Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Song about My Ex.


    [General POV]


    Thanksgiving Friday, or most likely known as, Black Friday. Although the frenzy of mega sales around the country has been getting news attention all morning, Taylor''s sudden music video released halted the shopping process of the shoppers for several minutes.


    The song ''Love U Hate U'' that she had played for Edward in the party before, was made into a music video, and the reactions from the song was controversial.


    "{Feeling used, but I''m still missing you...And I can''t see the end of this...Just wanna feel your kiss against my lips...}"


    Lily, the leader of several Edward Newgate''s fanclub, and also the co-leader of the TayWard shippers, gasped in shock as she listened to the lyrics.


    "Did they break up?!" She muttered in concern. TMZ, the entertainment media focusing on celebrity gossip, quickly released an article about Edward and Taylor.


    The TMZ article headline read as; [Not Really A FairyTale? The shocking news about the controversial figure Edward Newgate and PopStar Taylor Swift.]


    The backlash from the headline was tremendous, but as a parasitical news outlet that survives only based on celebrity gossip, the people at TMZ considered the article as a success despite there being no comments from the parties involved.


    "{And now all this time is passing by...But I still can''t seem to tell you why...It hurts me every time I see you...Realize how much I need you}"


    Taylor singing on the backdrop of the ocean, while looking melancholic, made her fans believe that she was the victim in the relationship.


    "{I hate you, I love you, I hate that I love you, Don''t want to, but I can''t put,Nobody else above you, I hate you, I love you, I hate that I want you, You want her, you need her, And I''ll never be her}"


    Cece Cooper, daughter of Georgie Cooper, immediately scoffed as she heard the lyric, "So she''s just delusional then."


    In the music video, Taylor sat on the passenger seat of a car with the camera facing her from the driver''s seat, not showing the figure of the driver as the car rode through a desert.


    "{What about all the times, You would pick me up and we''d just drive, Around until we found a place to stay and waste the day away, We''d do nothing but it was okay with me.}"


    As Cam and Mitchell watched the music video, Cam nodded in understanding and said, "They must''ve not been able to date properly given their status. It must''ve been stressful for them."


    Mitchell commented snarkily, "Especially for her. One wrong move and she''ll lose everything."


    This time, Taylor laid down on her bed alone in a dark room, "{You say it''s not good to spend all my time, Thinking about you so late at night, But I can''t stop once I start it''s like an avalanche, Thoughts coming and I just wanna hold your hand.}"


    In Annie''s apartment, Troy, Annie and Abed watched the music video together. Troy commented, "She must''ve really loved him. That poor girl."


    Abed was confused and said, "If they were having an off again, on again relationship, why did he date Annie?"


    Annie was also confused, but then she said, "Abed, maybe he just wanted to ease up the pain of heartache? Also, maybe, this is just a maybe, he...saw something in me?"


    Troy said dismissively, "Eh. That''s not it."


    "{All alone, I watch you watch her, Like she''s the only girl you''ve ever seen, You don''t care, you never did, You don''t give a damn about me! Yeah, all alone, I watch you watch her, She is the only thing you''ve ever seen, How is it you never notice, That you were slowly killing me}"


    As people listened to the ending of the song, most people had the same question in their mind.


    "Who is that girl Taylor''s referring to?"


    The music video received a lot of attention after it was released, and the song quickly climbed up the billboard top 100 songs. The music video was released on MTV, and people has been clamoring to get a response from Edward, or from Taylor who''s been keeping her comments about this matter.


    In Taylor''s apartment, the blonde girl snickered as she thought about her ex''s reaction to the song being public. Holding her phone tightly in her hands, she waited for him to call or text her, but it was still silent.


    Selena, her best friend, suddenly yelped as she read the article on her phone. Turning to Taylor angrily, she said, "I told you not to do this!"


    "Why, what happened?" Taylor asked anxiously. Selena showed her phone screen to Taylor, and it showed a paparazzi photo of Selena and Edward at the festival they went to before.


    "They''re saying I''m the homewrecker! I''m the other girl!" Selena groaned disdainfully.


    Taylor was a bit taken aback, but then Selena yelped again. Taylor asked disgruntledly, "What now?"


    "Now it''s Hudgens. She''s getting flamed online too!" Selena said before she turned to Taylor, "You need to rectify this."


    Taylor''s eyes shook and she replied timidly, "I know. I will. Just as soon as he texts me."


    Her phone finally rang, and Taylor''s eyes lit up. As she saw Edward''s name on the text, her heart fluttered. Selena was also interested and stood by Taylor to peek at her screen.


    Taylor took a deep breath before opening the text. Her face fell in disbelief as she read Edward''s lines.


    Edward: Good Job on the music video! It''s a great song! (Winking face with tongue out emoji. Good Job emoji)


    "That''s...it?" Her hand shook angrily. Taylor threw the phone on the bed and screamed out loud in frustration while ruffling her own hair.


    "ARGHH! THAT BITCH!"


    Selena also fell in disbelief when she picked up Taylor''s phone and read the text. Suddenly, she flinched as another text came in, startling her.


    Taylor immediately stopped screaming and ran to the phone. Selena read the text for Taylor, " He said...Expect a return song, in a week?"


    Selena turned to Taylor, and saw she was smirking. Taylor huffed in satisfaction and flipped her hair back with her hand, "A week? He really fell off. Or, is it because he needs the song to be perfect–"


    Before she could finish her sentence, Edward sent another text, "And don''t think it''s because I fell off or anything. I just have the SATs and the movie is filming next week. I''m just too busy."


    "Don''t get me wrong. I''m just curious to see how you''ve been living and your new home." Grandpa Sam said with a fake cough.


    ''Tsundere?'' The thought flashed my head for a bit but I quickly brushed it off.


    "What about Ace?" Grandpa Sam asked.


    I replied, "I already have a permit to keep her at my house."


    Grandpa Sam was startled. His voice shook in an almost imperceptible manner, "You know what? It''ll be too suffocating for Ace to live in the mansion. Here, she can hunt coyotes, adventure in the mountains, and help take care of the ranch."


    "Grandpa, are you by any chance, attached to Ace?" I asked with a smirk. My grandpa coughed in embarrassment. I continued, "But then, I really only met her for a short time before we decided to adopt her. You were the one taking care of her all this time. It''ll be quite cruel of me to pry her away from you."


    "Not– Hmm, I guess you saw through me Ed." Grandpa Sam decided to give up and called for Ace.


    Ace and Vader came to the living room. The black furred Jaguar and the black cat were playing together nonstop since we got here. Ace went to grandpa and rested her head on his knee. Vader climbed up my pants and shirt before standing on my shoulder.


    "I thought that I only needed to take care of her for you at first. But, I''ve come to love this giant...cat." Grandpa Sam said while scratching Ace''s head.


    I smiled in understanding and said, "No need to feel guilty grandpa. Ace is your girl. She belongs with you." I could sense Ace''s feeling too as she looked at me. In my long absence, she had become attached to my grandpa too and was reluctant to go with me.


    Uncle Jim, Aunt May, Amy, Grandma and Grandpa, all followed me back to California. It was the first time for them to be in a private plane. Grandma was excited to see everything, but Grandpa just sat on the seat and drank some whiskey.


    Maggie looked at Amy smugly, acting as if she was looking at a countryside girl, forgetting the fact that she too reacted the same way when she first got into the plane.


    After a 5 hour flight, we all finally reached California.


    ...


    [General POV]


    Saturday morning, Dunphy''s house. An infallible castle was set up in the front lawn, together with a rock climbing wall, and a zip line.


    [Phil and Claire''s commentary]


    Phil said, "Every year, Luke''s birthday falls, right around Thanksgiving, and so it gets lost in the holiday shuffle."


    Claire added, "One year we forgot completely, and we had to improvise a cake made of stuffing."


    Phil waved his hand dismissively, "Which, by the way, he was fine with. He''s one of those kids,you get him a gift and all he wants to dois play with the box."


    Claire glanced at Phil for a second, "Yeah, one year we actually just got him a box, a really,.. nice box."


    Phil commented sadly, "And we made the mistake of putting it in a gift bag."


    Claire was also feeling depressed, "So he played with the gift bag."


    Phil said, "We can''t get it right."


    "No." Claire agreed with him.


    Phil became elated after a while and said, "But this year, we''re pulling all of the stops!"


    Claire also grinned and said, "This year, I have a very good job, and Phil has been having a really great year with his real estate sales–"


    "We''re going to throw the best birthday party a 10 years old boy ever hoped to be!"


    [Commentary ends]


    Luke ran to the front yard and stopped in front of Phil and Claire. "What time is it?" He asked.


    Claire smiled and bent over slightly to meet Luke''s eyeline, "Honey, the party won''t be starting for another 2 hours. Your friends will come by at that time."


    "I don''t care about that. I just hope Ed can make it." Luke said innocently before he ran to play. Phil and Claire looked at each other worriedly.


    Phil whispered, "Will he come?"


    Claire replied with a whisper too, "I don''t know. He has a line reading with the cast of the movie today. I don''t know if he can make it."


    While the spouse was talking, a man walked towards them. "Hello! It looks like a carnival here!"


    Phil immediately turned as he recognized the voice. "Dad!"


    "I''m here!" Luke''s grandfather, Frank Dunphy (Fred Willard) greeted the duo with open arms. Claire hugged Frank for a moment before asking, "I thought you cannot make it."


    "There''s no way I''m going to miss my grandson''s 10th birthday party. Even your mother is here." Frank said as he pointed to his back.


    In Entertain, the line reading for the movie was held inside a big meeting room, and the entirety of the session was being recorded. Edward glanced at Emily Blunt, Ryan Gosling, and also Vanessa Hudgens before he read his line.


    The purpose of the line reading was to build chemistry with the other actors, and also for the actors to explore their characters more deeply. Edward checked his watch a few times as he continued the line reading.


    He thought secretly, ''I hope that I can make it.''