin.


    With a sniffle, I woke up to the sight of Vader licking and nudging my face with hers.


    "Good timing."


    Smiling widely, I grabbed her and used her as a warm heat pack before falling to sleep again. Vader was confused at first but she theny down obediently on my toros. Before I truly dozed off, I casted the healing spell on Vader while she was purring in my embrace.


    "Meow?" Vader was confused when she saw a green glow around her. As it disappeared, she forgot all about it and went to sleep. Half an hourter, as I squirmed to get up from the bed, her pupils dted when she realized that she could feel something in her paws again.


    "MEOW!" She extended her ws hurriedly, and as she wasying on top of me, the ws digged into my flesh.


    "Ouch!" I yelped as I was immediately woken up by the pain. Lifting my head slightly, I looked at the excited Vader as she yed with her ws, meowing relentlessly at me to make me look at it.


    I chuckled and patted her head, scratching it at the same time. She purred affectionately, and I said, "Good for you huh Vadie? You finally have your ws back."


    Sensing that I had something to do with it, she rubbed her face on mine, purring as she showed her gratitude to me. After a while I finally left the bed.


    In the toilet, I was relieved when I saw that my eyes didn''t change much, although the emerald green color became more prominent. The eyes sparkled with an inner luminescence, almost glowing from within. Subtle shifts in lighting would cause the eyes to transform, from deep forest green to brilliant jade.


    "Damn Gojo-san. It is mesmerizing." I muttered with disbelief as I scrutinized the changes. "People will think I''m wearing contact lenses." I brushed my teeth and washed my face before going to the living room after.


    Expecting to see the entire family there, I was surprised to see only Amy and my grandmother working in the kitchen to cook the Thanksgiving meal.


    "Look who finally decided to finally wake up!" Amy greeted me with a disdainful look on her face.


    "Double finally?" I muttered with confusion as I walked to my grandma, ncing at Amy as I went past her. She flinched in embarrassment and pointed her spat at me, "I misspoke! So what!?"


    Ignoring her, I asked my grandma, "Gram, do you know where my luggage is?" Amy gasped in disbelief, and stomped her feet in frustration.


    My grandma looked up from basting her turkey and became concerned when she saw me. She ced her warm hand on my cheek and said, "Why are you so mmy?"


    "Someone turned off the heater in my room." I tattled to my grandma while hugging my arms, shivering. My grandma quickly ordered Amy, "Go and grab a thick jacket for him."


    "Grandma! He can do it himself!" Amy was bbergasted, but Grandma was stern, "Go. Now!"


    "Ugh!" Amy groaned before doing what she was told. My grandma led me to the couch, ced a nket on top of me, and said, "My poor boy, you must''ve been so cold, and hungry. Why don''t grandma make you some pancakes and a cup of hot chocte?"


    I smiled and said childishly, "Thank you grandma."


    She broke into a smile and went to the kitchen with spry steps. Amy came back and rudely threw a jacket on my face. It hung up there for a while. Amy was confused and she took the jacket off and gave it to me carefully.


    As I wore it, I asked, "Where''s everyone else?" My nose suddenly felt itchy, and I shivered again. Worried, Amy asked as tried to check on my fever, "Are you catching a fever�C"


    "ACHOO!" I suddenly sneezed. The droplet missiles flew straight to Amy''s face, which made her flinch in disgust. "AHH! You just sneezed on me!"


    "Sorry." I said as I wiped my nose with a tissue I grabbed from a box nearby. "I don''t think I''m catching a fever though. That will be... <i>catastrophical</i>. I have to start the movie shoot on Sunday." I added, however, Amy was gone by the time I finished wiping my nose. She had run straight to the toilet to clean herself up.


    "Wait. Amy, where are the others?!" I shouted.


    ...


    [General POV]


    It was almost Thanksgiving dinner, and the whole family had gathered together at the long dining table. At the head of the table sat Grandpa Sam, with Aunt May and Uncle Jim on one side. On the other side were Maggie, Uncle Aaron, and Ted, with an empty seat on both ends.


    Uncle Aaron has a bandage on his cheek, and he was sending off dissatisfied aura to the table. He red at Ted, but Ted was ignoring him.


    The table wasden with all the traditional Thanksgiving fare. A golden-brown roasted turkey took pride of ce in the center, its crispy skin glistening. Grandma Jules had ved away in the kitchen for an entire day to prepare it.


    Surrounding it were heaping bowls of fluffy mashed potatoes, creamy green bean casserole, and sweet candied yams. Cranberry sauce in a cut-crystal bowl, a tter of homemade dinner rolls sat between a gravy boat and a crystal decanter of red wine.


    Just then, Grandma Jules came back to the dinner table and said, "He has a 102 fever. (39 Celsius) Maybe we should take him to the hospital."


    Maggie flinched guiltily as she heard it. Ted sighed and said, "How in the hell did the heater in his room turn off?"


    Maggie''s ears felt hot, and she tried to change the subject, "By the way Grandma, that Turkey looks delicious."


    Amy said casually, "Maggie''s the one who turned off the heater. She hid Edward''s bag too. It''s in the stables."


    "<i>Margeret Genevieve Grant!!</i>" May widened her eyes and called Maggie''s full name angrily.


    Maggie''s eyes shook and she stood up halfway subconsciously, almost running away from the dinner table. She defended herself with a shaky voice, "I don''t know he''s going to get a fever! It was a prank!"


    "It''s a <i>crue</i>l prank! You need to apologize to Edward right away!" Aunt May scolded. Uncle Jim quickly tries to disarm the argument, "May,e on. It''s Thanksgiving."


    Maggie''s voice broke and she said tearily, "You don''t even know anything, but you''re asking me to apologize!"


    Ted stopped the argument by defending Maggie, "May, she might just wants to y with Ed. They pranked each other all the time. He''s already a bit sick from the flight. I don''t think it''s Maggie''s fault that he has a fever."


    Maggie''s teary eyes red at her mother angrily.


    May sighed and still scolded her, "You need to get Ed''s bag back from the stables after we eat. It''s really pitiful for him. You know he came back even with his busy work just to be with all of us."


    Amy grinned as she met Maggie''s eyes, which made Maggie spat venomously, "You just need to open your mouth and get me into trouble. I fucking hate you."


    Amy was taken aback, and the rest of the family eximed in dissonant voices. "That''s it! You''re grounded!" May mmed the table and shouted to Maggie. Maggie left the dinner table with a huff, tearing up as she ran. Amy hesitated on whether to follow her, but she missed the opportunity to decide.


    "Amy, why don''t you help Grandma find some medicine for Ed?" Grandma Jules said in a warm tone before walking away with Amy.


    Grandpa Ron finally chimed in. "It''s from the snow. There''s a light drizzle this morning. Maybe that''s why. Enough about that, Aaron, mind exining how you get the bruise? And why are you ring at your younger brother like he''d done kill your wife?"


    "Cause he''s being a bitch that''s what." Aaron said contemptuously. Ted smiled slightly and said, "This bitch just made you eat mud this morning."


    "YOU WANNA GO!" Aaron pped the table and stood up abruptly. Grandpa Sam said sternly, "Sit down! And don''t you dare fight like this in front of your mother! Especially since she had a hard day making the dishes for us."


    Aaron calmed down, and he sat back down. Sam asked again, "So, what did you do that Ted decided to hit your face? Or, should I hear the details from him?"


    Aaron was silent, so Grandpa Sam gave up and looked at Ted. Ted replied casually, "He wants to propose to his girlfriend."


    Everyone gasped in surprise and looked at Aaron disdainfully. Uncle Jim asked in confusion, "Really? You just met her."


    "Yeah. But I love her." Aaron turned to Jim and spoke with an infatuated expression. Ted groaned and rubbed his face in exasperation. "She doesn''t have any respect for you or what you do. I can''t believe you''re this blind!" My dad scolded.


    "Why did you say that? She likes me too! And she treats me really well!" Aaron snapped back. "I think you''re just jealous of me!" He added.


    "Jealous of what? That you don''t have an ounce of self respect?" Ted snapped back.


    Grandpa Sam asked Ted, "Why did you say she doesn''t respect him?"


    "He told me that she wants him to search for a real job." Ted replied and added, "An office job!"


    Grandpa Sam''s opinion on Aaron''s girlfriend was lowered for a bit, "She doesn''t think that being a rancher is a good thing?"


    Aaron scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "That�C She might not really understand what we''re doing here. I�C I can exin it to her. I''m sure she''ll open her mindter on."


    As Maggie arrived at the stables, she was horrified to find Edward''s luggage cracked open, with his belongings strewn across the straw and muddied, and even chewed on by the horses. "Oh my god!" She eximed in bewilderment as she rushed to save the clothes, however, it was toote.


    "He''s going to kill me for sure!" She eximed fearfully as she collected Edward''s stuff before dragging it back to the house. "This is not the revenge I wanted!" She whispered in a pitiful manner.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    My mind felt a bit hazy, however, I was still conscious enough to hear the argumenting from outside of my room. Forcing myself to get out of bed, I rummaged my sling back with myptop in it, and took out a ck pill.


    It was one of the pill recipes in the alchemist book, which would help me manage my fever quickly. I swallowed the marble-size pill without any drink. I had to hit my chest with my fist because it was stuck on my throat, however, I managed to pass it down safely.


    Without even waiting for it to act up, I wore a tripleyer of jacket, more cold protection and went outside to join my family at the dinner table. As I was inching towards them, I heard the conversation between my dad and my uncle.


    Uncle Aaron was agitated, "When you know, you know!"


    My dad snapped back, "Just like you did with your ex-wife? How did that turn out?"


    "Hey! Melissa is not that devil! She''s kind, and affectionate... and uh..."


    "That''s it? That''s your big argument to propose to her? She''s kind, affectionate, and ''Uh''?" Aunt Maymented mockingly.


    "I''m sorry, but didn''t your husband knock you up 2 months into your rtionship?!" Uncle Aaron retorted back to Aunt May. Uncle Jim was in disbelief and said, "Why did I catch the heat too? I was silent the whole time!"


    Uncle Aaron apologized quickly to Uncle Jim, "Sorry. You guyse in packages."


    Aunt May ignored Uncle Aaron as she saw my figure. "Edward! Hi! Long time no see!" She greeted me cheerily with a huge smile on her face.


    Uncle Aaron also smiled and greeted me, "Ed! Finally! You''ll definitely be on my side."


    "I heard the arguments, and I''m definitely not on your side." Imented casually before I sat next to my dad. "Where''s the others?" I asked curiously.


    My grandpa looked at me and said, "Ed. Don''t push yourself. You should go rest."


    "Grandpa. I''m starving. Let me eat." I said jokingly, which eased up the mood around the dining table. Turning to my uncle, I asked, "Is this Melissa the same girl you slept with after you received my guidance? The one that looks like Marisa Tomei?"


    "Ed! You were the one who caused this?!" My aunt asked with disbelief. Even my dad has the same look as her as he turned towards me. My Uncle Jim snickered and said, "Can you teach me too�C"


    His wife red at him, which made him quickly shut up. I chuckled and said, "Why don''t you invite her to Thanksgiving dinner with us? Then, maybe, my dad and Aunt May could get to know her? Right now, they never really met her, so they don''t know why you''re acting this way."


    My uncle''s eyes lit up and he stood up immediately, "That''s right! I should invite her here!"


    My grandpa advised hurriedly before Uncle Aaron could go away, "Wait! I have no problem if you want to invite her, but ask your mother first."


    "Okay I will." Uncle Aaron nodded before he went to find my grandma. He bumped into Maggie as he walked away, and saw the condition of my luggage. "What did you do?!" He asked with extreme shock.


    Everyone turned to Maggie following Uncle Aaron''s outburst. My aunt widened her eyes in horror as she saw the condition of the luggage, and Maggie tracking mud into the house while pulling the luggage with her.


    She saw me and teared up, "Ed! I''m sorry! I didn''t expect this to happen."


    My eyes kept moving between the luggage and Maggie''s face as I processed the whole thing. I asked worriedly, "Was any of it saved?"


    Maggie''s voice cracked as she replied, "No."


    I slowly stood up from the chair and walked to my luggage. Maggie waited for my reaction anxiously. The table became empty as everyone went to check out the luggage''s condition. My grandma and Amy also returned at the moment, and were surprised to see the sight too.


    "Maggie, what did you do?" Amy asked usatively.


    "I didn''t do anything! It was the horses!" Maggie defended herself hurriedly. My head hurts too much for me to even care about my lost clothing right now. I turned to Maggie and whispered, "You realize I own you from now on, right?"


    Fortunately, I didn''t keep any important stuff inside the luggage, only articles of clothes. Although there were some branded shirts in there, I didn''t really care much as the brands would fight a war with one another to send me another batch of clothes.


    Maggie was startled and she bit her lips, eyes full of tears as she epted her fate.


    "Tomorrow, on ck Friday, you''re going to go to the mall, and rece all of the clothes." I gave my first order. "Before that happens, you''re going to do every single thing I ask you to do, no excuses."


    "But�C"


    "No Excuses!"


    "FINE!" She groaned in exasperation. I smiled in return and said, "So, now that everyone''s here, let''s eat!" My stomach grumbled as I was feeling quite hungry, and I walked to the dining table again casually.


    "Ed, you send your Uncle away." My dad chimed in after everyone followed suit and sat down on the table again.


    "Fuck." I cursed whisperingly as I watched the turkey getting colder and colder.


    ...


    Half an hourter, my uncle finally returned with his girlfriend. Confused by the sudden invite, she found herself being swept away by my uncle''s momentum, and suddenly, she was already here at the ranch.


    "Everyone. Meet Melissa." My uncle introduced her. I didn''t really care about the whole thing, and waited for grandpa to finish carving the turkey. I spent the first 15 minutes of the Thanksgiving dinner just gorging myself with the food before I joined in the conversation.


    Well, no one really talked, so I didn''t really miss anything. All that was said was just some perfunctory remarks like ''Is the food to your liking'' or ''Where are you from''.


    "So Melissa, you''re a teacher?" Aunt May was slowly trying to get into the topic, but I interjected and asked directly, "Hi Miss, we''re all kinda curious about why you told my uncle to search for another job?"


    "Ed!" My grandma tried to shut me up by pushing some yams into my mouth. But I swallowed them within 1 second. The curly short haired brte was taken aback and nced at my uncle with disbelief.


    "Um..." She stammered for a bit before she had a determined glint in her eyes. "I just think, that he can do much better than being just a ranch hand!"


    "Wait everyone! Don''t react yet." I interjected quickly, which halted my family''s reactions. I smiled and asked her, "What do you mean you can do better? You can speak honestly. And Uncle Aaron, keep your mouth shut."


    Her eyes shook for a bit before she replied to me, "I mean, he''s already 50. And he still doesn''t have his own ce�C Um..."


    I nodded in understanding and supported her point of view, "That is a valid point. He''s 50 and still living with his parents. It must be hard for you to show him off to others."


    "That''s right!" She replied sincerely, without thinking much. My grandparents, aunt, and my dad, realized that too, and their expressions softened.


    She added without thinking much, " I mean, if this rtionship wants to go somewhere, he needs to at least get his own ce."


    My grandpa suddenly chimed in, "He has his own ce. It''s 2 miles away from here."


    "Wait! He does? You told me you live on the ranch" Melissa looked at Uncle Aaron with disbelief. He looked at me and asked whisperingly, "Can I speak now?"


    "You can." I whispered back.


    "I am living on the ranch." Uncle Aaron replied to Melissa. Amy chimed in, "Thend is pretty big. We have multiple houses here. Even a guest resort."


    "Oh! I didn''t know that." Melissa replied with disbelief. "B-But, he...Um..." She tried to say something else, but stopped herself midway.


    Raising one of my eyebrows, I turned to Uncle Aaron and asked, "Did you give her the impression that you were poor or something?"


    "No? I don''t think I did?" Uncle Aaron replied with confusion. Still confused, Melissa asked Uncle Aaron, "Um, didn''t you tell me that you are struggling to make ends meet?"


    Everyone was confused and turned to Uncle Aaron, expecting an exnation. But he was confused too.


    "When did I say that�C Oh, that''s right. I did say something simr. I said, ''I have to work hard at the end of the month''. Is that it?" He finally figured it out.


    Grandpa Sam chuckled and said, "Is this right before the harvest time? Everyone is busy around harvest time."


    Melissa lowered her head bashfully, embarrassed by her presumptuous thoughts. My dad chuckled and teased his brother, "How in the world did youe to the proposal conclusion when this just proved that you''re not at the stage yet?"


    I nodded to my dad''s words before turning to him and said, "By the way dad, you and Frankie are way past that stage�C"


    "We''re talking about your uncle now." He stopped me quickly. Melissa was baffled when she heard that Uncle Aaron wanted to propose to her.


    "Why did you already think about that? It''s too soon!" She asked anxiously. Suddenly, she remembered something, "Is this because I let you put it in the butt��"


    Everyone spat what they were eating except for me. I chuckled and said, "Ah, the mystery of why he''s so smitten is finally solved."

 Chapter 278: Chaotic Thanksgiving (3-F)

    <h4>Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Chaotic Thanksgiving (3-F)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    After the Thanksgiving meal, all of the family members gathered in the living room to watch football while digesting the food.


    "Maggie." I called out and gestured at Maggie to massage my shoulders. She sighed and sat next to me, getting Amy to move away as she squeezed herself into the double seater couch, and massaged my neck badly.


    With my eyes condition getting cleared up by my dad, Maggie realized that she had been presumptuous in punishing me for something that was an ident. A strong feeling of guilt gnawed into her heart as she touched my skin, feeling the warm temperature of the fever.


    Dissatisfied by herck of skills, I gestured my hand into a ball, and moved it up and down. Maggie and Amy widened their eyes in disbelief, and Maggie''s face flushed red. She quickly shook her head, but I gestured again.


    "I''m not going to, um, give you a happy ending!" She whispered with an angry tone. Taken aback, I corrected her, "I''m asking you to hit my shoulders. What the hell are you thinking about?!"


    "OH!" She widened her eyes and became frustrated. She couldn''t even meet my eyes afterward. Amy felt d that she didn''t say anything and joined in to tease Maggie, "This proved that you''re the pervert in this house. Not him."


    "Shut up. I''m still mad at you too." Maggie admonished Amy. Feeling frustrated by Maggie''sck of skills, I stood up from the couch and said to my family members, "I''ll go to bed now."


    My grandmother quickly stood up, held my hand, and checked my forehead at the same time, "Your fever has gone down a lot."


    I smiled and said, "Your cooking must''ve cured me. A grandmother''s love must be the cure to all diseases in the world."


    Amy and Maggie rolled her eyes at my word. Amy kicked my leg slightly and scolded, "Kiss ass!"


    My grandma was ttered and said, "Such a sweet boy. But you still have to take your medicine. What do you want to eat tomorrow? Just tell me, I''ll cook anything you want."


    "Grandma, I''ll love everything you make." I said innocently again. Maggie made a revolting sound, and Amy gave a thumbs down while booing me. Grandma smiled widely and told Maggie, "Bring Ed to his room. I''m going to make a special drink for him, with chocte and marshmallow."


    Amy protested, "I want a special drink too."


    I told her, "Go stand in the snow for 5 hours and catch a fever, then you can drink it."


    "UGH!" She groaned in dissatisfaction, crossed her arms and leaned back on the couch. After getting to my room, Iid down on the bed instantly.


    "What are you doing?" I asked Maggie with a quizzical expression. Maggie was confused, "What?"


    "Go bring me more nkets. And grab myptop for me too." I ordered.


    She rolled her eyes and begrudgingly did it. Instead of giving me the bag, she took out myptop from it, even connected the charger for me. As I gotfortable on the bed, she ced multiple pillows on my back, propping me to sit up.


    "Why are you contacting people instead of resting?" She asked.


    I wiped my nose with a tissue and said, "If I can''t leverage my sickness to seed in a negotiation, then I''ll just be sick for nothing."


    Maggie looked at me in disbelief and retorted, "That''s not what being sick is for!"


    "That''ll be all for now, squire." I said before I waved dismissively at her. Annoyed, she scolded, "That''s it? I did all of that for you, and there''s not even a ''Thank You''?"


    "Gi is 1000 dors, Levis is 750 dors, Armani 200 dors, Nike sneakers 400 dors each�C"


    Before I could finish listing out all of the items I had lost, Maggie had run away from the room. I chuckled and mumbled, "Well, I didn''t buy them myself though."


    *drrr drrr drrr*


    The call rang for some time, but no one was answering it. Figuring out that the other party wasn''t avable, I called his granddaughter by her phone. Within 10 seconds, Haley picked up the call.


    "Hi Ed." She greeted me with a strained voice. "All of us just ate. I''m so full right now."


    "Grab yourptop." I chuckled as I asked. "I''m going to video call you."


    2 minutester, the call was finally connected. Everyone greeted me as they saw me. Haley ced me on the coffee table at the living room in Jay''s house�C where they all gathered for Thanksgiving today.


    She turned theptop for a moment. "Hi Edward!" The entire extended family greeted me. Finally, she stopped moving the camera.


    Haley was at the center of the screen, sitting next to her were Alex and Luke. Phil and ire stopped behind the couch and joined in the call. "Did you have a great Thanksgiving Ed? Why are you already in bed?" ire asked teasingly.


    With a sniffle, I said, "Oh, unfortunately I got a fever, so I can''t enjoy it too much."


    "A. That''s awful." The girls eximed with a sympathetic frown. I blew into a tissue even though my nose wasn''t runny, and made it seem like my fever was worse than it actually was.


    Haley asked with concern, "Did you eat your medicine yet?" Alex added, "Take both medicine for flu and for fever."


    "I have already eaten it. Thank you guys for worrying about me." I said with a tired smile. "Did you miss Thanksgiving dinner?" ire asked with an apologetic expression.


    "Oh no. I did eat the turkey." I replied. " But the mood is pretty weird. My dad and my uncle had a fight. My uncle even got bruised up. They had already made up for it."


    Phil was curious, "Why did they fight?"


    I shook my head and pretended to be confused, "I''m not clear about it. Apparently my uncle wants to propose to his girlfriend of 2 months, and it makes my dad mad or something cause he found out that my uncle only was doing it because she let him use the backdoor of her house?"


    "Huh?" Everyone was confused by my wording. "Ed, are you sure that''s why?" Phil asked in confusion. Mitchell and Cam immediately got it. Mitchell eximed, "OHHH!! They were�C"


    As everyone was looking at him, he immediately stopped his sentence. "They were what?" Alex asked in confusion.


    "Why does using her house''s backdoor make him want to marry her?" Luke asked. ire also realized it and stammered flusteredly, "Oh no. Um, Ed! Why did you buy a college?" She tried to change the topic, but Haley spoke.


    "Dad? What is it? You used the backdoor all the time."


    ire was bbergasted, "WHAT?!-- NO! Not all the time!"


    Cam whistled from afar, "Oh, so sometimes."


    ire red at Cam and warned him, "Don''t! They don''t understand it."


    Luke shouted to Jay, "Grandpa! Did you use the backdoor too?!"


    Jay, who just joined in the conversation, replied in ignorance, "I used the back door, the side door, the front door. I paid for the doors. I''ll use the doors."


    Gloria giggled and backed Jay up, also didn''t realize the subtext behind it, "Yes. Every night he''ll even check on the doors to see which one is open."


    Cam whispered to Mitchell, "Your family is more raunchy than I thought."


    "GLORIA!" ire immediately went to Gloria and Jay and whispered to her about the context. Gloria blushed and her mind nked out, "WHAT!?"


    "Oh geez!" Jay groaned in frustration and walked to the screen. He admonished me, "There''s no way you will not know what a backdoor is. You did that on purpose."


    "Huh?" I pretended to be confused again. "What is it? I really don''t get it."


    Haley whispered to Jay, "Grandpa, he has a fever."


    Jay widened his eyes slightly, and he thought that I was ignorant about it because my mind wasn''t working well because I was sick. "Oh." He eximed tly.


    Alex asked, "What is a backdoor?! I feel like there''s a hidden meaning behind it now!"


    Haley and Luke nodded, "Yeah. Us too." Manny turned to Gloria, expecting an answer too.


    "Ed! Did you watch the football game?!" Jay changed the topic immediately. "Or continue our discussion about the college construction."


    "Oh right. Now that I think about it, it''ll be unfair for me to ask you to be the head foreman. You live in California. The project is in Colorado. Even though you''re the only person with integrity and artistic ability that I believe in, I can''t do that to you." I said with an apologetic tone.


    "Who''s the person with artistic ability again?" Cam interjected in dissatisfaction.


    "Jay is. He''s an artist with his work. Otherwise, how did you think Pritchet''s closet became the number 1 leading closet brand in the country?" I said to butter Jay''s up.


    He smiled and said, "That''s kind Ed. But I''m still not going to be your head foreman. I could be a consultant, but I''m definitely not flying there."


    I grinned as I got what I wanted, "Consultant is it. Great. I''ll draft up the contract."


    Jay realized that he had fallen into the trap, "Damn it."


    ire interjected while giggling at her father''s misery, "Ed. Are you still working even though it''s a holiday, and you''re sick?"


    Haley grumbled and admonished me, "You should stay with your family!"


    I groaned and said, "What''s that? The signal isn''t that great�C"


    "We''re using yourwork. There''s no way the signal is bad." Alex interjected teasingly.


    "I can''t hear you." I pretended to cough heavily and said, "I need to rest. Goodbye everyone."


    Then, I cut the call immediately. "Robin, pull up the 3D render of the college." I ordered. Suddenly, I realized that I didn''t have the pen I wanted, and my bag was quite far from the bed.


    "MAGGIE!" I called.


    Maggie begrudgingly stomped her feet into the room a minuteter. I pointed at my bag, and she rolled her eyes as she picked it up and brought it to me. I said casually, "You know this can actually be avoided if you just bring me the bag in the first ce."


    "What are you doing�C ARE YOU WORKING?! SERIOUSLY!?" She scolded in a loud tone, even wanting to snatch theptop from me. I red at her as I picked myptop up, moving it away from her reach.


    "Did you forget you''re my bitch�C I mean ve�C Let''s go with Maid." I narrowed my eyes at her, my words made her gasp as she took offense. "Remember your ce, or else I''m getting the whip."


    "That''s really inappropriate." She grumbled. Then, she got curious as I took out my digital pen. "What are you doing?" She asked again, this time with curiosity instead of judgment.


    "I''m fixing the ws of the schools based on its blueprints." I said casually. As my hand moved swiftly and smoothly, sketching on the screen, Maggie became intrigued. She sat next to me, crossing her legs and leaning forward as she peeked on the screen.


    The design skill I got from Ted Mosby worked quite well. However, I didn''t think that this Ted Mosby is the same one from the show. The skill level was too high. It was high enough for me to imagine him as a 50 years old professor who kept upgrading his skills in architectural designs.


    While I was doing my work, Amy walked into the room too. "What are you guys doing?" Amy asked in confusion.


    "What are <strong><i>you</i></strong> doing?" Maggie turned back the question to her. Amy replied, "Grandma asked me to check if Ed is sleeping yet."


    "He''s not sleeping. And I don''t think anyone can make him go to bed." Maggie said with a smirk. Amy sat on the opposite side of Maggie and looked at theptop.


    "You''re drawing�C Ah, this is the college you just bought?"


    I turned to her in confusion and asked, "I''ve been meaning to ask this question, how in the world did you know?"


    "Hmm? It''s on the news, and it''s trending on social media. People said you''re an entric kid who just has too much money." Amy exined as she slowly wrapped a nket on her feet.


    As I looked at her weirdly, she shrugged and said, "My leg is cold. So did you really buy a college? For how much?"


    "Actually it was free." I replied with a smirk. "Robin, show the hidden department." I ordered, and the screen turned into the hidden room with the servers I had found the dead Russell Borchert in. He was animated in there too, so I quickly said, "Robin, remove the corpse."


    "Corpse?" Amy and Maggie were confused. Then, I told them about the treasure hunting adventure I had in that college. Amy''s eyes glittered in excitement, but Maggie''s was looking at me weirdly.


    "So you went Treasure Hunting, and became this...Um... VD''s heir?" Maggie asked in confusion.


    "Vice dean. Never simplify that to VD. Never simplify anything to VD." I told her sternly.


    Amy was curious, "What is VD? I saw that in FRIENDS '' tv show, but I don''t remember it."


    "Google it yourself." I replied with disbelief.


    Maggie waved her hand dismissively, "Never mind the treasure hunting, you said you went on a dateter on?"


    With a disdainful look on my face, I rebuked Maggie, "That''s what you''re interested in? I literally just told you a story about how I made millions effortlessly."


    She shrugged, "Yeah. But you''re already a millionaire. So it''s old news. But you, went on an actual date? Now that''s gossip. I want to hear it."


    "Well I''m not telling you." I retorted yfully. The three of us talked for quite some time. Before I realized it, I had fallen asleep, so did the two girls.


    Vader and Ace also joined in after their adventure in the snow, and they snuggled with us too on the small bed.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Shit...I forgot to find an on-site foreman..." Edward mumbled in his sleep. Grandma Jules stealthily walked into the room and checked on Edward''s temperature. She smiled and said, "His fever is gone."


    Watching her grandchildren sleep together on the same bed made her smile softly. "Just like when they were young." She mumbled to herself before giving all 3 of them a kiss on their forehead.


    Grandpa Sam was waiting for her in the living room and asked, "How is he doing?"


    "He''s fine now. But that doesn''t mean you can wake him up early tomorrow to work." Jules said yfully as she sat next to Sam.


    "Amy and Maggie slept in his room too?" Sam asked in confusion. Jules grinned widely and said, "Remember when Edward was 4 years old, and he had a fever? Maggie and Amy wouldn''t leave his side and cried so hard for us to let them sleep with him."


    "Yeah I remember. And then they fight each other again immediately after he feels better." Sam chuckled as he lost himself in the memories. It was only for 5 seconds before he got up and said to Jules, "Well, if he can walk, then he can work."


    "Don''t wake him up!" Jules replied in annoyance, shooting res at her husband, but then she giggled as she knew he was joking around.


    The next morning came quickly. Inside Edward''s room, a mustached shadow crept to the bed before pulling the nkets away from the trio, and 2 cats.


    "Rise and Shine!! Come on, we have work to do!" Sam announced mercilessly as the trio whined and groaned from the sudden wake up call.


    "It''s 4 in the morning. Let me sleep Grandpa. I need my beauty sleep." Maggieined whiningly.


    Edward groaned and said, "Show more pity to the patient."


    Amy said, "I don''t want to."


    "Wake up! Or there''ll be no breakfast for all of you." Sam threatened. "Ed, if you still feel sick, sweating it off from an honest day''s work will do good for you."


    Amy subconsciously wrapped her legs around Edward, "Grandpa, let Maggie do Edward''s work. She owes him the favor."


    "Nooo~~ Let me sleep." Maggie sobbed dryly as she hugged herself from the cold.


    Edward grumbled, but as his sleep was already disturbed, he decided to just wake up and follow his grandpa.


    Amy saw that Edward went willingly and criticized them, "Now we know why Ed works way too much. He must''ve gotten Grandpa''s genes."


    Maggie added, "They can''t live without working hard. Um, I''m going back to sleep�C"


    "Maggie! Go pick up some eggs for your grandma!" Sammanded before Maggie couldy down again.


    Time passed by quickly, and after almost 2 hours of work on the ranch, the family gathered together for breakfast. Aaron, Jim, and May weren''t at the ranch as May and Jim had gone home for the night, and Aaron went to have dinner with his girlfriend''s family today.


    Maggie initiated the conversation as they were eating breakfast, "Grandpa, Grandma, do you know Ed will act in a movie?"


    "Oh, what kind of movie?" Jules asked with interest. Edward replied, "A lewd one. I''ll be shirtless the whole time."


    "WHAT?!" Jules and Sam widened their eyes in shock. Ted looked at Edward with disbelief and said hurriedly, "He''s not doing that. He''s messing with you."


    Maggie giggled and said, "You should definitely do that Ed. Then, you canpete with thepeting movie."


    Edward ignored Maggie and told his grandparents, "It''s a rom. I''ll be ying a hateful character in it."


    "So you''re just ying yourself?" Amy chided. "I''m sorry, have you grown yet? Should we get you a kid''s table?" Edward shot back. Amy red at him and Edward looked coyly at her.


    "See, hateful." Amy said as she pointed to Edward while looking at her grandparents. Edward pretended that he was surprised by the allegations and waved his hands dismissively.


    The family burst intoughter, and shortly after that, Edward received a notification on his phone.


    "Oh, so she released it huh." He muttered casually.


    "Who, did what?" Maggie asked.


    "My ex. Releasing a diss song about me." Edward replied.


    "WHAT?!!" Amy and Maggie eximed at the same time.

 Chapter 279: Song about My Ex.

    <h4>Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Song about My Ex.</h4>


    [General POV]


    Thanksgiving Friday, or most likely known as, ck Friday. Although the frenzy of mega sales around the country has been getting news attention all morning, Taylor''s sudden music video released halted the shopping process of the shoppers for several minutes.


    The song ''Love U Hate U'' that she had yed for Edward in the party before, was made into a music video, and the reactions from the song was controversial.


    "{Feeling used, but I''m still missing you...And I can''t see the end of this...Just wanna feel your kiss against my lips...}"


    Lily, the leader of several Edward Newgate''s fanclub, and also the co-leader of the TayWard shippers, gasped in shock as she listened to the lyrics.


    "Did they break up?!" She muttered in concern. TMZ, the entertainment media focusing on celebrity gossip, quickly released an article about Edward and Taylor.


    The TMZ article headline read as; [Not Really A FairyTale? The shocking news about the controversial figure Edward Newgate and PopStar Taylor Swift.]


    The bacsh from the headline was tremendous, but as a parasitical news outlet that survives only based on celebrity gossip, the people at TMZ considered the article as a sess despite there being noments from the parties involved.


    "{And now all this time is passing by...But I still can''t seem to tell you why...It hurts me every time I see you...Realize how much I need you}"


    Taylor singing on the backdrop of the ocean, while looking mncholic, made her fans believe that she was the victim in the rtionship.


    "{I hate you, I love you, I hate that I love you, Don''t want to, but I can''t put,Nobody else above you, I hate you, I love you, I hate that I want you, You want her, you need her, And I''ll never be her}"


    Cece Cooper, daughter of Georgie Cooper, immediately scoffed as she heard the lyric, "So she''s just delusional then."


    In the music video, Taylor sat on the passenger seat of a car with the camera facing her from the driver''s seat, not showing the figure of the driver as the car rode through a desert.


    "{What about all the times, You would pick me up and we''d just drive, Around until we found a ce to stay and waste the day away, We''d do nothing but it was okay with me.}"


    As Cam and Mitchell watched the music video, Cam nodded in understanding and said, "They must''ve not been able to date properly given their status. It must''ve been stressful for them."


    Mitchellmented snarkily, "Especially for her. One wrong move and she''ll lose everything."


    This time, Taylorid down on her bed alone in a dark room, "{You say it''s not good to spend all my time, Thinking about you sote at night, But I can''t stop once I start it''s like an avnche, Thoughtsing and I just wanna hold your hand.}"


    In Annie''s apartment, Troy, Annie and Abed watched the music video together. Troymented, "She must''ve really loved him. That poor girl."


    Abed was confused and said, "If they were having an off again, on again rtionship, why did he date Annie?"


    Annie was also confused, but then she said, "Abed, maybe he just wanted to ease up the pain of heartache? Also, maybe, this is just a maybe, he...saw something in me?"


    Troy said dismissively, "Eh. That''s not it."


    "{All alone, I watch you watch her, Like she''s the only girl you''ve ever seen, You don''t care, you never did, You don''t give a damn about me! Yeah, all alone, I watch you watch her, She is the only thing you''ve ever seen, How is it you never notice, That you were slowly killing me}"


    As people listened to the ending of the song, most people had the same question in their mind.


    "Who is that girl Taylor''s referring to?"


    The music video received a lot of attention after it was released, and the song quickly climbed up the billboard top 100 songs. The music video was released on MTV, and people has been moring to get a response from Edward, or from Taylor who''s been keeping herments about this matter.


    In Taylor''s apartment, the blonde girl snickered as she thought about her ex''s reaction to the song being public. Holding her phone tightly in her hands, she waited for him to call or text her, but it was still silent.


    Selena, her best friend, suddenly yelped as she read the article on her phone. Turning to Taylor angrily, she said, "I told you not to do this!"


    "Why, what happened?" Taylor asked anxiously. Selena showed her phone screen to Taylor, and it showed a paparazzi photo of Selena and Edward at the festival they went to before.


    "They''re saying I''m the homewrecker! I''m the other girl!" Selena groaned disdainfully.


    Taylor was a bit taken aback, but then Selena yelped again. Taylor asked disgruntledly, "What now?"


    "Now it''s Hudgens. She''s getting med online too!" Selena said before she turned to Taylor, "You need to rectify this."


    Taylor''s eyes shook and she replied timidly, "I know. I will. Just as soon as he texts me."


    Her phone finally rang, and Taylor''s eyes lit up. As she saw Edward''s name on the text, her heart fluttered. Selena was also interested and stood by Taylor to peek at her screen.


    Taylor took a deep breath before opening the text. Her face fell in disbelief as she read Edward''s lines.


    Edward: Good Job on the music video! It''s a great song! (Winking face with tongue out emoji. Good Job emoji)


    "That''s...it?" Her hand shook angrily. Taylor threw the phone on the bed and screamed out loud in frustration while ruffling her own hair.


    "ARGHH! THAT BITCH!"


    Selena also fell in disbelief when she picked up Taylor''s phone and read the text. Suddenly, she flinched as another text came in, startling her.


    Taylor immediately stopped screaming and ran to the phone. Selena read the text for Taylor, " He said...Expect a return song, in a week?"


    Selena turned to Taylor, and saw she was smirking. Taylor huffed in satisfaction and flipped her hair back with her hand, "A week? He really fell off. Or, is it because he needs the song to be perfect�C"


    Before she could finish her sentence, Edward sent another text, "And don''t think it''s because I fell off or anything. I just have the SATs and the movie is filming next week. I''m just too busy."


    "That bastard!" Taylor grumbled in dissatisfaction and said to Selena, "Let''s go to thepany. It''s going to be a song duel! I need to meet Leo and work on the next song! I definitely can''t let him win!"


    "rify it first! I don''t want to be his mistress!" Selena eximed in exasperation as Taylor walked away. Taylor suddenly stopped and said seriously, "No. It''s better not toment on anything until I hear his song."


    Selena stomped her feet in dissatisfaction and said, "But I''m also implicated in this! Taylor!!"


    Taylor stopped walking, but not from Selena''s call. She thought of something and mumbled, "Wait. SATs? He''s taking the exam?...Did I release this at a bad time for him?"


    As she realized Edward''s busy schedule with his uing world tour, his very limited time to shoot the movie, and now, his SATs, a pang of guilt shot into her heart.


    She bit her lip and said, "Damn it. I should''ve checked with him first."


    Selena retorted as she caught up with Taylor, "It''s toote to regret it now! Now, <strong><i>unmake me as a mistress</i></strong>! "


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "Hmm, she''s not answering," I grumbled as I ended the call on my phone. Standing in front of a tree stump, I held an ax and affixed wood to the stump before cutting it into firewood.


    The wood cleanly split in two, and I cut it again so that it would split into two more pieces. The firewood needed to be restocked for the winter preparation on the ranch. Usually, my grandfather did this himself, but this year, I volunteered to do it for him.


    Sitting at the side were Maggie and Amy, gossiping about the song as they watched me cut the firewood.


    "Who are you calling?" Amy asked curiously, thinking that I was trying to reach Taylor.


    "My aunt Cam," I replied casually as I split another piece of wood. "I wanted to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving, but I haven''t been able to reach her since yesterday. I''m getting a bit worried."


    The work made me sweat for a bit. A huge wood pile had gathered next to the tree stump, and I kept splitting more wood. Cutting the wood became therapeutic, and I didn''t want to stop anytime soon. It has been an hour and a half since I started this.


    Sweat streamed down my face. Despite the snowy Wisconsin air, I took off my jacket and my shirt, leaving me only in my tank top. The muscles on my arms glistened with sweat, and for a moment, Amy and Maggie seemed mesmerized.


    Maggie shook her head, a hint of amusement in her eyes, and said, "Do you really need to take your shirt off?"


    "I''m hot. Literally." I replied with a teasing smirk. Amy rolled her eyes before she took out her phone, "Want me to record this for your Instagram page?"


    I thought about it for a bit and said, "I could post it in my story. Here, use my phone. Your camera sucks."


    "HEY! I was nice to you!" Amy retorted before she walked briskly to grab my phone from me. "Be quiet and don''t say anything. Ask Robin to use the 4k feature and use ASMR mode."


    "What?" Amy looked at me weirdly. I smirked and said, "Just follow Robin''s instructions."


    Even though she was confused, Amy held the camera obediently. Her eyes widened as she saw the quality of the camera and the filter Robin ced on it.


    "What the hell is this!?" She shouted in astonishment. Robin chimed in, "Please keep your voices down during the recording."


    I looked at her as Iughed at her reaction before getting back to chop off the wood. Half an hourter, my grandpa came back to my location and froze for a few seconds when he saw the sheer number of woods I had split.


    "Hmm...I think we''ll need 3 trips to bring this all back." He said as he looked at his hand wagon. I smiled apologetically at him as I loaded the chopped wood into the wagon.


    During lunch, my uncle Jim asked my dad, "You guys are going back tonight right?"


    Amy was startled and her spoon stopped before she could eat her food. "Tonight?"


    I nodded to her and said, "Yeah. I had to."


    "But you just came! And you were sick for an entire day!" Sheined. Since her sister had left Wisconsin and gone to California, Amy was left behind all alone. She had greatly missed the both of us and wanted to spend more time together.


    I smiled apologetically and said, "I''m sorry. But, why don''t youe to California with me? I''m not able to hang out much over there, but we can still hang out when I get back from work. Also, I''m going to a birthday party tomorrow. You shoulde with me too."


    Her eyes lit up and she looked at her parents quickly, "Can I?"


    Uncle Jim shook his head, "No�C Wait." Aunt May looked at him in confusion and asked, "Why are you hesitating?"


    "I mean, she''s going to visit her rtives. And the rtive owns a private ne." Uncle Jim said to Aunt May.


    "You''re not going Amy." Aunt May sighed in exasperation to Uncle Jim before she said that.


    "But mom!" Amy whined. Iughed and said, "Of course, I''m not only inviting Amy. Why don''t you alle by? All of you have the days off for another 5 days. Consider this a short vacation."


    Despite Grandma looking excited, Grandpa Sam replied first, "I cannot go Ed. I need to take care of the ranch."


    "You can hire some helping hands. And besides, I don''t think Uncle Aaron would want to go and leave his girlfriend''s backdoor�C"


    Maggie cupped her hand on my mouth, stopping me from continuing. My dad looked at me with disbelief before he smiled and said, "How about it? It''s just a short break dad. I''m sure the animals will survive."


    "Hmm..." Grandpa Sam fell into contemtion, but Grandma stood up immediately. "You think Sam! I''m going to pack up! Then, it won''t matter if you take too long to decide!"


    "You should go if you want to Jules." Grandpa Sam said with a smile. Grandma Jules pped his shoulder and said, "Not without you."


    Propping up my head with my hand, elbow on the table, I looked at my grandparents with a longing look. "Ahh, I want a rtionship like this too."


    Everyone burst intoughter from my remarks. After Amy used her cute attacks on my grandpa for a while, he finally decided to follow us along to California.


    "Don''t get me wrong. I''m just curious to see how you''ve been living and your new home." Grandpa Sam said with a fake cough.


    ''Tsundere?'' The thought shed my head for a bit but I quickly brushed it off.


    "What about Ace?" Grandpa Sam asked.


    I replied, "I already have a permit to keep her at my house."


    Grandpa Sam was startled. His voice shook in an almost imperceptible manner, "You know what? It''ll be too suffocating for Ace to live in the mansion. Here, she can hunt coyotes, adventure in the mountains, and help take care of the ranch."


    "Grandpa, are you by any chance, attached to Ace?" I asked with a smirk. My grandpa coughed in embarrassment. I continued, "But then, I really only met her for a short time before we decided to adopt her. You were the one taking care of her all this time. It''ll be quite cruel of me to pry her away from you."


    "Not�C Hmm, I guess you saw through me Ed." Grandpa Sam decided to give up and called for Ace.


    Ace and Vader came to the living room. The ck furred Jaguar and the ck cat were ying together nonstop since we got here. Ace went to grandpa and rested her head on his knee. Vader climbed up my pants and shirt before standing on my shoulder.


    "I thought that I only needed to take care of her for you at first. But, I''vee to love this giant...cat." Grandpa Sam said while scratching Ace''s head.


    I smiled in understanding and said, "No need to feel guilty grandpa. Ace is your girl. She belongs with you." I could sense Ace''s feeling too as she looked at me. In my long absence, she had be attached to my grandpa too and was reluctant to go with me.


    Uncle Jim, Aunt May, Amy, Grandma and Grandpa, all followed me back to California. It was the first time for them to be in a private ne. Grandma was excited to see everything, but Grandpa just sat on the seat and drank some whiskey.


    Maggie looked at Amy smugly, acting as if she was looking at a countryside girl, forgetting the fact that she too reacted the same way when she first got into the ne.


    After a 5 hour flight, we all finally reached California.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Saturday morning, Dunphy''s house. An infallible castle was set up in the frontwn, together with a rock climbing wall, and a zip line.


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    Phil said, "Every year, Luke''s birthday falls, right around Thanksgiving, and so it gets lost in the holiday shuffle."


    ire added, "One year we forgotpletely, and we had to improvise a cake made of stuffing."


    Phil waved his hand dismissively, "Which, by the way, he was fine with. He''s one of those kids,you get him a gift and all he wants to dois y with the box."


    ire nced at Phil for a second, "Yeah, one year we actually just got him a box, a really,.. nice box."


    Philmented sadly, "And we made the mistake of putting it in a gift bag."


    ire was also feeling depressed, "So he yed with the gift bag."


    Phil said, "We can''t get it right."


    "No." ire agreed with him.


    Phil became ted after a while and said, "But this year, we''re pulling all of the stops!"


    ire also grinned and said, "This year, I have a very good job, and Phil has been having a really great year with his real estate sales�C"


    "We''re going to throw the best birthday party a 10 years old boy ever hoped to be!"


    [Commentary ends]


    Luke ran to the front yard and stopped in front of Phil and ire. "What time is it?" He asked.


    ire smiled and bent over slightly to meet Luke''s eyeline, "Honey, the party won''t be starting for another 2 hours. Your friends wille by at that time."


    "I don''t care about that. I just hope Ed can make it." Luke said innocently before he ran to y. Phil and ire looked at each other worriedly.


    Phil whispered, "Will hee?"


    ire replied with a whisper too, "I don''t know. He has a line reading with the cast of the movie today. I don''t know if he can make it."


    While the spouse was talking, a man walked towards them. "Hello! It looks like a carnival here!"


    Phil immediately turned as he recognized the voice. "Dad!"


    "I''m here!" Luke''s grandfather, Frank Dunphy (Fred Wird) greeted the duo with open arms. ire hugged Frank for a moment before asking, "I thought you cannot make it."


    "There''s no way I''m going to miss my grandson''s 10th birthday party. Even your mother is here." Frank said as he pointed to his back.


    In Entertain, the line reading for the movie was held inside a big meeting room, and the entirety of the session was being recorded. Edward nced at Emily Blunt, Ryan Gosling, and also Vanessa Hudgens before he read his line.


    The purpose of the line reading was to build chemistry with the other actors, and also for the actors to explore their characters more deeply. Edward checked his watch a few times as he continued the line reading.


    He thought secretly, ''I hope that I can make it.''

 Chapter 280: Fizbo (1)

    <h4>Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Fizbo (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Um, I have a question." Vanessa asked as we read our lines. Wearing a shoulderless shirt and a short skirt, she shyly raised her hands up to avoid disturbing the others who were in heated discussions, especially Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt who were trying to nail their chemistry for the characters.


    Judd Apatow turned to her and smiled, "Yes?"


    "I''m still confused as to why I''m a nurse. Isn''t that perpetuating the Filipino stereotype?" She asked in a joking manner. Judd turned to me and called, "Yeah Edward. Isn''t that perpetuating stereotypes?"


    I scoffed at the director before turning to Vanessa, "It is a stereotype. A good one. We reinforce good stereotypes and avoid bad ones. Like ''Me so horny'' for the asian woman tropes. Or,... do you <i>want</i> something like that?"


    She raised her hand towards me and grumbled, "No! I''ll be a nurse, <i>thank you very much</i>!"


    As Judd and I chuckled, Judd asked curiously, "I''m still not convinced about this, are you really able to get George Lucas to allow us to use his set?"


    I smirked and casually said, "I even negotiated with him to use a scene from Star Wars. Tom Ryder�C RG''s character, needs some name recognition in the universe if we want to say that he''s a big movie star there. George owes me, so he''s letting me use that."


    Vanessa suggested, "You know, he could release some albums too. N-Not really releasing it, but you know, in that movie..."


    Ryan Gosling heard the suggestion and chuckled, "That''ll be pretty fun."


    Paige and Judd took note of the suggestions before Judd said, "Although it''s really in his character to do that, we don''t think that his brother will let him."


    As the brother character was my character, I knew him best so I said, "He''ll stop it if it doesn''t get up to standard."


    Judd suddenly got an idea and became excited, "Ooh! He could''ve made some videos behind his brother''s back, but was stopped by Colt (The brother) before it could be released, just like his highly sensual homoerotic film."


    Vanessa was astonished when she heard thest sentence. "Wait, did I miss something?" She began checking back the script with an excited expression. "I only just read my part." She added shyly.


    Rolling my eyes at Vanessa, I rubbed my chin and said, "It could be a point of conversation between him and Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). That''s when we could start to change people''s perspective on him. ''<i>Turns out, there''s more to this guy than a narcissistic prick after all.''</i> And we can use the song to market the movie when it hits theaters."


    "Wait, is this really happening?" Ryan asked with disbelief as he looked at me, his lips curled upwards in excitement.


    I joked, "Congrats. You''re now a singer too. But we still need to have specifics. Will he be in a Boy Band? Emo Band? Country? Metal? Honestly, I''d really love to see you sing in an emo band."


    Emily interjected teasingly, "I''d really like for it to be heavy metal."


    Juddughed and said, "Boy band... sounds kinda good. But, it''ll be better if the song can be both funny, and good. It doesn''t even have to be a masterpiece. As long as it fits the theme of the story."


    I rubbed my chin for a while as I thought about it. "Hmm...I may be able to make one or two songs today."


    "TODAY?!" Emily suddenly widened her eyes and stood up. As everyone turned towards her in shock, I nodded in confusion and replied casually, "..Y-Yeah? Today so we can n out the other things. I mean, if I have an instrument, I could give you guys a sample�C"


    Judd, Paige and Vanessa stood up and volunteered at the same time, "I''ll get the guitar."


    "WAIT!" I stopped them immediately. "I have a birthday party to go to now." I tried to exin, but Judd had already rushed off to get the guitar, "Wait here Ed! Don''t leave!"


    "You have a birthday party?" Ryan asked after Judd left. I turned towards him and said, "Yeah, wannae?"


    Vanessa interjected quickly, "It''s a kid''s 10th birthday party."


    "OH!" Ryan slightly widened his eyes. "I think I''ll just stay here and familiarize myself with the script."


    "Your loss. Emily?" I turned to the actress. She smiled softly and said, "I''m also going to study the script."


    "Ouch!" Hudgens mocked yfully before sheughed. I smirked devilishly and said, "I guess you''re excited to start your 10 hours long choreo practice today."


    Flinching slightly, Hudgens'' eyes shook and she said, "Wait. NO!"


    Judd ran back to the meeting room with a guitar. As he gave it to me, he panted heavily, even holding his back as he tried to catch his breath. "I...Well...I''m going to sit."


    Holding the guitar properly, I said, "Okay, the song starts like this..." Everyone held their voices as they looked at me.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Mitch and Cam''s house. Phil came by to borrow some stuff for the party. He needed to get back in time to meet the reptilian party hire representative that would being over to the house soon.


    "See you in a few hours." Mitchell said with a smile. Phil checked the cord for the machine as he stood at the front door. Mitchell was in front of him, and Cam was in the kitchen.


    "Yeah. Thanks again for the karaoke machine." Phil smiled innocently. "I''ll get it back to you right after the party." He promised.


    "That''d be great." Cam replied.


    Mitchell whispered to Phil without Cam realizing it, "Please don''t. I beg you. Don''t bring it back."


    "Okay." Phil nodded as he dodged the request.


    "Hey, Phil. Are, uh, you getting a clown for today?" Cam asked suddenly as he ced down his washed te.


    Phil''s face paled instantly. His eyes were full of fear. He replied with a shaky voice, "Oh, no. L-Luke''s not...much of a clown fan."


    "Really?" Cam asked with a slight disbelief.


    "Yeah. He never liked ''em." Phil answered seriously.


    "Has he ever seen a good one?" Cam asked again.


    "Has- Has anyone?" Phil replied dodgingly, and he took a step back to exit the door in a hurry. " So anyway, thanks again." Phil said before he rushed out of the house.


    "Okay. Yep. See youter." Mitchell replied casually as he closed the door before going to sit at the sofa.


    Cam stomped into the living room, following Mitchell before he could get there. "No clown? No- No clown?" Cam asked incredulously.


    "Let it go." Mitchell sighed wearily as he sat down on the sofa, grabbed his tea cup and read the screen of hisptop.


    "Who throws a <strong>party </strong>without a clown?" Camined.


    Mitchell took a sip of his tea before replying sarcastically, "Since thete ''30s, I''d say most people."


    Cam contemted before asking, "You know what?We haven''t gotten Luke a present yet. Maybe a clown could be our present."


    Mitchell quickly curbed his excitement, "Cameron. Cameron. If Phil and ire


    wanted to get Luke a clown, they would''ve. This is not our party."


    Cam''s face fell, "But-"


    "This is not our party." Mitchell rified again.


    "But I just- Fine. What would you suggest we get him then, hmm?" Cam asked in defeat.


    Mitchell turned to Cam with a smirk and said, "Wow, I really thought you were going to fight me in this. I guess being thrown into a pool does that to you."


    Cam got annoyed and said, "That''s a ss act.Everything was nned! Anyways, what should we get Luke?"


    "Get him a gift card." Mitchell replied dismissively.


    "A gift card?" Cam couldn''t believe his ears.


    "Yeah." Mitchell nodded as he sip his tea and did his work casually. Cam looked at Mitchell with disbelief and pity, "Who hurt you?" Mitchell gave a side eye to Cam before continuing his work. As he felt he was getting judged there, he stood up and said, "I''m going to go shop for Luke''s present. Do you want toe with me?"


    Cam shook his head and said, "Lily had just fallen asleep, I think I''ll sit this one out. You had to do this without me."


    "Alright." Mitchell agreed easily before he walked to the door. Before he left, Cam shouted, "And don''t buy Luke a gift card!"


    Mitchell paused for a bit before he disappeared.


    -Dunphy''s house, on the streets.-


    Phil stood in front of a van with safari decorations on its exterior. A young woman in her 20s, with a tattoo on her neck, wearing a safari outfit, stood in confrontation with Phil as she tried to convince him to hire her for the party.


    "For something a little extra special, I also bring along a scorpion named Stinger. He''s a real showstopper! He''s got this amazing glow-in-the-dark exoskeleton, and he''s super docile." Tanya said with a smile, slightly sweating from her forehead.


    Phil shook his head resolutely, "No, no, no. I want the most dangerous reptile you''ve got!" Inside his mind, Phil was imagining a reptilian show straight out of a fantasy novel, and he didn''t even realize how wrong his imagination was.


    Tanya said quickly, "I have an iguana that eats crickets."


    Phil quickly retorted, "That''d be scary if it was a birthday party for crickets!" He pointed at the girl, "Seriously, Jungle Tanya, I need you to step it up a notch. Is there anything that scares the cocoa out of you?"


    "Paying my rent this month?" Tanya mumbled. "What was that?" Phil asked in confusion.


    She shook her head and got back to the conversation, "Uh, not really. I do have a bearded dragon."


    Phil became excited, "Ooh. Does it-"


    "No, it does not breathe fire." Tanya interjected with a disappointed look.


    Phil eximed in frustration, "Well, then we''re back to square one, aren''t we?"


    Despite all the inquiry, Phil finally hired Tanya for the party, which made her break out into a huge smile. She hopped slightly, "Yes!"


    Phil showed a fatherly smile and said, "Alright, I''m taking a chance with you. So give them all a great performance. You can set up your stage in the living room."


    "Thank you!" Tanya said quickly, fearing that Phil would change his mind and turned to the reptiles, "Okay you guys! We have a job to do! We''re going to give Luke the best show ever!"


    One green lizard looked at her while the rest didn''t even bother to move.


    Phil was busy finalizing the party rental details when ire emerged from the back of their car,den with party favor supplies. As she crossed the front yard, Haley and Alex intercepted her in the path, their faces a mix of annoyance and amusement.


    Haley, squinting against the sun, grumbled and exposed, "Mom! Alex invited his boyfriend to the party without even asking you first!"


    Alex, taken aback, shot back, "What? You did that all the time!" Alex nced at ire''s eyes warily, and cursed Haley inside her heart at the same time.


    ire sighed, her voice patient but firm. "Alex, I''m not going to say who you can or cannot invite to your own party. But, with all the awesome stuff we''ve got here, I guess you had to call him over to y, huh?"


    Feeling pretty proud of herself for the awesome party she had nned out, ire even decided to try out some of the games herself.


    Alex sighed in relief and said, "Yes. That''s right. He''s justing over to y."


    Haley scoffed, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, she invited him over to y <i>with her tongue</i>."


    Alex, defensive, blurted out, "We''re not going to make out!"


    Haley''sughter was a mixture of amusement and mockery. "Everyone knows that''s why you invited him. Mom and Dad will be busy with the party, so it''s the perfect opportunity to sneak into your room and have some fun..."


    Haley''s eyes widened as she realized she''d gone too far when she met ire''s bbergasted gaze.


    ire and Alex stared at her, a mixture of bewilderment and apprehension on their faces. ire, her voiceced with anxiety, pressed, "Haley! Did you use the chance to sneak out your ex-boyfriends to your room?!"


    Haley, scrambling to deflect the usation, blurted out, "What? No! I- I heard it from Tara... Yes, from Tara." She scurried away, leaving ire and Alex staring after her.


    ire was dumbfounded, and then she said, "Alex, Finneas cane, but he''s not to step even one foot inside the house."


    Alex sighed and said, "That''s fine. We still have the garage."


    "WHAT?!" ire panicked and turned to Alex quickly. Alex giggled and said, "It''s a joke."


    Luke ran to the duo, heavily sweating from all of his ying around. ire put down her bags and held Luke by his shoulder, "Oh honey. I think you need to take a shower and change your clothes. The guests will arrive soon."


    Luke smiled and said, "But, I''m still going to y when theye. I''ll take a shower for nothing if I do it now. Is Edward here yet? He promised toe."


    ire was a bit taken aback, but Alex giggled and said, "He''ll definitelye if he says he''sing. There''s no way he''s going to miss this. But, he might hide ande incognito to avoid trouble. I''ll tell him to text me when he''s here."


    Luke nodded and before he could run away again, ire held her shoulders tightly and said, "Go take a shower and change your clothes. Now."


    "But�C"


    "Now!" ire said assertively and firmly. Luke groaned and obediently went inside the house. "I''m taking a shower but I''m not going to use soap!" He shouted rebelliously.


    Alex chuckled at Luke''s misery but her smile faded when ire said, "Pick up the bags. You''re helping me at the art and crafts table."


    "What?!" Alex was taken aback, but did it anyway, even though she wasining, "Who sets up an art and crafts table at a party?!"


    Behind Alex and ire, a crew of people were inting a bouncy castle, and another team was setting up a zip line for the kids.


    Back to Cam and Mitch''s house.


    Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Cam picked up the white paint and contemted hard as he looked at himself.


    ''I couldn''t get Luke out of my mind.'' Cam monologues inside his mind. ''I know I made a promise to Mitchell, but some things are bigger than promises. Fizbo would be at that party.''


    He opened the paint lid and dipped his fingers inside the paint. Then. he smeared it underneath his eyes.


    Cam inhaled sharply and greeted his reflection, "Hello, old friend."


    Mitch finally returned after an hour. As he opened the door, he said, "I''m home. I got Luke a video game, but it''s about math.So I guess we''re those kind of uncles�C Cam..."


    Mitchell froze in his steps as he saw a clown walking towards him. "Don''t be mad." Fizbo, Cam''s clown alter ego, held his hands up high to appease Mitch.


    "Cam, I thought we discussed this." Mitchell said in disappointment.


    "We did. But I- I started thinking. And this isn''t about you or me. This is about a little boy who deserves some happiness." Cam tried to defend his actions.


    "And he''s gonna get that from his weird gay clown uncle?" Mitchell said sarcastically.


    Cam got a bit angry and said defensively, "Fizbo is not gay. He''s asexual."


    "Oh." Mitchell eximed with disbelief, he couldn''t even look straight at Cam.


    Cam added, "He''s an innocent whose only drive...is to bring people joy andughter


    and balloon animals. He''s- He''s the least sexual being on earth."


    "Oh, okay. Well, at least we agree on something." Mitchell insulted.


    "Yeah." Cam breathed in relief, but as he thought back on what Mitchell said, he eximed in realization, "Oh."


    Mitchell shook his head in disappointment before he said helplessly, "Well, I don''t think I can make you change. So I''ll pick up Lily and then we''ll go."


    Entertainpany building, meeting room.


    "So, is that song good enough for the movie?" Edward asked with a slight anxiousness in his voice. As the time got closer, he couldn''t even sit still as he yed the song for the director.


    Judd Apatow rubbed his chin as he thought about it, "Well..."


    Edward stood up abruptly and said, "You can take your time to think about it. Discuss it with the others too. I actually have to go now if I want to make it to the party."


    "Alright Alright. Go." Judd waved his hand helplessly. Edward smiled and said, "I''ll make sure to bring you a slice of cake."


    "If the cake is good, then yes. If it''s meh, then no." Judd responded.


    Edward finally left the meeting room in a hurry. He rushed to Amy who was hanging out with Maggie at the pantry and asked them, "Did you guys pick up what I asked?"


    Maggie nodded and smiled, "Yeah. It''s inside the car."


    Amy massaged her shoulder and said, "You need to pay us back more�C"


    "We''ll negotiate in the car." Edward stopped the conversation quickly. "There''s going to be a traffic jam at the hour. I''ll be runningte if we continue talking here. Let''s go."


    "Wait, me too?" Maggie widened her eyes as Edward grabbed both her and Amy''s wrist before pulling them toe with him.


    "Of course, who''s going to hang out with Amy when I''m climbing the rock wall?" Edward teased.


    Amy nodded in agreement, "Yeah Maggie. It''smon sense."


    "It''smon sense Maggie." Edward joined in to tease. Maggie rolled her eyes and gave up, "Fine! I''ll go to the stupid party."


    Suddenly, Edward stopped and released Maggie''s hand. He got a text message, and as he checked the content, he said, "You know what? You don''t have to go if you don''t want to. My other friends will be there so Amy can hang out with us."


    Edward left Maggie''s behind and walked away with Amy. Maggie blinked her eyes twice as she stood there motionlessly. Then, she eximed, "Just like that, I''m thrown away? But...I actually want to go!"


    She whined, but Edward was already gone. Amy and Edward left hurriedly. Everyone was already at the party by the time he started his journey. However, a mile away from the Dunphy''s house, Edward suddenly stopped the car.


    Amy turned to him in confusion, "What are you doing?"


    Edward struggled as he squeezed into the back seat from the driver''s seat. Amy pushed his legs away angrily as it almost hit her face, "HEY! Watch it!"


    "Amy, close your eyes. I''m going to be nude here. I''ll change my clothes for a sec." Edward said as he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his bare, muscr torso.


    Amy let out a startled yelp as she caught a glimpse of Edward in the rearview mirror. Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly covered her eyes with her hands, turning her head forward inside the car. "Can''t you do that when we''re actually there?" she grumbled, her voice muffled by her hand.


    Edward chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "No can do, my dear. Rx, I can change my clothes fast enough."


    Amy waited, humming along to the radio, her eyes still closed. A momentter, Edward returned to the driver''s seat, prompting her to remove her hand.


    Her eyes widened in disbelief as she took in Edward''s attire. "What are you even wearing?" she eximed, her voiceced with confusion.


    Edward, sporting a top hat, a masquerade ball mask, a bright blue jacket, and white gloves, beamed at her. "I''m a magician," he dered, his voice a yful baritone.


    He tossed a handful of confetti in her direction, the colorful bits raining down on her head. Amy groaned, her annoyance evident and she grumbled in disappointment, "I can''t believe I ever thought you were cool."

 Chapter 281: Fizbo (2)

    <h4>Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Fizbo (2)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    After getting out of the car, Amy and I walked towards the rock climbing area, leaving the presents inside for now. I was trying to avoid stealing the spotlight from Luke, that''s why I disguised myself as the magician.


    It was Luke''s birthday party, and he was supposed to be the center of attention. I, Edward Newgate is the most famous person within the group of 7-18 year olds through a recent poll, so showing up as myself would definitely steal the spotlight. Even though Luke wouldn''t mind, I''d still feel ufortable if I ruin his party.


    "Ahh...AaaA<strong>AaaAAA</strong>," I practiced to change my voice. I added 2 pitches higher to my normal volume, and added in a little bit of bass. I was also sporting a blonde wig and a fake mole on my chin for good measure other than my magician costume. Part of me was curious to see if anyone would recognize me like this.


    Amy, in her shiny sequin vest, looked ufortable as she followed me. She grabbed my coat tail and stopped me. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I''m just meeting these people today!"


    I smirked, turning my disguised face behind the masquerade mask to her. "Don''t worry, just follow my lead. You''re usually pretty good at creating chaos, don''t get cold feet now."


    Amy grumbled, "I guess I can... My sister isn''t the only actress in the family. I''m even better than her at acting! But I don''t want to act in your <i>shows</i> though."


    I scoffed, "And I don''t even want to hire you." She gasped offendedly and kicked my shin, however, her feet missed as I lifted my leg up, which made her almost do a split on the concrete. "Ow!" She eximed as she grabbed her inner thigh, face contorting from the pain.


    I chuckled and mumbled, "Dumbass."


    As we reached the rock wall, I saw Luke climbing the wall, and Phil waiting for him on the ground.


    As Luke reached the top, Phil shouted encouragingly, "Great job, buddy. Nowes the fun part. Rappel down."


    Luke hesitated as he turned to look at the ground, "It''s really high."


    Phil pointed his finger at Luke and said, "You have nothing to fear but fear itself..." He turned to the floor and whispered, "..and the concrete."


    Amy and I almost burst intoughter when we saw it. Phil turned to Luke again, "But I''m right here, buddy." He raised his arms up, getting ready to catch Luke.


    "Okay, just catch me." Luke said before he jumped down the ropes. Suddenly, a fat clown appeared beside Phil, prompting him to retreat quickly in fear. Luckily, the staff for the rock climb was alert at all times, and he made Luke descend by himself slowly.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "I am brave. Roller coasters? Love ''em. Scary movies? I''ve seen Ghostbusters,like, seven times. I regrly drive through neighborhoods... that have only recently


    been gentrified. So yeah, I''m pretty much not afraid of anything..."


    mentary ends]


    Cam, as Fizbo the clown, entered the party merrily and said, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, everybody! Quit your clownin'' around everybody! That''s my job." Cam chuckled like a clown, and danced a bit. The kids who saw him ran towards him immediately, cheering at the same time, including Luke.


    Phil froze and had his back behind a bush as he stared at Cam while breathing heavily.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "...Except clowns. Never shared that with the fam, so... shh." Phil gestured to keep this a secret and added with a fake smile, "Do have an image to maintain. Um, I am not really sure where the feares from."


    "My mother says it''s because when I was a kid, I found a dead clown in the woods, but who knows?"


    [Phil''smentary]


    Cam walked to Luke and said gleefully, "Hey. Oh. Well, you must be the birthday boy."


    "Wow. Is that you, Uncle Cam?"


    Camughed like a clown again and said, "No. I''m Fizbo the clown. I don''t know who this Uncle Cam is, but he sure sounds handsome, doesn''t he? Hey, who likes balloon animals?"


    The kids shouted at the same time, jumping and raising their arms up, "I do! I do!"


    Phil chanted at the side, "It''s just Cam. It''s just Cam. It''s just Cam. It''s just Cam."


    Mitchell, who followed Cam from behind, walked to the party carrying Lily in the car seat, and saw Phil glued to the bushes. He asked concernedly, "You all right?"


    Phil snapped back to reality, "What? Yeah. Just have kind of plicated rtionship with clowns."


    Mitchell said, "Well, join the club."


    "I''m going to go�C" Before Phil could run away, I stood in front of him and said, "Greetings Muggles! I''m Ed�C As, the magnificent! A Magician!" I bowed slightly, tipping my magician at him at the same time.


    Phil''s initial fear dissipated quickly, and he broke into a grin, "What? I didn''t hire a magician?!"


    Phil and Mitchell couldn''t recognize me, which made me grin. However, Lily, the toddler, was eyeing me suspiciously, which made me gulp my saliva.


    "I''m here for Luke Dunphy''s birthday party. Am I in the right ce?" I pretended not to know them as I asked the question.


    Mitchell was a bit skeptical and asked, "It is, but who sent you here?"


    "Oh, I''m hired by Mr Newgate." I replied with an innocent look. Phil widened his eyes in excitement and said, "Edward hired you?"


    I shook my head, which made them disappointed. Then, I replied, "Mr Theodore Newgate hired me." I widened my eyes and said, "Wait, is Theodore Newgate, Edward Newgate''s family?! That old grouch?"


    Mitchell chuckled, his initial wariness had gone away as he saw my reaction. He said, "Yeah. It''s pretty shocking right?"


    Phil cleared his throat and said, "Okay As, even though you''re hired by Ted, I need to assess your capabilities first. You might not know this, but I too, dabble in the mystic art�C"


    My empty right hand went behind my ear, and I pulled out a Teddy bear from it. Phil widened his eyes and eximed, "HOW?!"


    "A magician never reveals his secret." I said as I gave the teddy bear to Lily. She burst intoughter and hugged it tightly. "So, can I set up my stage now?" I said as I turned to the duo.


    "Y-Yeah of course! Um, the thing is, I promised Jungle Tanya to give her some time to get ready. You can go after her." Phil stammered before he agreed.


    "I don''t mind that." I said casually. "Can we have some cakes though?" Amy blurted out


    Phil smiled and said, "Of course! We already cut the cake! Um, wait, As, I see that you didn''t bring many tools for your trick. I have some in the garage. Do you want to use that?"


    "Oh, I''ll take a look, after we eat the cake." I said assertively as I knew Amy was pretty hungry.


    Phil smiled in understanding as he too saw Amy''s frown and said, "Okay, let''s go in first. I''ll show you where the cake and the stage is."


    We walked in front of the bouncy castle, but the crowd of husbands gathering there made all of us curious, so we stopped to take a look. Jay also came out from the house, having the same reaction as ours.


    "Oh hey guys, what are we watching?" He asked happily as he saw the dad''s crowd. His eyes followed their gazes, and found his new wife, Gloria, jumping up and down the bouncy castle.


    "Aw, geez, Gloria." Jay eximed immediately.


    "Jay, look! I go high! Look! Look!" Gloria shouted cheerily as she jumped. The figure of her bouncing there was mesmerizing for all the men.


    Jay grumbled and scolded the dads, "Guys, hit the road. Come on. You''re family men.


    Come on. Scat." He chased them away angrily, however he soon saw Phil and I.


    "Not you too!" He scolded Phil.


    "What happened? I couldn''t even see it yet?" Phil replied honestly. A tall father was blocking his view beforehand, so he missed the sweet scene. Jay''s gaze stopped at me, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.


    I smiled innocently and asked, "Are you the patriarch of the family?"


    "No! I am." Phil quickly turned to me and rified.


    "What?" Jay became confused, and his suspicions of my identity were gone. After the initial introduction by Phil, Jay asked me, "Kid, how old are you?"


    "16. And my cousin here is 12." I said as I pointed to Amy.


    "I''m 14!" Amy corrected me angrily and tried to hit me, but I grabbed her head, stopping her from reaching me. "Can we hurry? The little beast will be much angrier the longer she''s kept hungry."


    Jay chuckled and said, "The cake''s inside."


    Finally, we got some lunch. There''s a lot of food there inside the house, and I picked up a slice of fruit. Haley was standing near the foodstand with Alex, watching Jungle Tanya doing her show from afar.


    "Um, we''re going to start the show. Where is the birthday boy?" Tanya asked around, but the kids there also didn''t know where Luke was. Manny, who was sitting on the sofa with Bianca Dous, the girl who has a crush on him, volunteered, "I''ll call him."


    "Manny! I''lle with you." Bianca said before she followed Manny with a giggle.


    [Manny''smentary]


    "I had a crush on her, so I tried out Ed''s advice in talking to girls. It worked, but right now, I feel smothered by her clinginess. Maybe I should get a new one." The slimmer, broli-haired Manny said smugly.


    [Commentary ends]


    I smirked as I saw Alex and Haley, intent on teasing them while in disguise.


    "Oh hey Ed," Haley greeted coyly.


    "You finally here, Edward," Alex grumbled and scoffed.


    I was confused and froze in my steps. "Wait, how did you guys know?" I asked, befuddled.


    Haley and Alex giggled, and then Haley greeted Amy, "Hey! It''s nice to finally meet you." They held each other''s hand and jumped giddily.


    I was shoved to the side, and I took the chance to ask Alex, "How?"


    Alex knew what I was referring to and said, "Hm, Amy is friends with Haley on Instagram. Haley saw her story that you guys areing here together, so we know."


    "Ahh I see. And here I was thinking that she could recognize me no matter who I''m disguised as. The moment is less special now."


    Haley heard my words and stopped jumping. She looked at me coyly and said, "I''d recognize you anywhere. Only idiots won''t notice this is you."


    Alex alsoughed at the statement as she agreed with Haley.


    "Your dad and your uncle Mitchell didn''t recognize me," I said, stopping theirughter abruptly. I added, "Even your grandpa didn''t recognize me."


    Alex widened her eyes and said, "Really? But it''s so obvious though."


    Haley nodded in agreement, "Yeah. It was so obvious."


    Speechless for a while, I asked astoundedly, "How is it obvious, exin!"


    Both girls justughed without answering my question. Haley asked, "Are you going to perform a magic trick Ed?"


    I sighed in defeat and said, "Yeah. But, I lost a bit of my motivation now."


    ...


    Tanya ced the green lizard on Luke''s head. The lizard stayed still on top of the curly hair, which made Luke smile in excitement.


    Tanya said, "All right, let''s all give Luke a big hand for being so brave." Every kids there apuded for Luke.


    Luke asked, "This feels so weird. What does it eat?"


    Tanya saw the chance and said spookily, "Oh, just...little boy brains!"


    The kids burst into squeals andughters before Tanya said, "Now, who wants to pet the lizard!"


    I identally said, "She''s cute." It was awesome to see that she genuinely loves the reptiles instead of just using them for the show.


    Haley''s smile froze, and her eyes narrowed as she turned to Tanya. I didn''t realize it and said, "I''m kinda nervous now."


    Haley turned back towards me and said, "You''ve performed in front of millions of people. But you''re nervous for a kid''s birthday party?"


    "It''s my first time performing a magic trick. So yeah." I replied yfully. Haley asked, "Why magic though? It''s kindame."


    "Oh, you have to ask your dad this question." I threw the me to Phil without feeling guilty about it.


    ire entered the house again from her arts and craft table outside, and saw Haley giggling when talking to me.


    [ire''smentary]


    "Is she flirting with the magician? Has her standard fallen so low? I don''t know why, but it looks like it''s going to be troublesome. I need to separate them quickly."


    mentary ends]


    Before ire could approach me and Haley, Jungle Tanya said, "Now, for the next performance, the magnificent As will show you guys the wonders of magic!"


    "EHH. That''sme. I''d rather y outside." Bianca Dous whined. Manny also shared the same sentiment, but he said, "You should go out and y. I''m watching it."


    "Then, I''m also going to watch it." Bianca said giddily before she hugged Manny''s arm and rested her head on his shoulder.


    [Manny''smentary]


    "So clingy." He shook his head in disappointment.


    [Commentary ends]


    "I''m up. Kiss for good luck?" I said as I pointed at my cheek. Haley blushed a bit and said, "It''s just for good luck." She stood on her toes and gave me a peck on my left cheek.


    ire gasped as she saw it. I walked in front of the crowd when ire finally reached Haley.


    "Wow, so unenthusiastic." I said the crowd, which earned me no reaction. "I guess I understand. Magician isme. You''d probably seen a lot of magicians at other parties before, am I right?"


    "Righttt." The kids answered me honestly. I nodded and said, "You guys probably got burned a lot, right? You were expecting a good show, but slowly, your hope that magic is really true, had died out. You have been hurt so many times, but right now, you decided it''s better to not think about it anymore."


    Phil, Gloria, Jay, ire, Alex, Finneas, Billie, Enid, Jenna, Tara, Mitchell, Fizbo (Cam), and Lily, entered the house one by one, and they stood amongst the crowd, watching the show.


    "Is he talking about magic or his rtionship?" Jenna scoffed at my opening �C not knowing that it was me underneath the mask.


    "Well, today, I''ll try my best to make sure that you''ll all believe in magic again and not just be muggles."


    "But the props are tweaked. We all know that!" Amy shouted with a cupped hand from afar. Everyone nodded as they heard it, while Phil turned to Amy in shock, "Aren''t you his assistant?"


    Amy shrugged and whispered, "He told me to do this."


    Phil gasped as he turned back towards the stage with a shocked expression, "He''s going to Houdini it."


    "I guess that''s true." I said as I pretended to be dejected. Then, I took off my top hat and said, "You guys probably have seen this many times. I mean, if there''s a top hat, the magician is going to pull a rabbit from inside it, right?"


    "That''s right/Yes!" The audience reacted in vigor. I nodded in understanding and said, "I mean, that poor rabbit. They were probably stuck inside the hat for a long time."


    Everyone nodded at my reaction. " Well, I don''t want to do that. So, I''m just going to set it aside and pick up some stuff from the table." I said, as I ced the hat on my left side, in the air.


    The crowd gasped as I turned my back on the floating hat. And when I turned, I grabbed the hat again, "I found this water cup here. So I''m going to use that."


    "The HAT FLOATED!" Luke shouted in excitement. I looked confused and said, "It did?"


    Everyone kids nodded at me vigorously, even the adults were really intrigued by it. The crowd bes bigger and bigger, filling the living room space.


    "I mean, I didn''t start my routine yet." I scratched my head in confusion, which made some of the adultsugh. But the kids thought I was being truthful and they tried to convince me.


    "Alright alright. I''m just going to set it aside for a second." With a flick of my risk, the hat vanished in thin air.


    "Whoa." Luke widened his eyes. Manny too was bing more excited to see the show.


    "Like I said before, you guys can make sure that I won''t cheat in the performance. So does anyone have a scarf I could borrow?"


    "Here, I have one." Enid said as she threw me a wolf-print scarf. I chuckled and said, "Everyone, thank the wolfdy."


    "<strong><i>Thank you wolfdy</i></strong>." Every kid followed along.


    "Hey!" Enid retorted shyly.


    "Anyone have a phone I could borrow?" I asked again, and I got the Iphone from Phil. I told them all, "Well, do you guys believe me when I said, I can get this scarf to go through the phone, without it having a hole in the middle?"


    "Eii~" The skeptics scoffed at my words. "Oh, you don''t think I can do that? Watch this?"


    I held the phone up high on my right side, and ced the scarf end on the middle of the phone. The crowd widened their eyes as they saw it moved into the phone, and came out on the other side.


    They eximed in amazement, and then apuded my performance. I stopped pulling the scarf halfway and said, "But, that''s still a little boring, right? Should I up the ante?"


    Everyone nodded in excitement and said, "Yeah!!!"


    Amy shook her head and said, "He''s just digging a deeper hole for himself."


    "For my next performance, I''m going to need a deck of cards. Does anyone have a deck of cards?" I asked sheepishly.


    "OOH OOH! I have it!" Phil said before he ran to the kitchen and got a new card from the cab.


    The show continued after I asked Luke to check the cards for any markings, even shuffled the cards for me to make sure that I didn''t mark the cards.


    "Before we start, this card doesn''t give me a good vibe, so I''m going to rip it." I ripped the 8 of the diamond card into 4 parts, and ced it underneath a see-through ss, holding it together with a paperclip.


    "Now, the thing about magic is, the closer you look, the less you see. So don''t trust your senses." Shuffling the deck of cards using a spring shuffle technique, I grabbed a King of Spade card and showed it to the audience, "Or else, you''re going to lose track of reality."


    With a simple turn, the card transformed into a Joker card, which awed the audiences.


    I giggled, breaking the serious atmosphere and said, "I''m just bragging. I can''t do that yet."


    Everyoneughed honestly, and it made the show even more fun to watch.


    "Now, for my first card trick, I''m going to show you the real possibility that we''re actually living coexistence with another dimension. I called this, the opposite dimension. Now everyone, can you tell me what''s the opposite of.." I showed the back of the card, "The colour red?"


    "Blue?" Manny answered in confusion.


    I nodded and said, "Yes. Blue. Now, do you believe me when I say, Um, I''m borrowing this usb charger, first..." I grabbed the charger from the desk and sat down on the desk, cing the charger cable in the middle of it.


    "Now, through this ordinary cable, I''m going to show you the existence of the opposite world. Look closely and carefully, because it''ll take a lot of energy for me to show the opposite world."


    I ced one card on the back of my hand that was holding the cable tightly, and slowly pushed it to go underneath the cable. "It might seem that I''m crazy, but believe me guys. The opposite world exists." I added cheekily.


    As the card slowly passed the cable, the red color turned blue, and the card was split by half in blue and red color. The kids eximed in amazement, and I immediately stopped the performance.


    "Whoa, did you guys see that?" I asked in shock. Everyone nodded their heads obediently. "That''s the opposite dimension." I added before I shuffled the cards again. "That''s too spooky for me. I''m going to stop that now and focus on another trick."


    Phil chuckled and whispered to Jay who''s standing beside him, "It''s actually a pretty simple trick, but his execution is really wless."


    "Stop talking to me." Jay replied, still grumpy about Phil''s action to gawk at Gloria before.

 Chapter 282: Fizbo (3)

    <h4>Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Fizbo (3)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "For my next trick, I need a shlight, just to be clear, a phone shlight." I said as I took out my phone.


    The next trick showed the audiences how the card changes underneath the light, and the performances continued for a little while.


    "Now, for my finale. I''m going to need a helper�C" Before I could finish, Gloria and Phil raised their arms and yelled, "Me!"


    I looked at them in confusion and said carefully, "I mean. It''s Luke''s birthday party, so I was thinking of getting him to help me."


    Both of them became dejected and looked incredibly pitiful. I chuckled and turned to Luke,"Alright, I feel bad. So not a finale then. My pre-finale. Luke, pick a number from 1 t0 1000."


    "661." Luke replied with excitement. I uncapped a marker and wrote the number on the card, 3 of diamonds. "Alright, 661. Wait, did you just pick the first three numbers of your phone number?"


    Luke smiled and said, "My mom''s."


    I shrugged and said, "Should I get all the digits then? I''ll keep that card and we can start anew with a new number."


    Everyone chuckled except for ire who looked at me with disbelief.


    "Give me a color too." I asked Luke.


    "Yellow." He replied.


    "Alright, so yellow, 661." I wrote it on the 3 of diamonds card, and I turned to the audience, "Now, you guys all saw that this card with the exact marking on it is unique. I couldn''t possibly know what kind of answer Luke was going to give me."


    "What I''m going to do, is I''m going to throw this card back into the deck, and I''m going to use this joker card to try and find him." There were 2 Joker cards set aside from the previous trick,id outside of the deck.


    As my hand slid on the Joker card, the Joker image on the card vanished. Pinching my fingers together as if I was holding the image, I said, "I''m going to throw this guy into the deck, and he''s going to find the marked cards for all of us."


    "Wow!" Luke and the other kids eximed as they saw the Joker was gone.


    I made a throwing motion into the deck of cards. "Now, the joker is going to work on finding the card, and if he did find it, he''s going to signal us on it pretty soon."


    As Iid down all the cards on their back on the table, I searched for the Joker marked card, and found it. "Here it is. Now, did it work? Did he actually find the Yellow 661 card?"


    As I flipped the card, it was the 3 of diamond with the unique marking on it. The kids burst into cheers while the adults gasped in amazement.


    "Now that he has finished his work, it''s time for him to rest." I said as I shook the card, and the joker ink vanished. It returned to the empty joker card before, making the kids burst into cheers of amazement again.


    As a magician, I shouldn''t take too long to change in between the sets, so I continued even amidst the cheers, "Now, that''s supposed to be my finale, but as you guys were all so amazing, I will show you guys another sign of magic is real. This time, I also need a volunteer. The first one who came to the stage is it�C"


    Before I could even finish, Phil had alreadye to the stage. His actions made a lot of kids groan in discontent, but he ignored them all. I shuffled through the cards and said, "Tell me to stop."


    "STOP!" Phil said hurriedly, and the shuffled stopped at the 8 of spades card. "Good choice. Now, what I need Phil to do, is to take this marker, pick a random card. And <strong><i>draw</i></strong> a friend that would help us find the 8 spades cards."


    He picked the top card on the deck. I instructed him, "Make a simple face, with eyes, nose, beard, maybe a little bit of hair, and also, a frown. Now, you guys might only see that Phil is drawing a cartoon, but what he doesn''t know is that, with magic, the drawing is going to have a few of his characteristics, also it''ll symbolize Phil''s desire."


    As Phil was finished, he handed the card back to me. "We need a name for this cute guy...Um, he''s a little hairy, so...Oleg?"


    Everyone agreed with my suggestions. "Alright, so Oleg is going to find the 8 of spades cards inside the deck. Is it here?"


    As I cut through the deck, Oleg would appear on the top of it, making the illusion that he was travelling through the deck. "Wait, Oleg is smiling." I eximed as I cut the deck for the 4th time. "He must''ve found the card."


    I grabbed the card and showed it back to the audience. "This must be it." I said excitedly before dramatically flipped the card. However, everyone eximed disappointment as they saw it was the 8 of diamond card instead of the 8 of spades.


    "Oh damn, did Oleg fail?" I said as I flipped the card back. "Wait, Oleg is gone!"


    Everyone became excited again. "Hmm, I can''t find where Oleg is now." I said as I searched through the deck. "Unless." I acted like I thought of something, and nced at the ripped out card underneath the transparent ss on the table. (Previous episode set up)


    Manny suddenly remembered something, "Ah! 8 of the diamonds were ripped at the beginning!"


    Everyone had the same realization as they heard Manny''s words.


    "Could it be?" I said as I slowly took off the ss cup, and grabbed the card from inside of it. As I unfolded the card, it became the 8 of spades card, which made everyone burst into apuse.


    "Good Job Oleg." I said to the smiling cartoon. Then, I pretended to hear something from him, "Hmm, you said that you had done a good job, so you want a reward? Well then, what do you want?"


    "Hmm? A day off to take a vacation? Where are you going to go? Grand Canyon?" The kids were amused by the conversation I had with Oleg. Then, with a flick of my hand, Oleg and the card disappeared, "Alright then. Day off request approved."


    Everyone was curious to see where the card had gone. I raised my arms up to the crowd and said, "Everyone. Although Oleg is having a vacation, he''s on the back of a card, so he cannot go far. He must still be here inside the party."


    The kids looked around excitedly, trying to find where the card had gone. "No one can find him? I need to go home now, so I need him to be back." I said with some difficulty, which made the kids sympathetic to my plight.


    Gloria was so excited that her chest bounced, but then, she felt a sensation inside her undergarment. Confused, she peeked underneath her shirt.


    I told the kids, "Wait, can you guys sense that? That''s Oleg calling for help. Phil''s desire had overtaken him, and he had made a wrong choice."


    Gloria took out the card angrily and shouted, "Phil! How dare you!"


    "What?" Phil turned to her in confusion. Everyone turned to Gloria, and saw that she pulled out the card from her breast. Phil widened his eyes in rm, "Hey! I didn''t put that there!"


    I patted Phil''s shoulder and said, "But he''s your desire. You created him."


    Phil looked at me with disbelief as I dug a deeper hole for him. Suddenly, I interrupted the moring and said, "Everyone! Do you believe in magic now?!"


    The kids responded, "Yeah!"


    "Now, it''s time for me to leave." I said pitifully, which made the kids exim in unwillingness. "Don''t worry about it kids, we''re sure to meet again, as long as you guys believe..."


    I threw the card deck into the air, making a card shower and everyone looked upward. However, when they turned to the stage again, they realized that I was already gone.


    Amy went to the stage and said, "Everyone, there''s a party favor given by Edward Newgate set up on the art and craft table outside. All of the kids should go there to take it now."


    Every kid cheered and rushed to the frontwn, together with some of the adults. Outside, the table was filled with intable dinosaur costumes. I couldn''t buy only one of those, and the minimum order for a custom design was 100.


    So I bought 100 of them in multiple colors. The Rubie Costume Company bought the design afterward as it was a very fun costume, so I have no loss in that, only profits.


    Luke was the first one to get his costume. "Put this on." Amy said. Then, she shook her head in realization, "Wait. W-why am I working so hard as his assistant?"


    Enid was blowing one of the intable balloons and heard it. She replied, "Cause Edward asked you too. Duh! I wish he would ask me instead."


    Amy rolled her eyes at Enid, "You can do it if you want. I can give you all the credit."


    Enid''s eyes lit up, "Really?!"


    Amy scoffed in disbelief and looked at Enid weirdly, "NO!"


    Luke equipped his dinosaur costume, and he began roaring and running around thewn, dinosaur style. ire smiled widely and asked him, "You love it huh?"


    "It''s the best present ever! I always wanted to be a red t-rex!" Luke said before he bellowed out a roar again. Soon, thewn was filled with dinosaurs who were bumping with each other.


    Manny, also in a dinosaur costume, had none of the excitement the other kids had as his ''girlfriend'' hugged his arm and said, "You got the purple T-rex! This must be fate!"


    "Fate is being a bit stressful right now." Manny sighed.


    All of the kids were running around in costumes, creating havoc on the streets. Their inner animals were released, and no one cared about anything else other than destruction.


    Phil finally went out after exining to Gloria and Jay that he had nothing to do with the trick, however, he still felt the need to grab me and exin.


    ire looked at Phil with disappointment as she saw himing outside, slightly shaking her head.


    He was helpless about it and defended himself, "I didn''t do that! As did! But, despite thatst trick, he''s actually quite great. I should give him some money�C and make him exin. W-where did he go?"


    He looked around, and I was nowhere to be seen. ire also looked around and asked with a shaky voice, "Phil, where are our daughters?"


    ire remembered what Haley said about slipping away to the bedroom to make out with her boyfriends while the party was on, and immediately rushed inside the house. Phil wanted to follow along, but he was soon ambushed by a group of 3 T-rexs.


    "Hey!" He flinched as he tried to avoid them, which put him right in the zipline zone. Another dinosaur kid went down the zip line, and crashed into him.


    "Ow!-- Oh no, the dinosaurs are taking back the apex predator title by learning to use tools." He eximed with a horrified expression.


    While he was down on the ground, Cam �C Fizbo, peeked at his line of sight.


    The clown makeup looked horrid underneath the sun. With a huge grin, Cam asked Phil, "Are you okay Phil? Something get you, a little down�C"


    "AHHHHHH!" Phil let out a blood curdling scream before he punched Cam in the face instinctively. Cam was thrown to the back, staggered a few steps before he bumped into Jay who was holding the crossbow�Chis birthday present for Luke.


    The crossbow misfired, and it prated the bouncy castle. The kids inside screamed in horror as the castle deted itself. Everyone inside had to evacuate quickly.


    10 minutes before, I was hiding in Haley''s room after I disappeared from the crowd.


    "No one is following us. We''re safe." Haley said as she closed the door to her room.


    Despite seeming like there was only the two of us there, I could hear some rustlinging from inside the closet, and smirked knowingly.


    I sat down on the edge of Haley''s bed and sighed, "That was really tiring."


    Haley giggled and asked, "How long did you practice for that? That was awesome, although it''sme."


    "Lame?" I looked at her with disbelief, however, I didn''t lose my smile. "You''re the only one who thought it wasme."


    She crossed her arms together and teased, "No! All magicians areme."


    "Like your dad?"


    "Especially my dad!" She replied assertively before she burst intoughter. I joined in and then, I teased, "And here I thought performing that will do something to you. Trigger your daddy issues maybe."


    "You''re the only one with parental issues here." She rolled her eyes and sat next to me. I nodded in agreement, "That''s true."


    Haley chuckled for a bit and asked, "Did you learn any more tricks?"


    "I do. Like this for example." With a flick of my hand, a pretty pink underwear appeared from out of thin air. Haley''s eyes widened and she grabbed it immediately, "This is mine�C from my closet�C How in the world did you get it? I literally just saw you came in!"


    "Really? Think again. Did you see seconds of me being here?" I asked with a chuckle.


    She thought about it for a while and guessed, "While I was looking for anyone following us? So in that split second, you decided to rummage my closet and take my panties with you?"


    "Exactly." I replied shamelessly.


    She smirked and said, "And what if I didn''t ask you to show me a magic trick. Will you bring my panties home?"


    "Probably." I nodded easily, which irked her a little bit. I turned to her and teased, "Want me to show you the magic my fingers can do?"


    A loud thudding sound resounded from the closet, as if someone who was eavesdropping became agitated from my words.


    Haley stammered for a little bit and replied, "N-No!" Her cheek reddened and she avoided looking at me directly. I chuckled and whispered to her, "You realized I was talking about showing more magic tricks, right?"


    "Shut up! There''s no way I''m ever going to make out with a magician. Unless they are really <strong><i>really</i></strong> famous!" Haley suddenly announced. I smirked and said, "No one said anything about making out."


    Haley was speechless for a second, and her embarrassment slowly turned into irritation. "Are you here to tease me? You can''t even show your face here." She got up and stood in front of me before taking off my mask.


    "Oh, your eyes are very beautiful today. Are you wearing contact lenses?" She asked.


    I shook my head and said, "No. My eyes just decided to finally catch up with my other facial features, trying to get to the same standard."


    She rolled her eyes again before thinking about it and said, "That could happen."


    I looked at her with disbelief, "I was joking."


    "Still~" She teased jokingly. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer. She chuckled andmented, "By the way, you look good in blonde."


    "I look good in every color."


    While we were having a good time, Haley became irritated as she remembered something and asked, "Hey! Did you grope Gloria''s boobs while cing the cards there?"


    Incredulous, I answered, "What? No! I didn''t even get near her."


    "Then how did you ce the card there?" She demanded an answer.


    "A magician never reveals�C"


    "OH! So You DID put your hand in her clothes!"


    "W�C NO! I didn''t."


    "Then, show me how you do it! Or else I''m telling grandpa!" She threatened me with a sly smirk. I chuckled with disbelief and said, "Alright, I''m going to show you once. But, I''m going to need more cleavage from you."


    Haley pulled down her shirt obediently and said, "Like this."


    I scrutinized it and hummed, "Hmm, I don''t think it can fit, but I can try."


    "Why won''t it fit?" She asked in confusion. Then, she realized it herself, "Oh, right. It''s Gloria. The cards probably have a lot of space in there."


    I nodded in agreement with her. Haley pulled down her shirt more, showing half of her chest, bending over slightly and showcasing it to me. "Is this enough?" She asked with a yful smirk as she tried to tempt me, vying for me to be embarrassed or lose my concentration.


    However, our moment was interrupted by her mother. ire opened the door abruptly, and her mind stopped working when she saw the sight of Haley ''peacocking'' her breast to me.


    Haley immediately pulled back and covered her shirt again, "M�CMOM! Can''t you knock!?"


    "What in the world are you doing HALEY!?" ire started to freak out and yell at the both of us. "With a magician?!" She asked with a tone of disbelief mixed with disgust.


    Haley stammered and said, "At least he''s not a clown! Dad''s a magician too�C"


    "HE''S NOT! I MADE HIM GAVE UP THAT DREAM!" ire shouted and grabbed my hand, "Also you! No one gave you permission toe to my daughter''s room!" She pulled me up from the bed and tried to push me out of the room.


    However, Haley grabbed ire''s hand with a horrified expression, "MOM! What are you doing?!"


    "I''m chasing him out of here! Sweetheart, I know you got your heartbroken but you should NEVER date a magician!" ire scolded.


    I wasughing internally and agreed with ire, "Yeah Haley. No matter how much you want me and showing your body to me, pushing me down on your bed, I told you, I already have a girlfriend and I can''t be with you."


    "HALEY!?" ire looked at Haley in horror. Haley was bbergasted, but her mind was focusing on another matter, "YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!?"


    "Not only that, she made her sister watch from the closet." I added, again. ire was stupefied and she stopped pushing me. She went to the closet and opened it, revealing Alex and Finneas who hid there when Haley and I came to the room.


    "Is the world getting sick?! What kind of games are you kids ying?!" ire panicked and became quite weak in the knee. Iughed out loud, which made everyone turn their attention to me.


    "Oh, this is too cruel." I took off my blonde hair and said to ire, "Also, you really can''t recognize me when I''m blond? I didn''t even have a mask on."


    ire was stunned, and she scrutinized my face for a few seconds. "Edward?!" She called out with disbelief.


    Haley groaned, "Yeah mom! Do you really think that I was really going to make out with just a magician?!"


    I turned to her and said, "Oh, so you did bring me up here to steal my kiss."


    She blushed for a bit, "Shut up, that''s not what I meant. Besides, MOM! Look! Alex is way worse than I am. She''s already here for god knows how long!"


    "Noo- No! We didn''te here to make out!" Alex stammered while Finneas was white as paper.


    "Hi Finneas." I greeted him with a slight wave. He smiled wryly and did the same, "Hi Ed."


    "Good day?" I asked.


    "Not really." He replied.


    "Sucks." I nodded in understanding. Haley, ire and Alex looked at the both of us with disbelief. Then, I heardmotionsing from the frontwn.


    "Alright, I guess it''s my cue to go. I have to return to the filming set today. Haley, can you take care of Amy? Show her around? My dad wille pick her upter."


    Haley nodded and said, "Of course. I already talked to Tara."


    "Thanks cutie pie." I said before I grabbed her hand and kissed its back. Then, I turned to ire, shoving Haley''s hand away and speaking with dejection, "Oh sorry. You probably don''t want her to get magicians'' saliva on her hand."


    ire was feeling very guilty about the matter. "No�CNo, you can kiss her if you want." She said without thinking.


    "Really?" I widened my eyes for a bit, wrapped my arms around Haley, and pulled her closer to me before giving her a kiss on the lips. Haley widened her eyes, while everyone was stunned.


    After I released her, I turned to ire and said, "Thank you for giving me permission. Bye~"


    "Edward!" Haley grumbled as she knew I was teasing her mother and her. Finneas slyly gave me a thumbs up, and I walked out of the room in a hurry.


    Haley grumbled as I left, "Great! Now I won''t know if he touched Gloria''s boobs or not." She touched her lips for a second before she giggled, but forced herself to be angry again. "I''ll make sure to see how he did itter." She vowed.


    Outside on the frontwn, as the chaos ensued, someone knocked over the beads on the art and crafts table, scattering it all over the cement. Luke was running around, and was slipping on one of the beads.


    Luckily, I passed by at the perfect time, and grabbed his dinosaur head before he fell badly. He still fell though, but this time, not enough to break his arm.


    "Edward?" He looked at me excitedly. "You came."


    "What are you talking about? I was here the whole time." I put on the masquerade mask, which made Luke realize it...or probably not.


    "What?" He was confused.


    "As...I was As..." I exined with a wry smile.


    "Ahhh." Luke finally understood it and nodded his head. As I got him up, I said, "I disguised myself to not interfere with the party. I have to go back to work now. Did you have fun watching my show?"


    "YEAH!" He replied enthusiastically. "I love it."


    I smiled and said, "Happy Birthday Luke."


    "Thank you Edward." He replied with an innocent smile and hugged me with his dinosaur arms. "I''m really d you came."


    "That''s what your sister said�C Sorry about that. Tell your uncle Cam that you hate clowns. Goodbye."


    "BYE!" He waved at me with his dinosaur hand before he turned and slipped on one of the beads again. I grimaced as I looked at him, but he quickly got up, fixed his dino head and said, "I''m okay!"


    I smiled as I left the party, waving at Luke from afar. "A lot has changed," I mumbled to myself before I checked my watch. "Damn, I''m going to bete for the film set," I rushed to my car and drove back to thepany building.

 Chapter 283: Movie Poster and Reply Song Progress.

    <h4>Chapter 283: Chapter 283: Movie Poster and Reply Song Progress.?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "What kind of movie poster do you want it to be?" Judd Apatow asked me after I got back from the party. I looked at him in confusion and said yfully, "...Aren''t you the director? Why are you asking me?"


    He smirked and said, "We all know who the director really is. If you know how to do camera work, I think you''ll even direct this yourself."


    "I''m really not going to do that." I replied with a grimace. He burst intoughter and patted my shoulder, "Let''s go. I want to settle this and go back home for Thanksgiving dinner."


    Some people celebrated itte, or with rtives on the weekends, which gave me an idea. Maybe I should invite Sage and Mrs Henderson for dinner with my family tomorrow. Better yet, I should invite all of my friends too.


    "Alright." I followed him from behind and saw the other main leads standing in front of a green screen. RG posed wearing a simple suit and EB wore a simple t-shirt and jeans.


    While they were shooting the pictures, I decided to open up the memory I got about 2023 Entertainment Landscape. I leaned on the wall on the back of the set, and closed my eyes.


    This memory gave me the experiences in the movie theater, the marketing the movies had done, their sess, and also the scandals concerning that movie''s main cast members. Not only movies, I got some TV series too.


    It started from the movie Anyone But You, then it be Hit Man, after that, it be Oppenheimer, and it continued until I watched all the movies that were released in the year 2023�C movies that were watched by that ordinary guy.


    Barbie, Avatar: Ways of the water, Guardian of the Gxy, John Wick 4, The sh, Dungeons & Dragons, Godzi Minus 1, Wonka, Super Mario Bros Movie, Ghosted, Poor Things, Cocaine Bear, Spiderman-Across the Spider Verse, The Little Mermaid, No Hard Feeling, and many more.


    I digested all of them in just a few minutes afterwards. In that time, my facial expression changed greatly from frown to smile to amazement to frown to smile to amazement, until the memory finally ended.


    Still keeping my eyes closed, I suddenly heard a crunching sound from beside me. Slowly, I opened my eyes and turned to the source of the sound. There, I saw Pepper and Vanessa both staring at me while eating popcorn.


    "What are you doing?" I asked in confusion.


    With a mouthful, Vanessa returned the question back to me, "What are YOU doing?"


    Pepper nodded in agreement to her and added, "Your face kept changing like a chinese changing mask show. What in the world are you thinking about?"


    "Movies I guess." I replied with a shrug. Luckily, whoever the guy I got the memory from was, he didn''t have a strong personality so I wasn''t influenced in any way by him.


    Pepper and Vanessa nced at each other before Vanessa turned to me, "Um, this movie?"


    I rubbed my chin as I thought about it, "We need to make some changes. Pepper, can you get Haley here�C No, gimme a few costume designers? Vanessa..."


    She flinched a bit as I looked at her. I asked, "We need to make your hair fluffier."


    "...What?" Vanessa touched her hair in confusion. I halted the poster shoot for a bit and made the actors get some rest while I worked on the design.


    I worked with the costume designers that evening, creating some outfits for the movie scenes and the poster too. The designer''s eyes glittered when I gave them some designs from a decade from now. Although, they were all for the celebrities characters in the movies.


    "Wardrobe is another marketing strategy for a movie. Unique wardrobe can make the movie stand out." I told Pepper as he asked me why I was doing this.


    Finally, the design for the movie poster was done and the photoshoot resumed.


    Ryan Gosling, in his ''Ken'' outfit, a bandana on his head, sunsses, and white fur jacket on top of his shirtless torso, looking haughty and cool. He was also clean shaven for the shot, which made him look younger.


    He stood in front of Emily, Vanessa and I, looking directly at the camera while I looked at him with scorn, Emily with concern, and Vanessa looked at me while batting her eyes.


    I made temporary edits using Robin and printed out a copy of the movie poster.


    "Oh, it''s kinda nice." Ryan Gosling said, still in his full ''Ken'' costume. "By the way, where did you get the idea for this style?" He asked with intrigue.


    "It''s just at the top of my mind." I yed it off and changed the subject, "It''s not a real mink coat, so you can bring it home if you want."


    "Really?" His eyes lit up, but he suddenly deted, "Nah, I can''t do that. We may need this for the scene."


    Before the cast members left for the day, I stood in front of all the staff members for the movie, which had 200 staff members. The poster was printed onto a huge backdrop, bigger than my size, and the name for the movie was kept hidden by a ck tape.


    "We have 75 days toplete the movie. I''m sure that many of you made the sacrifices to be here, even sacrificing your holiday traditions. I won''t take your efforts for granted, and I promise that I''ll give my best for the movie. On Monday, we''ll officially start filming for the movie."


    The staff members cheered at the announcement. They were all looking at the movie poster in excitement, as from the posters alone, it would seem to be a pretty fun movie.


    "Our creatives have finallye out with a name for the movie. From now on, the movie will be called..." I took out the piece of paper with the movie''s name on it and unfolded it.


    "Selfmade." I announced, and 2 staff members took off the tape from the movie poster.


    The staff and cast of the movie apuded as they saw the full poster. As they pped, some of them whispered to each other.


    Ryan whispered to Emily, "It''s concise, memorable... That''s pretty good."


    Emily replied, " It taps into universal themes of pride, responsibility, and the consequences of one''s own choices. It''s much better than Love Countdown or 90 Days of Love cause that''s pretty seasonal."


    Pepper grimaced and said huffily, "I wanted something more romantic. Well, this is great too! But where''s the romance!"


    Paige shook her head and said with a giggle, "The movie had passed the tropes of just romance a long time ago."


    "Can''t we just make a simple love story? I want to see a love story with Edward oppa as the protagonist." SunHeeined.


    Besides studying people''s reactions, I also gave a thumbs up for the creative team who came out with the movie name. The creative team was basically Judd Apatow, Paige, Pepper, and myself, but this name came from Paige.


    For a Hollywood movie, simplicity helps in getting the prospective audience to remember its name. It also fits the theme of the movie, a protagonist who is the architect of his own downfall.


    ...


    When I got home, I saw my dad in the living room, watching TV with Frankie. "Hmm? This is a weird sight." I said as I greeted them.


    "Me, watching TV?" Frankie replied with a smile. I shook my head and said, "No, not being jumpy when I walk in, which meant you guys weren''t fooling around when I''m not here."


    My dad widened his eyes and replied with exasperation, "When did this ever happen�C You never caught us getting jumpy."


    "Eh, I''m more famous than you guys, so people will believe my narrative instead of yours." I said with a sly smirk. "Unless, you guys do something for me."


    "So, this is a setup for ckmail. What do you want out of this negotiation?" Frankie crossed her legs and interlocked her fingers on top of her knee. I shrugged and stayed in character, "This is not ckmail. We''re just talking here."


    "What is going on?" My dad was befuddled by the whole scene. Frankie turned to him and whispered, "He''s in character. For his movie."


    "AH!" He finally understood it and turned to me seriously, "There''s 2 of us and one of you. Despite not being more famous than you, being your dad gave me credibility. You don''t want me to share your childhood story to the press won''t you."


    "You can try, if you even survive to meet the press then." I said with a chuckle. My dad has goosebumps, which Frankie immediately corrected him, "We''re supposed to be the innocents, not on his level."


    "Why do you know more about the movie than I do?" He asked Frankie in disbelief. Frankie shrugged and said, "He told me a few things about it during our vacation."


    A bit jealous, my dad turned to me and said, "Tell me your condition."


    "Simple. Let''s have a Thanksgiving theme dinner tomorrow. I want to invite my friends and teachers."


    "... That''s it?" Frankie asked, a bit disappointed by the request. "What, do you expect a very unfavorable condition for you guys? I''m not a monster."


    My dad smiled and said, "Alright, Thanksgiving dinner, tomorrow."


    "I''ll text my friends and ask them." I said before I walked past them to go to my room. "You guys can continue fooling around now."


    "We''re not fooling around in the first ce!" My dad retorted, which made me burst intoughter. He turned to Frankie and asked, "Is it me, or does his technique to piss people off gets better?"


    "I guess he''s bing a teenager. But it''s scary, given that he''s a very smart one." Frankie replied in agreement.


    Suddenly, there was a doorbell ringing from the front door. I stopped my steps before I could enter the room, and asked, "Robin, who is it?"


    "Miss Hudgens." Robin replied. "Should I let her inside?"


    "She''s alone?" I asked in confusion.


    "Yes." Robin said. Confused, I paused for a while before I said, "Let her in. I want to see why she''s here."


    My dad opened the door before Robin could do it. He invited her inside as he knew Vanessa as Maggie''s friend. "Maggie is going shopping with Amy and their grandmother. She won''t be back for a while."


    "Oh, that''s...fine, I''m here...looking for Edward." Vanessa replied shyly, and with pauses in her sentences. I waved at her from afar and said, "Here."


    We got into my room together, which made my dad and Frankie look at each other.


    "Is he?" My dad asked.


    Frankie shook her head, "I don''t think so...Um, but, I did convince him to date more people."


    "Should we give him some privacy?"


    Frankie looked at him with disbelief and said, "No. Be a dad. Parent him."


    "See, that''s the problem. For a dad, I''m pretty proud, but�C"


    "Parent him Ted." Frankie said sternly.


    "Oh! EDWARD! Don''t lock the door!" My dad shouted from afar.


    "I can''t hear you!" I shouted back as I locked the door behind me. As I turned to Hudgens, I asked, "Why are you here?"


    "I''m not here to ask for the song or anything!" She said suddenly. "I''m only here because in the script, I''m supposed to be taking your blood pressure..."


    I understood what she wanted before she even finished her words. She continued, "Um, so I''m nning on asking you to practice with me."


    "Yeah, sure. We want it to look natural after all." I agreed easily. "But, I''m going to write a song to reply to Taylor''s song, so you need to do it while I''m doing that."


    "I''m fine with it." She replied easily too. "The blood pressure machine is in the cab by the kitchen." I told her.


    She was confused at first, then she asked, "Me? You want me to get it?"


    I turned to her with a weird look on my face, "Yeah. Is there any problem?"


    "Nope." She said before she walked out of the room hurriedly. As she left, I picked up my guitar and sat on the edge of the bed. "Now, how do I reply to her song?"


    Seconds passed by quickly, and my fingers still haven''t moved. Vanessa returned with the blood pressure machine after a while, "Hey, I got it."


    I ced the guitar down and said, "Alright, let''s do it."


    My dad peeked at us from the door as he was concerned when Vanessa picked up the BP machine. "What are you guys doing?" He asked.


    "ying doctor." I replied with a smirk. "She''s going to give me a prostate exam next."


    Vanessa pped my shoulder in embarrassment and irritation, while my dad froze. He grimaced and said dismissively, "Well, I tried to parent." He left soon after.


    ...


    [General POV]


    At Dunphy''s house, after the guests had left, only the extended family stayed behind. It''s already nighttime. Outside the house, the crew were taking down the zipline, the bouncy castle, and the rock wall. Thewn was filled with toys�C water guns, balloons, and even dino suits.


    A lot of the kids brought the dino suit back to their house, and continued wrecking havoc there. Edward was cursed a lot by the parents, but at the same time, they were d to see their children so happy unleashing their inner beast.


    "Edward saved you from falling down?" Phil asked Luke in confusion as everyone was near the kitchen. Jay, Mitch and Cam were by the dining table, and they turned to Phil. Thedies were in the living room, exhausted from the party.


    "Was he here? When did hee?" Phil questioned.


    ire smirked and excitedly interrupted the conversation as she patted Phil''s arm to gain his attention. She was standing behind Phil as she ced some leftover foods inside the fridge. "Oh, he''s been here since the beginning!"


    "What?" Phil looked at ire weirdly, with an expression that said he didn''t believe her.


    Alex piled on the teasing, crossed her arms as she walked to ire''s side and said, "Dad, try to remember. He''s here. You even talked to him�C You talked to him a lot."


    Phil''s eyes moved quickly as he tried to remember. With a shocked voice, he guessed, "Jungle Tanya?!"


    "What�C NO!" ire looked at Phil with exasperation. Alex said disdainfully, "How in the world did you think he''s Jungle Tanya?!"


    "By using a hyper realistic mask from the Nick Cage movie!" Phil defended himself quickly.


    Cam, holding some ice to his face, already took off his clown makeup after Phil apologized and told him about his fear of clowns, stood by Phil''s side and said, "I''m with Phil. If Edward was here, we would''ve noticed him immediately. He''s a hard guy to miss noticing. People will be all over him."


    Alex smirked, "That''s exactly why he''s here with a disguise. Come on, you can do it."


    Luke joined Alex and teased, "Come on, you can do it."


    Manny stood by Phil''s side too, "He didn''te."


    "He did." Luke started to argue with Manny.


    Gloria and Jay joined in the conversation. ire turned to them and asked, "Do you guys think that Edward hade here or not.


    Jay said, "He might be really good at not getting the limelight on him. I guess it made sense if he stopped by."


    Gloria immediately replied, "He didn''te!"


    Haley stood beside ire and Alex, "Wrong! He dide."


    Mitchell brought Lily with him, and stood beside the opposition, "He didn''te."


    "Ed." Lily babbled, which made ire take her from Mitchell, "Aww, see, even Lily knew that Edward hade."


    "Ed!" Lily babbled again.


    "It''s 6 to 5. We won." Haley teased.


    "Still, there''s no evidence that he was here." Mitchell said with a smirk. "It''s just spection at this point."


    ire rolled her eyes and said, "Don''t pretend you''re awyer�C"


    "I AM A LAWYER!" Mitchell retorted incredulously.


    Cam interjected and said, "Like Mitchell said, we don''t have proof that he''s here."


    Luke said, "He''s here. He even said that he hates clowns." Already forgotten the lines Edward fed him, Luke guessed that was what Edward said based on the pieces he did remember.


    Cam gasped in humiliation, and his eyes became watery, "I already got punched today, but I got punched in the gut again?" Mitchell hurriedlyforted him.


    Gloria brought the topic back, "If Edward is here, where did he go?"


    "He''s at Haley''s room, making out with her." Alex exposed. Haley turned to Alex in shock, while the others looked at her with intrigue.


    "Ooooohh.." Everyone eximed teasingly.


    "What�C You''re the one who''s making out with your boyfriend. He just kisses me to piss off mom." Haley exposed Alex. "We didn''t even get the chance to be alone before you and Ed came." Alex argued back.


    Phil''s eyes shook and he said, "I''m just going to pretend I didn''t hear any of that. My little angels would never."


    Alex and Haley felt guilty and embarrassed as they saw their dad''s facial expression. ire noticed the mood and immediately said, "Edward was ATLAS! Can you believe that?!"


    "Oh my god really?" Phil immediately lit up at the news. Everyone who opposed shared the same disbelief and excitement. "The only reason I didn''t guess As is because he''s very good at magic. Edward barely learned it before." Phil added.


    [Phil''smentary]


    "Can it be that in a short amount of time, he bes a top magician expert that canpete with the other big names in the world? He really is a prodigy in whatever he''s doing."


    He paused as he fell deep in thought. His eyes lit up and he gasped, "If someday people are going to write a memoir for him, I would be one of the first people who introduced him to the world of magic. Magic enthusiasts worldwide would thank me."


    [Gloria''smentary]


    "HE''S THE ONE WHO PUT THE CARD IN MY BOOBS!?!"


    [Commentary ends]

 Chapter 284: A short break.

    <h4>Chapter 284: Chapter 284: A short break.</h4>


    (I''m going to get my wisdom teeth pulled out tomorrow, so I''ll be taking a break this week.)


    [Edward POV]


    I scribbled on a piece of paper while Vanessa practiced taking my blood pressure. She struggled to unwrap the intable cuff, using too much force, which made her stagger and nearly fall. "Owie.." She whined as she grabbed her shoulder, the sudden movement made her muscles hurt.


    "I''m okay!" she eximed hurriedly, her arms iling before stopping abruptly. I looked at her in disbelief after a short awkward silence ensued. "That''s just the very first step."


    With a hint of self-deprecation, she replied, "I know. I suck at this. Um, do I even need to use the stethoscope? Why should I?"


    She touched the stethoscope around her neck and looked at me, seeking an answer.


    "It''s for listening to specific sounds called Korotkoff sounds. It''s an old method for assessing cardiovascr health, but you don''t need to dive into it too deeply," I said dismissively. Then, I pointed at my inner elbow.


    "When you ce the cuff on me, make sure to position the stethoscope over the brachial artery in the inner elbow. That''s where nurses listen for the sounds. I don''t want you to make a mistake and have people think the studio has no idea what we''re doing, even in something as simple as this."


    She rolled her eyes and said, "Fine! I will try not to embarrass you. What else should I pay attention to My Great Master?"


    I epted her sarcasm and said, "Change Master to Overlord. Come on, do it properly this time. Starting from the very beginning."


    After 10 tries, she finally managed to ce the cuff around my arms in an eptable way. While she was pumping the intable cuff, she stared at my arm and said, "You have a really nice arm."


    "Don''t flirt. Practice." I said sternly before scribbling some notes onto my notebook.


    "I''m not going to flirt." She said disdainfully. "What are you drawing anyway? Who''s that guy? Spiderman?"


    "Oh, it''s Deadpool." I said with a grin as I showed my drawing to her. It was thetest movie I had watched. Now, the song Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC has be an earworm in my mind.


    Confused, Vanessa asked, "You said you want to work on your song."


    "I am...not." I said yfully. Vanessa groaned before she said, "You know, this stethoscope is actually pretty loud."


    I picked the stethoscope head and flicked it twice. Vanessa was startled and she retorted, "Hey! I almost got deaf!"


    "Talk about exaggeration." I pursed my lips and teased. Annoyed, Vanessa said, "I think I have got the idea now on how to do it. I''ll practice on my own." She grabbed her shoulder again, her face grimacing in pain.


    "What''s wrong with your shoulder?" I asked with a slight concern.


    "Huh? Um, It''s just tight from all the practice. It''ll be fine tomorrow."


    "You haven''t practiced for a few days though. I gave you a break for Thanksgiving, remember?" I exposed her lies.


    Vanessa was taken aback and she dodged my eyes. Narrowing my gaze at her, I asked, "What did you do?"


    "I mean..I might got into a little fender bender..." She said guiltily.


    "When?" I asked.


    She looked at me with a worried and pitiful expression. My heart skipped a beat, not because of her cuteness, but because of the sudden realization. "When Vanessa?"


    "J...Just now... But I DIDN''T HIT ANY OF YOUR CARS!..."


    "Then, what did you hit?" I asked, slightly agitated.


    "Um..the wall?" I sighed and suddenly turned to the side, "Robin, damage report."


    "None sir. The wall is still intact. Only her car bumper be slightly loose." Robin replied.


    Vanessa already knew about Robin''s existence as she''s always here. She defended herself hurriedly, "See, I didn''t damage anything."


    I sighed and said, "You did. You damaged one of my important products. Sit here, let me take a look at your shoulder." I stood up from the bed and forced her to sit at my spot. She blushed a bit as I ran my hand on her shoulder.


    "Hmm, luckily it''s just whish. You''ll be fine in a few days. Or, you can be fine tomorrow if I massaged it today. You want me to do it?"


    "S-Sure...Nothing lewd, right? I don''t want to be like Taylor." Vanessa teased.


    I smirked and said, "Yes, she did be infatuated with me, borderline obsessive, because of my massage skills. Take off your shirt and lie down on the bed."


    Vanessa was startled and immediately hugged her body, "Hey! You said you don''t need me to sacrifice my body."


    I looked at her with disbelief and said, "For the massage you dumbo."


    "Ah." Vanessa eximed in realization before she became embarrassed.


    Pushing the paper away, I turned to her and asked, "I''m going to have all of my friends over tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. <i>Do you want toe?</i>"


    Vanessaid down with her back bare, and she replied nervously with a blushing face, "Why do you want to make mee! You said this is a normal massage�C"


    I hand-chop her head, making her exim in pain. "What do you have in your mind? I''m asking if you want toe to Thanksgiving dinner."


    "Sorry, I''m nervous." She said as she hid her face in my pillow. "It''s just a massage." I said as I ced some lotion�C made from the alchemical form I received, on my palm.


    "It''s just...I heard crazy things about�C UHMMM!" She moaned instantly as I rubbed the lotion on her shoulder and pulled on her muscles.


    30 minutester, she became breathless, her hair unkempt, and her skin was glistening from the oil and sweat. "I think I need a smoke." She said as sheid down casually on my bed, pulling a nket to cover her body. Within seconds, she fell asleep.


    Maggie entered the room a minuteter, "Ed! What have you done to Vanessa�C" As she saw the sight of her friend on my bed, Maggie''s face became flushed in anger. She stomped towards me and before she could use me of anything, I stopped her with one sentence. "My clothes."


    Maggie froze in her spot and her anger dissipated. She immediately smiled and asked me properly, "Ed, what are you doing with Vanessa?"


    "We were practicing for the movie, the nurse stuff. She got into a little ident and hurt her shoulder. I just finished giving her a massage. She fell asleep during."


    "Ah." Maggie eximed in relief. "Get her back to your room...You know what, just let her stay here. I don''t want to sleep tonight anyway, so I''m going to go to the living room."


    "Why aren''t you sleeping?" Maggie asked curiously.


    Gesturing under my eyes, I said, "Colt''s character has an eyebags, a really tired face too, so I''m not going to sleep until the shooting starts to get ready. It''s called method acting."


    "It''s called Lunacy. There''s makeup for that." Maggie said angrily as she pped me on my shoulder. I turned my head upward slowly as I stared at her. She flinched and immediately ran away before I could reciprocate. I stood up and walked slowly to get her.


    "Uncle Ted! Help!" Maggie shouted desperately. After everyone had slept, I stayed by the pool, working on a few of my projects, until the sun rose up.


    ...


    Sunday morning. Today was thest break I could have before 1 month of full filming schedule. My dad, Phil, Luke, Manny, Jay, my grandpa, Uncle Jim, basically all the guys, we went to watch the football match at school today.


    My dad, Phil and I went to the bench to meet Cam and the team. Jacob, Tyler, Tyrone, Kyle, and everyone else were excited to see me.


    Tyler asked, "Are you joining the match today Ed? The opposing team is pretty tough to beat. We had never once won against them during my entire time ying."


    Kyle interjected, "He can''t. He has the movie shoot. Nothing can happen to his face. We don''t have the money to fix it back again."


    Everyone burst intoughter, except for Jacob. He was extremely depressed not being able to y with me on the team. I pulled him to the side and whispered to him, "You know, I want to y too. But I contractually cannot... So, you have to y for me too, alright?"


    His eyes lit up, and then it became a fiery determination. Cam asked me in shock, "What did you say to him? Why is he suddenly filled with a murderous aura?"


    Jacob stared at the opposing team with his eagle eyes, which made them shudder. I chuckled and said, "Nothing. Cam, I''ll help coach. Everyone huddle up!"


    It was a tough match for our team, however, our school won in the end. Finally, we broke the curse of 3 consecutive wins. Cam was pretty ted by it, but his excitement dissipated when everyone attributed the win to my presence rather than his strategies.


    Everyone on the team went to celebrate together, and I picked up Sage and Mrs Henderson before returning home.


    We hung out by the pool before dinner time. Even though I wanted to cook for all of my friends, my grandma decided to kick me out of the kitchen to bond with Frankie. Mrs Henderson and Sage for some reason, were implicated by it, and they were all helping in the kitchen.


    "Ed! Why do you look tired?" Enid asked in concern as she paddled the donut float she''s on to get to me who was sitting by the pool. She was in her swimwear and she tied her hair into a ponytail. Jacob and Elsa were giggling and ying in the water together.


    "Method acting." I replied with a smirk before I drank a can of Redbull. Enid suddenly became dejected and asked, "Ed, if you take the SAT this week, then you won''t be at school anymore right?"


    Jenna, wearing a one piece swimsuit, heard it and slowly walked towards us. She sat next to me and said, "He''s not even in school right now."


    "Officially, I am still a student there." I replied with a slight guilt in my heart. "But next year, I''m going to start the world tour, so it''s kinda hard for me to go to school."


    "But you''lle by if we ask you to, right?" Enid asked with a pout. I smiled and said, "Sure. I''lle if there''s a special event."


    Enid brightened up and said, "Great. Don''t break this promise. I''m going to need you to take me to prom."


    "I promise, I promise." I said dismissively then I kicked the donut float away.


    Dinner time was quite awkward for my friends given that their teachers were there. I told my grandparents about how Mrs Henderson and Sage took care of me, which made them instantly being weed by the family.


    During dinner, Vanessa suddenly asked, "Um, Ed, did you pick the song for the movie yet�C"


    I shook my head nervously, gesturing for her not to continue, but my grandmother heard it and interjected, "Oh, Ed you made a song for the movie?"


    "She''s talking nonsense grandma. The cocaine got to her head." I turned to my grandmother and waved my hand dismissively.


    "HEY!" Vanessa protested in anger.


    Sage smirked and said, "Why so embarrassed Edward? Could it be, is it something not appropriate?"


    "It''s appropriate. I just don''t want to spoil the mood." I turned to Sage and threatened her with my facial expression.


    Vanessa thought about it and said in realization, "Oh, yeah. It''s definitely not appropriate."


    My dad smirked and joined in, "Should you break out the guitar and sing it to us? If you haven''t picked it yet, we can help you."


    "Oh, we have already picked it�C"


    "There''s like 5 songs he sampled yesterday." Vanessa took her revenge by making sure I couldn''t talk my way out of it.


    I sighed in defeat and said, "Alright. We''ll do it when we finish eating."


    "Liar. He''s going to run." Mrs Henderson suddenly spoke up. Everyone turned to her in a daze, then they looked at me when they realized she was convinced it was going to happen.


    "Grab him!" Enid quickly grabbed my hand before I could stand up from my chair. The te and silverware ttered as my friends held me down.


    "Even you bro?" I looked at Jacob with disbelief.


    He smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry, I can''t go the opposite of the public opinion."


    Elsa whispered to his ear, "Great Job baby."


    "Damn! He''s seduced!"


    The adultsughed at the situation, and Aunt May asked, "What kind of songs is it for Ed?"


    "It''s a parody song. In the movie, he''s supposed to be holding the song back from release because it''ll ruin his brother''s reputation." Vanessa exined.


    I looked at her with disbelief and said, "You can''t even remember your own lines, but you can remember that?"


    Everyone relocated to the living room with a full belly. I sat with a guitar on top of a wooden chair, "I never thought that I would be this nervous sitting in front of people. Anyway, here''s...something. I''ll start you off light."


    Enid squealed as she turned to Jenna, "I''m so excited."


    "I want to record this." Jenna said.


    "No recording!" I pointed my finger at her, making her startled. "Just enjoy it with your eyes."


    "Jenna, don''t worry, Robin is always recording, and it''s in HD." My dad said to her.


    I was setting up the beats with Robin before I strummed the guitar. And of course, she was recording the whole thing.


    "This sample is of Tom Ryder creating his own boy group." I said as the music slowly came in.


    [Rock My Kiss�C Super Sweet (The Boys)]


    "?? I first saw you in my study hall, that''s right ??"


    With a sweet, melting voice, the song immediately attracted Vanessa, Enid, and Jenna.


    "?? Now you''re at Abercrombie in the mall tonight ??"


    "?? I wanna love you just like Brad loves Jen. Like Megan Fox, you''re my perfect TEN~~~!! ??"


    The song entered the chorus, and the girls swayed along their bodies as they listened. " ?? You can be my favourite girl. Then you can rock my world! I''ve never felt like this, Baby, Rock My Kiss!??"


    My grandmother was enjoying the song until the ''can rock my world'' part. She made a praying gesture and held her cross ne as she continued listening.


    "??Got such a crush on you ! Make all your dreamse true! Now''s my chance, can''t miss! Baby, Rock My Kiss! Rock My Kiss!??"


    Before I continued the song, I turned to the crowd, still strumming the guitar, and asked, "Do you want me to stop or continue?"


    "Continue!" Most of them replied at the same time.


    I smiled and sang, "??Kick off those Uggs and slide up next to me, alright.Got Netflix in my mailbox with some DVDs, alright.??"


    Jenna scoffed, "He still needs to advertise his Netflix business huh."


    "??How ''bout dinner, just you and me? You''re the girl of my dreams at the Cheesecake Factory~~~!!!! ??"


    "??You and me are front pag�� news! Like Katie Holm��s loves Cruise! I''ve never felt like this! Baby, Rock My Kiss!??"


    "??My ind dream came true. Like Lost I''m stuck on you. I''ll take my chance, won''t miss! Baby, Rock My Kiss!Rock My Kiss!??"


    I stopped strumming and went to Enid, grabbed her hand, and pull her close to me, "?? I will be your Edward, be my Be tonight, I could pull you close, give you a vampire biteee~~!!"


    Enid squealed and her face flushed. "You can bite me Ed!" She shouted as I returned to my seat. Sage shook her head in disbelief at me when she saw it.


    "??You can be my favourite girl! Then you can rock my world! I''ve never felt like this


    Baby, Rock My Kiss!! Just want a love so true! Like Ross and Rachel do!I''ve never felt such bliss! Baby, Rock My Kiss! Rock My Kiss!??"


    They apuded me as I finished the song. My Aunt Maymented, "You should probably use other examples than Ross and Rachel. Their rtionship is not that great."


    "Next one!" Enid demanded. "Alright, next up, ''MotherLover''." I said as I picked up the guitar again. Sage quickly ran towards me and stopped, "Alright, I think you can skip that one."


    Vanessa shouted, "Ed, sing Nice Guys or S.W.G. (Ryan Higa)"


    Maggie was confused, "You mean, S.W.A.G? You know, like swag?"


    Vanessa shook her head, "No, like Sweet Wholesome girl."


    Jenna''s eyes lit up and she shouted, "I want to hear that!"


    "I want to hear Nice Guys!" Amy said.


    "Let''s vote, who wants to hear Nice guys, who wants to hear SWG?" Uncle Jim took charge and made them raise their hands.


    "Do I get a vote?" I asked with disbelief.


    "No! Just sing Monkey." Amy teased.


    "Nice guys won. Sing that first, then you can sing S.W.G." Uncle Jim said mischievously.


    I sighed again and mumbled, "At the very least, Max isn''t here. Or else, I''ll die from embarrassment."


    Frankie suddenly pointed to aptop sitting on the stand next to her and said, "She''s been here the whole time." Max was on the screen,ughing until she lost her breath from the first song. Frankie unmuted her and said, "I called her when we left the table."


    Max couldn''t even talk properly as she would burst intoughter, "Be (Laugh)...You said you hate Twilight...(Laugh)..."


    "Look! Edward''s face is red!" Enid pointed out whileughing. I covered my face with my hand and said, "Is this bad karma? Have I done a bad thing recently?"


    Maggie was extremely satisfied by the performances today. Finally, she got her revenge on me.


    Elsamented, "You were the one sampling these for the movies. If anything, you did it to yourself."


    "Sing Nice guys!" Enid demanded again. Everyone was moring for me to start, which made me helpless.


    "Alright Alright." I said with a grimace. "The song is part vocal part rap. So, enjoy."


    [Ryan Higa �C Nice Guy. (Youtuber)]


    I sang with a sweet vocal, "?? Nice guys finishst~ That''s why I''ll treat you like trash."


    Everyone grimaced as they heard the lyrics. Maggie curled her fingers as she cringed, and Amy desperately tried to hold herughter.


    Even with a red face, I continued, "?? It''s not what I really wanna do, but~ You only date bad guys, so, I''ll give it my best try to, Treat you the way you want me to...??"


    Then, I rapped even while strumming the guitar, "?? I never open a door or pull out a chair. You can tell me how your day was, but I don''t really care. And if you ever get cold, you''ll just have to hack it,''Cause I''d be cold too if I gave you my jacket.??"


    "That''s true." My dadmented, which made Frankie turn to him in shock. "I agree." My Uncle Jim blurted out, which made him get pinched by Aunt May.


    The rap continued, "??Like, "Woah, you ain''t sittin'' upfront".Front is for the homies, you can sit in the trunk.??"


    Jacob gestured by hitting his chest 2 times. I pointed in agreement with him slightly, which made the girls there roll their eyes.


    "?? I never answer my phone, whenever you call it. And when the waiter brings the bill, I never reach for my wallet. ??"


    Vanessa mumbled, "Why am I briefly attracted to Ed just now?"


    Maggie rolled her eyes and said, "How bad a boyfriend Zac can be?"


    Max turned to Frankie and asked, "Isn''t that how a date usually went?"


    Frankie sighed and said, "No...it''s not."


    The chorus repeated, " ??Nice guys finishst. That''s why I''ll treat you like trash


    It''s not what I really want to do, but, You only date bad guys, so, I''ll give it my best try to,Treat you the way you want me to.??"


    I hesitated for a bit before continuing. Everyone caught it and prepared themselves, most were trying to control theirughter.


    I rapped abruptly, "??<i>And I''ma beat you!</i>??"


    "OH GAWD�C!" Maggie widened her eyes.


    As I continued, everyone breathed in relief," ??...in everypetition. Going out with the girls? You better get my permission, Wait, no, I take that back, you can''t go. Breaking Bad is on tonight and that''s my favorite show??


    "Again with the advertisement." Jennamented.


    I mimicked a girl''s voice, <i>"</i>??<i>Do I look fat in this dress?</i>??<i>"</i> before turning it back to normal, "??Hell yeah, you do.Wait, lemme speak yournguage, cows go, MOOO!!??"


    Everyone gasped in disbelief and bewilderment. Maggie''s and Vanessa''s jaw dropped in shock. I lowered my head in embarrassment, letting the beats loop on its own. Everyone desperately tried to hold back theirughter, but then, they failed.


    I took a deep breath and finally raised my head again, "?? Nice guys finishst


    That''s why I''ll treat you like trash. It''s not what I really want to do, ho-oh. You only date bad guys, so. I''ll give it my best try to, treat you the way you want me to??"


    As I sang the bridge, my embarrassment was finally gone. "??But behind the scenes


    She means the world to me.??"


    "Aww." Jenna and Enid eximed at the same time.


    "??I wanna tell her that she''s beautiful, And show her that she''s loved.??"


    Maxmented, "He ruined it now."


    "??Hold her hand when she''s scared''. Tell her how much I care. But that won''t win her heart because~~~!!!??"


    "?? Nice guys finishst! That''s why I''ll treat you like trash! It''s not what I really want to do, ho! You only date bad guys, so, I''ll give it my best try to!! Treat you the way you want me to!!??"


    I turned to Max and said, "Hoe."


    Max gave me a thumbs up and said, "He saved it."


    "I''m going to the bathroom." I said before I left the living room. Everyone was stillughing at the performance, and they kept discussing the song lyrics. After I washed my face, I bumped into Mrs Henderson in front of the door.


    "You have a nice little group right here, right Edward?" She said with a smile. I turned to my family and friends and said, "Not all of them could be here, but yes."


    She rubbed my hair and said nothing. I turned to the little group again and smiled softly. An idea started blooming inside my mind as I walked back towards them.


    "Now, I''m just going to sing MotherLover(The Lonely Ind) and end this."


    My next song resulted in a 2 hour long lecture from my grandmother. Everyone had to listen to it, not just me. When I came to the movie studio the next day, Pepper was startled to see the prominent eye bag underneath my eyes.


    "Oh this? My grandmother decided it wasn''t enough for me to listen to a 2 hour long lecture, so she gave a special session, just for me." I said as I pointed at my tired face.

 Chapter 285: Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 285: Chapter 285: Dragon</h4>


    (I''m back. I am still in pain lol)


    [Edward POV]


    As we prepared to shoot the first scene of the film, a team of hairdressers surrounded me as I sat on the makeup chair.


    One of them touched my hair and said with atina ent, "Such beautiful hair! Do we really need to cut them short?"


    "It''s short in the poster, so we have to!" A man in a pink blouse said sympathetically as he held a scissor.


    I chuckled and said, "You don''t need to cut it short. Make it darker, and also, a 7:3 part like I said before."


    "Not middle parting?" The curvaceoustina asked in confusion. The gay man pped her shoulder lightly and said, "I know what style he wants. Like in your Rolex advertisement, right Edward?"


    "Exactly. I''ll leave it to you guys." I said as Iid back on the chair. After a short transformation, I entered my character as Colt Seavers. My youthful brown hair was now gone, and it was also straightened a bit. Standing in front of a mirror, I button my zer as I check out my new image.


    My straight ck hair fell over my forehead, partially hiding my sharp green eyes, which seemed to pop against my green tie. A neatly folded handkerchief peeked from my pocket, and a silver cross hung around my neck.


    The hair color changes made my eyes seem even more mesmerizing. The hairdressers couldn''t stop staring. Pepper, Paige and Judd Apatow crashed into my dressing area, shooing the gawking staff members away.


    "My god. How did you suddenly age 10 years?" Judd eximed in shock. With contouring on my cheek, tired eyes, sharp gaze, I immediately entered the realm of the young adults, losing all of my innocent characteristics before.


    Pepper took his phone and started snapping some pictures while I posed in front of the mirror. "Hmm, dys, see if I can get the fake tattoo around my neck too. I need to be more charismatic�C Menacing. I need to be more menacing."


    The tattoo artist flinched as I used my deep, bassy voice as I ordered him. Paige was shocked and eximed, "Is this an actor''s capability! You changed everything about you!"


    It was my first time to use my Chameleon acting skill to the fullest. Internally, I was also a bit surprised by the changes, but the skill helped me in managing my facial expressions, keeping me in character at all times.


    I turned to her and smirked�C the new look made me seem quite devilish, which made the girls there feel flushed, including Paige. I stepped towards her, held her chin lightly, and said, "Is this character your type of man? Why are you blushing so hard?"


    Pepper was ted, "Right into character huh Ed! Come on! Let''s take a few official pictures at the set. I can''t wait to show this to your dad and my mother!" Paige breathed in relief as I released her. She walked to the side and lowered her head as she processed her embarrassment.


    (A/N: Kinda Like This)


    Vanessa also had her character preparation today. After adding some hair extensions, her hair was curled with a hot iron, transforming it into a voluminous mane. She also had to dye her hair, from ck to slightly brownish.


    It became fluffier and curlier, cascading down and almost reaching her belly button. The dramatic change added a lively ir, perfectly fitting her character''s vibrant, kind and loving personality.


    Her character traits were a stark contrast of mine. The idea of setting her up as my character''s love interest was based on the golden retriever girl and ck cat boy tropes in anime.


    Emily Blunt was ready in her character, exuding a sharp gaze that hinted at her inner strength. Her slightly messy dirty blonde hair framed her face, and with only light makeup, she looked like someone who had faced many challenges. Theyers of her clothing��sweatpants and running shoes��added to her rugged appearance, emphasizing her fortitude and resilience.


    Lastly, it was Ryan with a youthful and sunny temperament, dressed in navy blue shirt and white trousers and wearing loafers.


    The movie couldn''t really work with only 4 main characters, so there were multiple supporting characters that would appear in the movie. Donald Glover, a writer for 30 rock, and the future Childish Gambino, was casted as one of my assistants in the movie. An aspiring actress who didn''t have any roles yet, 18 years old Margot Robbie, as my other assistant who has a crush on my brother Tom Ryder.


    Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Scarlet Johanson, Emma Stone, Christina Applegate would all be cameo-ing in the movie as Tom Ryder''s past lover. They were convinced to appear when Judd told them that all they had to do was toe, beat up Ryan Gosling, and go. All of them were pretty excited to do it, which made Ryan a bit depressed.


    "Ed, there''s a problem." Judd suddenly pulled me aside after I did the photoshoot Pepper wanted. He nced around and said, "I kinda want to have an actress for ''Marissa''."


    I narrowed my eyes a bit in shock before asking, "She''s a running joke in the script. I don''t think we need someone to y her."


    Judd exined, "When someone is nominated for an Oscar, they''ll show a snippet of his acting performance right? We have that with Scarlet, but I think we need another one for Tom''s breakout performance."


    "Do you have any ideas?" I asked.


    "Honestly, not yet." Judd smirked. I rolled my eyes and said, "Me?"


    "Yes you! It''s your movie! Like I said before, I''m only here to make your creative visione true�C"


    "Alright stop." I said with a serious tone. He chuckled sheepishly while I rolled my eyes at him.


    After thinking about it for a few seconds, I said, "Breakout roles huh. We already have that Star Wars one. I guess we can make it from D&D. However, it will need CGI, so we''ll shoot that first, and Marissa''s scenes�C only if we can manage the short clip. Otherwise, we''ll scrap the idea...or put it only on DVDs."


    "Sounds like a n." Judd replied. Vanessa intercepted my path as Judd walked away. Holding her fluffy hair, she grumbled, "You know I can''t wash my hair for days after this."


    I chuckled and said, "You look like you haven''t washed your hair today."


    "Ugh!" She stomped away in dissatisfaction. In front of the director, she appeared grateful and polite, but in front of me, she alwaysined incessantly. I was a bit confused by it. ''<i>Doesn''t she know that I was the biggest boss she actually had to appear grateful and polite to?''</i>


    "Wait Vanessa." I called. She turned quickly, which made her hair swat her face, even a few strands entering her mouth. As she spat it out, I chuckled and said, "Never mind. I just want to see if that will happen."


    "You�C"


    As she was pissed, I walked away to get to the set whileughing. Vanessa didn''t have any scenes to do today, so she went home after getting fitted for her wardrobe.


    20 minutester, the first scene�C the introduction of the main characters, and the deal with the devil type contracts which forces Tom Ryder to date Emily Blunt''s character�C Jody Moreno, began filming. It took 13 takes to finish that 10 minute scene, which took almost 3 hours.


    Maggie documented the entire process on her camera for her documentary. She approached me with it after the director went to direct Emily and Ryan. "Ed, what are you doing now?" She asked.


    Flipping my notebook, I replied casually, "Preparing for my SATs."


    Maggie widened her eyes in surprise, "You''re doing it right now?!"


    "I have to study in between takes." I closed the book with one hand and turned to her, "So, go bother someone else."


    Pouting, Maggie grumbled as she walked away. I escaped the film set as they were taking a break and walked to the music studio. On my way there, I unexpectedly met Taylor and Selena in the hallways, right in front of the recording studio''s door.


    "Um, this is awkward." Selena joked to break the awkward silence between all of us.


    "Are you going to record the reply song now?" Taylor asked with a rushed tone. I smirked and said, "Unfortunately, no. I''m just here to record the opening song for the movie."


    Taylor and Selena widened their eyes as they heard my voice. "Selena, can youe closer?" I asked using a polite tone.


    Taylor''s eyes were affixed on me, which made Selena nced at her a few times warily as she stepped forward. "What do you�C"


    Before Selena could finish her sentence, I grabbed her face and pressed down the skin on her cheek with my thumb, moving my face closer to her, and began inspecting her eyes.


    Selena''s mind short-circuited as we locked eyes in a very close distance. Taylor fumed and stomped towards us, but halted her steps as I broke off the eye contact and began inspecting Selena''s skin instead.


    "You don''t feel any bloatedness or anything? Sluggish? Nauseous? You are still taking the pills right?" My hand was still grabbing her wrist as I checked her pulse. Selena stammered as she tried to recollect herself, "I�C I''m quite energetic, see?" She flexed her muscles, and became deted immediately after, "S-So, can you stop examining me every time we meet?"


    I released her hand and said, "Sorry, but there''s no way that''s going to happen." Selena smiled in exasperation, however, her eyes were filled with affections as she gazed at me.


    Taylor interjected, which made Selena snap back to reality, "Are you checking her lupus?"


    "Yes." I replied easily. "As long as she''s taking the pills, then that''s great. You should go to the doctor for a follow up." I said thest sentence to Selena. She nodded obediently and turned to Taylor, "This must be killing you."


    "Hmm..." Taylor eximed with a poker face, which made Selena shudder. Taylor suddenly showed her hand towards me, "Hey my hand is hurting too. So give me an examination."


    "Yes, I should give a lot more care to my top ie earner for thepany." I said as I grabbed Taylor''s hand. She seemed surprised by my skin and said bashfully, "I''m just ying around. You don''t have to do it"


    "No, no. It''s my responsibility to ensure you''re in your top condition. So after this, you''re going to the doctor and take an X-ray scan, before going to the physical therapist to get another opinion."


    Dumbfounded, Taylor protested, "I''m just ying! It DOESN''T HURT!"


    "See, I wanted to believe you, but this is thepany protocol. You don''t have a choice. I''ll wait for your x-ray scan to be ced on my table this evening." I said with an authoritative tone.


    Taylor panicked, "YOU''RE THE ONE WHO MADE THAT PROTOCOL!"


    "Actually, it''s Harvey. If you have aint about it, go see her." I said dismissively before entering the recording studio. "See you guyster~" I waved at them.


    Selena stopped me and said, "Hey, can I�CWE... watch the recording session?"


    I rubbed my chin and said, "It''s better not. I''m in character right now, but the song is pretty energetic, so I don''t want anyone to see me record it. It''ll break the character."


    Taylor scoffed and said, " It IS the reply song isn''t it?! That''s why we can''t get in."


    "You would never have the chance. I''ll need that doctor''s note before I can let you do anything." I said teasingly before entering through the door and locking it behind me.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Taylor and Selena were in a daze after Edward entered the room. Taylor turned to Selena and asked excitedly, "Did you notice that?"


    "That he have be incredibly sexy?" Selena muttered with astonishment. Taylor nodded and said, "The tattoos, the ck hair, the cross ne�C I almost grabbed his leg and begged him to take me back."


    Selena brushed her hair behind her ear before she said yfully, "Tay, from now on, we won''t be friends anymore. Hot guys like that worth more than our friendship."


    Taylor wrapped her hand around Selena''s shoulder and said cheerily, "What are you saying? We''re friends till the end! We''re best friends that will always get each other''s back." She quickly dragged Selena away from the studio, even though Selena kept turning and wanting to stay.


    Later that night, when the clock past midnight, Alexandra Daddario, an aspiring actress with glossy skin, piercing blue eyes, and reddish hair, walked into thepany building not apanied by her agent.


    Despite her mesmerizing eyes, her gaze seemed a bit lifeless and dull, as if she was forced to be there. She tightened her jacket and made sure to wear long pants as she prepared herself to meet the casting agent who specifically called her agency to offer her a role. "I wore the wrong dress today." She mumbled.


    ''Please, don''t be another pervert.'' Alexandra thought as she went to the reception desk. However, she was a bit surprised to see thepany building full of hustle and bustle even when it''s midnight.


    "Um, I have an appointment for the casting of Marissa." Alexandra politely told the female receptionist.


    The receptionist brightened up and said in a friendly manner, "Yes, you''re finally here. He''s been waiting for you. Get on the middle elevator and take it to the 17th floor. He''s waiting for you inside conference room 1."


    "Who''s waiting for me?" Alexandra asked warily. The receptionist showed a fanatical smile and said, "Who else? Our CEO."


    Alexandra''s heart fell as she thought it was another skeevy old man who wanted to have sex with her in exchange for a role, however she became surprised when the receptionist continued, "Mr Newgate. Edward Newgate!"


    "Oh." Alexandra rxed a little, but notpletely. Even though she knew about Edward''s song and had bought his album, she didn''t know about his personality in real life. After taking the elevator, she braced herself as she knocked on the conference room door.


    "Come in." Edward called. Alexandra opened the door and was taken aback when she saw Edward sitting on the couch, surrounded by books and stacks of work rted documents.


    Edward smiled as he saw her and greeted her warmly, "Ah, Miss Daddario. You''re here. Sorry, I don''t have much time so I''m going to go straight to the point. I wanted to hire you to be a dragon."


    "EXCUSE ME?!" Alexandra widened her eyes in disbelief. Edward smirked, which made her heart throb a little.


    "For the movie." Edward continued, which made her feel embarrassed as she thought Edward could see through her and knew what she was thinking about.


    "We''re on a really tight schedule, so I''m going to exin to you clearly about the role." Edward said before he stood up and gave a few stacks of papers to Alexandra. The script clearly only contains her part, that''s why it''s so thin. However, it made Alexandra feel tremendous relief knowing that the role was legit.


    "You have to be a bit quirky as the dragon. I want the few short minutes of Marissa to be really likable." Ed said as he grabbed a script too. "You can take some time to prepare. I''ll also record the entire casting process."


    Alexandra sat down on the single seat couch that was facing Edward''s 3 seater couch and started reading her role. "It''s simple enough." Shemented as she was reading the script. "But, I have to wear a horn?" She looked at Edward in confusion.


    Edward smiled softly and said, "It''s a different take from the Knight saving the Princess from the dragon''s grasp. The nervous knight made a mistake and identally shouted, "Dragon, I''m here to take you to be my wife", rather than ''Dragon, I''m here to kill you and make the princess my wife.'' It''s an idental slip of the tongue."


    Alexandra broke into a smile and held back herughter, "It''s really aedy movie huh. So, the dragon, feeling ttered that someone finally saw her, turned into a humanoid dragon which is even more beautiful than the princess, and epted his proposal?"


    "That''s right." Edward nodded.


    "So why me?" Alexandra asked curiously. Her heart was beating quicker the more she saw Edward''s face.


    Edward turned to her and said, "You have a face that suits this kind of fantasy setting, so I thought about you. Ah, her character in the movie and in real life is different. You have to show that you can act out 2pletely different characters if you want the part. I thought you are suitable for it, but if you don''t have the ability, I''m not going to give it to you�C"


    "I CAN!" Alexandra shouted urgently.


    It was an official breakout role for her to get into movies. With huge names in the film�C Director Judd Apatow, Ryan Gosling, Edward Newgate, Vanessa Hudgens, Emily Blunt, even RDJ and Scarlet Johanson cameo-ing, the opportunity was huge.


    She did act in supporting roles before, such as ''Pretty Girl'' in The Squid and The Whale, a horror movie, but she didn''t have any roles that made her stand out.


    Edward also felt a bit bad because he took the rights to the Percy Jackson movie and cut off her breakout role, so he was trying to make amends.


    Alexandra kept squirming on her couch, which made Edward feel bothered. He turned to her and asked, "Wouldn''t you feel morefortable if you took off your jacket?"


    She was taken aback for a bit, "This? No�C I came here from the club, um, I guess it''s fine. It''s quite hot in here." Slowly untying the knot on her jacket, Alexandra took it off only to reveal a blue crop top with a deep cleavage that made her assets prominent.


    Edward looked at her with disbelief, and Alexandra meekly replied, "I was, um, clubbing�C"


    "You were going to hook up didn''t you?" Edward said with a teasing smile as he propped his head with his hand as he looked at her yfully. Alexandra became abashed and said, "Well, I never expected to receive a casting call sote at night."


    "Well, sorry that I disturb your little me time." Edward teased again. Alexandra''s face became flushed and she giggled, "Don''t be sorry. This is better than my ''me time''."


    Edward didn''t gawk on her body and continued working on his documents, which made Alexandra admire him more. After a while, Alexandra and Edward did some line reading for the role, which she nailed perfectly under Edward''s strict guidance.


    "Alright, go to costume fitting. We''ll do your scene tomorrow." Edward said. Alexandra brightened up and rushed towards Edward before giving him an abrupt hug.


    "Thank you!" She eximed happily. Edward grunted and didn''t reciprocate the hug. Alexandra quickly realized that she had crossed the line and pulled herself back in embarrassment.


    "Um, sorry." She apologized. Edward sighed and said, "Don''t worry about it. You can go now. I''ll notify the designers. They are on the 14th floor."


    "T-Thanks!" Alexandra quickly ran out of the room. Edward mumbled as she left, "Damn. It''s so soft. I hate my teenage hormones."


    Days passed by, and it''s now Thursday.After Taylor dropped her song, the inte and tabloid media have been having a field day with it. Fans were begging to have some context about what happened between Taylor and Edward.


    Photos of Edward talking,ughing and joking with Vanessa Hudgens on the filming set became viral on social media, some anonymous posters also voiced that they had seen Vanessaing out of Edward''s house.


    They also said that;


    <i>Anonymous 1: Edward and Vanessa shared the same car!</i>


    <i>Anonymous 2: Edward and Vanessa acted in a movie together!</i>


    <i>Anonymous 420: Edward and Vanessa ate at the same restaurant! ( with the rest of the cast from the movie!)</i>


    For the Hollywood tabloid media, these posts just meant one thing. Edward was a despicable man, jumping from girls to girls�C A future Hollywood yboy in the making.


    Days passed by, and there were still noments from Taylor or Edward about the matter. Media hype slowly died down.


    Just when the fans thought that the matter would be brushed aside, Edward released a video on his Instagram on Wednesday. It was an ASMR video of him cutting firewood at the ranch with no caption other than the date, 12.4.2009 (Month first cause of US).


    4th of December, 2009. It would be exactly a week after Taylor released her song. Although the media was specting what it meant, loyal fans understood it immediately�C there would be a special thing happening on that date, presumably a song from his side.


    Then, the dying embers of the scandal erupted again, bing an even hotter topic this time, breaching even the Fox news and other mainstream media.

 Chapter 286: Reply.

    <h4>Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Reply.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Thursday. Late at night. Today, I stayed at my previous house as my seaside vi was crowded with paparazzis and fanatical fans trying to get the truth.


    There were a few paparazzis in the neighborhood when I came by, however, I snuck into my own house from the backyard and jumped to the window, so they didn''t notice that I was there.


    My dad and Frankie stayed behind at the seaside vi with the rest of my family members to give the paparazzis the illusion that I was there. No less than an hour after I got here, the paparazzis in the neighborhood all left to stake out at my sea side vi instead.


    "Damn, this reminds me of the ''Bieber Fever''." I muttered as I closed the curtains to my room before opening my book. Fans were following me everywhere I went�C especially my tween fans. This made me wonder, didn''t they have school? Were their parents enabling their behavior by letting them behave like this?


    Exhaustion was prominent on my face as I stopped using my rest skill to sleep, which meant, I only got an hour or two hours worth of sleep daily.


    Last night, it was longer, and it made me start dreaming again�C something that I hadn''t really done since I starteding to the world. I dreamt of a scene where I saw my aunt bleeding out in my arm. Their resistance in Cuba had borned no results, and they were suppressed by the government''s army.


    As I recalled the dream, I furrowed my eyebrows and rubbed my forehead in concern. Suddenly, I heard a knocking from the bedroom window. I jumped out of the chair and stealthily went to peek behind the curtains. There, I saw Haley waving at me while standing on adder.


    Breathing a sigh of relief, I opened the door and asked whisperingly, "Why did youe here�C Better yet, how did you know I''m here?"


    As I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room, she replied with a struggle, "Amy told��- ME!" She breathed heavily as she was tired from the run to get here. "She said there''s no food in your house, so I want to stop by�C"


    When Haley said that, she realized that she had forgotten something. I chuckled and said, "So, you have time to do your hair and put on some makeup, but you forget to grab the food?"


    "Shut up, I''ll just go home and grab it again." Haley rolled her eyes, but as she wanted to climb the door back down, I saw a paparazziing out of his car with his camera in his hand, so I pushed her head down and crouched on the ground.


    "Get down." I told the confused Haley as I slowly closed the window and curtains while not making a sound.


    "You seem like a criminal." Haleymented as we both were crouching on the floor. I chuckled and said, "I am one. It''s a crime to be this handsome."


    Haley giggled before she gasped as she noticed my hands, "You have a tattoo!"


    "Temporary tattoos." I replied before I said, "Let''s go downstairs. It''s not ideal to stay in my bedroom for a long time."


    Haley became confused again and she asked as I duck-walk away, "Why is it not ideal?"


    I turned to her and said mischievously, "Oh, I''m a little hungry, and also pent up. One way or another, I''m going to eat something, so we need to make sure it''s food."


    She smacked my back as she heard it, her cheek blushed a little. "Pervert! I should''ve nevere!"


    "It''s toote for regret now."


    After we got out of the room, we walked normally and went to the kitchen. I searched the fridge, and Haley searched the cabs. As my dad and I basically didn''t live here anymore, there was nothing inside the fridge.


    "Hey! I found some instant noodles." Haley whispered and gleamed in excitement as she found the ramyeon pack I had bought before. There were only 2 packets left inside the package, however, I didn''t have anything else to put inside of it. No eggs, nothing.


    "Are you inviting me to eat ''Ramyeon'' together Haley? Didn''t know you''re so forward." I said insinuatingly as I reached out for the ramyeon in her hand.


    Confused, Haley asked, "Is there another meaning for eating noodles together?"


    I took out a bronze coloured pot�C the stainless steel pot Koreans used to cook their noodles in, and a portable butane stove so I cooked it on the table. As I did that, I replied to her, "Yeah. They usually use subtle wording, and in this case, inviting someone to eat Ramyeon together means to have sex."


    Haley looked at me disdainfully and said, "You''re messing with me."


    "Google it then." I said with a cheeky smile before setting up the pot on the table. Pouring enough water for 2 packets of noodles, I waited for the water to heat up before cing the noodles in.


    Haley eximed as she read the Google result, "Damn it. Butttt�C"


    I interjected, "You said butt."


    "Not that butt. The but. Wait, that sounds the same. B.U.T." She spelled it out for me and continued her initial topic sentence, "We''re living in the West. So eating noodles are...eating noodles."


    "You sound disappointed." Imented. She bared her teeth at me yfully, "I wasn''t!"


    Ripping out the seasoning packet with my teeth, I poured them inside next. After a short minute, the noodles were finally ready. Haley and I sat in front of each other as she wanted to watch me eat, however, I told her, "Grab a spoon. Join me. It feels a bit lonely eating all alone."


    "Will this make my face puffy tomorrow? Cause thest time I ate instant noodles at night, my face got very puffy." Haley said worriedly. I chuckled and said, "Yes, definitely. But do it anyway? For me?"


    "Ugh. Fine." She groaned before smiling as she picked up a utensil. She slurped the noodles and eximed in awe. "Uhm, this is great. It''s so worth it getting my face puffy tomorrow. Um, Ed, tomorrow is when you''re going to release the song reply right?"


    "Yes." I nodded casually. "Luckily we didn''t date. Otherwise, you''ll be crazy jealous." I teased.


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "I''m not going to get jealous if something like that happens."


    "You mean, if we date, and I wrote a highly personal, affectionate, loving song to my ex-girlfriend, you will be cool with it?"


    Haley swallowed the food in her mouth before she replied, "Strike my previous statement. I''ll be he mad."


    I nodded in understanding, and when we saw each other''s eyes, we burst outughing. I started eating again, and Haley talked while I did, "So, you made sure toe to Luke''s birthday party, and you''re going to do the same thing to mine right? Now that we''re talking about Luke''s birthday party, remember that you kissed me there? What does that mean?"


    Her questions made me choke on my noodles for a bit before I replied, "Um...I will definitelye to your sweet 16. I do remember kissing you in front of your mother. It''s to mess with ire...mostly."


    "I see." Haley nodded in understanding, her eyes showed that she was deep in thoughts.


    I propped my head with the back of my hand while it was still holding the chopsticks and leaned forward, "Did the answer make you dissatisfied? Perhaps, are you waiting for a different answer?"


    "I''m still thinking about whether or not to be mad at you for using me." Haley said while ring at me. Taken aback, I tried to appease her, "Would it help in your decision if I say that I wouldn''t have done it with anyone else in that party�C I mean, the prank?"


    She mused the question for a few seconds before she said, "Okay, you''re forgiven."


    "Yes!" I pumped my fist slightly, which made her giggle.


    We talked a lot while we ate. She told me all about her life at school, and she asked me about my family. I told her that my grandmother was pissed at me, even standing behind me as I wrote the reply song to make sure that the lyrics weren''t suggestive in any ways.


    "I think I''ll go home now. My parents don''t know that I snuck out." Haley said before she peeked behind the living room curtain while I was washing the pot. "But the guy is still here though."


    The lone paparazzi was still lurking in front of my house, which prevented Haley from returning. "I wanted to walk you back, but I guess you had to stay here longer." I said as I dried my hand with a towel.


    "I guess I have too. There''s no other choice." Haley imed with a shrug. We actually could distract the guy for a few minutes to let her leave, but none of us wanted to voice out this option.


    "I guess you don''t." I said with a shrug too. We walked to my bedroom where sheid in my bed and I continued studying for my SATs. Haley kept her eyes on me,ying down sideways and propping her head up while I was focusing on the book, but her intense stare made me lose my focus.


    "What?" I turned to her with a smile. She giggled and said, "I''ve never seen you study before. Also, do you really need to cram at thest minute? I thought you''re a genius."


    I closed my book and showed her the title, "It''s Literature. Math, Science, and any other subjects, I have no problems with, but Literature makes me quite nervous."


    "You should sleep. You look really exhausted. At first I thought it was makeup, but you''re not wearing any right now aren''t you?" She said with an affectionate tone. "Comey down here." She patted the pillow next to hers.


    "I prefer this natural exhausted face. But since you invited me, I don''t want to be rude."


    We cuddled for a bit, and I wrapped my hand around her, pulling her close. Before long, exhaustion swept over me and I fell asleep. Her, soon after.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Friday arrived, and Taylor woke up at as early as 4 am because she didn''t want to miss out on the song release. "What time will he upload it? Damn it! I should at least know that�C He should''ve told me that."


    Selena groaned and whined as her sleep was disturbed by the lights Taylor turned on and her angry rambling. With her eyes still closed, Selena replied with exhaustion, "You didn''t tell him anything. Why should he do that for you?"


    "You should go back to sleep!" Taylor scolded Selena. It was a long and excruciating morning for Taylor. She had called Pepper more than 10 times before 7 am, which made the old man curse every time he was woken up by the ringtone.


    Edward drove his car to the school, where the students were surprised to see him. He greeted Jacob with a fist bump, and Enid bumped her head on Edward''s back as she ran to hug him. Enid wanted to wish him luck before the exam, so she made her sister drive her back to middle school even though she had already arrived at her destination.


    Before a crowd could form, Principal Brown quickly led Edward to the SAT exam hall where he would''ve to stay there for 5-6 hours to finish the exam. He also couldn''t bring his phone with him into the exam hall, so he would be disconnected from the outside world.


    A crowd of paparazzis quickly formed outside of the school gate when the news that Edward would take the SATs were shared on social media. Finally after a week, the paparazzi have a perfect opportunity to ask Edward some questions.


    Edward sat inside the ssroom together with the seniors in the same school. As the exam paper was ced on top of his desk, his music video was uploaded into Entertain''s website and also Youtube EntertainVevo Channel.


    "Start." Mrs Henderson, the district representative, started the exam at 8 am. As Edward flipped through the exam questions, his song''s views climbed up exponentially on the entertainment websites.


    On the Entertain website, there was a live chat feature for the premiere of the music video. Fans who waited for the song release instantly jumped on the chat feature and showered Edward with their support there.


    The song and the music video carried a mncholic and dark undertone. It started with a few piano notes, and a short opening of Edward walking in a church.


    [Daylight�C David Kushner]


    Using a baritone voice, Edward''s singing made the fans have goosebumps when his voice hit their ears.


    <i>"?? Telling myself I won''t go there... Oh, but I know that I won''t care... Tryna wash away all the blood I''ve spilt??"</i>


    Taylor listened to the song intently while her eyes were fixated on herptop screen. Her heart beats quicker as she bes anxious from the first verse, fearing that Edward would smear her in his song.


    Selena quickly jumped from the bed and peeked at Taylor''s screen as she woke up from her sleep.


    <i>"??This lust is a burden that we both share...Two sinners can''t atone from a lone prayer...Souls tied, intertwined by pride and guilt??"</i>


    Selena was bbergasted and smacked Taylor''s shoulder. "Oh my god!" She covered her mouth and stared at Taylor in disbelief. The diehard fans also had simr reactions as Selena. Taylor''s lips curled upwards, but she quickly calmed herself down.


    Edward''s crooning at the pre-chorus made a lot of his teenage girls fans be dazed. With his ck hair, jacket and ne, he stood beside a log cutting station and sang.


    <i>"??(Ooh) There''s darkness in the distance... From the way that I''ve been livin''... (Ooh) But I know I can''t resist it~~ (OH)??"</i>


    As the song entered the chorus, the Tayward shippers squealed in excitement, with several people, numbering in the double digit, fainted because of it.


    <i>"?? Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time! You and I drink the poison from the same vine! Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time! Hidin'' all of our sins from the daylight!??"</i>


    <i>"?? From the daylight, runnin'' from th�� daylight! From the daylight, runnin'' from the daylight! Oh, I love it and I hat�� it at the same time~!??"</i>


    Pepper became exasperated when he heard it, "He''s gone crazy! He''s really gone crazy this time! He basically had admitted to the world that THEY HAD S�C"


    The fact that Edward used the same wording of love and hate in his chorus allowed the fans to make the connection from Taylor''s Hate U Love U song. Taylor found herself fixated on one of the lyrics, so she turned to Selena, "What do you think he means by ''drink poison from the same vine''."


    Selena was confused, "Isn''t that obvious?"


    The song continued with Edward finding himself being dragged by people and stoned in the music video.


    "?? Tellin'' myself it''s thest time! Can you spare any mercy that you might find...


    If I''m down on my knees again???"


    "??Deep down, way down, Lord, I try! Try to follow your light, but it''s nighttime! Please don''t leave me in the end! ??"


    Edward''s sincere plea made the line resonated with a lot of people living in situations where they couldn''t find their way out. A depressed teenager who shuts herself inside her room, began to cry as she watched the video. Not only that, divorcees, parents whose children were sick, all of those people in the same spot rted greatly to the song.


    <i>"?? (Ooh) There''s darkness in the distance... I''m beggin'' for forgiveness... (Ooh) But I know I might resist it, oh??"</i>


    In the music video, Edward consciously held hands with a fiery man, knowing that he would also be caught on fire.


    Haley listened to the song and she remembered something fromst night. When Edward and her were cuddling on the bed, she asked him an honest question.


    "Ed, you know that I''ll do anything for you. But, why haven''t you asked me to? We could just ''do it''. No strings attached."


    From their flirting that night, and the fact that he''s pent up, Haley was curious as to why he never actually crossed the line with her.


    Edward hugged her close and said while closing his eyes, "I don''t want you to just be a ceholder. I want to date you, properly. Even if it''ll take me 2 years to finally do it."


    <i>"??Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time...You and I drink the poison from the same vine??</i>


    <i>"??Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time, Hidin'' all of our sins from the daylight??"</i>


    Haley giggled and said, "Too bad. I''m thest one in my ss to lose my virginity. I kinda want to do it before my 16th birthday so as to not beme."


    Edward chuckled and said, "I mean, we can do that�C"


    "Don''t go back on your words so easily!" Haley punched him in the chest.


    <i>"??From the daylight, runnin'' from the daylight... From the daylight, runnin'' from the daylight...Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time??"</i>


    Back to the present, the song quickly became popr an hour after it was released. It climbed the Billboards top 100 songs, and it was also being released on the radios.


    <i>"??Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time!??"</i>


    <i>"??You and I drink the poison from the same vine??"</i>


    Taylor listened to the song and said, "So basically, he''s saying that he still wants me, but he won''t let himself. Right?"


    Selena was still confused by the lyrics and said, "I think your delusional disorder needs professional help."


    <i>"??Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time, Hidin'' all of our sins from the daylight??"</i>


    <i>"??From the daylight, runnin'' from the daylight, From the daylight, runnin'' from the daylight??"</i>


    <i>"??Oh, I love it and I hate it at the same time??"</i>


    The fansmented heavily on the live chat, and within three minutes of the song, more than 30,000ments were posted. Arge crowd, numbering in the hundreds and the numbers of people kept increasing at the school''s gate as they waited to catch a sight of Edward.


    It became sorge that police had to be involved to barricade the school and take control of the situation.


    Inside the exam hall, Edward found the SAT test to be easier than he thought. The first section, which was the critical reading,prises multiple-choice questions rted to readingprehension. The time allocated for that was 75 minutes.


    Next was the mathematics section,it includes multiple-choice and grid-in questions on various math topics. Edward took 10 minutes to finish answering the questions, then he got bored because he couldn''t submit his papers early.


    Mrs Henderson stood beside Edward, peeking at his exam papers. Even though he wasn''t cheating, her presence made him anxious. Suddenly Mrs Henderson announced to the ss, "Please read your exam questions properly."


    "Hmm?" Edward was confused and he double checked his papers, then, he triple checked it, but he couldn''t find anything wrong. When he looked at Mrs Henderson, he noticed a slight smirk on her face as she was watching him.


    "Damn it. I was tricked!" Edward grumbled in annoyance.

 Chapter 287: Danger Zone.

    <h4>Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Danger Zone.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    The SATs ended at 12:15 in the afternoon. After submitting thest paper, we were finally released from the ssroom. Some had frowns on their faces, while others were happy.


    Me? You might think that I would be smiling, but as soon as I heard the cacophony of shouts from the paparazzi and the fans, the good feeling I had from nailing the exam was crushed by a giant wave of anxiousness in my heart.


    "EDWARDDDD~~~~~!!!!!!!!!"


    "Mr. Newgate! A question, please!"


    "EDWARD!! DID YOU BREAK UP WITH TAYLOR!"


    To give them some credit, they were silent during the SAT process. I didn''t even notice therge crowd of people until after it ended.


    Mrs. Henderson walked past me with the exam papers in her hand. I looked toward her and said, "Do you need any help?"


    "A student should never get their hands on these, so no," Mrs. Henderson replied while carrying a heavy box. I shrugged and said, "What if he''s not a student?"


    "Then I guess he can," Mrs. Henderson said, stopping her walk. "Randall," I called into the empty space in front of me, and my manager appeared from out of the bushes. "Help her," I ordered him.


    Randall hesitated and said, "Edward, this time you might note out unscathed. I should be with you to minimize the risk��"


    I waved him off dismissively and replied, "Mickey is enough for that. Also, don''t forget where I am right now. I have a lot of backups here."


    Turning to Mrs. Henderson again, I asked, "You''re going to give me a present for Christmas, right?"


    Taken aback, Mrs. Henderson replied in confusion, "Why should I?"


    "Being the woman who has known me my entire life, it''s kind of your obligation. I''ll wait for the present," I said cheekily. She gave a helpless smile, and I snapped my fingers at Randall. He begrudgingly picked up the box from Mrs. Henderson and took a deep breath to say something.


    But before Randall could say anything else, my backups arrived. "ATTENTION! READY! SET! HUTTT!!!!"


    The entire football team, d in their game uniforms and armor, marched two by two to where I was standing. The uncanny sight was captured by the paparazzi, with shes of light falling on them.


    They created a circr perimeter around me. Jacob and Kyle pushed up the guards of their helmets, and Kyle said, "The cavalry''s here!"


    Jacob added, "We thought you might need us to escort you out of school."


    "My initial n was to hire an actual tank, but I guess I can make do with you guys," I chuckled teasingly. The team snickered at myment.


    As Randall escorted Mrs. Henderson back to the faculty room, he asked her in a friendly manner, "You''re the woman who has known Edward the longest?"


    "I was his homeroom teacher throughout middle school, so I guess I ampared to the other women��except for his family," Mrs. Henderson replied with a poker face.


    Randall eximed in realization, "Ah, that makes sense."


    The cheerleaders snapped some pictures of the team circle, and basically the entirety of the student body, even the faculty members, stopped what they were doing and became spectators.


    "Ah, also, if we''re breaking out of here, there''s something I''ve always wanted to do," I said to the team. They looked confused. "What do you want to do?" Jacob asked.


    I smirked and exined the situation to them. Ten minutester, Mickey drove my Ford Dodge convertible, but I was sitting on the car hood with a microphone in my hand. The car bo was open, revealingrge speakers inside.


    Mickey sweat heavily from the anxiety. For the first time since he was promoted to be my head of security, he felt a sense of regret for jumping on the opportunity. He pressed the gas pedal without entering the gear, making the car engine roar.


    "My soldiers! We''re breaking through the front gate!" I shouted to the football team, who were protecting the car and boosting its morale. The entire school cheered for the ''Dolphins,'' and the guards opened the metal gate that was blocking the crowd from entering the school.


    "Everyone! Hi! Thank you for showing me your support while I was facing the exam! I think I did pretty well," I waved to them while speaking into the microphone. The sound reached the entire crowd, and everyone could hear my words.


    The speaker drowned out the paparazzi''s questions, and the football yers formed a protective barrier around me, making it impossible for anyone to get close. They could only shout their questions from afar. Some even tried to insult me to gain my attention, but I ignored them all.


    My fans were ted to see me; the tween girls squealed and let out hysterical screams when theyid their eyes on me. Suddenly, as the car��moving very slowly��began to prate the crowd, music started ying.


    "Everyone! Sing it with me!" I said casually as I sat cross-legged on the car hood. It felt like I was at a concert, and some people recognized the song.


    "I can''t see." Mickey was sweating heavily as he drove through the crowd. "You''re doing well, Mickey, just an inch at a time," I whispered to encourage him.


    [A Thousand Miles �C Vanessa Carlton]


    A meter into the human barricade, I started singing, "?? Makin'' my way downtown, Walkin'' fast, faces pass, And I''m homebound ??"


    The football team struggled to hold back theirughter while focusing on keeping the people from breaching their defenses. The police, present for some reason, also helped clear the way as we started breaking free. That''s when I spotted a familiar face.


    Detective Chloe Decker was there. From the looks of it, she was doing grunt work for the uniformed officers, likely punished by her captain for something again. Or maybe it was because I spoke up for her before, and he was being petty. Who knows?


    "?? Starin'' nkly ahead, Just makin'' my way, Makin'' a way through the crowd ??"


    The unusual and historic scene for the entertainment industry was being recorded by numerous people, whether it was on Instagram Live or a video on YouTube, being uploaded as it happened.


    With a slight shake of my head, I sang the best part, imitating a scene from the movie White Chicks. "And I need you ????????, And I miss you, ????????, And now I wonder~~"


    "?? If I could fall into the sky, Do you think time would pass me by? ''Cause you know I''d walk a thousand miles, If I could just see you~~, tonight ??"


    Finally, I managed to prate the crowd just as thest notes of the song faded away. I turned and waved goodbye to everyone. With onest nce at the sea of cheering faces, I jumped back toward my seat, feeling the adrenaline rush.


    Mickey pressed the gas pedal, and the car surged forward, elerating us out of the school area. The roar of the engine drowned out the chaos behind us as fans and paparazzi scrambled to chase after us.


    "Thank you guys for your help!" I shouted to my teammates. They waved at me as the crowd finally gave up trying to chase the car.


    "Damn, that was fucking crazy!" Mickey eximed, his anger giving way to relief as we escaped the situation. Iughed out loud and said, "Get used to it. That will happen a lot."


    "This is just a hypothetical question, but can I get demoted back to where I used to be?" he asked carefully.


    I smirked evilly and replied, "Hypothetically? Never in a million years. Of course, hypothetically, I could fire you, and you could, hypothetically, try out for your past position again, although I wouldn''t hypothetically hire you back."


    "Lucky for me, it was just a hypothetical situation," Mickey replied with a cunning smile.


    My Twitter and Instagram notifications were going crazy as I drove back to thepany building. A lot of people were tagging me in the breakout video, and it was trending on all social media.


    "I should buy Twitter too," I muttered to myself. Mickey was shocked and turned to me with disbelief, but then he epted the thought, knowing I had the capability to do that.


    RDJ quoted a link to the event posted by my fan club and asked, "@Edward Newgate, what event prompted this?"


    I replied simply, "@OfficialRDJ Terry Crews, White Chicks. Also, I''m a Vanessa Carlton fan."


    Twitter didn''t have the capability to upload videos yet at the time, but on Instagram, my reply made the Terry Crews A Thousand Miles clip from White Chicks go viral again.


    Vanessa Carlton and Terry Crews also quoted my reply without adding anyments. Terry just shared a shocked emoji with his tweet.


    Some news outlets even covered the incident. With my song release in the morning and the current events happening in the afternoon, the media couldn''t get enough of me.


    There was a crowd of paparazzi outside thepany building, too. After I changed and settled a few things there, I drove out to continue the movie filming at a nearby park.


    Pepper and Harvey were already there. Pepper smacked my bicep with his paper fan and scolded me, "You''re insane, aren''t you? How could you do such a thing? It''s really dangerous! What if you fall or, worse, get mauled by those savages? We would have to postpone your movie!"


    He was mad that I didn''t sneak out of the school as usual. There were plenty of ways I could have done that��jumping the side gate, using the back gate, sneaking out in disguise, calling in the SUV cavalry, or even a helicopter ride away��but I chose the most direct way out of there.


    "Ow, those savages are my fans," I winced in pain, even though it didn''t hurt, and defended my fans. "They''lle here soon. They can sniff your scent. We''re going to see if we can do this in a more private area," Harvey exined to me.


    I unbuttoned my jacket and said, "It''ll take longer. Are you sure about this? Usually, fans won''t interfere with filming, will they?"


    Harvey nodded and replied, "They usually don''t. But��"


    "Then it''s fine. We can do this," I said with a coy smile. Pepper frowned and smacked me again. "Listen when people are worried about you."


    "Ow! One day of filming being postponed will cost us $500,000. Are you sure you want to postpone it?"


    Pepper was startled. "Wait. Really?!"


    "He''s lying," Harvey chuckled as she watched Pepper''s naive reaction. "But we will still lose some money. Not $500,000, but still... People need to eat."


    "We''ll continue the filming!" Pepper decided quickly. Harvey and I snickered together before I got into character and went to film the scene for the movie.


    There would be several scenes to be shot here��one on theke involving boats, and another scene where I would be in disguise, watching RG and EB to ensure they were dating properly as per my agreement with them.


    We shot the scenes until sunset. I even forgot to eat lunch due to the tight schedule. However, I was pleased to say that we had almost enough scenes for the trailer. We still needed one more scene, which was set to be filmed at the climax of the movie��two weekster��before the trailer would be released just before New Year''s.


    By then, we would have nearly everything required for the movie, except for the scenes that needed CGI. I hoped we could finish filming before Christmas because I wanted to give my crew a holiday break.


    If we couldn''t wrap things up before Christmas, they would have to continue without me after New Year''s, which would disrupt the production schedule since I would be in Japan for my world tour after the holiday.


    "I really hope there won''t be anyplications." I muttered with some helplessness as I waved at the fans crowding the filming area. They didn''t breach the barricade, regardless, their presence made the filming be much harder.


    ...


    "I am so tired," I eximed as I entered my seaside vi at 2 a.m. The filming ended at 10:30, but a long discussion with Paige and the director made me get home thiste.


    As I took off my shoes, Robin''s hologram appeared in front of me. "Your guest has left."


    We don''t wear shoes inside the house, but we do wear indoor slippers.


    "I know," I said, then asked, "Is there anything to eat?"


    "Your grandmother has set aside some food for you in the fridge," Robin replied. "She''s worried about you and wanted to know why she came out to California if you weren''t going to spend time with her. "


    "She''sining, Robin. She doesn''t really want to know about that. It''s just Grandmother''s guilt-tripping methods. Make a folder," I exined with an intrigued smile.


    Robin''s hologram blushed and said, "Got it, Sir. Your grandparents will be leaving tomorrow. Should I schedule some time for you to give them a proper send-off?"


    I nodded. "Yeah, do that. Otherwise, I won''t hear the end of it. Ah, Christmas. Did Grandma say anything about that?"


    Robin replied, "She declined your invitation toe here because she wanted a white Christmas. There isn''t any snow in California, so she asked you toe to Wisconsin."


    "There''s usually a snowstorm there around that time. Once, my dad, my birth giver, and I were stuck at the airport for 26 hours because of a snowstorm. We almost missed Christmas. Hmm, I have a lot to do. Maybe my dad and I will just celebrate here this year."


    "Your grandmother will be angry," Robin replied with a fearful expression. She finally captured the emotion well, hugging her body and giving a slight shiver. After dismantling the robot I found underneath Greendale Community College, I upgraded Robin with an emotion sensor system created by Russell Borchert.


    He used the device to y with his nipple and share the intoxicated feeling with his robot, Raquel, in an attempt that I could only hypothesize as making love with her�C it. I saw the potential to upgrade Robin so she could recognize human emotions.


    Robin used a scanner to analyze brain synapses to identify feelings. It made her even more human than Sheldon, however, there were a few disadvantages.


    Once, when I was online trying to find something to ''release'' my pent-up state, Robin realized that my brain synapses were going haywire and blocked all the rted websites in the house. I couldn''t even exin to her what I was doing because of the embarrassment, so she''s still blocking them to this day.


    As I was taking out some food from the fridge, Amy and Maggie walked groggily out of their room and approached me. Maggie yawned, her long red hair disheveled. She was wearing starry pajamas, while Amy wore moon-patterned pajamas.


    "Why are you guys up?" I asked in confusion.


    Amy replied in a hoarse voice, "To get some water."


    Maggie added, "Amy stepped on my stomach, so I have to pee. Grandma made you some chicken."


    "Go back to sleep," I told them. However, they sat down at the dining table, intending to keep mepany while I ate. They asked me a few questions about the song and told me how crazy things were on the inte today.


    The song''s music video also had 60 million views in one day. Taylor''s music video almost jumped up 30 million views today, making her views collection almost racing 200 million. The views were slowing down after the first day, but it''s still rising faster than the other music video being released.


    ''I think BTS still holds the record in my previous life. 108 million views in one day.'' I thought secretly as I was talking with Amy and Maggie.


    Entertain has started video mization so I have earned a lot of money today. Entertain videos were basically 2015 era Youtube, with numerous channels popping up daily. Youtube has fallen far behind in technology, video refresh rate, quality, and so on. Many people were migrating to Entertain websites.


    On Youtube, my video views count was less than 10 million as most people opted to watch it on Entertain.


    Around 3 am, when I was lying in bed, I suddenly got a text message from Taylor.


    Taylor: Exin the song.


    Me: I''m tired. Just got back home from filming.


    Taylor: (picture.jpg)


    She send me a selfie of her in front of the mirror, wearing a tank top and shorts, sitting cross legged while hiding her face behind the phone.


    Taylor: Exin it or I''ll send you another.


    Me: (Sleep.emoji)


    Taylor: (Picture.jpg)


    She pulled her tank upward, revealing her stomach and slight underboobs in the picture. After a long pause, I sent her a reply text.


    Me: This isn''t a good idea.


    Taylor: Why? You said in the song that you still want me!


    It started an argument between us, and after some long heated discussions, I had to use my rest skill to get some much needed rest before I have to go work at 7 am tomorrow morning.


    The exhaustion on my face didn''t fully go away even if I had enough rest for the night. Around 10 a.m when I was preparing to go to the film site, Taylor stomped her way into my office with an angry expression.


    "What exactly are you ying at? Are you only using my feelings to make your song trending!?" She used me. "Is that all I ever was to you!"


    With an annoyed expression, I replied in a cold tone, "Didn''t you do the same thing...first?"


    Taylor was taken aback, and then tears started pooling in her eyes. "You''re an asshole!" She cursed before she stomped away. I sighed in exasperation and said, "I''m too tired for this."

 Chapter 288: Do you believe in Father Christmas?

    <h4>Chapter 288: Chapter 288: Do you believe in Father Christmas?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    In Southern California, winter weather is generally mild, ranging from cool to warm, with rain being moremon during this season. I went back early from my filming today, around 4 in the evening, and spent some time with my grandparents before sending all of them to the airport after a family dinner.


    "Goodbye, Grandma, Grandpa," I said as I hugged them at the airport. The sky was a bit cloudy, but there were no signs of impending rain. My grandparents embraced me, my grandmother nagging me the whole time, while my grandpa simply gave me a pat on the back.


    "Take care of yourself, Ed. You''ve already missed so much of your childhood. I wish you could enjoy your life instead of working so hard," Grandma Jules said, holding me close. After releasing me, she kept her hand on my shoulder and stared into my eyes. "Promise me."


    "I promise I''ll work a little less during the holidays," I said, raising my hand in a vow.


    "How much less?" she asked.


    "Twenty percent?" I replied hesitantly.


    "Make that ny," she countered.


    "Twenty-five," I shot back.


    "Eighty-five!"


    "Twenty-six!"


    "Are you not willing to go higher than twenty-six?" My grandma looked at me in disbelief. "If I want to aplish my five-year n to conquer the world, then I cannot," I replied with a mischievous smirk.


    Uncle Jim, who had be golden brown from tanning at the beach, smiled and interjected, "You''re going to be aic viin?"


    "Viin implies I''ll be foiled by a superhero. But in this world, there are no superheroes. So yeah, I''m going to be a sessfulic viin. The next Bezos."


    "Who?" My uncle contorted his face in puzzlement. Amy chimed in, "I thought you wanted to be Batman!"


    "The thrill of the double life does intrigue me," I nodded in agreement with her before adding, "But I don''t want to suffer. My dad told me to be more selfish, like a viin."


    My dad nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I did say that. And I still stand by it."


    Frankie agreed with him, but the rest of my family looked befuddled. Suddenly, my grandpa burst intoughter, breaking the awkward silence.


    After sending off my family, Maggie and I headed back to the house. Dad and Frankie went back to their work��at least that''s what they told me��but they shared a car, even though they were going in opposite directions.


    As my house came into view, I noticed a streak of brown and red in the sky, vanishing in the blink of an eye, just out of sight from my house.


    "Hmm? A drone?" I wondered, rmed, and quickened my pace. Once home, I asked Robin if there were any drones or intruders around, but she confirmed that no one had entered.


    "Ed, there''s a scroll for you on the desk," Maggie said, her eyes sparkling as she pointed to a parchment rolled and tied with a red ribbon on the coffee table in the living room.


    "Robin, are you sure no one hase?" I asked again. "Show me the video footage from the time I was gone."


    "What''s going on?" Maggie asked worriedly. "Did someone break into the house?" She picked up the scroll and handed it to me. "Open it," she urged. Robin looked confused and muttered, "What scroll?"


    I sighed, feeling frustrated. "What if it''sced with poison? Or viruses! Don''t touch things that appeared out of nowhere without checking first!"


    She rolled her eyes and untied the ribbon. As she read the parchment, her expression turned bored. "It''s just a Christmas song thing. You don''t have to be so manic about it!"


    For Maggie, the scroll was just an advertisement for a supermarket with electronic sales and jingles written on it.


    She tossed the parchment at me before walking away. "And if it had any of the things you mentioned, I would''ve been dead by now!"


    "Some poisons aren''t fast-acting!" I shouted after her. "And viruses can take even longer to show effects!"


    She stuck her tongue out at me and said, "You''re just a paranoid control freak! Bluerk!"


    I was annoyed, but the parchment grabbed my attention. I felt a rush of rm because I was sure there hadn''t been anything on the table before. Even Robin hadn''t noticed it.


    The scroll read:


    [You better watch out,


    You better not cry,


    <strong>You better watch out,</strong>


    <strong>You better watch out,</strong>


    <strong>You better watch out...</strong>]


    The font began in cheerful, wholesome colors of green and red, reminiscent of Christmas. However, the repeated lines took on a sinister tone, written in blood-red ink with erratic scribbles instead of neat writing. This unsettling style continued with each repetition of the verses below.


    Better not pout, I''m telling you why:


    Santa us isin'' to town.


    <strong>You better watch out...</strong>]


    He''s making a list,


    And checking it twice.


    Three times. And four times.]


    The next part in the verse made my heart beat quicker. It was written with coal, and there were no nuances in the wording. Goosebumps started to appear on my skin, and my back was drenched in sweat.


    <strong>[He''s gonna find out.</strong>


    <strong>He''s gonna find out.</strong>


    <strong>He''s gonna find out.</strong>


    <strong>He''s gonna find out.</strong>


    <strong>He''s gonna find out.</strong>


    <strong>He''s gonna find out.</strong>


    <strong>He''s gonna find out.</strong>


    <strong>He''s gonna find out.</strong>


    <strong>He''s gonna find out.]</strong>


    I took a deep breath before continuing. "Why the hell is this repeated 9 times!?"


    [Who''s naughty and nice.


    Santa us isin'' to town~


    He sees you when you''re sleepin'',


    He knows when you''re awake,


    He knows if you''ve been bad or good,


    And every single step that you take.]


    <strong>[You better watch out,</strong>


    <strong>You better watch out,</strong>


    <strong>You better watch out...</strong>,


    You better not cry,


    Better not pout,


    Hold your breath and search for a ce to hide.


    You better watch your back, I''m telling you why:


    Santa us isin'' to town.


    P.S. He''s watching. And he might give you a gift or coal depending on his evaluation of you.]


    "Holy shit, that''s terrifying," I eximed, my heart racing as I read the scroll. Suddenly, it vanished from my hand, and my mind short-circuited for a moment. I even forgot that I was part of a mysterious afterlife organization. For a second, I thought I was hallucinating��or worse, haunted.


    "Maggie! Grab Vader! We''re nevering back here again!" I shouted anxiously before rushing to pack my things. Just then, my phone rang. I hurriedly answered, and it was Sage on the other line.


    "Hello? I can''t talk right now; I''m preparing to move out of the country."


    Sage sighed, trying to calm me down. "Stop. That guy is just a bit sick in the head. He''s not a bad guy."


    "Who?" I asked, confused. She replied in a weary voice, "Krampus."


    My mind went nk again. Sage continued, "Anyway, it''s not a bad thing. So you can rx and enjoy the holidays. Oh, and if you have any conflicts, it''s best to settle them before the dayes. It''ll work out better for you that way."


    She didn''t borate further and ended the call. Bewildered, I epted my fate. Vader rushed toward me, rubbing against my legs in an attempt to calm me down. I picked her up and stroked her fur as I headed to the living room.


    "Settling my conflicts, huh," I muttered to myself. "Like hell I''m going to do that!"


    ...


    After that brief incident, I pushed the scroll to the back of my mind and focused on a project I''d been cooking up in theb. Just as I got into the groove, Maggie called. She had gone out with her friends while I was in the basement, so I was curious about why she was reaching out.


    As soon as I answered, I heard Vanessa''s voice over the throbbing music in the background. "Hey, it''s Hudgens," she said.


    "Are you at a club?" I asked, carefully cing my soldering iron down and setting the thin ss film on its tform. It was connected to several wires, which I hooked up to theputer.


    Vanessa hesitated before responding, "It''s just a dance club, not a bar. Um, you should probablye here."


    "Why?" I asked, my disdain evident. After a pause, Vanessa replied, "I think Maggie ate something weird. She''s puking in the bathroom. You shoulde get her."


    I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose in exasperation. "I''ll be there."


    "Sorry," Hudgens said apologetically before ending the call. I set my phone on the table and connected the ss film to the tform. A snippet of Batman: The Dark Knight appeared on the ss, the quality far superior to the screens on phones these days.


    "4K AMOLED screen. I''m only making improvements to existing technology, but I didn''t expect it to take a whole month," I said casually, turning on a bright 60-inch disy next to the small screen.


    An 8K video of Vader ying began to fill the screen. "But I guess 8K is the new thing. Hmm, maybe I can get Granny Saltzman to forgive me now."


    With a slight smirk, I let Robin handle the debugging before heading to my car to pick up Maggie.


    Dressed in a leather jacket and jeans, I slipped on my brown semi-transparent sunsses as I drove away in the Lamborghini��rented by the movie studio for filming. They had three of them, so I took one, nning to return it when they needed it for a scene.


    After the whole government grant negotiation fiasco over mymunication tower, where I chose to work with the government instead of her��despite promising to coborate��I felt a twinge of guilt for leading her on.


    She had spent almost a month in Barbados to cheer herself up, basking in the attention of a group of hunks. So, I figured she wasn''t really depressed or anything. Still, I felt bad.


    As her consortium owned multiple manufacturingpanies, including one that sold TV screens, I hade up with the idea of coborating with her to create Smart TVs, Android TVs, and various types of screens for mobile phones.


    Despite having ess to advanced technology, I was wary of the numerous patent issues surrounding it. Plus, technology could be obsolete in just 5 to 10 years, so I didn''t want to spend billions pursuing this route when I was already busy enough.


    I guess this is actually a conflict I can settle before Christmas, I thought as I parked my car in front of the dance club. To my surprise, it was called LUX.


    Paparazzi crowded the streets, and a long line of young people waited to get inside the club. My heart raced, and I hesitated at the entrance. ''<i>I was sure there weren''t any clubs with this name in the entire state of California. How did it appear here, just three miles from my ce?''</i>


    The club was bigger than I had anticipated. The security and ushers were impable but also quite vain. They allowed me to drive right to the entrance because of the Lamborghini before checking my identity.


    "Oh, it''s Mr. Edward Newgate! Sir, I have to say, I''m a huge fan of yours!" One of the ushers, a beautiful African American woman in her early twenties with dreadlocks, smiled as she flipped through her clipboard of guest names. "Umm... You''re not on the list, but you can get on any list if you want to��wait, why am I still blocking you? You should go inside before my boss fires me!"


    Maize, the usher, fidgeted the entire time, clearly fawning over me. I removed my sunsses and smiled at her. "Don''t worry, Maize. I''m enjoying our meeting. You have beautiful hair."


    "Uff��" Her eyes widened, and she froze for a moment. Then she giggled and touched her hair, a look of determination shing across her face. "You know what? I found your name. You''re on the VVIP list."


    One of the security guards retorted, "We only have VIPs��"


    "Shut it, Larry!" Maize shot back at him angrily before turning to me with a more docile expression.


    She escorted me to the door before leaving. As I entered, I noticed many girls were surprised to see me. They turned towards me, even stopping their dancing as I walked past.


    <i>''So far, so good,</i>'' I thought in relief, seeing no indication that this was Lucifer''s club. They didn''t even serve drinks, as most of the guests were under 21 years old.


    "Edward! Over here!" Maggie stood up from her booth and waved at me. Confused, I walked toward her and asked, "I thought you were sick?"


    "Nah, that was just an excuse to get you here," Vanessa giggled, sipping her fruity drink. I scowled at Maggie and turned to leave. "I''m out of here."


    "WAIT!" Maggie grabbed my arm, stopping me. She turned me back and argued, "You need some rxation. You''re so high-strung and stressed that you even thought someone was trying to kill you this afternoon!"


    Speechless for a moment, I realized she had a point. "I have a lot of work to do, Mag," I replied solemnly.


    "You already took a half day today. So just rx for tonight," Maggie urged. Vanessa stood up from her seat and approached me. She suddenly gestured for me to lean down, trying to whisper something.


    As I lowered myself, Vanessa leaned in and whispered, "You know, this ce is also a celebrity hookup spot. Everything is private here. Now that you and Taylor are officially over��"


    I cut her off. "Alright, I''ll stay, but don''t ever mention ''celebrity hookup spot'' again."


    Vanessa smiled sheepishly. "Deal. Just stay here; I want you to meet someone."


    "For hooking up?" I teased.


    Vanessa grimaced yfully. "No! It''s a fan of yours, and I want her to owe me a favor."


    "Alright, pimp. But let me make it clear: this whore is having a day off tonight."


    "If I were actually a pimp, that line would make me strangle you and me your death on heroin," Vanessa retorted before rushing away. I chuckled in disbelief and took a seat in the booth.


    Five secondster, a waiter ced a drink on my table without me even needing to order.


    "It''s a Shirley Temple. Miss Hudgens asked us to bring it to the table whenever her drink runs out, and it''s for everyone in the booth," the male waiter exined.


    "Do you serve anything else?" I asked.


    "Would you like a menu, sir? Ordinary guests need to order at the bar, but VVIPs like yourself have privileges."


    "Bring me something with caffeine," I said, pulling out a $100 bill and handing it to him.


    "We only have coffee frappe and coffee mocktail," the waiter replied, pocketing the bill. "But I''ll bring you aplimentary espresso with the frappe, minus the frappe."


    "Thank you for your service��" I looked at him as he said, "Giuseppe, sir."


    "Thank you, Giuseppe," I smiled politely. He returned the smile and walked away happily. Before long, he brought back the espresso along with someplimentary chocte truffles and artisan pastries. "On the house, sir."


    It was a rare moment for Giuseppe; it had been a long time since a guest bothered to learn his name. In that instant, he became a fan of mine.


    A young girl sitting on the other side of the booth peeked through the barrier and scolded the waiter, "That''s not fair! I''ve beening here for three months, but you''ve never sent me free stuff!"


    Giuseppe''s smile instantly faded, and he became visibly intimidated. I waved him off and said to the girl, "Well, if you want, I can give it to you. I don''t like sweet stuff anyway."


    If Maggie or Vanessa were here, they''d call me out immediately, considering I''d been stuffing my face with candy at home. The girl, a brte with short wavy hair and a rich demeanor, smiled as sheid her eyes on me. She resembled a young Margaret Qualley, but I didn''t assume it was her.


    "Oh my god, it''s Newgate! No wonder you got free stuff. Hi!" She extended her hand for a handshake. "I''m Jean Folgers. Like the coffee ''Folgers.'' I''m the heiress of the Folgers coffee ''Folgers.''"


    "Hello, Jean," I said politely. I offered her some food, expecting her to be satisfied, but she rejected it with a wave. "Never mind. I was just messing with Timothy. We''re best friends."


    "His name is Giuseppe," I corrected, sipping my coffee. With a shameless grin, she giggled and said, "That''s what I said. Um, can I join you?"


    "Oh no, you really shouldn''t. It''s not my booth." I rejected her, but she didn''t give up. Instead of walking a few meters to my booth, she climbed over the barrier.


    She slipped while gripping the faux grass, and her front mmed onto the table, rattling the entire booth. I quickly grabbed both Vanessa''s drink and mine to prevent any spills, but all the desserts were squashed beneath her.


    "Ow-wie," she groaned as she turned, falling onto the long chair next to me. One of her legs remained on the table, putting her underwear in full view as she faced me.


    "That''s gotta hurt," I remarked nonchntly. She rubbed her sore nose and grumbled, "I knew I shouldn''t have taken the giggles today."


    "The giggles?" I asked, noticing she wasn''t quite in her right mind.


    Slowly, she sat up, removing her leg from the table and fixing her shirt. "You know, happy pills. We call them giggles here." She leaned closer, her face inches from mine. "Do you want one?"


    "No thanks," I replied, standing up to walk away, but just then, Vanessa returned with her guest: Ashley Benson, whom I had met before. "Hey, Ed, meet Ashley��um, who''s she?"


    "A substance dealer," I replied teasingly.


    "I''m Jean?... Right?" Jean said, pointing at Vanessa, and then suddenly looked at her hand in awe. "Oh my god, there''s another one! Waiter, get her out of here!" Vanessa called Giuseppe over, and he escorted Jean out of our booth.


    Jean tried to protest, but she didn''t have the strength. I turned to Vanessa with a serious expression. "So, this is the ce where peoplee to get high?"


    Vanessa was shocked and immediately defended herself, "I didn''t do it! Really! I SWEAR!"


    "Alright. You''re not tripping balls, so I guess I can believe you," I said with a nod before smiling at Ashley. "Hello."


    "Ed, do you want to dance?" Ashley grabbed my hand boldly and pulled me to the dance floor. Vanessa grinned and waved at me from afar. "Good luck, Ed!"


    "I don''t need luck; I''m just here to dance," I retorted.


    ...


    An hour and a halfter, we were back at the booth. "Are you guys ready to head home?" Maggie asked, looking tired along with Vanessa. I nodded and said, "Let''s go."


    Ashley pouted in disappointment. "Aww, stay a bit longer! At least until midnight."


    Maggie chuckled. "Sorry, we should head back now. From the look on Edward''s face, he didn''t enjoy being here at all."


    "I do enjoy meeting you, Ashley," I said. She giggled and flirted, "Want to meet me again?"


    "Let''s just leave it up to fate," I replied.


    "So, no then. A." She slumped onto the table in disappointment. It had almost been a nice night out with friends��if only we hadn''t encountered the next guy.


    "Hey, Hudgens!" A tall, freckled guy approached us with two of his friends. He had a smug, condescending air about him��your typical rich mommy''s boy from LA.


    "Oh, I know this script," I mumbled to myself.


    "Leaving so soon? My friends and I are heading back to my house. You shoulde with us. Leave the dud��"


    He froze when he saw me, unable to finish his sentence. He grabbed Vanessa''s arm. "Anyway, you shoulde and give us a private show. We just couldn''t get enough of your boobies! I mean, Greg here chafed his dick and had to go to the emergency room!"


    Vanessa shook his hand off. "Let me go, asshole!"


    "Why pretend to be a good girl? You''re a slut, aren''t you? Otherwise, you wouldn''t send all those nudies to your��"


    Before he could finish, I grabbed his arm and twisted it, making him squirm in pain. "That''s enough, ''dude.'' One more word, and I''ll rip your tongue out," I warned in a cold tone.


    "Ouch��let me FUCKING GO! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO THE FUCK I AM!?"


    "Oh, I''m dying to find out," I said, releasing his hand and grabbing him by the cor. He hadn''t expected my aggression, and I could see him visibly shaking.


    Vanessa and Maggie tried to pull me away. "Ed,e on, he''s just an asshole. You don''t need to bother with him," Maggie urged.


    "Ed, you don''t have to do this," Vanessa added.


    Before I could walk away with them, a waiter and the security team rushed over to defuse the situation. As I released the guy''s cor, he seemed to regain his bravado, knowing security was there to protect him. He started shouting profanities again.


    "YEAH! YOU BETTER RUN! YOU AND THAT SLUT! YOU KNOW WHAT, HUDGEN!? NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE YOU! YOU''RE JUST A WHORE!"


    Vanessa acted like it didn''t bother her, but I could see tears pooling in her eyes.


    "NEWGATE! HEY NEWGATE! DID YOU FUCK VANESSA TOO? OR DID YOU ONLY FUCK TAYLOR!? IS TAYLOR A SLUT TOO!? ONCE YOU''RE DONE WITH HER, WILL YOU SHARE THE PICS WITH US��"


    Before he could finish, my fist mmed into his face, knocking two of his teeth out. The entire club erupted into chaos as security tried desperately to separate me from pummeling him. His two friends tried to intervene, and both of them were punched too.


    ...


    The next morning, Pepper walked into my house carrying a newspaper. He sat on the couch and showed me the headline while I stood at the ss wall facing the ocean.


    "Heartbroken Pop Star Goes Wild! Brawls at Hot Nightclub After Shocking Split��Exclusive Footage of the Drama Unfolding!" He read the headline in a calm manner. "I thought Maggie is only helping you release some tension."


    "Well I do feel better after the fight. I should start a fight club," I said casually.


    "No." He vetoed the idea curtly.


    I expected him to be angry; instead, he gave me a thumbs-up. "Well, I heard the story from Vanessa. Good job. I only regret that you didn''t knock more of his teeth out."


    "Oh," I eximed casually, breathing a sigh of relief. Pepper chuckled. "Harvey is going nuclear on those news outlets, so you can expect this to blow over soon."


    I thought for a moment before saying, "Peps."


    "OH, I DON''T LIKE THAT TONE!" He suddenly widened his eyes and stood up from the couch. "That''s a ''you''re going to make this bigger'' kind of tone."


    I nodded, saying casually, "You do understand me."


    "Yet, I can never really understand you," he replied in defeat.

 Chapter 289: Night in Jail?

    <h4>Chapter 289: Chapter 289: Night in Jail?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    In the span of a single night, news of me punching the agitator in the face spread across the entire country. A five-second clip of me knocking him out went viral on social media, YouTube, and entertainment websites.


    Those who were at the dance club began sharing their experiences online, recounting multiple versions of the same story. However, by design, the opinions that urately reflected the incident were pushed down, while exaggerated narratives that painted me in a bad light gained traction.


    Many stuck-up people��I mean, conservatives��expressed their disappointment, convinced I was following in the footsteps of my predecessors.


    Even my grandmother texted me early in the morning to voice her dissatisfaction. However, after hearing my side of the story, she quickly added that I had given that boy too light of a punishment.


    The media''s selective reporting was intentional, aiming to paint me as a problematic figure��because controversies drive clicks on their articles.


    While I brushed off their flimsy arguments, Robin, Harvey, and my newwyers, Cam Vasquez and Ben Grim, were quietly gathering evidence for the defamationwsuit.


    Sitting cross-legged on the single-seater couch in Pepper''s office, I stroked Vader''s glistening ck fur as he purred contentedly on myp.


    "Viin," Pepper mumbled under his breath.


    Renaldo chimed in, "Definitely a viin."


    "More like a mastermind," ire whispered.


    Frankie nodded in agreement, adding, "He''s definitely not up to anything good."


    "You guys know I can hear you, right?" I said, turning to face the group in disbelief.


    All four of them were gathered by Pepper''s desk, which was at a 90-degree angle from where I sat. Vader nced at them with disinterest before continuing to enjoy me petting her.


    ire and Renaldo smiled sheepishly, but Frankie approached me and patted my head. "You''re not a viin. We''re just joking."


    She affectionately brushed my hair before returning to the group. ire looked at me nervously and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this, Ed? You know you''ll be under fire afterward."


    "I''d rather stand in the mes and sing onest time than stay silent and cater to those who deserve it least," I replied casually, tilting my head slightly.


    ire, Renaldo, and Pepper fell silent, their expressions a mix of disbelief and awe, while Frankie simply nodded in agreement.


    Suddenly, I turned to them, a hint of uncertainty creeping in. "Did that sound corny? It felt a bit corny."


    They remained speechless, and after a moment, I nodded slightly. "Definitely corny."


    Just then, one of the assistants��a tall, bespectacled brte with a curvy figure reminiscent of a Pixar mom��burst through the door. "The victim''s legal team is here," she announced.


    "Is Vanessa here yet?" I asked urgently.


    "She''s packing her stuff from the dance studio," the assistant replied, a hint of anxiety in her voice.


    Everyone exchanged confused nces, and I pressed on, "Why is she doing that? Can you please get her here? Ask Maggie to drag her here if you have to."


    The assistant nodded and left hurriedly. Peppermented, "She might think we''re going to let her go."


    "Is she an idiot?��Wait, she might be," I muttered, letting out a heavy sigh. "She must''ve panicked when I told her to meet us here this morning."


    Harvey stopped by the office before heading to meet the victim''swyers. "Ed, I''d really appreciate your direction on this. We can settle, no problem. I can make them settle."


    With the recording fromst night in our hands, it would be easy to force a settlement from the provocateur if we wanted to.


    "Just give me a minute. If I don''t get Vanessa''s consent, it''ll all be for nothing," I replied, slight agitation creeping into my voice. Harvey sighed and said as she entered the room, joining in the group, "Sure. I''ll wait for her decision."


    Five minutester, Vanessa finally entered the meeting room, clutching Maggie''s hand for support. She took a deep breath before stepping inside, and when Iid my eyes on her, I noticed she was sniffling, struggling to hold back tears.


    "What''s this? Why do you look like you''re the one who got punchedst night?" I asked in disbelief. "Sit down." I gestured for her to take a seat in front of me.


    "Maggie too, you can sit down," Pepper added with a reassuring smile as he settled next to me. Both girls walked slowly to their chairs and sat down.


    "Alright, we need to talk aboutst night," I said, cutting in before Pepper could steer the conversation.


    "I''ll take my things and leave thepany," Vanessa suddenly announced. Maggie, looking distraught, chimed in, "Ed, can you not be so heartless? Why are you firing her?"


    "I''m not firing her! Where did you even get that idea?!" I eximed, ncing between them in disbelief. Maggie turned to Vanessa, revealing that the idea had originated with her.


    Vanessa stopped sniffling, her teary eyes widening. With a shaky voice, she smiled faintly and said, "This feels all too familiar��being called into the boss''s office and realizing everyone has turned their back on you."


    Given herck of recent contributions to thepany��aside from that one song for the game��she must have thought it would be easier for us to cut ties with a controversial figure like her, especially since her presence had gotten thepany''s top talent into legal trouble.


    "Yeah... I''m going to put ''therapy'' on your future schedule," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you need some emotional support from Vader?"


    "Meow?" Vader seemed surprised as I suddenly picked him up and handed him to Vanessa. She took Vader into her arms immediately and said, "Yes, please."


    Pepper then exined my intentions to Vanessa and asked for her opinion. She looked at me, disbelief etched on her face. "Why do you want to do that to yourself? Are you insane?"


    "I''m not doing this for me. Sure, it''ll be on my permanent record, but I want to use this opportunity to address a muchrger issue. People can call me controversial all they want; I don''t care."


    Pepper chimed in, "I CARE?!"


    Ignoring him, I turned back to Vanessa. "I know it''s unfair to ask you to make a decision without giving you time to think��"


    Vanessa interjected, "Ed, do you really think it''ll work?" She gazed straight into my eyes, searching for confidence.


    I smirked and replied, "It''ll work. I promise."


    After a moment of silence, Vanessa finally said, "Oh, what the hell, let''s do this."


    No one apuded; they all understood the risks we were taking. Harvey''s sharp gaze fixed on me as she said, "Alright, so nopensation. No settlement."


    Pepper muttered, still grappling with doubt, "We''re going to take our top talent to juvie court. All of this feels like a bad dream..."


    "Renaldo, can you call the makeup artist? I need to get ready for my mug shot," I said with an evil grin. Renaldo looked faint, his knees buckling. Frankie had to steady him by the arm.


    Harvey had done her job, agitating thewyers representing the agitator and pushing them to press charges instead of settling forpensation. They were demanding $50,000 for emotional distress, dental work, therapy, and other expenses, which wasughable to me.


    The agitator��Phil��was the son of a senior manager at MF Global, a prominent financial services firm. While his father didn''t hold the top position, his family''s status afforded Phil significant clout, which only seemed to inte his ego.


    However, I recalled that thepany was currently heading into bankruptcy, one of thergest in U.S. history, with debts exceeding $41 billion.


    Phil might have thought he could hide behind his father''s influence, but the truth was his father didn''t really care about him. It made me wonder if Phil had be a prick in a desperate bid for attention.


    Regardless, I didn''t feel the need to justify his actions. MF Global would likely stay out of the scandal; frankly, they didn''t have the resources to intervene right now.


    This fact was one of my considerations in my entire n. Would I really put myself in the line of fire without a solid enough strategy?


    The short video clip of me punching Phil was taken by Giuseppe, the waiter at the dance club. After the incident, he approached me and handed over the full video leading up to the punch, as he didn''t want to get me into trouble.


    I was genuinely thankful to Giuseppe, but I had to temper his expectations. The five-second clip was my idea, and Robin was the one fanning the mes of the incident. It was all part of our strategy to give the agitator''s legal team the moral high ground to press charges against me.


    And, like a sucker, they did. An hour after thewyers left thepany, a few detectives arrived at the building to take me to the police station for my statement.


    "Oh, Detective Chloe. It''s you again. Did the police decide you''re going to be my exclusive detective or what?" I said yfully as I noticed the attractive detective entering the meeting room.


    "You''re pretty chipper for someone who''s in big trouble," Chloe replied, concern in her voice. I propped my head on my hand and looked at her flirtatiously. "And you didn''t think I was doing this just to see you again?"


    She snorted in disdain and turned to Pepper. "Sorry about this, but we have to bring him in."


    As soon as she spoke the trigger word, Robin immediately uploaded the full, audio-enhanced video of the altercation to the inte.


    With over 10,000 followers across Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Entertain Thread��a new tform that had gained 12 million users in a month, primarily promoted through Instagram��Robin now wielded significant power to sway public opinion.


    "OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Pepper yelled dramatically, fully embracing his role. "Oh, I''m going to faint!" He slumped against the other detective, whining about how unfair life was.


    While he did that, I was already out of the room with Chloe. Then, I found myself standing in front of a camera with the mugshot backdrop on my back. Standing at 6''1, the female police officer in her uniform started taking my pictures.


    *Snap Snap Snap*


    A few police officers posed with me as I got my mugshot taken. The whole thing turned into a fan photoshoot opportunity .


    The mugshot photo turned out exceptionally well, capturing my rebellious spirit and condescending look.


    Honestly, it looked like it could be an album cover or promotional poster. My head was slightly tilted back, my hands resting on the lower half of my face, and my ck hair partially obscured my shining emerald green eyes.


    Chloe looked at me and the other officers with disbelief. "Guys, he''s not here for a visit." She said wearily. The other uniformed officers weren''t discouraged and they continued to take pictures with me.


    I sat next to Chloe''s desk as she took my statement about the incident. Her desk was cluttered with unsolved case files, and I couldn''t help but grab the nearest one.


    "Alright, so do you have anything to say��Gimme that!" Chloe snatched the file from my hands as soon as she saw me reading it. She sighed, exasperated, and asked, "Can you describe the events ofst night?"


    "Well, it started out quite normal. I was enjoying my time with my friends and was about to go home before��"


    Before Chloe could begin her official report, the police captain rushed over and interjected, "Mr. Newgate! I''m really sorry you have to go through this. Please, let''s do this in my office."


    "Huh? Captain? Why?" Chloe stood up, disbelief evident on her face. The captain smiled sleazily, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I just received a call from the policemissioner. Deckard, you won''t be handling this case anymore."


    I interjected, "Oh, then I''ll leave. I only trust Chloe here. In fact, the only reason I''m here is that she''s the one picking me up." As I prepared to stand, the captain became anxious and quickly retracted his order. "Deckard, this case is all yours. Just don''t screw this up!"


    From his reaction, I knew that Robin had seeded in changing the public opinion about the matter. He must''ve been pressured by the top brass to handle these things perfectly so as to not implicate the police.


    As the captain left, I turned to Chloe, intrigued. "Do you always screw things up? Why does the captain seem to have something against you?"


    "That''s not something I want to share with a criminal," she replied with a stone-cold face, though a slight smirk betrayed her. I chuckled and pointed at the case file I had been reading. "By the way, the culprit here is the grandmother."


    "Huh?... Wait, what?!" Chloe quickly opened the case file and skimmed through it. After some exnation, she finally grasped the truth. When she looked at me in awe, I caught her off guard by reading another case file.


    "Gimme that! Stop reading it! You don''t have authorization!"


    ...


    [General POV]


    Twitter and Thread users have been going crazy about the whole incident.


    Lily, Edward''s fan club president has been backing up Edward on social media before the full video was released, and when she noticed the full video, she raised her hands up and shouted in celebration, "I FUCKING KNEW IT!!"


    @LilyFelicity: I knew there''s more to it than that! Edward was only protecting his friend! (Video.link)


    She reposted the entire video on Thread. During this incident, the numbers of new users on the apps climbed upwards exponentially since they have a much greater user experience there.


    @NewgateCanSuxThis: You can say that, but he still resorted to violence.


    One popr user named, @OliviaRodrigo, who was Robin in disguise, quoted the hate ountment and said, "Did he run away from it? Heplied with the cops and took responsibility for it, which in my opinion, he shouldn''t have to."


    @Sarahhnd (Robin) replied to Olivia, :This whole thing has been tasteless. From the moment Hollywood reacted to the whole Vanessa leaked videos. They victim-me her, even @Disney cut her off.


    Haley Dunphy read the tweet and felt the need to quote it and repost it to her timeline.


    @ArielWinter(Robin) : Why are the victims is alway med for it? No one talked about his ex who leaked it as revenge for her. He broke the trust between them. Is she really the bad guy here?


    Alex Dunphy also found a tweet that she rted with and reposted that. "This girl looked really simr to me." She zoomed in on the girl''s picture and saw the version of her 10 years into the future, with tattoos on her arm, wearing a tight bikini.


    @SophiaVergara(Robin) : #IStandWithNewgate #IStandWithVanessa


    Gloria didn''t repost anything because she didn''t have social media.


    One true fan ount owner, which was created by Annie Edison , scrutinized the video with Abed to try and find something to help Edward.


    Abed said, "See here, he looked at Vanessa, but we cannot see her face. Then his eye turned cold and he walked backward to punch the guy."


    Annie protested, "He turned when that guy mentioned Taylor''s name! He might not be able to hold it anymore because his girl''s name was mentioned."


    Abed looked at Annie with confusion and asked, "I thought they had broken up?"


    "Um, breaking up doesn''t mean he doesn''t love her anymore." Annie replied, feeding into her delusional imagination.


    Many of the shippers shared the same thought as Annie, which made Robin''s effort to change the public opinion be increasingly difficult.


    Then, Robin decided to infiltrate this Swifties rank and yed with their imagination by creating stories about how Taylor bandaged Edward''s hand while telling him not to hurt himself because of her.


    The shippers ate those up, even Edward didn''t think Robin would go so far. Fanarts, fanfics, a lot of them popped up, which made the already big news about Edward and Taylor''s song battle be bigger.


    @JulieBowen(Robin) : There''s a reporter interview after Edwardes out of the police station. Check it out!


    ire, who was eagerly waiting for updates, immediately clicked on the video as soon as it was released. Frankie, Pepper, Renaldo, Vanessa, and Maggie gathered around ire''sptop to watch.


    Meanwhile, Edward stood surrounded by reporters after giving his statement to the police. One of the interviewers asked, "Mr. Newgate, what prompted the attack?"


    Edward replied, "I''m sure you all already know the details. The full video is out there, so don''t waste your time with that question. I''m only answering five of them."


    A reporter from Fox News asked, "Are you concerned about the legal repercussions of your actions?"


    Edward nodded and said, "Yes. I don''t regret my actions, but I do regret not handling the situation better. I''m tired of bullying victims being forced to just stand there and take it while the bullies thrive. It happened in school too, you know? The administration would rather brush off bullying incidents than take action and make the school look bad. This happens in the real world, sadly."


    "Are you referring to the time Miss Hudgen''s nudes were leaked?" another reporter asked.


    Edward replied, "Yeah. I still remember when she went to an award show and had to smile while the host joked about the most traumatic event of her life. It still haunts me to this day."


    Netizens quickly dug up the notorious "Girl, you have to keep your clothes on" clip about Vanessa, bashing the host who made thatment. Every media outlet covering the topic faced scrutiny for their poor handling of the matter.


    Edward thought about how if the incident had happened five yearster instead of in 2007, Vanessa''s career wouldn''t be in such a downward spiral. The media''s biased facade was slowly being torn down by Robin, prompting everyone to speak out about the issue.


    As Vanessa was in hispany now, he wanted to do everything he could to help her before she released hereback album. identally, the incident exposed Harvey Weinstein, which created another drama on social media.


    "Wait, what the fuck?" Edward muttered in disbelief after he read Robin''s report about everything that had been going online when he got home.


    ...


    The next morning came, and Edward continued his filming as usual. He was invited to numerous interviews, in which he epted a few of them. As he sat in his office, Pepper entered, dragging Taylor with him.


    Edward was confused and asked, "What are you guys doing?"


    Pepper ranted, "I can''t do it anymore. The whole back and forth with me stuck in the middle. So, What I''m going to do is lock you guys inside this room, and force you guys to work things out amongst yourselves."


    "Pepper! You can''t do that!" Taylor protested. Pepper said, "Even your dad agreed with this. SO TALK! Leave me alone! For the first time in my entire life, you guys made me hate getting the drama! You know how much a gay man has to face in order to hate getting the drama!? Congrattions, YOU GUYS DID THIS!"


    He got out of the door and locked it behind him. He shouted from afar, "TALK AND WORK THING OUT!"


    Taylor grunted in disbelief as she shook the locked handle door, "He really locked it!"


    I was still doing some work on myptop and I replied casually, "He just said that. Why are you so surprised?"


    Taylor slowly turned to face me, fixed her hair and provoked, "I''ve seen how you handle everything yesterday. All I got to say is, I''m thoroughly underwhelmed by it."


    "Really? From your expression, I thought ''constipated''."


    Taylor gasped as she took offence and turned to the door again. She hit it and shouted, "PEPPER LET ME OUT OF HERE! You''re locking me in with A CRIMINAL!"


    "A smooth criminal!" Edward said before he yed the song on hisptop. Taylor shouted again, "LET ME OUT!!"


    Outside of the door, Harvey, Pepper and Renaldo watched the room from afar. Harvey asked, "What''s the point of this again?"


    Pepper scowled and replied, "Who knows? Ed told me to do it. I told her she made a gay man hate getting the drama. But I lied. There''s absolutely no drama in this world that is too much for us."

 Chapter 290: Professional.

    <h4>Chapter 290: Chapter 290: Professional.?</h4>


    (Sorry I''mte. Stuck in a traffic jam)


    [Edward POV]


    Taylor kept mming the door for a while, finally giving up when no one came back to unlock it. "Tired already?" I teased.


    She red at me and stomped over to where I was sitting. With her arms crossed, she replied, "Not tired. Slighted. And turn off the music!"


    I chuckled and paused the Michael Jackson ylist. "Take a seat," I invited her.


    "No," she grumbled, pouting.


    "So you''re just going to hover around me?" I asked, somewhat bbergasted.


    Taylor smirked and said, "Yeah. Does this bother you?"


    "Not really." I shrugged and continued doing the CGI work for the dragon princess to be included in the film.


    Taylor got curious and peeked on my screen. The dragon already finished the design development yesterday, now I finally got the chance to do it�C since I was unavable yesterday.


    "Is that the dragon girl?" Taylor asked with an annoyed expression as she saw me focusing on Alexandra Daddario''s 3D model. What I was focusing on is the transformation from the dragon to a princess.


    The description the creatives had for the dragon was this; <i>The dragon princess is a breathtaking creature, her form a stunning blend of majesty and grace. With shimmering blue scales that glisten like the ocean under sunlight, she possesses a crown-like horn atop her head, intricately shaped and glowing with a soft, ethereal light</i>.


    <i>This horn is adorned with delicate gold ents that flow down into the thorny ridges along her spine, giving her an air of regal power. Her underbelly is a rich golden hue, contrasting beautifully with the vibrant blues of her scales. Her wings are vast and majestic, showcasing a mesmerizing pattern of gold and blue that resembles a work of art, each feather-like scale capturing the light as she soars through the skies.</i>


    After reading the description, I made sure that when she transforms into a beautiful woman, the essence of her dragon form is retained. The horn morphs into a headdress, and the thorny ridges seamlessly transition into a gown, embodying the colors of her dragon form.


    "Is this good enough?" I asked Taylor as I switched the tab to show her the full dragon design. When she didn''t respond, I turned to see her face, only to find a look of confusion as she stared at me oddly.


    "What''s wrong? Is it not good?" I asked, a hint of anxiety creeping into my voice. Taylor sighed helplessly and said, "No. Why is it so good? The dress was picked at random. Why did you suddenly make a dragon out of it? I really don''t get you!"


    Thanks to my Bob Ross skills and Robin''s help, I had nailed the entire dragon design to perfection, inspired by the colors of the dress and the headpiece Miss Daddario was wearing.


    "The dragon will only show up for half a minute," Taylor grumbled again. "This is way too much effort for a gag scene."


    She wasn''t wrong. The clip would be featured on TV in the film, where RG''s character would show EB his journey as an actor, starting with a fantasy movie about the dragon princess.


    Maybe it was because this world severelycked fantasy��like the isekai stories from my previous life��that I was so excited to create the dragon, spending a bit more time on it than necessary.


    I chuckled at Taylor''s words. "It may be too much." For just half a minute of dragon creation, we had spent $500,000 of the overall movie budget��1/20 of the total.


    But to be honest, our $10 million budget had the same production value as a $100 million movie from other studios. From drone shots to HD cameras that wouldn''t hit the market for another decade, the costume designs, creative camera angles, and top-tier audio quality were all exceptional.


    Director Judd Apatow had been praising our studio to his friends and in interviews non-stop, so many people were looking forward to seeing this movie. However, with high expectations came the tremendous pressure for the film''s sess.


    Taylor flopped down onto the seat next to me,pletely unaware of her casual demeanor. She settled in crassly, one leg crossed over the other, and sat sideways on the couch, her eyes glued to my face.


    "Are you ready to talk now?" I shut down theptop and turned toward her.


    "You nned this, didn''t you?" she asked usatorily.


    Although I knew she was referring to us being locked up together, I yed it cool. "What n? I have a lot of ns."


    She narrowed her eyes at me, scrutinizing my every expression, but found nothing. "Ah!" she gasped, offended, and started to stand up again, but I held her hand to keep her seated.


    "It''s useless to bang on the door again, and it''s giving me a headache. Since they''ve locked us up here, I have some stuff I want to ask you. Of course, all of them are professional questions."


    Taylor looked dissatisfied but epted it. "Alright. I can try to be professional."


    "Good. Now, I want to ask you a few questions about Vanessa...''s image��" My words stopped abruptly as I caught her trying to stand up again. She paused awkwardly and then turned to me sheepishly. "Well, um... I heard Vanessa... so..."


    "I understand. Sit back down." I nodded politely, which only made her feel more awkward. She thought I was going to ask her about Vanessa in a rtionship context, which almost made her blow her top off.


    Her cheek became flushed and she blinked rapidly without looking into my direction to y off her embarrassment. "H-her image, what''s with her image?" Taylor asked to get into the topic without giving me any chance to make fun of her.


    "Well, I could take some time to exin it, but there''s someone who actually did a deep dive on this on Entertain videos, so just watch that first." I reopened myptop and showed the video.


    It was a video essay from a journalist that showed Vanessa''s height of stardom, her Disney days, her fall, the impact, and so on. It covered up most of the things that happened with Vanessa, even her rtionship with Zac Efron was being dissected there.


    Taylor looked at me suspiciously again, "Did you make this video...that currently has 100,9oo views?"


    I shook my head and smiled, "Honestly? No, it wasn''t me." Nor was it Robin. I exined to her a bit, "This guy, he used to be a journalist for Vice, but he was not paid for months for his articles. So he quit and changed his career."


    Taylor rolled her eyes and said, "How much can he possibly earn here?" I smirked and said, "1000 views earns him around 10 bucks if he allows ads on this video. Vice paid 60 bucks per article."


    Taylor widened her eyes a bit and mumbled, "So, 100,000...Um, 100 bucks?"


    "It''s a thousand bucks." I tried to hold back myughter, but even then, she got angry. "SORRY I''m not a math nerd!"


    In the early 2010s, if a YouTube video received 100,000 views, the earnings could vary significantly based on several factors, primarily the CPM (Cost Per Mille) rate, which refers to the earnings per 1,000 ad views. That insight was what I used to attract individuals with unrewarding jobs, hoping to inspire them to change their professions.


    The journalist who created the video did an excellent job remaining unbiased, presenting only the facts. He capitalized on the opportunity to cover this topic, causing his video to explode in poprity. Many backstories emerged, promptingizens to quote the video extensively in their tweets, which drew extra attention to the issue at hand.


    Taylor watched the video for a while while I switched to my mobile and worked on some tasks with Robin. Once Taylor finished, I put away my phone, and we began discussing Vanessa''s image��primarily, what should be done next. I could handle it all on my own, but Taylor''s perspective was invaluable.


    "I can create several songs that she can use to take control of her narrative," I dered. Taylor rolled her eyes mockingly, but before she could respond, she realized something. "Given that you''re a song vending machine, that might actually work."


    "Thanks," I replied curtly. "But what kind of persona should she adopt for her album? Revenge?"


    "Strong Woman, Vengeful, Broken Love, Loser, Positivity, Rebel, Romantic, Nostalgic, Mystical, Party Girl, Survivor, Introspective," Taylor listed various personas as references.


    "We can discuss all of that, but just before we dive in, does Vanessa know about your ns for her? What did she have to say?" Taylor asked.


    "She''s in therapy, so I haven''t asked her yet," I replied.


    "She has a song she''s been practicing for, right? I saw her dance videos."


    "Oh yeah, this." I yed "I''m a Mess (Baby Rexha)," the song I had nned for Vanessa''seback, even though she hadn''t heard the lyrics yet. I had given her the beats, and Lia Kim had choreographed the dance; she was almost mastering it.


    As the song yed, Taylor looked at me oddly. Despite its catchiness, she couldn''t help but think about Vanessa. As soon as we reached the chorus, she pressed pause.


    "I''m a mess, I''m a loser, I''m a hater, I''m a user... You''re targeting her with precision, aren''t you? What kind of grudge do you have against her?" Taylor asked, disbelief evident in her voice.


    After we talked for about two hours, I looked at my watch and said, "Alright, Pepper will open the door in about 20 minutes, so I guess we should talk about ourselves now that we''ve settled on the professional part��"


    "NOW?!" she insinuated angrily, then sarcastically added, "Now we''re going to do this? Oh my god, thank you so much, ''Your Highness,'' for giving me 20 minutes of your time to talk about something other than work!"


    Before I could reply, my phone rang. Taylor jumped on it immediately and mocked, "Oh no! Now we''re not even going to get 20 minutes? Who''s that? Your new girlfriend? Your fuck buddy of the week? Or is it buddies?"


    I checked the screen and replied with a steady tone, "It''s Judd, so I guess it is work. Maybe Booty Call? I''m not sure yet. He did look at me weirdly sometimes. But I''ll call him back." I disconnected the call and turned to Taylor. "Before we get back into it, I have something to show you."


    Taylor grunted and calmed herself down. "What is it?"


    I opened myptop and showed her my future ns in Excel. "This is my schedule. You know, I''m going on a world tour."


    "More work?" Taylor asked, disbelief and dissatisfaction in her voice. "Why did you even make me watch this?"


    "Just see it first. Ibeled the green boxes as my off days, yellow for light work, and red for busy days."


    Taylor pped my hand away from the touchpad and scrolled on it herself. As she scrolled down, her anger dissipated a bit, reced by confusion.


    "There are basically no green days for the next three months. Most of them are yellow and red." She turned to me in shock. I nodded and confessed, "This has been going on for two years. The longest break I have in the timeline is 10 days next summer, and 5 days in April 2011."


    "What kind of life are you living?" Taylor asked, bbergasted by my schedule.


    "You know how many ventures I have right now?" I replied.


    "Many," Taylor guessed. "But you have people to handle it, right?"


    I nodded. "Pepper is the CEO, but do you think he has what it takes to manage all of that? I''m taking care of all of it. We have to n the world''s first e-sport championship. My social media apps and websites need oversight daily."


    I prattled on, "The movie studio is backed up in the production n. We have two series and one movie in production right now, along with many more waiting. I also need to provide Microsoft with results for the research grant they gave me. The telmunications tower requires a lot of negotiation and politics, which is what most of my world tour will involve. That''s why it''ll take so long."


    Taylor''s brow furrowed more as she listened to my schedule. She stopped me with her hand and asked, "Wait, why are you telling me all of this?"


    "I want you to understand me," I said, which took her aback. "For me, right now, it''s better not to have a rtionship if I can''t actually... be in one. You get what I''m saying?"


    "So you''re rejecting me again?" she asked, disbelief in her voice. "Ask yourself this: do you really want to be in a rtionship where you only have 15 days with the guy in the span of two years?"


    bbergasted, she tried to argue, "Love can make everything possible."


    "Will it be love, though?" I pressed. She fell into deep thought before standing up from her seat. "So you''re saying the reason we''re not together is because you''re too busy? What will I do if I see you dating another girl during those two years you''re away��"


    "Before you spiral, I''m not going to date anyone."


    Her face lit up. "Great."


    I added, "But I''m not going to keep myself chaste, either. Also, two years is a really long time."


    "I can wait!" she dered.


    I shook my head. "You''re going to move on after three months."


    "I won''t!" she protested.


    I nodded slightly. "You will."


    She pointed a finger at me and yelled, "I won''t! You know what? You don''t even know what love is! And don''t you dare sing that song!"


    "A," I eximed in mock disappointment. We ended up arguing again, but this time it wasn''t as intense as before. I was being honest��I wouldn''t be seeing anyone in those two years. That was the time it would take for me to ovee the two cursed talents I had.


    (There will be a major timeskip, but I won''t skip it all. I will show all major events in those two years, like concerts, interviews, song performances, etc. I n to provide 20 Chapters to illustrate those two years.)


    When Taylor left, Pepper entered the room. He asked, "Did you guys work it out yet?"


    "We did a little. Not that we''re back to being friends, but at least I think we won''t fight anymore when we meet." I replied, unaware that after Taylor went home, she decided to throw out the songs she had prepared in response to my reply song and create a new one.


    After Pepper left, I asked Robin to show the schedule again. "Robin, remove the facade."


    Most of the yellow boxes turned red, and Robin chimed in, "Sir, this schedule is not humanly possible.."


    "I can make it Robin." I muttered dismissively. "It''s all about nning.."


    ...


    Days passed, and I had to go to court for my case. Luckily, the juvenile court acted quicklypared to the regr court system. It was only Wednesday now, just four days since the punch happened.


    As I entered the courtroom, the air was heavy with tension. The room was smaller than I had expected, with wooden paneling and a few rows of benches for spectators.


    To my left, behind a low barrier, sat a handful of reporters, their cameras poised to capture the proceedings. In some juvie cases, the reporters were allowed to be in there with the judge''s permission and the defendant''s willingness. I didn''t reject it though, and the victim wasn''t here to say anything.


    Directly across from me, the prosecutor stood at a table, ready to present the case. The judge presided from her elevated bench at the front of the room, her positionmanding authority.


    She was an African American woman known for being merciless to rich privileged kids, celebrities, trust fund babies, etc. However, instead of anxiety, I was more curious to see her as I recognized her in my past life from instagram reels. It''s Judge Hatchett.


    "Court is now in session," she dered, her voice firm and echoing in the quiet room. "You are here today to plead guilty to the charge of assault against Mr. Phil Cuntrell?" She asked with a slight confusion. "You''re not trying to defend yourself?"


    "Your honor, it''s Phil Cantrell," the prosecutor corrected her, clearing his throat.


    The judge waved a hand dismissively and continued to address me. "Very well. You are admitting to having struck Mr. Cantrell. Is that correct?"


    "Yes, your honor. I punched that guy," I replied, standing tall despite the weight of the situation.


    "Let the record reflect the defendant''s admission," she stated, then nced at the evidence before her. "The court has reviewed the video footage submitted by both the prosecution and the defense. It is clear that you issued a warning when Mr. Cantrell first insulted your friend and attempted to de-escte the situation by distancing yourself."


    "Unfortunately, he misinterpreted that as a sign of weakness and chose to provoke you further," she added.


    She paused, her gaze piercing as she studied me. "While you have epted responsibility for your actions, which ismendable, I believe you were aware of the public sentiment regarding your case prior to your plea. I have received numerous letters advocating for leniency on your behalf."


    Harvey and I exchanged bewildered nces. "Really?" I blurted out, not expecting her to bring up the letters.


    The judge allowed herself a small smile. "Indeed. While there were many letters from your fans, I took care to filter those out. However, a few stood out to me: organizations dedicated to aiding the homeless, children in a terminally ill ward, and a veterans'' group all spoke highly of your character. They told me everything that you had done for them. It''s highly praiseworthy Mr Newgate."


    The courtroom was hushed, the weight of her words hanging in the air. I could feel the eyes of the spectators on me, reporters typing about the information in a hurry. The judge continued speaking despite my difort.


    "The Brooklyn 99 Police District Captain, Raymond Holt, as well as numerous other detectives, also wrote to me. Various Academic professionals; Caltech University Dean Gabblehouser, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali, Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler��even government officials, FBI agents, and the CIA Director. I must admit, I was taken aback by the extent of your connections."


    "Which made me wonder what kind of life you have lived. You''re only 14 years and 8 months old, but your moral character is evident when you have so many people writing in your support," she added with a slight smile before reaching for her gavel.


    Embarrassment washed over me as I hadn''t expected her to reveal all of that, especially my age. Luckily, that information was protected, so the reporters couldn''t publish it.


    "So, I have decided to give you a formal warning and assign you 15 days ofmunity service as punishment."


    Harvey and I smiled at this news. A formal warning for a juvenile meant that the record would be expunged if I stayed out of trouble when I reached adulthood. Even the prosecutor remained silent. Some spectators began to p, but courthouse police quickly warned them to remain silent and not interfere with the proceedings.


    "However, there is another matter." The judge took out a letter. "Here is a note from Detective Chloe Decker, who handled this case before Captain Holt took over. She mentioned that you helped her close 5 open cases during your time at the police station taking your statement. Is that true?"


    "Yes, your honor," I replied, a bad feeling emerging in my heart.


    The judge nodded and continued, "Alright, since your skills aremendable, I have another proposal."


    "Oh no," I mumbled under my breath.


    "Instead ofmunity service, you could help her as an intern at the police station to assist in solving cases. Given that you were able to close 5 cases in one night, I believe this is a fitting punishment. If you can solve 20 cases, you''ll be exempt frommunity service. There''s no time limit, so you can do this on your own schedule. Do you ept this arrangement? Not that you have much of a choice..."


    I sighed and said, "I ept."


    "Great. Court is adjourned!" She banged her gavel, signaling the end of the case.


    As I left the courthouse, the crowd cheered and apuded as soon as they saw me. I thanked everyone for their support, did a few interviews with the reporters, and then headed back home to celebrate.


    "Ah Ed, your school principal called. Even if you''re not going to school anymore, he had to follow the rules and suspend you for 5 days." My dad said casually before patting my shoulder and massaging it, "You did great Ed. I''m proud of you."


    I groaned and brushed his hand away, "I guess I should go empty my locker. It''s going to be the holidays anyway."


    My dad asked with disbelief, "You have something in your locker?"


    "Just some text books." I replied with a heavy sigh. "I''ll go pick them up tomorrow before going to the police station."


    My dad looked at Frankie and whispered, "He''s so depressed. This case must''ve bothered him more than he let on."


    Frankie shook her head and said, "No. He didn''t care about it. I think he''s upset that the judge told everyone what he was doing behind the scenes."


    My dad was confused, "But he did some of them publicly. The homeless charity concert for example."


    Frankie shrugged and said, "I''m not clear about it. But he thought people had already forgotten about it. It''s confusing."


    I mumbled depressingly as I slumped to my bedroom, "It''s not my persona to be the good guy... I''m not Keanu Reeves...Ahhhhh~ The haughty judge screwed me."

 Chapter 291: Investigation (1)

    <h4>Chapter 291: Chapter 291: Investigation (1)</h4>


    [General POV]


    Inside Franklin''s Middle School, the fluorescent lights flickered as a janitor with a scruffy 70s-style hairdo and oversized orange sunsses mopped the floor in a crude manner.


    His gaze was fixed intently on one particr teacher from across the corridor. The floor was barely cleaned when he decided to move closer toward the teacher to get a better look.


    Mrs. Henderson, d in her two-piece attire with her hair up in a bun, walked to the other side of the corridor without noticing the janitor. In her hand was a list containing the volunteer names for the Winter Dance.


    Suddenly, the janitor had to avert his gaze as Enid popped up in front of Mrs. Henderson. He quickly walked away without even wringing his mop, dirty water dripped alongside the corridor as he left.


    "Can I please be a member of the party nningmittee? Finneas and Alex are doing it, and I feel left behind!" Enid hugged Mrs. Henderson''s arm and clung to her.


    Mrs. Henderson, unbothered, replied coldly, "Maybe if you hadn''t skipped school to camp out at the courthouse, you would''ve managed to put your name in."


    Enid whined, "But Edward needs me there! If you hadn''t kept up with the news, you''d know he was dragged to court for doing the right thing! Please��PRETTY PLEASE!"


    Mrs. Henderson hesitated, then let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright. But I''m only doing this as a favor to you. You''ll have to repay me sooner orter."


    Enid grinned and saluted the teacher. "Aye Aye, Sir!"


    The janitor whistled as he walked to the cleaning closet, his voice echoing through the empty corridor.


    As he entered the room, he stepped over a balding middle-aged man whoy unconscious on the floor, tape over his mouth and ropes binding his body.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I woke up the next morning, I headed to Palisades High School to pick up my things from my locker. ss hadn''t started yet, so the corridors were bustling with students, whispering excitedly and pointing as they saw me enter.


    Tyler, Tyrone, Jacob, and Kyle followed closely behind, keeping the other students at bay.


    Principal Brown spotted me and smiled as he made his way over, but he was halted by Tyrone and Jacob.


    "G-Guy��what''s with the stares? I just want to say hi to him," Principal Brown said, stammering under the intense gaze of the angry Jacob.


    Tyrone scoffed, responding sarcastically, "You already suspended him for doing the right thing? What''s next? Fail him in ss for breathing? Make him go to detention for helping a friend with homework?!"


    Principal Brown shook with nervousness as Jacob inched closer, towering over him. Stammering, he averted Jacob''s gaze. "O-Oh, that''s right, I have a meeting to get to��Um... I''m alreadyte��" He abruptly turned and rushed away.


    I chuckled at the scene before finally reaching my locker. As I opened it, Haley and Tara approached me, with Haley carrying a small purse instead of books.


    Leaning against the locker next to mine, Haley twirled her hair and flirted, "Wow, there are so many fan letters and gifts. You must''ve been somebody pretty famous." Tara looked at Haley with disbelief and mumbled, "What?"


    I nodded and yed along. "Yeah, for the wrong reason, though. I ran naked through a news broadcast, and now people are obsessed with me since they saw my family jewels."


    "Oh, is that so?" Haley widened her eyes slightly before giggling and lightly touching my arm. I leaned on the locker, facing her properly. "What''s this? Why are you acting like a pick-me girl? What''s wrong? Tell me so I can y along."


    Haley froze, and Tara cackled at her reaction. "She''s doing this to keep up her image as your side chick," Tara revealed.


    "What?" I widened my eyes in intrigue and teased, "You''re my side chick? How in the world did that happen when I didn''t even have a main chick?"


    Haley rolled her eyes. "Hey, I''ve never imed to be that!" It was one of the most popr topics at Palisades High��my supposed secret rtionship with Haley. Everyone had kept it hushed, and I was just now discovering it.


    "But you yed along," Tara pointed out again. My gaze was locked on Haley, making her feel self-conscious. She avoided my eyes, and before we could say anything else, a girl approached.


    With unkempt blonde hair, thick sses, and a Star Wars t-shirt, the girl clutched some books and patted Haley on the shoulder. "Hey, I finished your homework. You said you needed it before first ss?" she said cheerily, a hint of bashfulness in her voice as she nced at me before lowering her head.


    Haley widened her eyes in shock, and my gaze narrowed. "Sy��Sydney. What are you talking about? When did I ask you to do my homework?" Haley stammered, shoving the nerdy girl away.


    "But you said��" Sydney looked shocked and betrayed as Haley pushed her. I turned to Haley with annoyance. "You''re letting another girl do your homework now, Regina George?"


    "What!? NO! I''m not Regina George!" Haley protested, referencing the main antagonist from Mean Girls.


    "What''s the deal you struck with her then? You definitely didn''t make her do that for nothing, right?" I asked with a disingenuous smile. Haley was speechless for a few seconds before stammering, "Of��Of course there is something."


    I turned to Sydney, who was slumping as she walked away. "Sydney,e back!" I called out. She reminded me of someone from my previous life��an actress named Sydney who starred in Euphoria.


    Sydney looked befuddled as she turned around and pointed to her face. "Me?"


    Haley was anxious again, and Tara kept cackling beside her.


    [Haley''s Commentary]


    "I really didn''t ask her to do my homework. She volunteered! There''s a difference!"


    [End Commentary]


    After a quick conversation, Haley ''decided'' she would take Sydney shopping and hanging out at the mall, which was all the girl wanted from her.


    "Nice shirt, by the way." Iplimented Sydney and winked as she looked up to thank me. She blushed immediately and hurried away from the situation. Haley stared at me in disbelief after Sydney was gone.


    "You didn''t help her because, um..." Haley hesitated, but Tara shot the question directly, "Because of her huge jugs?"


    The bell rang, which saved me from answering. "Go now, don''t talk with the delinquent anymore," I teased as I waved goodbye.


    Haley, dissatisfied, grabbed my hand before I could leave. "Wait. You''re going to the police station now?"


    "No. I''m going to the film set first. I''ll head there in the evening," I replied. She nodded in understanding and said, "Break a leg!"


    "I''ll definitely try." I nodded in agreement. Haley looked at me with derision and added, "Not at your police job! At your acting job!"


    "Oh right. Thanks! Seriously, you guys should go to ss now. Haley, I''ll talk to youter?" I turned to Haley after addressing all my friends. I said goodbye to my male friends with fist bumps. Haley replied as I was fisting Jacob��something about that sounded wrong.


    "Yeah. I''ll text you."


    When I walked out of the school, every student had already gone inside the ssroom. The schoolground was empty, which made me feel quite mncholic, and also quite like an outsider there.


    It didn''t take too long for me to throw that thought to the back of my mind like I did with all the others and drove to the film set.


    "Wait, I have an appointment with Linda today." I suddenly remembered. "Eh, she''ll understand that I cannot make it." I shrugged it off and suddenly, my phone rang. I connected my bluetooth headset (for cars) and answered it.


    "Hi Pepper, I''m on my way." I spoke immediately, already expecting that he was going to ask me about my whereabouts.


    ...


    "Thank you and good job, everyone!" I announced to the filming staff after we wrapped up for the day. Maggie was still focused on her documentary, her camera trained on me.


    Donald Glover approached, a grin on his face. "Hey, I''ve been meaning to ask��you''re a magician too?"


    "How did you know?" I replied, intrigued.


    "My source wants to keep herself anonymous... alright, it''s your cousin," he confessed, not even attempting to hide it as he broke down.


    I nced at Maggie in disbelief before turning back to Donald. "Want me to show you a trick?"


    "Hell yeah!" he eximed, excitement lighting up his face. "Alright, I''m going to do an illusionist-type magic."


    Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, and Emily Blunt noticed what we were up to and turned their attention our way.


    I ced my hand on Donald''s shoulder. "Focus on my finger. When I snap my fingers, you''ll forget you were ever gay." I snapped my fingers.


    "Huh?" Donald looked confused. "But I was never��WAIT A MINUTE!" His eyes widened in shock as he protested, "You can''t do that because I was never GAY!"


    I leaned toward the camera and whispered, "Magic."


    "Magic my ass! I was never gay!" he argued, but then fell deep in thought. "Wait, was I��NO! Never!"


    The girls rolled their eyes,ughing at my antics. Ryan was wheezing withughter, thoroughly enjoying Donald''s bewilderment and existential crisis.


    "I''ll see you guys tomorrow!" I waved them goodbye before leaving. I turned to Donald and asked, "Do you want me to lift off the hypnotism?"


    "Yes! WAIT!-- NOOOO! HUH?! WHAATT!? WHAT SHOULD I DO?!!" He whined and almost cried because of it. "WHO AM I!?" He shouted, aggrieved.


    I left Donald contemting existence and drove to the police station, only to find a huge crowd of reporters camping outside. Not wanting to attract attention, I bypassed the station and called Chloe. "Hello, Detective. How am I supposed to get into the station?"


    She sounded confused. "Through the front. How else?"


    "Did you even check what''s happening there?" I asked begrudgingly. There was a brief silence before she finally stopped a uniformed officer to ask. After a moment, she sighed, "You can start tomorrow��"


    I interjected, "Do you think they won''t be there tomorrow?"


    "Hmm, you''re probably right. But if you don''t get in, you won''t be able to fulfill your deal with the judge," she replied, frustration creeping into her voice. "Again, I''m really sorry for getting you into this mess."


    I sighed. "It''s fine. Twenty cases isn''t a lot. It''s better than fifteen days ofmunity service. I wouldn''t be able to manage that with my schedule right now." Plus, I wouldn''t finish them before my world tour, so the deal with the judge made my punishment a bit easier.


    "What do you think we can do?" Chloe asked.


    "The judge said I only need to work with you, not be at the station. Why don''t you grab your open cases and meet me at my house?" I suggested.


    She paused for a moment before agreeing. I drove back home and, upon entering, asked Robin to hide her presence from Chloe.


    As I sank into the couch to rx before Chloe arrived, a brilliant idea struck me. Without hesitation, I grabbed my phone and called a detective I knew.


    "Hello, Juvie," Detective Rosa Diaz answered with a slight teasing inflection. This wasn''t the first time I called the police station. In fact, I did it soon after I got out of court to thank them for their letters of support. Most of them were already familiar with me.


    "Hello, Ballerina," I greeted back. Her mood shifted instantly. "How did you know that? Did you run a background check on me?! Screw you!" She hung up abruptly.


    I chuckled and called another contact, knowing Rosa wouldn''t pick up again for a while.


    "Hello, Edward!" Sergeant Terry Jeffords answered. Rosa rushed over, having noticed.


    "Hang up!" she demanded of Terry.


    "What��Hold on!" Terry gestured for her to wait before asking me, "How did you piss off Detective Diaz?"


    "Put me on speaker," I replied. He reluctantlyplied, and Rosa red at him the entire time.


    "Ro-ro, calm down," I said after Terry confirmed I was on.


    "You have no privilege of calling me Ro-ro! Or even Rosa now!" she snapped.


    "You know, you could really benefit from some anger management lessons," I retorted, quickly shifting the subject. "You know about my deal with the judge?"


    Jake, eager to chime in, eximed, "The one where you need to solve twenty cases or you''ll go to jail? When I first heard it, I thought it was a plot for a movie!"


    Terry joined in, "Yeah, we heard! So you''re calling Rosa to get some advice?"


    "Oh! I volunteer to be your mentor! As long as you put my name in your memoir!" Jake blurted out.


    "I think I can manage on my own. It''s not like solving cases is hard," I said cockily. Rosa scoffed, and everyone reacted in dissatisfaction.


    Amy Santiago finally chimed in, "There are many factors involved in solving a case��"


    "No need for advice, Amy. I think I can do it better than you guys."


    "Wanna bet?!" Jake took the bait easily. "Sure, the 99th precinct versus me," I teased.


    "Let''s talk terms!" Jake mmed the table, agitated.


    "Alright, it''s individual counts, so you can''t pool your numbers together," I said, knowing exactly how they''d react. As expected, everyone erupted in anger, thinking that I was looking down on them too much.


    "You guys can decide what you want from me. I''ll wait. It doesn''t matter because I''ll win anyway," I told them confidently.


    Boyle eximed in disappointment, "Why are you so mean? I really thought you were nice!"


    Rosa fell into deep thought before realizing something. "Wait. He is nice. He''s baiting us."


    "So the first person to solve twenty cases wins!" Jake concluded, rifying the terms.


    "Alright, so if I win, what will I get?" I asked.


    "What do you want?" Amy asked with a slight agitation.


    I grinned. "I have specifics for each of you. For Rosa, you have to send me a picture of you smiling. It must be a selfie."


    Rosa snapped, "If I win, I''ll gouge out your eyes!"


    "Scary, but I ept," I replied casually. "For Terry, you have to go a week without wearing your suspenders."


    "Come on, man!" Terry protested.


    "For Boyle, he has to eat whatever Jake is eating."


    "Nooo!" Boyle eximed in a high-pitched voice. Jake shot back at Boyle, "I eat normal food!"


    "For Jake, he needs to go on a date with Amy. And vice versa for Amy," I continued.


    "What? NO!" Jake and Amy protested in unison.


    "Yes!" Boyle agreed with me. "I can sabotage them to make them lose the case, can I?" He blurted out his n.


    "NO!" Jake retorted to Boyle.


    "And if I lose, I''ll donate two brand new Mustangs for your precinct since you guys didn''te out with anything." I added.


    "Damn!" Terry eximed in excitement. Rosa''s expression shifted as she processed the stakes. "Do we have a deal?" I asked.


    "Deal!" Everyone agreed at the same time. As Captain Holt was already stationed at the 99th precinct, I kept wondering what would happen to Jake and Amy. Their romantic rtionship started at the bet they made to decide who would close most cases.


    After egging on the duo for a while, Jake and Amy made a side bet to see who would close 20 cases first, which was what I was aiming for.


    We set some terms for the value of cases solved: misdemeanors would count as 1 case, felonies as 3 cases, and serial offenses as 10 cases.


    Detective Chloe arrived at my ce less than a minute after I finished the call. I went to her car and picked up therge boxes from her trunk. "Someone''s excited to start working," shemented as she saw me in a hurry.


    "The stakes are high here, so why don''t you just stay in the car, and I''ll tell you where you need to go to arrest people?" I replied.


    She rolled her eyes, and before she could respond, I had already gone inside the house. "...Should I really wait inside the car?" she mumbled, deciding to follow me inside.


    Solving a case requires legwork, evidence gathering, witness statements, and so on. Obviously, I couldn''t do any of that since I wasn''t a real cop. My job was to help Chloe figure out who the culprit was based on the evidence she had collected.


    I picked up a random case from the box and opened the file. Chloe briefed me as she saw what case I was holding. "The burry urred two months ago, and we still haven''t had a suspect. Witnesses only saw a few masked men break into theundromat and leave in a teless white van."


    "Is there any surveince footage?" I asked while reading the case files.


    Chloe shook her head. "No. This one''s a lost cause."


    "Did they take anything other than money?" I inquired again.


    "No," Chloe replied, disappointment evident in her voice.


    "Hmmm..." I opened myptop and turned to Chloe. "Close your eyes for a second."


    "Why?" she asked, confused.


    "Well, it''s not exactly legal for me to ess the trafficwork."


    "We have ess," she said, rolling her eyes.


    "Ah, that makes my job easier," I chuckled.


    I wrote an algorithm to find all the white vans that left the area where the burry happened at the time of the incident. A total of 15 simr vans were filtered out by the algorithm.


    Fourteen of them had license tes, but one did not. When I followed the route of the van, it made a stop at a gas station five miles out of the area, and one of the suspects went inside.


    "We got a lead," Chloe said with excitement. I turned to her, confused. "This is just a forensics job; why haven''t they found anything?"


    "They took only $800, just below California''s $950 threshold for felony charges, so people don''t really bother. But their M.O. (Modus Operandi) reminds me of several cases I''ve read, so they might be repeat offenders," Chloe exined.


    "Wait, let me check something." She suddenly called another detective as an idea struck her. "Yeah, it checked out. The gas station was also robbed that night��under $800 too. They held the store at gunpoint and stole from the cash register."


    I nodded in understanding. "Alright, is there any footage from that ce?"


    After a while, we identified a suspect from a tattoo that was exposed when the suspect was robbing the gas station. It wasn''t particrly unique, but as I reviewed the surveince footage leading up to the crime to see if anyone had canvassed the store, I spotted someone with a simr tattoo. From the te number of the car he was using, we found a name.


    "David Swimmer," Chloe muttered.


    "Ross?" I replied, shocked.


    "Swimmer, not Schwimmer," Chloe corrected me. "Right now, we don''t have any conclusive evidence that he did it. He could just be an ordinary guy��"


    Before Chloe could finish her words, I pulled up the guy''s Instagram page and checked his stories from two months ago. To my astonishment, he had filmed the crime hemitted and posted it on his stories. It was sheer dumb luck that we managed to solve the case.


    Chloe''s eyes widened in shock, then she became ted. "It is him!"


    "And we found all of his other friends too," I said with satisfaction. The gang was all there, making the investigation easier.


    Suddenly, I turned to Chloe, confusion etched on my face. "Hey, it took me longer than I thought. Why aren''t there any more cases like the ones I solved at the police station before?"


    As I wanted to win the bet, I was curious why I was stuck with this cold case from two months ago. Chloe looked helpless and said, "Sorry, the captain only allowed me to take cold cases with me."


    "Damn that fatso!" I cursed out loud.

 Chapter 292: Investigation (2)

    <h4>Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Investigation (2)?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Chloe slumped over the table, her head drooping low as she rested heavily on her crossed arms, a faint snore escaping her lips. The sun slowly crept over the horizon, brightening the living room inside the seaside vi.


    Suddenly, a tall stack of case files was mmed onto the table where Chloe was sleeping. She jolted awake, her hand instinctively reaching for her gun, but then she froze as she recognized me.


    I rolled my eyes as I pressed the papers down with my right hand. "What are you going to do, shoot me?" My left hand held a can of Red Bull��something that made me talk twice as fast as usual.


    Chloe blinked, befuddled, and calmed herself down. Moving her hand away from her gun holster, she asked, "When did I fall asleep?"


    "Around the third case file. So, about six hours ago. It goes smoother without you bothering me every two minutes, I even managed to solve seven more."


    Chloe widened her eyes. "You solved seven cold cases in one night?"


    I waved my hand dismissively with my right hand while taking a sip of the Red Bull with the other. "No, only three. Then I got bored looking at a case from 1999, so I called your captainst night and asked him to assign you new cases. After my twentieth call of the night, he relented and let me take a look at all the ongoing investigations."


    I flipped through the stacks of papers, exining each one. "Murder, murder, murder, assault, robbery, robbery, andstly, a pervert. Now, I need you to go and arrest all of them. I can''t im that I solved all of this before you did."


    Chloe was speechless for a moment as she scanned the case files. I cracked open another can of Red Bull and added, "I went through everything in the cold case box, but it''ll take time to solve them, so I set them aside for now. I have a bet to win, you see."


    Once the perpetrators were arrested, only then could I log the case in for the bet. Otherwise, I would''ve won tonight cause based on the value of cases we settled on, I had solved 24 cases tonight. Misdemeanors count as 1 case, felonies as 3 cases, and serial offenses as 10 cases.


    Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that ridiculous bet."


    I wagged my finger at her while taking a sip. "It''s not ridiculous. This means that when they write their wedding vowster on, they''ll have to acknowledge my contribution and put my name in there."


    "You seem so sure that they will end up together," Chloe said, a hint of awe and disbelief in her voice.


    I chuckled. "Isn''t that obvious? Alright, chop chop! These criminals won''t arrest themselves. By the way, where is your partner? Howe I''ve never seen him?"


    Chloe sighed in exasperation. "I work alone."


    I hummed in objection. "Hmm, no, you shouldn''t work alone. It''s dangerous, and you definitely need a partner. But I also know your reputation at the station, so let me call you some backups."


    "No need��" Before she could finish, I pressed my finger to her lips to silence her. "Shhh, don''t fight it, baby. There''s only one way this thing is going to work. It''s either you go with your partner or the other uniformed officers, or you go with me. Which one do you want to pick?"


    I had recently grown to hate the trope of cops working alone because their superiors deemed them ''loose cannons'' or ''mad dogs.'' In movies, it seemed cool; in real life, it was just stupid��not to mention life-threatening.


    Chloe pped my hand away, grimacing as she warned me, "Don''t ever do that again."


    Without missing a beat, I called the police captain, whose number I had on speed dial. "Sup, Captain?"


    "It''s 6 in the morning! Please don''t��"


    I ignored him and continued, "I''ve solved every case you gave mest night."


    "...What?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice. "Those cases I just gave you four hours ago?"


    "Yeah. Anyway, the judge said, ''It''ll be Chloe''s arrest,'' so give her a task force." I said this casually.


    Even Chloe looked incredulous at my statement.


    "We can''t just��"


    "You know it''s going crazy right now about women''s rights on social media. Imagine the bacsh when people find out there''s a police detective being sidelined by her captain just because she wants to ensure equal treatment. Can your department take that heat?"


    "Is that a threat?" he asked, trying to sound tough, but his voice faltered at the end.


    I chuckled. "Threat? No, it''s not a threat. It''s just a concern. I''m worried about the police department, that''s all."


    The captain was silent for a moment before he made a decision. "Alright. She can have her own team. Not a task force."


    "Thanks. So she''ll bring the cases to the police station, and her team needs to be ready by then. I can''t legally work on a case without her supervising me, but screw that. Ah, that serial arsonist case looks interesting. Give me a copy of the case. Bye~"


    I hung up the call before the captain could get a word in. After tossing all the cases to Chloe, I said, "Remember, do not do it alone. Alright, look at me, being all fatherly. Did you have a daddy issue perchance? Would this be turning you on��"


    She turned around and stomped away. I chuckled and waved goodbye to her before heading out for a run by the sea.


    I had some excess energy to burn from the Red Bull, and I hadn''t done any cardio in a while, so I put on my running shorts, a ck tank top, running shoes, and a ck cap. Wearing headphones, I started jogging through the neighborhood.


    The neighborhood was gated, but that didn''t stop some paparazzi from camping out where they could see my house from outside the gate. Some even broke through the gate asionally, dealing with the legal repercussions afterward.


    After running for a mile, I finally reached the beachfront near my neighborhood, where the morning sun glinted off the waves, creating a beautiful shimmer. The warm California sun rose higher, casting a golden hue over the sandy shore. The sound of waves crashing mixed withughter and chatter as people jogged, walked their dogs, and set up for yoga sses on the beach. Surfers dotted the horizon, waiting for the perfect wave, while families spread out their nkets for a day of fun in the sun.


    My breath was steady as I jogged alongside the beach, passing other runners and people enjoying the morning. The air was filled with the salty scent of the ocean, mingled with the aroma of fresh coffee from a nearby caf��.


    Suddenly, I heard barking behind me. "Hmm?" I turned around and saw a golden retriever chasing after me, his tongue hanging out and tail wagging furiously.


    Bursting intoughter, I stopped running and turned to the dog. He wagged his tail happily as he stopped in front of me. Crouching slightly, I started rubbing his face. "Why are you following me, big guy? Where is your owner?"


    "Woof!" The dog barked, moving left and right anxiously, seemingly trying toin to me about something. I checked his cor and figured out his name.


    "Roxy!" I heard a woman''s voice shouting from afar. She was running straight toward me as she spotted the dog. Surprisingly, it was someone I knew.


    Ashley Benson scolded the golden retriever as she hooked the leash back to his cor. "Please stop running away every time we get to the beach! I can''t chase after you every single time," she eximed, visibly tired.


    Wearing a sports bra and tight jogger, she was nning to enjoy some time at a cafe nearby when her dog suddenly ran away. Her words made me snicker, catching her attention. She turned toward me, her face flushed with embarrassment, "Sorry for bothering you."


    "No, no, it''s fine, Roxy is quite cute." I waved my hand dismissively. "I should continue running if I want to keep my heart rate up. See youter, Ashley."


    "Huh?" She looked confused at first, but then recognition clicked in as I pulled up my hat to show her my face.


    I resumed running while Ashley stood frozen. As I moved away, I heard her squeal in excitement. She squatted next to Roxy, "Baby, that''s Edward! That hottie I told you about! I can''t believe I met him here!"


    She squealed again, rubbing Roxy''s fur around his neck. "AHHH! What am I going to do, Roxy? Is this destiny or something? How can it be such a coincidence that the guy you were running toward is him?! Wait, should I invite him to get a some coffee with me at the cafe�C"


    The idea came toote, and I was already too far away. I continued running past the beachfront, making a circr turn to return back to my house, which made a girl who expected me to run back on the same path waited for my return for nothing. However, after 7 continuous miles, I finally had to stop to get a drink.


    "Ah, damn cardio," I panted slightly before heading to a vending machine at a nearby park for some water.


    I stood beside a basketball court as I took my water break when suddenly the people inside noticed me. Most of the yers were African American, and one of them recognized me.


    It was a young college guy who pointed at me while holding a ball with his other hand. "Hey, you''re the Newgate dude, right?"


    "That''s me," I replied casually with a polite smile. He brightened up and said, "Man, I didn''t like you."


    "That''s a normal thing to say to someone," I mumbled. He snorted and replied, "Sorry, didn''t mean it that way. I like you now, though, after the whole getting arrested thing."


    One of the older men, bald with a thick beard, walked over and scolded the boy, "Man, if you want to talk, throw the ball."


    "N****, that''s that kid Newgate," the young man whispered to the older guy. "For real?" The older man turned to me, saying, "Boy, I didn''t like you before."


    I raised an eyebrow, slightly incredulous. The young man burst intoughter and rified, "Before��before!"


    The older guy continued, "Man, you punched the hell out of that dude. I swear I saw his teeth fly in that video. No one believes me, though."


    I nodded in understanding. "His teeth did, in fact, fly."


    Both of them erupted inughter before the older one said, "You''re quite cool. What do you say, weck a yer... You... wanna y ball?"


    "Sure, if you don''t mind losing to a white guy," I teased.


    They both snorted in amusement, and the older one replied, "Alright, white boy. Let''s see what you got. Don''t cry to your girlfriend afterward when you fall on your face."


    He threw the ball at me, and I caught it easily. The older one��Dan��and the younger one, Chris, yed on the opposite team. The match was intense, and they weren''t going easy on me at all��which was a good thing.


    As I caught the ball, I dribbled it before jumping to the and dunking it inside.


    "OH DAMN!" Dan shouted in frustration, sweat pouring down his face. I high-fived my teammates andughed at him, which only fueled his annoyance and determination for the next point.


    The back-and-forth continued for a while, but eventually, the older guys couldn''t keep ying any longer. Only Chris and I remained standing, while the others slumped on the ground, groaning and whining about how their bodies didn''t work as they used to, or how they would''ve buried us in the match.


    "Ah, you''re a terrifying white dude. You should try out for the NBA," Dan said teasingly.


    I scoffed and replied, "I''m already busy enough as it is." I checked my watch and eximed, "Ah, I should run back now."


    Chris asked, "Youing again tomorrow?"


    "I will if I have the time. Here, take my number and give me yours." I exchanged contact information with him. Before I left, I turned to Chris and Dan and asked, "I''m confused about something. Why did you suddenly like me now? Is it only because I punched that guy?"


    Chris shook his head and teased, "Nah, it''s because you have a mugshot now."


    Dan snickered and asked, "You want me to be real?"


    "Yes, please," I replied without hesitation.


    Dan smiled and said, "It''s because you take responsibility for your actions. Honestly, when I saw the news, I thought, ''Ah, another celebrity above thew.'' When you''re someone who gets hassled by the fuzz just for walking down the street to your nephew''s house, I didn''t really have a strong opinion on your kind of people. I have a Phd you know, but somehow, they still looked at me like I''m some sort of threat."


    I nodded in understanding and let him continue.


    "But then the news broke out about why you did that. It impressed me that you''re standing up for yourself. I didn''t really like you back then, but when I found out you refused to settle with that ass��prick and even went to court yourself? Man! I thought you were a rockstar."


    A lot of people shared the same sentiment as him. For the majority of the male poption, I was no longer seen as that ''teen heartthrob''. It made a lot of people who hate me for nothing be a fan of mine after the incident.


    "I kinda am, a little bit," I interjected with a coy smile.


    Dan grimaced, "Don''t."


    Iughed awkwardly, which made him burst intoughter. He patted my back roughly and said, "I''m just kidding. I like your music."


    Chris exposed Dan, "He likes your girlfriend''s music better. He thought we won''t notice it, but he will listen to Taylor S. everytime�C"


    Before Chris could finish, Dan covered his mouth. With an anxious face, he told me, "You should go back now, aren''t youte?"


    "He will even sing along to ''You Belong With Me!'' and he knows every word!" Chris exposed his Uncle.


    "I will beat your ass!" Dan warned Chris who ran away from him quickly.


    "Ah, thank you guys! This has been fun." I wore my earphones again and told them, "If I have some time to y, I will make sure to text you guys."


    Then, I left the basketball court. After 20 more minutes of running, I finally returned to my house.


    "Should I sleep or continue working on the cases? Hmmm.... I guess I should sleep for a bit." I walked to the couch from the front door, and immediately activated the [rest skill], making myself fall to sleep before my body even hit the couch cushions.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Brooklyn, 99th Police Precinct


    "You''re not assigning us more cases? But why? I need that to win the bet!" Jake argued with Captain Holt while inside the captain''s office. Amy, Boyle, Rosa, and Terry stood by Jake''s side, all of them having been called into the office.


    Holt exined in his usual monotone voice, "Do you know what will happen if you win the bet?"


    Jake interjected hurriedly, a huge grin on his face. "There''s no ''if,'' Captain. I, Jake Peralta, the most brilliant detective in this building, will definitely win."


    "That''s quite a big talk from someone who struggled to keep up with my points," Amy said with a slight smirk. Jake turned to her and replied, "I know you''re excited about going on a date with me, Amy, but be professional. We''re in front of the captain."


    "I wasn''t��" Amy widened her eyes and stammered. Captain Holt raised his hand and interrupted, "Enough. I don''t have time for this childish game you all made with a literal child. You are not to continue with this bet."


    Boyle asked, "What''s the concern, Captain? Why are you so against it?"


    Holt exined, "Because the oue will surely raise potential bribery concerns about our department. Police departments have strict policies regarding gifts and donations."


    Holt stood up and continued, "It may require a formal review process to determine if the donation aligns with departmental guidelines and ethical standards. In this case, I do not think tricking an adolescent into buying our department''s new luxury vehicle is ethical."


    "Wait, so you want us to stop this bet because you think we might win, not because you think we''ll lose?" Terry asked, a mix of confusion and admiration in his tone.


    Holt replied casually, "Yes. All of you are aplished professionals. I expect you to act that way and not take advantage of others." Everyone eximed as they thought Holt was being sweet, all except Rosa.


    Suddenly, Rosa received a text message while the others were snickering. She sighed and said to Holt, "Captain, while you were having your moment, that Newgate prick updated his case board."


    Holt smirked. "See? It''s now noon, and he only solved one case��" His smile froze when Rosa interjected, "He solved nine. The total value is twenty-four based on what we agreed on. He already won."


    "IMPOSSIBLE!" Jake whined in a high-pitched voice. "Amy only got eight! And she''s the frontrunner out of all of us!" Boyle added.


    "Nope. All the perps already confessed to their crimes. He won while we were arguing about professionalism. Good job, everyone." Rosa said curtly and sarcastically.


    "Oh," Captain Holt eximed curtly, his expression shifting to one of humiliation. "I guess I was wrong."


    With his hands on his hips, Jake turned to Holt, trying to contain his anger. "You think?"


    Rosa suddenly received another text. She sighed and read it aloud. "Newgate said, ''Chloe only arrested four people, while the others were arrested by other detectives. He thought about it and decided to only submit those points.''"


    "Is he pitying us?" Boyle asked, a hint of humiliation in his voice.


    Terry sighed. "He might be trying to be kind and let us save face,<strong> but this feels worse than him already winning the bet</strong>!"


    Holt suddenly said, "Then what are you waiting for? GO! Take as many cases as you want! You need to maintain the dignity of the police department and not let him win without giving him somepetition!"


    "Thanks, Captain," Jake said.


    "No time for gratitude! GO AND SOLVE CASES!" Holt chased everyone out of his office. "GO, GO, GO!"


    Jake stopped Boyle when they got outside of the office, "Boyle, I''m sorry that I''m asking you this, but I think the reason we are sote in solving the cases, is because all of us are working on our own. We should work with our partners if we want to win"


    Boyle gasped and said, "You want to do it together? What happened to ''I''m a lone wolf''?"


    Jake waved his hand dismissively and said, "Eh, I don''t care about not being called that if I can win. Let''s go. I already solved 4 more felonies, but I haven''t arrested the perps yet because I want to stack them and win all at once."


    Back to California, Edward stretched his arms in the air as he let out a huge yawn. He was at the movie set where he would record a short scene today. Pepper pped his back and scolded him, "You have already won, why did you make things difficult for yourself?"


    "Oww." Edward rubbed his sore bicep and replied, "It''s too boring to win without anypetitions. Besides, I have my eye on that serial arsonist case. I want to solve that one as thest case to win the bet."


    Pepper scolded him again, "Why did you even decide to start the bet when you''re busy enough as it is! You''re making me worried sick! Take better care of yourself!"


    "I will!...In about 5 years." Edward replied mischievously.


    "What?!" Pepper retorted angrily. Edward ran away hurriedly before Pepper could get mad again. When he returned home, the case file for the serial arsonist case was already at his house, and on top of the case file was a note from Chloe telling him that he could work without her.


    "I''m not going to wait anyway." Edward muttered before he opened the case files. "7 fires, all have the same MO, even clues and a calling card left behind by the perp. This sounds interesting."


    Edward turned to the clues left behind by the perps with a face full of excitement. "The clues are written in hieroglyphs and ancient sanskrit? I need to decipher it to��"


    Before Edward could even try to decipher the clues, Robin suddenly chimed in, "The culprit responsible for the recent fires is Emily Waby, 29 years old, daughter of Professor Wa Wa Waby who has a master''s degree in Ancient Languages and Cultural Symbolism."


    Robin pulled up the picture of the woman using the hologram projection, even her AI body appeared too, "Based on her GPS records, she was at all the ces when the crime happened. I also found several inte searches in herptop pertaining to methods of starting fires."


    bbergasted, Edward widened his eyes and asked, "Robin!? What are you doing?!"


    Robin was confused, "Solving cases sir. I wanted to lighten your load. You seem to be doing too much recently, and you need some rest."


    "I�� Wha�C How�C I�C" Edward stammered for a while, he couldn''t even respond properly to the situation. "I...Ugh!" He stood up from the chair and pouted. "I wanted to solve it by myself!" He whined and identally knocked on the cold cases box Chloe brought overst night.


    "Ugh." He groaned again and went to pick up the cases from the floor when his eyes caught something strange. "Unsolved case...Serial Killer...Code- Tea Time Strangler?"

 Chapter 293: Investigation (3)

    <h4>Chapter 293: Chapter 293: Investigation (3)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Tea Time Strangler?" As I read the file, memories from several months ago flooded back��specifically, the car trip I took with Taylor. I first heard the name of the murderer from a police officer who stopped our car. I never expected to see the case file for this case now.


    "Appearance; unknown. Age; unknown. They have absolutely no clue about this person huh." I muttered as I flipped through the case files.


    Other than the victims sharing the same traits�C white woman in herte 30s till mid 40s, living alone, in a position of authority, a brte. "Robin, take notes," I said as I read the case file out loud. Robin''s holographic body appeared next to me, in a detective''s assistant getup, flipping her notebook as she pretended to write it there.


    "Psychological profile: The perpetrator, dubbed the "Tea Time Strangler," exhibits aplex psychological profile shaped by past trauma and a need for control. The choice of victims��women in positions of authority��suggests a deep-seated resentment and a desire for retribution against figures who represent authority and perceived abuse."


    "All victims share a history of abusive behavior, either toward their children or students, indicating that the perpetrator targets those who have exploited their positions of power. This selection reflects a calcted approach, suggesting the killer seeks to address injustices inflicted upon vulnerable individuals. The specific targeting of authority figures may signify unresolved issues stemming from the perpetrator''s own childhood experiences with authority figures, possibly including maternal figures who were abusive or neglectful."


    "The choice of a "tea party" setting for the murders is particrly telling. This ritualistic aspect may indicate a desire to recreate a childhood scenario, transforming a traditionally innocent and nurturing activity into a scene of horror."


    "The juxtaposition of the tea party��often associated with civility and femininity��against the brutality of the murders suggests a profound psychological conflict within the perpetrator. It may also signify a twisted form of justice, where the perpetrator enacts a form of punishment in a setting that should embodyfort and safety.


    I had to stop as I read the rest of the criminal profile. "Wow, who is the profiler for this case? Why is it so good? Is this really the level of a police profiler?"


    As I checked the name, disbelief washed over me. "Dr. Linda Martin... my therapist?" My mind quickly nked out, leaving me standing there motionless.


    "Sir? Should I continue writing?" Robin asked, waving her hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention.


    Thanks to her voice, I finally snapped out of my deep thoughts. "Ah, thanks, Robin. No�� I mean, yes, you just need to scan everything and create a murder board."


    When Robin finished her work, I stood in front of the holographic board disying all the dates and locations of the murders, including the names of the victims. Robin held a red thread and asked me excitedly, "Should I connect the murders together like in TV shows, sir?"


    "No need. That''ll make it too messy," I replied casually. Robin''s enthusiasm deted, and she slumped away. As I studied the murder board, I noticed something. "So, he nned the attack dates too."


    "Why did you say that, sir?" Robin asked, her curiosity piqued.


    I turned to her with a smile. "See here? Every single victim lived alone. The criminal attacked them on the first day of any holiday, which meant it would take days, or even weeks, for their bodies to be discovered."


    "Mrs. Reyes, thetest victim, was supposed to go on a cruise. Her body wasn''t found until the smell of her rotting corpse disturbed the neighbor. None of her friends tried to contact her because she warned them not to do so," I said, pointing to the location of the murder nearest to my city.


    "It''s almost the holiday season, so I guess Detective Deckard thought the culprit would strike again," Robin chimed in.


    I nodded in agreement and teased, "So, how is it, Robin? Can you solve this one instantly too?"


    Robin pouted. "Whoever this person is, they didn''t use any phones."


    "How about credit cards? Car rentals? Nothing?" I pressed. Given the suspect''s familiarity with the victims'' daily routines, I suspected he had stalked them for a while. I asked Robin to check for any ovepping credit card transactions to see if someone had been present around all the victims'' daily activities.


    Robin shook her head and said, "There''s nothing, sir. He must''ve used cash for all his transactions."


    "Hmm, this is quite intriguing. If he used cash, then where did he get his money from?" I muttered.


    "Robin, pull out the witness interviews," I ordered before suddenly thinking of something else. "Before that, in the serial arsonist case, did the culprit work alone?"


    Robin looked into it for a moment and said, "There''s nothing to signify that she was working with someone."


    "It might seem that way, but didn''t you see her disability card? She hurt both of her legs in a car ident. She can''t drive anymore. Based on the tire marks left at the scenes, the police guessed that she used a truck to get to the crime scenes."


    "Do you think someone is helping her?" Robin asked. "I''ll check the CCTV footage again."


    My heart raced with anxiety as I asked urgently, "You''ve already given the arsonist''s name and location to Chloe, right?"


    "Yes, sir," Robin replied.


    "Call the Captain," I ordered. Robin dialed the police captain''s number, and as soon as it connected, I asked, "Cap, have you seen the arsonist?"


    The captain answered with a sleazy, sycophantic tone, "Yes, you really are a prodigy��"


    "Stop that. Did Chloe go to arrest her yet? Because I think she might have an aplice."


    The captain sounded shocked. "What?! Seriously?!"


    "Did she go there yet?" I pressed anxiously. "She remembered to bring her partner with her, right? I warned her about not going in without backup. She must''ve remembered that." There was hope in my inflection, as I thought that the situation could still be salvaged.


    "Umm..." The captain stammered. "Damn it." I cut the call and ran to my car immediately. "Robin, get me Detective Deckard''s location!" I shouted.


    Robin got to work quickly, and when I arrived at the car garage, she had already sent Chloe''s location to my phone. My Audi R8 roared to life as I pressed the elerator, dashing through the streets as I drove to the arsonists'' current location.


    "Why in the world did she turn off her phone?" I muttered anxiously as I tried to contact Chloe. The captain also sent backups to the location immediately, but I knew that I was the closest one to her.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "My battery is empty," Chloe sighed as she watched her phone shut down after she got out of her car. Fatigue was evident on her face; she had been chasing and arresting criminals since early morning.


    She entered an abandoned warehouse after checking the suspect''s home and finding no one there. It was one of the hideouts identified by Robin, so Chloe decided to make the stop.


    With her gun drawn and a shlight in her other hand, Chloe cautiously moved through the dark warehouse filled with boxes. Suddenly, she heard soundsing from deeper inside. Staying alert, she advanced slowly.


    As she opened the door from which the sounds originated, she aimed her gun at a woman with a crazed expression, standing with a cane inside the room. Blueprints were spread out on the table before her.


    "Freeze! Emily Waby! You''re under arrest for arson!" Chloe shouted. Emily looked shocked, but then a manic smile crossed her face.


    "You''re alone?" she asked.


    "I am enough to bring you in. Hands up! NOW!" Chloemanded. Just then, she heard a grating voiceing from behind her, "She''s alone."


    Chloe turned quickly, but before she could react, a metal pipe struck the back of her head. She lost consciousness and copsed to the floor, blood pooling beneath her. Emily and her lover dragged Chloe up, disarmed her, and chained her to a nearby metal pole.


    As Chloe regained consciousness, her vision blurred. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and she struggled to steady her senses. Faint voices echoed around her.


    "Hmm, we should probably kill her," Emily said casually, pointing Chloe''s own gun at her head with her finger on the trigger.


    The tall, stocky man with a ss eye pushed Emily''s hand down. "If she knows who we are, then every cop already knows it. We should run. We''re only wanted for arson, but if you murder a cop, it''ll turn into a major case."


    Emily grumbled and shoved his hand away. Grabbing his shirt, she whined, "Ethan, don''t you love me anymore? You said you''d help me take revenge!"


    "Yeah, I said that," Ethan sighed, moving his hand away and letting her go. Emily grinned maniacally, pointing the gun at Chloe and cocking the trigger.


    Chloe struggled to speak. "Re...venge? How is it revenge?"


    "Ah, no one has solved it yet! My puzzles!" Emily said, pulling her hand back to gloat. "They all think they''re better than me,ughing at me when I need to use my cane," she struck her leg in frustration, resenting her disability.


    "What?" Chloe asked, confused. Emily continued, "Like them, you too, the police! They never even caught the guy who caused the ident. You know what I''m going to do next, Detective?" She picked up her blueprints and held them up to Chloe.


    Chloe''s eyes widened as she muttered, "That''s...the police station."


    Emily grinned. "My next target. I already know how to get inside. After I kill you, I''m going to torch that ce too!"


    "The police station?" Suddenly, another voice interrupted from behind them. Emily turned to Ethan, fuming. "Are you stupid and DEAF? I already said I''m going to burn that ce down!"


    "No, that wasn''t me," Ethan said, shaking his head emphatically. "Huh?" Both of them turned to see a silhouette behind them. Edward smiled as he aimed his tasers at both arsonists. As he pressed the button, he said, "Sorry about this. I don''t have a gun, and I''m in no mood for a fistfight today."


    He continued talking while they were electrocuted. Their bodies jerked before they copsed to the ground, spasming. However, the big man wasn''t going down so easily. "Ah, double dose then," Edward said casually before bringing the two tasers together and electrocuting only the big guy.


    After both arsonists stopped resisting, Edward hurried over to Chloe and checked on her. "Are you okay? You''re bleeding a lot." Edward''s face changed as he checked on Chloe''s head. He knew she needed immediate medical attention now based on his medical knowledge.


    "I''m...fine," Chloe replied with a sigh of relief. Edward suddenly grew furious. As he tried to remove her chain, he nagged, "If you''re fine, then I can get angry at you. I TOLD YOU TO BRING YOUR PARTNER, YOU DUMBASS! You''re lucky I got here in time. Also, you''re going to pay for all my speeding tickets because I''m pretty sure I ran through about four red lights."


    Edward ripped his shirt to fashion into a bandage and wrapped it around Chloe''s head to stop the bleeding. The big man groaned, and Edward raised his index finger to Chloe. "Be right back."


    "Who are you��" Before Ethan could finish, Edward electrocuted him again, and then again, and then again...until he finally stopped resisting.


    Once Edward returned to Chloe, she looked at him in disbelief. "You have no mercy."


    "Mercy is for the innocent," Edward muttered. He tried to unchain Chloe, and at that moment, they heard sirens ring from outside the warehouse. Backup had finally arrived.


    As soon as the uniformed officers and other detectives entered the warehouse, Edward picked up Chloe in a princess carry, startling everyone, including her.


    "I��I can walk," Chloe stammered shyly. Edward shook his head. "You were hit pretty hard. I''m taking you to the hospital now."


    "I��"


    Before she could reject his offer, Edward said, "You didn''t listen to me once. Do it a second time, and I''ll partner up with the Captain instead."


    Edward carried her out of the warehouse under the gazes of the uniformed officers, which made Chloe extremely embarrassed. No one dared to say anything as they understood how much danger Chloe was in.


    Edward ced her inside his Audi and then took the removable cherry light from Chloe''s car, attaching it to his own. "Now, I can legally speed through the streets," he muttered.


    Although her mind was hazy, Chloe retorted, "You''re impersonating a cop..."


    "I''m a detective intern, so I won''t get into much trouble." He pressed on the elerator and drove Chloe straight to the nearest medical center.


    As he carried her through the emergency ward door, a nurse immediately catered to Chloe. Edward told the emergency room doctor, "She''s suffering from a head injury, being hit hard by a pipe. She has aceration on the back of her head and is bleeding profusely. Vital signs are stable, but she''s disoriented and may experience dizziness or nausea. She needs a CT scan to rule out any intracranial bleeding."


    The female doctor quickly asked as she checked on Chloe''s response, "She got hit by who?"


    "By a criminal. She''s a detective." Edward replied quickly. As he ced Chloe on top of the hospital bed, her blood was all over his shirt and hand.


    The doctor nodded, quickly assessing Chloe''s condition while the nurse prepared to transport her for imaging. Edward added, "Also, monitor her for any signs of increased intracranial pressure. She might need a neurology consult."


    "We got it from here!" The doctor replied with annoyance. Edward sighed as the doctor''s left, mumbling to himself, "What should I do now? Should I contact her family?"


    He looked at his half-ripped shirt and muttered, "I''m cold." The nurses and other patients there giggled as they looked at him, some even started taking pictures. Soon, Edward''s bloody abdomen went viral on social media, with a lot of people asking the question, ''What happened to him?''


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Randall came by bringing me a change of clothing. He wanted to move me away from the hospital as the reporters were congregating there, wanting to know what happened.


    The only reason they couldn''t get into the emergency ward was because of the crowd of police officers who came to support Chloe. It seemed that she had people''s respect even though she was always discriminated against by the Captain.


    I decided to wait until Chloe came out from the treatment room. Sitting on the metal chair nearby the ward, I sipped on some coffee Randall gave me before I asked, "Hey, Chloe''s daughter. She''s in school. Did Chloe pick her up or did she arrange someone else to pick her up?"


    "I think the father will pick her up. He''s a police officer too, right? I''m sure he knows what happened to her." Randall replied.


    I nodded in understanding andined, "It''s taking so long." I rubbed my sweaty palm on my jeans before chuckling slightly.


    Randall looked at me anxiously and said, "You should go home. I can take care of the situation."


    "I think I should wait," I replied with a beleaguered smile. "I won''t be able to rx if I go home."


    After seven hours, she finally emerged from the emergency treatment room and into the monitoring room. I walked inside to check on her. She had fallen unconscious after the treatment, and it didn''t seem like she was going to wake up anytime soon.


    An old, bald doctor wearing sses entered the ward. He introduced himself as Dr. Vijay Kapoor from the neurology department and asked, "Are you her family member?"


    Outside the ward, a few nurses and female patients grimaced at the question. "Doesn''t he even know who he is?" one patient whispered mockingly.


    I shook my head and replied, "I''m not, but her ex-husband will be here soon. You can tell me, and I''ll ry the information to him."


    Dr. Kapoor took off his sses, preparing for what he had to say. "We found some concerning issues. She sustained a significant head injury from the impact. While the initial scans didn''t show any major bleeding, there are signs of diffuse axonal injury, which can cause widespread damage to brain tissue."


    He took a deep breath. "This type of injury can lead to cognitive impairments. She may experience difficulties with memory, attention, and problem-solving skills. In some cases, it can result in permanent damage."


    "We''ll need to monitor her recovery closely, but she may face significant challenges," Dr. Kapoor continued. "I rmend aprehensive rehabilitation program, including physical, upational, and cognitive therapy. However, depending on the severity of the damage, there''s a possibility that she might not be able to return to her previous role as a detective."


    "But it''s still not definitive, right?" I asked, hoping for some reassurance.


    Dr. Kapoor replied with a strained smile, "We both share that hope. I want her to make a swift recovery, but in this case, it''s really hard to say."


    "Thank you, Doctor," I sighed before I fell deep in thoughts. <i>''I think I still have the Minor Heal spell I got from the gacha. Should I use it on her? Gong Shin told me it can heal gunshot wounds. Can it even heal brain injury?''</i>


    As I thought about the plot for the series Lucifer, without Lucifer, Chloe would''ve been dead several times in that series. ''<i>Maybe it is the best choice for her to quit being a detective?''</i>


    My finger was ced on my chin as I contemted the situation. "Hmm, what should I do?" I mumbled. Suddenly, a small child ran into the room while crying, "Mommy!"


    Hertino dad grabbed her before she could hug her mother, picking her up to stop her, "Trixie, stop. You cannot be rough with her."


    Trixie burst into tears, "Mom...I promised I won''t be mad at you anymore for making me sleep at dad''s! Please wake up!"


    "Yeah, I can''t watch this." I muttered suddenly before cracking my fingers, "One healing spell,ing up."

 Chapter 294: Investigation (4-F)

    <h4>Chapter 294: Chapter 294: Investigation (4-F)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    As Chloe''s monitoring room had ss walls, allowing doctors to respond immediately if something was wrong with the patients, I couldn''t cast the healing spell on her right away.


    Chloey motionless, her mouth intubated to assist her breathing. Her life was in danger due to the blunt force trauma to the back of her head. Trixie cried non-stop, only stopping when she fell asleep from exhaustion.


    Around midnight., the blue wave��the influx of police officers checking on her��finally died down. They had collected donations for Chloe, filling a bucket with contributions. With no work to keep me upied, I found myself bored and began counting the money. They had donated $1,200 for her hospital fund, which made me scoff in derision.


    The ER was closed to visitors, allowing only close family members inside. I flirted with some nurses in hopes of getting an exception to stay, but Randall and my security had to wait outside.


    "Finally, I have a chance," I mumbled as I snuck into the monitoring room after the foot traffic in the ward had lessened.


    However, just as I stood in front of the door, several car crash victims were rushed into the emergency room by doctors and nurses, causing the ward to erupt with activity once more.


    "Damn it," I muttered, giving up on trying to cure Chloe for now. I waited an hour until the ward returned to its calm state. But just as I walked past the door, it mmed open again, this time admitting gunshot victims from a drug deal gone wrong.


    I tried for the third time, and Chloe''s blood pressure crashed before I could get to the door. The nurses and doctors got there first, and they spent around an hour getting her out of the danger zone. It was a tough night for the doctors and Chloe too.


    Exhausted, I slumped on the metal chair nearby, wanting to wait for another chance when the emergency room doctor, Dr Lauren Bloom, approached Trixie and Chloe''s ex-husband who was sitting nearby.


    Detective Dan Espinoza immediately became alert when the doctor came and slightly moved his daughter''s head from sleeping on hisp and stood up to talk to her.


    I couldn''t hear the beginning of their conversation, but I caught thest part of what Dr. Lauren said: "...I understand this is difficult to hear. Unfortunately, at this point, it''s important to prepare for the possibility of saying goodbye..."


    "NO!" Dan shouted, frazzled by the doctor''s words. His outburst startled Trixie awake. "You��You need to keep trying!" Dan struggled to hold back his emotions, tears pooling in his eyes as he grabbed the doctor''s coat cor, threatening her.


    "Sir��" Dr. Lauren widened her eyes. "Please calm down."


    I quickly grabbed his arm to prevent the situation from escting. "Dan, let Dr. Lauren go."


    As he turned toward me, I became the target for all his anger. He grabbed my cor with both hands and shouted, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT��"


    I interjected, my expression cold and I spoke in a low chilling tone. "My fault? Was I the one who made her so fucking bullheaded? And..." I twisted his hand violently behind his back. He winced in pain as his knees buckled to the ground.


    "Get your fucking mind together. Your daughter is watching you," I whispered in his ear before pushing him away. He stumbled forward,nding on all fours. As he panted, his mind reset, and he regained hisposure. He turned to Trixie, who was watching him with fear in her eyes.


    I picked Trixie up into my arms and turned to Dan. "Go wash your face, apologize to Dr. Lauren, and then join us inside the room. Don''t worry. Chloe will get through this. She''s pretty fucking tough."


    Trixie gasped. "You said a bad word."


    bbergasted, I turned to her. "Your dad did it first."


    "Yeah, but you''re a kid. Kids shouldn''t say bad words," she lectured me.


    I was in disbelief. "Adults shouldn''t either. And definitely not in front of kids, or to one." My words seemed to prick Dan''s guilty conscience.


    Ignoring him, I went inside the room and set Trixie down. She moved toward her mother but hesitated, afraid to cross thest 20 centimeters.


    Trixie turned to me and asked, "Is my mother dying? Is that why Dad..."


    "Nah, she''s just asleep," I interjected casually. "If you''re worried, you should close your eyes and pray for her."


    What I needed was for her to close her eyes for a moment so I could cast the spell. Trixie took some time to collect herself before asking, "Pray for what?"


    "For your mom to open her eyes," I added, my tone slightly anxious. Dan coulde into the room at any moment, and I really needed Trixie to close her eyes now.


    Trixie sped her hands together but didn''t shut her eyes, keeping her gaze fixed on her mother, which made me roll my eyes. I knew she was going through a tough time, but I was desperate.


    I gently closed her eyes with my left hand. "Don''t peek. It won''t work if you peek."


    "Not even a little?" she asked in disbelief.


    "Yeah," I replied casually, cing my right hand on Chloe''s head. As expected, a shiny glow erupted as the spell took effect. Chloe''s entire head lit up in a golden hue, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    Trixie seemed to sense the glow but forcibly kept her eyes shut, continuing to pray. The light spilled out of the monitoring room and flowed into the lobby. Some nurses and Dr. Lauren caught a glimpse of it, but it disappeared within seconds, leaving them puzzled about what had just happened.


    Trixie peeked with her right eye after the glow disappeared. Her mother was still sleeping on the bed, but her vitals signs and her brain activity had gotten to the normal range. I breathed in relief after I checked the monitors.


    I turned to the kid and saw that she was on the brink of crying. "It didn''t work!" She cried before she turned to hug me. "Cause you didn''t poke her, that''s why." I added in a casual admonishing manner.


    "What?" Trixie was stunned, and she turned to her mother. "Poke her where?"


    "I don''t know. You choose." I replied. Trixie was confused, but then, she slowly moved her hand towards Chloe''s head, and poked her cheek with her index finger. She poked it multiple times, but Chloe was still unresponsive.


    Trixie turned to me angrily and said, "You liar�C"


    Before she could finish, Chloe abruptly sat up, which made both Trixie and I yelled in horror. I cleared my throat immediately and called for the doctor as Chloe was struggling with the intubation. Dr Lauren was close by and she immediately ran to Chloe.


    ...


    Time passed, and Chloe was moved to a VIP ward after the doctors checked on her and found that she was healed. They ran a few tests in confusion, trying to figure out what had happened, but no tests could exin it. For most of them, it was a miracle.


    Oh, and that VIP room? I paid for it. In fact, I paid for the hospital bills too.


    Chloe would have to stay in the hospital for a few days for observation before the doctors could release her. Trixie didn''t go to school, and Dan took some time off from work to take care of both of them.


    While they were talking, I suddenly entered the room. "Dan, can you leave with Trixie?"


    Dan looked stunned, but before he could respond, I fixed my gaze on him and said, "I need to talk to her in private."


    Trixie looked at me innocently. "Are you going to yell at my mum?"


    I smiled and crouched slightly to meet her eye level. "Hmm, yes."


    Chloe''s eyes widened in surprise, and Dan quickly ushered Trixie out of the room. "Come on, let''s get you washed up. You still haven''t brushed your teeth."


    My smile faded as soon as Trixie was out of earshot. I turned to Chloe and red at her. "Is there anything you want to say to me?" I said admonishingly.


    "Um..." She avoided my gaze, but I grabbed her chin and gently turned her head to face me.


    "I told you to bring your partner with you. I told you not to go alone," I said angrily.


    Chloe replied, "I was only going to check out the hiding spot��"


    "Don''t lie to me. People check it by staking out from outside, not by going in." I interjected, cutting off her excuse. "You know, you really shouldn''t be a detective if you want to continue behaving like this." I added with a tired sigh.


    Chloe looked a bit irritated and defended herself. "You''re in no position��"


    "When I see your child desperately crying for her mother, I don''t care about your position. In fact, I''m going to submit an official request with the judge to change the detective responsible for mymunity work."


    She fell silent, unsure how to respond, and I could tell she knew my words were justified.


    "You should get some rest, and hopefully, you''ll never return to this job if you don''t want to change your attitude. For the sake of your daughter, I really hope you won''t. You won''t be lucky a second time." I said my piece before leaving the room.


    I exited the hospital, picked up my bloodied Audi from the parking lot, and drove back to my seaside vi.


    Just as I parked in the driveway and was about to get out, Dr. Linda called me.


    "Ed, you didn''t forget about the mandatory therapy session, required by the state, with me this evening, right?" she asked coyly. After the punching incident, I was required to attend therapy to work on my issues.


    I grimaced and replied, "Oh, um, I actually just got home from the hospital��"


    "It''s fine. I cleared my entire schedule for you this evening. You cane after you get some rest," Dr. Linda said assertively.


    Bewildered at first, I sighed and said, "I''ll be there in an hour." It was clear she was adamant about me attending. Plus, if I missed the mandated therapy sessions set by the court, I would be in big trouble. So she was actually helping me out.


    Once inside the house, I copsed onto the couch. Vader jumped on my back and meowed, trying to get my attention. I picked her up and buried my face in her belly.


    "Meow!" Vader protested as I caught her, but soon she purred contentedly, sensing my mental state. The words "This is all your fucking fault" reverberated in my mind, and I couldn''t push them away like I usually did.


    Reluctantly, I dragged myself up, took a shower, and finally grabbed something to eat fromst night. I made a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich and ate it by the pool while gazing at the ocean. My dad rushed home after Robin notified him that I had returned.


    His hair was unkempt, and his tie was slightly loose as he entered the living room. "Ed, are you okay? I tried contacting youst night."


    "Oh, my phone ran out of battery. I finally recharged it and turned it back on in my car when I drove back," I said casually, tossing him the key to the Audi. "Send this to be buried at sea like your puke-filled Lexus."


    He caught the key and rolled his eyes. "I''m not going to pollute the ocean. I saw the car. There''s blood everywhere. I''ll take it to the car wash��"


    "Just give it to someone. I don''t want it around the house anymore," I interjected. "Burn it, sell it, wash it��do whatever you want with it. Just don''t bring it back."


    "Did you have a really tough time?" my dad asked worriedly. He reached out to hold my shoulder, but I instinctively flinched away. He seemed surprised and concerned.


    I stammered, "Sorry, I just... have a session with Linda. We''ll talk when I get back." I left in a hurry, not giving my dad a chance to respond.


    ...


    "Hi Ed, it''s been a while since you came here," Dr. Linda said with a hint of sarcasm as I entered her office. Chuckling helplessly, I took a seat in front of her.


    "Should we continue from thest session, or do you have something on your mind?" she asked, noticing my exhausted expression.


    I chuckled softly, but my eyes remained somber. "You caught me. As expected of the profiler for the Tea Time Strangler''s case."


    Dr. Linda raised an eyebrow. "Oh, did you read the case file?"


    "A little bit," I replied curtly. Dr. Linda smiled, trying to help. "What seems to be bothering you? Does it have something to do with the cases you''re working on? I saw the articles this morning. The detective... is she in serious trouble?"


    "Nah, she woke up. She''s fine. Just a few days of observation, and she can go home," I replied dismissively.


    "Then what seems to be the problem?" Dr. Linda asked in a calming voice.


    I chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Well, I don''t think I suit the police genre. I''m too anxious to function properly."


    "Oh��oh! Because sis are your thing," Dr. Linda said, already understanding my point.


    I nodded, unaware I was being led on. "Yes. In sis, you don''t have to think about your favorite characters being shot to death in a police shootout. The worst death in a si would be from a piano falling, excessive masturbation, or an offscreen elevator mishap. You wouldn''t actually see people you like bleeding out, their family members crying desperately for them."


    What followed was a lengthy rant about TV tropes and the stark differences between television and real life. Linda listened attentively, allowing me to express my thoughts without interjecting. I told her everything that happened with Chloe, not omitting any details.


    "Ah, I really can''t handle it��the weight of someone''s life on my shoulders." I let out a beleaguered sigh before lying back on the couch.


    Linda leaned forward and asked, "Aren''t you holding that weight right now?"


    "I mean, I feel pressure when dealing with thepany, too. People''s livelihoods depend on me. I can''t make a mistake. One wrong move, and poof��everything I''ve worked hard for will crumble."


    "Let''s focus on that for a moment," Linda said, catching something in my response and trying to help me delve deeper into my concerns.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In Taylor''s apartment, Selena walked toward Taylor, who was absorbed in her phone, texting someone.


    "Is he still not answering?" Selena asked.


    Taylor sighed in frustration. "No. Pepper couldn''t get in touch with him either. How can I release the song if he''s not even in the right frame of mind for it?"


    The picture of Edward at the hospital had gone viral, sparking countless spections about what had happened. The image, showing his bloodied, torn shirt and worried expression as he brought Chloe into the hospital, had been uploaded to social media by someone present at the scene.


    News of Edward staying overnight at the hospital had also circted, leading to a crowd of fans gathering outside the Entertainpany building, eager to know if he was alright.


    "Just postpone it," Selena suggested. "You haven''t even finished the song yet."


    Taylor fell silent for a moment, contemting. "Should I go to his house?"


    Selena rolled her eyes. "Why would you? You''ll just add to his stress."


    Finally looking up, Taylor said, "You go then."


    Baffled, Selena stammered, "W-Why should I go?"


    "You said I shouldn''t go! Then, you go!" Taylor insisted. "Check on him! Make sure he''s alright!"


    "Just ask his cousin Maggie!" Selena retorted. Taylor looked taken aback. "Oh, right. I can do that." Though she quickly realized that Maggie didn''t know anything either��she was just as in the dark as everyone else.


    Meanwhile, after school, Jacob climbed into the backseat of the car and asked his mother, Mrs. Green, "Can you drive me to the hospital?"


    bbergasted, Mrs. Green turned from the driver''s seat and frantically caressed Jacob''s arm. "Why do you want to go to the hospital? Did you break something in practice?"


    "No. I need to see Ed," Jacob replied. Just then, he received a text in the group chat. As he read it, he said, "Ed has already gone home. Can you drive me there instead?"


    "Honey, I think you need to give him some space. He just got home. He needs rest," Mrs. Green said. "School''s over for the year. You can see him tomorrow."


    "MOM!" Jacob protested. "How can I be his ''bro'' if I don''t check on him?"


    "Hmm, why don''t you take care of your actual brother instead?" Mrs. Green suggested casually. "Edward will be fine. He''s very smart." She added before driving away.


    As everyone spected about Edward, he finally returned home after his session with Linda. After parking the car, he called his dad. "Can I take the ship out tonight?"


    "When?" Ted agreed easily. The ship in question was the wed vessel Edward had bought and modified to make it seaworthy again. It was the family''s personal ship, not for business use. So far, Ted had only sailed it four times in three months since its reconstruction.


    "You''re not going to ask why?" Edward inquired.


    Ted smiled. "You want a short escape to clear your mind. We''re simr in that way. But you can''t sail by yourself since you don''t have a license, so you''ll need someone to go with you."


    "I''ll ask Dwayne if he can do it," Edward mumbled, unaware of his dad''s disappointment.


    "Or I can do it," Ted suggested.


    Edward furrowed his brows. "You have two trips today. Don''t y hooky. Do your work properly."


    As Edward stepped into the living room, he was surprised to find someone sitting on his couch.


    "Why are you here?" he asked, taken aback.

 Chapter 295: ID. (1)

    <h4>Chapter 295: Chapter 295: ID. (1)</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "You want a short escape to clear your mind. We''re simr in that way. But you can''t sail by yourself since you don''t have a license, so you''ll need someone to go with you." My dad said through the phone call.


    "I''ll ask Dwayne if he can do it," I mumbled.


    "Or I can do it," he suggested.


    "You have two trips today. Don''t y hooky. Do your work properly," I admonished him. As I stepped into the living room, I was surprised to find someone sitting on my couch.


    "Why are you here?" I asked, taken aback. "Should I call the cops and tell them there''s an exhibitionist inside my house?"


    Brenda Song grinned as she stood up and walked giddily toward me. "You''re finally back! I''ve been waiting anxiously for you!" She grabbed my arm and jumped slightly, pushing her body closer to mine.


    Taken aback, I moved my head back slightly and shot her a weird re. "What are you doing? Also, answer my question first."


    Vanessa ran into the living room, shouting triumphantly, "I found my... um," She waved a ckcy bikini in the air before hurriedly hiding it behind her back upon seeing me. "Ma�C MAGGIE...um, give me the key." She forced out an exnation.


    Although I already realized that Vanessa had let Brenda inside, Brenda answered my question. "She let me in to wait for her to get ready. We''re going to a party! P.A.R.T.Y! A grand! Luxurious! Elegant! PARTY!"


    I chuckled a bit at Brenda''s energetic reply. She kept holding my arm throughout all of it. Suddenly, she turned to me, leaning in closer; she had to look up as she was almost a foot shorter than me. "I hoped I would run into you. Do you still have the choctes from your party? Or do you have the number for the vendor? I want to bring some of those to the party I''m going to."


    Finally understanding her intention, I chuckled and said, "Ah, that. Sorry. Even I can''t decipher what''s in that chocte, so there''s no way to replicate it."


    "Really? You didn''t add any drugs or anything?" Brenda asked, confusion and disappointment evident in her voice.


    I shook my head and chuckled. "Do you really think I''m an idiot enough to drug everyone at the party? I''m not Diddy."


    Brenda suddenly froze, and Vanessa approached us after hiding her bikini in her bag. Having only heard thest part of the conversation, she grinned and said, "Oh, how did you know we''re going to Diddy''s party?"


    My eyes widened in shock and I turned to Vanessa, "You''re going there? Why?"


    Vanessa was confused, "Is there something wrong?"


    Brenda caught on, but she was way off the mark. "You want toe to the party too? I can get you in!"


    I shuddered and shook her hand away. "I''m NEVER going to a Diddy party. Not after I know what happens there."


    Brenda giggled, dismissing my concerns. "What are you talking about? Let''s go together! It''s the hottest party in Hollywood! Everyone our age wants to get in!"


    I held Brenda''s shoulder and looked into her eyes. She became bashful at first. "Why are you touching my arm?"


    "Do you know what happens there? And who invites you?" I asked seriously. Brenda looked shocked at first before mumbling, "One of the executives at Disney. He said he wants to get to know me better."


    "Well, you better block that guy from your contacts and never get involved with him," I warned her earnestly. Vanessa, puzzled, asked, "Ed? What happens there? Why are you so spooked?"


    I released Brenda''s shoulder and turned to Vanessa. "And you! You''re at the center of an ongoing movement right now. Do you really think it''s a good idea to go to a party?"


    Vanessa was bbergasted. "I''m going to ask you first! If you said no, then I won''t go!"


    "Who am I, your father? Why do you need my permission?" I shot back.


    Vanessa looked bewildered, her mind short-circuiting. "THEN WHAT THE HELL SHOULD I DO?"


    I disarmed her concern with a casual tone. "Well, you should know what happens over there first and make the decision for yourself. First of all, let''s talk about the baby oil and its functions..."


    I took ten minutes to exin what could happen at a Diddy party��everything from drugged-up, nonconsensual sex to being ckmailed into signing contracts. I shared everything Eminem had warned me about and exined why no one did anything about it, and how deep those issues really go.


    As I spoke, Brenda and Vanessa''s faces grew paler. "Oh my god! That''s so scary!" Vanessa eximed, rushing to hug me forfort. Our bodies bumped for a moment, but she quickly released me, stepping back and looking at me with disgust.


    Confused, I turned to Brenda, who hugged me next, but the same thing happened again. "Save me, prince��wait," she gasped excitedly. "Did you have a boner?"


    "What? No, I don''t!" I replied, bewildered.


    "Really? Because I swear I felt something hard!" Brenda teased. "AND TINY!" She burst intoughter.


    I checked my pants and pulled out a pill case from my pocket. "You mean this?"


    Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief. "AH! Thank GOD! I really thought you were a freak who got turned on by messed-up stuff."


    bbergasted, I asked in disbelief, "WHAT?!"


    "I don''t believe it!" Brenda hugged me again, trying to confirm. "Yeah, he''s not hard. But it feels quite big��"


    "Get off me." I pushed her away with a grimace. "Go on, go to the party. I don''t care. I''m going to y on my boat." I turned and walked away from the giggling girls.


    Vanessa whispered to Brenda, "Is it really?"


    "Yup. Um, So, I guess we shouldn''t go to the party," Brenda said, slightly disappointed.


    "Of course we shouldn''t! Or Ed will actually kill Diddy," Vanessa replied.


    Brenda scowled at the delusional Vanessa. "He protected you once. He won''t kill a guy for you. Besides, aren''t you two friends?"


    Vanessa looked taken aback and embarrassed. She decided to change the topic. "Wait. Ed said he''s going yachting. So he''s taking his ship out?"


    As I entered my room, I checked thebel on the pill bottle I was holding. It was an anti-anxiety medication that Linda had prescribed for me. I popped a couple into my mouth and swallowed them.


    "Diddy, huh? That was surprising," I mumbled to myself before taking a sip of water. The pills worked quickly, and I felt a bit better already. I could finally listen to what my body was telling me: it needed food and some rest.


    "I''ll just sleep on the boat and make it an overnight trip," I muttered before calling out to my personal assistant. "Robin, can you notify Pepper and Harvey? Tell them I''m going to stay on my ship tonight."


    "Sure thing, sir," Robin replied. "Should I contact some staff to prepare refreshments for you on your trip?"


    "I think I''ll just pick up some pizzas," I replied casually while packing my toothbrush and a change of clothes. Robin chimed in, "Sir Saltzman said, ''About time! Go and enjoy yourself!'' He also texted you to bring some friends with you."


    "I��"


    Before I could finish, my perimeter rm sounded. Robin immediately pulled up the footage of an intruder scaling the seaside cliff to reach my house. "Should Iunch the defensive missiles, sir?" she asked in a cold tone.


    I recognized the figure and rxed a bit. "Nah, don''t worry. I know her." It was Agent Sarah Walker from the CIA, Chuck''s partner. She had crashed a party before and owed me a favor after I helped her escape.


    I returned to the living room, but before I could face Sarah, Vanessa and Brenda stopped me in my tracks. Brenda asked, "You have a yacht?"


    "Yeah," I replied curtly.


    Brenda was momentarily speechless before asking, "You couldn''t piece together what''s going on here?"


    "I can, but I don''t want to bring you," I said casually.


    Brenda gasped, offended by my words. "WOW! There are two cute girls here who want to enjoy the evening with you, and you reject them before they can even��"


    "If you want toe, it''s an overnight trip," I interjected, which made Vanessa''s eyes widen. "Really?" she asked.


    Brenda was excited. "Woo-hoo! Party on a yacht! Can I invite more people?"


    "No," I replied, dampening her enthusiasm. She pouted and inched closer to me, poking my arm flirtatiously. "Can I really not invite anyone? It''s too bad partying with just the three of us."


    "And if I let you, what''s in it for me?" I flirted back, holding her chin and forcing her to gaze into my eyes. Brenda was taken aback, and even Vanessa looked surprised. But then Brenda became excited. "Well, we can talk about thatter. It is an overnight trip, after all��"


    Vanessa immediately pushed Brenda away and looked at me with concern. "Ed? Are you feeling okay? Should I get a doctor to check on you?"


    "Huh?" I was confused. "Why do they need to check up on me?"


    Vanessa stammered before replying, "You know, um,tely you seem��um, how should I say this? Like there''s a wall around you. You won''t let anyone in. You didn''t flirt at all��with anyone! Not me... and you''ve been brooding all the time."


    "I did?" I was shocked by her observation. Vanessa nodded, and I started to see it when I remembered what thest few weeks had been like.


    ''Did my anxiety really change my personality that much? Is it really that easy to fix, just with a couple of pills?'' Complicated thoughts swirled in my mind.


    "Now, it seems more like the ''you'' I knew from the beginning." Vanessa giggled. I scowled and said, "Go pack up. I have a guest now, climbing through the cliff. You shouldn''t see her face otherwise she''ll tranq you."


    Vanessa and Brenda giggled, thinking that I was joking. But, when they saw my serious face, their expression froze.


    "For real?" Vanessa asked.


    I nodded casually, "Yeah, CIA. I really thought you guys had left. So, just hide somewhere, and make sure not to peek at any of it."


    "Stop joking�C" Before Brenda could finish her words, Vanessa clung to her arm and pulled her away quickly. Brenda said with disbelief, "Wait! He''s not for real right?"


    "It''s real! R.E.A.L! Real!" Vanessa said, and for the first time ever, I saw her act like an entitled rich girl, which made me chuckle a bit.


    "Come on up, Agent Walker," I called toward the balcony facing the sea. A woman wearing a ck leather jacket and ski mask climbed over the railing after scaling the 50-meter cliff without any climbing gear.


    Sarah panted slightly as she crouched on the floor, then removed her mask. "How did you know it was me?"


    "I saw some blonde hair sticking out from the mask, and I recognized your eyes and teeth," I replied, taking a seat on the couch and pulling out a bottle of Euphoria and a bottle of whiskey hidden in thepartment. I packed three Euphoria bottles into my bag as I was nning to bring them on the trip.


    "So, you finished your novel?" I asked her teasingly. Sarah suddenly held up her arm, gesturing for me to stop talking. "Can you give me a second... to catch my breath and reevaluate my skills as an agent? I really didn''t think I could be recognized just by that."


    I poured drinks for both of us, adding the Euphoria solution for vor enhancement. "Don''t feel bad," I said, shaking my hand dismissively. "That''s not ack of skill; it''s just tremendous luck."


    "Oh, how so?" Sarah asked, finally standing up.


    I shrugged. "If I hadn''t recognized you, you''d be dead already. Falling off the cliff while trying to rob my house would be a clean way to cover it all up."


    Sarah was momentarily speechless, her heart racing as she realized how close she hade to death during what she thought would be an easy mission.


    "Here, to help you calm down." I handed her the whiskey.


    "Thanks." She quickly epted it and took a drink. Her eyes widened in euphoria, even though she was trained to handle literal poison. It took about five seconds for her to recollect herself.


    "What''s in this drink?" she asked, shocked.


    "It''s something I cooked up," I replied dismissively. "Can you not waste my time? I''m trying to go on a trip."


    "Oh, right." Sarah reached into her backpack and pulled out a stack of papers. "The favor. My top ten most interesting missions as a spy. I changed the names to protect the parties involved, but the rest is true."


    The trio who had infiltrated my house before��Chuck, Casey, and Sarah��were all ckmailed into owing me a favor. I had used Chuck''s favor to stop a party, and Sarah and Casey yed their parts since Chuck was a civilian.


    For Sarah, I had asked her topile some of her missions so I could understand what a real spy''s experience is like.


    "You know you can''t release that," Sarah said with concern as I began to read the papers. "That would be treason, and I''d be hunted down."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll burn it all after I read it. I just want to know what it''s like to n for the next ck Widow movie."


    "For a movie?" Sarah asked, disbelief evident in her voice.


    "Yeah��" I looked up and asked her, "Did Chuck read these and approve them?"


    "No, he didn''t. Why?" Sarah asked, confused.


    "It''s a mess, to be honest. You can take it back home and work on it with Chuck. He''s watched a lot of movies, so he''ll understand what I''m talking about." I handed the papers back to her.


    Frazzled, Sarah epted the papers. "Um, I��"


    "Now that that''s out of the way, why don''t you tell me the real reason you''re here?" I asked, crossing my legs and leaning back on the couch. Sarah''s eyes widened slightly as she took out a USB drive.


    "I''m actually here to ask for your help," she said, her face turning serious. "We need to crack the password-protected file on this drive, but it''ll take too long for us. The person asking you for the favor is in dire straits. He can''t hold the line much longer."


    "Stop talking in riddles," I interjected, my tone t. "But let me be clear: I''m not interested. What''s in it for me?"


    She tried to reason, "He''s someone in a high position in the government. Him owing you a favor won''t be detrimental."


    "Oh, I would strongly disagree," I replied, my gaze steady as I sipped my whiskey. "Given that he''s in a precarious situation��let''s say there are individuals targeting him for his position or even his life��if it were toe out that I assisted him, I would be a target as well."


    I continued, "So why would I involve myself with an anonymous man who MAY owe me a favor when I would undoubtedly find myself in a perilous situation by stepping into this mess?"


    Before she could respond, I added, "I''m sorry, Agent Walker. I''ve had enough of dangerous situations for one day." I made my rejection clear.


    Sarah lowered her hand in disappointment. "It might be too dangerous for you after all. I understand what you''re saying. I won''t push the matter anymore."


    "The door is on the right. If you choose to jump from the balcony, make sure you have your parachute," I said, finishing my drink. As I walked away, I paused and called out, "Wait."


    Sarah had started to open her paraglider but stopped abruptly. "Yes?"


    "He''s not the President, is he? Because if he is, I have a moral obligation to help him." I asked casually, my expression unchanged.


    Sarah faced an internal struggle, her eyes shifting left and right as she weighed her words. Finally, she said, "I can''t answer that, but you MAY be RIGHT!" Her insinuation confirmed my suspicion.


    "Fuck," I cursed. "There''s a USB port next to the TV. Plug it in." I instructed her. Sarah perked up and rushed to connect the USB before I could change my mind. Robin immediately began decrypting it while Sarah attempted to exin the protection.


    "It''s a 16-digit password protection, and��"


    Before she could finish, I interjected, sitting on the couch and pulling out a keyboard from seemingly nowhere, using the 100-inch TV as my screen. "Oh, it''s useless to crack it."


    Sarah looked surprised and disappointed. "You can''t do it either?"


    "Not that I can''t crack the password. The file you gave me is a copy of a copy, right? It''s empty. There''s nothing inside, even if I manage to crack it," I replied casually, pulling the USB from the port.


    This thing was riddled with malware and viruses, meaning everyputer the CIA used to crack the code would be rendered useless. Fortunately, Robin managed to catch every single one of them. Nothing could get through her defenses. The USB was like a driveway filled with dirt, and she pressure-washed everything in seconds.


    "What?!" Sarah eximed, shocked. "It doesn''t allow copying." I exined a bit.


    "Bring the original if you want me to crack it," I told her, tossing the USB back.


    Then, I advised her, "You''d better get rid of everyptop you plugged that USB into. They have programs that can track it and malware that allows them to take control. Any data on those devices is nowpromised. I''ve cleaned this one, so you can understand what I''m talking about when you check itter."


    ...


    Sarah paraglided away after promising to bring me the original. I told her not to try too hard, but I doubted she''d listen. Vanessa and Brenda finally emerged from the room after Sarah had left. They had tried to eavesdrop and even opened the door to peek, but Robin had locked them inside to prevent that.


    When we reached the garage, Vanessa asked, "Is Maggieing?"


    "I hope not," I replied, cing my bag in the trunk. Vanessa blushed slightly before saying, "So this is a hookup trip�C?" She tried to y off the sentence, but I didn''t let it.


    "Where did you get that idea?" I asked flirtatiously.


    Vanessa responded bashfully, "You don''t want your family there. Um, not with me, right?"


    She seemed a bit hopeful, but she also knew I wouldn''t hook up with my employees... anymore. It was just too stressful.


    "Yeah," I said, causing disappointment to wash over her. "Brenda?" Vanessa asked in a whisper.


    "Yes?!" Brenda suddenly interjected, surprising Vanessa. "Ed, if I can''t invite a lot, how about just three?" she asked eagerly. I didn''t reply but simply stared at her. Brenda tried to haggle, "TWO! Just TWO! They''re my best friends!"


    "Sure, if they can be here in an hour," I told her with a helpless sigh.


    "Great!" Brenda eximed enthusiastically. "But Maggie will be really mad if we don''t invite her," Vanessa whispered.


    "It''s fine," I replied casually. "Right, I''ll see you at the yacht." I told the duo as we took separate cars. I went to pick up ten boxes of pizzas and some beers for myself. I was nning to rx.


    However, when I arrived, I was surprised to see the number of people on my yacht. There were at least twenty people partying inside��mostly girls. Britney''s song red through the speakers as the girls danced in their bikinis, doing shots and ying games.


    Dwayne looked helpless as he exined the situation to me. "I was skeptical at first, but Miss Brenda said YOU nned the party."


    Brenda noticed me and walked over with a slightly worried smile. "Don''t be mad. They were all going to Diddy''s party, so when I told them what you said��don''t worry, I didn''t say your name��they needed somewhere to go."


    "So you brought them here? On a trip where I just want to rx and clear my mind?" I asked in disbelief. Brenda chuckled nervously. "All of them said they know you. Don''t worry��at the rate they''re partying, they''ll all pass out in a couple of hours, so you''ll have the night to yourself."


    "That''s not really reassuring," I muttered. But for some reason, I didn''t find the situation entirely repulsive. "Alright. Just make sure they know it''s not some yachting thing. It''s just a simple party."


    "Alright��" Brenda turned to dere it but paused, looking confused. "What''s a yachting thing?"


    "Oh, that''s another degenerate scene where rich guys invite celebrity girls onto their yachts and do messed-up things with them. They pay the girls at the end. It''s basically an escort gig," I exined.


    "Really? Damn, I really live in a well. How much do they pay, exactly?" Brenda seemed a little too interested, so I pushed her face away. She didn''t expect it and giggled before heading off to exin the situation to her friends.


    Before long, Dwayne moved the ship out of the harbor, and we started our trip.

 Chapter 296: ID (2)

    <h4>Chapter 296: Chapter 296: ID (2)</h4>


    (It''s my birthday yesterday.)


    [Edward POV]


    Paparazzi swarmed the port area, snapping pictures of the yacht as people boarded, capturing every moment of our departure. A few relentless photographers attempted to follow us in a rented boat, but my security team, along with the vignt FBI agents watching over me, swiftly handled the situation.


    For the partygoers, this was a rare escape��a time when they could let loose without the scrutiny that usually apanied their lives in the limelight. The yacht itself was a marvel of luxury,fortably fitting into the superyacht category.


    Inside, the lounge featured long couches that could amodate fifteen people, perfectly positioned to face the kitchen and bar. As guests moved to the deck, they were greeted by a couple of lounge chairs and an infinity pool shimmering at the center, with stairs on either side connecting the upper and lower decks.


    Below deck, five rooms provided plush amodations: one master cabin, three ordinary cabins, and a specially renovated cabin for my dad. To decide who would im the master cabin, we yed a round of rock-paper-scissors, and luck was on my side��I won.


    I had taken the time to upgrade my dad''s simple cabin, ensuring it wouldn''t feel too shabbypared to mine; it now featured its own bathroom and a cozy lounge area. My cabin was spacious enough to house a pool table if I chose to put one in... but I hadn''t yet.


    The yacht was a source of envy for many, with an estimated market value of a staggering $80 million. Little did they know I had acquired it for less than $8 million and poured an additional $3 million into refurbishing and modifying it.


    It was still a hefty sum, but as someone with the second-best-selling albums of all time and the master of new era technology, I could afford to indulge in a little luxury once in a while.


    "Oh my god, this shrimp is so big!" Brenda eximed, her mouth full as she savored the seafood. She had changed into a blue-ck polka dot bikini and topped her look with arge sun hat that bounced lightly with her animated gestures.


    I, on the other hand, kept it simple in a white shirt and jean shorts,plemented by a pair of ssic sunsses to shield my eyes from the sun. The atmosphere was lively, filled withughter and the sound of wavespping against the yacht.


    The staff had stocked the yacht with some food for my trip, so seeing her dig into the provisions didn''t bother me; I had my pizzas waiting. The staff had prepared an impressive spread��meat, fresh lobster, shrimp, my beloved ramyeon, chicken, vegetables, ice cream, andsagna. They even got me some rice.


    Before we set sail, I had enlisted two more helpers from my dad''s tourism business��a chef and a bartender��who willingly volunteered for the asion. I paid them generously, of course.


    The chefs continued cooking and served the hungry guests some food. The shrimp tter was one of them.


    Brenda jogged towards me and stuffed the prawn into my mouth, "It''s great isn''t it?"


    "Free food is always great." I mumbled as I chewed on it. "For the freeloaders at least."


    Brenda giggled, not bothered by the hidden sarcasm and said, "


    As Brenda shared her shrimp bounty with the others, I sipped a non-alcoholic cocktail, keeping my beer stash hidden away in the master bedroom.


    ncing around, I spotted some familiar faces among the crowd. Emily Ratajkowski lounged near the hot tub on the upper deck, while Danielle Panabaker chatted with Brenda, both of them enjoying the shrimp.


    Justin Bieber stood alone by the rails, engrossed in his phone. Ashley Benson caught my eye, her excitement evident every time I looked her way as she conversed with another actress whose name eluded me, though her face felt oddly familiar.


    Vanessa approached me, d in a thin, one-piece purple swimsuit, a fruity drink in hand. "Are you searching for your targets?" she teased, noticing my scanning gaze.


    I shook my head. "Just looking for people I know. Not much to see."


    She shrugged apologetically. "Most of them are Brenda''s friends. I have no idea how Bieber ended up here. I''m going to apologize for her."


    I chuckled, turning my attention back to her. My eyes instinctively roamed her figure, and she arched her back, leaning closer to me. Confused at first, I soon understood her intent as she whispered in my ear, "Taylor''s here."


    "What?" I widened my eyes and scanned the ship, finally spotting him��Taylor Lautner, shirtless and chatting with a group of European models on the deck.


    "Are you kidding me right now!" I eximed, turning to Vanessa, who burst intoughter and darted away. My heart almost jumped out of my chest from the shock.


    In her haste, she almost slipped, and I instinctively wrapped my arm around her waist to steady her. My center of gravity and hers rubbed against each other identally.


    "You alright there?" I asked, amusementcing my voice.


    Vanessa felt the heat of embarrassment creeping up her neck. "I''m��I''m fine," she stammered, quickly retreating to join Brenda, who was giggling at the entire scene with her friend.


    I walked to the deck, greeting a few partygoers along the way, but before I could reach my intended target, a tall blonde girl grabbed my arm from behind.


    She stood at 177 cm with frilly hair, freckles dancing across her nose, and piercing blue eyes that seemed a little dull and lifeless. A pearl ne adorned her neck, and her polka-dot bikini held up her D-cup bosom, epitomizing the stereotypical beach babe.


    "Hi. I''m Luna," she said, extending her hand and speaking with a vocal fry that was jarring.


    "Hello, Luna. I''m Edward," I replied casually, shaking her hand.


    "So, when''s the party going to start?" she asked with a slight rm in her tone, her smile wide.


    "Hmm? It''s already starting now," I replied, slightly confused.


    Luna suddenly guffawed, herughter erupting in a way that caught me off guard. Sheughed so hard that tears formed in her eyes, pping my bicep as if it were the punchline of a great joke.


    I stared at her, my brows furrowed in bewilderment. Once she calmed down, she leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "Not that. The true party! Is it an anal party?"


    "What?" I widened my eyes in shock. She continued blithely, "Then, pee party��I need to know the vices first before I can decide to participate or not. I may be open-minded about new things, but I draw the line at shitting in the mou��"


    "What in the world are you talking about?" I interjected, desperate to redirect the conversation before it veered any further. "This is a normal party." I stressed out.


    "Or anything to do with shit." Luna didn''t seem fazed. She winked at me, using air quotes as she said, "Yeah. I get it. ''Normal'' party." Her expression was yful, but I could sense she was serious about her inquiries. "Slime party? Masked orgy? Furry? Baby oil? What is it? You''re taking us to an unknown location and start hunting us one by one? Just don''t kill me, okay?"


    I sighed, feeling helpless from herck of trust. "Go ask Brenda. It''s her party. I don''t have the heart to deal with this."


    "Wait. Is it really a normal party?" She asked, her voice turned into a normal voice as she was surprised.


    "What else?" I asked with frustration. "I''m not a degenerate."


    "Really?" She looked at me with suspicion. "But you know Diddy?" She added.


    I was bbergasted when I heard that, "I don''t know him! When did I ever know him?!" I left after grimacing at the girl. As she watched me walk away, she mumbled to herself, "It''s not? Seriously?" Then, she walked toward some other girls and told them. They even shouted together in celebration after that.


    I fished out my anti-anxiety pills and popped two more into my mouth. With my Steve Rogers-level metabolism, I knew the effects would be dulled when taken orally, but I needed a little something to take the edge off. With that, I made my way over to Justin Bieber.


    "Sup," I greeted him with a slight nod.


    JB smiled wryly. "Hi."


    "Let me guess, you thought this was a Diddy party too," I said, teasingly raising an eyebrow.


    He chuckled. "No, I wanted to escape from those��didn''t know this was your party though."


    "Don''t worry about it. Even I don''t know how this is going to turn into a party. By the way, this is Brenda Song''s party, not mine," I said casually, then added, "You know this is an overnight trip, right?"


    JB''s eyes widened in rm. "For real?! I��I have a concert tomorrow morning. I can''t stay. Um��"


    "Eh, don''t worry about it. I can have a speedboate by to pick you up tonight," I said, cing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "So just try to enjoy the trip."


    "You have other boats?" he asked, disbelief etched across his face.


    I shot him a quizzical look. "Not mine. Just the business. Wanna go grab a bite?"


    He was all alone over there, and I felt a bit bad for him. I introduced him to Brenda and a few other girls nearby before I drifted off to mingle elsewhere.


    Little did I know that this simple meeting would redefine JB''s experience that night��he would soon find himself engrossed in a conversation with Brenda, who would ry to him the details I had shared about the so-called Diddy party.


    ...


    We anchored near an unknown tourist spot, a hidden gem where the partygoers could swim alongside the vibrant fish in the clear blue ocean. However, only Vanessa and Danielle Panabaker disyed the courage to dive in.


    I leaned against thedder, waiting for Vanessa to return from her swim. As she climbed up, I chuckled and teased, "You don''t even know how to swim, but you''re confident enough to swim in the open water?"


    She pinched her nose and blew, trying to clear the water from her ears. Frustrated, she replied, "I can swim. I just can''t do it in pools!"


    "Ah, you''re allergic to chlorine," I recalled.


    Vanessa looked at me, puzzled. "How did you know that? I''ve never told you."


    I waved her off, continuing, "No wonder in the High School Musical pool scene, the stunt double who jumped in was so tantly obvious. Wait, you did drown there, right?"


    "ALMOST!" she corrected me, indignantly. "Almost...drowned! I handled it professionally!"


    As she spoke, I wrapped a towel around her shoulders. She paused, looking up at me with affectionate eyes. "Such a gentleman," she teased.


    "Go get changed. You won''t want to miss the sunset," I said casually, then did the same for Danielle when she emerged from the water. But when Vanessa saw me being friendly with Danielle, irritation flickered across her face, and she stomped off to her room.


    "I''m using the shower in your room!" she called back demandingly.


    "My room is locked��though..." I shouted after her, but she was already gone, sticking a finger in her ear to clear out the water and likely not hearing me.


    I turned to Danielle Panabaker, feeling a bit awkward. "I really liked you in The sh."


    "Thanks?" she replied, confusion etched on her face.


    I shrugged it off and walked away, leaving her dumbfounded. "What just happened? I didn''t work in The sh...is there a story called The sh?" she mumbled to herself, bewildered.


    When I reached my cabin, I nced at the digital lock on the door, which required a six-digit password to unlock. Outside, I noticed Vanessa still struggling with the water in her ear, pinching her nose and trying to pop it out until her nose turned red.


    "Unlock it," she demanded, shing her pitiful eyes at me.


    I chuckled, "Go to your room and shower there."


    "There''s only a shared toilet! I want to take a long hot shower," she whined.


    I grimaced, "Don''t waste the water. There''s a limited supply."


    Seeing her frustration, I decided to help. "Lower the side where the water is, and jump a few times."


    "What?" she asked, confusion written all over her face.


    "Just do it," I instructed, unlocking the door for her. Vanessa stepped inside, tossing the towel onto the lounge chair before jumping once.


    "It doesn''t work," she said, eyeing me suspiciously.


    "Keep doing it until ites out. It won''t take long," I replied, rummaging through my bag for a bottle of Euphoria. The sun was nearing the horizon, and I wanted to enjoy the view.


    Vanessa jumped again, pausing to check for results, then jumping once more. She took long breaks in between, ming me for her continued struggle.


    "You just want to watch me bounce, don''t you!?" she used, her tone yful yet annoyed.


    Sighing, I walked toward her and grabbed her shoulder. She looked bewildered and bashful. "Wh-What are you doing?"


    "We''re going to jump," I said, and before she could protest, I pulled her in for a synchronized leap.


    As we jumped, her eyes widened in surprise, and then she suddenly realized the water had finally flowed out of her ear. A triumphant smile spread across her face, and I couldn''t help butugh.


    "Oh-ho~, it really works," she eximed excitedly.


    "Of course it''ll work. It''s me," I replied smugly, turning to leave the room. But as I did, Vanessa turned and fumbled with her one-piece swimsuit, trying to unzip it but unable to find the zipper.


    Before I could step out, she called after me, "Ed, can you help me with this? I can''t find it."


    "Huh? What?" I turned back, curious.


    "The zipper pull," she said urgently, running her hand along her back but only feeling the teeth of the zipper.


    I walked back inside and took a look, only to discover that the pull was indeed missing. "Oh, it''s gone," I said casually.


    "Really? WHEN?!" she eximed, her urgency growing as she struggled with the wet fabric that clung to her skin.


    "How should I know? Maybe when you were swimming in the ocean? Honestly, this is what happens when you buy cheap swimsuits."


    "It''s a $300 Victoria''s Secret swimsuit!" she shot back, clearly irritated. "I can''t take it anymore. You need to cut me out of it."


    "Wait. Really?" I asked, surprised. "You''ll be naked in front of me, though."


    She shot me a disdainful look. "Then it won''t be the first time."


    "Huh? When did that happen before?" I asked, genuinely confused.


    Vanessa went momentarily speechless before finally saying, "My nudes were leaked, remember?"


    "That''s different, though. You weren''t within grabbing range then." I chuckled teasingly.


    Vanessa blushed but tried to act casual. "Well, it''s you. I trust you��"


    Before she could finish, I grabbed both parts of the zipper teeth and ripped it off. Her eyes widened in shock at my sudden action. "This is enough, right?" I asked nonchntly.


    She turned toward me and hit my chest in frustration. "I just got it! Now you''ve ruined it!"


    "It''s not like you had any bright idea to salvage it. What''s the difference between this and cutting it off with scissors?"


    "CONSENT!" she argued, her nostrils ring in exasperation. I cackled and then walked away, "Problem solved anyway."


    "Wait," she called out just as I reached for the door handle. I sighed in exasperation and turned back to her. "What is it now?"


    "Um, I don''t have any change of clothes. They''re in Brenda''s room. Can you go pick them up for me?" She tried to act cute, clearly hoping to win me over.


    I rolled my eyes. "There''s a towel robe in my closet. Use that and get your own clothes after you finish showering."


    "WAIT!" she called again. Frustrated, I turned back to her and asked, "Why? What now?"


    "Um, can you just stay here until I finish showering?" she asked, her eyes darting away as if hiding something.


    I caught on and pressed her, "What''s going on? Why don''t you want me up on the deck?"


    "Um, who said anything about not letting you see the sunset? I just need somepany, that''s all," she said, avoiding eye contact.


    I chuckled, "I didn''t say it was about the sunset." Her eyes widened in shock. I leaned in closer, teasingly, "So you don''t want me up there, why? Tell me, or I''ll go there now."


    With her back bare, Vanessa took a step back, trying to avoid my gaze, but she seemed mesmerized and couldn''t look away. I moved forward, applying gentle pressure, and suddenly her bottom fell onto my bed. Vanessa sat on the edge, and I stood right in front of her, cing my hand on her chin to guide her gaze up.


    Her face flushed, and she bit her lip, ncing slightly at my crotch area before her sanity seemed to return.


    "Um..." Vanessa hesitated, then sighed. "Alright. Cat''s out of the bag. I can''t let you go up there. I overheard two or...more girls saying they were going to make a move on you right then. It''ll be too messy when you reject them, and it''ll ruin the trip."


    I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Really? And what makes you think I''d reject them?"


    Her expression fell slightly, and I smirked. "Thanks for the tip, by the way. There are a lot of girls who want to make a move on me. I''ll be sure to think of you when I bring them back into my roomter on."


    Vanessa scoffed, disdain evident in her voice. "Stop pretending. You weren''t going to hook up at all. Otherwise, you''d have done it already."


    I shrugged. "Why would I hook up in broad daylight?"


    Vanessa''s eyes widened as she realized what I meant. She stammered, "Wait. So you do want to?"


    "Not with you," I teased, giving her nose a gentle bop.


    Vanessa grumbled in dissatisfaction before shouting angrily, "Go on! Leave the room, you pervert!"


    "You''re the one topless on my bed," I said as I turned to walk away.


    "Topless?" she echoed, confusion filling her voice.


    She nced down, and her eyes went wide as she realized her top had fallen off, exposing her breast. Panic set in as the realization hit her. "Oh my God!" she shouted, cursing my name multiple times as she scrambled to cover herself.


    "I''m going to use up all the water, you hear me!" Vanessa shouted in my direction, clearly wanting to punish me for not telling her about it earlier.


    As I made my way back to the deck, the sunset had begun. The horizon was painted in vibrant oranges and pinks, casting a warm glow over everything and creating a beautifully romantic atmosphere.


    But I couldn''t enjoy the view for long; I soon felt predatory gazesing from all directions. I chuckled to myself, "Maybe listening to Hudgens won''t be so bad after all?"


    Walking to the side of the deck, I settled into a lone lounge chair. I poured myself a ss of my Euphoria mixed drink, the shimmering liquid catching the fading sunlight before it glowed slightly inside the shot ss.


    I downed another shot of my drink, savoring the vor as I hissed in satisfaction, "That really hit the spot."


    Suddenly, I heard someone clear her throat beside me. I ignored it, pouring another ss of my concoction, but the throat-clearing grew louder.


    Raising an eyebrow, I turned to see Ashley Benson standing there, adorned in a one-piece white gown, arge white hat perched stylishly atop her head, and white high heels that entuated her long legs.


    She acted as if she was enjoying the view, but I could tell she was aware of my gaze. As she ''caught'' me looking, she grinned and sauntered over, sitting down on the same lounge chair, her back to me but her face turned slightly my way.


    I had to admit, she had nned this beautifully. The sunset bathed her in golden light, reflecting off her features in a way that made her look almost ethereal.


    "Hi Ed. We meet again," she said, her voice smooth as she lightly touched my hand. "We met by ident on the beach, and now here... I didn''t believe in fate, but it does make one think, doesn''t it?"


    "Damn, that was good." I mumbled as I apuded her opening line inwardly.

 Chapter 297: ID (3)

    <h4>Chapter 297: Chapter 297: ID (3)</h4>


    st chap before break. decided to end this first.)


    [Edward POV]


    "Did you take long to n that? Wow..." I teased, a yful smirk on my face.


    Ashley blushed slightly, a hint of embarrassment creeping onto her cheeks. She chuckled dryly, but her expression quickly shifted from disappointment to tion when I continued, "Lucky for you, I''m a sucker for stuff like that. It reminds me of the anime I''ve watched."


    "Oh, that works? You''re easy," she teased flirtatiously.


    I pretended to be baffled, raising an eyebrow. "I''m a man. We will talk to a tree if they start a conversation with us. This is the first time a girl ever tried to pick me up, so I''m really looking forward to what you have in store."


    "Sorry to disappoint, but that''s it. I didn''t n further than that." Ashley said with a slight smirk, her hand resting gently on my forearm.


    I scoffed, feigning offense. "You already threw the conversation to me?"


    "Isn''t that a man''s job?" she shot back yfully. "I tried using the old subtle look at you, but you ignored it all."


    "Yeah, I did that on purpose," I admitted with a grin, enjoying the yful back-and-forth. She looked a bit taken aback and said, disappointedly, "Should I take that as a hint to get lost then?"


    I didn''t respond directly to that. Instead, I said, "I had a n in mind to dpress alone, but the n has changed. Want a drink��wait, I shouldn''t offer you this one." I turned, scanning the deck for a staff member to bring her a drink, but I couldn''t find anyone.


    "Why not?!" she asked incredulously. "Are you the type not to share your drinks?"


    I turned back to her and replied, "This is almost pure vodka. I know I''m drinking it, but I don''t want to be the one who offers it to underage girls."


    She eximed in realization, slightly nodding her head. "I was thinking it was weird that you were drinking sparkling water like taking a shot. It''s fine. I can drink it."


    "Yeah, you look like you do," I said seriously.


    She looked befuddled. "What does that mean?"


    "I don''t know. You just have that vibe. Like you may have liver problems. Or was just done with life."


    "AT MY AGE?!" she asked, shock evident in her voice. "Ah, I get what you mean," she said, suddenly nodding in understanding. "A lot of people ask me if I''m tired even though I''m at my peak form. Like this." She dropped her smile and put on a poker face.


    I scrutinized her, chuckling lightly. "Yeah... definitely not tired. More like you''re mad at the world and everything in it. Or... just hungry..."


    "Wait, really?" She cupped her mouth, then touched her face slightly. "Did it reveal too much?"


    I snorted,ughing. "It really does."


    "So, want to get something to eat?" she suddenly invited me.


    "Are you asking me to dinner?" I asked, disbelief coloring my tone. "You said you had no more ns, but that was pretty smooth."


    She clicked her tongue in satisfaction, shrugging as if enjoying thepliment. "It wasn''t a n. I''m just that smooth."


    "For someone who doesn''t like to socialize with people, you kinda are," I noted, genuinely amazed.


    Ashley looked befuddled. "H-How did you know that?"


    "You don''t like socializing?" I replied. "I noticed it from the very beginning. You''re someone who would rather spend your days alone inside your house, watching TV and eating snacks than going to a party. I can bet you were only here because you were dragged into it."


    She blinked, taken aback. "Wow, you really read me well. Shay dragged me here."


    "Shay? Shay Mitchell?" I mumbled, finally recalling the girl Ashley had been talking about. She was one of the cast members from Pretty Little Liars. Then it hit me that Ashley was in the show too. The series had a great start but suffered in thest few seasons.


    I poured myself another ss and downed it, feeling the warmth spread through me. Ashley''s eyes were glued to the drink, and she asked, "Can I try that? You seem to really enjoy it."


    "I can honestly say that the best drink in the world would pale inparison to what I''m drinking," I replied with a slight smirk, feeling my mind begin to feel hazy as I started to get drunk.


    "Now I definitely have to try it," she said, picking up my empty ss and gesturing for me to pour more. I shrugged and said, "Well then, don''t me me if you can''t handle it."


    "I usually do just fine with alcohol," she bragged, confidence brimming in her voice. I hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to share. "Only one ss, alright?"


    "Stingy," she teased as I poured the drink for her. She took a sip, her eyes widening in surprise. Even her pupils seemed to erge. Then, she quickly downed the entire thing and eximed in satisfaction, a drunken blush immediately appearing on her face.


    "Oh my god, that was great!" she dered, her head dropping onto my arm as sheid down next to me. Her words slurred together as she added, "Once more pleashh~"


    We shared another drink as we enjoyed the sunset, however after that second one, her body swayed and she fell asleep.


    I snorted derisively. "And you said you can handle your alcohol."


    The solution was 70% Euphoria and 30% sparkling water and lime. No one could handle it other than myself��and surprisingly, Max. I figured the effect wouldn''tst long; she''d wake up in about half an hour.


    I nced down at Ashley, bemused by how quickly she had sumbed to sleep. She had picked a great spot to rest her head��right on my bicep��though her face was turned away from mine. I could feel her nuzzle in closer, pushing her back against me as if she wanted to settle morefortably on the lounge chair.


    The chair was made for one person, but it was big enough for both of us. I shifted slightly to make room, even considering sitting up. However, she grabbed my arm and wouldn''t let go. Then, unexpectedly, she turned over to get even morefortable.


    From across the deck, Brenda and Vanessa both fell into disbelief as they noticed Ashley lying down next to me. They weren''t looking at the situation together; Vanessa was with Shay, and Brenda was with Danielle.


    Vanessa mumbled with a slight furrow on her brow, "She''s so... forward."


    Brenda muttered, "That''s very romantic. Sharing a lounge together, cuddling while watching the sunset. Ah, I want a boyfriend so bad."


    In a way, I did get my wish to drink alone without any interruptions. Ashley didn''t wake up until after the sunset was over. Feeling a bit famished, I wanted to go inside and eat, but she hadn''t woken up yet, so I had to wait.


    Time passed, and people had gone inside the yacht to drink, change their clothes, and party. But Ashley''s eyes remained closed.


    I sighed softly, then noticed her pupils moving around under her eyelids. I almost burst outughing but held it back. "Benson, why don''t you wake up now? If you were embarrassed, I can assure you, no one else knows that you passed out other than me."


    With her eyes still closed, she mumbled, "Really?"


    "Yeah, it''s only been half an hour," I replied, my speech slightly slurred.


    Ashley opened one eye to peek, and upon realizing there was no one around us, she slowly sat up and apologized, "Sorry for the trouble."


    "It''s fine. Let''s go grab dinner. What do you want to eat? I''ll cook," I said casually, not minding the earlier affairs at all.


    ...


    During dinner, as I went behind the stove to cook for myself and Ashley, the rest of the crew��Vanessa, Brenda, Danielle, and basically everyone��decided they wanted to try my cooking too. Before I knew it, I became the designated cook for the entire ship.


    Lobster thermidor, seared salmon, and various fish dishes flowed out of the kitchen in a flurry. For myself, I had made a huge pot of Japanese-style seafood curry with rice, which took quite a while toplete.


    While I was cooking, my sous chef��the staff responsible for assisting in the kitchen��was handling some octopus when he identally cut the ink pouch. The ink flew everywhere, mostlynding on my white shirt and sttering my face.


    He looked at me with shock, but I didn''t react much, still feeling the buzz from my earlier drinks. I smiled and said, "Don''t worry about it."


    Then, I took off my shirt, revealing my muscr torso as I continued cooking. With the light of the cooking fire reflecting on my sculpted abs, the girls'' eyes be glued on the scene in front of them.


    "Oh my god! I need a picture of this," Brenda eximed, pulling out her phone. "Ed? Can I take a picture? Please!!"


    "Sure," I replied casually, continuing to cook the steak shirtless. The girls swooned, while the guys were pushed backward, caught off guard by the unexpected dinner show.


    Finally, I finished cooking my crab curry, but those ungrateful hyenas managed to get to that too.


    "Well, at least they are enjoying it," I mumbled in satisfaction, watching everyone stuff their faces with my food. Suddenly, I shouted, "Make sure not to leave any leftovers! Or else I will leave you on the ship and make you apologize to the seafood family yourself!"


    After dinner, feeling a bit worn out but satisfied, I wanted to hang out in my room, have some beer, and watch TV. Just as I settled in, I heard a soft knock on the door.


    The first people to knock were Brenda and Danielle. As I opened the door, Brenda rushed in, anxiety written all over her face. "Ed, do you have anything that can save the party? I tried to make it work, but your staff wouldn''t give me the booze I needed!"


    "That''s because only you and Danielle are of legal drinking age," I replied. "They''re from a legitimate business. They won''t let you do that."


    "Damn it! But you''re their boss!" Brenda insisted urgently. "Help me, and I''ll give Danielle to you."


    "HEY!" Danielle protested. "You can''t whore me out for booze!"


    Brenda suddenly spotted my Euphoria-mixed drinks and eximed, "Wait. There''s one there! Dany, sh him your cooch to distract him. I''ll steal it��"


    Before she could finish her thought, I grabbed her hand firmly. "Oh no, you don''t. Both of you, out."


    "NO!" Brenda shouted as Danielle dragged her out of the room.


    Just two minutester, another knock sounded. I sighed and opened the door angrily. "I''m not helping you��"


    To my surprise, it was Ashley. She had changed her clothes and popped her head in, asking flirtatiously, "Help me with what?"


    "Oh, sorry. I thought it was Brenda," I replied casually. "Why are you here?"


    "Can I get a tour of your room? This is the only ce inside the ship that I haven''t seen yet," she requested, looking at me with anticipation.


    Wearing a slightly baggy punk metal shirt and yoga shorts, she lookedfortable and inviting.


    "Sure,e on in," I said, stepping aside to let her enter. After I closed the door behind me, I found Ashley sitting on the edge of my bed. "Your room is nice," she remarked, already finished with her quick tour.


    She spotted the beer on my table and asked with a hint of concern, "You''re going to drink again?"


    "Ah, that''s right," I replied, cracking open a beer and settling into a chair nearby.


    She continued, "Why? Is it because of the incident?" I silently agreed with her concern. Ashley pressed on, "So, you''re going to drink until you drop? Now you look like someone famous in Hollywood."


    I chuckled and turned to her. "You ought to know. You''ve been here a while."


    "I''ve been here since I was 12. I''ve seen a lot of shit," she mumbled, grimacing as memories surfaced. "Give me one," she said, reaching for a beer. I tossed one her way.


    "But at least you''re not snorting white stuff out of your nose," she joked, a yful smile creeping onto her face. "If you did that too, then you''ll definitely seem like a Hollywood superstar."


    "Well, I don''t want to brag, but I am pretty famous too." I replied with a slight chuckle.


    She looked up at me with a yful glint in her eye and asked, "Rather than drinking, do you want to y finger fighting with me, but instead of fingers, we use our tongues?"


    I burst outughing. "That''ll be a fun game." I sat next to her and, in a bold move, grabbed her by the neck, pulling her face closer to mine. Ashley smiled in anticipation as she inched closer, and soon our lips met in a passionate kiss.


    Suddenly, around three minutes in, she pulled back slightly and said, "By the way, I''m not looking for a rtionship. This is just a casual thing."


    "I''m fine with that," I replied reassuringly. Pulling her in closer, I kissed her neck softly, savoring the moment. Suddenly, she pushed me back toy down, then jumped on top of me, showering me with kisses.


    Ashley was more forward than I thought. All she cared about was the pleasure. We were quitepatible so it made the session even more satisfying.


    An hour and a halfter, wey side by side in our natural human state. Her hair disheveled, and she panted slightly as she closed her eyes. "That was amazing," she said breathlessly. "We need to do that again," she mumbled.


    I smirked as I turned toward her. "That''s work." She suddenly turned towards me and said, "Just remember that I''m not looking for a rtionship, so don''t fall for me. or be clingy after this."


    "We share the same sentiment there." I said with a soft smile. I was going to go away for the world tour in 20 days anyway, so I wasn''t going to date anyone.


    Her brows furrowed with concern before she said defensively, fearing that I would have the wrong impression about her, "I have my reasons not to get into ANY sort rtionship. I''m only doing this with you because I think you''re great. I''m not doing this with just anyone."


    "Are you afraid that I''ll think of you as a whore?" I asked with a slight chuckle. Ashley grimaced in dissatisfaction before saying, "I''m telling you I''m not a slut."


    "Then, I''ll believe you." I said reassuringly. Ashley smiled in satisfaction as she believed me easily before she drifted off to sleep while I spooned her. Soon, I activated my rest skill and followed her into slumber, content and at ease.


    (A/N: I tried really hard not to make it romantic lol)


    ...


    Four hourster, I woke up feeling refreshed. My skin even had a slight glow, and my mind felt clear. "Wait, was I just pent up?" I mumbled in surprise.


    I checked on Ashley and found her deep in sleep, so I quietly left to take a shower before heading outside my room. There were still three hours until sunrise, and I wanted to see what was going on with the party.


    To my surprise, I spotted only one person on the lounge and deck. Vanessa was lying on the lounge chair I had used earlier. She noticed me approaching and said, "The return boat got here an hour ago. A lot of people have gone too. Only Brenda, Shay, and Danielle stayed behind since they don''t have any ns for tomorrow."


    I had arranged transport for JB to get back to the port the night before. After the party on the yacht died down when Brenda and I went to our room, some of the party enthusiasts decided to jump on the return boat to go party at the clubs.


    "I don''t care about that," I said, dragging another chair over to sit down. "Why are you out here?"


    With a sarcastic tone, she replied, "I can''t sleep. The people in the next room were really noisy. She kept moaning and screaming, so I had to escape."


    "Sorry, that was my id. I lost all sense of reason there," I replied casually.


    "Huh? What''s an id?" she asked, confusion flickering across her face.


    "It''s a psychological thing. It''s boring," I said dismissively, but she urged, "I''m not dumb. Exin."


    "Well, if you really want to know... Simply put, Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, identified threeponents of the mind: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id represents instinctual desires, the superego embodies our moral standards, and the ego acts as the mediator that bnces the two."


    "Freudpared the ego��in its rtion to the id��to a man on horseback: the rider must restrain and direct the superior energy of his animal and at times allow for a satisfaction of its urges if he wants to keep it alive and the species healthy." I continued with a slight smirk.


    Vanessa made a disgusted face and mumbled, "Don''t use science to defend why you''re a man-whore."


    "I''m not the one who got turned on by a little moaning," I teased. Vanessa looked at me with disbelief before saying, "Aren''t you the least bit apologetic? And it''s really loud, like animals in heat��"


    Before she could finish, she realized she was about to support my point, grimacing and stopping herself.


    "I''m not sorry at all," I replied casually, lying down on the chair next to hers. Vanessa furrowed her eyebrows and sarcastically guessed, "Ah, so you shot your humanity inside her too?"


    "I didn''t finish ''in'' her," I smirked. Vanessa got irritated, saying, "Stop talking about your sex life! Are you trying to make fun of me because I didn''t have any?!" She grabbed my arm, forcing me to look into her eyes. "I can if I want to! I''m just choosing not to!"


    "You seem pent up. You definitely should try it. I mean, I did it, and now I''m more chill," I said teasingly.


    Vanessa scowled before standing up. "I''m going to go to bed! Your party sucks!"


    "It''s Brenda''s party," I corrected her as she walked away. "Shut up Jerk!" she cursed before she entered the lounge again. I chuckled and then mumbled to myself, "Ah, she''s going to miss the best part."


    I signaled Dwayne to turn off the lights other than what''s necessary. In the darkness, the hidden beauty of the sea was finally revealed. The sky was a breathtaking tapestry of stars, shimmering like diamonds scattered across velvet. The half-moon cast a silvery glow, illuminating the area surrounding the yacht.


    I stayed there until the sun rose before having breakfast. Danielle and Brenda joined me, and Vanessa didn''te out until 11 am. Ashley�C not being a morning person, kept sleeping until I returned to the room, trying to wake her up.


    "Hey Benson, we''re going home now." I told her. She grumbled before opening her eyes and asked, "What time is it?"


    "Noon." I replied. "12.30."


    "We''ll be back at?" She asked groggily.


    "Around 2." I replied.


    "Great, then, there''s time to do it once more." She said before she sat up and hugged me from behind, her hand slowly caressed my abs before she snuck it inside my pants.


    We did it once more while we were changing our clothes. When we arrived at the dock, Benson asked for my personal number.


    "We should definitely be friends," she suggested.


    "Friends... with benefits?" I said. She nodded slightly, and then I thought about it before replying, "Alright. Deal."


    We decided to be casual friends for now, as we were both single, and she wasn''t interested in having a real rtionship.


    The yacht sailed toward a private port in Malibu, a different one from the one in Los Angeles where we started our trip. As the port there was filled with paparazzi, I decided to anchor the ship to avoid the unwanted attention.


    Brenda asked worriedly after we docked, "We don''t have our cars. How can we go home now?"


    Danielle also expressed her concerns, "There will be traffic. It''ll take a long time to get back."


    "Don''t worry about that," I said with a smile. "Our transport is here." As I looked at the sky, a ck helicopter flew toward us. There was a helicopternding spot 200 meters away from where we were.


    All of us walked to the helicopter after itnded. Vanessa''s face was pale as she climbed aboard. As she strapped on the seatbelt and wore the microphone and headset, I asked, "Are you afraid of flying?"


    Vanessa sat right in front of me, and Benson sat on my right. Brenda, Danielle, and Benson were excited to fly, but Vanessa became increasingly pale by the second.


    "A little bit!" she replied. I smirked before saying, "Then, don''t look outside."


    "Why? Are we already in the air?" she asked fearfully. The door wasn''t even closed yet, but she already thought we were flying. I grabbed her hand and made her focus on me. "Hey, look at me. You''re going to be alright. It''s only for 20 minutes. Okay?"


    She nodded without a word. But she didn''t let go of my hand and kept holding it throughout the whole ride. Benson noticed and smiled. She didn''t ask her question before wended, but then she whispered it in my ear.


    "Are you sleeping with Hudgens too?" she asked. I was startled and turned toward her. "No, we''re just friends."


    "Really? Too bad. I''m pretty sure there''s something there between you two. Or maybe I''m mistaken?" she mumbled.

 Chapter 298: Untitled.

    <h4>Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Untitled.</h4>


    [General POV]


    When JB and the other partygoers returned to the port, there was a swarm of reporters and paparazzi camping out in front of the dock.


    "Justin! Did you have fun at Newgate''s party?!" a middle-aged paparazzo said sleazily as he snapped pictures of the partygoers.


    "Where''s the yacht?" another shouted.


    "Did you hook up with anyone?" A paparazzo shouted invasive questions without even a change in his expression.


    Justin and Taylor Lautner, being the most famous people there, were encircled by the paparazzi as they asked questions about the party. Most of them were curious about where the yacht was and why they hade back early.


    "Was the party a bore?!" a reporter shouted as she pointed a recording device at Emily Ratajkowski.


    Emily was startled, and she blurted out, "No. It was very fun." The reporter quickly took some notes and quoted her for the article she was going to write.


    Edward''s security helped the guests get away. Taylor Lautner just walked on by without caring about the paparazzi, but Justin smirked and went to talk with one of them. He remembered one of the pieces of advice Edward had given him and wanted to try it out.


    The paparazzi''s eyes lit up, and they ignored the other guests as they caught a big fish. "JB! Who invited you there?! Was it Edward?!" a reporter asked.


    Amidst the flurry of questions thrown at him, JB focused on that and replied, "No. It''s actually Brenda Song''s party."


    "Then, howe it''s held on Newgate''s ship?" another reporter asked. JB exined, "First, Ed wanted to go on a trip to clear his mind, but Brenda called several people over, turning it into a party. In fact, we don''t even party much."


    "What did you do instead?" the same reporter asked.


    JB replied with a chuckle, "We yed games, watched the Spider-Man movie, watched the sunset, and ate good food. That''s all."


    -shback-


    On the ship, during dinner, JB asked Edward, "Man, how do you handle the press so well?" JB was sitting on the kitchen counter while Edward was rinsing off the crabs.


    Edward turned to him and replied, "First of all, you have to understand something. Your fans are obsessed with you. They want to know everything you''re doing��your underwear brand, your hair products, everything they can get."


    "The press has the same desire, but they have their own agendas. So you have to make sure to choose how to disseminate your information so that they will suffer if they try to paint you in a bad light," he continued.


    "Who will make them suffer on my behalf?" JB asked, slightly raising his eyebrow. "Should I get in contact with some thugs?"


    As JB didn''t have any contact with Diddy yet, he didn''t really know how to navigate Hollywood right now. Edward licked the curry paste he had made off his finger before replying, "The one that will make them suffer is your fans. So put your trust in them. One day, you could even be a modern ve to the people you trust, but your fans will be the greatest help you can get to get through that." (Example: Free Britney Movement)


    Brenda raised her hand as she listened in on the advice and asked Edward, "Um, how can we choose to reveal the what-not?"


    Edward looked towards her and realized that not only Brenda, but also Taylor Lautner, Danielle Panabaker, Vanessa Hudgens, and Emily were listening in on the conversation.


    Edward sighed and said, "Let me give you an example. A reporter asks you about this party. What should you say?"


    "Nothing, right?" JB replied.


    Edward shook his head and said, "You should tell them what''s going on from your point of view. Share things that won''t bring you any trouble. You can say you enjoyed the delicious dinner I cooked, but don''t mention that you paired it with some wine or who you were eating it with. Just keep it general or vague."


    "Won''t they press on, though?" Brenda asked.


    Edward replied, "They would, but they''re going to be so busy writing it down that you can take control of the situation. At that gap between questions, take the initiative to bring it to another topic. Something more interesting, weird, or surprisingly fresh, or something very shocking that will divert their attention from the first question."


    -shback Ends-


    The reporters paused, intrigued by his response. "Why Spider-Man?" one of them asked, clearly curious.


    As the paparazzi continued to bombard JB with questions, he chuckled and replied, "I never watched it, so Ed made me. My hands are tied! Literally. He forced me to watch it." Heughed, trying to keep the mood light. He pointed to the camera and said, "Now I''m hooked. Remember this, my fans: if I be a nerd, it''s all Newgate''s fault."


    -shback-


    Edward leaned in, chuckling softly. "Listen, there''s a line in that movie. The Green Goblin says, ''The one thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying. In spite of everything you''ve done for them, eventually, they will hate you.'' Well, we''re not heroes, but that''s relevant to us too."


    Edward continued, "This is important for you. Your public image matters. Protect it, or it will affect your whole life. You can socialize and get to know people, but never let your guard down unless you are absolutely certain you can trust them."


    "W-what''s the quote again?" JB asked, puzzled. Edward raised one of his eyebrows and asked, "It''s Spider-Man. You don''t remember Spider-Man?"


    "I think I watched it when I was a kid. I don''t remember much. Or maybe I never watched it? I don''t know," JB replied, a bit abashed.


    Edward looked at him in disbelief. "You NEVER WATCHED SPIDER-MAN!? No wonder your childhood sucked!" Edward eximed, shaking his head. "Spencer." Edward turned to the staff member, "Start up the projector. JB needs to watch the movie tonight."


    "I don''t want to��" JB was startled. "You don''t need to��"


    Edward interjected, rifying, "You don''t have to actually watch it. It''s just one of the cover stories you can useter on. You can do what you want."


    JB breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that. He nned to try and pick up the girl he had been talking with; however, when the movie yed, the girl wanted to watch it. JB reluctantly watched it with her and found himself hooked on the story.


    Near the climax, the girl suddenly raised her hand and forced out a yawn. She turned to JB and said, "I''m feeling quite tired. I''m going to my room." She hinted at JB by touching his arm slightly and asked, "Want toe with?"


    "Uh��what?" JB replied, his eyes still glued to the screen. "I''m going to my room," the girl said again. However, JB didn''t even turn to her and said, "Oh, okay then. Goodnight."


    The girl was speechless and huffed as she went back alone. JB watched the full movie and even continued to watch the second one, unaware of the sacrifice he had unintentionally missed.


    "How did I never watch this movie before?" He mumbled as he grabbed the remote and increased the sound volume of the movie.


    -shback Ends-


    The articles were quickly written and uploaded to numerous gossip sites. They discussed Brenda and Edward''s close rtionship, noting that he even lent her his yacht.


    Emily''s quote about the fun party, along with JB''s ount of what happened, made people think that it was just a simple rxation trip for the celebrity youngsters. However, the headlines were still quite scandalous:


    "Hudgens and Newgate''s Yacht Adventure: Are They More Than Just Friends? Shocking Details Inside!" This was on the cover of a tabloid website.


    "Scandal on the High Seas: Did Newgate''s Yacht Party Hide a Secret Romance?"


    "JB''s Wild Night Out: Did He Choose Newgate''s Yacht Over Diddy''s Famous Party? Is This Trip Going to Be the New Diddy Party?"


    Although JB''s interview eased the spection about the trip, and Brenda''s confirmation about the party being hers put her in the spotlight for a bit, some fans were wondering if it was just a simple trip, then why did the most important figure around Edward note to the party��specifically referring to Taylor?


    Although there were questions, people were still more excited about the new revtion��JB and Edward''s friendship. Both of the hottest teenage pop stars of the era were hanging out, and JB''s answer made it seem like they were good friends.


    Unfortunately, it also sparked the rise of JBxEdward shippers on the inte. These shippers, who were on the same level as furries on the dark web, emerged from their deep, dark caves and tried to breach the mainstream line, but they were shot down immediately by people withmon sense.


    However, they weren''t shoved back down empty-handed, as these monsters managed to convert a number of people into their cult before they disappeared.


    Lily��Edward''s fan club president��breathed heavily as she read the fanfiction some people had made about those two in some deep corner of the inte. "How dare they," she mumbled; however, she kept scrolling. Her face flushed with excitement, and she was even unaware of the blood flowing down her nose.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After I returned to my house, I suddenly received a call from Brooklyn Nine-Nine''s Sergeant Terry Jeffords.


    Robin chimed in as I stepped foot into my living room, "He has been calling all day. Including him, you have a total of 102 missed calls and 432 text messages asking about your well-being. It''s rmended that you reply to these concerns to put your associates at ease."


    "I will," I replied as I threw my bag on the couch. When I went on the trip, I decided not to use my phone and made Robin screen out the calls, only connecting me if my presence was urgently needed.


    "Answer it." I leaned on the desk as I connected the call from Terry. Then, I heard Rosa''s voiceing from the other side of the call. "Finally!" she said through gritted teeth. "How dare you go no-contact when thest thing we knew about you was that you wound up at the hospital with blood all over! What happened over there?"


    "Hi, Rosa," I replied cheekily. "About that..." I told her all about Chloe and the near-death experience she had while working on the case. Terry listened in too and said worriedly, "I knew it was a bad idea to have you working on a case. THIS IS ADULT BUSINESS! Kids HAVE NO PLACE BEING INSIDE OF IT! No matter how smart you are! I''m calling the judge and having her change up yourmunity service!"


    "WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" I hurriedly stopped him. "Terry, wait! Don''t do that. I need this to make sure I can meet my schedule before my world tour. If it changes to ordinarymunity service, then I will have to postpone my tour."


    Rosa interjected in an angry tone, "Isn''t your tour starting next year? You still have some time to settle it. Don''t use the tour as an excuse."


    "It may seem like I have time, but I''m shooting a movie right now, remember? I even have a two-day concert on the 20th in Las Vegas. By the way, I can fly you guys out if you want toe�C"


    I suddenly heard Jake''s voice from afar during the phone call. He asked Rosa, "Is he alright?"


    "He''s fine! Just being a little bitch," Rosa replied. Jake was excited and said, "Great!" I imagined he snatched the phone from Rosa or Terry, as his voice was the main one next. "Ed! Sucks to be you. But I just closed my seventh felony this morning. You know what that means?"


    "That you''re one day toote to win the bet?" I guessed, pouring cold water on Jake''s excitement.


    "What? But I solved the case!" Jake asked, befuddled. "I got twenty! You only have ten," he whined.


    "Thest case I submitted is a serial arsonist case. It''s worth ten points. I forgot to tell you yesterday because of the whole hospital situation and needing to clear my mind, but I won it yesterday."


    Jake yelped, and his voice became strained. "I''ll call you right back." Then, he cut the call.


    "Robin, what''s he doing now?" I asked Robin to eavesdrop, as I was curious. Robin replied, "Detective Peralta is trying to convince everyone to pretend the bet never happened and that your mind made it up after experiencing a traumatic memory. His second n is for everyone to change their names."


    I nodded in amazement and said, "That can actually work. I need to try it out sometime. Just gaslight people into thinking their memories are fake. Wait, let me try it out. Call Jacob."


    Jacob had called me a lot of times yesterday. I had to return his call anyway, so I decided to try it out on him.


    "Hi Jacob. Do you want to hang out again today? We just met yesterday," I said as soon as he picked up the call.


    "Huh?" Jacob sounded confused and forgot his questions. "We didn''t meet yesterday?" he asked, surprised.


    "We kinda did, remember? I sent you that telepathic link only a bro could hear, and we hung out. You don''t remember that?" I asked casually.


    "If you''re trying to trick me, that''s too much. I still have somemon sense," Jacob replied with an annoyed tone. I burst intoughter and said, "I knew it wouldn''t work the moment it came out of my mouth."


    "How are you?" Jacob asked. I had a conversation with him for a while before he asked, "We''re going to hang out at Jenna''s ce on the 15th. Are youing?"


    "I have my final scene in the morning, but I guess I can hang out after that," I replied casually.


    "Great. You need to decide if you want to be an elf or Santa. Enid nned something. I don''t know what," Jacob replied wearily. He had tried to talk Enid out of it, but since she received support from the other girls in the group, he had to go along.


    I was startled at first before I asked, "Santa?"


    "It''s like a Secret Santa thing. I have no idea what she wants to do," Jacob said.


    I talked with him a bit more before calling the others and reassuring them that I was fine. After that, I sighed and said, "It''s tough when you know a lot of people. In my previous life, I just had to care about one."


    A wave of nostalgia hit me, and I began to miss Nonni. "I guess I''m going to cook Nonni''s favorite recipe tonight," I mumbled before my phone rang again. Terry finally called me back.


    "So, you won," Terry said with a depressed tone. Then, he suddenly got a bit hopeful. "But do you even remember what the bet prize is��"


    "You''ll go a week without suspenders. Rosa will send me a selfie of her smiling, which I will frame and hang on my walls forever," I muttered. Rosa interjected, "Do that, and I''ll gut you like a fish."


    "Are you going back on your word, Rosa? I thought you were better than that," I said snidely. Rosa growled and didn''t say anything, expressing her silent agreement that she would honor the bet.


    "Boyle will eat whatever Jake is eating," I continued. "Andstly, Jake and Amy will have to go on a date together. I have booked the restaurant, and it''s he ssy."


    Jake begged, "Wait. Can you do it somewhere where I only need to spend 20 dors?... ''Cause that''s all I have right now."


    "Don''t worry about it. I''m covering the bills. I''ll also be sending you guys the attire you''re going to wear for the evening," I said confidently.


    Jake and Amy eximed excitedly, "Wooo��" But as they turned their faces and met each other''s eyes, they stopped abruptly, bing awkward instead.


    "You guys also have to answer 20 questions before finishing up the date. I''ll update the questions in real time, and Gustav, the manager of the restaurant, will make sure you guys answer them all honestly before you can leave."


    I wondered if the questions designed to elerate intimacy that Penny and Sheldon would do in the future would help bring those two together. Right now, their rtionship was in awkward.


    They epted the consequences of their betting after a thorough discussion. Amy made sure I wouldn''t add anything else about the matter when I suddenly heard Jake grumble, "This is all Holt''s fault. If he doesn''t mess around, then we won''t fail spectacrly like this."


    "Wait, Holt interfered?" I asked with intrigue. "So does that mean he''s part of the bet?"


    Jake suddenly became excited and said, "I like where you''re going with this."


    "So, if his interference is the cause of you guys losing, then make him ept the punishment too," I said. "Let me talk to him."


    After the squad hassled Holt about his involvement, he finally became defeated and said, "FINE! I''ll admit that my interference became a major factor in causing you guys to lose. Even if you were going to lose, you deserve to have a fair fight in it. I ept responsibility for it."


    "Enough talk, Captain," Jake said excitedly. "We are all in this together��not High School Musical, but as a detective squad. Edward, please present Captain Holt with the whip."


    "Whip?" I asked, fully shocked. "Is that a racial thing? Is it because he''s ck?" I asked, pretending to be innocent. Jake was bbergasted and said, "NO! I meant the punishment thing."


    Holt piled on, "It''s kinda weird to categorize a whip as a punishment for a ck man anyway."


    "I''M NOT RACIST! I WAS TOO EXCITED!"


    I chuckled and said, "Because of that, I have to tweak Captain Holt''s punishment a bit. I wanted to make him listen to my album and slowly seduce him to be my fan, but instead, there''s a barrel exhibit in downtown New York. Holt is going to take Jake there and exin all about the barrels disyed in the exhibit."


    Holt asked, slightly surprised, "Wait. So for my punishment, you want me to teach Jacob about barrels?"


    I agreed with him, "Yes, andter that night, Jake is going to bring Amy there after their dinner together, and he''s going to repeat everything you said to her. I know that extensive knowledge about a certain studious topic will surely turn Amy on."


    "It will?" Jake asked. Amy shouted into the phone, "No, it won''t!" but her tone was unconvincing.


    "I will honor my punishment fairly," Holt said. "I''ll make sure to hammer all the knowledge I have onto Jacob before the date begins."


    "He can use ''hammer''! Is hammer not racist?" Jake mumbled to himself.


    "Great. Then you''ll have 4 hours. The restaurant reservation is tonight." I said before I cut the call and arranged everything for the date. I managed to sneak in a bath and change my clothes before my phone rang again.


    "It''s Priority 1." Robin alerted. "Answer it."I replied.


    "Hey, Peps, I''m going to go to thepany now��" Before I could finish, Pepper interrupted me, saying, "We finished��DON''T COME! REST! WHY ARE YOU COMING HERE?!"


    He scolded me first before continuing with his initial topic. "We finished the trailer for the movie. If you say it''s okay, then we can release it."


    "Already?" I asked, slightly surprised. "You don''t sound confident. But that''s fine. I know you have a really high standard. We are confident that we''ve reached it with this trailer edit. I''ll send it to you now."


    "Okay, I''ll wait," I replied. Pepper cut the call, and I loitered around the living room, waiting for the file to arrive. I even had time to eat some bread before Pepper finally figured out how to send the file using email. He didn''t��he asked Renaldo for help.


    As I watched the trailer, I scrutinized it and gave my notes to Pepper through a phone call. "The music came in way too early. It needs to be at the one-minute mark. And the trailer gives away too much. I want it to stop abruptly and trigger people''s desire to know more about it. I don''t want a trailer that reveals the entire plot. Then what''s the point of watching it? Less me, more Ryan and Emily in it."


    Pepper said sternly, "No. We already felt that there''s not enough of you in the trailer. SunHee wants to cut out Ryan''s screentime to only 20 seconds."


    I was startled and asked, "She''s from the gaming division. Why is she even there?" Rubbing my sore forehead, I said, "I''ming to thepany. Judd is there too, right?"


    "He is; he''sughing at me the whole time," Pepper said with dissatisfaction.


    "He already expected I won''t like it, didn''t he?" I asked Pepper knowingly. "He said it''s fine enough for a trailer. Not good. Fine."


    Grabbing my car key, I said, "I''ll be there in 20 minutes."

 Chapter 299: Crossing off my to-do list.

    <h4>Chapter 299: Chapter 299:?Crossing off my to-do list.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "It''s finished!!!!" Pepper hailed the sky and shouted dramatically. Sitting behind him on his CEO desk�Cat his spot, I retorted, "The trailer only! The movie is still halfway done."


    We were inside the CEO''s office. There were empty sushi boxes on the coffee desk on the receiving guest''s couch from where we had dinner and discussed the trailer. Judd was here for a bit before he went to the film set an hour ago.


    We could''ve done the trailer edit in 20 minutes, but I wanted a scene which has unfinished CGI to be inserted in it, so it took longer. I used Robin''s help toplete the CGI and it only took half an hour. I took only 3 seconds of it for the trailer.


    After hearing my retort, Pepper widened his eyes in disbelief and turned towards me, "I thought we only had 3 more days of shooting?"


    I nodded, understanding where he wasing from. "Three days to film the scenes. Then editing, CGI, test screenings, reshoots if necessary, background music, marketing��"


    Inside my mind, I was wondering if I could use the Unreal Engine to actually make an animated movie. With Robin and myself coboration, maybe? But even if I do try to make an animated film, it wouldn''t be at this period of time.


    Pepper held his head in agony and said, "Stop! You''re making my head hurt."


    I continued without sympathy, "We still have merchandising, and also, this is a very important part: the deal with the cinemas. Harvey almost finalized that, so we don''t have to worry about it."


    As I sent the trailer to Judd Apatow for evaluation, I said, "Wait, two days... Then release the trailer." It''s now December 13th, so it will be released on the 15th.


    Pepper grinned in satisfaction, pride radiating from him. "Finally! My dream wille true!"


    "I thought your dream was to be richer than Britney?" I said with a slight chuckle. "Speaking of Britney," Pepper sat down in front of me, across the table, and said, "Her business manager, Lou Taylor, wants a meeting��"


    "Definitely not." I widened my eyes slightly and said decisively. "Especially not her. No matter whates out of her mouth, don''t believe her in the slightest."


    "Why? What has she done?" Pepper asked, intrigued by the potential drama. I smirked slightly and said, "If you''re interested, then let me tell you the horrifying story of Lou Taylor."


    (YouTube it if you want. I can''t exin it simply.)


    Pepper''s face became increasingly paler as I told him the story. He then stammered and shot up from his chair. "T�CThis, and the Diddy thing... This industry... I had no idea there was so much darkness hiding in in sight. Did I really make the right choice helping you step into this cesspool of filth��"


    "Pepper, will you do to me the things they did to Britney or the other victims?" I interjected, cutting through his spiraling thoughts. He snapped back, "Of course not��"


    "Then you have nothing to worry about." I aimed to soothe him. "Don''t worry, Peps. I''m wrapped in protection��like a condom��while I waddle through this pool of waste. Besides, you''ve forgotten one crucial point."


    "What is it?" He looked at me, still concerned. "Also, never forget your protection, especially when you go on a trip again," he chimed in sarcastically, but I ignored that.


    I leaned back and replied with a smirk, "To trap me in their webs, they''ll need to be at least smarter than I am."


    Suddenly, the door burst open, and Frankie stomped inside. "If only they could see how clueless you''ve been thesest few days, then that statement is invalid. "


    "Um." Stunned, I turned toward her and said, "I''ve been meaning to call. I did text you back, didn''t I?"


    "A few hours ago," Frankie said with a stoic face, but anger radiated from her. I gulped and turned to Pepper. "Um, Peps, some help?"


    "No, you are on your own." Pepper, also fearful, slowly walked out of the room. Before he leftpletely, he turned to Frankie and said, "Right, now that both of you are here, I''m reminded of that college you guys bought. What happened to that?"


    Frankie turned to reply, as Pepper was still legally the boss. "The reconstruction is 50%plete. It''s expected to be finished by next year."


    "Oh, right. Themunity college. My way out of this," I muttered aloud without realizing it. Frankie turned back toward me with a look of confusion, but I was already calling someone through Pepper''sptop.


    Within five seconds, Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler��Sheldon''s future girlfriend and wife��answered the call. "Hello there, celebrity entrepreneur and budding scientist, Edward Newgate." Her face appeared on the screen as it was a Skype call. She wore her sses and herb coat as usual.


    Frankie ced her hands on her hips and said angrily, "Really? You''re calling someone right when I want to talk to you?"


    "No, Frankie. I just remembered something urgent when you mentioned the college," I said, turning back to Dr. Amy. "How''s the research going? Did you find a way to help Britta?"


    The monkey bite and whatever toxins were flowing in Britta''s bloodstream would require extensive research to address. So I outsourced it to the future Nobel Prize winner, and she did an amazing job.


    "Britta?" Frankie mumbled, then she remembered the infected girl. "Oh, right. I can see why that''s more urgent." She calmed down a bit and stood beside me.


    Amy said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I was going to email you about the subjectter tonight. In my report, it''ll state that while I''ve identified the chemicals affecting the patient, I''m unable to provide a solution."


    "Why?" I raised an eyebrow. "Can you send the report to me now?" I asked, urgency creeping into my tone.


    "Certainly," Amy replied before she started typing. Soon, I received the report.


    My brows furrowed deeper as I read the pages. "Does the cure require Strontium-90?" I asked, halfway through the report.


    Amy nodded. "Yes. The harmful chemicals have already prated her brain. Only Strontium-90, used as a catalyst, can help her. However, at the moment, the byproducts from nuclear reactions are not avable��"


    "Let me guess, they won''t give it to you," I interjected with a heavy sigh. Amy nodded slightly. "I have no influence over the Institute of Nuclear Energy. I''ve asked them to procure it for me, but all avable Strontium-90 reserves are currently being used for high-energy nuclear experiments."


    I thought about it briefly before asking, "How long does Britta have before it bes irreversible?"


    "About a week," Amy replied in a slightly somber tone. "After that, her brain will be severely damaged. She could experience hallucinations, dissociative identity issues, manic behavior, paranoia, and possibly suicidal or murderous thoughts."


    "Poor girl," I mumbled to myself before turning to Amy with a smile. "I''m bringing her here. And I''ll see if I can obtain the Strontium-90 myself."


    "There are no legal ways to procure it right now," Amy warned.


    I smirked and said, "Legality is just something poor people worry about. Anyway, the less you know, the better."


    "I agree with that arrangement," Amy said easily before adding, "If there''s nothing else, I''d like to focus on my experiment now."


    "That''s it. Goodbye, Dr. Fowler."


    "Goodbye, Edward Newgate," Amy said before she ended the call. I turned to Frankie, who had a worried expression on her face, and said, "I have to take a rain check on that lecture. As you can see, someone''s life is in jeopardy."


    "One of these days, you''re going to run out of people to save, and by then, I''m going to give you an earful," Frankie said, slightly angry.


    I just chuckled dryly and said, "By the way, I should invite Abed too. He can take a look at the movie."


    "Wait, you aren''t really going to try to buy those in the ck market are you?" Frankie asked with a slight rm after thinking about my conversation with Dr Fowler.


    I smirked slightly and said, "I''m just saying that to act cool."


    Frankie breathed in relief, but was frazzled when I continued, "I already have that stuff in myb. I''ll just give it to Dr Fowler for her to synthesize the cure�C"


    "YOU HAVE IT IN YOUR LAB?!" Frankie shouted in shock. I was trying to recreate some weapons I saw in the memory of the Mass Effect world�C not to sell it or anything, but I was curious to see if I could. So I had a lot of ''unusual'' stuff inside myb. Some were even used to upgrade my house''s defense.


    ...


    [General POV]


    In Annie''s apartment in Colorado, Jeff, Abed, Troy, Pierce, Shirley, and Britta decided to have Christmas dinner there instead of in the study room, as that ce was under construction.


    As Abed sat on the couch watching reruns of Friends, he mumbled, "Now that Troy and I are roommates, and Annie and Britta live together��"


    "TEMPORARILY!" Annie chimed in as she brought a te of yams to the dining table. The apartment she lived in was the one Edward had lived in before, making it the biggestpared to all the others.


    Abed ignored Annie and continued, "Jeff is living downstairs... We need to decide who is who."


    "Who is who for what?" Troy asked with an excited expression.


    Jeff scoffed and said, "He''s talking about which Friends characters we are. I''m telling you now, I''m not going to be Ross, even though I was the only one who lived alone."


    Abed turned to Jeff and said, "You''re not Ross."


    "Thank you!" Jeff rxed, but then Abed continued, "You''re Gunther."


    "I AM NOT GUNTHER! You take that back!" Jeff stood up from the couch, emotionally charged.


    "Troy is Joey. Annie is Monica. Phoebe is Britta. I''m Chandler, and Shirley is Rachel."


    "Aww! How nice," Shirley said sweetly as she ced her pies on the table. Pierce asked excitedly, "What about me? Am I Ross?"


    Shirley grimaced instantly and said, "Now you''re taking the fun out of it."


    "You''re Mr. Heckles," Troy teased Pierce. "How dare you!" Pierce wanted to snap, but then he asked, "Who''s Mr. Heckles?"


    "Just someone who looks exactly like you. Can we eat yet?" Jeff asked, wanting to change the subject when suddenly Britta said, "Who cares if I''m Phoebe or Rachel... or Chandler? I''m going to forget who I am soon enough."


    Jeff retorted sarcastically, "You don''t have amnesia. You''re just going crazy."


    "It''s the same thing," Britta said. "When I be crazy, I''m going to forget who I am. What if I start to get a 9-to-5 job, climb the corporatedder at a corporation that kills babies, or worse, marry a disaster of a husband and tell everyone that underneath all that, he''s a good guy?"


    Jeff snorted and said, "Sounds like you need to check your definition of crazy."


    "But am I wrong to worry?" Britta asked argumentatively. Jeff thought about it for a while and said, "Maybe." He ced his hand on Britta''s thigh and added, "So, before you actually be all that, you have a choice. Go out on a date with me."


    Britta got angry and said, "I''m sorry, I''m here worrying about my brain, and you''re worrying about getting in my pants?"


    Jeff was a bit frazzled and replied, "Well, when you turn crazy, then I don''t think I can ask you out anymore, as I would be taking advantage of someone who''s mentally unwell."


    "AH~" Shirley and Annie gasped at the same time.


    "Britta''s going crazy? Why?" Pierce asked with a slight chuckle, thinking everyone was joking.


    Britta thought about it for a moment before saying, "You know what? Yes."


    "Yes what?" Jeff asked, confused.


    "Yes, I''ll go on a date with you." Britta said, and everyone mored. Jeff was a bit excited and asked, "You will?"


    Britta avoided Jeff''s hopeful gaze and said, "Well, if I''m going to lose my mind anyway, then why not? This may be thest decision I make, and I wanted someone to remember it other than me."


    Jeff was excited, but he still felt the need to tease. "Again, you''re not going to lose your memory; you''re going to go crazy... for me."


    "Ugh." Britta rolled her eyes and said, "I already feel like I''m going to regret this."


    Pierce chimed in, "Look on the bright side: even if you do regret it, it won''t be for long." Britta looked at Pierce with disbelief while Jeff chuckled devilishly, finally getting what he wanted.


    As everyone was excited about the date, Annie asked, "Where are you going to take her?" Shirley chimed in, "I know a church if you decide to get married before Britta loses her mind. She''s going to need the support of a husband when that happens."


    Abed was in deep thought before he muttered something, turning the group silent. "This ain''t right." Everyone looked at him in puzzlement. Shirley widened her eyes and asked sweetly, "Why is it not?"


    Abed turned to Britta and Jeff before saying, "When Ross and Rachel get together, it feels earned��before the off-again, on-again situation. It was frustrating sometimes, but the buildup made it awesome."


    "Abed, sometimes, in life��" Before Annie could finish, Abed stopped her and exined himself. "I''m not dismissing that there is something there between them. I''m just saying it''s not time. So what''s going to happen is that there will be an external element to stop it from happening. Like Ross when he came back from China with a girlfriend."


    "Where is Jeff going to find a Chinese girlfriend?" Pierce asked. Everyone looked at him weirdly for a second before turning to Abed. Jeff said, "Abed, you cannot stop it, and there''s not going to be an external force�C"


    Before Jeff could finish, Britta''s phone rang. Jeff''s smile dropped instantly as he turned to Britta. Britta widened her eyes as she looked at Jeff before she turned to Abed. Abed pointed to the phone and said, "See. It''s not time yet."


    Britta stood up from the couch to answer the call. After a short conversation, she turned to the study group again. Pierce asked impatiently, "Is that the Chinese girlfriend�C"


    "That''s Frankie. She told me to fly to LA today." Britta said before her knees faltered as she felt relieved, and she flopped down on the previous seat�C next to Jeff.


    "Do they have the cure?!" Shirley asked gratefully, "Oh lord! You answered my prayers! Thank you!" She started praying.


    Jeff''s expression froze as he watched Britta''s excited face. Britta was on the verge of tears as she replied to Shirley, "I''m not sure. But they asked me toe there, so I guess they found one."


    "I knew it." Abed celebrated with a fist pump when he suddenly got a notification on his phone. He didn''t tell anyone about the content, but he asked Britta, "How will you get there?"


    "I''m just going to find an economy ne ticket," Britta replied with a slightly pained expression. "I don''t really have a lot of savings right now."


    Abed nodded and said, "We can meet on the ne, and I''ll send you some wet towels from first ss."


    Everyone turned to Abed with confusion. Jeff finally snapped out of his state and asked, "What are you talking about, Abed?"


    Abed exined, "Edward invited me toe too. He even sent me the ne tickets."


    "REALLY?" Britta was bbergasted. "But I need to pay on my own?!"


    "I guess it''s because you need to be there. I''m invited," Abed replied casually as he opened the ticket link Edward sent him.


    Britta was still in disbelief. "I mean, if he''s going to invite Abed, then why not me too? I''m the one who needs a cure."


    Troy suddenly had a thought. "I guess it''s understandable." Everyone turned to him, making him startled for a second before he exined, "I mean, I don''t think the cure is cheap."


    Abed pointed to Troy in agreement before he said, "He told me he sent the research work to a prestigious neuroscientist. He had to donate a new device to herb to get her to ept it."


    Britta finally epted it. "Oh, that''s quite understandable. He has already spent too much."


    Jeff said, "I don''t think you have to worry about his finances. But you do need to worry if he sends you the bills. It could be in the millions range."


    Abed suddenly spoke, interrupting Jeff''s words. "Oh, he sent me two ne tickets. So, who wants toe with me?"


    Everyone turned towards Abed in disbelief and spoke at the same time, "The extra ticket is obviously for Britta!"


    "Let''s eat!" Pierce shouted, feeling hungry. As everyone sat at the dinner table, Annie whispered to Abed, "Did he say anything about me?"


    "He did," Abed replied casually as he ate some food. Annie waited, but Abed didn''t exin, so she asked again, "What did he say?!"


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I returned home around 9. Dad, Frankie, and Maggie were at the house. I was nagged by Frankie for going no contact; however, I didn''t dislike it. Not that I was a masochist, but it was nice to feel cared for. While we were eating, the doorbell rang.


    "I''ll get it. Frankie, don''t stop nagging him," Maggie said as she volunteered to check the door. I stopped her by grabbing her arm when she was wiping her mouth with a napkin and barely standing up.


    "I already know who it is," I said. Robin told me. "It''s Chloe."


    "The detective? Is she already out of the hospital?" My dad asked, disbelief evident in his voice.


    Frankie suddenly stood up and said, "I''m going to have a word with her too." I quickly grabbed Frankie''s arm to stop her. "Calm down. It''s official business."


    I stood up and walked slowly to the front door after grabbing a box of files from my desk. As I opened the door, I handed the files to Chloe. "Ten more cases as part of my deal. It''s all new, so you''re going to have to open new investigations for them."


    "Before that," Chloe stopped me, "I''m sorry." She apologized with a sincere expression. I was a bit taken aback. "What?"


    "I''m sorry for not taking your advice and going alone. I almost lost my life, and worse, I ced you in danger too. Not to mention the things that happened at the hospital. You have every right to be mad at me." Chloe continued apologizing.


    "It''s fine. I ept the apology." I said dismissively. "It''s not like we''re going to see each other again, so you don''t have to worry about it."


    Feeling helpless, Chloe finally grabbed the box I handed to her. "What''s these cases?"


    "Oh, I don''t want to deal with violent cases, felonies, misdemeanors anymore, so I decided to investigate the things I''m best at. Numbers. Here are 10 cases of frauds, embezzling, and other financial crimes. I already reached out to my contacts in the FBI, and they are going to work on this case with you. You definitely can''t do this on your own. It''ll do great for your career as I know you won''t stop being a cop. The FBI are salivating on this evidence. Don''t do the stupid thing and just give it to them."


    "I�C" Chloe was bbergasted, "I don''t know what to say."


    "You don''t have to say anything. I did this for Trixie." I said with an irritated expression. "She deserves to grow up with her mother. And as far as I can see it, you are a great mother to her. Remember this whenever you decide to do the stupid thing again."


    "Are you giving this all to me to make sure we never meet again?" Chloe asked, a little depressed. I scratched the back of my head and said, "Not like this. If you invite me for a birthday party, I''ll try to stop by, but I have had enough of investigating already."


    Chloe showed a painful smile and said, "I see...I guess, I''ll see you around."


    "Goodbye Chloe."


    "Goodbye Edward."


    She gave me a light hug after putting down the case files and then left the house. I sighed in relief after everything was over. As I got back into my room, I noticed a case file on my desk. It was the TeaTime Strangler''s case file.


    "I forgot to give this back...Hmm, Eh, I''ll do it when she asks for it." I mumbled dismissively before putting it back in its ce.

 Chapter 300: Company Benefit.

    <h4>Chapter 300: Chapter 300: Company Benefit.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "It''s already 9 AM," Robin chimed in as I sat on the couch cross-legged, my eyes fixed on the front door. "Everyone''ste," she said with a cute pout.


    I smiled and replied, "Well, they are busy people. I didn''t expect them to be here on time." I stood up, walked by the coffee table, which had several goodie bags on it, and headed to the pool.


    Dad was grilling some burgers and hot dogs by the pool while Frankie helped him with the drinks. I cringed slightly and told them, "They will not be staying. What''s even the point of all this?"


    "Manners," my dad said assertively, pointing his spat at me. "Ed, is this done yet?" he asked. "I usually can tell, but your burgers are a bit different," he added.


    When we woke up this morning and he knew about the n, he wanted to make a good impression on the guests I told him wereing, so he bought all the ingredients at the grocery store.


    I helped him create the patties and make other appetizers against my will; now he was excited to have a barbecue. Still, it had been a while since he grilled something. I was afraid it would go badly, but it turned out he wasn''t rusty.


    I checked the grill and told him, "Yeah, it''s done. You can take it off now. Should we invite your friends toe?"


    "What about your guests?" he asked. I rolled my eyes and told him, "They aren''t staying. They are all busy people."


    While I was saying that, the first person to get to the party appeared in a unique way. She was sleeping inside the house after all. With disheveled, frilly, puffy hair, Maggie walked groggily to the poolside.


    "I smell burgers," she mumbled.


    "Get your hand off it." I swatted her hand with annoyance as she reached for the burger I was holding.


    "Ow! Uncle Ted!" She tried to get me in trouble, but my dad smiled and said, "You''re the one who tried to touch his food. Ed only shares food with the people he likes."


    "AH!" Maggie looked at my dad with disbelief. Frankie and I snickered as Maggie stammered, "Not you too, Unc!"


    "Maggie, go wash up. Otherwise, you''ll be embarrassed," Frankie advised her, but she was being stubborn and said, "No. It''s my house��"


    "My house," I corrected her.


    She was speechless for a second before she said, "Well, I live here now. And if the guests have something against that, then they can leave."


    As soon as she finished saying that, the first guest arrived. I had already given Robin the guest list, so she just invited them inside the house.


    "Hello~ Good morning~" Ryan Gosling appeared in his casual sportswear. Maggie widened her eyes and immediately hid her face as Ryan came to the pool. "I hope I''m notte," he said cheerfully.


    I shook my hand slightly and said, "You''re the first one here. Grab a bite if you want. Ignore the girl with the lion''s mane behind you."


    "Who?" Ryan immediately turned to the lounge chairs, but Maggie had run away. He only saw a silhouette of her as she got back into the house.


    Albeit confused, Ryan didn''t pursue the topic and said, "I have to be at the set this afternoon, so I''m only going to be able to stay a while."


    I smirked as I turned to my dad. "See? I told you."


    He rolled his eyes and said, "Then he can take the food home. You have a lot of disposable containers. I can just pack it for him."


    "Oh no, I still have some time to eat," Ryan interjected quickly. "Ed, you''reing to the set too today, right?" He asked me whisperingly.


    My dad brightened up, and his face became a bit smug. I grimaced as I told Ryan, "Yup. Let''s grab yourpany''s benefit first. We need to get out of here before he starts bragging."


    My dad snided, "I told you people would eat."


    I ignored him and went inside with Ryan. Then, I gave him a goody bag and an exnation. He left after eating the burger and even taking one home with him, but not before he saw the 100 inch TV on my living room wall.


    "What''s that?" He asked, his eyes glued on the screen. "I thought it was a painting at first, but it changed."


    "It''s a TV." I told him with a bragging smirk, "I had it installed yesterday." I turned it on and yed a basketball game. Ryan was thoroughly impressed as it felt like we were watching from the courtside itself.


    "Where can I find one?" He asked immediately. I told him that it was not yet released, but I could get him one as a favor.


    At 9:45, two more guests arrived: Margot Robbie and Emily Blunt. Both had hair appointments that morning and left excited after receiving thepany benefit. They didn''t eat or bring any food back with them, as they were dieting, which saddened the cook.


    After they were gone, my dad, noticing the women''s excitement, asked, "What are you giving them exactly?"


    I smirked and replied, "Nothing for you, though, so don''t even bother."


    Frankie, standing by my father''s side, asked, "Ed, you said only certain people would get the benefit, right? I assume everyone will be celebrities. Does that include, hmm, I don''t know��<strong><i>your ex-girlfriend</i></strong>?"


    "I did. I don''t know if she''lle, though," I muttered casually. Then, I took my shirt off andy down on the lounge chair.


    My dad looked at me in disbelief and scolded, "Put your shirt back on. Do you really expect me to think you''re just trying to tan?"


    "I kinda am," I replied nonchntly as I put on my sunsses. I then thered sunblock and tanning oil on my torso, making it glisten in the sun.


    Guests came and went as I enjoyed the morning with my dad and Frankie. Donald Glover, Judd Apatow, Jessi J, Chris Martin, Pepper, Harvey, and Renaldo also stopped by to grab some food.


    My dad made sure they brought food back with them, but he continued grilling, adding more to the already prepared burgers.


    "Make sure to bring it all to the ship''s crew," I told him as I noticed the excess food on the table. There were around 21 burgers, as he wanted to finish the patties.


    He smiled softly and said, "I kinda already thought of that. That''s why I''m making more."


    I nodded in understanding and yfully said, "Just keep five for me, and there won''t be any problems."


    It was almost noon when Taylor finally arrived. She brought Selena with her as she entered the house. Wearing a sexy one-piece dress and sporting a dolled-up appearance with red lipstick and blown-out hair, she sashayed into the living room.


    Having spent the entire morning getting ready to make me go crazy, she froze in ce when she saw me shirtless, tanned, and glistening, her eyes going wide.


    I brightened up as I turned to her and said, "Oh Tay Tay. You''re reallyte."


    Taylor snapped back to reality at the sound of my voice and said haughtily, "I''ve been busy."


    "It''s fine." I stood up from the chair and greeted Selena, "Hey, Selena." As I walked closer to Taylor, her eyes lit up in anticipation. I stopped in front of her and removed my sunsses, checking her out. "You look great," Iplimented, which was exactly what she was expecting.


    Taylor felt a bit smug and snickered to herself. "Thanks. You too." We exchanged smiles and slightughter for a moment, and I noticed her cheeks flush red.


    "Um, I''m still here," Selena chimed in, trying to assert her presence.


    I turned to her and said, "Ah... Um, Selena, I didn''t think you''de, to be honest, so I didn''t prepare anything for you. Well, you''re not a part of thepany though, I don''t really have to."


    "Prepare what?" Selena asked in confusion and intrigue. Taylor was a bit confused, "It''s not a massage?"


    I grimaced instantly and said yfully, "There''s no way I''m going to massage every single one of them. The girls are still within consideration, though."


    "Whore��cough Sorry, there''s something in my throat," Taylor said, feigning a cough. I ignored her and walked towards the goody bag.


    "Thepany benefit you''re talking about is inside the ten-dor gift bag from Target?" Selena asked mockingly, disbelief etched on her face.


    "Don''t be ridiculous. It''s only a dor," I corrected her. "But inside it... it''s worth millions."


    "Millions?" Selena''s eyes lit up before she suddenly recoiled. "Wait, this isn''t one of those centa things, is it?"


    "Ew. No." I grabbed a bag from the table and showed it to the girls. "First of all, these are face masks." I pulled out three masks and added, "They work wonders on sun damage and will give you soft, stic skin. I don''t want to exin much; you''ll see when you try them."


    Taylor looked disappointed with the reveal. She even ced her hands on her hips as she peeked inside the bag. "Anything else?" Selena grabbed the mask excitedly and immediately read the instructionbel on it.


    "Um, I think you are underestimating this mask, but whatever." I shrugged and took out some supplementary pills, body lotion, and bath bombs. The pills consist of simple detoxification, hormone regtion, muscle and bone supplement.


    In one of my gacha pulls, I got ten pill recipes from the Nameless Alchemist, and I managed to break down seven of them: the detoxification pill, hormone regtion pill, bone strengthening pill, muscle strengthening pill, wless skin pill, and internal organ pill.


    From the detoxification pills, I created an anti-dependency drug for Vanessa. Using the hormone regtion pill, I developed a lupus treatment for Selena. The masks, lotions, and bath bombs included in the goody bag were derived from the wless skin form.


    While I couldn''t replicate the original forms 100%��most of the ingredients were otherworldly��I sessfully recreated the chemicalpounds of several. My versions only had about 5% of the effects the original pills were supposed to deliver, but that small percentage worked wonders.


    For example, the face mask had remarkable results. People over 40 who used it appeared a decade younger, with visibly shrunk pores and significant repair to sun damage.


    My test subjects, Frankie and Alexandria�C Jenna''s mom, experienced dramatic transformations after using these products. Small scars from zits, freckles, and other skin imperfections all disappeared after their third use.


    The bone and muscle strengthening pills proved equally effective for the sailors on the ship. Their chronic back pain and arthritis significantly improved, allowing them to work harder. I swear I wasn''t aiming for that, but it was still a good thing.


    Ryan took the muscle and bone pills on the spot, eager for relief from his prolonged back pain from weightlifting. I wasn''t sure why he trusted me so much, considering I was offering him drugs of ambiguous origin, but it all worked out nicely.


    The muscle pills also aided ligament repair, helping the older guys regain the spring in their steps. I could''ve exined the benefits to Selena and Taylor like I did for the others, but I didn''t want to.


    "Anyways, there are instructions in there. You can read them when you get back," I said curtly as I handed the bag to Taylor. Her brows furrowed, and she sniped, "What''s with the attitude? You didn''t even want me here!"


    "First of all, you guys arete," I replied sassily. "I have to get to the film set in half an hour. Secondly, you''re dressed way too cute for me to think straight. So I''ll have to kick you out of here, capisce?"


    Taylor was ttered, and her dissatisfaction melted away. Selena gazed at the goody bags and pointed, "There are still three more. Can''t I take one?"


    "It''s for Vanessa, Maggie, and Miss Daddario. They''re for people working for me, even temporarily," I teased.


    Selena raised her hand and said, "I can be an extra in your movie if you give me one."


    Taylor looked at her, bewildered. "What are you doing?"


    Selena ignored Taylor and hugged my arm. "I want one!" Taylor, rmed, quickly pried Selena away from me. Just then, Miss Daddario entered the house with an unexpected visitor��Gloria.


    "H, h~!" Gloria announced herself loudly as she walked toward me. "I''m here!"


    I widened my eyes slightly at her arrival. "Gloria, what are you doing here?" Daddario waspletely overshadowed by Gloria, her eyes darting around nervously as she approached me.


    "For lunch with Frankie!" Gloria said cheerily. "Ay, what are you guys doing?" She teased, noticing the awkward position Taylor, Selena, and I were in. Gloria was intrigued by the beauty products, having overheard my exnation to Miss Daddario. Taylor''s dissatisfaction grew as she realized I had exined everything to Daddario but not to her.


    "She has the courtesy to inform me she''s going to bete, unlike a certain someone," I was about to tease Taylor when Robin suddenly sounded the rm.


    "What?" I turned to the TV immediately, as it was Robin''s procedure to show everything there instead of using holograms when people were inside the house.


    It was footage from the front of the house. Agent Walker and Agent Casey stood at the door, blood sttered across their clothes.


    Sarah had a deep cut on her forehead, causing blood to flow down the left side of her face. Casey grimaced, revealing a severe wound on his leg where he had been shot by a shotgun.


    "Oh shit." I cursed before I ran to the front door to help them. Frankie saw it and immediately shouted, "Ed! What''s going on? Who''re these guys?'' I help carried Casey inside the house andid him down on the couch. The blood from his leg stained the floor, which made it look like a scene from a horror movie.


    "He lost a lot of blood." I told Sarah. "Why are you guys here?"


    Sarah panted heavily and replied, "We were hunted down by a team of ck ops when we were transporting the ck box to you. Casey got shot trying to protect me."


    "Where''s the box? Give him the box!" Casey grumbled, mission was the only thing in his mind even though he was on the brink of death. I cut off his pants and checked the wound, "You have a partially ruptured artery. You''ll die if you don''t get surgery."


    Sarah immediately turned to Casey, "We need to get you to the hospital now."


    "NO!" Casey grunted as he stopped Sarah. "Newgate, you need to decrypt the password on that file immediately. The fate of the entire country rest on your hand."


    "What do you mean? What''s happening?" I asked with a slight urgency. Robin suddenly turned on the news.


    The reporter on the TV stood in front of the White House as she reported, [" What we''re witnessing today is nothing short of a national crisis. Just moments ago, armed assants breached the security perimeter of the White House, taking control of the premises and holding hostages inside."]


    The screen cuts to aerial footage of the White House, smoke rising and sirens wailing in the background. The camera shakes as it captures frantic scenes of security personnel rushing to the scene.


    ["The situation escted rapidly. Reports indicate that several gunmen entered through the front gates, overpowering Secret Service agents in the process. Eyewitnesses describe a scene of chaos��gunfire, explosions, and panic as staff and visitors attempted to flee."]


    The footage shifts to terrified civilians running from the building, some stumbling as they escape.


    ["Sources confirm that the President and key officials are currently inside the White House, and their safety is our top concern. Security teams are working tirelessly to regain control, but reports suggest that the assants have taken strategic positions throughout the building."]


    "Shit, it''s White House Down," I mumbled as I understood the situation.


    Casey suddenly shrieked, "Newgate. Ignore me and decrypt the password now. In your hand is the only thing that can save the President of the United States��"


    "Shut up. I got it," I interjected, cutting him off before he could finish. "But you''re going to die if this continues. Sarah, go to the basement and create a clean room. I have everything down there. Frankie, can you help Sarah? You''ll need to prepare for surgery. Robin will guide you on what to do."


    I turned to the others, who wore terrified expressions. "I''m sorry for this, girls, but can anyone help me clean up the blood on the floor? I''m pretty sure someone will pay us a visit, and I don''t want to be caught with my pants down."


    "I''ll clean it up," my dad said, emerging from another room in his captain''s uniform. He loosened his tie and added, "Ed, you''re going to exin to me what exactly is going on after we get through this."


    "Alright," I replied, turning back to the girls. "Gloria, we need a distraction."


    "Me? ...Okay!" Gloria agreed eagerly. "What do you want me to do?"


    "Wear an itsy bitsy bikini and go sunbathe. Daddario, can you do it too?"


    "What?" Both Daddario and Gloria looked bewildered. Selena and Taylor exchanged nces, caught off guard by the request. Selena offered her help in exchange for one of the goody bags, while Taylor remained silent, her expression a mixture of confusion and disbelief.


    Just then, Vader ran toward me, purring and rubbing against my leg, trying to offer somefort. I reached into my pocket and swallowed two more anti-anxiety pills, feeling a surge of determination ignite within me.


    "Robin, they''re going to track the agents. I need you to do this��"


    ...


    [General POV]


    "Do you have any clues on the whereabouts of the agents?" a stern-looking agent barked as he stepped out of a ck SUV.


    "No, sir. We lost track of them," his subordinate replied gruffly. "We''re scouring the area and checking potential locations, but it''ll take some time."


    "What about Newgate?" the agent pressed. "They''re definitely going to reach out to him for help. Not many people in the world can solve the Rubicon."


    Just then, a ck helicopter flew overhead, circling Edward''s house. Agents inside used binocrs to scrutinize the scene below, but one agent''s gaze was immediately drawn to a woman suntanning by the pool.


    "Anything to report?" another agent asked as he activated an infrared scanner, scanning the house for heat signatures. "Nothing except I''ve interfered with the goddesses'' fun time."


    The faint outlines of bodies appeared on the screen, revealing movement inside the residence. "We''ve got heat sources," The infrared agent said, eyes narrowing. "Looks like there are at least three people in there, but theyout is unclear."


    Those three heat signatures were only from Maggie, Selena and Taylor who were sitting in the living room. The scans couldn''t prate deep enough to get to the basement.


    "Keep a close watch on those signatures," the lead agent ordered, his expression hardening. "We need to make sure those agents don''te here. Otherwise...we might have to kill everyone inside."


    (This arc only has 3 Chapters. I won''t drag them out. Just want to do a blockbuster like thing for the 300th Chapter.


    Seriously, how did we even got to 300th Chapter when we''re still not even halfway through season 1 of Modern Family Lol.


    For those who enjoyed this story so far, do consider supporting me on Patreon. Even a month of support would mean so much to me.


    you can support me at patreon./ relifewithkarmicgacha minus the spaces. )

 Chapter 301: White House Down

    <h4>Chapter 301: Chapter 301: White House Down</h4>


    [General POV]


    "I have to warn you, I have the knowledge, but this''ll be my first surgery��ever," Edward muttered casually as he slipped on a pair of gloves and donned a surgeon''s gown. He even wore a hair cover.


    Edward first hooked up a blood pack to counter Casey''s blood loss, then grabbed the portable X-ray machine to scan Casey''s leg. The images revealed several bullets lodged inside, and as he expected, the artery was partially ruptured.


    The room was meticulously organized, with surgical instruments neatly arranged on a tray beside him. A bright overheadmp illuminated the surgical bed, where Caseyy, his face pale and sweat glistening on his forehead. The surgical area was constructed using stic covers, ensuring a sterile environment before Edward even brought Casey inside.


    "Are you sure you can do it?" Sarah Walker asked worriedly, standing just outside the room. Edward already dealt with the cut on her forehead, so her bleeding had stopped. Then, he stered a cute cat bandage on her head.


    Casey chuckled, his voice strained but lighthearted. "Heh~ He already has everything you need for a surgery, kid. You''re even better prepared than some hospitals. But remember, if ites down to saving me or decrypting that thing, you know what to choose, right?"


    Edward ignored him, focusing intently on the task ahead. "The surgery will take at least an hour, assuming noplications arise. This will be off the books, so make sure it doesn''te back to bite meter." He negotiated, injecting anesthetic into Casey''s body, using a primitive method to knock him out since there was no anesthesiologist present.


    Casey nodded, his voice growing delirious. "Don''t worry. Technically, I don''t even exist in this world. If I die, just throw my body into the ocean."


    "That''ll just pollute the ocean. It''s dirty enough already." Edward checked Casey''s vitals on the monitor before sterilizing the wound. "


    Sarah, have you connected the cube to the central processor?" he asked, making a straight incision on Casey''s leg. Blood spurted onto his medical gown, but Edward didn''t even flinch.


    Incredibly worried, Sarah replied quickly, "It''s decrypting. You just need to focus on the surgery"


    Edward had mentioned earlier that he wrote a program for this, but the actual decryption was being handled by Robin, who was working diligently to crack the code.


    "I know~I know." Edward said dismissively. Sarah had seconds thought about the whole thing and mumbled, "Maybe this is a bad idea."


    "A miniscule chance to live if he did this surgery with me, 100% chance of death if he went to a hospital. Even if this is a bad idea, you don''t really have a choice."


    Sarah also understood the situation but she couldn''t help but make a small request, "Maybe you shouldn''t talk while doing this?"


    "I wear a face mask. It''ll be fine."


    "That''s not what I was worried about." Sarah replied defeatedly.


    As Edward continued with the surgery, he was thoroughly impressed with his own skills. In a matter of minutes, he removed five bullet shards from Agent Casey''s leg. Even Agent Sarah was entranced by the skillful procedure unfolding.


    <i>''I think I underestimated my abilities''</i>, Edward thought to himself as he searched for the ruptured artery.


    ''<i>Kuroo Hazama... I never considered it before, but isn''t he the miracle doctor from the ck Jack manga? I didn''t think much on those emergency first aid skills, but it''s already enough to handle aplicated surgery</i>.''


    With precise movements, he tied off the partially ruptured artery to control the bleeding, ensuring that blood flow to the surrounding tissues remained intact before sealing the incision with stitches. It took no longer than 45 minutes for him toplete the surgery, alone.


    "Call me the miracle doctor, ck Jack from now on Sarah." Edward chuckled as he finished stitching Agent Casey''s leg.


    "It''s done?" Sarah widened her eyes in horror. "Are you sure you did it right?" She asked skeptically and with concern.


    Edward scoffed and gave her a stink eye, "It''s done. The bleeding has stopped. While he won''t be able to use his legs normally for a few months as he undergoes physical therapy, he will regain full mobility and be able to walk normally again... I think."


    "YOU THINK!?" Sarah eximed, frazzled. Edward chuckled as he removed his mask. "You can pray for his health if you want, but you also need to do your job. You have to get the files to the right ce after they''re unlocked, don''t you?"


    Meanwhile, the helicopter monitoring the house captured a yful scene: Selena and Maggie were using sofa cushions to hit each other and running toward the cliff edge.


    Maggie teased Selena from a distance just as Selena threw a pillow at her, missing and sending it plummeting into the sea. Both girls perched on the balcony, gazing at the lost cushion in disbelief, before Maggie tossed her own cushion overboard. Theirughter echoed as they headed back inside.


    "This is quite risky," Frankie muttered, turning to Ted. As Maggie and Selena entered the living room, they gave him a thumbs-up.


    Ted noted their sess and exined to Frankie, "It''s easier to say they tossed it in the ocean in a moment of excitement than to hide it. It might raise suspicions, but at least there''s an exnation."


    Maggie shot Ted a disbelieving look, scolding him, "Now I see where Ed gets his smug, ''smarter-than-thou'' attitude."


    Selena, looking worried, asked, "Will I get in trouble for this?"


    "No. We''ll arrange transport for you to get away," Frankie replied. "They''ll be here soon, but we need to wait for the perfect moment for you to leave."


    "Why?" Selena questioned. Ted responded, "Because everyone will be glued to the TV during this historic event. Right now, we can y it off as if we didn''t know anything was happening, but we need to act like ordinary people would."


    "Right now?" Maggie asked, slightly confused.


    "Yeah, right now. Frankie will pretend she just turned on the TV. We need everyone to focus on it when the momentes. Call the others sunbathing, too, in an urgent manner. Typically, they use infrared sensors to monitor what''s happening inside a target''s house, so we have to y our parts well."


    With a solid n in ce, Edward remained focused on the surgery, while Ted took charge of everything else. Everyone knew their roles, creating the illusion that they had just realized what was happening in the country.


    "Damn, the babes have left," one of the agents grumbled as Gloria and Daddario entered the house. "Anything unusual?" he asked his partner, who was monitoring the infrared scan.


    "Nothing out of the ordinary. They seem to be aware of what''s happening. I can''t make out the male in the living room��it could be the dad or the son," the partner replied, his expression serious. "They look pretty frazzled, and a few of them are on the phone. Can we tap into that conversation?"


    "Negative. Newgate''s house blocks all espionage efforts. We can only rely on visual surveince," his partner responded, frustration evident in his voice.


    ...


    (A/N: ''<i>White House Down''</i> movie as a reference for this. I do not know anything about how the White House works lol)


    -White House-


    As chaos erupted around the White House, John Cale''s heart raced. The man who looked like Channing Tatum hade to this ce for an interview to be a Secret Service agent, eager to show his daughter, Emily, the White House in the process. He had brought her along for the trip, but now he couldn''t find her.


    Panic wed at him as he rushed down the corridor, ncing at the fallen Secret Service agents.


    Who could have imagined such a calcted, ruthless assault on the very institution that symbolized democracy and security for the country? This was not just an attack on the White House; it was an assault on everything they believed in.


    Suddenly, John mistakenly entered the wrong corridor, where two heavily armed men stood guard. "Oh shit!" he eximed, turning on his heel to flee. The mercenaries shouted, "YOU! STOP!"


    As they aimed their guns, bullets tore through the walls, shattering ornaments and narrowly missing him. John seized a firearm from the body of a fallen Secret Service agent, but it jammed in his hands just as the mercenaries closed in. It was toote.


    "Identify yourself!" one mercenary barked. They had dispatched the agents but were keeping the tourists as hostages. John''s status was just that��a tourist caught in the chaos.


    "I''m, I''m part of the group," he stammered, raising his hands slowly.


    "You''re pretty agile for a citizen," the mercenary replied skeptically.


    "Just kill him. Why do you even care who he is?" the other mercenary said, his tone casual as he aimed his gun at Cale.


    Just when John thought everything was over, a ck cape fluttered in front of him. He widened his eyes in disbelief, unable toprehend what he was seeing.


    The President aimed a gun at the mercenaries from behind them and opened fire.


    Bang! Bang!


    The bullets struck their heads, and their corpses fell limply to the ground.


    "Sir, how are you still alive?" John Cale muttered incredulously as the President dispatched the threat.


    President Obama smiled slightly and said, "Practice."


    He maintained hisposure, using his velvety voice to exin, "After the first assassination attempt, which I survived only by divine intervention, I realized that fate would only save me once. I needed to take my safety into my own hands."


    "That bombing?" John asked, recalling the event where people hailed him as invulnerable.


    The President waved off the question. "We should change our location. The others will be here soon." However, he didn''t fully reveal how he had managed to stay alive until now.


    Underneath his suit, there was ayer of protection: a tight-fitting ck suit made from bulletproof and heat-resistant materials. He had been shot at a few times already, and that suit was what had saved him.


    A custom order was made for the protection after he saw the creator using it to create a Batman suit for Halloween. If the Secret Service rules weren''t so restrictive, he would''ve bought a lot more things from Newgate.


    "I apologize, Cale. I brought this upon us. This...Civil war, this only happens because I want the best for the citizens." The President said in an apologetic manner. ""I''m very sorry to implicate you and your daughter in this."


    Without the confirmation of the President''s dead or alive status, the bureaucracy had to move on to the next person in line. This meant activating the chain ofmand, which typically ces the Vice President in charge during such emergencies.


    With the potential for chaos looming, they had to ensure that leadership remained intact and that decisions could be made swiftly to maintain national security.


    Skip Tyler, a megalomaniac hacker, was trying to ess Norad from the White House''sputer room. The man was wanted for attempting to send a missile to Apple headquarters over their music sharing policy.


    He had been ordered to kill only one target��the Vice President��after the VP was sworn in as President. This was the only way to ensure that the position would pass to the mastermind behind the attack.


    However, Skip had something else in mind. "You''re trying to be better than me? Huh? You may have a defensive firewall that I cannot crack, but when I send the missile to your house, we''ll know who''s the better genius between the two of us. Fucking Newgate."


    Time estimated before he broke through Norad''s system; 30 minutes.


    ...


    "They are throwing the evidence into the sea. Prepare a team to breach the house. I''ll be there in five minutes," Agent Wainwright, the CIA team leader, said as he sped up the car toward Edward''s mansion after receiving the urgent report.


    Soon, two ck SUVs pulled into the driveway, and seven men, equipped with guns and bulletproof vests, swiftly breached the house. The door was unlocked, making their entry easier.


    When Agent Wainwright entered the living room, he halted abruptly at the sight of Edward, casually in short pants and an open robe, crunching on Doritos from a bag in front of him.


    "Huh? Who are you guys?" Edward asked, rm briefly shing across his face, but it rxed as he noticed their badges. Agent Wainwright caught the subtle change in Edward''s expression, leading to his confusion.


    "Agent Wainwright, CIA," he announced, pulling out his badge. Edwardughed dryly, "Is this about what I did? Come on, I didn''t do anything worse than what others are doing. One could argue I''m a patriot, betting on the country''s fate."


    "And what exactly are you doing now, Mr. Newgate?" Agent Wainwright asked, gripping his gun tightly. Noticing this, Edward raised his hands defensively, "Whoa, whoa. I''m just trading. Go bother those on Wall Street. My trade volume is minusculepared to theirs."


    "Trade?" the African American agent beside him asked, puzzled.


    "Is that not it?" Edward replied, equally confused.


    "What exactly have you done?" Agent Wainwright pressed sternly, though his grip rxed slightly.


    Edward smirked, casual and unfazed, "Alright. It''s a bit opportunistic, but I pumped $500 million into the stock market to benefit from the tragedy. If Wall Street can do it, why shouldn''t I?"


    He kept his exnation vague and to the point. It wasn''t umon to benefit from chaos; traders had profited from events like 9/11 or the 2008 crash��those with the insight, at least.


    Agent Wainwright quickly checked Edward''s statement and found it true. He holstered his gun and said calmly, "That may be exploitative, but it''s not illegal. Unfortunately, we didn''te here for that."


    "Then why are you here, Agent Wainwright��" Edward stepped closer, admiringly gazing at him, "Gosh, ''Wainwright.'' Your face and name sound like you''re the main character in a detective novel. Though, being CIA, your name might not be your real name."


    Wainwright maintained his poker face, continuing, "We have credible information that you''re the target of two rogue agents who have escaped with highly ssified information. If it got out, it would be incredibly damaging to the country��"


    "Do you want some Doritos, Agent Wainwright?" Edward suddenly interjected, opening his bag of chips and munching loudly. Wainwright felt a flicker of disgust but carried on, "We''re creating a perimeter around this mansion to ensure no one gets inside."


    "And no one can get outside too, am I right?" Edward guessed with a mischievous smile. The agent was perplexed, realizing that Edward was enjoying the situation.


    Agent Wainwright looked into the sofa direction, and his nose smells the cleaning chemical left by Ted cleaning up Agent Casey''s blood. " Was someone injured?" He asked Edward, his gaze piercing.


    Edward didn''t even flinch and said, "How did you know? Yeah, it''s me." Edward showed his bandaged barefoot, which still has blood marks on it. "Selena crashed some tes, and I stepped on the broken ss." He exined it simply.


    It wasn''t fake blood. To ensure the story was genuine, he actually stepped on a broken piece of ss. There were ss shards in the trash can, even tissues with his blood on it inside.


    Two agents went to confirm Edward''s story, and it all checked out. However, Agent Wainwright was still skeptical. "Mind if we look around?" He asked.


    Ted, who was hiding with Agent Casey and Agent Sarah, gulped his saliva as he heard the conversation. Edward waved his hand dismissively and said, "Not at all. Mi casa en su casa. You can look around if you want. Just don''t touch anything. Most of my stuff is expensive. Also, take off your shoes. I don''t want you to track dirt in my home."


    Edward suddenly turned to the group of girls, most of whom looked horrified as they saw the agents andforted them, "Don''t worry. He''s one of the good guys."


    As the agents split up and went to search the house, Edward stayed behind with Agent Wainwright. He suddenly whispered to him, "Any idea when this will all die down?"


    "We''re working on it." Agent Wainwright replied casually. From all of Edward''s reaction, he could sense that the ''rogue'' agents hadn''t contacted him yet, nor he knew what was going on in the background. However, he still has a nagging feeling that something was amiss.


    "You seem chipper for a citizen who''s watching his country in tragedy," Agent Wainwright said, his tone instigative. Edward chuckled, turning to the agent and speaking in a low voice, "I know this is a tragedy and all, but I''m actually quite excited about the prospect."


    "What prospect?" the agent asked, raising an eyebrow.


    Just then, Gloria walked toward them, intending to ask a question when she identally overheard Edward''s words.


    "You''re such a naive Agent Wainwright. Don''t you know what happens when these things settle down? Let me tell you about it." He wrapped an arm around the agent, leaning in conspiratorially. "After 9/11, do you know what people did? They hooked up."


    "What?" The agent was incredulous.


    Edward nodded, enthusiasm spilling over. "Yeah. They hooked up. There''s something about tragedy and death that makes people... well, you know... horny. Right now, I''m the only man in a house full of gorgeous, famous, enchanting women. By the time this is over, I''d have probably slept with all of them��"


    "EDWARD!" Gloria shouted suddenly, grabbing his ear and pulling him upward. "OW��OW��OW! Gloria��"


    "You disgusting pig!" she scolded. "I can''t believe you!"


    "What happened? What did he do?" Taylor asked, a smirk creeping onto her face.


    "No, don''t tell them��" Edward begged, but Gloria turned to the girls and revealed his n. Gasps of disbelief filled the room.


    Selena stepped forward and pped him across the face. "People are fighting for their lives, and all you can think about is sleeping with us? You make me sick!"


    "Me too," Taylor added, delivering her own p. Daddario, Selena, and Maggie all walked toward the door, disappointment etched on their faces.


    Edward knew that they were afraid; to be part of the conspiracy and even helping, that''s why he stood in the front, facing the agents himself. If anything goes wrong, he can use the protection spell he has to protect everyone. Robin could also handle the threat within seconds if it was necessary.


    "Wait, girls! Where are you going? Alex, you said you wanted me to show you what I can do with the Doritos! Girls? Girls?... Come back!" Edward pleaded, but they ignored him. Agent Wainwright tried to intervene, but seeing the angry expressions on the girls'' faces, he stepped aside. The target was only Newgate, after all.


    "Um, don''t forget your goody bags!" Edward called out apologetically. He turned to the agent with a slightly dissatisfied expression. "Damn it, man. You sold me out."


    "I didn''t even do anything," the agent retorted in disbelief.


    "The house is clear," another agent announced after finishing his search. The basement Edward used was hidden by a concealed door, so they hadn''t found the agents hiding there. Edward plopped down on the couch, grumbling as he stared at the TV.


    A few moments passed before Edward, looking annoyed, asked, "Now that you''ve ruined my party, you''re sure the agents wille here, right? I hate to think my ''sacrifice'' was worthless."


    Just then, Agent Wainwright received a phone call. "Hello, what do you have for me?"


    The technical agent responded, "We have a facial recognition ping. Sarah Walker was stopped at a pharmaceutical store in East Burbank. She bought a few bandages and an emergency first aid kit."


    Wainwright turned to his team, urgency etched on his face. "Two of you stay here. Everyone else,e with me." Even the helicopter team left as East Burbank was 2 hours away. They realized that they had made a mistake, but agent Wainwright still wanted to cover every bases.


    "Wait! For real? You''re leaving now!?" Edward shouted, disbelief and anger boiling over. "Fucking hell!" He cursed, his dissatisfaction evident. "Why the hell were you even here!?"


    The two agents exchanged ufortable nces at Edward''s outburst. He continued cursing as he approached them, "I could''ve been drowning in boobs. Instead, all I get is a sausage fest!"


    "Sir, for your safety��" the African American agent tried to calm him down, but he didn''t expect Edward to retaliate. In a swift motion, Edward stabbed the bald agent with a poisoned needle, targeting his neck. The sharp needle prated his throat and he took a step back as he gurgled in his own blood.


    The African American agent quickly pointed his gun at Edward, but before he could fully aim, Edward kicked the back of his knees, bringing him down. He then delivered heavy punches to the agent''s face, disarming him momentarily.


    As the agent struggled, Edward stabbed his arm with a scalpel, forcing him to drop the gun. Before the agent could cry out, Edwardnded another punch, knocking him out cold. The first agenty paralyzed from the poison, while the second was left unconscious on the floor.


    Edward straightened up, breathing heavily, and nced around to ensure his surroundings were clear.


    Once they were gone, Edward''s childish tantrum shifted into a cold demeanor."Both of them actually pped me." He contacted Robin and said, "They are out."


    Sarah and Ted came out of hiding and immediately went to the living room.


    "Where''s the Rubicon?" Sarah asked anxiously.


    Edward shrugged, a yful glint in his eye. "Who knows?"


    "Ed," Ted called, trying to get him to take the situation seriously.


    Edward smiled and shrugged. "I''m just ying." He pulled out a small ck cube, tossing it to Sarah. "Here. How you''re going to get that to D.C., I have no idea. But my part is done."


    (For those who enjoyed this story so far, do consider supporting me on Patreon. Even a month of support would mean so much to me.


    you can support me at patreon./ relifewithkarmicgacha minus the spaces.)

 Chapter 302: Burning.

    <h4>Chapter 302: Chapter 302: Burning.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    After the agents were knocked out, Sarah took Casey and the hostile agents with her, borrowing my dad''s Lexus to drive to a secure location.


    I crouched near the bloodstains on the floor, watching as they dried and seeped into the wood. Blood was also sttered on the walls, slowly flowing down, staining white wall in its path.


    My dad walked beside me, hands on his waist, and sighed. "Don''t worry, Ed. You didn''t do anything wrong��"


    "Do you think the blood can be cleaned uppletely?" I interrupted, focusing on the stains.


    If he thought I regretted my actions, he couldn''t be more wrong. I hadn''t killed any agents. I''d given them emergency first aid to prevent blood loss before tranquilizing them to ensure they wouldn''t wake up during transport. I even provided the poisoned agent with an antidote.


    Startled, my dad nced at me, then at the bloodstains. "It can be cleaned."


    "I just think there''s too much blood in the house," I muttered, standing up to face him. "I''m already feeling quite detached from this ce."


    With all the blood��Casey''s, my faked blood, and the agents''��I felt mentally checked out, revolted even. My body physically rejected being in this ce. Maybe it was my OCD, maybe it''s because I was tired.


    "You want to move again?" My dad asked, a hint of worry in his voice.


    I shrugged and replied with a nk face, "It was... fun here. We could find another ce by the beach, preferably not on a cliff. It''s no fun not being able to swim or surf."


    My dad sighed helplessly. "Alright. We can look for another ce after this. For now, it''s best to hide until the situation settles."


    I exined the Rubicon and my concerns about the agents. He understood the danger we were in and didn''t me my choices��in fact, he supported them.


    "I know," I replied curtly. "I already called the ship crews," I added, surprising him.


    Suddenly, Dwayne, Glenn, Dina, and the other veterans entered the living room one by one.


    Dina, licking her knife in a bloodthirsty manner, asked, "Who do you want us to kill?" Glenn cocked his double desert eagle, and Dwayne tied a headband on his head, wearing a tank top that revealed his marine tattoo while cocking a shotgun.


    "The storage boxes are in the garage," I said casually, breaking the serious atmosphere. "I need to transport some radioactive material to ab in Pasadena to save a girl''s life. I also need you guys to keep my servers until I find another home."


    "Ed, you already nned to move out?" My dad asked, a hint of sadness on his face. I realized he had started to see this ce as home.


    "I had to," I said decisively. "Dad, can you take care of them for me? Even if the situation settles down, I need toy low for a few days.


    "Ohe on! I never get to fight properly!" Dinained. The muscr woman pouted and pointed her finger at me, "Thest time too. I only get to threaten people. Let me fight!"


    "Well, I can find out if there''s any underground fighting ring around here�C" Dwayne tried to help, but my dad stopped him immediately, "No. Dina. Stopining. We need to move quickly before Agent Wainwright realizes that he had been tricked."


    "Who''s Agent Wainwright? Can I fight him?" Dina asked excitedly.


    "If hees back, then... sure." I replied honestly. While the others were packing up my stuff from theb, I stood facing the ocean from the living room, and held a microphone in my hand.


    "Robin, y track 74." I muttered. "I feel like this song is appropriate for this moment."


    Robin replied cheerily, "Sure Edward."


    ??????????


    [Matt Maltese�C As The World Caves In]


    As I looked over the ocean, I began to sing softly, karaoke style, <i>"?? My feet are aching... And your back is pretty tired... And we''ve drunk a couple bottles, babe... And set our grief aside ??"</i>


    "What the hell is he doing?" Dwayne muttered in disbelief as he helped Glenn lift the heavy, radioactive container. Glenn grumbled, "He''s being melodramatic. Who wouldn''t? Move! THIS IS HEAVY!"


    I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of the lyrics, clenching my left hand into a fist as I swayed slightly, "<i>?? The papers say it''s doomsday, The button has been pressed... We''re gonna nuke each other up, boys, ''Til old Satan stands impressed... ??"</i>


    "Ed. Pack up," my dad scolded, but I couldn''t stop.


    With a powerful voice that resonated through the empty mansion, I sang, <i>"?? And here it is, our final night alive... And as the earth burns to the ground!! ??</i>"


    "??<i> Oh, girl, it''s </i><strong><i>youuuuuu</i></strong><i> that I lie with, As the </i><strong><i>aaatom </i></strong><i>bomb locks in, Oh, it''s </i><strong><i>youuuuu</i></strong><i> I watch TV with, As the </i><strong><i>world</i></strong><i>, as the </i><strong><i>world</i></strong><i> caves in </i>??"


    Without me noticing, everyone around had paused, their work forgotten, as they turned to stare. I continued singing, my back to them, lost in the moment. The veterans who had participated in wars before, were all captivated by the song.


    "<i>??You put your finest suit on... I paint my fingernails </i>??" I turned back and saw they weren''t working, so I furrowed my gaze and reminded them, "We don''t have much time, people."


    "Oh right." Everyone mumbled before they continued packing.


    Without missing a beat, I continued singing while making my way to the kitchen, " <i>?? Oh, we''re going out in style, babe...And everything''s on sale...??</i>" I took out some pies and cakes out of the fridge and ced them on the box carrying my servers.


    The veterans slowed their steps as they enjoyed the mesmerizing vocal,<i>"?? We creep up on extinction, I pull your arms right in... I weep and say Goodnight, love"...While my organs pack it in...??"</i>


    <i>"??And here it is, our final night alive... And as the earth burns to the ground!!??"</i>


    Once again, my vocals made everyone stop moving and stare. They started to remember the person precious to them, and some even had tears in their eyes.


    " <i>?? </i>Oh, girl, it''s <strong><i>you</i></strong> that I lie with... As the <strong><i>atom</i></strong> bomb locks in... Oh, it''s <strong><i>you</i></strong> I watch TV with... As the <strong><i>world</i></strong>, as the <strong><i>world </i></strong>caves��"


    Dwayne wiped his eyes and mumbled, "Damn it." as he desperately try to keep his tears back.


    With my open robe and shorts short, I stood in front of the ocean again as I sang thest verse, "Oh god, it''s <strong>you</strong>... that I<strong> lie</strong> with...<strong>As the atom bomb locks in...</strong>Yes, it''s you I wee death with...<i>As the world, as the world caves in..."</i>


    I ended the song with a velvety,forting vocals,"<i>??</i>As the world caves in<i>??</i>"


    Before anyone could react, Robin chimed in urgently. Red rms shed in the living room as she informed us, "Sir, two missiles have just beenunched. One of them is heading here. You have 1 minute and 30 seconds to evacuate if you want to escape the st radius."


    "Howrge is the radius?" I asked casually.


    "Enough to take the entire house down, sir," Robin replied.


    "Countermeasures?" I inquired, hoping for a way to avoid destruction.


    "There''s the experimental rifle you''re tinkering with, drone swarms, but none of it is enough to stop the missile. Evacuation is highly rmended," she urged.


    I thought about it for a split second, my brain raced to search for the possibilities of stopping the missile. Then, I suddenly remembered I was going to sell the house anyway.


    "Eh, save me some time. Hope my insurance is worth it," I shrugged before walking to my room.


    "EDWARD! HURRY UP!" my dad shouted urgently. "Just go first! I''m taking the Dodge, and the other seat is taken."


    "I''m not leaving without you!" I insisted.


    "Just go!" he replied, his tone sharp. I paused, my face brightening, "Aww. That''s sweet��"


    "HURRY THE F UP!" He cursed, seeing me dilly-dally. I chuckled and turned back, grabbing myptop and a guitar from my room. The guitar was a gift from Taylor so I had to take it with me. I also stopped by Maggie''s room and saved her childhood teddy, leaving everything else behind.


    "40 seconds left," Robin informed.


    "HURRY!" my dad shouted again. I finally emerged from my room, saying, "Geez. I told you to go first. Vader! Come here, girl!" I crouched down, calling out to Vader, who was sleeping on her cushion.


    Vader stretched and slowly woke up. My dad, impatient, stomped over to Vader, picked her up, and tossed her toward me.


    "20 seconds," Robin chimed in again. "Robin, it''s been wonderful living here, hasn''t it? Now, I''m going to take you to see more beautiful things in the world," I muttered as I took her holographic core from the wall.


    Robin smiled and replied, "I can''t wait, Edward. Do you want me to set up a self-destruct sequence when the missile hits?"


    "You read my mind. Blow everything up."


    Suddenly, I spotted a ck spot moving on the horizon. "Hey look, you can see the missile��" My dad grabbed my arm angrily, pulling me to get moving.


    Fortunately, my house was at the end of the lot, and my neighbors were in Bora-Bora, so their houses were empty. Several cars dashed out of the driveway as we fled the st zone.


    Vader and I, both wearing sunsses, drove casually toward the gate. Both of us were also wearing ear protection. The paparazzi captured my escape in the convertible when suddenly, the missile hit.


    *BOOOM*


    The ground trembled beneath us as the missile struck, a thunderous explosion ripping through the air. I nced back just in time to see our mansion engulfed in a wall of fire and debris.


    The shockwave hit us, sting against the car and sending a huge wave of air towards us. If the mansion itself didn''t act as an explosion barrier, we wouldn''t even made it out of the st. All of us has noise plug on, ensuring our ear''s safety. Even Vader has headphone on.


    A plume of smoke billowed upwards, while the paparazzi yelled in panic, snapping pictures of the explosion without caring about the consequences. Some rushed past the stunned guards, getting closer to the house. In seconds, the mansion was reduced to nothing more than a fiery wreck. The beautiful seaside view was now gone.


    Agent Smith, who was rushing to return to protect me after being recalled by his superior, saw the destruction in front of him as he reached the guardhouse. His face was bloody, there were nick and bruises all over. He had to fight to return there as he too was implicated by the conspiracy.


    His expression immediately became crestfallen as he assumed the worst.


    I noticed Agent Smith driving towards me and waved at him cheerily.


    "Hey~ You''rete~" I shouted in a singy-songy voice from afar. Then, I drove past him and entered the freeway


    Agent Smith was speechless. He tried to turn around and chase, but a crowd quickly formed around the area, blocking him from creating a u-turn.


    At the freeway, I split up from the convoy and spoke to my dad through a phone call, "I''m going to hide out at a friend''s ce. Guard my stuff and deliver that material to only Dr Amy Farrah Fowler, okay?"


    He knew how to locate me, through Robin. Even though the house server was disconnected, Robin was still active through thepany''s server.


    "I''ll drop it off ande to see you immediately." He vowed.


    "Eh, don''te. It''ll be awkward for her if you''re there." I said with a slight cheekiness.


    "You''re going to a girl''s house, at this time?" He muttered in disbelief.


    "I told you, people are going to get horny. I can''t miss that chance." I joked before I said, "You should get with Frankie too. It''s a good chance for me to get a baby brother or sister."


    "You brat�C Stay Safe" My dad understood that I was only ying around and wouldn''t do anything stupid. He trusted me, and I didn''t intend to break that trust.


    The car moved smoothly as there wasn''t any traffic. The country was all tuning into the situation at the White House, no one even noticed my house was gone. Until, a news helicopter flew by to report the situation.


    ...


    [General POV]


    "We''re now <i>live</i> at the scene of the missile attack." A beautiful reporter spoke to the citizens of the country as the helicopter flew by the fiery inferno.


    "Firefighters are trying to contain the raging fire, but the status of the inhabitants of the house are�C I just got some information about the house owner. It belonged to Theodore Newgate, Edward Newgate''s father."


    As she continued reporting, she couldn''t hide the shock on her face. "The status of the beloved teenage popstar is still unknown."


    Edward''s fans were distraught by the news, but just a few minutester, a photo taken by the paparazzi, seconds after the missile hit, where he snapped a picture of Edward and Vader from the front of the car, became viral on social media and the news.


    CNN: "Pop Star Edward Survives Missile Attack on Mansion as Nation Questions President''s Safety"


    BBC News: "Edward''s Escape from Fiery Inferno Raises Eyebrows as President''s Status Remains Uncertain"


    NBC News: "Mansion Attack: Edward Emerges Unscathed While Citizens Await News on President''s Safety"


    There were a lot of questions asking about Edward''s involvement in the country''s crisis too. People were curious to see how he was connected in everything that was going on.


    CNN: "Pop Star Edward Newgate Survives Missile Attack Amidst Terrorist Strike��How Is He Involved ?"


    BBC News: "Edward Newgate Escapes Fiery Inferno as Vice President Falls Victim to Terror��Public Questions Singer''s Role"


    NBC News: "Mansion Attack: Edward Newgate Unscathed While Nation Mourns VP��Investigations Open on Possible Involvement"


    While Edward conquered the headline, another story could''ve broken and shared the limelight, however, it was smothered before it could even have a chance to breathe.


    Emily Cale�C John Cale''s daughter, recorded the bad guys inside the White House and uploaded it to her Entertain Channel where she talked about bureaucracy and history. The video would''ve be viral immediately, garnering her hundreds of millions of views, but Edward''s protocol stopped that from happening.


    Not that he was trying to destroy the girl''s future career, but it would be dangerous for the girl if her identity was reported to the news. The media outlet has no regard for her safety and would''ve exposed her.


    Edward just directed the video to his contacts. It reached Noradmand center safely without needing to endanger the girl''s life. Once the incident is over, then Edward would let the video be published. Emily also has no way of knowing the status of her video as her phone died, so it all worked out.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    I received calls non-stop while I was driving. From Haley, ire, Jay, Mitch and Cam, Enid, Jacob, and every single person that I know and drove to a little cottage house in Pasadena.


    It was a quiet neighborhood, and I parked my car casually in the house''s driveway. Grabbing Vader in my arm, I slugged the sleeping cat on my shoulder, took myptop bag and guitar before walking to the door.


    I knocked on the door three times before the owner opened the door. Sage,wearing a simple white shirt and shorts, blinked twice in confusion as she saw me.


    I grinned and said, "I''m kinda wanted by some bad guys, so can Iy low here for a few hours?"


    Sage grumbled but let me in. "Ugh, don''t make a mess."


    "I wouldn''t." I stepped inside, furrowing my brows at the dozens of boxes scattered around the living room. "Why did you choose my house?"


    "You mean the mystical shelter that doesn''t show up on satellite scans and provides no records when someone searches for it? I''m definitely choosing this ce toy low. AHH~ I can already feel my cortisol level going down." I walked to the couch, slumped onto it, and let out a rxed sigh.


    Still in my robe and shorts, I crossed my legs, revealing my bunny-eared indoor slippers. My dad had pulled me out of the house before I could even put on my shoes.


    "You''re hurt," Sage said, pointing to the bandage on my foot.


    "Oh, that''s nothing. I stepped on some broken ss... on purpose," I replied casually. "Do you have any shirts I can borrow? It''s a bit chilly in just my bathrobe."


    Sage rolled her eyes. "Wait here. I''ll check. Do you want some tea?"


    "That''d be nice. Thank you." I epted her offer readily. She returned with a ck V-cut shirt and a pot of chamomile tea, pouring it while watching an old Spanish telenov instead of the news.


    I looked at her, slightly bewildered. "Sage, do you know what''s happening��"


    "Shhh! Mirabel is about to find out who her true father is." She shushed me, fully engrossed in her show.


    Holding back myughter, I picked up the cup she offered. Her TV was an old CRT model, tapping into freeworks with an antenna that sometimes needed fixing.


    "It''s been over a decade since Ist saw a grainy TV picture. You really are a granny," I teased. During themercial break, she finally turned to me. "What''s happening? Exin."


    "Nothing. Just another terror attack," I replied casually. She epted the exnation as it is, as she wasn''t really interested in current events. To my surprise, Sage told me to ce my hurting leg on the coffee table.


    "I ran out of money buying stuff from TV I don''t need," she said. "I''ll heal it for you for 100 bucks��"


    I shook my head, making her hesitate. "50 bucks?" She offered a discount.


    "No, I meant it''s too low." I reached into myptop bag and pulled out a stack of cash. "Here, 10,000 dors in untraceable cash. It''s payment for giving me shelter."


    I prepared it in case I needed toy low in hotels or any other shelters, but since Sage took me in, it wasn''t necessary anymore. Her house was untraceable. Just like Mrs Henderson''s house. I only knew it because I sent them home before.


    "I''LL TAKE IT!" Sage eximed, grabbing the cash immediately. "I can''t survive in this world on just a teacher''s sry." She waved her hand over my leg, and I felt the wound heal. After I opened the bandage, it confirmed my guess.


    "You''re pretty casual using your ability in your house. Won''t you get in trouble for it?" I looked at her with a slight admiration, but she was already looking back to the tv.


    She waved dismissively. "It''s my sanctuary. I can do whatever I want. Now be quiet. The show''s back."


    Vader jumped onto myp, fully awake now. I stroked her fur as I watched the telenov with Sage, quickly getting absorbed in the drama.


    "Wait, Mirabel is Luisa''s sister, but Luisa is Mariano''s mother? But Mirabel is dating Mariano," I muttered, shocked and intrigued. Time flew by as I immersed myself in the unfolding plot.


    Eventually, the incident that had shaken the country came to an end. Emily rushed out of the White House, waving a g to call off the bomb strike. The President arrested the White House Speaker, revealed to be the mastermind behind everything. The Head of Secret Service, who had betrayed the President, was dead, along with the hacker responsible for the missile strike on my house.


    As the country celebrated, I turned to Robin to check on our financial situation. "What''s our haul?" I asked.


    "We have a 150% profit in the stock exchange, but trading was stopped at 5 PM. We''ll need to wait until tomorrow to calcte the profits," she replied.


    During thest economic crisis, traders in Wall Street�C Micheal Burry, got a 489% profit for the investment fund he managed. 150% were still lowpared to the expert traders on Wall Streets.


    "How about the currency exchange?" I inquired through my mobile. I had entrusted Robin with all the trading, providing her with a fund of $100 million and she created 1,000 ounts for it.


    "I lost $50 million," she informed me.


    I felt a twinge of helplessness. "That''s fine. We can cover the loss through stocks..."


    "But I earned $1.1 billion," she dropped the bombshell, leaving me stunned.


    During the political chaos, she took advantage of her trading speed which no human could match, exploited short-term fluctuations in currency values, taking advantage of assets that drop in value while others rise, and made tremendous profits over that.


    (A/N: Ultron and Jarvis can do it. Moneys are basically just numbers for Ai on that level lol)


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 303: Homeless.

    <h4>Chapter 303: Chapter 303: Homeless.</h4>


    [General POV]


    *Click Click Click Click*


    Non-stop photography filled the air as reporters captured the aftermath of the fire at Edward Newgate''s house. All that remained was a charred remnant, with part of the cliff crumbling away and taking one-third of the house with it.


    One daring journalist broke through the firefighter line, desperate for the perfect shot of the wreckage. He stepped over burned cat toys and dashed past the charred remains of a piano, making his way inside the house. He snapped a few intriguing photos, grinning to himself as he imagined the money they would bring.


    Meanwhile, FBI agents worked swiftly, apprehending a photographer who had crossed the perimeter. They handcuffed him and confiscated his camera.


    "No one gets past the perimeter!" Agent Smith barked at the patrol cop stationed nearby.


    The arrested man struggled, shouting frantically, "There''s a metal surgical bed! There''s a hospital in��"


    Before he could finish, the FBI agent covered his mouth and shoved him into a waiting ck SUV, destined for a ck site. Would he ever see the light of day again? Who knows.


    There was a short investigation open for the case until the President''s representative told the people why Edward''s house was attacked. Of course, the information was heavily manipted.


    Using a live press conference, a government employee stated, "Skip Tyler, a well-known technological terrorist, took advantage of the tragedy tounch a missile at Edward Newgate''s house. The attack was personal, as Skip has repeatedly attempted to breach Newgate''spany website but failed disastrously��"


    They wanted to take no responsibility for it and made it as a personal thing between Edward and the terrorist instead. It was the truth, but they didn''t actually know that and just concocted their own story.


    Before she could finish, the President approached the podium, smiling as he gestured for her to step aside. Leaning in, he whispered, "No, we''re not doing that. I''ll take over now."


    "But sir��" the woman protested, trying to change his mind, but it was futile. The President was resolute. He stood behind the podium, scratches visible on his face from earlier altercations, and smiled at the cameras.


    "Edward Newgate is an American hero," he dered, dropping a bombshell. The reporters were baffled, their questions erupting from behind the President''s security line.


    Undeterred, President Obama continued, "He saved the lives of two federal agents who were being pursued by affiliates of a terrorist organization. Not only did he assist them in their escape, but he also recovered crucial information that has been instrumental in dismantling this threat. The missiles aimed at his home were intended to silence him, but he managed to evade that fate."


    He paused, his gaze steady but there was a cold glint hidden inside his eyes. "I want to assure you all: I have no intention of covering up the truth. We will confront the mastermind behind these attacks. I know who you are, and I promise you, justice will be served. You should say your prayers, because I will being for you soon."


    With that, the President dropped another bombshell and exited without taking questions. All eyes remained on him, shifting the focus away from Edward and helping him slip out of the limelight.


    In Selena''s apartment, the young Latina watched Edward''s Instagram story. The first post showed him escaping the explosion, captioned, "Future Album Cover? Should I use this one or my mugshot?"


    The fans loved Edward''s stories and how he handled the situation. Next Instagram story he posted the President''s article about him, captioned; ''Will I get a medal for this?''


    Selena scoffed, a mix of disdain and amusement flickering across her face at Edward''s self-indulgence. Still, she couldn''t help but smile, relieved to see he still had a sense of humor. She nced at another story��a ck-and-white picture of Vader showing her belly with the caption, "Homeless Couple of Strays."


    Turning to Taylor, who sat quietly absorbed in her phone from a chair across the room, she asked teasingly, "Hey, Ed has no ce to live. Should I offer him to stay here and give him the American Hero treatment?"


    Suddenly, Selena noticed tears streaming down Taylor''s face. rmed, she sat up and retracted her words urgently. "Hey! Don''t cry! I was just messing around!"


    Taylor blinked, finally returning to reality as she turned to Selena. "What? What did you say?"


    "N-Nothing! What''s wrong? Why are you crying?" Selena rushed tofort her, but her question only made Taylor sob harder.


    "He grabbed the guitar I gave him as he escaped," Taylor choked out, her voice high-pitched and trembling as she struggled to hold back her tears. She covered her mouth, squinting her eyes as she whimpered, "But I was so mean to him."


    Since the incident, as the fear faded, Taylor was overwhelmed by guilt. All this time, she thought Edward was milking his abduction for fame, but today, she finally understood��he wasn''t taking advantage of anything; that was just his life.


    Edward lived in danger, and she hated herself for feeling relief at not being part of it. She realized he might have felt the same way when he distanced himself from her.


    Seeing the guitar in the picture made her heart ache. She couldn''t help but cry, thinking about how she treated him and the long-overdue apology she owed him.


    "I need to tell him I''m sorry." She cried as Selena hugged her. However, the apology wasn''t aimed to get him back. For the first time in months, Taylor finally understood why Edward left her...<i>or so she thought.</i>


    Later that night, she decided to set aside the song she wrote for him titled, ''Last Kiss'' and decided to write down another song called, ''Back to September (December)''.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    As I took a shower at Sage''s ce, I started to cook for the both of us. We ate in front of the tv while continuing watching her telenov. When it was finally over, I asked her a question during the end credit.


    "Sage, how did you make this house hidden?"


    Sage turned with a nk expression, "You want to turn your house into a sanctuary too?"


    "Is there a way?" I asked with some expectation. Since I became famous, I couldn''t be at ease in my own house. It felt like it was made of ss. Every single little thing was reported by the tabloid media.


    "Is there a spell or something I should try to get in the next session?" I continued asking. Sage thought about it before she said, "You won''t be able to get it."


    My excitement died down and I replied sadly, "Oh. That''s fine then."


    Sage continued while I slumped back on the couch, "It''s a ritual. I did it myself. I don''t know if there''s something like this on the karmic roulette."


    I immediately leaned towards her and whispered, "Well, then, can you do it to my next ce, or is it not possible?"


    Sage sighed and shrugged, "I cannot interfere with your life."


    "Damn it." I cursed slightly, lowering my head in disappointment. Sage suddenly said after a long pause, "But I''ve been known to bend the rules."


    "Can you not jerk me around and tell me the whole thing?" I retorted with some annoyance. She narrowed her eyes at me and said, "it seem that you don''t want my help-"


    She tried to stand up, but I grabbed her hand immediately, stopping her from walking away, "Wait. I''m sorry. Please stay and tell me."


    "Hmm," She slowly walked down and then thought about it, "If, let''s say if. If you bought a house that already has the sanctuary, then, it''ll not be you who asked me to put that on your house, but, you have great luck, right?"


    Before I could reply, both Sage and I were shocked to see Gong Shin appeared out of knowhere. Sage yelled in horror, and I almost did too, but I realized who he was in a split second.


    "Oh, it''s you." I muttered casually. Sage stopped shouting and ced her hand on her chest, "You scared the shit out of me."


    "Sorry. I can''t find him anywhere, so I wanted to ask if you knew. Turns out he''s here," Gong Shin said, adjusting his suit. He suddenly fixed his gaze on me. "Edward, did you blow up your own house and mask it as a missile attack?"


    "Huh? No," I replied, slightly confused.


    "Did you n it out with the terrorists to get the insurance payout?" he pressed.


    Befuddled, I asked, "Why are you asking me this?"


    "Oh, I''m Sage''s supervisor, and while I''m in this world, I''m an insurance fraud investigator." He pulled a card from his suit and handed it to me.


    I was speechless for a moment, finally breaking the silence. "If you have any questions, you can speak with awyer."


    "Hmm, sounds like something a person with a guilty conscience would say." He narrowed his eyes slightly, then smiled. "Alright. Enough mortal talk. I have to warn you: you can only stay here for a day. I know it''s tough and you need shelter, so I won''t kick you out in the middle of the night. But by tomorrow, you need to go."


    Sage scoffed disdainfully. "Are you kicking him out because it''s the rules or because you''re jealous?"


    "I''m not jealous he''s spending time with an old granny," Gong Shin shot back. Sage stared at him in disbelief for a moment before retorting, "You''re eons older than me."


    As I listened to their banter, I said, "I don''t n to stay long. I''ll be out by tomorrow."


    "Good. Now, if you''ll excuse me, I have a fraud case to investigate." He adjusted his suit again and vanished. I turned to Sage, still in disbelief, and asked, "Is there anything going on between you two that I should know about?"


    "No," she replied curtly. "You should get some rest." She stood up and walked to her room, returning with a nket and pillow for me to sleep on the couch. Her house only had one bed, after all.


    As Iy down, she left again to go to sleep. I grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "I''ll give you a list of the houses I might buyter."


    "Done. What about my remuneration?" she asked.


    "What do you want?"


    "Hmm, I like shopping," she mumbled. "I''ll give you a credit card with unlimited��Sorry, no. I won''t give it to you. I''ll just drop it somewhere, maybe at your house, and won''t ever check the bills before paying."


    "Great thinking." She seemed slightly impressed and patted my hand affectionately. "Go to sleep."


    "Love you, Granny," I muttered teasingly as Iid my head on the pillow. To my surprise, Sage smiled and patted my head. "Love you too, child."


    As she left, I was left speechless and bewildered by the brief moment, yet I felt a warmth inside. Using my rest skill, I fell asleep within seconds, only to wake up at 4 a.m. the next morning.


    Surprisingly, Sage was already awake.


    ...


    [General POV]


    As Edward drifted into sleep, Gong Shin reappeared inside Sage''s house, gliding silently toward her bedroom. Even Vader, usually alert, didn''t sense his presence.


    "I expected you toe again," Sage said, sitting on the edge of the bed, her expression serious. "We need to make this quick."


    Gong Shin locked the door, his movements calm but deliberate. "Yes, dear. There''s much to discuss." He spoke in a flirty manner.


    Sage narrowed her eyes, concern etched on her face. "What happened today? This was never supposed to ur. Is this Krampus''s doing?" She had a slight anger in her tone, but tried to keep her face stoic.


    "Ah, you''ve caught on to his tricks," Gong Shin replied, his voice weary as he slouched beside her. "He loves to test his targets, to see if they can maintain theirposure under pressure. It''s all part of his twisted game. But on a brighter note, Edward handled it remarkably well."


    Sage raised an eyebrow, breaking her stoic facade. It was useless for her to act cool anyway since Gong Shin knew her pretty well. "Remarkably well? After everything that happened?" She asked angrily.


    "Yes," he affirmed, nodding slightly. Without minding Sage''s anger, he exined, "Despite being thrust into an impossible situation, Ed kept his cool. He thought on his feet and prioritized the safety of those around him."


    "Sure, he lost his home, but that was never the true aim of the test. It was about control��his control over the chaos. A lot of people went neurotic when they were blessed with the afterlife certification, thinking that they were better than everyone else. Edward is different. He desperately wants to be human."


    "I went there halfway during the test, and I oversaw the whole thing myself. Ed was never in danger." Gong Shinforted Sage. "So spare Krampus'' life. He''s a trickster, but he''s still a good guy."


    Sage crossed her arms, her annoyance palpable. "If I find him first, I may not."


    "Then, I gotta work harder." Gong Shin chuckled before he stood up, wanting to leave. But before he disappeared, he smirked to Sage and said, "So, Ed''ll drop his credit card huh? Make sure to give him back."


    Sage was stunned and immediately turned to Gong Shin, but he was already gone. "Damn it." She cursed, then she suddenly realized something, "Wait. He never told me I can''t do it."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    Sage and I shared breakfast together before I left the house in a loose V-neck shirt, short pants, and a bathrobe, with Vader in tow, trotting alongside me wherever I go.


    "I''ll leave the house search to Phil, so you just need to tag along with him," I told Sage.


    "And how will I do that naturally?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.


    "Simple. I''ll tell him I wanted to hire a shaman to check for bad juju in the house. Phil will respect that decision, even if he thinks I''m a bit odd. I can me it on my post traumatic stress, so it won''t affect me much."


    Sage nodded but then realized something as I started to walk away. "Hey, but he''ll think I''m a weirdo too!"


    "Toote! You already nodded. It''s a legally binding agreement," I retorted with a grin as I got into my car and drove off quickly.


    "Vadie, I need to find some clothes. I can''t go to work looking like this," I muttered, scratching Vader''s chin. She meowed slightly and circled around the passenger seat before settling down.


    It was only 5:30 in the morning; there were no cars on the street, and no stores were open. I could return to my childhood home and grab some clothes, but that ce was currently surrounded. Paparazzis, fans, insurance agents�C I couldn''t get 100 meters near that ce before I would be mobbed by the crowd.


    "I have no other choice," I mumbled solemnly. "I need to buy clothes from *gag* ugh, Target."


    "Meow." Vader chimed in, sounding incredulous.


    "You''re right, Vader. I can''t be seen buying clothes from there. It''ll ruin my entire brand." I agreed with her and made a left at the traffic light.


    Driving back to my childhood neighborhood, I parked right in front of the Dunphys'' house and walked to the door. I rang the doorbell, not expecting anyone to open it so early.


    To my surprise, as soon as the door opened, I strummed my guitar to the tune of "Apology Song" from The Book of Life and sang, "Alex, I am humbled. But I beg you to understand. A missile just hit my house and all that was left is sand��"


    Before I could finish, Alex rushed in and gave me a bear hug. "Oof! Come on, Alex, I still haven''t gotten to the chorus yet."


    "I don''t care." She sniffled, her voice thick with emotion. "I was so worried yesterday." After releasing me, she red and punched my arm. "You take too long to reply to your texts, you idiot!"


    Her hair was sticking up and frizzed, her face slightly puffy, like someone who had just woken up.


    "Oww! How can you hit a homeless man? Where has humanity gone to?" I winced exaggeratedly. Alex looked around urgently, then pulled me inside the house. "Get in," she urged, worried that someone might spot me and I''d get into trouble again.


    As I stepped inside, I noticed pillows and nkets strewn across the living room couch. "Did you sleep in the living room?" I asked, surprised.


    "That''s... Ugh, I don''t want to talk about it." She quickly changed the subject. "Why are you here?"


    "Oh, I''m here to meet your dad," I replied. "And see if I can grab some of his clothes. I can''t go to work like this."


    Alex smirked slightly, sarcasmcing her words. "Why, you look like yourself."


    "I look like the guy from The Big Lebowski. Can you check if your dad is up yet? If he''s still sleeping, just let him be." Alex picked up Vader while I was talking and hugged her tightly.


    The kids were on holiday, so the parents usually took the chance to sleep in. ire typically woke around 6 AM to prepare for the kids'' school, but today, she set the rm for 7:30. I didn''t want to disturb them.


    "I heard Ed!" Phil called, rushing down the stairs with ire close behind. They had been startled by the doorbell and the muffled voices of Alex and me.


    Phil tripped and rolled down thest few steps. "Oh my god!" Alex eximed in disbelief. "Phil!" I was concerned, but he quickly stood up, brushing himself off. "I''m okay."


    He rushed in and, like Alex, wrapped me in a bear hug. "Ed! We were so worried about you yesterday." ire joined in, making it a group hug.


    "Meow! (Release me kitchen wench)" Vader struggled within Alex''s embrace, trying to get free.


    ...


    After changing into normal clothes��a brown sweatshirt and jeans��I thanked Phil for his help. Unfortunately, none of his clothes fit me, so I ended up wearing a shirt he had ordered in the wrong size from an online shop.


    "Ed, I''ll make some pancakes. Don''t go to work yet. Rather, don''t go to work at all. Get some rest today. You''ve been through a lot." ire said, giving me extra affection today.


    I replied, "Oh, I really can''t do that, ire. I already missed yesterday''s filming."


    ire scoffed and said, "No one worked yesterday. Everyone was glued to the TV. They didn''t even shoot one scene."


    I said wearily, "That''s why I have to be there today."


    Alex snorted and added, "Yeah, Mom. Don''t get in the way of Ed making money. You''ll do more damage to him than the terrorists."


    Phil patted my shoulder before massaging it from behind. "Alex, be careful how you speak about an American hero. You don''t want to attract the ire of the country."


    "Yeah, Alex. Watch out." I backed up Phil, earning a challenging look from her. "Hmm, tell me, Ed. How much did you make participating in the event yesterday?"


    "Directly? None��um, minus twenty million," I replied casually. "Indirectly, well... a whole lot."


    "See?" Alex pointed a finger at me. "Not a hero."


    "Stop being a hater, Alex," ire admonished her. "Yeah, Alex. Stop being a hater." I chimed in teasingly. Suddenly, Luke appeared out of nowhere and said, "Alex, stop being a hater."


    "Hi, Luke."


    "I smell pancakes." Luke ignored me and headed straight for the food. But ire pped his hand and said, "Go brush your teeth."


    "Oww." Luke whimpered and walked away. I looked at him, puzzled, before turning back to Alex. "Did he even know what happened yesterday?"


    "He yed games all day. I don''t think he does," Alex replied, equally confused by Luke''s reaction.


    "Alex, can you get Haley? She was so worried yesterday." Phil asked Alex slowly. Alex suddenly grumbled and said decisively, "No."


    "Huh? Did you guys fight again?" I asked, excited for the tea. Alex rolled her eyes and said, "How can we not? She''s so thoughtless�C"


    ire interrupted immediately, "Pancakes here!" Realizing that ire did that on purpose to make Alex stop, it seemed that the tea was piping hot. Or dumb. It could be both.


    Then, I suddenly got a moment of rity. ''I shouldn''t hang out with Pepper too much. Now I look forward to hearing the gossip too.''


    ...


    In Haley''s bedroom, as she slept, she suddenly felt a gentle brush of her hair. A smile crept across her face, enjoying the sensation, until she realized it wasn''t a dream. She opened her eyes slightly and saw me sitting on the edge of her bed, brushing her hair.


    "Good morning, sunshine. Happy birthday��"


    "Ed!" Haley pounced on me, wrapping her arms around my neck in a tight hug. Clothes were strewn all over the floor and bed��bags of fabric, a half-body mannequin, needles and thread, even a project board cluttered her room.


    There was barely any room to walk, which probably exined why the sisters fought. They shared the same room, and Haley''s stuff was encroaching on Alex''s side.


    Suddenly, Haley released me and flopped back on the bed, looking at me in confusion. "My birthday is tomorrow, though."


    "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to give you a sexy memory," I joked flirtatiously.


    "Sexy? While wearing my dad''s clothes?" she shot back yfully. Then she realized something, her eyes widening as she covered her bare face with her hands.


    "Turn around! Don''t look!"


    "Don''t worry. You''re still beautiful," I said with a slight chuckle before adding, "Get downstairs after you wash up. We''re eating pancakes."


    She giggled slightly as she watched me leave, and I couldn''t help but smile at her teasing expression.


    "What?" I asked.


    "No. I can''t just get that wake-up call out of my mind," she replied.


    I chuckled. "I told you it''s a sexy memory."


    Downstairs at the dining table, the topic of their shared room came up again. The conversation heated up as both sisters turned to their parents, dering, "I can''t live in the same room with her anymore."


    "Um, honey, we talked about this," ire said, gritting her teeth. She clearly thought it wasn''t a topic that should be discussed in front of guests.


    "ire. Don''t worry about me. As your boss, I should get personally involved in the employees'' home affairs to enhance efficiency in the workce," I said, thering butter on my pancakes.


    "You do?" Phil and Luke asked at the same time, their eyes wide.


    Alex grimaced at them, shooting a disdainful look. "NO!"

 Chapter 304 - 304 : Convincing.

    <h4>Chapter 304: Chapter 304 : Convincing.?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Here is the solution to all of your problems." I directed the family members to a dark room filled with dust.


    "The basement?" Haley asked, confused. "Alex''s going to move here?"


    Alex rolled her eyes, arms crossed. "You''re the one moving here!"


    ire shook her head, "Uh-uh, there''s no way any of my daughters are moving here."


    "What about me? I like it here." Luke chimed in, looking around. "Then Alex can move into my room."


    "Your room is filthy!" Alex grumbled. "But I''ll take it."


    "No one is changing." ire was clearly anxious. Haley grumbled, "Mom, no one is against this but you."


    ire shot a nce at Phil and said, "I''m not alone in this. Your dad feels the same way."


    Phil sighed and turned to ire, whispering nervously, "You''re kinda alone in this, hun."


    "No one is moving rooms! No one is getting the independence they want without showing they are ready for it." ire made a zipping gesture. "This is final."


    "Oh, so that''s it? The matriarch of the family speaks, and no one can go against her?" Alex said sarcastically. Phil mumbled slowly, "Hey!" but as he saw the matriarch''s re, he kept quiet about his opinion.


    "Alex!" ire looked at her with disappointment. "I''m not wrong for this!" The room erupted into moring and arguing.


    "Alright, everyone. Stop." I pped my hands, quieting the discussion. Everyone turned their attention toward me as I looked at ire with a smirk. "To be honest, I understand what your mom is worried about."


    "You do?" ire asked, disbelief evident in her voice.


    I nodded. "You have three children. Let''s say, if Luke moved in here, he would definitely turn it into his man cave��TV and game setup everywhere. You wouldn''t see him as much anymore. Your mom just hates to lose you, Luke; that''s why she doesn''t want you to move."


    "Oh," Luke eximed, turning to ire. "I guess I won''t move out right now, Mom."


    "This is never about moving out," Alex grumbled, but ire and Luke were already embracing.


    "Let''s say Alex moved out here," I continued. "With her antisocial tendencies, her science experiments, and being in a basement��it could interfere with her mental health. Plus, her middle child syndrome... Alex is sure to be a mad scientist or aic book viin."


    "Nooo!" Phil eximed, fully believing my fib. Haley, Luke, and ire took a step back from Alex. She rolled her eyes at her dad. "Don''t believe everything he says!"


    I chuckled and corrected myself, "Eh, some of those points are legit. Otherwise, they wouldn''t believe me so easily. Anyway, Alex needs a ce with sunlight, somewhere people won''t forget about her. Treat her like a housent; otherwise, she''ll wilt."


    Phil hugged Alex, saying, "I won''t let you turn into a viin, Alex."


    "I''M NEVER GONNA!" she protested, but Phil hugged her tighter.


    "Now, let''s talk about the final daughter: Haley." I turned to her.


    Haley grinned, brushing a stray hair from her forehead. "I don''t have any big problems, right?"


    "Nope. Yours is the biggest concern your mom could have," I corrected her.


    "What?" Haley mumbled in disbelief.


    "First of all, with direct ess to the door, you can sneak out easily��or even sneak someone in. At the height of your teenage rebellion and sexual promiscuity, your mother''s worst fear is that moving down here equals getting pregnant in high school."


    "MOM!" Haley shot an angry nce at ire, who nodded firmly. "That''s right. So none of you are suitable to move down into the basement."


    Alex burst intoughter. "So what Mom is worried about is that you''re too slutty!"


    "Shut up, house nt!" Haley retorted.


    The argument red up again, but this time, I let it happen. As they bickered, I looked around the basement. Descending the stairs from outside the house, I noted that the basement was split into two parts. Both were used for storage, but one of them was emptier than the other.


    I checked the structure, even taking some pictures with Robin for potential improvements. It was a basic AI remodel project in the works. There weren''t a lot of databases for renovations she could learn from, so the remodel was pretty straightforward. Robin could also scan the house''s structure, giving me insights into any hidden or modified areas.


    Suddenly, ire grabbed my arm and said, "Let''s get out of here. You don''t have to worry about us, Edward. You already have a lot on your te."


    ire wanted to wrap up the discussion and headed upstairs again.


    [ire''s Commentary]


    "His house is gone, yet he''s worried about us?" ire thought, a hint of sadness in her eyes. With a slight smile, she added, "He''s a sweet kid. But I hope he''ll take care of himself, not just others."


    [Phil''s Commentary]


    "How did I never see it before... I need to give extra attention to Alex from now on, or... she''ll destroy the world."


    [Commentaries End]


    "Alex, do you want to go to an amusement park with me and Luke? Or should we check out the science museum you always wanted to visit?" Phil asked.


    Alex rolled her eyes and shouted at me, "Edward! Whatever you''re nning to do, do it now!"


    Everyone paused when they heard Alex''s shout. "n what?" ire pulled back, a skeptical look on her face as she gazed at me.


    I shrugged and said, "Well, the basement room n, of course."


    "I thought we already decided not to do that," ire replied, slight irritation in her tone.


    I smirked and said, "Can you keep an open mind and let your children make the case first? After that, if you really think it can''t happen, then they''ll just give up on the topic."


    "I won''t give up!" Haley and Alex chimed in at the same time. I called the three kids to my side. ire and Phil exchanged nces, and then Phil said, "Alright, we''ll hear you out."


    "Upstairs! Not here! There''s too much dust down here," ire insisted, leading us all to the living room.


    All four of us stood in front of the parents, and Luke took the lead in talking first. I had told him about the talking points. The issue was a family matter, so it wouldn''t help much if I��an outsider��convinced the parents on the kids'' behalf.


    Luke said, "There are four key points in convincing your parents. First��"


    "Luke! Don''t repeat what Edward said!" Alex interrupted immediately. Luke turned to Alex in dissatisfaction. "You take the lead then! I already forgot what I was supposed to say!"


    "No, everyone has their own points. It''s your own fault you didn''t write it down," Haley said, reading texts on her phone. Luke turned to me, looking for help. "Ed, this is ridiculous. Why is my point about money and value? How should I know that the house''s value will increase 30% if there''s an official bedroom in the basement?"


    "Luke��" ire tried to intervene, thinking Luke was struggling, but Phil stopped her, eyes fully focused on Luke. "Wait. I do understand that. What more did he say?"


    Luke turned to Phil and said, "Um, that''s it. He didn''t give me many talking points."


    I interjected with a slight smile. "But I see Phil is halfway convinced already. Alex, now it''s your turn."


    "Um, Mr. and Mrs. Dunphy," Alex started, but Luke and Haley snickered at her opening line. "Shut up. I''m talking!" Alex rebuked them.


    "Why should the basement be renovated? Is it because there''s finally going to be enough room for all of your children? Of course not." The debate champion began ad-libbing to make her points.


    "It''s because of you." She pointed to the parents.


    "Us?" Phil and ire looked confused. Alex nodded slightly and said, "Yes. The renovation would not only help us, but also your careers. Let me give you examples. For Mom, the renovation could showcase how well you''re doing at your job and how lucrative it is to be an executive. In a worldcking female role models, you could demonstrate that you''re excelling as both a mother and an employee."


    Luke whispered to Haley as Alex continued, "Do you get anything she''s saying?"


    "I have no idea," Haley replied, her expression worried as she anxiously awaited her turn.


    Seeing that ire was slightly convinced, Alex pressed on. "Now, for Dad. This renovation would really enhance his credibility as a realtor. Why? Because of the opportunities it presents during the renovation. Do it right, and you could recoup the renovation costs in no time."


    Phil''s excitement was palpable, and I nced at Alex in satisfaction. "She can be a really good salesperson," I muttered.


    "How can I do that, Alex? What opportunity are you talking about?" Phil asked, fully engaged.


    Alex hesitated for a moment. "Um, it''s... the Daily Realtor''s Show?"


    I snickered and had to cover my mouth to stifle myughter. Alex shot me a red-faced re. "You told me to name the channel!"


    "N-no, I just had something in my throat. That''s all," I waved off my reaction, even as Alex looked embarrassed. But that channel name had piqued Phil''s interest.


    "Daily Realtor Show? What''s that?" he asked, his excitement growing. ire, too, seemed intrigued, especially at the idea of recouping renovation costs.


    Renovating the basement would cost around $30,000 for a full remodel. Even though they werefortable, shelling out that amount was steep for their family. My sense of money had long been distorted, but I still considered their situation.


    "Ask Ed! He didn''t give me the details!" Alex quickly deflected, "My part is done."


    I nodded slightly. "I''m not part of this, but I can exin a bit if you want."


    Haley grabbed my arm. "Please do! I need more time." Stunned for a moment, I smiled softly and took the lead.


    "Midas, what do you have in mind?" Phil asked, his expression eager.


    "Midas?" ire looked at Phil in disbelief.


    Phil chuckled and exined, "Don''t you know? Your employees call Edward that. Everything he touches turns to gold. So I have really big expectations."


    "God, there''s more pressure now," Haley said, nearly fainting.


    "And I won''t disappoint," I replied confidently. "The opportunity I''m talking about involves creating an entertainment channel, specifically a renovation channel."


    "If Phil does it well��showing people how to renovate their homes on a budget, how to creatively decorate a space, and what permits they need to obtain��not only will it enhance his credibility as a realtor, but it can also help a lot of people who want to renovate their spaces but have no guidance."


    There were a lot of renovation channels I subscribed to in my previous life. Even though they didn''t have as many followers as the top YouTubers, it was still enough for them to renovate their houses worry-free.


    "Phil has quite a good look��like a friendly neighborhood uncle��charisma, and a tremendous knowledge of real estate. If the show blows up, maybe he can even get his own TV show, like Property Brothers," I exaggerated a bit.


    I could ramble on, but Phil was already 100% convinced. To make this happen, Haley would have to change ire''s mind.


    "We can talk about the detailster," I said dismissively. "But right now, please hear the heartfelt plea from your oldest daughter."


    Haley took a deep breath before putting her phone down. "Um, Mommy, Daddy," she used an affectionate tone that reminded the parents of the young Haley, and then added, "I want to follow my dreams."


    After all, the main key point in selling something is the emotional appeal. ire felt a prick in her heart, and her defenses crumbled as she looked at Haley''s face. Phil was already fully emotional, "Okay! We''ll renovate��"


    ire stopped him immediately, urging Haley to continue.


    [ire and Phil''s Commentary]


    ire said, "I have already decided to renovate the basement into a bedroom, but I want Haley to work for it."


    Phil nodded in agreement. "She can have her little studio where she can make clothes��her own creative space."


    ire added, "I thought she would quit within a month, but she kept going and going."


    Phil sped ire''s hand. "We thought about moving to a bigger house. But the kids would have to change schools and start over. All the kids are thriving at school, so I don''t want to do that."


    "Renovating the basement doesn''t sound so bad," ire said in agreement. "But what''s more important is Haley''s promises if we do it."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Um, I know it seems like I''ve been pulling away, but family is everything to me," Haley began, trying to find the right words.


    "Mom, you''re worried that I''ll sneak out or bring someone in. But I''m already doing that anyway��"


    I stopped her immediately. "Wrong approach."


    Haley widened her eyes in surprise. Phil and ire looked shocked, but she quickly adapted. "What I mean is, I''ll respect your boundaries, and I won''t bring anyone into my room without permission. Ed��um, Ed said that there''s a��"


    She dashed to the closet by the living room and pointed at it. "There''s supposed to be a stair here connecting to the basement. So, um, we can make it...e back. You can lock the outside door at night, so I can''t sneak out if that''ll ease your mind."


    She returned to the living room and continued, "Alex and I promised not to fight anymore if I move out. Um, errr..." She stammered, momentarily forgetting her talking points.


    But then her eyes lit up. "Tomorrow''s my 16th birthday. Mommy, Daddy, your little girl''s growing up. I want to know what I''m capable of, and I want to do that with peace of mind. Even if there are no renovations, can I still move to the basement? I''ll even clean up the ce myself."


    In the future, Haley did move to the basement. It was messy, but still, it was her own space. That''s all that mattered.


    Inside my mind, I gave Haley an 8.5/10 score for her speech. If she hadn''t made the mistake at the beginning, it would''ve been higher. She didn''t demand the room as a birthday gift, which showed her maturity. Asking to move even if she didn''t get it because she wanted to work on her craft showed initiative. If that didn''t move her parents, I didn''t know what would.


    "No." ire suddenly spoke up with a serious tone, interrupting my thoughts. Haley deted at the sound of it. I was shocked too; I really thought it would work.


    "The ce is too dpidated. Wait for your dad and your grandpa to work on it first, then you can move in," ire added with a slight smirk. Haley brightened up and rushed to hug her parents. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"


    Phil beamed and immediately stood up from the couch, walking toward me. "Ed, do you really think I can get my own TV show?"


    "There''s a chance," I replied simply. "But don''t be sad if you don''t get it. Creating an online channel is still a good thing."


    Phil continued, fully excited about the premise. "Jay and I can work on it together. Also, Ed, when the room is finished, you can use it as a safe house in case you''re in trouble again."


    ire liked that idea. "Ooh, that sounds nice."


    I suddenly said, "No. I won''te here. Ever." My rejection stunned them, and then they turned depressed.


    "Why not?" Haley asked, incredibly concerned.


    I scoffed. "Why would I want to put the people I love in danger? If anything were to happen to you guys because of me, I don''t think I could live with myself��"


    Haley and ire hugged me suddenly before I could finish my sentence. "Ugh, enough with the mushy stuff," Luke grumbled.


    I checked my watch. "I have to go now if I want to make it to the shoot early. I''ll have to leave, but we''ll discuss more about itter."


    "Ed, you want to work on this too?" ire asked with disbelief. I chuckled. "ire, my therapy is breaking stuff and building it back up. I did that with my first house too. I need this." My therapy was also being with those guys, but I didn''t want to told them that lest Luke said I was being mushy again.


    "Alright, Ed will be part of the project!" Phil dered. "Oh, do you have anywhere to stay tonight?"


    "On the yacht, maybe," I replied. I wanted to check on myb stuff too, so I needed to go there anyway.


    "Why don''t you stay here with Luke?" ire offered. "I''ll make up a bed for you."


    "Ed, what about Jenna''s party?" Alex asked with a slight concern. I muttered exasperatedly, "Oh yeah. That too. I don''t know if I can make it."


    "WHAT?!" Alex was anxious. "But you said you wille."


    "I will try. It''s just that the movie shoot was dyed yesterday. No one could work because of the terror attack. We''ll have to make up for the dy today," I replied apologetically.


    "Hmm..." Alex slumped in disappointment and said, "Break the news to Enid yourself. I can''t do it to her."


    As I said my goodbyes to the family and walked toward the living room, Haley asked me in a whisper, "So, if you can''t make it to the party, I guess you can''t celebrate my birthday with me tomorrow, right? There will be a small party at Grandpa''s house. They want to make it a surprise party, but I already know about it."


    "You''re not throwing a birthday bash?" I asked teasingly. "Hundreds of people will be invited? It''ll be the talk of all high school kids?"


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "I don''t feel like it. You have any problems with that?"


    I chortled and said, "No, of course not."


    [Haley''smentary]


    "Rather than having a lot of people at the party, I''d rather be with one, but I cannot tell him that."


    [Commentary ends]


    Before I could respond, Phil called out from afar, phone in hand, "Ed! Are you sure you only want a beach house?"


    "Yeah. Nearer the better. Oh! If the mansion looks like Batman''s house up in the hills, I can consider it too," I replied to Phil before turning back to Haley. I had mentioned my intention to buy a new house, and he was excited to help.


    "You know what? You''re already busy enough," Haley interrupted. "It''s just a birthday. We can hang outter when you''re less busy."


    I chuckled a bit and said, "It''s your birthday. I want to take you out. If you don''t mind, can we go to McDonald''s after I get back? What do you think?"


    She beamed and teased me slightly, "You''re the richest kid on the, but you''re taking me to McDonald''s? You''re lucky I''m not that hard to please."


    We bothughed a little before I remembered something. "Oh damn. I forgot about your present."


    "It''s okay. I don''t need one," she replied honestly. "You don''t have to get me anything~"


    "No, what I meant is, I forgot your present inside the house," I said, stunning her. "It''s burned to the ground now."


    Haley was shocked. "What? What did you get me?"


    "A Birkin bag," I replied with a wry smile. Haley gasped, her eyes wide. "You got me a Birkin?!"


    "But it''s burned down." I stressed it out.


    Haley was speechless for a second, her face nked out. Her face contorted a few times between sadness and eptance before she finally epted it.


    Her voice cracked, "I''m fine."


    "I mean, I can buy you another one��"


    "NO!" She stopped me immediately. "I didn''t want you to spend more money on it. 10...15 thousand�C Urk�C Promise me!"


    "Alright alright. I promise you not to buy you another birthday present this year." I said defeatedly. Both of usughed a bit before she sent me off to go to work.


    "I''ll watch your movie trailer when ites out!" She said as she waved me goodbye.


    The trailer for the movie, ''Self Made'' was finally released to the public when I was shooting my scenes. And the review was...mostly positive.

 Chapter 305: Movie Trailer.

    <h4>Chapter 305: Chapter 305: Movie Trailer.</h4>


    [General POV]


    "It''s out!" Phil shouted to the family members gathered at Jay''s house, eager to watch the trailer release together. He watched the release on his phone and immediately snatched the remote from Luke.


    Cam walked into the living room, where Jay had installed his own version of a smart TV, a huge grin spreading across his face. "If Edward is here, we can make it like a movie premiere��with a red carpet and projector screen!"


    Mitchell scoffed slightly. "It''s just a trailer, Cam. And Ed would actually go to the premiere, not a house premiere."


    Cam nodded in agreement, excitement still bubbling. Alex, Haley, and Luke sat together on the couch with Jay. As Phil pressed the trailer thumbnail��which featured RG in his fur coat and sunsses, wearing a haughty expression��Gloria shouted from the kitchen, "WAIT! CLAIRE AND I ARE NOT READY YET!"


    "Come quick! There are a thousand views already!" Phil urged, his excitement contagious. ire rushed into the living room just as the family settled in to watch the trailer together.


    Haley giggled. "I''m so excited!"


    [The trailer opens with upbeat music ying in the background, leading into the logo of the Entertainpany.


    "Multiple Oscar nominations this year alone," the interviewer began, his voice smooth and enthusiastic, " From an ordinary kid from Malibu to the biggest star in Hollywood. Tom Ryder is the man of the hour!"


    A text frame appears, boldly showcasing "Directed by Judd Apatow."


    The screen shed to clips of Tom waving to adoring fans, striking poses on the red carpet, and epting awards, kissing beautiful girls and signing autographs.


    This is followed by another frame text, "Created by Edward Newgate and Page Swanson."


    "What now for you?" the interviewer asked...


    Finally, the screen presents the title: "Self Made" in an eye-catching disy.]


    "Is it me, or does the shot in this movie look incredible?" Mitchell pressed the pause button after taking the remote from Phil. The lighting and tone of the movie, the camera shot, everything signified that this was not a rushed movie but it was made with great care.


    Everyone protested, eager to watch the trailer, making him sigh in defeat. "Alright! Alright."


    "Keep your opinion to yourself for just two minutes, Mitchell. It''s not even a movie yet," ire said mockingly.


    "I was just��"


    Mitchell tried to defend himself, but Jay, Haley, Alex, Gloria, and Luke shushed him. Camughed at his misfortune and took the remote from Mitchell to resume the video.


    ["Maybe I''ll finally try to get married," RG joked in the interview, a slightly mncholic expression crossing his face. "I still haven''t experienced what true love is like."


    The audience ate up his words, collectively eximing, "Aww!"


    The scene immediately cuts to an office where Donald Glover rebukes RG. "So you lied to everyone."


    Before RG could respond, Edward, seated at the desk, interjected. "It''s not a lie. It''s marketing. He can be a petnt child in a man''s suit, with the emotional maturity of a toddler, indulging in tantrums and whims behind the camera."


    The scene then cuts to several quick clips showcasing RG''s childish antics before returning to the office scene.


    Edward continued, "But as long as he pretends to be human on screen and people buy into it, then it doesn''t matter."


    As the scene continued, the background song filled the trailer. (Bruno Mars�C Runaway Baby)


    <i>?? Well, looky here, looky here, ahh, what do we have?</i>


    <i>Another pretty thang ready for me to grab</i>


    <i>But little does she know that I''m a wolf in sheep''s clothing</i>


    <i>''Cause at the end of the night, it is her I''ll be holdin'' ??</i> ]


    "That song is so catchy�C What song is it?" Jaymented.


    Mitchell was excited to see someone else get scolded, but ire replied to it casually, "It''s Edward''s song. It''s titled Runaway Baby."


    "Really? So it''s fine if Dad talk�C"


    "SHUUSSHHH!!" Everyone shushed him at the same time, making his expression fall in disbelief.


    [<i>?? </i>"<i>I love you so" (Hey) That''s what you''ll say (That''s what you''ll say)</i>


    <i>You''ll tell me, "Baby, baby, please don''t go away" (Don''t go away)??</i>


    Donald Glover asked Edward, "How did you get your brother to go along with this?"


    "I ckmailed him with a mistake from his past." Edward''s character replied. It cuts into a scene where Emily widened her eyes in shock as she watched the TV. RG immediately ran and tackled her to the sofa to prevent her from doing so.


    <i>But when I y (But when I y), I never stay (I never stay)</i>


    <i>So every girl that I meet, yeah, this is what I say... ??</i>


    The scene shifted to Emily and Ryan, who were initially bitter and resentful toward each other but gradually began to open up. Ryan was headbanging to "Cotton Eye Joe" in the car when Emily asked, "Do you really need me here for this?!"


    "You can break up with me if you don''t like it," he replied.


    "Never mind. The song is pretty catchy," she admitted, joining in the dance. Ryan looked at her incredulously, saying, "Stop enjoying it!"


    <i>?? Run, run, run away, run away, baby</i>


    <i>Before I put my spell on you ??</i>


    The scene then transitioned to Edward and Vanessa in his office, where she was taking his blood pressure. Their focus shifted to each other as Edward pulled Vanessa closer.


    <i>?? You better get, get, get away, get away, darlin''</i>


    <i>''Cause everything you heard is true</i>


    <i>Your poor little heart will end up alone??</i>


    "I''ve had multiple rtionships before, and none of them worked out," RGmented. "This one won''t be any different."


    ??<i>''Cause Lord knows I''m a rollin'' stone</i>


    <i>So you better run, run, run away, run away, baby??</i>


    The final 20 seconds of the trailer featured no background music, focusing solely on RG expressing his views on love to Edward, emphasizing his dislike for Jody.


    "Love in real life isn''t like the movies you always act in. There are no special effects to make it happen," Edward''s character exined.


    This cut to a montage of the two spending time together, culminating in a scene of them sitting on a park bench. From RG''s POV, a burst of floral effects transformed Emily, dressed casually, into a goddess-like figure in an instant.


    The song, "I just died in your arms tonight by Cutting Crew", yed in the background as Ryan slowly tilted his head, his face beamed up like a man in love.


    ?? <i>Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight</i>


    <i>It must have been something you said</i>


    <i>I just died in your arms tonight </i>??


    Emily snapped her fingers in front of RG, saying, "Hello? Did you even hear anything I just said?" The delusion stopped immediately and the scene turned normal.


    "What��Yeah, yeah..."


    The trailer concluded with details about the cinema release and the movie title.]


    Haley grabbed her phone and recorded her family members, "So, what do we all think?"


    "It looks like it''s going to be a fun movie." Phil said excitedly. "I''m really proud of Edward."


    Mitchell said, "I love it! I can''t wait for it toe out."


    Cameronmented, channeling his inner critic, "There are several parts that I think can be better, but overall, it looks great for an amature studio."


    "BOOO!" Luke and Alex booed Cam at the same time.


    Jay, Gloria, ire and the others all talked over each other as they discussed the trailer. Haley then sends the video to Edward.


    The views on the trailer were climbing rapidly as it was a featured video on Entertain website.


    There was a lot of support from Edward''s fans for the movie. His fans were entranced after seeing his tattooed, more mature appearance. A lot of people would want to see the movie from just that.


    User123mented: Another vanity project from a Hollywood spoiled brat. Edward = Another Paris Hilton?


    LilyCollins replied: Bish, are you serious? You didn''t watch Breaking Badst night?


    Even though there was some negativity, it was quickly shut down by those who knew of Edward''s work. The first two episodes of Breaking Bad had alreadye out, and people loved the series. Almost everyone was talking about it�C when they weren''t talking about the terror attack or Edward himself.


    The producer of the movie, ''Valentine Day'', became a bit restless after seeing the trailer reaction. "I should''ve negotiated with them to pick another release date." He mumbled.


    People were still looking forward to seeing the Valentine''s Day movie, but the producer knew that Entertain''s studio film would be a toughpetitor for the box office collection.


    Ryan''s infatuated look quickly became a meme temte, which created more excitement for the movie, as Edward expected.


    ...


    At the film set, it was 10 in the evening. Edward bowed slightly to the crew and said, "Thank you, everyone. I didn''t think I could shoot all my scenes today."


    Director Judd Apatow chuckled at him. "Yes, yes. We had to. Otherwise, it would interfere with your busy schedule of saving the world."


    Laughter erupted from the crew, and Edward scoffed yfully at the joke. Throughout the shoot, they had been teasing him about his involvement in the recent terror attack��in a lighthearted way, of course.


    He waved goodbye to everyone, promising to attend the wrap party. Although Edward was supposed to help with the shooting after his scenes wrapped, Judd insisted he take some time to rest.


    As he walked to his car, he turned to Vanessa, who was standing beside him. "Still sulking because you only appear for five seconds in the trailer?"


    "You have twenty seconds! It''s so unfair," sheined, though with a yful tone. Then her expression shifted to concern. "Did you check into a hotel? You have a ce to stay, right?"


    "Are you worried about me, Hudgen?" Edward teased. "Or are you just hoping I''ll provide you with a second hangout spot?"


    Vanessa slumped, feigning depression. "Ugh, that vi was so nice. I really loved it. A lot of my stuff is still there, you know."


    "That''s your own fault," Edward replied cheekily, leaning against the door of his Dodger as they chatted.


    "You know a lot of people want to interview you," she said, changing the subject after a while.


    "Hmm, I''m aware of that," Edward replied, his expression bing slightly serious. He smirked and said, "One of them offered me a million dors for an exclusive interview."


    "Oh, you took it, right?" Vanessa asked excitedly. "Then you can buy a new house!"


    Edward looked at her incredulously. "Wait, do you actually think my house is worth a mere million?"


    "I know it''s worth more! I meant that it could go toward your next house," she rolled her eyes yfully.


    "I''ll consider it," he said. "But I don''t really want to do any interviews right now."


    "That''s understandable," Vanessa nodded. Then she adopted a childish tone. "Hey! Everyone got a bag except for me!"


    "You didn''te! I had one prepared for you, but now it''s gone��burned to ashes. It''ll take months to make more," he shot back, feigning annoyance.


    Vanessa shook her head yfully. "I don''t care! You promised everyone would get one. I''m a talent! I want one!"


    "Ugh." Edward groaned in frustration for a moment before he relented. "Alright then, I''ll give you doubleter on. After I set up myb again."


    As the trailer came out, the actors began to participate in promotional interviews for the movie. It wasn''t an official promotion yet, and during this time, they had to be cautious to avoid any PR disasters��no scandals that could spark fan ire or lead to boycotts.


    This rule was included in their contracts when they signed on for the film. Edward had seen numerous examples of movies suffering from bad PR due to actors causing trouble, so he made it a priority to prevent that from happening with his projects. That''s why the actors were required to undergo media training to prepare for any potential pitfalls.


    In December, there were several charities, fundraisers and g parties held as it was the end of the year. Entertain also decided to hold a party to promote the movie and invited several interviewers to the party.


    The main cast members, Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, settled into their seats across from a female interviewer for a brief ten-minute chat about their uing film.


    "Ryan, I heard that the director, Judd Apatow, personally reached out to you at the beginning, and the whole movie signing took ce in just a day?" the interviewer asked, her smile inviting.


    Ryan raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "Wait. How did you know that? Did Emily tell you?"


    The interviewer chuckled, and Emily joined in, "Don''t look at me. It might just be you who spilled it."


    "It''s the director," the interviewer confessed with a yful grin. Laughter erupted between the three of them before Ryan finally answered. "I guess. Yeah. But I wasn''t cast by the director. Neither was Emily. We were both... cast by the same person."


    Emily tilted her head, confused. "I interviewed for the part?"


    Ryan shot her a knowing nce, then realized, "Oh yeah. You didn''t know! When I got the call, I already saw your name on the storyboard. It was Newgate who wanted us. He just made you go through the interview for formality."


    Emily''s eyes lit up, her excitement palpable. "Oh, really? I didn''t know that!"


    Ryan shrugged nonchntly, a smirk ying on his lips. "Yeah. He thought we were like big stars or something. I didn''t want to tell him in case he snapped out of it." His blend of sarcasm and self-deprecation earned moreughter.


    "What can you tell us about the movie?" the interviewer asked. The conversation flowed effortlessly, with Emily and Ryan showcasing their chaotic chemistry, making it clear why they were cast together. They answered some vague stuff about the film but didn''t tell the core element of it.


    "And Emily, you y Jody, who bes entangled in Tom''s chaotic life. What was it like working with Ryan on this project?" The interviewer turned to Emily.


    Emily was smiling, "It was fantastic!It''s our first time acting together. Ryan brought so much energy to the role. Jody is strong and independent, but she definitely finds herself challenged by Tom''s immaturity. Their dynamic is hrious."


    Ryan shared a few funny anecdotes about Edward while filming, causing the interviewer to burst intoughter. "The sandwich was in my seat, so I thought it was for me," he defended himself, slightly agitated.


    Emily guffawed until she lost her breath, mimicking Edward''s tone, "When Edward came, he was like, ''Dude!''" This made Ryan crack up as well.


    Stillughing, Emily added, "Ed called Ryan a sandwich thief."


    Ryan quickly retorted, "I exined to him that I really thought it was from the cart or something my manager put in my chair. He will not trust me!"


    As the interviews gained traction online, drawing significant views on YouTube and other tforms, they created a buzz for the movie.


    However, the yful interactions between Ryan and Emily sparked some trouble for Gosling. His current girlfriend, seeing the flirty and fun chemistry in the interviews, confronted him, leading to a heated argument.


    "We don''t have anything going on between us! She has a boyfriend!" Ryan defended himself.


    "Oh, don''t be so naive Ryan. This is Hollywood. No one cares if someone has a partner or not!" His girlfriend rebuked him.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After enduring so much, the media was relentless in their pursuit of my side of the story and exclusive interviews about the incident. It would be better for me to get in front of it rather than let people specte.


    As I drove to Jenna''s ce, I called Pepper and said, "You know those interviews? How about reaching out to Conan? He''s not working on anything right now, so he can fly out here. I can''t go to New York to let Jimmy interview me again."


    Pepper replied nonchntly, "Fallon would actuallye here if you want him to. But do you really want Conan?"


    I agreed immediately. "Yeah, why not? He''s been out of the biz since I got famous, so I''ve never met the guy. Tell him we''ll do the interview in a spicy chicken wing style."


    "What''s that?" Pepper asked, confusion evident in her voice.


    "I''ll text you the detailster. I have a party to drop by, but I''m not sure if everyone''s still up yet." I replied, a hint of worry creeping into my expression.


    "When will we do it?" Pepper asked, slightly excited as he was a huge fan of Conan.


    After some thoughts, I replied, "After my fan meeting? I want to take it slow for the next few days."


    "Great idea. Get some rest," Pepper said before his tone shifted as if he were speaking to someone else. "Uh, alright, alright, I get it, I get it. I''ll tell him."


    "What''s wrong, Pep?" I asked, sensing the change in his demeanor.


    "That''s Harvey. He was calling about your house. The insurancepany is being difficult��they don''t want topensate you without a thorough investigation first."


    "It''s fine. I didn''t expect anything toe through this early," I replied, nodding slightly. "But there''s no trouble finding a new ce, right?"


    "I don''t know about that," he said honestly. "There isn''t much property that fits your requirements. You might have to move in with me for a while."


    Pepper had been the first to offer his home after the incident. His mansion had plenty of space, enough for both me and my dad. If I couldn''t find a ce quickly, it made sense to ept his offer.


    "Okay, Peps. I''ll talk to youter." I ended the call as I arrived at Jenna''s house. "Is anyone still up?" I pulled out my phone to text the group chat, checking if my friends were still awake.


    The boys weren''t supposed to stay past ten, but Jacob and Finneas were there, waiting for me. Jenna and Enid rushed out the door after I texted them, and Enid leaped into my arms.


    "EDDD!! YOU''RE ALIVEEEE!" she shouted dramatically. Both Jenna and Enid were in Santa-themed outfits, with Jenna''s costume a bit more conservative.


    "Enid! Are you crazy? Don''t expose him!" Jenna scolded, still hugging me tightly.


    Then Alex and Elsa appeared, Elsa also in a Santa costume while Alex wore casual clothes.


    "Oh look, it''s Santa''s three little ho''s," I quipped, smirking. Enid shot me a re as she released me.


    "Oh look, it''s the he-whore," Elsa shot back, her tone yful.


    "Is that a lisp, or do you not know how to say ''hero''?" I teased again, eliciting groans from the girls. They burst intoughter and pulled me inside the house.


    Jacob and Finneas were there, but Billie had stayed home; her mom thought she was too young for the sleepover.


    "Ed, we''re ying Secret Santa. You''re the only one who hasn''t pulled a name yet," Enid said excitedly.


    "Really? That''s what you guys were doing?" I asked, slightly confused. "Alright, I''ll pick a name. So I assume someone already picked mine?"


    "It''s a secret draw. You could end up with your own name," Alex interjected. I nodded, reached into the hat, and pulled out a name . It was Enid''s. Then, I noticed that she was staring intently at me with a face full of anticipation.


    "Um, are you guys sure the draw wasn''t rigged?" I teased slightly. I slowly sat down on the couch as I got settled in.

 Chapter 306: Camping.

    <h4>Chapter 306: Chapter 306: Camping.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    "Come on, sit on Santa''sp and tell me what you want for Christmas," Enid beckoned, pping her thigh twice to get my attention. We were all still in the living room, even though it was nearly midnight.


    I chuckled as I sipped my soda. "Santa''s eyes look dangerous. I might get felt up, so I won''t."


    Enid gasped in mock offense, andughter erupted around the room. "You''re a naughty boy then. No gifts for you this Christmas!" Sheughed, however her eyes were still dangerous.


    "Ohe on. I''m nice... at times," I joked, eliciting more chuckles from my friends.


    Jacob picked up several camping bags from the floor and gave me a knowing nod, urging me to head outside. The boys had permission from Mrs. Alexandria to stay over��honestly, she didn''t really care.


    We decided to camp out on thewn, right by the pool. Jacob brought his camping gear, iming he was going to camp with me tonight at the ruins of my house. Finneas did the same. Both of them were finally bing rebellious teenagers, lying to their parents without a second thought.


    "I want to see this." Enid said as she followed the boys outside. Elsa grabbed Jenna''s hand and said, "Let''s go see the boys set up their tents too."


    "No, we shouldn''t go outside thiste at night, especially with boys. The devil is everywhere and he will try to tempt us." Jenna said with a nk stare. Elsa narrowed her eyes at Jenna, "Girl, who are you!?"


    Jenna just shrugged in response. Alex joined Enid as we headed outside, and Elsa pulled her best friend along too. Jacob began setting up the tent,ying down the poles, when I suddenly ced my tools back on the ground.


    Jacob and Finneas looked up at me, confusion written on their faces.


    "Can you give me a minute?" I checked the time and excused myself, walking to a quieter corner.


    "What are you doing?" Finneas asked, his tone slightly raised. Jacob added, "If you don''t know how to build a tent, that''s fine. You don''t have to be embarrassed about it."


    "Who doesn''t know how to build a tent? Edward? That''s refreshing," Alex chimed in, walking beside her boyfriend.


    Enid shouted, "Ed! Don''t be shy! I''ll love you no matter what!"


    "Shh!" I shushed them while dialing a number. "Oh, it''s a phone call," Jenna eximed simply. "You guys jumped to conclusions fast," she added, turning to Jacob, Finneas, Alex, and Enid, who all looked a bit embarrassed.


    "Who''s he calling?" Elsa asked. Alex suddenly remembered something and scowled, "Ugh. I know who he''s calling."


    The call picked up after a moment, and the voice on the other end sounded urgent.


    "Hello? Edward?" Haley asked, anticipation clear in her voice.


    "Were you out jogging? Why are you out of breath?" I teased.


    "I just got out of the shower," Haley replied, taking a deep breath to calm herself.


    My eyes widened slightly as I smirked. "So you''re in your birthday suit for your birthday?"


    "I am wearing a towel," she replied cluelessly. "I''m not wearing a suit."


    "That''s not... Nevermind. I''m just calling to wish you a Happy Birthday."


    "Aww. That''s so sweet. You''re the first one to do that," she said, a bit bashful.


    I was skeptical. "Really? I thought your parents��especially your dad��would want to be the first."


    Haley agreed. "I thought so too. So I changed his wristwatch to 20 minutes earlier, and all the clocks in the house. He wished me 20 minutes ago with my mom. I felt bad for him. He almost nodded off a few times."


    "That''s��genius. Although it''s an evil genius kind," I said, impressed.


    Haley giggled. "Hmm, It''s so you can really be the first�C No, I mean, so you''re the first."


    "Excuse me?" I asked, my lips curled upward, "So you knew I''d call?"


    Haley was silent for a moment before replying, "I have an inkling about it." Her tone was excited, even though she tried to y it cool.


    We didn''t talk for a while, justughed with each other. "So I''m the first, huh? I''m really d to be the first one to call."


    "You can be my other first too," Haley suddenly said in a seductive tone. "Oops, my towel dropped. So I am wearing my ''birthday suit'' right now."


    "This turned out to be rated R fast," I said, taking a deep breath. "I guess I can only see you when there''s daylight tomorrow."


    Haley instantly became excited again. "Wait, you said you''re working tillte."


    "Those guys decided to shoot all of my scenes today, so filming is wrapped up for me. I''ll stop by theb for a bit before I go to your house."


    "Oh, the insane girl," Haley remembered what I told her before. "She''s going to be fine now?"


    "I think so, as long as there''s nothing going wrong with the cure." I said before changing the subject. "Now that we can spend some time together, I''ll take you out tomorrow for a birthday lunch, how about that?"


    Haley agreed excitedly. "Yes! Although we can still go to McDonald''s. I don''t really care which restaurant it is."


    I smiled and said, "No-no, Mac and Donald only opened their ce at night, so I''ll reschedule it with them."


    "Mac and Donald?" Haley was confused. "Wait, it''s not a fast food restaurant where you nned to bring me to?"


    "No, these are two chefs that I invested in. Their restaurant became pretty famous recently. It''s called <i>Le Ciel</i>." It meant ''The Sky'' in French.


    Haley was startled. "You mean the new restaurant up in the hill? That''s a four-star restaurant. Grandpa has been trying to get a reservation for weeks!"


    The restaurant was a French cuisine dining experience with a backdrop of the Pacific Ocean. It was a romantic spot where people went to enjoy special moments. I was exining it simply, but it was a ce that had be quite famous in the area.


    "If you really want to go there, I can speak with them," I said with a slight smile. "You can bring your grandpa too if he wants."


    Haley thought for a moment before replying, "If it opens during lunch, then all of my family can go there for my celebration. My night will be free, and I can spend it exclusively with you."


    "Wait��" I was stunned at first before I thought about it. "Alright then. I''ll try to speak with them."


    "Great. Don''t worry, my grandpa will be paying for it," Haley teased. "You''re homeless now. I can''t take money from the homeless."


    I yed along and said, "You want to know something?"


    "What?" She was interested.


    "I''m camping out tonight, sleeping in a small tent with a bunch of guys."


    "Oh, you poor thing," she cackled at my misery. "I got a room all by myself tonight." Then she invited, her tone turning seductive, "Want toe over?"


    "Is this what''s going to happen for the entirety of your birthday? You keep trying to get in my pants?" I teased lightly.


    For thest few days, she had joked about losing her virginity when she finally turned 16, repeatedly hinting it at me as we chatted. It was hard to tell where the joke ended and the truth began, leaving me feeling helpless in the situation.


    "Guess what I''m doing right now," she said suddenly. "I''m locking the door. Alex is gone. I have no clothes on and amying down on the bed."


    "No. Don''t��stop, I mean, don''t do it. Stop." I stammered, pulling at my cor as I needed air. "I couldn''t take three attacks all at once."


    Haley hummed seductively. "Come on~ I''m just a hot girlying down alone in my room. I want to spend somest moments here..., making some memories. I never had a... personal time here because Alex is always around. I had to always use the bathroom for it."


    "My friends are waving at me right now. You''re being crazy." I said, waving back to Enid and Jacob, who were trying to get my attention, wanting me to help set up the tent.


    "Hmm..." Haley moaned yfully. "Guess where my hand is right now."


    "I''m in a dilemma here. I want to end the call, but my finger won''t move." I confessed, slightly torn. Haley giggled, "My fingers are moving pretty fast right now. Stay with me; I want to hear your voice when I��"


    "Haley! I was at the wrong time before! My watch was fast by 20 minutes!" Suddenly, Phil banged on the door. I felt a wave of relief, mixed with a hint of disappointment.


    "Your dad''s here," I said in a calm tone.


    "Damn it! How did he know?!" Haley sounded frustrated.


    "Maybe someone texted him? Who knows?" I replied, trying to defuse the situation, knowing I didn''t have it in me to end the call myself. If that wasn''t clear, I meant I texted him, telling him that I saw his watch was 20 minutes fast when I met him in the morning.


    "Honey! Open the door." ire also called her. "Ugh!" She groaned slightly before shouting, "I''m on a call with Ed!"


    "Then let us in! We can all wish you a happy birthday together!" Phil shouted happily.


    "I think I have to open the door." Haley told me with a pitiful tone. I chuckled a bit and said, "Look on the bright side. At the very least, you locked the door."


    Haleyughed a bit and said, "Or I''ll be like Jenny from ''Not Another Teen Movie''."


    I burst intoughter and nced at my friends. Both Jacob and Enid wore dissatisfied expressions as the tent was almost built. "I better go now, or else they''re going to kick me out of the tent too. Then I''ll truly be sleeping outside."


    We ended the call as Haley needed to put her clothes on, and I had to help my friends.


    "Why is the tent askew?" I asked as I approached them.


    "The main question is why you''re pitching a tent," Elsa shot back.


    Startled, I nced down at my crotch, but Elsa continued, looking at Jacob. "Why don''t you check into a hotel somewhere? Or just use a room inside the house? Jenna''s room is upstairs. You can use the guest room downstairs."


    "No. I don''t like that," Jenna interjected.


    Elsa scoffed. "What do you mean? You''re acting like you''ve never had boys sleeping over before. Grow up. These guys will just sleep. You did worse things with those boys."


    "I MADE SOME MISTAKES! SO WHAT?! I regretted it!" Jenna shot back, and soon, she and Elsa were bickering.


    "Oh, so regret makes you better now? You worn-out slut," Elsa mocked, clearly fed up with Jenna''s "changes" and preachy way of life.


    Jenna gasped in offense, ready to retaliate. "You bitc��" But she stopped herself, calming down as she murmured, "Remember Jenna. A good Christian always turns the other cheek."


    "And let the boys p that too," Elsa retorted crassly.


    "Damn," Jacob said, grabbing Elsa from behind and lifting her off the ground. "She needs a time out."


    "Yeah, that was way overboard, Elsa!" Enid scolded as sheforted the teary Jenna.


    "I worry about our sleepovers," Alex whispered.


    Finneas hit the anchor on the tent for finishing touches and raised his hand in celebration. "I did it!" The tent stood intact for almost two seconds before a breeze knocked it down to the ground.


    "Yeah, I have the same worries," I whispered back.


    Jenna and Elsa went to separate rooms at first, vowing not to sleep in the same bed. Enid and Alex had to pick which room they wanted to stay in, and it turned into another high tension situation for the girls.


    The boys and I rebuilt the tent, and this time, with my help, it was set up correctly. After anchoring it, weid down some pillows and decided to sleep directly on the floor, without any air mattresses or covers.


    The ground felt harsh and cold, prompting Finneas to groan andin, "It feels lumpy."


    "Do you want to grab some mattresses from inside the house and risk running into the girls?" I asked.


    "I''d rather sleep on the lumpy ground," Finneas replied, punching the lump beneath him.


    "We don''t even have nkets," Jacob chimed in. "If it gets too cold at night, we''re going to have to spoon with each other."


    I quickly sat up and turned to Finneas. "Change positions with me. I don''t want to be in the middle and risk getting spooned by Jacob."


    "No!" Finneas protested, but I grabbed him and forced him to roll over. He fought back, wing and rolling to reim his spot, which made Jacob annoyed.


    "I''m going to sleep in the middle then!" Jacob dered, standing up. "Then you both will have that chance."


    "NO!!" Finneas and I protested. A scuffle broke out inside the tent, shaking it around. As we wrestled, I spotted the lounge chairs near the pool and felt relieved.


    "Wait, there are beds on those chairs," I said, just as Jacob grabbed my shirt from underneath me. All three of us ended up in a strange position that I knew would excite Enid��luckily, she wasn''t around.


    "We can use the towels as nkets, too," Jacob said, noticing what I was looking at.


    "Thank god we''re not going to spoon," Finneas sighed in relief. Jacob turned to him and replied vaguely, "Who knows what will happenter."


    "ED! SAVE ME!" Finneas shouted desperately.


    "I''M GOING TO SAVE MYSELF FIRST!!" I shot back. We had some fun and decided to hang out by the pool, since none of us were sleepy yet.


    "What do you think the girls are doing up there?" Finneas asked, staring at the lit windows.


    "I don''t think they''re having pillow fights, that''s for sure," I replied.


    "Maybe they''re fighting for real. With their fists," Jacob guessed, raising his hand in mock defense.


    Finneas chuckled. "You think they''re holding a fight club in there?"


    "Which begs the question: who do you think would win in a fight among the four of them?" I asked.


    Both of them pondered for a moment before Jacob answered, "Of course it''s Elsa. She''s the wildest among them, and it helps that she''s ck��"


    "Don''t ever say that in front of her��unless she brings it up first," I advised, stopping Jacob. He looked confused but shrugged it off.


    "No, I don''t think so. Alex knows judo. She''s a brown belt," Finneas argued.


    I scoffed. "Of course you guys are going to pick your girlfriends."


    Both of them looked dissatisfied, and Jacob asked, "Who do you think will win then?"


    "I have no idea, but I think Enid is creative. While the others use their fists, Enid would pick up a rock," I guessed.


    "No she��she��maybe she would?" Jacob started toe around to my idea.


    Finneas nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Alex is a stickler for the rules. Enid would have already taken out her opponent by the time Alex picked up a rule book."


    "So we all agree Jenna will be the first one to lose?" Jacob asked. Finneas snickered, "The ''now'' Jenna would lose on purpose. If it was her previous self, she''d hire a few guys to fight on her behalf."


    Iughed, adding, "No, there wouldn''t even be a fight. Jenna would have them kidnapped and buried in a ditch somewhere."


    Jacob joined in,ughing. "So I guess we should be grateful that she''s changed, right?"


    "A little. But she can be a bit preachy," Finneas grimaced. I turned to him and asked, "What did she preach to you about?"


    "Nothing bad. I was just holding hands with Alex."


    "Uuuu!" Both Jacob and I teased Finneas, who blushed a bit. I mumbled, "Both of you are degenerates."


    "We''re just holding hands?" Finneas widened his eyes in disbelief as he looked at me.


    "That''s what I''m saying." I smirked and used him, "Lewd."


    "What in the world?" Finneas was confused, and we allughed a bit before Jacob asked, "Ed, what happened that day?"


    "What day? My life is full of shocking stuff, so you''ll have to be specific," I replied.


    Finneas thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it, your life does seem filled with shocking events. Carrying a bloodied detective to the hospital. Punching a guy and going to court. A missile hit your house."


    "I think your studio could make several movies based on your life alone," Jacob added. "I''d watch that for sure." Finneas nodded in agreement.


    "You know, before the missile hit, I did surgery on an NSA agent''s legs after he was shot by a shotgun. Terrorists surrounded my house, but I tricked them into going elsewhere, beat up the guard they left behind, and nned to evacuate. That''s when the missile hit." I bragged a bit.


    "Surgery?" Finneas was shocked.


    "Fight?" Jacob was astounded.


    "You fought off the terrorists?"


    "You did illegal surgery on a federal agent?"


    Realizing I might have shattered their worldview, I mumbled, "Did I make a mistake telling you guys that? You can keep it a secret for me, right? Or else I''m going to have to eliminate you."


    Jacob raised his hand immediately. "I can keep a secret. But... Finneas is a little weak." He red at Finneas.


    Feeling rmed, Finneas asked, "What did I do?"


    Jacob looked at me secretly and said, "We might need to... you know, ''Kerk." He made a throat-slitting gesture and pointed at Finneas secretly, even though Finneas caught him.


    "You''re killing me? At least let me say goodbye to my family first." Finneas epted his fate.


    "And risk information leakage? We can''t risk that happening." Jacob said.


    "Yeah, you''re going to be sentenced to death by spooning with Jacob tonight." I interjected.


    "How will that make him die?" Jacob asked in confusion.


    I smirked and said, "Socially."


    Finneas was baffled by the things nned out for him and tried to save himself, "What if I just hit myself with a pan really hard and lose my memory."


    "That can work." I nodded before all of us snickered. As we talked, Jacob suddenly smacked his lips and said, "I''m thirsty."


    "You need to go inside to grab a drink." Finneas said with a slight depression, also smacking his lips.


    "Or, you guys can drink the pool water." I suggested jokingly. "I''m sure only a small percentage of them are urine." I added.


    Both of them grimaced slightly at that thought. "Gross." Jacobmented. "Immature." Finneas alsomented.


    "You say it now, but who knows what kind of adults you''d be." I said before standing up. "I''m tired. We should go to sleep."


    "You go first." Finneas said.


    I grimaced and said, "And risk being the first one to fall asleep? I''m not falling for that."


    Before they could react, Enid rushed to thewn, wearing a unicorn pajama. We all turned toward her, and I asked, slightly confused, "Hey, what''s wrong?"


    "Elsa and Jenna are having a huge fight. So I''m hiding out here," Enid said, sitting down near us.


    Finneas ignored her and turned to me first. "What do you mean you''re not falling for that? We''re not immature enough to draw a penis on your forehead while you sleep."


    "Yeah, we''re only going to draw the balls," Jacob snickered. Then, noticing Enid staring at him, he flinched and said, "Foot...balls."


    "Nice save," Enid replied, looking at him with disgust. "Cause, you know... he ys football with us." Jacob tried to defend himself.


    "Enid!" Alex called out from afar as she too needed a break from Elsa. "Oh, you guys aren''t asleep yet? What trouble is bothering you?" she asked with a slight sarcastic tone.


    "A lot. We don''t have any covers. No nkets. We can''t even grab a drink," Finneas said with a smirk, already used to Alex''s attitude.


    "We also can''t go to the toilet, no matter how badly we need to," Jacob added.


    "Yeah, Jacob has to relieve himself by the bushes like a puppy," I teased. Jacob looked at me in disbelief, his mouth breaking into a smile.


    "Ew, Jacob," Enid and Alex groaned in unison.


    "I didn''t!" Jacob protested, startled, and turned to defend himself.


    Enid then asked Alex, "What should we do about them?" referring to Jenna and Elsa.


    "I don''t know. They won''t talk to each other," Alex replied.


    "Ed! What should we do?" Enid asked me.


    Alex interjected before I could reply, "You''re asking the boys? They won''t know how to handle the delicate situation."


    "I mean," I cut in, "that may be right. Girls are more emotionally mature." I started with apliment.


    Alex nodded in agreement. "See," she said, turning to Enid, wanting her to see her point.


    "I mean, we boys y rough with each other. How can we possibly know what''s going on inside the girls'' minds? Sure, I can say something like, ''Elsa felt rejected by Jenna''s change. They did everything together before, and now that Jenna is denying her past, Elsa feels rejected too. So sheshed out, wanting Jenna to be her past self, to be her best friend again.''"


    Alex was left speechless, and Enid paid close attention to what I was saying.


    "And Jenna, too. She wanted to change her ways. But as Elsa kept bringing it up, Jenna felt she couldn''t escape her past. None of us were supportive of it, and it makes things worse. She tried over and over to show she had changed, which maybe is because she''s conflicted and deeply ashamed of herself. She''s feeling lost. She doesn''t know what to do to make things right."


    As I said that, I paused momentarily, feeling a connection to the topic.


    "Ed?" Enid called out, pulling me back.


    "Oh, sorry. So if they actually talk to each other about this, maybe, just maybe, they can be good friends again. They don''t even need a solution. They just need to understand each other. Or what do I know? I''m just a boy. I don''t know what girls are like." I yed it off coyly, which made Alex roll her eyes.


    "I get it, I get it. Stop looking so smug." Alex pointed at me with dissatisfaction. "One day, I swear I''m going to psychoanalyze you next."


    "Just take care of your boyfriend," I said, which irked Alex. "His brain is fried by all of this." I added, ncing over at Finneas, who wore a nk expression. Alex couldn''t help but smile and called him out, "Finneas. Droll!"


    "OH, sorry!" Finneas quickly wiped the saliva from his mouth. Jacob bragged to Finneas, "Man, you cannot evenprehend what girls are like."


    "Jacob, repeat what Ed just said," Enid challenged him.


    Jacob was startled and replied, "Elsa and Jenna need to get into a ring and hash it out."


    "Oh, that''s kinda correct," I eximed. Enid gave him a suspicious stare before standing up to leave with Alex. Before she left, she said, "Ed! If you''re correct, we''re taking the credit."


    "But if you''re wrong, you''ll get the me!" Alex teased. As both girls left, I turned to Jacob and asked, "Your mind is still thinking about the girls'' fight club, isn''t it?"


    "I take a shot. And I scored," Jacob bragged. "I honestly didn''t hear anything you were saying. I nked out after, ''Elsa felt rejected.''"


    "Yeah. Me too!" Finneas agreed excitedly with Jacob. After a moment, I turned to the door again and sighed, "I thought those two would actually bring us a drink or something, but they didn''t even look back after they were gone... Heartless bitc�C"


    ...


    Morning came, and I stretched as I crawled out of the tent, feeling sore all over from sleeping on the thin mat. Finneas and Jacob were still sound asleep, their faces adorned with doodles. Finneas sported a Hitler mustache, while Jacob had sses drawn on him. Of course, reproductive organs were a necessity in their artwork.


    I sat alone by the pool, waiting for everyone else to wake up. Mrs. Karlson was not the type to rise early, and the girls had ate night, so they were still sleeping.


    "This is awkward," I mumbled, realizing it might take a while before anyone else stirred. I quickly got over it and headed to the kitchen to make some food for myself. By 10 AM, with no sign of life, I went to wake the boys.


    "Hey, I have to head out now. I made some breakfast for you guys and left it in the oven," I told Jacob and Finneas, who were still groggy and wiping their eyes.


    "So early?" Finneas looked at me, confused. "It''s only 10," he added.


    "He''s a busy man," Jacob chimed in for me. "We need to get up, too. Our parents are picking us up at the bus stop at 11."


    "Right. We still need to pretend we were camping elsewhere," Finneas muttered sleepily.


    "I''m sorry for this. I can drive you if I don''t have any priormitments," I said with an apologetic expression. "I just have a bad feeling something will go wrong at theb, so I need to be there in person."


    Finneas and Jacob waved their hands dismissively. "It''s fine. It was never supposed to be a sleepover for you," Finneas said.


    "Tell the girls I''m sorry, alright?" I said before I left the house. I didn''t even see Mrs. Karlson from start to finish��she was in her room using the face masks I had given her.


    I drove to Dr. Fowler''sb in Pasadena, where I finally met up with Abed again. To my surprise, my security team was already waiting for me.


    It wasn''t just Abed there; Annie, Pierce, Jeff, and Troy were also present. Shirley didn''te, as she had her kids to take care of.


    Abed made a finger gun gesture at me and said, "We''re on a road trip episode... even though all of us took different nes."


    "Everyone except Abed and Annie has to stay behind. The patient can only bring two people with her inside," I told everyone, much to their disappointment.


    Jeff grinned and said, "Lucky. I was thinking about ways to avoid this. I''m finally in California. It''s time to hit the beach and see how many rich girls I can pick up in an afternoon."


    Annie gasped and turned to Jeff, "You said you wanted to be here for Britta. That''s why Pierce bought all of us tickets!"


    "I''m only here for the fun of it," Jeff replied with a smirk. Troy added, "I only want to ride a ne. I''ve never ridden one before."


    Pierce said, "Ie to California all the time. But Abed, can you let me enter theb with Britta? I''m worried about her and want to be there... you know, in case anything happens."


    "Oh, that''s��" Abed hesitated. Pierce saw it and instantly turned to Annie, "Or maybe you can stay behind. Let''s be honest, you''re only here because you want to see the boy again. You already met him now."


    "Pierce!" Annie was embarrassed and hid her eyes from me. "Don''t say that in front of him," she whispered.


    "Wait, before you guys decide who''s going to enter, you''re forgetting the most crucial thing here," I interrupted.


    "Huh? What did we forget?" Troy asked, confused.


    "Um, the patient?" I pointed out. "She''s not here."


    Everyone looked around instantly. Jeff chuckled derisively, "What a bad joke. Of course she''s here��"


    "She''s not here," Annie muttered in shock. "SHE''S NOT HERE!" she shouted, entering full-on panic mode.


    "Oh my god! We lost Britta!" Troy eximed in horror.


    "Worse, if she''s already lost her mind, she''ll be... gone forever..." Pierce said ominously.


    "Who''s responsible for keeping an eye on her?!" Jeff asked, concern etched on his face.


    I rubbed my sore forehead and said, "Damn it. I knew something bad was going to happen. I thought it would be during the thing, not at the beginning. Robin, see if you can locate her."


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


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 Chapter 307: Birthday and Japan tour

    <h4>Chapter 307: Chapter 307:?Birthday and Japan tour</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Turns out, Britta only went to a nearby bathroom inside the building, bumped into Dr. Farrah Fowler, and was brought to herb without a chance to tell her friends what was going on.


    By the time I arrived at theb, Dr. Fowler had already started the procedure.


    As I entered, I saw Britta sitting in a chair with electrodes connected to her head, while Amy monitored her brain synapses on a screen.


    Smiling at me, Amy reported, "I have administered the first dose for the treatment, and we''ll continue to observe her for the next few days before introducing the second dose."


    "That''s not all of it?" Britta asked, a bit confused.


    Amy turned to her, adjusting the electrodes. "No. Life''s not that simple. It''ll take a month before we can see the results."


    "Oh, I have to stay here for a month? What aboutmunity college?" Britta''s eyes widened with anxiety.


    Amy replied sternly, "I think you should be clear about where your priorities lie."


    "It''s fine. That''s not going to be a problem. I''m closing down the college until after the 20th anyway," I said casually as I picked up Amy''s research report. "Also, you might need to be here for a month. If nothing goes wrong, you can actually go back within a week."


    Theb fell silent, broken only by the rustling of papers as I flipped through the report. After an hour, Amy finally took off the electrodes.


    "I''m already feeling better now," Britta said with a fake smile.


    Amy burst her bubble immediately, saying, "The medicine would interfere with your brain hormones. That might be the dopamine release you''re feeling. Here."


    She handed Britta a notepad. "You need to record your experiences when you''re by yourself."


    "Is it necessary?" Britta asked, reluctant.


    "You can do this, or we put you in a box with a full monitoring team. Which one works best for you?" I casually threw out the threat.


    Britta quickly grabbed the notepad. "I''ll write down everything."


    "I don''t really believe you. But luckily you brought Annie here, so she''ll be responsible for you," I said.


    "Now, about the bills?" I turned to Amy. Britta''s face paled, and she stammered, "Bil��Bills? You''re billing me?"


    Amy smiled, knowing what I was doing, and handed me a contract. "Here. I made her sign this before administering the meds."


    "That''s not a release form?" Britta asked, her voice shaky.


    "Of course not. This is an agreement. The research, the materials for the drug you''re using��all of it needs funding. You don''t expect me to do it all from the kindness of my heart, do you? I mean, I just lost my house. I can''t afford to do any charity right now."


    "Umm... H-How much is it��in total?" Britta''s heart raced, and her palms became sweaty. She kept drying her hands on her jeans, leaving a wet mark behind.


    "Not a lot," I replied with a casual expression. Britta''s hope flickered as she asked again, "How much?"


    "Two fifty," I said. Britta''s eyes lit up. "Wait. Only two fifty? I can pay that right now��"


    "Thousand," Amy interjected, stunning Britta into silence. "Two hundred and fifty thousand dors��after the discount." She added this with a casual smile and a slight nod.


    Britta went speechless.


    The data from Britta''s treatment would be useful for Amy in her neurological studies, so I decided to deduct the value of the data from Britta''s debt.


    I snapped my fingers a few times in front of Britta''s face to bring her back to reality. "Britta? Britta? You there?"


    "Is this a side effect of the medicine?" Amy began checking Britta''s pupil dtion, but her touch was enough to bring Britta back.


    "Wh��Two-fifty. TWO FIFTY!?" Britta bolted upright from the chair, panicking. "I don''t have any money to pay for that!!"


    "I''m sure we cane to an arrangement," I said with a smile. "Or, you can y along with me, and have someone else foot the bill." My words carried a sinister tone, but for Britta, it sounded as pleasant as an angel''s call.


    After exining to the duo, Britta was a bit reluctant to y along at first, but as I shed the bills at her, her sense of morality quickly corroded.


    "If you don''t want to do this, then I can contact your parents. They are pretty well off so I think they can pay me back the money." I shrugged as I saw her conflicted expression.


    "Wait, if I do this, then, I don''t really trick him or anything." Britta''s sense of morality finally broke down at the mention of her parents. "He''s doing it to himself."


    "''If'' he does that." Amy corrected her. " If Edward was wrong, and he doesn''t do it. Then you''ll have to pay for it yourself."


    "Either way, I''m still going to get my money back," I added.


    "Let''s do it. If he actually goes through with this, it means he doesn''t care that it''s myst chance. He''s selfish enough to send me to the pits of hell if it benefits him."


    I smirked, amused by Britta''s roundabout justification. "Sure," I replied.


    Soon, the n was set in motion. Pierce, Annie, Abed, and Troy entered theb, with Troy and Annie rushing to Britta.


    "We thought we lost you forever!" Annie eximed as she hugged her. Troy looked concerned and added, "I thought I was going to have to go on the news, asking everyone to look for you."


    I was a bit confused. "Why would you lead the search? Her close friends and family should be the ones doing that."


    Troy shrugged, unable to provide an answer. Meanwhile, Pierce scanned the room with sharp eyes and suddenly fixed his gaze on a metal box marked with a warning sign. "Is this thepound you''re injecting into her?" he asked, curiosity evident in his tone.


    Abed leaned closer to me and whispered, "I have a bad feeling about this." I raised my hand to signal him, ''I got this,'' before walking towards Pierce.


    "Yeah, it''s made from the blood of the Amazon Ruby Spider, radioactive chemicals, brain fluid from a spider monkey, and the testicle of an ox," I said, listing off several nonsensical ingredients. Surprisingly, Troy and Pierce took me seriously.


    "So, there''s a high chance this is going to give her... you know, superpowers?" Pierce asked, eyes wide with intrigue.


    I chuckled and replied, "It''ll improve her brain. Not sure about superpowers, though��there hasn''t been any human experimentation."


    " The materials needed were so rare that we could only find enough for one dose of the superserum��no, I mean, brain cure. Stupid tongue slip." I feigned punishment for my mistake by pping my mouth before walking over to Britta.


    "We''re going to administer the serum now. Everyone, please exit theb and wait outside," I said as I approached Britta and Amy.


    ''Will he take the bait?'' Britta''s expression seemed to ask as she nced at me. I shrugged, equally curious about what was going to happen.


    Annie noticed Britta sweating and staring intently at Pierce, thinking that she was nervous for the treatment. She smiled and brushed Britta''s arm tofort her. "Britta, it''s going to be fine. Ed knows what he''s doing."


    Her blind confidence in me made me flutter a bit. Annie identally met my eyes and she lowered it immediately, with her face starting to blush. It made me wonder if she came here for Britta or was it for something else. Maybe a little bit of both?


    "Technically, I''m the one doing the things," Amy interrupted the two girl''s conversation, ncing at Annie. Annie smiled politely at her before continuing tofort Britta again.


    Pierce''s eyes darted between the box and Britta, who was sitting in the chair, waiting for the medicine. His conscience urged him to stop, yet it wasn''t strong enough to actually do so, only putting in a half-hearted effort.


    Suddenly, Pierce grabbed the box and turned to Britta. Abed pointed at him. "Pierce, what are you doing?"


    "I''m sorry, Brittles. When I be a superhero and rejuvenate my youth, I''ll make sure to scour the entire world to find a cure for you. Singer dude! I''ll pay for the experiment!" He opened the box and injected the yellow fluid from the syringe into himself.


    "ARghh!" he yelled in agony, though he wasn''t actually in pain. Annie''s eyes widened in horror. "Pierce!"


    Troy mumbled in disbelief, "That was Britta''s only shot." Abed''s mind went nk, but then he noticed my smirk, which calmed him down.


    Annie lunged to wrestle the syringe from Pierce''s hand, but he growled at her, snapping his teeth like a snapping turtle.


    Amy turned to me and mouthed, "Wow, he''s really crazy."


    "I KNOW!" I mouthed back.


    "Hmm, it doesn''t seem to be working," Pierce said, calming down as he felt nothing from the serum.


    Annie finally wrested the syringe away and berated him, "Pierce! You realize what you just did? You just gave a death sentence to Britta!"


    The unapologetic crazy white man muttered dismissively, "Come on. It was one shot. He can make others��" He pointed at me, and his words stopped abruptly.


    Before he could finish, his eyes turned white, and he lost consciousness, falling face-first onto the floor.


    "Help!" Annie quickly checked on Pierce and turned to Amy and me. "He needs help!" she stressed, noticing that Amy and I were being casual about it.


    Abed turned towards me, guessing, "That''s not the medicine?"


    "It''s not. It''s a tranquilizer," I replied casually. "Mixed with some other stuff," I added in a whisper. Even though Pierce would be footing the bills for Britta, it didn''t seem fair for him not to get anything, so I added some stuff that would make him healthier.


    It wouldn''t really be a loss for him paying a quarter million dors for it as there was no way he would get what I made on the market. Who knows, maybe he would even cure his hypervirility and finally get an heir.


    Britta looked at Pierce with extreme disdain and muttered to Amy, "So, he''ll foot the bills, right? Bill him for everything he has! Take everything away from him as he callously wanted to take everything away from me!"


    I shrugged at her words and said to everyone, "He won''t wake up for the next couple of days. Britta, you need monitoring, so you can''t really go sightseeing. Everyone else��want toe see the movie set with me and Abed?" I invited them casually, as if Pierce''s cold body weren''t still lying on the floor.


    "Can anyone exin to me what just happened?" Annie asked, befuddled by the entire thing. I smirked at her and said, "The less you know, the better."


    ...


    [General POV]


    The entire family gathered together at Le Ciel to celebrate Haley''s birthday.


    The chefs prepared a full-course meal catered specifically for the guests'' taste buds, and everyone enjoyed the luxurious, authentic atmosphere of the Michelin 4-star restaurant.


    Mitchell and Cam walked around with Lily, leaving the table after singing the birthday song and enjoying the cake. A professional photographer, hired by Cam, captured the entire event. After the cake was cut, Cam held him hostage �C insisting that he follow him around the restaurant, snapping pictures of Cam and his family at every turn.


    Jay was finally satisfied after getting into the restaurant he wanted to get to. Gloria hugged his arm and rested her head on Jay''s shoulder as she asked, "Jay, if we get drunk here, then how will we get back?"


    A waiter interrupted them as he brought them another bottle of wine, "Don''t worry about that. Mr Newgate has drivers on standby in case this happens."


    There were no other guests besides family members, as it was a special event arranged at Edward''s request.


    "Too bad Eddy isn''t here," Philined, raising his ss to toast Haley''s birthday. Dressed in a glittery golden gown with a leg slit that reached her upper knee, Haley grinned and replied, "Ed said he''ll stop by if he can."


    Alex immediately exposed her lie. "Ed''s noting. She made sure of that."


    ire turned to Haley with disbelief, "Why didn''t you want him toe?"


    "Um," Haley stammered a bit, and Alex immediately jumped in to reveal everything, "Because she wants to see him tonight."


    ire smiled a bit and said, "Oh, so you guys already made ns huh?"


    Gloria interjected, "Is he taking you somewhere romantic?"


    "Huh? Ed wille to the house tonight though." Phil suddenly poured cold water to the woman''s enthusiasm. ire turned to Phil who sat next to him, "What?"


    Haley widened her eyes slightly and said, "Did he tell you that?"


    "Yeah. Edward said he''sing over to work on the house. We''ll start today." Phil replied nonchntly, unaware of the girl''s feelings.


    Jay also didn''t notice it and asked, "Phil, how''s the search for Edward''s new house going?"


    Phil grimaced a bit and said, "Not that great. I found a nice house by the beach. But it is too small for his status, andcks privacy."


    Gloria interjected excitedly, "Speaking of houses, do you know what happened today? The house in front...of our house... Ay, how do I say it?"


    "It''s listed for sale today." Jay continued as Gloria faced some difficulty. "But I don''t think Ed will be interested in that." He continued.


    Phil was a bit excited and said, "It''s listed for sale? That''s actually a really good thing. You guys can be neighbors!"


    Manny was finally interested after hearing that, "That will be a great opportunity for me to learn more from Edward."


    Luke added, "And we''ll finally have a reason toe to Grandpa''s ce other than to use the pool."


    While the family were having lunch, Edward brought the four people to his studio where he introduced them to the movie set.


    Judd was confused when he saw Edward there, "What are you doing here? Your work is done! Go home!"


    "I''m only here to show my friends around and to show Donald something," Edward pointed at Troy as he said that. Judd was stunned when he saw Troy. "Donald?" he muttered in confusion. "He looks younger... Donald''s long-lost brother?"


    "I''m here to beat his racist allegations against me," Edward joked. He enjoyed bringing the four people to the studio, but he didn''t stay with them for long.


    Around 3 in the afternoon, Edward told the guests, "I''m sorry I can''t hang out longer. I have some ns. If I still had my house, I would''ve invited you there, but right now, I don''t have a ce for guests to stay."


    Abed didn''t mind that and asked, "I have a question. If you built a house set inside the studio, would you consider staying there if you had no other ce to go?"


    Edward fell into deep thought for a moment, then replied, "If it has a fully functional bathroom and I''m desperate enough, then I''ll consider it."


    Abed said, "That''s something to look forward to."


    In disbelief, Edward said, "Yeah��I don''t want to look forward to that. That''s horrible."


    "Edward, what ns do you have now?" Annie asked, gazing intently at him.


    Edward replied casually, "I''m going to a recording studio to record a song right now."


    The group immediately showed interest. Troy asked in a monotone voice, "Can we see that?"


    "Sure," Edward said casually. "I don''t think you guys will enjoy it, though. I will be singing in Japanese, so you won''t know the meaning of the song."


    "Japanese? Why?" Annie asked, incredibly confused.


    Edward exined, "I''m starting my world tour there, so I''m thinking of releasing a short album in Japanese to ensure the Japanese people actually care about the tour."


    Even with that self-deprecating joke, the tickets for the world tour in Japan were already sold out. The songs were Edward''s attempt to connect and have fun with the citizens there.


    Video messages where Edward spoke fluent Japanese to the Japanese citizen were already spread throughout the country. Edward also recorded an interview in Japanese and answered the questions from the interviewer, also telling the citizens there that he was looking forward to seeing the country. Edward spoke about what anime he likes, which earned him another wave of admiration from the countrymen. All the preparations wereplete.


    "Come on. Annie and Abed can ride with me," Edward said casually as he walked to his car. After a short drive from the movie studio, he arrived at thepany building.


    Edward performing in Japan would have a total of 17 concert days across eight major venues. He would spend 3 days at Tokyo Dome, which has a capacity of approximately 55,000 attendees per show, resulting in an attendance of 165,000.


    Next, he would perform 2 days at Kyocera Dome, amodating around 40,000 fans, totaling 80,000 attendees. The tour would also include 1 day at Nissan Stadium with a capacity of 72,000, bringing in 72,000 fans, and 1 day at Saitama Super Arena, which holds 37,000, contributing 37,000 to the total.


    Additionally, there would be 1 day at Nagoya Dome (40,000 capacity) for 40,000 attendees, 1 day at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome (38,000 capacity) for 38,000, 1 day at Osaka-jo Hall (16,000 capacity) for 16,000, and 1 day at Budokan (14,000 capacity) for 14,000.


    In total, this concert schedule would allow for an approximate attendance of 462,000 people, making it a significant event in an artist''s world tour. He didn''t reveal the numbers to the public yet as he knew he would be a source of envy from the other artists.


    Edward could potentially earn approximately 60 million dors from his world tour in Japan when considering ticket sales, VIP seats, fan meet deals, merchandise, advertising, and video rights�C all in the minimum projection range.


    A lot of people came to the recording studio to watch him record the song. Pepper smiled at SunHee and told her, "I''ll be counting on you to trante the song for me."


    SunHee was baffled. Then, she retorted, "I''m not Japanese. I''m Korean!"


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 308: Ordinary Night.

    <h4>Chapter 308: Chapter 308: Ordinary Night.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    I knocked on the door of the Dunphy house, and a momentter, Haley opened it, a mischievous smile on her face. "Hey, you''re finally here." I steadied myself with my right hand on my back, returning her smile.


    "Sorry, I got held up by some work," I replied, ncing at her. She wore an oversized, semi-transparent white tee that draped casually over her shoulder, revealing her left shoulder and the dark tank top underneath, which read ''Hungry.''


    It was clear it was her work outfit,plete with a headband and a smudge of dirt on her nose, which confused me since we had some ns to go outside.


    "Here. Happy Birthday!" I extended my hand to give her a bouquet of flowers. Haley''s eyes widened slightly, and she swooned at the gesture.


    "Oh, thank you! You shouldn''t have! Come on in." She took the flowers from my hand, inhaling their fragrance as she grabbed my hand and pulled me inside, closing the door behind her.


    As I stepped in, I teased, "So, we''re not going out?"


    Haley smiled bitterly, but before she could reply, ire walked toward the front door. "Edward! I''m so sorry, dear! We lost track of time cleaning out the basement. If only the clocks in our house showed the correct time."


    That was definitely a dig at Haley''s antics with the clockst night. Grabbing my arm, Haleyined, "She''s forcing me to clean up the ce after we get back from the restaurant. I''m... exhausted." She slouched her body a little, pulling her chin up and sighed helplessly.


    ire interjected, "Oh honey, since you''re so tired, you two should just hang out here." She whispered while scratching her nose and ncing away, "...where there''s supervision."


    Phil then sauntered over. "E-Money! You''re here! Thank you so much for getting us into that restaurant!" He wiped his dirty hands on a towel and tossed it over his shoulder. "What do you kids have nned for tonight?" he asked casually,pletely out of sync with ire.


    "What? Phil��I told you��" ire tried to remind him, but I jumped in. "I was thinking of taking her to an arcade, or maybe IKEA since she''s going to move out of her room."


    ire''s expression shifted as she processed what to address first��Phil or me. After a moment of confusion, she settled on me. "Honey, IKEA is in Burbank. It''s 15 miles away, and it closes at 10."


    I understood her concerns and replied, "I figured, which is why I called ahead. They said they can keep it open until 11, but I''ll need to take some pictures."


    Phil chuckled a bit at my joke, but ire said in an endearing tone, "Ed, sweetie, you just got home from work. Haley saved you some chocte cake from her party, so why don''t you stay here, hang out on the couch, watch some TV with her instead��and��and brainstorm ideas for the room?"


    I turned to Haley and said, "You''re the birthday girl. You decide."


    Haley thought for a moment and suddenly held her back as she said, "I think I''m too tired to go out anymore."


    "Yeah, early onset arthritis at 16. You had a good run," I teased.


    Haley red at me for a bit before she turned to her parents, "We didn''t need to clear out the basement today! The contractors areing tomorrow!"


    "Then the room will be ready for them to work in!" ire shot back.


    "It''ll be dirty anyway, so why did we even need to clean it?!" Haley argued.


    I had to agree with Haley on that point. "Yeah, ire, why did you clean it?" I asked, slowly turning to her. Phil seemed to share my sentiment, adding, "Yeah, why do we need to clean it?"


    ire looked stunned by the sudden questioning. She stammered, "Becau��Because! It''ll be embarrassing when other people see how dirty it is! They''ll think I can''t take care of the house! That I''m a lousy housewife!"


    Phil immediately tried to reassure her. "Honey, no one will actually think that. You''re doing the same thing when we had that housecleaner�C" He stopped as ire red at him.


    Haley chimed in, "Yeah, Mom. No one will actually think that..." Then she added, in a low voice, "Unless they''re crazies too."


    I retorted, trying to make fun of her, "What do the contractors care about? They just want to get paid. This is just... you..." I trailed off as ire shot me a re.


    I could see the vein throbbing in her forehead and her eyes twitching, indicating she was holding back her anger.


    As I abruptly stopped mid-sentence, she smiled��a bone-chilling, fake smile��and gave an ultimatum: "You can stay here, eat cake, and discuss, or you can go home and get some rest. What do you choose?"


    "I''ll choose the cake," I replied instantaneously.


    "Y-Y-Yeah, we can eat cake," Haley echoed, nodding vigorously.


    Phil nodded profusely and added, "I''ll watch them, so you can go upstairs and clean up."


    "Hmm..." ire walked past us and stepped on the stairs. We didn''t continue talking till we were sure that she was gone.


    "Crazies." Haley muttered underneath her breath again.


    ...


    I sat at the kitchen table, the cake ced enticingly in front of me. It was a threeyer chocte cake topped with fresh strawberries and sprinkled with chocte shavings. We sat at the kitchen ind in front of the fridge as I ate.


    As I grabbed my fork, I sat there motionlessly. Haley''s excited gaze slowly turned to confusion. "Why? What''s wrong?" she asked, frowning slightly. "Don''t you like chocte?"


    "I kind of feel like this is a scheme of yours," I said usatively, slowly cutting off a small piece of the cake.


    "What scheme?" she furrowed her brows, tilting her head cutely as she tried to read my expression.


    I chuckled, leaning back as I continued to tease her as I took a bite of the cake. "This chocte cake gesture! You know I like Urs better than that b�C Mary Jane, so you decided to give me a chocte cake just like she did. Now I can''t help it."


    Haley scoffed, her smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You know when you talk about Spider-Man, you sound like a giant nerd!"


    I pointed my fork at her yfully. "What''s wrong with being a nerd? "


    "It''ll make you unpopr! And your entire career needs you to be famous," she teased.


    "Then how about you? You got the reference in a split second, so that means you''re kinda a nerd too."


    Haley widened her eyes slightly in disbelief and scoffed as she looked away from me. "I�� I''m not a nerd! I just happened to watch that movie before."


    "Don''t worry, a beautiful nerd can still be famous," I said, trying to coax her into admitting it, which only made her more frustrated.


    "Sorry to not meet your expectations! I''m sure you''d prefer to be with a girl who''s another huge nerd!"


    Confused by her sudden outburst, I gave her a nk look and asked, "Where did thate from?"


    "Ugh. Do you want some milk with that?!" she groaned, angrily offering.


    "Yes, please," I replied casually.


    The kitchen became awkward for a minute as she prepared the drink. When she came back, she tried to move on from the awkwardness with another topic, "I heard you recorded a song today."


    "Don''t try to y off what just happened." I called her out teasingly, "What''s with that sudden outburst?"


    "I''m just tired, that''s all." She dodged the question. "Also, stop referencing Spiderman so much!" she scolded. "You really seem like a geek!"


    [Haley''smentary]


    "I kinda got mad because... I feel like... he and I don''t have anything inmon. Um, it''s just slipped out. Wait, maybe I have mom''s traits? Will I be another crazy olddy as I get older?" Her eyes widened as her face was filled with shock from realization.


    [Commentary ends]


    "Alright, so you hate geeks and nerds alike." I continued teasing her, "That''s like hating your dad and your sister."


    "Well just take a look at him." Haley pointed to her dad who was keeping his eyes open with toothpicks as he stared at us from afar. As we looked at him, he said, "Just pretend I''m not here."


    I sighed and said, "Phil. Rx. You trust me, don''t you?"


    Surprisingly, he said easily, "I trust you." He emphasizes on the ''you'' part, and Haley caught it. Stunned, she stammered, "S-So It''s ME you don''t trust!"


    "Honey, I also trust you!" Phil quickly tried to defuse the situation. "It''s your mother who doesn''t trust you." He added.


    "AH!" Haley gasped, offended.


    Phil continued with his remarks, "Also honey, Ed said you''re like Urs, and he likes Urs better than Mary Jane, the main heroine. And you just gloss him off by calling him a nerd."


    "You''re a nerd too!" She scolded her dad.


    "NO! Honey! Listen closely!" Phil said sternly, "He said he LIKES you!!!"


    Haley finally realized it and her face went nk. "Oh."


    "I got it from here Mr. Ditkovich." I told Phil. "You should go get cleaned up. We''re in the kitchen. Nothing''s going to happen."


    "Do I have your word Ed?" He asked me seriously. I nodded at him. Phil finally felt relieved and then said, "Alright, I''m going to take a shower. You kids be nice!"


    Haley grinned as she watched her father leave. Excited, she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the couch. I grabbed my te with me as I flopped on the couch.


    Haley leaned forward, closing her face with mine. As she batted her eyes at me, she said, "So, what do you want to do?"


    I ignored her hints and asked, changing the subject, "Have you thought about what your room is going to look like?"


    Haley grabbed my arm and said, "We can think about this tomorrow."


    "I can''t do it tomorrow. I''m thinking of creating a couple lyric videos, or some simple music video for my songs to be released in Japan." I said with a sad look.


    "You don''t want to? Um, you know?" She slowly backed down and asked. I smiled wryly and said, "I gave your dad my word."


    Haley was silent for a while before she giggled, "OH! So you do want to do it, but cannot, right?"


    "Let''s go with that." I replied. Haleyughed and said, "I''ll go grab a paper."


    I finished the cake while she was gone, and when she came back, we started to discuss her basement n. With my architectural skill from Ted Mosby, I managed to draw theplete n of the basement within 2 minutes, without even using any rulers, which impressed Haley greatly.


    "Is there anything you cannot do?" She asked, amazed.


    "Make out apparently." I joked slightly, which made Haley giggle. As we continued discussing about her room, she asked, "Should I get a Murphy bed instead of a normal one?"


    I understood her concerns, "Yeah, there really isn''t enough space for a bedroom and a studio. But..." I drew the simple floor n of the opposite basement room and said, "If we knock down the wall here, you can connect the two rooms together, so you can have both."


    Haley rolled her eyes and said, "Mom will never let me do that. There won''t be any ce to hold our stuff."


    After spending an afternoon moving the things from her future room to the other basement room, Haley knew how stuffed the other room was. "If only dad sells the old station wagon, then there''ll be more space in the garage."


    "Hmm, also, here is the piping of your house. So, let''s say you knock down the wall, then, here, you can build a bathroom. A simple one." I pointed to her spot using the pen.


    Haley sighed and said, "I told you... There''s no space."


    "We''ll talk about thatter. You have no deciding power at all, so I''m going to save the exnation for your parents." I said with a teasing grin. "And talk to them about getting rid of the clutter."


    Haley rolled her eyes again and became irritated, "Those clutters are my childhood memories!"


    "Eh, memories are...you know, memories. The only purpose the basement stuff serves is to walk you down memoryne when you''re feeling nostalgic about it, which, a simple photo would''ve the same effect."


    "Spoken by the man with an iron heart." Haley said disdainfully. "Did you even get rid of your childhood stuff?"


    I shrugged and said, "Mine don''t clutter."


    Haley shot me a dirty look. I chuckled and said, "Don''t mind what I say too much. I''m basically ''rootless''. So I guess I don''t understand much about your desire to keep all of that."


    Confused, Haley said, "Rootless?" She shook her head as she didn''t want to continue the conversation and said, "Ah, you''re making me really annoyed."


    "Then, I fulfilled my purpose. You kinda look cuter when you''re mad." I flirted. Her animosity melted quickly, and her lips curled upwards even though she tried to act mad.


    "Hmm.. I see." She muttered curtly. "Can I hear the song now, or should I listen to it when ites out?" She asked snidely.


    "Maybe, do you have any earphones?" I asked.


    She smiled and ran lightly to go get them. I connected it to my phone and gave the earbuds to her, however, she ced one of them into my right ear.


    "Hmm?" I looked at her, slightly confused. "I''m going to need a trantion." She said teasingly.


    "I''m not going to trante it for you." I said mischievously. "Wait for the trantion toe outter."


    "AH!" Haley gasped before she said, "Alright. I get it. Just y the song!"


    [Night Dancer - Imase]


    We sat side by side, facing forward as we heard the song together.


    <i>["?? Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo, Doyomeki kirameki to kimi mo??"</i> {It''s an unexceptional, ordinary night, The noise, the sparkle, and you}<i>??"]</i>


    Haley swayed her body slightly as she enjoyed the intro melody. She turned towards me with a surprised expression, "It really is Japanese."


    "I told you it is. Don''t you believe me?"


    "Not 100%." She said teasingly while sticking her tongue out. "What''s this song about, she asked?"


    I paused for a bit and said vaguely, "Dancing."


    [ "<i> ?? Mada tomatta kizamu hari mo. Iribitatta chirakaru heya mo. Kawaranai ne omoidashite wa. Futari toshi wo kaseta. ??</i> {The clock hands are frozen again. The frequented, cluttered room. Nothing changed, but as I look back. We both had gotten older<i>} ]</i><i>


    </i>


    <i> I wrote the song a week ago when I was preparing for the world tour. <i> </i>With a singing voice that included both falsetto and chest singing, Haley immediately became immersed in the song.


    </i>


    <i> She gazed at me slightly, and caught that I was staring at her. Her cheek blushed as she looked forward again. I smirked as I too enjoyed the song.


    </i>


    <i> [ <i> " ?? Mata tomatta otosu hari wo. Yoku nagashita kiki akiru hodo. Kawaranai ne...kawaranaide...Irareta no wa kimi dake ka ?? " </i>{The music stops again, you drop the needle. We''ve reyed it so much, we nearly grow bored of it. Nothing changed, please don''t change. You''re the only one who''s stayed.} ]


    </i>


    <i> Both of us swayed our bodies, dancing slightly to the tune. "It''s very catchy although I don''t understand any of it." Haley said.


    </i>


    <i> [ <i>" ?? Mudabanashi de hagurakashite. Fureta saki wo tamerau you ni. Ashibumi shite zureta hari wo yoso ni. Soroi hajimeteta iki ga ??" { </i>We avoid the topic with small talk. We hesitate to touch the subject. We stop to push the hands forward. Our breaths start to sync.} ]


    </i>


    <i> It was as if the verse was narrating what we were doing. Both Haley and I gazed into each other''s eyes. Her hand slowly moved towards mine, and mine too inched towards hers.


    </i>


    <i> [ <i>" ?? Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Doyomeki kirameki to kimi mo (odorou). Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Futari kizamou.??" </i>{ It''s an unexceptional, ordinary night, Dance with the noise, the sparkle, and you. (Let''s dance) It''s an average, boring night. But let''s move forward together} ]


    </i>


    <i> Haley broke eye contact and breathed heavily. "Hmm, I really want to know the meaning of it."


    </i>


    <i> [" <i>?? Sukitootta shiroi hada mo. Sono waratta mujaki na kao mo. Kawaranai ne kawaranaide . Irareru no wa ima dake ka. ??" {</i> Your translucent, white skin. Your carefree smile. Nothing changed, please don''t change. But this is only just for now.<i>} ]</i>


    </i>


    <i> "Your skin, your smile." I tranted a bit. "And my desire for things to still be the same."


    </i>


    <i> Haley widened her eyes slightly, "What? Is this song�C" Her focus went back to the song as she heard familiar words.


    </i>


    <i> [" <i>?? </i>Mitsumeru hodo ni. Afureru memorii. Uwatsuku kokoro ni koohii wo. Midareta heya ni kasureta merodii. Mazariatteyou mou ichido.<i> ??" {</i>The more I stare. The more memories that overflow. A cup of coffee for a wavering heart. A disheveled room, a scratchy melody. Let''s blend together, one more time} ]


    </i>


    <i> "I heard memories, coffee, and melody. Wait, will you be called racist if you sing it like this?" She asked.


    </i>


    <i> I was speechless for a second before I replied, "I...didn''t think about that."


    </i>


    <i> [<i>"?? </i>Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Tokimeki irom��ki to kimi mo "odorou". Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Futari kizamou. <i>??" {</i>It''s an unexceptional, ordinary night. Dance with my beating heart, my tion, and you. It''s an average, boring night. But let''s move forward together.} ]


    </i>


    <i> Both of us burst intoughter as the song became background music.


    </i>


    <i> ["<i>?? </i>Yoru wa nagai obotsukanai. Ima ni mo tomarisou na myuujikku. Kimi to itai oboret��tai. Ashita ga konakutatte mou ii no.<i>??" {</i>The night is long and uncertain.


    </i>


    <i> The music could stop at any moment. I want to be with you, to drown with you. I don''t care if tomorrow neveres.} ]


    </i>


    <i> "Trante more." She asked. "Even just a little bit."]


    </i>


    <i> [" <i>?? </i>Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Doyomeki kirameki to kimi mo "odorou". Dou demo ii you na yoru da kedo. Aishite.<i>??</i>" ]"


    </i>


    <i> "It''s an unexceptional, ordinary night. Dance with the noise, the sparkle of the lights, and you. It''s an average, boring night. Love me." I tranted the verse as I looked at her face.


    </i>


    <i> Haley''s eyes became dazed and she leaned forward for a kiss. I too leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.


    </i>


    <i> ["<i>??</i>Dou demo ii kara boku dake wo. Furatsuki yoromeki nagara mo "odorou". Dou demo ii you na yoru dakedo. Futari kizamou <i>??" {</i>Who cares anymore, just look at me. Let''s dance as we sway and stumble. It''s an unexceptional, ordinary night. But let''s move forward together}


    </i>


    <i> We stopped kissing as the song ended. Haley smiled shyly and said, "Well, I finally got my birthday present."


    </i>


    <i> ...


    </i>


    <i> [shback.]


    </i>


    <i> The roar of the brand new chevrolet camaro ''Bumblebee'' passed through the highway as I made my way to the Dunphy family''s house. The car was a present from someone anonymous, but I knew who sent it. Casey and Sarah delivered it themselves to thepany building after all.


    </i>


    <i> I checked, and there were no bugs on the car. My phone rang as I stopped at a red light and I answered it using the bluetooth car system.


    </i>


    <i> "Ed, where are you?" my dad asked, his tone excited.


    </i>


    <i> "Huh? I just got back from work." I replied. "I''m going to pick up Haley now�C"


    </i>


    <i> "Good!" My dad suddenly shrieked. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. My dad continued, "Drive by the house when youe back."


    </i>


    <i> I grimaced a bit, "And get mobbed�C"


    </i>


    <i> "I know I know. There''s too many people there." My dad interjected, already knew what I was going to say. "But, listen. Right now, I''m in front of the house."


    </i>


    <i> "So?" I was confused.


    </i>


    <i> "Do you hear something?" He asked leadingly.


    </i>


    <i> "No?" I replied with hesitation.


    </i>


    <i> "That''s right. There''s no other voices other than mine." He said excitedly.


    </i>


    <i> "You mean? There''s no one there?" I widened my eyes slightly. "That''s impossible."


    </i>


    <i> "Yeah, that''s what I''m trying to say! There''s no crowd here anymore! You can actually sleep here tonight." He dered. "I can even dance in the yard, and no one will bother me."


    </i>


    <i> "We''ll see. Try dancing." I replied coyly. He grimaced and said, "I''m not gonna."


    </i>


    <i> "Coward. This could be a farce. They''ll regather when I get there." I said skeptically.


    </i>


    <i> "I don''t think so. It feels different. It feels... calm. After your teacheres by this afternoon with Phil, people have been leaving the ce one by one."


    </i>


    <i> "Teacher�C You mean Sage? Sage was there?!" I asked with shock.


    </i>


    <i> "Yeah." My dad replied. "Maybe your fans finally realized that they need to give you some space. Or the paparazzi�� Even I don''t believe what''s going toe out of my mouth, so I guess, the paparazzis has something else to cover tonight."


    </i>


    <i> My smile wouldn''t disappear since I heard that Sage was there. "I owe her a credit card." I mumbled to myself. Since the search for the new house was taking a long time, Sage decided it was best for me to get a ce where I can rx myself.


    </i>


    <i> Or maybe she was toozy to go around looking for houses, who knows? Anyway, we weren''t supposed to talk about it.


    </i>


    <i> [shback ends]</i><i>                </i>


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 309: Breaking Bad Reaction.

    <h4>Chapter 309: Breaking Bad Reaction.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    Three days passed quickly. The basement renovation was in full swing. Six egress windows were installed to bring sunlight into the room, and after some persuasion, Phil and ire agreed to knock down a wall, merging two rooms into one, which meant installing six more windows on the other side of the basement.


    The new space would feature a sliding, foldable barn door, and a bathroom would be added as well. A team of 20 contractors was hired to handle the renovation.


    Phil and ire were speechless at first by the sheer number of workers, but after seeing their ''discounted'' price, he decided to hire them all to work on the house.


    Most of them had worked for me before, whether on my house or thepany building. This was a huge opportunity for them since I usually hire people I know for my other projects. A project manager was hired, and, of course, it was the reluctant grandfather, Jay.


    Seeing Jay wanting to work while Phil filmed the process for the channel provided great entertainment for me. I even helped edit the finished videos��all one minute each��for Instagram. Jay appeared in the videos a few times, and people loved his interactions with Phil.


    Six videos had already been uploaded for this project, and the number of followers Phil had gained was skyrocketing. He went from around 5,000 as a realtor to almost 20,000 followers after the project started. In this 2009 pre-iPhone 4 era, that was tremendous growth.


    The YouTube video was also uploaded and was slowly gaining traction, with over 300,000 views after just three days. Phil definitely couldn''t recoup his money from the renovation, but he was enjoying the process immensely.


    It was the first time his skills as a realtor and his knowledge about houses were showcased in full. Phil''s video was highly praised bymenters as he discussed the cost of the renovation, the legalities involved, how to obtain permits, and more.


    After seeing all of thements, Phil suddenly had an idea to buy a house, flip it and record all of the process before selling it back. However, since it was too risky, he didn''t proceed with the idea yet.


    While the renovation was ongoing, Abed and I found ourselves deep in an interesting discussion about TV shows.


    Inside the office building, Paige, Abed, and I gathered around myptop to watch Abed''s amateur production series, "Study Group."


    Abed had already made five episodes of the series, with each one garnering between 200 to 500 views on themunity college art department''s website. As we started the first episode, Paige watched with an awed expression, her eyes glued to the screen.


    When the episode ended, she turned to us and said, "It''s... um, rather than feeling like an amateur production, it seems more like a low-budget TV show. The writing works��it''s really good." She paused, clearly impressed.


    Abed retorted, "It doesn''t achieve the level I want it to yet." He was referring to the asional poor lighting and filming conditions that appeared in the video. Since he shot it in a real college, various factors sometimes ruined the filming.


    "It''s like a Community TV show," I mumbled to myself, "but more unhinged."


    I thought about how Dan Harmon had created Abed and Jeff''s characters based on himself, and now Abed was taking on that role in his own show.


    As Abed just started his directing journey, he didn''t have a lot of professional equipment or a budget to produce an actual TV show. That''s why he only posted his work on the art department website.


    Watching the show with Abed sparked an interesting idea in my mind. If Abed could produce Community-style shows, why not create something like The Big Bang Theory or even Modern Family?


    There was a huge demand for new types of TV shows in this world. I realized I didn''t even need to use the same characters��just their personality types and the plotlines of the TV series could work.


    "Let''s try it with The Big Bang Theory first." I mumbled. "Paige, Abed, I have an idea." I grinned as I leaned forwards to the both of them, disrupting their discussion.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Since the first episode of Breaking Bad aired, viewers have been hooked. Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Faced with financial struggles and the burden of impending medical bills, Walter decides to secure his family''s future by using his chemistry skills to produce methamphetamine.


    The idea itself was absurd, but it worked. Audiences loved how Walter snapped out of his own mediocrity. The concept of a man with nothing left to lose finally realizing his potential excited viewers.


    He partners with former student Jesse Pinkman, a small-time meth manufacturer. Together, they cook meth in an RV in the desert. The episode introduces Walter''s family, including his pregnant wife, Skyler, and his teenage son, Walter Jr., while setting the stage for Walter''s transformation from a mild-mannered teacher to a drug manufacturer.


    Thest scene of Bryan Cranston in his underwear, preparing for a confrontation with the police, was a peak cliffhanger that sparked endless conversation about the show.


    By the time episode two aired, the show already had arge fanbase, with 20 million views on Netflix alone. People worldwide were eagerly awaiting the next installment. As interest grew, Netflix subscriptions climbed to 50 million.


    At the time, Netflix was privatized by Edward, who chose not to disclose user numbers publicly, eliminating the need for external investment. Traditional media had yet to recognize the threat Netflix posed.


    In episode two, after a violent encounter with two drug dealers, Walter and Jesse are left with a dead body and an unconscious man, Krazy-8, in the RV. They must figure out how to dispose of the evidence. Walter struggles with the moral implications of his actions, while Jesse tries to manage the situation. Back at home, Walter''s family grows suspicious of his erratic behavior.


    What made the show unique was itsmitment to having characters face the consequences of their actions, rather than resorting to contrived plotlines to resolve conflicts.


    When episode three premiered, the Breaking Bad cult following truly began to take shape. Walter grapples with the reality of his situation as he keeps Krazy-8 captive in Jesse''s basement. He is forced to confront the consequences of his choices and their impact on his family.


    Meanwhile, Skyler bes increasingly worried about Walter''s health and behavior. Walter''s moral struggle culminates in a tense decision about Krazy-8''s fate, deepening the exploration of Walter''s transformation and the lengths he will go to protect his family. When Walter decides to kill Krazy-8, viewers are left on the edge of their seats.


    Mrs Alexandaria''s character; Skyler, became widely talked about by the audience. Her name was in the articles, which sheter printed out and framed it in her house.


    Even though she was paid only 100, ooo per episode, Jenna''s mother was extremely satisfied by the critic''s praise of her performance and her name entering the mainstream mediawork. Finally, she felt like a true actress rather than a cheap escort.


    TwitterUser122: Hopefully they keep the quality till the end of the season.


    TomHond: I still can''t believe Edward made this show. Isn''t he still a teenager?


    JaimeFox: Now I can''t wait to see his uing movie.


    Many actors started praising the show, in hope to gain some points from Edward, for him to consider them for his next project.


    Even the si, ''The Office'', talked about Breaking Bad in their scenes. Micheal Scott talked about having a Netflix subscription and watched the show there, however, no one else was as excited as he was or gave a damn about the show, which made a simple, yet funny scene.


    Entertain also announced their adaptation of the Percy Jackson books after the third episode aired, and how Jon Favreau would be directing it after he was finished with the Iron Man 2 production.


    The news was really exciting for the readers of the book. People were really looking forward to the adaptation.


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    "No, you cannot make another series." Pepper shook his head decisively after I brought up the idea of <i>The Big Bang Theory</i> to him.


    "Huh? Why not?" I was confused since I knew the studio had the capability to handle another project as we kept hiring more and more workers.


    Most of them left Hollywood because of their cultures and biased hiring processes. Their talents had almost gone to waste, but then, Netflix offered them another way to unleash their creativity.


    "Honestly, Ed, do you have ADHD? Just focus on your tour! You even have a concert tomorrow," Pepper scolded, trying to dismiss the topic. "Did you even prepare for that?"


    I narrowed my eyes at him and asked, "What''s the true reason?"


    Pepper was startled and hesitated for a moment. My gaze seemed to pick at his defenses until they crumbled.


    "THEY''RE NERDS!" Pepper eximed in frustration, mming both of his fists on the table. "People don''t like nerds! They find them off-putting. Also, you don''t have any money to produce another show."


    "I have my stock portfolio," I replied easily.


    "Then you''re going to have to pay 35% capital gains tax over the liquidated assets, which means you''ll lose over 400 million dors. Are you sure that''s what you want?" Pepper asked, his tone filled with concern.


    I was speechless for a few seconds after hearing that. Not that I was unaware of the capital gains tax, but hearing the figure again made my heart bleed.


    "I''m still going to sell them, Pepper. The market will stabilize after this, so growth will be slow," I said with a sigh. I had tripled my investment by taking advantage of the stock market during the time of crisis.


    Also, I wasn''t nning to sell all of them��maybe just half and keep the other half to grow.


    From 400 million dors of personal wealth, I now had a worth of over 1.2 billion dors, legally. No one knew what Robin had made for me.


    As most transactions leave a paper trail, news articles came out about my worth, shocking the public.


    Artists reaching billionaire status weren''t toomon, but there were quite a few. However, mine was achieved through trading and other businesses, which intrigued people even more.


    After the news broke, the number of nudes I received from women in my Instagram DMs doubled.


    "I''m still going to do it," I said with a smirk. Pepper was helpless and slumped in his chair. "Alright, it''ll be our first failure then. It''s about time for that to happen. Seriously, a live audience si? What are you thinking?"


    "I can tweak it to be a normal-style si. Wait, I think it''ll be even better that way." I paused, contemting the show''s format and whether it would work after the change.


    "That''s not my concern! Who''ll watch a show about off-putting, horny smart alecks with mental issues?" Pepper argued.


    "Me. I rte to that," I replied simply, a mischievous smirk on my face. Pepper rolled his eyes at me.


    I continued, "Also, this is not new. Go watch The IT Crowd. TBBT will show smart people, yes, but it will also highlight their problems and make people rte to them��not to mention a ton of pop culture references. It''ll work, trust me. I''ll think about the new format for a bit and tell you about itter."


    "Is this a billionaire''s ego? Is that it?" Pepper joked sarcastically.


    I smirked and replied, "Hey, the media says I''m the youngest self-made billionaire in the world. I''m a role model to every kid in America. I can have an ego, can''t I?"


    Pepper burst intoughter. "Alright, let''s go with it. Let''s make the show."


    After some discussion, I left Pepper''s office and bumped into Taylor and Vanessa.


    "Oh, what are you guys doing here?" I asked politely.


    Vanessa replied, "Um, Taylor and I are talking about my album." Her eyes darted between Taylor and me, feeling ufortable in our awkward encounter.


    Taylor suddenly spoke up, "Ed, can I talk to you about something?"


    "Yeah. Sure." I responded easily.


    "In... private." Taylor gave a subtle look at Vanessa. She caught on and quickly said, "I still need to practice the choreography. You guys should talk."


    Once Vanessa left, Taylor and I moved into an empty room. "What do you want to talk about?" I asked.


    "Remember you told everyone that we''re going to coborate at the end of the year?" Taylor said. "Are we going to do that? Or should we just forget about it?"


    "The reply songs could work for that, or if you want, we can record a few songs together��"


    Taylor interrupted me, "No, the duets are better performed together. Even the song ''Two Is Better Than One'' suffers because of our schedules. Now that you''re going to be away, it''s better not to have any duets yet. I think, we should continue the reply songs."


    Taylor''s heart beats quicker as she suggested it. With a look of anticipation, she said, "You know, since we can perform by ourselves...but still keep the narrative that we were once...together." A wave of mncholy shed in her eyes before she shook it off and returned to her casual expression.


    "I''m listening." I said with some interest. "Now then, I already know you wrote another song about me." I said, which made Taylorugh awkwardly. "We can lead with that. But, you might regret it cause I could write something really scathing and hurtful�C"


    Before I could finish my sentence, Taylor hugged me. "Hmm? What is this for?" I was confused by her suddenness.


    "I''m just really d that you''re safe." Taylor tightened her embrace and said, "I also want to say that I''m really sorry."


    We talked about the incident leading to the breakup in September, and Taylor apologized for the way she acted at that time. Never once did she mention during our conversation, anything about getting back together.


    She just wanted to apologize for hurting me, and told me that her words have haunted her ever since. We finally made up and Pepper was really excited by it.


    "Oh! It''s a Pre-Christmas Miracle!" He hugged both of us at the same time.


    "Don''t lie, you hate this." Taylor exposed him.


    "Yeah, there won''t be any more dramas for you to enjoy." Harvey also exposed him. Pepper gasped in offense and looked at Harvey and Taylor with bewilderment.


    ...


    I returned home just in time for dinner. My dad and Frankie were working, and Maggie went out to y with Vanessa, so I thought I only needed to cook for myself.


    As I was parking my car, suddenly, Haley and Alex approached my house. "Hey!" Haley greeted me cheerfully as I got out of the car.


    "Hey," I replied, smiling back. "You guys want something to eat? I''m going to make dinner."


    "That''ll be great. It''s so dusty in the house," Alexined. "I wonder what would happen if I confronted my parents about it being preferential treatment to only give the room to Haley."


    Haley ignored Alex''sment and asked, "What are you making?"


    I also chose to ignore Alex and said, "Beef braciole and caprese sd."


    We walked toward the door together and entered side by side. As I began cooking, the familiar scents of garlic and herbs filled the kitchen, and I engaged in conversation with the girls. They sat at the kitchen ind as they watched me cook.


    Haley turned to Alex, a yful glint in her eye. "When I''m gone, you''ll have the entire room to yourself. You can decorate it however you want."


    "I know, I''m counting the minutes until you''re gone." Alex said mischievously, even though I knew she felt a bit sad about it.


    "You can have a reading space. Afy couch, a mini library." I added.


    Alex was excited by the prospect of having a lot of books in her room and said, "Where can I get the books? It''s pretty expensive if I want to make a mini library. I''m not even sure if mom and dad will buy me those."


    Haley turned to me and grimaced, "You know when she has that, she will no longer get out of her room, right? She''ll be the lonely loser again."


    "I was not a loser!" Alex defended herself. Suddenly, Alex got a text message from her boyfriend. "Oh, Finneas wants to have a video call from Switzend. I''m going back home."


    "Keep your clothes on." I shouted at her as she left. Alex showed me a middle finger and retorted, "You guys are the one who needs that advice."


    Haley and I exchanged confused nces before bursting intoughter at each other''s expressions.


    "So, have you thought about what you want to do with your room?" I asked Haley as we shared dinner.


    Haley replied coyly, "Hmm, I''m not sure. I kind of want to put up a picture, but I don''t know what yet."


    "I was thinking about themes, but we can start with pictures," I teased. "Do you want me to paint a picture of you?"


    Haley''s eyes widened in excitement. "Really?! You can paint?"


    "I can try," I replied vaguely.


    She giggled and flirted, "So, you want to draw me like one of your French girls?" referencing the iconic scene from Titanic where Leo drew Kate Winslet as shey there nude.


    I smirked and replied, "I''ll draw you like Jenny drew her mother in Not Another Teen Movie."


    "Hmm? I don''t remember that," Haley said, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.


    After dinner, I set up a canvas and had her sit in front of me as I began to draw. Haley''s heart raced as she modeled.


    "Done!" I announced after a few moments.


    "That was fast," she said, surprised, and rushed over to see. Her excited expression changed into disdain when she realized I had drawn her like a child would��a stick figure with oversized eyes.


    "See? Same eyes!" I pointed at the exaggerated features.


    "I''m leaving," Haley said, slightly offended, and stormed out of the house. I couldn''t help but burst intoughter before setting up another canvas to draw more seriously.


    The next day, I flew to Vegas for a Christmas concert with my fans. The hall erupted in thunderous cheers as I walked onto the stage.

 Chapter 310: Vegas Fan Meet.

    <h4>Chapter 310: Vegas Fan Meet.?</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers as I stepped onto the stage. Dressed in a leather jacket with my hair slicked back and wearing ripped jeans, I could see the girls swooning at the sight of me.


    "Eddy! You''re so handsome!" one girl shouted.


    "Make me your girlfriend!" another voice chimed in. A gruff masculine shout followed: "Let me ride your��" but his words were abruptly cut off as his friends silenced him.


    Ignoring the interruption, I walked to the center of the stage and took a seat on a tall stool. Next to me stood a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, adorned with twinkling lights and surrounded by a sea of presents. The instrumental version of Mariah Carey''s "All I Want for Christmas" yed softly in the background, barely audible over the cheers of my fans.


    The gifts were wrapped in vibrant green and red paper, tied with shiny ribbons. Among them were gift bags, teddy bears, and even practical items like coffee makers and cozy nkets. Some fans had been thoughtful, remembering that my house had been lost.


    Behind me, my band members stood ready, and the atmosphere was intimate, with only 300 people filling the hall. Colorful lights flickered above the stage, illuminating a backdrop adorned with posters and memorabilia.


    In the front row, familiar faces smiled back at me: Haley, Tara, Jenna, Enid, Billie, Finneas, Alex, Elsa and even Mitch and Cam with little Lily. It felt like everyone I knew was there, though a few had chosen to hide backstage��Selena, Taylor, Vanessa, and even Maggie�C who didn''t really need to hide.


    Before 2010, Las Vegas had been diligently establishing itself as a party hub, with luxurious clubs and celebrity endorsements attractingrge crowds. Icons like Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and the Kardashians all contributed to the city''s allure. We received some invitations and decided to check it out.


    "Hello Treasures! Mer��" Before I could finish my greeting, the crowd erupted in excitement, drowning out my voice with cheers. I chuckled, my happiness evident as I teased, "At least let me finish my sentence first! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. I''m so d to meet all of you here today."


    "Oh Captain, my Captain!" a girl shouted, sparking a lively chant. Some of them even stood up on their chairs as they chanted. It went on for about 5 minutes before the emcee stopped them.


    "We appreciate your enthusiasm, but we only have the venue until 4, so please take your seats. Today, we have a special treat: Edward will perform a medley of his most famous songs. Everyone, give a warm round of apuse for Edward!"


    As the crowd erupted in cheers, I grabbed my guitar and began to y. I started with "7 Years," followed by "Grenade," and continued through snippets of my songs, wrapping up with mytest hit, "Daylight."


    The emcee for the event, a friendly woman in her 40s named Karen, sat near the stage with a microphone in hand. She ensured the event flowed smoothly, positioning herself just far enough away to avoid blocking anyone''s view. "Please give another round of apuse for Edward!" she announced.


    Suddenly, a gruff voice rose from the crowd, filled with frustration and mockery. "Oh, I can''t take this anymore! This primitive, animalistic caterwauling��enough with this foolishness! Gimme a ride!"


    With eyes that barely blinked and a face full of ticks, the man stared at me from afar.


    "What?" I asked, my expression nk. The other fans were furious at his words, hurling objects in his direction. But before I knew it, he dashed from his seat and rushed toward me.


    ''Wait, is he trying to attack me?'' I thought as I instinctively stepped back.


    "Oh no, you don''t!" Mickey eximed.


    Mickey, my personal bodyguard, along with two others, quickly moved to protect me. They managed to halt the man for a brief moment, but then Mickey was flung aside like a ragdoll.


    The other two bodyguards struggled to restrain the man, grappling with a surprisingly strong individual despite their height advantage. His face seemed familiar, but I couldn''t quite ce it.


    Looking directly at me, he said, "I''m (gibberish). I''m stranded here. Can you give me a ride back to my ce?"


    "Huh? What did you say your name is?" I asked, genuinely confused. Holding my microphone, I knew everyone could hear our exchange. He repeated himself, but his words came out as hisses, tongue clicks, and sounds that resembled a cat choking, apanied by exaggerated facial expressions as if he were having a brain aneurysm.


    "What?" My expression twisted in confusion. "NO! You''re joking with me!" He smiled slightly, as if he thought I was just ying around. "Humans aren''t at the technological level of building quantum channels yet. STOP JOKING AROUND!" He yelled, his anger palpable and causing some fans to look fearful.


    Narrowing my eyes at him, I shot him a look that made him pause and fall silent for a moment.


    Meanwhile, my bodyguard patted him down and discovered an ID. The emcee helped Mickey to his feet, while the man began sniffing the air around me. "His name is Harry Vanderspiegel. He''s a medical doctor," one of the bodyguards informed me.


    "Doctor?" I asked incredulously, unable to believe it. "Are you on drugs?"


    Harry nced down and muttered a short, "Fuck," before breaking free from my bodyguards and running toward the exit. As he bolted, I teasingly called after him in a mock alien voice, "(Tss, click click, Donkey noise) Wait!"


    "YOU DARE CALL MY MOTHER... FATTY!?" He stopped at the door, turning around, clearly offended. "YOU HUMANS ARE THE ONES WITH FAT CELLS!"


    The bodyguards chased after him, but he darted away quickly. Themotion began to die down, and I chuckled as I faced the crowd. "Remember, kids, drugs are bad for you!"


    Suddenly, Harry reappeared at the window, pausing in his escape to mock me. iling his arms around like a monkey, he said, "Oooh, look at me! I''m a descendant of the apes! I have hair all over me��"


    The bodyguards caught up with him again, and he took off once more. Momentster, he popped up again, shouting, "Ooh, look at me! I need external appendages to reproduce my gic material, making ONE baby at a time! I CAN HAVE HUNDREDS DECENTDANTS AT THE SAME TIME, YOU FATTY FAT FATSO!"


    Then, he ran away for good. I looked at the crowd incredulously; they all wore expressions simr to mine. "If anyone recorded that, please tag me when you post it," I said, earning someughs. As a rule, everyone agreed to post on social media after the event, not during.


    After that brief incident, the fan meeting continued. I asked the audience which songs they wanted to hear, and I made their wishese true. We opened presents, took pictures, signed autographs, and recorded short videos for their friends and family.


    A freckled 15-year-old girl with braces stood up shyly after the emcee pointed at her. She grabbed the microphone handed to her by a staff member.


    "Um, hi Edward," she greeted me.


    "Hi!" I replied, causing her to giggle and promptingughter from the crowd. "What''s your name?" I asked her with a calm voice.


    She stammered a bit, "Amanda."


    "Hi Amanda. Nice to meet you. What do you want to ask?" I slowly made her feel morefortable as I saw she was anxious about the attention being on her.


    "Um, I just want to ask," she said, fixing her hair. "You''re going to release a song in Japanese?"


    "Oh, is that already out?" I pretended not to know and turned slightly to my manager before responding, "Yeah, it''s already out on YouTube. Do you guys want to watch it with me?"


    "Yess!!" the crowd replied enthusiastically. I showed the YouTube video on the projector. A simple music video for the song "Night Dancer" yed on the screen,plete with clear subtitles.


    The video featured straightforward shots of me enjoying music alongside a Japanese girl, each in our own space. It took just one day to shoot, edit, and upload.


    After the song finished, the crowd apuded. The video, uploaded an hour ago, had already racked up 1 million views and was still climbing. Mostments were humorous about my singing in differentnguages, but the Japanesements began to flood in.


    With automatic trantion provided by Entertain website, people could understand what they were saying.


    Aoi: Shinjiranai. I can''t believe it. He sang so clearly, I thought he was Japanese for a moment. Wonderful!"


    Sora: "I cannot wait for you toe to Japan! I love you, Edward-kun!"


    Sakura: "Superstar! Can''t wait for more songs! Your voice is really good!"


    I read some of thements with my fan club, and we had a st. An English version of mytest song was released simultaneously, and its views quickly doubled those of the Japanese version.


    Amanda, still holding the microphone, asked, "Um, can you tell us why you wrote that song? D-Did you make it too?"


    I nodded casually. "Yeah, I wrote both the English and Japanese versions. This song is about separation. I''m going away for a while, and I won''t be able to see the people I love as much as I do now. A part of me hopes everything will stay the same when I return, but I also want to see them pursue what they love. It''s about cherishing thest moments we have together."


    Some fans cheered in admiration, while others looked anxious. Someone shouted, "Are you going to move out of the country?!"


    I burst intoughter at the question and teased, "You know what? Maybe I should!"


    "NOO!" the younger fans eximed in unison, looking genuinely sad. "Ed! Don''t go!"


    I smirked. "Alright, I won''t. I''ll stay because of you guys."


    They cheered again, and just then, my manager whispered something that made me cackle. The fans leaned in, curious about myughter. I said, "Ah~ What you just asked me, are also the topic on the VIEW. We should check it out together."


    I yed the clip on the projector, and we all watched together.


    One of the women on the showmented, "Maybe it''s because he''s traumatized, wanting to move to another country. It''s hard to imagine someone witnessing a missile blowing up their house and still being sane. That must be it."


    Another woman with dreadlocks chimed in, "But he shouldn''t have sung in anothernguage and catered his song entirely to another country. That''s very disrespectful to our people."


    "Celebrating culture is offensive now?" another woman countered.


    Whoopi Goldberg added, "Maybe he does need to apologize to American citizens for this."


    Iughed, but soon noticed the crowd''s mood shifting. Their expressions grew colder as they absorbed the clip.


    "Singing in anothernguage is offensive?" Lily, the fan club president, stood up and eximed.


    "They think Edward is a sellout?!" Haley added angrily.


    Alex and Enid were also fuming. "Screw those guys!" they shouted, clearly upset as they understood the meaning behind my song.


    The emcee quickly tried to calm the crowd. "Everyone, take a deep breath. It''s okay. It doesn''t bother Edward in the least."


    I nodded, and the fans turned their frustration toward the emcee. "She''s kinda right. Karen, not Whoopi. I also know why they''re doing this." The moring slowed, and although they were still dissatisfied, they wanted to hear me talk.


    I pointed at the screen above me and continued, "For thest couple of days, they''ve discovered that talking about me boosts their ratings, which is why they''re paying extra attention to me. Somehow, I''ve be a political icon due to my involvement in solving the terror attack on the president."


    "Whether I like it or not, these types of programs will mention my name. Whoopi iming that I need to apologize is just a way for her to get me on the talk show. So ignore them all. Once something else big happens, they''ll forget about me."


    Elsa eximed, "That''s pretty unfair! So they''re profiting off you, those old hags!"


    Enid stood up on her chair, indignantly dering, "We should sue them! Call theirpany and voice ourints!"


    "Enid! Sit down!" I scolded yfully. "That''s my best friend anyway." I muttered dismissively, rolling my eyes, which made the crowdugh at Enid''s fiery spirit.


    "I don''t want to make this event political or depressing. I want to enjoy the evening with you guys," I said, prompting swoons of agreement from the audience.


    "They are just suckers in front of Ed huh." Alex eximed to herself.


    The event ended with a performance, and after singing my hit song, even taking suggestions from the fan for what I should sing, the event was finally over.


    ...


    After the event, I met up with my friends backstage. Wiping the sweat from my brow with a wet towel, Enid suddenly snatched it from my hand, grinning. "Imagine how much money I''d make if I sold this on eBay!"


    Jenna rolled her eyes while Elsa chimed in, "Are you sure you''re not going to keep it and sniff it?"


    Enid chuckled nervously, bringing the towel to her face. "I''m not a pervert! Sniff I can control myself."


    Mitch and Cam, ignoring Enid''s antics, turned to me. "Ed! That was an amazing event!"


    "Except for the political part in the middle," Cam added. I slumped slightly, replying, "I wouldn''t have had to address that if they hadn''t blown the issue out of proportion."


    Mitch nodded thoughtfully before asking, "You asked the audience to calm down, but what about those outside?"


    I widened my eyes at the thought but quickly pushed it aside. "Well, if they really want to sue, that''s on them."


    Haley turned to Mitch. "Uncle Mitch, do they actually have grounds to sue?"


    "iming treason and telling Ed he needs to apologize��it''s libel, and yes, there''s grounds to sue," Mitch exined.


    Cam said, "They didn''t really im it was treason, but rather insinuated it."


    Mitchell was a bit confused by his own knowledge and muttered, "Wait. Does he have any grounds?"


    "Shit. Pepper," I muttered, immediately checking my phone. Robin quickly notified me, "It''s toote. He already submitted the case."


    I was speechless for a moment, then sighed helplessly. "Anyway, are you guys heading back now?" I asked Mitch and Cam as I picked up Lily from Cam''s arms and hugged her. She giggled, yfully touching my face and even trying to bite my chin.


    "We have to," Mitchell said. "We promised the kids'' parents we''d be back today." Cam added that they had flown in on the jet, so they weren''t tired from the drive. Although I wished they could stay longer, I nodded. "Randall will drive you to the airport��if you can get Lily to let me go, of course."


    "Lily! Come here!" Cam pped his hands to get her attention, but she waspletely focused on ying with me. Mitchell tried the same, but Lily was having none of it. It took some time before they finally left Vegas.


    Around 10 in the evening, I went to the club with the girls. They didn''t even check my Id as they let us in. None of us should even be there, but we were. Privilege of being a celebrity I guess. We did it anonymously without any paparazzi catching our presence there.


    The girls wanted to check out the club scene, but honestly, it was too freaky for us. Not on Diddy''s level, but still, there was some really disturbing stuff, so we got out immediately after not even 2 minutes inside the club.


    "Can''t believe these are the types of clubs I got invitations into." Vanessa grumbled as we sat in the car. I chuckled and said, " Marshall wants me to stop by if I can. I''m going to his hotel, what do you girls want to do?"


    "Can you send us back first? There''s a lot of paparazzi at the club there, so I''m not going to risk it." Taylor said. Amongst the four of us, she has the greatest priority to keep her image as a ''good'' girl.


    "Us?" Selena turned to her, confused. Both Taylor and Selena sat at the back of the car together. Selena then realized that she had a contract with Disney, so she pouted as she epted the fact that she couldn''t go.


    Taylor scolded her, "You won''t even get inside the club. They check your id there. None of us can get inside."


    Vanessa said, "I''ll go with you." Taylor rolled her eyes slightly but she didn''t say anything.


    "It''s not a club. I''m going to his suite to meet Snoop." I exined. "So we''ll probably get high." Vanessa smiled with anticipation.


    I paused for a bit before I replied, "Possibly."


    Not long after we arrived there, both of us already had a blunt in our hand.


    Snoopined, "I''m sick of the Empire State of mind song. We Californians need our own songs." We were sitting in a conversation pit with Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop, some girls, and other rappers.


    Vanessa nuzzled her body against mine, even resting her head on my shoulder.


    "Oh, Edward has an idea about that!" Vanessa immediately chimed in. I looked at her with disbelief and said, "What?" Everyone looked at me, and Marshall immediately leaned forward, looking at me with some anticipation in his eyes.


    "You told me before. "California Girls". Tell them." Vanessa grinned before resting her head against mine again.


    "Edward. You seem like a nice kid. And if you have an idea that can go bigger than the Empire, we can coborate." Snoop said yfully.


    I let out a burst of mirth as I myself was in disbelief of what''s happening. "Alright then." I leaned forward, putting my blunt out on the ashtray. "We can talk about coboration. But, we need to have another person. That is, Katy Perry."

 Chapter 311: Dangerous Visitor.

    <h4>Chapter 311: Dangerous Visitor.</h4>


    [Edward POV]


    We stayed at The Vian Hotel in Las Vegas, a stunning replica of Venice featuring intricate Italian Renaissance architecture, soaring ceilings, and beautiful frescoes.


    The girls and I booked the executive suites��not that we couldn''t afford the presidential suites, but the executive suites faced each other, and we were the only guests on the floor, which provided greater security. Several guards patrolled in front of the elevator as it was the main point of entry.


    The girls shared an executive two-bedroom suite, which boasted nearly 2,000 square feet of living space, with each bedroom featuring twin beds. Maggie and Vanessa shared one, Selena and Taylor shared the other.


    I stayed in the Executive King Theater Suite, which had the same square footage but included a theater and a gym, along with a king-size bed.


    The hotel has a strict rule about privacy, so we could hang out together without needing to always be looking over our shoulders for paparazzis and guests filming us�C not that we ever went to themon area.


    Vanessa and I came out of the elevator together around 3 in the morning. Both of us wereughing at an incident that happened at Snoop''s, and we walked in the same direction.


    "How can you roll a blunt faster than him? Snoop had a really weird look on his face after he lost." Vanessa cackled. I smirked and said, "He kept wanting to go again, not wanting to ept it."


    "He med it on his ''old bones''!" Vanessaughed after she mimicked Snoop, covering her mouth with her left hand slightly while her right hand was hitting my arm.


    As we stood in front of the door, she calmed down slightly, still smiling as she said, "Aww, I don''t want the night to be over."


    "Easy for you to say, you didn''t have a 5 hour long event just this afternoon." I said with a yful disdain. She stuck her tongue out slightly and said, "I haven''t seen your room yet. But you have seen mine. That''s pretty unfair."


    "You can see it in the morning." I replied casually, snubbing her intention of continuing to y. Vanessa pouted slightly and crossed her arms together, "At the very least, you should walk me to my door."


    "You didn''t pay attention didn''t you?" I turned to her with a grin. Vanessa was confused, and she asked, "Pay attention to what?"


    I pointed at the door and said, "This is <i>your</i> room."


    Speechless for a second, Vanessa used her keycard and the door opened. She looked at me with a slight shock and then used me, "You nned that didn''t you?"


    "Don''t me me! I just followed you when we walked."


    "And I followed you!"


    Both of us burst intoughter before saying goodnight. As I returned to my room, the cheerful mood vanished.


    "Took you long enough," said the mysterious man in a fedora, impably dressed in a suit, as he swirled the drink in his hand.


    "I helped myself to your minibar, if you don''t mind," he added casually, crossing his legs as he set the drink down on the side table.


    "That''s a little rude. People will think I''m the one who drank," I replied, greeting him casually as I sat down in front of him.


    "But sure, I don''t mind since I''m the one who kept you waiting. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the most notorious man in the world, Mr. Raymond... Reddington?" With a smile on my face, I looked straight at the man in the fedora, who resembled James Spader.


    He chuckled in disbelief, "My god, you''re just like your mother."


    Thatment soured my mood a bit.


    "Calm,posed, and most importantly, extremely bold," he continued. "Your mom, however, never reeked of marijuana. She''d be quite disappointed if she found out." He teased, a slightly concerned expression crossing his face.


    A pang of guilt assaulted me even though I tried not to care about it. "Can you tell me why you wanted to meet?" I asked, getting straight to the point. A few hours after we checked into the hotel, he hade with his aide, telling my security that he wanted to discuss an important issue. My security detail contacted me as he warned them not to call the cops or else someone close to me would die. They had no choice but to contact me about it.


    Raymond nodded slightly before he said, "Alright then, we should talk. It''s veryte, and we don''t really have time for chit-chat. I assume you''re aware of the events happening in your mother''s country?"


    I nodded and replied, "I have a brief overview of it," which was a lie.


    "That''s good enough," he said casually before turning serious. "In less than 12 hours, the freedom fighter bases all around the country will be raided simultaneously. There''s little opportunity to get your mother and the rest of the patriots out of the country before that happens, and that''s what I''m here to discuss."


    I felt a bit confused. "Huh? Why me?"


    Raymond looked taken aback. "Because it pertains to the safety of your family."


    "Ugh," I groaned disdainfully. Raymond seemed puzzled and asked, "You don''t care what''s going to happen to her?"


    "She made her bed. Now she has to lie in it," I replied indifferently. "You cannot save someone who doesn''t want to be saved."


    He stared at me intensely before responding, "Two times."


    "What two times?" I asked, still confused.


    "She saw her friends die... from starvation," he added casually. "Do you know what that''s like? Seeing the lights go out from their eyes, their bodies bing thin husks of what they once were?"


    I fell silent as he continued, "When the Soviets fell in 1991, your mother smiled for the first time, thinking that the stalled gears of her country would finally move again."


    Not breaking eye contact, he said, "You have no idea what she has been through. I''m sure you have resentment towards your mother, but I also know there''s no way you''re going to abandon her."


    I sighed, thinking for a moment, and took out a small card from my wallet. I handed it to him before leaving the living room to pour myself a drink in the pantry.


    "Laminated?" Raymond looked at the card and saw it contained the details of a trading ount along with its password. "Get a new card maker!" he shouted from afar.


    "I made it myself!" I retorted.


    He chuckled and said, "I''ll refer you to an excellent craftsman in this area. He''s very handy with this sort of stuff and wouldn''t betray the customer''s private information."


    "I don''t need it. I already ordered the machine," I scoffed. "Refer me to the ones who make your hat."


    He took it off his head and pointed at it, "This? I got this from a small shop in Washington. It''s easy to find��just one street over from the congressional building."


    As he wore it back, he said, "Do you want me to bring anything to your mother? A bouquet of roses perhaps?"


    "That''s not necessary for their trip to Canada." I replied, insinuating the ce I wanted them to go at the same time. Raymond was speechless for a second before he let out a long sigh as he scrutinized me.


    Although I agreed to help, I didn''t want her toe back into my life.


    Raymond took the card and stood up from the seat, walking away.


    Even if we didn''t discuss it, the money inside the ount would be used to buy the patriots new identities and a way out of the country, more than enough for them to live the rest of their livesfortably.


    The resistance would fall. As the trade talks began, people in Cuba finally saw hope for their country, which is why they would reject the freedom fighters'' agenda. They had been in the darkness for so long, and my mother''s group couldn''t inspire light for them. So her own people betrayed her as they were too devoid of hope to continue.


    My mother is losing because she cannot inspire hope.


    Raymond Reddington might think he found me, but in actuality, I reached out to him by staying at the hotel he owned. Yeah, he owned the hotel, from the shadows.


    I understood very well what was going to happen, and Raymond was the only person capable of saving them. I only acted like I was forced to help to prevent him from thinking he was doing me a favor.


    Raymond was a businessman��a very dangerous one. As the family fund in Cuba dried up, he couldn''t go and save my mother without getting remuneration, as he would be looked down upon in his line of business for doing charity.


    Before he left, Raymond turned to me again and said, "Don''t worry, as far as everyone is concerned, this is just your family''s hidden asset that your mother gave me for safekeeping."


    He was reassuring me that I wouldn''t be implicated in any of it. Raymond was a man of his words. It would be as if he never stopped by.


    "By the way, I just want to say, wonderful album, and absolutely mesmerizing voice. I really love the orchestral rendition of your song. I''ll be sure to buy a ticket if we are ever in the same city."


    I smirked slightly and said, "I''ll make sure to charge you extra then."


    He grinned and then left the room, greeting my security guard standing in front of the room casually. After he left, I finally sighed in relief and said, "Robin, deactivate protection protocol."


    "Deactivating." Robin replied before 5 small drones appeared out of thin air. It cloaked itself using holographic technology before it went into guard mode. I was meeting with a very dangerous man after all, so I had to keep some security measures in ce.


    "Robin, contact Aunt Cam. Tell her I want to speak with her."


    ...


    We returned home the next day. There''s only 4 more days till Christmas. My dad and Frankie cornered me in the kitchen while I was cooking and Frankie asked, "Edward, what do you want for Christmas?"


    "Just get some cat toys for Vader." I replied easily.


    My dad shook his hand and said, "That''s for her. What about you? What do you want?"


    I counted what I wanted with my fingers, "World peace. One Piece Ending. Re-animating Naruto from the start with a much higher quality animation. A big tiddy goth�C Um, I don''t know, you can get me some scarves or socks."


    "A big tiddy what?" Frankie was confused. "Nothing nothing." I shook my head dismissively with a mischievous grin on my face as I stirred the pot. "You guys know what I want? Maybe for you two to go on a trip together."


    Both of them exchanged wary nces before Dad replied, "We''re not leaving you for Christmas."


    I rolled my eyes and said, "You can go after. Just hire a hot nanny to take care of me and we''ll be fine."


    "No, how about, some sneakers?" My dad rejected my idea for the nanny instantly.


    I pouted slightly and said, "Sneakers will be fine."


    Then, I stopped stirring the pot and asked my dad, "Continue to stir this for me."


    While he was stirring, I put on my jacket and took my wallet with me. Confused, my dad asked, "Are you going somewhere?"


    "I''m going to Haley''s to see her ce." I replied casually.


    My dad was shocked, "Hey, I don''t know what to do with this!"


    " Stir that for 20 more minutes in low heat before turning the fire off." I said as I left the house.


    Most of the houses in the neighborhood have already put up their Christmas decorations. Colorful lights, stic snowmen as it''s not snowing here, festive trees and wreaths.


    "Got to admit. Christmas in Wisconsin looks a lot more fun." I mumbled to myself.


    While I was walking toward the Dunphy''s, I suddenly heard some ttering sounding from a house beside me, and then I heard an old man cursing. Turning towards Mr Kleezak''s house, I saw that he had tripped on the steps and almost dropped his box of Christmas lights.


    "Mr Kleezak, are you fine?" I asked in concern.


    "None of your business kiddo! Continue walking." The old man continued gruffly, his leg was still limping. I approached him slightly and shouted, "Do you need�C"


    Before I could finish my words, he already closed the door behind me. "Why did he take off his lights? " I mumbled to myself.


    "Oh my god, my inner, Hallmark movie character personality ising out." I widened my eyes in shock before I rushed to Haley''s ce.


    Walking down the basement, I saw the renovated room and Jay working hard to build the closet with the rest of his contractor. "Hey Jay!" I greeted casually. "What''s the emergency?"


    Jay turned around while still holding the shelves, "You''re here. Quick, help me install the closet before Philes by."


    "What?" I was confused when Phil burst through the door, shouting, "Stop! I told you! We''re not using Pritchett Closets stuff!"


    "You don''t even pay me! At the very least, you could market my product in the video!" Jay argued.


    Phil shot back, trying to remove the closet, "I told you we''re going to discuss sponsorship deals first!"


    "We''re family!" Jay eximed, aggrieved. He turned to me and said, "Can you speak some sense to this guy? He thinks he''s such a big shot after he got 150,000 followers."


    "160 thousand!" Phil corrected him. "Wait, how did it increase so much?" I asked, intrigued by their argument.


    "The project got featured in the news this morning," Jay exined. "And a morning talk show!" Phil added excitedly.


    "Really?" I googled it instantly but couldn''t find anything, so I asked Robin to look it up for me. It turned out it was covered on several talk shows. Phil''s video had managed to break into the mainstream, which wasn''t surprising.


    An elderly talk show host watched Phil''s renovation video andmented, "See? That''s a good father. He listened to his daughter and built her a studio just for her to follow her dream. I''d marry a guy like that in a heartbeat."


    Another host added, "This is the most cost-effective renovation I''ve ever seen! Not to mention it''s very creative. I can''t wait to see the end result."


    As the renovation started, Phil introduced the episode, saying, "Wee to another episode of basement renovation, where I use my real estate skills to build a fashion workshop for my teenage daughter who loves making dresses."


    It was a simple enough introduction for the short video, but as the series continued, many viewers recognized the good-hearted intention behind Phil''s renovation, and it was even mentioned on Ellen.


    Jay, initially skeptical about the entire project, finally changed his mind and wanted to promote his product through the channel.


    Just then, Haley walked down, barely paying attention to Phil and Jay''s argument. She focused solely on me. "You''re here! How is it? Did you check out the room yet? What do you think?"


    "I just got here. Why don''t you give me a tour?" I smiled softly at her.


    Haley smirked with excitement and grabbed my hand. "Okay! I''ll give you a tour." Turning to the bickering duo, she said, "Dad, Grandpa, Mom wants to see you upstairs. Also, Dad, I want Grandpa''s closet. He custom made it for me."


    Jay looked smug as he nced at Phil. Phil sighed and said reluctantly, "Okay, honey. Whatever you want. I can get us a better deal, but it''s whatever you want, sweetheart!"


    Haley smiled obliviously, not grasping what Phil was saying. Jay guffawed loudly as he walked upstairs with Phil.


    "First of all, the studio." She linked her arms with mine and pulled me into the next room. The studio was alreadypleted��a simple space with two half-body mannequins and a measurement table for cutting fabric.


    "Take off your shirt." She suddenly picked up a brownish waffle shirt from the table and turned toward me excitedly.


    "Okay." I slowly unbuttoned my shirt and took it off. Haley inhaled sharply as she gazed at my body and said hesitantly, "This...I might have made a mistake here. You don''t actually need a shirt."


    I grabbed the shirt from her hand and said, "Don''t be silly. I get cold like everyone else."


    As I put on the shirt, I suddenly felt my belly button chill. "Wait, is this a crop top?" I was shocked to see two of my abs visible as the shirt stopped halfway.


    "Wait. Did I measure it wrong? I tried to make a perfect fit." Haley pulled the shirt down, but in doing so, the stitches on the shoulder ripped. She widened her eyes in shock beforeughing dryly.


    "This...is a failure," she muttered with a self-deprecating tone. "Maybe I don''t have what it takes!" she mumbled.


    "Don''t be silly. It''s great for a first try�C"


    "That''s my 10th." She interrupted me.


    "Um...It''s still great. You just need to learn more." Iforted her by patting her head softly. She looked up to me with her big eyes and said, "Really?"


    "Yeah. It''s great. When you finally have your own collection, I''ll model for you."


    Haley smiled slightly before she became determined, "I need to make more slutty shirts."


    "No�C Not that." I was startled for a bit.


    Haley grabbed my arm again and brought me to the bathroom, "Grandpa installed a shower here, so I don''t need to share it with anyone else. I chose that wallpaper myself. What do you think?"


    The bathroom has bronze pipes and a moody look, which was something Haley loved. Then, she showed me her bedroom, which was the room we were in before.


    "It''s still empty, but I think I can move in here before Christmas." She said excitedly. Then, she flirted, "When my new bede, do you want to�C"


    Before she could finish, my phone rang. My dad was calling me at an unfortunate time. "Sorry, I have to take this." I said. Haley was dissatisfied but she didn''t say anything.


    While we were talking, the two other siblings, Alex and Luke, concocted a n together and began acting it out upstairs where all the adults were in discussion.

 Chapter 312: Conan (1)

    <h4>Chapter 312: Conan (1)</h4>


    [General POV]


    Three days before Christmas, the production crew at Entertain worked diligently to build an interview set for Edward''s talk show. The host, Conan O''Brien, wore a puzzled expression as he spoke with Pepper.


    "So, instead of a prepared question, I can ask him whatever I want?" Conan narrowed his eyes slightly, leaning forward in confusion.


    Pepper chuckled, replying, "Yeah. Ed said it''ll be fine. We can always edit out anything too personal, so you don''t have to worry about that."


    Conan smirked, "Yes! The billionaire''s support for the studio budget��something a publicwork will never have. Can we have caviar or a lobster menu instead of chicken wings?"


    Pepper responded casually, "Okay, I''ll get you some."


    "I was just joking." Conan''s astonishment turned into excitement.


    As Pepper set up the stage, taking suggestions from Conan, Edward sat in a small room with Taylor.


    Taylor paced back and forth behind the couch, shaking her hands nervously in a self-soothing manner. Edward flipped through a script, humming casually.


    Suddenly, Taylor snapped at him, her head whipping around almost 90 degrees. She winced in pain. "How are you so calm��Oww��... Bitch..."


    "Did you just call me a bitch?" Edward looked up, astonished.


    "O~" she whined, sitting beside him and massaging her neck while shooting him a re.


    "We''re going public without adequate preparation! You''re fine with it, but I don''t have improv experience!" she scolded.


    Edward waved his hand dismissively. "It''s fine. You''re going to do great."


    "I don''t think any celebrity has done this!" she fretted. Edward ced the script down and beckoned her to sit closer.


    He began to massage her neck and shoulder, saying, "Actually, there have been a lot. You don''t remember because there''s not much to recall. Once they confirm it on air, people lose interest after they get their fair share of drama."


    Just then, Harvey entered the room without knocking. She paused, confused at the sight of Edward massaging Taylor.


    "What happened? Were you guys boxing in here? Do you need to file awsuit?" she teased.


    Edward scoffed. "She did this to herself. I had no part in it. Also, Harvey, we need to produce this, too."


    Harvey raised an eyebrow as she approached the couch. "Again? This is the tenth movie you''ve approved this week alone."


    Edward nodded slightly. "I can''t help it. They write great stuff."


    To be a scriptwriter in Hollywood, luck and connections are crucial. However, Edward expanded his search beyond the city, attracting talented writers who had never had the opportunity to showcase their work.


    Entertain needed its own content. The movies wouldn''t be produced all at once but over the span of six months.


    "Especially this one: Psychopath Diary. I love it." Edward grinned as he pointed to the script. The thick, 500 pages script on the table.


    "The witness to a murder scene runs off with the killer''s diary, and after getting hit by a car while trying to escape, he suffers from amnesia. When he wakes up, he mistakenly believes the diary is his. I love the internal struggle between the man he is and the man the diary makes him out to be," he added.


    Edward thought he had seen a simr show before, but he couldn''t recall the details.


    "If the story is that good, then why hasn''t any producer picked it up?" Taylor asked, her toneced with sarcasm.


    "Because it already has an ending. The plot is too expansive for a movie but too contained to stretch out over multiple seasons," Edward replied casually.


    Stories like Chernobyl, Queen''s Bandit, which have a short amount of episodes, be a huge sess in the future. Edward believed that he should never underestimate the consumer''s thirst for quality content�C which he aimed to make.


    Noticing Edward''s enthusiasm for the script, Harvey asked, "Ed, do you want to y this role?"


    "I mean, I do, but it would have to be filmed in London due to the gun controlws to make the story credible. If this were shot in America, it''d end within an episode," Edward chuckled, imagining the psychopath murderer being taken out with a gun bought at Walmart.


    "And honestly, I don''t have the time tomit to it in the next two years," he shrugged, masking behind his disappointment with a poker face. Suddenly, Edward turned to Harvey, "By the way, why are you here?"


    "Ah, I talked with some friends about the capital gain tax. Take a low interest loan. Since the revenue pays for the project and then some meaning you grow your assets and can take even bigger loans and debt isn''t taxable. That''s how rich people do it. Or you can pay a quarter billion dors as capital gain tax."


    bbergasted, Edward turned to Harvey with disbelief, "Pay the quarter billion?-- Do you even know me? Use the <i>LOOPHOLE! </i>"


    "Got it." Harvey winked, pointing her finger at Edward snappily at the same time before she walked away.


    ...


    200 people were brought into the studio as the live audience for today''s shoot. Conan was already ready at his host''s table, greeting the audience before finally weing the guest.


    The camera started rolling as Conan began.


    "Wee to a very special episode of ''Hot Ones,'' where the wings are hot, and the guests are even hotter!" Conan said with a yful grin. "As you can see, even though this is set up like ate-night show, there''s a bucket of chicken on the table in front of me, making it an eating show instead." He added with a sly side-eye. "A loophole!"


    The audience chuckled, aware of Conan''s recent ban onte-night shows after parting ways with NBC.


    "Today, we have a truly extraordinary young talent in the hot seat. He''s a multi-talented singer, songwriter, tinkerer, billionaire, phnthropist, a real casanova and he''s definitely the one writing this looooong introduction!" Conan joked, elicitingughter from the audience.


    Many in attendance were fans of Edward and also his employees. The joke resonated with them as they knew how Edward is and the possibility that he actually wrote that.


    Conan continued, "This <i>reclusive</i> superstar rookie recently helped save the president, but you won''t find him doing interviews with just anyone. He wanted me! ME!!! LISTEN TO THAT, NBC!" Conan stood up from his chair, mockingly scolding thework with a dramatic expression.


    The audience erupted withughter as Conan backtracked, "Sorry. I let my emotions get the best of me there. NBC and I have an amicable breakup from each other." The audience giggled at his skit.


    "Today, he''s chosen to sit down with me, Conan O''Brien, for an exclusive interview. So, prepare yourselves as we dive into some spicy wings and even spicier stories with Edward NEWGATE!!"


    As Conan announced his name, Edward walked to the guest seat with a confident yet humble demeanor. He wore a stunning maroon suit, tailored perfectly to entuate his muscr frame, with two buttons undone, revealing a hint of his chiseled chest.


    His angr face was striking, and his mesmerizing green eyes captivated the audience. Girls swoon as he shed a charming smile. Thebination of his stylish appearance and undeniable charisma made the atmosphere electric. The audience cheered thunderously as if they were at a concert, which surprised Conan.


    However, as a professional, Conan kept his mind sharp and immediately stood up to shake Edward''s hand.


    "Alright, Edward, wee! You look fantastic in that suit��definitely giving off those ''billionaire rock star'' vibes. Are we sure you didn''t just walk off a magazine cover?" Conan said, trying to break the ice with apliment.


    Edward chuckled and replied, "I wanted to dress a bit more casually, but all my clothes burned in a fire. So, I had to grab this one for my endorsement photoshoot. Let''s just pretend this is what I usually wear at home."


    "Right! Because I, too, typically rock a ssy suit at home," Conan quipped, teasing Edward. "Just wiping my nose with a Gi jacket when I sneeze, or sleeping in my Italian-crafted suit!"


    Edward added with a grin, "Or just hopping into the hot tub wearing Armani."


    The crowd burst intoughter at the duo''s banter and how Edward yed along with the joke.


    Conanughed, "And then toss it all away afterward. In front of a billionaire, those thousands of dors worth of suits be disposable kitchen napkins!"


    "What else should I do? Give my money to poor people? That''s like... charity or something. Ew." Edward joked, poking fun at himself.


    The audience erupted inughter at Edward''s delivery, and Conan felt a sense of satisfaction engaging with him.


    For a talk show host, the greatest nightmare is having a boring conversation. Thankfully, with Edward, Conan didn''t have to force the fun; it came naturally.


    "Enough appetizers. We''re going to be serious now." Conan sped his hands together, leaned forward, and gazed intently at Edward. Edward mirrored his seriousness and said, "I''m prepared."


    Suddenly, Conan broke character and turned to the audience. "Wait. I forgot to exin something."


    Edward rxed, leaning back. "Oh sure. Go ahead."


    Beside the stage, Taylor watched in disbelief at Edward''s performance. "God. Why is he so hot? Let me move on from my feelings in peace," she mumbled. Her eyes were glued to Edward''s performance, same as all of Edward''s friends who came to watch the show. In the audience seat, most of Edward''s friends were there.


    Conan addressed the audience, "On this special interview, Edward promised to answer all the questions I''m going to ask him...honestly," he said, holding up a piece of chicken. "While we eat, until none of the chicken is left."


    Edward added, "And the interview will only go on till we finish eating."


    Conan took a slow, exaggerated nibble of chicken, dragging it out. "Alright, I took a bite. Let''s be serious again."


    Both Conan and Edward furrowed their brows and leaned forward, sping their hands together in unison as if it were a premeditated skit, causing the audience to burst intoughter.


    "On a side note, Edward doesn''t know what questions will be asked��damn, that''s hot! UEarghhh~"


    As the audienceughed, Edward smirked and exined, "You didn''t think there wouldn''t be a catch, did you?"


    "What have you done?" Conan asked usatorily , feigning shock.


    Edward replied, "There are ten wings, each coated with a different sauce. Some are mild... some will make you wish for death. Don''t worry, we''ll provide milk. But if you drink it, the question bes null, and you''ll have to move on to the next one."


    Conan, already aware of the rules, stood slightly and dered, "Do you think a little spiciness will stop me? I''ll make sure to eat all of them!" He stuffed an entire wing into his mouth and swallowed it in one go. "I''ll make sure you regret��DAMN, THAT''S HOT!"


    The audience roared withughter as they watched Conan struggle to cope with the heat. Finally, regaining hisposure, he asked Edward, "You thought up this game when you invited me here. Do you enjoy devising these sadistic games and watching people suffer?"


    Edward, slightly taken aback, grinned and replied, "I don''t like seeing people suffer. I just like seeing you suffer!"


    "Why? What did I ever do to you?!" Conan quipped, ying along with Edward''s reply.


    Edward, with a hint of irritation, said, "Who asked you to get kicked out from hosting the Late Night Show in the same year I made my debut? And before the show ended, you didn''t. even. invite. Me."


    The audience now understood why Edward was punishing Conan. They chuckled slightly and waited for the reaction.


    "Wait. You wanted toe to my show?" Conan acted touched, then suddenly grabbed a napkin and exaggeratedly wiped his tongue, causing the audience to burst intoughter.


    "Yeah. I loved your show��"


    "SEE THAT, NBC?!" Conan shouted straight to the camera, making the entire audience, even the cameraman, snicker.


    Edward continued amidst theughter, "I wanted to go there after the VMAs. But you know what happened then. By the time I was over the trauma and wanted toe, you were already canned."


    Conan, taken aback,ughed self-deprecatingly, "Wow, you really don''t pull your punches."


    Edward chuckled and then stared at the camera like Conan did, saying, "Why''d you do that, NBC?!"


    The audience erupted inughter, and Conan joined in trashing thework, "Look what you did, NBC!"


    Edward suddenly turned serious and looked at Conan, "Wait. Didn''t you sign a contract that prevents you from talking smack about thework?"


    "I''m not talking smack. I''m just asking them some sincere questions," Conan quickly deflected with a sly grin. He turned to Edward and added, "I''m impressed you even know about that."


    "Nosy is one of my prominent traits," Edward replied, prompting chuckles from some audience members.


    Conan seized the moment and said, "You have a lot of traits. One of them is heroic. Can we talk about what happened at that time now, or should we wait until the finale?"


    "Let''s test your luck. If you get a mild one, we''ll wait for the finale. If you''re going to suffer, then we can dive in now," Edward replied, subtly nudging Conan to eat the chicken first before asking his question.


    Conan groaned in dissatisfaction, staring into the bucket bowl. "Eghhh..." he scowled, promptingughter from the audience. "You''re making me wish for torture while acting like it''s a sweet deal. You''re like the devil!" he remarked, eyeing Edward.


    Edward smiled innocently. "Of course, you can choose not to do it."


    "I''LL DO IT!" Conan dered, grabbing another wing. After taking a nibble, he smacked his lips a few times. "Oh, this one''s one of the milder ones. So we''ll wait for the finale."


    As he inhaled sharply from the spiciness, Conan asked, "In your Instagram feed, there are a lot of pictures of your cat. Are you only a cat lover?"


    Edward smirked. "That''s a really mild question. Yeah, I love cats. But I also adore all kinds of animals."


    He proceeded to share stories about his family dog on the ranch, as well as Ace, his panther. He recounted how he met Vader after fleeing from a paparazzi and discovering Vader rummaging through the trash for food.


    As the audience got a glimpse into Edward''s personal life and saw how genuine he was being, their admiration for him grew.


    The next question was also mild, where Edward talked to Conan about his VMA award. Conan expressed regret for not inviting Edward to his show, but he defended himself by saying he didn''t think Edward woulde. They acted out what could have been, leaving the audience feeling a bit mncholic.


    While the interview continued, executives from TBS suddenly approached thepany with an offer. Renaldo whispered to Pepper hurriedly, "TBS wants to buy the rights to broadcast this interview."


    "For how much?" Pepper asked, intrigued.


    "Twenty million dors," Renaldo replied, his voice slightly shaky, clearly surprised by the high offer. Pepper smirked and muttered, "Eddy really understands this industry. He yed them like a fiddle."


    Among the audience, a few industry ''nts'' from major cableworks were present, eager to see how the interview would unfold. However, witnessing the audience''s reaction and experiencing the fun of the interview firsthand convinced them that the money would be well spent.


    With Edward''s exclusive interview drawing immense interest, several major cableworks were vying for the rights to broadcast it. TBS, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, E!, CNN, FX, and A&E all recognized the potential for high viewership and buzz.


    What started as a million-dor offer quickly snowballed to twenty million, the maximum a cablework would pay for this kind of interview in 2009. It was an ''insider'' story about what really happened at that time and why his house was targeted by a missile��how he escaped death itself.


    Not only that, but many producers were also interested in securing the rights to his story for potential movie adaptations.


    "Although there''s this big story we''re all dying to know about, there''s something else too," Conan slowly led into the question. "In the first and second weeks of November, you and your friend Taylor S. both released singles, and the lyrics matched up with each other."


    The audience was intrigued as they remembered that, and the interest from the cable TV representatives grew more and more.


    "But neither of you spoke up about it. Usually, people talk, but you guys have kept mum. What happened there?" Conan pressed on. "And remember, you promised to be honest."


    Edward pretended to be a little helpless and ufortable. As he adjusted his seating, he let out a beleaguered sigh and told Conan, "That''s actually quite a sad story."


    The crowd eximed, "Uuuuu," as they highly anticipated the answer.


    "I wanted to sympathize, but right now, I feel like I can hear my own brain waves moving around." Conan said, with a reddish face as he got another extremely hot chicken wing. "I cannot drink the milk, but can I just dip my tongue in cold water?"


    "Yeah, I can excuse that." Edward said. A staff member quickly ran into the set, cing a tall ss of water on Conan''s table. Conan dipped his tongue in that water and nced at Edward, "Continue."


    The audienceughed and Edward advised Conan, "Why don''t you keep an ice cube inside your mouth."


    "You''re trying to trick me. Once I drink that melted ice, you''ll nullify the question. I can see through your trick, you sadist." Conan used him. Edward smirked and said, "I said milk. Not water."


    "WAIT! DAMN IT!" Conan eximed as he quickly downed a ss of water, ring at Edward in frustration. "I could''ve done that from the start!" He finished the entire ss in one go.


    Edward chuckled and replied, "It''s not my fault you didn''t think of it."


    "God! Why am I being punished like this?" Conanmented, before turning to the camera again. "Why''d you do that, NBC?"


    Edward joined in, "Why''d you make him suffer, NBC?"


    The two exchanged amused nces and chuckled together. Conan said, "Are you trying to avoid answering the question?"


    "I''ll answer it, I''ll answer it. Jeez," Edward groaned.


    "But before I do, I''d like to ask for a lifeline," Edward said, elicitingughter from the audience. To their surprise, he suddenly turned to the side and called out, "Taylor, do you want toe out here so we can talk about this together?"


    Momentster, Taylor S. stepped onto the stage, her presence instantly lighting up the room. The crowd gasped and apuded enthusiastically. Wearing a simple yellow dress and with her blonde hair curled into locks, Taylor waved to everyone before sitting next to Edward.


    Conan pretended to be surprised as well, shouting, "What?!" multiple times, exaggerating his shock as if his mind had been blown.


    Renaldo whispered to Pepper again, "They offered 25 million now."


    "If they knew what''ll happenter, I wonder if they would still offer the same amount." Pepper waved his paper fan andughed deviously.

 Chapter 313: Conan (2)

    <h4>Chapter 313: Chapter 313: Conan (2)</h4>


    [General POV]


    "But before I do, I''d like to ask for a lifeline," Edward said, promptingughter from the audience. To their surprise, he turned to the side and called out, "Taylor, do you want toe out here so we can talk about this together?"


    The audience fell silent, holding their breath as they looked in the direction Edward was facing. Some were skeptical, thinking he was just acting out another skit, but their eyes widened as they spotted a streak of blonde hair moving toward the stage.


    Momentster, Taylor stepped onto the stage, instantly lighting up the room. The crowd gasped and apuded enthusiastically. Dressed in a simple yellow dress with her blonde hair curled into locks, Taylor waved to everyone and walked to Conan and Edward, both who were standing as they weed her to the stage.


    Conan feigned surprise, shouting, "What?!" several times. In the audience, Annie dropped her jaw at the sight of Taylor, and her eyes became dazed.


    The daring scene made the fans want to snap some pictures, however, as there was a no phone ban inside the studio, they squirmed restlessly in their seats, with a lot of them having extreme reactions�C silently.


    "Oh my god, what''s happening?" Lily, Edward''s fan club president, asked anxiously. "Are they going to announce they''ve broken up publicly?" She mumbled, saddened by the sinking rtionship.


    As Conan reacted, he said, "This is not... what I had in mind when I asked the question. Wings?" He offered the bucket of chicken to Taylor, and she instinctively reached for it. "Oh��okay��"


    Before she could grab it, Edward stopped her with a look of disbelief on his face. "Don''t take that."


    "AH!" Taylor eximed in realization, drawingughter from the audience. She narrowed her eyes and scolded Conan, "You tried to pull me into your suffering!"


    "A drowned man will always pull someone down with them," Conan replied dramatically, followed by an evilugh. "Muahahaha!" He then abruptly stopped and greeted Taylor politely. "Also, this is our first time meeting each other. Nice to meet you."


    "Nice to meet you too," Taylor responded politely.


    "Please, have a seat," Conan said, resuming the interview as the audience quieted down.


    "I guess we should get right into it. So, the big question is: Are the songs you both released in early December��''Hate U Love U'' by Taylor and ''Daylight'' by Edward�� have anything to do with one another?" He asked.


    The audience held their breath as they waited for the answer. Taylor and Edward nced at each other before Edward told her, "Go ahead. You started the whole thing."


    Taylor turned to Conan and finally answered, "Yeah. It has something to do with us."


    The audience gasped and eximed in amazement and shock as they heard the confirmation. Many theories were floating around online, however, hearing it from the parties involved made it all official.


    Conan widened his eyes slightly before he leaned in closer to Edward and whispered to the duo, "Are you guys sure you can talk about this?"


    Edward shrugged and said casually, "We are going to talk about it when the whole project is finished, however, we don''t think we''re going to have a chance to do that anymore."


    "Project? What project?" Conan asked, pretending to be confused.


    Conan leaned forward, a yful glint in his eye. "Before we get into that, shouldn''t you eat another chicken wing?"


    The audience erupted inughter, sensing the yful tension.


    "OH COME ON!" Conan eximed, mming both hands on the table, causing the crowd to roar withughter. "This still pertains to the question! It doesn''t count!" He whined dramatically, feigning exasperation.


    Edward chuckled, ncing at Taylor. "Should we give him a chance?"


    Taylor smirked mischievously. "We should. There''s a lot to unpack here."


    The audiencesughed, and Conan finally felt relieved. He leaned back, crossing his arms. "Alright, start from the beginning. So we can ALL be clear about this."


    Edward nodded, his tone shifting to serious. "It all starts with the release of ''Tenerife Sea.'' During that time, we hinted at a coboration between the two of us at the end of the year."


    Taylor continued seamlessly, her enthusiasm infectious. "We wanted to do something special for the fans. But, well, circumstances got in the way. Mostly because of Edward."


    She shot him a yful re, and the audience chuckled knowingly.


    "What did he do?" Conan asked, leaning in with a gossipy grin, prompting moreughter from the crowd.


    Taylor smiled, clearly enjoying the moment. "First of all, we nned to release six songs��one per week��until the end of the year. We challenged each other on songwriting, creating songs with the same theme."


    The audience gasped in unison, intrigued by the nning. Lily, who has been specting that the song was part of their coboration, felt that she had hit the mark and celebrated silently, "I knew it!"


    "Let me guess, the first theme is Love and Hate?" Conan spected, raising an eyebrow.


    "Exactly!" Taylor confirmed, nodding enthusiastically. "Both ''Daylight'' and ''Hate U'' mirror each other."


    Edward added, chuckling, "Taylor called it a challenge, but it''s actually a bet. "


    Taylor looked startled. "No! It''s not a bet!"


    "It is a bet. A songwriting bet. We were arguing to see who''s the better writer between the two of us, and it just happened. " Edward insisted, grinning.


    "We checked the streams, and if Taylor lost, she''d dye her hair blue and wear cat ears."


    Laughter erupted from the audience, and Taylor rolled her eyes yfully. "If Edward loses, he''ll shave his head bald."


    The crowd roared withughter, enjoying the backstory. Those close to the duo knew they were being untruthful, so did some of the fans as they saw the startled expression of Taylor, acting as if she had just heard the story at the same time as them.


    Just throwing out the fact that Edward and Taylor weren''t together might divide the fans. They felt that it''s not worth the risk considering the fact that both of them were still ''newbies'' in the industry. Right now, they might be incredibly famous, but fame is momentary. They had to n for the future too.


    "So, who wins?" Conan asked, leaning back with an evil grin. "On a side note, I always carry blue dye and a shaver with me."


    Edwardughed, shaking his head. "Neither of us won because someone can''t go a week without stirring up controversy." His tone wasced with sarcasm.


    Taylor gestured subtly towards Edward. "Him."


    Conanughed and so did the audience. Conan then asked, "Wait, let me get this straight. You were supposed to see who won, but then Edward punched a guy in the club, and that ruined everything?"


    The audience gasped and murmured. Taylor sighed, looking a bit beleaguered. "Yeah, but it''s not that bad. We can just postpone the release for a week. But then, Edward had to go to court."


    "It''s not really fair that she has to keep silent about it, but I had interviews after interviews about my court case. Then, I went viral again for carrying a bloodied cop to the hospital," Edward added, a hint of tiredness in his voice.


    Taylor jumped in, "And then he fought some terrorists. Whichpletely ruined thepetition."


    "And my house got blown up." Edward concluded, the crowd''s astonishment palpable. "So... yeah, the project got ripped to shred." He confessed.


    Taylor gently patted his arm and said while chuckling, "I don''t me you though."


    Gasps and murmurs rippled through the audience, their eyes wide with disbelief at the wild series of events. After seeing Taylorfort Edward, the fans realized that they had a great rtionship as that looked too casual to be faked.


    Conan leaned back, taking it all in. "What kind of life are you having?!" he asked, incredulous. "I''ve interviewed people for over a decade, and never have I seen someone with a more hectic life. No wonder movie producers want your story rights."


    "Conan, you want to know something cool?" Edward suddenly interrupted.


    "What?" Conan leaned in, intrigued, expecting more details about Edward''s chaotic life.


    "When you first started hosting, I didn''t even exist yet. You''re really old," Edward deadpanned.


    The audience erupted inughter, while Conan sat momentarily speechless. Taylor covered her mouth, giggling, and yfully hit Edward''s arm. The timing of his remark was so unexpected that it left her slightly dumbfounded.


    "EXCUSE ME!?" Conan eximed, feigning offense. "I''m not too old! You''re too young!"


    "I never said ''too'' old, but whatever," Edward replied nonchntly, prompting Conan to tug at his hair in frustration. The crowd roared withughter, their enjoyment palpable.


    As he calmed down, Conan said, "I feel like you did that on purpose to change the subject."


    "You caught that, huh?" Edward smirked in agreement.


    Conanughed maniacally. "But I''m not letting you off that easily! Why didn''t you just release the next song amidst all the controversies? Taylor, please fill us in!"


    Flustered, Taylor replied, "Well, the next theme is... Betrayal. So, the song is kind of a... diss track. If I release that first while the media is focused on his heroism, then I''ll bebeled a..."


    "Stone cold bitch," Conan finished her thought, a cheeky grin on his face.


    Edward leaned forward, mock-serious. "What did you just say to her?"


    "Wait! NO!" Conan pulled back dramatically, and the audience erupted inughter. Taylor joined in, herughter contagious, while Edward continued to tease Conan, and the crowd roared again.


    "I apologize," Conan said to Taylor, feigning sincerity. "No, no," she waved her hand dismissively. "I''m not offended at all."


    "Yeah, she knows she''s a��" Edward began, but Taylor shot him a re that made him quickly shut up. The audience chuckled as she maintained her fierce look, and Edward kept his gaze straight ahead, trying to suppress a grin.


    Conan smirked, leaning into the moment. "Finish that sentence, Ed."


    "A...beautiful girl." Edwardplimented as he met her eyes, which made Taylor''s angry gaze melt and she blushed as she faced the camera.


    Edward nced at the camera and said, "We can cut this part, right?"


    "No!" Taylor protested, while the audience chuckled. Conan used Edward yfully, "This is abuse of power! You might had paid for everything here today, but I still��"


    "Still haven''t said thank you," Edward interrupted with a cheeky smile.


    "...Thanks?" Conan feigned confusion, raising an eyebrow.


    Annieughed out loud in the audience, while Abed, sitting beside her, mumbled with admiration, "He''s really great at ad-libbing. I want him to act in my next show, but I won''t have the budget to hire him."


    After a moment of yful banter, Conan turned serious. "I''m curious: if you released the songs for your project, then why didn''t you just tell everyone about it? Why keep silent about the whole thing?"


    Taylor and Edward exchanged wary nces before Edward sat up slightly. "I guess I should be the one to exin. There are a lot of reasons for that, but mainly it''s because of the ''shipping'' of our rtionship."


    Taylor nodded, and the crowd eximed "Uuuu" in amazement. "See, this is what I''m talking about," Edward pointed at the crowd, elicitingughter at the absurdity of it.


    "What''s the thought process here?" Conan asked. "Isn''t shipping you guys a good thing?"


    "I won''t deny it''s good," Taylor replied. "Edward and I are really close, so it doesn''t bother us."


    Edward continued, "But the shipping became so serious that some�� and I''m not saying all of them��some fans began to attack every single person of the opposite sex we''re in contact with."


    Conan eximed in realization, "Ah, so you want to give them a middle finger?"


    "Wha��no, of course not!" Taylor interjected quickly, shaking her head. Edward smiled and added, "The reason behind the project''s narrative about breakup is to slowly ease them into the possibility that we''re..."


    "Over?" Conan guessed, raising an eyebrow.


    "Friends," Taylor corrected him with augh. Edward continued, "So after ''Hate'' and ''Love,'' there''ll be ''Betrayal,'' and thest theme will be about ''Moving On.'' At that time, we figured people will think that we''re over."


    Taylor nodded, adding, "Only then will we talk to the people and tell them all about the project."


    "So you''re ying them?" Conan asked usatorily.


    Edward smirked and said, "We have no choice."


    Edward turned to the audience again and said, "So, we''re thinking... maybe we can''t release all of them as we has missed the timing and ruin the project, but how about we perform thest two songs here in the studio��"


    Before he could finish his thought, the crowd erupted into a deafening roar of approval, cheers and apuse filling the air as everyone enthusiastically agreed with his suggestion.


    Conan smiled in satisfaction and turned to the crowd, "After the break, Taylor and Edward are going to perform thest two songs live right here in the studio!"


    The filming stopped even though the camera was still rolling. Edward and Taylor talked with Conan for a while before both of them went to prepare for the show.


    ...


    Beside the talk show set, there was a stage which was split into two sections. Taylor stood on the left side of the stage underneath the spotlight, while Edward''s stage was still darkened.


    "The song is called, Back to December." Taylor announced. Holding a guitar in her hand, she strummed the melody to the song as she stood in front of a microphone.


    Even though Edward imed that the entire songs were made up, Taylor didn''t act like that. She sang, full of sincerity.


    <i>"?? </i>I''m so d you made time to see me. How''s life? Tell me, how''s your family? I haven''t seen them in a while<i>??" </i>The crowd became silent as they enjoyed the song.


    Taylor nced upward, thinking about her memory with Edward. <i>"??</i>You''ve been good, busier than ever. We small talk, work and the?weather. Your?guard?is up and?I know why <i>??"</i>


    Closing her eyes, she sang, <i>"??</i>Because?thest time you saw me...Is still burned in the back of your mind...<i>??" . </i>In the darkened stage, Edward gazed at her intently as he watched her performance.


    <i>"??</i>You gave me roses and I left them there to die<i>??" </i>Taylor turned her head to the next stage slightly, as if telling it to Edward. Lily, the fanclub president caught it, and so did the camera.


    As the cameraman moved behind Taylor, recording the performance facing the audiences, Taylor sang the chorus, "<i>??</i>So, this is me swallowing my pride. Standin'' in front of you sayin'', "I''m sorry for that night"<i>??"</i>


    <i>"??</i>And I go back to December all the time<i>??"</i>


    <i>"??</i>It turns out freedom ain''t nothing but missin'' you wishin'' I''d realized what I had when you were mine<i>??"</i>


    "<i>??</i>I go back to December, turn around and make it alright...I go back to December all the time<i>??"</i>


    Edward chuckled slightly, thinking about his advice to Taylor, prompting her to change the song name from September to December.


    The crowd began to enjoy the song immensely, however, they were directed not to make loud noises during the performances.


    <i>"??</i>These days, I haven''t been sleeping. Stayin'' up, ying back myself leavin''. When holidays passed and I didn''t call <i>??" </i>


    <i>"?? </i>Then I think about summer, all the beautiful times. I watched youughin'' from the passenger side. And realized I loved you in the fall <i>??"</i>


    "<i>?? </i>And then the cold came, the dark days When fear crept into my mind<i>??"</i>


    "<i>?? </i>You gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye. <i>??</i>"


    As the chorus began, the background singer also joined in to provide some harmony.


    <i>"??</i>So, this is me swallowing my pride. Standin'' in front of you, sayin'', "I''m sorry for that night!!" <i>??"</i>


    <i>"??</i>And I go back to December all the time<i>??</i> It turns out freedom ain''t nothing but missin'' you. Wishin'' I''d realized what I had when you were mine<i>??"</i>


    <i>"??</i>I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind. I go back to December all the time<i>??" </i>


    ''My personal song was made for him, but I can''t even im that. I''m so pathetic.'' Taylor thought sadly. She felt her breath choke, but she quickly suppressed her emotions as she continued to sing.


    <i>"??</i>I miss your tanned skin, your sweet smile<i>??"</i>


    <i>"?? </i>So good to me, so right<i>??"</i>


    <i>"??</i>And how you held me in your arms that September night. The first time you ever saw me cry<i>??"</i>


    The memory of the breakup they had after the VMAs shed in her mind.


    ''Maybe, if I didn''t act so childishly back then...We might have had more time together.'' Taylor nced at Edward again before she turned to the audience.


    <i>"??</i>Maybe this is wishful thinkin''. Probably mindless dreaming. But if we loved again, I swear I''d love you right <i>??"</i>


    "<i>?? </i>I''d go back in time and change it, but I can''t. So, if the chain is on your door, I understand<i>??"</i>


    Even though she understood that they couldn''t be together anymore, a part of her still wanted to hold out hope.


    <i>"??</i>But this is me swallowing my pride


    Standin'' in front of you, sayin'', "I''m sorry for that night"<i>??"</i>


    "<i>?? </i>And I go back to December<i>??</i>


    <i>"??</i>It turns out freedom ain''t nothing but missin'' you


    Wishin'' I''d realized what I had when you were mine <i>??"</i>


    <i>"??</i>I go back to December, turn around and make it alright...I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind... I go back to December all the time<i>??"</i>


    <i>"??</i>All the time<i>??" </i>Taylor stopped strumming and closed her eyes.


    The crowd apuded and cheered supportively after she finished her song. Taylor smiled and waved at them in gratitude as her stage light slowly dimmed. As the stage darkened, a single teardrop fell from her eyes.


    The other side of the stage brightened, revealing Edward sitting in front of a piano.

 Chapter 314: Conan (3)

    <h4>Chapter 314: Chapter 314: Conan (3)</h4>


    [General POV]


    The crowd went silent again after seeing Edward underneath the spotlight. Wearing sunsses, Edward''s finger pressed gently on the piano keys.


    "The song is called, ''When I was your man''" Edward whispered seductively at the microphone as he turned his head to the crowd.


    [Bruno Mars�C When I was your man]


    "??Same bed, but it feels just a little bit bigger now??" He crooned, which made a lot of the female fans swoon. Taylor, who was feeling a bit sad before, immediately became absorbed in the music as it was the first time for her to listen to it too.


    "??Our song on the radio, but it don''t sound the same??"


    Taylor flinched slightly as she heard the verse. ''Didn''t he say he''s going to make it up?'' She thought by herself, her heart beats quicker.


    As Edward sang, he nced at the audience slightly before looking straight forward. "??When our friends talk about you, all it does is just tear me<strong><i> down</i></strong>!! Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name??"


    The spotlight shone on the background singer, revealing their presence on the stage. Conan be mesmerized by the narrative Edward had created and mumbled, "NBC really fucked up considering Edward has a bad impression of them now."


    "??It all just sounds like (Ooh, ooh)...Mm, too young, too dumb to realize!! ??" Edward''s powerful voice transported the audience. His [Soul Voice] resonated, and it made some of the fans be dazed.


    "??That I should''ve bought you flowers... And held your hand... Shoulda gave you all my hours...When I had the chance??"


    Taylor looked affectionately at Edward, however, her immersion would soon be ruined by the next verse.


    "??Take you to every party, ''Cause all you wanted to do was dance... Now my baby''s dancin''...But she''s dancin'' with another man??"


    "As if!" Taylor retorted by her lonesome. Taylor knew that she had never danced with someone else.


    As the piano melody continued, Edward nced at Taylor slightly with a smirk on his face, knowing that she''d be pissed off by the lyric. However, he aimed to make her mood change again.


    "??Uh, my pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways... Caused a good, strong woman like you to walk out my life??"


    "That''s better." Taylor eximed to herself.


    <strong><i>"??Now I''ll never, never get to clean up the mess I made, oh...And that haunts me every time I close my eyes??" </i></strong>Edward''s bellow made the crowd let out a small gasp.


    <strong><i>"??It all just sounds like (Ooh, ooh)...Mm, too young, too dumb to realize!!??"</i></strong>


    The way Edward yed with his vocals made the crowd extremely impressed. If Taylor''s performance was considered great, Edward''s performance was phenomenal.


    Edward dropped his head slightly as he sang, "??That I should''ve bought you flowers...And held your hand... Shoulda gave you all my hours... When I had the chance??"


    "??Take you to every party... ''Cause all you wanted to do was dance...Now my baby''s dancin''... But she''s dancin'' with another man??"


    He pressed the piano keys passionately as he raised his head and bellowed, "??Although it hurts!!!! I''ll be the first to say that�C I was <strong><i>WROooOOOooOOOng</i></strong>!??"


    "Wow." Annie, who has her first experience watching Edward performing live today, felt breathless as she looked at him.


    "??Oh, I know I''m probably much toote... To try and apologize for my mistakes... But I just want you to knOOOWWW- OH! ??"


    The melody slowed down as Edward continued. The spotlight turned on at Taylor''s stage, revealing her lone figure standing there. The crowd had to cover their mouths to prevent themselves from screaming.


    Taylor wasn''t surprised with the sudden exposure as Edward had told her about it before. She gazed at Edward, and he too, looked intently at her.


    "??I hope he buys you flowers... I hope he holds your hand... Give you all his hours


    When he has the chance??


    ??Take you to every party... ''Cause I remember how much you love to dance??"


    Taylor walked towards Edward''s stage, and the two headlights slowly merged into one.


    "??Do all the things I should''ve done...When I was your man??"


    "??Do all the things I should''ve done...When I was your man??"


    Edward grabbed Taylor''s hand and kissed the back of it. The crowd erupted thunderously as he finished the performance.


    Taylor pretended to smile as people apuded her. She whispered to Edward, "Huh-humm, what''s with the dancing part? I''m going to beat you up."


    "Just a hook for the song. Don''t think too much about it," Edward replied casually.


    She faked augh and said, "I''m going to beat you up twice now."


    Edward turned toward her and asked, "You want to stay after your part is done?"


    "No. I''ll just watch from backstage," Taylor replied casually. Both of them returned to the talk show together and sat in front of Conan again.


    Conan did his crowd work first to ensure a smooth transition between the performance and the talk show. "Wee back! What an incredible performance from Taylor and Edward! Let''s give them another round of apuse!"


    The crowd cheered joyfully, finally releasing their pent-up excitement after being kept quiet during the performance.


    Conan turned to Edward and Taylor. "So, the songs are thest ones from your project, right? What''s going to happen to the ones you didn''t perform?"


    Edward widened his eyes in realization and said, "Oh, I''m going to include those in my next album."


    "Oww!" Conan eximed in disappointment before turning to Taylor. "What about you?"


    "I''ll do the same thing," Taylor replied with a chuckle. The audience reacted with disappointment beforeughing again.


    Conanmented, "Just admit that you guys insult each other so much that you had to scrap that song."


    Edward pointed at Taylor and said, "She actually did that."


    "Hey! I didn''t!" Taylor protested, promptingughter from the crowd. "But you know, this is actually not the end," she added, changing the subject.


    "Huh?" Conan perked up. "You mean this is not the final one?"


    Edward replied, "We actually thought of releasing a duet at the end. However��" The crowd cheered loudly before he could finish. Edward chuckled slightly before continuing, "However, our schedules in the next two years are so different that if we did that, we wouldn''t be able to perform it together."


    "A..." the crowd eximed in disappointment again.


    "So will there be a duet or not?" Conan asked.


    Taylor replied, "There will."


    The crowd apuded enthusiastically, whistling and shouting the celebrity names. Conan looked at them incredulously and said, "Are you all just their fans, or are all Californians like this?"


    As the crowdughed, Conan suddenly held up his bucket. "By the way, I finished all of it. Now, we can resume the interview uninterrupted."


    "Are you okay?" Edward asked with concern. "Some of those are really spicy."


    Conan fanned his face with his hand and said, "Spicy? That was spicy for you? It''s an ordinary chicken wing for me!" Despite his bravado, he panted like a dog, his face turning red, revealing his yful exaggeration.


    After a brief moment, Conan sent Taylor off the stage, as her role was over, and she wanted to enjoy watching the interview.


    "Earlier, you told us the reason the project was disrupted��one of them is the missile attack," Conan said, smoothly leading into the conversation.


    "Ah, we''re doing this now?" Edward leaned in, fully engaged.


    "Are you ready?" Conan asked.


    "I''m ready." Edward took off his sunsses, folded them, and tucked them into his chest pocket.


    "Before we dive in, I want to show the audience some exclusive footage from the day your house was blown up," Conan said, generating excitement in the room. "Let''s watch it first." He gestured to arge TV that a staff member rolled onto the set.


    Conan yed the video, and it''s a short 15 second clip of him and his friend, acting out a skit of the missile attack.


    [Conan: We''re going to attack the President of the United States. When we breach the white house''s system, we''re going to send missiles to every military base in the country!"


    "What about Edward Newgate''s house? I fucking hate that guy." His friend, Paul Andrew Richter said with a frown.


    "Okay! Let''s blow up his house! Anything else to be blown up!?" Conan asked.


    "The Starbucks in my ce keeps getting my name wrong." Another fake terrorist was added.


    "We''re going to blow it up too!" Conan said. "Anything else?"


    "There''s this puppy shelter that kept asking me for donations." Another terrorist asked.


    "Blow up the puppies too!" Conan said seriously.]


    The absurd skit made the audienceugh out loud. As it ended, Conan turned to Edward and said, "Secret service sources said that I got 100% of the reenactment right."


    Edward couldn''t help but lose hisposure a little andughed. For the first time in the interview, he was speechless.


    Conan finally felt satisfied and continued teasing Edward, "Unless there''s an insider that can refute it. This is going to be written down in the history books."


    "I actually still have the footage of what happened inside the house that day." Edward said, suddenly dropping a bomb into the studio.


    Conan, Pepper, Harvey, Taylor, Ted, Renaldo, Annie, Abed, basically everyone was extremely shocked when they heard it, except for Haley. Alex turned to Haley and asked, "Why aren''t you surprised?"


    "I mean, Ed told me he usually records everything going on inside his house using Robin." Haley replied. "So he is going to have the footage. It''s not that weird."


    "Really? Can we see it?" Conan asked, extremely excited. The representatives from the cablework became dumbfounded when they heard it. If what Edward said was true, then, it''ll be the most exclusive news they could have, about his incident.


    "I...I''m not sure about that." Edward hesitated a bit. "No one actually came to see me after my house was gone. So I''m not sure if they would want me to keep quiet about it, or I can show it..."


    Conan immediately said, "If they didn''te to brief you, then that''s their own mistake. You''re not responsible for it."


    "You think so?" Edward said before he thought about it for a bit. "Alright then. I''m going to show it. The censored version of it."


    The crowd cheered in excitement as Edward gestured for Randall to hand him hisptop. Turning to Conan, he asked, "Should I start from the very beginning, or just when the house got bombed?"


    "Start at an important part," Conan requested.


    Edward faced the audience and added, "I''ll skip ahead and exin. It''ll take too long if I show the whole thing."


    As he yed the footage, everyone''s eyes were glued to the screen. "Early that morning, my dad decided to make some burgers, and I invited some people over for a little party. But that''s not important."


    "That is important!" Conan interjected, leaning in eagerly. "Who did you invite to the house?"


    "Well, the people who worked on the movie with me," Edward replied casually. "Some close friends. In fact, a few of them were still there when the whole thing went down."


    "Who was still there?" Conan pressed, his curiosity piqued.


    "Taylor''s one of them," Edward said, prompting the crowd to erupt in cheers. He paused at a scene where two agents, their faces blurred out, entered the house with heavy injuries.


    Annie gasped in shock as she saw it. "That''s the authentic footage from the incident," Abed muttered, equally stunned.


    "Wait, who are these guys?" Conan asked, a surprised expression on his face. Edward answered casually, "Oh, those are federal agents. They infiltrated my house before, so I knew what was happening at that time. They came by asking for help because they were being hunted down."


    Conan rubbed his sore forehead, disbelief evident. "Wait... they infiltrated your house before?"


    "Kinda. But it''s just a game between me and the feds. If I didn''t catch the spies, they''d put 24/7 security details around me. Since I caught them, they just watch me from afar now."


    "Wha��Huh..." Conan shook his head in confusion. "You have this whole international spy, infiltration mission, secret identity kind of life on the side while also being a singer? You know what? Before they make a movie about the missile, we need to make a movie about your spy games first."


    Edward shrugged and replied, "I don''t care. All I want is for them to pay me back for breaking my ss wall back then. The second time they came, I lost a house."


    "So these two people are responsible for it all?" Conan asked. "Are they the ones who made your house blow to smithereens?"


    "I don''t think so," Edward replied. "They just came by because of a medical emergency. The injured guy was dying. I checked up on him yesterday, and he''s still on bedrest. At that time, they couldn''t go to the hospital, so they had to trust me."


    Edward pointed at the screen when he mentioned Casey. Conan was ted and asked, "So what did you do after they came by?"


    "People thought that I alone fought off the terrorists, but actually, a lot of people were involved. Not just me," Edward said as he resumed the video. "My dad cleaned up the blood on the floor. I helped the female agent perform surgery on the dying guy. My close friend Selena and my cousin Maggie disposed of the bloodied couch by throwing it into the ocean."


    Edward showed footage of Selena and Maggie giggling as they watched the cushion dropped onto the sea. Conan was bbergasted and said, "Wait. I know her. She''s the girl from Disney."


    "Yeah. Selena''s a singer. She''s also a good actress. My cousin too I guess." Edward said. Maggie got pissed when she saw it. "You guess?!" She mumbled angrily.


    Edward shared a lot of things about the incident. How the girls were trapped too, and how a Colombian step-grandmother helped to distract the agents together with Miss Daddario.


    He continued till the part where 8 armed men entered the house, clutching their guns. During this time, the value of the interview had jumped to over 40 million dors from a bid by TBS as they desperately wanted the exclusive.


    Conan continued interviewing Edward, "They already have the ce surrounded. How did you guys escape? Did you jump into the ocean? Please tell me you jumped into the ocean."


    "Actually, I escaped using a p." Edward said with a grin. "You pped them all?" Conan widened his eyes.


    "No, I got pped." Edward said, which elicited some forcefully held backughter from the audience.


    "Wait what?"


    "Yeah-yeah. I got pped by Taylor." Edward skipped the video forward until it reached the part where Taylor pped him. He reyed the p a few times which surprised the audience.


    "Why did she p you? It seems...quite deserved, but why?" Conan asked in a teasing manner. "Should we use the lifeline again?" He added.


    "There''s no need. The p is quite deserved, as I nned it to be," Edward said casually. He then exined, "When the terrorists came, they acted like federal agents, so I just yed it cool. They warned me about helping the two real federal agents, saying they had gone rogue and were highly dangerous."


    Everyone held their breath as Edward recounted the events of that day. "I pretended not to care and told them that even if the rogue agents showed up, I wouldn''t risk it because I had something better to do."


    "And what was that?" Conan asked, intrigued.


    "Breeding," Edward replied nonchntly, prompting gasps from the audience and confused looks from some. "What?" Conan did a double take, unable to believe his ears.


    Edwardughed out loud. "I pretended to be a horny teen. I told them that statistically, after a terror attack, people seek reassurance and affirmation of life, so they tend to hook up. I had a lot of beauties in my house, so I didn''t want to help."


    "Why would you say that? And why admit it? That''ll just make the girls mad," Conan pointed out, confused.


    Edward chuckled slightly. "That was the aim. Even if I whispered it to the guy, I made sure it was loud enough for the girls to hear. That way, they had an excuse to get out of there without raising suspicion."


    The crowd admired Edward''s openness about the tragedy. He skipped over the part where he knocked over two agents, but people still caught glimpses of the fighting inside the house.


    "So, everyone was gone, and you even sang a song. Why did your house still get attacked?" Conan asked.


    "To be honest, I didn''t really know at the time," Edward replied, shaking his head slightly.


    "So you know about it now?" Conan prodded.


    "Yeah, that bitc�� Sorry," Edward quickly apologized after almost cursing. Conan immediately defended him, "Why are you apologizing? Your house is gone! You can get worked up and curse the one sending the missile. No one will me you for it."


    Edwardughed a bit before saying, "Alright then. That bitch, Skip Tyler. He''s the one responsible for the attack on my house. He''s one of the reported casualties inside the White House, if you remember."


    "Yeah, the hacker. Why was he targeting you?" Conan asked.


    "I''m sure Apple and Microsoft will remember him. He used to cause a lot of trouble for them," Edward continued. "He loves to infiltratepany systems and create chaos. But he couldn''t get past my defenses, so I guess he threw the missile at my house as part of his tantrum."


    "Is that a brag? Are you bragging?" Conan asked incredulously.


    Edward smirked. "It''s not really bragging if it''s the truth. Also, my aim isn''t bragging; it''s just to make some money."


    Conan was a bit frazzled but kept hisposure. "You want to make some money from this interview?"


    Edward nodded. "Yeah. My house is gone, and now the insurancepany keeps postponing my payout, so I can''t buy a new house. I''ve been sleeping in hotels and crashing at friends'' ces. The media keeps trashing my name. Overall, December is not a very good month for me."


    Conan leaned back in his chair, looking at Edward with a mix of admiration and sympathy. "You know what. I feel really bad for you now."


    "I feel bad for myself too." Edwardughed at his own misery.


    ...


    As the interview ended, TBS cablework representatives quickly sent a contract to get the rights for the show, and they paid Entertain 45 million dors for it.


    Although it sounds impressive, it still wasn''t the highest bid in history. For example, Oprah Winfrey''s interviews or those rted to major scandals have fetched high prices, sometimes exceeding $50 million.


    Edward knew that he could get people to bid more, however, TBS made another offer. They wanted to set up a talk show for Conan.


    Edward told Conan about it and asked for his opinion even though Conan has no deciding power for what to use the interview for. He only asked Conan because he respected him.


    In less than 3 hours after the interview ended, the whole thing was broadcasted to the TBS cablework.


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 315: Conan (Final)

    <h4>Chapter 315: Chapter 315: Conan (Final)</h4>


    (I''m taking a break this week. I''m working on an important arc, and since it''s the holidays anyway, I decided to take some time off. I''ll see you guys back next Monday.)


    [General POV]


    {Edward nodded. "Yeah. My house is gone, and now the insurancepany keeps postponing my payout, so I can''t buy a new house. I''ve been sleeping in hotels and crashing at friends'' ces. The media keeps trashing my name. Overall, December is not a very good month for me."


    Conan leaned back in his chair, looking at Edward with a mix of admiration and sympathy. "You know what? I feel really bad for you now."


    "I feel bad for myself too," Edwardughed at his own misery.}


    TBS broadcasted the interview immediately after they won the bid. Without any promotional efforts, Edward didn''t think the interview would be a sess; however, he was wrong.


    "I guess we were so focused on the cool things he did that we ignored what he had to go through," Leonardmented as he watched the interview with his friends and Penny.


    Sheldon added, "I heard from Amy that he helped someone cure their degenerative brain maledictment. She''s bound by her NDA from telling me the details, but he funded the research using his own money and never took any credit for it."


    Penny looked at Sheldon in confusion and asked, "Why are you speaking so highly of him? Didn''t you think of him as a rival?"


    Howard interrupted, answering the question for Sheldon, "He did. But when Sheldon realized how simr Edward''s life is to that of a real superhero, he became his little fan instead."


    "Hey! I resent that! I''m not his little fan. I just don''t hate him as much as I did," Sheldon protested while his friendsughed at him before they continued watching the interview on TV.


    {Conan asked, "Don''t you feel scared when the whole thing goes down? I mean, I would freeze and wouldn''t even know what to do until it''s all over. You stepped up to help when you could have just turned them away and enjoyed the evening with thedies. Why did you decide to take them in?"


    The viewers and the studio audience were curious about this. Many wondered why Edward put himself at risk; he could''ve just walked away from it all.


    Edward thought for a moment before replying, "I guess... it''s because they need help? I didn''t think much about it at the time."


    The audience eximed in amazement. Conan asked, "You weren''t scared?"


    "I was scared. I was scared shitless at that time," he added with a distressed expression and a forced smile. "I had my close friends inside the house, and they could be implicated too. I could have jumped into the ocean as ast resort, but Taylor doesn''t know how to swim..."


    The crowd chuckled at his remark. Edward turned to the audience,ughing, "I''m just kidding. She does know how to swim."}


    "The person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed, without a doubt, a real superhero," Sheldon suddenly said.


    Leonard turned to him and asked, "Where is that from? I think I''ve heard it before."


    Sheldon replied, "Stan Lee."


    Penny looked at the screen in amazement and said, "So he''s like someone who escaped from aic book."


    "Based on what he''s done, it could be," Sheldon agreed with Penny.


    {Conan asked, "Luckily, everything turned out well. I don''t rmend that you or any of the viewers try to do what he did, but at the same time, it''s really amazing what you have done."


    The crowd apuded and cheered for Edward, supporting and admiring him. The apuse went on for quite a while, almost five minutes, but Edward cut it out of the final interview and made it time for amercial instead.


    Conan changed the topic after a while, "So, you''re thinking about buying a new house. Why is it taking so long?"


    "I still want to live by the beach. I love watching the ocean," Edward replied, slightly adjusting his seating.


    Conan smirked and said, "It''s because you grew up around ships, isn''t it?"


    "Kinda," Edward agreed, which made the audience chuckle a bit. "I''m used to watching the sea whenever I wake up in my seaside vi. I wanted to be able to do that in my new home. However, I don''t think I can do that anymore."


    "Why not? Is it too expensive? That''s impossible for you," Conan teased slightly. As the audienceughed, Edward replied, alsoughing, "Not that. I''ve already looked at several ces, but when the people there find out it''s me, they get scared and beg me not to move in."


    The audience furrowed their brows, expressing frustration on Edward''s behalf.


    "Why not? Why don''t they want you there?" Conan asked again, his eyes filled with confusion and slight irritation for the people who treated Edward that way.


    "Don''t get mad. I''m fine with it. I''m not mad," Edward reassured Conan.


    "NO! I want to get mad!" Conan eximed exaggeratedly, which shifted the audience''s mood. "You''re not my therapist. You can''t tell me what to feel," he added yfully. Then he asked again, "Why didn''t they want you to move near them?"


    "It''s not that hard to figure out. They''re scared another missile will hit, and the property values around the area will go down. Some of my neighbors in the seaside vi area even nned to sue me to make up for their losses, so I guess��"


    Conan interrupted, "They wanted to sue you!?"


    "That''s not important; they dropped it after finding out there was no basis for theirwsuit," Edward said dismissively. He then added, "For my next home, I guess I''ll have to find something in the mountains, you know, somewhere I can be isted."


    The crowd reacted to Edward''s experience and his saddened expression when he mentioned the istion. Some expressed anger, while others showed deep sadness for him.


    Edward noticed and turned to the audience, "Don''t worry, it''ll be fine. Despite not being able to live by the beach anymore, I can trade it for Batman''s house, so it''s a fair trade."


    The audience chuckled at Edward''s words. Conan nodded slightly and asked, "You found Batman''s house?"


    "No, so far, I only found somend," Edward replied with excitement. "I''m going on a world tour for two years, so I''m not in a rush to find a new ce. I decided to build one for myself."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if, in two years, he actually builds a Batman house," Jay muttered after watching the interview.


    Philmented, "With the Batcave underneath it."


    Luke added, "With the Batmobile parked in it."


    The interview ended after Edward discussed his world tour with Conan.


    {Conan asked, "You mentioned the world tour. What kind of world tour takes two years? No one has actually done that before."


    "Oh, it''s not a work-only world tour per se. It''s more of my dad and me touring the world over two years," Edward rified with a smile.


    "I want to see the world too and learn new things. Some people get mad that I learned Japanese to sing in Japan, but I wonder if they''ll get irate when they learn I''m going to perform in Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and I even prepared a performance in Mongolia, learning their traditional throat singing."


    "Mongolian throat singing? What''s that?" Conan asked.


    Edward demonstrated by singing a bit of Mongolian throat singing, which made the audienceugh at the abruptness of it.


    "What?" Conan was bbergasted. Edwardughed and said, "That''s how they sing their traditional songs."


    "Tell me, why are you learning all of this? Are you just bored? Is that it?" Conan asked, slightly teasing but looking serious.


    Edwardughed and replied, "No. It''s a bit more personal. Um, the reason I made the songs for the world tour is that I think that when songs are tranted, they lose a certain nuance or meaning behind them. I guess that''s why I try to learn newnguages."


    The crowd was amazed by Edward''s intention behind the song. When the interview was posted on Netflix, the internationalizen felt Edward''s sincerity and it earned him a lot of new fans.


    "Some people thought I''d be gone for good, but I already bought my Super Bowl ticket, so..." Edward joked. "I''ll be back. I promise."


    Conan replied, "And when youe back, make sure you tell me all about your trip around the world."


    "On your new show?" Edward quipped, which made Conan look momentarily depressed. Then Edward surprised him: "The Conan Show on TBS. They just picked it up. Make sure you don''t get canned from that too before I return."


    The crowd apuded excitedly after hearing Edward''s announcement. Conan nked out for a second before muttering, "What�� I mean, WHAT?!"


    "Hey, Conan really signed on with TBS for The Conan Show," Howard said after quickly Googling the news.


    Although the pay was less than what he received at NBC, Conan would have more creative freedom on his own show. TBS offered him a $10 million per year sry, which was morepared to what he would have initially received, around $5 to $7 million.


    It was $2 million less than his NBC sry, but with more creative control, Conan felt it was worth it. The negotiations had already been in ce, and Edward''s interview just made it happen earlier.


    {"Before we end the interview, Edward said he wants to share an interesting fact with us all." Conan said after hugging Edward and celebrating the announcement of the new show.


    Edward suddenly leaned forward and said, "Do you know humans have no pain receptors on our lower lips?"


    "Huh? Really?" Albeit confused, Conan tested it out by biting his lower lip. Edward quickly took out a camera and snapped a selfie with Conan while some staff members took pictures of the audience.


    Conan couldn''t even react before Edward shared the picture on the screen, showing him biting his lip seductively. Embarrassed, Conan stood up immediately and eximed, "HEY! DELETE THAT!"


    "I think I''ll make this my profile picture," Edward said casually. Conan was bbergasted, and then Edward added, "I''ll even post it on my Instagram feed."}


    It was an act of promotion for his apps, which was a clever idea considering TBS achieved 14 million viewers, setting a new record for thework in the category of interview segments. It was a huge sess for the cablework, and the money they used to buy the interview was worth it.


    {"Thank you Edward Newgate for being so honest today." Conan said, "Before we end the show, Edward has agreed to share his performance inside the mansion before the missile hit, something that we are all intrigued about, which makes this another exclusive footage from the day of the incident. Edward, what is the title of this song?"


    "It''s called, "As the World Caves in."


    Conan yed the footage as the camera pulled back, and the interview ended.}


    The edited footage of the final moment in the mansion turned some of the audience members teary, especially when it was apanied with the emotional song.


    Penny turned to the guys and saw Leonard, Howard and Rajesh sniffling. Even though her eyes were also red, she made fun of those guys, "Wait. Are you guys crying?"


    "No." Leonard replied, his voice breaking slightly, "We just have some dust in our eyes."


    ...


    [Edward POV]


    After the interview was over, I hung out with Pepper and Taylor in the office while Harvey finalized the contract with TBS.


    "You talked a lot of nonsense in there," Taylorined. Pepper nodded and added, "They had to cut it down from three hours to one hour."


    I grimaced and replied, "What? I don''t know what they''ll use in the final edit, so I just answered whatever he asked me."


    The final editing was handled by Conan and his team, not me. Right now, I just wanted to focus on counting the money. Thanks to the interview, the insurancepany finally felt the pressure and released thepensation for my destroyed home.


    "So, you''re going to use the money to buynd?" Pepper asked curiously.


    I nodded. "Yeah. I think I will. I can get five acres ofnd for around one million outside the city, or I could buy a small hill near the Palisades for five million."


    Pepper''s expression shifted as he furrowed his brow. "You don''t mean ''that hill,'' do you?"


    "Kinda," I replied with a wry smile.


    "NOOO!!" Pepper eximed in disbelief. Taylor looked confused and asked, "What hill? What''s wrong with it?"


    "The hill itself is fine. But there''s a mansion on top of it... a HAUNTED mansion," Pepper said, his tone taking on a spooky edge.


    Taylor raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "What do you mean, haunted?"


    I smirked and moved behind Taylor, whispering conspiratorially, "It''s said that a family of four died there mysteriously one stormy night. After that, every resident who moved into the mansion reported hearing a woman sobbing and children''s footsteps running around the hall."


    Startled, Taylor looked horrified and slowly pushed my head away. "Stop kidding around!"


    In America, about 57% of the poption believed in the existence of ghosts. Countless abandoned houses across the country remained unwanted due to these rumors and the unsettling feelings people experienced when entering them. This meant I could buy that small hill for a really, really low price.


    "Aren''t you scared, Edward? What if they haunt you too?" Pepper asked, concern etched on his face.


    "You''re going to demolish the house there, right?" Taylor suggested, her brow furrowing.


    I shrugged and replied, "If there are any apparitions lingering, I''ll make sure to charge them rent."


    I was indeed considering demolishing the so-called ''haunted'' house. Its foundation was already crumbling, so starting from scratch would be the best option. The main reason I wanted to buy the hill was its proximity��only 15 minutes away from my childhood home. Not to mention it has a stunning view of the city from up there.


    However, acquiring an entire hill would require a lot of work and paperwork. Harvey needed to find the current owner of that hill as it wasn''t owned by the city.


    Thendscape was filled with natural vegetation and wildlife, making it a beautiful yet challenging site for development. Even if I started building the house immediately, it would take at least three years for the ce to be livable.


    Now was the best time for me to snatch up some property. After the 2008 economic market crash, the housing market hasn''t recovered fully yet. I even bought some plots ofnd in the inner city that were sold for cheap. I nned to build some libraries or a basketball court there.


    "You''re a weird dude." Taylor looked at me with disbelief. "Buy sports cars! Be normal. Don''t buy properties like an old guy!"


    "Even I don''t snatch up properties like you do." Pepper grimaced. I shrugged and joked, "Well you should. I''m going to buy a lot of ces all over the country, make the college kids who''re learning tradework fix it for me for credit score, and then flip it for money without offering them any profits."


    "You''re diabolical." Conan, who just entered the room, scolded me yfully. We talked for hours inside the room, and I even brought out thest bottle of Euphoria with me.


    "I really need myb back." I muttered with a depressed look on my face as I watched thest drop of Euphoria disappear from Conan''s ss.


    ...


    It''s finally Christmas eve, and I was running around buyingst minute presents for my friends. My family from Wisconsin hade to California to spend Christmas with me, although they stayed in a rented house by the beach rather than staying at my ce.


    Amy and Maggie helped me to decorate my house and the Christmas tree while I watched TV on myptop.


    "Why isn''t he helping?" Amy whined as sheined to my grandmother.


    "Honey, Edward is working." Grandma Jules exined.


    "He''s watching SouthPark!" Maggie exposed while pointing her finger at me.


    "They are making a special episode with me." I argued back. "Of course I''m going to watch it."


    SouthPark made an episode based on the terror attack which was initiated by Cartman. He found a secret missile base and attacked my house just for shit and giggled.


    Then, I began hunting him in his city, turning all of his friends against him one by one. Cartman made amends with me by whooping ''Whoopi'' on her ass, which was hrious.


    I voiced the character myself, which earned me a lot of respect from the audience of the show as I was okay with making fun of myself. Family Guy also has nned a special episode with me, but it will air after Christmas.


    After I finished watching it, I picked up the gifts I had wrapped and walked towards the Dunphy''s house. The door was unlocked, and it was open slightly ajar, so I just walked in.


    However, when I entered the house, I saw the three kids sitting on the couch and the parents were scolding them, standing beside the Christmas Tree.


    "This is uneptable,and I want to know who did this." ire scolded, crossing her arms together. Haley stared at her parents rebelliously while Alex looked distressed.


    "Nobody, huh? I guess the couch did it to itself. It came home after a tough day, lit up


    a cigarette and then burnt itself. Is that what happened?Because that makes no sense." Phil scolded.


    "If whoever''s responsible doesn''te forward, we''ll punish all three of you." ire gave an ultimatum.


    "What?" Haley eximed. "That''s not fair." Luke retorted with a sad face.


    Phil smiled as he saw he was in the children''s head, "I can forgive the smoking,but I can''t forgive the lie..." As he was stared at by ire, he quickly fixed his wording, "or the smoking."


    "No one wants to confess?" ire stared at her children and asked with a slightly shaky voice.


    Phil got irritated and said, "That''s fine, because you know what happens next? We cancel Christmas."


    "That''s not fair." Luke eximed immediately.


    "Okay, Dad, sure." Haley said, thinking that there was no way it would happen.


    ire looked at Phil with a slight concern, her eyes shook as she thought about the implication.


    [Phil and ire''smentary]


    ire said, holding Phil''s hand, "Phil has a habit of making big pronouncements to the kids."


    Phil chuckled and said, "One time, I told Luke that if he didn''t put his dirty dishes in the dishwasher, we would put them in his bed."


    ire sighed, "Phil''s problem is...follow-through."


    When this happened, all of the dirty dishes were ced in Luke''s bed, which meant that the family had no more tes to use.


    Phil sighed, "We had no more dishes, so we were eating cereal out of the goldfish bowl."


    [Commentary ends]


    "Okay, guess where I''m headed. To take down the tree." Phil walked beside the decorated Christmas tree, " Right, this is yourst chance."


    "Come on, guys. Whoever it is, just take responsibility. Don''t put the rest of us through this." ire stammered. As a parent, it was important for them to stay on the same side. That''s why she''s supporting Phil even though she felt that he was being excessive.


    Phil looked at his children, his eyes shook slightly, "This is really it." He waited, but no one fessed up. "Here we go.Three... two... one...Goodbye, Dunphy Christmas." His voice broke a bit as he began to dismantle the tree.


    "Haley, I guess you''re not getting that car." Phil told his eldest daughter


    "I was getting a car?!" Haley eximed unfairly.


    "No, I was lying, because that''s what we do now. Dunphys are liars." Phil said as he dragged the tree out of the living room. "Oh Hi Ed." He walked past me casually as he took the tree outside of the door.


    "Hi Phil." I greeted casually.


    "Ed. When did you get here?" ire widened her eyes slightly, embarrassed by thinking that she had made a spectacle in front of me.


    "Just now. The door''s open so I just walked in to drop off the gifts." I replied, "But then I heard Christmas is cancelled over here at this house. Should I bring these back?"


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!